Lights and Power

Posted on April 11, 2016May 6, 2016 by galvind

I want to give a quick rave to the Shimano Alfine Dynamo and the Busch & Muller Luxos U Lumotec IQ2 light system that Mary Sue gave me for Christmas. What a 21st century combo. Back in the day, when I had my 3-speed Raleigh and later my 10-speed Schwinn in the ’60s, I used a generator that leaned against the front tire to power my bike lights. Those of my generation (sorry for the pun) will recall these units with affection. They were state-of-the-art for that era, a fond memory. This new system in the year 2016 is a quantum leap forward. The Dynamo generates power from the front axel without any discernible drag. The Luxor front light is a marvel of modern technology. With multiple settings and an automatic ability to adjust its beam angle based on my speed, I am in awe. The accompanying USB port on my handlebars is the piece-de-resistance: I can charge my iPhone and Garmin GPS while I ride each day, as well as my RavPower external battery to help with the iPad when far from any outlets. For a low-tech guy, this set-up is as high-tech as I can manage. We’ll see how well I do so as the trip evolves.

[After my ride, front and rear lights remain on for about 5 minutes.]

[The Alfine Dynamo sits inconspicuously as part of the front axel hub.]

[The B&M Luxos lamp is phenomenal – a comment from last year’s RAW trip: “Your light is the brightest of the whole [200-biker] group.”]

My bike

Posted on March 29, 2016May 6, 2016 by galvind

I’ve been a bicyclist all my life, from early training wheels in the 1950s to a 3-speed Ralaigh in the ’60s for my paper route to a 10-speed Schwinn in my high school and college days in the late ’60s and early ’70s. My parents let me and my brother, Greg, ride 40+ miles from home to beach cabin starting when we were 10 years old. The itch for adventure became life-long.

After more than 40 years of non-stop work, including bike commuting most of the time, I retired in April, 2016.

I built my touring bike at the Montlake Bike Shop in Seattle, Washington ( http://www.montlakebike.com ) with the help of owner Neil Wechsler and store manager Gary Tegantvoort. We went for sturdy, solid construction.

My Gunnar touring bike on the back deck of our houseboat in Seattle; note the sea kayak immediately behind.

Here are the details:

Gunnar steel frame: Grand Disc — 58 cm – gas tungsten arc welded (TIG-welded), air-hardened steel alloy — custom built in Waterford, Wisconsin
Vaya fork — chromoly steel
Crank/3 chain rings: 44x32x22 teeth
Crank: Hollowtech II 175mm
Sprocket/cassette: CS M700 — 11-32 teeth — 10-speed
“Gear Inches” (diameter of wheel in inches times chain ring in teeth divided by sprocket in teeth) = 19.2 — 112
Shifters: Shimano 105s with F/R derailleurs
Disc brakes: Spyre 160 rotors
Wheels: Dyad 36-hole — 28 inch diameter
Tires: Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 700×35 EVO — 50-85 psi
Tubes: Q-Tube 700×28-32mm — 48 mm Presta valves
Pedals: Shimano M530 SPD cleats
Shoes: Giro Rumble VR46 – 2-hole recessed SPD cleats
Saddle: Brooks Cambium C17
Panniers: Ortlieb Roller Classic front and rear
Extra back bag: Ortlieb Rack-Pack 31(M)
Handlebar bag: Ortlieb Ultimate 6 Plus
Dynamo: Shimano Alfine
Lights: Busch&Muller Luxos U Lumotec IQ2 + rear Seculite Plus
— Front flasher: Nite Rider Mako 150
— Rear flasher: Planet Bike Superflash Turbo (REI)

View from our deck toward Lake Union, Seattle in late March 2016

Dave’s 5,000 mile adventure

Posted on February 10, 2016May 30, 2016 by galvind

Planning – spring, 2016

Hi, you’ve reached the site of Dave Galvin’s blog for his bike trip across the U.S. I live in Seattle, Washington, USA, on a houseboat on Lake Union, with my supportive spouse, Mary Sue, and two aging cats; our two wonderful kids, Nicholas and Veronica, are in their late 20s, launched and doing well as young adults. My address is galvind53@gmail.com .

[Here I am with Mary Sue on a Cascade RAW trip, Lake Chelan, WA in the background, 2013.]

I will retire after more than 40 years of nonstop work in late April, 2016. My plan right out of the gate is to bicycle across the country, west-to-east, over the summer of 2016. Such a cross-country trip has been on my bucket list for a while, and I’m retiring at age 63 precisely in order to do crazy things like this while my body is still able. We’ll see how the legs and butt do over the coming adventure.

I am a life-long cyclist and have commuted to work here in Seattle for 30+ years, rain or shine, all year round. I’ve done week-long, 500-mile, supported trips courtesy of Cascade Bicycle Club (the Ride Around Washington or “RAW”) and Cycle Oregon. I’ve never done longer journeys on my wheels. I’m a life-long backpacker, have done 300-miles over 4 weeks on the Appalachian Trail in Maine many years ago, and have been on the summit of Mt. Rainier 5 times. So I figure I can do this.

My friend, Neil Wechsler, owner of Montlake Bike Shop in Seattle, and, primarily, his store manager, Gary Tegantvoort, helped me to assemble a touring bike up for the challenge. I’ll give you all the specs in a separate post. My bike is solid, heavy… and I love it. I’ve already got well over 1,000 miles on it, and it cruises. I haven’t named it yet — maybe that will come during this time that we spend together.

I’m testing this blog space, and hope to add photos, maps and a link to my Garmin data so that we all can track where I am and how I’ve done day by day. I plan to post approximately weekly so you won’t get exhausted reading about what I get exhausted doing each day.

Right now, snow in the passes permitting, I plan to leave the extreme Northwest corner of the lower 48 at Neah Bay, Washington, in mid May and ride the “Northern Tier” route as mapped by the Adventure Cycling Association (www.adventurecycling.org ), arriving at the extreme Northeast corner of the 48 states in Eastport, Maine by late August. I’ve got a wedding to get back to in Washington in early September!

Thanks for connecting with me. Give me a shout so I know who is reading and so I can answer any-and-all questions about this crazy trip. — Dave