your daily bicycle log

time to go play miniature golf with my 5 year old, then powerwash the deck to prep for staining.

sounds exhausting

just went on a short hike at over 10k in altitude, and was embarrassingly winded

5.5 hours, 103 miles, 3,654 kilojoules

that's about 15 hours and 284 miles this week

27 enjoyable miles in the unseasonable sun in the Essex countryside
Cutty - that's extreme

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2659814 Drove out to where I grew up and did a 1989-revival-ride

they bulldozed one of my favorite local climbs. it was a dirt road that went about 8% steady for 600m, then took a left and went 14% for the last 200m. a dirt wall, just fantastic, and it fell near at the 2/3 mark of winter rides, after which i'd mostly descend about a 1000 ft to home. now its a 2 lane highway that contours the hill at a steady 6-7%, paved obv., and drops into the luxe environs of castle pines. fuk u progress.

Damnit I'm gonna get a fixie. Any recommendations? I don't wanna break the bank.

― ledge, Saturday, March 21, 2009 10:42 AM (4 days ago)

I recently got a Fuji track, which is fine in one sense, at the cheaper end of the market anyway, but if you are going to go for something like that, you'll want to factor in pedals, obviously, but also, more importantly, make sure you get a low gear ratio - something like 48/19 I reckon. Track bikes often come with track racing ratios, which are too high for urban cycling - pressure on knees, accelerating and decelerating are more of a hassle.

If you're anything like me, at first it will feel too low after a road bike, but this is just a case of learning to spin fast, which looks ridiculous on a geared bike, but fine on a fixed wheel.

If you're in England, Condor I think do relatively cheap, fixed wheel bikes that you can customize. And local retailers who have experience of doing conversions and of building fixed wheel bikes may well be able to do you something even cheaper to your spec.

Sorry, that's all really obvious isn't it? I just wanted to stress going for the lower gear ratio, because I didn't really think about it when I bought mine, so I just ended up spending more than I would have done otherwise.

Cheers (and to Ed for the shop recommendation). I've got a reasonable idea of ratios thanks to my old singlespeed conversion which is 42/16 and pretty much ideal for London, so I guess I'll be looking at 48/18.

God, maybe I should change my name to Abbe Patronishing Tit - obviously you knew all that, ledge.

I blame the wind, which currently blows in my face all the way to work, causing me to have gear ratios on the brain a bit.

At one point around Gunnersbury I hit a wind tunnel and thought I was going to blasted into another dimension. Tomorrow I might put a basket on the front of my bike, a bike Sturmey Archer hub on the back, and wrap a floral headscarf around my head to make the speed I go at look less laughable.

Nah it's still good to hear, especially that low ratio is the way to go 'cause I was wondering whether I should switch it up a bit.

Wind while cycling is the worst. [insert bad fart gag here.]

I would recommend looking at an on-one pompino but they see to be out of stock of everything at the moment.

i would recommend sticking with gears

beat my PR on my 16 mile ride to work (Mostly rolling hills along PCH ) by 5 minutes, stoked. mostly due to the wind finally being a non-factor for once.

The wind being a considerable plus factor, you mean :)

I almost killed myself coming home, and I'm not sure how! I did blast past a bunch of roadies and hybrids at one point and only a few hundred yards later did I realise quite how much effort I was putting in. And I am recovering from illness, so bound to be weaker. Honest.

Today: 10-20 inches of snow 25mph wind from north. SNOWBIKE IN EFFECT. (not too terrible on way in)

I run 48x19 and it suits me reasonably well. Condor are quite expensive, but v. nice.

Fuji Track is solid and cheap. There's also the Charge Plug, Genesis Flyer, Bianchi Pista and many more that are all popular.

Take a look at this thread on the London Fixed-Gear & Single-Speed forums for an excellent comprehensive list of Off-The-Peg fg/ss bikes at various price levels: http://www.londonfgss.com/thread9085.html

OK, I want this:

http://www.luvbikes.com/smsimg/119/4135-10381-main-pashley_guvnor-119.jpg

Since when were you style over substance, Ed?

not biking, but whatever: five hours at Taos, NM today. The conditions were horrible in the morning (dust on crust), but it kept snowing and by the end of the day i was getting decent turns up in the chutes. the terrain there is INSANE---to my eye it might be some of the best inbounds in the country. hiked about six laps and wasn't too worse for wear, despite the elevation (12,000)

its a long walk out that ridge, eh? chute after chute, but weirdly a small-feeling mountain to me. like a bunch of terrain parks strung together, but at the top of a mountain.

ive not been there but two days, a long time ago, maybe im mis-remembering. it was right when i started doing tele stuff, before plastic boots were around. before fat skis were around. i had merrill supercomps, and they were not enough. i ditched the teles for my downhill shit. halfway through the first day.

like a bunch of terrain parks strung together, but at the top of a mountain.

^^^ this. all those lines off the ridge are scrappy and steep and have so many fun little features to play with. half the lines i took started within feet of each other, but were totally different. i'm totally smitten.

today i rode from the southwest corner of o'ahu all the way to the southeast corner. had to ride on the highway (3" shoulder) at times and find decent bike routes. pretty fun though. i took some pix that i need to u/l.

i fit in an hour and fifteen minutes. lame.

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/hi/kapolei/519123839186374898

yesterday was 65 miles in 85F (in the shade, probably mid-90s in the open). back of left knee hates me. probably a fitting issue on rental bike (56cm seemed pretty small, I'm 6'2"). Flat as a pancake except for a couple bumps and the climb into Diamond Head crater. Drank 6x24oz worth of h2o. gorgeous views of pearl harbor and hawaii kai, kahala and waikiki. some sketchy hoods and urban views as well which were a trip, got to see a lot that tourists don't around Eva Beach and Pearl City.

Did that ride again today, but felt 10x better despite 25-35mph headwind gusts and occasional showers once I got out of the Leeward side of the island.

Also had a killer $8 plate lunch with gr8080 at Nico's Pier 38: Seared swordfish with a coconut saffron green curry sauce. Totally amazing.

omg that sounds delicious

Rode/fell head first into a wall yesterday evening. Not fun...

http://krakow.zenfolio.com/img/v7/p256575138-3.jpg

Damn. Did u stay alert or were u out??

Ouch ouch ouch

Were you wearing a lid?

holy crap!

they seem to have been rather good at not shaving more than necessary. what is a pro's opinion gbx?

i mean if you had my dome it would be even more dire

I managed to stay conscious. No I wasn't wearing a helmet. They didn't shave my head at all, just did a wee bit of snipping then fired the staples in.

The story goes:

I hit a power cable for a temporary traffic light at the wrong angle and my front wheel went out from under me, launching me head first right into the cornerstone of a handy nearby wall. Blood was pouring everywhere, soaking into my cap. I struggled along to the nearest bus stop and managed to call myself an ambulance, as nobody stopped (bastards!), without fainting or vomiting. Got taken to the nearby hospital about 8pm. Police took my bike as I didn't have a lock. Wasn't admitted till nearly 11pm after nigh on 3 lonely hours in the waiting room with the temporary ambulance bandage on, and didn't get treated till about 1am, at which point after staples and x-rays they couldn't let me go home alone, so kept me over night.

Fun times. Not.

eek :/ glad you are ok.

not the appropriate time for a helmet diatribe... but.. uhh

I'm currently looking for a good deal on a helmet.

oh that sucks, dude :(

I hope you heal quickly. that must have been scary and awful.

wow you are very lucky my friend. be safe.

Thanks everyone, the concern is appreciated.

I had a wee pootle to the shops today, to make sure that "the fear" wouldn't rear its ugly head. Thankfully not much sign of it.

I've dug my ugly old helmet out of the cupboard as a stop gap until I find something shiny and sexy and new to place on my noggin.

you should start a not-ugly helmets thread

my commuting helmets have all been retired racing helmets-- stickered, worn and ugly. ive run out, need a new one.

Your wish is my command...

Non-ugly Cycling Helmets

thundersnowstorms are cool. i rode home in one couple of days ago, and theyre predicting more tonight. theyre also predicting 5 to 12 inches of snow, which is not so cool.

Back on the bike today. Cautious (as much due to sore shoulders and knees as anything else), but no sign of "The Fear", thankfully.

Snow? Sunshine here in London. I was out in shorts and short-sleeves this morning for the first time this year. It was OK when I was riding (apart from the first five minutes), but I quickly became freezing when I stopped at the halfway point. No exaggeration, I must have seen 100 other cyclists today. 46.5 miles at 17mph.

Re-rode the offending accident route this morning before work. Conquered!

As with NB&S in London, it was sunny but cold here in Glasgow.

That's good to hear, krakow. I got knocked off my bike a couple of years ago and became the most tentative cyclist in the world for a bit - not a good or safe thing to be.

Coming back from work last night - west London to north-east - the traffic was the worst I've ever known it, far worse than weekday rush hour traffic. Was hoping for a nice Sunday evening roll home, but instead it was incredibly stressful. Some drivers really don't like the fact they are stuck in jams while you are floating, or wobbling on a couple of occasions, by.

Getting out in the country next week though, on a geared bike, to revisit a few of the hills of my childhood, including the fearsome Chalkpit Lane (20%). Can't wait.

Managed a 56-miler yesterday, very easy, flat route to Windsor & back, taking it fairly easy with the two mates I rode to Paris with last year. We've all lost our fitness to a certain degree (thanks to winter + broken rib, broken wrist and apathy respectively) so we didn't want to bomb it, hence our ave speed of just under 16mph. Wonderful fun - I also wore a short sleeve single layer for the first time this year (bit nippy when the sun went in) and got such a buzz I can't wait to do it again.

Krakow - ouchy. Glad you're okay and you'll have a way cool scar!

I'm on holiday now so went back out today (in shorts again) while the wife and baby were at IKEA. Rode fifteen miles out of London at high speed then turned back and suddenly felt empty and realised I had a savage headwind to contend with. Ugh. I had an energy gel with me, but that wasn't really enough. The whole way back home was just a slog. Had to binge on food as soon as I got in. 30.5 miles at 16.6mph (but it felt a lot slower than that for the last stretch).

Thanks again guys.

Unfortunately now my right arm & shoulder are giving me absolute agony. I'm worried that something is broken, so it looks like I'll be heading back to casualty tomorrow morning, hoping that Tuesday morning is a good quiet time to go.