FInally, another ride, although without the 3 speed...I just picked up a new (to me) touring bike - a mid-80's Nishiki RIviera GT. Wanting to give it a good test ride, I took it out, amidst the snow and slush. Here he is:



I decided to take it around the lake (~10 miles). Here we go.



Yes, this is a snowblowed hockey rink on the lake:


My favorite house. The walkways are very Peter Pansian to me:


Going into Venetian Village:

This is an area of the lake that hosts a bunch of man-made canals. Houses are built on the canals, boats go in the canals, and you get waterfront property without the price. The mosquitos here are incredible.

Getting into the country, we see one of my buddies. He's rather pensive today...


This is the kind of road we get here - slushy and ill plowed.


Snow golf anyone? Not today, apparently


This illustrates the closeness of the country to "civilization" - the Culver Marina on the left, horse buddy on the right. Stopped and had a chat with him - he certainly took a liking to me, sneezing on my sweat shirt...


Ready to go, loaded for bear with horse-snot, I continued on until I saw this...

That's right. A Manatee mailbox. Just goes to prove that money does NOT equal class...

In front of the old Culver homestead:

I love this place.

A shot of the side of the house, followed by the front. Behind it you can see the original 1890's farmhouse that HH Culver originally built when he bought the land for the school:



Back in the day, there was no SR117, and the only access to this side of the lake was a horse path that ran in front of the two houses - this is what we'll be taking through the woods:



Three of the dozen or so piers that the Academy puts out yearly - the crew dock, Woodcraft swimming pier, and access pier where they tie up the barge:


Nishiki, Ledbetter, and barge. The Ledbetter is a 3 masted square rigger that is identically the same size as the Mayflower. Compare it to the bike, and it looks big, but imagine taking that bad boy across the Atlantic with 100 people on board. Not fun. A few years ago for the Naval School centennial, they shipped it out to the East coast and motored (BOOOO) down the seaboard.


The campus is always very weird during breaks...NOBODY is there...


Behind the library. The lake being frozen is always a very desolate view to me.


Back in front of Dad's. The poor thing really needs to thaw out.



And back home into the basement where it can make puddles:






Overall, I really like this bike. It's very predictable and slow-handling, but not in a bad way. I have race horses, I have clydesdales...this thing is very much like a pack mule. I shall name him Eddie.

And now for something completely different

Today, my dad and I drove down to my house in Linton to pick up some books. As I have a number of bikes there, I couldn't resist bringing a couple home...so I decided that this week, instead of exploring, we should check out what else there is in the stable...

First up is my other English 3, a 1950 Raleigh Lenton Tourist.
-1950 dated Sturmey Archer AW
-original "aluminium" Raleigh style brake calipers
- ISO 597 rims (again, aluminium)
- 20" Reynolds 531 (single butted) frame, with a hi-tensile fork
- Brooks B66 saddle (original)


Next is the American version of it - a 1954 Schwinn Racer
- not-original Bendix kickback 2 speed hub
- Laced and built steel ISO590 rims
- completely original Schwinn pedals, crank, handlebars, stem, frame, saddle, and seatpost


One that came home with me today - waiting to be built up for my mom to ride - 1983 Raleigh Rapide
- originally a 10 speed, with cottered BB, stem shifters, and drop bars
- later converted to North Roads bars, and a coaster brake
- will retain the coaster (laced into 700c rims sporting 700X40 tires), be painted robin's egg blue (cream head tube), and wear a Velo-Orange Model 8 (same as the Phillips)


The Mountain bike - 1986 Bianchi Osprey
- Shimano Tourney components
- will be receiving the Bullmoose bars from the Univega (see below)
- 18" frame


Now, into the fast bikes...

1987 Cannondale Black Lightning
- Suntour Sprint components (all black anodized)
- Brooks B17 saddle (5,000+ miles)
- Bontrager bar tape
- Continental Ultra-Sport yellow tread tires (700X23c)
- Aluminum frame, cromoly fork - total weight, 18.5 lbs


1989 Nishiki Modulus
- Full Tange #2 cromoly (22 lbs total)
- Anodized Araya rims, laced to Suntour hubs
- Dia Compe components
- the deepest drops I've ever used...
- pre-softened NOS Brooks Professional saddle
- Michelin Speedium 700X25c tires (grey tread)


1990 Fuji Palisade
- Ishiwata triple butted cromoly tubing
- Araya 27" (ISO 630) front rim
- Weinmann single-walled 27" rear rim
- Shimano 6 speed freewheel
- Alhonga dual pivot brake calipers (modified by moi)
- Dia Compe brake levers
- CST hi-pressure 27X28c tires
- Zefal fenders
- Rivendell mudflaps
- Brooks B17N saddle
- Suntour friction DT shifters
- Shimano Tourney rear derailer
- Suntour XCM front derailer
- harlequin handlebar wrap (Tressostar cloth tape, red and black)


1973 Peugeot UO-8
- 62 cm Peugeot Speciale tubing
- Cinelli handlebars
- Belleri 22mm stem
- Campagnolo brake levers
- Varnished and Shellacked black cloth bar tape
- Planet Bike fenders
- Shimano dual pivot (long reach) calipers
- Alex Deep V rims laced to Formula hubs (rear flip flop)
- 48t Schwinn Approved crankset
- 17 tooth fixed gear
- 16 tooth freewheel
- Panaracer Pasela (700X25c)


1994 Univega Activa Trail
This bike was purchased 3 years ago as my commuter. It originally started out with riser bars, 700X38c tires, and a super huge (and super fugly) neoprene saddle. The risers made my hands numb, so I swapped to North Roads bars. Once I moved to a place with a bike club, it made sense for this to be the fast bike (lightest, best equipped bike I had then), so I got a set of Shimano aero levers, a co-op special aluminum drop bar, Suntour bar end shifters, and 700X28c tires (the smallest I could go). After I started my go-fast collection, I got a wild hair, and put bullmoose bars and thumb shifters on it...yeah, I don't know either. I rode it exactly twice, hated it, and shelved it until later. It'll be going back, so when updated, it'll be...
- Araya rims laced to Sunshin hubs
- 7 speed Suntour freewheel
- Suntour triple crankset (48X36X28)
- Schwalbe Kojack 700X35c tires
- the Co-op no-name bars
- Suntour power ratchet bar end shifters
- Brooks B17 saddle (eventually)
- SKS Esge fenders
- Dia Compe brake levers
- Dia Compe cantilever brakes (for now...)



Can you tell I like Brooks saddles? IMO, the best thing you could buy for your bike. Get one, ride it 500 miles, you won't regret it.

Not pictured - 1982 Schwinn World Tourist
- 1956 Raleigh Dawn Tourist (step through frame)
- 1962 Sears beach cruiser (middleweight)
- 1979 Raleigh Professional (basket case)

And of course, the Phillips 3 speed.

Neither rain nor sleet...

Today, I decided to swing out to my uncle's house, and wanted to get there while the first snow was still on the ground. I needed to help him with some lighting in the garage, then some Corvair destruction...

I'll let the photos speak for themselves this week. I wanted to play with distance, horizons, and lines...straight lines are interesting to me. So anyway,





























And ultimately, this is what was accomplished today: