Did You Ride Today?

[CAMPYBOB]

U,

I liked the two aces of Hakone and Sohoku. Manami and Imaizumi I also enjoyed. Coolest was green hair...Makishima. We share climbing traits. I'm all over the bike and doing everything I can to hang onto the real power climbers.

I've known some 'high tempo climbers' like Onoda. I could never pull off those RPM's for any length of time or on the steep stuff.

I also think Midousuji is the least 'real' character, although his use of the "gross gross gross" mantra is definitely a mental device used by myself and many other cyclists, particularly when climbing or going at it hard (chase, breaks, escape, etc.). Some great riders have been known to sing to themselves!

I ride the trainer to the theme music. YouTube has all of it, as I'm sure you're aware. At 63 years old I still find it implausible that I like the series, but I do. I will miss the graduated third years when the new episodes start. Hopefully, Yowapedal does not jump the shark and lose its...unique?...attraction.

I'm glad to know there it at least one more fan on the forum! It makes me feel a little less weird! LOL!

Just 17 miles this afternoon at 16 MPH and 520' of climbing. The breeze was only going 6 to 7 MPH, but in the 49 degree air it seemed to really slow me down. I started out spinning lower gears with the wind at my back. It killed my average, but I needed to stretch out and unlax a bit anyway.

The Amish were out on their scooter bikes again, burning leaves, spreading limestone in a driveway, working a portable saw mill, putting finishing touches on some box stalls. I saw a few Yoder Toters on the road and went down past the new feeder pipeline that's under construction and headed to the lastest Utica Shale oil & gas well...on the back side of an Amish farm. The frac'ing crane was up where the drilling rig sat for the last 6-8 weeks. A nice ride with only the sound of my breathing to listen to.

 

[Uawadall]

Road with a fellow Strava follower for the first time. A hilly mid size ride, 34.5 miles/3200 ft/13.8 mph.

He's a good rider, but I did some waiting on top of hills. Its hard to pace hills with other riders, especially with a standard crank and 12-28 cassette. I prefer this setup because, you cant really go below 10 mph or so on steep stuff if you want the bike to move. The downside is, you cant really pace it with someone with more gearing. I had him on the hills, but he had me beat on those downhills. So many sharp corners and he made it look very easy. He liked the fact that I made him work on the hills and it was nice for me to see how a skill cyclist takes on serious downhills. Always good to ride with someone when it will benefit both abilities.

U,

I liked the two aces of Hakone and Sohoku. Manami and Imaizumi I also enjoyed. Coolest was green hair...Makishima. We share climbing traits. I'm all over the bike and doing everything I can to hang onto the real power climbers.

I'd say my hill climbing is definitely more like Makashima or Manami than Onada. I stand a lot and sometimes carelessly shift up. I like Arakita due to his technical skills and attitude.

 

[zipp2001]

Went out for a very hilly 18.5 miles from work today. Stayed with-in the city limits so lots of climbing is what you get in the Burg. Last I checked the Burg was rated the 4th hilliest city in the US. Temp was 52 degrees with a 6-9 wind and I just wanted to set a moderate tempo on the climbs. With the chillier weather the legs really take a long time to get going, and even then they feel heavy most times.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Well, I'll make the hill riding unanimous.

21 miles with 1200' of climbing. Just a 16.1 MPH average. The temperature was up to 60 degrees with the sun shining and the wind running 10 to 12 MPH. I had to keep the tempo going to beat sunset.

After the time change I don't even look at the screen on my Garmin 520 that has the Sunset Time displayed on it. It's just too depressing! There's time to change into cycling duds, drive to the local starting points, park & throw the bike out and...warm up? What warm up? Just GO!

I saw a couple of Amish boys on their scooter bikes and both were looking at their cell phones.

and sometimes carelessly shift up.

"...only shift up three times!" Remember that line from Yowapedal?

Unless the grade flattens significantly, I rarely upshift on climbs. I will leave it in one gear taller than I probably should when starting a climb and going full tilt boogie trying to stay with the wheels or just when trying to build strength or such. The guy I train with is constantly powershifting his shimaNO for bigger gears. If the grade slacks for just few meters or if he recovers a bit or if he wants to put the hurt on me...that rear cassette just bangs, clunks and screams in protest as he grabs the next smaller gear and pushes harder on the pedals. Then...I puke.

 

[jhuskey]

10 miles on the trainer. I am just about ready for the road.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Great comeback, JH! Keep up the good work! Remember, the road is really bumpy. Keep your tires soft for the first few rides and enjoy the warmth of Tennessee!

It was 72 to 74 degrees here in Ohio today and I think a few record high temps were set today. I took off early and did a very fast 32-mile ride with 1425' of climbing. The wind was going 12 to 14 MPH, but I barely noticed it. I stayed low and kept the power up as best I could in every direction.

The sky was clear and the sun was out so time to sharpen up my tan lines! Shorts, short sleeve jersey and fingerless gloves. Probably the last ride dressed like that for a few months!

Sunset was at 5:04 and I finished up at 5:04:30. I heard lots of gun shots...must be first day of youth gun season or a shitload of guys were sighting in their slug guns.

 

[zipp2001]

Today was a day of suffering on some of my favorite thigh burner in the Burg. I picked one climb from each of my Bikemanforu Jersey wall video's to do. The temp was in the mid 60's so the arm and leg warmers got the day off. By the last climb the legs were jello, but man was that a great day on the bike. If you ain't hurting you ain't working.

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[Uawadall]

24.7 miles/17.9 mph/1220 ft. Very warm for this time of year, 66 was todays high, felt good to have some warmth. Hope to get some more miles in tomorrow.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Wow, Zipp, I actually remember the white house with the center dormer from another video you posted. You definitely have some steep climbs up your way.

Yesterday, Saturday, the temperature crashed. Woke up to 49 degrees and a cold, sideways rain with the wind going 15 to 20 MPH.

It got worse.

Just after noon the temperature dropped, the wind really picked up and the rain turned into snow. It came sideways as the wind speed increased with gusts into the mid-thirty MPH range. I saw two roadies out in the lull between the rain and full-on snow and the wind was working them over.

Saturday afternoon temps were right around freezing and mini-blizzards popped up left and right...lasting only a few minutes, but coating everything with a frozen slush and wet snow.

It dropped to around 28 degrees overnight and the winds just howled all night long. I'll check Windfinder.com, but I would not be surprised to see the gusts nearing 35-40 MPH. It must have only snowed a little bit more overnight as I woke up to about an inch of total accumulation.

The roads will be too sloppy for riding outside today. So just as JH gets ready to hit his clear Tennessee back roads for some fun in the fresh air, I'll be heading down into the basement today. Oh well, I wish you safe riding JH! Every dog has his day and there's no dogs in my basement...just pain and boredom.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Windfinder.com recorded a 39 MPH gust Saturday afternoon at 2 PM and a 37 MPH gust at 3 AM this morning. Like I said, the wind was really working over those two roadies I saw. That was around 2-2:30 PM yesterday.

 

[jhuskey]

Headed to the basement also. It is 35 F and I am not ready for that as yet. Went to the last UT homegames yesterday after missing every one of them since 9/24, missed going that is. Sat in the Skybox in comfort. Time to start winter projects now.

I did a preprogramed 10 mile stage at what I consider a respectable 232 watts. Not bad for an old injured dude.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

40 minutes on the fluid trainer. 40 minutes was all I's could stands and I can't stands no more!

High winds and snowing outside with the thermometer at 29 degrees. Sucks. Worse...my iPod was dead and in need of charging so not even tunes to relieve the boredom. Remind me to unpack the old Marantz receiver, pre-amp, amp and the little Altec speaker for the next session.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

12 Miles in 30 degree air. Yeah...that sucked. The sun was out, so that helped things a little! Just 360' of climbing gentle stuff in the 10 to 12 MPH wind.

I saw two new really big chicken houses being built and a water well being drilled out in front of them. The chicken barns were probably 400'-600' long. That would make a guy a pair of showboy toy boxes, for sure!

Most of the snow melted on the still warm roads and grass, thankfully. No run off to speak of and the roads were dry with only a little bit of the first spreading of road grit left on them.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

16 miles in 37 degree air and sunshine! The wind was a low 4 to 5 MPH and the course had 600' of climbing on it.

The only thing of note that I saw was an Amish guy blowing his leaves into piles like a suburbanite trying to have an immaculate lawn.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

45 minutes of fluid trainer Hell before Thanksgiving festivities got underway. Almost 50 degrees here in Ohio, but it was a wet day. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

 

[CAMPYBOB]

24 miles with 39 degree air. The sky was overcast with a light mist in the air at times. Only 725' of climbing and the ride was just a nice spin through the country.

For Black Friday, traffic was practically non-existent! Is the economy that bad or did I get lucky and miss the shoppers?

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Another 24-mile ride in 39 degree air. It was overcast and the wind was running 8 to 12 MPH. Rain, mist and fog this morning with dark clouds and the threat of light snow this afternoon. Thankfully, the snow stayed North of my area. Sunset is now 4:59 PM.

 

[zipp2001]

Dropped into work late morning for a bit then got home and rolled out the mountain bike. Chilly 41 degrees with a lite drizzle throughout the day. Spent 2 hours playing in the woods which made for a fun day.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

32 Miles in cool 45 degree sunshine! The wind was up at 10 to 14 MPH, but the climbing was light at around 1225' worth.

It was a beautiful ride and don't tell anyone, but I rode 4 or 5 miles without a helmet. The damned Giro Atmos was squeaking and creaking and it sounded like the bike was coming unglued until I left it up an oil well driveway to see if things got quiet without it. They did. Perfect silence and I had also forgotten how much less wind noise there is without a helmet.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

A warm 55 degrees for 19 miles this afternoon. Around 550' of climbing with the wind going 14 to 16 MPH. The sky was a bit gray, but I didn't mind at all! At least there is no snow...for now!