Riding my bike and dumpster diving!

Pedalin' plans.

Hey there folks! It has been a long time since I have actually typed out a legit blog post rather than a hurried re-post of a video or link. What's the big occasion that would inspire me to exercise my phalanges on the keyboard? I have been thinking of going on some pedalin' adventures and I am anxious to share them.

Being a pedal pumping hill punk living in the tri-state area, I spent the Winter of 2017-2018 in a state of anxious expectation for the warm weather of Spring so I could get outside and ride my bike! Now don't get me wrong, anyone who knows me is aware that I ride bike all year round. It is just that I live here in Corn-ville (Indiana, USA) and the Winters are cold and wet. It is the kind of weather that makes even a short bike ride to the local post office seem like more of a chore than a joy ride. So I was one tightly spun WiNgNuT by the time the flowers came into bloom and was raring to hop on the saddle and pedal all of my problems away. Believe me folks, 2017 was filled with it's share of "problems".

Then as I set off on my first little ride of the season I ran into some new problems. The single speed that I had been riding for the past few years, a Critical bike, was causing me some pain due to an improper fit. When I went to make some adjustments I discovered that the seat post was seized up and would not budge. Crap! I couldn't continue to ride the bike as it was, especially not for any serious distances. It was just too uncomfortable and stressful on my body to enjoy the ride. After all, I ride bike because I enjoy riding bike.

Luckily I had a second bike of the exact brand and model in storage. After a quick check to make sure that the seat post was not seized up and could be adjusted I pulled it out of the dungeon here at the Works and began planning the upgrades that I wanted to make on the bike. I was a little bummed to be giving up the bike that I had grown so fond of over the years, but that was overshadowed by the anticipation of having a slick WELL FITTED bike to go out on some longer pedaling adventures and record and share them here and on YouTubes. I was excited again!

I made a list of parts and started saving up. After a few weeks of eating beans and rice and squirreling away every dollar I could, I went to the local bike shop and bought a new chain and cable with fresh housing, I ordered some sweet new platform pedals (it's how I ride) and a brand new sealed bottom bracket. Feeling all stoked I began to do the upgrades. It was then that I ran into my next new "problem".

Everything went fine with the upgrades until it came time to switch out the bottom bracket. The retainer ring/cup was seized up tight on both sides. Now before you even ask, YES I made sure to turn the tool the proper way. I am well aware of that common n00bie mistake. I tried every trick in the bike smith's book. I drenched the entire bracket with penetrating oil. Vinegar. Even went out and got a huge wrench and used cargo straps and a wench system to get nearly 500lb of pressure. The most that I managed to accomplish was to break the forged steel BBR tool!

You can follow the whole horrible escapade over on the Wingnut Bike Works YouTube channel.
In the end I was right back where I started. Two crappy, unreliable bikes and broke as a joke. So it was back to beans and rice for the next few weeks while I scurried to save every dime I could to purchase a new, yes I said it NEW, bike that I could work with and actually do some serious pedalin' on. That's when life came a knocking with not so much a "problem" as a delay.

I spent the next few weeks over on the East coast of the US, the Jersey Shore b@%$h's, helping a beloved family member with a huge project. It consisted of long excruciating car rides and vigorous physical labor on my part. I blew my back out in the process and was in a lot of pain for most of the time there. I was anxious and I was indignant! Apologies to those who were around me at the time. I was not good company.

BUT, the mission was a success, I managed to fill up a 90 square yard dumpster to the rim with unwanted clutter and debris. I also had a moment of clarity along the way that turned my outlook completely around. A small miracle of sorts, if you will, but I am going to keep the details of that to myself for the time being. I did manage to get in some bike riding on an old rental beater of a beach cruiser and squeeze in a couple of good moments here and there. But all that was drilling into the back of my mind was getting back to B-town and ordering the bike of my choice.

I had saved up for weeks and had sold off my personal belongings, including my two practice amps and was ready to press that buy now button. Now that this mission had been completed all that I wanted to do was get back and place that order! Things did not work out exactly like that however.
They worked out even better than planned, for at least once!

The "friend and loved one" that I helped out in Jersey insisted on paying for the bike. Good Dharma! That left the ca$h that I had stashed to be used to catch up on a few debts and use the remaining funds to purchase a few simple items to upgrade the bike. I opted to purchase a universal rear rack that would enable me to carry some panniers on a frame with no mounting eyelets and some fresh panniers as well. I will let you know how these perform and hold up. If I ever get a chance to actually use them that is!

Which brings me back to the point of this post, and that is some pedalin' plans!

For this little excursion I decided to revisit the Cursed Pyramid Ruins! No, I am not pedalin' to Egypt. As a matter of fact I will only need to ride less than two hours South of B-town to reach these ruins. The ruins of the Limestone Pyramid in Needmore, Indiana are more modern.

In the late '70s the town of Bedford, Indiana-- "The Limestone Capital of the World" -- tried to build a 95-foot-tall (one-fifth scale) limestone replica of the "Great Pyramid", and a 650- 800 foot-long limestone version of the "Great Wall". The idea was to open them as a combined tourist attraction named "Limestone Tourist Park."

The town received a large undisclosed sum of funding in federal money to begin the project, and work began. But meanwhile over in Wisconsin, Senator William Proxmire, who at the time was promoting his "Golden Fleece Awards," got wind of the "project" in 1981 and blew the whistle. The project collapsed. You can read more about the whole incident HERE and HERE.

I have visited the site previously a number of years ago with some acquaintances, but it was during the Winter months and the environmental conditions prevented me from doing any substantial exploring at the time. I had told myself that I was going to revisit the ruins when the weather warmed up. That was nearly ten years ago so a revisiting and proper exploring of the area is well overdue. 

There's still a few people in the area that still know about the abandoned pyramid. Some folks can even remember how to get to it, although it's a little confusing as it's not in Bedford, but a couple of towns north in Needmore, IN. To be safe I decided to check with a more reliable source to plan my route by. I opened up Google Maps.

According to trusty ol' Google, it will be an 18.6 mile ride one way on the route of my own choosing. That translates into 37.2 miles in total. If you do the math and translate that into km, this little trip should qualify as a good 50km ride. Not too intense as far as distance and the terrain itself is fairly moderate with only a couple of steep but small inclines. That means I can pack fairly lightly on this excursion. I won't be staying over night or anything like that on this ride so I can leave the camping gear at the flat and focus on utilizing the space in my bag for cameras and accessories, some snacks and plenty of water. 

I will be shooting video the entire trip and posting up to YouTube to share with you good people of course. With that being said I am going to get off of this PC and start getting prepared for an early morning start!

Now get out from in front of this screen and "Go Ride Yer' Bike"!

2018 World Human Powered Vehicle Championships-Laidback Bike Report

You'll see every sort of bike the human imagination can conjure up racing at this elite track in Kent, England. From lowracers to highracers and from trikes to velomobiles to pedal cars riders come from far and wide to compete against the best.

Pedaling and Diving

Assembling my New Ride!

Building a Fixed Gear Bike from Start to Finish (Sponsored by Wabi Cycles)