your daily bicycle log

Oh dude, that is a tragicomedy and a half! You sounds SO frustrated, but it's still kind of funny, sorry!

awesome report! hahahaha. gels can double for high-strength epoxy resin in a pitch, right?

Think I've had my first (in recent memory) alcohol related cycling mishap (non-serious). Had a couple of pints, was heading towards the madness that is Bishopsgate, slightly wet conditions, and there was a guy walking between two parked cars, and down the road. He wasn't looking behind him at all and somewhat veering out, but I was completely cogniscant of him, and slowing down and giving him room and ringing my bell, and maybe too much of all that at once, especially the steering and braking, as suddenly I was on the ground. People on the pavement gasped 'my god are you ok?', and yeah I was fine, and I got right back up and on the bike, and the guy who had turned around by this point asked if I was ok and I said yes I was and just to make sure he watched where he was going in the future, and went on my way. No harm done (although will check for bruises tomorrow).

Got a rear wheel puncture about a mile from home (towards the end of a ride, not the start) and discovered that the rims on the wheels on my winter bike are slightly too deep for the valves on the spare inner tubes I had. So it was impossible to pump up the tube. A bit frustrating, but it could have been a lot worse - I'm glad I didn't discover that 30 miles from home.

We did 8-man Italian pursuit races at the track last night. After each lap the front rider pulls off until there is only one rider left. First team back to their line wins. It's really really fun because we had the teams really well balanced, and even people who aren't close to fastest overall can contribute to the team by just giving everything they have on their turn to lead. I rode 7th man and our team won 2 out of 4 races. Fun as heck.

<3 it! my goal for next year is to get in a few days at the track for pursuit and kilo.

Racing on the track is awesome. It simultaneously incredibly competitive and supportive. A really great vibe and great way to improve your cycling. If you have a velodrome near you I can't recommend taking the chance to ride on it. Also, nice track bikes are cheap as hell, relative to nice road or mountain bikes.

err can't recommend enough

otm i haven't done it in a couple years (and it was only twice), but the track is so, so fun.

thinking a bit baout joining local club to get road racing licence, whose specialty is track. they have spare bikes to use too, because another bike, i mean really!

yesterday: sedate spin round the trail with two friends who i'm riding along the great ocean road with on the weekend. they're kinda freaking out about the 130 km length of the loop we're doing! got rained on a bit in between sunny patches. springtime in belgium, perhaps.

SLP: do you have a dedicated gear inch on your track bike or do you mix it up for different events?

I ride a loaner bike (bianchi pistas) from the track right now, which runs about 86 inches (I think it's a 48 x 15). The guys in my class who have their own bikes and race (well, raced. the season is over now) all bring a few different chainrings. They'll switch them out per-race. I'll buy something over the off-season to be ready to race at the beginning of next season (march)

Yesterday: 67 minutes, 4.5 miles, average speed 3.9mph, thanks to my down tube breaking, presumably as a result of the little prang described in my post of 15th October, which meant that my journey home was on foot (well, I managed 3 miles before getting off and wondering what that increasingly loud metallic ticking noise was). Was quite a nice walk though I have blisters on my blisters today, and need a new frame - this one is fuxored.

Pics?

four weeks of no biking = getting fat

Here you go, Ed:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/biondino/bobcrack.jpg

ouch

rode two short 1 hour rides on my new bike. first time riding a road bike and my body hurts like no other. ass muscles hurt from new riding position and shins muscles hurt from using clipless for first time and pedaling all the way around. i feel like i'm walking like a penguin

four weeks of no biking = getting fat
― BIG MUFFIN (gbx), Thursday, November 4, 2010 1:36 PM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
otmfm. ~feelin~ this, quite literally

ditto! cant wait for this rotation to be done. I'd bike here but its twelve miles and I gotta be in by 615. no dice.

Went for an ill-advised 105 miler today that despite me telling myself pre-ride to keep the HR under 150, I decided to counter some attacks with 1:35 of 450W (avg) around mile 40 which pretty much rendered the remainder of the ride horribly painful. I am now limping around the house trying to choose between chocolate milk, pepsi (w or w/o vodka) or beer.

There is a 5-6 hour hammerfest for tomorrow on my calendar right now which is about to get removed and forgotten about real soon.

ha i rode 60 miles moderately hard, 4000 ft of climbing. what a terrible year for riding-- that's my 2nd longest ride of the year, and longest since century mid july.

well but how is your fitness from running?

i hate climbing. period. hate it. i am thinking of running a compact with a 11-27 in the back on my next set of training wheels. spinnnnnnnnnnnnn.

meh, fitness from running is ok, i guess. i really cant figure out what i wanna do wrt physical activity for the rest of my life. there are no realistic objectives that im interested in attempting wrt cycling, and i don't enjoy running, and i have no discretionary time to indulge myself in something new.

iow, i have no _real_ problems right now and should stfu.

i think you should splurge on a state of the art recumbent, don the optic yellow, and call it a day~~~

(iow: my plan fairly soon)

spoke to dude on recumbent today after long descent who complimented me for dropping him. i complimented him on his taste in chaise recliners, but noted that chaises are even faster when adequately faired.

here is my day out on the coast and in the otways. wish our trio hadn't missed the start by ten minutes - i'm sure i could've shredded a colnago man or six up the big climb. felt good all day! got rained on for a bit around angelsea, but what you gonna do eh.

p wicked powerclimb section before bells beach, steep down - steep up - rinse repeat

waitress at coffee shop stop 2/3rds along had the most slammin bod too, daaaaamn girl

a compact with a 11-27 in the back

this is what I'm running ~spins~

bells beach! slammin bod waitresses! totes jealous!

Winter Training Cycle coach at club ride started on the Strength training part of the course. First half of the (50 mile) ride he made us ride up all the inclines on the big ring and in a small gear in the back. Alternating sitting and pedalling at 60 rp and standing at 45 rpm. The second half of the ride he had us do the same thing but clip out of one side and do it with one leg for 50 strokes, and then switch legs. It's wierd because I thought I'd really feel it in the quads, but what is most sore today is my calves. Probably a form thing... Owie.

wish id had a bike when i visited that neck of the woods haitch, really nice.

Saturday took Skyline to Los Altos to see my girl. Moving to the Bay Area feeling like a good decision. Got a job offer Friday, start Dec 1 if I take it, so I'm gonna splash out, trade the Centurion and Converse All-Stars for carbon and SPDs, see how many rainy miles I can put on before December.

how long ago were you out here hunt3r? it's great, lots of quiet and twisty roads. (great ocean rd can get busy tho.) considering doing another ride next month through the rainforest bit futher down the otways now.

gotta admit i like the challenge of the hills. i'm pretty one-speed tho - just grind grind grind. 39x25 as lowest ratio will do that! maybe i should try a compact one of these days to see if there's an appreciable difference.

lukas, do you live in the city?

Yup, half a block from Dolores Park.

no races yestiday-- it was 27 degrees and deserted. plenty of parking. ahhhhh, <3 u winter.

actually, check that, today its gonna snow, not so psyched for that.

oh, haitch i just saw your question. like 10 years ago i visited, we did some touring and hiking along great ocean rd and environs. missus had her bike, but i didn't have mine, so we just drove and walked around.

Job interview yesterday in Palo Alto for a job I don't really want. Got up at 5:30, rode 42 miles down with a friend who works down there, toweled and changed in their bathroom, did the interview. Wasn't too tired, in fact pretty amped.

nice. i work in sunnyvale and mean to do the ride at some point. but f waking up at 5.30

which way did you go btw? getting past the airport is a bitch

Took the day off and rode 85 miles up the coast this morning at a briskish pace (18mph with 7 shortish category 3-4 climbs totaling about 4k feet of ascent) with a bro who is going to do an Ironman in 3 weeks. I am really losing my fitness but there are enough remnants to fake "it". Need to start buckling down with smarter offseason rides because these once a week deathmarches are not cutting it nor doing me any favors.

xp did this route:

http://www.sf2g.com/bayway.html

sort of insanely complicated. helps to go with someone that's done it before. the sf2g people seem nice, so that's an option if you want to join their mailing list etc.

xp my bro I rode with today is one of the SF2G founders just to tie this all together.

(i really like their kits, for just a bunch of cat6 commuter geeks, they did some good work)

I was riding around in the (slick, concrete) driveway, testing out the new Look pedals I had just installed, wearing my regular (slick bottomed) road shoes. My brother and sister-in-law came over to return some stuff they'd borrowed and conversation turned to the cyclocross race I'd went up and watched last weekend. I decided to demonstrate a cross dismount/remount....on the slick concrete, in my slick shoes. I now have a twisted and swollen right ankle. Idiot.

visited the fam on thursday night, took bike out and did moderately hard 70km out to kinglake and back on friday morning - 32deg c heat, humid and a headwind all the way up the hill, blargh. some roadworks were being done at the foot of the short but sharp hill that is my nemesis on that road (near 10%, 650m) with one lane only and limit dropped to 40km/h - i assured the traffic control guy that i would stay under that on the way up, heh.

I think thanks to my occasional layoffs and greater increased caution after my pair of accidents lately my fitness has decreased by a small but obvious amount. The crashes meant cancelling the longer rides I had planned, but even on my commute I'm aware I'm taking it so much easier because I'm so nervous of not being able to stop if I get doored, or hooked, or pedestrianed or whatever. On top of that, I don't really trust my roadie after the accident as I must have given it an almight smack, and you know what they say about carbon. Ah well. I'll be lucky to complete the 4,000 mile minimum target for the year at this rate.