Bicycle riding

[MoValley John]

I have Ultegra and I've put about 2500 miles on mine, but I don't go off-road.

Congrats on getting your better half out on a bike. More mileage = faster speeds. Probably the best way to increase speed there is (it may not increase the intensity, though). When you ride a lot of miles, you naturally become a better grinder and that helps you push the more aggressive gears (and make you faster without a corresponding increase in HR).

My pads weren't metal, they were resin. Apparently, I got everything put of them. They were super easy to change, much easier than rim brakes. Like three minutes a pair easy.

[JVShocker]

29 miles tonight. Night time riding again. Got home exactly at 9pm. 2hrs 15 minutes. Most importantly, got to try out the new Cycology cycling jacket. Super tight fit, which I like. And it was an XL. 3 deep pockets in the back for all my stuff. Back of jacket breathes so I didn't get too warm. Back is also a bit longer so it doesn't ride up on your lower back. Wore a simple cotton tshirt underneath the jacket, which made me a little nervous because I don't like to ride cold. Almost wore longer sleeve or thermal under armour underneath. Glad I didn't.




Temps in low to mid 60s when I started. Had to unzip the jacket a bit heading north into the wind to start. Out to railroad corridor (redbud trail). Riding pretty hard, maybe 75% (of full) gas into the wind at 15 mph. After the sun went down, temp dropped, and fairly quickly. Farther east was cooler than in town. Zipped the jacket 90% to the top. At full zip it comes in almost under the chin, so no gaps for cold air. We would ride with neck gaiters in the winter. May not need them with this jacket. Sleeves are close to arms and do not flap while riding which is super nice. Also lets me put some gels or something underneath the sleeves at the wrist to snack on mid ride. Front and sleeves of jacket are wind resistant. We would have to ride with a bit of newspaper under the shirt last year on cold days, so hopefully that will become a thing of the past. When I got home (temps in low to mid 50s) I took the jacket off and arms were fairly sweaty. Inside of the jacket was pretty sweaty as well, so I turned the sleeves inside out to dry. Would definitely recommend the jacket for cool weather, but if you ride too hard you will get sweaty. Thing is, is that even with low 50 temps and sweaty arms I didn't feel chilled. Will review again as the weather gets much colder.

wife's looks like this:

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

Trek sells by cm. My wife bought a Trek, same model men use, but in her size.

Trek sells by size for MTB's, in at least some examples, here's one:
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...colorCode=grey

Selling bikes by size isn't so bad, but if I had it to do all over again, I would have bought a M Lynskey, my ML is a little large for me. Probably a good idea to make sure you know your size. In my case, I am between M and ML on the Lynskey line, so it is a personal preference, but I like a little more clearance on the top tube than what I have on my current bike.

Make sure you stand over the bike....you should clear the top tube by several (no more than 3 or 4) inches.

[JVShocker]

Another fun fast ride tonight down the redbud trail. 19.48 miles in 1 hr 27 minutes (cool down last mile and a half). Was hoping to have a more relaxed ride, but the weather was so nice (back in jersey and shorts) and legs felt good that sometimes my plan goes in another direction. Starting to see some halloween decor out, so I'll try and get some pics of some of the houses/neighborhoods. Love this time of year. Another nice day tomorrow (81 degrees?) before another cool down through the next 5 days after. May get a ride with temps in the 40s.

[Kung Wu]

Do I need a special bike degreaser to clean a drive train? Or any old degreaser? (I'll avoid the brakes like crazy)

[MoValley John]

Don't let nobody tell you how to lube your chain, not the brand of lube, how much or how fast. How a man lubes his chain is his business.

[MoValley John]

Do I need a special bike degreaser to clean a drive train? Or any old degreaser? (I'll avoid the brakes like crazy)

Very, very debated topic.

[MoValley John]

Do I need a special bike degreaser to clean a drive train? Or any old degreaser? (I'll avoid the brakes like crazy)

Chains are actually very complex components. They are also the most important part to keep clean. That said, any biodegradable degreaser is fine, Simple Green is awesome. Scrub scrub scrub. Park Tool makes great cleaning brushes with little hooks that can dig out any funk throughout the drivetrain.

I went high tech on my drivetrain. I bought three chains and dipped them in a hot paraffin wax/ Teflon mix. The whole drivetrainstays clean as the wax and Teflon don't attract dirt. When the drivetrain gets dirty, I simply hose it off. I trade out chains every three weeks. A huge upfront investment in time and money, but saves tons of time and money in the long run.

[JVShocker]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM6mzE5lQ0w&list=LLimc77JX30A4wBu4Z4mbBoQ&index=205

This will help.

I'm usually too busy bicycling to clean the chain and cassette. Mine's filthy. I have no intention to clean it when I get home, either. Eat, wait 10 minutes, and start pedaling. Come home about 2hrs later. Eat again. Shower, Sleep. Wake up. Work, and then repeat.

[MadDog]

Did some exploring today on the new sections of the Redbud. It’s coming along much faster than I expected. Here’s a rundown for you Redbud riders:


K96 to 127th - more new concrete to ride on. A month ago I thought there were three bridges needed, but in actuality there is only one bridge, which has been finished for a month, and two large concrete culverts. It looks like the culverts are built and back filled around the edges with rock. The path surface covers the culverts. Maybe another 1/4 mile of concrete and this section is done. Looks to me like the last of the concrete path could poured at any time.

127th to 143rd - Last time I checked this out there was no path and work on the bridge was barely started. Now the bridge is 90% complete and at least 1/2 mile of concrete path has been poured. Great progress! Here’s some pictures from this section of the path:

[MoValley John]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM6m...bBoQ&index=205

This will help.

I'm usually too busy bicycling to clean the chain and cassette. Mine's filthy. I have no intention to clean it when I get home, either. Eat, wait 10 minutes, and start pedaling. Come home about 2hrs later. Eat again. Shower, Sleep. Wake up. Work, and then repeat.

A clean bike is a fast bike.
Socrates

[JVShocker]

A clean bike is a fast bike.
Socrates

"Sometimes I go months without looking..."
-Phil Connors

[JVShocker]

Yesterday marked the end of a good bicycling year. 3,548 miles in one year. Most I have had in a few years thanks to nighttime riding this summer and weekend winter riding.

Today was the start (then) of another exciting calendar year of bicycling. No better way to start than by getting 30 miles on day 1 in 2 hrs 19 minutes. Weather was super cool - almost cold. Set out to be a relaxed ride, but two proper gravel bike riders came up behind me on the redbud trail, so why not?

Proper riders, proper bikes and gear, and the first one goes around me (I'm riding mtn bike) and its fun to catch his wheel. So he's holding 20-21 mph consistently down the paved redbud portion, which was a fun follow. Older cyclist and he held it (seemed) easy for mile to mile and a quarter. He had mirrors on his helmet and he just kept checking to see if I was still there (uh, yep). I was an hour and almost 20 minutes into my ride and I thought about swinging around him (at least once) as I've been in more than a few races with other cyclists on the street - and they're always entertaining. But I was nearing my turnaround loop east of Andover (on the gravel) so I had to let this one get away. Hope everyone is well.

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

Yesterday marked the end of a good bicycling year. 3,548 miles in one year. Most I have had in a few years thanks to nighttime riding this summer and weekend winter riding.

Today was the start (then) of another exciting calendar year of bicycling. No better way to start than by getting 30 miles on day 1 in 2 hrs 19 minutes. Weather was super cool - almost cold. Set out to be a relaxed ride, but two proper gravel bike riders came up behind me on the redbud trail, so why not?

Proper riders, proper bikes and gear, and the first one goes around me (I'm riding mtn bike) and its fun to catch his wheel. So he's holding 20-21 mph consistently down the paved redbud portion, which was a fun follow. Older cyclist and he held it (seemed) easy for mile to mile and a quarter. He had mirrors on his helmet and he just kept checking to see if I was still there (uh, yep). I was an hour and almost 20 minutes into my ride and I thought about swinging around him (at least once) as I've been in more than a few races with other cyclists on the street - and they're always entertaining. But I was nearing my turnaround loop east of Andover (on the gravel) so I had to let this one get away. Hope everyone is well.

Congratulations! I don't quite have the time to accomplish that many miles, but if I can hit 300 again this month, I should be in good shape to hit 3K, perhaps top it by a little, but certainly not 3600.

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

Waiting for my light (OLED Lumina 1200 NiteRider). Still using my weak NiteRider, light has shipped and will be here Saturday. As of now, 57.9 for the week, so I should top 100.

Hoping for close to another hundred next week, then I'm taking a few days vacation and travelling to Dallas.