ComfortableShoe's Travels

I have decided that my build is done and it's time to move my travels from the build thread to a thread of their own. I'm planning on a couple of long trips in the upcoming years. The first will be heading up to the Maine Scooter rally (hopefully) the second is a 600 mile round trip to my parent's house and back home.

The significant other thinks the idea of a 600 mile round trip on a motor assisted bicycle is crazy, but I hope to accomplish it. In the spirit of getting ready to make the trip I'm building up my ability to ride for long distances. I hope to complete a 100 mile round trip before I put the bike away for the winter.

I completed a 16.57 mile ride today and my last ride was also in the 15 mile range. So I hope to do a 20 mile and a 25 mile and so on over the next few weeks.

I've been using the MapMyRide app to plan out routes. the only problem with it is that it doesn't call out directions, you have to look at the map... I don't really want to mount my phone on the bars, I've got too much junk on them now. So, I'm looking for an app that let's me plan my route (so I know mileage in advance) and then tell me when to turn. At this point I'm venturing out past my usual haunts, so I'm very familiar with the stuff around me, but once I get a few towns over, I just don't know the lay of the land, though studying the maps in advance helps.

I have mapped out a 22 mile route I hope to complete in the next week or so. I will load all pics of my future travels in this thread and update my health progress as well.

I've lost 15lbs from my highest weight ever. I no longer gasp for air after pedaling for a mile. My body no longer aches the day after a 10+ mile ride. In short I feel a lot better. (this is the sort of thing I'll update.)

If I have build/repair updates those will go into the old build thread. One issue that I have is that the gas tank holds about a liter of fuel. I'm getting about 30 miles or so per liter. So I'll have to switch tanks or carry extra as I get into the higher miles.

I had an appointment in Salem today and I decided I was going to ride Eagle Arse instead of taking the car. I've avoided riding over to Salem in the past because of the bridge. So, I rode Eagle Arse over the Beverly-Salem bridge for the first time. It's an epically long and high bridge that I see cyclists struggling to get over. Quite a few people in single gear beach cruisers attempt it and fail. Eagle Arse made it over the bridge at 19mph and a little pedaling. I wanted to stop and take a pic from the top but it wasn't happening. The traffic was just too busy. I will go over the bridge some AM and stop at the top to get a pic.

As I left my driveway the neighbor kid told me my bike was totally awesome.

When I parked it in Salem a guy stopped me to ask me where I got it, his buddy had given him the info but he lost it. I didn't have a pen on me to give him any info. I pointed him to the site and eBay.

After I left my appointment I headed back over the bridge. Again I wanted to stop and shoot a pic but couldn't. So I took a quick turn to the dock and snapped these:


Beverly-Salem Bridge by lessherger, on Flickr

Beverly-Salem Bridge by lessherger, on Flickr
That's the bridge in the background. I'm still astounded that I took the bike over it.

I do a pre-ride check of my ride- make sure bolts are tight and things like that. I failed to check my saddle bags. I didn't notice that during my last ride the left bag had swung into the spokes and was now rubbing against them. So a small hole was rubbed into the bag and the canvas strap is worn to heck. Sigh. If I'd checked them during my pre-ride check I'd have noticed the issue. The straps have stretched quite a bit. I tightened them up and used my bungee cord to hold the rear of the bags up higher so they won't rub again.

Damaged Bag by lessherger, on Flickr

The details: A total 5.54 miles, ride time of 20minutes (though this is not totally accurate.) a top speed of 28.6mph. I did slow the bike down as my speed topped out, I probably could have gotten the bike up higher but I don't really want to. there was too much carp in the bike lane to take a chance of going much faster than 25mph. Awesome short ride.

Well, I don't usually ride my bike in the middle of the day, but I'm trying to make a point of doing so. I need to get used to it for when we finally do get rid of the other car. Today I traveled out to the other side of town to get my hair cut. I took the long way around and took a partial ride up a road I've been thinking of for a long ride. It was hellishly bumpy and rutted up. With lots of debris in the "bike" lane, aka 6 inch wide strip of tar that cars don't drive on. I won't be including it in my plans for a long ride, instead I'll use Brimbal ave- slightly less rutted up, traveled just as much but less carp left in the "bike lane."

While on a well traveled stretch of road a large truck came up beside me, laid on the horn and gave me less than 6 inches of room while he passed. Luckily I have semi-knobbie tires and I was next to a businesses lawn. I pulled off onto the lawn at about 20mph and kept up speed and control of the bike. After he passed me I was able to get back on the road with no troubles. What a jerk.

I made it to Ye Olde Hair Cuttery and found not one single bike rack on that side of the strip mall. Not one. So I parked in the shrubbery and locked onto a tree. Annoying. They are adding more bike lanes to the downtown area, which is great, I support that but with more bikes on the road, where are we supposed to park? The further cyclists, MABS and mopeds travel from downtown the fewer places there are to park. We're forced to chain up to trees and signs. Stupid and annoying.

I took a much more direct route home, not realizing it was time for the kids to get out of school, which means a clusterfluff of congestion at every school, and I passed 2. What happened to buses? Anyway. Being on a bike, I shut the engine off and pedaled around the cars parked in the street. It was insanity. I pedaled around the parked cars, through a parking lot and then walked my bike across the street. Here I got back on it and revved her up again. After that it was less than a mile home. I annoyed a bus by taking the lane at the light, as I'm supposed to, he passed me, though I was going the posted speed limit and he then took the exact same right as I did.

Anyway. I rode a total of 10.9 miles, in 39 minutes, top speed of 30.9 (which was down a long steep hill with the wind behind me.) I've now got a total of 80 miles on this new build. No pics this time.

Today I charted myself out a 22.25 mile ride. I ended up not following the route very well and ended up riding 24.33 miles. I stayed up late working on a paper so I ended up leaving for the ride at about 8am. This is important and I'll tell you why in a minute.

RT1A is a nice ride. On my next ride I'll spend more time on it. It has nice wide shoulders that are clear of debris and very few cars parked in the way. I rode out past the farms and Wenham Lake for a nice scenic route. This early in the AM it was chilly and when I wasn't pedaling I was wishing for my hoodie. I just hugged the engine with my knees to get warm.

Brimbal Ave is a frost heaved mess. I can only imagine what my rear end would feel like if I didn't have the cushioned seat. I hit several pot holes and one I really thought I was going to lose it.

A good rule of thumb when traveling in MA is to avoid any and all Dunkin Donuts between the hours of 8am and 9am. OH MY GOD. I passed 2 and first they had lines going down the street and the people leaving are not paying attention. One guy in a landscaping truck didn't see me and I had to go into the parking lot to avoid being hit. Yikes. Learning Experience.

I took a wrong turn down a gated community driveway. Holy McMansion. Also met up with the landscaping truck that almost took me out, clearly he was on his way to mow some lawns. This place is the kind of place where joggers run in the street and kids can pedal their bikes in the middle of the road. It's quiet and calm. Amazingly, the highway is just a short step through the woods, but it can't be heard. After a quick stop I got back on track. I rode past Gordon College. A Beverly PD cruiser rode past me, didn't stop and didn't turn to look.

I went by my favorite bakery, Half Baked, up in Beverly Farms. I narrowly avoided colliding my mouth with a Maple Bacon donut or a Johnny Hash breakfast sandwich. (Egg, Hash, Cheese on a Pepper Brioche roll.) I kept on rolling.

There was some road construction with cops flagging. I slowed down and considered taking a side road, the cop saw me and waved me through. Cop did not care about my ride. Neither of them did.

In this area of Massachusett's North Shore there are a ton of great places to ride, loads of motorcycles on the road and cyclists. Today I was running into more than usual number of spandex clad skinny people, wearing numbers. Apparently my route was taking me opposite a race originating just down the street from my house at the Harbor. I forgot it was Harbor Fest and any "fest" in this city has an organized bike ride usually sponsored by one of the 2 bike shops. I must've passed several hundred spandexters going in the opposite direction. I also passed quite a few on my side who were not involved in the race.

Hale Street of RT 127 is also a mess of cracks, debris and crevases just waiting to suck in a tire. It took me past some scenic beaches and one of these days I need to get a pic of the bike at that beach. I rode past Endicott College and back into downtown Beverly. I made a quick stop at the Cemetary and snapped this:


Eagle Arse at the Cemetary by lessherger, on Flickr

After that I looped back around and decided for a quick stop at the beach. I'd already hit my goal of over 22 miles. I sat in the sun for a minute and snapped this:

Eagle Arse at Dane St by lessherger, on Flickr

After that I wanted to avoid the downtown area, so I looped around to the harbor, forgetting, yet again, about the bike race. The hobby riders were being released onto the public and I had to stop to let them cross so I could cross. After that I was on my way home.

I learned a few things from this ride. First, avoid any and all Dunkin Donuts in the AM. Second stay off Brimbal Ave, it will hurt you. Third, cops don't care about my ride. I won't get cocky but I saw 4 Beverly PD officers and not one seemed to give a carp about my ride. Lastly, I need to do something about the vibrations in my bars. I bought some real bike gloves and they help, sort of. I am going to lift the bars up. When I ride over 5 miles these things kill me.

Well, the "new" trek 800 I picked up for $25 has a higher gooseneck. I'll swap that to Eagle Arse when I get a chance. It will raise the bars up by a good 3 to 4 inches. I'll keep the bars I have on it for that swap. We'll see if it will make the difference or not.

Those are pretty awesome.

heh
Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you. Just one word.

Benjamin: Yes, sir.

Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?

Benjamin: Yes, I am.

Mr. McGuire: Plastics.

Benjamin: Exactly how do you mean?

I managed to score an old burley bike trailer for free on craigslist. The only problem is that it's missing wheels. The good thing is that it takes standard BMX 20 inch wheels. I found one on Craigslist for $5 and I'm looking for another. I'll pull all the canvas off of it and slap down a 1/4 inch plywood piece bolted to the frame. If I get real fancy I'll make a cover for it that looks like an old canned ham tear drop trailer, if not I'll just throw a tarp over it. We'll see what I have the time and energy for.

I wish the thrift stores around here had bikes. they get scooped up fast b y resellers who repair them and sell them for $$$$ on craigslist. I"m keeping an eye out for a crappy bike or another cheap wheel. The wheel I got is a nice 35 spoke with a good tire on it. Needs a tube but for $5 I won't complain.

You are right it takes a front wheel, just bolts on. Pretty slick.

So I just got back from my ride. It looked like rain so I headed home. Ride mileage- 26.42 Max speed 29mph, down hill, total of 130 miles on this build. Bummed that I missed out on the 30 mile mark. Plenty of gas in the tank, so I now think I can get 35 to 40 miles from a fill.

I took a ride out to Essex on RT 22. I need to leave earlier to avoid more of the car traffic. Now that school is in session there are a lot of SUVs full of distracted drivers on the road. Having my lights good for early AM rides will be important. RT22 is rough in some areas but for the most part is a very nice ride. I came back via 1A and 97. I came back via 97 so I could stop at the airport and snap a few pics. Next time I'll stop at the Airport Cafe and get a coffee.

First off, along 22 the woods are amazing. So cool that it's about 10 miles from my house and it's thick lush woods. Awesome stuff. Also lots of farms.

Eagle Arse Just Outside Gordon College by lessherger, on Flickr


Riding up to Essex was neat, I don't usually make my way into the "town" parts of other cities. I stopped by a place that used to have a branch in Beverly, and was a favorite of mine. I snapped this pic. (Their ribs, roast beef and burgers are very good. Stay away form the chicken wings- they are dry and gross.)

Eagle Arse at the Farm in Essex, MA by lessherger, on Flickr

After that I rode past another section of Gordon College. I was not smited down as I rode through the school so that was good. It's a very pretty campus. I didn't stop for pics on campus.

I came back through 97 and stopped at the airport. I snapped a pic with the helicopter on a pole.

Eagle Arse with the Helicopter on a Pole by lessherger, on Flickr

It was a great ride. It was definitely damp and a little cool. Tomorrow is supposed to be nicer.

The inserts in the gloves worked pretty well. At first the inserts were annoying but after 10 miles the gel was definitely helping. I think things would work better had I used a larger gel insert and cut it to the size of my palm.

I got in my 2nd ride. Pretty excited about that. I logged another 32.27 miles on Eagle Arse. the build is at a total of 163 miles. I am in the 500 mile range on this engine. *Knock on wood* It keeps running strong and well.

I'd planned out a 30 mile course for the day that would take me through Wenham, Hamilton, then up to Ipswich, loop down to Manchester, Sterling and then back to Beverly. Well the app I planned it out on crashed and then wouldn't show me the route, so I decided to kinda wing it.

I rode down the smooth shoulders of 62 here in Beverly, through to Danvers. Here I got onto Burley St. It is a really nice area of Danvers. LOts of farm land and nice houses. I ended up following Burley St the whole way tot eh end of it and then I took another side st to end up on Topsfield Rd, RT97. 97 is smooth and nice. Lots of hills and lots of spandex wearing riders. This makes the drivers more aware of riders, so I won't hate on the spandexters. I saw few cars, I had managed to get on the road at 7:15am so it was just me and the people working out.

I passed the Danvers' Rail trail a few times. Man I was jealous of the trail. They get some amazing views of the woods and conservation land.

I forgot that the highway portion of RT1 ends somewhere around Topsfield, I was able to ride on RT1. Which for the most part was also smooth. Almost all of the roads in the Topsfield area were just fantastic for riding. There were some debris in the bike lane but no cars parks and nothing I couldn't ride over without worry. Just fantastic riding. Highly recommended section of road. Also the downhills make for some fun high speeds, and the uphills make you pedal. I will be riding this stretch of road again.

At this point I knew I was about 1/2 through my tank of gas, even with the spare I didn't want to take a chance of running out of gas way out in the boondocks. I pulled over at a senior center and checked my GPS. I almost turned back the way I came but at the last minute decided, eff it and got back on RT 1 and looked for the right hand turn that would take me to Bradley Palmer State Park.

I was on the right track, a sign turned me to another right turn and I was there. I pulled over for this shot of the bike with the park sign. A lot of traffic was coming in and out of the park, I didn't know it until later but there was a Pagan Festival at the park. I was pretty bummed knowing that I had missed out on festival food. I love me some fried dough.

Eagle Arse Rides Again by lessherger, on Flickr
Asbury St is smooth enough and with lots of turns and hills and gorgeous scenery. The next time I go up this way I'll take the road through the park and I'll be sure to go early in the AM. I was passed by a few people a little too close, every inch of the road is on an incline or turn. Most cars were pretty respectful. Again the prevalence of spandex clad riders seems to make everyone who travels these roads frequently aware of slower moving vehicles and bikes.

I rode through Wenham and got onto RT 1A. One of these days I'm going to stop at one of the coffee shops in Wenham, or the tea house. 1A is usually a pretty good ride. Smooth few obstacles and trash in the bike lane. Though I often come upon cars parked in it.

Once I made my way back to North Beverly I knew I didn't want to quite ride home yet, so I decided to ride to Beverly Farms and to Half Baked and get a celebratory Maple Bacon Donut and cup of coffee. Because my GPS wasn't working very well I couldn't get it to give me directions. I went up dodge st and then down Grove St.

Holy wow. Now I know why "The Farms" want to be their own city, talk about mansions, and not McMansions either. Old farm houses, custom build homes, big giant massive houses. Man. Wow. Pretty sure these people did not want to hear my happy time engine at 8am. Oh well. I will try to avoid Grove St for the future, while it is pretty with some very old stonework fences, it was very rough. At mile 25 I had to pull over, turn off the engine and shake out my hands and wrists. Man they were taking a pounding on the rough pavement, even at my granny pace of 20mph. I attempted to check the GPS but it could not get a lock due to the big trees, hills, and boulders. I was on my own.

More rough roads were to be ridden, Grapevine Road and Hart street both proved to pound me and my bike some more. Thank goodness for the nice cushioned spring seat.

I zigged when I should have zagged. I took a right onto Haskell St when I should have taken a left onto Hale St to get to my destination of Half Baked. Taking a left from Haskel onto 127 is just asking for trouble. So, disappointed, I took a right, pulled into the Endicott College parking lot and sipped my water. Here I reset my cell phone to see if I could get the GPS to work better and let my hands and wrists rest for a few minutes. This time when I turned on the GPS it didn't crash.

I was at the 28 mile mark. I decided to swing home via 127 and the docks and a nice view of the beach. I checked my fuel at the beach. The gas tank was nearly dry, maybe 1/4 cup of fuel left in it at the 30.75 mark, so I added my .6l spare fuel to it. I might have been able to get home on the last 1/4 cup of fuel but I really didn't want to take a chance of having to pedal Eagle Arse up the several hills on the ride home.

Eagle Arse Rides Again by lessherger, on Flickr

Eagle Arse Rides Again by lessherger, on Flickr
After the big hill it was all down hill on the way home. I grilled myself up a small steak, mushrooms, and some homegrown tomatoes, pears from my tree and some toast. Though it wasn't a maple bacon donut from half baked it was pretty darn good.

Things I've noticed:
I need wider pedals, especially since I wear boots when I ride. I'll pull the pedals off the junk Stingray and put them on. These tiny plastic pedals are junk.
Handle bars MUST come up higher, for comfort of my wrists.
A bigger tank is becoming a necessity. For now I'll carry the spare fuel in a bottle in my bag. Depending on the fuel mix I'm getting between 40 and 30 miles per tank. I think it holds 1.5l, but I could be wrong. CLearly I need to have something that holds at least a gallon. I'm thinking that I'll upgrade to a under the rack style tanks. I do have a Honda PA50 peanut tank but not sure if I like it for this bike. It's awesome but I think better on the chopper.
I need to slide my seat back and tip the front up just a touch.The way it's angled now allows me to ever so slightly slide down until I'm uncomfortable with the seating arrangement.

Around mile 20 or so I need to take a break and rest my wrists and hands so they don't get really sore by mile 25. Now that I've been off the bike my hands feel fine but my wrists area still slightly sore. Nothing like before the inserts in my gloves thought.

A thought. If the gel inserts in my shoes and gloves work to stop vibes maybe taking a gel wrist rest from a computer, cutting it into handle bar sized strips and then shoving it INTO the handlebars would absorb some of the vibrations? Clearly whatever this gel is made of does a great job stopping vibrations, I can feel that in my feet and hands after just a few rides. My hands aren't numb at all, and before these inserts they would have been for a few hours, just from the vibes. I will explore this. I could probably fill 2 bars with a single wrist rest.