Getting the headlight right ....

As I wrote before : the sensor of the CYO is located right at the bottom (end) of it, so in order to let it do its job, there needs to be some space around it. The it was mounted at my bike, it did not work at all. So yesterday I visited the local DIY shop and bought 2 small metal plates for less than a buck and some black spray paint. Back home I painted the silver plates black and let them dry in the garage. Then I went through my collection of nuts and bolts until I found the right size and length. This morning I put everything together, so now the set-up looks like this :


I did not have time yet to see whether the automation on/off function is working correctly, but I'm pretty confident it'll work -no doubt since it's made in Germany ;-). I'll sure find out in the next days to come ...

Life is good ...

Start working early in the morning so you can stop around noon. Get into your velomobile and on your way home, receive a call from a friend asking you to accompany him on a maxiscooter ride. Get home, change into motorcycling gear, get the scooter out of the garage and leave for a nice 2 hour ride with a drink stop on a nice terrace. Get home again, enjoy dinner with your wife and then leave for another 2,5 hour bike ride. When returning home, you have this awsome view to enjoy :

Life is good !!!

New headlight

My recent pair of bike sandals are pretty much worn out and need replacement. I really like the Shimano SPD-sandals, but the latest version has 3 closing straps on each shoe, making it not as airy as the old model (which has only 2 straps). The latest issue of ACTIV RADFAHREN, a German Bike magazine, had an article comparing several bike sandals and one of the best to come out of this test was the Red X SS502 . This brand is not available in my country and can only be ordered online from Germany. Since it's almost impossible to find your correct size through the internet, my wife and I rode all the way to Bocholt in Germany, where the Bike Town of ROSE ( a big German online bike retailer) is located.

When you enter the shop, it's almost like entering bike heaven : only bike-related stuff on 3 floors/ 6,000m², wow !!! Thank God my wife was holding my credit card, or I might have bought way too many things !

After finding the correct size of sandals, I visited the bike light section. It's not that I'm not satisfied with my FLY IQ SENSO PLUS, but I need that light for my RANS 700X. So I went shopping for a new light. Finally I purchased another Busch + Müller LED headlight : the CYO SENSO PLUS. It has an output of 60 lux, which should be plenty enough to see where you're riding at night. Only minor thing is that the sensor of this light is placed right at the back of it, so in the position I put it on the XP right now, the sensor's pretty much useless. I'll need to figure out another way to attach the headlight to my bike.

The new CYO PLUS SENSO

2009 Sculpture Exhibition - Oisterwijk

A couple of days ago, while riding my motorcycle abroad, I noticed several adds besides the road for the Sculpture Exhibition in Oisterwijk (the Netherlands). Yesterday was a beautiful day and since Oisterwijk is not that far from my home town, I took the XP to get me there. It took me about 1,5 hour to get into the centre of Oisterwijk. I never visited this event before, but I was pleasantly surprised when I got there.
The sculptures were exhibited right in the middle of one of the main streets. Visitors could walk between them, viewing each of them in a green decor, on the grass and between the trees. Now I do not know much about art, but I sure like to look at nice things once in a while. Most of the sculptures were pretty nice and I sure had a good time over there. Although it was pretty crowded, I managed to take some pictures of the sculptures I really liked. If you're interested, you can find them here

Art in the middle of the street

New headset

Since I took the XP out of its wintersleep and started riding it, I noticed some drag in the rear disc wheel. Last week I stopped by at my bikeshop to have it checked out, only to find out that the Shimano discs are self centered and can't be adjusted. But they discovered that the spokes of my rear wheel needed to be tensioned, which probably caused the drag of the disc. Since the bike also needed a new head set, I brought it in earlier this week. Yesterday I received a call that the XP was ready. So yesterday afternoon my wife dropped off so I could pick it up. They installed a Shimano LX head set, 'cause that's the one that is the most reliable. The spokes of the rear wheel were tentioned so the wheel was true again, which means no more drag coming from the disc. And they removed some of the tension on the shifting cable, which caused the shifter to jump out of the highest gears. Since the weather was fine, I did not take the XP straight to home but made a wider tour. Really mild temperatures for this time of the year, so I put on my SPD-sandals and enjoyed the sun. Happy Easter to all of ya !

The new head set

Spring is here !

Last friday I took my XP out of the garage for the first time this year. It was the first mild sunny day of the year and instead of taking my old BMW motorcycle for a ride, I really longed to be on the XP again. Amazingly, tire pressure was still excellent, so besides getting rid of some dust and one cobb web, the bike was ready to ride. Although early in the year, the sun was strong enough to ride in shorts (still wearing a long sleeve jacket though) and I really enjoyed the scenery on the XP during my one hour ride. A lot of fellow bikers must have had the same feeling, 'cause I crossed lots of them on the towpath, with lots of happy faces that I looked into !

Since my velomobile had to be taken to my friends' place for adjusting, I even rode my XP to work yesterday. After finishing my early shift, I took it for another ride, this time for a 2,5 hour ride. Still pretty sunny with a mild wind. And even though it's been a couple of months since I last rode my XP, there was no discomfort at all. The only adjustment I had to make was at the rear brake disc, which started to make a screeching sound halfway into my ride. But that was easily fixed with a 5mm allen wrench. i really love this bike !!!

Spring !

Back again ....

Since our winter has been pretty wet these last months, I did not ride my XP very much. Only the last weeks have been really cold with sub-zero temperatures, making it too cold to be on the XP for long times (I'm a whussy, I know).
Anyway, when looking back on 2008, I managed to ride 2,625 miles with the XP, a little more than the previous year. Sure, I wish I did ride it some more, but there's still my velomobile, and my Zenetik Pro, and my 700X, and .... My total cycling distance in 2008 was more or less the same as in 2007, making it a total of 10,170 miles. Not bad, considering the fact that my commuting distance has been halved since January 2008. And it's still more than the motorized miles in my household, so that's pretty good !

So, what's next ? Well, not much. I do need a new headset though. On my latest rides I noticed that the front fork preferred to stay put and that it more or less popped back in a straight position after taking turns. I already had my headset tightened in the past because of this, so I guess it's time to replace it. It should be standard size, so that'll be no problem. I just need to decide which brand and type. Oh, the choices one has to make ...

Happy miles to all of you out there !

Indian Summer ride

Temperatures have been so mild these last days, that at times, it felt more like Spring than Autumn. Today temperatures even exceeded 22° C, so I went looking for my SPD-sandals. I took the XP to ride to Veldhoven in the Netherlands, where I wanted to do some shopping in a watersports shop. Man, I really did enjoy the ride : the sun in my face, leaves in all kind of colors falling from the trees all around me, barefooted in my sandals and only a short and a t-shirt, it was just great ! I did not take major roads but tried to ride in a straight line as much as possible, going mostly through small towns and sometimes through or near some forests. All terraces of the cafés that were open were crowded with people enjoying the beautiful weather. If this is what global warming is all about, I'm really going to enjoy it !

Fall colors all around ....