Today was a good haul: 5lbs grass-fed beef, 2 dozen eggs, taters, onions, zucchini, green beans, corn, a bunch of carrots and 3 pints of straw berries. The best part about summer is the food sometimes. Today I met another rancher selling beef, there seems to be somebody at almost every market in our area now, and that is a good thing as far as I can tell. Our summer overcast has set in, but there was no wind today and riding conditions were prime. The more I ride my Roadeo, even with loads, the more I wonder why I have some of the bikes in the garage. There is a bit of overlap at the moment and it may be time to reassess the herd.
This morning’s adventure started with what promised to be a casual grocery ride. It seemed like a great way to test out the real world load capacity on the new saddle bag. Weather was perfect with no clouds and light breezes. First stop was for the pound of coffee, that was about as easy as it gets, stuff it in the hobo bag up front, and then on to the next store for some heavy lifting.
Not too bad fitting the gallon of milk, root beer, cereal and a bunch of other stuff in there. I did not even need to deploy the extra flap to keep it all secure. One of the secrets I have learned with these kind of loads in a saddle bag is placing the gallon of milk right over the center of the bagman or rack support. It is usually regretful to have it off to one side. Next stop Trader Joe’s for some more liquids (read weight)
Adding the 1/2 gallon of OJ and two quarts of yogurt was no big deal after a bit of rearranging the load. I was pretty proud of myself, the lock even went easily in to the lock pocket with the bulging load. Then I looked down and noticed the dead flat rear tire. This is when a heavily loaded saddle bag really is a drag.
luckily I was prepared and set to work. Unloading the bag, taking advantage of the quikchainger, everything is going as well as you could hope. It was even simple to find the offending chunk of glass the size of a pencil eraser. I put a little air in the new tube and the fun begins. The threaded chuck on the Lezyne pump unscrewed the valve core upon removal.
Ok, not that big of a deal, I thread it back in as tight as I can get it by hand, air the tube back up and all appears good for the moment. I get the tube in place, air the tire up a bit, align the bead and decide it would be good to check if I can get the hose off safely. Again the core came out and I am starting over. Working through each widget on my multi tool, I discover that one of the slots on the chain breaker actually can be used as am improvised valve stem wrench. This time I topped it up as best as I could and detached the hose from the pump, not the stem, and zip tied the hose to a spoke. The air pressure in the tube kept the valve closed and the hose was the world’s largest dust cap for the ride home. The last seven miles home were as uneventful as the first 2/3, just a great day to be outside.
This is about the most weight that I would want to carry on the Roadeo The frame bag was bulging with 3 bottles of root beer and two cans of coconut water. The saddle bag held firm and steady with a couple of gallons of liquid and other stuff. The rear tire could have used a little more air to feel secure, but I was happy to make it home without pinch flatting. Even with the minor challenges it still was way more fun than driving the car.
Now it is time to head down the garage, check the field repair, patch the dead tube and tighten some valve cores.
I was able to take the whole morning for myself yesteray and ride a long mixed terrain loop. I headed out along the Ventura River trail to Sulphur Mountain Road. The whole loop is about 50 miles long, about 1/4 of that is dirt. Lots of climbing and lots of incredible descents. Here is a quick map of the ride:
Almost 50 miles and 4000 feet of climbing.
The weather was incredible, temperature in the 60’s the whole time, clear and sunny with just a little coastal haze. The first 8 miles along the paved river trail is a nice way to get the legs warmed up for the climbing to come. Crossing the Hwy 33 onto Sulphur Mtn Rd, it is another 10 miles or so of perfect dirt ranch road.
The grass is already starting to turn brown for the summer, but there is plenty of color left in the trees and wild flowers.
There is no traffic on the road save for the occasional rancher and some cows. THis day was no exception. I saw plenty of birds, cows, squirels, rabbits and a couple of snakes, but only 3 other people. With a couple of level sections and a short drop here and there it is primarily straight up for the whole 8 miles. The road twists and turns affording views of the coast.
On days without our coastal haze, and seasonal fog you can get clear views of the ocean and Chanel Islands. Looking out the other direction is the Ojai valley and the coastal ranges beyond.
After mile 10 things get a little steeper and hotter, usually by this point I am wishing I had left the house a bit earlier to beat the heat. This time I was caught by Jim on his bike and we were able to chat as we spun our way up. It really helped pass the time and the last bit of dirt a gravel passed in no time. Jim turned back to ride down the dirt, I pressed on to the east for a different ride. The road turns to single lane paved fo ra couple of more miles with some welcome tree cover in the afternoon heat.
Then, after 12 miles of climbing I reached my real goal for the day. Five minutes of perfect twisty back road descending. This is my favorite gravity ride in the entire region.
The tires were covered in dust by the time I had reached the top. After the ride down they were cleaned back to black more than half way out to the edges. With the best fun past, I continued east on the Hwy 150 towards Santa Paula. There was a bit of climbing to the summit. Then Downhill all the way in to Santa Paula. This was a refreshing leg of the ride after all of the climbing. Also, I had only ridden this leg westbound in the past. Going down these 6 or so miles was a little more pleasant than the usual slog up.
As I neared Santa Paula I could feel the Spring winds starting to come up and realised the folly of my route planning. All year-long our predominant winds are out of the west off of the ocean. In the spring and fall though it can come up into the 20 mph or greater rang and really change the ride. The next 18 miles were straight into the wind. My legs were fried 5 miles in. The wind was a steady 15 mph with gusts well above 30 mph as I worked my way along the foothills back towards home. The only consolation was the miles of fresh, silky smooth, black top. This stretch of road is primarily agricultural and has been beat to a pulp over the years. The new pavement was a pleasant surprise, but could not make up for the wind. My legs were starting to cramp and I new I should have packed a backup electrolyte powder. I pushed on knowing I was almost home. The ride back into town was perfect. The wind was still there, but coming straight off the ocean it was 10 degrees cooler.
A little sun burned and a lot tired it was a great way to take a break, get outside and get ready for the next big push. I need to make the time to do this more often.
The traditional mounting of the bag to the bike with leather straps and a dowel is still hard to do better. Is light, strong, and relatively quick to get on and off if needed. In the last post I mentioned my pet peeve with the buckle design, and now that my saddle bag design is in motion it was time to move on to the straps. Many of the traditional strap designs that are still on the market today have the keeper integral with the buckle. This will hold fast, but not lay flat around the tight bends the system uses. The buckle stands proud rubbing against the bag and gear.
While this has worked for decades, and years for me, have had failures, and it made for some very long days. Looking through what had been done before, I decided to go with a keeper that is soft, integral to the strap and holds the tag end of the strap flat to the bag.
After completing one prototype yesterday I was still mulling over the design and made another set to put on my Acorn Hobo Bag.
I oiled them up, dried them overnight and mounted them up this morning.
There are no pokey sharp corners going after the cargo. The tag ends are nice and flat, out-of-the-way. The first impression is really good with these. The leather I had on hand is a little thin for straps, but I will keep an eye on them.
From the first day I strapped my first carradice on my bike I have had ideas bouncing in my head on how to make it less historical in design and more of what I wanted it to be. Yesterday I was out of bed before 5 and drew out the preliminary sketch that has been fermenting in my head for months now. All day jamming between the baby’s naps and all the other things life throws at us, and the results are really good.
With my Carradice Nelson Long flap I alway found myself wishing for either a little more space, or that the thing was not as floppy with stuff only in the side pockets. Solution, the pockets are gone, and the bag is 2 inches wider. I resolved the hunt for a place to store the U-Lock that has become a part of our daily lives, great security, but how to carry the heavy things and get to them with ease when needed. The bottom is double layered, with a pocket to slide in a stiffener, preventing sag of small items around the BagMan support. I used the long flap design and internal skirt, they work great. Leather was used only to prevent chafe at the saddle, otherwise it is nylon and clips, no more fiddling with buckles in the dark. I have had a love / hate relationship with my Bag Man over the years, but have settled in with it an a slightly modified state. I relocated the traditional mount to the seat post with two dedicated attachment points to the rack, and the bag is rock solid on there.
There are only a few minor things I would adjust, but I am really happy with the finished product. I can start making this on a custom basis if you are interested. Prices Start at $150, and I can tailor the bag to your specific rack or support. The link for contact is at the top of the page.
Thanks to my wife’s patience and her dad for babysitting for us in the morning. Also, thanks to Jacque, the new old sewing machine is a joy to use.
