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Saturday's ride up Wolf Creek was great. There was an unexpected surprise: finding that there's a new (really cool) route between two points that, despite having ridden in the area for ages, I didn't even know existed!
One of the ride organizers offered that Old Wolf Creek road is the old valley road. It was replaced in the 1960s because it was too narrow, being squeezed between the mountain and the river, for modern road standards. So my friend and I got to ride on an even more rural road for most of the trip! And here I thought it was just a little stub road for access to some farms!
Being stupid and overcome by the views, I forgot to take pictures. So here's someone else's picture of the creek:
I'd link my favourite bicycle light here, but I'm on my phone and besides, I don't think too many of you are interested in a device that can probably also double as a helicopter-mounted searchlight...
I hate cyclists with these über-bright lights. They are never properly adjusted to light up the road instead blinding other oncoming cyclists.
I rode into someone who was walking on a path while being blinded by another cyclist's light a while back. To be fair, the guy was walking on an unlit shared path at night while it was raining, wearing nothing but black. But it still bothers me to this day. It's caused me to be a lot more cautious when I ride at night. I normally have my light facing up so I can see the path and any pedestrians up ahead, but I quickly push it down when I see people so they won't be blinded. And I rarely use my light's brightest setting.
I feel the same way about running. I wear all bright colours when I run at night and I normally keep a flashing light on my arm. Visibility is crucial.
What the hell type of lights do you guys use that you are blinding people?
Use something like this and point it about 5-6 feet ahead of you. You shouldn't be blinding anyone.
5-6 feet isn't gonna cut it in a properly dark area if you want to ride at a pace above a slow jog. It is important to use a light that doesn't dazzle off-axis though, you need a good focused beam, aimed at the ground. I sometimes see jerkwads with "tactical" torches fitted to their handlebars, and those things have both: a wide flood beam, and very intense LEDs which make them bloody blinding, even in the daytime.
I finally got a new bike since moving to Chicago over a year ago. I wanted the most dead simple thing I could grab, and ended up getting a Pure Fix cycle with a flip hub to go from fixie to single speed
I'm pretty into it, though down the road I'll definitely grab a more comfortable seat at least
What the hell type of lights do you guys use that you are blinding people?
Use something like this and point it about 5-6 feet ahead of you. You shouldn't be blinding anyone.
5-6 feet isn't gonna cut it in a properly dark area if you want to ride at a pace above a slow jog. It is important to use a light that doesn't dazzle off-axis though, you need a good focused beam, aimed at the ground. I sometimes see jerkwads with "tactical" torches fitted to their handlebars, and those things have both: a wide flood beam, and very intense LEDs which make them bloody blinding, even in the daytime.
I hate the ones mounted on helmets because unlike the ones fitted on handlebars, they beam right on to your face. Just horrible. Also why would anyone want that extra weight on their head, I just don't get it.
i live in a country with a batshit crazy president and no, english is not my first language
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IronKnuckleThis is also my faultRegistered Userregular
You have one on your handlebars and one on your helmet. One is for seeing where the bike is pointing. The other is for seeing where you're pointing.
I've done 100 miles so far this month. Which isn't a lot in some ways but it does equal my mileage for Jan-Apr this year so that's nice.
I did however midjudge how much effect the recent rain had on my shortcut through the woods on the way home from work. My bike isn't really suited for mud so it was a bit all over the place but I stayed upright albeit having to carry the bike round some very boggy areas a couple times. My shoes are quite muddy.
Another lovely commute though complete with a stop for a quick pint at a lovely country pub :biggrin:
I'm currently planning to ride to and from work everyday for a week after my exams have finished. 250 miles in five days won't hurt that much right?
You have one on your handlebars and one on your helmet. One is for seeing where the bike is pointing. The other is for seeing where you're pointing.
Well true that but nobody needs 1500 lumens on their helmet That's just wrong on so many levels and the problem is not just other cyclists, drivers can get blinded by them as well and that's big trouble.
I've done 100 miles so far this month. Which isn't a lot in some ways but it does equal my mileage for Jan-Apr this year so that's nice.
I did however midjudge how much effect the recent rain had on my shortcut through the woods on the way home from work. My bike isn't really suited for mud so it was a bit all over the place but I stayed upright albeit having to carry the bike round some very boggy areas a couple times. My shoes are quite muddy.
Another lovely commute though complete with a stop for a quick pint at a lovely country pub :biggrin:
I'm currently planning to ride to and from work everyday for a week after my exams have finished. 250 miles in five days won't hurt that much right?
250 in 5 days will kick your butt for sure but in a good way I've done about 300 kms this month so far and will try to hit 1000 km by the end of the month so I need to focus on distance rather than speed.
(No, I didn't ride it -- I was one of the SAG cars for the double metric option. 200 km / 125 mi, 13800 ft / 4206 m of climbing, three cat 2 climbs and one cat 1 climb to the finish. And yet I only had to drive one rider back to the starting line due to a withdrawl! 75 double metric riders and 345 century riders rode for between 5ish and 12 hours. There are some tough, tough riders out there!)
That picture is from Paint Bank, Virginia, looking up route 311 (the descent after the first of the cat2 climbs). It's in southwestern Virginia very near a border with WV. http://www.mountainsofmisery.com/
Lost Salientblink twiceif you'd like me to mercy kill youRegistered Userregular
I've been toying with the idea of getting some monkeylights for my wheels, for added street visibility. They look cool and are also noticable but not blinding to oncoming cyclists.
Of course now my dilemma is, do I bother with anything else for my current bike, or just donate it to my brother's girlfriend and buy a new one in Singapore.
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
That picture is from Paint Bank, Virginia, looking up route 311 (the descent after the first of the cat2 climbs). It's in southwestern Virginia very near a border with WV. http://www.mountainsofmisery.com/
I'm jealous of 52 miles with stops for eats! Any route that long here (that doesn't involve doing circles around town) puts me out in the middle of farms, farms, and more farms. And, let me tell you, neither dudes cutting hay nor cows appreciate you asking them for ice cream.
Related: the world is just so lovely when you've just put a new chain on your bicycle. After months of imperceptible wear every ride, I'm always slightly shocked at those first butter-smooth shifts.
It's basically a cycling MMO that you do on a trainer. I decided to pick up a trainer since here in FL it rains (like thunder and lightning) every afternoon almost when I get out of work, which makes it hard to bike as much as I would like.
I should get my trainer in a couple weeks and I will let you know how the game thing is! :hydra:
So we get stiff once in a while. So we have a little fun. What’s wrong with that? This is a free country, isn’t it? I can take my panda any place I want to. And if I wanna buy it a drink, that’s my business.
I just started it as well, and am enjoying it. It is a bit primitive, but way better than staring at a wall. And there's leveling. And sweet unlockables.
I just started it as well, and am enjoying it. It is a bit primitive, but way better than staring at a wall. And there's leveling. And sweet unlockables.
Oh yeah... I read that at some point but got lost in my excitement I guess.
So we get stiff once in a while. So we have a little fun. What’s wrong with that? This is a free country, isn’t it? I can take my panda any place I want to. And if I wanna buy it a drink, that’s my business.
I just started it as well, and am enjoying it. It is a bit primitive, but way better than staring at a wall. And there's leveling. And sweet unlockables.
Oh yeah... I read that at some point but got lost in my excitement I guess.
I made it to the top of Watopia Mountain last night for the first time. Didn't do the optional Radio Tower climb, though. It is hard if you do it with a smart trainer. You feel every % of the grade for, in my case, 38min.
About to break out my bike for the first time this year, to prep it for Boston Bike Party tomorrow, for my first ride of 2016. https://www.facebook.com/BostonBikeParty/
Strava is very good at what it tries to do. If you use it and end up finding its determined focus on comparison and competition troubling, try Endomondo or RideWithGPS.
Strava's overall platform integration is something I really like - eg I can access it from the notification screen, feeds distances + whatever to my health data, etc. I largely ignore the competition side, but it's sometimes nice to put in a bit of extra effort on a short bit of road and find you've got a PB, rather than just looking at the overall ride.
Also it let me find out that someone has labeled the section of Mass Ave near my office the "Ring of Death", which is both accurate and fun to say.
I used to keep track of my own spreadsheet for rides using my bike computer, because I wasn't really into the socila media/cloud/internet tracking stuff. I've basically moved entirely to Strava now, though. They've refined it down to be pretty easy to use, and what you get for free is pretty good in terms of historical tracking.
I've been really enjoying the social hooks on Strava. Got some really fit friends on there and seeing them be active helps motivate myself to keep up, at least in effort if not ability. Kind of like having a gym buddy, except without having to coordinate. Having leaderboards for segments can really help to push your limits too, even if you're just competing with yourself.
Yeah, Strava is good for that. It also lets you compare month-over-month, and week-over-week for up to a year in free mode.
Zwift also integrates with it, but I don't know how I feel about that. It feels like cheating to have my fake cycling tracked alongside my real cycling.
Anyone have any opinions on the different types of pedal cleats? I've had SPD up until now, but my shoes are falling apart and my pedals aren't great so I'm thinking about trying something new. All for road riding
My seat is also held together with electrical tape at this point so I should get a new one of those too. Any tips for new seat buying?
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One of the ride organizers offered that Old Wolf Creek road is the old valley road. It was replaced in the 1960s because it was too narrow, being squeezed between the mountain and the river, for modern road standards. So my friend and I got to ride on an even more rural road for most of the trip! And here I thought it was just a little stub road for access to some farms!
Being stupid and overcome by the views, I forgot to take pictures.
P.S. bike thread is best thread. Hugs!
I rode into someone who was walking on a path while being blinded by another cyclist's light a while back. To be fair, the guy was walking on an unlit shared path at night while it was raining, wearing nothing but black. But it still bothers me to this day. It's caused me to be a lot more cautious when I ride at night. I normally have my light facing up so I can see the path and any pedestrians up ahead, but I quickly push it down when I see people so they won't be blinded. And I rarely use my light's brightest setting.
I feel the same way about running. I wear all bright colours when I run at night and I normally keep a flashing light on my arm. Visibility is crucial.
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Use something like this and point it about 5-6 feet ahead of you. You shouldn't be blinding anyone.
5-6 feet isn't gonna cut it in a properly dark area if you want to ride at a pace above a slow jog. It is important to use a light that doesn't dazzle off-axis though, you need a good focused beam, aimed at the ground. I sometimes see jerkwads with "tactical" torches fitted to their handlebars, and those things have both: a wide flood beam, and very intense LEDs which make them bloody blinding, even in the daytime.
Especially the second part htere is a big problem for a lot of people.
I'm pretty into it, though down the road I'll definitely grab a more comfortable seat at least
I hate the ones mounted on helmets because unlike the ones fitted on handlebars, they beam right on to your face. Just horrible. Also why would anyone want that extra weight on their head, I just don't get it.
I did however midjudge how much effect the recent rain had on my shortcut through the woods on the way home from work. My bike isn't really suited for mud so it was a bit all over the place but I stayed upright albeit having to carry the bike round some very boggy areas a couple times. My shoes are quite muddy.
Another lovely commute though complete with a stop for a quick pint at a lovely country pub :biggrin:
I'm currently planning to ride to and from work everyday for a week after my exams have finished. 250 miles in five days won't hurt that much right?
Well true that but nobody needs 1500 lumens on their helmet
250 in 5 days will kick your butt for sure but in a good way
Getting my bicycle out of storage in the next week.
2016 Mountains of Misery safely done!
(No, I didn't ride it -- I was one of the SAG cars for the double metric option. 200 km / 125 mi, 13800 ft / 4206 m of climbing, three cat 2 climbs and one cat 1 climb to the finish. And yet I only had to drive one rider back to the starting line due to a withdrawl! 75 double metric riders and 345 century riders rode for between 5ish and 12 hours. There are some tough, tough riders out there!)
http://www.mountainsofmisery.com/
Of course now my dilemma is, do I bother with anything else for my current bike, or just donate it to my brother's girlfriend and buy a new one in Singapore.
"Sandra has a good solid anti-murderer vibe. My skin felt very secure and sufficiently attached to my body when I met her. Also my organs." HAIL SATAN
That looks pretty great.
I wish suncream weren't so sticky though, dust and bugs galore.
Related: the world is just so lovely when you've just put a new chain on your bicycle. After months of imperceptible wear every ride, I'm always slightly shocked at those first butter-smooth shifts.
(KMC X SL 4lyfe. Cheap and good!)
PSN: Robo_Wizard1
It's basically a cycling MMO that you do on a trainer. I decided to pick up a trainer since here in FL it rains (like thunder and lightning) every afternoon almost when I get out of work, which makes it hard to bike as much as I would like.
I should get my trainer in a couple weeks and I will let you know how the game thing is! :hydra:
I just started it as well, and am enjoying it. It is a bit primitive, but way better than staring at a wall. And there's leveling. And sweet unlockables.
Oh yeah... I read that at some point but got lost in my excitement I guess.
I made it to the top of Watopia Mountain last night for the first time. Didn't do the optional Radio Tower climb, though. It is hard if you do it with a smart trainer. You feel every % of the grade for, in my case, 38min.
https://www.facebook.com/BostonBikeParty/
Well that was a tiring after work ride
PSN: Robo_Wizard1
Also it let me find out that someone has labeled the section of Mass Ave near my office the "Ring of Death", which is both accurate and fun to say.
In other news: Aviva Women's Tour starts tomorrow! It's never wise to bet against Marianne Vos, but I'm cheering for Lizzie Armitstead.
PSN: Robo_Wizard1
Zwift also integrates with it, but I don't know how I feel about that. It feels like cheating to have my fake cycling tracked alongside my real cycling.
My seat is also held together with electrical tape at this point so I should get a new one of those too. Any tips for new seat buying?
PSN: Robo_Wizard1