obrentharris 

@nlerner What do you think of the Retroshift brifters? They look kind of awkward to me, but then I've never used them. @thinktubes I think the City of Chicago should put you on the payroll of their visitor's bureau. Keep 'em coming.

Brent

nlerner

Brent, they felt pretty good after some initial awkwardness. Once I managed to apply the brake while trying to shift the FD, but got that worked out. I have the bike set up with a 7-speed indexed Shimano drivetrain, and shifting was crisp and precise.

DQRider 

That's an outstanding image. Good eye! Who would have thought you could find such color, shadow, and texture in such an unlikely place? Although, with a train passing overhead, the condition of that concrete may have given me pause... The 35W bridge collapse is still fresh in my mind some 13-14 years later.

.

Slightspeed

15 miles on the '78 Super Course this morning, chilly wind (for SoCal) but sunny. The snow to the east was amazing, right up there on the mountaintop, where it belongs. Nice to look at, glad I dont have ride in it.


$20 CL project turned out to be one of my favorite rides. Still mulling new paint and decals. Not bad looking from 10 ft away.

Same vantage point, White Oak Blvd., looking beyond the chain link.

Spaghetti Legs 

Mid 60’s with light breeze today. Got 26 miles on the Merckx in NW Albemarle County. Somehow contrived to get only 1600 ft of climbing so put up some nice speed.


Hark Vineyard with Blue Ridge in the distance. Damn you sideways load!

End of the pavement. No gravel riding today!

Wesley Chapel

Deal4Fuji

Your Varsity's so heavy it sank right into the rocks I've had the Continental out every day since Christmas enjoying our 60-70° temps

EDIT to add pics from today's solo ride....74° - shorts weather

JJScaliger

I went for a short 17 mile ride today. I rode my Dawes, which I mostly use now as a commuter. I didn't want to take one of my nicer bikes with all the sand and salt on the roads​​​ .
My rear derailleur has been bent for awhile and man I paid for it on some hills. That old Huret Challenger couldn't hold the 24 and I had to power up in the 21.
After I came home I switched out that old twisted huret for a sun tour v I had in the parts bin. What a difference! Shifted perfectly! Drivetrain is all suntour except fd which I'll keep until it breaks.

Spaghetti Legs 

Hi 60’s again today! Family in town but I had to duck out for a quick ride. Did my basic around town loop on the Cinelli. This is midway up the Observatory Hill climb at UVA. Tiny little bump on the far left next to the light pole is Jefferson’s Monticello.

LucasHartong

Oh la la! Formidable, mon ami!

smontanaro 

Hokey smokes, Bullwinkle! Didn't matter that it rained overnight. It's near 60F in Chicagoland today. Rode with just shorts and a long sleeve (wool) jersey. Thought I was done using my Cuero gloves for the season.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is wearing her winter coat though. Not coming off for a few months.

billnuke1 

Finished the latest mods on the purple Raleigh Competition and went out for a fast blast around the block...ride shortened by 40 year old Raleigh Red Do tires and my recurring bronchitis...the bronchitis being the more restrictive...yay inhaler!
More importantly... the Raleigh showed great promise! Last ride on these tires...scary fun!

Drillium Dude

Three miles less than 30 with my pal Jacob on the SRT.









I had a funny incident when leaving the Marymoor velodrome for the return leg. I was looking down at my front wheel when we left the same way we came in. There is a small pavement/dirt/pavement transition at the entrance and I was looking down to ensure I tracked over it in the best place. Going out, that was to the left. Unfortunately, I didn't notice that only one half of the chainlink entrance gate had been open when we entered. I didn't know it but I was on a collision course with the closed gate!

Of course, I was already going slowly because I was taking care over the transition, so it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. I pushed into it with the top of my head and my front wheel, realized what was happening and emergency braked. I began an endo - and then the gate began to swing open. I was not expecting that; by the time the gate began swinging I was fully-stopped, but had forward momentum I could not arrest. As the gate continued swinging open I simply rolled forward; as the gate continued to swing open wider I let go of the bars and the bike simply dropped to the ground behind me. The DS chainstay must have contacted the steel tube of the gate because there is now a small dent there which wasn't there before. Just another battle scar on the Casati

However, the DS brake lever and pedal dustcap - unfortunately an alloy Barelli - were scratched up a bit, but that was it. Don't know how, but the Cyclone RD missed hitting the ground; shellac kept my bar tape from ripping

Before and after pics of the damage and clean-up:









My biggest worry when getting up off the deck was whether I'd just killed my new old recently-acquired camera, but it survived just fine. Whew!

DD

curbtender

Buff a low. Nice cleanup. One of our group members caught an open gate latch at speed and went down hard. Glad you fared well.

mpetry912 

My ride today. 5 days in San Diego, returning home tomorrow

doesn't get any better

hope you are OK Jeff !

Mark Petry
Coronado Island, CA

Drillium Dude

Oh, I'm fine, thanks

I got to do a lot of riding in San Diego when I was there for basic training and A school, then later during port visits on two different ships while in the Navy. Very enjoyable, particularly the Silver Strand out to Coronado. I'm green!

DD

mpetry912 

The strand is a great ride in the mid winter sun. I try to get down here every Xmas week and ride every day. Usually the weather is good.

About as flat and straight as it's possible to get ! Good winter miles.

Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island, WA

ButchA

Can you believe the weather here in Richmond, VA? Here it is, Dec 30th, and it is 72° outside!! I decided to take advantage of this opportunity (while we're in a lull from the rain) and got out my beloved '85 Fuji Del Rey and went for a quick spin around the neighborhood. 6.60 miles in 25:30. Not too bad for not riding in a while...
Happy New Year everyone!

tyler_fred

I went into Chicago today during a holiday visit to NW Indiana from Mississippi. Saw this bridge from the south shore train. Nice to make a connection to your posting.

billnuke1 

Yup! Fuji Del Rey! Just a great riding bicycle! I have the Silver Streak edition. Bought from the original owner who stuck in the clips, went down, put it away, never rode it again...$75.00 at a yard sale...his price! Brought it home...took it apart...horrendous build...tubes all twisted, everything else either too tight or too loose! No shortage of grease though! Put it back together, rode it...fell in love!

hastel 

Happy new year, All

I joined a Janesville Bike Shop ride at noon Jan 1. 21 people, four fat bikes, two young lads, six women, and an assortment of old dudes. I felt right at home on my High Sierra. We rode about an hour on city streets with one significant hill, then retired to a Sports bar. One of the riders reminded me of C&V folks, he was riding a 1982 bike which he had purchased at a Janesville bike shop. We rode past the shuttered shop and he posed for photos at the site of the bikes origins.

,My '85 High Sierra is around the corner.

ButchA

I bought mine back in 2015 off Craigslist for a steal. Mine was a "garage queen" for probably 20 years or so. I got it off a college kid here in town who graduated from VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University), it originally was his dad's bike, new in 1985. Long story short, once the kid grew up and went to college, the dad cleaned up the bike and gave it to his kid to ride around campus. Once the kid graduated, he didn't need it anymore and surprisingly enough, the dad didn't want it back. So, the college kid put in on Craigslist. I saw the ad and jumped on it before anyone else. It's darn near in MINT condition!

Slightspeed

21 miles, 1100' climbing over Santa Susana, from my house. We are spoiled by winters here in SoCal, but today was spectacular, low to mid 70s, no wind, perfect ride day. It was 39° on a ride last week. Mid 70s is better. I got the '73 Super Course out and tried to get some hills in before Eroica. Still running SPDs, need to get the dreaded toe clips out and do a few precarious miles in them before April. I had trouble getting into the 32t front granny, so I rode most of the way on the 40t middle chain ring, (34t rear) and ended up with a Strava personal best on the climb. 😊

Top of the hill looking east.

My first ever build, back in 2016, from a bare frame, from a scrap metal pile.

Just missed the Amtrak, westbound from the tunnel.

BFisher 

You'd never guess it, because that is fantastic! Working on my own '73 right now.


I've been battling a gnarly chest cold, but managed to get in my first ride of 2020 today. Damp, low 40's, 28+ miles. I was wiped after.

Slightspeed

Here's the frame I started with. It was quite a project, but so glad I did it, these are great bikes, versatile, comfy to ride, but willing to go fast, if you want. I've done over 3000 miles on mine. Good luck with yours.

As found.

Bianchi84

That's some transformation! It's hard to see on my pics, but is that a clamp-on rear derailleur or did you change the dropout before getting the chroming?