Two Wheel Journal

Douglas AZ: Through McNeal

Posted on December 5, 2010March 16, 2011 by Rich

What a hot room! Even though my heater was off, the air got stifling. I finally touched the walls and found them very warm – the heat was radiating in from the office or some other source. About midnight I reached over to the window air conditioner and cranked on the fan only. With it being 40°F outside, I soon had a nice equilibrium 70°F, however inefficiently obtained, and so ran the fan all the way until 5AM. I met Jesse at 8AM. We rolled again to the old west main street (Allen Street) and found the OK Café for

Tombstone AZ: Riding on I-10

Posted on December 4, 2010March 16, 2011 by Rich

I woke up to see 2:21AM on the clock, and never got back to sleep. Keyed up to go, with dreamlike thoughts swirling around my head, I lay in bed sort of quarter dozing, waiting for the morning. At 6AM I opened my door to find Jesse ready to go. We considered Denny’s again, but instead drove the X5 about 6 miles north of Davis-Monthan AFB to Joe’s Pancake House that got great reviews. It turned out to be perfect – friendly service, local customers, homey comfortable atmosphere, good coffee, and tasty fare. I enjoyed coffee, eggs, pancakes, and grits.

Tucson AZ: Starting Point

Posted on December 3, 2010December 11, 2010 by Rich

I spent the entire day fiddling with my gear, deciding what to take and what to leave behind. Temperatures in southern Arizona had been cold, with many nights down in the 20s, although the forecast was for warmer weather. In the end, we decided to nix the tenting this trip and stay in low-end motels. Without a tent or sleeping bag, I had plenty of pannier space. I decided to take all four bags anyway for better weight distribution, and felt funny with them being almost half empty. I dragged out my laptop and charger to take along, then weighed

Product Review: Bike Lift for Garage

Posted on November 19, 2010April 30, 2012 by Rich

Dragging my trash cans around my touring bike was getting to be a pain, so, inspired by Jack’s garage, I bought this ceiling lift online. It is a Racor Pro ABL Aluminum Ceiling Mounted Bike Lift. This lift looks cool and gives you back some garage floor space. However, it has some so-so product features and installation was not smooth. I decided to give it a brief product review… Extruded aluminum top track very sturdy. Product is plenty strong for most bikes. Nice finishes throughout, mostly bare brushed aluminum Pre-drilled holes fit my 24″ ceiling joists perfectly. Other widths are

CG100 Pre-Ride 2010

Posted on November 10, 2010November 12, 2014 by Rich

Practically at the last minute, Jesse and I decided to take a roll around the Casa Grande Century route. Both of us volunteer for this ride, held each January, so here in November we decided to scout out the route, take notes for course marking and maps, and generally make a day of it. All of this is very early conditioning for our cross country ride next year. Accordingly, we both brought along touring bikes. Before sunrise Tuesday morning I found Jesse waiting for me at the McDonalds at Chandler Heights Blvd. and Alma School Road in south Chandler. With

Scottsdale Trial Ride

Posted on October 29, 2010October 31, 2010 by Rich

I suppose a one-day training ride hardly deserves a blog entry here. But this ride deserves it for several reasons: 1. It symbolizes the first concrete step of our training for a cross country trip next summer. Well, perhaps we shouldn’t call it training so far in advance, but an exercise to see what it would feel like. 2. It was Jesse’s first all-day ride on a fully loaded (70+ lb) touring bike. 3. We took some pictures and this was the best use of them. I spent the previous night pulling out my packing list from the Dakota Tour

Partially Restored

Posted on October 23, 2010October 27, 2010 by Rich

Site restoration in progress. Unfortunately, I must add all the photos back one at a time, so I’m starting with the Dakotas tour, then Mt Lemmon, then working backwards… – Rich

Apologies

Posted on October 22, 2010October 24, 2010 by Rich

Apologies to readers checking in on the Two Wheel Journal site. Idiot bots from Czechoslavakia and the Samoan Islands tried to sell men’s pharmaceuticals on this site, and it was blocked off to most viewers. As if the site gets any traffic!! It will take me a while to reinstall… -Rich

Mt Lemmon Climb

Posted on September 14, 2010September 13, 2017 by Rich

Making plans on endorphins can certainly be fun. Jesse and I had just finished the always fast Tour de Sue route with the Phoenix Metro Bicycle Club. We started off leisurely, but after the 2nd rest stop on Riggs Road we pounded it to about 90% of our capacity. That guy is one strong rider and it was all I could do to stay up with him. We pulled into Arizona Bread and sat down for breakfast with Ed, Jules, and a few other riders. With the endorphins energized and the conversations cycling-centric, one rider named Gary mentioned that the

Backdated Posts Finished, For Now

Posted on September 14, 2010September 15, 2010 by Rich

I’m done posting a collection of backdated stories about various local rides. Just go to the right “Rides” section and select one if you have any interest. I’m happy to have an outlet for these stories and hope it jogs some memories of your own from these rides. If so, please add a comment or two. From here out, it’s only new stories. (Thank goodness.)