jamesdak 

Ok, so this morning I gave the De Rosa a good going over. Gave the drivetrain a deep cleaning and really took a good look at the cassette. Center gears on it pretty worn. Put on a new chain and ordered a new Veloce 13-26 cassette for it. Then despite my better judgement I decided to see if I could get this one into the club today anyway. Oh, and I did swap in some wider Vittoria 700 x 25 tires the other night so today I was able to lower the tire pressures to 80/90 F/R. On the ride today my HR jumped up right away and my breathing was off. HR seemed to stay a bit too high the whole ride. I had to be creative though with what gear I was using even going to the middle chainring a few times to compensate for the worn out cassette. No standing on the pedals today either as the chain skipped when I did. So I sorta babied this one on the ride but someone managed to finally get it into the 19 mph club too! Happy about that.

25.07 miles in 1:18:47 with 492 ft of climbing for an avg pace of 19.1 mph. Another one done!!!!



Perfectly calm conditions today and well rested so surprised the HR was running so high.



I've noticed that riding in the drops on this one is not a real happy place for me. Even though the saddle is level when I get into the drops I keep sliding forward.

Cougrrcj

Anticipation jitters!

Conga-rats on getting another one into the Club!

jamesdak 

Failed - Just didn't have it today. Some mild headwinds going out that shifted and got stronger on the way back. But the legs were really to blame they just didn't have enough to keep pushing the gear needed. After a pretty good year of safe riding today was the second time in a week I've been run off the road.

The Schwinn seemed to work ok and was quite comfortable when I was down in the drops. Only pulled off a 18.2 avg for the 25 mile ride today. I'm a slacker!

hose

Did you tell those oblivious drivers who you were ?!?!

jamesdak 

DONE!!!!! What a difference a day or two makes.

This morning I decided to even up the odds a bit for the 684. Since all the other bikes have Continental 4000s/5000s tires or nice Veloflex's it wasn't fair to judge this one running Grand Prix 4 Seasons. So I swapped on the fairly new Veloflex Corsa Race 700 x 25's I had recently mounted on the CAAD8. They were spare now that the tubulars wheels came in for the Cannondale. Anyway, to save effort I mounted the Mavic Kyserium front wheel with the Corsa tires but did have to switch tires for the rear. Stuck at 126 spacing on the rear of this bike and no cold setting the aluminum dropouts. I also pulled off both jockey wheels since they were squeaking last ride each time I upshifted. Degreased, cleaned, and then relubed them as well as wiping down the inside of the jockey wheel cage. Then I changed out the white Flite saddle I had on this one. This bike is for sale locally and I put the Flite on it since it's white and since it doesn't agree with my butt. Sit bones have been hurting since the ride on it two days ago. So today I put the Selle San Marco with the "Pirelli" suspension back on it. Man did that make this ride so nice. Oh and I gave the new KMC a pretty good wipe down to get some of that grease they come with off and then oiled it up a bit. The lighter tires and tubes, lighter front wheel, and heavier saddle did make this one 10 ozs lighter for this effort.

From the start the bike felt a lot quicker under me then the other day. Don't know if it was the changes or just that my legs felt better. Gave a decent effort today and the bike responded. Same route as the failure the other day but a full mph faster overall and without feeling so wiped out.

25.13 miles 1:18:23 with 394 ft of climbing for an avg pace of 19.2 mph! So that is all 21 of the true road bikes now completed.


How it's advertised as and how I'll switch it back to tonight.

So that now leaves the Prologue TT

If the shoulder allows I think this one will be easy. I've done 22 mph avg on it in the past.

And the Guv'nor

I really don't think this has a chance but what the heck, might as well try. Fastest ride on this has been in the 14 mph range.


Current stats, all true road bikes done.




and the Guv'nor.

Cougrrcj

I can't help but note that the heaviest road bike is the only one to hit 20mph! Fastest is ~7-1/2 pounds or almost 50% heavier than the lightest bike. Why? I dunno...

BTW, My lightest road bike is a tad under 23 pounds. The heaviest as-ridden bike weight is close to 30, but that includes toolkit, frame pump, rear rack, and lights.

jamesdak 

That's easy to understand, it just means STEEL IS REAL! Ummm....well....except for the carbon beam.

Seriously though, I found that interesting too. Now in all honesty some of the bikes to make it into the 19 mph avg club were early rides this year where I wasn't riding well. I bet the Y-Foil, Pinarello, and Duell can pull off 20 mph rides right now and probably the Fishlips. The blue Lemond has a PR run on a 25 mile route of over 20 mph too. I am glad the fastest was not one of the full carbon bikes. I might have had to change my motto, LOL!

Cougrrcj

I only wish I had a 25-mile run with no traffic lights or other impediments to a straight-through ride. I had wanted to do a 83-mile speed-ride between Apache Junction AZ to my aunt's home in Oro Valley AZ along US60/SR79... But after my mother in AJ - or more properly Gold Canyon - passed away, I shipped my 'AZ Bike' (the Miyata 710) back to Ohio... Funny thing is Gold Canyon and Oro Valley translate to mean the same thing. Gold=Oro, Canyon=Valley

Here's a pic of the Miyata 710 in AZ on a 'shake-down' ride. I believe this is at S Idaho near US60, across from Waffle House (my breakfast destination)

jamesdak 

Well, sometimes reality is not what we want it to be. Did a test on the Prologue TT yesterday to see how the shoulder would handle it. Not happening, I just have to admit that with two of the three ligaments that hold the AC Joint together gone there are just things I can no longer do. Things pop and grind when I get aero on the Prologue and I'm worried about messing it up even more. So not even going to try and give this one an honest run, just not worth it.

It's also not sold locally for a ridiculous low price considering the new parts. So, for now it's hung back up. Some time this winter I'll pull off all the new 10 speed parts and move them over to the Softride, or maybe the Davidson. Then the frame will just hang as decoration in the bike cave.

Now I have to figure out what to ride today. So much bad weather lately and I've been off the bikes for about a week. Want a ride on a regular bike today to loosen up the legs. Then well see just how fast I can go on the Guv'nor this weekend if things work out.

hose

That bike has some ridiculous ergonomics. You got this!

jamesdak 

Yesterday I started rotating through some of the bikes that had only a 19.0 avg run since most of those came on earlier rides when I really wasn't trying. Grabbed the Y-Foil yesterday because I know it is one serious machine. Both local weather forecasts said calm conditions with gusts of 5 mph and a high of 53 f. When I headed out I actually had a mild headwind but I worked hard against it running in the low 20s. Really thought I'd pull off another 20 mph run on the ol' Trek. Then at around 6.5 miles I tuned into Huntsville and hit a wall of wind that wasn't supposed to be there, dang it! Rest of the ride was windy as all get out, there were times the gusts were hitting me from both sides and really knocking me around on this chunky monkey of a bike. Worked my butt off and did improve to a 19.2 mph avg. but really let down. I must have been really close to being a tenth faster as this was one of the rides where Strava said the avg was 19.2 from the Garmin data while Garmin Connect said it was 19.3. I see that sometimes which is weird since they both are using the same file off the Garmin.

I tell you, I ever run into a weatherman I'm just gonna punch them for all these years of lying to us.


This is not the best shape for days with a lot of wind and neither are the old Reynolds wheels.

delbiker1 

James, I know that bike gets a lot of looks going down the road. My ride, on my Soma Smoothie, started about 11 am with light SW wind and low 60's, at 1 pm it was 70 deg, by 2 pm down to 62 with wind picking up, 3 pm back home it was 54 with SW wind at 18 mph and gusting into mid 20's. My last 5 miles were the hardest I have had in a while. At one point, I was going 8.5 mph and a gust from my front right side almost blew me over. Well worth it. While I was out, I had Pomodoro's pizza for lunch. You walk in and they have 6 to 8 different topping pizzas for choosing a slice. It comes out of the oven with a nicely crisp crust. I had a basic Margherita, my fave is their Spinach and Ricotta. I may do it again today, albeit a different bike.

jamesdak 

Yeah, I think the fast riding days are pretty much over now. Waited until past noon to go out so that it wasn't totally freezing out. Still lots of wind again and it was a cold wind. Tried to go hard at first but it was just plain ridiculous. Just getting to be that time of year when it's always cold and no longer calm, hard to make a good run. Another cold front comes in Tuesday which may end any warm weather for the year since it is now mid November.

jamesdak 

Alright, I gave an honest try on the Guv'nor today. Just ain't happenin'! Calm when I went out. Was still a few seconds better than a 19 mph avg at mile 7. At around 15 miles in the afternoon headwinds kicked it. At the hour mark I hit right on 17 miles. Downhill from there, headwinds and lots of people in the way on the path. I stayed off the road most of the ride since I was without a helmet and thus a mirror to see behind me. The path is a mess for several miles so you're always having to unload your weight on the saddle for the bumps, thus messing up your rhythm.

Observations with trying to ride the Guv'nor fast as it's setup. The B17 saddle doesn't let my thighs swing free enough, I'm pointing my knees out a bit. Flat shoes with half clips on the pedals hinders me too. Can't pull back or up fully on each stroke. Aero is not happening, LOL! I tried getting a bit tucked but my messed up lower back just didn't like the position on this bike. Gearing is an issue for me. I really needed a gear between 2 and 3 for all the mild uphill sections. Gear two had lungs blowing up as I tried to spin fast and gear three meant mashing to much on the hills. I could tell my quads were affected by the altered position on this. This one hurt today, no denying that. Got home and had that ammonia smell which means I was out of fuel in the body and burning muscle.

Now, all that said. I think on a flat route I could do a 19 mph avg run. I can spin this in third gear in the 20 mph range when it's flat with no problem. Just any bit of uphill and you notice the 30+ lbs and heavy wheels. Every time you slow for cars, intersections, people in the way, etc. you really do burn some matches get it back up to speed. But once it's there it will cruise right along as long as it stays flat. I've done a couple of 40 mile cruising rides and it's a joy for those.

Anyway, the ride today was 24.23 miles in 1:28:30 with 604 ft of climbing for an average pace of 16.4 mph. I did a little more climbing because I changed direction on the one loop to get that climbing piece in for a shorted 1 mile distance vs stretching it out over a 3 mile distance.


This is how I have it set up right now.

The water is shut off at Huntsville Park so I couldn't refill my water bottle had to go hard for 24 miles on only one bottle. Normally I'll use two along this route if riding hard.



You can see how erratic the speed is over the rough and hilly section of the path.

jamesdak 

Looks like I'm finishing this out with failures. With the Olmo Sanremo now built I figured to get it into the "club". Looks like it's just not to be this year. I tried last weekend with iffy conditions an even a flat and only pulled off a 18.7 mph avg. Went back out today to give it another try and things went terribly. HR shot up early and stayed really high for the first 15 miles until I stopped and got off for a couple of minutes to get it back down. On top of that the lungs blew up before mile 7. I tried to go hard but it just wasn't there. I was at the VA the other day and got both the COVID Booster and a Flu shot. Those kicked my butt for about 2 days and maybe it's still affecting me. The bad thing was my BP was like 183/96, not good or normal for me. So not sure if these contributed to the poor ride today or if it was something else.

Today's ride was 24.95 miles in 1:21:56 with 509 ft of climbing for a slow 18.3 mph avg. I was bundled up for the cold which does kill speed but dang is should have been better.

Check out the HR on the first part of the ride, not good for the route and effort.




I'll ride something tomorrow but better not go hard, I still feel odd. Snowstorms start rolling in Monday and that means road chemicals going down. No more riding the nice bikes until spring so the Olmo will just have to wait.

I will say this one is pretty much like all the SL bikes I've had. When me weight is high like now they all flex a lot under me in the BB. I notice it when I stand to pedal up an incline because when I sit back down I have to adjust the trim on the FD.

jamesdak 

Well add the Fausto Coppi I built up last Friday to the mix. Totally abused trip to the VA yesterday left me with both knees all jacked up. Took the day off work as mobility was way down. Decided to get an easy ride in to see if it would loosen things up. First 3 or 4 miles it felt like the knees just couldn't bend through their normal range but the speed was decent. Kept going and even though I had no real energy I pulled off the fastest pace of the year so far. First ride with the deeper Mavic Cosmic wheels and they did seem to help in the sections I got above 21 mph. I didn't quite hit 27 mph for a max speed but the miles I did spend above 21 mph felt easier with these wheels than when I had the Dura Ace/Open Pro combo on it.

24.28 miles in 1:17:12 with 426 ft of climbing for a 19.0 mph avg.

Sorta of surprised I really couldn't spin the legs freely and basically felt like I had no energy the whole ride. This was only my 3rd real ride on this bike.

Third real ride on the bike. The first two I had some Dura Ace/Open pro wheels on it. Today was the first ride with some Mavic Cosmics I bought from someone over on Paceline.

bamboobike4

Everyone knows yellow bottle cages are faster. Literally everyone.

delbiker1 

James, IMO, that is flash done right, blingish without being blingful. Outstanding look!

jamesdak 

Now the question is, can I get the 26 year old Calfee Tetra Pro into the club? I've had it out for a handful of rides yet always found myself fighting strong headwinds on it.

jamesdak 

And the Calfee is in despite a lot of wind today. This one has been being held back by some Reynolds DV46's that have an issue. Swapped the Mavics back on today and despite a lot of things compromising the ride I still got 'er into the 19 mph avg club.

24.07 miles with 440 ft of climbing in 1:16:13 at an avg pace of 19.0 mph.


As I ran the bike today, 18 lbs, 4 ozs.

That leaves the Olmo SanRemo as the only one needing to get into the 19 mph club. I thought I had made it with this one but realized I hadn't. Need to get on that.

jamesdak 

And...add one more amazing bike to the club! Almost pains me to say it since it's carbon fiber but the 2003 Colnago C40 I picked up a couple of months ago made it in today. I have to admit that this one has been a favorite since I got it and rivals my best riding steel bikes for ride quality, comfort, responsiveness, etc. Earlier this week I had picked up some really great condition gold Shamal wheels for it. This was the first time riding it with those on. Yesterday I did the same route with my GP&GS Lemond and only managed an 18.1 mph avg while working hard. The Colnago was a full mph faster on the same route while averaging pretty much the same HR as yesterday. And the Lemond has proven to be one of my faster bikes many times in the past.

Anyway, todays ride was 26.78 miles with 446 ft of climbing at 1:24:13 for n avg pace of 19.1 mph


16 lbs 13 ozs as in this picture

This really was all bike today as my legs are still a bit of a mess. I can't generate any power to spin on even mild upgrades and have to drop gears and power it to maintain pace. I also feel like I'm riding stronger on the right leg than the repaired left still.

Bad Lag

This seems to be a very not-so-humble brag thread.

For my part, the only time I get to 20 mph (or 19 mph) is going down hill.

My rides are almost never 25 miles long.

Even if I deliberately pushed the envelope of physical exertion, there are too many cars, pedestrians, STOP signs and traffic lights to ever get close to an average of 20 mph. Around here, automobiles cannot average 20 mph.

Furthermore, my bike is old and dirty and distinctly NOT in concours/museum condition.

Does this mean I cannot play the game?

P.S. - A lot of those bikes look distinctly non-C&V.

repechage

On the verge of becoming a Strava slave.

I see them all the time blowing through stop signs.

jamesdak 

Actually it started out as a comparison to show that it doesn't matter the age, groupset, frame material, etc when it comes to bikes being ridden by an average rider. I set out to show that bikes like my 1985 Opus III can run just as fast under me as a much more modern, "better equipped", lighter, bike. Nothing to be taken seriously at all, LOL! I'm just now getting back to sorta hard riding and will see if I can get the other 5 or some "new" bikes into the mix. I've got high hopes for the '82 Krapf bike and the others.

Plus it's just motivation to ride hard sometimes, nothing wrong with that right? I can't see it as a bragging myself when I ride in area that used to see the Tour of Utah come through annually as well as collegiate nationals and other events. It's quite humbling when you ride though a segment at 20 mph and then see the real riders busted through there at 35+ mph just cruising along, LOL!

Never thought sharing a love of cycling would offend here.

jamesdak 

One of the best things the Utah Governor did 2 years ago was signing the "Idaho Stop" into law. My normal daily route has 5 stops signs I encounter and yet only the one at the 4-Way stop near the house usually has any traffic.