Bicycle riding

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

Best news of all for you early morning riders....weather in Wichita may get a break next week. I saw forecast lows MOST mornings in the LOW to mid 60s.

Goodbye summer...



Hello Fall!

Not here. Not until September, but at least it will be only 97 on Monday

[JVShocker]

22 miles this evening. Kinda warm to start but down to about 80 when I got home. Getting dark early.

(begin car driver rant):I hate cnstruction signs. I see constructions signs and road closures and streets getting torn up and I'm not happy.

(begin bicyclist rant, bicyclist sees constructions signs)



The K96 bike path has been torn up at the railroad corridor and has CLOSURE signs up now. Had to walk my bike across tonight. Looking east, the corridor will get new pavement all the way to 159th East. That means the corridor is going to be paved all the way to Andover Park. Hopefully by September - Labor Day? Got my fingers crossed anyway. Maybe I'm setting the bar a little too high. LOL. Going to make bicycling this winter extra special having a bike only PAVED route heading east.

If we could just get the Koch's to give up the rest of the railroad corridor from Woodlawn-Rock-Webb-Greenwich or whomeveri has a hold on it.

[JVShocker]

Not here. Not until September, but at least it will be only 97 on Monday

If I wake at 7am next week, and the temp is 60-65 farenheit (think about that for a minute.....35 degrees cooler than your expected high), I may get up and go bike BEFORE work for an hour or so. Then get a relaxing ride after work when the temperature is in the low-mid 80s.

Does anyone else bike in the winter months?I think the coldest I ever biked in was aboout 30-35 degrees F last January. This was the first year we tried it and just really enjoyed it.

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

If I wake at 7am next week, and the temp is 60-65 farenheit (think about that for a minute.....35 degrees cooler than your expected high), I may get up and go bike BEFORE work for an hour or so. Then get a relaxing ride after work when the temperature is in the low-mid 80s.

Does anyone else bike in the winter months?I think the coldest I ever biked in was aboout 30-35 degrees F last January. This was the first year we tried it and just really enjoyed it.

That's about the only weather advantage we have down here. It doesn't go below 60 much here (during the day, that is). We have about 20 days below freezing in the winter and it usually doesn't get below 25 unless it is really cold. I usually don't go out if it's below 50, but it has to get really cold here to only get up to 50. I had orange trees in my backyard in Houston and I have a tangerine here (and will plant a lemon tree soon) here. I see a lot of what I believe to be sour oranges here, but I don't think there are any Valencia or navel oranges . I would expect it would be a little too cold for them even if they are grafted onto sour orange roots.

Anyway, back to my story.....it's really nice here for about 6 months, and can get over a hundred just about anytime from late May to mid September.

The speed work I did on the folderi in the Houston heat an humidity seemed to pay off. I rode a little over 18 last night and averaged 15.5 in near hundred degree heat. My folder is in the shop getting a new set of Schwalbe tires, my LBS is telling me that folders are hard on tires (only can get around a thousand miles on them) due to the rim size and the skinny tires. So if anyone is considering a folder, please keep in mind that you will need to buy tires more frequently.

That's a tradeoff for the convenience and ease of travel advantages you get with a folder.

[MoValley John]

31 miles this morning. Lungs are feeling better.

[MadDog]

JV, got bad news for you on the new path from 159th to the K-96 path. I ventured down the path between 143rd and 127th. They are doing major construction to build a new bridge. You can’t see that construction from either 143rd or 127th. Had I not ventured down the path a ways, I never would have known there was a bridge there. Anyway, talked to the construction foreman and he said the bridge wouldn’t be ready for about 3 months. I would guess that would be about right from what I saw. However, it may be possible they’ll open the section from K-96 to 127th soon. I think the bridges in that section are closer to being finished. Every little bit helps!

[MadDog]

Shaka, when you talk about a “folder”, are you talking about one of those folding bikes? Not up on all of my bike tech terms.

[MadDog]

JV, as for winter riding, looking at my logs I rode a couple of times in early December, and once in January. I generally won’t ride if it’s below 50 degrees or if the paths are wet. That time of year I’m pretty content just to go with my spin class.

[MoValley John]

Shaka, when you talk about a “folder”, are you talking about one of those folding bikes? Not up on all of my bike tech terms.

Thats exactly what he's talking about. At least he's not one of those guys on a stupid recumbent trike. I hate those things! They got their lame flags on them, they look stupid, go slow and they take up the whole path.

End of rant. Dont tell my wife I bitched about the trikes, she disagrees with me on the subject. My wife is a slow take up the whole path person, too.

7-Reasons-Why-Recumbent-Bikes-Can-Be-a-Great-Option-for-Those-Over-60.jpg

[MadDog]

So it looks something like this?

[MoValley John]

So it looks something like this?

A folder looks like this:

helix-folding-bike.jpg

[MoValley John]

A recumbent trike is the most God awful monstrosity known to man. Constantly in the way, you can smell the smug eminating from the rider three blocks away. Recumbent trike riders are often Prius owners, would much rather have a cat than a dog and do much of their shopping at Whole Foods. They are too good for Trader Joe's wine. They don't have a horn or bell on their trike because that would mean they would have to plan on passing someone, anyone. They are more douchy than a tandem bike. Never own a tandem.

[MadDog]

So MVJ, how do you really feel? :)

Actually, I have a friend who had a recumbent and rode it in BAK. He’s a very nice guy, but probably does a lot of those things you describe. I mean he sent his kid to Reed college then moved to Portland himself!

i will say I agree with you on the recumbents. I would never own one. I actually like to see the road in front of me when I’m riding.

[MoValley John]

So MVJ, how do you really feel? :)

Actually, I have a friend who had a recumbent and rode it in BAK. He’s a very nice guy, but probably does a lot of those things you describe. I mean he sent his kid to Reed college then moved to Portland himself!

i will say I agree with you on the recumbents. I would never own one. I actually like to see the road in front of me when I’m riding.

I actually talked to an old guy on one today. He has Parkinson's and can no longer balance on a bike. I gave him a free pass. He didn't have any flags or windchimes on his rig.

[MoValley John]

tandem recumbent, just shoot me now.

azub-twin-tandem-recumbent-tandemove-lehokolo-perspective.jpg