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First Properly Snowy Ride of 2012

Published January 14, 2012

With the unseasonably warm weather that we’ve been having in Michigan today was the first properly snowy ride that I’ve been able to go on. Jeremy Verbeke and I headed up to Stony Creek, parking at and heading in through the hole in the fence, and rode a full lap of the trail, including all of the single track and a bunch of two track in the southeast part of the park. Today’s 18°F, little wind, and slightly cloudy skies was as perfect of winter riding as one could ask for.

The trail conditions were perfect, with a good layer of firm, packing, tacky snow on almost everything and no mud. There were some notable frozen ruts throughout The Pines which were clearly the result of over-anxious riders during the last few weeks freeze/thaw cycles, but they weren’t anything that I can see being a problem long term. Most of the trail was in great shape.

Riding, while hard, was otherwise uneventful. Despite snowing riding (and Jeremy’s first time out properly riding in snow) neither of us fell, nor were there any close calls. This was a really nice ride.

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Public Domain Mountain Bike Trail Courtesy Yield Sign

Published January 9, 2012


 
Public Domain Mark

In mountain biking literature it’s common to find graphics which replicate a yield sign and indicate that, as a courtesy while riding trails, cyclists should yield to both hikers and equestrians. I recently found myself needing one of these graphics for a map that I’m working on, and while it’s easy to find small raster (PNG, GIF, etc) versions online I was unable to easily locate a vector copy, much less one that had a license allowing free reuse. So, I made one myself and it’s available as public domain for anyone to reuse.

This graphic, as seen above, can be downloaded from here in EPS format: mtb_trail_courtesy_yield_sign_v1.eps

In making this logo I used cyclist, hiker, and equestrian graphics provided by the National Park Service as part of their Map Symbols for NPS Maps. Being released in October 2011 these are as up to date as possible. Curiously, these symbols have just one symbol for “Bicycle Path” which seems to combine all cycling routes under one symbol.

I believe this artwork (mtb_trail_courtesy_yield_sign_v1.eps, MD5 checksum 4aac401c347b80675a673e756a604480) to be free of known copyright restrictions and I am thereby releasing it into the public domain. If this artwork is reused elsewhere a citation (to Steve Vigneau / nuxx.net) would be appreciated, but it is not necessary.

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What Do I Carry When Riding My Bicycle?

Published January 5, 2012

I’ve occasionally had people ask me what I carry when riding my bicycle. They are usually wondering what sort of tools to get, what emergency supplies to bring, and things like that. Tonight I finally got around to documenting what I keep in my bag. This is not an exhaustive list of everything I ever carry, nor do I think it’s applicable to everyone else, but I hope it helps some people out with figuring out what they want to carry.

The contents listed here are what I normally carry in my bag, a Deuter Race Air Lite hydration pack, which I first saw my friend Erik using and found to be really nice when I checked them out at Trail’s Edge. In the ~1 year that I’ve been using this pack I’ve been quite happy with it, although I’m still tempted to replace the bite valve with a CamelBak Hydrolock and Big Bite Valve. It’s much nicer than the CamelBak M.U.L.E. that I had previously, most specifically because of the extra ventilation on the back. The bag, packed and ready to ride with, can be seen here: photo.

I’ve also got a Fox 40 Micro Safety pealess whistle attached to my shoulder strap (photo). After hearing this story about a local guy, Joe Foy (hodaddy), who got stuck in the woods while riding in the winter alone I realized that I should have an auxiliary way to call for help, and the whistle it is. After all, one can blow a whistle for a lot longer than they can yell.

So, what’s in the bag? While the foodstuffs vary as they get eaten all of this is pretty typical:

· Cable Ties (Thin/short and wide/long, 4 or so of each.)
· 2x Nitrile Gloves (Stuffed into a small plastic zip-top bag.)
· Crank Brothers multi-17 Tool
· Sawyer Maxi-Deet 100% DEET Insect Repellant (Only carried in the summer, applied only when I need to stop in bug-infested areas.)
· Crank Brothers power pump ultra High/Low Pressure Pump
· Clif Kid Zbar (Half normal Clif Bar size and much tastier.)
· Trader Joe’s Dried Fruit Bar (Like a gel, but almost better.)
· Replacement Derailleur Hanger (from DerailleurHanger.com / Wheels Manufacturing)
· Tire Patch Kit w/ Sandpaper Abrasive
· $20 Cash
· Spare SRAM PC-1 Links, 8 and 9-speed Quick Links
· Presta to Schrader Valve Adapter
· ProGold Pro Link Chain Lube
· 1x Pedro’s Tire Lever
· 1x Tube (Typically Kenda Super Lite 29 x 1.9/2.3.)
· 2x Clean, Old Cotton Socks (Tube packed in one, multi-tool and tire lever in another. Also useful as rags.)
· Olympus Stylus 850 SW Ruggedized Camera (Usually in a jersey pocket, but almost always with me.)
· Car Keys
· Wallet
· Gels (Clif Shot Gels are good, and the Litter Leash works. I’m also fond of Hammer Gel.)
· Cell Phone in Pelican 1015 Case (More Photos)

Except for the camera, phone, and wallet, all of this packs down into a space a bit larger than two fists. It all fits nicely into the bag and leaves me plenty of room to carry extra stuff. If I’m going on a longer ride I’ll also throw in some extra food, such as granola† or maybe a sandwich. Sometimes I’ll also toss a folding saw or jacket in the bag. If it’s night time it’ll also house the battery for my light and a hand-held flashlight, and if it’s winter I’ll also add some chemical warmers and a heavy pair of gloves.

There are a few changes that I should probably make:

· Replace the $20 bill with some change. Maybe 5x $1, 1x $5, and 1x $10, just to make things easier when stopping in an emergency.
· For winter riding add a mylar emergency blanket, candle, and matches.
· Get some alcohol prep pads. Useful for cleaning hands and other things.
· Get some gaffer tape and wrap a few turns around the pump handle.
· Get a Surly Toob, a 3.x” 26″ tube, or something appropriate for the Mukluk. Especially when doing longer, solo winter rides.
· Get a small amount of toilet paper and store it in a waterproof pouch. Perhaps one or two of the packs that come with MREs.

† Trader Joe’s Oh My! Omega Trek Mix is my personal favorite. It’s all nuts, seeds, and berries and doesn’t result in my blood sugar crashing the way I do after a bunch of other more candy-like trail mixes. It also tastes really good when hot or cold.

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Mukluk Fork Light: First Draft

Published December 31, 2011

As mentioned a month ago I had the parts laying around the house for fitting a Philips commuter bike light to a rigid fork crown. I’ve poked with this on and off over the last month, including taking some time to cut a water bottle to hold the battery and fill/fashion the top of it with leftover GREAT STUFF foam. Tonight I finally put together the power supply, built the wiring harness, mounted a bottle cage to a fork, and put it all together.

This looks like it’ll be a pretty good auxiliary light for winter riding; something to provide some nice, low-angle light to increase contrast / shadows. It’s listed as being ~100 lumens, and being a European commuter-style light it’s designed to cast a rotated D-shaped light, illuminating only the pavement and not shining in other riders’ eyes. Being mounted just above the Mukluk’s large tire this casts a decent-sized shadow, but I don’t think that this’ll be a problem when riding. I’m now just looking forward to the trails freezing so I can get out and try this.

To put this together I used the following items, all of which were sitting around the house unused, generally left over from other projects:

· Philips SafeRide BF60L60BALX1 Light
· Tenergy 14.8V 3Ah LiPo Battery Pack
· Sure Electronics PT-PC021 Step-down Power Supply
· Cannondale Water Bottle
· Random Fasteners
· King Cage Bottle Cage
· Silicone-insulated Stranded Wire
· Cable Ties
· Hot-Melt Glue
· Neoprene Sheet
· Left-over GREAT STUFF (Yes, I was somehow able to save a can and get it dispensing again by removing the nozzle…)

I’m not sure that I’ll stick with the fork mount for the battery, but wanting to keep the main bottle cage empty it seems to be the best option. I also might modify the battery holder to be a bit more solid, but right now I’ve got the power supply wrapped in neoprene which nicely holds the battery in place. This results in nothing rattling around and everything working pretty well, so we’ll see where it goes…

UPDATE: Runtime tests show a little over six hours runtime off of one charge. The setup has also been proving quite durable and reliable. I may switch to a smaller battery and a more permanent mount, but for now this setup seems to be working wonderfully.

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CRAMBA’s Addison Oaks Mountain Bike Route Map

Published December 30, 2011

For a while now I’ve lamented that, while they do a nice job of illustrating the whole of the park, the park provided maps for Addison Oaks don’t show the mountain bike trail route very well. After a meeting with park management it was decided that a new map of the MTB route would be nice, and over the last week I spent some time gathering GPS data at the park and drawing up the map you see above: CRAMBA‘s Addison Oaks Mountain Bike Route Map.

When drawing this map I was working with the following intentions:

· Make the MTB route easy to find for new users to the park.
· Provide sufficient landmarks (mile markers, water tower, RC plane field, cell tower, lakes, etc) to make it easy for a new user to locate themselves along the route.
· Illustrate where the MTB route interacts with other marked routes, such as equestrian trail crossings and segments shared with marked equestrian and hiking routes.
· Allow the map to be used alongside the park-provided maps by including common reference points.
· Produce a map that is readable when printed in B&W or color.

I think that this map meets these intentions. There will, of course, be versions released after this as stuff changes around and points for improvement are identified, but I’m pretty happy with the result thus far. Hopefully others will find it useful.

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It’s Not Morgellons

Published December 26, 2011

Every once in a while, usually after a long bit of walking, I will find a small hair sticking out of the ball of my foot. This part of my foot will sting a bit, I’ll find the hair sticking out, and a few hours after pulling it out with tweezers the pain will be gone. I suspect that a bit of hair in my sock — either my own or something picked up — will work it’s way under a bit of skin, then slowly push it’s way in while walking. It’s easy to remove and rather amusing.

Looking around a bit online I’ve found anecdotal stories of others (particularly dog groomers working in sandals) having the same problem, but it seems to be more rare and undiscussed than tonsillolith. And yes, I’m sure it’s not Morgellons.

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Christmas Eve Paved Riding

Published December 25, 2011

Ever since the Macomb Orchard Trail paving was completed a couple months ago I’d been wanting to ride it to my parents house. After cancelling (due to slush) then resuming the plans later in the day I set out to do so today, managing to ride the whole distance with only one stop: a crosswalk half a mile from my house. I did the rest of the 29.38 mile treck in one go spanning a total of 1:59:53 (1:58:08 moving time), pedaling nearly the entire time, for an average speed of 14.8 MPH and average heart rate of 155 BPM.

This is an interesting route, because the first half of it (to the barn-shaped bridge over M-53 just north of 32 Mile Road) is uphill, and after that it becomes gradually rolling with nearly unnoticable (except for wondering why you are feeling slow) ups and downs. There was also a gusty wind out of the southwest, which made things a bit unpleasant at times. Still, the pavement on the path made it an overall nicer ride than when I last rode this route on Mother’s Day.

The most interesting part of this ride was how sore I was afterward. Being a flat, paved route it was easy riding, and I sitting and pedaling hard almost the entire time. This resulted in some hamstring (not sure exactly which muscle, but something right near my sit bones) cramping right after getting off the bike, to the point where squatting was extremely painful. One small dose of Ibuprofen, a warm shower, and a couple hours later and it’s better with just a little residual soreness. Due to being on trails my normal rides involve a good bit of sitting and standing up, but for this ride I had to occasionally stand on the pedals to take some weight off my sit bones and stretch a little. I think a few more rides like this would do me well.

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Winter Beer Assortment

Published December 23, 2011

It’s been a while since I purchased an assortment of beer, but finding myself near Red Wagon this afternoon I decided to stop in and pick up a bunch of winter-y beers. The assortment purchased today is as follows, from left to right:

· North Peak Brewing Company‘s Dubious Black Chocolate Stout
· Delerium Tremens
· Samichlaus Bier
· Lagunitas Hop Stoopid
· Young’s Double Chocolate Stout
· New Holland Brewing‘s Dragons Milk
· Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier
· Southern Tier Brewing Company‘s mokah
· Brau Brothers Brewing Company Moo Joos Oatmeal Milk Stout
· Weihenstephan Vitus
· Genesee Beer
· Keeweenaw Brewing Company‘s Widow Maker Black Ale

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Vector Symbols for Maps

Published December 21, 2011

Ever been drawing a map and found yourself needing vector copies of symbols? Well, thanks to the great state of Minnesota there is a font containing most of these symbols freely available. On the state’s page Recreation Symbols Extension for ArcView one can download recreate.ttf, a 126-character TrueType font containing indicators for everything from XC ski trail difficulty to lighthouse locations and from winter camping sites to RV dump locations.

To make using this font easier I’ve created a spreadsheet-based key listing each of the symbols next to their corresponding Unicode character. This can be found here: Minnesota DNR Recreation Symbol True Type Font Key.xlsx

There’s a few other nifty things that Minnesota has provided to the general GIS community, including Road Symbols. The rest can be found here.

UPDATE: Here is another set of symbols provided by the National Park Service (NPS). These are much more up to date and provided as both PDF and .AI files.

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General Tire AltiMAX Arctic Snow Tires

Published December 11, 2011

Having some time this evening I fitted the snow tires to my car. Purchased from Tire Rack, I ended up with a set of General AltiMAX Arctic snow tires on steel rims in 195/65R15 size. This is slightly narrower and with a taller sidewall than the original tires, but conveniently one of the spec sizes on the slightly lower model of Civic, which makes pressure selection a piece of cake and left me with little doubt that they’d be a decent fit for the car.

These tires were mentioned to me by a couple friends, and they are Consumer Reports #2 snow tire pick, just behind some that cost almost 80% more. Delivered just a few days after ordering (albeit with the lug nuts coming a week later due to a order packing screwup) they were here quite quickly and ready to go.

Installation went smoothly, and with the purchase of a breaker bar, proper size sockets, and a torque wrench I had all the tools needed to make the installation go smoothly. I had a slight issue jacking up the rear of the car which necessitated some oak blocks to extend the reach of the floor jack, but once on the jack stands everything went smoothly. The old wheels came off with little effort thanks to the 18″ breaker bar, the new ones seated nicely, the lug nuts snugged up evenly, and torquing them evenly (once the car was back on the ground, of course) took just a bit of time with the wrench.

The test ride around the area went well, and while I can hear a bit more road noise that’s to be expected from the heavily siped tires. I’ve now got the car sitting outside overnight so the tires can cool to ambient temperature. Come morning I’ll fill them to specified pressure and they should be good for a while, or at least until we get down near single digit temperatures.

Now to wait for some snow and ice… It’s too bad this week has a forecast for rain and higher temps. Maybe I should have waited before putting them on. Oh well.

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