Re: 30 on the flats!

Chicago Paddling-Fishing said:

jj said:

Yesterday was a pretty good day as I hit 30mph on the flats for the
first time. Granted I could only hold it for 10-15 seconds when the
road started up hill, but uh, yay, me.

Didn't it just plain feel too fast? I was doing 36 (downhill) and
started thinking... "Any slipup and I'm gonna really hurt..."

No, no, no. Faulty thinking!

The faster you can go downhill, the faster the pain is over if you crash.
(Applies to anything over, say, 20 mph.)

Simple, eh?

Speedy GonSornez

Chicago Paddling-Fishing said:

jj <[email hidden]> wrote:
: Yesterday was a pretty good day as I hit 30mph on the flats for the first
: time. Granted I could only hold it for 10-15 seconds when the road started
: up hill, but uh, yay, me.

Didn't it just plain feel too fast? I was doing 36 (downhill) and
started thinking... "Any slipup and I'm gonna really hurt..."

Oddly it didn't feel that fast. I wonder if there's some kind of
stabilizing gyro thing happening that makes it feel more stable above 25 or
so. I've felt this a few times, very subjective, probably no basis in fact.
(Obviously, unlike downhill, you let up for a second and the speed rapidly
drops off as well adding to the less 'out-of-control' feeling.)

Downhill, yes it feels much faster (to me). The highest speed I've let
myself go downhill is 35-36, being a newbie clydesdale rider. (In my
University days at a skinny 155 I never worried about speed, but ya know
the bigger you are... ;-) )

jj

jj <[email hidden]> wrote:
: On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 10:56:56 +0000 (UTC), Chicago Paddling-Fishing
: <[email hidden]> wrote:

:>jj <[email hidden]> wrote:
:>: Yesterday was a pretty good day as I hit 30mph on the flats for the first
:>: time. Granted I could only hold it for 10-15 seconds when the road started
:>: up hill, but uh, yay, me.
:>
:>Didn't it just plain feel too fast? I was doing 36 (downhill) and
:>started thinking... "Any slipup and I'm gonna really hurt..."

: Oddly it didn't feel that fast. I wonder if there's some kind of
: stabilizing gyro thing happening that makes it feel more stable above 25 or
: so. I've felt this a few times, very subjective, probably no basis in fact.
: (Obviously, unlike downhill, you let up for a second and the speed rapidly
: drops off as well adding to the less 'out-of-control' feeling.)

: Downhill, yes it feels much faster (to me). The highest speed I've let
: myself go downhill is 35-36, being a newbie clydesdale rider. (In my
: University days at a skinny 155 I never worried about speed, but ya know
: the bigger you are... ;-) )

Yea... I had gotten to the point where I could no longer pedal fast enough
to engage the sprocket.. someplace over 36mph as I stopped looking at the
bike computer after a while concentrating on what I hoped was debris free
roadway (I guess so I'd know before I went thwack onthe street)...

--
John Nelson
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Chicago Paddling-Fishing said:

jj <[email hidden]> wrote:
: On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 10:56:56 +0000 (UTC), Chicago Paddling-Fishing
: <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

:>jj <[email hidden]> wrote:
:>: Yesterday was a pretty good day as I hit 30mph on the flats for the first
:>: time. Granted I could only hold it for 10-15 seconds when the road started
:>: up hill, but uh, yay, me.

Quoted message said:

: Downhill, yes it feels much faster (to me). The highest speed I've let
: myself go downhill is 35-36, being a newbie clydesdale rider. (In my
: University days at a skinny 155 I never worried about speed, but ya know
: the bigger you are... ;-) )

Yea... I had gotten to the point where I could no longer pedal fast enough
to engage the sprocket.. someplace over 36mph as I stopped looking at the
bike computer after a while concentrating on what I hoped was debris free
roadway (I guess so I'd know before I went thwack onthe street)...

I've got an 11x21 and I'm good to about 48 mph. I can handle high RPM
(to about 183 before I start bouncing out of the seat, of course no
power at 183 rpm). The fastest I've coasted has been to 50 mph down
one hill here in the flat lands. I thought better of doing that as I
noticed the cars blowing though a stop sign ahead (I had the right of
way on the through street). I don't have a problem with handling speed
it's more a concern of the rest of the traffic doing stupid
things. Like passing in S turns while the speed limit is 25 and I'm
doing 40 mph. That happens too often on my commute on Holland Rd in
Monmouth County in NJ. I take the lane and they pass on the wrong side
of a double line. I guess I was holding them up. :-/

--
Linux Home Automation Neil Cherry [email hidden]
http://home.comcast.net/~ncherry/ (Text only)
http://hcs.sourceforge.net/ (HCS II)
http://linuxha.blogspot.com/ My HA Blog

Neil Cherry said:

Chicago Paddling-Fishing said:

jj <[email hidden]> wrote:
: On Sun, 3 Apr 2005 10:56:56 +0000 (UTC), Chicago Paddling-Fishing
: <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

:>jj <[email hidden]> wrote:
:>: Yesterday was a pretty good day as I hit 30mph on the flats for the first
:>: time. Granted I could only hold it for 10-15 seconds when the road started
:>: up hill, but uh, yay, me.

Quoted message said:

: Downhill, yes it feels much faster (to me). The highest speed I've let
: myself go downhill is 35-36, being a newbie clydesdale rider. (In my
: University days at a skinny 155 I never worried about speed, but ya know
: the bigger you are... ;-) )

Yea... I had gotten to the point where I could no longer pedal fast enough
to engage the sprocket.. someplace over 36mph as I stopped looking at the
bike computer after a while concentrating on what I hoped was debris free
roadway (I guess so I'd know before I went thwack onthe street)...

I've got an 11x21 and I'm good to about 48 mph. I can handle high RPM
(to about 183 before I start bouncing out of the seat, of course no
power at 183 rpm). The fastest I've coasted has been to 50 mph down
one hill here in the flat lands. I thought better of doing that as I
noticed the cars blowing though a stop sign ahead (I had the right of
way on the through street).

Not to worry, the penalties for mowing down a cyclist or two are fairly
minor I'm told. ;-p

Quoted message said:

I don't have a problem with handling speed
it's more a concern of the rest of the traffic doing stupid
things. Like passing in S turns while the speed limit is 25 and I'm
doing 40 mph. That happens too often on my commute on Holland Rd in
Monmouth County in NJ. I take the lane and they pass on the wrong side
of a double line. I guess I was holding them up. :-/

It's amazing how that happens. I ride a route that has a 25mph zone going
past kids playing at the end of a Trailer park, lots of children chasing
balls into the street and I'll occasionally have cars pass me zooming up to
40-45 when I'm doing the speed limit on the road going up to that section.
(By the time I get there I'm slowed to about 15 going up a hill.)

The -need- to "pass the biker" is so strong that they're willing to risk
not only breaking the speed limit, but also running over children to do it.

jj