your daily bicycle log

with grav grav being all that cycling talks about—gravel feels oppressive, but way better than not-grav, because most cyclists have always ridden it? it’s why you have a cx bike even if you don’t cx anymore.

but 28s work. 28s were the widest tires i could find, fund, and fit on my 94 converted road>cx bike (wolber grifo sewups lol). just ride wherever you like, as you like.

i def decided that i need 2” tires to do all my things well, tho some friends who can actually ride can go down to like sub 50mm. but usually on bigger wheels.

i basically beg my pal who has a primo old 26” ti townie setup to let me really fix it up for long-range omni-terrain, in vain. but he knows what he wants, and it’s not what i want.

best thing about yesterday’s low elev, near home loops- tons of kiddos and doggos hiking and maintaining distancing space from others. it was therapeutic.

i saw 3 offroad atvs (the kind that seat two and have full cages) on this ride, but no other bikers. based on strava, no one rides it, really. all old mining roads in varying states of decomposition. the 3000' descent off saxon mtn, which i've done before, is just _rough_, even with 100mm up front. i had a dropper down, and and it still hurt my ass. no flow at all, just as i like it.

https://www.relive.cc/view/vevW79MDAyv

yer a loonie

lots of really aggy cars today for some reason. happy to sign an executive order bringing in summary executions for all car drivers, if that is something people would appreciate

it's like, god, it's such a nice day, calm down, slow down, enjoy life a little, why so angry bro

Drove up to Yorkshire where the temperature was about 15C lower than what I'd left behind in London. Rode up several major evil climbs (each with sections of 20-26%) with thick fog every time I got high up. Encountered some kind of rally with old cars steaming towards me through the fog. And an elderly Yorkshire cowboy in full costume cheering me on near the top of Buttertubs.
https://youtu.be/Y_Y9GrzLAy4

about to do a short cycle downtown to get my wife some medication and it's 30 degrees outside oh dear.

I'm out of shape and there is a hilly section on the way there

how'd it go?

Not so bad!

I had a family Zoom call scheduled right after my ride, so I had to hustle today if I wanted to get any lunch. Which turned out to be fun! I miss chasing faster people :/ I'm so lazy usually.

still struggling with my shoulder if I ride anywhere over 3/4 hours... in other news someone in my club just did an 11 hour/180 mile ride : /

rode up to 12000ft this weekend, which was a first -- not so bad!

smoke from the forest fires has kept me from doing my regular rides, but air quality has been better at night, so I've been doing night rides out to the ocean. they closed the highway along the ocean to cars, rode it last night, just a straight dark road with the sound of waves crashing. now i gotta buy an actual front light (not just a flasher) cuz i almost mowed someone down.

also - congrats gbx, sounds fun

thx man

air quality was finally good enough to go for a ride during the day. followed by a chocolate almond croissant so unnecessarily massive that i felt the need to tack on extra climbing on the way home

Almond croissant is such a delightful sugar bomb

Hi all. First time checking in in this corner of ilx. Got a racing bicycle three years ago and fell in love with riding it way more than I expected. December/January are the only months I don’t ride, tried using a Tacx trainer during the winter but I’ve come to accept that indoor riding is really not my thing. Rides include commuting (approx. 30km one way) from March to September, basically as soon as daylight allows it, 1-3 times a week. In most weekends I’ll make longer rides. Love doing it by myself, but with a small group of friends is great too, and often adds a nice competitive element ;)

With Spring coming early this year, this is the first time that commuting by bike started in February – feels so good to be back on the road!
Late last year a bridge specifically for bikes was installed on the route to work, cutting the distance by 5km which takes the morning commute below 1 hr. There’s a myriad of options for the afternoon rides back home, including some nice climbs (not that extreme, it’s the Netherlands I’m talking about, though I do live in one of the hillier parts of the country) that are ideal to clear the head at the end of a working day.
Anyway, blah blah, maybe more interesting stuff to share throughout the year. Would love to read your riding adventures, had a fun time reading the thread

Sounds like a great commute!

Doing more in-city rides over here. Weather's nice, enjoying being out and about. Any day with breathable air in California is one to celebrate.

Does that apply to the entire state? My idea of California (I've never been there) is that it would be perfect for year-round cycling!

It is perfect for year-round cycling ... except during wildfire/smoke season.

I don't believe in New Year's resolutions but I'm making an exception for once - I'm gonna ride slower on the bike path to the park. Sorry, lady I almost ran over :/

(it's a mixed pedestrian/bike path)

Knowing how to rein it in and where is that next next level.

Yeah within city limits I'm taking it easy unless I'm on a dedicated bike path without crossing potential for pedestrians.

Weather's been too wet for commuting the past two weeks :-/
Fell from my bike on the last commute, such a silly accident - was cycling with a colleague when we had to cross an expressway. With no traffic in sight, we slowly started getting across and then bumped into one another after both thinking the other was going left rather and right and vice versa. Beside feeling embarrassed, nothing more than a scuffed knee and a torn bib....

Did a ride with mates for the first time in a long time this mornings ending up at my local coffee shop. Five minutes later the Melbourne cycling nobility roll in (James Huang from cycling tips, all of curve cycles, former Australian cyclocross champ Lisa Jacobs etc.). Suddenly makes me feel very fat.

Oh, and apparently Simon Gerrans who I totally didn't clock.

hey, you beat them to the coffeeshop

Cool and humid today, nobody out there. Stopped on my ride for coffee and a galette. Eavesdropped on two old guys talking on a bench. There is nothing better, to me, than two old guys on a bench talking. Heard one guy telling another how he got married when he was 21, to a 38yo woman. They were married for 42 years until she died of diabetes complications at 80.

Can you introduce me?

^^ that was in my Zing drafts, dunno what the context is.

Last few weeks have been cold and blustery. Today was nearly perfect, though, and I got out for 50 miles on a favorite route with some nice rollers. Just don’t ask me how long it took.

Bought a new GoPro last week. Here's yesterday's club run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBFdiTVjRIw

A month and a half ago, someone broke into my garage and stole two bikes. One bike was a new mt bike, and the other was the 20yo touring bike. That was the one that had me sad.

Well, wouldn't you know it, but they dumped the old bike (minus some parts) a block away. I found it that morning and had it fixed up.

Finally back from the shop, took it for a ride this morning. Still solid.

Two new tubes, two flats. Tyre was v old ao bought a new one. Just tried to put it on and got a pinch flat. Fuuuuck. The guy in the bike shop said don't use levers to put it back on but there was absolutely no way I could get it on otherwise. Think I have to accept I just can't change tubes :(

I had to use my bike today and still hadn't sorted the tyre, luckily had another wheel on my single speed that's up in the loft, it's not quick release though. Broke a spanner putting it on - that should mean it's tight, right? It seemed tight enough. Rode 4 miles no problem. On the way back - hmm, what's that rattling noise? Luckily I didn't quite find the answer to the question 'how far can you ride on a loose front wheel?', also lucky I was on a quiet canal not a busy road or I might not have heard it.

This all sounds familiar.

I am now passing competent at this stuff, though, practice makes perfect.

One of my former riding partners was killed mid-day yesterday on a popular bike route in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. Everyone's really freaked out and angry and sad. He was well decorated on the track (multiple masters golds national and world levels but also outright USA record holder for flying 500mTT) but just a sweet, humble and nice guy who loved riding. If you ever rode around the GGP polo fields you were likely to see him. Just senseless and saddening.

aw shasta, i'm terribly sorry. i've not seen you in these parts for a long time, and given the hazardous world of cycling, i've thought of you in concern for your own welfare, even. so i am glad to hear from you-- but what terrible circumstances. stay safe and well.

same here - wish I wasn't hearing from you again because of such awful news.

Man we've both biked that stretch of road about a billion times.

https://i.imgur.com/6HvuILU.jpg

White was riding on the shoulder of Highway 119, known as the Diagonal, in Boulder on Saturday afternoon when he was hit by a 23-year-old woman driving a Toyota Matrix. The driver crossed from the right-hand lane onto the shoulder, striking White from behind before she crashed into a fence, according to an incident report from the Colorado State Patrol. White was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead. The car's driver was uninjured.

Top American cyclist Magnus White, 17, dies after being hit by a car
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/31/1191096086/cyclist-magnus-white-17-dies-accident-car-boulder-colorado

fucking diagonal. it's a graveyard.