your daily bicycle log

And Mc3wen will be ponying up and down the gold coast all summer too.

No ride today. Puncture. Only got fat tubes. Can you fit fat tubes (1.5-2.2 i think) into slick tyres (1.25 i think)?

Not really, you'll be much more at risk of pinch flats.

Invest in Slime.

an hour on the rollers, sweatnet = essential

quick zip in to work and back - left the house at exactly 9.30 and left work at exactly 9.30. front wheel need truing. both do probably. and brakes need some love. also some fucker in a big car tried to kill me twice this morning on tottenham court rd :/

did anyone watch the 'bike messengers are on crack' vid on youtube?

Quick zip up to the Wburg bridge, to the bar. Nice out, a little warm. The pulled pork and cigarettes slowed me down on the way home -- it might be uphill most of the way back to the Heights but it shouldn't be THAT annoying. Fuck stoplights, anyway.

Also fuck the white van that pulled over and stopped in front of my while I was cruising down Kent. They apologized as I blew by, but they weren't sorry enough not to cut me off, I noticed.

more poetry:

A little wet again
Douchebag on a rice rocket gunning it at every light only to slam on the brakes every
200 feet
I blow a red (no cross-traffic)
Almost catches me around 2 lights later
I hear a bang, look behind
2Fast2Furious doored by a work truck while trying to split traffic
Motorcycle down and skidding
Him on his ass
He looked fine (truck driver was on him already)
I keep riding

i call that poem shasta keeps riding

http://boomeria.org/chemlectures/qual/keepontruckin.jpg

2 HR RIDE W DDB, KILLN IT

OH YEAH, WENT TO THE GROCERY STORE. LATER TONIGHT, I'LL TRY TO GET TO FT GREENE IN A SKIRT AND HEELS FOR A BIRTHDAY PARTY. UPDATES AS EVENTS WARRANT.

I flatted (rear) for the first time in ages riding home last night. Had a bitch of a time getting tire off (they're very tight fit), it was dark etc. I found the piece of wire that caused the flat, but the new tube leaked on remount, I think that tore it remounting. It was call for a ride or get over to broadway for the bus. I called. =DEFEAT.

"I tore it" that is.

you carry co2 or pumpage?

Mission accomplished, tho I'm not sure I didn't flash the traffic.

Actually I'm pretty sure I did.

For all recreational, CO2. For commuting, a crank bros micro pump in my saddle bag.

Testerday: Me, sick, weather- 72 deg and sunny

Today: Me, better, weather-

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/7725/img0182bt3.jpg

2 hours again today, some high intensity intervals up in there

Cutty, you getting coaching?

yessss--this guy:

http://www.empirecycling.com/Sherry.html

SATURDAY, BROKEN TOE STRAP, SEVERAL ADJUSTMENTS, NO WATER, NO FUN.
SUNDAY, WORKED. COULDNT SEEM TO STAY ON BIKE, ATE SO MUCH SHIT.
MONDAY, MELLOW. PASSED ON DOWNHILL BY "FIXED GEAR DOWNHILL SPRINTER" VERY EAGER TO GET TO WORK I GUESS.

Saturday: cycled to Kingston to watch the football, then to the hospital to visit my grandmother. Man, hangovers don't half sap your energy, I felt pathetic. Nice weather though, and saw hell of deer on my way back through Richmond Park. Tried to photograph a big ol' stag but it's ruttin' season and it gave me a very dirty look so I couldn't get close enough.

Can a man on a bike outrun an enraged red deer?

I only rode to Dumbo and back BUT I overhauled the bb (SO SO DIRTY), checked the chain, realized it was massively stretched so replaced it, took apart the chainrings to clean & tighten all (2 out of 3 bolts were scarily loose), found the second (hidden) limit screw on my wack-ass Huret rear DR, adjusted shifting, lubed cables & pivots -- and WOW it rides like a different bike. SO SMOOTH now even though one of the things I confirmed is that my beautiful lg chainring is a little bent. We bent it back some, it'll do.

So quiet and solid now! I let it get too rattled, I should have done this a month ago.

How does a chain stretch (and wouldn't the derailleur compensate)? Sorry to keep asking noob questions, but I'm a noob.

Mark, the metal in each link of the chain will stretch over time, so you chain gradually get longer. Yes, this slack should get taken up by the rear mech, or on singlespeed bikes, you can move the rear wheel axle back in the dropouts to do this (if you don't, you'll end up with a baggy chain that will tend to jump off the chain ring). What will happen though is that as the chain stretches, it'll start wearing down the teeth on your gears in a funny way cos it won't be a proper fit. If you keep replacing your chain when the stretch gets to a certain amount, you can prolong the life of your gears I think.

so you chain gradually get longer so your chain will gradually get longer, duh

You'll find out all about chain stretch when you replace the cassette at the back without getting a new chain, and you'll be wondering why your bike doesn't work anymore.

Ah gotcha. What's the best way to check for chain stretch - or is it really noticeable? I remember on my old bike there was a resistance free split second before the pedals started working which I assume was because of a stretched chain but I guess the problem starts well before you reach this point?

What's the best way to check for chain stretch - or is it really noticeable?

Measure it with a ruler. Should be an inch per pair of links when new IIRC.

I remember on my old bike there was a resistance free split second before the pedals started working which I assume was because of a stretched chain but I guess the problem starts well before you reach this point?

Sometimes this can be down to wear where the crank sits on the axle, but also the top of the chain will be a bit slack when you stop your bike.

Should be an inch per pair of links when new IIRC

This is a pin-to-pin measurement BTW.

Or you could buy a chain wear gauge for, what, $15? $20? It's just a little thing, throw it in your toolbox.

this is the daily bicycle log thread

(1 hr on the rollers 90-100RPM)

One step ahead of you, Grumpy. See Tools thread.

just teasin boo

Cutty = JW-style own-board fascist :)

My Commute, by Hunt3r

White peaks, a pink sky
Make me forget that I have
a boil on my taint.

well done

LAST NIGHT, 11:45 PM, FLAT ON QUEENS BORO BRIDGE. I AS PULL OUT MY TOOLS, I REMEMBER I LEFT MY HAND PUMP IN MY MOUNTAIN BIKE BAG....WALKED TO SHADY GAS STATION IN LONG ISLAND CITY, IT STARTED TO RAIN! REPLACED TUBE, ASKED ATTENDANT FOR QUARTERS FOR THE THE PUMP (50 CENTS, WTF)...HE SAID HE DIDNT HAVE ANY...I BECAME SLIGHTLY UNHINGED, RANDOM SPANISH LADY GAVE ME QUARTERS FOR AIR PUMP. (THANK U MISS).

RODE HOME WET AND ANNOYED.

TODAY, RODE TO WORK IN RAIN. BLAH BLAH BLAH.

Left work after sunset yesterday. Entered Hyde Park at Queen's Gate, rode past the Albert Memorial in the dark, all very lovely. Got to Alexandra gate - gates closed. Had to ride down 100 metres of singletrack(ish) - made me appreciate the need for really proper lights doing mtb at night - and then lift my bike over a waist-high fence. Ah could've been worse.

This morning I managed the Hyde Park corner double - both ped xings in one go. Difficult but not actually impossible, seems to be down to the whims of the traffic light gods.

Tom, is there any reason to go round HPC on a bike? Aren't there alternative routes where you're less likely to die?

I'll be doing two laps of Richmond Park on Saturday, but I have the excuse of my less-fit mate cycling with me so no lap times will be taken. Which is lucky cos I was almost 3 minutes off the pace last time. Damn you, age.

Cycled almost all the way to work thinking I was going a lot faster and riding on higher gears than usual, then realised I was actually on the middle chainring, not the big one. Woe.

Mark, I go across the ped (+bike) (+horse) crossings so it's not dangerous - just really annoyingly timed. Parliament Square and Westminster Bridge roundabout are another story - although traffic's pretty slow around them so they're not that bad.

Someone hit me today. A pedestrian with a magazine. Admittedly I has in the wrong I jumped a red light to get out of the sphere of a taxi that was sitting on my rear wheel. Only just as it was going red as well and as I went across the crossing, a man hit me with a magazine. I was flabberghasted.

haha! i always think ppl are going to shove sticks through my wheels :/

yesterday a lady (on a bike herself) tutted, frowned and shook her head at me angrily for riding without hands (ok i'm guessing that was what it was for, can't think of anything else), i was so surprised i started laughing at her and she looked even more annoyed.

should have given her the finger(s)

Playing chicken with people riding the wrong way in your 24" of allotted shoulder space: C/D? I was tempted on Tues but it didn't seem worthwhile in the end.

If people hit cyclists with magazines for crossing red lights in NYC, we'd need a second police force.

I frown and shake my head at people riding no-handed - in my mind. You reckless young whippersnappers.

Finally managed to do a couple of cycling trips abroad last year. Firstly gravel biking the Strade Bianche in Tuscanny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCPyfwBmia4

...and then Calpe in Spain, the winter training choice of many pros:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hqrV7rt4vU

wow. someday ...

Haha, loved the happy face at the end of the Calpe clip. What an amazing looking place..
Started making plans with a colleague from Sicily to cycle up the Etna later this year

mountain biking on the south downs yesterday:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Oxffm1YWHw

Just been to Mallorca for the first time: absolutely incredible. A cycling paradise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M26V9tPwxA

I’ve been looking into cycling clubs, and went to a workshop on group-cycling, but I realized I don’t think I’m into it. I want to look around and explore at my own pace. Also, not encouraged by the fact I was v worn out by the “let’s just practice riding in a group” ride. How else does one “get serious” (but not so serious it becomes your whole personality) about cycling?

I've ridden in groups of all kinds, some of them very leisurely, so maybe don't give up on that.

If you can't find a chill group, the best thing is to have a friend to ride with. My riding buddy unfortunately moved away and I'm riding a lot less.

Failing that, finding mountains that you're excited to climb helps. Speaking literally here.

I basically never ended up joining a local bicycle club myself, but the few times I've gone on organized bicycle tours I've loved them. At least in my experience, the groups were not dominated by competitiveness.

Yeah maybe like you, I am happy with my level and gear. I wouldn't mind a more social experience but I don't need social pressure.

Most cycling clubs should offer a range of group rides: for example mine has a group that does 20-22mph, another that does 18-19mph, another 17-18mph, another 15-17mph and finally the 'social' one that does about 14mph.