himespau 

From talking to the guys at the shop, their estimate might just end up with me getting what I put into it.

Doge

Yes.
I had 3 altercations with cars in the days when I commuted. Just go direct to the insurance company.

Also good to be medically checked out. Insurance has some stupid formula for pain and sufferings based on medical cost.

topflightpro

I get the perspective of not wanting to be opportunistic. And sure, maybe you’ve only invested $3k in to it, but given current prices and parts, it’s going to cost you $8-$10k to replace it.

And it’s not realistic for you to spend your time scouring the web for comparable used parts. Plus, most insurers don’t want to risk of failure of a used part of unknown quality. There is a potential for a lawsuit there that they don’t want to deal with.

Giving you $10k for a new bike is ultimately a lot cheaper for them than any lawsuit.

himespau 

I'm coming around to that way of thinking. I also think I need to value my time (building wheels, building bike, hunting down used parts, bidding on many auctions before successfully getting the right one, etc.) a lot more than I do.

big john

Mark Eaton was found on the road near his bike. They don't think a car hit him but details are sketchy. rip

gsteinb

My AC sitch in my workout room here isn't quite as robust as I had in NJ. So it's requiring a bit more fan power than I'm accustomed to. I picked up the recommended Lasko blower, but a CNN article I read this morning on plane design inspired an idea in me.





What about constructing a wooden tower with shelves that held 3 or 4 Laskos? It might blow itself over though.

himespau 

I have a shelving unit made of those wire crate things sitting right beside me.

Not super sturdy, but is sturdy enough leaning up against the wall. That puts the bottom of my box fan on waist level (and serves as a table for my timer (for TTT race starts), spare bottles, gel, Kleenex, whatever). Have to have the fan offset at a bit of an angle so that the fan isn't trying to suck air out of the wall to blow on me (and it's a box fan so it's not as powerful), but it does a decent job. I like that I can just reach over and change the power from low at the start to high later (can set different fan settings as goals - 2nd lap up box hill gets an extra notch on the fan, etc.) Unfortunately, because the airflow is angled and coming at me from 10 o'clock or so (maybe more like 10:30), I really only get max cooling in one position (I have it set for the hoods). Don't get quite as much out of the saddle sprinting and get even less when sitting up off the bars to stretch my back or whatever. If you could set it up to hit you straight on (or have multiple fans to hit you in different riding positions, it'd probably work well.

gsteinb

They closed P&R! I feel like a war was won I started fighting in another era (wipes tear away).

himespau 

I'd wondered why I hadn't seen any updates from there in a couple days.

Flatballer

Same. My subscriptions were extremely quiet and I was starting to wonder. Didn't think to actually check though.

big john

I never went there. Was it as fun as I suspect it was?

himespau 

It could be interesting and a way to see different views. It could be an echo chamber. It could be a trollfest. So probably.

big john

I was being facetious but I can see how it could be interesting. In the past I have engaged in political arguments on other social media platforms but I have sworn off. I like a good argument but only when the parties stick to the topic and avoid personal insults and pigeon-holing.
I got into it with a group of supporters of a certain politician and I asked them to stop insulting me after they got it out of their system and to please explain their thinking. After that it got interesting and they actually answered my questions, well some of them did.
Most of the time it just gets real ugly and turns into personal attacks, so I'm done with it. Maybe after some time people will be able to enjoy political discussions again. I doubt it however.

himespau 

Oh, I totally got the sarcasm. It was quite often a terrible place, which, I'm sure, is why Gary wanted it gone when he was a moderator. On the one hand, it's nice to get into a political "discussion" when no one knows your true identity, unlike facebook, because when the attacks got personal, it didn't feel like it was really about me because they didn't know who I am. On the other hand, the relative anonymity allowed for all sorts of trolls and it's probably better that it's gone.

gsteinb

Where'd the wannabe doctor kid go? He was all hot and bothered to play bikes and then just disappeared.

Enthalpic

Surgeon is very happy with that result.

#GoldMember

gsteinb

Cycling is a stupid sport.

Glad it went well

gsteinb

A whole bunch of years ago, long enough ago that my son was still in a car seat, we went out as we usually did to get a pizza. It was sunday pizza and movie night. It was getting to be autumn so the sun was lower and it set directly between mine and my neighbor's house. Our houses were super close and our driveways were separated by about a foot or two with a hedge they planted. When we left to get the pizza my neighbor was on her side of the driveway clipping the hedge. My drive was just about as wide as my car, and had a small bump to the street, so you really needed to slow down when making the 90 degree turn into it. Still, when I turned in just about everything went wrong. The sun was right in my eyes, and my neighbor was on my side of the drive wearing dark clothes against the green hedge. I was only going 5 or 8 miles an hour (I checked my speed about 100 times after this) but there she was right in front of me. I jammed the brakes. The pizza flew forward. I stopped just as I made contact with her leg. The lawsuit dragged on for years. It mainly centered on that she already needed a knee replacement (long gone at that point were her words 'not to worry. It's an accident') and whether this hastened the need for it. But it also included who owned the hedge. Who maintained the hedge. Whose property it was on. Did they have permission to come over on my property and cut the hedge they planted without permission. In the end they settled out of court the day before the trial was about to start. Insurance company got the number they wanted and everyone went on with their lives.

himespau 

Hence, I never said "it's ok" or referred to what happened as an accident not matter how many times the lady who hit me apologized and left my helmet on until after the cop left (and made sure that when my wife took pictures of the damage at least one included me wearing my helmet). Socialized medicine seems like it'd make this sort of thing less of an issue, so hopefully Enthalpic got it taken care of easily (even if he wasn't sure what day it was going to get done).

Enthalpic

Medical bills are not a thing, but private insurance comes in if you want money for pain and suffering.

Even with two surgeries my only expenses have been a few cab rides and painkillers.

Doge

I got an air bag vest today for when I ride on the big bike. It is quite comfortable. It weighs about 2-3 lbs (guessing). It would certainly be a handicap for a racer.
If they just made this part of the UCI bike weight, I could see them being used esp. gen 3 or gen 4. I could have used this more than once cycling.

gsteinb

Are you suggesting my neighbor should have worn one while cutting the hedge?

Good thought...I agree.

burnthesheep

I'm at a loss of what to try on WNW with the crew. I can make the front and end usually. I've never had a teammate with me. The weeks I've not been there we've had a couple of the guys who usually get dropped at some point make it then finish in the bunch sprint but not really truly contesting it.

It's a cat 3 medium body sized rider's route. 30mi and only a few 4% short hills where you just drag along people. Nobody on our team can get away. I've scoured Strava for ideas at points in the route.

Just frustrating always picking up the crumbs.

In years of that ride I don't think we've had a guy grab 1 or 2 spot at the town line. Other than tell all the roadies on the team "mandatory WNW" and just flurry a cluster-F of attacks doomed for failure while a couple ringers sit in. Haha. But usually there's only 3 of us each week.

furiousferret

IMO, usually not too much you can do if the ringers are vastly stronger and in club rides that's often the case. I think its important to try something though.

Tell your teammates they just have to train harder and get faster. If they come off with with some excuse like, 'I only do this for fun' or 'I have a wife and kids' yell louder.

burnthesheep

I wasn't going to go there, the fitness, haha. I leave that one alone. The one guy is really experienced road/crit riding. So he knows all the folks on the worlds ride. So trust his judgement.

I do think why he doesn't do better IMO is his coach. I follow his Strava feed and often really question internally WTF that coach is having him do half the time. If Rubik was his coach, I bet he'd start winning. No joke.

But, yes, it may just be time to try stuff. I may need to play my luck on the one 4% uphill into a false flat. The gamble is the 50/50 shot that you get a fully clear left turn at the top and they don't.......or the opposite happens and you must pause then go. Then get caught and fail. Worth a shot. Even in failure there's the temporary glory that SOMEBODY tried to do SOMETHING different for a change that wasn't too stupid.