Outdoor Quick Snaps
Chartiers Creek
Ohio River
Chartiers
John at the Charteirs Shit Run off
Seasons:Fall
Ohiopyle
Posted in Kayaking, Mountain Biking, Outdoors, Photography, Riding by Chris with no comments yet.
South Park Three Quarter Loop
Quick Ride in the muck and cool air. Found some friends who helped me out!
Wary
Curious
Over the Bar: 0 times
Miles: about 10
Click for the full GPS track and stats.
Posted in Mountain Biking, Outdoors, Photography, Ride Reports, Riding, Wildlife and tagged Mountain Bike, Mountain Biking, Ride Report, Rides, South Park by admin with 2 comments.
Let’s do some climbing!
Mingo
GPSies claims at this is an easier ride than my typical South Park loop, with a climb index of 44.65 versus about 49 for the standard South Park 11 mile loop. But somehow I’m not usually tempted to bail on my South Park ride at mile 8…
At any rate, no times over the bars, because when you’re always climbing it’s hard to pick up enough speed to do something stupid.
Click here for the full GPS Track and statistics
>
Rare bit of flat terrain
Take a rest
Random picnic table in the middle of nowhere
Creek bed silt
Posted in Mountain Biking, Outdoors, Ride Reports, Riding, Uncategorized by admin with no comments yet.
DIY Xterra Interior Bike Rack
Nissan's Interior Bike Rack
When I bought the Nissan Xterra heavily advertised is a neat little item: an interior bike rack. It mounts into the rails in the back and has a quick release skewer that mounted the front fork.
Big problem: no one bought them. Nissan had only 4 of them in their inventory nationwide, and the total cost to get one to Pittsburgh was about $450. Fuck that.
So instead, I made a simple one out of Thule and Yakima parts (pics below). Here is how:
With the exception of the hardware, I got all parts from eBay. You’ll need a saw of some sort with a metal blade (I used a Sawzall), and a drill with a 3/4″ bit to drill 2 holes per bike mount.
The process was simple…
Get a pair of 50″ Thule square crossbars and cut to fit the interior. I believe I my final length was 46″.
Then using a Yakima Blockhead as a template, drill two 3/4″ holes in the crossbar. Line the holes up where you’d like the bike to sit in the truck. The car is wide enough to accommodate two, possibly 3 bikes depending on how you space them. Best bet it to put one behind the drivers seat and one behind the front passenger.
Once the holes are drilled, mount the Blockhead to your crossbar with 3/4″ bolts.
Thread two 6mm x 50mm bolts through the bolt holes of 2 Yakima 4H mounts. The ends of these bolts will thread into the metal track bolt that came with your rear net mounts.
Thread the large holes of the 4H mounts of your cross bar, insert the track bolts into the tracks in the rear of the car, then tighten them down. Viola, you’ve got an interior bike rack. Remove your front wheel from the front fork, and latch your front fork into the Yakima quick release.
Parts List and Approximate Costs
| Part | New | Used | Link |
| Yakima Blockhead (9mm Skewer, nonlocking) | $30 | $20 to $30 | Link |
| Yakima 4H Mounts | $35 for 4 | $20 for 4 | Ebay |
| 50″ Thule Square Crossbars | $80/pair | $20/pair | Ebay |
| 2 6mm x 50mm bolts | $2 | ||
| 4 3/4″ x 2″ nylon bolts/nuts | $2 | ||
| Total | $150 | $64 |
Interior Rack
Interior Rack
Posted in Mechanical, Mountain Biking, Outdoors, Riding by admin with 10 comments.