The Surly

I have two 'cross bikes, a racing bike and an "adventure" bike. The "adventure" bike is a Surly Crosscheck with a wider gear selection and less expensive, but very functional components.

Here's the Crosscheck.

I bought this frame over ten years ago. At that time Surly used Reynolds 631 tubing instead of the 4130 tubing they use now (a fairly useless fact only a bike geek would care about).
The trickest piece on the bike is this Wound Up carbon fork (old school 1"). The original steel fork has better clearance and perhaps a plusher ride, but the carbon fork is way lighter and rides pretty nicely itself.
The business end. I like my bars high and wide with Ultegra shifters left and right. The front is original. It's beat, but works fine. I think I am on my third rear. These things just get thrashed! The Runkle levers work well for long descents since they give more power than braking from the hoods.
I just put on the Schwalbe Racing Ralph tires which have a tread that seems to works well for most conditions around here.

Down low I have Time ATAC pedals attached to an old Ritchey 110 bcd crank (172.5) with 46 36 rings. The Ultegra derailleur has stood the test of time.
In the back I've gone to an XT mountain bike derailleur and a 12x32 cassette to give me some nice low gears for climbing.
Note the blue Velocity Aerohead (no relation!) rims. I confess to running my tires at a fairly low pressure for better handling and comfort, but the penalty is occassional pinch flats and rim abuse. These wheels, my second set for this bike, have held up surprisingly well.

I can't honestly say I have a favorite bike in my quiver, they are all different, but I truly love this bike for the places it takes me and the comfort it provides.

Hogback Creek Cross

End of the absence!

I camped in the Alabama Hills, which I'll keep doing until it gets too hot, and rode north to Hogback Creek. I headed out on Movie Road to Moffat Ranch Road on wide, well graded, roads which were a touch washboardy, but decent overall.

This is the view heading down Moffat Ranch Road just above the creek crossing.
Once I crossed the creek I found the road heading to Manzanar and took it for a mile or so until I realized I needed a lot more time to do that area justice, so I headed back to Hogback Creek.

This is the road heading to Manzanar. Twas a bit soft and rocky here, but looks sweet lower down.
I headed up the small road on the north side of Hogback Creek which proved to be real nice riding in a pleasant setting.
Found these flashy flowers growing in the road too.
The road eventually crossed back over Hogback Creek and joined Hogback Road which I took back down to Movie Road.

Mighty fine fun on the 'cross bike!

Heap of the Week VI

Another fine old truck from Keeler!

This one is literally a few feet from my office.

Bike Club Ride

My annual transition from skiing to cycling is underway. There's plenty of snow in the hills, but warm weather lures me onto the saddle.

The Eastern Sierra Velo folks had a ride from the County Park at Mono Lake out Highway 167, so Mary and I joined them.

I realize cycling pics aren't nearly as fun to look at as skiing pics, but here goes.

This is out near what appeared to be a small summit on Highway 167, maybe five miles east of the Nevada border.
167 is one straight road for a long long distance.
A great spread was waiting for us at the end thanks to Sara and Steve (right).
Tyler, myself, and Tom eye the desserts.
I hooked up with Tyler, Tom, and Jason for the ride out, taking turns on the front riding moderately hard. On the way back I ended up on my own and riding really hard. I was hammered by the end. This skier's body felt pretty good in the old saddle!