Date: August 28
Mileage: 19.5
August mileage: 352.9
Temperature upon departure: 55
This whole relocation thing sure is time-consuming. I feel like I've lost an entire month, and not in a good way. Among the things I didn't do in August 2006:
*Eat at a real restaurant (i.e. one that doesn't start in "Sub" and end in "Way.")
*See a movie (unless snipets of late-night B-movies on cable TV count)
*Play with my cat
*Cook a meal (It's true. When you consider the first point, I'm sure it's not hard to imagine how substandard my diet has been this month.)
*See live music
*Throw a barbecue
*Dance
*Paint
*Go for a hike that didn't end with me in a puddle
*Go for an over-50-mile bike ride that didn't end with me in a puddle
Also, for a summer month, 350 total cycling miles are a little bit sad, especially when I consider that my mountain bike sat dormant all month long. I spent about an hour this morning lubing the moving parts and trying to figure out how much of the "surface rust" is actually irreversible corrosion. I had to jerk the crank hard just to get the pedals unstuck.
But I'm finally getting settled enough to have other things besides moving on my mind. And now that I'm facing a slew of months that end in "brrrr," I'm starting to get excited about winter cycling again. I think this is going to be the winter that I build up a real snow bike, with snowcat rims, large frame, single speed, disc brakes - the works. If anyone out there in bloggerland has an old mountain bike frame with enough room for some really wide tires that you'd be willing to sell, please drop me a line. I still plan to re-fit my studded tires on the Gary Fisher for a good ol' ice bike (for commuting), but my hope is to build something truly trail-worthy to take on the slopes - and, if fortune shines on me, the 2007 Susitna 100.
I'm really looking forward to winter - which probably seems crazy in a place where "winter" technically ended only three months ago. Here in Juneau, I probably realistically have at least two more the wait before winter starts again. But that will give me time to get ready - build my winter bike, sharpen my snowboard edges, buy some new cross-country ski boots ... maybe new skis. Oh yeah.
Have fun finding snow in Juneau. While it DOES snow there, it rains a lot more.
ReplyDeleteHate to burst your bubble but Fall runs from now till December in Juneau. You'd be better off tuning up your raingear than snowboard.
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying your blog and your sense of adventure. I hiked the Chilkoot in the rain last summer so I know a thing or two about being soggy (besides living here 20 years). If you need a cat fix or just a home cooked meal let me know! My husband & I would love to meet you.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally psyched that you're thinking about building up a singlespeed snow bike. Rock on girl.
ReplyDeleteI have an 18" On-One Inbred will fit 3.0 Nokians. No disc mounts, but you could run a fixed gear. For you, $100 frame & fork. Dunno if it would fit you or not...the geometry is listed on on-one.co.uk SS Inbred. It's probably too big since they run loooong top tube though. It's frigid bits worthy.
ReplyDeleteI'm still trying to decide which snow bike to buid between this and the 1993 Specialized Hard Rock I rescued from the dump.
Post over on mtbr...one of those guys might have something. I'll keep my eye open for you!
I just reread that post...durrrr. I should have put a disclaimer saying that I drank a Kassik IPA, Delerium Tremens, Arctic Rhino Coffee Porter and Rodenbach prior to typing.
ReplyDeleteDude,
ReplyDeleteI just jumped on my mtn bike for the first time in months (I'm a roadie) and thought of your wild adventures. I can crank on the road, but barely made it twelve miles on the singletrack.
Enjoy cycling in the rain. You get used to it.
What line of crap did they tell you to get you to move to Juneau? Winter is little better than the summer Juneau had this year. Expect lots of rain and any snow will be wet and gone in a few days. Can you build a bike that you can ride on water? Maybe you should take up kayaking? Congrats on finding the apartment. Best of luck. You should be able to adjest with time.
ReplyDeleteDillon