Bicycle thread

[k7]

Originally Posted by Gummee!

While those'd be great for JRA, for longer rides you'll want A. road pedals and B. road/tri shoes. Coupla reasons, but the biggest is stiffness. That little bitty cleat under there leads to hot spots after a while. Especially in shoes designed to be 'walk-able.'

Today's ride:
Mid 50s in the NoVA/DC area. Had to go for a ride!

2:45 Rode to meet a buddy halfway between us, then back towards his place before turning back north and home.

What'd you do?



M

On Ragbrai, I used a mt bike kind of shoe. Around here, I use a dedicated cycling shoe about 95% of the time.

53 miles today in mid 70's temps.

Just a tad under 3000 miles for the year. Not bad for my first year back in cycling.

[TheNedster]

Originally Posted by Gummee!

What'd you do?



M

It rained for a while yesterday, so I put the Rapid Rons on in anticipation of the damp, tacky trails (and mud!). I wasn't dissapointed; those things are damned grippy in the wet. They're downright scary turning at speed on pavement, though.

Also, it is my fervent wish for the new year that more trail users in my area learn to walk their dogs, rather than the other way around.

[ducnut]

Originally Posted by Gummee!

What'd you do?



M

Only 35, at ~44 degrees, and straight-flag winds. I suffered.

[patsymack]

1hr.15min. on the cybex bike at the gym. 2 weeks and I'll be riding in the warmth of Florida for 2 months.

Today's ride:
Mid 50s in the NoVA/DC area. Had to go for a ride!

2:45 Rode to meet a buddy halfway between us, then back towards his place before turning back north and home.

What'd you do?



M[/QUOTE]

[2whl-hoop]

Originally Posted by patsymack

1hr.15min. on the cybex bike at the gym. 2 weeks and I'll be riding in the warmth of Florida for 2 months.

Today's ride:
Mid 50s in the NoVA/DC area. Had to go for a ride!

2:45 Rode to meet a buddy halfway between us, then back towards his place before turning back north and home.

What'd you do?



M

[/QUOTE]

Started off the year with an hour long indoor cycling class at the Y. The drop-off daycare they provide is a godsend! Today was lots of standing and intervals. Definitely more standing than I do on my own. I've been going to the classes 3-4 days a week for a little over a month now and I like them, I don't think I could use a stationary bike by myself and get as good a workout.

In the spring I'll look at getting a trailer to tow the boy around in, but for now, the classes are where it's at.

[CatfishRacing]

Did about an hour and a half (forgot to hit start on my computer) today.
It was good to get out.
Big breakfast and now I'm back at work ready for nap time.

[Mr Head]

Yesterday I rode out the old year and today I plan to ride in the new. Strava died on me so I switched to run keeper. not as slick for embedding.

12/31/2011 Ride

A quick kid caught me at the stop sign at the bottom of my hill. He was thinking of running the stop , as I locked the rear up, it's been a while since I rode so I have to re-acquaint myself with the wrong brake on the wrong hand thing. I like my front brake where it belongs on the right.

Down the river for a too quick spin with this guy, for ten miles, then I slowed back to my more normal plodding pace. Two more fast guys come by, but don't seem so fast. I spin up to the double draft these two provide. Nice for a mile or two then I'm alone and decide to ride an hour out rather than turn at the pond. Felt good.

Rode back up the hill too. Nice cap to the year.
I hope everyone had a safe celebration, I'm about to go ring in the year with a ride. It is supposed to hit 80 here today and tomorrow.

Sunscreen in winter and I'm not skiing.

[patsymack]

Originally Posted by CatfishRacing

Did about an hour and a half (forgot to hit start on my computer) today.
It was good to get out.
Big breakfast and now I'm back at work ready for nap time.

Missed the window for a good ride today.Nice and sunny and low to mid 40's when i got up.I sat around drinking coffee and reading the sunday paper.2hrs later temps dropped clouded up and started raining.I knew it was coming but the forecast was for late afternoon.I'll suit up and do a spin around the neighborhood just to say I rode the first day of the year.That's what I get for being a slow starter.I think this was the last of the 40's temps in central PA.All though we have been lucky this year so far no snow or salt on the roads.I hope I'm in Fla. by the time it does come.12 more days

[Mr Head]

I only got a short ride in this morning. My plans got changed, I have to go to the beach this afternoon to dog sit. Felt good to be out. hot Santa Ana winds blowing kept my out pace down.

[VelvtRide]

23 miles today. Small potatoes for you cycle-naughts, but a good haul for me! Never done over 20.... new bike ran awesome!

[k7]

I drove back from Sedona this morning. I dropped MrsK7 off at a retreat that she's attending this week. It's one of those spiritual-personal-growth-and-I-don't-wanna-watch-all-those-footballs-games-retreat. After lunch, I did a quick 45 miles.

I'm up to almost 300 miles on the new bike. By next weekend, I'll be well over 400 miles. I'll likely do a century ride next Sunday.

Like most of y'all, I have a few routes that I know like the back of my hand. One is my Reservation Route. It's an out and back over to the Indian Reservation where there's a store that I always visit.

I use a Garmin 500 to accumulate data. If you're more picky than me, you may have other devices such as powertaps, better GPS devices etc but I like this little Garmin and for my informal use, it's perfect.

After today's ride, I was comparing the data to past rides and found a few that items that are very interesting to me.

In terms of time, I've taken more than 15 minutes of moving time off my previous times over the same 45 mile route. My heart rate is essentially the same, my cadence is essentially the same also but my max heart rate is a little lower.

My average speed over this same distance is up 10%. My only conclusion is that I'm more efficient on the new bike. I expected a lot - heck, when you purchase what you consider to be an expensive bike, you expect something, right? But a 10% increase is more than I expected and that makes me a pretty happy camper....err...cyclist.

[TheYeti]

[QUOTE=pierce;17594453]fwiw, these are the plastic Planet Bike fenders. I am mounting the fenders about 6-10mm away from the tires, my concern was mostly with how much stuff comes off the sides of the tires vs off the middle. I guess I'll find out when I try them.


edit: and... turns out, they are 45mm wide fenders and with a bit of finessing fit just fine. phew. my primary motivation for fenders is the spring Strawberry Music Festival, when its often quite muddy and mucky. last year, I found myself having to ride really really slowly to keep the mud from coating me. hopefully with these fenders, I'm good to go.[/QUOTW


with 45 mm fenders you can probably run 32 mm tires with no problems.I've got 50mm SKS fenders and run 37mm tires with zero issuses.

[ducnut]

Originally Posted by k7

I'll likely do a century ride next Sunday.

Let us know how that goes.

I always do my centuries in a circuitous route, usually 15-20 miles out, around the town I live in. That way if I start feeling bad, it's not too far in. If you do an out and back, you could be as many as 50 miles away from home. Trust me, that sucks.

I stop every 13-15 miles and take a break. That allows for the muscles to stretch (a different way) and blood to circulate through the glutes. I eat solid food (2 slices of pizza and a 12oz Mt Dew for me) around 35 miles and 80 miles through. That helps ensure plenty of nutrition. I drink one 20oz bottle of water every hour, in addition to the fluids I consume when eating.

Good luck!

[k7]

Originally Posted by ducnut

Let us know how that goes.

I always do my centuries in a circuitous route, usually 15-20 miles out, around the town I live in. That way if I start feeling bad, it's not too far in. If you do an out and back, you could be as many as 50 miles away from home. Trust me, that sucks.

I stop every 13-15 miles and take a break. That allows for the muscles to stretch (a different way) and blood to circulate through the glutes. I eat solid food (2 slices of pizza and a 12oz Mt Dew for me) around 35 miles and 80 miles through. That helps ensure plenty of nutrition. I drink one 20oz bottle of water every hour, in addition to the fluids I consume when eating.

Good luck!

Thanks! This will be from Chandler down to Casa Grande and back. We'll down the first half without stopping, unless absolutely necessary, but do a nice lunch in CG. This route is flat and I don't expect any issues.

If that goes well, my riding buddy wants to attempt a 300-km brevet in early Feb. . I'll need to fit my dynohub front wheel to the new bike. Not a big deal.

[VelvtRide]

Originally Posted by k7

Thanks! This will be from Chandler down to Casa Grande and back. We'll down the first half without stopping, unless absolutely necessary, but do a nice lunch in CG. This route is flat and I don't expect any issues.

If that goes well, my riding buddy wants to attempt a 300-km brevet in early Feb. . I'll need to fit my dynohub front wheel to the new bike. Not a big deal.

Come out and do the Climb to Kaiser here in Fresno, Ger! My dad is doing it again this year.... google C2K, Central Valley.