Marsh Creek Sunday Ride

Today I rode 9.8 miles at Marsh Creek State Park. The Fantom 29 performed flawlessly.

It was a little cool with temperatures in the upper 50's. Nice and sunny but with the thick tree cover in the park, you don't get much sun. I am now wearing long sleeve bike jersey with a short sleeve UnderArmor heat gear underneath.

I saw a couple walking 5 identical dogs. I am not sure what breed, but they were white and tan and very frisky.

Sunday Ride

Today I rode 7.4 miles at Springton Manor Farm. The Fantom 29 performed flawlessly. Once again I saw the woman with the pack of dogs. This time she only had 5. Although it was only 8:00 am it was already hot and humid. It was a nice workout. Originally I was going to ride a Marsh Creek State Park but they were having the Marshman Triathlon this morning. It is a Swim ¼ mile, Bike 12.5 miles, Run 2 miles triathlon. Maybe some day I should ride the bike route and time myself. The guy that won in my age group did the bike route in 37 minutes. That is 20.3 mph average!

The Ludwig Corner Riding & Driving Club was also having the Chase for Cancer benefit ride at Marsh Creek State Park. So it was probably a good idea to avoid the park today.

262.5 Miles: 25 Ride Preventative Maintenance

Today I performed the 25 Ride Preventative Maintenance. I am really at 23 rides but since it was a rainy day (due to Hurricane Hannah), I took the opportunity to perform the maintenance.



True the wheels: The front wheel was right on. I only had to tweak 2 spokes on the rear wheel



Inspect Chain Stretch: Using a ruler I determined that there is no chain stretch. I place the ruler end at a centerline of a chain link pin and use the ruler to see if the centerline of a pin falls at the 12 inch mark. If the pin near the 12 inch mark is beyond the mark that means the chain has "stretched". Actually what happens is that the individual pivot points wear bigger pivot holes. 1/16 inch is acceptable, 1/8 inch is too much and the chain should be replaced.



Degrease the drive chain:





I removed the chain with the chain tool.

















I then put the chain in my parts cleaner with mineral spirits. My parts cleaner is an old coffee cup that has a tight lid. Previously I closed the drinking hole and small vent with silicone caulk.



I shake the chain in the parts cleaner and it removes all of the grit.













I pour the dirty mineral spirits in a glass jar. The grit eventual settles to the bottom and I can reuse the mineral spirits for future cleanings. At some point I will evaporate the mineral spirits and throw out the solid gunk.















I then soak the chain in SAE 30 oil.





















This is the chain reinstalled. Nice, clean and well oiled.















Inspect nuts & bolts: Completed with no problems identified



Tighten cranks: Checked tightness and it was OK



Lube cables: I lubed the cables.



Inspect wear of chain rings: Chain rings and cassette were OK

Cycling Glasses

I got some new eyeglasses and thought it would be good to get some cycling glasses. I thought the cycling glasses would provide more protection and also so I won't break my new glasses. The cycling glasses at my eye doctors were $300 and that was just the frame.





I did not want to spend a lot of money so I did a search online and found ZenniOptical.com . I ordered frame #7002 Prescription Wind Goggles. They are really safety glasses but I think they will do well for cycling.


I asked my eye doctor for a copy of my prescription. The ordering was easy with clear explanations about the various optical terms. The only tricky one was the Pupillary Distance. This is the measurement between your pupils. For my prescription they listed the distance from each pupil to the centerline of your nose. So you have to add the two numbers together.

Although I wear progressive lenses, I ordered single vision glasses because I won't be reading while I am riding my bike. I also originally ordered the clip on sunglasses but Zenni Optical emailed me an said that the clip on's do not come with this frame. I usually do not ride with sunglasses anyway.

On August 22, 2008 at 7:20 pm I placed my order. Total cost $49.85 including shipping. There is no sales tax.

Frame Color 21 Black
Anti Reflection Coating
Lens Tint Choices: No Tint
OD-SPH: -2.00 OD-CYL: -1.75 OD-AXIS: 117 OD-ADD: 0
OS-SPH: -2.25 OS-CYL: -1.75 OS-AXIS: 72 OS-ADD: 0
PD-Pupillary Distance: 62
Prescription & Lens Type: 1.57 Mid Index Single Vision , No Charge
Prescription Strength: Standard Strength - No Charge

I received the glasses on September 5, 2008. The glasses were in a plastic case and then in a bubble wrap shipping envelope. They were well protected. They also included a cleaning cloth.

The prescription was right on and the glasses felt comfortable. They are light as they are only 28 grams. The outside wind shield has a slight tint to them which I like.

I used them on my road bike ride today. It was pretty muggy as I tried to get in a ride before the rain from Hurricane Hannah arrived in the area. I noticed that if you have the glasses tight against my forehead they would fog up when I was stopped. If I kept them slightly off my forehead, they would not fog. They also were comfortable. It did start to rain in the second half of my 14 mile ride, and the glasses did a good job of keeping the water droplets out of my eyes.

The glasses were easy to clean as the prescription insert can be popped out.

Overall I am satisfied.

Road ID

After my odyssey at Blue Marsh Lake, I thought I should have an identification with my emergency contact numbers on it. If I got hurt I would want to make sure there was no delay to contact home.



On August 30, 2008 at 2:29 PM I ordered a RoadID wrist band. I included my name, home town, 3 emergency contact numbers and my blood type (O negative). I ordered the yellow wrist band. It was only $19.48 including shipping with a $2.00 discount coupon that I received by email.


I received the RoadID on September 5, 2008 and will use it always when riding. It looks really well made.

By the way when I ordered, they gave me a coupon that I could pass along to my friends. Here's the coupon number:

Coupon Number: ThanksMichael405285


The coupon is good for $1 off any Road ID order placed by 10/01/2008. To order, simply go to RoadID.com or click the link :http://www.roadid.com/?CID=ThanksMichael405285
It can be used up to 20 times.

They also sent me coupon numbers TAF8514, TAF8515 & TAF8516 for $1.00 off, good until 12/31/2010.

Please feel free to use them.

Preventative Maintenance Plan

I found a maintenance schedule that looks pretty good. I will use it as guidance. Some of the items seem a bit too frequent (like replace your grips every 25 rides). The schedule is as follows


Off-road riding - average riding 5-10 miles

Each Ride: Inspect tire pressure, lube & clean chain
Every 5 Rides: Inspect wheel true, degrease drivetrain, clean & wash bike
Every 10 Rides: Inspect nuts & bolts, Inspect & tighten cranks, lube cables- brake & gears
Every 25 Rides: Inspect chain stretch, Inspect wear of chainrings, replace grips
Every 50 Rides: Grease nuts & bolts, Replace cables & housing, Replace chain. Replace tires
Every 100 Rides: Replace cassette, Replace chainrings, Grease bearings, Replace bottom bracket



So I am getting close to 25 rides. At that time I will perform the following maintenance: true the wheels, degrease the drive chain, inspect nuts & bolts, tighten cranks, lube cables, inspect chain stretch, and inspect wear of chain rings.