The Lounge of Terrestrial Wheelmen

[G'day Mate]

:lol:

[Yw-slayer]

I should hopefully be trying out the Guerrilla Gravity Megatrail at some point.

[overpowered]

Yesterday's ride:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBvBLCH6nnA

[Cam]

Driving this morning on a road with two lanes in my direction and one in the other. There was only a couple of cars on the road. Here comes some retarded crack head riding a bike directly toward me in my lane. He moves to the middle lane and keeps right on pedalling looking and acting like Stevie Wonder, not a care in the world. :erm:

[G'day Mate]

Yesterday's ride:

Heh, that guy looks like he's a pretty long way from anywhere

[overpowered]

He is. It's basically down in a valley. On the right side of the road is a parking lot and a wildlife preserve where people aren't allowed. On the left side of the road is a state beach. Everywhere you go from there requires climbing. That bus stop he stopped at has a path down to the parking lot for the beach. I suspect that he went to the parking lot where he has his car but that's just a guess.

[G'day Mate]

So now my sister is in the process of shopping around for a new bike. It'll be her first roadie and I think she'll ride it a fair bit, so I've recommended looking for a full carbon frame with 105 components (including compact cranks of course!!). Here's what she's narrowed it down to, including some that have already been struck off the list ...


2015 Merida Ride w/105
2013 Merida Ride w/Ultegra (too small)
2015 Specialized Ruby (too expensive)
2015 Scott CR1 w/105
2014 Trek Madone 4.7 w/Ultegra (a little bit more expensive but not prohibitively)
2014 Lapierre Sensium w/105


I don't know much about the ins and outs of different frames so are any of these a really good buy, or are there any to stay well away from?

[Yw-slayer]

Madone 4 LY43

[Tom Servo]

I can only speak to the Madone (and to an extent, the Ruby). I'd say the Madone 5.2 at least feels about as plush as my few year old Roubaix did and from what I gather the newer Roubaixs have been stiffened up. I also feel like I got more bike for the money component-wise with the Madone than I would have from Specialized. Haven't tried the others, but am very happy with the Madone so far.

[G'day Mate]

At the moment she's leaning towards a Roubaix actually.

[Tom Servo]

I loved mine, and maybe it's different in your neck of the woods, but I've found that you spend a lot more for the same components when you go Specialized (unless you find a good deal, then have at it).

[G'day Mate]

Yeah it seems like for all the extra money you just get these shock-absorber insert things in your forks and stays. To me they look like something that won't be around forever, and unless they have the idea patented then I can't see any other manufacturers copying them or trying their own thing. I'm sure the Roubaix is good but it's built for cobblestones, right? I want performance from my bike but that doesn't mean I want an extreme TT bike, so I think if you want an endurance bike it doesn't mean you need the other extreme.

[overpowered]

It's Specialized. They even patent stuff they didn't invent.

[Tom Servo]

I was a pretty firm believer in the Zertz inserts until I rode my Madone. Like I said, the ride is probably about 95% as plush on the Madone as it is on the Roubaix. I am not missing the Roubaix other than the sentimental "I lost my first road bike" thing.

[G'day Mate]

In other news, how many licenses does the UCI normally give out for the world tour? Obviously with Europcar out there's one less team next year, but when I looked at the previous year we were already one down from then too.

So is it kind of like F1 where the number of teams fluctuates a fair bit?

Also, do they usually make up the number of teams in any given world tour event to the same number by adding continental "wild-card" teams or are there also a fixed number of wild-cards for any given race as well?

[G'day Mate]

Crikey, I just looked up the latest model of my bike and now it looks like this:

http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server3900/d2cfc/products/4951/images/32254/Masi_Evoluzione_105_2015__10871.1415222312.1280.12 80.png?c=2

Good thing I got mine when the colours were nice and boring. I don't think I could ride fast enough to be on something that looks like that!

[Yw-slayer]

Plus, if you really need comfort on the road you can always buy a Domane.

[Cam]

I got a $100 gift card to my local bike shop for my birthday over two months ago. I haven't even gone to the shop yet. :lol:

I still ride my bike to school, but it's only about 4-5 miles a day. I need to get out on my road bike more. I'm feeling unfit. Lori and I have discussed mountain biking more too. We talked about going to Forks Area Trail System (http://sorbacsra.org/Trails/FATS.htm), which sounds interesting.

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8uCeyUl_9U

[Cam]

Goddam! :eek: Is that you?

[overpowered]

No. The name on the video is Silas Patlove.

It was posted to Cyclists are Drivers on FB and there is some debate as to whether the bicyclist would have had a chance to avoid it if he had been in the middle of the lane. I tend to think probably not due to his speed but, he might have been able to see the deer a little sooner and the deer might have been able to see him a little sooner which might have allowed one or the other or both of them to compensate a bit more. Hard to say for sure. The thing is, he was clearly going very fast down a hill and the extra time would have only been a fraction of a second at most.

[Cam]

I saw the name on the video. I don't know your real name. Could have been you for all I know. Although, Sausalito is in the Bay area, so the likelihood of it being you was slim.

[overpowered]

Why aren't you on Strava?

My name isn't anywhere near that interesting.

[George]

...so the likelihood of it being you was slim.

He's the real Slim Shady.

Helluva crash there!

And I'm with Cam on not haunting the bike shops. It's easy for me as I don't have two nickels to rub together in the bike budget with Christmas about here and two greedy (well, normal, I guess) kids. If I did, I'd surely spend more time in much cooler of two bike stores near my office - they sell Salsa, Kona, All-City, Moots, Raleigh, and some others - mostly cyclocross bikes, which I'm convinced is my next step, should I ever buy another bike (har!). A road bike is great but there's too much gravel around here for me to be happy the rest of my life on 25mm slicks. I go in there and get all twitchy looking at bikes I shouldn't be drooling over, and therefore I try to stay away and not be the broke window-shopper that I've been for so long in guitar stores.

G'day Mate, you oughtta ask your guys for a free jersey advertising their shop if you're that good of a customer and bike destroyer. :up:

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CUgUhu5Vd0

[G'day Mate]

Why aren't you on Strava?

My name isn't anywhere near that interesting.

Yeah it's all backwards

[overpowered]

It's your name that's backwards.

(anyone who feels lost but wants to not be, needs to get on Strava).

[George]

Hah. I never thought about the backwards names, and I wan't really sure who was who back when Strava would let me do manual entries without a smart phone or GPS device, but now it all makes sense. It must be due to a rip in the space-time continuum due to the different hemispheres, like the mirror universe on Star Trek. :up:

[Cam]

Why aren't you on Strava?
Why would I be on Strava?

[SportWagon]

So you would know where you've been. And how slowly.

[Random]

So you would know where you've been. And how slowly.

The gauntlet has been thrown! :devil:

[Cam]

From April 18th, 2014:

Doesn't Strava require you to have a smart phone or GPS? (Of which I have neither.)

... yes. Although I did a test last night on an iPhone without a sim card and it was still able to GPS-ify

[SportWagon]

I can and do (well, did until autumn) record the routes using GPSLogger (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mendhak.gpslogger) on a sim-less Motorola Atrix.

I do that as a backup of the Strava app on my Samsung Galaxy S4.

I can view the GPX files (on my Atrix) using GPX Viewer (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vecturagames.android.app.gpxviewer) . Probably other apps, too, but this one seems simplest and most effective. (Never actually tried viewing on Atrix while outside home WiFi, though...)

P.S. I accept Cam's challenge to ride more slowly than he.

[Cam]

:random:

[George]

One advantage of manual entries, back when Strava would let me do them, is I could enter any distance and time I chose!

Signed,

The Scorcher

[overpowered]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/golf/30422698

[overpowered]

P.S. I accept Cam's challenge to ride more slowly than he.We're all slow compared to G'day.

[overpowered]

http://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/2014/12/17/staffer-suspended-threat-plow-cyclist-road/20553311/

[George]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/golf/30422698

And that link leads to this one, which I can identify with...

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/11/mamil-middle-aged-men-in-lycra

"Flashy sports cars are out, now no mid-life crisis is complete without a souped-up road bike."

[Cam]

Pretenders! We rode before it was cool. :hard:

[SportWagon]

Roger Kieley can attest to that, in my case.

[George]

Apparently they now make slicks for fatbikes. Who's ready for a road century on one of these?

Surly 1x1 anniversary Pugsley - Sz Lg - $1050 (http://denver.craigslist.org/bik/4810012644.html)

http://images.craigslist.org/00l0l_hjdbpGmrdNn_600x450.jpg


http://images.craigslist.org/00808_cLyJUFYXg7S_600x450.jpg

[overpowered]

That's not a slick but it is a road tire. Might be good for some of the less well maintained roads that have a lot of cracks and stuff in them. Probably good grip in the rain too.

[G'day Mate]

We're all slow compared to G'day.

This disparity between different levels of cyclist amuses me. I'm pretty quick and strong these days and even some of my stronger cycling friends are worried about riding with me, but then there's other guys who will pass me like I'm standing still!

[overpowered]

http://us7.campaign-archive1.com/?u=2741be77ede1ad98909b663dd&id=84a31985db

[overpowered]

If you ride in Brazil, this can happen:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1503299763293190

[overpowered]

Queensland Australia is making some changes related to bicyclists:

http://tmr.qld.gov.au/Safety/Queensland-Road-Rules/Changes-to-road-rules.aspx

I like the one making bike lane use optional and the one about being allowed to use the full lane in roundabouts and the minimum distance rule.

I'm not sure why they need to stop at zebra crossings if there's no cross traffic; unless there's a stop sign.

[overpowered]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10384342_588898544551936_8214000648386086781_n.png ?oh=97587620feb3e4b6a84885433a70149f&oe=54FA3FD5&__gda__=1430743396_141345c6aed7afffe91953f16bb0c4a 4

[G'day Mate]

Local bike shop helped me out again today by truing a pretty wonky wheel, no charge :)

[overpowered]

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/11677816.After_three_crashes_in_five_minutes__new_ __600k_cycle_lane_branded_a____death_trap___/

[Tom Servo]

Due to various circumstances, the wife and I exchanged gifts early. She got me a Garmin Edge 500. I have become everything I hate, but I am loving this thing. I can definitely tell it will turn me into the ultimate cat6 Fred, but it's great having all that feedback while I ride.

[overpowered]

Were you using your phone for it before?

Was I the only one with a proper GPS?

[overpowered]

Cycling in Beijing:

http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-860/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/12/15/1418641904700/aaf860f0-4a2d-4fc7-9353-65679dae399d-1020x612.jpeg

[Tom Servo]

Yeah, I was always using my phone which unfortunately is a little dodgier than most Nexus 5s in the GPS department.

[G'day Mate]

Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) will be unable to defend his Australian National Championship and Tour Down Under victories following a mountain-bike crash in which he broke his collarbone.

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/12/simon-gerrans-out-of-nationals-tour-down-under-after-training-crash/

Here's a pretty cool video of him winning Liege-Bastogne-Liege last year


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yAmAkRp758

[G'day Mate]

By the way, can any of you guys recommend a good helmet? Mine isn't well ventilated and it doesn't need to be too hot for my head to be cooking on a long ride.

[Cam]

Just get one that fits properly. I have a Bell Delirium that is almost ten years old now. I recently went to my LBS to shop for a replacement. The only helmet that fit me well had a price tag of $300. :shock: I think I can live with my Bell for a bit longer. :lol:

[G'day Mate]

Bell Volt apparently

$250 $160

http://www.tomwallacecycles.com.au/images/detailed/0/VoltSilverWhiteRd_3_1.png

I could feel the vents doing their thing at just 25km/h on the way home today, compared to almost nothing at >50km/h yesterday - much better.

[Yw-slayer]

I have exactly the same helmet, so WHY AM I NOT AS FAST AS YOU??!! LAWSUIT TIME

[Cam]

25km/h
Only 25? Pfft, noob.

YW, it is clear that HELMET MAKES YOU SLOWER!

[Yw-slayer]

CONSPIRACY

[Tom Servo]

Got lucky and caught a 50% off Giro sale on Competitive Cyclist, so I got an Aeon for $150. Been pretty pleased with it, but I'd think I'd better be given that price.

[G'day Mate]

I have exactly the same helmet, so WHY AM I NOT AS FAST AS YOU??!! LAWSUIT TIME

EPO

[G'day Mate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV0cMdW9N5E

[G'day Mate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_67ORqLaKo

[overpowered]

Weird.

[G'day Mate]

Yeah, I thought they were built to be next to indestructable

[overpowered]

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2014/12/22/two-cyclists-want-justice-after-being-beaten-by-a-driver/

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjN2cjBKWO4

[G'day Mate]

Heh, whoops, double-post of sorts

[G'day Mate]

The local cops are using this footage to charge a man with dangerous driving, among other things. They calculated his speed at no less than 120km/h in a 70 zone


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxBij0X83Ec

[overpowered]

That's the first time I've seen police act on a bicyclist's video where nobody was hurt or even harassed. 50km/h (31mph) over the limit on a narrow winding road is pretty bad though.

[G'day Mate]

That road is often used as an unofficial TT circuit by cars and especially motorcycles. It's also very popular for cyclists, but most of us are wise enough to stay away from it from about 10am onwards

[Yw-slayer]

The main thing to remember is, as always, "Don't be a dick."

[G'day Mate]

http://bmcr.com.au/dbad/

http://www.bmcr.com.au/assets/images/HomePageImages/homeBoxDBad.jpg

[Yw-slayer]

I have to get some of those. Seriously.

[FaultyMario]

... also a dog ...


How long has it been since Mark Webber went away?

[G'day Mate]

A bit more than five years. Mum and dad have a new dog now, but I don't live at home any more and I still miss my buddy

[overpowered]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/lcc_production_bucket/files/5692/in_content.jpg?1371819008

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAf51SoqTKU

[overpowered]

'More risk from kangaroos': Cycling group rejects calls for Prime Minister to get off his bike

http://www.3aw.com.au/news/more-risk-from-kangaroos-cycling-group-rejects-calls-for-prime-minister-to-get-off-his-bike-20150101-12grc6.html

Yeah. Right.

http://www.greenedgecycling.com/news/australian-prime-minister-joins-orica-greenedge-for-ride-to-celebrate-2014-season

[Yw-slayer]

That doctor is just an idiot, and is clearly acting outside of his role as a medical professional.

[overpowered]

Yeah. He doesn't really know what he's talking about. In fact people who ride regularly have a higher average life expectancy due to being healthier. A very large number of doctors ride.

[Tom Servo]

Someone on Reddit just got RoadID.

http://i.imgur.com/x4vfSYz.jpg

[Yw-slayer]

I've had one for around 2 years.

[G'day Mate]

Any tips on staying motivated? Training is hard :(

[Yw-slayer]

Ride off-road.

[overpowered]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=cycling+training+motivation

[G'day Mate]

Actually, if you guys wanted to draw up a Strava route that makes some kind of picture, starting and finishing in Kingswood SA (https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Kingswood+SA+5062/@-34.9711414,138.6135984,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x6ab0ce43812a429d:0x50336 54628eb620) then I'll happily draw it. I can cover pretty much everything in this map, as long as there's no bushfires:

964

I should be able to do anything up to 150km no worries. If you want to make it even bigger than that then I'll need to buy food and stuff along the way so it'll need to pass through some towns so that I can re-supply.

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV9_i9MEnMg

The guy just behind the guy who crashed did a fucking amazing job to not crash himself.

This is yet another reason why shoulders and bike lanes suck.

[G'day Mate]

I wonder whether the lead guy pointed out the debris to the guys following him

[Tom Servo]

What, nobody's going to draw a big penis as a route for G'day on that map?

[overpowered]

I thought you were going to do it.

[G'day Mate]

http://www.strava.com/activities/205828989

[Tom Servo]

Excellent.

[SportWagon]

I picked up for 3 dollars at a dollar store...

http://www.bookfinder.com/search/?isbn=978-1-4391-7314-5&mode=advanced&st=sr&ac=qr

If that link doesn't work, go to www.bookfinder.com and enter ISBN 978-1-4391-7314-5

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq4mjlLuSFg

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47cGzu6-q40

[SportWagon]

According to our weather station (and confirmed by other sources) there are bush fires around Adelaide. Is this affecting G'day?

(Resists temptation to suggest that scorching cycling performances by G'day may have started some of them...)

Edit....
http://gtxforums.net/showthread.php?1061-The-hills-are-on-fire

[G'day Mate]

To illustrate, the 35 to 60km mark of this ride (http://www.strava.com/activities/231308639) (a few weeks ago) was within the current bushfire zone. That's just the southern tip of it - it extends far north, about two thirds of the way to Williamstown!

[SportWagon]

Wow. In my terms, that's sort of like between Elora and Fergus. Or maybe closer, since your route is twistier. Plus Adelaide being bigger than where I am probably means it seems closer to town.

[G'day Mate]

Holy crap ... it's only 8 weeks until my big ride. Time to start getting nervous. Suddenly I don't feel prepared :|

https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/media/vanilla_content/images/Events-header-652x301_Peaks-v5.jpg

[overpowered]

http://closecalldatabase.com/

[Tom Servo]

I don't think I'd ever feel prepared for that ride.

[Cam]

I'm ready. Alas, I will not make the deadline.

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iMOkhnk5Ag

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhQovX1zP2E

[G'day Mate]

Take THAT (https://www.strava.com/activities/240786399), legs!

[Yw-slayer]

That video of the dude getting beaten up is great.

[G'day Mate]

Look who was crossing the road with me today ...

981

[George]

That "beating" looks staged to me. I don't think the average chick can push a man down like that, especially with just one hand as it looks like she does at least once. The average guy wouldn't gently fall down and then stay down and then s-l-o-w-l-y get up during the commission of a crime like that. I think he could have taken her out with one punch or an elbow while at the same time grabbing the bike and getting a running start before riding away. His pathetic attempts to start pedaling while she pushed him down - repeatedly - and his not jumping right back up aren't believable.

It looks like she jumps on him a couple times toward the end, but it's hard to tell how far or hard she jumped. This doesn't look like a real person jacked up with adrenaline during a fight-or-flight scenario. Where are the kicks to the face and groin? And why didn't he take her out immediately, or at least eventually? It's not like she's using badass martial arts techniques. One good backwards elbow from the dude when he first sat on the bike would have ended this.

This looks more like The Blair Witch Project than an actual strong-arm robbery attempt.

[overpowered]

I have known women who could pull that off. I've known some who could do much, much worse to the guy.

It looked like she jumped on his torso and/or upper leg. Should have jumped on his ankle to disable him from chasing.

[G'day Mate]

The "30 Bananas a day" logo at the bottom gives it away. This is a Durianrider video - he's a local Adelaidian who does lots of videos about cycling, veganism, general fitness and whatever weird things cross his mind. His account has the same video posted here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ7nbPcThOM). Category: comedy.

The girl is probably his girlfriend, "Freelee the Banana Girl".

[Tom Servo]

Of course it is.

[George]

The original story:

Boulder police: Suspect stole 43 bicycles worth $147,000 in 2013 (http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_25313277/boulder-police-arrest-suspect-accused-stealing-147-000)

Yesterday's news:

Boulder bike thief to spend a decade in prison (http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2015/01/14/bike-thief-gets-10-years-in-prison/21774445/)

[SportWagon]

Look who was crossing the road with me today ...

981

Cadel Evans? Doesn't look quite gruff enough...

Did you turn around to get the picture, or were you actually crossing in the opposite direction? (Or did you just nick the picture from somewhere else?)

[G'day Mate]

Yep, Cadel Evans. I was crossing in the opposite direction and that picture is a frame from my GoPro

[G'day Mate]

Durian rider again, playing tricks on the pro teams (they're here training for the Tour Down Under).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWNzUvb1sCY

[G'day Mate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MaB_-3sfDE

[overpowered]

You are not a climber (https://pvcycling.wordpress.com/2014/10/05/you-are-not-a-climber/)

[G'day Mate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFWg952yFNM

[Cam]

Got a new crank and bottom bracket on the Suteki. I have ten speeds again, yay! I also picked up some Conti Gatorskins to put on it.

[Cam]

Rode the road bike today for the first time since October. Only went 22 km, but I'm beat. :o

[21Kid]

You're in 'Merica now boi... Use real numbas!!!

[G'day Mate]

I like events with official photographers. I think I struck a balance between good and evil on this one too:

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/insaneogram81/peace.jpg

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/insaneogram81/horns.jpg

[G'day Mate]

The Tour Down Under just went within 500m of my home, and here I am stuck at work like a sucker :(

[overpowered]

A London columnist who hates cyclists tries riding a bike for a year:

http://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/simon-jenkins-im-happy-to-eat-my-words-over-londons-heroes-on-two-wheels-9990142.html

[Yw-slayer]

Link doesn't work. Is this the article you mean?

http://www.standard.co.uk/comment/comment/simon-jenkins-what-ive-learned-from-getting-back-on-my-bike-9735339.html

Also, if so, he didn't hate cyclists but simply gave up on cycling as he had an accident. Although this article might suggest to the contrary

http://www.standard.co.uk/comment/simon-jenkins-roads-will-be-risky-for-cyclists-whatever-we-do-8948926.html

he's a columnist for the Evening Standard, so he has to pander to the lowest common denominator. I don't read him as "hating" "cyclists". Indeed, given London politics (see http://londonist.com/2012/02/standard-criticises-times-cycling-campaign-similar-to-its-own.php), and other stuff he's written in the past (see http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/sep/19/transport.transport) I'm not sure he really cares.

[overpowered]

That wasn't it. Apparently the article has been pulled. I went back to the place that led me to it in the first place and it doesn't work from there anymore either.

[G'day Mate]

What was the gist of it?

[G'day Mate]

Damn (http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/tourdownunder/tour-down-under-2015-young-rider-campbell-flakemore-out-of-race-after-crash/story-fnkqpwk6-1227192388848), sounds like one of the pros was taken out by (or perhaps took out) a fan on the way back to Adelaide from today's Tour Down Under stage.

[overpowered]

The gist was that he completely changed his mind after a year of riding. He understands and plans to keep on riding.

[G'day Mate]

I figured as much. I often tell people "don't knock it 'till you try it"

[George]

It worked for me...not that I ever knocked it, but I went from "well, sure, I like bicycles...I rode them all the time as a kid" to a MAMIL in about a year's time, no thanks to you lot of enablers.

Still too cold and snowy and dark here for bicycle commuting. We had 50s F and sunny this weekend and I hoped for a ride but it was so windy I didn't even like walking to the mailbox, much less getting on a bike either day. Right now it's snowing. Normally I love long, cold winters but this is the first I can remember that I've been watching the weather almost daily and wishing for Spring to arrive.

[overpowered]

That broken link discussed above seems to work again.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRbCfVmlVho

[overpowered]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10945636_663637317078058_5337165421340012047_n.png ?oh=18bac9e964655bf40c958d6b0e516ed2&oe=552D68C2&__gda__=1433004619_7cd0dec42c3264b346f2ef43fe88c99 c

[SportWagon]

A question for OP's apparent legal resources.

Getting a ride back to my Subaru dealership this afternoon, the driver says some brother-in-law-whos-a-police-officer (or something like that) says that once the temperature goes below freezing in Ontario, all 2-wheeled vehicles, motorized or otherwise are not legally permitted on roads.

I think this was inspired by some guy on a balloon-tired bike going the other way which I remarked on.

On my way back to the University in my car there was at least one, possibly two "serious" cyclists braving the weather and the traffic going the same way I was to the University. (Not sure if the second occurence was the same guy have made the same time as me). And there were others too, some perhaps partly sidewalking.

Anyway, my theory is the source of the mythical information spent time as a police officer in Sudbury, Ontario, where some sort of less-than-provincial (so as to speak) legislation does make bicycles illegal in the winter, I believe. (But, actually, I thought it was a date-specified ban).

The Subaru driver wasn't belligerent, he was just remarking that if there was such a law, it wasn't really enforced.

I'll try to do some searching, but I think OP has a head-start on such information.

Almost forgot the important part...

Well the girls are out to bingo and the boys are gettin stinko
We think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday Night
The glasses they will tinkle while our eyes begin to twinkle
And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday Night


I think "Inco" got changed to "nickel" later. Which explains why that never sounded quite right.

[overpowered]

I'm no expert on Canadian laws but that guy's belief sounds like total bullshit to me. It makes no sense at all.

In the U.S. the road laws are pretty much entirely left to the states, though there have been cases where the federal government has pressured the states to make certain laws, like the 55mph speed limit that we had from 1974 to 1995. The feds forced the states to accept the law by withholding federal funding for highways if they didn't have the limit.

The states mostly have similar laws but there's more variance than you might think. Many states allow local governments to further change the rules of the road but 17 states do not. This can make it even more confusing as the rules can change from city to city. I don't know if that's how it works in Ontario.

A little quick googling seems to find nothing that supports that guy's assertion. I did find stuff of people talking about riding bikes and motorcycles in the snow in Ontario but no mention about laws related to that.

Fat bikes appear to do really well in the snow from the videos I've seen.

[G'day Mate]

Hang on a minute ... that golf video above made me look for a picture of Peter Sagan doing a wheelie and I just noticed something:

http://cdn2.coresites.mpora.com/mpora_new/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Peter-Sagan-WHeelie.jpg

In all of them he is holding on with his right hand. For me, that would be my front brake - do you guys who drive on the right have your brakes opposite? What about your gear levers?

For me, the left lever is my back brake and front derailleur and the right lever is my front brake and rear derailleur.

[overpowered]

In right hand drive countries, the norm is to have the left lever control the front brake. Not sure why this is. Maybe someone thought was better to use the rear brake while signalling (normally done with the left arm when riding on the right edge of the road).

[G'day Mate]

And your gears?

[overpowered]

Front is left, rear is right.

[Random]

For me, the left lever is my back brake and front derailleur and the right lever is my front brake and rear derailleur.

My bikes have all been thus:

Left: front brake, front derailleur
Right: Rear brake, rear derailleur

That said, I rode with a guy "back in the day" that liked his brake levers switched--I think it was to match the motorcycle standard of having the right lever be the front brake, but I don't recall for sure?

edit: regarding signalling, when I lived in Switzerland, you signaled with the appropriate arm which direction you were going--no "bent arm-right turn" stuff and no signal for braking (that I recall anyone using, at least). The US bike signals probably came out of the automotive world where you can only use one arm, I would guess?

[overpowered]

The US bike signals probably came out of the automotive world where you can only use one arm, I would guess?I'm pretty sure that's true, though for right turns, right arm straight is allowed for bicycles/motorcycles in most if not all states.

[George]

On both my road bike and MTB:

Left brake lever = front brake
Left shifter = front derailleur

For what it's worth, my daughter's 20"-wheel BMX bike has both a coaster brake and a rear V-brake, but no front brake. The one brake lever is on the right side of the handlebar, so I guess they start 'em young on this setup.

I never thought about it before, but if I had, I probably would have figured it was the same all over the world, just like the drivetrain being on the right side. If more people in the world are right-handed, it would make sense to me to put the shifter that gets more use - that's the RD for everyone, right? - on the right side.

[George]

I'm pretty sure that's true, though for right turns, right arm straight is allowed for bicycles/motorcycles in most if not all states.

Apparently they signal with either hand in Australia. :)

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/insaneogram81/peace.jpg

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/insaneogram81/horns.jpg

[Cam]

Back when I owned a motorcycle, I intentionally switched my mountain bike's brakes to have the front on the right, like the motorbike. I think my Suteki had the front brake on the right when I got it. I think my road bike has the front brake on the left.

[Tom Servo]

In right hand drive countries, the norm is to have the left lever control the front brake. Not sure why this is. Maybe someone thought was better to use the rear brake while signalling (normally done with the left arm when riding on the right edge of the road).

According to Sheldon brown, this is precisely why it's set up that way.

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A7Gw217EJ4

[overpowered]

Now there's a movement to get a 1m passing law in SA:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/motorists-will-have-to-leave-a-one-metre-gap-when-passing-cyclists-under-proposed-new-south-australian-laws/story-e6frg6n6-1227193567269

[G'day Mate]

Lining up for my longest ride ever tomorrow, so wish me luck!

[SportWagon]

Luck.

But you have prepared yourself well, so...

Great picture, by-the-way. Even better than the professional photo taken of me. (Even after I edited the dripping snot out of mine).

[Tom Servo]

Good luck out there! I hope no inflatable arches try to fall on you!

[George]

Bring some sneezing powder to toss over your shoulder when others try to pass.


Good luck.

[George]

http://www.pleated-jeans.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/picdump-1285-23-1.jpg

[SportWagon]

Should be a tandem.

[SportWagon]

Mumble. I vaguely remember other talk of a winter cycling ban in Sudbury in particular, but the following explicitly says no.

http://sudburycyclistsunion.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/SCU-Legal-Guidelines_final.pdf
Explicitly saying no to the ban suggests there was one at one time. :handwaving:


Bologna, Italy?
http://road.cc/content/news/71681-cyclists-bologna-be-fined-riding-snow

Province of Québec requires winter tires (for motorcycles) which aren't available...
http://www.ott-motorcycles.ca/index.php?topic=43633.0


And it's easy to find discussions about proposals to ban winter cycling. Especially in Thunder Bay of all places.

[overpowered]

Province of Québec requires winter tires (for motorcycles) which aren't available...

https://www.google.com/#tbm=shop&q=winter+tires+motorcycles

[TheBenior]

https://www.google.com/#tbm=shop&q=winter+tires+motorcycles

Apparently if you have a modern motorcycle that's not an ADV, dual-sport, or maybe scooter (ie, one with the common 17" wheel size), you're shit out of luck for factory winter tires.

[overpowered]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10951420_824954760902151_8172454771406206568_n.jpg ?oh=8d6dbd4ddc572fc4d55296c923587088&oe=555D52D4&__gda__=1428264300_2253a0a521691845d5cb87707be5d00 f

[Random]

Safety first!

[SportWagon]

More sweat must mean a better workout...

[George]

Maybe she rode her bike to the gym and forgot to take if off?

Just got my MTB out of the shop this afternoon. The rear derailluer hanger is nice and straight and it's sporting a new middle chainring as well.

Today is Friday. Forcast for Saturday is in the 50s F, and then Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are supposed to be in the 60s F, and then high 50s on Wednesday. I think I see some bicycle commuting in my future, and hopefully some family riding this weekend too.

[Tom Servo]

Taking a friend to buy her first road bike this weekend. She's got her eyes pretty firmly set on the Trek Silque, which from the reviews sounds less cushy than the Damone, which IMHO is a good thing. We'll see if she likes it.

I'm also down to one mystery noise, which is the lowest I've been in a while, so I'm very excited about this.

[overpowered]

https://vimeo.com/78882170

[overpowered]

http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/picture/2315435/84434244.gif

[G'day Mate]

Legs: smashed.

[G'day Mate]

You guys should see my epic tan lines too. I've even got glove tan - brown arms, white hands, brown fingertips :lol:

[neanderthal]

https://vimeo.com/78882170

And then there were 6 cars stuck behind the "bully" thinking that all bicyclists are arseholes!

[overpowered]

Actually there were 4 but two of them turned and could have possibly right hooked the bicyclists if they had been riding far right.

All 5 could have passed close, risking a side swipe collision.

A door from a parked car could have opened in front of them and they could have fallen into the roadway in front of a passing car and gotten run over.

All of those collision scenarios are avoided by using the full lane. There's nothing assholish about riding safely.

If the driver hadn't been a giant dick, they probably would have done a control and release in one of the gaps between parked cars, but when you start harassing people they tend to not want to do what you want them to do. Be nice to bicyclists and they'll be nice to you. Be a dick, and they won't be so nice.

I'm always amazed when cyclists say that other cyclists are assholes for not endangering themselves.

[G'day Mate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS_1MFKr5Js

[overpowered]

https://scontent-b-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10931444_10204993874597937_5236271152052288823_n.j pg?oh=817fa6db0249a735a0907e094b76e8e1&oe=556E9F8E

[SportWagon]

http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/picture/2315435/84434244.gif

Trust in the Force, Luke!.

[George]

January 26 - I rode to work today, and plan to ride again tomorrow. We're having an unseasonably warm few days here. Maybe I'll ride Wedesday too - we'll see. I forgot how much fun the MTB is to commute on, especially with the street tires on. Fly downhill for probably most of a mile on a rutty, muddy gravel trail as fast as possible? No problem! Sail off a curb with wheels briefly airborne instead of ever-so-gently easing over it? You bet!

Yep, that's me - Mr. Confident High-Speed Off Road Dude.

Then I busted my ass while barely moving, trying to get up on a sidewalk to reach the pedestrian button, so the traffic signals would know I was there. It's a little residential street there were no cars around set off the timer for the lights. The back end slid out on some ice and for a brief, slow-motion split-second I had a choice - lay it down on the sidewalk or somone's lawn. I managed to land on the grass, which I sort of had to dive toward, and then I was back on my feet in a second and looking around like cats do when they slip and trip - "Uh, I meant to do that. Yup, I sure did." I tore my new tights at one knee and have a big road rash spot which certainly would have been much worse had I landed on the sidewalk instead of a soft lawn. My high-vis yellow pullover now has grass stains on one arm, too.

Question for the Cygolite headlight users, and users of any others, too - do they clamp SECURELY to the handlebars? The Blackburn I have is held on with a crappy velcro strap and it doesn't stay in place when off-roading over bumpy terrain. I'm close to buying a light and want one that will stay where I put it. I've been thinking I'll "buy local" - sort of, if Cygolites are made in San Diego instead of China.

Here's some news from Fort Collins, Colorado:

Hospital installs bicycle racks on all 14 ambulances in their fleet (http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/01/24/bike-racks-on-ambulances-give-injured-cyclists-peace-of-mind/)

https://cbsdenver.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/ambulance-bike-racks-2.jpg?w=420&h=236

[G'day Mate]

Here's my video from my massive ride the other day - make sure you watch at least the first 30 seconds to see how the crowd looked!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-AH9mAAHBY

[Tom Servo]

My Cygolite has a hinged clamp that you then bolt down on the other side, then with rubber strips that go on the inside of it to make it less likely to want to rotate. The big downside for mine is that they work just fine on the 31.8mm bars that most modern road bikes seem to use but they did not work for the 25.4mm bars that everyone else use (like my Surly). I ended up getting around that by taking an old inner tube and wrapping it a bunch of times around the bar and taping it down. Now I just put the clamp around that and it's worked perfectly.

The other issue I've had with the mount is that the part where you can turn the light from side to side slightly gets loose, so after a while the light will just sorta migrate to pointing a bit off to the side instead of straight ahead. All you have to do is tighten down the screw in the middle of it and that fixes it, but it's still annoying.

This is an older model, they may have corrected some of these issues. Besides those issues, it's very secure and has never once seemed like it might fall off. It never raises or lowers itself on its own no matter how rough of road I go over.

And glad to hear you're okay!

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM9U1Rl83YQ

[G'day Mate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usc0LaqEfbs

[overpowered]

Those 2-way stops can be tough. I really don't like them and that's part of why. The other problem is that if you're on the line that needs to stop, you often need more visibility than easily available to see traffic that could be going very fast but doesn't need to stop. Around here, they mostly seem to be used in residential areas with speed limits of 25mph but where people often drive 30-40mph. Your situation is part of why a growing number of cyclists are using flashing headlights during the day.

Also, the word is visible, not visibile.

[Tom Servo]

There's something that annoys me on a fundamental level that we can't have two way stops. A lot of the two way stops around here are being turned into four way stops because, in my experience, people can't be bothered to see if the cross traffic has a stop sign or not. I was in the car with Michele the other day when a driver coming in from our right just starts going despite us not having a stop sign. We lay on the horn and go hard on the brakes and he looks over at us with an angry "What?!?" look and throwing his hands in the air, like "What did you expect me to do?"

That's not uncommon, and is such a base level thing when it comes to driving that it makes me wonder when our standards got so low for drivers.

[overpowered]

Good point. I forgot to mention that this happens to me when driving a car through a 2-way stop too. I've actually had people honk at me in my car because they realized I wasn't planning to stop, even though I did not have a stop sign. They seem to not be able to notice that there's no octagonal sign or limit line for my direction of travel.

[Yw-slayer]

There's something that annoys me on a fundamental level that we can't have two way stops. A lot of the two way stops around here are being turned into four way stops because, in my experience, people can't be bothered to see if the cross traffic has a stop sign or not. I was in the car with Michele the other day when a driver coming in from our right just starts going despite us not having a stop sign. We lay on the horn and go hard on the brakes and he looks over at us with an angry "What?!?" look and throwing his hands in the air, like "What did you expect me to do?"

That's not uncommon, and is such a base level thing when it comes to driving that it makes me wonder when our standards got so low for drivers.

1. Roundabouts, although that doesn't really help when people are idiots and/or don't care.

2. Probably long before 1997, which was when my friend bought a brand new Mustang, drove it without a licence (and without having taken any lessons) to the test centre, crashed it into a lamp post while taking the test in a parking lot, and still passed. :lol:

[Tom Servo]

From what I gather (and it's not like I've done my own studies or anything), roundabouts do actually help. They don't help reduce the number of accidents, they tend to be about the same, but they do reduce the severity of those accidents. It basically forces people to slow down at least a little bit to negotiate the curve, and then almost all accidents happen at a less severe angle vs. T-boning each other. I've also heard you can have pretty good results from a raised surface at an intersection, basically like a massive speed bump.

I'm in favor of both of these because it means fewer stop signs that drivers yell at me that I have to stop at while they go ahead and roll through them.

[G'day Mate]

It sounds to me like the problem with your 2-way stops is that you have 4-way stops. We simply do not, so if you see a stop sign you know you have to stop.

[overpowered]

Roundabouts aren't really practical for small residential streets. They are costly to retro-fit. I do like them though. The forced slowing every time is a good thing. I think that as people get more used to them, they will reduce accidents. The initial problem seems to be that too many drivers don't seem to understand the yield rules for them, in spite of the fact that there's a yield sign at every entrance and often painted on the roadway as well. I have people in the roundabout yielding to me in my car or on my bike as I'm waiting to enter, which is annoying. I have people entering without yielding when I'm in the roundabout, which is dangerous.

[Yw-slayer]

So yeah, like I said, they are better in theory, but the problem is that people are idiots and/or don't care. The way in which some people misuse them over here is just insanely dangerous.

[TheBenior]

Your situation is part of why a growing number of cyclists are using flashing headlights during the day.
After I took up motorcycling, where having one's headlight(s) on at all times is mandatory in the US, I did think that I should probably do the same when riding a smaller, quieter vehicle while wearing far less safety gear.

[overpowered]

2. Probably long before 1997, which was when my friend bought a brand new Mustang, drove it without a licence (and without having taken any lessons) to the test centre, crashed it into a lamp post while taking the test in a parking lot, and still passed. :lol:I see that the driver's license vending machine is not limited to the U.S.

[Yw-slayer]

He took his test in California. What he did would not be possible in HK or England.

[G'day Mate]

On-board camera from a big crash during a TDU sprint finish (the same stage I rode with all those people dressed in orange)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py_7pYVF664

[SportWagon]

So was it compulsory to wear the orange jersey for your ride? Here people usually buy the event jersey, and keep it till later to actually wear. And often it's only a T-shirt, anyway.

Amazing the way that one guy in the immediately preceding video snucked through against the rail.

[G'day Mate]

Yeah, the Bupa Challenge ride is the only one where they actually force you to wear the jersey. Most others have an optional jersey and give you a number or wrist-band or some other form of identification so that you can use the amenities at the stops.

[SportWagon]

Numbers. And their fiddly little safety pins which make irreparable holes in your precious lycra.

[Tom Servo]

George - I just got a Cygolite Metro 500 and it seems to be a pretty good headlight, bright as hell and the beam spread is wider than my Expilion's was. Doesn't hurt that it costs less too. I'm going to try to put the mount that came with it on both bikes either tonight or tomorrow morning and will let you know how well it holds up on both size bars.

[Freude am Fahren]

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Fiibctv8--/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/eg2lufegqb2lwge69i1k.gif

http://jalopnik.com/this-bicyclist-is-houdini-reincarnated-1682584569

Appears to be her fault if you watch the video. Also I love how the car from which the video was shot appears to run the light and is about to run over a pedestrian when it ends. :lol:

[George]

Thanks Tom! I think Performance Bike sells the 500 as a set with a rear light and both together are less than the 800 headlight alone. I already have one rear light but with four cyclists in the family, more is better. If the 500 is "bright as hell" and has a wide beam, maybe I'll just grab that one and be done with it, and then I can use two taillights, too.

[overpowered]

Appears to be her fault if you watch the video. Also I love how the car from which the video was shot appears to run the light and is about to run over a pedestrian when it ends. :lol:Yeah. It looks like the traffic on the roadway had the green but the cars going in the direction of the video were backed up and couldn't move regardless of the green. The rider appears to have thought that meant it was safe to cross but since the other direction also had green and was not backed up, it obviously was not. She got very lucky to not be hurt. And yes, the driver of the car running the camera appears to have run the red light, as did the driver in front. I'm also wondering what double yellow lines mean in Taiwan, since there appear to be cars going in the same direction on both sides of them. Weird.

[overpowered]

George - I just got a Cygolite Metro 500 and it seems to be a pretty good headlight, bright as hell and the beam spread is wider than my Expilion's was. Doesn't hurt that it costs less too. I'm going to try to put the mount that came with it on both bikes either tonight or tomorrow morning and will let you know how well it holds up on both size bars.Have you tried the SteadyPulse mode on the road?

[overpowered]

Interesting bike mount for phones:

http://www.quadlockcase.com/collections/ride

[Tom Servo]

Have you tried the SteadyPulse mode on the road?

Not yet. I did give it a quick shot when leaving the house and holy christ is it bright. It's just a constant ultra-bright strobe, I actually immediately thought "that's going to be super annoying". I ended up going with the night flashing mode, where the light is on constantly but flashes brighter in pulses.

I did notice one downside to the Metro vs. the Expilion - the Metro doesn't have a removable battery, so you can't bring charged backups with you. That said, I never once used that feature on my Expilion.

[overpowered]

I thought that SteadyPulse was the pulsing mode -- not on/off flashing.

[overpowered]

Bike Cop Tickets Bicyclist For Biking On Bike Path (http://gothamist.com/2015/01/29/central_park_cops_cyclists.php)

[George]

Looks like Cygolite makes a special Colorado edition headlight:

Metro 420 (http://www.cygolite.com/products/metro420.html)

[Tom Servo]

I thought that SteadyPulse was the pulsing mode -- not on/off flashing.

Well, hell, I don't know the terminology.

Here's the modes it appears to have at any rate, in the order they come on:

Medium steady
High steady
Low steady
Medium steady with intermittent pulses in quick succession (SteadyPulse) Kinda makes it look like it throbs every second or so.
Ultra high intensity flashing. (DayLightning)

One thing I like over the Expilion, it remembers which mode you were using.

Oh, also, the newer headlight mount that came with it is better, it fits all sizes of bars now.

[overpowered]

http://www.cygolite.com/products/metro550.html


SteadyPulse™ alerts night time motorists with pulses while constantly lighting your path
DayLightning™ flash mode increases output to lightning-like flashes for increased rider safety in peak daylight

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NooE9DHLq_s

[Tom Servo]

http://www.cygolite.com/products/metro550.html

Updated the description of the modes, thanks. So then, yes, I have tried the SteadyPulse mode on out on the road, but only during the daytime. It's hard to gauge its effectiveness, though I definitely haven't felt like people haven't seen me when I'm approaching.

[Tom Servo]

Had another segment on Strava where my average speed is lower than my max speed. FWIW, I know that Strava and my Garmin disagree on max speed, as I saw at least a 30 something on the screen but Strava thinks I was in the 29s.

[overpowered]

Average speed should normally be lower than max speed. At most, average speed could be equal to max speed but in practice that tends to not be possible. What's weird is when average speed is higher than max speed, which is mathematically impossible and only ever seems to happen with Strava:

https://www.strava.com/activities/244702003/segments/5739545322

Strava has some very weird and broken GPS data analysis algorithms.

[G'day Mate]

Strava often gets my max speed wrong (it had me at almost 100km/h the other day), but I've never seen it come back as less than my average.

[G'day Mate]

Adelaide local Jack Bobridge had a crack at the hour record yesterday and missed it by 500m, having been a little ahead at the half-way mark. B'oh! I like his description of how he felt after the race:


It’s the closest to death I’ll ever be without dying. I’m in that much pain it’s funny, I don’t know what else to do but smile. I can’t even describe how much pain my glutes and quads are in, it’s unbelievable. That’s by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done, will ever do, 20 minutes in it sunk in what was happening and about to happen. Then 20 minutes in there’s nowhere to go, you have to keep going, it was brutal the whole thing, there was nothing nice about anything of it.

[overpowered]

Yeah. It's no trivial thing. Eddy Merckx was at the height of the sport when he did it in 1972, and this is what he had to say afterwards:


Throughout this hour, the longest of my career, I never knew a moment of weakness, but the effort needed was never easy. It's not possible to compare the Hour with a time trial on the road. Here it's not possible to ease up, to change gears or the rhythm. The Hour record demands a total effort, permanent and intense, one that's not possible to compare to any other. I will never try it again. There are those who told me that if I came here to Mexico I wouldn't feel the pedals. I assure you, I could feel the pedals! Nevertheless, I don't regret this choice. I don't think I could ever improve on this record. Yet I am convinced that one day my record will be beaten. That is the law of the sport. But to beat it it will be necessary to push a bigger gear. My 52X14 was plenty big for me. For five or six kilometers it didn't pose a problem, but for a whole hour it was very much otherwise.Note that in 1972 in addition to the hour record he won the Giro, the Tour and four classics, three of which are considered "monuments".

[G'day Mate]

There's another attempt soon - Rohan Dennis of BMC Racing on Feb 8th in Switzerland. Both of these guys raced the Tour Down Under and sure enough they took out the overall and KOM standings between them.

I suppose everyone wants a crack under the relaxed rules, and why wouldn't you.

[overpowered]

Dennis might have a chance. I really want see Cancellara, Tony Martin and Wiggins make an attempt.

[Tom Servo]

Average speed should normally be lower than max speed. At most, average speed could be equal to max speed but in practice that tends to not be possible. What's weird is when average speed is higher than max speed, which is mathematically impossible and only ever seems to happen with Strava:

https://www.strava.com/activities/244702003/segments/5739545322

Strava has some very weird and broken GPS data analysis algorithms.

Argh, that's what I meant to say. Average was higher than max, not lower. Average was supposedly 32.7, max was 29.3. I was going fast enough that I wasn't really staring at the Garmin, but when I did glance down I saw it was in the 30s, so at least the Garmin thinks I broke 30mph.

[overpowered]

Australia's helmet law disaster (https://ipa.org.au/publications/2019/australia's-helmet-law-disaster)

[G'day Mate]

Five weeks ...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV_hf3SLG_U]

[overpowered]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nzWYDFmtn14/VM6IcOzjufI/AAAAAAAAAdU/er4dd7jolt0/w1295-h720-no/killyou.jpg

https://www.facebook.com/SafeCyclingAustralia/photos/a.221459274568150.49398.220197534694324/789749501072455/?type=1

https://www.facebook.com/SafeCyclingAustralia/photos/a.520947954619279.1073741826.220197534694324/790047671042638/?type=1

[G'day Mate]

23s vs 25s anyone?

[overpowered]

All else being equal, a wider tire has less rolling resistance due to less deformation in forming the contact patch.

[G'day Mate]

What about climbing - does it increase, erm, "sponginess" and thereby lessen performance?

I desperately need new tyres and have been recommended Continental 4 Seasons as a great choice for the Three Peaks, however the only store here that appears to stock that brand only have 25s.

I'm guessing it's not actually that big a deal though. I'll put them on my commuter afterwards anyway and go back to slicks on my roadie.

[overpowered]

The difference between 23c and 25c is going to be very small.

The only issue with climbing will probably be weight, but again, it's a very small difference between those two. Going from a 25c to 35c is a jump though.

Wider tires also allow a little lower air pressure which makes the ride more comfortable and reduces rolling resistance over rougher road surfaces. They'll also be a little more durable.

Jobst Brandt did all of his rolling resistance tests on a very smooth surface. His conclusion that high pressures led to lower rolling resistance was tainted by that fact. Higher pressures actually hurt rolling resistance on rougher surfaces because the lack of give when you hit those little bumps actually slows you down. The rougher the surface, the worse it is. The pros in Paris-Roubaix are running 27-30c tubulars at pressures as low as 60-80psi which seems insane but it's what works best given the "surface" they are riding on.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/04/news/under-pressure-tire-tech-from-paris-roubaix-2013_281135

Admittedly, that's on the extreme end for road bikes. They don't do that for races on normal roads. For normal roads, you'll want to go a bit higher than that. Everything's a trade-off and you have to find the optimal point for you and your bike and the road itself. Of course, the pros can afford to choose different tires for each race as well as for training. Us, not so much.

[G'day Mate]

Any tips for strained muscles?

[overpowered]

What do you mean by strained? Are you sore from overdoing it or did you pull something?

If it's the latter, anti-inflamatories, good hydration and rest will probably work but you might want to see a doctor.

If it's just sore from overdoing it, heavy hydration and spinning tend to help me. You need to work out the lactic acid. The spinning (low resistance) doesn't continue to build it up but does keep the circulation up. I've heard good things about professional deep tissue massage for this but I haven't actually tried it.

[G'day Mate]

I think it's over-worked and in danger of pulling, but hasn't quite pulled yet. Deep heat and roller for me tonight, and ice too

[G'day Mate]

Oh, and my new 25s feel a bit heavier than the 23s. Conti 4 Seasons.

[overpowered]

According to this:

http://www.conti-online.com/www/bicycle_de_en/themes/race/gp4season_en.html

The difference between 23c and 25c is 10g. Can you really notice that?

[G'day Mate]

My old ones are Schwalbe Durano S and they're actually 10g heavier as it turns out (weighed them).

So, my comment came after trying to spin the front wheel with a fully-inflated tyre on it and, given that it's a little bigger there must be a decent amount of extra air, so perhaps that's what I was noticing? Certainly felt like weight, not resistance.

[George]

It snowed here Sunday. Monday (yesterday), from my warm car, I saw a guy commuting on a fat bike. I figured he was having way more fun than I. This morning I rode in with numb fingers, by the time I got close to the office, and had to watch for big ice patches on lesser-traveled neighborhood streets where trees and houses blocked the sun in certain parts. It's supposed to hit 60 degrees F later today. Tomorrow they're calling for more snow, and then back in the 60s for Thursday and Friday. I hope to get in at least one more day this week on the bike.

Guys in the US looking for cheap bike clothes - check out Wal-Mart. I needed a new pair of tights to replace the ones I tore last week and got another pair of Russell Dri-Power tights for $16.32, and another Russell Dri-Power 1/4-zip pull-over, this time in bright orange, also for $16.32. It's not a cycling jersey, specifically, so no rear pockets, but it seems like a great buy for the price. The tights over bike shorts keep me warm at 32 degees F, or 0 degrees C. I'm not a Wal-Mart fan or regular shopper, but these items seem like really good values, if you can manage to stay on your bike and not rip 'em up with unexpected bailouts.

I still haven't done anyting about a better headlight but should. The velcro strap on my Blackburn Super Flea seems to be unraveling one long thread at a time and pretty soon there will be nothing left of it.

[Cam]

I prefer to avoid big-box stores.

[SportWagon]

This morning I rode in with numb fingers, by the time I got close to the office, and had to watch for big ice patches on lesser-traveled neighborhood streets where trees and houses blocked the sun in certain parts.

You got numb fingers even riding with long-fingered gloves? In general, I figure my fingers with go numb without long fingered gloves as long as the temperature is below 4C, which I calculate is about 40F or slightly less.

[George]

Well, I guess numbness is a subjective thing. No, I didn't lose feeling because I was getting frostbite, but they were tingly and REALLY cold after 20-25 minutes in the low 30s F. And I shouldn't be surprised - I'm wearing close-fitting gloves with velcro for the wrists which give a great feel, but they're hardware store gloves like mechanics wear for grip and protection, not winter gloves. Next time I'll try a pair of tight winter gloves over or under them. I also have some Manzella ski gloves with pockets for those shake & squeeze chemical heat packs, but if it gets that cold, I ain't ridin'!

The weather here looks great for the next four days, included a forecasted 70 F / 21 F on Saturday, in February! I hope to get some riding time all four days and fight the winter softening of my previously rock-hard, Adonis-like bod. :up:

[SportWagon]

I have a pair of cross-country ski gloves I got from MEC (http://www.mec.ca). I'd trust them cycling down to slightly below freezing. I cannot find an online picture of them however. They give a little palm padding, but I need to consciously move around to totally avoid pressure numbness. (cyclists' palsy) But they're better than some gloves, light, not too bulky, but warm. With some palm padding. They were intermediately expensive, about $30CDN.

One page at the site suggests neoprene gloves may be what you need to keep warm in cool to cold, possibly wet, weather.

An older pair of leather-palmed cross-country ski gloves did me well for a number of years, too, on the occasional bicycle ride around freezing.


Edit: The newer gloves are Finnish Halti brand, made in Pakistan. I can't find a model name on their tags. They claim to use "Thinsulate", which trademark appears on lots of handwear.

[G'day Mate]

Long, but interesting


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHA4xN1dEkM

[FaultyMario]

I see you're now semi famous, Dave. Better you than that time traveler.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--pT7gmWj5xM/UQpx6Oac1kI/AAAAAAAApl4/vucIojO8r4Q/s1600/intervals.jpeg

[overpowered]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/15875_802814283132855_6420874711225294937_n.jpg?oh =06e345c497702ef981e02912fcda09f8&oe=5551D363&__gda__=1431123230_b66109b47d81a53b0b89dd117b3491f 4

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3p08kixCUs

[overpowered]

Long, but interesting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHA4xN1dEkMHe does make some good points and there's a lot to the notion of doing good design based upon behavior. There are a lot of common road design problems that I would fix if I could. For example, if I had my way, there would never be a high speed ramp transition onto or off of a surface road. High speed ramps are for freeways only. These ramps tend to make drivers expect to be able to transition from one road to another at full speed. They won't stop for pedestrians trying to cross them in cross walks. They also think that bicyclists have to yield to them when they cross a cyclist's path even though it's them that's changing roads. There are also ways to design roads so that traffic tends to move slower and this is needed on a lot of roads, especially those that tend to have regular bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

However, not all of the designs that he pushes are as safe as he thinks. Denmark, including Copenhagen still has a lot of bike-car collisions and they still have them at crossing conflicts, usually made worse by their cycletracks. So does the Netherlands. Cycletracks largely give more of an illusion of safety than actual safety. Illusions of safety are fine with him if they get more people to ride because that is his only real concern.

[G'day Mate]

Today's selfish road-user:

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo193/insaneogram81/emus.jpg

I guess they're keeping left in the photo, but these two were all over the road before.

[G'day Mate]

Oh, and emus are one of those animals that get scared off if they think you're bigger. They started coming towards me right after I took that photo so I lifted my bike above my head and they ran off, hahaha :D

[overpowered]

Worst animals I've had to deal with on the road have been squirrels and rattlesnakes. I dodged the rattlesnake. The squirrel tried to dive between my wheels and did not make it.

Theoretically, I could encounter a deer and that would be bad but it's not at all likely. They usually avoid the roads around here. Actually, same goes for raccoons, coyotes, skunks and cougars. Stray dogs and cats too. Any one of those could easily take down a cyclist if hit head on. Might have a chance of staying upright hitting a skunk or a cat, but probably not.

You've actually had a close call with a kangaroo and now you're dealing with emus, both of which would hurt a lot if you collided with them.

[G'day Mate]

I've also encountered deer believe it or not! Snakes just goes without saying.

Really though that was just a post about something cool I saw out on the bike today

[Tom Servo]

I finally replaced the chain on my Long Haul Trucker and it became quickly apparent that I let it go far too long, the middle chainring was absolutely shot, the big isn't a lot better, and the cassette wasn't exactly in great shape either. I'd been having problems with the middle chainring last year after the last time I replaced the chain, but in the couple of months it took my LBS to get a new one in (they never actually did, that's just how long until I stopped calling asking if they got it), it just sorta fixed itself. It's now pretty obvious that the middle chainring was so thrashed it was actually working better with a wornout chain than a good one, because this time the new chain just didn't work with it at all. Anything more than about 10% effort and it'd just thrash around trying to throw the chain off.

I figured I'd see how hard it was to get a replacement rather than try again at the LBS. I ordered a Raceface 5-bolt 110bcd 36t ring on Wednesday, had it at my house on Thursday, installed it yesterday.

I know I'm supposed to support my LBS, but this experience doesn't feel uncommon to me. I've never had a problem buying a bike at any of them, but when it comes to dealing with them afterwards, it's not only that the prices are higher (though I actually don't think I got much of a discount on the chainring), but the service is bad enough that I'm not even getting anything out of that deal.

[Random]

Tell them that.

[Cam]

I am approaching a four-way stop on my roadie. Car on my right approaching and gets there way before me. I stop. Female driver is looking down at her lap. I am pretty sure she is texting, which is illegal while driving in SC. She notices me and waves, "Go ahead." I reply, "I have a stop sign and you were here first." She says, "Go ahead. I'm doing something." I say, "Oh, you're texting. Great!" and proceed. After a beat, she says, "You're a dick." :rolleyes:

[Freude am Fahren]

At least she waited until she was stopped, I guess?

[G'day Mate]

http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2015/02/09/1227212/504551-56bd7d3e-af9f-11e4-90ab-ef3fd79aaa94.jpg

Apparently Wiggins has indicated that he might give it a crack this year as well

[Tom Servo]

I am approaching a four-way stop on my roadie. Car on my right approaching and gets there way before me. I stop. Female driver is looking down at her lap. I am pretty sure she is texting, which is illegal while driving in SC. She notices me and waves, "Go ahead." I reply, "I have a stop sign and you were here first." She says, "Go ahead. I'm doing something." I say, "Oh, you're texting. Great!" and proceed. After a beat, she says, "You're a dick." :rolleyes:

Well, yeah, you called her out on being a horrible little troll. That's entirely your fault.

[overpowered]

People who drive irresponsibly don't like to be called out on it.

[overpowered]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFcBOUHcW9I