your daily bicycle log

I did 85 miles by 2pm today (had to be home by half past two, so set off really early) - the furthest I've ever cycled. I headed out of London, deep into the Essex countryside, and got to Finchingfield 40 miles later in just 2 hours 10 mins of riding (at over 18mph). Then I went across to Thaxted then headed back towards London. At this point the sun disappeared and turned into thick grey cloud and the pleasant (but gentle) tailwind turned into an aggressive headwind. The 45-mile return leg became a bit of a grind - I was on my own, so there was no shelter at any stage. I eventually finished after 5 hours 9 mins (average speed down to 16.4mph, so the return must have been *much* slower).
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2464/3808035329_fe95421dc2_m.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3464/3808034583_f61510733c_m.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2626/3808849000_f6dacdb718_m.jpg

Woah - that looks like a ghost house!

(nice work on the ride)

first flat last night, awww

did 9km of straight w/ a mild climb last night due to lack of good tv options. invigorating in the night air! curious as to the speed i'm getting up when at full tilt, might have to invest in a computer soon.

commute was rather foggy in the morn'.

Computers are brilliant, haitch - you'll find yourself increasing speed and fitness exponentially as the competitive urge takes hold :)

I got my first flat in 4000 miles last Thursday. Ah well.

Gears have been playing up all week, so I just decided to try and sort them out, and the cable's snapped at the front shifter. Woe. Had been thinking about a SS conversion for a while anyway.. anyone done one?

― j.o.n.a, Saturday, 4 July 2009 16:35 Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yes. it is well easy.

― last night i dreamt somebody shoved me (ledge), Saturday, 4 July 2009 17:48 Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

So it is, it's only taken me 3 weeks to sort out. I suck. Nice to cycle to work again though.

jet lag had me up at 5am this morning, so after some putzing, i had my first ride in weeks to a cafe across town. yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

god i need to get back in shape

230 miles planned for the next 3 days... *whimper*

cowboy up, wakeboarder

So today I managed to burst a tube as I was putting it in. Anyone got any tips for getting a really tight tire back on?

smoke a doob together, be gentle, communication is important

gbx otm. I've burst a couple of tubes while putting them on, so I figured out I wasn't making sure the tube where the valve is was fully inside the tyre, rather than the tyre effectively resting on the tube. So when I put the tube in the tyre now, I push the valve up into the tyre while it's uninflated, and this solves the problem.

No tips on actually fitting a really tight tyre, though, sorry.

if you don't have tire levers some flathead screwdrivers would probably work

i always shy away from using levers to put tires back on....the last time i did it, i gave myself three flats in the span of fifteen minutes

i have a big bottle of baby powder on the work bench and coat the tube very liberally prior to stowing it or installing it.

that way when i cant get the fucking tire back on the goddamn rim i can at least smell that nice baby powder smell. its very soothing.

youre not using levers right? hands only for install.

full palm roll technique- no thumbs

levers are bad?

generally as described by gbx. i have used levers to install my cheapo studded tires which are about as flexible as cement--im simply not strong enough to get that done by hand.

yeah, full hand roll for sure. it'll hurt, and take forever, but you'll get stronger. levers to install increases the likelihood of pinch flats by like a millionx

i've only used them a handful of times, and i'm batting like 0.100.

I have had big problems with last two wheels, I am wondering how oversize the wheels are, nice bike shop guy has been noticing a trend in bike wheels to get slightly bigger over the years for better tire security, although I don't ever recalling a tire falling off.

I just cannot get my tire back on using manual techniques. Two thumbs method, palm method, I have tried them all. This never used to be a problem, maybe I am just getting old and infirm.

I just ordered a tire bead jack.

wow sheldon brown is very thorough

also donot use flathead screwdrivers in place of tire levers
that is a recipe for disaster

first mtb ride of year at deer creek park. damn. i pretty much suck.

i really should get a new bike before i rip the headtube off my antique 1993 bike. im in a wedding in moab in two weeks, and doing a trip to zion in about 6 weeks. a new ride would be niiiice.

its not bike vanity, i could give a crap about riding disgraceful old shit, if i could outclimb my friends. actually, that might even be better. but i wont be able to keep up anyway.

ah, dreams are free.

Levers are fine for putting tyres back on, I promise - just be aware of where the tube is in relation to the tyre and don't use silly amounts of force. That said, I managed to remove and refit a tyre and tube this weekend without using levers at all, which was a first and made me feel that much more of a man.

went for a pedal after dinner - went thru a dip under a bridge on the bike path, quite dark, and only once i hit it did i realise there was a stretch of about 20 metres of water up to the fucking chainstays. kept it upright and motored on through! lol, wet socks.

I think it is a wire bead vs otherwise thing. My folding nobblies are the easiest things in the world to get on and off.

Had a rare monday off so I did a short morning ride before doing errands. Down the coast to the gliderport and back. At one point I was looking down at my shoe for some reason and didn't notice, and then ran right through, a big pile of vomit on the road. Yuck
route: http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=38793

280 miles last week. This mostly had to do w/ not being able to work b/c of malfunctioning (eventually declared deceased) computer, a stretch which was conveniently coupled w/ 4-5 days of mostly gorgeous weather. Longest run = 65m. I may get to that 100 by the end of the month after all.

survived 230 miles in 3 days, but not without some serious side-effects... heart rate climbing on mere mild climbs on day 3 in hot weather, seat sensitivity no doubt compounded by the heat/stickiness, general sluggishness on climbs and ability to "turn it on" lol, back spasms, legs feel pummeled.

also on saturday witnessed a particularly heinous crash... started my 100+ mile ride by following this dude from "the wiggle" up and over the Golden Gate Bridge (about 7 miles of partial city, mostly park riding). he was fast but on a tri bike and with the hills and winding roads i stayed with him**

he dropped me on one hill on account of his boogying and me wanting to save some for the way home but i eventually pulled back to him by the bridge. the bridge bike traffic is relegated to the southern span, and at times it gets tight for multidirectional traffic. a girl roadie swerve/weaved into his path (me hot on his heels) and the locked bullhorn to drops and both went flying up and over. a broken collarbone apiece and shaken up but otherwise okay. nasty, nasty looking crash, i had a view too good of it all.

be careful out there dudes.

Going cycling with Lance Armstrong in a couple of hours, seriously!

Hey Glasgow - group ride starts at Ashtree House Hotel. 9 Orr Square. Paisley, Scotland. See you there at noon!!

He's in Glasgow en route to the Tour Of Ireland.

God bless my day off. BTW, I'm doing so fixed, in full fakenger garb, my race bike being out of commission.

amazing how great a feels after some needed maintenance.

"bike"

**he told me to add him on FB and when I did I noticed he had several sub 10-hour Ironman finishes... whoa.

From the Glasgow thread, because I'm too lazy to think of something new to say:

I rode harder and faster then I ever have in my life. It was an amazing experience, I'm still on a high from it. Being part of 300 cyclists blasting out of Paisley at >20mph in the pouring rain following Lance Armstrong was a stunning thing.

I'm also on BBC Reporting Scotland: http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/player/?item=44534835
Report starts at 9:30 minutes, you can see me in the blue jacket and black cycling cap taking my gloves off right in front of the camera at 9:52 onwards for a good few seconds.

I rode it fixed, with a laden courier bag, no lycra in sight, and managed to hold my own. Roadies eat that!

i hit another local path that i hadn't gone on before after work - about 20km to the end and back. the last 1.5km of it goes through the middle of one of the major cemeteries here in melbourne, following the railway line. they've upgraded the path at the start of the year with a bunch of solar lights set into the path - the light was just about gone when i reached it, it looks like an airport runway! so awesome:

http://solarone.com.au/images/Solareone%20%20029%20trimmed.jpg

whoa!

I've done 233 miles in the last two weeks (in 6 separate rides), some of it on holiday in Dorset and Sussex. Sadly my summer break is nearly over and I'll soon be back to trying to snatch the occasional ride here and there.

i did this trail today, 50 km out and back. wasn't caning it by any means as a lot of it was on gravel path, but still felt surprisingly easy - could def get back on the bike right now if i had to. might have to scale up my ambitions next week.

gotta work on the climbing a bit, tho. one full-on switchback climb from the river to the highest point on the trail had me puffing big-time.

energy loading: one (1) choc iced soft serve from one of those contentious ice cream vans.

did this 80 mile climb loop the fastest I've ever gone by a factor of 45 minutes, no doubt helped by the fact I only stopped twice during the ride. is this normal, stopping to take in views (aka catching your breath, resting your legs, etc.)? 11 total climbs, 3 MONSTER climbs (>5 miles, switchbacks, 6-8%)

New levels of soreness today. In short, I am a wimp. Ugh.

doesnt sound wimpy, sounds pretty badass

i almost never stop on a road ride unless i have to piss or i have to buy food. i really dislike stopping on group rides, it just sucks all of the energy out of me.

on mtb rides, i'll stop to check out the sights.

Contentious ice cream vans?

quiddities and agonies of the ruling class - a rolling new york times thread

(this was not in NY, admittedly)

man if i coulda had choco soft serve on my ride yesterday ida paid $10 no doubt. the unbearable hotness of mtb'ing. 40 mins of granny gear with babyhead hikeabikes in 97 deg still air.

It just won't stop: "40 mins of granny gear with babyhead hikeabikes"?

I wanted to be an ice cream man once. I'd consistently shell out to an ice cream person if they weren't one of those rednecky dudes from the fleet of vans. Less consistently to those dudes. My friend James' dad built himself an ice cream truck in Ft. Myers. His dad really thought deeply about every aspect of the operation, including the music box he has playing. I used to hate it when the ice cream truck would pass by too soon for me to collect some change for a Klondike bar or whatever.

My dad had summer job as an ice cream man in Detroit in the early 70s, no idea how a kid from Liverpool ended up doing that.

40 min of granny gear with babyhead hikeabikes = bowl session of shitty weed in the alley with touring-by-bicycle bluegrass/funk/rock'n'reggae band, babyhead hikeabikes

or just riding the easy gear on steep sections, with big rocks and sections with walking, depends on who you're talking to

Rode in the Black Mountains in South Wales this weekend and set my new speed record - 50.7mph. Sweet!

bowl session of shitty weed in the alley with touring-by-bicycle bluegrass/funk/rock'n'reggae band, babyhead hikeabikes
thanks babelfish translator

good stuff, good goals!

maybe try a century by the end of the summer?

― cutty, Wednesday, June 24, 2009 7:52 AM (2 months ago) Bookmark

It's on. Monday, weather permitting. I did 75 on Monday, so I think I can hack it. Then up to northern MI next week for some coastal touring. It's going to be a sweet bike week, folks.