100 miles!

The last big training milestone for the Seattle to Portland was a 100 mile ride. Done! 19 laps around Crockett Lake yesterday. It was getting slower at the end. Having those lower gears helped. And the coasting function. I've been riding a non-coasting bike for the last year and a half.

Only two more weekends of training before the STP. The longest ride is 50 miles. Time to let the body catch up.

I replaced the derailleur cable. Now it has 16 speeds again. I also now have extra ones.

Now it's time to start looking for the sleeping bag and air mattress for camping out in the Centralia College Gym on July 16.

A new Bernie bike hits the road

32 miles today on the Schwinn Typhoon Mark IV. First ride. Looks a lot like the last Bernie bike but the last one had two gears. This one has 16. Or it did until the front derailleur cable stop failed early in the ride and left me with 8 gears. Still an improvement. It's a different but identical frame. The pedals, seat, seat post, front rack, handle bar bag, bottle cages, and saddle bag were on the old Bernie bike. The bigger tires made it smoother and faster. Fenders are on the way.

I did find another cable stop for the front derailleur. It was originally the down tube stop on my Raleigh International super commuter and then it went on the Nishiki Olympic that Katie has now. Unfortunately I didn't have any spare shift cables. Lots of spare brake cables but they didn't help. I need to keep spares on hand.

Tomorrow I ride 100 miles. I will need an early start.

1,700 miles for the year

I'm over 1,700 miles for the year. I did 81 miles Saturday and 81 miles again on Sunday. There are two training mileposts for the Seattle to Portland that I think are essential. The first is doing two 80 milers back to back. Done! It took three tries. The first week I didn't feel well and stopped at 40 miles. Last week I did the first 80 but at too fast a pace and was wiped out the next day. The third time was just right. Dialed down the pace a little and finished the last lap as fast as the first. Next week has fewer miles and then the following week has a hundred mile ride. Once that is done I will be ready. That will be followed by a couple of weeks of winding down the miles. 32 days and 15 hours until the STP.

This may be the last long ride for my fixed gear Schwinn. The 16 speed Schwinn is almost done and I should be riding the 100 miler on that. The seat, seatpost, pedals, and front rack will go on the "new" Schwinn.

Above the green you can see driftwood piled up. Puget Sound is on the other side. The mountains are the Olympics.

Schwinn Typhoon Mark IV - two wheels

It's starting to look like a bicycle.

I finished building the rear wheel and it's on the bike. I've installed the handlebar with grips, brake levers, and shifters. The cantilever brakes are on their posts. The bottom bracket and crank are on as well as front and rear derailleurs. Waiting for the 8 speed cassette and then I can put on the chain and connect the derailleurs with cables. Next to install the rear brake and connect the brakes with cables. Hopefully it will be on the road in another week. The seat and seat post will be shared with my other Schwinn as well as the front rack and pedals.