2015-01-31 - Park HQ Loop OR A Gloomy Day in the Desert

Bike: Road
Miles: 9.0
Start Time 4:05
Moving Time: 0:44:29
Elevation(Ft): 254
Avg Spd(M): 12.2
Max Spd(M): 31.3
Temp Out:
Temp In: 58

A quick ride to Park HQ to get some cobwebs out. I cut it short because it was chilly. Super Bowl tomorrow.

2015-01-28 - Lunch at Luckie Park and a Ride Through Town

Bike: Vilano 3 Speed
Miles: 8.8
Start Time 1:42
Moving Time: 0:55:18
Elevation(Ft): 259
Avg Spd(M): 9.5
Max Spd(M): 25.9
Temp Out: 64
Temp In: 63

It started out to be a 68 degree day so I decided to ride to Luckie Park on my 3 speed and eat a sandwich then lollygag around a bit before returning home. Sadly before I got around to going clouds came in with a cool breeze. It was still a nice outing but not with the anticipated Spring weather.

2015-01-27 - Park HQ/Mesquite Springs Loop

Bike: Road
Miles: 10.2
Start Time 4:29
Moving Time: 0:48:54
Elevation(Ft): 357
Avg Spd(M): 12.6
Max Spd(M): 34.0
Temp Out:
Temp In:

A chilly evening ride to park HQ and around through town to Mesquite Springs and Adobe.

New acquisition for bike touring. Hopefully it will make camping in the boondocks more appealing.

2015-01-25 - Lear Road Loop

Bike: Road
Miles: 19.2
Start Time 12:26
Moving Time: 1:38:49
Elevation(Ft): 734
Avg Spd(M): 11.6
Max Spd(M): 27.7
Temp Out:
Temp In: 70

Warm afternoon ride to Lear Road and return via Indian Trail. A storm is approaching from the south which must account for the variable wind directions: N at home, NW on 2 Mile Road, NNE coming back on Indian Trail. It all conspired to rob me of my hard earned tailwind on the return leg.

2014-01-23 - Park HQ Loop

Bike: Road
Miles: 8.3
Start Time 1:30
Moving Time: 0:50:00
Elevation(Ft): 255
Avg Spd(M): 12.0
Max Spd(M): 26.0
Temp Out: 63
Temp In: 63

I failed to notice that my bicycle app had my 160 mile motorcycle ride home from LA on it when I started to the stats for this ride are extrapolated from a previous ride of the same route. This is a beautiful spring day (in January). I kept it short and sweet since I have not ridden since last Sunday.

Some of the daisies at Park HQ are flowering.

2015-01-22 - Under Sink Filter Faucet Installation

I originally set the filter (above) up, per the online video, cut into the cold water line to the sink faucet. I had quite a drill figuring out what the necessary fittings were and rounding them up because my sink is plumbed with 3/8" Pex (which is not so common as 1/2") and the filter uses 1/4" tubing and fittings. For the input side of the filter I ended up screwing 3/8" to 1/2" pipe thread and 1/4" x 1/2" pipe thread couplers together because a 3/8" to 1/4" reducing coupler is not made. This allowed a transition from the 3/8" feed line to the 1/4" filter input tube. For the faucet side I used a 1/4" to 1/2" female faucet fitting. The 1/4" filter output tube plugged directly into this fitting. Incidentally all the fitting used were Sharkbite brand push to fit fittings. The tubing is pushed into the fittings and they seal. They can be undone and reused.

The above setup worked fine but the drop from 3/8" to 1/4" tubing reduced the water volume from the cold faucet significantly and I did not like the idea of paying to filter all the cold water I use for purposes other than ingesting. It occurred to me that a separate filtered water faucet would be the way to go. I quickly located and ordered one from Amazon. The listing says it uses 1/4" tubing. When it arrived I saw that it is 1/4" tubing but outside diameter and not inside which seems to be a more standard way to talk about plumbing pipe and tubing sizes although it appears that water lines are referred to by ID and small things like water filters, ice makers and so on are referenced by OD. Sharkbite fittings are referenced by ID with a couple of exceptions which I do not understand and the other commonly available brand, Watts, are all called by OD. I will refer to all tubes and fittings by ID in this document.

All this means that to hook up the new faucet and restore the sink cold water volume I would need a "Tee" to go from 3/8" (feed) to 3/8" (to the sink faucet and 1/4" (to the filter) and a reducing coupler of 1/4" to 1/8" to go from the filter output tube to the filter faucet input. On the Home Depot web site it appeared that both fitting would be available at my local store. When I got there I found the 1/4" x 1/8" coupler with no problem. Sadly there was no 3/8" x 3/8" x 1/4" "Tee" to be had. They did have a 3/8" x 3/8" x 3/8" "Tee". I realized I could use this fitting and cut a short piece of 3/8" tubing from my current setup with the 3/8" to 1/4" reducer attached and stick the 3/8 tube into the side of the "Tee" (see photos).

When I got home and the dust had settled and I decided to proceed with this project I indentified the spot on the sink for the new faucet and drilled a hole using my new DeWalt 12 volt lithium drill. Contrary to what I had read on some web forums I had no issues drilling through the porcelain. I put masking tape over the site and started with a small pilot hole and used progressively larger bits until I had the required 1/2" hole. I almost purchase a $10 "tile" bit at Home Depot but decided to wing it with the old 1/2" twist drill bit I have on had and it worked fine.

It was no problem to fasten the faucet to the sink using the supplied washers and nut.

Next I turned off the water then cut the feed line about 2" before the reducing coupler. Next removed the fitting from the sink faucet and re-installed the original fitting and piece of 3/8" pex I had saved from the original filter install. I then plugged the new 3/8" x 3/8" x 3/8" "Tee" onto the feed line and plugged the sink faucet tube and the filter input tube (the piece of tube with the 3/8" to 1/4" reducing coupler on it). In the photo below the white line on the left is the 3/8" pex going to the sink faucet, on the righr is the feed lin coming from the back of the trailer and the blue is the 1/4" tube going into the filter.

All that remained was to plug the 1/4" x 1/8" reducing coupler onto the 1/4" filter output tube and plug the 1/8" faucet line into the other end then fasten the other end of the 1/8" tube to the filter faucet using the supplied compression fitting. The dark blue line is the 1/4" tube coming from the filter. The light blue is the 1/4" filter input tube (the camera makes them look like different sizes) and the white tube is the 1/8" tube going to the filter faucet.

I went outside and turned the water on. When I got back inside I could see water coming from 2 of the 3 joints on the 3/8" x 3/8" x 3/8" "Tee". This is of course the big nightmare on a job like this. If I could not get the leaks stopped I would have no water until I could find a better fitting (this "Tee" is a Watts plastic fitting and does not seem as robust as the brass Sharkbites) and/or new less rigid 3/8" Pex tubing. I got down on my knees and (no I did not pray) pushed on the leaking tubes and manipulated the fitting until as if by magic the whole thing stopped leaking. So far so good.

Filling the coffee pot with filtered water (and I do have full flow to the sink faucet again too).

2015-01-19 - To 29 Palms by Ural

Bike: Ural
Miles: 161.56
Start Time 12:00
Moving Time: 3:13:33
Elevation(Ft):
Avg Spd(M):
Max Spd(M):
Temp Out:
Temp In:

I left Tara's about noon and got home at 4:00. I had gassed up in Long Beach a few miles from Tara's Saturday and got gas once in Moreno Valley on CA-60. The traffic on CA-91 was more intense than usual with a bad combination of holiday drivers, many trucks and the usual high speed crew. Fortunately it calmed down beyond the I-5. I got to warm and had to take my vest off near Corona. Again the weather was ideal if a bit warm along the Santa Ana River and I enjoyed the ride across both directions of the CA-60 which I had not had the Ural on before Friday.

2015-01-18 - Beach Ride with Tara

Bike: Road
Miles: 13.5
Start Time 1:29
Moving Time: 1:49:50
Elevation(Ft): 37
Avg Spd(M): 7.4
Max Spd(M): 13.2
Temp Out:
Temp In:

We dropped Jordan, my oldest grandson, off at a friends house then parked on the bluff near the south end of the bike trail. We had a leisurely ride north to the border of the Chevron facility and power plant at El Segundo. It was a pleasant 70+ degree afternoon and we had a chance to have a nice conversation. Mike and Phoenix, Jordan's brother, were at a soccer tourney in Corona.

2015-01-17 - Beach Ride with Doug

Bike: Road
Miles: 45.9
Start Time 10:19
Moving Time: 4:42:47
Elevation(Ft): 2,209
Avg Spd(M): 10.5
Max Spd(M): 32.4
Temp Out:
Temp In:

This was my buddy Doug's first outdoor ride since his knee surgery several months ago. He is still too fast for me. I chased him all the way to the far end of Laguna Beach. We turned back at the top of a big 4 mile drop into Newport Beach. Doug was getting worn out and I was mildly concerned about getting back as I am not used to riding this kind of distance now. We stopped at Taco Bell in Laguna and had some lunch then made our way home.

The ride through Laguna on the Pacific Coast Highway was somewhat harrowing as there is no bike lane and the Saturday traffic was heavy. South of Laguna there is bike lane or the route leaves the highway for various trails or residential streets. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed the ride back.

As soon as we got back to Doug's trailer I packed up and headed for my daughters in Rancho Palos Verdes. It was a 60 mile trip and I hoped to get there before dark which i almost did. At least I got off the 405 which is the worst section of freeway on the route, before it was pitch dark. I arrived about 6:00.

2016-01-16 - By Ural to San Onofre Beach

Bike: Ural
Miles: 154.9
Start Time 1:13
Moving Time: 3:33:18
Elevation(Ft):
Avg Spd(M):
Max Spd(M):
Temp Out:
Temp In:

I got loaded up and left home just before noon. The weather was ideal for a ride, clear and not hot and not cold. I had to stop at the local auto parts store to get some oil as the engine level was low. I got gas in Joshua Tree and again at lake Elsinore. I took CA-60 to the 215 then south to Perris where I got on CA-74 which I took to Elsinore then over the hill (Ortega Highway) to I-5 at San Jaun Capistrano. I arrived at Doug's campsite at 4:00. Since he is a civilian Navy employee he can use the Marine beach facility and he was parked right across the street from the sand. I unloaded then changed clothes and we went a few miles north into San Clemente for Mexican food. After dinner we returned to the trailer and visited until bedtime. I was pretty tired and went to sleep relatively early, around 10:00.

2015-01-14 - To JTNP HQ and Home Through Town

Bike: Road
Miles: 10.1
Start Time 1:13
Moving Time: 0:53:34
Elevation(Ft): 253
Avg Spd(M): 13.3
Max Spd(M): 28.6
Temp Out: 61
Temp In: 65

A cool afternoon with a brisk N-NW wind. I saw a pretty serious accident at the junction of Utah and 62. The presumed high speed vehicle was off the road in the desert to the SW of the intersection several hundred feet. It was upright bnut looked like it had rolled more than once to get there. I think the second vehicle was in the roadway but I am not sure as 62 was blocked from Utah to the next street to the west and there was a police person hustling traffic around the scene. I could not tell if the fabric on the driver's side of the rolled car was the airbag or a cover over a person. My guess is that the rolled car was on 62 at a high rate of speed, probably well over the limit, and the other vehicle pulled out in his path. Not good.

They aree getting serious about the park HQ work. They have fenced off the building.

2015-01-12 - To the Airport and Home Via JTNP HQ and Town

Bike: Road
Miles: 25.2
Start Time 11:33
Moving Time: 1:59:08
Elevation(Ft): 540
Avg Spd(M): 12.7
Max Spd(M): 27.1
Temp Out: 61
Temp In: 65

A beautiful cool and cloudy day for a ride. I am increasing my mileage because I want to lose some holiday weight and also to get in better shape for a local tour in a month or two. After considerable internal debate about whether to try a trailer or stick with the tour bike and panniers I ordered a second pair of Axiom panniers and a better quality rear rack. I will stick with the touring bike at least for now.