Journey to the edge of the world (part 2)

Cedartown to Alabama and back . . . and then to Rockmart
We cruised through Cedartown and headed west on a remarkably straight and level stretch of the Silver Comet Trail. Destination: the Alabama-Georgia border.

OK, so here it is: the end of the Silver Comet Trail and the beginning of the Chief Ladiga Trail. If you are not overwhelmed, I understand—but we were happy to be there.

Why women are smarter than men
Please note that my bicycle is carrying the overnight gear—not just for me, but for Joan!

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A new team member
My friend Will called from his home in Cedartown and said he would meet us somewhere along the trail.

This is another one of those phony Photoshop pictures combining two pictures into one. If I had not been so tired, I’d have removed my foreground shadow.

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The return to Mt. Trashmore
We awakened to a cold morning with strong winds from the east. Every map we looked at told us we had to go east if we were to get back home.

And east meant that garbage-dump dune, Mt. Trashmore. It was a bit easier sneaking up on it from behind, but my feeling is that I never want to see it again.

Just for the record, this profile view shows the elevations along the route. They are up-scaled for clarity, but it does show how this hill relates to remainder of the route.

 

 

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The complete cyclist

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Journey to the edge of the world (part 1)

Continuing our training for the winter version of the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) in February, Joan and I decided to ride from Rockmart, through Cedartown, and then to the Alabama line, where we would make a quick U-turn and go back to Cedartown—a total of 33 miles. There we would spend the night before returning to Rockmart. This would be our longest ride so far—and we knew it included a very steep climb called Mt. Trashmore.

The Rockmart Visitors’ Center
We found an overnight parking spot near Rockmart’s Silver Comet Visitors’ Station. Inside the lobby of the unattended building is this beautiful old Schwinn tandem bike.

Just outside the door is an interesting bicycle-rack sculpture made of welded-together bicycle parts.

 

A wooden bridge at the beginning of the journey.

The mountain
Most of the Silver Comet Trail follows the route of the old train line, meaning the hills are gentle. But there’s a section between Cedartown and Rockmart where the tracks had to remain in place, so the trail headed straight for the big, smelly landfill. Oh, and did I say it’s a very steep and very long ride up that hill.

See that little yellow dot near the center. That’s Joan pushing her bike toward the top. And behind her is the horizon, about 10,000 miles away.

Full disclosure
Just so you know, we both walked up the hill.

We made it to Cedartown
Taking a break from the action, I sat on the cold concrete and did a quick watercolor painting.

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Next: The Alabama-Georgia border (maybe)

 

 

Bringing a Schwinn Varsity back to life (Part 2)

If you read the last post, you know that the new color is green—straight out of a spray can from Lowe’s.

I stripped off the old paint, sprayed on a primer coat, and then sprayed green onto every part that wasn’t chrome plated. Here’s the bike in my custom paint rack.

Another cheap bicycle
I found a female Schwinn Varsity and brought her home to keep the male version company. Here she is, waiting for a rehab.

Originally a 10-speed, she is now mostly a one-speed bike, with a misaligned front shifter and two twigs jammed into the rear derailleur to lock it on one easy-to-ride cog.

If you lose an important component
Many vintage bicycles used a steel wedge to lock the steering column into the headset. It’s an important part. It’s the part I lost.

I looked at some pictures on Google, made a few measurements, and manufactured another part in my shop. It worked!

If you lose another important component
Yeah, I lost a ferrule (or sleeve, or bushing, or whatever it’s called). The rear brake needs two of them to secure the cable into a couple of brazed-on rings. Being a bit obsessive, I ordered 50 of them, but I didn’t want to wait.

I made one that’s better than the original. It’s also shinier.

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Next time: The test ride

 

Bringing a Schwinn Varsity back to life (part 1)

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Schwinn Varsity bicycle. It was my first 10-speed bike, purchased around  1968 for a mere $65. It’s one of the most famous bicycles ever made, and millions were sold in the United States.

It’s also remarkably heavy at 43 pounds. When I found a fixer-upper at a bike shop, I bought it and cleaned it up. Here’s the story.

It was red—with lots of scratches and dirt and solidified grease. The tires were flat. The brakes were bad.

 

This serial number (below) told me it was manufactured in  1979, making it one of the later models of the Chicago Schwinn line. Didn’t matter; they’re all the same. Heavy and clunky and almost indestructible.

 

The freewheel (gear-cog cluster) was thick with crud, as was the derailleur (gear changer). Look at this mess.

And here they are, along with some bearings and the chain, after a good cleaning.

Oh yeah. I installed a new freewheel with a new low gear. It’ll make the hills a bit easier to climb.

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Next time: Deciding on a new color (See the clue above).

 

 

A not-so-leisurely ride

In keeping with our goal to ride all the trails in metro-Atlanta, Joan and I struck out for the Arabia Mountain Trail (or something like that). It’s near Panola Road, Panola Mountain, and Arabia Mountain. Here’s a map and our path (in red).

It was to be a 10-mile out-and-back ride (five miles each way), but a wrong turn changed the ride into 12.52 miles. The green and red dots show our beginning and end points—an elementary school at one of the trail heads.

Defying gravity
It was a course full of steep hills, hairpin turns, and leaf-covered trails. Here’s Joan cresting a steep hill and proving that she can maintain her balance at under one mile-per-hour.

 

Please don’t  bother our facility
On the way back, I saw several of these signs along a barbed-wire fence. What is this all about? A secret government project? A private club for the very, very wealthy? An experimental farm producing experimental food?

 

The answer!
I think this next sign, all by itself, would be enough to keep people out.

But I keep wondering how someone could tamper with sludge.

 

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Another sign, not on the bicycle ride
I can think of two possible misspelled words. Can you?

If you try this Website and click on the blue arrows, you can hear several ways to pronounce phlegm (or maybe flim).

http://www.forvo.com/word/phlegm/

On that raspy note, I’ll quit.

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The three R’s: Riding, Rambo, and Rockmart

This week’s bicycle trip on the Silver Comet Trail
Joan and I left the Rambo trailhead in Dallas, GA and rode to Rockmart and back. That’s our longest ride so far—30 miles!

Speed bump on the trail
This little lady was parked in the westbound lane. Or maybe she was moving—it’s hard to tell. Most box turtles are omnivores and eat insects, vegetation, and fruit. A few are vegans and eat only vegetables and fruit.

Just in case you encounter a box turtle, you tell its gender by looking at its lower shell: convex for female and concave for male. Or you can look at its eyes. Males supposedly have red or orange eyes. I use the second method to avoid embarrassment (for the turtle and for me).

Beautiful downtown Rockmart
The Silver Comet Trail curves through the old town alongside a nice stream, then through the downtown area. This takes about one minute.

Bicycle parking is available overlooking the lovely Rockmart Water Filtration Plant.

We had lunch at The Rock café, which seems to cater to people who wander off the Trail looking for food and drink.

 

Going back, we stopped at Coot’s Lake, where Joan demanded that I pose for a picture.

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