My wife wanted to go to an estate sale at 47th & Woodland in Shawnee, so I decided to take along the bike and start from there. That gave me a bit of a head start, allowing me to avoid some familiar roads, while spending more time exploring.

The destination was Leavenworth State Fishing Lake, which is located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, near the town of Tonganoxie.

My first challenge was to get over the Kansas River. There are very few bridges in the city that are bicycle-friendly, so choices are limited. I opted for the K-7 bridge. It’s a 4-lane divided road (nearly a freeway), but it has decent shoulders. I’ve ridden it before. It’s not pleasant, but safe enough.

Or would be, under normal conditions.

Unfortunately, there was bridge repair work going on, and it was one lane each way, with minimal shoulders. But I made it across the river without incident.

Once across, my plan was to get off at the first exit and take K-32 Highway. Of course, that exit was closed due to the construction, so I ended up staying on K-7 for another few miles, but there was good shoulder, so not a big problem. I got off the highway at State Avenue, which is a 4-lane rural/suburban arterial road. Not much better than K-7, but traffic was rather light on a Saturday morning, so it worked out.

I stopped by at the National Agriculture Hall of Fame. I’ve been inside, though it’s been a few years ago, but it didn’t look much different from the outside. No one else was around, it appeared.

This sign, in Wyandotte County Park, tells some of the history of Kansas City, Kansas.

And this sign provides information on the Indian tribes that lived here, or were relocated here.

Next stop was Cabela’s, which bills itself as the “World’s Foremost Outfitter”, and is, improbably (at least to me), the top tourist attraction in the state of Kansas. I stopped in to check out some camping gear, but the store is primarily hunting and fishing stuff. No bike rack, naturally.

I rode around Wyandotte County Lake, which I’d never visited before. Very pretty.

This wall (and much of the stonework around the lake) was built in the 1930s by the WPA. Impressive.

The Veteran’s Memorial at the lake focused on the Korean and Vietnam wars. The flowers were a nice touch, though the “Made in China” labels on them seemed ironic.

This is Stranger Creek, northeast of Tonganoxie, as viewed from the Leavenworth Road bridge. The bluffs don’t feel like Kansas at all!

“You’re Beautiful” … indeed!

In Tonganoxie, the old railroad depot has been preserved, but is now for sale.

This mural in downtown Tonganoxie depicts horse-drawn wagons on a muddy main street.

This marker tells the story of Chief Tonganoxie of the Delaware Indians, for whom the town is named.

Heading out of town towards the Leavenworth State Fishing Lake, I encountered this sign. Meant for other types of “bikes”, I imagine, but I’ll take it.

The road leading to the lake was curvy, tree-lined, and very scenic.

I reached a campsite, sat down at a picnic table, and had a bite to eat. While I did so, the rain arrived. It was a nice little shower, but didn’t last long, and was kind of surreal, with bright sunshine filtering through the trees as the rain fell.

Soon, two trucks pulled in to the next campsite over, and several teenage boys started setting up camp. Loud talking about beer and calling friends to join them convinced me to move on and find a quieter place to pitch my tent.

The next camping area down the road proved to be just such a place, so I went ahead and set up the tent.

(The sharp-eyed will notice that this is a different tend than I normally use. This is, in fact, a new tent I’m testing out. The main advantage being a 2.5-pound weight, versus about 6 pounds for my old Eureka. The downside is it’s smaller and less well ventilated. I’ll save further comment until I’ve had a chance to use it for a few more trips…)

Unfortunately, the peace was short-lived.

After it began to get dark, and I had settled into the tent to sleep, a large groups of young boys pulled in and began to deploy their camp. Yelling, screaming, running, fighting ensued.

I thought it was quite rude to show up after dark and make so much noise, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. They had every right to be there. And I didn’t expect a request for quiet would do much good, at least for long. I could envision their raising hell for half the night.

So, amidst much grumbling and no small amount of cursing under my breath, I packed up the tent and left.

At that point, I didn’t know if I’d find anything better, in the dark, but it could hardly be worse. If nothing else, I figured I’d stealth camp if all the formal campgrounds were unacceptable.

But I was in luck. I backtracked to a campground that I’d bypassed earlier, and found it empty.

I found a flat spot, set up my tent, crawled in, and crashed in the blissful silence.

Oh well, at least I got to practice taking down and putting up my tent in the dark, which is always a useful skill…

This was what my campsite ended up looking like the next morning.

And a broader look at the campground in the morning light.

Heck, this was much nicer than either of the two campgrounds I’d tried earlier. Third time was indeed a charm!

On the way home, I stopped at the Delaware Indian Cemetery near Eudora.

I crossed back over the Kansas River at Eudora, where these boaters were working their way through some snags in the low water.

And these soft-shelled turtles were basking on a sandbar in the river.

I made it back home with about 110 miles over two days. Some frustrations, but a good little trip nevertheless!

My destination was Richmond City Lake, about 55 miles southwest of my house. The lake offers free camping, so I wanted to check this out and get some pictures for Kansas Cyclist.

I’d had thoughts of making it a three-day trip, spending the middle day making a loop southwest of Garnett, but my wife wanted me home, so it became a simple overnighter.

In all, it ended up being just over 120 miles. Would have been closer to 55 each way, but I meandered and did some exploring along the way.

Some pics:

This is a former railroad bridge on the Flint Hills Nature Trail, just west of Ottawa. The trail group is still in the process of working on this section of the trail (and indeed, the “finished” part ends just west of this bridge). The bridge is over the Marais des Cygnes River, and there’s a low-water dam just upstream from the bridge, so it’s a rather scenic place.

The bridge is missing railings, but with the smooth and wide concrete deck, it’s not scary to ride over at all.

This is me, leaning against an old building in downtown Richmond, Kansas. Not many services in the little town — a water fountain at the Prairie Spirit Trail trailhead, and a soda machine in front of the gas station. Luckily, I had filled up on food and drink earlier.

This is the view from my campsite at Richmond City Lake. Clouds were gathering, and the air was mostly still, so there was a nice reflection off the water. Beautiful sunset.

Here’s my campsite the following morning. I had originally set up the tent near the fire ring, but impending rain had me reconsidering my choice. I didn’t want to be surrounded by mud, in case it really rained. So I ended up moving the tent onto the (dried) grass.

It rained (or, more accurately, sprinkled) off and on throughout the night, but it never really amounted to much. Still, it was nice falling asleep to the sound of raindrops on the tent fly.

There were a surprising number of people at the lake. Most were fisherman, who ended up leaving my 11pm or so. One vehicle came in late, drove back to my campsite, then turned around and drove out. Saw them shining a spotlight around as they left, so I expect that was a sheriff’s patrol. Good that they check up on the place.

After a bit of breakfast and packing up the tent, I headed east towards the town of Greeley. By the time I reached it, it was raining pretty good, so I pulled off into the local city park and enjoyed a second breakfast of chicken salad on sourdough bread.

This rather creepy clown swingset was in the Greeley city park. Wonder if the little ones have nightmares about that — I thought it kinda had a freaky vibe…

Soon enough the rain let up and I moved on. I came across this unique mailbox made of a mixture of bicycle, motorcycle, hand plow, and who knows what else. Neato.

As soon as I left Greeley, the rain picked up again, but it was still pleasant riding. Very little traffic on a Sunday morning, as I rode east to the town of Parker. The rain let up and the sun came out as I traveled north through Osawatomie, Paola, Hillsdale, and Spring Hill.

It was a great little trip; wish it coulda been longer!

I’d hoped to get away the weekend before, but brutally hot conditions caused my wife to veto that idea (instead, I did a long one-day Beat The Heat ride). But with temperatures moderating slightly (mid-90′s°F instead of 100+°F), I decided to go for it. And good thing I did, because after I got back, the temps have shot right back above the century mark…

(Warning: This is gonna be a rather long post! So settle in for a few words and many photos…)

Here’s a rough map of my route:

I’m showing the route beginning and ending at the high school in Spring Hill, Kansas. I actually started at my house, but in an effort to maintain a bit of privacy, I fudged the start/end point.

I had several purposes for the trip. Mostly, I just wanted to tour. But this also gave me a chance to check out and get photos of some campsites (and potential campsites) for the bike camping directory at Kansas Cyclist. I also wanted to check out the Gunn Park Trails in Fort Scott, and test out the strange Fort Scott Bicycle Registration Ordinance.

Day #1 – Home to Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area

Here’s the loaded bike prior to launch. Pretty much my normal touring setup. A few minor differences:

• I have a new warm-weather sleeping bag, an REI Travel Sack. It’s rated for 55°F, so should be perfect for summer. Plus it’s about half the weight and size as my old sleeping bag.
• Knowing I might be in remote areas, I brought an extra water container, a 64-ounce bottle that formerly held cranberry juice. That, plus two 21-ounce insulated bottles and a non-insulated bottle, should be enough.
• I brought along a soft-sided cooler, in which I can keep food or water semi-cool. That goes in one of the panniers.

I rode east, then mostly south, detouring to Drexel and then to Amsterdam for supplies.

Empty coal cars after feeding the beast …

… the La Cygne Power Plant. Looks like they’re adding on. The new tower is different than the older one’s so not sure what’s it’s purpose is.

This dried grass was an amazing color, but sure did produce an abundance of hay!

Across the road from the hay field was this unmown field, and some slightly hillier country.

The heat, which had been pretty mellow in the morning, was beginning to close in by mid-afternoon. I was glad I had taken the detour to Amsterdam to fill up on extra fluids. I thought I had one more opportunity before my campsite, but I wasn’t 100% sure it’d be open, or have water.

But I needn’t have feared. The rest area along US-69 highway, near the town of Trading Post, has water, restrooms, and vending machines. I filled up all my water and jugs, and headed on to my campsite in the Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area.

I hadn’t realized how beautiful it was along the Marais des Cygnes River. Lots of fish swimming in the river — bass, carp, gar, some I couldn’t identify — made me wish I’d brought my fishing gear (not the last time I’d wish that).

This is where I camped along the river. There are just a few “designated campsites” on the Wildlife area. This happened to be the first I came to, and it looked nice, so I stopped and set up camp. No services (water or electricity or toilets), just this picnic table and fire ring, but no traffic, either. I was here for around 12 hours, and only one truck came by. I could hear the highway (about 1 mile away), but just barely. I hardly needed the fire, but it’s somehow comforting nonetheless.

This turned out to be the best campsite on the whole trip!

Day #1 total: 72 miles

Day #2 – Marais des Cygnes Wildlife Area to Fort Scott

First stop was Pleasanton, where I grabbed some food and drink, and checked out the Linn County Museum, which was unfortunately closed. However, the city park had a restored train depot, moved from the nearby town of Goodrich. Just seemed to be an empty shell, though.

Heading south, my next stop was the Mine Creek Battlefield State Historic Site. I’ve been in the museum before, so I didn’t go there, but instead went to this former roadside park, now mostly grown up in weeds, though there’s an informational kiosk, and a trail (pedestrian only, no bikes allowed ) that leads to part of the creek itself.

Continuing south, I found some nice rollers.

The next town was Prescott, which had two beautiful old schoolhouses. This one, which was originally the Prescott Rural High School, and then was Prescott Elementary, and is now Prescott City Hall, was built in 1924, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Walking inside, you find most of the original interior intact, and maintained. The old gymnasium, old lockers, schoolrooms, restrooms … it’s like stepping back in time. The high school closed in 1972, and the elementary school in 2006.

Small-town schools are often sad places, so much of the heart of a town dies when a school closes and kids are bused off to bigger towns. But this one still serves a useful and important purpose for the town, so it’s better off than most.

The nearby Prescott School is another one that’s been saved, and repurposed. Built in 1883, and holding classes until 1972, it now serves as the Public Library. It was closed when I was there, so I didn’t get a look inside. It is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

After Prescott, I crossed over US-69 Highway. At this point in time, 69 is essentially a freeway. It doesn’t carry all that much traffic, but speed limits are 75 MPH. Bikes are not prohibited, but I’d certainly prefer not to ride there. Not that it would be unsafe, but Lord, would it be boring. “Old Highway 69″ is what I followed instead.

An aside: In Prescott, I was talking with someone, and they said that when the highway moved away (it originally ran through the middle of town), it “pretty much killed Prescott”. I wonder, when KDOT plans highway “improvements”, whether they take into account the negative effect their superhighways have on the cities they once connected, and now bypass … I doubt those “costs” are part of the calculations.

This is the Fulton Bridge, located just north of Fulton, Kansas, on Old 69. It was built in 1927, and as you can see, is not in the greatest of shape. But it’s a beautiful old structure.

This is the old school in Fulton, built in 1917. The gymnasium in the rear was built in 1936. The school and gym are signed as a community center, but are run-down, and don’t appear to actually be used any more.

This is the former St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Fulton, long boarded up, apparently.

I get the feeling that Fulton was once a larger and more prosperous town than Prescott, but that’s no longer the case. There’s not much in Prescott, but Fulton has nothing. A few houses, but almost no businesses, and its historical structures appear to be largely neglected and falling into ruin. It’s a depressing place (though interesting).

Near Fulton, I came across this goat running free, crying and trying to get back inside this fence. I opened the gate and tried to round it up, but it ran away, and refused to be herded. I eventually gave up and moved along.

A few miles later, this: Billy Goat’s Revenge, a goathead thorn in my rear tire.

Since the flat occurred at this lovely locale, I opted to leave the thorn in place and move to a location with more shade and better ambiance.

I ultimately rode all the way to Fort Scott, pumping the tire up several times. When I finally found a nice shade tree to fix the flat, it turned into two punctures (and two other smaller ones that held until I got home three days later). Dang goatheads…

Bourbon County has a small population of Amish residents, so I couldn’t resist this “Share The Road” sign.

I find it odd that on Share The Road signs, whether for horse and buggy or for bicycles, the vehicle is shown alone, without a person depicted driving it. Do these signs dehumanize and depersonalize interactions between motor vehicles and non-motorized vehicles?

This was my campsite for the night, in Fort Scott’s Gunn Park. It was a nice enough campsite, but the light pollution and noise pollution form passing traffic was a bit bothersome.

I had a good time exploring Fort Scott. The town reminds be very much of my hometown of Lexington, Missouri — a rich history, old victorian homes, a river town, lots of antique stores.

As part of my adventures, I registered my bicycle at the police station (learn about Fort Scott’s Bicycle Registration Law), and had fun Riding The Gunn Park Trails.

Day #2 total: 71 miles

Day #3 – Fort Scott to Bronson

At the Fort Scott National Cemetery. Beautiful and solemn.

Fort Scott Middle School is another beautiful old school that has lived past its educational usefulness, apparently. It now privately owned, with plans to turn it into a community recreation center.

At Rock Creek Lake near Fort Scott. Some nice free campsites here! I missed the waterfall, unfortunately.

Wild plums! I picked a handful, and munched on them throughout the day. These were the only ones I noticed on my entire trip.

This road leading to the Hollister Wildlife Area was rough. A few miles later, I noticed my front wheel was shimmying, and found that the front skewer had somehow opened up, and the front hub had started to loosen up. Hand-tightened it, and it held up OK for the rest of the trip.

The city park in Redfield, Kansas was a life-saver. When I reached it, all my water was warm and unappealing. This park had a working water hydrant, and shade, and was most appreciated!

The old bank in Redfield has apparently become a youth center: “You Can Bank On God”.

The Redfield grade school has also been repurposed, and now houses Bandera Stone, a stonemason and stonecutter shop (this entrance is obviously unused).

Seeing this made me wonder just how much Bourbon the tower would hold, and what it might be worth. No clue, but something to ponder as the heat of the day closed in, and I kept on pumping the pedals.

Old US-54 Highway runs a few miles south of the new US-54. It’s now called Maple Road, and turned out to be one of my favorite stretches on the entire trip.

The section from Uniontown to Bronson is hilly and winding, with a deteriorating road surface — all things that keep the high-speed automobile traffic away, and makes it a genuine pleasure on a bike.

I took a bunch of pictures, but none of them really conveyed the feel of this road. This one came closest. Just glorious riding!

Midway through this amazing stretch of road, I came across this marker. It says, I assume, that this road was built in 1922 as part of Federal Aid Project Number 33. I tried looking this up online, but didn’t turn up much information. The opposite side of the marker is identical, except it says “Sect. C”. The original building of Highway 54, I guess!

Once through the hilliest part of the route, the road runs along a ridge, with great views of the surrounding country. Again, none of my photos really captured the feeling of this road, but this hay field turned out kind of nice.

This mural was next to a business called the “Bronson Locker”. It wasn’t open, but was a butcher, I think.

My intention had been to head south from Bronson, and camp at the Bourbon State Fishing Lake, but it was getting a little late, and I wasn’t quite sure how far it was, and I was thinking that it might be a good idea to shorten tomorrow’s ride (since the lake was in the wrong direction), so I checked out the city park, found it to be nice, then inquired at the library (the only thing still open in town) about whether camping in the park was allowed. The librarian said that there was no ordinance against it, so I could if I wanted.

So after a grand tour of the small town, which didn’t take long, I settled in at the picnic shelter at the park.

This Civil War Memorial statue is located in Bronson City Park. The sign reads “In Memory Of The Heroes Of ’61 – ’65. May The Deeds Of Valor Of Them And Their Comrades Forever Inspire Love Of Liberty And Country.”

No one else was enjoying the park when I got there, but as the sun dipped low and the temperatures moderated, people began arriving, kids mostly, to frolic in the playground. I determined that I would wait until the people left before setting up the tent.

It took awhile. There was one group of teenage boys and girls who, I swear, swung on the swingsets for well over an hour. I couldn’t figure out what was so fascinating, but they were having a grand old time. Suppose it’s a far better way to pass the time than some teenage alternatives…

Eventually, everyone left the park as it got dark, and I set up the tent in an out-of-the-way corner. There were automatic lights in the park, which I figured would burn all night, so I tried to selected the darkest area.

I was a little nervous, sleeping alone in a public place like that, but no one bothered me. I set up the tent, and covered it with the rain fly for extra privacy, even though that severely restricted the airflow (it was sweltering in there). I otherwise did a minimum amount of unpacking, just in case police or whomever came along and told me I needed to leave. I even locked up the bike to the tent.

The night turned out to be peaceful, except for the fellow in one of the houses across the way, who sounded jealous when his wife/girl came home at 1:30am. He accused her of all manner of behavior, then bellowed “I know every sonofabitch in this town!” before driving off with tires squealing. Well, no, but I didn’t feel the need to speak up…

I got up soon after dawn, packed up, and slipped out of town as soon as I could get away. Here’s what my camp looked like just before I packed up the tent:

That was my first time “sort of” stealth-camping in a public place. I’d read about other touring cyclists doing this, and it sounded like a neat idea, but it was sort of nerve-wracking.

I think that a different configuration — the park on the edge of town, rather than surrounded by houses in a residential part of town — it’d be a much more comfortable experience.

Still, it worked out, and I appreciate Bronson’s hospitality!

Day #3 total: 62 miles

Day #4 – Bronson to La Cygne

My first stop was the town of Moran, where I got a bit of breakfast before heading north on US-59 highway, a 2-lane road with narrow shoulders, but traffic was light, and what there was of it was not impatient, so it was easy pedaling.

I checked out the former town of Bayard, but nothing left there except a couple houses and a few old building. One was a schoolhouse, and one might have been an old feed store, but it was hard to say, because there wasn’t much left.

I’m not sure what this structure was — a house? a school? a church? — but it had some really interesting walls. Is this formed concrete blocks? Whatever, the walls appeared extremely sturdy, while the roof had collapsed.

Flowers line a road near Bayard, Kansas.

Mildred is an actual ghost town — at its peak it had a population of about 2,000, but when the Great Western Portland Cement Company closed down, the population all but disappeared. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 28. This business — Charlie Brown’s Market — remains, as do a few run-down houses all but hidden behind weeds and junk, but not much else.

According to Danniel Fitzgerald: “When the depression years hit, the plant closed down. Much of the plant was dynamited, and left to rot. The town went dramatically downhill to its present near ghost town status. The town is interesting enough, but the plant is unbelievable. You can still visit the cement plant today. Buildings sit in enormous underbrush and growth just north of the town. They look like ruins from some Aztec civilization. One building after another rises in the underbrush. Out on the highway that runs next to Mildred is one left-over cement grain elevator that is a direct descendent of the plant. Be careful!! The plant, while unbelievably large and a photographer’s dream, also contains dynamite holes in the concrete that force severe drop-offs with no warning. Just watch your step and spider webs and you will be okay.” Daniel, author of a number of “Ghost Towns of Kansas” books, lists Mildred as #2 on his Top Ten Ghost Towns of Kansas list.

Unfortunately, I only found this out after I got back home, so did not attempt to explore this old plant…

This is the old school in Kincaid: “Rural High School Dist. 2 B”. Another lovely old building that has been maintained and repurposed (as city offices, I believe).

Otherwise, Kincaid was rather sad, though. It has a bank, a cafe (with limited hours), and not much else. It had a city park, but it looked rundown and unmaintained, so I didn’t bother asking if it was permissible to camp there. Many towns seem so poor, I think it would be in poor taste to expect them to maintain a public space for the occasional traveler, when they’re barely staying alive as it is…

The old school in Blue Mound is different, at least visually. The native stone and whitewashed concrete give it a distinctive look. It’s labeled as both a high school and elementary school, but appears to be unused.

I found this sidewalk near Blue Mound interesting. It runs for about 1/2 mile along a rural road, from the town to a cemetery. It’s obviously fallen into disrepair, but must have been quite an investment for a small town to make, back in the day, solely for the purpose of allowing townspeople to visit a graveyard.

Blue Mound strikes me as another place that was more prosperous, once upon a time. I went back and looked at some old maps, and there were once two railroad lines running through town, and two train depots. Now there are none of either.

But the town still boasts quite a few businesses on its old main street. I lunched at the Feed Lot Cafe, and it was packed with locals, discussing farming, mostly.

I had intended to visit the town of Mapleton next, but road construction caused me to detour, and I ended up coming across this road. It wasn’t marked as a “minimum maintenance road”, but that’s how it looked, so I had to give it a go, naturally.

It turned out to be my favorite road on the entire trip. It ran for about two miles, right on the border between Bourbon and Linn Counties. It was rough, rocky, and steep enough to make me walk the bike both uphill and down. Damn, it was fine.

Just south of Mound City, I came across this — one of those cute/clever/creepy/crazy things that are pure Kansas…

The Linn County Courthouse in Mound City is a pretty impressive structure — built in 1886, it is the second-oldest courthouse still in use in the State of Kansas (after Cottonwood Falls, I believe), and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I’ve ridden past several times, but need to actually go inside and check it out one of these days…

As I rode north towards my destination in La Cygne, this dog started following me. It didn’t bark, and was very friendly, but just followed for several miles, even on a very hot day. No wonder it was able to keep up so easily — it had mastered the “running on air” technique. I eventually left it behind on a long downhill.

As I got closer to La Cygne, the road was wet in places. I’d apparently missed a short downpour. This photo shows a haze of steam rising over a field of soybeans. It was still very hot, and sunny, so what little moisture fell from the sky evaporated pretty quickly.

This was my campsite in La Cygne City Park, very peaceful and quiet (once the R/C airplane enthusiasts finished making noise). The RV and I were the only two campers.

Day #4 total: 85 miles

Day #5 – La Cygne to Home

Riding home from La Cygne, I was on familiar roads, so few pictures…

This is the Smith Ranch, a large spread along Somerset Road, with uncommonly nice fences.

I’ve been on this minimum maintenance road before, so it wasn’t a surprise, but still a pleasure.

My favorite one-room schoolhouse, in rural Miami County. So tiny!

These grains bins and I seem to be sharing the same red while & blue theme.

Vickers School, near Paola. 1869-1966. Not sure what it’s used for today.

Day #5 total: 46 miles

Grand total: 336 miles, at a 10.36 MPH average pace.

Not sure how I managed to ride so slowly. Didn’t really feel like I was that slow. I did make a lot of stops to explore, and did take a lot of breaks on account of the heat. And I did ride some trails and off-road sections, and had to push the bike a bit. Maybe that explains it. Oh well.

This was my first real self-contained, unsupported solo tour. And I loved it!

I was definitely tired and heat-fatigued by the time I got home (and a real shower felt so good!), but I enjoyed every day and every mile.

I especially enjoyed exploring all the small towns. Their plight is mostly sad — so much lost, so much waste, so much short-sightedness — but it’s oh so interesting to find out their history, and try to visualize what they were like in their heydays.

Can’t wait to get out and do it again! (Hopefully in slightly more comfortable temperatures.)

It had been a rather long time since I’d ridden long — since March 31st, to be exact — so last weekend’s triple-digit meltdown was a bit of a struggle.

I’d ridden every day in April (594 miles), every day in May (554 miles), but the streak was broken in mid-June when I contracted some sort of virus that laid me up for most of a week, and I only had a bit over 300 miles for the month, an no single ride over 45 miles.

Still, I was itching for a long ride, and this one, despite the brutal heat, turned out to be a fun and memorable excursion.

I got an early start, rolling out at 4:30 in the morning. The temperature was already 80°F at that point, but the wind was gentle, and the nearly traffic-less roads were a delight.

The forecast called for south or south-westerly winds up to about 20 MPH, and a forecast high of over 100. So I decided to do a cross-wind ride. At those temps, a true tailwind can feel like no wind at all, in terms of the heat. A cross-wind at least gives you a nearly constant breeze. Or at least that was my theory…

Daylight found me nearing Douglas State Fishing Lake, a picturesque little lake near Baldwin City, Kansas. I had lugged my tent along, because I wanted to get some photos at the lake, for a project I’m thinking about taking on. So I took some time there to set up the tent and get some shots.

I then continued west to Lone Star Lake, and further west still to the town of Overbrook, then back home via Centropolis, Baldwin City, Edgerton, and Gardner.

Shortly after sunrise at Douglas State Fishing Lake.

At Douglas State Fishing Lake. I was riding the Long Haul Trucker, with one pannier (loaded up with extra water in a cooler), plus a tent strapped to the rear rack.

A bevy of buzzards (er, Turkey Vultures) awaited me on the Douglas State Fishing Lake dam. They would not have me this day!

A nice little campsite at Douglas State Fishing Lake, right on the water, with a big old cottonwood. I need to come back here and actually camp out sometime!

This is an excellent stealth campsite behind an abandoned rural church — shielded from the nearby road, nice grass, quiet neighbors, and even an outhouse!

A look at the interior of the church — clean, but not maintained, looks like it seldom gets used for anything. Too bad.

My next stop was Lone Star Lake, where I checked out another campsite. This is a view from the dam, with Wild Lettuce in the foreground.

Heading south from Lone Star Lake on Douglas County 550, this is one of my favorite stretches of road. I had been here once before, on a May 2010 century ride, and took a similar photo.

After 550 Road, I missed a turn, and ended up on US-56 Highway for a half-dozen or so miles. Not my favorite type of road — two-lane, 60 MPH speed limit, no shoulder — but traffic was pretty light, and motorists were considerate. I took to the ditch once, to let a semi truck and some cars pass going up a hill, but that was more out of consideration than necessity; I didn’t want anyone getting antsy and trying to make a stupid pass attempt.

The wind, by this point, had picked up, as had the heat, and it turned into a bit of a slog.

I was happy enough to take a little break when I came across this sign and monument marking the Santa Fe Trail.

And stopped again for this great old barn, built in 1911.

Finally, I reached Overbrook (which I did not overlook), and was very happy to find a c-store with an ice cream machine — the twist cone hit the spot, and they let me fill up on ice and water.

On the southeast side of town I decided to check out the Landon Nature Trail. Frankly, I hadn’t expected to find it rideable, but was very pleased to not only find it open, but quite nice in places. The tree cover was certainly welcomed!

Other sections were less pleasant, with big chunky rocks that made passage difficult.

The trail had only been cleared for about 0.8 miles, but it’s good to see progress! Eventually, it will stretch from Topeka to the Flint Hills Nature Trail near Pomona Lake.

Heading homeward in the heat of the day (and with a slight tailwind), I took frequent breaks. This allowed me to notice scenes like this, with cattle taking cover in the shade of a shed (smarter than me), and Ironweed covering part of the pasture.

The signage at this intersection confused me. They put up these “Dangerous Intersection” signs rather than “Stop” or “Yield” signs. Presumably the signs make the intersection less dangerous. But if that’s true, then the signs are inaccurate. But if the signs don’t improve the safety, then they serve no purpose, and shouldn’t be there. So they seem to be superfluous in either case.

This bit of circular illogic occupied my mind for many miles…

Stone fence, brown pasture, green roadside. Not sure why the pasture appears to dry, while the roadside does not. Just different plants, I guess.

Another view of the grasslands, rippling in the wind.

And another very dry pasture, though the Compass Plants seem to be thriving.

Another very dry grassy field. Not sure why, but these types of scenes resonate with me somehow, beautiful yet stark, lush yet desolate, lonely yet inviting.

In the heat of the sun, my cyclocomputer blacked out. But it barely mattered; speed wasn’t an issue, and the miles weren’t either.

On this day, I wore a Columbia PFG “Omnishade” shirt that I picked up on clearance last year on our trip to California. It’s supposed to have, in effect, built-in sunscreen in the fabric, equivalent to SPF-40 or so, which couldn’t hurt on a blistering day like this one.

Even better, it’s loose-fitting, and vented in the back. As long as I keep moving, there’s a nice airflow over my upper body, which makes it much easier to keep cool even in 100+ degree heat. I would have preferred a lighter color, rather than this dark blue, but it worked.

The bank thermometer in Baldwin City read 107°F, which I suspect is rather higher than it actually was, but it was certainly hot enough.

I ended up back home at nearly 7:30 — 15 hours after I’d begun. The odometer read 115.9 miles, with nearly 10 hours of pedaling time, for an 11.6 MPH average speed.

That’s my slowest century ever, by quite a large margin, as well as my longest day on the bike.

But I’m quite happy with it. I was hot, but never felt in danger. I pulled out all my tricks — a cooling towel around the neck, a headband re-wetted every 15 minutes or so, water and Gatorade kept in reserve in a soft-sided cooler inside a pannier (which worked quite well), frequent breaks, loose-fitting clothing. It all worked well.

Physically, I was pretty good. I’d expected the legs to be sore, but they really weren’t too bad. I had a nasty bit of saddle chafing on one side that was causing discomfort, and my hands and neck were getting sore, but nothing was too bad. Still, I was glad to be done.

I went through countless bottles of water, and was fortunate to have c-stores at frequent enough intervals to re-supply on the road. I also stopped and refilled my water at a rural church that had an outdoor spigot.

I went through 2 bottles of Gatorade, 2 cans of soda, a V-8, 2 ice cream cones, a Clif bar, a turkey sandwich, some gummy worms, and some red licorice. Not exactly health food, but it worked.

I loved the land west of Baldwin City. I’ve ridden through there a few times, but seldom enough that it still feels fresh and new, with surprises and delights galore.

A memorable century!

The bike was a 1988 Giant RS930. This was apparently one of the first years that Giant had their own line of bikes in America (previous to that, they’d primarily made bikes that were sold as Schwinns).

It’s a lugged steel frame. A decal on the frame says “4130 CrMo Main Tubes”. “4130 CrMo” refers to chromium-molybdenum (AKA chromoly), a steel alloy used in higher-quality frames. By “main tubes”, I presume that means that the top tube, seat tube, and down tube are 4130, while the other tubes (chain stays, seat stays, head tube, and fork) are something else, probably high-tensile carbon steel.

As such, the RS930 should be somewhat lighter than the Puch Cavette II frame, which is made of “Special Puch 482 Tubing”, which is, I believe, basically high-tensile carbon steel.

In addition to the differences in frame material, the Giant has 700C wheels (compared to the Puch’s 27″ wheels), downtube rather than stem-mount shifters, a 6-speed freewheel rather than 5-speed, and a shorter chainstay, for a slightly more “road-ish” geometry, compared to the Puch’s “sport-touring” geometry.

Here are a couple shots of the bike as a whole:

I’m not sure if you can see it in the pictures, and it’s sometimes difficult to discern even in real life, but the paint color is not black, but a deep, deep purple. I don’t really care for the color, but otherwise it’s a nice-looking machine. Clean, classic lines. Very simple.

Here are some detail shots of the components (this is provided mostly as a reference for others who may be researching the Giant RS930):

This is the “4130 CrMo Main Tubes” label.

A look at the top tube, showing the brazed-on cable guides. There’s pump peg on the head tube beneath the top tube. The rear of the pump (this is my Park Tool frame pump) is held by a plastic clamp-on Zefal pump peg.

Here’s the seat tube area, where the seat tube, top tube, and seat stays meet. The lugs are clean and simple and functional, but not especially attractive.

A close-up of the seat tube clamp and seat stay welds.

A close-up of the head tube top lug, headset, and base of the stem.

Head tube bottom lug.

The Giant head badge, showing the date code “1488″ (14th week of 1988).

Detail of the front brake, a Pro-Star 500. Don’t know much about this brake, but it seems pretty generic. The quick-release wouldn’t move, and I didn’t want to force it. The brakes worked well, though.

Profile shot of the handlebars, head tube, stem, etc.

The handlebar was marked as “Champion”, no model number that I could see. I was a bit surprised that it was a steel bar, rather than aluminum.

The brake levers were unmarked. The hoods were “A’ME”. They were fairly comfortable.

The bike included a Cateye Enduro CC-ST250 cyclocomputer. It wasn’t working, but just needed a fresh battery, I assume.

The shifters were mounted on the downtube, and were SunTour brand that worked in either indexed or friction mode. I switched ‘em over to friction, and they shifted quite well. This is the first bike I’ve ridden with downtube shifters. There’s definitely an acclimation period, but they worked fine once I got use to them.

The seat tube was an odd touch. I always associated this saddle clamp style with lower-end el-crapo bikes, but I guess it works…

The saddle was a TFI (Terry) Liberator, with a large center cutout. I think that might be real leather. It was perhaps too soft for my liking, but reasonably comfortable, at least on short rides.

This photo shows the bottom bracket area, with plastic cable guides. The rear tire was a 26mm; looks like it might work with up to a 32mm tire (28mm with fenders).

The crank arms and chain rings (52/42) from the front and back. Not sure what the cranks were. The dustcaps read “Sugino”.

The front derailleur was a SunTour, but was otherwise unlabeled. It appears to match the rear derailleur in styling, though.

The rear derailleur is a SunTour α (alpha) 3040 Accushift. I believe this was the 2nd generation of SunTour’s indexed shifting system. It worked fine.

A look at the rear freewheel gear cluster. I believe the sprockets were 13-15-17-20-24-28, for a gear-inch range of 40 to 105 inches. Not particularly wide, but plenty for the roads I took it on.

Here’s the quick-release on the rear wheel. The drop-outs (front and rear) are forged, not stamped. They’re not the highest quality, but pretty good.

This is the rear brake, another Pro-Star 500. This QR worked fine, as did the brakes themselves.

This is a look at the underside of the fork crown — solid if unspectacular. Plenty of tire and fender clearance here.

The Joytech brand quick-release on the front wheel.

The Joytech front hub (and rear as well), seemed to be of very good quality. Again showing the “88″ date code.

The rims were Araya 700C. Plain, but decent quality, as I understand.

The tires were apparently pretty old. I suffered two flats on the front tire. The first time I took the bike on gravel, a rock pierced the sidewall. I booted it and patched the tube, and it held, but that was disconcerting. The second time was a snakebite after I hit a pothole. Again, I patched the tube and it held. The front tire was a 25mm width, and I think that’s probably just too narrow for my riding style. The ride was harsher than I prefer, and I don’t want to have to worry about the fragility of the tires, no matter whether I ride on pavement, gravel, or worse. I suspect that new, wider tires would solve that problem easily enough.

On the rear, I had one flat. I went to air it up, and the pump got stuck on the valve stem, and tore it right out of the rim. Just a very old tube, I expect. Replaced it, and went on, with no further issues.

Conclusion

After my Puch was repaired, I ended up taking the Giant back and leaving it.

It definitely had a more active and responsive feel to the ride, which is what I was looking for. The ride was rather harsh, but I attribute that mostly to the narrow, high-pressure tires. The styling was clean, but uninspiring. The bike felt kind of generic.

Performance-wise, I rode it on the same “time trial” course I took the LHT and Puch on. It came in at 14:27 — basically the same time as the Puch. So no real advantage there, at least on this one short test.

Weight-wise, the Giant ended up being about 3 pounds lighter than the Puch Cavette II. With pump and seatbag, the Puch was at 32.4 pounds, and the Giant was at 29.4 pounds. Lighter, but not as big of a difference as I’d hoped for (with better tubing and lighter wheels and tires).

In the end, I decided that I liked the bike, but didn’t love it.

The Puch is definitely prettier, and has a better pedigree (or at least a heritage that appeals to me more). The Giant is “OK”. I’m sure I could ride it and be happy with it, but I didn’t find it very inspiring.

If I were giving the bikes a score, I’d rate the Puch Cavette II at 5/10, and the Giant RS930 a 6/10. Better, but is it worth switching for?

So I guess I’ll keep looking for that “next step” upgrade bike. I want something as beautiful as the Puch, but better performance, and higher quality and more elegant aesthetics than the Giant.

Today is day #21 of the 2012 30 Days Of Biking challenge, and for this edition, rather than trying to find one image that summarizes the day, I’ll bring you along on a long meandering type ride I call a “ramble”.

This ride ended up being 74 miles, starting at my home in rural Johnson County, Kansas, and heading south into Miami County, on a mixture of paved roads, gravel roads, and minimum-maintenance roads.

This is typically the type of post I’d normally put here on DirtBum, but I wanted to share this type of riding with a slightly wider audience, so I made it one of my “30 Days” entries.

My hope was that it would open people’s minds to the possibilities, and help them realize that biking is not limited to paved roads, and there’s adventure to be found everywhere along the way.

Lots of pics!

I’ve been struggling with a feeling that my Long Haul Trucker is more sluggish than it should be.

I know that it’s a touring bike, and I shouldn’t expect it to be “fast”. But when I came home in December, after riding the Dahon folding bike for a month, and rode the LHT for the first time, it felt like I was pedaling through mud. I actually took some things apart to see if there was something binding, rubbing, or not turning smoothly, but I found nothing wrong.

Eventually, I got used to it again, and it felt mostly “normal”.

But in addition, I’ve been riding the Puch bike a lot this year, and it always feels more lively than the LHT. My speeds are not always significantly higher, but it feels faster. And given that the two bikes share very similar, almost identical, geometries (see this photo), other than 26″ vs 27″ wheels … it’s had me feeling confused, and conflicted.

So I ran a little test. A short time trial, 4.2 miles (around the “block” in my neighborhood), two miles gravel road, and two miles paved. All right hand turns, so no physical need to stop unless traffic threatens. It makes a reasonable test course. Since it’s a square, any wind pretty much evens out between headwind, tailwind, and crosswinds. All runs at similar perceived effort.

My question was: How much of a difference do tires make?

Here are the tires I tested with:

1. CST Ciudad, 26″ x 1.50″ (40-559), rated 45-65 PSI, inflated to 55 PSI, weight 510 grams.
2. Specialized Fatboy, 26″ x 1.25″ (32-559), rated 100 PSI, inflated to 80 PSI, weight 363 grams.
3. Continental Double Fighter II, 26″ x 1.90″ (50-559), rated 65 PSI, inflated to 55 PSI, weight 705 grams.
4. Serfas Vermin, 26″ x 1.95″ (53-559), rated 40-65 PSI, inflated to 55 PSI, weight 733 grams.

Left-to-right: CST Ciudad, Specialized Fatboy, Continental Double Fighter II, Serfas Vermin.

Here are the results:

1. CST Ciudad: 16:32 = 15.24 MPH
2. Specialized Fatboy: 15:44 = 16.02 MPH
3. Continental Double Fighter II: 15:41 = 16.07 MPH
4. Serfas Vermin: 15:57 = 15.80 MPH

I each case, I changed only the front tire. The rear tire was a CST Ciudad, 26″ x 1.50″ at about 60 PSI.

Here’s the LHT setup:

The LHT was set up as I normally ride it: fenders, rear rack, panniers, handlebar bag, bento bag. The weight was about 35 pounds.

And, just for comparison’s sake, I also rode the loop with the Puch, on CST “Super HP” tires, 27″ x 1-1/4″ (32-660), specified for 80 PSI, inflated to 55 PSI. Setup comparably to the LHT, with rear rack, small panniers. Weight about 36 pounds. Result: 14:35 = 17.28 MPH.

For sure, I probably need to run this test several more times to get a better average, perhaps on different courses. But, can any conclusions be drawn from this first run?

I expected the Fatboy to be fastest (it’s the lightest, skinniest, smoothest, and highest pressure). I expected the fatter tires to be slower, but more comfortable.

Yet the Specialized and Continental tires turned out to be basically the same, speed-wise, followed closely by the Serfas. The CST Ciudad was much slower. Is that due to tire quality (the CST is pretty cheap, about $13, as I recall)?

The fatter tires were definitely more comfortable, but the Fatboy wasn’t bad (though it felt less stable in loose gravel). On an all-paved course, I expect the Fatboy would have come out ahead. On an all-gravel course, the Continental or Serfas would have been tops.

I bought the CST Ciudad because I thought it struck a good balance between smooth and fat, with just enough tread to be safer than the completely-bald Fatboy on gravel. I’ve found it comfortably enough in mixed-surface riding, and I love the reflective sidewall, but it’s a bit of a slug, speed-wise, apparently.

And yet, a cheap ($7!) CST Super HP tire on the Puch whipped ‘em all by a significant margin.

Whether that’s due to the tire, to the bike, or to the wheel size, I don’t know. Maybe a better-quality tire would make even more of a difference?

So I guess this does verify my impression of the Puch feeling faster (and being faster). But I’m still not sure why that is…

And it’s also a fact that I rode 129 miles on March 31st to take part in the Kansas State Parks “Open House” day, in which all state park entry fees were waived, including the $3.50 daily use fee for the Prairie Spirit Trail.

And while it may not be 100% accurate to say that I rode 129 miles for the express purpose of saving that $3.50 entry fee, I can definitely say that the savings was a good excuse for a long bike ride.

As is the case for a lot of my rides, not a lot of planning went into this ride. Once news of the state park open house broke, early in the week, the Miami County Velo Cycling Club (MicoVelo) announced that they were putting together a ride on the trail. Their plan was to meet up at Princeton, and ride to Garnett and back on the trail, for a total of about 30 miles.

That wasn’t enough for me, of course, plus I didn’t want to drive, so I mapped out the route from my house, which turned out to be about 200K. Doable.

I vacillated a bit on bike choice. I initially chose the Puch, but in the end decided to ride the Long Haul Trucker. I’d already done one 200K this year on the Puch, and fresh off the prior weekend’s 74-Mile Grocery Run, I wanted to do another long one on the Trucker.

In an effort to streamline the bike as much as possible, I stripped the rear rack off the LHT, took off the handlebar bag, switched to a less-weighty tail light, and minimized the contents of my seat bag. That got me down to about 33 pounds. That was as good as it was going to get.

The temperature was mild — in the mid 50′s range to start, with highs predicted in the 80′s — so I elected to go with shorts, a short-sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wool socks, and sandals. Those choices turned out to be perfect.

I set off at about 6am, giving me plenty of time to dawdle in the 40 miles to Princeton. I had about an hour of darkness before dawn, and the Lezyne Power Drive once again worked perfectly, with plenty of light for gravel roads, even at its lowest setting.

My route took me through Wellsville, west on Shawnee Road through Le Loup, north on Montana Road, to Ottawa. From there I hopped on the trail and took that to Princeton, met up with the group, rode to Garnett and back, then headed cross-country through Osawatomie, Paola, Hillsdale, and Spring Hill.

On the cusp of dawn, near Hillsdale Lake.

Shortly after dawn, near the town of Le Loup, I came across another cyclist riding in the opposite direction. We both waved, but neither of us slowed. Turns out that was another bike blogger, Bill Penland from Ottawa, who wrote about his ride at New Vistas (Images From a Kansas Morning Ride):

It was very gratifying to see a few cyclists out this morning. Close to my turnaround point in the middle of nowhere, I passed a cyclist headed the other way, whose gear bespoke a “dedicated” cyclist (such as I’m evolving into).

That “dedicated” cyclist was me, I expect. Sorry I didn’t take the time to stop and talk with you, Bill!

No payment required on this day!

I saw many different types of trail users in Ottawa, including this old cowboy on a Hoveround, an old farmer in overalls with a cane, and numerous walkers and runners. No cyclists.

Just outside of town I came across a man pushing a woman in a wheelchair. They were hunting for mushrooms, and had already found a few.

Trailside Flowers.

Some of the fields along the trail had recently been burned, and fresh green grass was beginning to peek through the blackened earth. The burning is a Spring ritual in many places in Kansas — it kills off invasive weeds and brush, and provides nutrients for the grass to grow.

Riding with MicoVelo. We had quite a nice little group of nine riders, some of which turned back before we reached Garnett.

People weren’t the only ones enjoying the Prairie Spirit Trail today. This Western Rat Snake was sunning itself on an old railroad trestle between Richmond and Garnett. It was a big one, perhaps 5 feet long.

This beautiful Rough Green Snake was also making it’s way across the trail, and was nearly run over.

We also saw turtles, rabbits, squirrels, and many types of birds!

Entering Garnett, the trail goes from gravel to asphalt.

There was a reception inside the old depot, with snacks and drinks, as well as health evaluations and information about the trail and nearby attractions.

We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant in downtown Garnett, then headed back north on the trail.

Wild Strawberries in bloom along the trail.

This was a nice scene visible from the trail. The flowers are called Yellow Rockets.

Back at Princeton, the rest of the group loaded their bikes onto their cars, while I made a quick stop at the local c-store, then started east on John Brown Highway.

This 17-mile stretch turned out to be the toughest of the day for me. Part of it was a mild but persistent cross-wind, but more than that, it was the unseasonable heat. The first few rides above 80°F are always a bit of a challenge to get through.

The half-moon was rising into the afternoon sky, slightly veiled by wispy clouds.

At some point, I stopped to pick Lilacs from a bush at an abandoned homestead, and enjoyed the sweet aroma for the next 30 miles or so.

This is the Indianapolis Schoolhouse, an old one-room school that appears to be not long for this world…

In Osawatomie, I stopped for a $1.00 hamburger, a Lemon-Berry Slush, and a water refill. Refreshing!

The rest of the way home was uneventful, on familiar roads, with a slight tailwind.

I ended up with right at a 14 MPH average. Not bad, considering that I did 8 miles of gravel roads in the dark, a fair amount of low-speed exploring in Ottawa, and about 40 miles of gravel trails.

Bike-wise, there were no mechanical issues. The LHT performed flawlessly.

Physically, I was very good. Had a little bit of “saddle fatigue” by the end of the ride, but legs were good, hands were good, neck wasn’t sore, and my energy level was fine.

I rode 129 miles, and I saved $3.50. It was a glorious day!

But I ended up taking quite a detour, getting in a 74-mile ramble by the time I was done.

I rode from home southwest to Rantoul, Kansas for a short trip on the Flint Hills Nature Trail, and back via Wellsville.

One of those days it feels like you can just ride forever…

Some pics:

Snapping Turtles fighting in a small pond (or are they mating?). Sorry for the picture quality; this is at the extreme range of my camera’s digital zoom…

White Pelicans resting at Hillsdale Lake. They’ve wintered along the Gulf of Mexico and are migrating back north.

I believe this is Wild Plum along a roadside near Hillsdale Lake. I’ll go back and check on them in a couple months…

I managed to stumble across a Minimum Maintenance Road I hadn’t ridden before, and it was actually dry enough to ride. Not a particularly exciting road, though, unfortunately.

The bright green color of the winter wheat makes me smile …

Some of the first flowers are in bloom along the Flint Hills Nature Trail.

Dodging dung along the Flint Hills Nature Trail.

And here come some of the culprits now…

I encountered three groups of equestrians in the short distance I was on the trail. I saw way more hoof marks (and horse apples) than bike tire treads, but it’s great to see folks using the trail!

Resting at a low-water crossing.

Purple carpet of flowers cover a field of corn stalk stubble.

And yes, I did remember to pick up the groceries on the way home — a full load!

This turned out to be the longest ride I’d done on the Long Haul Trucker since last August. All my recent long rides have been on the Puch, but it felt good to ride the Trucker long once more. Not quite as fast as the Puch, but a more comfortable ride, I think, due to the higher-volume tires.

The day was cool and damp, and I was glad I’d brought my hat, gloves, and long pants.

I started the ride in Eureka Springs, and headed southeast on County Road 302, which was paved, and mostly downhill for the first few miles, making for a fast and frigid start. But once the uphills kicked in, I warmed right up and ditched the fleece cap, though keps the long-fingered gloves.

I rode into the northern reaches of the McIlroy Madison County Wildlife Management Area, where the road turned to that distinct brand of Arkansas red dirt and rough gravel.

I missed my first turn, and didn’t realize it until I reached the bottom of a long twisty hill, so I had to turn around and climb the bugger before making the correct turn and coasting down another long and winding road.

Eventually I hit my destination, Rock House Road, and took it all the way into the Kings River valley before heading back via Rock House Road, AR-221, and County Road 302.

All told I got in about 23 miles, and the sun never did break out until I got back to the car. Oh well, it was still plenty fun.

Here are some photos from the ride:

This old house along 302 has seen better days.

The Winona Church and School was built in 1860 as part of the now-extinct community of Winona Springs. The Arkansas Historic Preservation Society calls it “a good example of the vernacular Plain-Traditional style seen in rural church/schools of the Ozarks”.

Tall moss.

Close-up of a different type of moss.

This was a common sight for me. I lost the bottle at least four times on the rough gravel roads, usually headed downhill. But the Camelback Podium Chill was tough enough to survive pretty much unscathed.

My cyclocomputer was not as lucky. I lost it somewhere along the line…

Small wheels, wet roads, and fresh rock made for slow going in some places.

Got my shoes and socks wet on this crossing! It actually turned out to be a bit deeper and faster than I expected, but the wheels didn’t slip at all on either crossing (I rode back across). Not sure that it did anything good for the bike, but it didn’t feel particularly dangerous. Perhaps not the wisest choice, but fun, and I got a neat photo out of it.

Gray skies and black wings over the Kings River.

A bucolic scene along Rock House Road.

County Road 232 runs east-northeastfrom Arkansas 187, just west of the town of Beaver, to the Missouri state line, where it becomes Butler Hollow Road, and passes through the Mark Twain National Forest. I rode this stretch in 2010 and 2011. It is a gravel road, nearly a minimum-maintenance road, that runs along a valley next to a creek (or river). It’s a lovely route.

On this day, the road was wet, but with the ground as much rock as dirt, the surface as passable. I was riding my Dahon, with it’s 20″ wheels and fenders. Not ideal for a road such as this, but sufficient.

This is one of my favorite views along the road, with the forest along one side, the open river valley on the other, and hills rising beyond. It looked like the county road people had been trimming back the trees, as they were all torn up, and there was debris on the road.

At one point the road crosses a cattle guard and enters open range country. Initially, I rode over this. With the 20″ wheels, the crossing was very rough. After I passed over it, I realized that riding it was a bit foolish. It doesn’t look it in this picture, but the metal was wet and slippery. I could have easily fallen and broken a hip. I walked across on the way out.

The road has one low-water crossing. With the rain, the water was up a bit, and fast-flowing. With a bigger bike, I would have tried to ride across, but I didn’t want to submerge the rear wheel’s internal gear hub in the water. I’m not sure if it would have hurt anything, but better not to chance it.

I took off my shoes and socks, and carried the bike across. The water was cold, but at least the bottom was rock rather than mud, and the rocks weren’t sharp. Thankfully, I didn’t fall.

I had to cross this three times: once while carrying the bike, once to get back to the camera, and once more to get back to the bike. All for that shot!

After the crossing, the road becomes tree-lined on both sides.

I kept going until it started to rain, then turned back. After a bit, the rain let up again, but I just went ahead and returned the way I’d come.

The following are some shots along the way:

An old cedar tree choked by a fence. The tree had some sort of yellow fungus about 10 feet up.

There were several types of moss and lichen on the wooden fence.

An old barn along the road.

A dilapidated birdhouse.

Wet grass and tiny flowers.

A small yellow flower.

A fuzzy green leaf and water droplets.

Purple Flowers.

Different purple flowers, ready to blossom.

White blossoms ready to unfurl.

Back in the valley, headed back.

Another old barn.

When I got back, it started to rain again in earnest, and the fog/mist/clouds covered the lake and rose into the hills. Beautiful.

This was the scene later than morning:

So perhaps it just as well that I bailed, though I felt a little regret at not getting to ride through the falling snow…

The next day, the weather was windy, but warmer and at least partly sunny, so I set off on a metric century. I ended up getting in 63 miles, riding a northwesterly loop through Olathe, De Soto, Eudora, and Gardner.

It’s great to see this sign and finally feel that it’s meant for me, too.

This is only the second time I’ve ridden this road (and the first was in the dark). Bicycles had been banned on this section of roadway east of De Soto for over a dozen years. The ban was lifted late last year.

I still don’t understand the reasoning behind the ban. Proponents of the ban opined that the road was simply too dangerous for bicycles and motor vehicles to share, that there were too many hills, and too many curves.

Riding that road, if I hadn’t known its history, it wouldn’t have seemed extraordinary at all — just a normal road, not particularly hilly or especially curvy. I never felt in danger, and only one motorist was delayed by me, for a short time, and they could have safely passed if they wished.

This is Memorial Hall in De Soto, with the city water tower in the background. Someone must have planned these two landmarks with just this scene in mind, because they fit together so perfectly…

This is a view of the Kansas River, looking west from the De Soto Bridge.

And this is a view of the river from the opposite perspective, from water-level, looking east towards the bridge.

A street in the deserted ghost town of Clearview City. Hundreds of people lived here when the Sunflower Munitions Plant was in operation. Now nature is taking it back…

This is a view of the iconic water towers at the Sunflower Plant. The entire 10,000+ acres is closed to the public and signed as “No Trespassing – Hazardous Conditions”. It is an EPA Superfund site due to environmental damage from the ammunition that produced there for decades.

Bike and clouds along old K-10 highway in western Johnson County, Kansas. With the new superhighway a half mile to the north, this old road is quiet and mostly empty, making for a great low-traffic bike route between Lawrence and Kansas City.

This is a statue of Paschal Fish and his daughter Eudora, for whom the town of Eudora, Kansas is named. Paschal Fish was a Chief of the Shawnee Indian tribe. This statue is located in downtown Eudora, and was commissioned from sculptor Jim Brothers for the 150th anniversary of the City of Eudora.

Beaver have been busy on this tree along Captain Creek in eastern Douglas County, Kansas.

A rafter of Turkeys among corn stubble in western Johnson County, Kansas.

This is probably a pretty reliable indication that oil prices are going nowhere but up: new wells being drilled in Kansas (near Edgerton). Perhaps a dozen in this field alone.

Every single tree has been cut down along an entire mile of minimum maintenance road (271st between Crescent Hill Road and Bethel Church Road in Miami County, Kansas). Some of the remaining stumps have been used as fenceposts, the logs have been cut up for firewood, and the remainders have been piled in great heaps to be burned.

Obviously, this is private property, and I don’t dispute the landowner’s authority to raze the fencerow, but that doesn’t make it right.

Last summer it had been a pleasant tree-lined country road, and now it’s been defaced and left in ruin.

Here are a couple of photos from July of 2011:

That was a super-hot day, and the trees along the road were most welcome shade!

Here’s a photo from November 2009, showing the road in a wilder, more rugged state:

Now, this wasn’t really that special of a road. The trees were mostly Hedge and Cedar (though some Oaks and Walnuts, too), and most weren’t mature. A few were old enough to have fallen, and were perhaps a hazard (or inconvenience).

But still, did they have to cut down every single tree? There are few enough trees in Kansas; why kill so many?

* For those who don’t get the reference, “The Scouring of the Shire” refers to the end of The Lord of the Rings, when the heroes return after having won the war, to find their homeland, The Shire, overrun with ruffians, who destroyed things out of spite: “The trees were the worst loss and damage, for at Sharkey’s bidding they had been cut down recklessly far and wide over the Shire; and Sam grieved over this more than anything else. For one thing, this hurt would take long to heal, and only his great-grandchildren, he thought, would see the Shire at it ought to be.”

That’s how this felt. Destruction for no reason. A scar that won’t be healed in my lifetime. It almost made me want to cry.

But, I suppose there are more remote and rugged tree-lined roads to be found and to be treasured. Just wish this one hadn’t been squandered.

I did the ride with Keith and Terry, another cyclist from St. Joseph, MO. Both are working on R-12 Awards — riding a 200K or longer for 12 consecutive months. I’m not doing that, so I didn’t do the ride “for credit”, just for fun (if you can imagine).

The ride officially started in Olathe at 5:00am, but rather than tacking on an extra 12 miles (into Olathe and back), I elected to meet Keith and Terry in Stilwell, about 10 miles into the route.

I left home at about 4:45, and met up with the other two at about 5:30, and we rolled south on Metcalf Road to Louisburg for the first quick break.

This is just before dawn at Louisburg Lake.

The “Welcome To La Cygne” sign is always a nice milepost along the route, and a nice place to take a short break before the fast downhill and long flat into town.

There’s a nice view from atop the hill. That’s La Cygne Lake to the left beyond the trees, and several mounds on the border between Kansas and Missouri.

(Note: You’ll probably notice a blueish tint to many of my photos. I had the camera’s white balance set for indoor lighting, and forgot to change it back before the ride. I tried to compensate with post-processing, some more successfully than others.)

The water tower in La Cygne, Kansas features a nice town logo. La Cygne is situated along the Marais des Cygnes River (French for “Marsh of the Swans”).

This shot is along County Road 1095 in Linn County, Kansas. This quiet paved road features some good-sized hills, with some corresponding fun downhills, along with some nice scenery. Even in the “brown months” of winter, it’s still a pleasant route to ride.

Also along 1095 is the Linnwood School, once a one-room schoolhouse, and perhaps a church (with a cemetery behind it), now used as a community center, with somewhat dilapidated playground equipment still on the grounds.

Once at Pleasanton we took a nice little rest. Here are the three bikes lined up along the side of the convenience store — Keith’s beautiful Kogswell, my Puch, and Terry’s Specialized Allez (with Terry alongside). We were all traveling pretty light. Terry had a Topeak handlebar bag, but other than that it was just seat bags and pockets.

Back on the road leaving Pleasanton, the day was warming and a nice little tailwind was picking up. All smiles from Keith and Terry. Peace out, ‘Dude.

Terry was nice enough to take my picture as we rolled along through the countryside.

There’s a 3-mile stretch along US-69 highway. It always strikes me as odd that bicycles are allowed on this 75 MPH road, but not on interstate highways in Kansas, which have the same speed limit and similar shoulders. It’s perfectly safe (as long as no fool tries to drive on the shoulder).

And finally, pulling into the garage after 133 miles.

Gear Report

I rode the Puch Cavette II on this trip, my first really long ride on this bike.

Other than wishing for “just one more gear” on some of the hills, the bike performed quite well. No mechanical problems. No major pains, other than shoulder/neck tension, which seems more a matter of acclimation than anything else. Hands good, knees good, feet good, even the saddle wasn’t a problem.

In fact, I still felt really strong at the end.

Part of this was due, in no small part, to the weather, which was quite amazing for early February in Kansas. The temperature dipped to about 32°F in spots in the early morning, and was 63°F by the time we finished up. There was a slight (less than 5 MPH) headwind outbound, and a noticeable-but-not-huge 10-12 MPH tailwind heading back home.

Gear-wise, I had two bits of pre-ride panic. First, I discovered my MagicShine headlight batteries were about done for. With one pack, I could barely get 1 hour on high, and 2 hours on low. The other pack wouldn’t even take a charge.

I figured I needed at least 3 hours of lighting, so I fell back to plan B, and used LED flashlights. My primary light was a Rayovac “Indestructible” flashlight (which I reviewed here: A Decent $15 Bike Light). It promises 100 lumens for up to 15 hours on a pair of AA batteries, which is pretty darned impressive. My second light was an older LED flashlight I had on hand (also running on AA’s). This gave me double redundancy, (triple, if you count the two AA’s in my camera). In practice, the Rayovac (pictured in the last photo above) performed just fine. I have a new bike-specific light on order, but for this ride, I was covered.

The second pre-ride flub was the loss of one of my favorite gloves the morning of the ride. So I used an old MTB glove I had lying around. Turns out that the missing glove was stuck to the inside of my fleece cap, which I discovered at the first stop. So I ended up taking along the glove that was lost, and leaving behind the glove that wasn’t missing. Dumb. Oh well, the MTB glove worked fine, other than cold fingertips for part of the ride.

Clothing-wise, I went with arm-warmers, a wool base layer, a Hind long-sleeve base layer over that, a short-sleeve jersey, and a thin windbreaker vest on top. On the bottom, Cannondale liner shorts and Cannondale pants, with two layers of wool socks and MTB shoes on my feet. I was never cold other than the fingertips. The arm-warmers and vest came off as the day warmed, and I never overheated.

For food, I brought along Clif bars and a gel-pack. I took a few bites of the Clif bar, and squeezed out the gel on the way back, but other than that it was just c-store food and drink:

• Granola bar in Stilwell
• Apple Fritter and V-8 in La Cygne
• Sausage and Egg Biscuit and chocolate milk in Pleasanton
• Pecan pie and Snapple in La Cygne

So, a bit heavy on the junk food, but no stomach problems and no lack of energy.

I ended up with 133 miles at a 15.25 MPH pace.

I rode basically the same route in March 2010 on the LHT (135 Miles and No Headwind) at a 15.0 MPH pace.

So slightly faster on the Puch, and I wasn’t as tired or sore. Do I attribute that to the bike, or to my fitness? Not sure. The difference is pretty slight.

Not much I’d change on the Puch. Better wheels and wider gearing would be nice, but not strictly necessary.

I must say that it tickles me to no end to ride 133 miles — a ride that most cyclists, riding lightweight bikes costing well over $1000, wouldn’t attempt — on a 34-year-old, $15 bike, with steel wheels and $7 tires. The tightwad in me, I guess…

So I thought I’d detail the modifications I’ve made to make it road-worthy.

The changes have been relatively few, since the bike, as purchased, was in remarkably good shape for a 30+ year-old low-to-mid-grade bicycle.

Still, there have been a few things I’ve fixed, or at least changed.

Here’s the bike as it stands now:

One of the first things I did was to remove the original brake levers, and replace them with a used set of Shimano 105 levers (as shown here). I’ve been quite happy with that change. The levers have a better ergonomic feel, and the cable routing is much cleaner.

I ended up keeping the rubber grips on the handlebar drops, and wrapping the rest of the way up with foam tape. Looks strange, I know. but the rubber’s comfortable, and I was able to wrap the rest of the distance thicker because of it.

I also replaced the stock front and rear brake cable hangers. The originals were plain-jane units, and worked fine, except that there was no quick-release mechanism on the brakes themselves. So it was extremely difficult to remove a wheel without letting the air out of the tire.

I found some old-stock Shimano Centerpull Brake Cable Hangers on eBay, and these units integrated a quick-release into the hanger itself. Just rotate a lever, and it provides about 1/4″ of slack. It’s an elegant solution, and works great.

When I got the bike, it still had its original tires, and they were in reasonably good shape. But the 30+ year-old rubber didn’t last long on gravel roads. I suffered a couple flats, and visible cracking on one of the tires before deciding to retire them

I went with the cheapest 27″ tire I could find, a C637 “Super HP” from CST (Cheng Shin Tyre). These only cost me $7 each online, plus shipping. Time will tell on their ruggedness, but they seem to be fine — fast-rolling, and comfortable. The tires are labeled as 27″ x 1-1/4″, but measure closer to 1-1/8″ width (about 28mm).

I also swapped out tubes, opting for a Presta valve instead of Schrader. The tubes appeared to be sufficiently rugged around the stem, so I opted not to use a gasket or hole size adapter. So far so good. I also would have preferred threaded stems, but the tubes I received were long and non-threaded. Again, it hasn’t yet been an issue.

For a tail light, I removed the stock rear reflector, and replaced it with an XLC Ultra LED 1/2 Watt Tail Light.

This appears to be a Planet Bike SuperFlash clone — very similar mechanical characteristics, similar optics. I ran a SuperFlash for several years (before losing it on my southwestern trip), and the XLC is pretty much the same, except way cheaper. Perhaps not as bright, but pretty good.

I mounted it on the rear reflector bracket, using a little trick. I took a short section of PVC pipe, and wrapped it with some old inner tube, then used the tail light mounting bracket on that. Basically, the PVC functions as a seatpost, for mounting purposes. Simple, cheap, and weighs almost nothing.

I also use a reflective safety triangle suspended from the seat bag. This functions as a backup for the tail light, and is very visible during daylight as well.

The seat bag is an old Serfas MTB-2 Medium Seat Bag that I happened to have on hand.

“Carrying stuff” is another area where I’ve had to get a little creative.

The bike has no water bottle braze-ons, so I used a Minoura water bottle mount (BH-95X) to add a water bottle cage. This works reasonably well. Still not sure how I’ll handle summer rides, though, when more water capacity will be needed…

The bike is also lacking rack mounts on the seat stays. I could get a clamp-on unit, but with the goal of keeping this bike as unencumbered as possible, I’m trying to avoid adding a rack.

What I came up with was an approach I’d used back when I was riding a mountain bike — a fanny pack. The one I had on hand is a JanSport Waist Pack, which has two compartments — a small one in the front where I store wallet, phone, and lip balm, and a larger main compartment which can hold a bit more, such as a camera and snacks:

The fanny pack is light enough, and rides low enough, that I can’t even feel it’s there after a short time.

But I still had a problem.

Often, on rides I like to stop at a grocery store to pick up a few things — it saves a trip by car. But I had nowhere to carry extra stuff.

For a few rides, I slung the plastic grocery bag over my handlebars. Worked for small items, but hardly elegant.

Then I dug up an old drawstring backpack I’d gotten as a promotional giveaway from a local company:

It’s lightweight, and comes with nice reflective striping. And even better, it rolls up into a compact little bundle:

Rolled up, it fits snugly into the bottom of the large fanny pack compartment, with plenty of room left for other gear.

And unrolled, the backpack actually holds quite a lot:

That’s a loaf of bread on top, and various groceries underneath. That load was actually a bit much — about 13 pounds — which is more than I’d care to carry on my back for long. But for the 6 miles home from the store, it was manageable.

I also added a Park Tool PMP-5 Frame Pump, which I purchased used off eBay. Fits perfectly and holds securely against the seat tube. I might eventually move to to the top tube, and add a second water bottle to the seat tube. If I do that, I’ll need to add a strap of some sort to keep it from slipping down, since the Puch frame doesn’t include a pump peg.

And finally, I’ve also replaced the stock saddle with an old WTB Speed V, and the stock platform pedals with some Shimano PD-M520L SPD Pedals I had on hand.

How much have I spent bring the bike (mostly) up to snuff? Not counting the items I already had on hand: $14 for 2 new tires, $8 for 2 new tubes, $12 for new brake hangers, $10 for pump, $4 for handlebar tape, $1 for water bottle mount, $15 for brake levers, $12 for tail light … so about $76. Not too bad.

So what hasn’t changed? Frame, handlebar, brakes, cables, wheels, drive train, shifters, kickstand, front reflector, seatpost.

What would I still like to change?

• I’d like to get a set of better wheels. Aluminum alloy. But should I stick with 27″ or switch to 700c? And should I stick with the freewheel, or switch to freehub/cassette? Are the inexpensive mass-produced wheels (I found some for about $25 each w/o freewheel) worth it, or should I hold out for better quality? (Switching to 700c would necessitate new tires, too … blah.)
• I’d like to improve the shifters, changing from the stem-mounted shifters to bar-end shifters. Even used ones, though, are quite expensive. Still hoping to stumble across a deal somewhere.
• If I really end up riding this more, fenders might be in order.
• Lighter handlebars would be nice.

Note: All product links lead to Amazon, where I am an affiliate, and where I’ll earn a few cents if you purchase something (anything!) through that link. If you have a local bike shop, please support them, but if you don’t have a LBS, or they don’t carry the equipment you need, please consider purchasing via my links, and help support this site.

The Cottonwood 200 takes place over Memorial Day weekend in late May (May 26-27-28 this year). It starts in Topeka on Saturday morning, overnights in Council Grove, rides to Cottonwood Falls and back on Sunday, overnights in Council Grove again, then heads back to Topeka again on Monday. It covers about 200 miles during the three days.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about this tour, but never experienced it. It does go through some very lovely country — the Flint Hills of Kansas — and rides on two of Kansas’s scenic byways, the Flint Hills Scenic Byway and the Native Stone Scenic Byway.

But I can’t be content with a supported 3-day tour on paved roads. I have to amp it up a bit, don’t I?

So how about this: riding to and from the event, making it a 5-day, 300-mile, mixed-surface, semi-self-supported tour … that’s more like it!

Here’s the idea:

Friday, May 25, 2012: Leave from my home near Gardner and ride to Topeka. This is about 60 miles, all paved, except for a bit of gravel trail. No services along the way, but I can detour into Lawrence if I feel the need. The last six miles or so would be on the Landon Nature Trail. In Topeka, I have a couple people who have volunteered to let me camp in their yards, so I should have a place to stay the night. Bonus: May 25th is the last Friday of the month, so I could ride with the Critical Mass Topeka crew, which would be fun.

Saturday, May 26, 2012: Meet up with the Cottonwood 200 people at Washburn University, and roll out by 7:30am or so. Either continue carrying my own gear, or load it up on the tour truck and let them haul it. Ride to Council Grove, about 75 miles, all paved. SAG stops are provided. The route is on part of the Native Stone Scenic Byway, “a region of the state known for its outcroppings of native limestone, which has been used to build homes, barns, and fences in the region since it was settled”. Camp at the school in Council Grove. Dinner in town. (Note: This is the 2011 route; the 2012 route may be different.)

Sunday, May 27, 2012: Ride with the group along K-177 to Cottonwood Falls. This is on the Flint Hills Scenic Byway, and includes a stop at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Perhaps make a side trip to check out the waterfall at Chase County Lake. Ride back via gravel roads through the Flint Hills, passing by Lake Kahola, and heading back into Council Grove. Or perhaps swing west, and approach Council Grove from the southwest. Camp at the school again. About 50-60 miles, half paved, half gravel. Breakfast and dinner provided by the tour, lunch in Cottonwood Falls.

Monday, May 28, 2012: Rather than returning to Topeka with the group, strike off on my own, following the Flint Hills Nature Trail east through Bushong, Allen, Admire, and Osage City. Provisions in Osage City for sure, possibly in some of the other towns as well. Camp near Pomona Lake. I have several options there — paid camping at the state park, free camping on the north side of the lake, or a friend who lives just a bit further, near Appanoose. About 60-70 miles, mostly on trail and gravel roads.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012: Ride on home. I could either ride through Baldwin City or Ottawa. Either way, it’d be another 65 or so miles home, on a mixture of paved and gravel roads.

So it’d be a total of about 300 miles over 5 days of riding (probably a bit more, once all is said and done). Camping out 4 nights. Cost would be $66 for the Cottonwood 200, plus food.

I’m excited about riding on the scenic byways, and riding on the FHNT. I’ve never been on that part of the trail before, and understand that it’s very rugged and remote country.

Here’s a rough map:

If you’re interested in the ride, registration for the Cottonwood 200 tour is at cottonwood200.org. If you’d like to ride with me, contact me so we can coordinate logistics.

Utility Cycling

In 2011, I made a conscious effort to use my bike(s) for more than just recreation, but for everyday things like shopping, errands, and appointments.

The Long Haul Trucker was the go-to-bike of choice for these tasks, and it spent most of the year loaded with panniers.

A lot of my bike trips during the year were for utility (at least in part), and the LHT made a great platform for that. The two Nashbar ATB panniers hold just enough groceries for most trips, and I can strap extra stuff to the top of the rack if need be.

However, utility cycling is not necessarily the most exciting type of riding. There’s only so many times you can do the same routes on the same bike without going a little stir crazy.

Which was why I was happy to acquire two …

New Bikes

I purchased the Puch Cavette II at a garage sale in September, and picked up the Dahon Vitesse D7HG a few weeks later at a bicycle swap meet. Neither were planned purchases, but both have worked out well.

I’ve quite enjoyed riding the Puch. At first I thought it was slightly too big for me, but after about 400 miles, it feels like a pretty good fit. The bike is still largely stock. After experimenting with a different stem and handlebar, I’ve gone back to the original, only changing to different brakes, and adding bar wrap and grips. I’ve also swapped out the old tires and tubes, added a frame-mount pump, added a bottle holder, seat bag, and cyclocomputer, and swapped the platforms for SPD pedals.

The Puch has led me to rediscover the joy of riding fast(er than normal). I’m not sure if it’s the 27″ wheels vs. the 26″-ers on the LHT, skinnier tires, or just that the Puch is less loaded down, but I definitely feel faster and more agile on the Puch. I hate to relegate the LHT to pure utility and touring, but the Puch has been so much fun that I’ve taken it on all my recreation rides recently. It makes me wonder what a lighter, more modern road bike would be like…

I’ve only put about 250 miles on the Dahon, despite taking it on a long road trip. It’s a fun little bike to ride, and it even functions admirably as a mountain bike, but I don’t see myself using it for long rides or extended touring. But I’ll keep it around for easy transport inside the car.

Bike Camping

I didn’t get to do any long tours this year, but I made up for it with seven bike overnights (S24O’s):

• Leavenworth in early May
• La Cygne in early June
• Cedar Cove in early June
• Middle Creek in late July
• Hillsdale Lake in mid-August
• Hillsdale Lake in late August
• Miami State Fishing Lake in mid-October

Four of those were solos, three with friends. Three were at official campsites, one on private property (with permission), and three were wild-camping on public land. This was the first time that I’d “stealth” camped, and it was fun and very peaceful, if a little unnerving at first. I wasn’t trespassing, but my the sites weren’t exactly sanctioned, either, so there was an element of unease. But I hope to do more of that in 2012. I just wish there were more public land in Kansas.

My touring style changed a bit over the year. I used front panniers for the first three trips, but went with just a front rack and a cooler on the last four. Saves a bit of weight and give me more space for food/drink, though slightly less for gear. I’m not sure if the front rack and cooler would work for longer tours.

What’s Next?

I’m not sure what 2012 holds for me. I definitely want to do more bike camping, whether that’s overnights or multi-day trips (hopefully both!).

I did not do a single organized pay ride this year, so that’s probably something I should get back to.

I didn’t do as many day trips (driving somewhere then riding a loop) as I did in previous years, so that’s something I’l like to do more of as well. There are so many places in Kansas that I’d like to explore, but are not within easy biking distance.

I set a goal for the year of 5200 miles (100 miles per week), and came up short by about 730 miles. I’m not too bothered by that; not sure if I’ll set a 2012 mileage goal or not.

A nice surprise to end 2011: A 50+°F day on my birthday, December 29th. Can’t beat that!

Outbound, our route took us from Kansas City to Santa Fe, New Mexico on day one, then on to Albuquerque, then to Flagstaff, Arizona, to Phoenix, to Tempe, then to San Diego, where we my wife’s sister lives. In San Diego, we mostly stayed pretty near to “home”, but did make one short trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. The homeward route took us to Phoenix, Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Amarillo, Texas before arriving back home, finally, safe and sound.

Whew.

I’m not going to attempt to cover all that in detail, but will share a few photos and highlights from the trip:

Looking over Santa Fe, New Mexico

Cottonwood grove along the Rio Grande River in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Trail along the Rio Grande River in Albuquerque, New Mexico

Sunset at Continental Divide, New Mexico. Would love to get out and explore this country by bike.

A trail covered in pine needles in Flagstaff, Arizona. The trails in Flagstaff were awesome. Actually, everything was pretty amazing in Flagstaff. I loved the Ponderosa Pines. I loved the proximity to the mountains. Nearly every main road in town had bike lanes. Even the mud was of a different sort than Kansas, not sticking to the tires nearly as much. Would definitely want to come back and ride in the area again. Not sure about road riding, but mountain biking opportunities are amazing.

Dried flowers along the Arizona Trail in Flagstaff, Arizona … bet this is pretty when the flowers are in bloom and the grass is green.

Training a dog sled team in Flagstaff, Arizona … mush!

In the shadow of clouded mountains in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Red Rock near Sedona, Arizona. This in Oak Creek Canyon, between Flagstaff and Sedona. A lovely drive. Would be even better by bike, but I imagine that the road would be rather scary to ride — no shoulders, lots of steep hills and sharp turns. But it would be an incredible experience.

At the Phoenix Mountains Preserve in Phoenix, Arizona. My first time in the desert. Probably a furnace in the summer, but quite nice when I was there.

Simple but cool art at Thomas Community Bike Shop in San Diego. I lost my trusty Planet Bike Superflash tail light somewhere in Arizona, so I picked up an XLC tail light (basically a Superflash clone) here.

While I was in San Diego, I got to ride my brother-in-law’s sweet Benotto 850 road bike. He doesn’t ride anymore, so it had been sitting in storage for at least 10 years, but still shifted incredibly smoothly. But the city streets didn’t do this bike justice — it needed to be taken on the open road and ridden at speed. Sadly, I wasn’t able to do that…

Snow in the Mojave Desert, with Joshua Trees.

Mountains in the Mohave Desert. It was a bit surreal, with rain at lower elevations, and snow higher up. Came across a few touring cyclists, and even with the rain/snow and heavy wind, I was very jealous. Definitely want to come back and spend a few days exploring and camping in the desert. It’s forbidding and inviting at the same time.

Lonesome road leading to mountains in the Mojave Desert. I wanted to ride it, big time. But alas, it’ll have to be another trip…

Urban mountain bike trails in Florida Canyon, San Diego. Some really sweet trails, right in the heart of the city.

Looking down at a winding trail in Mission Trails Regional Park, San Diego, CA. The folder climbed just fine (except for a few steep pitches I had to walk). A few moments after taking this photo I reached down for a drink, and found my water bottle had gone missing. I had to backtrack a couple of miles, to find where it had bounced off on a rough rocky section.

The old Polar bottle died a couple days later, with the cap splitting and no longer holding water. I replaced it with a Camelback Podium Chill. So far, so good.

At Sweetwater Regional Park near San Diego. Lots of great mountain biking here. The trails weren’t all that tough, but too steep to ride in a few places.

Riding at Otay Lake, just a few miles from the Mexican border.

A Minimum Maintenance Road, Arizona style. Another rainy day in the desert. Weird.

Sierra Blanca Peak near Ruidoso, NM. US-70 between Las Cruces and Roswell would make a most excellent bike tour route — nice shoulders most of the way, big climbs, long flats, mountains and desert.

Wrap-Up:

It was a great trip. Driving home through Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas was relatively boring — though my heart lifted as we passed through the Flint Hills at dusk; I’m not sure if there’s anywhere quite like it — and acclimating to the weather and terrain back home is harder than I thought it’d be.

My thought are still on the road…

Places I definitely want to go back and ride someday:

• Flagstaff, Arizona — There was no city we passed through that impressed me more
• The Mohave Desert — This one surprised me a bit, but I was quite attracted to the idea of bicycle touring there (perhaps using drycyclist.com as a guide). Actually, I think a fat-tired bike (e.g. Surly Pugsley) would be the idea bike for such an adventure.
• US-70 between Las Cruces and Roswell, particularly the Hondo valley and the road through the Apache Indian Reservation.

The folding bike performed well. I enjoyed riding it, though I didn’t put in as many miles as I’d hoped, and I was quite happy to ride my full-sized bikes when I got home. The folder served its purpose.

Regrets: I didn’t get to do the overnight tour I had planned. Other things got in the way, and time slipped away from me. Oh well.

All in all, a great trip!

The bike performed well, as expected, over about 14 miles of residential streets, city parks, busy streets, and multi-use pathways.

It was actually something of a one-person Tweed Ride, as I was “dressed up”, wearing slacks, shirt, and dress shoes. No problem!

Here are some photos:

A gorgeous old Cottonwood in Hyde Park.

This wicked steep little hill is in the Union Hill neighborhood. I’ve been down his hill before (rather scary, with the rough bricks and a stop sign before a busy road at the bottom — better have good brakes!) but this is my first time to climb it. And it’s also the steepest hill I’ve attempted on the Dahon. But no problem, the little bike just spun right up without issue.

Looking over the West Bottoms, and into Kansas.

At the Liberty Memorial, which “is a memorial to the fallen soldiers of World War I and houses the The National World War I Museum”.

Coincidentally, while I was there, a wedding party was using the site for photos. It’s a lovely locale, with the Kansas City skyline visible over the wall.

Here’s another perspective of the Liberty Memorial and grounds.

Near the memorial there was an encampment for OccupyKC, “a movement of citizens who have come together to reclaim our democracy from the 1% who have hijacked it. We will not allow this injustice to continue”. Not much was happening while I was there. Just a few folks lounging in tents, and no one eager to talk apparently.

And in Westport I stumbled across a gathering for Bank Transfer Day. They yelled “Yay bikes!” as I rode past…

Also in Westport I found this grafitti. Not sure what it originally said, but I like what’s left of the message: “Dude! Riding A Dinosour?”

This is a view of Brush Creek, which flows near the Plaza, and has a nice multi-use pathway on each side of the water. Saw a few walkers (and a few men who had apparently camped under one of the bridges), but no other cyclists.

Finally, I rode on the grounds of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art for a bit. No time to actually go inside, unfortunately.

This is the “front lawn” in front of the Nelson, where giants play badminton.

(As I took this photo, a man came up and asked me if the bike was for sale. This isn’t the first time I’ve been asked that. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble getting rid of this bike when its time comes…)

This pathway on the Nelson grounds looks very European, I think.

I’m lucky, because the Dahon was pretty well configured for touring as I received it, with reasonable gearing and a rear rack. I knew my Nashbar panniers would work, but I was unsure how everything else would come together, and how the thing would ride loaded, so I went ahead and did a dry run of the Dahon in touring mode.

Here’s a side view of my setup. My tent is strapped cross-ways across the panniers, and an insulated six-pack-size cooler is strapped in front of that. Both appear to be reasonably secure, and additional stuff can be strapped on top if need be.

The rear view shows the panniers and tent, along with my reflective triangle and a Planet Bike Superflash tail light I installed in place of the rear reflector.

So how did it ride? Well, I didn’t have a super-heavy load, but it rode very well. The weight is mostly low to the ground, so handling is really not affected.

With all the weight on the back, though, I did notice that the front end can get a little squirrely at times. Once, when slowly cranking up a steep little ride, I thought I felt the front wheel come off the ground. But for normal riding, it was no problem.

One aspect that is negatively affected by the touring load is the kickstand. The kickstand seems to be just a bit short, and the bike threatens to topple over if I’m not careful about where I park it. Angling the front wheel away from the lean does help, usually.

Here’s the Dahon on a pathway at a local park. Love those fall colors!

And here is the Dahon on a gravel road. No problem.

And finally, I also got around to swapping out the round grips for ergo grips. These are “XLC Ergonomic Grips“, made specifically for a single twist grip, with the left grip 135mm long, and the right grip 92mm long. They feel pretty good. I’m still thinking about adding bar ends, but haven’t found a deal yet…

And, if most of the parts on the old bike are still functional (or easily replaced), it is, or can be: Clean off the years of accumulate neglect, tune up the moving parts, and ride.

That’s basically where I’m at with my Puch project bike: Once I got things cleaned up, and fixed a few minor issues with wheels and tubes, the bike pretty much was functional. I could ride it, and it rode pretty well.

But beyond basic functionality is the question of suitability. Yes, the bike works, but is it right for me? Is it’s performance optimized? Can it be improved?

That’s where things get more complicated.

Yes, the bike is rideable. No, it’s not quite suitable.

First off, the bike is a bit large for me. I’m just slightly “stretched out” when I ride it. Seems that there are a few changes that could be made to improve this:

• Shorten the stem
• Raise the handlebar (would would bring the bar slightly back)
• Change the handlebar style, to one with less “reach” and “drop”

Here’s the complexity: The Puch used French sizing for the stem and bar. A 22.00mm quill stem, and a handlebar with 25.00mm clamp area. Both of these measurements are just slightly off from “standard” sizes (22.2mm stem and 25.4mm clamp).

So I can’t (easily) put a different handlebar in the existing stem, and I can’t easily change the stem without also buying a new handlebar. I can scrounge up old compatible parts, but that takes a lot of time and expense (since the old parts are relatively rare, they’re pricey).

And as for the second option — raising the bar — the stem is already at it’s minimum insertion depth. So once again a new, taller, stem would be needed. Same problem with availability and cost.

Related issues with the cockpit are that I didn’t like either the old-style brake levers (with the “suicide” bars and cable coming out the top) or the shifters (located on the stem). Also, the handlebar, in addition to being a shape I didn’t like, was made of steel (heavy) and was thinner than I’d like.

As a first attempt at a solution, I went to a local swap meet, and procured possible solutions. I bought an older handlebar, old brake levers, and old bar-mount shifters.

The bar is a Specialized/WTB RM-2. This is the famous “Dirt Drop” bar that I’ve read about many times, so I was pleased to stumble across one (at a very reasonable price), and anxious to give it a try.

The brake lever are Shimano 105 aero levers, so the brake cable is routed along the bar (rather than coming out the top and getting in the way). They’re not pristine, but appeared functional.

The shifters are Shimano Deore Light Action SIS 7s thumb-shifters that support both 7-speed indexed (for the rear) and friction shifting. The shifters included strange-looking mounts.

After getting them home and doing some research, I determined that the mounts were called WTB Multi-Mounts, and provided an alternate way to attach thumb-shifters to drop handlebars. The Shimano shifters originally came with mounts that allowed the shifters to be located on the top bar (much as current MTB shifter are mounted on flat bars).

I couldn’t really see how they were supposed to work, or where on the bars they were supposed to be mounted. I eventually located this photo (from mtbr.com) showing one possible placement:

Weird. I’m not even going to try setting that up.

As for the bar, I did manage to get that installed, after some work.

It just so happened that I had an old short stem in my parts box. It was 22.2mm size, of course, with a 25.4mm clamp, but I hoped I could get it to work. The plan was to use sandpaper to remove 0.2mm from the stem to allow it to fit into the steer tube. And for the clamp, I assumed I could spread it far enough to squeeze the 26.0mm bar in.

Here’s the result of my sanding (with the sanded area being the bottom 1/3 of the stem, and the little pile of aluminum dust next to it). It didn’t take long at all, and was a tight fit, but I did manage to slide it into the steer tube. For the clamp area, I used a flat screwdriver to pry it apart just enough to get the bar into the clamp.

After adding the aero brakes, here’s what I ended up with:

Taking it for a short ride, it felt reasonably comfortable. It was possible to ride on the tops, on the hoods, or in the drops, but not on the bends. The brakes were easily reachable from the drops, which was good.

However, after taking it for a longer ride the next day, I decided that it wasn’t going to work for me. Riding in the drops, the bar was just too wide for me.

This is me holding the original Puch handlebar. The rule of thumb is that the bar should be as wide as the rider’s shoulders. Well, the Puch bar is a pretty good fit, in that regard:

The bars measures 38cm (center-to-center). The bar on the LHT measures 42 cm, so it’s probably a bit wide for me (which is what I was told when a fitting was performed at the bike shop). The WTB measures about 46cm in the hooks, and a whopping 57cm at the end of the bars. So yeah, it’s really wide!

So, I decided to go back to the original bar, which meant back to the original stem. But with new brake levers, maybe it’d feel different?

It did, actually. Here’s the setup I ended up with (for now):

In addition to adding the brake levers, I rotated the bars slightly down, making the drops closer to parallel with the ground (compare that to the original setup with the old levers). Even so, the brake levers are shaped to provide a better “hood” position than with the old levers, with a more comfortable transition between the bar and the hood.

(Yes, the “new” brake levers are a little scratched up, and a piece of the hood is torn off on this side. But they’ll do.)

Of course, with the old non-standard bar size, the brake lever clamps didn’t fit. So I shimmed it with a piece of inner-tube — crude but effective:

The levers will handle 23.8-24.2, according to the size stamped on the clamps. My bar measures 22mm, so quite a difference.

And yes, those are MTB grips on drop bars. Weird, I know, and probably considered an abomination. But I don’t want to tape the bars until I’m reasonably sure I’ll be happy with their setup. And actually, the grips are really pretty comfy. I almost never ride “in the hooks” anyway, so the grips are where my hands spend the most time. I might just keep them.

I still feel a bit stretched out with this setup. With the better brake levers and the cushy grips, I don’t hate the bars anymore. But a shorter stem would still be helpful. So I guess I’ll keep an eye out for a suitable bar that I can use with the shorter stem I already have (i.e. a handlebar with a 25.4mm clamp area). But if I don’t find one, this old setup just might work out all right.

As an indication of how comfortable I’m beginning to feel on this bike, there have been several times I’ve been riding in the drops, and reached to the bar-end to make a shift, just like I do on the Surly, only to find nothing there. The stem-mounted shifters still feel awkward.

So perhaps that‘s the next step — changing the stem-mounted shifters to bar-end shifters. I’ve priced both new Shimano shifters like I have on the LHT, and vintage Suntour Bar-Cons, but both are more than I’d prefer to pay. If I keep looking, maybe I’ll stumble across a deal somewhere…

As I’ve ridden this bike around, and spent more time with it, the word I’ve come up with to describe how it feels (compared to the LHT) is “unencumbered”.

I “feel” faster (but don’t have a computer on it yet to verify that), and the lack of racks and fenders and multiple bags, along with the bigger wheels and skinnier tires, definitely makes for a fun ride that is very different than the LHT.

I’ve never spent much time on a true modern road bike, but I imagine that’d be another level entirely. It’s probably best for my wallet that I never find out for sure…

I stumbled across a Dahon Vitesse D7HG at a local swap meet, and after a bit of haggling, trading, and some $$$ kicked in, it was mine. It was a bit of an impulse purchase. I’d browsed the Dahon line online, but hadn’t really focused on a particular model, or put much research or thought into the search.

I took this bike for a short spin in the parking lot, and it rode fine, and seemed to be in good shape, and was fitted with most of the accessories I’d want, such as fat tires, fenders, and a rear rack. So I pulled the trigger on it.

I think I got a pretty decent deal on it; less than half the current list price.

Based on Dahon web site, the bike is a 2008 model, but not a whole lot has changed in the three model years since then. The 2011 model no longer has the rear rack, but has a better chainguard and an integrated luggage bracket on the front. So basically, the same bike, it appears.

The bike is in good shape. No telling how many miles are on it, but not a lot, based on tire wear. There is a bit of surface rust on a few of the steel bits, but since the frame is aluminum, and most of the components are as well, that shouldn’t be an issue.

It’s not the easiest thing to fold, but perhaps I’ll get better with practice. It does fold into a reasonably-sized package, and it fits well into the back of our car. I may get a bag for it at some point. Not sure whether to go with a cheap “cover” bag that doesn’t provide much protection, or a more rugger but pricier bag. A true travel case, suitable for use as airline luggage, would cost more than I paid for the bike, so I doubt I’ll ever spring for that, given the limited amount of air travel I do.

The rack is a rather tiny affair, and initially I didn’t think my panniers would fit, since the bungie hooks extended far below the hook slots integrated into the rack. However, I scrounged up a solution of sorts, attaching small “L” brackets to the unused holes on the rear dropouts. This seems to work, though I may need to round off the square bracket ends to avoid wearing a hole in the pannier material.

This image shows the silver “L” brackets I added, with a pannier attached to the opposite side of the rack. This appears to be fairly secure.

I also had to modify the rear reflector. The original reflector was rather wide, and interfered with the pannier top hooks, not allowing me to install the panniers as far back as I liked. So I removed the rectangular Dahon reflector, and installed a round one that I had in my parts box in its place. Eventually I want to replace this with a tail light of some kind, but this will do for now.

With the panniers installed, I went out for my first ride around the neighborhood. Since my neighborhood includes gravel as well as paved roads, this would also be a good test of the little bike’s handling on a loose and rough surface.

Here’s the bike next to some roadside flowers … nice!

The bike nearly disappears in this field of soybeans.

The bike crossing some railroad tracks.

I was quite pleased with the first ride of about 4 miles. This might be the friendliest bike I’ve ever ridden.

With the low step-over height and relaxed, upright posture, you just get on and go with no fuss. The small wheels feels a little tipsy at first, but that feeling soon passed, and it soon felt as stable as any other bike. I had expected a bit of a harsh ride on the rough roads, but it wasn’t bad at all. I’m sure the 1.5″ tires at about 50 PSI had something to do with that, but I was soon not noticing most of the bumps.

The internal gear hub is amazing, shifting smoothly and effortlessly. Except the grip shift will take some acclimation. Seems my instinct was to shift “bassackwards” every single time. I had to consciously think about which direction to rotate the shifter: forward is lower gears (slower), and backwards is higher gears (faster).

The gearing might be a little narrow (34″ to 84″, according to Dahon), but there’s not too much I can do about that, short of changing the chainring and/or rear sprocket. I didn’t really try any big hills, but I was able to spin out fairly easily on the flats. Oh well, it’s not a speed machine.

After I took the picture on the tracks, I realized that the bars were set rather high, and I lowered them a few inches, but it’s still a very upright posture. I’m also thinking that I may want to look at a different handlebar, or at least some bar ends, to give me some alternate hand positions.

All in all, for a short ride, I was very pleased. Not sure if I want to do a century on this thing, but 20-30 miles should definitely be doable.

I still need to load up the bike with a full complement of camping gear, to see how it rides with a load, but I expect that it’ll do fine. I’m planning a trip this winter that should put the bike to the test in city traffic and hills. Between now and then, I hope to put in some fun miles on this little bike!

The bike is a Puch Cavette II. There’s not a lot of information about this bike on the web, but I found a bit here and there, mostly about other Puch models.

First, some background on Puch:

A short lived marque, made by Austro-Daimler Puch, and which had success particularly in the USA in the 1970s and early 80s. There were two lines simultaneously marketed; Austro-Daimler and Puch. A-D was a “fancier” line with medium price to high end offerings, while Puch was aimed at a broader range including models at lower price points. [classicrendezvous.com]

And there is further info from Martin Cohen, which provides a rich history of Steyr-Daimler-Puch and how the Austro-Daimler and Puch lines were marketed in America, and the ultimate demise of the brand(s).

Actually, Puch is still (apparently) alive, selling bikes to Austria and Germany via puch-bikes.com.

Here’s some info from a 1977 brochure scan I found on the web:

At Puch’s factory in Graz, Austria, production is done according to the European workstation concept, where a team of craftsmen works together to build one bike at a time. The most critical operations are all done by hand. And the finished product, the Graz frame, is unsurpassed for quality, durability and, most important, performance.

Two types of tubing are used for Puck’s Graz Frames: double butted Reynolds 531, a remarkably stiff yet light manganese-molybdenum alloy, and Special Puch 482, a lightweight high-tensile nickel-carbon steel.

Since a frame is only as strong as its joints (local points of stress), joints on the Graz Frame are engineered to withstand hundreds of pounds of pressure with no energy-consuming end-play. Tubing ends are mitered to fit perfectly and resist the torque that is built up by pedaling. And each joint is locked into a carefully-tooled hand-fitted lug.

On all Graz Frames, lugged joints are solidly fixed with a low-temperature soldering process called “brazing,” which preserves the temper of the tubing, hence its strength and rigidity. Most of the brazing on Puch bicycles is done by hand. much of it using an especially low-melt silver solder.

For casual or cross-country touring, the Graz Frame of Special Puch 482 tubing combines stable tracking with an extremely comfortable ride. It is designed by the same engineers and built in the same factory as the Puch all-531 frame, and is finished with equal attention to detail.

The Cavette is a rugged bicycle, built to ride smoothly over any sort of road conditions. Equipped with alloy racing handlebars and consistently reliable Weinmann center pull brakes.

The Cavette appears to have been priced as either the lowest or next-to-lowest model of Puch’s road bikes. Higher-end bikes included the Cavalier, Brigadier, Marco Polo, and Royal Force (only the latter in 531 tubing). The Paladin was an “upright touring bike” and the Toledo was a 3-speed upright bike. Puch also had a folding bike called the BreakAway, a city bike with 20″ wheels called the Vitessa, and a children’s cruiser bike called the Rapier.

Here are the components on the bike:

• Special Puch 482 Tubing
• Rigida Steel Rims, 27″ x 1-1/4″
• Semperit 27: x 1-1/8″ x 1-1/4″ tires
• Normandy Alloy Hubs
• Maillard Front Quick-Release
• Silstar Cast Aluminum Cranks (170mm)
• Sakae Chainring (52/42) with Chainguard
• Sun Tour Perfect 5-Speed Freewheel (Model PT-5000) (14-17-20-24-28)
• SC Bottom Bracket 1.37x24T British, 68mm width
• Sakae steel handlebar
• Sakae Stem SR-80AH, alloy, 80mm extension, 150mm length, 22.00 diameter (French sizing)
• Steel seatpost, 25.4mm diameter
• Steel saddle clamp
• Wittkop Saddle
• Sun Tour SevenGT Rear Derailleur (Model # RD-2000)
• Sun Tour Spirt Front Derailleur (Model # FD-1000)
• Sun Tour Stem-Mount Shifters (Model # LD-1100 w/covers)
• Weinmann Centerpull 610 brakes, front and rear
• Weinmann Brake Levers
• Cateye Reflectors
• ESGE/Pletcher Kickstand
• Platform pedals form West Germany

So, a mixture of European and Asian components. Not top-of-the-line stuff, but decent quality. Date codes on the components are a mixture of “77″ and “78″, so I’m guessing that mine was sold in 1978 or 1979.

Weight is about 31.5 lbs.

So this is a low-end 10-speed road bike. Not fancy, but pretty solid. Much better quality than the old “Coast King” 10-speed that I purchased in 1980 (and sold at a garage sale a few years ago).

Surprisingly, once I got it cleaned up, I only found two problems with it — a flat front tire, and a dented rear rim (what was why one of the rear brake shoes had been lowered off the rim). The tires were pretty good for 30-year-old rubber, and everything else was pretty functional.

I replaced the tube in the front tire, and pounded out the dented rim as best I could, and took it for a test ride.

The bike rides really nice. Shifting is not particularly smooth, and it won’t reach the highest gear in the rear (I suspect a bent derailleur hanger), but it’s a pleasure to ride. Very smooth and stable, even on gravel.

Surprisingly, the bike is very nearly my size. By my estimation, it’s a 23″ (about 58cm), whereas my Long Haul Trucker is a 52cm. Standover height is just barely enough, and I feel a bit “stretched out” on the bike, but the more I ride it the more comfortable I seem to get.

I don’t really care for the handlebar style or the brake levers, but I can live with them for now. Even the saddle (a solid chunk of rubber) is reasonably comfortable.

The bike is rideable as-is, but I’m planning to look for a few items to improve things:

• Replace the handlebar tape
• Replace the cables with new — they all work, but the rear brake cable housing is bent at the lever, so may not last long
• Replace the brake levers with “aero” levers, so that the cables route beneath the handlebar tape
• Replace the 27″ steel wheels with 700c alloy wheels for lighter weight, better braking, and more tire choices (I think the existing brakes will handle the slightly smaller rims).
• Swap out to a shorter stem
• Find a different handlebar — I think I want one with flatter ramps and a shallower drop
• I’d like to change the stem-mounted shifters to bar-end shifters
• Maybe I can find some better brakes — side-pulls?
• Need to find a way to mount a water bottle — the frame has no braze-ons

A swap meet is coming up, so I’ll see what I can find. It’s hard to justify putting much money into this bike, but maybe I’ll luck into some more good deals.

One aggravating factor is the stem — it is “French Sizing”, which means that it’s 22.00mm in diameter (rather than the more common 22.20mm), and the handlebar clamp is 25mm rather than the standard 25.4mm. So that may be a limiting factor. If I can’t find a shorter stem, or a 25mm handlebar, then I might be stuck.

Yes, I’m aware that I can perhaps modify a 22.2mm stem to fit, as suggested by Sheldon Brown:

In cases where the stem really won’t fit into the steerer, a few minutes’ work on the stem with sandpaper will usually do the trick. Wrap the sandpaper around the stem, grip it with your hand, and turn the stem round and round until it fits. You only need to remove 0.1 mm, which is 1/250″, not much at all!

… but that’s a fallback position. Likewise, I’m aware that if I change out the rear hub from a freewheel to a freehub, I may need to cold set the rear hub to accommodate slightly wider spacing (the exisitng spacing appears to be 126mm).

Here are some pictures, most in pre-cleanup state:

This is a side view of the Puch Cavette II after I got it home and before I started cleaning it up.

“Puch Special 482 Tubing” label.

Head badge (just a label, actually) and lugwork details.

Front brake detail. The tires look barely used.

Handlebar and brake lever details.

Sun Tour stem-mounted friction shifters.

The saddle may appear to be leather, but it’s not. I believe this was referred to as a “comfort saddle”.

Sun Tour SevenGT Rear Derailleur, a mid-to-low end offering of the time, but apparently well-regarded.

This also shows the rear axle bolts, with Puch covers. Kind of a neat touch, but I find it curious that the front axle use a quick-release and the rear is bolted on.

This picture also shows the rear dropout, which is stamped, not forged — another sign that this is not a higher-end frame. The derailleur dropout is a bolt-on affair.

Here’s a look at one of the Rigida steel rims (“Made in France”).

This is a close-up of the bump in the rear rim. I used a hammer to gently beat the rim as flat as I could. It turned out OK. I can still feel the bump when braking, but it’s not terrible.

This photo shows my Long Haul Trucker superimposed on the Puch, with the bottom brackets lined up. The Surly is a 52cm frame with 26″ wheels. The Puch is a 23″ frame (about 58cm) with 27″ wheels.

I find it interesting how closely the two bikes match, despite being built ~30 years apart. The seat tube and down tube angles are spot on. And the seat height matches, even though the Puch was only fit by feel.

This image also shows that the Puch handlebars are definitely lower and the center of the bar is farther away than on the LHT.

Here’s a “glamour shot” of the Puch against a solid colored background.

This shot was selected because the building is of the same vintage as the bike — 1960s-70s. This is the (former) United States Post Office in Spring Hill, Kansas.

I post-processed the image to make it appear older, but I think it fits…

And finally, the Puch on a country road at sunset — in its element.

I’m hoping to use the Puch as a “go fast”-ish bike, as a contrast to the utility nature of my Long Haul Trucker — bigger wheels, thinner tires, no racks, fewer bags. Something where I can be unencumbered and push it a little harder.

I still need to come up with a bag and pump, and a way to carry water, before I can take the bike too far from home.

Should be a fun project!

Time’s been a bit tight for me lately, but I did get two bike overnights in during August, and both were less than 12 miles or so from home.

The first night I was there, I had only a vague idea where I’d be setting up, and with a 6PM start, time was short. But, since it was so close to home, I was there by 7 or so, so had plenty of time to locate a flat, grassy area, and set up camp.

Grass wasn’t too tall, and brush hadn’t overtaken the site, and it was partially hemmed in by trees — perfect!

I located some rocks, made small fire ring, and started a blaze. It wasn’t cold, but a fire is always comforting.

As darkness settled in, I kept the small fire burning, letting it idle down before turning in for the night. There was a mostly-full moon, and the sky was clear, so the stars were out. I kept the rain fly off the tent and enjoyed staring up at the heavens.

In the early morning the coyotes started up, at first far off, then eventually near at hand. At one point the whole pack was yipping nearby. Not sure how close exactly, but not far off! It was a pretty special moment, even if I did get out of the tent and stoke the fire back up until daybreak.

There was ground fog in the dawn, and dew covered the grass and trees. This is a view over a nearby pasture.

A dew-covered spider in its web, waiting for breakfast.

Flannel Mullein with with a solitary bloom.

The ground fog was beginning to burn off as I made my way out of the area.

My next camping opportunity was in late August. I had a group ride scheduled for Saturday, so I loaded up my camping gear on the bike, rode to the meetup point, and did the ride fully loaded. What’s an extra 20 pounds?

By afternoon, the temperature had climbed into the mid-90′s so it was rather muggy as I made my way back to the same campsite. Luckily, there was just a bit of a breeze, and the temperature moderated quickly as the sun went down.

I set up camp in basically the same configuration as before, using the same fire ring. That one long branch wasn’t very big, but it was solid, and it lasted me the whole night through.

In the morning, there was little to no dew, and the sun was already up as I went walking. I found this fat preying mantis clinging to a cedar tree.

Wouldn’t want to climb this tree!

Not sure what this purple flower is, but it was very pretty.

Acorns are setting on the oaks.

A big hairy hedge ball.

Puffs of milkweed seeds waiting to be cast adrift by the breeze.

Not sure what this plant is, but these little burrs latch onto everything, and are very difficult to remove, particularly from leg hairs. Ouch!

I used a bit of a different bike setup this time around. Rather than running front panniers, I managed to fit most everything in the rear panniers, then used a cooler on the front rack. Makes a fine place to store food and extra water. Might not be quite enough space for a long trip, though, if I were having to carry extra clothing and other gear. But for a short overnighter, this setup works well.

Hoping to get out a few more times before the cold weather sets in!

Ripening wheat.

These strange-looking plants are wild onions.

And this is a wild onion a month or so later, ripe.

The wild onion breaks apart into small cloves, rather good, though they have a sharper taste than garden onions.

Bull thistle. These are really beautiful to look at, though you don’t want to touch them.

The butterflies (and a large beetle) are going crazy for this milkweed.

This is a Zebra Butterfly, and the plant is actually called a “Butterfly Milkweed”.

Got a chance to go camping in early June, and this was my wild-camping campsite, near a small pond on public land near La Cygne Lake.

I was hoping that the pond would hold some nice bass, but all I managed to catch were a dozen or so of these small Sunfish.

I find this very strange, but I’m told that this is how some folks show off their big catch, by hangign the head from a fencepost. Macabre.

This is one of the stranger things I’ve stumbled across while on the bike. These bees were in the middle of the road, swarming over a honeycomb. I don’t know whether they had fallen out of a tree, or fallen off a truck transporting hives, or what. Luckily, they weren’t interested in me. Poor things didn’t know what to do, and probably didn’t survive long (the comb in front of my bike had been smashed by passing traffic).

Some of the gravel roads in my area are becoming severely washboarded, making them very unpleasant to ride. Most have a smooth spot somewhere, but it’s constantly shifting. For the roads with no smooth spot, you just have to suffer. The ride’s a b-b-bit b-b-bumpy.

This is Missouri’s state bird, the Bluebird, after meeting an ignominious end on Route 13 near Lexington.

This is the courthouse in Lexington, my hometown. Note the cannonball embedded in the left-most column, a relic of the Battle of Lexington during the Civil War.

It was a little strange riding around the town. It’s a place I’m very familiar with, but only from a car. It’s a different perspective from a bicycle.

Taking a break on a hot (100+°F) day on a dirt road near Hillsdale Lake.

This was another hot ride, this time with friends on the Flint Hills Nature Trail near Rantoul, KS.

Keeping cool on a hot day…

Some of the sunsets have been spectacular!

The truth hurts.

Thanks for reading!

I’d used Boeshield T9 on the previous two chains, and while I had no major issues with either the factory stock chain, or the SRAM PC-991 I replaced it with, and got decent life out of both (4098 miles on the factory chain and 4589 miles on the PC-991), I was a bit dissatisfied with the frequency of lube reapplication required. I’d generally get about 150 miles before I could start hearing the chain, or it started squeaking.

So I decided to make a switch.

I’d used Liquid Wrench Chain Lube on my Burley Django recumbent, on the recommendation of someone on a ‘bent forum, and had been happy with the performance, except that it wasn’t as clean as I’d like.

In the meantime, while I’d been using the Boeshield T9 on the LHT, it turns out that Liquid Wrench reformulated the lube to address the cleanliness issue. ‘New Organic Molybdenum Compound for high lubricity, anti-wear properties, without the black staining of original “MOLY”‘, according to the company.

The old lube came in a can with a black cap, and the new lube is in a can with a yellow cap. It’s also available in a bottle, but more commonly found in the spray can. I bought mine in the spray can version at a local auto parts store for about $4 — cheap compared to bicycle-specific lubes.

According to Liquid Wrench:

Industrial chain lube sprays like this one use an evaporating solvent in a base of petroleum oils and molybdenum disulphide. The high-viscosity petroleum oils do some of the rustproofing and general lubrication, while the molybdenum disulphide acts as a friction modifier, reducing wear. MD has exceptional lubrication qualities under conditions of high temperature, high loads (metal-to-metal contact pressure), and corrosive environments. It not only prevents rust, but metal-to-metal galling and can be used as an anti-seize compound. The combination of petroleum oils and MD offers superior rust and corrosion protection when compared to lighter oils or silicone products.

It is specifically recommended for bicycle chains (among a host of other applications).

“New, anti-sling formula, Liquid Wrench Chain Lube, works best on high performance bicycle and garage door opener chains for long term corrosion protection.”

I figured “what the heck”. The worst if could do is cause my chain to age prematurely. My new chain was an SRAM PC-951, their low-end 8-speed chain, which I got for $18.

Now, after 4620 miles, I have just replaced that chain, so here are my conclusions about the lube:

The chain appeared to run pretty clean. Perhaps not quite as clean as with Boeshield, but certainly cleaner than with the old Liquid Wrench Chain Lube formulation, and cleaner than with other oil-based lubes I’ve tried. It still got a bit of the black gunk after awhile (Boeshield did that, too), but not bad.

The chain was cleaned twice (using a Park Tools chain scrubber), both times after a mud-fest ride.

The longevity of the lube on the chain is slightly better than the Boeshield. I ended up lubing the chain about once every 180 miles, on average. Some of that was due to the snow/rain/mud rides; during dry periods, my lube frequency was usually 200+ miles (maximum = 288 miles).

To use the lube, I repurposed an old empty Boeshield bottle, punching a hole in the side, and using the straw applicator to fill it with Liquid Wrench Chain Lube, then taping the hole closed. Crude, but works.

To apply the lube, I apply it to a link at a time, using about one drop per three links, then rotating the crank a few times. The mess is minimal.

In all, I’ve been happy with the Liquid Wrench Chain Lube. It’s less expensive than the Boeshield and appears to work just as well. I’m planning to use it on my next chain (another SRAM PC-951) as well.

Pictures don’t do the rushing streams justice, and video can’t capture the sound of water or birds (at least the pathetic microphone on my camera can’t), and the smell of the earth can only be experienced first-hand.

They may or may not be your thing, but flowers have the power to stop me in my tracks. They are always a favorite photo subject, and one I can’t resist. If you enjoy looking at flowers, I think you’ll enjoy this post, but if not, feel free to skip it entirely.

Roadside flowers have finally begun to appear, which is a time of great joy for this cyclist. They don’t make for a great workout, but they do make for a great ride.

I’ll often stop every 50 feet to photograph a new flower, or get a different look at a variety I’ve already seen. With a group, someone would end up feeling hurried, while others would feel impatient, so a “flower ride” is, almost by necessity, a solitary ride. But that’s OK. I can ride as slow as I like, and stop whenever the mood strikes. It’s better than missing a great shot because you didn’t want to delay the group.

The flowers are mostly small at this point, but will get bigger and showier as the spring and summer progress. Here are some of the one’s I’ve gotten pictures of so far (as always, click the image to see a higher-resolution version):

(If I’ve mis-identified any of the flowers or grasses, feel free to set me right in the comments…)

It was a cool but sunny day, starting off in the 50′s and ending up about 65°F, with a light wind out of the east. Quite pleasant, indeed!

The easterly wind is rather unusual here (it’s usually out of the south or west), so I took this opportunity to explore some new territory in Missouri. I’d never been to Pleasant Hill, but had heard that it was a nice little town that was looking forward to seeing the Katy Trail come through town.

The first 20 miles of the route were on familiar paved roads, and not much of note. After that, the gravel ratio picked up a notch. Ran into a few miles of freshly-graded road just west of Pleasant Hill, and that was a little frustrating, but was over soon enough.

Here was my first sight on entering Pleasant Hill, the future path of the Katy Trail. The Katy currently ends in Clinton, MO, but a new extension is being built from Pleasant Hill to Windsor (just north of Clinton). One of the reasons I wanted to visit Pleasant Hill was to see if any progress was visible. Obviously not here.

Next I came to the old Pleasant Hill train depot. The building is in great shape, but appears to be empty (or at least nothing was open when I was there). Beautiful old structure, but this will not, as far as I can tell, be along the Katy Trail — the depot is on another, active, line.

These two signs tell the history of Pleasant Hill, from its beginnings in the 1820s, through a sad period during the Civil War when the surrounding countryside was razed, through its days as a railroad town.

The town has a very simple and elegant veterans memorial, made of extremely polished stone, and bearing quotes from George Washington, Admiral Nimitz, John F. Kennedy, and George W. Bush, so it must be fairly new.

You can see from this image that the wind was a little strange on this day. The flag in the background is slack, but one of the flags in the reflection is standing out straight, while the one next to it is drooping. Weird.

This is the museum in downtown Pleasant Hill, housed in a lovely stone building. It was closed, unfortunately.

There’s a mural on the side of the museum building that depicts scenes from the town’s history.

After getting some lunch, I headed out of town, when I came across this. I had my route mapped out, but didn’t know about this road closure. I decided to continue, in hopes that the road I was looking for, Sherwood, branched off before the closure.

And indeed, it did.

Just one problem — it, too, was closed, this time for “Bridge Out”. I briefly considered chancing it, but had no way of knowing how far away the bridge was, and whether the bridge was truly missing, or whether it was passable by bike. I decided not to chance it, so headed back out to the highway and took the next road to the east, headed south. One way or another, I figured, it would connect and get me home. And so it did.

Along the way, the road crossed this trail. I presume it was the future Katy extension, but it wasn’t marked, (other than by “No Trespassing” and “Closed for Construction” signs), so I’m not sure. But it’s in the right spot, so it must be. At this crossing, it looks pretty well complete. Not sure of the status of the rest of the route.

There were equipment and people at work going the other direction (behind me as I took this photo), but they were a ways down the trail, so I moved on.

After quite a few miles of gravel and lightly-trafficked paved back roads, I rolled into Peculiar. After purchasing a few overpriced snack items from the truck stop, I found this water tower, and arranged it, myself, and the bike just so.

Water towers don’t lie.

After Peculiar, I was on mostly familiar roads. This is the marker for the “Trail of Death“, the route used during the forced relocation of the Potawatomie people in 1838. This is located at 215th and State Line Road. on the Kansas side.

And nearby, another historical sign, this one stating that the Fort Leavenworth – Fort Scott Military Road crossed here.

I’d love to ride the Military Road route someday. There actually is an official route, the Frontier Military Scenic Byway, but that uses US-69 highway, which is not a bike-friendly, or at least not a very pleasant, route. I’d like to go by back roads.

Ultimately, I made it home with about 77 miles on the odometer. But the cyclocomputer had been flaking out for the last 30 miles — weak battery, I presume. My route map had been for 83 miles, but due to the detour, I knew I had more than that.

I considered going for the century, since I was so close, but how close was I? Was I at 85 miles? 95? No way of knowing for sure.

Once home, I retraced the route, and came up with 89.2 miles:

Oh well, there will be other days for the century.

It’s a blessing to know that I have the health and fitness to knock off a hundee anytime the opportunity arises. Though my legs were showing the fatigue by the end, everything else — hands, shoulders/neck, butt, energy level — was good. I certainly could have done another 10+.

Still, I ended up with an (estimated) 90 miles at an (estimated) speed of 13.5 MPH.

It was a very pleasant day, indeed!

Note: What I’m referring to here as “bike camping” is basically a self-supported overnight tour — ride somewhere, camp out, then ride home the next day. Some folks refer to these as S24O (Sub-24-hour Overnight) trips, but I think that’s a really awkward phrase. Adventure Cycling uses the term Bike Overnights, which is better. But I use “bike camping” and “bicycle tour” to refer to short or long tours, respectively.

I took off from home on Friday afternoon, meeting Bill in De Soto, then crossing the Kansas River and riding due north with a nice tailwind.

Along the way I came across this: Very considerate to put out a couch for the touring cyclist to rest!

On the way to De Soto I took a short detour to check out an abandoned bridge. Pretty cool.

Waiting at the park in De Soto … check out the flags whipping in the wind!

North of the river, we hit a few miles of gravel, and a few hills. Not long, but certainly steep!

Once in Leavenworth, we rode the Three-Mile Trail that connects their downtown area to the Missouri River. This shot was taken beneath a street underpass.

I was running pretty much the same setup that I used for last September’s Adventure Monkey tour (see packing list). Bill was running a lighter setup on the bike — just a tent and blanket on the rear rack — but he carried a large backpack.

In downtown Leavenworth we stopped for a visit with the folks at the Santa Fe Trails Bicycle & Coffee Shop, where Bill got a photo with a wandering tinman.

There are some beautiful old buildings in Leavenworth, and this one was particularly striking. I amped up the colors a bit, but the blues and reds and brick were vivid even with no tweaking.

Here’s a view from atop the bluff, looking over the railroad and river, with Missouri on the other side.

And here’s the view from our campsite at Riverfront Park, with the historic Centennial Bridge in the background. This is a great little campground. The location right there along the river was amazing, and just a short ride into town and all the amenities you’d like.

After dinner in town, we rode back to camp and the sight of the river and bridge in the dark was rather spectacular. This is me on the riverbank with the lights from the bridge shimmering in the river (it’s a 15-second exposure, which is why the river surface looks so indistinct).

And after a restful night (even with periodic trains passing by only a 100 yards or so from the tents), here’s the view at sunrise.

Clouds had rolled in overnight, and storms threatened at daybreak, but we only had a short sprinkle in camp, just enough to get the tents wet. There was a bit of lightning across the river.

Soon enough the storm passed, the clouds drifted off, and the sun began to peek over the trees. It was a beautiful time to be on the river.

The morning light was glorious, and Bill and I posed on either side of this huge old moss-covered cottonwood tree.

After searching (unsuccessfully) for a cafe for breakfast, we came across this mural, so had to stop and get a photo. Leavenworth is known as the “First City” in Kansas. That’s Buffalo Bill in the center.

We had a little time to kill before the Kansas Sampler Festival opened at 10am, so we explored the town a bit more. This is a brick-paved drive on the campus of the University of Saint Mary.

After attending the festival for a couple hours, and learning about a lot of great places to visit in Kansas (and imbibing a bit of Kansas beer and wine), we hit the road, heading south on K-5. This is a lovely highway with light traffic and great views, though it’s rather hilly in places.

Finally, after riding through Lansing, Piper, Kansas City Kansas, and Bonner Springs, we crossed the Kansas River on K-7 and hit the Mill Creek Streamway for a few miles.

Bill and I split at this point, with me riding south through Olathe and Bill heading east to Prairie Village.

Here’s the approximate route I took over the trip:

I ended up with about 105 miles for the two days.

It was a great little tour, and I’m looking forward to doing more soon!

Here’s Bill and Corinna riding on weekend-empty KC streets. Bill’s still in his Tweed Ride finery, and Corinna’s in her Chocolate Fairy get-up.

We didn’t get to ride together all that long, but she led us to a few mini-adventures:

Al-Rahman Halal Market, a local market specializing in Middle Eastern and African food. Never would have stopped in there on my own, but a really nice little shop.

Worldwide ultraglobal international top secret superheadquarters of MK12.

“Ride a Bike” … yeah!

Graffiti in a rail yard: “Only believe what you here … welcome to the real world”.

We evacuated the railroad tracks when a train came through, then stopped at the next intersection and Corinna recited a poem she’d written that weaved the “secret concrete canyon” and the “nine blue sheep” graffiti together with other stories from the city and her life. It was powerful. Stunning, actually. I only wish I’d had the foresight to capture it on video.

But luckily, here it is, recorded at a Jazz Poetry Jam, Corinna West’s “816″:

After that, we split, with Corinna headed north, and Bill and I rolling on south towards home.

I want to get back there some time and do some more exploring. So many hidden gems to discover in the city.

Thanks for the tour and the poem, Corinna!