SDS and commentary

Money's tight these days.
I was gonna abandon the SDS ride,
mostly on account of how much it would cost me to get up, get it on and get back. Additionally a near total lack of preparedness (9 rides over 1 hour since January?!) was seriously anchoring the whole of my confidence.

There is a certain respect for living - and riding - within ones own means, and this year caused me to sincerely hold that in question.

Carpe Diem.

I know the riders and rides now will simply not be available to me later. So north by northeast I went.


Guaranteed, a day will come when there will be no more long rides, and then...no more rides. Physical impairments or limitations, or a mere fading of my kinetic spirit to the burdens of age or circumstance...I know there will be a last century. Perhaps it can be demoralizing or outright morbid to consider this, but on the other hand I consider it an opportunity to remind myself why I am compelled to keep my bikes rolling. The memories of long rides, even after a mere 20 years, are just too damn good to give up contributing to my own history that way.


I'll never forget:

We all rolled out of the lodge, a bit cranky, holding our breath on account of rainy weather and carpenters 3rd bike. Quickly though, we were enveloped by the dramatic beards hollow: A narrow V cut deep into the Alleghany country rock through which some CCC workers managed to bench cut a trail some 80 years ago. It's an Appalachian canyon, capped with 13 switchbacks that carry the trail up to mountain side - another world class trail.

Everyone was awestruck heading up the hollow. It was clear to everyone at that moment that this was indeed a magical part of the weekend - I can't remember seeing riders so collectively euphoric.

Etched in my head forever is the train, winding around those switchbacks - everyone laughing and yelping up and down at each other as the line wrapped around itself, 10 feet higher each time.

Thanks for reminding me why I ride.

Thanks to everyone for their company, conversation and to the mtb widows for their cuisine support. I wish I could package my experience and serve it back - minus the suffering of course.

IFP Tool and TALAS workings...

Well, the cost of having a TALAS cartridge serviced by Fox, PUSH, etc is so heavy, that I was able to make a few mistakes and still come out well over 100 bucks ahead of the game. Additionally, I now have a genuine understanding of how my fork works so I can continue to keep it working without the Fox Service umbilical. Also gained some more hum-drum practice in basic machining with mild steel.

Pictured is an IFP tool I made for myself - ones I sold on ebay tended to appear more refined.

In the works is a java applet that illustrates the TALAS system in action - a simple enough mechanism that is far from complex: Best described as clever and finiky. Initial Charles' Law calculations using empirical volume measurements and pressures indicate the system is only marginally linear under a narrow band of ideal STP. An idea is brewing for an infinitely adjustable TALAS type system that offers better linearity with less finikyness.

Riding Fast

Not riding messes with one's head.

No wonder people who don't ride are so strange to me.

Content.
Satisfied.
Learning what the man says to learn.
Following his instructions.
Working 8-6.
I've stopped riding for the time being:
Following instructions,
living like everyone else,
driving to work,
doing my homework ontime,
getting all As,
keeping the bossman happy,
it's all so damn easy now.
Watching the evening news.
Buying new khakis online.
Going to bed at 10.
A great life is achieved.
All my friends do it.
They love it.
They've been waiting for it,
the real job,
after 6 years of prep,
it's the climax.

Entropic, ambient forces.
Social gravity.
The rank of lowest energy.
Being reduced to a lowest common denominator.
Everyone is the same.
EVERYONE IS THE SAME.
You should work during the day because that's when everyone else works.
Oh wow, a job offer!
It's 65k!
Fine Print:
We expect you to be like everyone else,
drive to work in the city,
buy an overpriced shitshack in the burbs,
eat lunch at noon,
don't ask any questions,
obey.

Hmm, this job is
in Charlotte.
Raleigh.
Knoxville.
Philadelphia.
Boston.
Cleveland.
They only want 50 hour weeks.
...To start.
No pension, profit sharing or 401k though.
But...It could work.
Those cities have bike paths.
I could drive to the mountains on weekends.
Its only
4 hours
6 hours
8 hours.
...one way.
As long as I obey.
I'll go for a ride to think about it.

Viaduct.
3000 vertical...down.
The gravel rumbles,
the rig floats.
A return to the top
The southland in the springtime
Is there anywhere else to be in April?
I rise out of the piedmont,
into the high country.
The view collects in my soul.
I know the city, the job, the life,
would crush it.

And I could just never obey.
not that way.

"Withdraw resume from this online application?"
click.





"I must create my own system or forever become enslaved by another man's."

making an IFP tool for a Fox Fork

finished tool with valve stem thingy intserted

closeup showing the ghetto interface of the valvestem and the finished tool

closeup showing the bit and the working end of the finished tool

the feedrate is about 0.125" per minute...so drilling the end hole is by far the most focused and delicate part of this ordeal.

Why?!?!
It was my interpretation that the IFP tool was the fundamental obstacle between the mechanically inclined commoner and a Fox Fork rebuild. At 90 buckers, the IFP tool is hard to justify when sending the fork back to Fox is less than 200 for a rebuild. Intentional? I don't know, but I wasn't willing to settle.

Here's a link to an available IFP tool online.

I find learning the process of how something works far more rewarding than participating in some capitalistic black box system where I can fulfill my own needs and solve my own problems with brute cash power. And so, I set out to do the fox Talas RLC rebuild on my own grad student budget...

Issues in the fork rebuild: Getting started....

Oil:
I saved 8 bucks by getting the fork oil directly from the manufacturer, in this case Torco. The oil Fox uses is Torco RSF Medium Shock Fluid. A quart should last for the rest of your mountain biking life. Total for oil = $22. The buy online feature wasn't working so I had to call in.

For my other less finicky forks, I purchased (locally) synthetic 7W motorcycle fork oil that costs less than $10 per quart. Peter Verdone makes a very good point about oil weights being completely subjective. SAE oils are rated against a set of kinematic viscosity standards and are labeled with a particular grade. Other oils, such as those used in suspension systems, are not subjected to such evaluations by the SAE, and a greater variance in oil viscosities for a specific grade is expected. He lists some suspension oils by viscosity (not grade) for comparison.

Seals:
I went ahead and purchased some enduro fork seals. Not sure how they'll work, but havn't read any real complaints except from the Fox folks...duh.


Making the tool...

Machining the business end:
The only real design concern in machining an IFP tool was the tiny hole in the end. The tool is effectively a glorified basketball needle, and infact I've read of some pressurizing their IFP chamber with a few wraps of electrical tape and a bball needle.

To create this small hole, I purchased 0.0370" (a little bigger than 1/32") drill bits from drill bit city. They sent me a 10 pack for under $15. The bits are tungsten carbide, are especially concentric, and of course gnaw right through my mild steel stock without much problem. I broke the practice bit, but in the process established an appropriate feed rate on the tailstock and then finished the tool without a problem. I was able to sink the bit clear up to the shank.

Before drilling I center punch the stock by pressing a dead center into the part blank with slight pressure. The small bit needs no more than a small divot. I make sure to face the surface beforehand, as well.

Additionally, the size of the tool is limited by the length of the drill bit I use to bore the length out. Fortunately, using a 3/32" bit affords a sufficient column thickness and is just long enough to bore a tool that will fit down into the counterbore of the Talas head.

End Valve:
Initially I purchased stock of such a diameter that would allow me to machine a schrader valve right into the end, purchase some valve cores and thread them down...and waalaa. But that didn't work out. Be advised that schrader valve threads at 32 tpi external and 36 tpi internal are exotic sizes and pitches: taps and dies are not readily available. Coincidentally, the gear I needed on the lathe to run a 32 tpi was missing as well, so I had to conjure another solution.

Regular valve stems are available for well under $1 per stem. So I purchased one, stripped the rubber off the bottom and threaded the brass column in a common metric thread. I bored the large end of the IFP tool and tapped it accordingly. It looks a bit ghetto...whatever.

I'll finish the rebuild next week (as my life projects move forward at a geologic pace) and update the post as to whether this contrivance fulfills it's complete duty. I'll crank out a few more if there are any takers - total machine time is about an hour, with alot of that time boring out the center of the tool. But if I can help anyone from spending 90 bucks on something as silly as an IFP tool, then great, let me know.

Total overhead so far = $66 (including seals and oil)

I have some CAD prints and more photos for later.

A spring classic.

the stage is set....

let the gravity wars begin.

pickin' up some litter and a beveraged booster all in one

three tiered road climbing fun

...about time for some refreshment, Radar style

Shulls Mill, piece o cake


yet another refresher.

Check that out ryan, we made it back to town in less than 1 hr.

mega sexy watauga county weekday fun

"mommy, can I go out to the sandbox?"

"sure honey. Belay on."

Temperature Mitigation of Urban Stormwater Discharge via Construction Aggregates

to all who are wondering what the hell I'm doing in grad school, I decided to edit a recent abstract of my research in the blog editor...perhaps I can be the first one to blog my thesis? I'd be the first one then to close the browser window and lose it all at once, too.

Above: Kraut Creek on the campus of Appalachian State. This is indeed a state designated trout stream. Daily thunderstorms due to orographic effects May - July regularly transfer to this creek all the day's heat of urban surfaces (sidewalk, roofs, street, etc) creating temperature spikes downstream of 17 F within minutes of precip onset. Point source temperature measurments at stormwater discharge locals has been measured as high as 145 F. Coffee anyone?
---
Temperature analysis in upland watersheds has demonstrated that urban stormwater discharge presents significant thermal pollution concerns. High mountain streams are characteristically lower in volume and higher in flow rate compared to lowland creeks and rivers. These and other characteristics specific to upland streams implies a much stronger influence from discharge sources. As urban development continues to pervade mountainous regions, thermal pollution concerns due to profoundly high stormwater discharge temperatures are mounting.

Construction aggregates are commonly implemented as a point source stormwater mitigation agent to aid in sediment filtration and thermal damping. This research is an evaluation of how specific arrangements of aggregates, such as gravel or concrete, actually effect the discharge temperatures before final release into the watershed. Initial results from this experimentation are indicating positive results for thermal sink capacities of various aggreate materials. It appears likely that many thermal concerns can be resolved through proper implementation of aggregate thermal sinks, even given strict confined space conditions. It is intended that results or conclusions from this experiment will contribute to a reformulation of upland construction codes to better differentiate and accomodate location specific methods of development and to recommend specific engineering guidelines.

torches can't quite fix everything...or can they?

Aluminized steel used in exhaust piping doesn't take to the brass particularly well, even though it's listed at only 3% Al, 96% Fe. I'll be looking to put a sample under the EDAX here this week and see what that says for composistion.

I ended up finishing this job with my max torch tip, full throttle on the fuel and a coat hanger as stick. I guess it'll hold. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one to attempt exhaust adjoinment via brazing. Now I know why. It's too bad since the joint would never corrode.

The ol' green machine has some much bigger concerns these days, anyway...

The dashboard lights burned out. The heater core was clogged. I should install two coolant lines for proper grease car conversion. The air control box failed. The blower motor lost both bearings. The cruise control controller had a loose wiring harness. AND I had a pretzel from like 10 years ago stuck in the bottom of the shift linkage box. So, now an eviscerated mess.

I know, deep in my heart, that a torch can fix this situation too. I will consider it sporting to avoid this resolution, for now.

helmet laws

Boone has a helmet law. I was stopped again the other day by the man, while riding on a remarkably flat, boring swath of public park path, obviously naked from the eyebrows up. I had no ID available, which usually seems to result in me being released back into society with a mere verbal lashing. I am of course annoyed. Because I chose to ride my bike to the store rather than drive, I am effectively being penalized. Had I provided an ID, I'd be $55 down. If I had chosen to drive without a seatbelt and while talking on a cell, I would never fear any real legal apprehension even though such behavior is equally as illegal and an accident more probable.

Recently, I resurrected the studies from 1984 (Thompson et al) and 1988 (Forester et al) that were apparently used as references in enacting the local helmet compulsion ordinace. I read through them both, reflecting on the methods that I have assimilated into my own apprenticed research and writing, and finishing with mostly an example of what not to do.

Both publications have been widely critisized with respect to research and methods, one was funded by Bell (Forester) and the other (Thompson) used a cohort of less than 50 children and later revised their findings to a much less dramatic set of results. The reader should seek more discussion independently as it's widely documented and discussed. Personally, I found the research stunningly slighted and misguided. I am not surprised that once again policy makers seek what fits from research results, discard the rest and build legislative roads to acheive public behavioral objectives. This seems to be the role that research plays in society anymore.

Regardless, every time I get pulled over for not strapping on the magical force field of styrofoam, I walk away with a few questions that completely transcend the research inconsistencies and efficacy debates:

1. Is the purpose of a law to cause specific public behaviors? It is stated in the ordinance that the law was enacted to encourage helmet wearing. Why can't this apparent public need be met through educational initiatives, etc? The gun people are ruling the country with this argument. Why has this failed with plastic hats?


2. Is it possible to enforce someone's safety? If so, why are unsafe behaviors so inconsistently tolerated? Why are sorority sisters allowed to jaywalk a 4 lane hiway while talking on cell phones and drinking lattes at rush hour (I see it daily)? Why is the speed limit through campus 35 mph at all hours? Why are cell phone text messaging drivers not repremanded for doing so, even when they are pulled over for other violations? Why is it perfectly legal to drive a car in NC on state roads WITH NO DOORS? Yet I must wear a bicycle helmet and this is actively enforced.

Admittedly, there can be little harm done by wearing a helmet and arguably serious harm by not wearing one, albeit improbable. It is 95% a matter of convenience to choose not to wear a helmet. I have no real argument beyond this. Yet the helmet safety perceptions have developed into a social juggernaut. It is currently more socially acceptable to drive 85 mph on the interstate while talking on a cell, than it is to ride down to the store without a bike helmet. There's a public atonement regarding bicycle helmet wearing that belies the very deliberance of riding. I know it is this energy which the Boone helmet law was founded on: It was publicly acceptable, beyond reason, without purpose. Please repeal.

town bike revitalization

Well, it's not pretty - sort of like toothpaste for the Iron Giant - but I had it stripped down and brassed over in about 15 minutes. I spent alot more time making a small bracing part to fit inside the dropout form to keep this circus rollin'.

I'm guessing it'll hold just long enough to make some new track style dropouts and repair the paramount as a substitute townie while I do the green monster up right.

town bikes

Possibly a used fuji frame from Freeze Thaw in state college. $10. Lugged. Rear drop out recently shattered. Fixed gearing, 1st gen race face cranks, syncros TI post, soft cromed cruiser bars, oswaldcycleworks fork that recently bent in a fall...she rides a bit sideways now.

Boone gear = 24:15 - we live on a 32% grade, so feet up and gear down to get around this town

Those in cycling cliques understand how important town bikes can be for gettin 'round and keeping the days' ends tied together - not to mention a profound, if not subtly profane projection of one's cycling identity. Yet cyclists know that even beyond the daily crank to work or the store, what really brings a town bike to life is...a soulful expression of all that cycling is via simplicity, thrift and profound resourcefulness. Performace packaged into a rig that can be dissed at the grocery door without turning the head of even the most destitude clepto, componentry that mixes the best of campy and home depot and a ride quality that even in its most compromised states shares its rightful place with the rhythms of the carbon titanium scandium stallions patiently waiting on hooks back home. All for under $100. Hopefully.


Here's to you, town bikes. You are the true foot soldier that carries us on our daily crusade to avoid the car.

wifeOfJames townie: 13" 1990 hard rock. It was supposed to be VT maroon and orange, but the silver paint looked too interesting and looks even better now that it's dripping. 1990 XT BB gets repacked annually, 1995 campy chorus headset with a spoke for a locknut, detoothed chainring guard, LX front hub shell with campy internal races and cups. Titec crowbar. 38:24 gearing. 1980 schwinn bmx crank.

on procrastination

When implementing procrastination measures, there are several noteworthy benefits that may boost one's persistance to finish the job under the added pressures of last minute cramation:

Procrastination, if implmented correctly, ensures the same task or project will be completed in less time. Often, the quality of the completed task is of a comparable or higher quality than otherwise would have been acheived because of heightened levels of focus on the part of contributors and project boundries necessitated by K.I.S.S. methods.

Example:
I was asked by wifeOfJames to take out the trash this week. I naturally rebelled at such a request, but come the familiar squeak and grind of the trash truck one morning, it would have behooved me to ignore the mounting pile of refuse. In a mad burst of focus and athleticism, I gathered all household baskets, emptied and sorted the waste, and ran both recycling and refuse containers to the curb, all in about 90 seconds. This same task, if performed "responsibly" might have taken up to 10 minutes depending on the current coffee situation and time of day. Quod Erat Faciendum.