March 2010-Almost Spring Bike Rides-Plus On The Road Bike Repair Tips

We start out from the Union Grove Church parking lot. We leave to our left to Arthur Minnis Road and take a left. We then take a left on Rock Ridge Road.

We take a right at Dairyland.

Dairyland Road is pretty popular. There is a nice ice-cream shop here but we're not stopping here today.

Our next turn is Right on Dodsons Crossroad.

Dodsons Crossroad is a pretty easy road as they go around here.

Today we're on our way to Mebane to have some coffee at the Mebane Espress!

I love a picture of a cyclist and I love a picture of an old church!

Dimmicks Mill Road is pretty fast in our direction today!

Here we are skirting Hillsborough on Ben Johnson Road.

After leaving Dimmocks Mill Road we took Ben Johnson to the 85 Connector, took a left and right on W-10, a right on Brookhollow Road. We then take a left on Lebanon.Lebanon takes right into Mebane and 5th St. We take a left on 5th to Center and take a right on Center and a right on 4th St. to the Mebane Espress!

This is THE STOP for me. I love coming to this coffee shop, The MEBANE ESPRESS!

They have espresso which I love and make at home every day. Sometimes I have espresso and a gelato here. Today it's gelato. A gelato is the Italian veersion of ice-cream that I really love. It's almost sherbet in consistancy. The lemoncello gelato is my favorite. It's light and feels healthy whether it is or not! The folks who own and run the business are delightful and will pull their chairs out for us and give us water for our bottles. They have a cute little boy.

I love a mural!

I'll make this 40 or so mile ride into about 66 miles.

We're all together on Dairyland!

Dodsons Crossroad (south).

A pack of licensed riders comes toward us. Two guys are off the front.

Both pictures were washed out from a lack of time to set the picture up. This one was so washed out that I just "gray-scaled" it. This picture was taken the same day though.

This is our rest stop. Some of us have definitely "played hard" to this point.

A pretty girl is sure pretty when she smiles!

We're back on the other end of Dodsons Crossroad.

Today I turn around near Carrboro to ride back home. I met the group coming out and I turned around near the end to ride back. The Assault on Mitchell is only two months away. I'm riding 65 or 70 but Mitchell will be 102 miles and uphill so I've got to do some "homework".

See ya TJ!

I put in more miles riding out to Daves and then to Union Grove. Later I would ride back out to Union Grove and ride Borland again.

Today my oldest cycling buddy, Dave Gehrman, Cyrus Hogue, and I ride out to Union Grove to begin the bike ride to the Cup Of Joe coffee shop in Hillsborough.

This is just before turning on Union grove.

This is Borland Road and a hard climb. My GPS says that the top is 876 feet. There is a little controversy about the altitude so please give me input, those who have it!

Ride leader Alan Schumacher is to the left.

Today the pace is easy and we're able to smile.

We're almost done with Borland and we're almost on Kimbro and then it's Orange Grove to Dimmincks Mill.

After leaving Dimmocks Mill Road we took Ben Johnson to the 85 Connector, took a left and right on W-10, a right on  Brookhollow Road to Efland Cedar Grove.

These pictures are coming into Hillsborough from the northeast side. We just left Efland-Cedar Grove Road and we're now on Highland Farms Road.

We just left Highland Farms Road and we're now on Coleman Loop.

Fast fenders above here!

Another great ride leader, Jeff Klee above!

Frank Perry becomes Faucette Mill Road at this curve.

We're now on Faucette Mill Road.

Looks like furniture! Fast furniture though!

Cup Of Joe coffee shop in Hillsborough. Our great friend, Jose, meets us. Jose crashed a couple months ago really hard and is still recovering. He is one fine guy!

A grand time was had by all! I had 4 shots of espresso!

It is/was a swell group.

Bruce has a new "toy". This bike is 12 lbs. lighter I think. Today Bruce has tried to crack me everywhere we've been.

I think we've just left Miller and are now on Baldwin Road.

Here are two young ladies on Baldwin Road.

Bruce would almost succeed on the way back to Union Grove. He and I added some hills that were devastating. Well they were devastating trying to keep up with Bruce. The lungs, heart, and legs were screaming! I was also getting back pain- lower, middle, upper, neck, pain running down the arms, and pain into the right hip. This is from old injuries- mostly from autos colliding with me. Everything seems to compound when the effort increases. Pain is part of cycling.

There are those fast fenders again!

I rode back up Borland and crept on back about 10 miles to home. I thought I'd take a picture of "pain" but pain doesn't show up really.

Bruce offered to take a picture of me but I know what I look like. I thought I'd take one for this web-page anyway. I set the camera up to snap automatically. It blurred a little which surprised me.

Cy and I wanted to shake out our legs from yesterday's Wednesday "Cup-O-Joe" ride. Today would be about 30 miles.

I do love this scene and if you follow my "pics" you will see that I take quite a few right here.

We come this way on several rides, one being the Saxapahaw Ride!

I tried to get Cy and I in the same frame. People are always asking for more pics of my beautiful face.

I tried to snap this pic behind me. I missed a really beautiful shot.

I got a great picture of the front of Cy's helmet here.

This picture was taken two weeks ago. I stopped to help these folks but they had it under control. His crank arm loosened up. I hate to see a bike "belly up" like that. We need to be a bit prepared as a bike will have a problem occasionally along with intermittent flat tires.

On this ride, with Cy, my right, rear gear cable broke. I held the rear end of the bike up pedaled the crank with my hand and pushed the derailleur into a bigger sprocket (lower gear-on the rear). Keeping a good "tug" on the broken cable, I then loosened the rear wheel "skewer" and wrapped the cable around the inside of the "skewer" and then closed the skewer. This way I only had one gear but it was a lower gear to help get over some hills. This will save the bottom and smallest sprocket that the chain falls into when the cable breaks. I've had to do this very technique several times in the mountains.

Another way to do this is to wrap the cable around the water bottle cage area after loosening the water cage bolts. Then screw the bolts back down onto the frame making sure that the cable is "stuck". In this way you don't have to be so concerned with the extra cable wrapping around a frame as I have it here. My frame isn't painted in this area (titanium) so it's not a big issue.

The method I used on this day with the skewer is maybe faster. It may be the only way if you didn't bring water bottle cage allen wrenches. The cables usually break up top near the lever.

I had another problem with a broken derailleur while climbing Roan Mountain. I developed (chain suck) with the front sprockets. This pulled the chain around and up as the sprocket rotated and pulled the rear derailleur so that it broke.

If I continued to pedal the chain would be pulled up and around and it would eventually break the derailleur off and ruin the frame. I looked around for twine or wire to bind the derailleur so that it might work in one gear at least. I found nothing. I finally took an old drivers license and wedged it, after folding it, into the crack. I couldn't bind it together so I was able to "bind it apart". In this case the inside plate of the derailleur was broken. So I was able to ride precariously in one gear and get over Roan Mountain and coast, mostly, back home.

Try a bunch of stuff if you get in a pinch!