Three Bikes On and Off the Bubble

I'm up to six bikes now, which is about twice my comfort zone. Of course, this has me thinking and scheming about how to rearrange my bike fleet. I'll explain this through three rides on three different bikes:

1) Last weekend, I took my spare parts build Cross Check for a quick spin to the library. I actually had the CC posted for sale, but I set my price on the high side, perhaps subconsciously knowing I didn't really want to sell it. That, and I'm really enjoying the way it rolls on the supple Racing Ralph tires. Those supple tires, though, didn't help when I couldn't bunny hop over the sharp edge where the road had been ground down, pinch flatting my rear tire (I can't bunny hop worth a darn if I'm not clipped in). I got a little nervous when I opened my tool bag to only find a 26 x 2" tube. Luckily, I also had my patch kit, AND the glue hadn't dried, so I successfully patched the tube and carried on.

With only a mini pump to use, my tire didn't have as much air as I normally like. Finally, I had a legitimate use for the public bike work stand near the rec center. I started to pump, only to realize there was no resistance. Maybe this was why:

I carried on, soft tire and all, and had a nice afternoon ride.

So with my Camargue having a solid grip on the utility duties, the CC and ye Olde Trek are left to duke it out for sporty bike duties.

Night Rider's Lament

OK, so there's really not much "lamenting" in this post, but it was a title of an old Garth Brooks song that has stuck with me...

Friday, the local metro park had a night ride. After a cookout at the neighbor's, I loaded up all three kids to head out. Strangely, Henry didn't want to ride his own bike... I think he was a little nervous about riding at night. So for the first time in a long while, I was pulling all three kids:

Sette Razzo SC Introduction

I've had my Sette Razzo--my first carbon frame--hanging around for some time. Due to commitments in my weekend schedule, work, and the general crapiness of Oury grips, I wasn't able to take it for a good ride until this weekend. But before I get into the ride details, let's take a closer look at my build and the frame:

Coming off my Krampus, my goal for this was to make a lighter version of that: big tires, smooth riding, but light enough to be a realistic single speed. In that respect, I'm pretty happy how it turned out: the wheels are my Velocity Blunts from the Big K, the front tire is the Knard, the rear is a Mission Vee 2.4. I'm impressed that this frame has the clearance for this big tire:

Presenting the B&P Worst Product of the Year Award

How, my reader(s) may ask, can I present a Worst Product of the Year Award when it's only halfway through the year? I can do this because I have found a product so bad, so foul, so hopeless at its simple task, that I am both confident and hopeful that I won't find a worse product in the remainder of the year.


Yes, I'm talking about Oury grips:

New Park and Bar Hopping

Jodi is off with Henry to visit her friend in Virginia (again), so I'm playacting as a single dad for a long weekend with the twins. Tonight after dinner, we headed out to a new playground. I'm not sure if it's an official city park--it's not on the master list--but it's located in a relatively new sub near Glacier Ridge Elementary, so perhaps the official list isn't updated.

Anyway, new playgound, we had to be there and check it out.

It turns out to be a large area with a few small play areas:

Robin Hood and Little John

Last weekend, the Metro Park had an archery activity. While Kate was staying at my parents, the boys and I loaded up and headed out. Back when I bought Henry's 24" bike, it looked quite big on him. Now it fits him nicely:

Part of that is the new bar and stem I put on, and part is that fact that he's grown over an inch since then.

Anyway, we arrive a bit early, so we stopped at the playground:

Velo Orange Camargue Introduction

I've teased a few shots of this in my last few posts, but now it's time to do a proper introduction of my latest city/utility/touring/family/all rounder bike, my new Velo Orange Camargue. I try to avoid buying new, since the depreciation hurts when I inevitably sell the bike, but the VO pushed so many buttons for me that I couldn't wait for that rare XL frame to show up on ebay someday just to save a few bucks.

Besides, I wasn't happy with how the Breezer was doing as a city bike for me.

I'm too fast with my builds (read that as "impatient") to do a drawn out series of unboxing the bike frame, laying out all my shiny new parts, installing the headset, etc. So I'll just cut to the chase and show how my first build came out:

Independence Day Parade

We got home from our trip a day early, which gave us time to finally see Dublin's Fourth of July day parade. After living in Dublin for over a dozen years, this is the first time we've been able to make it to the parade:

The kids were ready to get candy, although we didn't plan well and had to scramble to find bags or things to hold candy:

Iowa Vacation

That title is sure to suck you in, isn't it? We go to Iowa about every other year to visit relatives. Last year, we went to Myrtle Beach, so this year we headed in the opposite direction. Our plan was to visit my Uncle Larry (Mom's brother) and Aunt Shirley in northern Missouri, then head to western Iowa to see my paternal grandmother.

It would have been a smooth trip, except for the tornado.