Bicycle thread

[mgorman]

Got lucky today (no not that gutter minds). My seat post slipped down on a cub ride so I worked my tool out while pedaling to adjust at the next stop sign. Moved the post back up and oops... The bolt stripped. It felt snug enough but fell on the 1st bump. The luck part? I had a habit of breaking the heads off the top of my seat posts so I had a hose clamp around the top of the post to keep it from splitting and impaling me. That and I had used another hose clamp to fasten an old broken seat bag to the rails. Between the 2 clamps, I was able to keep my seat up and make the 20 miles home.

[Oznerol]

Pulled my mountain bike out of storage this evening; If the forecast for tomorrow is accurate, I should be getting in my first ride on dirt for the year.

[mgorman]

Our forecast is SOS, Rain

[k7]

Did 60 miles today & that was too much of a jump in mileage from the 26 last weekend. Relearned a few lessons from my cycling past and will apply those moving forward.

It was a spectacular day here in AZ - nice and cool in the morning and the temps didn't rise above 80 or so.

[slackmeyer]

Just got back from a very wet and muddy and fun mountain bike ride in the rain. Only 6-8 miles I think, and just under an hour. Which was enough, for today.

I think I'm going to go 1x9 for my drivetrain, so I only used middle ring, to make sure I'm not crazy to do this. Seems like it should work out- I'll suffer a bit on hills occasionally, but it'll be great 95% of the time.

[mgorman]

I thought about making my Paragon a 1x9 using a 32 front and a 12/23 rear with a road derailer since my SS Mtb is a 32 x 21


btw, the SS XO1 cross bike I built back up has a 38/16 and that allows me to cruise at 20 with spurts up to 24-25 and still climb pretty good.

[slackmeyer]

Originally Posted by mgorman

I thought about making my Paragon a 1x9 using a 32 front and a 12/23 rear with a road derailer since my SS Mtb is a 32 x 21


btw, the SS XO1 cross bike I built back up has a 38/16 and that allows me to cruise at 20 with spurts up to 24-25 and still climb pretty good.

Yeah, but I'm a weakling. 32/32 or 32/34 skirts along blowing up my knees territory for me. Maybe this year I'll get strong enough to think about SS, but I'm not betting on it.

[TheYeti]

Did a nice slow 28mi in 1:51 today. felt good, The guy I was riding with blew the crap out of an old Mich pro ll right in front of me scared the crap out of me. not only did sound like rifle shot, I was right on his wheel, when he flatted. No face plant,did hit brakes though.

[elchulopadre]

Hi all,

Just got home from a great day of racing! I did the Miami International Triathlon, which is the first official race of the 5150* series
(*5150? 5i50? I'm still not sure how to spell or pronounce this newfangled WTC name for an Olympic-distance tri).

So my day started out with a shot of adrenaline. I somehow managed to sleep through my TWO alarms, and woke up a mere hour before the race start. Fortunately I wasn't far from the site - but after navigating around the closed-off streets and finding a parking spot, I made it to transition juuuuuuust as they were closing. They let me in - lucky me. Fortunately, I had my stuff 'pre-laid-out' in my bag - packed in such a way that it'd be quick to take out in the right order. I dashed off to pick up my chip, and made it to the start line just as the first wave hit the water. I was in the third or fourth... whew!

The swim itself was pretty good - wet start, which is always fun, and the single-lap layout let me settle into my pace with minimal swim-jitsu once I got past the first buoy. The water was fine - low 70s, cool enough to be wetsuit-legal but warm enough that I didn't miss mine (which is currently a few thousand miles away). Nothing to report, really, other than the fact that I swam a lot straighter than usual, and that my first tri of the season reminded me what it feels like to have a noggin full of foot. Anyway. The swim went well, and I made my way around the course without too much trouble. There was a staircase out of the water, which was pretty painless to deal with, and the run back to transition was short and smooth.

While I am the proud owner of a Speed Concept 9-series, it, too, is a few thousand miles away. So I reached the conclusion that a heavy, steel, round-tubed fixie with a Brooks saddle is a better choice than a carbon superbike that's lighter AND more aero, if the fixie can make it to the race on a bike rack and the tri bike requires air travel.

So, off I went on the less-than-smooth roads of downtown Miami, enjoying my 48-16 gearing (not like I had a choice, mind you) - right until we turned into the breeze and straight at a bridge. MAN did that first bridge suck - but I mashed my way up at around a cadence of 2, and before too long I was over the hump, staring downhill and getting my legs ready to redline. Or not - I sorta cheated and had my flipflop hub flopped onto the freewheel side. But anyway. As I cruised down the bridge, I reached down to take a nice cold sip of.... wha? Where'd it...? Oh you idiot! In the rush to make it to the start line, I'd managed to leave my nice, cold gatorade in the transition bag (and therefore not in the bottle cage, where I'd hoped to find it).

Not to worry - I train mostly in hot climes, and dehydration is my middle name. So I kept spinning along, getting chicked repeatedly but remaining firmly in the lead of the 'leather parts on bike' division. Actually, I don't recommend it. My saddle didn't seem to enjoy 40k under a seawater-soaked chamois... My guess is I didn't kill it, but I know for a fact that I didn't make it stronger.

Anyway - two laps later, I pulled into T2, just about desperate for a sip of gatorade. I just stood there by my bike, chugging that stuff before even thinking about changing shoes or unclipping my helmet (that said, it's amazing how drinkable it is when you're really really thirsty). Lid off, running shoes on, racebelt in-hand, and off I went. And just as I pulled out, the elites were pulling in. I mean, I have no aspiration to be in the same lap as these guys - but can I at least start running before you guys finish? Pretty please? Just start a line directly in front of the finish line (don't cut!) and wait until I exit T2. Then you can all take turns crossing the finish line in all sorts of victorious poses, fresh as cucumbers. It's a win-win for everyone, really).

The run course wasn't too bad, actually. Not the shadiest or prettiest (running through a shopping mall?), but the course pretty much bordered the bay most of the way. Maybe it's me, but I always enjoy running along any body of water. So no complaints there - although the course wasn't 'destination-race beautiful', it wasn't a bad place to get chicked some more.

The food tent went beyond the usual bananas and bagels. In addition to the usual stuff, we had rice, beans and plantains. Not too shabby! They had tables under a tent, and I sat down across from none other than Amanda Felder! She's very friendly, and we chatted about her career and the future of the sport. She's off to Lima, Peru in a few weeks. One of the things I love about this sport is that pros are super approachable and happy to chat to us n00bs.

The race support was great - lots of people at all the water tables, plenty of water/sports drink, and a good dose of enthusiasm. The RDs and the volunteers did great with this one. Thanks, guys!

I still don't have my official times, but I finished in 2h33m - good enough for 2nd place in the Clydesdale <39 division! Woohoo! That means I now have $400 to spend on an alarm clock, as well as a spot in the 5i50/5150/whatever US Championship in Des Moines!!!

Full results to follow.

[mgorman]

Congrats elchulopadre, and on a single speed, perfect!!

Originally Posted by slackmeyer

Yeah, but I'm a weakling. 32/32 or 32/34 skirts along blowing up my knees territory for me. Maybe this year I'll get strong enough to think about SS, but I'm not betting on it.

I was just using the numbers as a reference for your 1x9

SS's are great, you pick a gear that will allow you to climb as many hills as possible and maybe have to walk one or more depending on the distance. Most of the races the hills are fast enough going down you rarely pedal anyhow unless it is a flat race.

[Gaston Gagne]

Pisgah Ranger District is a really nice place to ride a mountain bike. They maintain their trails and provide plenty of signage.

Saturday we woke up and went to the Avery Creek area. First stop Club Gap.

Club Gap has some hike a bike, but is not bad for a steep climb.








Spring is in the air.





Avery Creek Trail has a little bit of everything.







We ate lunch back at the truck and then did another climb on 477 to Bennett Gap. Bennett Gap Trail has some awesome overlooks and is super fun singletrack.















We headed back to camp to get our chef on. First we did a wood run.

Brown liquor and red meat--two of the four food groups.













Sunday morning we packed up and headed out toward Asheville, but we made a stop at Turkey Pen Gap. Perm turned us on to Squirrel Gap Trail a few summers ago, and we needed to see if it is as good as we remembered.

First you have to get to Mullinax Gap.









Why do they call it Squirrel Gap? Because it's totally nuts.

















After about 2 hrs of climbing, we turned around and did it all backwards.

[rmi03]

Great Pisgah photos!

Ryan

[Gummee!]

Did I tell y'all that I inherited a borked Fox Float R32? Well, I did. Guess who's got a semi-borked Fox Float R32 on the front of the mtn bike that he hasn't ridden since he got back to NoVA?

Guess who doesn't have a disc brake for said fork?

Guess who also doesn't have a disc compatible front wheel for said fork?

Good thing one of us isn't planning on a mtn bike ride any time soon! (you watch: some cute female-type's gonna wanna go mtn biking here next weekend!)

M

[Uncle Pollo]

K gummee .... now you got me here I'll get the grandparents to take her measurements and you could recommend me a frame for a kid.

I am thinking single speed free wheel road bike.

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by PolloAsado

K gummee .... now you got me here I'll get the grandparents to take her measurements and you could recommend me a frame for a kid.

I am thinking single speed free wheel road bike.

Hit the Redline, Specialized, or Jamis catalogs online and lemme know if you see something interesting.

M

edited to add: you been riding at all? How's the truck? etc. (PM me if you'd rather)