Kinetic Linkage

I bought a Garmin Forerunner 210 in July, and have been making a consistent effort to record and track my rides on Garmin's website, Strava and MapMyRide for the past three or four months.  I selected Friday's ride into Minneapolis, a Thirty-Three mile ride along the Greenway, Cedar Trail and River Road then back to St. Paul.  There was a decent southern wind and rollerskiers were out in abundance. 
The GarminConnect, Strava and MapMyRide blog widgets allow me to post a coded link with a map and some information about the ride, as I have done here, but I'd rather be out riding.  The blog widgets will indubitably be garbled and messy, impossible to discern from somebody else's information and basically a waste of time. 
When I purchased my Felt F75X, I also bought a pair of studded winter tires from Finland.  Bring on the cold.

                    Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide
               

Footnote - this is a fantastic read.

It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels by Robert Penn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What can you say about a guy from Wales who rode around the world because an Irish woman inspired him?  foolish?  Naive?  Soft hearted sentimentalist? I am sure somebody has already had their say about Robert Penn's private devices, his proclamatory penchant for his own garage, his mountainous ascents, the people he hob knobs with, his own rough scrapes flying down nepalese gravel roads...it all sounds so free spirited and liberalizing a reader might be sidled with grief for their own lack of experience. 
As a journalist approaches a story though, Penn forgoes his own (admittedly infrequent, compared to an average Strava user's twitter feed) philandering, and adopts a humble, awed perspective, as if he were holding the museum curators hand after wandering into the lecture hall after closing time.  As a cyclist and as a journalist, he wants to know the long history of each component: the chain, the seat, the handlebars, the derailleur, the frame and does each piece of engineering the justice it deserves.  As a cyclist himself, Penn comes across as an individualist and nearly peerless - his attitude seems appropriate for the characters he encounters while building himself what amounts to a white elephant.
The vast majority of people who ride a bicycle would never have recourse to something like Penn's investment, but any of them could take it out for a spin. Perhaps that's what Penn would want to know he had expressed in his memoir - dream bike or not, if it's got two wheels, a drivetrain, a seat, handlebars and a sturdy frame, it'll roll.



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Saturday, September 29th

Weeds on Cedar Trail.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

MRT.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

Schwinn at Lake Minnetonka.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

Summit Avenue Oak tree.  Photo by Michael McKinney.

What started as a short trip to the Farmer's Market turned into a 51 mile tour of Lake Minnetonka, the Luce Line, buskers on Nicollet Mall and scenery through Wirth Park. 

Photo Safari, part one

5/16/2012 Ford Dam Overlook, Saint Paul, MN Photo by Michael McKinney

5/16/2012 Hidden Falls, Saint Paul, MN Photo by Michael McKinney

5/16/2012 Lake Harriet, Minneapolis, MN Photo by Michael McKinney

5/16/2012 Cottonwood near Cedar Lake, Minneapolis, MN Photo by Michael McKinney

5/16/2012 Mill City Museum, Minneapolis, MN Photo by Michael McKinney

5/16/2012 Mississippi River, Minneapolis, MN Photo by Michael McKinney

5/16/2012 University Avenue, Minneapolis, MN Photo by Michael McKinney

Find more Bike Ride in St Paul, MN


Last week I rode my Commuter bicycle around Saint Paul and Minneapolis, took some photographs and mapped the ride on mapmyride.  I posted the photos on Flickr, but thought I would add a more thorough presentation here.  After continuing to have problems with my rear wheel, a professional mechanic diagnosed a problem owing to my frame being bent - the quick release skewer was not clamping to the frame of the bicycle itself, but only clamping to the axle of the wheel.  After a short repair, the wheel has held in place with greater efficacy.  Money well spent.  The persistent wind, eighty and ninety degree days have given way after a thunderstorm complete with heavy rain and hail.

Saint Patrick's day 2012

3-4-2012, Greenway moon at Sunset, Photo by Michael McKinney

2-24-2012, Greenway pianist, Photo by Michael McKinney

3-5-212, Minneapolis skyline, photo by Michael McKinney

3-12-2012, frosty leaf on the sidewalk, photo by Michael McKinney

3-17-2012, Gateway Trail, photo by Michael McKinney

I included some photos from the past couple of weeks - today I used the Strava app with my iphone to record a ride into Stillwater via the Gateway Trail.  Also, I've been having this teeth rattling vibration shock through my bicycle when riding it over certain speeds, it was jokingly referred to as the governor today, and maybe that's not far off.  I think it has to be the hubs in my Mavic Wheelset, but to this point they've been solid wheels.  Anyway, I queried online about it last year, and here's what the Craigslist community had to offer, as far as advice.

vibration < mlmck > 06/12 13:25:08

Hi- I usually get my work done at a shop, so this one has me stumped- I've consulted a couple people and am thinking I'll just take it to a shop eventually. Here it is- my bike is vibrating. And squeaking as it vibrates. It's usually when I am not pedaling, and holding the pedals in place as I go around a curve or (rest). I think it is a pressure related vibration, but where? Pressure on the bottom bracket? Pressure on the Rear hub? And is the vibration being caused by a bearing, a broken axle? It isn't consistent, but it happens more and more frequently. Any suggestions?

Parkinson's < the_grinchy_grinch > 06/12 14:32:15

Sorry...
But if it vibrates when you are coasting you can eliminate the bottom bracket at least.

My bet is that it is the freewheel OR freehub.
If it is not in perfect alignment, it can cause pretty violent vibrations.

Stand next to the bike, and turn the cranks backwards. Note if you see the rear cogs wobble up and down/ side to side.

my 2 possible sources < Jamis-KsyriumSL > 06/12 19:38:32

Its happened to me too.. but vibration was felt at 40 MPH or higher

1) loose headset (easy to fix)

2) sand in the rear hub - disassemble, clean, and lub

blew out your rear races < big_53 > 06/12 20:05:17

hold your bike wiggle the rear wheel. does it move back a forth a little bit?