your daily bicycle log

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.

oh man

some friends here are on a week+ excursion from mpls up to madeline island, those fukkin assholes

top gear, zipping along a wide deserted path on the flat and nearing a mild downhill section. heard the dread flapping sound above my head... magpie attack! tried to wave the bastard away, got a touch crossed-up and next thing i knew i was sprawled on the path. easily the biggest crash i've ever had. the bike's ok, i've got a sore right hand and elbow but pretty sure nothing's broken. no damage to the clothes either, christ knows how since i slid for a bit.

s'a shame because i was immensely enjoying myself up to that point. i went on for a bit but the path that i wanted to take wasn't signposted so i turned around and went home! probably went about 40km all up, was geared up to go a fair bit longer tho.

australian magpies: what is their fucking problem?

http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/July2002/img/f_postie.jpg

they are total arseholes.

whoa bad birdies.

a momma wild turkey and her gaggle of chicks just ran by the patio im sitting on. ive got 1500 ft red rock cliffs all around me, the colorado river drifting by to my left. a slightly stinky horse corral about 50 yards behind me. maybe i'll get ride in before we leave moab.

oh u bitch, u in moab

First play with the new Trek, it is niiiiice. Downhills and drops feel way smoother n easier, switching up to a bigger frame was the right decision (I always felt uncomfortably close to pitching over the front on my inappropriately named Giant). And it's way lighter so uphill is easier too - suspension lock out also a bonus there. Not so good when you forget to switch it off on the way down though.

i think i need a day off... i'm dying over here.

haitch, I bit it too yesterday. No magpies to liven up my story, though. I was zipping along a moderately busy four-lane street last night. As I cruised through one green light, I noted a car on the adjacent street waiting to turn left. No big deal, the street was well lit, I had my lights on the guy must have seen me, right? Well, I don't know if he did or he didn't, but that didn't stop him from peeling out when the light turned green w/ what turned out to be a really fucking loud muscle car. I think he was turning into the lane next to me anyway, but I'll never know b/c the noise freaked me out so much that I turned my head to see what was coming at me & by the time I looked back at my path line, there was the curb right in front of me & I was head & heels over bars onto the sidewalk. Just some scrapes & bruises, tho, & bike seems OK. Be careful out there, folks!

A gentle 57-miler to Windsor and back today with some slower friends (i.e. not trying to ride the arse of themselves and me) which has combined with my wedding hangover and left me utterly drained tonight. Fun though, and the last ride I'll be doing for a fortnight unless I can borrow a bike when I'm in Tuscany.

what kind of dying shasta

last 3 days = 210 miles, over 12k feet vertical climbing, all during a heat wave.

rolling hardman

pillbox we get the 'hoon' drivers getting around like that here too - i try to keep clear of them as much as possible obv! doesn't help that the local tabloid seems to be in a bit of an anti-cyclist mood at the moment.

Must be something in the air at the moment, or the curse of ILX, but I crashed today as well, in embarrassingly stupid fashion (though no magpies were injured). Will write about it later on the race log thread.

a light 30 mi today to keep my chops up & my rhythm tight for the big 100 tomorrow..

well there you go - bad luck comes in threes, looks like we've crashed for the greater good of team ILTRMB

Century was dashed by a leaky tube, the replacement of which led to a torn computer wire. Curses! It was a gorgeous day too, & I know I would have pulled it off, but I'll be damned if I'm going to lay claim to any such feat without having an odometer to watch. I may re-equip & set out again tomorrow, or I might wait until next week. I'll report back accordingly.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/July2002/img/f_postie.jpg http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/scb_eagle.jpeg

http://www.sportingcollectibles.com/cphotos/c1076.jpg

100 miles today, thus certifying the achievement of a goal I've worked toward since the beginning of the summer. Overall current stats: One month (Aug. 1 - Sept. 2); 21 rides; 960 miles; Avg. 45.71 miles/ride.

On Friday, I'm heading up to northern MI & will be doing some putzing around on the NW coast. Hopefully the wind & the climbs won't be too brutal, but I'm seriously looking forward to it.

After that, it will be time to taper down what has been a great introductory season to road biking & start mixing up rides w/ some tennis & misc. upper-body training. Next year, I plan to turn my Flandria into a fixie & invest in some relatively contemporary road equipment for serious distance riding.

back on for the first time since the wipeout on sunday, thanks to new best friend 'ibuprofen'. usual commute in the morning, then did most of the capital trail after work tonight - pretty leisurely 20-something km. (well, went for it on the boulevard road and the stretch home.) perfect clear night meant the dark bits were quite moonlit.

Road back from the proms last night, it bucketed down. First time cycling in the rain for yonks, would've been ok if I hadn't been in me best troos.

960 miles in a month!

Road back from the proms last night, it bucketed down. First time cycling in the rain for yonks, would've been ok if I hadn't been in me best troos.

― ledge, Thursday, September 3, 2009 1:45 PM (32 minutes ago) Bookmark

Ugh, it was filthy last night. I just caught the tail end of it cycling home along that road past the Royal Festival Hall, then into Hyde Park. You can get some massive puddles spreading out from the drains there, which cause CHAOS and DANGER.

Fortunately I had the wind at my back all the way home so I was feeling pretty good about everything, apart from when a tool in one of those little urban cars tried to squeeze past me along Baker Street. Hey, your car's not THAT small.

This morning however it was a case of get as low over your handlebars as possible to get under that wind that's blowing from west to east. Hoping it's still there this evening for my ride back.

Only other riding I've done apart from my commute was a lovely sunny ride out from London over to Ide Hill and back with my brother (55 miles odd?). Normally he's too fast for comfort, so I just end up sucking his back wheel and gasping and looking rather wretched, but he's got a problem with his knee at the moment and I was able to go pretty much at my own pace, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Swinley Forest again. Skidded to a stop at the end of the ride and apparently that was the first time I had really used my back brakes in anger as they locked up. Fortunately my friend who works in a bike shop was there to diagnose, I'd never have spotted it - the brakes were fitted with a 185mm brace for a 160mm rotor, so the pads were only engaging the top 5mm of the rotor.

Day off, Leith Hill and Holmbury hill, took in Barry Knows Best and Telegraph Road and Summer Lightning, amongst others, for those in the know. 6 hours 32 miles 6600 feet of climbing.

100 miles, Glasgow to Edinburgh and back again, on fixed gear! 6 hours riding, 9 hours total. I'm a wee bit knackered now.

Such an amazing day.