I came across this article on Raymond Parker’s VeloWeb. The web address is http://veloweb.ca (he’s Canadian eh.) Very detailed and well photographed instructions there. While he is installing Honjo fenders, the guide will work as well for other metal fenders such as Gilles Berthoud and Tanaka.
Also, lo and behold, there is a Honjo Fenders group on flickr.com. Lots of good photos and ideas for mounting fenders there.
“One of the qualities that draws me to deserts is their sparseness. I go to be scoured by their winds, purged by their silence, humbled by their searing sunsets. The desert dirt, which accumulates in the chapped cracks of my fingers and the pores of my face, brings me solace. It somehow stills the subtle anxieties produced by living in a culture in which what you do is so often mistaken for who you are, where artificialities obscure essences. Immersing in the desert’s simplicity is akin to a ritual purification. As the earth stands naked, so I am stripped to my unadorned self, with little to distract me from the truths of my life.” So writes Michael Benanav in his excellent account of traveling through the Sahara with a camel caravan to the salt quarries of Taoudenni and back to Timbuktu, Men Of Salt.
Apparently I find something about deserts intriguing as well. I live in Boise, Idaho which with 11 inches of rainfall annually is a high desert environment. Early in 2010 I traveled to west Texas to ride my bike through the Chihuahuan Desert and in early 2009 I rode through Death Valley, smack dab in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Granted, these trips were designed to escape the doldrums of February in Boise, and I’m not sure I would be as fascinated by these deserts in the summer with temp’s in the low triple digits.
I came across this article about Ballarat Ghost Town in Death Valley and a hermit known as Seldom Seen Slim on the Rough Riders website.
Seldom Seen Slim aka Charles Ferge
Chris Kostman is behind the Rough Riders website as well as AdventureCORPS Chris organizes several rides in Death Valley and southern California. I intend to take part in one of his Rough Rider Rally rides soon.
The Adventure Cycling Association’s Utah Cliffs route is another desert trip I want to take. Sky King and I did an overnight bike trip in Zion National Park a couple years ago and that country is really beautiful with red rock cliffs and sub alpine forests.
Admittedly, the bike hermit is a little different. My brother doesn’t understand why I would go off and submit myself to the deprivations of bike touring and he doesn’t understand why I go to remote and barren locations to do it. Let me do some ‘splainin; The severe climate of the desert breaks my life down to the most basic elements like it breaks the rocks into sand. The detrition of the wind loosens the sediment in my brain and the subsequent silence when the wind dies makes it possible to listen to the voices in my head. The scenery takes some effort to appreciate sometimes but like anything that requires effort, the rewards are more satisfying. Unlike Montana where around every bend is another postcard view, and you become numb to it after a while. The trips through the desert that I have taken, by myself, have been among the most memorable and rewarding experiences of my life.
These pedals use a unique diagonal strap to hold the rider’s foot more or less in a stable position. A metal bracket screws into the holes on the front face plate of the pedal and secures one end of the strap.
The other end of the strap is bolted to the rear of the pedal on the diagonal. The straps and brackets are sold separately too so any pedals with screw holes for toe clips can be used.
Sliding the foot in at a slight angle and then straightening it causes the strap to tighten.
Entry is at a slight angle.Straightening the foot increases the tension on the straps.
Nearly six years of almost daily riding and they are holding up quite well, thank you. The sealed bearings are still smooth thanks in no small part to the threaded dust cap which keeps the road junk out.
Note the threaded cap that screws into the pedal body providing an excellent seal. Cromoly steel pedal axle.
The high performance version uses aluminum alloy for the body and cage, which for the touring cyclist makes more sense from a durability standpoint the the sport version which incorporates a plastic body. Sealed cartridge bearings and a steel axle contribute to low maintenance and longevity. Theoretically the pedals could be rebuilt if the bearings became worn by removing the axle and pressing out the old bearings and pressing new ones in.
I like these pedals for around town because literally any shoe will fit and the leather strap won’t scuff them up. They are easy in and out and they hold my foot enough that I don’t have to worry about slipping off the pedal. Starting off from a stop can be a little sketchy because I never know if the straps will be on the top or bottom. On a pedal with toe clips the clips are heavy enough that the pedal will always be upside down, and it’s easy to use the quill on the pedal to flip it over and slide the foot in. These pedals would work great for a person who is unsure about using clipless pedals for bike touring.
There are dozens of videos out there about changing a flat tire. None with background music by Sonny Stitt. Here’s one!
A couple of things. Notice that I just lay the bike on it’s side with the derailleur up. That’s an easy way to do it when you’re on the side of the road. Also, I shift the chain into the smallest cog. When I put the tire back on it’s easy to remember what cog to put the chain over so that the wheel will be centered.
This is what I carry on the bike to change a flat:
Pump. I use a Zefal HPX frame fit pump. This pump is all aluminum and the barrel is long enough to push a decent amount of air, so the tire is up to pressure relatively quickly. Plus, unlike CO2 pumps, it has never failed or frozen. It mounts to the underside of the top tube
on bikes that have a pump peg.
Or it can be mounted in front of the seat tube, but this precludes the use of a water bottle there.
Spare tube, tire levers and patch kit. The simplestand quickest way to fix a flat is to change the tube. But I only want to carry one spare and if I get another flat I need to be able to patch one of the flat tubes.
Seat bag. For shorter day rides I use a Zimbale leather saddle bag to carry these items plus a multi tool.
I now have over 3000 miles on my Gilles Berthoud Aspin touring saddle, so I guess I feel OK about sharing my impressions. (the pun will become apparent later) The Gilles Berthoud Company is located in Pont de Vaux, France. The products they produce are well thought out and elegant and, as far as I can tell, any compromise in materials or methods used in construction is never considered. The leather saddles are unique in several ways. The cantle plate and nose piece are made of a special, composite material. The rails, either steel or titanium, depending on the model, slide into holes molded into the composite pieces. The leather tops are bolted on with stainless steel bolts and specially designed brass washers which have the Gilles Berthoud name engraved on them except the nose rivet which has the individual saddle’s number on it. The idea being that individual pieces of the saddle can be easily replaced. The tension on the leather top can be adjusted with a 5 mm allen wrench so no special tool is required as on Brooks saddles. The leather is supposed to be waterproof and Gilles Berthoud does sell a proprietary leather treatment.
Being able to take the saddle apart may be a good idea, but I have noticed a couple of things one needs to pay attention to. If you pick up a 60 pound touring bike by grabbing the rear of the saddle, the rails may pop out of the cantle plate. It is possible to loosen the tensioning bolt enough to pop them back in place and the saddle is good as new, but US 77 outside of La Grange TX is not the best place to go through this exercise. The bolts holding the leather top on can come loose and need to be checked and tightened periodically. We also discovered that the dye used in the black saddles leaves an unsatisfactory stain on lighter colored pants. The natural saddles don’t appear to have that feature.
The bottom line is that this is the most supremely comfortable saddle I have ever used. The leather appears to be thicker than that on some other brands but it has been pre-softened, and rather than simply sagging or splaying out with use has conformed to my anatomy leaving the impressions of my sit bones. Yet it gives enough support that there is no pressure on the soft tissue parts of the perineum or the arteries and blood vessels. In short, no pain and no genital numbness! As with any saddle, especially leather ones, adjustment of the fore/aft tilt is critical to comfort.
The section of rail that can be clamped to the seatpost is short, like on Brooks saddles so the fore and aft positioning of the saddle is limited, but a set back seat post can help if a farther aft position is desired.
Experiment with the best tilt or angle for your Berthoud saddle.
My sit bones leave a deeper impression on the right side
These saddles are not inexpensive, over two times the price of a Brooks B17, but to my mind (not to mention other parts) they are well worth it. After 4 or 5 or 6 hours in the saddle when touring, it’s nice to not have a literal pain in the butt to worry about. The durability of my saddle so far has been terrific allowing for the mentioned caveats. Those are two things that figure into my calculations of value.
Those who know me know the bike hermit is a beer drinker with a cycling problem. But I think that is a common thread. It appears that many fellow riders appreciate a barley sandwich or two at the end of a riding day. Or any day. So I thought I would post these videos of me making a batch of homebrew.
Sarah is a friend of mine who flies Lear jets for a living. She also races bicycles on the road, but I won’t hold that against her 🙂 She borrowed my BOB Yak Plus Trailer (with Dry Sak) (yes, this link takes you to Amazon.com but if you follow it and buy a trailer I make a little money, so if you’re going to buy one anyway………..)
and some of my camping gear last summer for a decidedly slower paced trip and her first ever bike tour. She went solo to Tenmile Campground northeast of Idaho City. She tells the tale here.
It was fun to help her plan her trip and it was interesting listening to the questions of a noob to bike touring. This is a great way to get a shakedown tour, figure out if you like it and the things to take and those to leave behind. So, it doesn’t need to be a grand, complicated, time consuming venture. Anybody can do it!
(yes, this link takes you to Amazon.com but if you follow it and buy a trailer I make a little money, so if you’re going to buy one anyway………..)