Met these guys at Sumrall today on the way back from Bassfield. They are scouts from Mobile, Alabama, and were working on advancement. They are camping at Paul B. Johnson state park and came up to Hattiesburg for a biking exercise. I told one of the scout masters directions to Wards and Subway but he said the boys had planned and arranged for their lunch, and thus earning points toward advancement.

Just before leaving I overheard the same scout master tell the boys that all who handled the snake to be sure and wash their hands especially good. They must have come upon one on the trail. In any event, everyone was in good spirits and having a great time.

As I indicated in the previous post, I made a simple modification to a work stand to use it as a bike stand for the X-Stream. You can read the discussion on BROL or my basic description as copied below. It worked out so well I may add a stationary versions to my work bench, maybe some with different dimensions for other bikes.

[Quote] I’ve been thinking about a bike stand for my new X-Stream. I saw my new table saw helper as I pondered and this came to mind; worked out very well, the “projo lowjo”.

I used a table saw helper I recently bought at Lowes or Home Depot (don’t remember), one with a roller on top to support long cuts. It was very cheap. Even has a height adjustment. Did a quick prototype, took 15 to 30 minutes. Removed the roller on top, one screw. Screwed two rubber coated hooks into a short piece of 2×2 pine and then attached it in place of the roller using the same hole. I used a wood screw that I had on hand but would have preferred a bolt. Actually, would have preferred two bolts, drilling another hole. And maybe would prefer something besides unpainted wood. As I said, a prototype. But it worked out so well I may leave it as is. May add a second screw or bolt. [UnQuote]

32 miles to Sumrall and back. The spokes are still an issue; had to adjust several at the 5 miles point. However, they were then good little spokes for the rest of the ride. Had to adjust the seat forward several times. Not sure if it is slipping or if I just can’t find the sweet spot. Too far to the rear and my legs/knees become sore. And speaking of sore there is another issue, my tail bone. I may try the seat laid down a little more. This will move more weight to my back. I’m currently thinking that I will not change out the seat, it is wider and more comfortable than the Euromesh on my Strada. Maybe as I loose more weight the spoke and seat-comfort problems will go away on their own. These last two issues showed up on my other rides but I was too preoccupied with the spoke problem to mention them.

Those were not the only issues, two more. My wrists tired because of the high handlebar angle that I initially set. During the ride I rotated them down which made a big difference. You can see in the photo above how the bars are practically horizontal; this was before the ride adjustment. However, I now have to watch out for knee strikes in anything but a gradual turn (my knees now move between the hand grips). I had the bars turned up just to limit the number of things I had to get use to on the new bike. The last thing is that the stock idler is really noisy. I’ll be replacing that, most likely with a Terracycle one.

About the photo:

My new seat bag came from AngleTechCycles.com, the AeroPod. This was my first ride with it and I like it, a lot.

I’ve also converted a tablesaw helper to a bike stand for the X-Stream. You can see the bike mounted on the stand in the photo.

17 miles this time. Adjusted the spokes once or twice within the first 5 miles but then they were OK. After about 9 miles Jeanne called and asked me to come home; took a short cut at the end. A friend had died.