Author Topic: cycling season has arrived  (Read 1062 times)

jim-ratliff

  • 6+ Year Member
  • 1000 Posts
  • ******
  • Posts: 2739
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #30 on: April 20, 2011, 03:06:34 pm »
My miles are increasing, now just over 80 per week with 65 the last two weekend.? Having some fun while I sweat!? Which reminds me of another thing I like but we won't go there!! >:D

Hey Perry, post a pic of you and your bike getting ready to hit the road.? 65 miles per weekend is pretty impressive. I certainly hope and assume that a helmet is part of the picture?
"If you're gonna play the game boy, ya gotta learn to play it right."

meput

  • 1 Year Member
  • 200 Posts
  • *
  • Posts: 205
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #31 on: April 20, 2011, 05:48:35 pm »
Jim,
Anytime "Realskiers" skiers want to make the trip to the 'loaf, just let me know. Happy to be host and guide.

LP,
I am shocked. You imply that Maine does not have good roads? :o. Actually, how did you know that Maine roads suck? :'(? Yes, I am a roadie. But even with lousy roads, I do not make any concession to pot holes, heaves and **** roads with wider tires. I am a throw back to older times and ride most of the time on tubulars - 22mm. General wheels are Bontrager aluminum Race X tubies with Conti Sprints. Good wheels are Bontrager XXX with Veloflex Carbons. Have not used my clinchers in about 3-4 years and they were all 23mm. Primary bike is an '05 S-works Roubaix. Have been considering a newer model that is supposed to have better "vertical compliance" i.e. softer ride for the "rough" roads. That would be nice for these old bones? 8).

You bring up one of my bike issues. I will take hills any day over wind. Hills come to an end. Wind does not. Here in Maine, winds usually shift so that most of my windy rides, I am fighting head winds the entire ride. It is a rare day that I fight a head wind going out, then have the "wonderful" tail wind coming back. In Maine, it is not uncommon to be going downhill, a significant head wind such that your heart rate is red lining while you are going 10 mph. Such is life. No wonder I am still skiing? ;D.

Jim

jbotti

  • 6+ Year Member
  • 400 Posts
  • ******
  • Posts: 961
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #32 on: April 21, 2011, 08:57:46 pm »
Meput, don't come to the SF bay area to cycle. All we have is large amounts of wind and hills!! I do think it is human nature to push hard against the wind. In relality it is about the same as climbing hills (although mentally more trying). You need to pick a power level that you can maintain and just stay there and accept that pace. The wind is just as powerful as a hill and no cyclist can overpower the wind (at least not for very long). And of course flying downwind can be a lot of fun, almost like skiing!!

LivingProof

  • Global Moderator
  • 400 Posts
  • *
  • Posts: 892
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #33 on: April 22, 2011, 11:17:56 am »
Jim,
Anytime "Realskiers" skiers want to make the trip to the 'loaf, just let me know. Happy to be host and guide.

LP,
I am shocked. You imply that Maine does not have good roads? :o. Actually, how did you know that Maine roads suck? :'(? Yes, I am a roadie. But even with lousy roads, I do not make any concession to pot holes, heaves and **** roads with wider tires. I am a throw back to older times and ride most of the time on tubulars - 22mm. General wheels are Bontrager aluminum Race X tubies with Conti Sprints. Good wheels are Bontrager XXX with Veloflex Carbons. Have not used my clinchers in about 3-4 years and they were all 23mm. Primary bike is an '05 S-works Roubaix. Have been considering a newer model that is supposed to have better "vertical compliance" i.e. softer ride for the "rough" roads. That would be nice for these old bones? 8).

You bring up one of my bike issues. I will take hills any day over wind. Hills come to an end. Wind does not. Here in Maine, winds usually shift so that most of my windy rides, I am fighting head winds the entire ride. It is a rare day that I fight a head wind going out, then have the "wonderful" tail wind coming back. In Maine, it is not uncommon to be going downhill, a significant head wind such that your heart rate is red lining while you are going 10 mph. Such is life. No wonder I am still skiing? ;D.

Jim


meput,

The only reason I know Maine roads suck is that 99.999 of all roads suck, and, few states have Maine winters. My only visit to Maine was a business trip to lobby the Public Utility Commission to make a contract award to a consulting firm to perform an analysis of the under-performing electric reliability in the state. Had we won, I would have spent a summer there and toured extensively. For some reason, I don't think I need to do that level assessment to predict your typical road surface.

Having said the above,

I stand in awe of anyone who rides 22 mm tubular tires on rough roads. Your hands, wrists, elbows, et al, have my best wishes for long life. They don't breed your type here in Pennsylvania.

And here's to all who turn and pedal into headwinds.....damn few of us left! But when we go skiing, we bring a great aerobic system with us. I was so pleased in Summit Co. a couple of weeks ago, with respect to how well I could breath, both on and off the slopes. Not saying I did not have acclimation difficulty, but, my wind did not suck (so bad).

meput

  • 1 Year Member
  • 200 Posts
  • *
  • Posts: 205
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #34 on: April 22, 2011, 07:20:50 pm »
JB,
I hate to disagree about hills and wind. Give me a hill any day. Some days I think I am mentally afflicted when I seek out hills. I think I am even sicker when I seek out the steeper grades that will be into a head wind (the method to my madness is that the longer shallower downhill grades will be with the wind? :P). Wind in Maine is so gusty that as you settle into that nice pace, then the gust/wind builds, your peddle pressure slowly builds to maintain your cadence and next thing you are in over your head, anaerobic and in trouble. Mentally you realize you need to downshift and but you just do not want to because the grade has not changed. Wind can be very demoralizing.
I will take a nice ski run over a long downhill, with the wind, bike run any day. The joy of ski turns to control speed vs squeezing a brake makes it a no contest. Furthermore, since I am a downhill skier, not a ski tourer, I get to enjoy riding a lift back up to hill to just go down again. On my bike, it is climb the hill to enjoy the downhill run again (which I do many times when I do hill intervals because I am afflicted mentally? ::)). Will take skiing any day over biking. ;D

meput

  • 1 Year Member
  • 200 Posts
  • *
  • Posts: 205
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #35 on: April 22, 2011, 07:43:39 pm »
Mike,
I ride the tubulars to save my body. A tubular has a lot more compliance and therefore a softer ride on bad road surfaces than do clinchers. As my riding season progresses (usually about 1000 miles) I shift to the? carbon wheels with the tubies. It is about that point that I start doing the longer (60+ mile rides). I am not a racer, therefore my good wheels are my everyday ride. I ride for fun (not withstanding my rant on wind to JB) therefore I use my good wheels once I have my base miles in.

Yes, cycling does help your skiing, unfortunately skiing does not help your cycling.
Jim

jbotti

  • 6+ Year Member
  • 400 Posts
  • ******
  • Posts: 961
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #36 on: April 22, 2011, 10:28:32 pm »
In Maine you are most likley not cycling in the winter. I cycle the whole winter in CA and I will say that the skiiing does help hold some of the conditioning. It's possible that this is nothing more than acclimating to altitude (our home in MT is at 8900 feet) for 7-14 days at a time. When I come back from 10 days or so at altitude, it often feels like I have not been off the bike.

I am pretty used to lots of wind, but I would agree and I also prefer hills. I love riding hills and I don't love wind, but I probably don't hate it to the degree that you do.

Here I just wish we had more sunny warm days on the bike. There are too many days in the middle of summer where the temps never get above 60 and the fog on MT Tam may not lift until 1-2 in the afternoon. Having said that, there really is nothing like a great bike rdie (when you can't ski!!).

meput

  • 1 Year Member
  • 200 Posts
  • *
  • Posts: 205
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #37 on: April 23, 2011, 11:21:35 am »
Having said that, there really is nothing like a great bike rdie (when you can't ski!!).

You got me. I have to agree.

Jim

jim-ratliff

  • 6+ Year Member
  • 1000 Posts
  • ******
  • Posts: 2739
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #38 on: April 25, 2011, 07:23:10 am »
Having said that, there really is nothing like a great bike rdie (when you can't ski!!).

You got me. I have to agree.

Jim

I have to agree as well.? I used to avoid really windy days.? Now I just do the mountain bike instead and stay on the local trails sheltered by the trees.? I did a ride in 30 mph winds with gusts to 45 and wasn't affected until the way back (and I had set that to be downwind).? Could ride downwind at 15 mph without pedaling.
But I'm such a rookie -- half the time when I think I'm riding into a headwind I eventually realize that it's just the apparent wind that I'm creating.

"If you're gonna play the game boy, ya gotta learn to play it right."

jim-ratliff

  • 6+ Year Member
  • 1000 Posts
  • ******
  • Posts: 2739
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #39 on: April 25, 2011, 07:38:58 am »
LP:? You had asked who washes the bikes??? ??? ? I guess the answer is "I volunteered", but took this picture first.
We had a REALLY muddy ride two weeks ago, Lynn's bike (the red one) was still showing the effects.

[attachment removed after 60 days]
« Last Edit: May 16, 2011, 02:54:18 pm by jim-ratliff »
"If you're gonna play the game boy, ya gotta learn to play it right."

LivingProof

  • Global Moderator
  • 400 Posts
  • *
  • Posts: 892
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #40 on: April 25, 2011, 09:36:27 am »
Lynn and Jim,

Nice bikes....a quiet purchase not shared with the RS team...

GT full suspension, getting ready to ride with Ron? What are your thougths about full suspension and how it's worked on the trails you have ridden.

Memory recalls that a short year ago, you biked along the Youghiogheny, but, were downplaying Mtn bikes. Times have changed. ::)

Why are Lynn's tires still muddy while Jim's are clean?

jim-ratliff

  • 6+ Year Member
  • 1000 Posts
  • ******
  • Posts: 2739
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #41 on: April 25, 2011, 10:02:05 am »
Lynn and Jim,

Nice bikes....a quiet purchase not shared with the RS team...

GT full suspension, getting ready to ride with Ron? What are your thougths about full suspension and how it's worked on the trails you have ridden.

Memory recalls that a short year ago, you biked along the Youghiogheny, but, were downplaying Mtn bikes. Times have changed. ::)

Why are Lynn's tires still muddy while Jim's are clean?

Last year I was looking for way to broaden the range of my road bike with wider tires.? We came to the conclusion that it was futile. Just not enough clearance. Lynn's GT titanium bike won't even accept 700x25c tires on the back (and I think you said the same thing about yours). The Youghiogheny trip was what we wanted to be able to ride, but showed all the things bad about mountain bikes. VERY heavy (maybe 35 pounds) and no shock control. Wal-Mart mountain bikes.

Lot of help from Svend sharing his knowledge and experience with mountain biking with us.
Choices were 26" hardtail, 29" hardtail, 26" full suspension.
29" hardtail's ride smoother than 26", (but didn't fit in the back of my RAV4 and felt big), but you still need to absorb a much of the bikes motion with your legs and be out of the saddle.

Full suspension is more plush, but can be MUCH heavier, and you can lose a lot of energy to pedal bob if you are out of the saddle or pedaling hard.
The Youghiogheny bikes we rented exhibited both of these problems.
We decided on the full suspension because we wanted a bit more comfort for longer rides.
We decided on carbon frames to get the weight down to the 24 lb range, at the expense of higher end components (easier to upgrade components later if we want). GT seems to have a good mid-range reputation and their rear linkage seems well reviewed. Not an IBIS or a Specialized Stump Jumper, but a good compromise for what we really ride.
Front and rear shocks have lots of adjustments (11 different variations of rebound quickness), complete lockout for smooth surfaces. and we decided on cross country shocks (120 mm travel) rather than more down hill, 150mm travel shocks.

I am very pleased with the way they ride and what they weigh. My road bike is 17 pounds, so 24 isn't that much heavier, especially when you figure that the tires are probably 4 pounds extra all by themselves.
Riding country roads that are a mix of gravel, rock, ruts and exposed subsurface big rocks is amazingly smooth. Many of the trails here in Virginia are asphalt that have big heaves in them from tree roots, or dirt packed trails with series of tree roots. You still feel them, but the tires stay connected to the trail rather than getting bounced all around going up hill, and just letting the bike run downhill is even smoother.

Ohhhh!!! And disk brakes and that 22 tooth front chainring are wonderful.

[attachment removed after 60 days]
« Last Edit: May 16, 2011, 03:03:18 pm by jim-ratliff »
"If you're gonna play the game boy, ya gotta learn to play it right."

midwif

  • Global Moderator
  • 1000 Posts
  • *
  • Posts: 1389
  • Location: New York City
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #42 on: April 25, 2011, 10:43:32 am »
Lynn and Jim,

Nice bikes....a quiet purchase not shared with the RS team...

Memory recalls that a short year ago, you biked along the Youghiogheny, but, were downplaying Mtn bikes. Times have changed. ::)

Why are Lynn's tires still muddy while Jim's are clean?

To elaborate further;

There was lots of discussion about it and research. Well, Jim did most of the research. My contribution was to say I think we needed to upgrade to Carbon Fiber if the price difference was not astronomical. AND JIM WORKED the Performance Bike holiday sales like a master craftsman!!

I still can't quite take in how we got such incredible deals using their system.

The day of our "lost" trek in Boy Scout territory, mud and all, left no time for me to clean my bike before heading to work that night.

Jim headed to Boston for a week, where the bath tub at the hotel accommodated his dirty bike.
My bathtub refuses to allow clay dirt in its environ. ;)

Even a couple of rides in central park did not dislodge that stuff!

It is possible I like mountain biking better than road biking. I hate sharing the road with cars. >:D

And we have pretty much figured out that we can ride directly from my place upstate to vast acres of trails with minimal black top involved. Lots to explore! ;D

But, yes, we are having fun. A world of difference between these bikes and the ones we rented at the Yuck.?
Quote from: jimr
Lynn, you got the pronunciation correct, but the spelling is YOUGH.
« Last Edit: April 25, 2011, 01:54:16 pm by midwif »
"Play it Sam"

meput

  • 1 Year Member
  • 200 Posts
  • *
  • Posts: 205
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #43 on: May 01, 2011, 07:19:16 pm »
Finally broke out the bike today. Went for a short ride to start the base miles process  :P.

Skied yesterday and had to dodge too many bare spots. Put away the skis  :'(. Managed to get 46 days skiing in. Overall a good season. Now to focus on saddle time and miles.

The 'loaf was totally covered a week ago. Had some rain and one day hit 85? last week. Really slapped the mountain.

Time to focus on summer. Boat out of storage on the 13th, docks go in on the 21st. Picked up a Hobie Cat the end of last season and in need of a maiden run.

Here's to a great summer  8)!!! 8)!!

jim-ratliff

  • 6+ Year Member
  • 1000 Posts
  • ******
  • Posts: 2739
Re: cycling season has arrived
« Reply #44 on: May 01, 2011, 10:55:54 pm »
Jim:

What model of Hobie cat?  I had a Hobie 16 for a number of years.
What a fast and fun way to sail, especially when on a trapeze.

ENJOY.
"If you're gonna play the game boy, ya gotta learn to play it right."