Good weekend on the Hillborne
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Jason Fuller
Dec 16, 2021, 7:32:19 AM12/16/21
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I know I've been lacking on adventure content on the Bombadil the past couple months. This is actually because the Bombadil is not available to ride right now... more on that in the new year but it's a good thing.
But this past weekend I had a lot of good experiences with the Hillborne - there was a low-key organized gravel ride "CXmas" happening on the Sunday, but the weather looked terrible, so I chose to get out for a long-ish, road-ish ride on Saturday. 75km total with about 15km of gravel paths.
Buuuuut then I decided to get up early and go on the gravel ride anyway despite being a bit stiff and sore from the previous day. In my mind, I was going to ride to the meet point (coffee shop about 10km from home) and play it by ear.
The ride started with a series of rooty, steep trails that connected through the neighborhood to the start of the forest. The route then followed a network of trails up the Seymour valley, which is the same valley featured in nearly all my Bombadil photos. The Hillborne was on extralight Babyshoe slicks, which are certainly a bit under-gunned for these trails but keeping mindful of that, no issues.
The rain started at the start of the ride, and became heavier as the ride went on. At the ~20km mark, the rain turned to snow. It snowed hard, and the snow was wet. It was a particularly slippery snow, but the gravel underneath provided enough traction most of the time - definitely had to be careful though; spinning out when trying to pedal up hills reminded me there wasn't a lot of traction available.
But this past weekend I had a lot of good experiences with the Hillborne - there was a low-key organized gravel ride "CXmas" happening on the Sunday, but the weather looked terrible, so I chose to get out for a long-ish, road-ish ride on Saturday. 75km total with about 15km of gravel paths.
Buuuuut then I decided to get up early and go on the gravel ride anyway despite being a bit stiff and sore from the previous day. In my mind, I was going to ride to the meet point (coffee shop about 10km from home) and play it by ear.
The ride started with a series of rooty, steep trails that connected through the neighborhood to the start of the forest. The route then followed a network of trails up the Seymour valley, which is the same valley featured in nearly all my Bombadil photos. The Hillborne was on extralight Babyshoe slicks, which are certainly a bit under-gunned for these trails but keeping mindful of that, no issues.
The rain started at the start of the ride, and became heavier as the ride went on. At the ~20km mark, the rain turned to snow. It snowed hard, and the snow was wet. It was a particularly slippery snow, but the gravel underneath provided enough traction most of the time - definitely had to be careful though; spinning out when trying to pedal up hills reminded me there wasn't a lot of traction available.
By the time we reached the lake at the end of the valley, there was about 3" of snow on the ground and traction was so bad that even on flat ground, my pedaling did not result in forward motion at all. My fenders packed with the wet snow to the point that my wheels wouldn't spin when I pushed the bike, they just dragged. I was 30 km from home at this point and 10km of it would be in these conditions. Wooops.
But thankfully, even though I was the only member of the group with slicks (and with tight fitting fenders), the group agreed that the paved path was too slippery to ride and we took the gravel service road (not open to the public, but given the safety risks of the parkway, we felt we had a good argument if we got stopped); and I broke all the snow out of the fender with a stick (which I had to use once more before we got far enough out that conditions improved).
A good adventure with the "road bike" for sure! I sure as heck love the Hillborne. I've had it 25 months now, and am nearing 6000 km on it which is the most mileage I've had on any bike - and I am as sure as ever that I would never sell this bike! There has never been a bike I could say that with such conviction before.
But thankfully, even though I was the only member of the group with slicks (and with tight fitting fenders), the group agreed that the paved path was too slippery to ride and we took the gravel service road (not open to the public, but given the safety risks of the parkway, we felt we had a good argument if we got stopped); and I broke all the snow out of the fender with a stick (which I had to use once more before we got far enough out that conditions improved).
A good adventure with the "road bike" for sure! I sure as heck love the Hillborne. I've had it 25 months now, and am nearing 6000 km on it which is the most mileage I've had on any bike - and I am as sure as ever that I would never sell this bike! There has never been a bike I could say that with such conviction before.
st nick
Dec 16, 2021, 3:38:41 PM12/16/21
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Jason,
I enjoyed reading of your Hillborne adventure.
The great pics really helped on getting drawn into the the experience.
I also have an orange Hillborne which has caliper brakes.
I wish you more great adventures on your Hillborne.
Side question to any reading this.
How do you determine the year of manufacture of Rivendell bikes?
I think mine is from around 2019.
Paul in Dallas
.
Jason Fuller
Dec 17, 2021, 4:42:21 AM12/17/21
to RBW Owners Bunch
Cheers Paul! I have had the probably unrealistic goal of figuring out just that - to no avail, really, thus far. For most models, there are subtle differences that can indicate the batch but not always. For Sams, the colour can be a pretty good indicator along with a few minor details like the seat lug - and whether it's canti or side pull brakes. Mine's from the 2018/2019 batch
brendonoid
Dec 18, 2021, 8:37:22 AM12/18/21
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Another great ride report, Jason. You always manage to capture the magic of a good bike ride with your photography. Thankyou.
Eric Marth
Dec 18, 2021, 7:46:00 PM12/18/21
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Thanks for sharing, Jason. I always dig your pics and write-ups. Do you have a blog? I'd encourage you to start one as a place to archive all these great stories! In the Wordpress, Blogger style of old.
Jason Fuller
Dec 18, 2021, 11:40:17 PM12/18/21
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Hmm good idea Eric, I do have jasonmytail.com which is where the Rivendell timeline project is in progress as well. It's a bare-bones website but I can definitely have a ride report blog section! Something to do over the holiday break perhaps. Thanks for the kind words Eric and Brendon!
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Jason Fuller
Dec 19, 2021, 5:15:47 AM12/19/21
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Okay I've already done a bunch of updating on the wee website - haven't put this one up yet but I put the original Bombadil ride report from a year-ish ago up! This is the "un-cut" version before whittling it down to fit within google groups' maximum post size. Also allows for clicking to hi-res photos, which is nice.
https://www.jasonmytail.com/2021/12/19/seymour-valley-loop/
https://www.jasonmytail.com/2021/12/19/seymour-valley-loop/
Of note, the partially-complete Riv timeline is on the site and I'm starting to populate a bikes summary with links to a writeup on each bike (very much wip)
Jason Fuller
Dec 20, 2021, 5:33:37 AM12/20/21
to RBW Owners Bunch
New ride report from today on the Hillborne! Poor bike is in desperate need of maintenance now, basically everything that moves is making a bad sound at this point. I'm just hitting 6000km on it, so I will be tearing it down to the frame over the holiday break for some much needed love.
But it got the job done today on a challenging route that has left me physically in shambles!
https://www.jasonmytail.com/2021/12/20/pitt-addington-winter-solsticeish/
But it got the job done today on a challenging route that has left me physically in shambles!
https://www.jasonmytail.com/2021/12/20/pitt-addington-winter-solsticeish/
Eric Marth
Dec 20, 2021, 4:14:53 PM12/20/21
to RBW Owners Bunch
Very rad write-up and ride, Jason. This is lookin' like a proper blog! Great work :)
Willet Mather
Dec 29, 2021, 5:30:34 PM12/29/21
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Willet M.
Jared Wilson
Dec 29, 2021, 8:14:24 PM12/29/21
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Wow Jason, that looks smoking!
Great take on PG/SG, can't wait to see it built up again.
WilletM
Dec 29, 2021, 10:54:40 PM12/29/21
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Willet M.
Jason Fuller
Dec 30, 2021, 2:47:58 AM12/30/21
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I'm sure I'll be quite precious about locking it up for a while, but rest assured I won't be precious about riding it!
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brendonoid
Dec 30, 2021, 6:22:33 AM12/30/21
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Oh that colour...
Can't wait to see more photos!
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