Timberland Regional Library: Tenino

Tenino Timberland Regional Library

Interestingly the library where I currently work was the third building I visited in my goal to ride to all the Timberland Regional Libraries. I'm actually on vacation, but this morning I headed out to visit the Tenino library.

A few things made the ride stand out from my usual commute. One, I wore sunglasses. I've never been a sunglasses-wearer but I got tired of bugs hitting my eyes. That gave the ride a different hue than I'm used to, sort of like watching a 3D film or something rather than something I was seeing for myself.

Before I left I added fenders to the bike. No rain today, but I wanted to test out how they worked. These are Shockblade 29er fenders, easy to mount and easy to remove. Once I was riding I pretty much forgot they were there but it'll be nice when the weather turns nasty and I'm commuting to work.

The other thing that struck me about the ride was once again the feeling of being up so high! I think because the Yelm-Tenino trail is such a familiar route that riding it on the Marlin let me see it from a different perspective.

I made pretty good time on the ride, compared to my previous commutes I knocked a good half-hour or so off my time, about fifteen minutes each way. I think once I get used to the bike and switch to clipless pedals I'll see that improve a little bit more.

Tour Divide Caveat

Are you a seasoned multi-day bikepacker? Have you ridden back-to-back off-road centuries? Are you an expert level mountain biker? Are you a veteran of Primal Quest-scale multi-day adventure races? Are you a proficient bike mechanic; skilled navigator; competent at self-rescue? If you cannot confidently answer yes to most of the above, it would be wise to consider simply touring the route or taking more time to prepare for a true blitz. - TourDivide.org

Uh, no. No. No. No. And not really, um, no, no. 


Guess I've got some training to do! At this point the idea of doing the Tour Divide sounds insane. Daily 150+ mile rides, mostly off road with tons of climbing? I'm not even up to doing one day at that mileage! 


It's really hard to imagine. And as they say on that page, you don't want to discover that solo racing isn't your thing when you're out in the back country. I don't know yet if this is something that I can seriously consider. I'm dreaming about it, thinking about it, and out riding a 29er these days, but I have a long way to go before I can consider doing the race. I've thought about a 2013 attempt but that gives me not quite two years to get ready. Right now I have no way of knowing if that's going to prove possible or not. Maybe I'll lose interest before then. I don't know.

That nice sticker is available from mbeganyi on flickr, free for personal, non-commercial use. 


So given all of that, what's my plan? 


Right now just to ride. I need to get stronger, get used to riding a bike, and build up my endurance. As that improves eventually I'll go for longer all day rides, start doing centuries and more. I guess I'll keep going so long as I'm having fun and enjoying the challenge. The goal isn't so much the destination, because I'll never reach that, it's the journey along the way. Ride to the next tree, the next hill, the next library and keep going!

Timberland Regional Library: Yelm

At Yelm Library

I've checked off another library building on my list of Timberland Regional Libraries to visit by bicycle! Yelm is actually the closest library to me, so this was a nice ride, but not too long. Great for helping me get used to the mountain bike.

I woke up at the crack of dawn and walked the dogs. After they were done I got ready and headed out on the bike. I'm planning a big day of writing so I wanted to get my riding done early. Plus I love early morning hours when it's cool and the sun is just coming up.

Down the Yelm-Tenino Trail

I headed out down the Yelm-Tenino Trail, not exactly a tough ride! Beautiful morning for a ride along the trail!

Cows in the Fog

The trail runs about five miles to Yelm. When I got to the end of the line I headed up E Yelm Ave / HWY 507 until I reached Clark Rd and road over to the library to get the shot. When I finished that I headed over past the cinemas to West Rd / Stevens Ave down to 1st and then on back to the trail which I took to home again.

Nice, easy ride. I didn't push too hard. My seat still isn't used to the saddle, but with only a few rides that doesn't surprise me. Despite that I'm having fun. Should get another library checked off soon!

Timberland Regional Library: Service Center

At the Service Center

This morning I checked the first building off my list of Timberland Regional Libraries to visit on my bicycle. I rode out to the Administrative Service Center. At over 17 miles that made it one of the longer distances I've ridden. I had a meeting to go to and we were car-pooling from the Service Center so that made it a good day to try riding. I left earlier than I actually needed to, just to be sure I'd have time.

Riding out I headed down the Chehalis Western Trail. I haven't ridden that far down the trail in a long time, so that was nice to see sights along the trail again.

Marker About Trail Project

The Trek Marlin 29er

Riding the bike is very different, fun, and a bit uncomfortable. I'm not used to a bike seat yet. I don't know that there's anything terribly wrong with the saddle that came on the bike, but I'm thinking of getting something different. I think I should also try bike shorts to see if that helps.

The meeting was out at the Amanda Park Library, I had a hard time imagining riding all the way out there, but one of these days I'd like to try it!

On the way home I stopped at a historical marker that I've always driven past. On the bike it was easy to swing in and stop.

George Washington Bush marker

With the heat, and the fact that I haven't ridden a bike in years, coming home took  a few minutes longer and left me pretty tired. I really like the bike and look forward to getting stronger and better at riding. There's a couple other things I want to get to make the ride nicer. A helmet mirror, so I can see when cars are coming up behind. Sunglasses, mostly to stop the bugs from hitting my eyes like the dragonfly that hit me today. Bike shorts, hopefully will make things more comfortable. And a new saddle, one that might be a bit more comfortable. I'd also like to try going to clipless pedals.

But that's for later. Right now I'm glad that I've got the bike and am building up mileage.

Great Fun

So this morning I got out on the Trek Marlin 29er mountain bike for my first real ride. I'm not counting the little spin around the neighborhood of the bike shop, wobbling around since I hadn't been on a bike in years, trying to figure out how the heck to shift.

Today the ride went much better. Right off the bat the bike took off compared to the trike. I'm not saying I'm all that fast, the average speed for the ride was 14.2 mph, not exactly blazing fast. But I did get up to 20 mph pretty easily on the ride and cruised along much faster than I usually rode on the trike. I had expected to go faster on the mountain bike, but it was interesting to see how quickly that happened. And I didn't have my clipless pedals, I think if I'd switched out the platforms I'd go faster. I actually tried last night but couldn't get the platform pedals loose. I think I'll need a pedal wrench.

During part of the ride I slowed down to experiment with the shifting, trying to get it into my head what each shift of the gears does. With three rings up front and a bunch in the back and four levers it's a bit more complicated than the twist-shift control of a 3-speed trike.

I've 'borrowed' a few things from the trike. The bike computer, bell and water bottle cage. Pedals (but they're not on the bike). I do plan on riding the trike in the future for fun, but I plan to put most of my miles in on the bike. I'm getting a few bags to use as my big plastic bucket panniers won't work too well with the mountain bike and I want to get the weight down that I'm carrying. I'll probably add some fenders as the weather turns wet, but I've looked at types that are quick to take on and off. Mostly I'll want them for commuting.

I've got a goal to commute via bike as much as possible. Some days due to meetings or whatever I'll need to drive still, but most of the time I can ride. Right now I've got a ~10 mile one-way commute, but I'm also applying for a new job which (if I get it) has a ~17 mile one-way commute.

It was lots of fun. Still more to learn. I want to try some cycling shorts, new saddle, etc. All in good time. Eventually I'll build up more miles, tackle longer rides and start working on bikepacking trips. Thinking about the STP ride for next year. Eventually I hope to tackle the AZT, Tour Divide and other races like those. By then it may be on a different bike, but I think the Marlin will get me started!

29er Change

Trek Marlin

I have a new mountain bike! First real mountain bike I've owned and a huge change from riding the TerraTrike Path. I've been thinking about it, and then an email came from BikeTech about their summer sale. It seemed like a perfect time. I called over and Jim was nice enough to bring one down from the other store. He also called yesterday to make sure I knew they had the bike and it was ready to go. I was really looking forward checking the bike out. I got off work at 4:00 p.m. and headed out on a hot day to Olympia to take a look.

I had two thoughts when I saw it. One, it was green! I'd wanted that color, but hadn't asked. Not that it really matters, but I like green and black. My second thought, That's huge! I've been riding a trike that sits a couple inches off the ground. This thing stands tall and once I'm on it I felt like I was on stilts or something, way up in the air. Cool, but quite the change than what I'm used to. That's what I wanted. When I got there I walked around the outside where they had tons of bikes set up, saw one of these but it was the 19" size, too big, went to the next and it was 17.5" with my name literally on the tag. I talked to the guy, got on the saddle, and then grabbed my helmet and took it for a spin out down the neighborhood streets. I've been using a twist shift with an internal hub so it took me a bit to figure out how to shift. By the time I got back to the store I was sold. I also picked up a lock for work (I'll leave it there), a spare tube and a water bottle cage.

I've started making a few changes already. After removing the front tire to get the bike in to the back of my VW New Beetle (yes, I did manage to get it in with the back seat folded down), I noticed some brake rub on the front and back. It was a good opportunity to get the quick releases figured out and then I adjusted the calipers so that there was no rub on the brakes. That was good. I'm taking a few components from my trike, this like my bell and bike computer. I think I'll swap the pedals as well, and go clipless. I've gone back and forth thinking about it, but I'm used to clipping in on the trike. The difference will be doing it on two wheels.

timbuk2 freestyle

Carrying things is the challenge. What to carry? How to do it? I can stash some things at work, like a pair of shoes. I've got a timbuk2 freestyle bag on order, plus a seat bag and a small top bar bag. Enough to carry my iPad, keyboard, a few flat-fixing tools and some food. After I get some time to spend on the bike I'll figure out more details on what works. I'll get a photo up soon.

Since getting bit by the whole Tour Divide bug I've been itching to get on a 29er and start putting on miles. I think this is a good bike to get started with, it looks like fun!

Riding Again

I've been riding the trike more, at least in theory. In actual fact the last time I rode before today was three weeks ago! I finished up that week with my highest mileage of the year. Still not anywhere like the distance I need to work up to doing. I try to picture the Tour Divide, doing ~125-150 miles per day, daily, for weeks on end over tough terrain. How am I ever going to get in that kind of shape?

I don't know. Keep riding, I guess.

It was a nice day for a ride to work today.

Easy riding

The air felt slightly cool on the ride, but of course not too cold. But suggesting that maybe we're not really going to see a summer around here. I've already seen a few trees changing their colors.

The other day I asked Kent Peterson on Twitter for his suggestion for a newbie MTBker. 

Trek Marlin

His suggestion, the Trek Marlin, was one of the bikes that I had been considering to get started. It looks nice, and fits my budget. Further down the road, if I'm still pursuing my hope to ride the Divide, I might look at something else. But for now this looks pretty good to me. Now I just need to figure out how to pay for it! I'd like to switch soon and start building my mileage. It'll be strange to get back on a bike after riding the trike the past several years. I need to get down to Bike Tech and check it out.

It felt warmer for the ride home. Lots of people out on the trail. Tons of roller bladers, not sure what was going on with that but they kept coming in groups of two for the most part. Must have been at least a dozen of them, plus assorted other cyclists, dog-walkers and runners. The nice weather really had people out on the trail. When I ride it during other times of the year I tend to have it to myself.

On the ride back I stopped to take a picture of the clouds, which doesn't do it justice.

Clouds

Good day. Need to get out more!