Riding Time

Weatherbug says an air quality index of 301 or above is hazardous. Here, it's 27. I got back from riding and found that Duke Power had shut off my AC so others could be cool. Who cares! As long as I have fans, I know I'm popular!
 
Winter here, so as I am not commuting anymore, I tend not to ride if rain is forecast. That said, I did commence a nine-day tour that lasted one day (because the bike decided not to charge). It is now in the bike shop awaiting a decision by Bosch as to whether they will replace the faulty battery and the Nyon, which is died without cost, as the bike is only out of warranty by about two months. We have one advantage here: the Australian Consumer Law, which overrides manufacturers' warranties. A product has to be fit for purpose for a reasonable period. The reasonable period takes into consideration the purchase price, $AU$12,000 in my case, so it is a strong argument that a battery and computer on a $12,000 bike should last longer than just over two years and less than 3,000 km of usage.

I think planned and commenced an overnight ride on my old Long Haul Trucker, but had to abandon it at the start of the ride, about two hours from home. I had arrived at the ride start point on the train when a tube just blew out. Stupid me only had one spare with me, which was a repaired tube. That lasted 20 kilometres before it went flat. I tried every patch I had (about five) to fix it, and all it would do was find a way to lose air around the next patch applied. Mind you, the whole was about four milimetres long, so I guess to be expected.

What really annoyed me with the second abandonment is that I went over the bike, replaced the brake pads and the cables, as the bike had not been ridden much for a couple of years and then completely ignored the tubes. Guess who the idiot is in serious trouble due to the rescue :)
 
Looks like no ride today either.

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I think planned and commenced an overnight ride on my old Long Haul Trucker, but had to abandon it at the start of the ride, about two hours from home. I had arrived at the ride start point on the train when a tube just blew out. Stupid me only had one spare with me, which was a repaired tube. That lasted 20 kilometres before it went flat. I tried every patch I had (about five) to fix it, and all it would do was find a way to lose air around the next patch applied. Mind you, the whole was about four milimetres long, so I guess to be expected.

What really annoyed me with the second abandonment is that I went over the bike, replaced the brake pads and the cables, as the bike had not been ridden much for a couple of years and then completely ignored the tubes. Guess who the idiot is in serious trouble due to the rescue :)
That happened to me in 1964, on a gravel road with a load of camping gear. Every few minutes, I'd hear a pop like a small bore rifle. Fortunately, patching took me only a few minutes. The classmate with me, on a similar bike with a similar load, had no trouble. It's only recently that I learned that whether from miles or years, butyl tubes get brittle.

I went to the Surlybike page. By the photo of the Long Haul Trucker they say:
"⚠️ WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov."
 
Weatherbug says an air quality index of 301 or above is hazardous. Here, it's 27. I got back from riding and found that Duke Power had shut off my AC so others could be cool. Who cares! As long as I have fans, I know I'm popular!
The index was 415 here yesterday but a bit better this morning. It's supposed to exceed 500 tonight & tomorrow morning. Should improve over the weekend though.

The NWS just issued a code purple (highest) alert for our area:


Air Quality Alert​

PAZ038>040-043-044-047-048-072-171615-
Bradford-Susquehanna-Northern Wayne-Wyoming-Lackawanna-Luzerne-Pike-
Southern Wayne-
Including the cities of Sayre, Towanda, Hallstead, Montrose,
Damascus, Equinunk, Tunkhannock, Scranton, Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre,
Milford, and Honesdale
1213 AM EDT Fri Jul 17 2026

...AIR QUALITY ALERT IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT TONIGHT...

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued a
Code PURPLE Air Quality Alert for Fine Particulates for Friday and
Friday evening until midnight.

A Code PURPLE Air Quality Alert means that air pollution
concentrations within the region are very unhealthy.

Health alert: Everyone may experience serious health effects.

For more information on ground-level ozone and fine particles, visit
www.airnow.gov and www.aqpartners.state.pa.us.

$$
 
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That happened to me in 1964, on a gravel road with a load of camping gear. Every few minutes, I'd hear a pop like a small bore rifle. Fortunately, patching took me only a few minutes. The classmate with me, on a similar bike with a similar load, had no trouble. It's only recently that I learned that whether from miles or years, butyl tubes get brittle.

I went to the Surlybike page. By the photo of the Long Haul Trucker they say:
"⚠️ WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov."
I have had mine since sometime ~ 2015, and so far so good. Hopefully stays that way :)
 
It ended up that the winds changed and skies cleared so I got in a quick 25mi ride late morning. No visible smoke or smell in the air.
Dew point dropped into the 50°s as well so it was quite pleasant out.
Heavy smoke is forecast again for tomorrow morning as well as afternoon thunderstorms... so I'm not going to bother charging.
 
Can't you Canadians keep your air to yourselves. 😁


It ain't just us ya no.
You Mericans be burnin🔥 too,.. 😁

The whole damn 🌎 is on 🔥
Who's fault is it??
 

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The weather cooperated for yesterday's ride, but the rail-trail didn't. The multi-use trail sees heavy ATV traffic which creates a berm in the middle of the trail. I had to cross the berm to avoid some large rocks, and the front wheel hit soft gravel and turned sideways.

I didn't go over the handlebars, and managed to do a bit of a tuck-and-roll on my way down, but my left shoulder hit the ground pretty hard, and one end of the handlebars speared my chest on the left side, and the other end hit the inside of my right thigh. Road-rash on my left elbow and left knee completed the carnage.

I lay on the ground for a while to let the pain die down, and was able to get up with some assistance. My cycling companions had alcohol wipes, antiseptic ointment, and bandages, and after some doctoring we continued on our way.

The bruises are somewhat bothersome, but the road-rash on my elbow is painful to the touch, and when I flex my arm..

All things considered, things could have been much worse. In future I will pay a lot more attention to the trail conditions, and plan to add a med-kit to my rear bag.
 
The weather cooperated for yesterday's ride, but the rail-trail didn't. The multi-use trail sees heavy ATV traffic which creates a berm in the middle of the trail. I had to cross the berm to avoid some large rocks, and the front wheel hit soft gravel and turned sideways.

I didn't go over the handlebars, and managed to do a bit of a tuck-and-roll on my way down, but my left shoulder hit the ground pretty hard, and one end of the handlebars speared my chest on the left side, and the other end hit the inside of my right thigh. Road-rash on my left elbow and left knee completed the carnage.

I lay on the ground for a while to let the pain die down, and was able to get up with some assistance. My cycling companions had alcohol wipes, antiseptic ointment, and bandages, and after some doctoring we continued on our way.

The bruises are somewhat bothersome, but the road-rash on my elbow is painful to the touch, and when I flex my arm..

All things considered, things could have been much worse. In future I will pay a lot more attention to the trail conditions, and plan to add a med-kit to my rear bag.
Yikes! I'm very wary of soft gravel on the trails I ride.
What kind of tires are you running?
Sorry to hear of the damage mate.
 
The weather cooperated for yesterday's ride, but the rail-trail didn't. The multi-use trail sees heavy ATV traffic which creates a berm in the middle of the trail. I had to cross the berm to avoid some large rocks, and the front wheel hit soft gravel and turned sideways.

I didn't go over the handlebars, and managed to do a bit of a tuck-and-roll on my way down, but my left shoulder hit the ground pretty hard, and one end of the handlebars speared my chest on the left side, and the other end hit the inside of my right thigh. Road-rash on my left elbow and left knee completed the carnage.

I lay on the ground for a while to let the pain die down, and was able to get up with some assistance. My cycling companions had alcohol wipes, antiseptic ointment, and bandages, and after some doctoring we continued on our way.

The bruises are somewhat bothersome, but the road-rash on my elbow is painful to the touch, and when I flex my arm..

All things considered, things could have been much worse. In future I will pay a lot more attention to the trail conditions, and plan to add a med-kit to my rear bag.
Yikes, heal up soon!
 
Yikes! I'm very wary of soft gravel on the trails I ride.
What kind of tires are you running?
Sorry to hear of the damage mate.
I ride a Bulls Iconic Evo1 with 27.5×2.4 tires, I've named it "Winnie" because to me, it rides like a Winnebago compared to my old Haibike Trekking.
 
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