Today's Bike Ride

Quick picture - while watching for trains!

Today's Bike Ride

Today we rode to Usery Park. It's about 10 miles from our condo and uphill all the way. The last 1.5 miles or so are quite steep, so steep in fact that on the way back you can coast the entire 1.5 miles without pedaling and while constantly applying the brakes so as not to go too fast.

On the road just before the entrance to Usery

Park with Pass Mountain in the background.

Karen on the Loop 202 overpass on the way back.

Brompton

My Brompton folding bike fits perfectly under the booth table at McDonald's.

Friday's Bike Ride

On the Tempe Town Lake pedestrian bridge. That's my new "Mini O Bag" on my Brompton. Much nicer than riding wearing a backpack!

Emily

Cat eating yogurt. Or yogurt eating cat. :-)

Today's Bike Ride

Today I rode my Brompton after dropping Karen off at Costco for work. Part of my ride was along the canal path. Here's a picture of my Brompton at one of the bridges over the canal.

Yikes

I found those screws in the bike lane on McDowell Road. I'd like to think they we dropped there by accident instead of on purpose.

Bike Tire

Yup, definitely going to need a new bike tire and tube.

Cool HDR Photo

My iPhone has an HDR (High Definition Range) photo setting. I keep this turned on so I get 2 photos every time I take a picture, a regular exposure and an HDR exposure. The HDR is actually a compilation of 3 differently exposed photos which tends to give better results in certain cases. Anyway, yesterday I was at Tempe Town Lake riding my Brompton folding bike. I stopped at a picnic table to read for a while and saw a skateboarder coming. I took a picture and was surprised by the HDR results. The skateboarder was moving too fast for the iPhone's camera to take the same exact photo 3 times. Here are the interesting results:

Regular photo

HDR photo

Las Vegas

Karen and friend at Paris Las Vegas.

Las Vegas

Pelican at Flamingo's Habitat.

Las Vegas

Flamingos at Flamingo's Habitat.

Las Vegas

Fish at Flamingo's Habitat.

Las Vegas

Karen in elevator at the Flamingo.

Motorcycles On Main

Monthly event in downtown Mesa. They close Main Street to all but motorcycle traffic. Lots of bikes, bikers, music and vendors. And lots of fun!

More Frugal Additions

I wanted a set of saddlebags for my Shadow. I had a set on my Rebel but this time I didn't want to spend upwards of $200 on the bags and supports. What to do? Craigslist! I spent some time searching and finally found a pair listed for $75. I offered the seller $50 and he accepted. As an added bonus he included a set of supports for free. The trouble was that the supports were off a V-Star and wouldn't fit on my Shadow. So I used a very large box wrench as a pry bar and BENT them into shape. Then I just had to get some longer bolts and for a total investment of about $60 I now have saddlebags on my Shadow. Here's a new picture of it in front of Red Mountain.

Huh?

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. LOL!!

Rerouted Vista Trail

It's been a while since I hiked it, but I find it interesting how Usery Park dealt with a beehive problem at the top of the trail. They just moved the trail! The new trail is evident by the freshly worked brown dirt.

Cheap Accessories

After buying my new (to me) 2004 Shadow there were a couple of accessories I really wanted. The first was some kind of storage as the bike didn't come with saddle bags. I decided on a sissy bar bag because (1) I don't need much storage room and (2) I wanted to make mounting/dismounting the rear of the bike as easy as possible for Karen. I looked at commercially available bags ($$$) and decided on a more frugal (French for "cheap" I think) approach. So I went to a Goodwill thrift shop and found a leather backpack for $6. I sewed on (by hand) a new velcro closure strap and modified the shoulder straps to wrap around the sissy bar frame and then velcro to the back of the bag. I think it came out pretty good!

After that project I decided what I needed next was some kind of clock. I don't wear a watch anymore and pulling my iPhone out of my pocket while riding just isn't a great idea. Again I looked at what was available commercially but didn't want to spend the money. A couple of posting in the Honda Shadow forum that I frequent gave me the idea of using a cheap Walmart watch. I picked one up yesterday for $11 and used velcro to attach it below the speedometer. I like the analog watch as it goes with the classic styling of the Aero.

Bigger Motorcycle

After riding my Rebel for over 3 months and 2000+ miles I decided that I wanted a bigger motorcycle. The Rebel is a GREAT motorcycle! Being such a light weight motorcycle probably saved my butt a few times while I was getting comfortable learning to ride. It can handle freeway speeds and I got about 75 mpg. But being a 250cc class bike (the engine is actually 234cc) it definitely lacks in the acceleration department. And being as small as it is (331 lbs. wet) the ride can be pretty harsh at times. I actually seriously started considering a bigger bike several weeks ago. So I decided to bite the bullet and "move up." I sold the Rebel and bought a used Honda Shadow Aero. It's a 2004 and had about 22,000 miles on it. The engine is a 750cc class (745cc actual) and it weighs 519 lbs. dry. It can easily out accelerate most cars which comes in handy when trying to get away from trouble. And the much heavier weight translates into a much smoother and more comfortable ride. Another advantage is that Karen and I can comfortably ride "2 up" on it. Yesterday we did that and rode out to Gold Canyon on the freeway. We cruised comfortably at 65 mph. I've had the Shadow for about 1 1/2 weeks now and so far I LOVE this bike!

2004 Honda Shadow Aero Specifications

9/2/2003 10:09:18 PM

Model	VT750
Engine Type	745cc liquid-cooled 52 V-twin
Bore and Stroke	79mm x 76mm
Compression Ratio	9.6:1
Valve Train	SOHC; three valves per cylinder
Carburetion	Single 34mm CV type
Ignition	CD with electronic advance, two spark plugs per cylinder
Transmission	Wide-ratio five-speed
Final Drive	Shaft
Suspension	Front: 41mm fork; 4.6 inches travel Rear: Dual shocks with five-position spring preload adjustability; 3.5 inches travel
Brakes	Front: Single 296mm disc with twin-piston caliper Rear: 180mm Drum
Tires	Front: 120/90-17 Rear: 160/80-15
Wheelbase	64.5 inches
Seat Height	25.9 inches
Dry Weight	519.4 pounds
Fuel Capacity	3.7 gallons, including 0.9-gallon reserve
Colors	Black/Metallic Silver Black/Candy Dark Red Black/Pearl Blue Candy Dark Red Black
California version differs slightly due to emissions equipment.