Armadillos, Coyotes and Strade Bianche?

   For the past eleven days I have been taking a little tour of the South, working my way down through Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, on my way to visit my father in Saint Simons, Georgia. I first stopped to see a couple friends near Raleigh, and while there I took a ride on the excellent American Tobacco Trail.

   The southern 6.5 miles of the trail were crushed stone, and since I was on my road bike, I avoided this section (stupid in hindsight, as you’ll find out through a later ride during this trip), starting at New Hope Church Road in the western outskirts of Cary, and completed a 29 mile route out to downtown Durham and back.
   Built on a former roadbed for the American Tobacco Company’s railroad, the trail was smoothy paved and relatively flat, except for a short climb over Interstate 40 in each direction. The few road crossings that existed were well-marked and had very good sightlines for safety. A couple of the intersections with busier avenues had button-activated crossing lights.
   Only having been completed a couple years ago, the trail had signage all along its route to direct riders around some recently developed areas, but there was one slightly confusing spot in the Riddle Heights area where an eastern branch of the American Tobacco Trail met the main artery. I had a good mental compass keeping me in the correct direction, but I can imagine some folks taking a wrong turn and adding some unnecessary miles to their trip.   

   I was a bit disappointed to find the weather creating its own challenge, as there were gusts over 15 mph into my face most of the way out. Even the shortest change in direction from the wind was quite welcome, as it was a struggle to keep a good pace during the northward journey, which ended at the entrance to Durham Athletic Park (home of the famous Bulls minor league baseball team).

   When I turned around, I was really flying with the wind at my back – the slight incline that the railroad faced heading out of Durham was hardly noticeable, as I blasted up through the appropriately named neighborhood of Hillside Park. I was a bit disappointed to have to slow down or stop at a few of the street crossings, but overall the trail is very well-designed, and I had a very enjoyable experience.

   My next ride was a few days later with my father on Jekyll Island, which is a state park just southwest of Brunswick, Georgia. We started on the South Loop Trail, which winds past Camp Jekyll, an attractive youth education and recreation facility run by 4-H, and the impressive Jekyll Island Soccer Complex. The trail then switches over to the seaside and weaves its way between the beach and several resort hotels that face the ocean.

   We made our way past Great Dunes Park and eventually into the more residential part of the island, where Dad suggested we turn around. He had been dealing with some health issues, and because he hadn’t been able to put in too many miles recently, he was concerned with being able to make it back to our starting point.

   Dad had previously urged me to do a loop around the island on my own when we were finished, and now that our pace was slowing considerably, we thought maybe it would be a good idea for me to start my lap at this point, which would have the advantage of leaving him a shorter wait for me to finish. Other than not being used to the 85-degree heat, (I was, after all, only four days removed from leaving nearly a foot of snow on the ground in PA), my ride of the 17-mile loop was rather uneventful, though I was enjoying the unique scenery with palm trees and Spanish moss-covered live oaks.

   Unfortunately, when I reached the van my father informed me that he taken a spill, as he felt a bit woozy at one point and had a bad step with his wobbly leg from the pedal to the ground and toppled over. Some inconsiderate couple offered a lame “Are you okay?” and then just rode by! I think if I saw a 70-year-old man fall off his bicycle that I would make sure he was up and well on his way before just taking off.

   Dad had a little scrape on his elbow and really needed to put a little food into his system, but other than that, he came away relatively well. I didn’t argue one bit when he asked me to take the wheel for the drive back or when he suggested a stop for an ice cream cone (for him) and cold Coke (me) at a Dairy Queen!

   I ended up taking an extra day off when we were hit with a spell of rough weather, which included a drop of about 20 degrees and howling winds of up to 50 mph! I was then feeling really fresh on Friday when I headed out on a 40-mile route that would crisscross Saint Simons Island.

   I pedaled away from the causeway that brought me onto the island, down to the village center and up the ocean side. I circled the airport back to the center of Saint Simons, then turned east out to Sea Island. At the end of that causeway I encountered a guardhouse and was surprised to find the entire 4-mile strip of land was a gated community!

   I don’t know if the guards just didn’t care or if my rather expensive-looking Cannondale and matching kit fooled them into thinking I might be a resident, but they didn’t stop me when I followed an SUV under the lift gate. I was then treated to a quarter mile stretch of cobblestones on which to ride before heading between the posh houses that lined the main street. Towards the northern tip of the island I glanced to my right and noticed a gated community (within an already-gated community) with its own golf club. How elite can you get?!!

   On my return leg down the island I saw, of all things, an armadillo lying by the side of the road. At first I thought perhaps one of the residents had been out antiquing and dropped a wacky piece of taxidermy, but later research proved that the animal’s range of habitat has stretched into the southeastern U.S. 

   There was a strong tailwind, and I was really moving when I came around a line of hedges back towards the guardhouse. About twenty feet in front of me, a set of gates suddenly dropped down, completely blocking the road in front of me. I locked up the brakes in a desperate attempt to stop, but I was skidding on the cobbles and would have smacked into them had a car not come up behind me to trigger their opening. I realized immediately that the device intended to slow the traffic leaving the island wasn’t sensitive to the weight of just me and my bike. That was a close one!

   A few days later I was heading towards home, but not before a visit with relatives on the Carolina coast. During the drive I encountered the sight of a couple coyote roadkill – at least this time I was more informed, through a magazine article, about this animal’s expanding habitat, but it was still a bit startling to see an animal that I had previously only seen out west.

   My aunt and uncle live in New Bern, and I had planned to do a loop out into the nearby Croatan National Forest but was having trouble determining which of the roads were paved and which were not. Although he couldn’t give me definitive information on the specific roads I had on the route I had created on MapMyRide, he did suggest from his experience that the roads were of a high quality with a hard clay base and fine gravel.

   I wasn’t too enthusiastic to tackle that terrain with my road bike, but (I thought) my planned 30-mile circuit had some “outs” that would get me to paved roads on which I could double back if I encountered too long of a stretch of dirt road. My aunt had been out walking in the morning and mentioned that it was a bit warm (80s), but there was no wind, and it would be a wonderful day for a ride!

   Well, it didn’t take long for things to fall apart, as many of the roads were unmarked, and I started to become disoriented. I knew that I would eventually intersect one of the main roads I had included in my mapped route, but unfortunately that road ended up being dirt. I thought about turning around, but that would have been a very short ride, and I was hoping things would improve in a short distance, so I just went for it.

   I actually found myself having a blast, as I imagined this was exactly what the riders face in the Strade Bianche, racing on the white cinder roads through Tuscany. My uncle was correct that most of the roads were nicely done, but a couple bridges were low spots where it appeared drivers had slammed on brakes to keep their vehicles from bottoming out, giving the surface a washboard effect that was quite rough to ride over.

   There were also some forest areas where trees were cleared, I believe as a fire-fighting measure (I saw hundreds of singed trunks in one section), and the vehicles had chewed up the road. Other than that, I was just keeping my eyes focused ahead for any unusually large chunks of stone that might cause a pinch flat.
   One stretch of road was marshland on both sides, and because my uncle had been telling me stories of water moccasins, gators and even Burmese pythons in the area, I ignored a sudden thrashing sound in the water to my left. I didn't even want to know what it was!

   I ended up doing nearly 13 miles of dirt track and nearly made it without a problem, but my rear wheel started to feel mushy when I was practically in sight of the end of the forest road back onto pavement. After cursing loudly at the cycling gods, I proceeded with the quick change. I was a bit shocked when a kind gentleman drove by out here in the middle of nowhere and stopped to ask if I needed help. I sent him off with a big “thank you” and an assurance that I had everything needed for the repair.

   As I was back on my way, I encountered another nice fellow who confirmed the paved road ahead was the one for which I was searching and told me his bike was in the back of the truck. “I’m heading out on my own ride in the other direction. Have a good one!”

   Well, I don’t think a stiff headwind was what he had in mind, but that was exactly my reward for being clear of the forest. It was a bit of a grind back to my aunt and uncle’s place, but I tried to keep a positive spin on the ride, as I was having a lot of fun until the dang flat, and I didn’t get completely lost back in the forest. At one point I really did start humming the theme to “Deliverance” in my head!

Vituses, Viti, Vitae...whatever!

   I’m not quite sure what to call more than one Vitus bicycle, but I have had a constant stream of them coming into my shop recently, starting with the 992 that entered my personal collection at Christmastime. Last week I shared photos of the “992 Bleu” project just completed, then my friend Brendan came to visit with a 979 that he wanted to build into another Sean Kelly tribute bike, except this one would be of his early Sem-France Loire team machine, complete with Mavic components.

   I found it amusing, and maybe a little bit frustrating, that I was having a such a hard time with a search for similar parts for my 992 when, just a couple days after Brendan and I got together, I was able to find and order everything needed to complete his bike. Brendan had gone a bit farther in his Mavic-mania and found handlebars, a stem, downtube levers and a headset. He even had pedals, but they were the early clipless variety, which were a bit clunky. They weren’t in fantastic shape either, so we are selling those.

   The 310 headset (above) was rough and required a special, hard-to-find wrench, which I saw listed anywhere from $80 to $200, and we agreed it was probably best to also make this a re-sale item. We opted for a more conventional 305 headset (below) and found one immediately on eBay with which the seller accepted an offer $10 lower than his asking price!

   The most unbelievable occurrence was the listing of a full 451 brake and lever set – something I had been fruitlessly searching for since I bought my 992 – and the seller was offering them at a price that was $100 less than anything I had been seeing!

   Although he had already made it clear that he was not in any hurry, I had to let Brendan know that I wouldn’t be immediately getting to work on his project when the parts come in later this week. I am taking a trip to Georgia to see my father and stopping along the way to visit family and friends. Not that we’ve had an unreasonable winter here in the Northeast, but the timing couldn’t be much better to “get outta Dodge”, as cold air and snow has moved into the area for the next few days.

   I will be taking my Cannondale along with me and hope to get in a ton of riding, hopefully in shorts and short-sleeves! In Raleigh, North Carolina, I’m planning to check out the American Tobacco Trail, which sits on a 22.6 mile section of abandoned railroad bed that was originally built for the American Tobacco Company in the 1970s. The trail has a north-end terminus at the home stadium of the Durham Bulls.

"Man, that ball got outta here in a hurry. Anything going that far oughta
have a stewardess on it, don't ya think?"

   While staying with Dad, I will be doing plenty of miles on the islands around St. Simons and Brunswick, Georgia. On the return trip I’m stopping to see relatives and will probably get in a ride around the New Bern, NC, area. I’m hoping there will be something interesting (not too dramatic, though) to share in a couple of weeks! 

Dealing With Delays

   As promised last time around, I have included a bunch of completed project photos this week, although the bikes featured are not the ones I had intended. The Olmo painting and assembly went as planned, but when it came time to put together the Ciocc and Colnago, I found that I had compatibility issues with, respectively, braze-on/clamp mounted front derailleurs and Italian/British threaded bottom brackets.

   As I ordered the correct parts, I was a bit frustrated with having to wait out their delivery, but it had been a few weeks since I had devoted any time to the Colnago, and I went to work on the C-Record crankset, which needed some polishing. Because it is made of aluminum, I pretty much gave it the same treatment that I applied previously to the Wilier frameset, using progressively finer grits of sandpaper. I then hit it with the buffing wheel/rubbing compound and finally the Mothers aluminum polish.

   I was a little disappointed when I made the purchase of the crankset that the Campagnolo logos had worn off, but it proved to be an advantage, as I didn’t have to work around them. Maybe not quite "good as new", but the parts are looking pretty great:

   I wouldn’t go as far as saying it drove me crazy, but it did bother me slightly that the wheelset on the Colnago was Chorus, not C-Record, and then during my regular internet bicycle searches I stumbled upon an opportunity to correct the situation. I saw a nice-looking blue Vitus bicycle on eBay that was incorrectly listed as a 979, and because of my recent purchase of the Lotto Team 992, I immediately recognized the mistake.

   I ended up with what turned out to be a fantastic bicycle with a very nice Campagnolo Chorus groupset at a very low price, and think there are a couple of reasons. Besides providing the incorrect model name in the title, which had to adversely affect searches by prospective buyers, the seller also overblew the significance of a scratch, which had actually caused more damage to a large decal he had in the spot than to the frame itself. He also mentioned a “dent” that turned out to just be a tiny nick caused by chain bounce on the driveside chainstay. Seriously, these flaws were nothing!

   Perhaps the biggest scare for anyone considering purchase was the seller's reference to creaking that occurred when standing on the pedals. Knowing there could be many reasons for this happening, I didn't let it bother me, and as it turns out, the problem may have been the inexpensive platform pedals he had installed. I put in my own Look pedals, took a short ride and found absolutely no problems at all!

   The bicycle also had a majorly mismatched wheelset, with a front wheel that had low-quality Shimano Deore hub and silver spokes, while the rear was a Campagnolo Record part with black spokes to (not) go with the rest of the bike's Chorus group. Wait a second - I currently have a Chorus wheelset on the Colnago. Hmmm...

   A few days later I had come up with an affordable C-Record wheelset to swap out, and now both bikes will have a complete groupset!

   The really cool coincidence about purchasing this Vitus bicycle is that, as professional cycling’s Classics season is beginning, this year marks the 25th anniversary of Sean Kelly’s last really big win, at Milan-San Remo – aboard a purple Vitus 992!  

   Other than needing a good cleaning, some new bar tape and replacement of a frayed rear brake cable, the bike was perfectly rideable as-is, though I did move the bars and levers to their proper position. I wanted to apply some vintage decals, and a funny incident occurred as I got so caught up in the correct look of the artwork for the small Vitus tubing decals that I failed to realize that I was looking at 979 (not 992) decals! Mere minutes after placing the order, I was sending my buddies at VeloCals an email to explain my mistake and cancel the purchase.

   Unfortunately VeloCals didn’t have the 992 decals I wanted, so I had to turn to an alternate supplier named “Dizzibird”, which I thought was quite appropriate considering my previous error! The refurbished bicycle:

   There’s a new project I’ll also be toying around with until the parts arrive for the other two bikes. Sitting around was a handful of Cannondale parts leftover from my previous Cipollini Saeco bike builds. I had tried to sell them, but wasn’t offered the right return on what I had paid, so I attempted to find a reasonably-priced/appropriate-era frameset on which to use the parts.

   I found a sharp-looking 2004 R1000 “Optimo” frameset on craigslist that was admittedly a bit of a scratch-and-dent product. These frames were made of a high-quality CAAD5 tubing, that focused a lot of the material on the stress points of the headtube/downtube junctions and bottom bracket areas. To save weight, Cannondale engineered a top tube that was ovoid to deal with the vertical stresses that occur on this part of a frame, but the tube had thinner walls of aluminum. Well, I wouldn’t say the frames were exactly notorious for damage, but they didn’t take contact from the sides very well, and a good number of the bikes of this era that I have seen have a ding or two in the top tube.

   Indeed, this frameset has dent on the underside of the top tube, but the high-quality paint was not affected. Luckily, the busy graphics are also a distraction to the eye, and you really don’t notice the damage without close examination. The frame is otherwise in nice shape, and the lime green fade paint that fades to yellow around the edges is a real attention-getter! The green is actually very close to the shade used by today’s Cannondale pro team.

   I found a very nicely-priced Campagnolo Chorus Carbon groupset and a pair of the company’s Khamsin wheels with which to build up this bicycle. Another strange coincidence occurred when I found that the group included an identical Mavic brakeset to the one I had just purchased, at a hefty price, for my Vitus 992. I was able to resell the set for a similar dollar amount and pick up a Chorus counterpart for less than half that cost. I’m wheeling and dealing where-and-whenever I can!

I'll finish off with the photos of the completed Olmo: