your daily bicycle log

I dropped from 3 games a week to 2 after Em had to retrieve me from A&E once too many times and told me off.

Anyway, I commuted by bike today. Only 1.6 miles in, so it hardly seems worth it...

I got back on the bike yesterday for the first time since the crash a fortnight previously - no big problems riding (though no power and can't get out the saddle), but getting on and off the bike is still uncomfortable. I also commuted to work by bike: 1.0 miles.

When it takes longer to get bike out if she'd and lock bike up at work it feels vaguely pointless.

Than to do the actual pedalling.

yeah threat of A&E increasing means more and more I'm migrating towards cycling for fitness, which, touch wood, hasn't found me in A&E yet

When it takes longer to get bike out if she'd and lock bike up at work it feels vaguely pointless.

Somehow I read that as "out of the shed" without noticing that is says nothing of the sort (but presumably is supposed to). Yeah, I agree, but it does make me feel slightly virtuous and it does at least mean I get a few more miles in (even if it's only a pitiful 6 a week). I've taken the eggbeaters off my commuting bike and just got plain pedals so I can ride in wearing my work clothes and not have to faff around with cycling shoes.

God damn iphone and its crazy predictive text.

so hellish today I abandoned

60 mph gales & howling rain... a saturday in hell

now my front brake won't return when released

BLECH

50 miles shaking the cobwebs off. sweet tailwind on the second half after stopping for coffee, then i almost choked trying to hit the high falsetto in I Can't Go For That cruising home.

You've got to try though, haven't you?

what would you be if you didn't even try

any tips for removing stuck pedals? : /

make sure youre turning each the correct direction (one of them is reverse threaded...but which one? it's diabolical).

then, a longer wrench.

then, a trip to a auto garage that has an airhammer (i actually never did that for a pedal, but i DID do it for a crank removal, after stripping out the crank threads).

maybe something involving fire, which is always exciting.

I have tried:
- GT85
- increased leverage
- pouring boiled water over it

now I'm going to try:
- bike shop

blech, cold and rainy 69 miles today. and I got told off three times by some guy who usually rides in the faster group. once because my mudguards were too short, again for not calling out a pothole (it wasn't there and then it was), and finally for half wheeling him. : /

that is why I prefer riding w/the slower group (less douches) but numbers are lower in winter

on the plus side, upgraded the wheels on my concorde so took it out today
http://distilleryimage4.ak.instagram.com/0d41d8da6a2211e3b8590a1f8b30899c_8.jpg

tbf tho he did push me up a big hill when I ws burst so he's not all bad

Omg if dude came at me 3 times in those conditions. Much credit to u for riding in those conditions.

Calf is tight as hell after five a side last night, so no riding for me today. Might manage a very brief and gentle spin tomorrow.

easy 25 miles today, was really nice on the way out then started blowing a hoolie on the return. no fun

also switching from a compact to a standard = ow, my knees. will riding a standard make me a stronger rider eventually? switching to a bike w/friction shifters really makes you appreciate the constant, minor adjustments you make to your gearing to maintain cadence at a comfortable level. worried about blowing out my knees w/the standard + friction shifters combo

Standard shouldn't be a problem, you will just have a different useful range so you may not have much use for 53x11 and might not have the lowest of climbing gears you would as a compact. All that means is you'll be able to spin less on hills and end up grinding it out sooner.

festive 500's started and haitch has already knocked it out the park

weather in aus looks ridic rn

I really need to get back on the bike again before I turn into a slug

what a lovely morning for a ride here, guys- even if it was going to work. very light traffic, very warm temps around 40, bright sun, ice off the roads.

otoh i also rode the trainer for an hour before that, and, grateful as i am to have a great workout setup, it rarely feels good. i'm doing intervals, some of which i know i cannot complete. i just go til i have to give up. it is sorta bad for morale.

I really need to get back on the bike again before I turn into a slug

this has happened to me :-/

six months into intern year and I'm probably in the worst shape of my adult life. I'd sorta taken for granted just how much value there was in the basic commuter miles I accrued while living in the city. 5-10 miles a day ain't much but it's a whole lot more than zero.

I'd hoped to commute from my current location (~9mi from work) but man, I get up at 0545-0600 with just enough time to shower and drive 20min. And then work 10-16hrs. Riding would take another 40min on the morning, easy.

Kinda hoping that I can tune my schedule and my gear better next year. Cuz the ride that my commute would entail is actually really nice (gravel rail trail along a brook for most of the way). Plus I could add some sportiness on the way home if so inclined.

But right now? Slug town

25 miles today. Want to do 10 tomorrow before breakfast and festivities.

Left my parents' place without much of a plan, random dude rolled up and asked if I wanted to do some climbing. He turned out to be a masters racer, dragged me up and down canyons for like five hours. Shot. But - also discovered an amazing descent to the ocean, a one-way road all the way, just a blast.

Sounds grim, gbx. Merry Christmas folks

12 miles for Xmas day breakfast.

think front tyre is knacked after that long Tuesday ride in the sun that I put on strava - reinflated to proper pressure for today, then 5 mins later heard loud *tsssssss*. could do without trip to my place to get replacement...

10.5 miles up to the top of Mt. Chapel in the Hollywood Hills. Cool to see other folks on the road for Xmas.

A calm and sunny (but freezing cold) Boxing Day morning, between the storms at the start of the week and the storms coming tomorrow. Did a token effort of 20 miles or so in a bid to de-slug.

Just under 14 today, tough climbs and technical bits around town, after the sunshine had gone. Windy but no rain forecast here tomorrow.

Momentary confusion: when I logged on to strava it told me that one of the people I 'follow' (who I've ridden with locally several times) was riding on Boxing Day with Ed (who I assumed was on the other side of the planet and has no reason to know this person at all). Though now I see it was a Rapha thing around Regents Park I assume there were dozens of riders who didn't all know each other.

other confusion: i don't always correlate user names b/w strava and iltrmb right away, so i'll see a ride on my strava feed and then see it described here and have to pair up the IDs mentally. before i saw ET's post above i saw his route on strava and ended zooming around LA topo maps going, wow, that looks cool, in the middle of everything, is it a hike or a ride, or what?

also, i had seen a route down tuna by i think cutty, like a couple months ago. i had no idea what that canyon was, but i was pretty impressed by the topo- i ended up looking up the road online and finding out it was a red bull road rage route in 2005. so when i saw the lukas post above, and his strava data, i was..."oh, that's tuna, i bet"... even though i've not met cutty, lukas, and have never been to LA.

i've done the same with the ed/haitch rides northeast of melb. if i ever get there again (which will never happen) i will be totally ready for some climbs.

Just under 24 miles in storm-warning conditions. Had to turn back on one of my usual routes at 8 miles in because the road was flooded; stupidly tried fording it slowly but if was way too deep and I had to sacrifice a sodden foot to turn around. 40mph cross gusts nearly had me over once of twice... Good fun though. And mostly blue skies.

I've challenged myself to do at least 10 miles each day that I'm on leave; back to work on January 6 and it'd going ok so far. Hopefully next week I can get a couple of longer rides in if the weather is decent.

if i read strava right, i can make 7000 mi this year if i ride like 90 miles by tuesday night. nothing motivates like nice round numbers.

Do it!

a thing i have never heard of til now: the river exe.

wiki notes- "the Exe estuary is an important site for wintering waders..." i suppose that means you then, nick.

so when i saw the lukas post above, and his strava data, i was..."oh, that's tuna, i bet"

Yes, well done. I was sure that titling the ride "First time down Tuna" would disguise my actions, but you saw right through me. ;)

ha, i just couldn't believe you didnt know that ride before, i love that ride. if you ever need ride advice in la, let me know. you know what else is cool? mt. chapel in hollywood hills.

That was me, although I wasn't riding with them I just took a draft before scurrying off for multiple runs over Hampstead Heath. I've been in London spending Christmas with my family and my dad rehabbed the eddy Merckx frame with Athena so I've been riding around London.

Interestingly I think I like the position on the Merckx better than on the BMC, wider handlebars and longer top tube. I'm finding it a lot easier to get out of the saddle although that may just be a fitness thing.

How long are you back in London for?

Thanks, I'm not down in LA often, but definitely need advice when I am.

brrrrr cold 100k today. some sublime scenery tho

def ambition for 2014: learn how to mechanic my own bike. will save a power of money

the hot pink concorde gets nothing but compliments on the club run

giving me a bit of knee bother tho: saddle to pedal fit is same as other bike. not using cleats for now, just cages, plus I often get caught out w/hills due to friction shifters. could either of those be it?