jimincalif

Here we are in June! Congrats to DrIsotope for his 2 million feet of climbing milestone last month.

I’m still in ID, I’ve been enjoying riding with my son and the (relative) sanity here as well. We intend to head back to the OC tomorrow, assuming martial law is not declared in the meantime. Carry on!

TrojanHorse

Bunch of bike shops in Santa Monica got looted yesterday. Made off with customer bikes that were in for service too.

dagray

This looting and rioting is for the birds.... it is even happening across the river in WA from me here in OR (about 60 miles away).

On a bright note I brought a new desktop home... Win 10 Pro, I-9 processor... Pretty fast little machine.

Erwin8r

That sucks! I’ve started to ride again, and have a bike set up on an indoor trainer too.

DrIsotope

So misty this morning that it was like rain--- I left the house on dry streets, and within about 40 minutes the roads were soaked. Not raining, Just the old 99% RH that we pretty much never get here.

Long story shorter, I went over the wet crosswalk paint at an angle I shouldn't have. From 20.1mph to 0mph just like that. Another of my favorite jerseys, gone. I got it all on the right side-- ankle, knee, hip, elbow, shoulder, even a bruise on my head, apparently.

The road rash isn't bad, really. Saved by the same wet ground that knocked me down in the first place. The hip looks gross, but it's fairly superficial. I'll know by morning the real extent of it. Takes me awhile to "tighten up" after this sort of thing.

But the bike appears to be fine, and nothing's broken, so I'm calling it a wash.

DrIsotope

On my walk this morning, I went past the "scene," as it was about a mile from the house. Turns out it wasn't paint at all-- I got gotten by the damn tar snakes. Visible on dry pavement, completely invisible in the wet.

I feel somehow vindicated by this. The hip is the only thing I can constantly feel. The elbow/knee/shoulder will be back to normal within a few days.

dagray

Said "Screw the wind" and went out anyway... https://www.strava.com/activities/3574113671 12.2 miles with the first 5.5 against headwind. Got a good burn in my lungs. Now to shower.

dagray

Rode the mountain bike to church and back this morning combatting winds...Ride to church on my Raleigh Talus 29er (with road tread)
https://www.strava.com/activities/3579946469

Ride home from church on my Raleigh Talus 29er
https://www.strava.com/activities/3579946532

Rode to church and back today on my Raleigh Talus 29er hardtail mountain bike. The wind was brutal, but I made it (thank goodness for a triple chain ring).

DrIsotope

The wife said, "two crashes is two too many for a helmet. Go buy a new one." I don't think anyone ever really thinks they have a big head until they got hat/helmet shopping. Of course, due to the state of the world right now the pickings were slim, and I only managed to find three helmets that actually fit my (apparently) giant noggin: Lazer Z1 MIPs, Giro Aether, and Kask Protone. The Lazer sat really high like one of those Spesh helmets, so that was out. The Kask and the Giro were roughly the same price, but the Kask was noticeably lighter. Winner.

I have yet to get more than 2 years out of a helmet.

jimincalif

Glad the aftermath is fairly minor. Tar snakes, hmmm. Never really gave those much thought in the wet, but I can certainly see how they are a problem. Drove to a ride start yesterday in full on rain, then light drizzle as we were getting ready. Another rider showed up and said it was dry to the west, our intended direction. Sure enough, completely dry about 1/10 of a mile into the ride. Entire 55 mile route was completely dry.

TrojanHorse

Helmets are weird - I usually wear a Giro Synthe and the Aether didn't fit at all (felt smaller than the synthe) and the kask was just the wrong shape. I have a big melon too.

DrIsotope

I tried on a POC Octal, of which there are like half a dozen varieties. They do helmets the way Canyon does bikes. POC also has overlapping size ranges, which is unique-- one might be 56-60, and another is 58-62.Well, the 58-62 was so big, it felt like I put a bucket on my head. I probably had 1/2" all the way around. Tried the 56-60, and it sat on the top of my head like a teacup.

Second ride with the Protone, and I don't think I can speak highly enough of it. This may be the first helmet I've ever had that actually spent time in a wind tunnel during it's development. It's certainly the quietest helmet I've ever owned, and quite likely the most comfortable. I had zero complaints about the Kask Vertigo 2.0, but at least for my head, the Protone is a far superior helmet. Above 20mph, it feels like someone is firing an inverse hair-dryer that blows cold air right through the front vents. I haven't had a single drip of sweat come out of it. When I get home from rides, the foams are dry. Cons? It's gloss black and shows every fingerprint and mark. White logos. But that's really nitpicking.

Beachgrad05

I did my personal AIDS/LIFECYCLE from home last week since I was out on vacation anyway. I rode 545 miles over 7 days 5/31 thru 6/6. I made a slideshow of my photos from the week.


Thankful the weather was cooperative for me other than a bit of wind here and there.

TrojanHorse

But did you wear a red dress?

iTrek

I like the Giro synthe. Its the best fitting helmet I've found.

indyfabz

I was supposed to start a two-week tour in Montana and Idaho last Sunday. Had I, I would have been stuck in this yesterday.

DrIsotope

As they say, the hits keep coming. Wednesday morning was cool and cloudy, and I washed the front wheel out crossing a gutter with about 1/8" of water in it. Lower speed (good,) drive-side up (good,) fell on my left and not my already-injured right (great,) helmet never touched pavement (excellent,) but landed ribs-first right on the little crest where asphalt meets the concrete of the gutter (bad.) I'm self-diagnosing it as just bruised ribs, because while the discomfort never fully wanes, I can breathe reasonably well. Left side is a bit swollen from the hip to the armpit, some quality bruising above the hip. Pedaling standing up is pretty much a no-go right now. Kinda feels like I got hit with a bat.

Managed to struggle the Cervelo down to the LBS to get the RD hanger straightened, it was hella bent. Found out my big ring is pretty badly worn (to the point where the chain slips a little) so now I have that to deal with.

jimincalif

Dang Doc, you’re supposed to keep the wheels down! I made a hanger tool out of an old rear wheel. The thread on the axle matches that of the derailleur hanger. Remove the derailleur, screw in the wheel and take measurements between the two rims. Apply force as needed to align. Of course the old wheel has to be true, so I had to tweak it a bit since it’s missing a spoke. But afterwards I used a friend’s official hanger tool to check and it passed! A couple years ago the chainrings on my Roubaix were pretty worn. I found it cheaper to buy an entire crankset online than buy replacement chainrings. But this was before Shimano shutdown the U.K. sites selling to North America.

Beachgrad05

I wore red. Don't do dresses. Except when I got married. LOL

Beachgrad05

On Saturday I rode up to Turnbull Canyon near my house and rode up it for third time. It was evident that I had not been riding for the better part of two weeks after my 545 mile week. Oops. I also failed to eat something for breakfast and as I rode thru Whittier to get to the climb I could feel my stomach telling me I was hungry. I had to stop twice on the climb to catch my breath. I still managed to only be 1:27 behind my PR! I would have crushed m PR if I had been riding and not being lazy the past few weeks. However I managed to lose some more weight and am getting ever so close to being in the 100's again!!!

jimincalif

Congrats on the continued weight loss and the Turnbull ride. I've ridden up there just once.

Beachgrad05

It's only 2.5 miles but the sharp deep corners are tough. I looked at my ride compared to my PR and I was ahead of PR until I stopped the first time. Watching to two markers go up route I was not far behind my PR when I stopped 2nd time to catch breath. I thought I would have been way behind my PR but to be as close as I was considering how lazy I'd been for the previous two weeks I was pretty happy. It's nice to have something to work on my climbing somewhat "close" to my house.

TrojanHorse

Turnbull is cool, I should go ride it. Unfortunately, there are usually at least a few super speedway wannabes who think its their own private track.

Beachgrad05

There were some fast drivers for sure. I just needed to get some climbing in and that is closest to house. It was nice to get outside too.

dagray

Got in some mileage today. Decided to hell with it I wasn't going to let the wind stop me today https://www.strava.com/activities/3680331647

Now I am ready for my shower