Finally I know

My Miyata 610 that I am so excited about now for sure has a year tied to it. It is a 1981. I thought it was an 80 but I found catalogs from 81 through 89. My bike is black and so it is limited to an 81, 82 or 83. Not sure if 83 is included but I know after that 610's did not come in black. The dead give away is the brakes. In 82 and on the brakes changed away from the center pull cantilever to the side pull. So it has to be an 81. I cannot find an american/english catalog from earlier than 81 but the Dutch versions from earlier catalogs do not even have the same numbering/name system. Not sure if a 1980 English Miyata cataloge exists online but would love to see it.
Now the final mystery that I can tell is the issue of the shifters. The 1981 610 came with Stem shifters while the 1000 model came with downtube shifters. My bike has downtube shifters. Everything else is the same exactly from the stickers to the brakes. I am thinking downtube shifters were considered higher end at the time and whoever purchased the bike or someone later modified the shifters.
I am not a purist although I am keeping the original equipment I have changed. I added a stem conversion to threadless, new stem to increase angle and I have added new drop handlebars that are wider and lighter than original. New bar tape and brake levers. I also added a Bontrager Saddle that I am very used to from my previous bike. I also changed out the pedals to a higher end/lighter pedal with toe clips. I hope I can post picture.

Kansas Solitude

I love cycling in Kansas. Sure we don't have giant mountains or large flowing rivers or an ocean view but we have something that is a cycling challenge, WIND. I am acually growing to like the wind. I know that sounds stupid as I am usually cussing under my breath for the first 15-20 minutes at it. The tougher the climb the cooler the ride down.
Friday, My son and I went to Wichita to look at a bike a cycling/facebook/twitter/blog friend of mine had. Robert Garcia of RiverCityCycling had an amazing Koga Miyata 610 from 1980. Almost showroom quality. Not sure what that is since I was looking at it in a garage. I took my 52/54 cm(not sure) Raleigh Capri. I got it from a friend who did not need it and so I worked it into shape. I was looking to trade bikes and Robert obliged me. AMAZING how much the right size bike matters for speed and endurance. The Miyata is a lighter and much better bike. I consider Robert's "trade" as more of a gift. Thank You Robert again. Someday when I get a new bike, I will make sure someone who needs a cycling boost gets this Japanese wonder bike. I spent 2 hours in the garage getting it ready for me to ride it. Lights, cages, and bags. I took it for a short spin and ended up riding 20 miles. I could not stop. I felt like a kid on Christmas who got the new bike and would ride circles under the street light for hours after dark. The difference was not freezing to death. I averaged 14 mph on my 20 mile ride. I thought, surely my speedometer must be off. I checked it and no it is correct. I went up over 2 mph on average. WOW. I feel like the ankle weights have been lifted.
Saturday I did 32 miles. I have never done more than 24-25 miles in a single ride. I rode to Sedgwick from Newton on Ridge rd and then to 81 on county line road. 81 highway was a racetrack on the way home. I averged 14.2 mph for the trip but hit 30 mph many times and never dropped below 20mph. I did another 20 on Sunday and averaged 14.4 mph. I did another 12 this morning at about 14.3 mph avg.

Hard to believe that it has only been a little over a year since my neck surgery. I am loving life and HIGH on cycling and this new to me bike.

Sunday Ride

The day was amazing for riding. North wind about 15 mph could have been better but we have to get some kind of workout. Ray Olais and I rode 23 miles in 1 hour and 45 minutes. We averaged 12.8 mph. We rode north on K15 to old Dutch Ave. and rode west to Hesston and then took ridge south to 12th street. We cycled back into Newton. We only avg 10.4 mph. On the ride south we ran 19 mph minimum but most of the ride was 22 to 26 mph. Legs were burning the whole way. Got some new Pearl Izummo road cycling shorts and they made the ride really nice. No drawstring feels odd but I guess I just need to do some more sit ups to flatten ma belly...I burned over 1500 calories on the ride. I took in maybe 2500 calories in today if not a little more. Damn big brunch and then pasta for dinner. I plan on riding for an hour tomorrow morning. I hope that means about 12 to 13 miles. I plan to do 25 tomorrow afternoon from 3:30 to 5:30.

My debaters are getting their State Debate trophy photos tomorrow night. Red Room Studios here in Newton, KS. I hope the kids all show up.

More Snow

 

I got the camera out and tried to be a photographer.

COLD AND SNOW!!!

Other than the extreme cold and the 8 inches of snow, it looks like a perfect day for riding. The sun is super bright and makes me want to go outside and ride. That is till I actually get outside into the cold. I guess maybe I have become a wimp as far as the weather. When I was much heavier, I did not have a problem with the cold. Now I get cold really easily and since my neck surgery last spring, I am incredibly sensitive the low temps.
I have heard them all. "Cyclist make their own heat." Yep we do but the first 20 minutes of cold kicks my ass. The problem is I over dress for the first 20 and then I am too warm and sweat like crazy followed by being very cold.

Winter Motivation

Sitting here about to get my butt off the couch. Motivation to go out into a very cool 42 degrees with a north wind about 15 mph....ideas? Report back when I am finished...

National Winter Bike to Work(school) Day

Newton HS bike club is meeting tomorrow during seminar and hopefully we will have a good day for the ride to school. I am trying to think of some alternative club activities other than a ride if it is raining during club time. I am not sure how many people read this but those who do not understand NHS's club system. We are not a normal bike club that mainly rides and does some other fundraising or events. I teach HS and will have 50 minutes or so with the kids inside. If we ride then great and we can get back late as it is at the end of the day. We just continue our ride after school is out.

I need to plan an indoor bike activity. Here are some possible options.

How to adjust your brakes
How to adjust your rear derailer:
How to change a flat tire
How to patch a tube
How to repack hub bearings
The how to change a flat is probably the best bet but they might already know to do that.
What to pack in your seat bag and why you should have a seat bag.

The seat bag discussion is pretty important especially if on a longer ride. Extra tube is a really important part along with a pump and tire levers. A patch kit is also important. Sometimes we get more than one flat. Patching a tire successfully might be the difference between a long ride and long walk.