Drawn by the climate, six years ago Gaille and I moved to Southern California. Just like the song says, "It never rains in Southern California...", OK it rains at times but it's really not much in the scheme of things.
I could go SCUBA diving at will and I could ride my bike to my heart's content. I started riding my bike more and more in order to get my legs stronger for SCUBA diving. Little did I realize that the relative ease of jumping on a bike and riding anywhere was going to become the deciding force to make my cycling take precedence over my diving. So now that I've crashed hard (my new frame is due here in two days) you would think I would go and enjoy some time underwater. NO!!!!!!!!!
My Raleigh C200, an aluminum bike that has been through the wringer a few times is back in use. Somehow, I've changed the chain once; and nothing else. The cables are rusted, the sprockets are torn up. Teeth are broken off the chainrings and the wheels wiggle more than a bowl of jello.
This bike was born with 700x32 road tires. I switched them to 700x28 tires and it made a huge difference when I moved to riding heaven here in Newport Beach and thought I could keep up with the big boys. What was I thinking? So I bought a Giant OCR Limited and my Raleigh was banished to taking up space on the bike rack.
Drawn by the temptation of some local off road trails in El Moro Canyon I switched to some 700x42 off road tires a few winters ago and away I went. Wow! Slipping and sliding along I managed to ride a couple of miles before realizing my tires didn't have nearly enough aggresive tread and besides being pumped to 80psi was a recipe for failure. Lowering the pressures substantially, made a huge difference and I was able to ride another 1/4 mile until the chain snapped.
Luckily it was virtually all downhill to the car and from there I went straight to the bike shop, bought a new chain which I promptly installed and went right back to the trail I had just abandoned. This time I made it to the top of the canyon and only had to walk three, short and wickedly steep sections. Many lessons were learned that day; too many to mention. However, the road beckoned and I was back on my road bike soon enough.
The Raleigh was relegated to the bike rack once again until last winter. This time I went to the bike shop and bought some 700x48 off road tires that could be ridden on the street. I rode the canyon a few more times that winter and once again the bike was on lock down at the bike rack.
It would still be sitting there if it weren't for my stupid mistake on August 20, as I rode my carbon fiber Giant TCR into the side of a mountain. DUH! And just like that the Raleigh was back on the road, and trail. It didn't complain, although I did. I have one road bike and it was un-rideable so the C200 would have to do. Luckily my Raleigh has no idea what I think of it, although I must admit that once again it did everything I asked and then some. Over the last couple of weeks, I've done road rides, hill intervals, sprints, dirt riding, you name it. Of course these things have been done a lot slower than on a road bike but they were done nevertheless.
I started to write this about a week ago but I got caught up in search for a new road frame so it's time to move on since the replacement frame arrived Sept 12.
Thank you Raleigh for making such a great bike. There isn't a part on this bike that isn't beat up. But there it sits waiting for whenever I decide it's time once again.
I could go SCUBA diving at will and I could ride my bike to my heart's content. I started riding my bike more and more in order to get my legs stronger for SCUBA diving. Little did I realize that the relative ease of jumping on a bike and riding anywhere was going to become the deciding force to make my cycling take precedence over my diving. So now that I've crashed hard (my new frame is due here in two days) you would think I would go and enjoy some time underwater. NO!!!!!!!!!
My Raleigh C200, an aluminum bike that has been through the wringer a few times is back in use. Somehow, I've changed the chain once; and nothing else. The cables are rusted, the sprockets are torn up. Teeth are broken off the chainrings and the wheels wiggle more than a bowl of jello.
This bike was born with 700x32 road tires. I switched them to 700x28 tires and it made a huge difference when I moved to riding heaven here in Newport Beach and thought I could keep up with the big boys. What was I thinking? So I bought a Giant OCR Limited and my Raleigh was banished to taking up space on the bike rack.
Drawn by the temptation of some local off road trails in El Moro Canyon I switched to some 700x42 off road tires a few winters ago and away I went. Wow! Slipping and sliding along I managed to ride a couple of miles before realizing my tires didn't have nearly enough aggresive tread and besides being pumped to 80psi was a recipe for failure. Lowering the pressures substantially, made a huge difference and I was able to ride another 1/4 mile until the chain snapped.
Luckily it was virtually all downhill to the car and from there I went straight to the bike shop, bought a new chain which I promptly installed and went right back to the trail I had just abandoned. This time I made it to the top of the canyon and only had to walk three, short and wickedly steep sections. Many lessons were learned that day; too many to mention. However, the road beckoned and I was back on my road bike soon enough.
The Raleigh was relegated to the bike rack once again until last winter. This time I went to the bike shop and bought some 700x48 off road tires that could be ridden on the street. I rode the canyon a few more times that winter and once again the bike was on lock down at the bike rack.
It would still be sitting there if it weren't for my stupid mistake on August 20, as I rode my carbon fiber Giant TCR into the side of a mountain. DUH! And just like that the Raleigh was back on the road, and trail. It didn't complain, although I did. I have one road bike and it was un-rideable so the C200 would have to do. Luckily my Raleigh has no idea what I think of it, although I must admit that once again it did everything I asked and then some. Over the last couple of weeks, I've done road rides, hill intervals, sprints, dirt riding, you name it. Of course these things have been done a lot slower than on a road bike but they were done nevertheless.
I started to write this about a week ago but I got caught up in search for a new road frame so it's time to move on since the replacement frame arrived Sept 12.
Thank you Raleigh for making such a great bike. There isn't a part on this bike that isn't beat up. But there it sits waiting for whenever I decide it's time once again.
