what time did you get to work?

saw the sunrise
but while seated at my desk



instead of in the saddle
roads were dead quiet



led's punching thru the dark
pedals churning away

to dislike your own

if it wasn't for the fact that my daily commute includes one, i'd have to say i that i hate fixed gears. the cultural direction they've gone in the past few years has been less than appealing to me. whether it was the grizzled messenger you looked up to, the winter training hardman roadie, or the utilitarian do it all on a single cog curmudgeon at least it was about more than neon toe clips and matching deep section rims. interbike this past weekend just verified this feeling of dismay.  

playing the role of tour guide

so a plan was hatched to show off some of the local road flavor. ideas bounced around; route options are plentiful but what to show some out of towners? mt penn is a classic climb; how many summit destinations can you see from miles away that are reached via switchbacks? then what? how about some wooded rolling hills followed up by wide open farmland mileage with a dose of rail trail easy spinning to end? sounds good to me and whit and greg agreed.



clockwise loop. starting southwest of reading in shillington. suburban streets lead to a crossing of the schuylkill river and elevation gained as we ride thru the city heading towards the pagoda. straight up franklin street to the wall known as hill road before reaching the switchbacks of duryea drive.



pavé author whit takes the inside line around one of the many turns. with little traffic to spoil the effort, we marched upwards steadily gaining elevation.



we soak in the view and enjoy the cool fall day at the pagoda. sweat from the climb quickly chills with the southeasterly wind blowing across the ridge top. arm warmers come off for mere moments before being donned again and not removed for the remainder of the ride. the pagoda is a false summit of mt penn, the real top is a few more minutes of climbing later at the firetower and i neglected to tell the others this during our chilling break. oh well, climbing is good for the soul.

onwards and upwards we crest the hill and begin the drop down skyline drive. rollers come next as we point towards the oley valley area. but before we reach oley, there's the matter of elevation lose we have to deal with and what better surface to descend on than loose gravel and dirt?



pavement ends and primitive road begins. apparantly it's been recently graded filling in the potholes but leaving vast stretches soft and loose. two wheel drifting follows with subsequent oh shit moments. i like it and let the throttle wide open as much as possible leaving the bike move with the terrain. no use tensing up, i'm already too hot into this turn, lets try to make it all work out.



whit and greg follow at a more sensible pace after both going sideways for a spell. all good things must end and we're back on asphalt soon enough.



into oley we roll. in the ten plus years since i lived here, little has changed but town seems much smaller now. memories of bmx and mt bikes being ridden everywhere flood back especially when passing a kid on a mt bike that could have been me in days past. we skirt the edge of the valley quickly climbing and descending before bottoming out on the valley floor.



without the protection of the hills or woods, the wind picks up and firmly pushes into us.





wide open and wind swept.



stopping for food, who can pass up smokes as well? didn't think these were made anymore but there must be demand round these parts.



whit demonstrates proper portaging.

back in the saddle, still into the wind, we press on heading south across the valley before turning east with a reprieve from the wind. one more stop to top off bottles and it's schuylkill river trail back into reading.



leaf cover increases as fall weather sets in. cool and dry the entire 40 some miles under overcast skies though showers set in shortly after returning home. a fine day to be spent out on the road.

into the fog

of maps and memory

matching memory to lines on a map
replaying a ride in your mind's eye
road surface conditions
the gradient of a hill
traffic volume
glycogen levels
farm dog encounters
prevailing wind direction
these memories flood back
pan around on google maps
zoom in to read a road name
a road i've ridden dozens of times
the name always eludes me
but i can still picture it clearly
the eye wanders off onto the unfamiliar
a thin black line following a creek
probably cutting between the hills
scribble down cues
fill in the regional knowledge base
connecting the known with the unknown
piecing it all together
to be called upon later

a saturday afternoon

cool in the shade
warm in the sun
fall has arrived
to the hills
bleary eyed climbs
eye watering descents
repeat
prime backroad quiet

a saturday night

a saturday night
Originally uploaded by fxdwhl

woods still a little green however.

rode hard, put away wet

passed thru a cloud today.
.

basement work continues

basement work continues
Originally uploaded by fxdwhl

patching walls and scraping more likely than not lead based paint.
oh, just one of the many joys of home ownership.

highly tuned sense of noticing

highly tuned sense of noticing
Originally uploaded by fxdwhl

the bike allows
the ability to observe
spot something
slow down
double back
snap a pic
.

sundays travels

sundays travels
Originally uploaded by fxdwhl

as seen at the renaissance faire

still raining on the way home

you can't stay dry in these situations
you can't stay comfortable all the time
it's not like driving to work in a car
whizzbang wonder fabrics don't hide the weather
they'll keep you warm with sweat
but you won't be dry
that's the best you can hope for
the sooner you come to terms with this
the easier the weather is to deal with
we've grown soft in this day and age
cycling isn't climate controlled
i won't want it that way
experiencing the elements is crucial
it keeps you humble
our control over the world is a fallacy
but you can still enjoy the ride

Friday in the Rain

Friday in the Rain
Originally uploaded by fxdwhl

good morning.
rain gear recomended.
and bright lights.
as it still looks like night.
at this hour.

work continues

after a brief hiatus, basement renovations have resumed. electrician called in for duty to keep the place from burning down. piece of mind restored and he's still got another day of work lined up tomorrow. new lights and wiring up in the basement. new outlets on the first floor with minor work on the second. then cleaning, painting, new ceiling, and enclosed stair case to follow.

protection

protection
Originally uploaded by fxdwhl

fifties and rain overnight
i'd say fender weather has returned

rolling on classy hoops

so the wheels are handspun neo classics.
tied and soldered for class and strength
the treads are fmb paris-roubaix tubulars.
they're visiting for a spell courtesy of pavé.
all i need to do is ride them.
and report back with my thoughts.
29 hilly miles in the bank so far.
commuting on them may be limited though.
but other routes are floating around.

adventures in trailering

adventures in trailering
Originally uploaded by fxdwhl

family run to the farmers market
then palyground afterwards
good day to be out on bikes

up for review

up for review
Originally uploaded by fxdwhl

tied and soldered tubulars. more to follow.

on sunrises and drivetrains...

i’ve been loving the morning light lately. with sunrise right around my departure time, the camera is kept handy to capture the moment. clear and crisp this morn without any of the haze that was ever present earlier this week. scenes like this are only present for mere moments each day and i’m grateful to be able to view them from the saddle.

today the road bike was utilized for transportation to work. after a week plus of low geared fixed spinning, having a whole slew of gears at my disposal felt like a treat. imagine that, push this little lever on the downtube, watch the chain shift to a smaller cog, and i don’t need to spin like a maniac anymore. working the 59” fixed spin does build a good deal of patience as hurrying isn’t possible. it was either mc or kent peterson years ago that said something about ‘making haste slowly’ and it i’ve found it to be true. relax your grip on the bars, think circles, smooth power application, and coax that extra one mph out of the tiny gear.

but today was speed, the pure blissful speed of the variable geared drivetrain. wind and whirring gears echoing in the ears. bringing the horizon closer with every revolution of the wheels.
.

mantis vs. cicada

as seen in the wilds of our backyard.
.

morning mists

morning mists
Originally uploaded by fxdwhl

looking east towards the rising sun
route two twenty two in the foreground
that knob of a little hill in the middle there
my house sits at it's southern base
the mists beyond obscure all of reading
but the top of mt penn
stands tall above the city
remaining visible

august wrap up

august wrap up
Originally uploaded by fxdwhl

orange = ride to work (21 days, 567 miles)
yellow = drive to work (0 days)
blue = dirt or road ride (5 days)
year commute stats = 142 days, 3,834 miles