jrhii

Today I rode to class (~10 miles) through the rain, got to the class room a little early and nobody was there when there usually is, sign on door says class is cancelled. Rain starts coming down hard as I ride back home (after taking a small recreation detour in the opposite direction); no shoe covers, no fenders (though the rear rack keeps my back fairly clean). Sun to my east creates the most perfect rainbow I have seen though. Unfortunately I lost my phone at a party last week and havent replaced it yet.

pamaguahiker 

I took my father's 1993 Bianchi Project 5, 700c bicycle out for a spin today. Just recently brought back from the dead...and ridable again, I ventured onto the old singletrack around my house and quickly remembered that i live in a rare and awesome area with some interesting singletrac. The paths that I ride are all located on private property and no access areas to most, but i am friends with the land owner and help him quite a bit to keep tabs on his rather large acreage...so i get to enjoy the fruits of my labors. The trails run along the edge of several 'rock cities' in the woods, and pass by a waterfall located nearby, so i stopped today to snap off a photo of my bike on the singletrack overhang along a rock face, and near the waterfall. Enjoy...i did!

IthaDan 

That might be the last aluminum softride in existence. All the other have cracked by now.

photogravity

I've been thinking about taking some longer rides, but things never seem to quite work out. Today things finally worked out. I managed to do a 45 mile ride with 2608 feet of climbing over the course. There was one hill that I thought I might need to walk up because it was so steep, but I ended up making it nonetheless. My friend Jonathan did pretty well until the end of the ride when his leg cramped up nicely and we had to stop for a few minutes for him to recover a bit.

Looking out over Middletown

Norman Rapide - Brunswick, Middletown, Myersville Ride - 1 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

After the climb...

Norman Rapide - Brunswick, Middletown, Myersville Ride - 2 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

This beautiful stone wall was rather inviting. Now which bike *really* looks nicer? Classic steel or newfangled aluminum and carbon?

Norman Rapide - Brunswick, Middletown, Myersville Ride - 3 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Norman Rapide - Brunswick, Middletown, Myersville Ride - 4 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

jimmuller 

PG, nice pics! Except for the fact that Jonathan is wearing a Giants shirt.

Drillium Dude 

I wanna see Dallas rocking his new shorts

DD

photogravity

Obviously, his taste is somewhat lacking... He's riding an aluminum framed bike with a carbon fiber fork and he has a Giants shirt. I'm trying to bring him around, but it seems he's a reprobate and there may not be opportunity for redemption.

photogravity

You might think you want to see me in my bike shorts, but I can assure you that unless you have a great appreciation for muffin tops, you will not be impressed. Besides, I've managed to make it to over 3,000 posts without being reprimanded or banned and I'd like to keep it that way.

pamaguahiker 

I have an aheadset one also. I love them. But i have broken at least 3 cro-mo ones. Nome catastrophically.

pamaguahiker 

Anytime you fulfill personal goals, it's a whoop! I know it is for me.

JohnDThompson 

Rode past the lines of cars waiting to park and locked my bike half a block away to see Michelle Obama speak:

https://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbc...nclick_check=1

It was a gorgeous fall day, but for some reason the event was indoors. Oh, well.

northbend 

Agreed! Some things are best unseen.

IthaDan 

There's a local gear exchange with an aheadset cro-mo one in IIRC really good shape for like $40. No idea what's reasonable for one of these, but you seem to be hoarding them, PM me and I can pick it up and ship it to ya.

Chrome Molly

Finally, I have something to contribute to this thread in small exchange for the countless hours at work enjoying...

Went from Woodbury down Wisconsin 35 to the Trimbelle river (Hwy O), then up to River Falls, through to Hudson, then to Afton and home.
In River Falls, I was detoured by a parade, then my usual road was reduced to washboarded gravel due to construction. Found some new roads instead.

Pictures include:
-Warren's trainset just south of Prescott
-A climb on Wis 35 (must have been a British car show somewhere down the road)
-One of several small trout brooks crossed along the way
-Glamour shot of the 760 along one of the bluffs
-A view of the Trimbelle river valley (also full of trout)
-Aptly named High View Farm (the high point between the Trimbelle and Kinickinic rivers) - pardon the spelling
-Back across the St Croix on the 94 bridge

Probably around 85 miles with the detours etc. Was a perfect day for a ride.

gomango

If you need company next time, give me a ring.

Love that route.

Thanks for the pics.

photogravity

Give me a few months and I'll look exactly like that.

jimmuller 

We managed to get in 42 miles on the tandem despite a late start. Cool, damp, overcast day. A good day on the bike, and much better than a good day at work!

fender1

My 11 year old son and I did 75 miles on our Ritchey tandem. MS City to Shore ride, Philly to Ocean City NJ. Nice ride

Reward for making it:

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View from the bridge to Ocean City

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Nap on the bus ride home:

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photogravity

Chrome Molly, it looks like your ride was nearly perfect in so many ways: weather, scenery, bike. Keep the posts coming!

photogravity

42 miles is a goodly number of miles on any bike, much less on a tandem! I'm with you about bikes and work. Work is a necessary evil for many, unfortunately.

photogravity

Kewl, it's nice to know you're getting out on the Ritchey tandem. So what do you think of it so far?

fender1

It rides great and is really stiff. I don't have much experience w/ tandems but the Burley I had before felt really whippy in comparison. I think the thinner tires & shorter wheelbase contribute to a vastly different feel. While I don't know for sure, this tandem feels like it was meant to go fast, not tour.

photogravity

Today, I decided to go on a ride that was a little more ambitious than normal. My friend Jonathan asked me if I was interested in riding the metric century from Emmitsburg MD to East Berlin PA and after some deliberation I decided to go along. The weather was good and the ride went pretty well. The one thing I can say is that despite the length of the ride, compared with a similar length ride in June, this one was a cake walk. I guess tackling all these hills and doing all this road riding is paying off. I was actually able to walk without difficulty after the ride today, something I couldn't easily do after my ride in June. The distance of the today's ride was 73 miles with just under 2,500 feet of climbing.

In one of the pictures, you'll see a group way off in the distance which I passed as we entered town at the end of a long downhill descent. The Norman coasted past them with ease despite the fact they had a considerable lead on me at the top of the hill. I would love to know why the Norman coasts as well as it does. I actually have a hard time riding in a tightly packed group on downhill sections because I find I'm constantly on the brake. I actually ended up breaking away and leading on a good portion of the ride because of that "problem".

Collected at Sheetz for a quick break.

Emmitsburg MD to East Berlin PA - 1 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

The group I passed on the long downhill.

Emmitsburg MD to East Berlin PA - 6 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

At the back of the pack for a little while.

Emmitsburg MD to East Berlin PA - 7 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Emmitsburg MD to East Berlin PA - 8 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

Can you say "flat"?

Emmitsburg MD to East Berlin PA - 12 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

Am I the only person who thinks this house is weird and tacky?

Emmitsburg MD to East Berlin PA - 13 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

photogravity

TWSS!

The difference between your old Burley and the Ritchey should be tremendous! What size tires are you running on the bike?

jimmuller 

Excellent! Well done!

Great report, PG. Good pics too. You must simply be getting stronger as you ride more. Duh...

As for the NR coasting, maybe it's because your TT is horizontal. On all those other bikes it is angled upward which means that it isn't as aero and they are always riding uphill.

Or maybe it's your tires and wheels. Or maybe derailleurs create more wind drag than anyone has suspected. I dunno'.