Allegheny Jet

I get the fixed gear thing. I have my own that I do training rides and and intervals on. Actually two, one a SS cyclocross Redline that I have wide tires on and use on longer gravel rides and a Fuji Track bike with brakes that I do intervals on our flat roads with.

A couple years ago on my night time group ride I established it was SS or fixie night and anyone riding a road bike needed to select a gear then stay in the whole ride. Later into the ride I'm riding along at 115 rpm and seeing a guy in the front turning around 80 rpm. He and others cheated once it got dark! When also we have Classic and Vintage bike night and nobody with a CF bike cheats but on fixed gear some guys just dont get it.

Hermes

Had pizza and beer at a local beach place last night and saw this poster on the wall behind the bar.

Racer Ex 

I bought a new ladder. 8 foot. Fiberglass. 300 lb rating.

Bandera

Good idea!
Hey, hold my beer and watch This!

Heathpack 

Shut up. I got you one for Christmas.

revchuck 

Racer Ex 

sarals 

I got him a straight jacket....

Hermes

Gravity remains unchanged independent of the ladder specifications.

Racer Ex 

Debatable in the context that the ladder's height would affect the pull on the object that fell off of it:

F = (G * m1 * m2 )/ d^2

"D" in this case being the distance between two objects.

While the theoretical effect of gravity is endless, the taller the ladder, the higher I would be able to climb, and the less pull gravity would have on me.

Which is why I am looking into a 100 kilometer ladder.

sarals 

Makes sense to me. Don't tell the North Koreans about it....

Hermes

There are a number of ways he can get into space. SpaceX is launching satellites and I am sure the Musk would love a human volunteer to ride one of his missiles. NASA is out of the human launch business and the requirements to be an astronaut are high if they ever start up again.

My favorite idea is Rocketman. I am sure he would go for a US citizen sitting on top of one of his ICBMs as a payload. He may even allow a small O2 supply and a parachute.

Allegheny Jet

Did it come with a harness, or is that an option you will get later?

Hermes

I think a net under the ladder would be better.

sarals 

LAVRA schedule for 2018 is out. VELO Sports Center has added weekends, which they pointed out, saying they wanted to give more people more opportunities to race. I like that they've grouped the disciplines, Saturday Omniums, Sunday TT, and Monday (night) Sprints. I'm excited!

Allegheny Jet

50 degrees in our area today. Last night my son and I decided to go to our cabin in PA for some emergency fishing. He is a school teacher and took a personal day. Big cold front coming through that will make it winter for the next couple weeks. We did very well fishing with my son catching, then releasing, a 32" walleye on literally the last cast of the day.

Bandera

Very interesting interview, even for the TT-Phobic like me, of John Frey US National 40K record holder.
Set in 1990 47:35 on a 52 x 13 fixed gear.

https://www.pezcyclingnews.com/inter.../#.Wi_y2z6GPrd

Racer Ex 

He set it at Moriarity, which is at altitude and can have some pretty good wind assists. I've ridden there and had my best 40k time up to the point they repaved Sattley, I was only a bit faster at Sattley, 52 something. A lot of records were broken there (at Sattley), but when they ran Nationals they switched courses.

The pavement at Moriairty has decayed quite a bit since Frey set his record, it was much slower when I rode there but it was still clearly fast. It's a once a year event and with the weather conditions being hit or miss and they pavement being sucky, Frey's record is safe for a while.

I think the bike is still hanging in his garage.

Bandera

Let's see, would I rather ride a TT at the Moriarity, Norman Bates, Svidrigailov or the Hannibal Lecter TT course?
Tough call, they're all Murder.
Should I get a properly set-up Wilier Triestina "Blade" or a Specialzed "Shiv"as a weapon?
Too bad the Lizzie Borden "Hatchet" isn't approved yet for attacking the unsuspecting competition......

-Bandera

Hermes

I see you more of a Merckx style racer going for the hour record on a fix gear no brakes vintage track bike wearing a leather helmet. You could do that in Mexico City or Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Bandera

Thanks for the image.
Although in the dim and misty past I have indeed worn such garb while operating a now vintage track bike I would only be capable of consuming street food in Mexico City or Aguascalientes and would shy away from the hour-record of taco consumption.

-Bandera

Voodoo76

Nice read! I can remember the mystique surrounding that ride and course up in the midwest at the time. It was a super human effort at the time (still is).

On a flat TT course I always felt faster on a fixed, a little smoother when fatigued? I had a Pursuit ride built by Serotta with front brake, very fast. What are the rules on that these days?

Racer Ex 

I am fairly sure both wheels need to be 700c, and they require front and rear brakes. Otherwise you'd be good to go with the Serrota. Fixed gear is fine.

Skinny round steel tubing is pretty decent for drag numbers. On a straight and flat out and back with fast wheels and aerobars you could do a lot worse. Technical courses the flex really shows up and starts costing time. My Kaze Shogun was pretty OK once you were up to speed and going straight.

One of the things about cycling records is that they are way looser than T & F. 100m records need to be +/- within a tight wind speed, otherwise they aren't accepted.

nslckevin

In 2015 the new Loyalton course had not yet been certified. At elite nationals Max Korus rode a 47:22 40km and would have taken Frey's record but for the lack of certification. It has since been surveyed and records have been set. That same year our State TT was on the usual Sattley course and Justin Rossi got fairly close in 47:47.

2015 elite nationals results: https://legacy.usacycling.org/result...ear=2015&id=12
11 guys went under 50'.
23 went under 51'.
It was a fast day. Hot even.

Racer Ex 

Loyalton seems to swing a bit for fast/slow days. Or that just may be me

I'm wondering how they surveyed Loyalton; with so many jogs and turns did they figure shortest distance in each lane? Certainly crossing into the oncoming lane is going to shorten the total distance ridden.