I want to ride my bicycle

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

My experience is that if you've been fit before, it comes back relatively quickly. Keep it up!

Speaking of elevation, I just did a ride up to 8500' yesterday, a 2300' climb from the lake. That was tough! Bonked about a 1/4 mile from the top because I didn't eat enough, but pushed through. The view from Stanford Rock is always worth it.

Great photo and thanks for the encouragement. My goal is to ride at least 3 days a week

[Neil K Walk]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

My experience is that if you've been fit before, it comes back relatively quickly. Keep it up!

Speaking of elevation, I just did a ride up to 8500' yesterday, a 2300' climb from the lake. That was tough! Bonked about a 1/4 mile from the top because I didn't eat enough, but pushed through. The view from Stanford Rock is always worth it.

Beautiful view. I’ve been looking over my photos of Tahoe from last year with a bit of sadness. I want to go back but there’s no way I could ride at that elevation though.

[SprintBob]

Bob - I met and got to know Ian Farrier. In addition to owning the Sprint 750 which hull and float wise is a Farrier design, I worked with Ian on upgrading our boat with a composite rudder and rudder head he produced. He was a pioneer and genius of yacht design with his contribution of making the foldable trimaran concept a reality.

Neil - 29” wheels rule! Once you ride a technical cross country trail with them, there’s no going back to 27” wheels.

Y’all have a safe and happy 4th.

[Neil K Walk]

Originally Posted by SprintBob

Bob - I met and got to know Ian Farrier. In addition to owning the Sprint 750 which hull and float wise is a Farrier design, I worked with Ian on upgrading our boat with a composite rudder and rudder head he produced. He was a pioneer and genius of yacht design with his contribution of making the foldable trimaran concept a reality.

Neil - 29” wheels rule! Once you ride a technical cross country trail with them, there’s no going back to 27” wheels.

Y’all have a safe and happy 4th.

I can understand that. I certainly do think that the bigger wheels make it easier to roll over obstacles and jumping over features is not what I do. I plan on upgrading the drivetrain for a 1x with a clutch though. I just don’t want to compromise on the top gear for the longer rides.

By the way my wife and I took our bikes in for adjustments the other day. I got to compare my 2019 Marlin 7 next to a brand new 2021 Marlin 7 - which now comes standard with a 1x10. Same size frame too, but I think it still makes sense to upgrade components. Shimano just came out with a Deore level 1x12 groupset (32t crank/10-51t cassette) that has me intrigued. I need to crunch the numbers regarding gearing ratios on their respective top gears.

By the way right I have to ride slower so that my wife can keep pace on her Trek FX2. She bonked the other day is 95 degree heat. I need to get her a Camelback like mine.

[GCWaters]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

Another middle aged guy on a bike here... I’ve been a regular bike rider my whole life. Through college riding was for transportation. As an adult, it is for enjoyment with the family, and occasionally solo. I gave up road biking a few years ago after getting tagged by a minivan and requiring surgery to correct. Now, I stick to paths, neighborhoods and trails. I have a lovely hybrid bike called the Specialized Sirrus X. It has wider tires and a 1X drive system. It even has a small shock built into the stem. It rides great and fast. I’d like to get a mountain bike, but I don’t need anything heavy duty. Unfortunately, there are really none to buy right now. So, I’ll go on enjoying what I’ve got and stay on relatively flat surfaces.

I just ordered one of those—looking forward to it getting in and getting on it!

[Blueser100]

Originally Posted by Tony Burns

My bike came from a dumpster and never drove right
found out the rear wheel wasnt matched up with the rest of bike
so its a parts bike - ( its a old panasonic )
Was lucky enough to find a refurbed Schwinn 27"( chicago Illinois )
and am having fun with it -was great to get out with my daughter
a few times -just not use to riding - by the way i got a new helmit !

thinking about wearing a safety vest for safety - maybe get flashers for the back ?

When riding a bike I don't think we can be too careful. The more you stand out the better your chances of car missing you. I have one of these
https://nutcasehelmets.com

[harpspitfire]

i havent road for a couple years, but seen a 6 speed auto bike on craiglist, i was curious as to what it was, i went to see it, it was a CSA 6 speed auto shifter for $20, i had to buy it, new tires and just needed cleaned up, it actually does a good job shifting by itself depending how fast you go

[Conomor]

Bikes have always been my main mode of transport. I was into the road scene for a few years, but back then I was a 63kg, 6'0 racing snake. Now I'm 10kg heavier and my old jerseys no longer fit. Sold my old carbon Tarmac and got a steel-framed Surly with disc brakes, drop bars and fat (frank) tyres. It doesn't climb like my old Spesh, but it's much more planted on the descents. It's a very practical commuting bike.

I also have a singlespeed that I built around an old Falcon frame a few years ago. I used to enjoy fixing up old bikes, but I got tired of having old bike parts, frames and groupsets lying around the place. So I sold all my old parts and gave my tools away to a local bicycle collective. I slightly regret that now as I quite fancy building up a Soma Wolverine.

[ChrisE]

I used to be a semi-serious recreational bike racer in the early 90’s. I raced NORBA Sport Class and Cat IV on the road but hadn’t really ridden in close to 20 years until March.

I sold my old mountain bike and road bike and bought a new Specialized Fuse Comp. I ride now almost every day. We have a great mountain bike park nearby and I ride my bike on back roads to get there (5 miles each way). Lately I’ve been riding about 13 miles on the single track to go with the 10 miles on the road. I’ve gotten a lot faster and lost 20 pounds. I’d like to lose about 30 more but I’m having fun and feel great.

[Neil K Walk]

My wife got me a sport camera for my birthday so I’ve been motivated to go klunking more. I’ve gone three times this week. I blew my rear inner tube but was able to order a replacement from Amazon and was back out there 2 days later.

[ChrisE]

Originally Posted by Neil K Walk

My wife got me a sport camera for my birthday so I’ve been motivated to go klunking more. I’ve gone three times this week. I blew my rear inner tube but was able to order a replacement from Amazon and was back out there 2 days later.

That looks like a fun trail. You should check into going tubeless. Flats will be a thing of the past.

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by ChrisE

That looks like a fun trail. You should check into going tubeless. Flats will be a thing of the past.

+1. Game changer.

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by ChrisE

...You should check into going tubeless. Flats will be a thing of the past.

THAT got my attention. We have a pair of SUN EZ-3 recumbent tricycles used for riding paved trails by the river, in parks, and around the neighborhood. There are a lot of goat heads in our area (think 3/8" diameter kids "jacks" but botanical) so I swap out at least a dozen tubes each year. Kevlar belted tires and Slime sealant inside the tubes to stop punctures slows it down some, but I would love a solid tire. Our trikes take 20" x 1.5" all around. Our local bike shop has foam filler inner tubes for mountain bikes, but nothing for our tire size. Any ideas?

[NormanKliman]

I’ve always enjoyed cycling but haven’t ridden at all in recent years due to severe and recurrent laziness. Also, where I live, the heat gets to be too much in the summer, and I can’t seem to organize my time to get out and ride when the weather’s more reasonable. About 20 years ago, I used to do up to 50 kilometers round trip out in the country, which isn’t all that much, but it gave me a good workout. I bought my ride about 20 years ago. It’s noticeably heavier than most other bikes, although the weight only really bothers me when I’m carrying it up several flights of stairs. I hope to be back in the saddle again within a month, as soon as it cools off.

Actually, the real reason for my post is not to brag about my heavy bike and lazy life, but to remind you all that there’s a history of guitarists acting on impluse, taking someone else’s bike for a spin, falling down, breaking bones (forearm, elbow, wrist, etc.) and experiencing playing limitations thereafter. Cycling is a lot of fun and makes you feel like a kid again, but there’s a very real risk of guitar-threatening injury. So, be careful kids!!!

[The Watchman]

Bike have disappeared from most stores around here. Absent at garage sales as well. Get a good lock.

I started riding again for the exercise after many years, and try to ride early and one quiet residential streets. There're a lot of hostile drivers out there.