Iowa Hill ride, with Finning Mill and Yankee Jims too!

On Finning Mill Road

Well, it was about time I got around to doing the Iowa Hill route this year, it's really a tough climb that needs to be done at least once a year to keep you humble. This year, I decided to try something different.

We often drive up to Sugar Pine Reservoir via Foresthill. Along the way the way I have noticed Finning Mill Road. It departs Foresthill Divide Road a few miles east of Foresthill, I then see the other end not far from the boat ramp exit at Sugar Pine. A Google search didn't come up with a lot of information. Google and Bing maps weren't very helpful either. I have a USFS map of the Tahoe National Forest which did show the road and it looked alright there, so I decided I wanted to try it.

This ride would encompass a fair amount of dirt road riding, as I planned to ride Finning Mill and Yankee Jims to get back to Colfax. I was riding my Mercian Tourer on which I recently installed Continental "Tour Rides", (described as 37mm wide but really about 34mm on my Sun CR18s). I was looking forward to finding out how they handled the dirt roads.

I drove up to Colfax and parked at the old Dingus McGee parking lot. Poor old Dingus McGee has been leveled, all that remains is the concrete slab, (BTW, found out that the roadhouse has re-opened in Auburn). Departing Colfax on Iowa Hill road, I dropped quickly to the North Fork of the American River. At the bottom I stopped to snap a picture when I discovered my rear tire was flat! A goathead sticker had punctured it right through the top surface! Not an auspicious start for my ride! It didn't help my impression of the Tour Rides either!

I swapped out the tube and then had to start that glorious climb to Iowa Hill. This climb is really, really tough. Good thing I had a 28/28 low gear. Even with no load, it's hard work to make it up that road. Eventually I made it to Iowa Hill where I met a couple of old guys who had passed me on trail bikes. They laughed because they said I almost kept up with them! We chatted and I asked them about Finning Mill. One of them said all he remembered was that it turned to powder during the summer thanks to the logging trucks. They had not been on it recently.

Nothing much happening at Iowa Hill Store today!

I didn't take a break at Iowa Hill this time, but pressed on to Sugar Pine.

I tried something different at Sugar Pine this year. I dropped down to the day use area which is adjacent to Big Gap campground. Earlier this year, we had camped at Big Gap and found the walking path around the lake to the boat ramp had been paved. So I road down and around the lake to the ramp and then back to the main road. Although this saves you from riding across the dam, I can't say you save a lot because you have a good climb before you get to the campground, and you have to watch your speed, the path is narrow and has lots of curves and you don't know if there will be somebody coming around the next blind curve.

Sugar Pine is very low right now.

Anyway, I got back on the road and was surprised to come to Finning Mill Road before the OHV staging area. Well, it looked okay at the start so off I went. I expected terrible, soft powdery sand but was surprised by a pretty good gravel/dirt road for the most part, with little washboard. I encountered just one short stretch of "powder" during the ride, at a road junction.

The start of Finning Mill, so far, so good!

The only navigation problem I encountered was at the junction of Finning Mill and Forest Service Road 24. As I was about to reach for my map, a fellow on a BMW GS came up, (the only traffic I met, save one car). I asked him where he came from and he asked me the same! After that, it was really just a matter of staying on the main dirt road and soon I came to Foresthill Divide road, a few easy miles east of Foresthill.

On Finning Mill. Notice the road surface is good!

The end of Finning Mill road at Foresthill Divide road.

I should mention that ever since Iowa Hill, a few raindrops were sprinkling down. It was keeping the dust down but was not heavy enough to cause puddling or even mud. When I got to the paved road I found the blacktop was wet! Something that hasn't happened since June! It felt funny to be riding under cloudy skies with no sun blistering down on me!

At Yankee Jims

From Foresthill I turned right and headed back for Colfax via Yankee Jims road. I've been on this road many times and have described it in this blog, so there isn't much to add. It was getting a little wetter as I headed down. Recently I have preferred going the other way on this road, descending on the north side of the river and climbing up this south side. I still do, you have a lot of tight turns to make going down this side so you have to ride your brakes more.

I take a picture of the Yankee Jim Bridge every time I cross it!

Going up the other side, the rain seemed to be getting a little harder. Still not a problem, but I was happy to have my fenders on the bike, they were being put to use at last! By the time I pulled into the parking lot the rain was coming down pretty steadily and I was starting to get wet, glad the ride was ending there.

I was pretty happy with this ride. It was fun to add an extra stretch of dirt road to it. Finning Mill was really a fine road. The Tour Ride tires felt pretty nice on the dirt and gravel, and they seemed to roll along on the pavement pretty nicely with 80 lbs. in them. I was disappointed that they punctured, but I don't know of any tire that can withstand a goathead, so that was just bad luck I guess. The Mercian took it all in stride, even with a large handlebar bag. Rides stats: 43.78 miles, 4 hours and 42 mins (!). 5520 feet of climbing.

Here's the ride as plotted by my Run the Map app.

The Mercian with the huge Ostrich bag!

SKS Longboards for my Mercian

KOM with the beige Longboards

I mentioned in a recent post, (Bonus century!), my rear aluminum fender snapped off of my King of Mercia, (KOM). The fender failed at the point where it is attached to the rear bridge, (normally a brake bridge, but not on a cantilever equipped bike)!

Alu fender failure.

This is the second time a metal fender has broken on one of my bikes. Previously, a stainless steel fender had snapped at the same spot on my Motobecane Jury commuter. Obviously, I will have to rethink my installation of alloy fenders.

Close-up of the failed fender.

It would seem that there is need for reinforcement in that area. But I decided to try SKS composite fenders, which feature an aluminum center clad in plastic. I chose their Longboard version, the same I had used on my other Mercian, (Adjustments to the old Mercian.). It's nice that SKS offers a couple of colors, I again went with the beige, I just like that shade and it seems to go with the color scheme well enough.

Pretty good front fender line...

I wanted to be sure that the front fender was supported by the Nitto front rack, I positioned the front edge just a tad behind the leading edge of the rack. The Longboard is long enough that it still stretches down far enough to offer more than adequate protection.

...rear too!

Rear fender installation was greatly aided by the threaded points Mercian provided for mounting the rear fender. It was easy to set a nice fender line. I didn't install the rear mud flap, I'll save it for a spare.

A look at the rear installation.

And a look at the front, notice the attachment to the Nitto M-12 rack.

So, I've been riding with these new fenders for a few weeks now and I am very satisfied with them so far. They are rigid and quiet and fairly light. Lets see how long they hold up!

The Tivy Wheel Club, Williamsport, PA 1895

Front cover of the small circular.

After my folks passed away, I took possession of a box of ancient photographs from my great aunt Jennie Engleman, who herself had passed away many years ago. Among all the old pictures I came across this little gem, a short publication written for the 47th annual reunion  of the Tivy Wheel Club of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. This booklet describes the club's history and gives a very brief history of the bicycle itself. It contains lots of amusing and interesting tidbits about riding at the turn of the century, (the 20th century, that is!). 

It's also fun to note that while the Tivy Wheel Club was active for only 15 years, club reunions continued for at least 32 years!  

The paragraph entitled "FORECAST AGE OF HUSSLE", contains some pretty interesting stuff for us modern day cyclist, especially since fixed gear riding has made something of a comeback in recent years!

I hope you enjoy this little bit of history, click on each page to get an enlargement of the image.

The title page includes an inscription for Harvey Engleman, Jennie's late husband.

Bonus century

Here's a "Run the Map" screen shot of the route.

Shelly went off for her annual Lake Tahoe trip recently so I found myself with a free day to ride! I decided to try a relatively flat century, heading heading out southwest into the Sacramento Valley, then turning north before swinging back to the east, pretty much avoiding any major climbs. Above shows my route as recorded by the Run  the Map app on my phone. The start of my ride took me across rural Loomis and through Granite Bay, eventually coming to Folsom to the American River Parkway, Sacramento's famous bike path which runs along the American River from Folsom Lake to Discovery Park.

Quiet morning on the ARP

Even though I've lived in this region for over 20 years now, you can count the number of times I've ridden on the Parkway on one hand! I'm a little too far for convenient use, plus there are plenty of rides around Loomis. Also, the stories you hear of crowded conditions and pedestrian/biker conflicts kind of turned me off. Fortunately, this Sunday morning was fairly quiet, even though I didn't start riding until after 8:00 AM.

As far as Lake Natomas, things were quiet, but it did start to pick up after that point, I'm glad I didn't start any later! Rode along for a while with another recent retiree and we chatted about retired life, etc. It was fun. I even saw a fellow on a heavily loaded Rivendell Atlantis! I complemented him on his nice looking bike, but I don't get why so many Rivendell riders go for the Wald basket thing!

I was concerned about finding my way onto the Garden Highway from the Parkway, but it actually turned out to be a piece of cake! Just before Discovery Park was a sign for Northgate Road. I took that, (northbound), crossed a bridge and immediately came to the intersection with the Garden Highway! How easy was that!

Heading up the Garden Highway.

The first stretch of this road is not so great, kind of urban jungle like, but before too long you're on the levee road running along the Sacramento River, (as pictured above).  So, all I had to do now was stay on this road until I hit Nicolaus! At first, there are a lot of eateries and bars on the Highway, but when you finally hit the I-5 overpass, you come to the end of a lot of services. There is a public boat ramp there with bathrooms and, (I think), water. I should have filled my bottles there because after that point, you have a long stretch with very few services.

At Verona.

Generally, the Garden Highway is a good road, however, the were a couple of areas after crossing the Sutter county line, where I encountered some incredibly rough road surfaces. I'm pretty sure these rough conditions led to the main mechanical problem of my ride, which I'll explain later.

Same spot in Verona, but this time looking across the highway at the Sacramento River.

The ride through this region is quite pleasant. Little traffic and nice scenery, with the rivers, (the Sacramento and after Verona, the Feather), on your left and farmland on your right. Very nice and rural, but very few services available.

For those who think California is all concrete and beaches...

Eventually, the highway brings you to Highway 99. At this point I was about out of water. Luckily, I spotted a golf course. The portion of the course next to the highway must have been the "back nine" because it was far from the clubhouse. A dirt service road ran from the highway to the course. On a hunch I dropped down that road and sure enough, saw a nice Igloo cooler mounted on a stand adjacent to the fairway. I quickly filled my bottles and scooted out of there. I don't think the golf course people would have minded, but I didn't want to wait to find out!

The little town of Nicolaus on a quiet Sunday afternoon.

Soon I was in the little village of Nicolaus and on the last leg of my ride. It was beginning to get a little warm so I started looking for a place to buy an ice cold drink. Well, no luck here! Eventually I had to make my way all the way to Lincoln to get some ice!

I think I found the source of the rattling...

As I mentioned earlier, I did have one significant mechanical problem. I mentioned the very rough roads in Sutter County. At one point I was beginning to hear more rattling than usual and pulled over to check it out. Turns out my rear fender had split at the brake bridge! I used a bit of duct tape to hold the fender together. When I got to Lincoln I pulled the loose section off and tossed it. The forward section was still firmly connected so that remained for the rest of the ride.

Here's a close-up of the break.

This isn't the first time a metal fender has broken on one of my bikes. A stainless steel VO fender snapped in almost the identical fashion on my Motobecane Jury commuter several years ago. Hmm, I'm going to have to figure how to correct that tendency! In the meantime, I've ordered a set of SKS Longboards, (in beige!), to replace the alu fenders for a change. I have used the SKS fenders on my other Mercian and they seem pretty nice, we shall see. I'm riding the Mercian with no fenders for the first time now, and it's kind of nice for a change, but it wouldn't be so nice this winter!

"Run the Map" stat page for this ride.

Finally, here are some stats for the ride from Run the Map. I was pretty happy my performance on this ride, except for a little cramping I experienced in Sutter County. I'm becoming convinced that cramping is more a result of heat than of lack of training.

So this is the second century for me this year! This is a nice and not-too-brutal route, which could be done virtually any time of year, just be sure to have plenty of water!

My new project: Schwinn Racer hack

Doesn't look too bad from this distance...

I wanted a decent city bike to run errands on recently, in order to cut down on my dependency on automobiles. It seems like such a waste to drive a gas guzzling, polluting monstrosity just to go a mile or so to pick up one or two items.

I used to own a Schwinn Typhoon for that, but the design of that bike leaves a bit to be desired. It always seemed to be a lot of work to push that tank through town! And that was considered a middleweight!

Ye olde Typhoon.

I wanted something a little more elegant, something along the lines of the Raleigh 3 speeds. Indeed, I somehow developed a fascination with the old Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub, so I started hunting on Craiglist for a likely subject.

The dear old Sturmey Archer AW 3 Speed hub!

I decided that I wanted to go with an older Schwinn 3 speed, ala the Speedster or Racer models because there seemed to be a lot of them around, and I wanted a pretty stout frame. Thanks to the patented Schwinn Electro-welding process, the Speedsters and Racers definitely were stout! Plus, the rest of the components on these models were above average, including the forged handlebar stem, decent quality "American" style one piece cranks and, of course, the Sturmey Archer AW 3 speed hub.

I suppose I have a little bias as well, for back in the prehistoric days of my youth, Schwinns were considered the cream of the crop by my circle of friends! I think I still look at old Chicago Schwinns in that light, although I really don't feel very nostalgic about the Varsity, (my first 10-speed!).

At any rate, it didn't take long to find a suitable subject. I found one on CL for $120. I went over and looked it over. Basically sound, but the the paint under the downtube had been destroyed! The right pedal also felt off, (turned out the crank was bent just a tad), but generally, a usable example of a Schwinn "Lightweight". I talked them down to $100 even and took it home.

When I first looked at the bike, I thought the bike looked almost complete. After getting it home and making initial adjustments, I was better able to ascertain what was needed. I found that a piece of the saddle's frame was broken. The fenders were pretty roughed up with some wrinkling that would have been next to impossible to smooth out. Also, there were a few dings in the steel rims which were original incidentally, the weird Schwinn size. Fortunately, a previous owner had found the proper tires and they were practically new! I could use these until I was ready to upgrade. The chainguard had a small dent which I should be able to straighten. Finally, I confirmed that there was indeed a bent crankarm.

A dent at the "C" of Racer, and the right crankarm had a slight bend.

 The paint, (coincidently the same shade red as my old Typhoon), is badly scratched up, especially under the down tube where hardly any of the color coat is left. The chrome is generally in good condition and even the red handgrips are in fine shape!

First upgrade! (A Brooks saddle with seat clamp inverted to accept it.)

After cleaning and adjusting the first thing I replaced was the saddle. The old Schwinn branded Messinger had a broken cross member. I wanted to use my old Brooks B17N for now. Although it's too narrow for an upright riding position, and has a broken bar, (I can clamp the break with the saddle clamp and use it for a while), I like having the hoops on the back for a saddlebag, and I like riding on a leather saddle. It's comfortable enough for short hops. In order to make the Brooks clamp work, I had to invert the seatpost so that a fat section of post presented itself to the clamp. Incidentally, at this point I should point out that there was absolutely no rust on the inside of the frame. Both the seatpost and the stem slid out easily. That's always a good sign when buying a old bike!

I did a little research online and discovered that this particular bike was manufactured in July of 1971, so when you think about it, this bike was in pretty good condition after 44 years! By the way, here's the link I used to find the bike's age.

I decided to replace the fenders since it would have been impossible for me to smooth out the originals. I was going to buy a new set of Wald chrome fenders but discovered that the Wald fenders only come in very wide or very narrow widths in the 26 inch size. Rummaging through my assortment of fenders, I found some Velo Orange 700C X 45mm Alloy fenders which looked very close to the original fenders in size! I only had to cut off a few inches from the front. The V-O fenders were a sort of dull silver, but a few minutes of buffing with "Simichrome" brought out a nice bright shine which came very close to the original chrome!

VO alu fenders getting a Simichrome treatment.

 In trouble-shooting the crank arm problem, I bought a new set of cheap pedals and installed them. The crank still felt odd. so I reasoned it was a bent arm. I then removed the pedals and took a long length of heavy steel tubing and, inserting the right arm into the tube, I gave a steady, hard push. This method probably only works on a frame as strong as the Schwinn's, but it does indeed work. Otherwise, I would have removed the crank from the frame.

So, here is my Racer in it's current form. The paint job is still hopeless. It will get a paint job in the future, probably a powder-coat. I also plan on getting rid of the steel rims. I found a set of Sun CR18's in the more traditional English 26 inch size...nominal tire bead seat diameter of 590mm...otherwise known as 650A! These are really nice rims and will increase the effectiveness of the rim brakes quite a bit. I haven't yet decided on what I will use for hubs for these rims. If the 3 speed on the bike now proves to be reliable, I will probably use it. If not, I will look for a more modern version of the 3 speed hub, or maybe I'll go with a 2 speed hub! Those look fun.

Shown here with the new saddle, fenders and pedals.

I have to say I am still betting used to a 3 speed, but I like it so far! It seems perfect for around town traveling. I would hesitate to go to 2 speeds because I find I use all 3 in this rig.

I've had a couple of minor problems with the bike so far. One is a popping sound that seems to be coming from the front wheel. I think the bearings may be binding, although I had adjusted them. When I did adjust them I noticed a fair amount of damage to the axle's threading, maybe there is some travel occurring  that is binding the bearings.

Another problem may come from my lack of experience with a 3 speed. I'm not sure it's adjusted perfectly. Sometimes the shift rod seems to hang until I shift the pedals back and forth. I'll have to play with it some more. Could be that the hub is a little sticky and may need more or better lubrication.

This year's century.

Dog Bar Bridge at Bear River.

I guess retired life agrees with me, since I was able to ride my normal century ride at the end of May this year, as opposed to later in the Summer as has been my routine in the past years. Like last year, I rode in a counter-clockwise route, going to Auburn, Meadow Vista, Grass Valley, Olivehurst, Wheatland, Lincoln and back to Loomis.

Along Dog Bar Road, heading toward Grass Valley

On the climb to Grass Valley; This year, no water flowing!

This route allows you a nice steady climb up to Grass Valley. This year, I didn't feel the need to stop at Grass Valley, I just pressed on through. I did stop at Penn Valley off of Highway 20 and picked up some refreshments there. I continued on HWY 20 then turned off at the Beale Air base turnoff and took Smartsville Road down into the valley. Descending on highway 20 is much more enjoyable than climbing it!

On Smartsville Road.

I had to stop near Olivehurst to check my maps for the correct turnoff to Wheatland, (Griffith Ave.). Finding that I then enjoyed the peaceful farm roads that took me to highway 65 just north of Wheatland.

Country roads above Wheatland.

It had been a great ride, I was feeling good and running ahead of schedule. Then came this ride's little adventure. Off highway 65 at Sheridan I turned west. Normally I would now take North
Dowd Road, but Dowd has now been closed for bridge replacement, a detour was posted so I figured I would take it, how bad could it be? Well, pretty bad! First I went 2 miles west, out of my way and then had to follow a gravel road for about 4 miles. The gravel was deep, but at least there wasn't too much washboard. I finally got back on the route and made it home in a decent time, but
I did experience some minor cramping towards the end. Still, I was happy with my performance.

The Mercian on this years ride.

I road my KOM, (King of Mercia), again this year, equipped with my "super compact" 46/28 crank, (See this blog entry: an-economical-super-compact-road-crank.). Combined with a 12-28 cassette my gearing was more than adequate. A handlebar bag mounted on the Nitto M-12 carried all the gear I needed. My Sugoi Evolution bibs and Brook B-17 worked well with no problems down there even after 8 hours in the saddle.

The 2015 Amgen Tour of California

The lead break away approached Auburn.

The 2015 edition of the Amgen Tour of California brushed by the eastern edge of Auburn yesterday, so I decided to ride up and watch the racers fly by.

Riding up towards Bowman school, I was beginning to fret that I left too late and would miss the peloton, getting a flat on the way didn't help. But I found a good spot just past Bowman school and waited with a handful of other enthusiasts for the race to approach, turns out I had plenty of time to change out my inner tube while waiting.

The lead breakaway reached us at just about 12:15, having started in Nevada City at 11:00. An hour and 15 minutes to cover a stretch that has taken me at least twice that time! 

 

They were moving at a smart pace at this point.

This stage would eventually end in Lodi, 120 miles in 4 hours and 47 minutes with Cavendish winning in a group sprint. In reading about the stage in the Bee, there was mention that the only

climb of the day was on Highway 49, going up to Cool from the American River confluence. It also said that that climb was a mere category 4, the least difficult! That's a little ego-deflating! What an  hors categorie climb is like I can only imagine!

The support vehicles were following.

...and bringing up the rear.

I got a surprise as I was snapping pictures of the peloton zipping by. I heard something plop into the weeds next to me as the riders as the riders passed. I looked over and found a half empty water bottle lying there! Nice. Then as I was riding away to go home, I found a second one on the shoulder! Both discarded by the riders as they received replacement bottles on this quiet, flat stretch of road! So I got a couple of nice souvenirs from the Amgen this year!

My big score for the day!

Although I'm no racer, it's always nice to have the race come by, just to see the excitement for cycling it generates, This year, for example, leading up to the opening day there was a page-one article in the Sacramento Bee about the tire sizes the pros are using this year! Now that's something I never would have thought would happen!