Good Morning Mossberg Owners.
The weather continues to be beautiful and dry. Light breezes, very light overcast. Perfect biking weather.
Starting to look at the Nomad again. Not sure why I keep putting it off.
With a little mapping I find I am up to 5.3 miles this AM, on the custom Mongoose bike.
I have been going every day when possible, but I'm not trying to kill myself like 2010 when I was in full beast mode.
I'm riding a 47 lb bike today, and I don't know how this relates to riding a 24 lb bike or a 12 lb bike, energy wise. Anyhow this is 0.4 miles farther than yesterday with my wife.
I am doing a big loop thru the neighborhood, and it is all pretty flat. I doubt there is 2 ft of rise corner to corner on a square 1/2 x 1/2 mile
But there are 10 cul-de-sacs so I get to do the hot-shoe, and my bike will do a hot grinding tail slide on the off camber tarmak. I have enough clearance to pedal thru the slide, but I can just drop into the turn and make it burn. I think part of this is the hard cruiser tire compound. Part is the steep rake and slight positive trail, with gross tire offset: 1.7" vs 4". It will dive into a turn if you are immodest. It's easy to hold in a line and will ride with no hands, but it is scary with so little weight on the front to stabilise it. Lots of trail means little with no weight. I do have a pretty sticky front tire. I don't think there is any way to wash out the front end unless I hit oil/etc.
When I take my wife I always go around the circles at least twice so she can slow down and catch me. Tons of fun! Ccorkscrews, figure eights, shoot the moon between reflectors.
I cross 8 stop signs, and I stop, or at least slow to a crawl as I shift down, depending on traffic. It was virtually zero at 10 AM. But there's a lot of stopping and starting. I use 4 or 5 of the available 12 speeds. It's a 14, but two combos just aren't practical. Lots of derailleur stress.
There are 30 turns. 10 of them are very cul-de-sac like but just 90 degrees. More tail-sliding fun.
I don't wanna count the BOT's dots or manhole covers or concrete gutters, but there are as many opportunities for bump-wheelies as you could want, without even looking at the perfect curb-ramp launches at every driveway. 4th gear power wheelies are limited by the legs. It is not a light bike to keep aloft. I'm not anxious to crash or stomp down the pavement to save it/me. Strictly for impressing the girls, and by the girls I mean mostly my lovely 66 y.o. wife.
Otherwise, I have had a lot more welding practice, doing little bicycle bits and stick welding 1/8" plates and pipes. various little brackets. Now I need to cut up all this heavy wall stuff and really burn rods. I have 3.5 lbs left which may be enough. Also a steel plate is in my future. I'll need that before I cut the rails. Right now I can do the steel rack/legs, and clean up the extra tabs etc. I'll take this stuff to a sandblaster, just 2 miles away. He powdercoated my security doors and bird feeder, and the pet cemetary arbor, all with decades of rust. I could buzz it off myself, but I am trying to clean up all my grit now!