JdFinley.com

Fulltime RV Living Adventures

Committed

I’ve done it.  I’ve registered for a cycling event. Not a race. A ride. I am now telling the world. I know that it is easy to skip doing the things that we keep to ourselves.  Once we admit our goal/intention to others, we suddenly have a much more difficult time in sneaking away from… [Read More]

New Bike: Giant OCR 2

I really enjoy cycling.  I love the time spent on the bike, enjoying the quiet, thinking, feeling my body work, getting away from all of ones concerns, hearing the tires on the road, and lots of conversation with God.  Writers who are cyclists have been attempting to capture this feeling with words for years and… [Read More]

MTB Pedal Update

I’ve been using Shimano M424 pedals for awhile now – about a year. Overall, my review holds true.  Recently, however;  these pedals started “squeaking.”    The noise seemed to be coming from the plastic/phenolic/composite “platform” that circles the actual pedal.  It rotates on the pedal shaft but there are no bearings.  I tried cleaning, lubing, and… [Read More]

MTB Ride: Hilso Trails in Gallup, NM – Part 2

Note: This is the second part of the adventure.  See part one here. Due to the rain last evening, I decided to stick to the more heavily used trails – at least compared to what I was on yesterday.  Mud isn’t the end of the world, even for a guy from the desert southwest, but… [Read More]

MTB Ride: Hilso Trails in Gallup, NM – Part 1

Over the last few months, I have read some very positive things about the mountain bike trails around Gallup, NM.  I found a trail guide for sale online (here -I ordered the first edition but the second edition is not available – kool!), ordered it, and upon review; decided I needed to go try these trails… [Read More]

Smoked a Strava Segment

I was notified this week that I am in fifth place on a Strava segment that I did not even know existed!! The segment is the Camino Del Llano Climb which rises up out of the metropolis of Belen, NM onto the mesa west of town where the Belen airport is located. It is 1.3… [Read More]

Clipless Pedal Maintenance

I seem to learn something every day.  Today it was that not only does pedal maintenance exist for clipless pedals but it is required. I posted here that I went clipless (almost a year ago).  I really like clipless pedals (I’m using these Shimano pedals) and the improved performance is obvious to me (up stroke… [Read More]

San Mateo Mountain Bike Ride

I LOVE the west!! I’ve been itching for a good back country mountain bike ride for awhile but schedule has just not allowed it.  Things opened up for this past weekend and I jumped at the chance.  I decided to give the San Mateo Mountains a shot. The San Mateo Mountains are about 45 miles… [Read More]

Review: Michelin WildRace’R MTB Tires

I’ve been running the 26″ x 2.0″ Michelin WildRace’R tires on my mountain bike since August 2012. All of my riding is in dry conditions. When I ride trails, I change to a knobby tire so I’ve used these tires primarily for asphalt and dirt/gravel road riding. Michelin describes the WildRace’R tires as follows: “Features… [Read More]

Cactus Needles

I’ve lived near Albuquerque for nearly seven years but had never ridden the Sandia Foothills Open Space trails. I decided to change that this past weekend. Saturday dawned a beautiful day. An early morning flight always makes a day even better. After landing, I loaded up my bike, gear, and liquids and headed for Albuquerque. … [Read More]