Tour down the North Shore

Being a bit behind, due to the extended weekend and related gardening chores, it has taken me a while to get this written up.

Last Thursday, I took the root beer bike on the Metra North Line down to the Rogers Park stop. I then headed to Chef's house, where the ride began.

We headed west a bit south of Touhy to catch the River Trail that heads north into Evanston. It was the warmest day of the year so far, well into the 80s in the direct sun., as we headed North, basically following McCormick, it seemed to heat up and required a couple of ice tea stops.

As I got warmed up, I suggested to Chef that I was interested in riding home on the Green Bay Trail, instead of circling back to his house. Once we got to Green Bay Road, we went under the Metra North Line tracks and headed north on the first street east of the tracks. About 3 or 4 blocks brought us to Wilmette, where we grabbed the Green Bay Trail. Chef peeled off at Hubbard Woods, but I made it all the way back home.

My first trip from Chicago to home for the year! About 25 or 30 miles, total, not bad.

the 20 out on a mission

Here is an action shot of me riding the Raleigh 20 at 8-10 MPH along the North Shore Path. I needed to take my old car in for service today, so I thought what a better way than to take my old folder home instead of bumming a ride off of someone.

I noticed on this more extended riding session that the index chain was not fully engaging all three gears in the hub. When I got home, I spent about 3 minutes (including test rides) and it now seems more accurate in grabbing all 3 gears.

I made the 6-7 mile journey home in 40 minutes, which includes a pretty substantial hill that is somewhat challenging on 20 inch wheels.

Another morning ride

I was able to get out to take a ride between calls this morning. I decided to head north along the Lake.

I ended up in Lake Bluff and headed to their beach. I stopped at the top of the bluff and as I parked my bike, noticed a large bird- a very large hawk, take off from a tree below on the 80+ foot bluff.

I sat back and had some iced tea and an apple. Afterward, I went down the very steep road to the beach level. I found a bench and enjoyed both the sun and the lack of people.

R 20 back in the sunlight

I got the Raleigh 20 out of storage for some hopeful multi modal transport in the near future. I used some Turtle Wax chrome cleaner to clean up the cranks, mudguards, handlebars and other chrome hardware.

I bought this bike last year and resurrected it, by adding new tubes, Schwalbe tires, a new integrated seat post and an MTB saddle that I had in the parts bin.

It is complete and even has the original pump but, some idiot brush painted the frame, so I have spent quite a bit of time trying to get to the original Raleigh Brit Racing green paint, but have not had total success. Some neighbor said that it has "patina."

Mid Morning Ride

See the Root Beer Bike in repose after a mid morning ride along Lake Michigan. I stopped at the Park at Ft. Sheridan for a scone and a Bartlett pear. The trunk bag and rack combo worked perfectly.

It was in the 60s but the sun was very nice. I saw exactly 2 people. Must have been some interested TV viewing or something to keep the people away.

New Rack for the Root Beer Bike

Here is a pic that I took today of one of my Raleighs that I refer to as the Root Beer Bike, due to its' somewhat metallic brown paint job. It is a Raleigh Sport that is a mid 70s vintage, I think.

I have had this bike for 5-6 years and it gets ridden just about every day.

The funny thing is that even though it is ridden regularly, it has never had a rack, so I recently placed an order with Bike Tires Direct for a Planet Bike rack that they had for $19.99.

I received the rack yesterday. This old frame has only a mudguard eyelet and there was not enough room in the rack height department to allow it to clear the mudguard. A trip to the local hardware store was in order.

I found some plumber strapping material and purchased a few more bolts and nuts. When I returned home, I cut a bit of the plumber strapping material and installed it with the bolts that attach the mudguards to the frame eyelets.

I used the strapping to extend the reach of the rack, by attaching the rack to the strapping material. See the photo detail below:
I then used the included hardware to attach the rack to the seat stays. The rack seems very solid, more so than the above picture may indicate.

I grabbed an old trunk bag that I had laying around, and this bike is ready for a long haul- this time without a backpack!

How did I miss this?

As I sit here, sipping a cup of tea and munching on a scone, I wounder how I could have possibly missed the Chicago Tweed Ride?

Next time?