Bicycle thread

[kbasa]

I did this yesterday. Wicked headwind as I was headed either west or south. Woof.

[Nihon Newbie]

Originally Posted by YakSpout

Wet or dry, it'll be a little chilly. I'll run the GoPro for sure just to capture the insanity.

Awesome, that should make for quite a video!

Originally Posted by kbasa

I did this yesterday. Wicked headwind as I was headed either west or south. Woof.

I've ridden along that part of the 101, before you turn East to go to Napa. Pretty scenery, but damn, yeah, the winds...Well done!

[YakSpout]

Originally Posted by kbasa

I did this yesterday. Wicked headwind as I was headed either west or south. Woof.

Nice!

The winds were pretty nuts yesterday. It's always so disheartening when you're cranking along and you can feel your HR spiking, but you look at the bike comp and you're doing 15mph. I was actually chanting "H-T-F-U" while I was huffing upwind.

[zouch]

that's a lovely area; most of the rides that i still do moto-ham support for are in that area. but like an idiot, i was on the bicycle yesterday instead. into the wind,...

Originally Posted by YakSpout

Nice!

The winds were pretty nuts yesterday. It's always so disheartening when you're cranking along and you can feel your HR spiking, but you look at the bike comp and you're doing 15mph.l

one more reason i don't spoil a ride with a cyclometer anymore,... dang things never seem to be able to sense the wind, and the work i'm actually doing,...

[TheNedster]

When it gets really windy out, I find myself riding my MTB for some reason. At 6'4", I'm more sail than aero. Gimme a nice, long climb over a headwind any day.

[bogieboy]

well, due to some unfortunate circumstances, im gonna have to take Gummees advice.... the fork arrived today, and the idiot seller cant read a tape measure.... or know how to measure a fork steerer... one or the other.... 3 different bidders asked what the diameter of the steerer is...to which he replied 1" every time...guess what...its 1 1/8" with an ID of 1".....so it wont fit the elcheapo frame....so off to the mess of bike parts in the garage...out came the trek 3900 that i retired from mountain use last fall...and all the parts went over to that frame now...spent the last 3 hrs moving what all i can, so far i need a rear derailleur (needed one anyways) and a seat post clamp....and yes, that seat is WAY too high yet....LOL

[TheYeti]

Originally Posted by bogieboy

well, due to some unfortunate circumstances, im gonna have to take Gummees advice.... the fork arrived today, and the idiot seller cant read a tape measure.... or know how to measure a fork steerer... one or the other.... 3 different bidders asked what the diameter of the steerer is...to which he replied 1" every time...guess what...its 1 1/8" with an ID of 1".....so it wont fit the elcheapo frame....so off to the mess of bike parts in the garage...out came the trek 3900 that i retired from mountain use last fall...and all the parts went over to that frame now...spent the last 3 hrs moving what all i can, so far i need a rear derailleur (needed one anyways) and a seat post clamp....and yes, that seat is WAY too high yet....LOL

No,No.... The bars are protour low. very aero

[bogieboy]

Originally Posted by TheYeti

No,No.... The bars are protour low. very aero

well, seeing as i cant make them any higher (drawback of a preowned fork, cant add to the stem hieght...LOL) it may just stay that way depending on where the seat ends up...LOL

[Nihon Newbie]

Got all pumped about riding after watching that video about the night race down in LA next month...Decided to go out for a short, but challenging ride. Ended up staying out for 4 hours, and got some killer shots with the Droid:

[Gummee!]

@BB:



Least that frame's worth riding.

M

[zippy]

nice photos Nihon Newbie !





Got in an 18 mile loop around Acadia National Park last night.








on the tdf trainer

[ducnut]

This guy is well known to be an idiot and continues to reinforce that. Not only in pricing, but, look at the shipping.

[k7]

What we don't have in altitude (~ 2900 ft of climbing), we make up for in distance (248 miles). We'll start in Casa Grande and make our way to Gila Bend - a lovely desert oasis and generally speaking, one of the hottest towns in the US in the summer.

From there, we'll go north towards Buckeye and then turn back to the east where we'll skirt Phoenix from west-to-east before heading back down to the lovely town of Casa Grande.



This is roughly 400-km and according to the on-line maps, 248.3 miles. I'll add another mile or so to record an even 250 miles.

Last year, we completed the ride in 19:50 total time of which 16:40 hour was moving. Three hours of rest isn't really a lot but 15 minutes here, 15 minutes there really adds up. Lunch and dinner adds time - we usually stop for a midnight snack too. Heck, after 10 PM, it's hard to ride past a Circle K when they're 20-25-30 miles apart.

I have two goals: finish safely and enjoy the ride. The weather is supposed to be spectacular - highs in the high 70's and lows in the 50's. The moon will be 92% so it'll be a bright night to boot.

BTW, I've said it before... if you can do a hard-ish flat 60-mile ride at 18-20 mph, you can ride just about any brevet - especially this one. Our goal is to pace ourselves at 16-18 mph but in reality, we'll take what the road & weather gives to us. There are some short rollers on the way to Gila Bend and we'll do 25+ through that section 'cause it's a blast!

These take a lot out of you but with regular caloric intake, patience and pace, 250 miles in a day is a lot easier than you think. If you're on a diamond-frame, a superior fit will help - distance rides will accentuate any fit issues or adjustments that aren't perfect.

[ducnut]

Originally Posted by k7

distance rides will accentuate any fit issues or adjustments that aren't perfect.

I believe that qualifies as an understatement.

[k7]

Originally Posted by ducnut

I believe that qualifies as an understatement.

I just want people to think that these are impossible. Anyone can do them. As a friend of mine says, "90% of brevets is 50% mental."