The Official Road Bike/Cycling Thread

[C*H*U*D]

I've always summed it up by saying he's a dickhead I felt the crash was all his to own, and having him out doesn't bother me a bit. Talented sprinter, but I really dislike the sprint stages anyway.

Loved the cobbles yesterday! Not every stage is sunny trips past giant sunflower fields. Hated to see Chris Froome be taken out, but looking forward to seeing how Richie Porte does.

[rockhugger]

Yeah they definitely worked for their kibble... some guys were upset about the removal of some of the cobble sectors.

I don't have any favorites this year, as long as it's not Contador I'll be happy

[hpiguy]

I did a little digging and found what videos I could, and some reading.

Agreed, not a fan of Cavendish and the wreck was 100% his own doing. "I went for a gap that wasn't there." That's basically saying I tried to bully the guy next to me but he wasn't having it, so I got fooked.

One thing that really annoys me is they dropped two sections of cobbles from yesterdays route. A lot of riders whine and bitch about the cobbles each year and I'm terrified that eventually our PC world will dilute the TDF to the point that the 400lbs guy on the Walmart bike will stand a good chance at winning since the entire tour will be 1.5 miles long, ending at a Starbucks. Seriously though, these are the best riders in the world; if they can't do it, then who can?

Reminds me of professional MX where you have again the best riders in the world that are paid millions of dollars per year and refuse to race the outdoor series. Why? In their own words, "Outdoors is brutal, too much risk." I personally would fire a rider for that BS. You represent us, not the other way around.

[anuthabubba]

Slightly off topic, but...I have noticed something similar in Observed Trials competition since the last time (10+ years ago) I watched any. Seems the majority of the riders are not up to the skill levels of the past riders. Don't remember ever seeing so many 5s in world class compititions.

[anuthabubba]

Originally Posted by anuthabubba

Thanks for the interest.
I'll try to get some pics next week after this hitch at work. Most of the bikes are in storage. There's a few old Treks, Miyatas, Specialized a d several, that turned out to be my favorite frames, Univegas. They kept the good frame geometry that other builders modified to better 'fit' us
short people, thereby ruining the positioning and handling.

The only ones I still have that were bought new are a mid '80s Centurion Iron Man, an Ibis Mountain Trials (26/24) and a mid '90s
Diamondback Apex hardtail w/Manitou shock. Oh yeah, bought a Haro V-5? something and a Heron Wayfarer frame new also.

Finally got around to taking a few pics. My bikes are all riders, not show bikes and several took some extra scrapes/dents surviving a tornado plus being trailored to a shed in the resulting relocation.

Two were bought as frames. One is an '84 Trek 620 frame with a low gearing mix of Shimano 105/600,Suntour Superbe hubs, Campy pedals, Nitto Noodle bar on Specialized MTB stem, ST Barcons, B17 & Avocet 32c (28 measured) tires and DC 986 canti's. The other is a mid '80s Univega Gran Turismo with Deore MTB gearing 'cause it is ridden on unimproved roads/turn rows, 600/CR18 HD wheel set on Michelin Dynamic 32c (34 measured) round profile tires, LX canti's, Nitto Grand Raundoneur bar on Spcialized MTB stem, ST Barcons, ST XC Pro pedals/Mini Christophe clips and another honey Brooks B17.

Then there is the late '90s Trek 730 'Hunt Bike'. Bought nearly new off eBay and left mostly stock. This was gonna be my hunting/fishing bike, for hauling rod/reel/tackle or soft cased airguns up and down the twisty country roads around Joe's Bayou and the many small farm ponds/watersheds near where I was living ('02-'11) before the tornado. Changed the bar to a Bontrager Satellite w/ my last set of '80s Spec. hard foam MTB grips trimmed to fit the Grip Shifters and the levers to two finger Deore XTs. Put on a British Racing Green B17, Blackburn Mtn rack, Schwalbe Kevlar Guard Marathon 47c tires and Specialzed BMX studded pedals. This bike has been a comfortable and reliable work horse.


Pics?

[C*H*U*D]

My girlfriend and I rode the bikes downtown this morning. I had to stop by the hardware store, and she went to mow her mom's lawn. On the way down we saw all the barricades going up and I realized today was the Longmont State Crit, so I had to stop on the way home and watch for awhile.

[hpiguy]

Nice!!

[rockhugger]

And we've got rider 431 Somers, taking a flyer off the front, let's see how long he can hold off the pack, oh, and there's the counter attack coming from team Burning Legs... Being chased by a rider from team Lactic Lemonade, going for the Prime (preem)!!!!


In my best race announcer voice.

Nice pic!!!

[TheScaleAddict]

Anuthabubba - Those Trek's are sweet. I can't say which I prefer. They are both sweet!

On to this madness.... if anyone wants to try to out 'do' me, you must be out of your damn mind. This ride was, as it always is, INSANE. The highlight of the ride was a bee flying into my helmet while traveling @ 40mph and stinging me over and over again. All I could say was "really???". None the less, I finished the ride. It was BRUTAL.

[rockhugger]

Originally Posted by TheScaleAddict

Anuthabubba - Those Trek's are sweet. I can't say which I prefer. They are both sweet!

On to this madness.... if anyone wants to try to out 'do' me, you must be out of your damn mind. This ride was, as it always is, INSANE. The highlight of the ride was a bee flying into my helmet while traveling @ 40mph and stinging me over and over again. All I could say was "really???". None the less, I finished the ride. It was BRUTAL.

good job man!!! Our equivalent ride (Death Ride) came and went on the same day Saturday (07/12) and I decided to work the local scale course instead so no challenge from me, only a serious congratulations.



Anyone who is curious, Death Ride is 5 passes with 4 of them averaging 10 miles each and one is 5 steep miles. Total ride is 129 miles / 15,000 ft climbing
http://www.deathride.com/elemap.html

If you're ever in Ca. I highly recommend doing this ride.

[TheScaleAddict]

Originally Posted by rockhugger

Anyone who is curious, Death Ride is 5 passes with 4 of them averaging 10 miles each and one is 5 steep miles. Total ride is 129 miles / 15,000 ft climbing

Equal-ish... There's a BIG difference between 8.5K Peaks and 12K Peaks.

Thanks for the congrats. It was a beastly ride. I'd love to ride the death ride. I would imagine I'd feel like super man riding down in that thick O2.

At least that's what I'm telling myself now... LOL

[hpiguy]

HOLY SHIT to both of those rides. Good job Brian!

[anuthabubba]

"On to this madness.... if anyone wants to try to out 'do' me, you must be out of your damn mind. This ride was, as it always is, INSANE. The highlight of the ride was a bee flying into my helmet while traveling @ 40mph and stinging me over and over again."



Returning from a fast 'turn row' ride on my DB Apex, I swooped through the front yard ditch and turned to the right between two large/old oak trees and the corner of the house. Coming around to the west side of the house I saw a 10 foot ball of swarming honey bees! Ducked my head and as I sprinted through them I could feel them bouncing off me. Looked back to see that they hadn't followed me to the far end of the back yard. so I checked inside my vented helmet and didn't find any bees. No stings either. Bet it woulda looked wild through a helmet cam.

[TheScaleAddict]

I couldn't help myself. I just bought another bike. Planning on using it as a touring bike.

Here's one with racks and fenders. I don't have racks or fenders yet*, but I will eventually. I already ordered an Old Man Mountain Rack for the rear and a set of panniers to carry my laptop when I want/need to commute.

[hpiguy]

Nice bike Brian, congrats!

[hpiguy]

Got out for an easy spin this afternoon. Between weather and work, it's been so long since I've ridden a road bike, it's almost like starting over.

[hpiguy]

I was visiting my parents over the weekend, and took the road bike with me to work on climbing. Road by myself, and had a great time.

[rockhugger]

Very nice!!! So lush and green where you ride, I'm guessing humid as well ?
It's dry this year where I'm at, in fact fires are becoming more frequent.

I rode 4 days in a row last week while the temp and air quality were excellent, I saw the weekends forecast of 100-106 and decided to cram rides into the days when it was 80-90 deg.

[hpiguy]

Yes sir, it is humid for sure. The Great Smokies is actually still a temperate rain forest. It's better than being on fire, but the rain gets old sometimes though. Those temps sound like when I lived in Texas.

[hpiguy]

Did the regular group ride tonight, but myself and a guy that was visiting from Colombia went a mile up the climb. Slowly working my way up to make it to the top. Riding again tomorrow night, more climbing. And oddly enough, I'm starting to like climbing.

I also really, REALLY want a 2015 Domane 4.3 disc, but I don't think it's in the cards. So I did the next best thing to take the edge off our rough ass roads, and ordered an Ergon CF3 seatpost. It's pretty interesting how it works. I'll let you guys know how I like it. New saddle that I'm demo'ing is going well also.