So, my first time riding a bike in 40 years, and this is what happened....

[KenECoyote]

Great Job!!

Gotta tell you the reason there are more baskets then bikes is because they can play havoc with your steering. Even a little weight will make your steering either sluggish or twitchy. You'd be better served with a backpack like the kids use at school. Hardcore transporters use rear racks (not baskets) then rear panniers before they go to forward ones. JMHO though...

+1 In high school my friends and I used to do EVERYTHING to our bikes...we had fun trying to put as much weight (and baskets) as we could...I got my ride up to 60lbs! The item with the worst effect was a heavily loaded front basket. I found the best way to put heavy weight on was low on the bike and that would usually be rear rack with panniers as Rick noted. You can check out Nashbar (https://www.nashbar.com/)...they'll often have close outs and big sales this time of year (I scored some nice deals last year around this time). If the rear panniers are out of your budget right now, you can go with a simple rear rack and bungee cords (I see a few bikes with these in the pics). You can try the back pack of course, but some find it too uncomfortable or hot.

Also another benefit of a rear rack is that it can help prevent you from getting the dreaded dirty stripe up your back if you go over mud or it rains while you're riding.

BTW - Fantastic job riding! Wow, 24 miles! That is impressive.

 

[georgegassaway]

Thanks for the comments.

The front basket, I'm avoiding loading it up with heavy stuff. If say I need to get some heavy stuff at Target….. I'll take my car. A lot of my rides to Target have either been when I thought of something while doing laps at the park, or as the sole destination for a ride, when I only needed to get a few not-heavy things such as for salad and/or a loaf of bread.

And now with a mount for a 24 oz water bottle on the frame, I'm no longer carrying up to three 16 oz bottles in the basket, only one as a spare when I expect a long ride.

Still, I am checking around for a rear rack. Lots on eBay. Adding one would also make the rear lighting set up more practical, mounted to the back of the rack rather than near the seat post area.

- George Gassaway

 

[cbrarick]

Hey! Crashbar is having a sale on the only rack I own https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_552297_-1___206039

I have a foldable Montegue MTB with road tires that I used to commute when I went to Yale. I loaned it to Al to ride as his first ride back. It's fairly heavy but undestructale.

 

[georgegassaway]

Some upgrade updates. Got gloves a week ago. A new helmet a few days ago , a Bell "Piston" series. Much better fit than the old one (made in 1998), more secure, more comfortable, dial adjustable.

Found a clip-on light at a Dollar store that works to clip to the front bill of the helmet, to light up the bike computer and be able to see the gear shifters, if I end up riding in the dark. At a surplus store, a fluorescent orange mesh vest, with reflective stripes. Not the best for not bad for $2.50. However, I also have a couple of fluorescent yellow shirts, one of those is a long-sleeve from a surplus store, and an orange light jacket.

Last week with the group ride.... I had to stop quickly and sort of surprised the riders behind me. So I worked up a prototype for the rear lighting system, yellow LED strips and a rear facing peizobeeper. Activated by the rear brakes. Video here in bright sunlight:

[video=youtube;A7I9HX6iBjE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7I9HX6iBjE[/video]

And here, later in the day when it was not as bright:

[video=youtube;YPy6wViqN48]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPy6wViqN48[/video]

Composite pic:

I may end up incorporating some strips like that into the near-dark/night lighting, but more limited. They are drawing 600 mAh, so that would be too much to have on a lot. But then for when it gets dark, even a few of them would be plenty. I'm using a 2200 mAh battery pack, typical for electric planes like Radians and medium Multicopters

Compared to the yellow LED strips, the red flasher is so wimpy, but is OK for near dark and night. Still, I'll be adding some extra red lighting in one way or another. Also turn signals. And make the wiring more robust.... the exposed wires to the switch are a bit wimpy. And I might try to use a better switch set-up, just that is what was practical last night.

Did another group ride today. Same group, a few different people, 8 plus me. They liked the brake light/beeper. Said so before we started and liked it more after we'd been riding…. the ones behind me liked it more since they saw it in actual use and it helped let them know. One even said they wish they could have something like that (There are some commercial units and DIY Arduino based set-ups that use a G-sensor, I went with KISS. But also, I doubt a G-sensor can detect partial braking very well, a video of a commercial one in action showed a pretty sudden stop).

The ride was a similar route as last week but not exactly, a bit shorter at 18.8 miles. Don't think I'll do next Sunday's, have something else that's supposed to be going on. But some of the same people do some nearby regular Wednesday and Monday weekly rides too.

An unplanned feature of the brake light setup is that I can pull the rear brake lever halfway to actuate the light and beeper, but not the brake itself. I realized it would be good to do that when there's a car coming up behind me, as an extra warning since the existing red flasher is sorta wimpy by comparison (for now….).

- George Gassaway

 

[cbrarick]

George:

I think the flasher and noise maker take the panache out of riding. I love cruising down the road and not adding to the pollution, either sound or light. As no bike is expected to be noisy and flashy you may cause a wreck with someone not aware of your upgrades. Intermittent flashing lights and nose can distract others, and may prevent communication, especially for critical issues (kid tosses ball into road, you break and drown out the person raising the alarm). I'm pretty sure my Monday group ride (A-B-C-D all with separate routes) would ask you to make it stop. This is why you can't buy what you made.
It's your responsibility in a group ride to ride in a predictable manner: point out hazards but don't swerve, feather on the brake (sometimes even while pedaling) to avoid abrupt stops. If you're not leading then you need to be aware of the person in front of you. The level of awareness is directly related to the speed and distance to the person in front of you. If you're single file, 10 mph and 10 feet between, then you can pretty much take a nap
40 mph at a half inch you'd better pay attention.
I do appreciate the engineering that went into though!

Here's another for your skill set, practice in the grass: the bunny hop (if you have clips or clipless pedals, but not for old fashoned platform pedals:
get moving quickly
pull up simultaneously with the pedals and handlebars. Keep your weight centered, both forwards and side to side.
You're looking for a couple of inches off the ground, and a little distance.

the purpose is to avoid road hazzards, grates, sticks and potholes without riding in a squirrely manner.

 

[KenECoyote]

I'll play devils advocate and note that as a kid with my first 10-speed (wow, 10 speeds!), I wanted to get all the accessories and one thing I kept dreaming of was a brake light and side turn arrow indicator set that was available at the local Woolworths' (it was battery powered and had a wired switch set). I never did get it, but thought it was very cool.

I think what George did is cooler and also very inventive. I've seen people with their bikes fully decked out in lights and such and always find them amusing. Personally I think anything you can do to make yourself more visible to traffic is a plus...so many drivers nowadays are distracted and you hear almost daily of some car plowing into a store.

Overall I do agree with Rick's point and think it definitely applies to serious cycling and racing, but would just add that those items are good as long as you view them as a novelty when you're doing leisurely riding and don't rely on them to replace good riding habits.

Disclaimer - I once had a purple neon car license plate cover.

 

[georgegassaway]

cbrarick,

I appreciate your points. But I must admit that as I was reading the first part…. at first I thought that you were joking. I'm riding for my health. And part of that health is NOT getting hit by other vehicles, or people behind me.

Indeed among the first suggestions was that I should add a rear flasher, and the one got works… but it's not very visible until it's nearly dark.

One day when I rode pretty far (for me at the time), to a store 4 miles away, it was an overcast day. I rode thru an intersection on two busy streets, and it occurred to me that in that overcast, I wasn't all that visible and there were cars waiting to turn right, to where I was properly riding, that might not have seen me.

Now, I appreciate that there are some very serious cyclists who do it for various other reasons. And some are real purists about it. I know of a friend who feels PRESSURED by others to not "park and ride", 2 weeks ago for a 40 mile ride, he rode 35 miles to the meet-up site and 35 miles back (110 miles tootle for the day, for a "40 mile" ride), because SOME people would make fun of him if he'd brought his bike there on a car. Well, his choice, but it would never be my choice even if I was in the physical condition he is in.

At least by my riding in a "C" group, I won't be involved with the more serious purist riders who might not like that my bike is set up more for my own safety and the way I want to ride it. There was nobody Sunday who complained, and indeed the ones who at times were behind me appreciated it, and again one wish they had something like that for themselves.

The beep….. in the video it sounds loud since it's close to the camera. When riding, it's not very loud. And I could muffle it a bit so it did not sound as loud. But if noise is the issue, OK, some of the riders have little bells to warn pedestrians that they are coming, it's there for safety, not for as a "noise maker". Maybe your Monday group would not want people to use those either. Sigh.

The turn signals, yeah, I'm going to do that. For one I do not like taking one hand off the handlebars to give hand signals (I usually am for the group rides though not all riders ahead to me do). And for the the other, far too few drivers of today KNOW what holding the left arm out and forearm up and tilted to the right is supposed to mean….. (RIGHT turn). But most drivers know turn signal lights…. even if they do not use them themselves very much or use them badly (Hey, I'm going to turn my car to the right in 500 feet, I'll wait till 20 feet from the turn before using the signal!). As well, the turn signal lights are easier to notice than hand signals anyway.

Anyway, your points are well made about riding safely to begin with, not being squarely, and to learn the bunny hop. I am learning to be better at that, but that would be the case regardless of whether I have any electronics on the bike or not. And part of it, I can't help, I cannot ride up a steeper grade as well as most in the group can, and pedaling in 1-1 gear at 3.5 mph, I can't keep the bike all that steady. Of course I've only been riding 3.5 weeks, so I expect to get somewhat better in that regard, and maybe be able to ride the same grades better eventually. Although, I had really worn myself out about 2 weeks ago, in part from riding in too high a gear when I should have geared down, and tired out my legs. So I learned from that, better to pedal slow and not wear my legs out than use a high gear and be worn out needlessly.

I really regret not taking a pic of the bike that one of the two group leaders rode. He's older than I am, and was not there last week. I forget exactly what kind he called it, but basically it's an electrically-assisted bike. On level ground, he's pedaling 100%. On an incline, the electric motor starts to provide some assistance. The % varies depending on how hard it is to pedal a given grade. And he can use buttons to increase or decrease how much electric assist it provides. Soooo, that's a big reason why he rode up front and didn't get slowed as much by the inclines as some others (there was an assistant ride leader who rode at the back. .I was with her a lot of the time, especially going up grades). I'm sure some purists would hate that (he same kind that "shamed" my friend into riding 70 miles unnecessarily for a 40 mile ride). But, the group ride I went on is not a contest, and lets him ride long trail rides, and be a group leader. And I could tell from the way he explained it, he's not the type to over-use it, but to help as needed (of course if he used it too much, the battery would go dead then he'd really have a problem with the rest of the ride). His bike looks sort of like this, similar looking battery layout and motor/pedal housing assembly (seems like the Bosch system):

Back to light systems with a beeper, you said this is why nobody sells them. They do exist. Here's one that beeps when the turn signals are used, and flash pretty brightly. Although the beep options do have a lot of annoying ones bend the simple beep.

[video=youtube;KconWxY2Nog]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KconWxY2Nog[/video]

OK, this is a long message and I have another update so I'm going to split this into two.

- George Gassaway

 

[georgegassaway]

"RESTING, by walking UPHILL, pushing a bike…."

One of Sunday's group leaders, Mary, told me of a group ride that is closer to me, on Monday mornings at 10AM. She invited me to ride it. Well, I did not feel worn out by Sunday's ride, and I've got a lot of things to do from mid-week on and busy next Sunday, so won't be riding much for awhile (more like 4 miles or so a day). So I decided to do the ride. There were 8 people, abut half I'd et before on the Sunday rides. Well, she had forgotten to tell me the type of ride. It was a "medium" ride (not classified in the A/B/C method), so I guess that means like a B ride, and also a long ride, about 40-45 miles, with a rest stop at about 23 miles.

But Mary told me that she had an appointment later in the day, so she'd be not be riding as far, so at some point we'd split off from the rest of the group and ride a shorter route. So, I rode. Most of it was rural, past farm fields and such, a lot on back roads, a bit on trails and a bit on bike paths along the side of roads. At one point, split from the group to shave off three miles, as the group had gone ahead. And there were some pretty long hills that I had trouble with, slowing down a lot. And at one point had no practical choice but to get off the bike and walk it, otherwise if I tried to ride it out I'd "Kill" my legs. Actually I did a bit of that anyway, at times weak kittens pushing on the pedals. Anyway, on a previous trail ride I'd done on my own, I had ended up walking the bike, and the phrase popped into my mind, I was "Resting by walking uphill". A bizarre concept, but any of you who have done that could attest to feeling more rested even though you were walking uphill rather than just stopping to sit down.

So, Mary and I got to the rest stop after about 20 miles , everyone else was there. I was glad I brought some additional cereal bars for "emergency" use, in addition to the two I planned on. After a decent rest time, Mary and I rode on a different, much shorter route than the rest of the group. It still had a lot of hills though. Had to to at least one more "resting while walking uphill", a few others I toughed it out. We finally got back, after a total of about 30.5 miles. A way new record for me distance-wise (added to a bit later), and also the hardest ride due to so many hills.

I had a brief rest by locking up the bike and going into a grocery store for some salad supplies. Since I'd ridden 18.8 Sunday, and 30.5 today, I just could not let that total end that way, so I rode around the parking lot to reach 31.4 for the day. So, a 2-day total of 50.2 miles.

Now I really did tire myself out. And I attribute that not so much to the length, but the climbs (different kind of route than the Sunday Rides) and trying to ride a bit faster than I would have by myself. Even though Mary was very patient, I didn't want to make the ride slower if I could sensibly go somewhat faster. Also it was very windy, at times I'd feel like "finally, getting up to speed on level ground" and then WHAM a huge sustained gust. Also, I am not entirely sure Mary had an appointment. She may have sacrificed some of her ride in order to encourage me to do this ride anyway, since she had invited me to do it, and knew I'd not be able to keep up with the group (not a "No Drop" ride).

So, I'm glad I did it. But I won't be repeating that ride. Maybe someday I'll be up to doing that kind of ride and keeping up with the rest of what was probably a class "B" ride. But otherwise, for group rides, "C" rides on mostly level routes are what I need. And learned a valuable lesson about finding out more details about any ride.

- George Gassaway

 

[H_Rocket]

George

While I enjoy biking to a stupid extent, I am nowhere as serious as Rick has been. That said, I agree with him. Your turn signal system is not the best idea I have ever seen. I use a Planet Bike Superflash Turbo and you can see it from a good mile away at night and easily several hundred yards in daylight. Keep one thing in mind - that array you have might be distracting or uncomfortable to someone behind you (and you will move up in the pack). With respect to the turn signals, as a bike aware driver I look at a rider I am approaching and watch for signals. I would never look at "turn signals" they are not the norm.

But any and all criticism aside, welcome to the bike tribe. Trust me, you will never go back.

 

[KenECoyote]

WOW! FANTASTIC riding George! :clap:

Back when I biked a lot I used to like hills since I was good at them and would usually catch up and pass those who were faster than me on the flats. When I started running more seriously, I ran to the top of the two small mountains on either side of me in one run just for the heck of it. That said, I now hate hills and mountains since the body isn't what it used to be and running two hilly marathons the past two years really humbled me.

Let me be the first to say there is absolutely no shame at all in walking your bike up a hill if the lowest gear won't do! It is actually often the smarter thing to do and much better than pushing yourself past your limits and barfing by the side of the road unable to continue. Long rides (and runs) to me are all about energy and power management...go out too fast or hard and you likely won't last and may hurt yourself. Take your time and please don't push yourself too hard. Kind of like don't rush a L1/L2/L3 build...enjoy the trip and absorb in the scenery...you'll get there eventually. :grin:

 

[KenECoyote]

BTW - looking at the pic, it's time for some tighter fitting clothes...something in Lycra. :wink:

 

[cbrarick]

Great ride George!

I've always been the sprinter, not the mountain specialist (but once nabbed a regional road race championship because the skinny guys forgot to drop me). I try to spend time riding hills because training strengths isn't the smartest. try to whip up your pace a little to have some steam going in - then shift to an easier gear as you loose momentum. When things get bad, stand up! Give her ten to twenty pedal strokes and sit down. Then do the magical shift: get your heels down, below the level of the pedal spindle. The power difference is measurable. then go for it, in a good pace. get to about 100 meters from the top then get up and push! Try to sprint to the summit. This type of training will work all the muscle groups with all the techniques.
When you're riding along, pedal like this: normal thru 5:30, then try to scrape dog doo off your shoe- heel down, thru 7:30 , then up normal. toes down at 10:30 to 1:30. What moves? Your ankle! this is the most efficient way to pedal - trust me. I was coached, some times almost at gunpoint to pedal right. It's a little weird at first, don't do in the group ride. You really need to concentrate at first to get it right.

rick

ps little trick about cars - their noses dip under breaking and most drivers look to where they are going to steer. That's about as good as it gets when trying to predict cars. I once read a study that said that riders get into a scrape with a car every 4 years. Didn't matter how much you rode, which was weird in my book. But I did get hit three times so far, and saw the last two coming so I was able to take some evasive actions....

 

[mkadams001]

I hope that you are able to filter all the information being thrown at you. I am enjoying reading about your start into bike riding and am glad that you are sharing this part of your life; it may inspire others to do the same. I would like to share a bit of my experience with you if you don't mind.

I have ridden bikes for almost as long as I remember. In 1983 I bought a road bike; if fit perfect and cost me $400. I would ride it after work and on Sunday mornings I would ride a couple of miles to pick up the Sunday paper. One day I decided to commute to work which was about 7 miles each way. This was the tipping point were I became serious about cycling. I would ride almost every day rain or shine. I bought a mountain bike to ride during the rainy weather mostly to slow down the pace. That began a love for mountain biking with the bonus that I lived a couple of miles from a great mountain biking area. My friends and I would head over after work in the summer about once a week and almost every weekend year round. Fast forward to today, I don't ride as much and I am slower but I still have that same feeling that I have had since I was kid. But the point that I want to make is that it was a progression. I didn't have people telling me what to do; I would find that from magazines at my pace. The more I rode the better I got, that little hill seemed flat and, as a commuter I could read traffic and jockey with cars (I don't do that anymore). Bottom line, it's just fun. To me it looks like that is exactly what you are doing by finding your place on a bike. One more thing, check out this link at Rivendell Bike I think that you might like it a little.

Thank you

 

[KenECoyote]

I hope that you are able to filter all the information being thrown at you.

I was just kidding about the Lycra!

 

[H_Rocket]

I was just kidding about the Lycra!

Oh c'mon George wants to be another MAMIL


Middle
Aged
Men
In
Lycra


Heck even though I wear a chamois and tights, I know nobody wants to see me in that so I have the common decency to put on a pair of mountain biking shorts.

 

[georgegassaway]

Thanks again for all the comments/info.

I hope that you are able to filter all the information being thrown at you. I am enjoying reading about your start into bike riding and am glad that you are sharing this part of your life; it may inspire others to do the same. I would like to share a bit of my experience with you if you don't mind.

Oh ABSOLUTELY it's great for everyone to share their stories and so forth. And I'm doing OK at the filtering, I think.

One more thing, check out this link at Rivendell Bike I think that you might like it a little.

Tips For Happy Riding: https://www.rivbike.com/kb_results.asp?ID=60

GREAT LINK. Some of which I've done. And a few….hmmm, I guess assembling a wheel, individual spokes and all, may be the cycling version of a Jedi building their own lightsaber. Without a jig, I almost feel like building a lightsaber would be easier…. Somewhere, for some reason, a few years ago, I watched some show (maybe video) showing how to re-spoke a wheel. Wow. OK, not a hard as making a light saber, still I hope I never have a need to.

I will say that a winter project will be to swap out the knobby-ish tires for some more road suitable tires, for lower rolling resistance. A bit less exercise in general per mile, but better for group rides.

Anyway, an enjoyable list. Things to aspire to, and dumb things to avoid.

Today, I figured after riding 50 miles total the two previous days….. that a short 4.2 mile round trip to Target would be no big deal. Well, I started but just didn't feel up to it. Body, mostly yes (80-90%), but legs like weak kittens. And the high winds again didn't help. So at 3/4 mile, before needing to deal with a downhill/uphill dip, I turned around and only ended up with 1.5. Chan had told me before that it wasn't a bad thing to take a day or two off after long rides, and HE is in great condition, having done 100+ mile days. So, another learning experience.

It was odd that since riding for over 18 miles Sunday I felt fine to go for more Monday. But this shows how much I overdid it on Monday with the gradients, wind, 20 miles and 2 hours before a rest stop, and trying a bit too much of a pace than I would have by myself. On the flip side, I'd have never gone for a 30+ mile ride by myself, other than maybe riding a few dozen laps. If I set a goal for 30 miles that won't leave me worn out like Monday, I'll either do a bunch of laps at the 8/10 mile track or ride a mostly-flat 15 mile round trip trail twice. Or do a more sensible thing and do a 15 mile trail on two different days….

Hopefully I'll be up to riding a bit more Wednesday.

BTW - at Target, I got some sport/riding shorts. Not form-fitting Lycra. Baggy type, to the knee.

- George Gassaway

 

[cbrarick]

Dude

Building wheels is the bomb-diddy of zen. Used to go thru 10-15 wheels a season as a sprinter... I raced CXP20 rims with record hubs. Wheelsmith spokes with a little Phil Woods lube. Gotta have the dish tool, spoke tool, spoke nut driver and a truing stand. A nicely trued and dished wheel will have spokes that all sound the same when they're plucked. Built them with a friend, we used to have a little contest, who could build up the wheel & dish it -- then the test was how few spokes and turns to get it trued and round.

You'll love going to smoother tires. A nice set of touring ires will cut the rolling resistance significantly. Don't run the pressure all the way up to max. Find something that's fairly sturdy - you're not racing so stay away from the ultra light stuff. Durability is key. Getting to the end of the ride is what it's all about.

 

[mkadams001]

If you ever decide to try wheel building I recommend this book. https://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php It is a download file. It is no nonsense and has plans for building a truing stand, dishing tool and, other tools you need to build a wheel.

 

[KenECoyote]

As a teen, I learned to true a wheel on my own...after a car backed over the rear wheel of my bike while I was on it! Knocked me down and sped off. :rant:

I took off the rim (which had quite an impressive bend...maybe 30-45 degree, bent it back in a vise, replaced a few spokes and then proceeded to true it without any tools other than a spoke wrench. I did decently and was able to ride it for quite a while until I got tired of the ever so slightly wobbly rim and replaced it. Being in the situation where you have to do something is sometimes the best learning motivator.

 

[georgegassaway]

Did the weekly Sunday group bike ride again. Well, only three of us to ride, some others are on a special ride in North Carolina. Anyway, only rode for 14.5 miles. Some parts were a bit tough but nothing like last Monday's "B" ride. So I wanted to ride more, having not done much last week due in part to recovering from last Monday's ride, some rain, and some other things Friday-Saturday that needed to get done. Maybe only 8 miles since Monday, including 3.8 before dark Saturday (test for Sunday) after getting done with other stuff.

Well, I had been looking at some other trails in a different area, and felt OK to ride more ( the rest during the drive to get there helped). So I loaded up and drove over to the other trails I wanted to try. A group of trails, mostly flat. Rode one to the East for a few miles and came back. Rode a trail that went up North a bit, then the trail changed more to the West, along a road, a bike path along the side of the road. That road was pretty flat, not much elevation change, I rode 4 miles on that road before I turned around to come back. Got back to near the paring area, had not quite hit my ever-increasing goal. So, rode a bit more and came back, and then I hit the goal that I had NO PLAN TO DO ANYTIME SOON, but felt well enough during the ride to do it:

So, uh, yeah. 14.5 miles on the group ride, and over 26.7 miles on my own, for over 40 miles Sunday. Total riding time (wheels turning) of 4:05, about 9.8 mph average. Total time from start of the group ride, to ending the last ride, was a bit over 6 hours, so about 2 hours of "rest time", about 30 mins during the group ride, 30 mins to drive to the other trails, 20 minutes putting the bike on the the car and removing the bike, about 40 minutes of "other" including some breaks, stops to take pics, and waiting for traffic. And I did not feel "dead" when I stopped for the day either. I had a total of three 100 calorie breakfast bars along the way, never felt out of energy, simply had two at the 10 mile break of the group ride, and then during the ride along the other trails, when I had hit 30 miles and though yeah just maybe I'd go for 40, had one more bar. I could have ridden some more but my bottom had had enough total seat time (Though a decent long break could have been OK). And I wondered if maybe I'd feel run-down after the ride, so I didn't want to push things further.

Keys to being able to rack up over 26 miles on my own, after the 14.5 mile group ride, were:

Temperature in the mid 70's, not too hot, not cold, not humid, just right. Although the wind did have an effect.

Wore new sport shorts instead of blue jeans, better for the legs (not to be confused with form-fitting Lyra bike shorts, NFW).

The trails, and a the 4 mile road, were pretty flat. Though there were some elevation changes for parts of the trails, but not killers. One was steep enough to have to walk up but it was only about 100 feet. The real killers last Monday were ones 1/4 mile long or so, I could try to ride parts for a few hundred feet then my legs got worn out and weakened for the rest of that ride. So, the areas I rode in after the group ride today were easier.

And also very key, I had no pressure to try to ride faster. Even though on the "C" group rides, they wait for me to catch up, there is still pressure not to take extra time (self-generated, nobody is trying to pressure me). So I often use one gear higher, or pedal a bit harder, than I otherwise would or should. Now, when I drove to the other location, I did have a goal in mind, try to get in more miles than last Monday's ride, but just to top it, and that was only if I felt up to it. Also I went down one path a few miles, came back, assessed how I felt, then went onwards onto a different trail or path, back, then on another path, back. So, it was not like I rode 13 miles one way to force myself to do 26 by the time I got back (also needlessly risky in case of a mechanical problem I could not fix before dark, to walk back say 13 miles or get a taxi. ).

For awhile the goal was 35 miles. Then as that 4 mile stretch of road turned out to be mostly level with very gentle inclines, that helped me get in more miles with some easy riding (It turned out that I had been on that road before and recalled how flat it was). Although when I got back to the parking lot, I was at about 37 miles. So, I did a bit more than 1.5 miles and then back to help top it off at 40. I could have ridden more...... but there was no good reason to do so, breaking 40 was enough. I may feel this for a few days, but again I feel nowhere near as bad or wiped as I did from Monday's ride. I was woozy when I had finally stopped Monday's ride. I was clear-headed and my body did not feel over-exerted today. My legs did get tired at times, but that was mostly temporary going up some inclines. I didn't wear them out to the point of being unable to pedal at a decent speed on flat ground as happened Monday. Although.... it will be interesting to find out how my body feels on Monday after such a long ride. Last week, after that grueling Monday ride, I tried to ride to Target the next day and my legs felt so weak that I turn around after 3/4 mile, legs like weak kittens.

UPDATE - I wrote the above before going out to ride again today. I was planning to take the day off from riding but with the forecast very good for today, not as good for later, and feeling OK, I decided to go. I wanted to try out part of a different trail while the weather was good. I rode most of that trail, and felt mostly OK. The last half of it had more inclines than I expected, that whole trial is supposed to be mostly flat. Not bad, just I was getting concerned of doing too many combinations of up and down. So when I saw another sign waring of a steep downhill grade, meaning more of an uphill climb coming back, and not knowing how many more up and downs there might be, I decided to turn back before reaching the end of the trail. I'll go for the end of the trail another day when I haven't had such intensive riding before. Ended up riding over 14 miles for the day. So, over 54 miles for two days.

Oh, Sunday and today, I took an old Garmin Summit GPS unit with me. Got it in 2002 to use to help in finding rockets. It has no map, really crude by today's standards, but it works. So, if I got lost….. I can use it to navigate back. I took this pic when I stopped to turn around before reaching the end the trail.

And this one showing one of the downhill signs as well as the trail in the woods.

I want to follow up about the brake lights and piezo beeper. Still working fine. But Sunday as I was following one of the riders, he too often would slow up without any warning. Now, he did not slow quickly, but also I did not see why he would begin to slow like he did, not like he was avoiding anything, and I'm not counting when we were coasting downhill and needed to brake to keep from going to fast near turns. So, what I want to get across is that as far as I'm concerned, I wish he DID have a brake and beeper system for his bike. It would be safer if he did. Also, since he was not slowing much, the commercially made ones that use G-sensors, probably would not trigger. So the KISS mechanical switch using the rear brake handle, actually may be best for a brake light. Anyway, I'll soon be replacing the original with a new assembly that will have turn signals included, finally have the parts I want.

- George Gassaway

 

[KenECoyote]

Fantastic riding George! Goes to show that sometimes people can be really good at something they never took up when they were younger.

 

[H_Rocket]

Oooh

Distance creep. It is a nasty little thing. You say, just a few more miles to get x far...

That sickness got me and the missus to routinely do 65-80 miles on a Sunday. Welcome to the sickness. Now you can be like us and have to decide if you want to ride or prep for an upcoming launch.

 

[georgegassaway]

Ken & Al, thanks for the comments.

That sickness got me and the missus to routinely do 65-80 miles on a Sunday. Welcome to the sickness. Now you can be like us and have to decide if you want to ride or prep for an upcoming launch.

ALWAYS rockets. Have to have priorities in order!

Although, there is a special bike ride I want to do next year (never done any), and there is a rocket contest that may be held the week before. No problem if held as scheduled. But if the contest was delayed a week due to rain, it would conflict with the ride, so I'd have to bail on the ride. But what complicates it is that it's a ride to find a cure for diabetes, so that is the one ride I want to do the most. Also, it is a fund-raiser so I'd (hopefully!) have several people who would make donations because I'd be riding in it. Hmm..... maybe "ALWAYS rockets.... 99% of the time"?

BTW - it was a rocket contest this past weekend, which was another reason why I didn't ride much later in the week, and only got in that 3.8 mile test ride near dark Saturday after the contest was over. The contest was scheduled to include Sunday too, but the wind was going to be so bad Sunday that there was good reason for everyone to get everything completed Saturday. Otherwise, if there had been a contest on Sunday, I'd not have made the group ride (starts at noon) and at best would have just done a few miles locally after the last contest flights ended. I was involved with running the contest, so I needed to be there.

- George Gassaway

 

[cbrarick]

George:

I'll agree that being squirrely on a group ride is bad form. The lower/slower the ride, the more you see it. leave a gap until you understand how someone rides. One tipoff of braking is that they stop pedaling. depending on the bike you can also watch their hands and see them brake. It might be something that a more experienced member could give a pep talk about to the person. Most recreational habitual brakers don't realize that they are doing it or how badly it screws up the group.

I'd NEVER build wheels from only a book. It's just not safe. This is something that you need to be mentored doing at first, just like mixing propellant. I'd also suggest that making the tools isn't good because getting it wrong could cause the wheel to collapse. I have the full Park setup, dish tool, truing stand and spoke tension meter. Building wheels is done because you like it or want something special. Just like mixing, the cost to get in isn't insignificant and the cost of parts can exceed the cost of prebuilt wheels pretty easily:
Mavic open pro cd 90.00/ea
DT double butted spokes 33.50/set
DT nipples 6.50set
Record Hubset 349.00 (but you get the other hub too)
total for a pair of wheels 609.00 plus your time, tools and experience.....
Or you could buy them prebuilt at 605............

 

[mkadams001]

I'd NEVER build wheels from only a book. It's just not safe. This is something that you need to be mentored doing at first

I would disagree with that. Not everyone needs to be mentored. If you are able to understand what you read and know how to use the resources that are available online there is no reason that individual could not build a wheel that is safe and sound without a mentor. I will say that it (wheel building) is not for everyone.

I'd also suggest that making the tools isn't good because getting it wrong could cause the wheel to collapse.

I don't know how making a truing stand, dish tool, and a nipple driver will cause a wheel to collapse. You don't need a tension guage.

Building wheels is done because you like it or want something special. Just like mixing, the cost to get in isn't insignificant and the cost of parts can exceed the cost of prebuilt wheels pretty easily

I agree with that. It has to be something that you want to do and not to think you are saving money. However, I won't run down and buy a Park truing stand and tools. I will build my own or find a used one somewhere.

 

[cbrarick]

I would disagree with that. Not everyone needs to be mentored. If you are able to understand what you read and know how to use the resources that are available online there is no reason that individual could not build a wheel that is safe and sound without a mentor. I will say that it (wheel building) is not for everyone.



I don't know how making a truing stand, dish tool, and a nipple driver will cause a wheel to collapse. You don't need a tension guage.



I agree with that. It has to be something that you want to do and not to think you are saving money. However, I won't run down and buy a Park truing stand and tools. I will build my own or find a used one somewhere.

/flame on/
Dude

Whatever. I've only raced cat 2, done the ettepe du tour de france, both raid pyrineese and alps, all 4 approaches of the mount ventoux and the time trial up alpe d'huez. Promoted about 30 races and 5 season training series, official, coach and mechanic for a bike racing school. Let's see i raced for 25 years and built about 8 wheels a year for myself and bunches for friends. Helped out at the sponsor shop building wheels for them. Willing to bet I've done more then 500.
I give, you're right and you can also learn oncology from the web. you'd google up your own cancer treatment, right? What do those people know?
Dish your wheel wrong and the stresses will be unequal, which will collapse a wheel. Put a bad hop in the wheel and the stress can also collapse wheels. And yes, I've seen both happen. Maybe they hold up and you just wipe the bearings, eventually. Tension gauges are good because most people cant hear the difference in tensions when you pluck the spokes. Sheldon Brown speaks about everyone should use a gage. If you don't get that right you'll chase the hops right around the rim. Wonder what book tells you about lubing the nipples before you put them in with a little Phil tenacious lube? Building wheels is not a beginner or intermediate skill. The best way is a mentor who can check your progress and give you pointers...



Anyhow....How's riding going George? Hooked up with the local cross training race and got my you-know-what kicked buy the twentysomethings. 40 minutes at your Anerobic Threashold. Kinda glad I don't have electronics on that bike. Bounced off a rock so i need to check the alignment of the derailleur ..might have bent it.
/flame off/

 

[georgegassaway]

Whoa! Please guys, I never said I wanted to to assemble a wheel (Said I hope I never NEED to, and that did NOT mean if I had a wheel damaged in the future that I would rather rebuild one myself than get it replaced or rebuilt by an expert).

Now this building a wheel thing is verging on a flame war.

Good Grief.

And the true irony is that the whole origin of the mention of building a wheel was from that very fun NICE link,
"Tips for HAPPY Riding"

https://www.rivbike.com/kb_results.asp?ID=60

Going to try another C group ride Wednesday morning, some of the same people, a bit different area. Will be colder, but sunny. Hope to have my turn signals ready in time, at least the rear ones. Wasn't going to post again till after the ride, but since I felt the need to post the above I figured I might as well include this.

UPDATE: Didn't finish the turn signals in time, about to leave for the ride. Probably will not do another post till after getting the turn signals complete. Also will post what I did for hiding a spare car key among the bike gear.

- George Gassaway

 

[mkadams001]

/flame on/
Dude

Whatever. I've only raced cat 2, done the ettepe du tour de france, both raid pyrineese and alps, all 4 approaches of the mount ventoux and the time trial up alpe d'huez. Promoted about 30 races and 5 season training series, official, coach and mechanic for a bike racing school. Let's see i raced for 25 years and built about 8 wheels a year for myself and bunches for friends. Helped out at the sponsor shop building wheels for them. Willing to bet I've done more then 500.
I give, you're right and you can also learn oncology from the web. you'd google up your own cancer treatment, right? What do those people know?
Dish your wheel wrong and the stresses will be unequal, which will collapse a wheel. Put a bad hop in the wheel and the stress can also collapse wheels. And yes, I've seen both happen. Maybe they hold up and you just wipe the bearings, eventually. Tension gauges are good because most people cant hear the difference in tensions when you pluck the spokes. Sheldon Brown speaks about everyone should use a gage. If you don't get that right you'll chase the hops right around the rim. Wonder what book tells you about lubing the nipples before you put them in with a little Phil tenacious lube? Building wheels is not a beginner or intermediate skill. The best way is a mentor who can check your progress and give you pointers...
/flame off/

Well, good for you, jack. Too bad you have to be 100% right on everything bikes. But then again, you are the great bike rider and your knowledge is supreme.

Sorry George, some people get under my skin.

 

[KenECoyote]

So George, when are you going to get some rocket boosters/Jet-hitch on your bike? :wink:

 

[georgegassaway]

So, an update of a number of things. First, one tip that might help one of you some day. Nearly 2 weeks ago,I finally got some sport shorts (baggy type, NOT the form fitting type!) to do some riding with. But I did not trust the pockets with my wallet (or keys), so left the wallet in the car. And put the car keys in a zipper bag in the front basket. Or…. did I? There was a "Holy crap" moment when I was not sure if I had put them into the zipper bag or had locked myself out of the car. My back-up key is in…. my wallet. Fortunately, I had not locked myself out, the keys were in the zipper bag in the bike basket. But still, I realized I needed yet another spare key, and some way to store it that I'd have with me while riding. And so, my solution:

Sticky-backed velcro attached to the top of the key and part of the inside part of the visor. Plus a foot of cord tied to the helmet and key. So the key is with me when I have the helmet. Ironically, after the group ride Sunday, one of the riders had locked his key in his car. Fortunately one window was down 2" and after about 5 minutes the car was unlocked.

I did a group ride mid-day Wednesday. Twelve people, biggest group ride yet. Went well. Got in 20 miles.

Thursday got in 10, and Friday another 20. So, from the previous Saturday thru last Friday, it was a 7 day total of 109 miles. That's going to be my top total for a long time, not only due to cold weather coming but I've been letting some other things go that I need to catch back up on so will not be riding as much.

That said, I did the Sunday group ride again (Oct 4th), another 20 miles. That ride was incentive for me to finally get my turn signals done. I removed the previous brake lights under the seat, for a new system mounted to the back of a rear rack (I will be getting a pannier bag over winter). The plans changed a bit before I settled on the details. Main thing is I got some 1" round LED modules that are very bright.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/201161894871?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I got them to use for turn signals only, inside of a round housing that has a fresnel lens. I was going to use LED Strips for other lighting in the back. But I found that the 1" round modules used less current than the LED strips did, so less power for more brightness. I experimented and found that I could use amber or red "reflectors" to use those 1" round modules, glued behind them. So I ended up only using LED strips for part of the front. The image below shows many of the 1" LED modules, two amber and red 2" round housings, and a glued-together assembly of amber-red-amber reflectors before the LED modules were glued behind it.

Here's the assembly on the back of the bike.

Up front, one 1" round LED module behind an amber reflector, per side. Also, a yellow LED strip turn signal that lights up, not as visible in sunny daylight but visible when the sky is cloudy, and very visible at night. And below the yellow LED strip, a white LED strip. The white strips come on whenever the brake/flasher lights come on.

Here's a video showing everything in action, half shot in daytime and the other half at night. The front headlight, mounted to the basket, was not included in the video, as a problem developed with its mount on the basket and I need to fix that. But I know from previous experience in a night ride test that the front headlight works out great.

[video=youtube;tNhuLDn1isk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?edit=vd&v=tNhuLDn1isk[/video]

It is still in prototype form. I'll make some tweaks and paint the non-clear parts, and tidy up the wiring. When I use the flashers, which are meant mostly for night use, I do not want that piezo beeper to sound. But the beeper sounds because it is wired in for the same lights to act as brake lights. So I need to do something so I won't hear it in flasher mode but will have it sound in brake mode (there was a SUDDEN group stop today on a narrow trail that NOBODY said anything about, we nearly all hit each other. So once again I wish other people had brake warning systems! It wasn't my being inattentive, it was everyone stopped really quick (Group leader was not sure where to turn and stopped FAST and everyone was bunched up). They should have said something but it happened too fast.).

I may also change up some of the lighting sequence in back. I think it may be a mistake to have the big circular red tail lights at back to be flashing, particularly at night, which may cause confusion when using the amber turn signals. Have to decide if I want to have them on constantly at night, at a cost of increased current draw, do some other change (like add a resistor so they are on constantly via another switch but dimmer except when in flashing mode to flash dim-bright-dim-bright) or possibly even delete them.

- George Gassaway