I had a terrific Sat am ride. As the season progresses I am widening my net of roads not ridden. I wanted to beat the heat but had late start for me at 7am after 1 hr drive to Delaware river. Plan was to take minor highway up one side early, cross bridge and take river roads/backroads the way back as traffic accumulated. Needed some navi guidance at my turnaround town, was all mixed up in town streets, and luckily I found an old timer who said "no listen to me! you go this way to get there", which I thought was 100% the wrong direction, but he was dead on. There are times when navi on the bike would be helpful, but If i get lost I always figure it'll be short and what's a few extra miles. On the way back I mostly had the river and back country roads to myself, and as expected had about 8 miles of dirt/gravel to work through, but it was all good, green and warm, summer scents in the air, w/ great views of the beautiful river. Not a puff of wind today - summer at it's best. Got in 53 miles with 3x 500 ft hills to work up and lots and lots of rollers for about 3500 ft ascent. As the summer progresses I am feeling stronger and stronger up those hills. The heat and ride took more out of me today than I expected and will cut it short tomorrow, but i have 1000ft one shot climb routed out.
Did You Ride Today?
- Thread starter Mr. Beanz
- Start date
50 consecutive days of riding...
It was drizzling as I loaded the bike into the car this morning to head out for whatever miles I could get in before the real rain arrived.
I managed to ride 13 mostly dry miles in humid 74 degree air. And by 'humid' I mean it was 100% humidity and light rain was falling on and off during quick ride over the out and back course. Fairly flat with just under 300' of climbing I kept the respiration rate and heart rate up for the duration.
The start felt like the start of any crit. With no warm up I jumped on the gas and waited for the pain level to back down. 4 miles in the legs felt normal so I stepped on the gas as the rain picked up a little. The wind was going 8 to 9 MPH and I put my head down and pretty much TT'd back to the truck.
Damn...if I lived in Florida I think I could give that Tarzan fella a run for the Annual High Mileage Record! Ok...maybe not!
It was drizzling as I loaded the bike into the car this morning to head out for whatever miles I could get in before the real rain arrived.
I managed to ride 13 mostly dry miles in humid 74 degree air. And by 'humid' I mean it was 100% humidity and light rain was falling on and off during quick ride over the out and back course. Fairly flat with just under 300' of climbing I kept the respiration rate and heart rate up for the duration.
The start felt like the start of any crit. With no warm up I jumped on the gas and waited for the pain level to back down. 4 miles in the legs felt normal so I stepped on the gas as the rain picked up a little. The wind was going 8 to 9 MPH and I put my head down and pretty much TT'd back to the truck.
Damn...if I lived in Florida I think I could give that Tarzan fella a run for the Annual High Mileage Record! Ok...maybe not!
Hey Zipp, I was watching the 2-Hour Pro-1-2 crit on the little screen last night, live from Rochester, NY.
The commentators were bragging up how good the Leominster crit was. Some dude went of the front and rode it in from a long way off for the win. Sounds like it was a good race.
The commentators were bragging up how good the Leominster crit was. Some dude went of the front and rode it in from a long way off for the win. Sounds like it was a good race.
Hey CAMPYBOB I have a short video of the Leominster crit. on my channel and the guy gained a gap on the first lap. When I first saw the new course I couldn't believe that they didn't run it the opposite direction. It was a very dangerous course and every category had crashes. The guy who won built a gap of over a minute and a half for the first half of the race and was averaging 33 mph for the first 30 minutes. Two guys crossed over the gap and they never got caught, but the guy who started the whole thing attacked on the last lap and won easy.
Nice video! Thanks!
33 MPH for 1/2-hour?!?! That's screaming! So this is what used to be the old Fitchburg Longsjo Classic race? Moved to Leominster?
Typical crit mayhem. Manhole covers everywhere. Crappy pavement. Stupid road furniture and curbs. And America still has the fastest crit dogs in the world. Modern gladiators.
The modern crit might as well be held as Redhook criteriums. Give everyone a track bike, wait until 10 PM to start, turn out all the lights and may the last survivor be a worthy winner!
33 MPH for 1/2-hour?!?! That's screaming! So this is what used to be the old Fitchburg Longsjo Classic race? Moved to Leominster?
Typical crit mayhem. Manhole covers everywhere. Crappy pavement. Stupid road furniture and curbs. And America still has the fastest crit dogs in the world. Modern gladiators.
The modern crit might as well be held as Redhook criteriums. Give everyone a track bike, wait until 10 PM to start, turn out all the lights and may the last survivor be a worthy winner!
The old Fitchburg Longsjo Classic is now run in three cities Leominster, Worcester, and Fitchburg. I was at the Leominster and Fitchburg crits, but didn't make the Worcester crit. The Leominster race had a good crowd, and I was told Worcester was even better. The Final race in Fitchburg was dead, I've never seen so little amount of people. As for racers it was better than last year but they lost there calendar spot several years ago and it has really hurt them. Here is the Fitchburg race.
Day 51:
Just a quick 17-mile ride this afternoon with 550' of climbing. The temperature was only 80 degrees, but the humity was sky high with all the rain yesterday and this morning...and more coming tonight and tomorrow.
The entire ride was under threatening clouds and I stopped twice to adjust the shifting.
I put a new rear tire on yesterday and installed a new front derailleur cable. The cable was frayed under the BB where it entered the carbon fiber chain stay hole and also new the shift drum. Shifting was still perfect, but once I spotted the broken strands the cable had to go in the trash right now. There's no sense in running home on the little ring due to laziness and I keep spare cables at hand for just such occurrences. I curse Campagnolo every time I install one though...what a pain in the ass job.
Just a quick 17-mile ride this afternoon with 550' of climbing. The temperature was only 80 degrees, but the humity was sky high with all the rain yesterday and this morning...and more coming tonight and tomorrow.
The entire ride was under threatening clouds and I stopped twice to adjust the shifting.
I put a new rear tire on yesterday and installed a new front derailleur cable. The cable was frayed under the BB where it entered the carbon fiber chain stay hole and also new the shift drum. Shifting was still perfect, but once I spotted the broken strands the cable had to go in the trash right now. There's no sense in running home on the little ring due to laziness and I keep spare cables at hand for just such occurrences. I curse Campagnolo every time I install one though...what a pain in the ass job.
Day 52:
Another 12-mile sprint between the rains with just under 600' of climbing. The sky was black and it poured for 5 minutes as I loaded the bike into the truck. The wind was going 8 to 23 MPH with gusts into the mid-30 MPH range and the clouds were coming and going pretty quickly.
I drove towards a blue hole in the sky and parked at a church...unloaded and quickly got ready to shove off. The high wind seemed to come from every direction and pretty much killed any attempt at speed. A couple times the drizzle hit unexpectedly as the clouds the rain fell from weren't really all that close...wind driven front moving through fast.
I wrapped it up quickly as the sky got even darker and the wind picked up again as the temperature dropped.
I got the bike unloaded back at the farm and the sky opened the faucet fully. Man, did it rain for 15 minutes. Just poured as the wind bent the trees and the dead leaf clusters from the Cicada's were stripped off the limbs.
Again, this was the kind of day it felt good just to get a ride in at all.
Another 12-mile sprint between the rains with just under 600' of climbing. The sky was black and it poured for 5 minutes as I loaded the bike into the truck. The wind was going 8 to 23 MPH with gusts into the mid-30 MPH range and the clouds were coming and going pretty quickly.
I drove towards a blue hole in the sky and parked at a church...unloaded and quickly got ready to shove off. The high wind seemed to come from every direction and pretty much killed any attempt at speed. A couple times the drizzle hit unexpectedly as the clouds the rain fell from weren't really all that close...wind driven front moving through fast.
I wrapped it up quickly as the sky got even darker and the wind picked up again as the temperature dropped.
I got the bike unloaded back at the farm and the sky opened the faucet fully. Man, did it rain for 15 minutes. Just poured as the wind bent the trees and the dead leaf clusters from the Cicada's were stripped off the limbs.
Again, this was the kind of day it felt good just to get a ride in at all.
I wish CB !
I could smell the rain in the air about an hour before I was to leave work, and by the time it was quitting time it started to rain (light). Then by the time I made it home it was raining pretty hard and killed any plain for a ride. So it was off to the bike cave to wash and wax the Zipp after it's day working the tri Sunday.
No riding yet, but the wound is finally starting to seal up. Will take a while for the skin to look normal, but I should be back on the bike soon. Strangely, walking hurts, but I ran a few times with no pain. Did 4.6 miles/7:25 pace this morning with no pain. Legs probably hurts from being in such a static position the last week.
Went to a bike shop that a former amateur racer owns. He's good for a bike story or two(or three) and he knows his stuff. He got the dent out the wheel and it is now running nice and true. I brought the bike in and was told that many things are out of whack. Wheel bearings need to be adjusted, brakes are out of whack, shifters,etc... Having him do a full tuneup.talking to a guy who really knows his stuff made me realize I hardly know anything about bikes. I better study up.
Went to a bike shop that a former amateur racer owns. He's good for a bike story or two(or three) and he knows his stuff. He got the dent out the wheel and it is now running nice and true. I brought the bike in and was told that many things are out of whack. Wheel bearings need to be adjusted, brakes are out of whack, shifters,etc... Having him do a full tuneup.talking to a guy who really knows his stuff made me realize I hardly know anything about bikes. I better study up.
I wish I had a guy like you living down the street who could work with me on some of this stuff. My rear der cable snapped today, 25 miles into a 40 mile ride. Ended up having to walk up a few hills but got home w/o undo harm.
U, thanks for the compliment. I've wrinkled up a few rims and iron out what I can. A couple years ago a botched leap over a rough RR track had me cursing my flying skills and carefully smoothing out one of my Mavic rims after a fast training ride with the boys. It happens...
The best way to learn to wrench on your own bike is to...wrench on your own bike. There are just tons of YouTube videos out there that cover just about eveyr aspect of maintenance and repair.
shimaNO and Mavic wheels are especially well covered due to the popularity of their products.
I also recommend not only downloading to a DVD all of shimaNO's tech documents from theiir website. Download the DM's (Dealer Manuals), the exploded views, the Parts Lists and the User Manuals. It's time well spent to build a reference library and it helps when ordering replacement parts and spares.
Watch all the Park Tool repair videos and read through the repair articles. If you have a few extra dollars, buy the Blue Book on repairs.
Lastly...and certainly not to minimize the importance of the dedicated bike shop mechanics on this site...ask guys like Old Bob Cat questions and assign importance to his replies. I'm well versed in Campagnolo, specifically, and bike repair in general. But, even guys like me sometimes need advice to set me on the right path to the perfect function of a part.
After removing the compact 34-50 chainrings on my shimaaNO equipped TREK Emonda and installing the 39-53 rings, I had to remove the derailleur cable and move the derailleur up to re-position it correctly. I put the cable back on the incorrect side of the cable clamp screw. Yeah, it shifted OK, but downshifting to the small ring was taking and extra swipe of the lever to complete the shift...not perfect by any means.
shimaNO uses both sides of the screw as pull points depending on where the frame's cable exit hole running up to the derailleur actuating arm is in relation to that hole.
Who knew?!?!
Well. OBC knew. And he advised me to check that out. I printed out the shimaNO Dealer Manual on installing and setting up the front derailleur and sure enough I had my cable routed just like I had done for decades with Campagnolo derailleurs...and on the incorrect side for the frame exit hole / derailleur cable travel line of the Emonda.
I simply moved the cable to the opposite side of the screw and the shifting issue was resolved.
The lessons?
1. No one knows everything and we all can learn something from other folks.
2. Bikes have become a bit more complicated and delicate and require attention to detail when working on them and the guy doing the work absolutely needs the right tools and the right data base of knowledge to get it done correctly.
You will learn. And like me you will never stop learning. And once again I would like to thank OBC for dispensing good advice on this forum.
The best way to learn to wrench on your own bike is to...wrench on your own bike. There are just tons of YouTube videos out there that cover just about eveyr aspect of maintenance and repair.
shimaNO and Mavic wheels are especially well covered due to the popularity of their products.
I also recommend not only downloading to a DVD all of shimaNO's tech documents from theiir website. Download the DM's (Dealer Manuals), the exploded views, the Parts Lists and the User Manuals. It's time well spent to build a reference library and it helps when ordering replacement parts and spares.
Watch all the Park Tool repair videos and read through the repair articles. If you have a few extra dollars, buy the Blue Book on repairs.
Lastly...and certainly not to minimize the importance of the dedicated bike shop mechanics on this site...ask guys like Old Bob Cat questions and assign importance to his replies. I'm well versed in Campagnolo, specifically, and bike repair in general. But, even guys like me sometimes need advice to set me on the right path to the perfect function of a part.
After removing the compact 34-50 chainrings on my shimaaNO equipped TREK Emonda and installing the 39-53 rings, I had to remove the derailleur cable and move the derailleur up to re-position it correctly. I put the cable back on the incorrect side of the cable clamp screw. Yeah, it shifted OK, but downshifting to the small ring was taking and extra swipe of the lever to complete the shift...not perfect by any means.
shimaNO uses both sides of the screw as pull points depending on where the frame's cable exit hole running up to the derailleur actuating arm is in relation to that hole.
Who knew?!?!
Well. OBC knew. And he advised me to check that out. I printed out the shimaNO Dealer Manual on installing and setting up the front derailleur and sure enough I had my cable routed just like I had done for decades with Campagnolo derailleurs...and on the incorrect side for the frame exit hole / derailleur cable travel line of the Emonda.
I simply moved the cable to the opposite side of the screw and the shifting issue was resolved.
The lessons?
1. No one knows everything and we all can learn something from other folks.
2. Bikes have become a bit more complicated and delicate and require attention to detail when working on them and the guy doing the work absolutely needs the right tools and the right data base of knowledge to get it done correctly.
You will learn. And like me you will never stop learning. And once again I would like to thank OBC for dispensing good advice on this forum.
Two days off the bike meant the legs were eager to play today. 76 degrees 13-15 wind with 25 mph gusts, and my 25 mile roller route. I decided to take the wind at my back to start so I could suffer a little extra for the final push home.
But today would be different because it is very rare that I encounter other riders on the road. Today as I enter the city of Gardner with about 9.75 miles to go I found a play partner for the last miles of my ride. I was at a red light and when it turned green I always let the lead car go before I do because of a quick right about 100 yards down the road that most people take, and I've had close calls their before. Next thing I know as the car passes me their is a cyclist about a foot and a half off he's bumper drafting him. I notice it's a fixie right away and the guy is spinning smooth and well over 100 rpm. I sit back about 30 yards because we'll be out of the danger section of side roads in about 3/4 mile. He knows I'm there and looks back three times before we hit a small flat section and no danger side streets. The 3rd time he looked back is when I stepped on it and was beside him before he knew it. So I get up to 34 mph and hit the first roller section, and as I crest the first climb I look back and he is about 80 yards back and spinning crazy rpm's.
I sit up and wait for him and we start to talk, and I look over his bike. He's riding an old paramount (not sure I spelled right) and is running a 42/14. I then find out that he lives on the street that runs behind my house, and he knows my oldest son. We end up riding to my house and exchange info so we can do a ride together.
But today would be different because it is very rare that I encounter other riders on the road. Today as I enter the city of Gardner with about 9.75 miles to go I found a play partner for the last miles of my ride. I was at a red light and when it turned green I always let the lead car go before I do because of a quick right about 100 yards down the road that most people take, and I've had close calls their before. Next thing I know as the car passes me their is a cyclist about a foot and a half off he's bumper drafting him. I notice it's a fixie right away and the guy is spinning smooth and well over 100 rpm. I sit back about 30 yards because we'll be out of the danger section of side roads in about 3/4 mile. He knows I'm there and looks back three times before we hit a small flat section and no danger side streets. The 3rd time he looked back is when I stepped on it and was beside him before he knew it. So I get up to 34 mph and hit the first roller section, and as I crest the first climb I look back and he is about 80 yards back and spinning crazy rpm's.
I sit up and wait for him and we start to talk, and I look over his bike. He's riding an old paramount (not sure I spelled right) and is running a 42/14. I then find out that he lives on the street that runs behind my house, and he knows my oldest son. We end up riding to my house and exchange info so we can do a ride together.
Freakin' awesome! Find out what year production that P-14 Paramount is!
Consecutive day 53:
Bee / wasp / hornet / yellow jacket sting number THREE for the season. The ******* smashed into me while I was cruising along around 22 MPH and got me above the left eyebrow. The first sting was right between the eyes a couple months ago and the second was the left index finger a few weeks ago. None of them hung around long enough to see what kind of flying hypodermic needle they were. No biggee. I'll live.
22 miles of rollers to steep ****. 1200' of moderate climbing in 80 degree air and overcast sky. The roads were still wet in the shady spots from the rain that ended this morning. Pushed the needle into the red a couple times while working out the details of a deck expansion project in my head.
The ride felt good and the sun actually came out just after the half way point. The afternoon looked better than it has for the last three days around here.
From what I could tell it looked in very good shape, I'll find out what year.
Glad to see the temp climb out of the 70's today. Took the TT bike out on the 25 mile rolling route that I did yesterday. 85 degrees with a light wind 3-6 mph. Just a great day to be out on the bike, and the legs are feeling real strong. Looks like a half day tomorrow so I can do some extra riding.
Consecutive day 54:
85 degrees here also today with the wind a light 6 to 8 MPH. We were under a sunny sky for a change. I got a fast 32-mile workout in with 1350' of climbing. Mostly rolling stuff with two stiff walls that are only Cat 4's on STRAVA. Nothing brutal, but glad I carry a 25 around nowadays. If I'm carrying it...I'm using it!
I came to a township road crew of two guys that were replacing a culvert on my course. The 8' gap was too wide to fly so I took to cyclo cross style and with a downhill run onto the grass I cut across some home owner's yard.
Pardon me...'scuse me...pardon me! The road crew or some other vehicles had already tracked through the grass so no biggee. I jumped the 2" fire hose they were using to keep the new ditch dry and had routed through the swale in the yard and was on my merry way with only a quick downshift to get back up to the road on the far side of the new culvert pipe.
With a pocket full of Gummy Bears and a gel or two I rocked the big gears over anything flat and when I made the turn to put the wind at my back for the run back towards the car I put it in Ludicrous Speed and boogied.
I either had a bad case of jersey flap this afternoon or my Garmin heart rate strap is dying...again. I recorded an average heart rate for the ride of 175 BPM and a max. of 212 BPM...uh...I don't think so! It was a hard workout, but those numbers would require two blonde nurses with very large breasts to revive me.
The Garmin Premium straps seem to be good for a year or maybe a little more and they **** out on me. Toxic sweat? Dunno. I wash them weekly...was doing them by hand and a factory tech told me to go ahead and toss them in the washer on gentle cycle with the rest of my cycling gear, so I have been using that cleaning method for the last two straps.
Meh...it's all chicom junk these days. I'll pop a new battery in this sensor tomorrow and see if it's still good or toast. Anyone want to place a bet on which it is? If my bookie is worth his salt, it's another strap failure and the sensor unit is still good to go.
85 degrees here also today with the wind a light 6 to 8 MPH. We were under a sunny sky for a change. I got a fast 32-mile workout in with 1350' of climbing. Mostly rolling stuff with two stiff walls that are only Cat 4's on STRAVA. Nothing brutal, but glad I carry a 25 around nowadays. If I'm carrying it...I'm using it!
I came to a township road crew of two guys that were replacing a culvert on my course. The 8' gap was too wide to fly so I took to cyclo cross style and with a downhill run onto the grass I cut across some home owner's yard.
Pardon me...'scuse me...pardon me! The road crew or some other vehicles had already tracked through the grass so no biggee. I jumped the 2" fire hose they were using to keep the new ditch dry and had routed through the swale in the yard and was on my merry way with only a quick downshift to get back up to the road on the far side of the new culvert pipe.
With a pocket full of Gummy Bears and a gel or two I rocked the big gears over anything flat and when I made the turn to put the wind at my back for the run back towards the car I put it in Ludicrous Speed and boogied.
I either had a bad case of jersey flap this afternoon or my Garmin heart rate strap is dying...again. I recorded an average heart rate for the ride of 175 BPM and a max. of 212 BPM...uh...I don't think so! It was a hard workout, but those numbers would require two blonde nurses with very large breasts to revive me.
The Garmin Premium straps seem to be good for a year or maybe a little more and they **** out on me. Toxic sweat? Dunno. I wash them weekly...was doing them by hand and a factory tech told me to go ahead and toss them in the washer on gentle cycle with the rest of my cycling gear, so I have been using that cleaning method for the last two straps.
Meh...it's all chicom junk these days. I'll pop a new battery in this sensor tomorrow and see if it's still good or toast. Anyone want to place a bet on which it is? If my bookie is worth his salt, it's another strap failure and the sensor unit is still good to go.
It's Friday !
That means I'm out of work by 10:30 am, nice quick 4 hours. Had the bike with me so time to go do an old route that I haven't done in over a year. As with any route in the region you won't find to many long flat sections. This route was no different and had some really great mini roller coaster rollers. One section that is almost 2 miles long has 5 of them in a row and is a blast to hammering over them. The temp was 84 degrees with a light wind, and 42 miles blasting over the rollers.
That means I'm out of work by 10:30 am, nice quick 4 hours. Had the bike with me so time to go do an old route that I haven't done in over a year. As with any route in the region you won't find to many long flat sections. This route was no different and had some really great mini roller coaster rollers. One section that is almost 2 miles long has 5 of them in a row and is a blast to hammering over them. The temp was 84 degrees with a light wind, and 42 miles blasting over the rollers.
Damn...9 and a half hours in the barrel for me today.
I only had time for a quick 18 miles with a little over 500' of climbing in the warm 86 degree sunshine. The wind was up just a little at 7 to 10 MPH and it was trying to blow some rain into the area, but it stayed dry and partly sunny right up until dusk...with a beautiful sunset going on right now! Spectacular looking...for Ohio.
I kept telling the legs to relax. And my heart rate strap was still freaking out. Found a couple minutes after the ride to pop a fresh 2032 battery in it and I ordered a backup unit for the backup unit I pulled out of the spare computer parts box of goodies.
I only had time for a quick 18 miles with a little over 500' of climbing in the warm 86 degree sunshine. The wind was up just a little at 7 to 10 MPH and it was trying to blow some rain into the area, but it stayed dry and partly sunny right up until dusk...with a beautiful sunset going on right now! Spectacular looking...for Ohio.
I kept telling the legs to relax. And my heart rate strap was still freaking out. Found a couple minutes after the ride to pop a fresh 2032 battery in it and I ordered a backup unit for the backup unit I pulled out of the spare computer parts box of goodies.
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