lphilpot

Today and last Saturday were the first and second time I've ridden since ... well, way too long to mention (life and other stuff has just gotten in the way ). 27 slow miles with a friend, in light to moderate breezes on a beautiful upper-70s February day. VERY rare around here. My butt and elbows hurt like I've never ridden before... that's how long it's been. Hopefully I've ended my dry spell.

Greybeard712

Good for you! It doesn't matter how fast you go (you're not 22 years old anymore) as long as you go. I sometimes still play Speed-Racer on the Allez (it doesn't go slow) but a half mile (or so) @20MPH and I'm done. 12mph on the trike and I'm happy.

19.7 miles on the Roubaix - 12-18mph - very late start - 1:00pm. Mid 50s and mostly cloudy. The traffic thru Legends (shopping center) was atrocious! But I'm maneuverable.

2016: 309 Miles♂2013-16: 9906 Miles
Allez 114.0/2545.8 · Roubaix 102.3/2634.7 · Sirrus 57.9/2092.9 · Trike 34.2/1617.3

Greybeard712

Good Lord 10 Wheels - those lights could be seen from outer space! But there's no such thing as "too cautious" in traffic.

OldsCOOL

Rode in the daylight for the first time since mid-December. Also first time for bare pavement. Shattered the old PR set 2wks ago by 2.5min. Getting ready to break out the road bikes in about 3 weeks.

canklecat

Rode about 17 miles Saturday afternoon and felt much better than Tuesday, my last ride when I could barely breathe or move my legs. Was able to climb out of the saddle on the first hill, faster than usual. Quartering 15 mph wind both ways, but the warm overcast February day made it hard to complain.

Kinda looking forward to some rain, if it happens Sunday or Monday. Curious to see how the bike handles and whether my new Shimano jacket really is waterproof. We'll see.

JanMM

13 days since last ride before this afternoon's 23 mile tandem ride in 70 (???) degree weather. Ain't gonna last but was very nice. Started the day by driving to Illinois to buy a titanium recumbent frame. Hope to report on riding it before too long.

Doohickie

I rode 40 miles on my fixed gear bike today. It was warm but windy, just like my last ride on on Thursday and I rode a similar route. I had a similar hatred for the homeward leg when I had to ride into the wind.

Taken through a sculpture in downtown Fort Worth


Trinity Park in Fort Worth


Sunset

Doohickie

I <3 your bike.

OldsCOOL

Yup, I feel that.

lphilpot

Thanks. Last fall, despite far less annual mileage than I'd like, I was actually making relative progress on my riding in some ways and even achieved a minor milestone (for me). Then, between weather and everything else -- holidays included -- I didn't ride for 4+ months. Several times I wanted and hoped to, but one thing after another got in the way.

We've had an unusually warm winter so far, even by our standards, but there's been a fair amount of rain. The past two weekends (my only time to ride) have been nice so I've at least been able to get in the saddle again. It was almost funny yesterday that I was hurting in ways reminiscent of when I just started out... Legs were OK, but my butt hurt. Apparently I've softened up in more than one area! There's a possibility of taking a day trip to Natchez, MS and riding some of the Natchez Trace in a few weeks. Hopefully that will help motivate me to get ready.

ButchA

Thanks... Yeah, my '85 Fuji Del Rey was my "Craigslist Special" from last year when I stumbled upon the deal of a lifetime. I jumped on it so quick before anyone else could. For being a 30 - 31 year old bike, it is in darn near mint condition, and probably was a "garage queen" for a number of years too.

John_V 

Another day of great riding weather so I did a nice 21 mile ride with the wife this morning. After that, it was off to the ball field to watch the youngest grandson play his first baseball game of the season. They lost

jimmuller 

Today was a dual-ride day. My sweetie and I did 35.5 miles on the tandem and then I took the Grandis out for another 20 miles.

Snack stop at the Great Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary observation tower in Concord:


Grandis at Spy Pond in Arlington:


Now time for some Smoke and Dagger:

JanMM

9 miles earlier this evening. Felt cool compared to Saturday's crazy warmth but really very mild for mid-February.

sgtdirt

with temps in the high 40's to low 50's...you bet i was out riding. me and friend did 50 with 3,700 in climb in little over 3 hours. not bad for a Feb. ride.

Crewchief911

Rain in the forecast all day. Yesterday was grandkids day. Looks like some time indoors working out. I was looking forward to finding a new place to ride
but I guess it'll have to wait...

Greybeard712

That is a nice looking bike. Steel frame I assume? I could never get used to the down tube shifters.

10 miles on the group (slow) ride and another 10.4 on my own on the Roubaix for 20.4 miles. Still a little cool but sunny. The weather is getting warmer (ever so slowly).

2016: 328 Miles♂2013-16: 9926 Miles
Allez 133.6/2565.4 · Roubaix 122.7/2655.1 · Sirrus 57.9/2092.9 · Trike 34.2/1617.3


A friend left his laptop on my floor. My grandma thought it was a scale. Conclusion: My Grandma weighs $650.

rck

9 miles around town with temps in the 40's. I'm so looking forward to warmer weather. Of course, its predicted to be back in the 20's next week but I'm not complaining.

qcpmsame 

Beautiful Grandis, Jim. could you bring me up to speed please, is that a Campagnolo Rallye RD, or did you do the long cage modification to a NR, Record, or Gran Sport?

Bill

jimmuller 

Thank you. Yes, it is steel. All my bikes are vintage steel with DT friction shifters. They aren't really hard to get used to but you do have to be comfortable not leaning on the handlbar with both hands. Which is to say, holding your body up with core muscles instead of with your arms. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away when I bought my first derailleur bike they came with either DT or stem shifters. My inexpensive bike had stem shifters of course but I never liked them. One day in a bike shop I struck up a conversation with another customer far more experienced than I and he showed me how you can actually reach DT shifters quite easily from any position except sitting straight up. So I switched my bike over and never looked back.

Thanks, Bill. First, the bike. I had always wanted a real Italian bike; even though my Bianchi and Masi are Italian design they weren't made in Italy. (And my mother's family was Italian, so there was some small cultural appeal beyond just a really cool bike heritage.) This frame showed up on ebay with a make-an-offer entry and my sweetie said make an offer, so I did and it was accepted!

The RD is a Nuovo Record with a Soma Fabrications long cage. I had put a NR on my Masi with a long cage made by BF member Henry III. In order to use a Campy NR crank and still have gearing for New England's hills I had to use a large FW. But I didn't feel compelled to use a Campy crank on the Grandis. Several of my other bikes have compact doubles with conventional 14-28 6-spd FWs so I decided to spring for the Velo Orange crank. The drilled rings are light but mostly just gorgeous bling.

I had been told the NR could handle a 28T sprocket and indeed it can but only under the right circumstances. With a chain length that could accommodate accidental big-big shifts it was fine, but with the small chainring the guide pulley would ride up so high that it would pop-pop-pop over the sprocket teeth. The only solution was to use a different RD or switch to a long cage. Well, a fine Italian racing bike just has to have a Campy NR RD so the long cage came to the rescue.

I rode the Grandis to work today. It is handful. Fast, very quick to turn, balanced in a turn, stable at speed, lots of road feel (partly due to the hard saddle). Like the Masi it seems to know where and how much I want to turn without me asking. It is very quick to do it, a veritable F1 car by most bike standards. In other words, exactly what I was expecting.

canklecat

Did my usual 12 mile route Monday evening, first half fast, second half loafing and stopping to take photos. Felt good. Funny to hear myself saying "usual 12 mile route". A few months ago I was struggling with the then-usual 3-5 mile round trip. A little progress.

JanMM

Short ride this evening was the inaugural ride on my ti V3. Moved parts from the steel V3 to the new frame. Still need to get new caliper rear brake mounted and set up but front disc was adequate.

jimmuller 

By summer you'll be talking about your usual 25.

Doohickie

I missed my weekly Sunday night ride yesterday, and it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow, so I figured I better get a ride into tonight. Got 25 miles in on the fixed gear bike. A little cooler than it's been but the wind wasn't as bad, so it was very pleasant.

You're going to be really familiar with the sights of Fort Worth before you know it....

First: NEW BIKE LANE!!!! Westcreek Drive used to be two, two-way streets on either side of the the creek. But this week they made each side one-way and marked off bike lanes. Frankly I don't think this was needed; Westcreek (on either side of the creek) was already a good bike route, but I appreciate the effort. (Ha! I just noticed they left the Two-Way traffic sign up.... oops!)


The Hulen Street bridge, which goes over a tollway which goes over a train yard, with a lovely view of downtown a few miles off.


The ZEN TAXI. Don't worry, I don't know what this means either.


The top of West 7th Street looking down toward downtown.


The West 7th Street bridge into downtown at the bottom of the hill. From the top to the bottom = 160 ft. descent = WHEEEEEEEEE!


Don't worry, I'll never cross the bridge like this:
The cop at the end of the bridge let him off with a warning (seriously).

Doohickie

This is true!