Thanks for sharing. We Midwesterners - and even more so our poor buddies further East - are there in spirit if somewhat trapped with the slop on our roads and paths at the moment.
On Dec 20, 1:57 am, "Robert F. Harrison" <[email protected]> wrote: > Today was the first chance I had to take a longer ride on my new Quickbeam. > Last weekend I had a cold so I'd not had a chance to do more than my usual > commute for the last 10 days. > > I decided this morning, on the spur of the moment more or less, that I'd > ride out to my sister's home in Kapolei. I'd never done this ride before and > I thought there was a bike path most of the way (there was). However I > wasn't exactly sure where to find each leg of it. > > The whole ride turned out to be about 58 miles from my front door back to my > front door. Some of the ride I was familiar with, but once I got as far as > the airport I was in "new territory" as it were. Of course I'd been out that > way a thousand times, but never on a bike. > > Most of the way was on marked paths on roads or on designated multi-use > paths. It took about three hours for me to do the 30 or so miles to my > sister's place as I was forever checking the map on my iPhone to make sure I > knew were to go in-between legs of the path. Unfortunately there are very > few bike route markings so once one leg ends one has to cast about for the > start of next bit of path. Oahu isn't exactly bike friendly, though it > should be. > > The highlight of the ride was the path around Pearl Harbor. It was much > nicer than I expected, though admittedly I wasn't expecting much. At times > it hardly felt as if I were in the city at all. Here's a link to the almost, > but not quite, useless map of the area from the Oahu bike plan: > > http://hawaii.gov/dot/highways/Bike/oahu/Pearlharbor.htm > > And, here are some shots I took along the way. It was a view of Pearl Harbor > I'd never had before and I've lived on Oahu most of my life. Sigh. > > http://www.flickr.com/photos/mgps-bob/sets/72157623034088896/ > > Now for the real good stuff. > > The ride is mostly flat with just minor inclines so it was perfect for a > first long ride on my Quickbeam. I was able to really ride the bike without > having to think too much about whether I was going to make it up a hill or > not. I know I can ride 50-75 miles so there wasn't any question there > either. The only question is how would the Quickbeam do. > > Fantastic. > > It's a 66cm to go with my 95 PBH and it was comfortable for the entire 60 > miles. I never got numb, stiff, or felt a bit uncomfortable. The I found > enough hand positions on the moustache bars so my hands were in good shape > the whole time as well. > > I kept my ears tuned to hear any odd creaking that would signal that > something was coming loose and never heard a thing (besides my new Brooks > breaking in). > > My 700x35 Paselas soaked up the bumps. That's important because local roads > and bike paths are...um...let's just say you understand the value of decent > tires. The wheels Rick built have been great as well. > > All in all it was great ride, even if I take a wrong turn or two on the way > out (and only one on the way back). The ride back, even though it was into > the wind was much faster because I knew the way, though I'm not a fast rider > (nor do I want to be one particularly - I like stopping and seeing what's > what. > > Really the QB is the perfect bike for that sort of ride. I got spend a lot > of time simply riding and enjoying myself and none worrying about the bike > or which gear I should be in. I ran the standard 40x16 all the way out and > back (flat I tell you, flat). > > Just as important to me as comfort during the ride is how I feel afterwards. > Sometimes things feel fine while riding but afterwards one realizes all was > not well. None of that today. In fact after getting home and cleaning up a > bit, I went back out on some errands adding a few more miles to the day. > > In fact, so far the only thing I can imagine changing on the Quickbeam are > my bags. I really didn't need the large Sackville Saddlesack today. I used > it because it was already zip tied to the bike and because I thought I might > do a little shopping when I got back into Honolulu. I didn't. However I > never felt held back it either. But, I'm going to get something to go on the > front soon; I just haven't decided what. The big saddlebag is great for my > daily commute when I might carry a laptop and stop for some groceries, but > it was overkill today. > > That's pretty much it. I love my QB. I'm looking forward to seeing what it > gets replaced with in 2010, but I'm really, really glad I didn't wait. I > can't imagine the replacement being better, as good? Sure. But better? Hard > to imagine. > > Aloha! > > -- > Robert Harrison > [email protected] > statrixblog.statrix.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
