Continuing "mild" weather has made riding this past week very pleasant. Temps have been hovering around the 20 degree mark. I had cleaned up the bike a week ago and with the cold dry weather, the roads have remained clean and it has made for a very pleasant week. The bike has even remained relatively clean.
Roads were so clean and dry that on my ride home from work on Friday I contemplated going for a true recreational ride on Saturday on a different bike. But, by late Friday night some very light snow was accumulating. By the time that I got up on Saturday, we had accumulated an inch of fresh powder.
So, off I went at 7am to connect up with the Hiawatha ride on the Quickbeam. Miles and miles of virgin light fresh powdery snow to ride through. No traffic to speak of, and the urban quietness brought on by fresh and falling snow. It was a beautiful ride to start.
Met up with Hiawatha, rode to grab a muffin and coffee, then the group split up. I headed out to Hopkins, then back home to make what I mapped out with Gmap-Pedometer at 50 miles. Trails were 100% snow covered. By the time I had hit the roads on the way home, temps had risen to 25 and traffic had turned shoulders into a sloppy mess. By the time I got home, fenders and bike were PACKED with snow and I could hardly roll the bike into the garage.
It was a tough ride and for only 50 miles, I was WIPED out!
Friday - 30 - Commute Quickbeam
Saturday - 50 - Recreational Quickbeam
MTD/YTD - 315
2 comments:
I read regularly, mostly b/c I love your list of bikes and your determination of consecutive days of commuting. I'm confused as to the fate of teh QB. Could you elaborate? I thought, based on comments past, that it was stolen or sold or something. I have a Bleriot, which I love, but many seem to equally love their QB. Perhaps the sale of several other of my mounts might mean a QB in the future (used, I guess, b/c RB isn't producing them, right?). Peace.
The Quickbeam is a GREAT bike. I happen to be a huge singlespeed/fixed gear freak and the Rivendell design is one of the more practical available. It suites me very well.
I still own it, I ride it almost every day. I have changed my attitude about what the bike should be. Given up on the idea that it will remain nice. I just keep riding it, using it like a tool.
At one point I had sent it back to Rivendell to have a problem with the headset resolved. I recieved the frame back without the real problem being resolved. I would have to say that the quality of construction is mediocre; overheated and distorted BB shell from when brazed, headtube lugs oversized, and fork crown milled too small for a normal headset race. I’ve “repaired” the headset with loctite and just keep riding.
Call me picky, but for the hard-earned money I would expect craftsmanship to match the quality principles pitched by Rivendell. In hindsight, I would have gladly paid more to have the quality of a Toyo production.
I would still recommend the bike, particularly if you can find one used or obtain a frameset from Rivendell. You might even just call them to ask if you can be put on a waiting list.
Good luck and thanks for reading!
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