Hiking Claremont Wilderness Trail

Today Jamie and I hiked Claremont Wilderness Trail (CWT). It was a lot of fun and there were many other hikers, joggers and cyclists.

From CWT we headed up Burbank, then down Cobal. The trip took us about 1 1/2 hours. Early on Jamie and I did some 1-2 minute intervals. We also saw Antonio on Burbank. I waved him down and introduced him to Jamie.

Shimano Ultegra Crank Arms

A friend gave these to me the other day. The chain rings were thrashed but it looks like the arms are fine. They will make great SS crank arms.

Specs:
170 mm crank arm length
110 mm BCD

As for chain ring size, I'm looking for 46t.



I added an old FSA chainring I had laying around. They look really good and the ring is 46T. Lucky for me!



I picked these chainring bolts up at Incycle. These are needed for a clean SS crank conversion. Without these the original bolts won't fit right when you remove the second chainring and finding washers to fill the space is a pain in the a$$.

Man's Best Bicycle Friend

Carl sent this to me the other day. Being I work for a Dogfood company and love bikes, I thought it appropriate.

Bonelli Park - A Short Hard Climb

This climb is near the East Entrance of Bonelli Park. Its a short climb but steep and technical.

Mark's - GT Pantera Single Speed Conversion (Part Two)

After the conversion we forgot to take pictures. I guess we were to excited and taking pictures slipped our minds. Anyhow Mark sent me these...



I don't remember what type of cranks these are, but they look great with the single chain ring setup.

Bonelli Park with many Bicycle Friends

It was a cool overcast morning as I headed out to the Via Verde Park and Ride to meet with fellow cyclist. Instead of riding my bike to the Park and Ride, I opted to drive. The P&R is not far but on a single speed mountain bike the trek there would take to long. At a gear ratio of 34 X 19 (46.5 gear inches) is not the best ratio for flat terrain and would result in me "spinning out" to easily.

I got to the P&R about 5 minutes past 7:00 am with Alan, Mark and Carl ready to go. Alan and Mark brought two friends, Rony and Glen. Shortly after, Peter arrived and after a tire check, we were off. As we headed out Memo and Marco showed up.




On the trail, Alan busted a chain and while we fixed it, Memo and Marco caught up with us.




Alan, hammering away up the back side of Bonelli Park.



Memo and Marco showed up for our ride. Thanks guys for coming, I had a lot of fun.






Carl, Mark and Peter navigating some single track at the end of our ride.





Murky Water in Vietnam, anyone need to refill their water bottles? Vietnam is a part of Bonelli that's over grown and lots of tree cover. Its located next to the Motor home park.

Mark's - GT Pantera Single Speed Conversion

Friday night Mark and I converted his GT to a single speed. With a kit ordered from Performance Bike, elbow grease and a few tools, viola, a single speed is born. The SS kit comes with a chain tensioner, washers and three cogs. The cogs range from 18 to 20 teeth. The mod was pretty easy and we opted for 32 X 20 gearing for starters. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of the finished product.

Avocet Touring Mod II

These are vintage touring shoes by Avocet. At size 8 they are really small but definitely keepers. They remind me of indoor soccer shoes, soft and supple. The soles are a nice thick rubber that reminds me of an eraser.

Kyokuto Pro VIC II - Vintage Pedals

I found these pedals in my junk box. They are vintage Kyokuto pedals from the late 1970s. I'm going to use these for my SS Road Bike project. They have a fairly wide platform and will look great with some stainless steel cages.

In a previous post, I said Yin & Yang design scheme but now I think a Piet Mondrian color scheme on the frame would look great. When it comes to design, I like the bold colors of Red, Yellow and Blue and Piet Mondrian's use of the primary colors and angular lines really captivates me. The only deviation for me would be all black wheels.

My Single Speed/Fixed Gear Road Bike Project

I my getting a little bore and need a new project. I've been toying with the idea of putting together a SS Road bike for awhile and talking with Ron put me over the edge. I have collected a number of spare parts over the years and it looks like I have enough to build a SS speed road bike. We'll see what happens ...

Last year I built a Black SS Mountain Bike and its my favorite ride on the mountain. I would like to build a white SS road bike as an homage to Yin and Yang.



Here's a sweet Austro Daimler similiar to the one I have. Someone did a great job converting it to a fixie/SS. I kept mine 95% original. I just don't have the desire to convert it. For me its too nice. Picture from: (http://velospace.org/files/bike_1325.jpg)

Ron on a SS, Coyotes, Two Flats, Daryl, Motorcyclist Down and no Trip to Mt. Baldy

The day started early, I was on my bike by 6:30 am and headed to GMR for a Mt. Baldy ride. I met up with Annette and it was a nice and easy ride to the Maintenance Shed. I commented on how the weather was cool and how light the traffic was. Few cars, motorcycle and luge racers crossed our paths to the Maintenance Shed.

At the shed we met three riders from Riverside Bicycle Club and they were headed to Crystal Lake. As it turns out they are fans of www.glendoramtnroad.com too, and all the more reason to keep Annette posting (I had commented earlier to her that she is slacking on her posts)!



We also met Ron at the shed. Ron sports an orange Mercier single speed. I met him briefly two weeks ago on my ride to Baldy with the guys from BikeForums.net. At 46 X 16, Ron is a monster pushing that gear ratio to Mt. Baldy. We talked a short while and looks like he's going to build a cyclocross bike. I asked if it will be a SS and he said no, probably a 1 X 9. He's looking at 42t up front and 12-32t in the rear.




Here is Annette with her signature red handkerchief. She's calling herself the Squirrel Magnet now.



At about Fork plus 2 we spotted two coyotes walking up the middle of the road. I sped up shouting to get them off the road. The cub took off for the bushes but momma barely moved. She looked sick, maybe poisoned. It was both sad and a little scary as mamma really wasn't spooked by me. Annette noticed mamma approach me as I pulled out my camera. Mamma probably thought I was going to feed her. You should never feed wild animals!



I got two simultaneous flats at Fork plus 3.75. Darn, one tube, two flats, thankfully Annette had a spare. There were many concerned riders who stopped to lend a hand. With a close inspection of my tire I didn't notice any thorns or goat heads. I think what punctured them was a very sharp rock. Specialized Armadillos maybe the solution to this problem.



Daryl and Rick (I think that's his name) came riding up GMR as I changed my tube. Daryl is back from riding the Pyrenees in France. He used GMR as training for the Pyrenees, so If you can conquer GMR you can conquer anything! Rick was riding a custom Seven.



After the coyotes and flat tires, I decided I should turn around and save Mt. Baldy for another day. On the way back we crossed paths with Adobo Velo riders. These guys ride GMR to the Mt. Baldy ski lifts.

Annette and I also encountered a total idiot Motorcyclists who came really close to hitting us. I was so taken back by his total lack of Road etiquette/courtesy and Annette had a few choice words for him. Note to self, never let your guard down when riding GMR.

At about the Banana Tree, I witnessed one motorcyclists lay his bike down. On an inside turn his tires picked up some debris and caused his bike to slide out from under him. He went down and was more pissed off than hurt. Many expletives came out of his mouth.

The second half of my ride was wrought with much traffic. Speeding Motorcyclists, Cars and other Bicyclists who started the day later.

Never Easy, Always Rewarding - MTB on a Single Speed

Up early and on the road by 7:00 am, today I road my single speed to the Claremont Wilderness Trails. Getting there was hard because it was my first day back on the SS after a four week Mt. Baldy Binge. You see on my road bike I have 20 different gears to choose from. On my Single Speed, you guessed it, I only have one.

Immediately heading up Garey Ave., my mind played tricks on me. "Okay Jason, switch gears," and I did a ghost shift with my right thumb. Nothing there, no resistance, darn! "This is going to be tough," I think to myself and as I ride Thompson Creek Trail to my destination.

Once I entered the wilderness trail I headed up Burbank. The ride up was hard but the trick of SS riding it to pace yourself. I get to the top of Burbank, tired, and I decide to head down jump trail. From Jump trail, I headed to Yellow Gate and down Cobol. At the bottom of Cobol, I headed back up for another loop. Two hours thirty minutes, and 22 miles later, I'm back home. Ride finished.

I felt good and was glad I did it. Riding my single speed is unusually rewarding. Maybe its the simplicity, with no gears, no suspension, and no disc brakes that keeps me wanting more. I don't know but when I ride the SS I feel connected to my bike and nature. Weird.

Carl working on his bike

Bicycle friends riding thru Fullerton

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

A Tribute to Bicycling, Glendora Mountain Road and Piet Mondrain

Although not the most accurate representation of a Piet Mondrian, I did enjoy creating this piece from MS Paint. I cheated and used grey in addition to Black and the three primary colors.

I have a vintage bike jersey, La Vie Clair that introduced me to Piet.
I call this one, Primary Plus Black and Grey AB


One more, Jamie doesn't really like this one. I call it Primary Plus Black.

New CANIDAE Racer

Keep an eye out for this gal, Maggie May, on the trails and up Glendora Mountain Road! Carl picked up Maggie May as a puppy and she is growing up sooo fast!