I just bought a DJI Mavic Mini drone.
It's the entry level drone of a well-respected drone company. I want to figure out how to take drone footage of places I like to ride and take to England when I do Lejog next month. I took my first footage today. Here it is.
Amber, Edgar, and I rode the Sam Woo route yesterday. We were really lucky because we normally ride on Sundays but we decided to ride on Saturday this weekend. We saw signs everywhere that the bike path and several of the roads we use were going to be closed on Sunday for the Orange County marathon. That would have been a pain.
The weather was perfect. Clear skies and bright sunshine with light winds about 10mph. Temperatures ranged from 60F to 75F. We really could not have asked for better weather.
This is a moderately hilly, 90 mile route and I have just installed a 13-29 cassette so I was keen to try the 29 tooth on the hills.
About 5 miles into the ride I realized I was hungry and starting to bonk. It had been three hours since I ate breakfast and I should have been OK for a while, but you listen to your body so we stopped while I ate a Pro Bar. It took about ten minutes to kick in. One advantage to being a randonneur is you know you have to do these things.
Riding the bike route through Laguna Beach is very hilly and I'm pleased to say the 29 tooth cog did take the sting out of the hills.
We got to Dana Point just before noon and ate, as usual, at the Brig. I was hungry again so I scarfed down a cheese omelet with hash browns and toast. I've never had a bad meal here.
We got to the second rest stop at Sam Woo and found they are permanently closed. I've been eating here for twenty years. They've always been busy. Such a shame! There's a Ranch 99 market next door that sells Koran pastries so we grabbed some of those and some Boba drinks and that went down just as well.
So I need to rename the ride "The Ranch 99 ride". We bought a gallon of water at the 7-11, refilled our water bottles, and set out on the last leg of the ride.
We had a moderate headwind as we returned to the coast and Edgar was struggling a bit so I pulled. Thank goodness for aerobars. We have a new route that uses Cliff Drive starting at mile 70.4. This avoids the dangerous turn on to PCH and a few miles of heavy traffic.
Once we got back on the SART we had a lovely tailwind so I pulled us home around 17 mph with less that 100 Watts of effort. We got back with an average of 14.1 mph which is above my target for a ride like this.
Other than Sam Woo going out of business, this was a lovely ride.
I rode 112 miles with 4300' of climbing yesterday - my first century since I hurt my hip. It felt great. It took nine hours, which is a bit on the long side, but I'm very happy.
I was cleaning my Brompton and it occurred to me that I should clean my Parks chain cleaning tool. I thought simmering in hot, soapy water would clean it really well.
 |
| I've had better ideas |
Now it looks like it was designed by Dali. So I just ordered a new one. LOL
Amber has been having a lot of truck problems lately and has been thinking about buying a Brompton as her commute is only 8.5 miles and fairly bicycle friendly. REI has good prices on a limited range of Bromptons and if that range includes one you want, it's a good deal. Plus, if you're a member you get 10% back. That makes the price less than $1700 (plus tax).
 |
| Amber's green M6R |
She surprised me with it yesterday. Edgar was riding my Brompton so we were two Bromptons and a Serotta to the Bistro St Germain and back. Edgar drives a tiny Toyota FRS so carrying two adults and two bicycles is quite impressive.
 |
| Two bicycles and two adults in this car |
 |
| Two bicycles not in the car |
After the 50 mile ride, Amber is making new grips a high priority. I recommended the Ergon GP4 grips. After that comes clip-in pedals. As she doesn't need a compact fold, I suggested getting a regular pair of SPDs. She's OK with the saddle at this point, but might upgrade to a Selle Anatomica at some point.
She also needs to practice removing and installing the rear wheel. Even with Schwalbe Marathon tires, flats can still happen. If this bike can extend the life of her truck by a year, it will pay for itself.
For technical reasons I drove to Playa Del Rey and met Amber and Edger there to ride up and down the beach path between Santa Monica and Torrance. Amber's still thinking about buying a Brompton so I lent her mine to ride for a week.
Here's some video of her looking pretty solid on it.
REI has a good deal on a green M6R right now about $100 less than I've seen elsewhere. With her 10% membership discount, she gets $186 credit on her next purchase making it under $1700.
I'm really liking Rouvy and my wife is using it too so that helps assuage the guilt of spending $500 on a smart trainer and $600 on a dedicated computer. I definitely think this was a good decision. My hip is completely healed so I'm able to add some climbing to my workouts.
The last ride on my Serotta I had just replaced my chain because I keep a close eye on my chain's wear. Unfortunately my middle chain ring had worn and started slipping with the new chain. So I had to buy a new one. It's a Campagnolo Racing T middle chain ring 40 tooth with 135mm BCD. My LBS couldn't lay their hands on one and Amazon was no use either.
I Googled it and found very little online. The few options I found were $70 or more plus shipping. I found one at bikerecyclery.com but when I tried to order it their website said it was out of stock even though the webpage said there was one. I tried calling them but the person who answered wasn't interested in helping. The photo looks like it was used anyway - I should have guessed it from the name.
In the end I found it on Wiggle.com which is a popular online bike store in the UK. Several people on Cyclechat.com had mentioned them and they have a good reputation. The only problem is, the image doesn't match the description. They have an image of an outer chain ring alongside the middle chain ring description.
 |
| It says 40 tooth but the image is the wrong chain ring |
So I don't know what they're going to ship, plus I hate the high pressure Hurry message. It's probably right, though, there were three and I ordered two of them. I took a chance and they shipped almost immediately and arrived in the USA in two days. Then they sat in Arlington for five more days until FedEx picked them up and got them to me in two more days. If Arlington had done their job faster I could have had them in 4-5 days.
The good new is the description is correct and I fitted it on the Serotta last night. They're from a cheaper group set than the Chorus I had before, but beggars can't be choosers. Plus I have a spare 😀
I also received the new rear wheel from Peter White (far less drama there) and so my Serotta is ready to ride with the Redlands Bike Club tomorrow.
A month ago, while riding the 50 mile route from Anaheim to Seal Beach and back, I was knocked off my bike by an inattentive pedestrian and managed the fracture my hip. Even though I was not moving very fast, I just fell badly. So I didn't get to finish that ride.
Last week, Amber, Edgar, and I rode the same route. I kept flatting and, while fixing the second one, I realized my rim had split and the jagged edge was eating inner tubes every five miles. I booted the rim and the third tube got us back to the cars. On top of that, I had replaced the chain and found I also need to replace the middle chainring. Attempt number two had failed.
I had already ordered a new rear wheel from Peter White but finding a replacement chainring turned out to be impossible. I eventually found replacements from Wiggle.com in the UK. They should be here next week.
Last night I got the Brompton out and tried to ride to Seal Beach for the third time after work. I finally made it. Poutine at the Bistro St. Germain was a real treat. I finished at about 10:15pm. Lovely ride, but I'm pretty sore this morning. Longest real bike ride in a month, so not surprised there.
