Blue Marsh Lake Odyssey

Today I rode 35.2 miles at Blue Marsh Lake. The Fantom 29 performed flawlessly and it was an extremely good workout. For those of you familiar with Blue Marsh know that the loop trail is about 29 miles. Getting lost adds another 6 miles. This is the first time I rode Blue Marsh.

I debated on whether to ride Blue Marsh because the weather called for a "few showers". The temperature was perfect--- about 70 degrees. Most of the ride the rain held out. There was some "sprinkling" after I had ridden about 15 miles (the point of no return). The sprinkling was rather refreshing. Of course it started to rain hard after I got lost after 26 miles.

This is the start at the Stilling Basin parking lot off Palisades Road.

The ride started out great. I brought 108 ounces of water and some snacks. I figured I would complete a water bottle every 5 miles and have some snacks at the 10 and 20 mile mark. This all went according to plan. The trail is mostly dirt, gravel or old macadam roads. There is also some single track. The trail is generally well marked except where the streets cross the trail and some of the parking areas. It took me a little while to find where the trail continued.

There also were some pretty big hills throughout the trail. This one on the left is an example. Very steep with some railroad ties for erosion control. I had to walk up hills like this. There were also a couple of downhills I walked because they were just too scary.

This little guy posed for pictures. I stopped on the trail no more than 10 feet from him. He didn't move at all for several minutes while I took pictures.

Also at mile 15 where the trail crosses Church Road I decided to take the full lake loop. You can cut off about 7 miles by just riding down Church Road to the other side of the lake. This was a big mistake as the hills at this point were very steep and I probably end up walking most of this portion.

The hill.

This was the top of the hill about mile 17.

This was about mile 21-22.

When I passed mile 26 there was a sign pointing to the day use area and to the main hiking trail. I took the route marked the main hiking trail but ended up going into a big circle which I didn't realize until I completed the circle. It also started raining pretty hard at this point.

When I reached the top of hill where the yellow gate was I followed a dirt road. After following this road for a while I figured I was lost. I have google maps on my cell phone so I took a look at where I was. It indicates my GPS position usually within 3 meters. I was on Penn Bern Road and I was actually leaving the park. I figured I should take the roads back to the Stilling Basin . This road took me out to Rt 183. I made a right and then made a right onto Palisades Road. After about 2 miles I got to the Stilling Basin access road.

Although I got lost, I did complete the entire loop (and then some). I wanted to do the Blue Marsh loop because of the challenge. It took way too long. The next time I do Blue Marsh I will take the Church Road short cut. I would definitely do it again.

Final ride stats:

35.21 Miles

Max Speed 28 MPH

Average Speed 7.1 MPH

Ride Time 4:58:09

Total Time including Breaks: 6.5 hours

Sunday Marsh Creek Ride

Today I rode 9.7 miles to Marsh Creek State Park. The Fantom 29 performed flawlessly.

I usually have my Sunday rides at Springton Manor, but today I want to see if I can add Marsh Creek to the mix. I like to keep my Sunday rides to about 1 hour so I can get it in before church.

I hit the streets for about 2.5 miles to get to the trail entrance on Chalfont Road.

Then I took the quarry trail. Several months ago a huge tree fell on the quarry fence as you can see from the picture on the left.

Then I rode down the old railroad bed down to Lydell Road.

This fence is on Lydell Road. It is called Virginia Worm Wood fence. I built a lot of this style fence when I worked at the Gettysburg National Park when I was a teenager.

I then rode the railroad bed back to Marshall Road. It takes you to this gate which is on Marshall Road near Rt 282. I then took Rt 282 home.

I did a little research about the old railroad bed. It was part of the East Brandywine & Waynesburg Railroad which opened in 1854 to connect Downingtown to Honeybrook Borough along the Brandywine Creek. It was acquired by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1861 and extended to New Holland (Lancaster County) and eventually to Lancaster City where it joined the Pennsylvania Main Line. It is now abandoned and will one day be part of Struble Trail.

When the Struble Trail is completed, it will travel from Downingtown through Lyndell, Cornog and Glenmoore, passing near Springton Manor Farm and Struble Lake before ending near Honey Brook Borough, for a total length of sixteen (16) miles.

Named for the late County Commissioner (1976-1980) and longtime Executive Director of the Brandywine Valley Association, teacher and conservationist Robert G. Struble, the Struble Trail was created from the rail bed of the former Waynesburg Railroad.

Motobecane Fantom 29 Six Month Review

Evaluation

Frame: After getting a longer seat post and adjustable stem, the 17" frame fits me well. The black finish is holding up well- no scratches. The chainstay nicks were the only area that needed some attention.

Brakes: Excellent stopping power. Very easy to adjust for brake wear.

Shifting: Very smooth.

Drivetrain: The 22/32/44T crankset and 11-32T cassette provides a range of 20 to 116 gear inches. I usually ride in the middle chainring which provides 29 to 84 gear inches.

Tires: MotoRaptor 29x2.1 perform well in the trails that I ride. They provide excellent traction. The 29er wheels do well for climbing and rolling over obstacles.

Fork: The Dart 3 performs well. I rarely use the lockout, but it is a nice feature to have. I can ride downhill fairly fast and the fork absorbs the terrain well.

Maintenance: Overall very low. I have had 2 flats due to manufacturing tube defects. Not really Motobecane's fault, just cheap tubes. I will use tires with slime in the future.

Overall Ride: The Fantom 29 has proven to be an excellent addition to my fitness regime, providing an excellent off road riding workout.

Repairs

March 15, 2008 Loose Bottle cage holder
March 22, 2008 31.8 miles Flat Tire
March 23, 2008 Chainstay nicks
August 02, 2008 Bent Derailleur Hanger
August 11, 2008 203.6 miles Flat Tire

Maintenance
Normal chain lube after every 2 to 3 rides
Adjusted brakes to compensate for wear a couple of times


Riding Statistics
Number of Rides: 21 Mileage : 217.4
Average mileage: 10.4 miles per ride
Longest Ride: 28.4 miles Thun Trail
Number or Rides: Marsh Creek State Park: 7 average:10.8 miles
Number of Rides Springton Manor Farms: 12 average: 7.7 miles
Number of Rides Thun Trail: 2 average : 23.7 miles

Local Politics

When I am on my bike rides I have noticed a number of signs popping up in the area. One is wallacevoters.com and the other is wallacereporter.com.

Apparently the Wallace Township supervisors are terminating the Brandywine Regional Police agreement because they feel Wallace Township is being charged too much for the coverage provided and that this cost makes up a large portion of the township budget. They are now recommending starting their own police force.

All I know is that it is very difficult to run a 24/7 organization. I have done that where I work.
We will see what happens.

Saturday Fantom 29 Ride

Today I rode 13.8 miles on the Motobecane Fantom 29. Again the Fantom 29 performed flawlessly.

No pictures today as I discovered my batteries were dead.

I took to the streets and rode directly to Marsh Creek State Park. I entered the park on Chalfont Road then too the blue trail to the quarry. Then I rode the railroad bed all the way down to Lydell Road.

Just before I reached Lydell Road there were two women on horseback. I let them pass. I usually double back on the railroad bed but I did not want to have to pass by the horses again. So I rode up Lydell Road to the park entrance then took the gravel road to the dam.

It was beautiful weather-- temperature in the low 70's and sunny. When I arrived at the dam I counted 10 boaters spread throughout the lake.

I then did the downhill and back up the dam road. I then made my way back to the blue trail by way of the gravel road. I took the blue trail to Chalfont Road and then made my way back home.

OOPS!!

On May 29, 2008 I installed my bar ends as you can see in the first two pictures. I was reviewing past comments on my posts and saw a comment on that post that said I had installed the bar ends backwards. After looking at other bar end pictures on the web, I found that the commenter was right.

The first 2 pictures are the way I installed them. The Nashbar logo is upside down. The hex bolt is facing the rider and the horns point away from the rider.




Before.














After.

The Nashbar logo is oriented correctly. The hex bolt faces down and the horns are turned toward the rider.

They are much more comfortable this way. Thanks commenter!.






After.

203.6 miles Flat Front Tire!

When I went down to the basement tonight I noticed that my front tire was flat. This is the same one that I fixed on March 22, 2008 after only 31.8 miles. To put it in perspective, I have over 1700 miles on my Raleigh Grand Prix road bike and have not had a flat.

When you fix a flat you need to determine what caused the flat or it will just happen again. Also I usually just replace the tube rather than do a repair since tubes are inexpensive ($5).

I carefully removed the tube from the tire then investigated the possible causes. Here are my findings :

1.) Leaking valve : with some pressure in the tube I placed the tube in a bucket of water. No bubbles were coming from the valve. This was not the cause. There was about 1 bubble every two seconds coming from the tube 90 degrees from the valve stem location.

2.) An external object punctured the tire and tube: At the location of the leak there were no objects on or in the tire. I also checked the entire inner and outer surface of the tire, there were no objects. This was not the cause.

3.) A sharp point on the rim or a spoke poking through the rim tape punctured the tube: The rim tape was intact. There were no sharp points on the rim. This was not the cause.

4.) A tube manufacturer's defect: The defect is right on the seam. I believe this is the cause.

The tube was a Nashbar serial # 20126601 made in Taiwan tube. The replacement is from PricePoint. The markings on the replacement tube are CST 05127111 made in China. CST is Cheng Shin Tire which was actually the manufacturer of the original tube I replaced in March. They may also be the manufacturer of the Nashbar tube. I googled Cheng Shin and found that they are the 12th largest rubber manufacturer in the world. They go by the name of Maxxis in the United States.

I will see how this replacement performs. If I get another seam defect I will start buying better quality tubes.

Pack of Dogs

Today I rode 9.5 miles at Springton Manor Farm. It was a beautiful morning--- sunny and temperature in the low 60's. The Fantom 29 performed flawlessly-- good climbing a smooth shifting.

One item of interest happened during the ride. Usually there is nobody else on the trails at 8:00 am on Sundays. I was going pretty fast on a downhill when I came around the corner and there was a pack of dogs! There was a woman with nine big dogs (only two of them were on leashes). They started quite a commotion when they saw me.


I was so startled that I didn't even get a picture. The woman was able to gather them up quickly and move on up the trail. I did ask her if all the dogs were hers and she said she was pet sitting.











Bartol Trail at park boundary looking southwest.














South end of park old farm entrance.
















There is a butterfly house at Springton Manor.

Fantom 29 Back in Service!

Today I rode 8.0 miles at Springton Manor Farm. My derailleur fix was successful. The shifting was smooth and there were no noises.

It was a pretty good workout and the weather was great-- sunny and in the 60's in the morning.

Bent Derailleur Hanger Repaired

I repaired the bent derailleur hanger today. Since the bend was slight i was able to bend the hanger back with my hand by just slightly twisting the top of the derailleur. Probably not the right way to do the repair but it seemed to work. I then went through a complete derailleur adjustment procedure.

I also received my derailleur hanger from bikesdirect. It is the correct hanger and I will use it as a spare. The only difference was that the replacement is silver and my original is black.