your daily bicycle log

Are there no bike shops in Chicago that are located near bus or other mass transit routes?

Jordan it does sound like you're making an excuse here! What kind of bike are you after?

Ed, my commute is 7.25 miles north-east from Putney to Soho.

i don't live in chicago.

i don't mind walking to bike shops! it's just that the only decent one in walking distance was closed (forgot about the bus because i never use them in this town).

i just want a decent hybrid.

i say get a cross bike instead of a hybrid so you can still come across as sexy

Already done 21.6 miles today. Will need to do another ~20 in the 1.5 hours, in theory.

BALL-O-CAUST

Sorry, I keep forgetting you are in an M-city instead!

lol bad at math

i did 30 miles today

JUNK MILES

i say get a cross bike instead of a hybrid so you can still come across as sexy

OTM. A Hybrid kind of does nothing satisfactorily - it's heavy and slow on the road and it can deal with fkat paths and tracks and stuff but if you really want to enjoy off-road stuff it'll be next to useless. A cross bike is fine on the road, much nimbler and lighter than a hybrid, and it's also designed for having fun with in far more interesting locations.

When I get my new road bike I think I might bung cross tyres on the Trek and actually explore some surfaces which don't feature tarmac. Almost more excited about that tbh.

oh interesting, i will check it out.

harsh, bro

no cycling 'cause in paris but i observed the cycling habits of parisians in the wild. they like their bikes but they are all very casual - i saw no couriers or fixies or even clipless pedals or lycra, and very few helmets. they have a kind of 21st century white bicycle scheme that is v popular, you have to get a card which costs like 30 bucks a year, then you can pick up an unsexy unisex bike from a fancy stand, first half hour is free then the cost starts mounting up.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3038/2398456063_fe019c6af4.jpg

i was joking!! roadies call everyone else's rides junk miles. ;)

Ugh, ten days without riding makes me feel so unfit. Why is it my lungs always hurt so much when I get back in the saddle? Going to do some longer, slower riding this weekend with my two mates who are cycling to Paris with me.

I dunno, ledge, they're actually kind of sexy! Esp if you start with the more relaxed vision of urban biking you describe.

i say sexxxys how u ride it- or that you ride it

no matter how sexy you know yr cx is, to joe blow yr another bikin loser in the way of his suv

that said i think cx bikes are great for doing lots of things, but short hop urban riding is not really their best bit

he said he wanted to do some "serious summer riding"

if you really want a hybrid, check out the giant cypress series

(not sexy)

it is possible that we have different definitions of "serious" :/

i will check out those giant bikes, it looks like one of the bike shops nearby is a dealer (for the most part this is a Trek down, being Wisconsin and all).

it is possible that we have different definitions of "serious" :/

shit yeah we do

its possible you has different definitions of sexy even

Q: Girls, in skirts, on bikes, drinking beers?

I think we can all agree on that one.

Jamis Coda series gets props from many.

But hybrids are pretty lame (I own one and never ride it).

i'm probably going to get one anyway and then y'all can make fun of my lame bike.

re: serious, my big goal for the summer is to leisurely bike to milwaukee (70 miles), get drunk, and bike back the next day (or perhaps take the bus). not sure if this is over-ambitious or not.

Looks OK, kind of a flat bar road with a nice gearing range.

my big goal for the summer is to leisurely bike to milwaukee (70 miles)

you can definitely ride a hybrid 70 miles, or 140 miles but if yr gonna do many rides over 20 miles or so, you might wanna a lighter, speedier ride like a cx. try em both?

Yeah, make sure you test ride as many bikes as you want to, but definitely when they're completely different machines. When I was looking to buy my last bike I was only thinking of touring types, and then some dude in a shop suggested I try the Trek. OMG it was a revelation.

Talking of cx bikes/my Trek, can people let me know what, other than knobbly tyres, I would need to change on my road bike to make it cx-worthy?

got a massage yesterday, did 90 mins this AM with 4x5 minutes at Z3/Z4

another race tomorrow based on hill points. i think i'll kill it.

Cutty, what are the races in which you're taking part?

mark- frame, fork and caliper clearances will be yr big barrier. consult a shop that knows cx rubber, i doubt youll get anything wider than 28s on there, and even that is dubious ime. you dont need a lot of knobby on those tires, even diamond or file treads (theyre really meant for mud)a will be helpful and would provide more clearance

you really dont need to change anything else though a slightly shorter higher stem is nice.

the race i won last week was a club race for the century road club association of which i am a member:

http://www.crca.net

but there are plenty of races to go around in the greater NYC area. you usually can take your pick of which races in the city to attend, or take a trip upstate.

The Club was established in 1898, the same year in which the City of New York was formed, and has been a major force in bicycle racing throughout its more than one hundred years of operation. Racers who have entered the sport through the club have gone on to win National and World Championships and Olympic medals.

i got a bike! it's a marin san anselmo. i'm sure it's not sexy, but it feels comfortable. i've never had a bike with a front shock before, that's pretty crazy (it's got a switch to lock it).

It looks a good quality, solid and versatile machine. Nice job.

Anyone have any idea (or any links) how many fewer calories a 200lb man/bike combo will need for every pound lost from the weight? Or how much faster you would go with the same physical effort?

(this is curiosity, I haven't become a weight weenie, honest)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3284/2410331239_89d915e9d2.jpg

nice jordan.

mark the question will depend on how much vertical youve got going on obv. on flat ground the difference would be very small, as the big determinant of power there will be frontal area.

Minutes of fun to be had dude. frinstance, if i lost a kilo of weight on my local basic climb (10k at just under 5%), id save around 14 seconds.

Thanks Hunter - and thanks for all the times you've answered my dumb questions before. I feel like such a noob on this board :)

Wow, nice perianal cavity, Jordan!

(I am buying a lighter bike but have also lost half a stone since starting training, fwiw)

Crazy cycling weather today. Torrential hail, ok the stones were only about 5mm so nothing like the big rocks you get in the states but it was coming down like nobody's business, carpeting the ground like snow. Stung if it hit you on the ear.

Trails were really muddy, and not the sticky mud I'm normally used to, this was really slippy. Kept on sliding off to the edge of the trails for no apparent reason. Oh and tree roots are dud enough in wet weather, but when they're hidden underneath large puddles...

Final descent on a fire road that had become a stream, was blinking like 5 times a second to try and see through the spray.

One of those "remind me why I do this again" days. Still fun of course... but don't want those conditions too often, thanks.

Wau

thanks dudes. i went on a nice little test ride today, just a couple miles. i was going up a steep hill and my pant leg caught on the gears (forgot about rolling up), and it fucked something up! it was catching/grinding when in either a really high or really low gear. i rode it back to the shop in middle gear and they fixed it up...apparently the dingus (can't remember the name of the part) was adjusted too low for the bike and got a little bent/misaligned when my jeans caught. hopefully that won't happen again.

the guys at the bike shop probably called you a dingus

probably