your daily bicycle log

Ha, slp that was me this summer.

nice little spin today, longer ride tomorrow.

Good chat about bike fit with other LBS that is not full of arseholes, wish I hadn't been turned off them by one surly shop assistant. Their service price list is much cheaper than the scunners at Pro Bikes.

Also discovered Bicycle Heaven Pittsburgh, part bike museum, part bike shop although no idea what was for sale and what wasn't.

http://s1.proxy05.twitpic.com/photos/large/400421150.jpg
http://s1.proxy05.twitpic.com/photos/large/400420915.jpg

http://app.strava.com/rides/amy-s-grand-fondo-1664262?sref=1MT1yaWRlX3NoYXJlOzI9ZmFjZWJvb2s7ND0xNjMxMQ%253D%253D&ref=nf

http://app.strava.com/rides/1672328/

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a fixed-gear cycle messenger...

http://youtu.be/yYDIw4ZnecM

Anticipating.

Oh and I wore my gilet today. Return from west virginia border was a bit of a sufferfest. 65km of on and off headwind, more on than off.

as it was down to 41 deg F going up high grade this morning, i rocked the gilet. it was 65 deg by the time i got back down tho. perrrrrfect day.

18 miles today.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a fixed-gear cycle messenger...

http://youtu.be/yYDIw4ZnecM

Anticipating.

― just call me brian (krakow)

literally just lol'd at that.

that was physically uncomfortable to watch

23 miles today. Had to shoulder the bike to take some steps where there's work going on at the cycle path. Managed not to back spasm whilst doing so.

Cycling in Glasgow really felt like a battle today - mainly to do with the traffic, but having a drunken ned physically attempt to climb onto my bike after I refused him an aggressively requested 'backie' while waiting at a set of traffic lights was another highlight.

http://kuci.org/~nraggett/nedwedding.jpg

That was him!

For those unfamiliar with the concept this is what I was actually referring to... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_(Scottish)

27 miles this morning, taking me to 200+ for the month so far. Off to Ibiza camping for the weekend now.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6167/6169339625_7e8897b655.jpg

favorite way to start the day: 20 miles, home for eggs and coffee, then to work

25 miles in bright sunshine this afternoon; it's nicer in Devon today than it was in Ibiza yesterday, almost.

it sucks to climb for an hour, anticipate a record downhill, then get stuck behind a sunday driver going 30 mph nearly the entire 20 min descent. total pisser.

Absolutely soaked after the last 30 miles of a 70 mile ride ended up being in unrelenting torrential rain. Pour the water of your shoes and wring out your gloves territory. The hot bath that I'm running just now & the hot dinner right after are going to feel SO good.

Both those encounters sound sucky.

i'm better now, it was a great morning for a ride. left in the dark before dawn, saw the sun come up over the foothills while climbing up a gorgeous canyon up to 8400 ft, tons of hot air balloons launching over the lake on the way home. temp went from low 40s to nearly 70 by the end, and it was all done by 9:15. everyone should have it that good.

it was worth it to read some subaru outback's license plate for 10 miles.

I actually had a weird kind of fun! I was riding with a couple of good friends, so it became a mad communal experience of utter soakedness.

True, soakedness is OK if it's shared. It's the spirit of the Somme, or something.

Hunter, colour me jealous.

Yeah, I'm jealous of Hunter's bike ride, it sounds really amazing!

59 miles of undulating dunes and seaside resorts yesterday, 66 miles of...... At turns amazing woodland, polders and frankly, psychotic traffic in Amsterdam. We took a wrong turn, ended up near schipol by the side of a motorway..... And then put in another 30 km or so to beat sundown. Holland is a wonderful place to cycle. Back to hoek tomorrow, we are eschewing den Haag for more speedstering through the dunes. Also, I have finally conquered my fear of drafting properly, thanks to mr c for towing me home tonight.

The 66 miles was today, I only worked it out at around 40 or so, oooops

Six track racing intervals on the bike path tonight. 5 minutes at 95% hr with 30sec sprint at the end * 2 min recovery. Final track race of the season tomorrow! I'm (not) ready!

155 miles in total in Holland with the problem chimp over the weekend. Holland is Nirvana for cycling, there's no two ways about it. Maybe 15% of our riding was NOT on beautifully surfaced, well signposted two-way cycle paths. And 21 degree sunshine and very little wind (10mph headwind on the final 20-mile stretch down to Hoek being the only minor exception) made it a very enjoyable experience all round. Well, apart from the 8-lane junction left turn with confusing traffic lights in the middle of Hamsterjam, which I aborted halfway through. But we don't like to talk about that.

I may ride next Tuesday with Alberto Contador, need to clear out my schedule a little bit first.

Re: Holland - well done; Re: Contador - what?

The weather has gone mad here. No work yesterday so I rode 57 miles getting increasingly thirsty and weak in 28c heat (when it should be about 12c cooler than that). Not that I'm complaining.

52 miles this morning.

What - already? What time did you set off?

Set out at 7:30am - thank heaven for arm-warmers - and was back home, with a stop to water the allotment and a couple of passing conversations with people, circa 11am. It was chilly and misty when I set off, especially when I got anywhere near water - the temperature dropped dramatically several times, especially coming down the hill into Ottery at 30mph at 8:30, when it lurched downwards about 5 degrees in 100 yards, but there was glorious sunshine all the way, and the arm warmers came off for the last mile.

Not really cycling but I was up at sparrows fart to do a rowing race , which we won. I then spent the rest of the morning biking up and down the river in the rain to cheer on our other crew.

Set alarm for 5, but didn't realize this was my "weekday" alarm, so when my friend showed up at 6 I dressed in a panic and we sprinted to the start of this mini-brevet. Rode 75 miles with some very nice people, under blessedly overcast skies. Their bikes had expensive hand-stitched handlebar bags and their jerseys were just awful to look at.

Was obviously a recruiting ride, registration fee was $5 with a ridiculous spread at the finish, where they put on the hard sell.

Haven't been riding a lot, pleased with how much I had left for the last 20 miles. However my vision still isn't 100% after eye surgery on Monday, some of those descents felt a little dicey. Riding unfamiliar roads maybe wasn't the wisest idea.

35 miles of fog, forests, foxes, and farms this morning. Out at 7am.

Early start for me, too. Up at 6, left home at 6.50, drove out to north of Stansted Airport, did a 25-mile time trial in gorgeous sunshine for once, drove back home, left the bike out the front while I put my bag/helmet/shoes etc. inside, then....

...remembered about two hours later that I hadn't brought the bike in. Nearly had a heart attack. Ran out into the street and was amazed to find the bike still leaning against a wall where I'd left it. A bike clearly worth more than a grand, unlocked, in broad daylight in a street in East London where there are frequent thefts from locked cars and where we once put down a broken old boiler and found someone had taken it within minutes before we had a chance to take it to the tip. Truly a miracle.

You lucky bugger!

nice lil' jaunt down the coast to frankston and back yesterday with a mate and three friends of his who are training for the big 'around the bay in a day' ride (200-ish km, but pretty flat). chilly but sunny, then on the way back to melbourne got the full benefit of big tailwind - 45km/h never felt so effortless.

30 yesterday, 40 today

got smoked by my ex-cat2 buddy who rode in fucking flip flops

all i did was home repair work all weekend, plus a 7y/o's soccer game. 85 degree sunshine days. no rides. i shouldn't care, but im bitter as fuck.

A quick ten miles blast down the estuary tonight to enjoy the last of the unusual heat and sunshine. 25 degrees and clear blues skies when I set off at 5:30pm, and 30 minutes later I got home to dark clouds rolling in. Autumn has arrived. I've ordered my 3/4 bib knicks. I'm determined to ride through the cold weather this year.

I've never tried the 3/4 thing. Or leg warmers. It's either shorts or tights for me. I've never been quite sure what you do with leg warmers once you warm up: with arm warmers you just roll them down (or eventually stick them in your back pocket if you're sure you're not going to need them), but surely leg warmers would look weird if you rolled them up/down? As for 3/4 length tights, I'm not really sure what kind of weather would be too cold to expose my knees to and yet too warm to cover my lower calves.

i had to watch the pros to see the correct leg warmer technique: clip out and one leg pedal while you pull the warmer off the opposing leg.

since i am rather pale and burn at the drop of a hat, it's 3/4 all the time 4 me. all the time!!

(it's only leg warmers, EVER, unless it's like 1992 and you were edwig von hooydonck on buckler. otoh, i live in a place with good weather).

*by ever, i mean not actually below freezing

fffuuuuuu

I only wear leg warmers when it drops under 70F... brrrr