Bike commuting tip #25

Don't forget to bring your bike inside after you come home!

sorry about the glare!

There's been more than a few times after I've been home from work for an hour or more and suddenly I go oh #%# I forgot my bike! After getting home, I usually park my bike around back or out front and then head inside. I'll  let the dogs out, get the mail, get a snack, play with the dogs etc. I get distracted easily. Luckily, it's always still been there where I left it when I remember. Which sometimes isn't until the next morning.

You might notice we're without snow here in Spokane, and you can thank all of us bikers who bought studded tires and/or snow bikes this year in anticipation of a snowy winter.  I'm bummed out right now even though I'm not a real big snow fan, but there's still time for some decent snow storms.   As it stands now, I don't think I can say I've ridden my bike to work through a winter.

A few more pics from the CPT

Forgot to mention...there seems to be an unofficial rifle range below the trail after gate 2408(?). I think it was the next gate after Martin Road trailhead gate. On the way out I heard a few rifle or shotgun blasts, and was glad I had on my yellow commuter jacket. On the way back, though, as I got nearer the Trailhead, there was a steady stream of rifle reports. Then I heard a few ricochets which was a little unnerving to say the least. I tried to get down to the side of the trail, but there wasn't much room. I yelled a little a few heys and hos to alert whomever it was to my presence but didn't do any good. I finally was able to see some vehicles parked off a road and a group of people standing around. I waved at them but they didn't notice or care. Heard some semi-automatic fire. Wish now I'd taken a picture, but I didn't feel like stopping, just wanted to get past. anyways, just a warning.

We continue with our travelogue...

Another photo of the first gate across the road from the trailhead

Just after the first gate, showing the trail built up on a on a dike. a whole lotta dirt moving went on.

wonder what the story is here

On the way back, approaching Lamont. I kept on looking at my Garmin at this point trying to figure out how many more miles to go. Maybe 4-5 miles, would I make it?  Maybe there's someone in town who'd like to give me a ride back!





Columbia Plateau Trail - Martin Rd trailhead and beyond

I'm not an extreme biker, but I've been mulling over the idea of riding the Columbia Plateau Trail all the way to Pasco. So on New Year's Day I hauled my bike out to the Martin Road Trailhead (about 8 miles from Sprague) to give it a looksy. What the hey - it's January! Thought I'd have to wait til spring, but decided I better take advantage of the time off from work, mild temps in the mid 30's and lack of snow on the ground.

Last summer I rode from Cheney to Amber Lake, and when I started out on Sunday I wasn't sure if I was going to continue on at Amber Lake or go to Martin Rd trailhead.  But since I was mostly interested in what the unimproved trail was like past Martin Rd, I found my way there. It was surprisingly easy to find - there's about a thousand signs pointing the way from the freeway, through Sprague, and to Williams Lake Rd which the Martin Rd trailhead is off of.

 Crazy Guy on a Bike  rode the trail on a Surly Pugsley, and that seems to be the recommended bike type, but I wanted to see how a 29er would do.

It was tough!

This is the gate across from the parking area. No services for the next 100 miles. Luckily, my wife packed me some trail mix, beef jerky and lots of water.

Just past the first gate. The trail surface was all over the map - sometimes the rock was more compacted along where the rails used to lie, sometimes it was along the edge. Occasionally there was a dirt path along the side as above to provide relief.

I'd barely gone a mile when I came across this feller. This is not a good sign! But I kept riding.

 The first few miles were tough, but after awhile I got a rhythm going. The difficult part was the searching back and forth for the best part of the trail to ride on, looking for the most compacted sections. Often I tooled along at 7-9 miles, and there was an easy section where I was able to go 12 mph with ease. I might have had an easier time of it if I had let some more air out of my tires, but once I got out there I discovered I didn't pack a patch kit or extra tube. I was worried I'd get a pinch flat if I did let some air out. I did bring a pump, but what good is that going to do by itself? Obviously, I didn't plan this trip very well.



A little scenery - occasionally I'd remember to look up from the trail.

Yikes! A little overgrown section, freely fertilized by cows. But easy to ride on.

Further on up the trail. I went a ways past this gate - I had to see what was beyond the next cut out. 

It took me 1 1/2 hours to go 10 miles, and finally forced myself to turn around after about 11 miles. I was starting to think I could keep on going to Washtucna, but knew I didn't have time to go much further. The ride back was brutal - the wind was against me and it felt uphill. One minute I was thinking I could maybe actually do this whole trail, or at least to Washtucna, the next I was crawling along at 5 mph hoping I'd make it back before nightfall!

That's all for now; I'll post some random photos tomorrow. Coincidentally, Pat of the 26IinchSlicks blog was out there last weekend also. Check out his report.

Back to the Merkel Trail to Riverside

Pretty pleased with myself - discovered there's a bikers paradise that I can ride to from home. Well ok, everybody in Spokane knows about Riverside State Park already but somehow I've only recently ridden there. On last Wednesday I rode down the hill again from Merkel sports center to Riverside State Park, but this time on my new mountain bike. The trail down is slippery to start with, especially on my cross bike with cantilever brakes, and made more so by the recent snow and rain we've had. Had a much easier time with the disc brakes, didn't feel like I was holding on for dear life.

After getting safely down the hill, I took some trails to Aubrey White Parkway and the Bowl and Pitcher area; found my way up trail #25 and surprised myself when I arrived at the Centennial Trail. I'm going to like having somewhat of a short cut to get across the river instead of riding to the TJ Meenach bridge.

Still no decent pictures; maybe this year!

Coming up next: a New Years day ride on the Columbia Plateau Trail. 11 miles of the rough section going east beyond the Martin Road Trailhead.

Got some new studded tires and suddenly everything's alright!

This photo was taken last week before our recent light snowfall.

Too bad I'm off work this week and won't be commuting on them, 

but I hope to get some riding in.  And too bad the forecast calls for

warmer temps next week!

They rode fine on the bare pavement last week, although a bit noisy,

and came in handy on the side streets that were either icy or had a

spinkling of snow still on them.

REI Scratch & Dent Sale

A couple Saturdays ago my wife called to let me know that on her way to her hair appt she saw REI's Scratch & Dent sale was happening. I didn't need anything, but I headed down there after 10am anyway, not expecting to find much of anything. First thing I saw coming in off of Monroe street was that the Bike rack still had some nice bikes waiting to go to good homes. Then I saw the used Marin Muirwoods 29er for $279. Regular is $620?  Looked brand new. I shoulda snapped it up right then and there but hesitated. Ok ok, I already have a Muirwoods (currently loaned out to a friend), and I need a mountain bike, but this one is the 19 inch model that I looked at earlier in the year. I bought the 17-inch model a few years ago, and even though I'm barely 5'8", it felt a little small for me. I usually had the seatpost extended past the recommended limit. So I thought about it, thinking if I didn't need it I could give it to our friend or my brother who is looking for a bike.

I looked around for a bit and came back to the bike. It was now $179! And here it is now at a good home:

There's not much difference between this 2011 model and my other one which I think is a 2010. The downtube is a litttle less beefy, and it doesn't have the large plastic Marin decals (thankfully), but I think most everything else is the same, including the too wide handlebars and 28 x 1.6/42-622 tires. Both are heavy steel bikes, and it reminds me of last years' cyclocross race at Stanger Farm, trying to drag the beast up the muddy hill after the creek crossing.

I have the seatpost right at the limit, and it feels just right. It rides smoooth, smoother than I remember, but that may be because the tire pressure is low. It might even ride smoother than my Redline Conquest Sport which I've been using for commuting this year. Which is funny because the Sport felt so nimble and quick riding to work compared to the older Muirwood. I love the disc brakes - they are a huge improvement over the basic cantilevers on the Sport. (By the way, thanks to Two Wheel Transit, those canti's actually work now!)

Here's my old one for comparison - it's a little hard to see behind all the accessories, though.

I'm thinking I might have to be selfish and keep this one for me. It'll make a good winter commuter bike with some traction tires or studs on it.

Or sure I could be like this Alex guy  who got an REI bike on sale and "replaced a few components". Like the cranks, tires, pedals, handlebars, and grips...and oh yeah the fork and frame, too!

No I don't think so.

In Search of the Dwight Merkel trail to Riverside State Park (revisited)

Somehow I posted this a week or so ago before I was finished with it. Or I got tired before I was done and hit the publish button and forgot I did. Anyway here goes again.

In the wooded area behind Albi Stadium and the Dwight Merkel Sports complex, there's some trails used by us locals for dog walking, jogging and biking.

After my shoulder healed earlier this summer,  I got brave and rode my cross bike down this slippery, twisty, gravelly trail off the north side:

And ended up in the housing area at the bottom of this picture:

:


Ever since the Dwight Merkel Sports Complex was built in North Spokane near Joe Albi Stadium last year, I've wondered about the planned trail from the complex down to Riverside park. Where was the start going to be? Maybe I should volunteer. I looked all over the place but couldn't find anything posted about the trail.

From the bottom, I could see another wider, gradual, straighter trail heading up the hill. Turns out they already built the trail to Riverside!

there's the housing development on the left side

It took me a few times riding up the trail to find what I think is the start of the trail at the top. It's the same spot I started at, but at one of the junctions with other trails you have to stay left and climb up for a little bit:

There are a couple other junctions like this where I think you need to go left to stay on the trail to Riverside.

Here's another picture from the trail looking west. I've been meaning to head down there on a nice sunny day with the good camera instead of my phone, but apparently that's not gonna happen.

The easiest way to find what I think is the start, is to enter the wooded area here behind center and left field:

There's info on the trail here from the Spokane Parks Dept. There is a link there to a Facebook page with pictures of the trail building back in July 2010.

A random picture taken from above, near the cemetery: