Sapinero - Crawford, CO - Big Mountains, Small Towns.

July 1, 2022

Sapinero - Crawford, CO

The view from our cabin was outstanding. We were right next to the highway, but above it.

Jacinto wasn’t in a hurry to leave in the morning.

You can see where our road goes from the cut in the mountain.

This ranch had an elegant gate and a long, long paved driveway.

Whomever designed these rumble strips deserves an award. They are bicycle and motorcycle sized!

I think this is the exact spot where a bear came crashing down out of the woods so close to Spoon’s handlebars that I was afraid he was going to get a ride on the bars like a circus bear! I was hyperventilating and it didn’t even happen to me!

Mule ear flowers were the flowers of the day.

Good friend Sheila brought me a new bike.

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jerry witherspoonKelly isn't this the climb where you and I swapped breathless switchbacks, and later have a huge black bear run across right in front of us? And isn’t Crawford where I left my credit card in a cafe that closed after we left? If so I remember that river at our motel where we were able to sit on a deck alongside. Great memories if so.

spoon
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2 years ago

I can't get a single photo to load, or the map either. That's a shame because today was a day to remember.

Oren and I were out the door on time, the air was crisp and cool. We won't have many more mornings like this, we are heading to lower altitudes.

We rode less than a mile before the turn to Highway 92. I told Oren to go ahead and ride his ride. I expected to be slow today. This is my favorite ride in Colorado, still. I was a little concerned about the traffic today, because there is a big construction project on Highway 50 between Gunnison and Montrose. 92 is the alternate. This is the holiday weekend. Either traffic wasn't going around, or not many people want to drive the long alternate.

I was pleased with how little traffic we had today. To start with there was only infrequent ranch trucks. Later in the day, other cars showed up.

I'm not sure if we are at the perfect elevation, or perhaps the correct time of the summer. The flowers were outstanding today. Finally, I saw some indian paintbrush that was tall. I've seen a few short nubs on previous days.

For me, starting in Sapinero was the perfect choice. It cut 20 miles and 1,000 feet of climbing off of the day. I felt fresh at the start of the climb, and continued to feel good all day. Which isn't to say that I wasn't happy to have the day finish! It doesn't seem to matter how many miles I ride in a day, I'm always ready to be done!

Oren and I saw each other a couple of times. Mostly he was way out front.

My bike is still having problems. It makes a creak/groan/snap noise when I start pedaling and when I shift. Towards the end of the day, when I shifted, the pedals sometimes slipped. Once, right before town, the chain locked up. I am not sure if I shifted first? I think I did. One minute I was pedaling, the next minute, I was not.

We stopped at Chico's hamburgers at the gas station before town. We had GIANT hamburgers that were delicious. We talked about my problem. Oren sat on my bike, and applied pressure to the pedals. He could hear the noise I'm talking about.

Today and tomorrow is the closest I will be to home during this trip. Cutting the story short - I explored uHaul's and borrowing a pickup from a friend who lives near here. In the end, a friend from home is driving my van with my extra bike, so I can trade bikes. The extra bike has one rack instead of two. The rear cassette has a 34 tooth instead of a 36. The 36 tooth on my touring bike is a new concession this year to getting older. I love that extra gear, it's my favorite climbing gear. I will miss it, but I need a bike I'm sure will go down the road. We have three weeks left of the tour. With all of those odd noises, I'm not sure my touring bike will go the distance.

I did have an excellent riding day. Shifting was good, and didn't start making noises and slipping until the very end of the day.

We are checked into our rooms at the Hitching Post. Bikes outside only. Internet is very poor. Oren can't access his voicemail. I can't load photos here. It's unfortunate that we didn't have as good of an end to the day as the actual ride.

If you are coming to Colorado - put this one on your list. It is a very long climb, but steady and gradual. Views down into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison are amazing.

OK - It looks like I can get the map to load, but I can't get a single photo up.

Tomorrow we have a mostly downhill ride to Delta, my home town. Oren is going straight down the highway. Jacinto and I are both taking back road routes, although I think Jacinto's is longer than mine.

Today's ride: 43 miles (69 km)
Total: 1,017 miles (1,637 km)

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Comment on this entry	Comment	19

Mike AylingHi Kelly
If you get a Rohloff you will be most unlikely to experience shifting problems in the future. You will have to stick to chain however as belts will not work with your chain run.
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2 years ago

Kelly IniguezTo Mike AylingYou and Jacinto think alike! Except, he says I should sell the bike! As a backup statement, he said Rohloffs are better.
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2 years ago

Kathleen JonesKeep the bike, get a Rohloff. I wanted to put a Rohloff on my trike a few months ago but they weren’t to be had for love nor money. Ended up with a used Nuvinci/Enviolo and I love it. Good thing, because my 2010 trike used a weird custom cassette that isn’t made any more. It was the Nuvinci or a new trike. Hey ….

Looking forward to seeing the photos of this favorite ride of yours.
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2 years ago

Benjamin MeyersonHi Kelly:

One of my favorite roads in CO as well, my wife and I did it in the opposite direction from Paonia to Gunnison on a Tour in 2015.

Hey just a hunch but could your shifting issue possibly be a sticky freehub needing lube, a new bearing, or replacement?

I've had that issue and you get all kinds of grinding and squealing noises. The noises tend to get worse after the freehub heats up and is especially noticeable on long descents where you are freewheeling a lot. You also notice a bit of play when you press on the cranks like you say Oren noticed . And grinding when shifting due to freehub seizing from extra stress from the shift. I noticed today you said the issue was worse on the latter half of your ride which was mainly downhill so this makes some sense to me.

As you suspected, it makes no sense to me that shortening your chain was necessary as the chain was not stretched out and your shifting was 100% fine before the problems started.

What that could have done though is increase the tension on the whole system, keeping the freehub from slipping and forcing the shifts a bit which could account for the slight improvement in shifting you had today at the start until your freewheeling descent?

If you can find a competent shop - looks like there are a couple in Delta - this could easily be checked and potentially solved by a quick service to lube the freehub body at the least, a bearing replacement, or at worse a new freehub which is a quick easy switch and around a $50 part.

Or maybe I'm full of it but thought I'd throw 2 cents out there fwiw?
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2 years ago

Kelly IniguezTo Kathleen JonesOne concern I have is having enough gears for the climbing I do. Jacinto can stand up and muscle over the climbs. I need to sit and spin. When he bought the Rodriguez Bike, we had a major conversation with Smiley @ Rodriguez about how low of gearing Rohloff will warranty. Now I can't remember the exact number, but Jacinto's bike is geared just within those ranges.

I need to give the Rohloff more consideration. Thank you for chiming in. I like having a female perspective.
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2 years ago

Kelly IniguezTo Benjamin MeyersonBen,

I had to go to youtube and watch a video, to make sure I knew what a free hub is. John (the Lake City mechanic) said that my free hub was good. I didn't see any pitting like in the video. John did grease it. Possibly the bearings are an issue. Do Phil Wood hubs have sealed bearings? I have had this rear wheel for quite a while (5 years?), but have always heard that they last forever.

The cassette was new this spring. I took the bike in to my LBS for a tune up in early May. I rode ~500 miles before the tour, and 1,000 miles so far - so, 1,500 miles since the tune up. We did not replace the chain then. Troy (LBS) said it was good for 2,000 more miles. My recumbent chain tends to last a very long time, as it is 2.5 regular chains, so doesn't go through the gears very often. Or, so I've been told about recumbent chains.

It's a puzzle. I'm glad I was able to make it all work - especially without missing a riding day. I will take the bike back to my LBS when I get back.

One thing I didn't mention is that John/Lake City put a spacer behind the cassette so it wouldn't wobble. He said that isn't typically needed with nine speeds, but that's the only way he could keep the cassette from wobbling. Do you think that would have anything to do with the problem? The cassette isn't wobbling now. I did check that out.
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2 years ago

Kathleen JonesTo Kelly IniguezYes, more pondering on that Rohloff. One thing about the Enviolo is it’s not indexed - you can stop anywhere within its range. But I think its range isn’t quite as wide as the Rohloff.

I used a 24t chainring on my 2001 Stratus so I could go up the hills around here. I’d keep that in mind for use with the Rohloff.
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2 years ago

Benjamin Meyerson

Kelly, not sure I can answer all that and not familiar with Phil Wood hubs, given the symptoms you described freehub seemed like a possibility. Phil, King, and other high end hubs can certainly last a long time but they all need at least some routine maintenance. RE: cassette spacer, again, if your shifting was excellent before the problems started that likely wasn't the problem, but if the cassette lockring is tight and you have wobble in the cassette you need a spacer.
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2 years ago

Keith AdamsTo Kathleen Jones"... my 2010 trike used a weird custom cassette that isn’t made any more"

If that is / was the Shimano Capreo cassette you can still find 9 and 10 speed NOS on eBay. I got a 9 speed last December ahead of my trip this summer, from a guy in Germany of all places. But they are getting a bit scarce.
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2 years ago

marilyn swettSounds like you have the problem worked out. So you have a Phil Woods hub?? Don says it sounds like you have a broken bearing or pawl or spring. And yes, we can attest that Phil Woods hubs DO wear out and can break! We have them on the tandems and several times have had issues on tours, and had to have repairs done on the road. So they don't last forever. Don suggested maybe you could just swap out your back wheel? Although at this point of your tour, maybe just switching bikes would be better.
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2 years ago

Kelly IniguezTo marilyn swettI did consider swapping wheels. The cassettes are different sizes, so the chain length might have needed adjusted? I thought this would be more of a sure thing, just getting a new bike. This bike also had a tune up, as it's the bike I'm planning to take to Tucson. However, I'm not sure I rode this bike after the tune up. Maybe 1-2 times . . . we'll see how the day goes.
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2 years ago

Kelly IniguezTo marilyn swettDidn't you have a catastrophic break down on a Phil Wood rear wheel down around Durango somewhere?

If the hub has issues, I feel I've gotten my money's worth out of it. I don't track miles on components, but this one has seen plenty of use.
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2 years ago

Kathleen JonesTo Keith AdamsThat sounds about right. But I’m pretty happy with the Enviolo.
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2 years ago

Wayne EstesYour "skipping pedals" problem sounds like a freehub ratchet going bad or needing cleaning/lubrication. It's embedded in the wheel, so you can't fix the problem by swapping the cassette. In the old days, the ratchet was easier to replace because it was embedded in the freewheel instead of in the hub.
The "ghost shifting" is caused by something else, I think. Broken hub axle, loose hub bearings, who knows. I suspect that swapping the rear wheel would have fixed your problems, allowing you to ride the preferred bike.
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2 years ago

Wayne EstesI'm amazed that you can still do 3900 feet of climbing in one day.
And Oren, he's in his 70's?
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2 years ago

Kelly IniguezThe Cottonwood Pass day had over 4,000 feet of climbing. It was tougher, because it had steeper pitches. This was a lot of gradual climbing, which I find much easier than the short, steep stuff.

Oren is amazing. He’s in front of me every day. He is 75.

Jacinto says he must be too young for you to comment on. He is 56.
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2 years ago

Kelly IniguezTo Wayne EstesThe bikes themselves are identical. The difference is that one has a 36 tooth cassette for easier climbing. Had I swapped wheels, I might have needed to shorten the chain?

This seemed easiest. I could have moved the other rack over, but Jacinto was fine with carrying my stuff. He had even said next year he will carry everything I don’t want. I’m not sure where that came from, as I didn’t ask, and haven’t been having performance issues. I think he has too much testosterone!
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2 years ago

Wayne EstesTo Kelly IniguezA chain that is slightly too long is not a problem. At worst, the lower chain will droop slightly if you use your highest granny gear. You probably never use that gear anyway, and it still works.
You can also swap the cassette IF you have the correct splined tool, a big wrench, and a chain whip.
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2 years ago

Kelly IniguezTo Benjamin MeyersonBen,

It is a month later, but I thought I'd come back and tell the rest of the story. I took the bike to Troy/LBS. He agreed with your assessment that it is the hub. He further said that they don't usually service hubs, even on the 'big' tune up. I'm not so happy about that one. Troy said if he gives the wheel a spin, and the hub feels bad, then he recommends taking it apart. That's an extra $45.

He pulled the axel out of the hub, cleaned and lubed it, said it doesn't look pitted. I've ridden four consecutive days on the bike since then, and it's been fine. I'm still getting some groaning when I apply pressure after a stop or coasting. Everything works properly though. I'm some concerned about the creak/groan. It's a good thing that I don't have a tour coming up!

So - that's my update - I could have gone with a wheel swap instead of a bike swap, had I been more knowledgeable about bike mechanics.
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2 years ago