Posts

Showing posts from April, 2013

20130429 Status Endomondo Challenge Pecan Pedalers Wing Nuts

Image
I got to number one in the 7 day milage

1999 Serotta Rapid Tour

Image
I wanted to capture some of the information on the Internet written about my bike, a custom 1999 Serotta Rapid Tour (SRT).  I have about 10,000 miles on this bike.  This year alone I have 2,500 miles on it.  I have 1,000 miles so fare in April on this bike.  I have can only remember one major tune up done on this bike. Here is an interesting discussion that I found about my bike on the Pace Line Forum .  Here is a quote about the bike that I own and love "Rapid Tour was Serotta's version of a bike that would fit reasonably sized tires with fenders, and could carry light luggage for credit card touring. In a word, "sensible" and not just a fair weather toy for let's play racer. There's nothing "low end" about that." ~ palincss 05-01-2010 03:33 PM I think that I have upgraded my components from what was on the stock SRT.  My SRT has Shimano Ultegra derailleur and the stock SRT has a Shimano 105 derailleur.  Here a photo of a stock SRT.

Selecting your first road bike

Image
I get lots of questions about buying a bike.  Recently I was discussing bicycling and selecting the right bicycle and I thought I would write about my experiences with purchasing bicycles.  with the help of the internet I will reference some web pages that are a good read that will help you wade through the maze of bicycling information that a salesperson may throw at you.  It is always helpful to be as informed about bicycles before you start shopping. Measuring your body for a bicycle One if the key factors in getting the most benefit from riding a bicycle is getting a bike that fits your body.  Purchasing a bike that does not fit can make your cycling experience painful and limiting your endurance to ride long distances.  There several ways to adjust a bike to come close to fitting your body, but it is best to measure your body first and then see how close the bike you are purchasing has to be adjusted to be the perfect fit for you. I had a bike fit before purchasing my Sero

Prision to Peanut Ride

I had a great time riding through the country with fellow cyclist.  The event is the second of this new annual event.  About 150 cyclist showed up to do the ride.  Initially I was going to do a moderate pace and relax and enjoy the view, but cycle thunder had other ideas.  As soon as we left the city of Andersonville I found myself riding faster and faster trying to catch up a rider in a Pecan Peddler's jersey.  Once I got there I found myself in a pace line with him and Lynn Pflepsen (I will add his name when I see him again or he identifies himself after reading this). We rode most of the ride trading off the lead position pulling the group along at a faster pace than I originally wanted to ride.  This is the great thing about riding in a group, at least for me, the group inspired me to ride faster and push harder.  I even got back into practice in riding right off of the rear tire of the rider in front of me until I felt the dead air which let me know I was at the correct di

Just another morning commute

[Lonnie's brain] wow another relaxing ride to work. [Cycle Thunder] STFU and ride, there is no wind blowing.

Good misty morning bike commute

Image
Graham Angus Pasture on Eight Mile Road  Sometimes you have to slow down and just drink in the world around you.  This morning I was doing my usual cruise down Eight Mile road (only about 5 miles long) and I caught myself slowing down to admire the scene in the images unfolding before me.  I take pictures for myself initially so I can remember the moment. Graham Angus Pasture on eight Mile road So as I slowed down on my bike nature unfolded this beautiful view with a musty pasture with black Angus cattle chewing their cud near a magnificent oak.  The morning was cool and crisp and I decided o stop and take a picture.  This is why I bike commute.

My First Bike

Image
Red Schwinn Typhoon I was writing in a Google+ Bike Commuting Community about my first bike (that I can remember) and my memory wandered into my childhood in South Central Los Angeles where I grew up.  I had this red Schwinn Typhoon bike when I was 7 about 1959.  I remember the day that  I took the training wheels off and some Hispanic kids a few houses from my house propped the bike up and shoved me down the hill.  Wow I was going so fast that I forgot that I was riding without the training wheels. Leave it to the Internet to give me a photo of the bike as I could only imagine what it looked like up until today.  I remember taking the fenders off and learning how to change a tire on this sucker with my dad's crescent wrench. As a kid I had a red Schwinn Typhoon I would ride it on the sidewalk in front of my house at 12203 South Main Street at age 7. There is a hill on Main Street and my brother, friends and I would ride really fast down the hill north towards 121st Street

Pecan City Pedalers C Group Ride for 4/18/2013

Image
 I love riding down country roads in the evening when there is photographers "golden light.  I also love riding with other folks that love riding. I am glad that there is a C riding group because cycling in a group does not always have to be about how fast you can go.  There is a time and a place for speed and there is a time and a place for a G ride.  I like C rides because for me it s a balance of precision and relaxing on a bike. Hope to see the C group ride continue to grow and bring more riders to the club.  Alan Braswell  did a great job leading the ride.

Flat tire on my morning commute

I had a wonderful ride today. I was glad that I did not go through with my plans to strip down my bike and carry less equipment. I needed it all today as I had a flat tire (only on the bottom). I had the familiar sluggish back tire almost as I was approaching a convenience store. I stopped and pumped the tire up and quickly rode to the store to change my inner tube. As a matter of course when you take your tire off and yank out the tube you need to inspect the inside and the outside of the tire.  When I found a small metal sliver about the diameter of a dog's hair and 1/8 inch in length I was glad that i had my Leatherman wave in my bag.  I got the sliver out with no problems.  I installed the new tube and pumped the tire up with my compact high PSI pump.  no CO2 cartridges this time, I wanted 110 PSI.  The new tube came from the bike shop in Thomasville.  I bought two during my 132 mile ride to the Florida State Capitol.  I wanted to start carrying 4 tubes on long trips. Af

Nice Evening Ride

Image
I did some riding around the neighborhood yesterday.  I felt good after my 132 mile ride on Tuesday.  The weather was perfect, not hot, but cool with a slight breeze.  The route has very low traffic and lots of trees sprinkled in with home estates and the Ecila Plantation . I am debating about taking the bike rack off of my bike.  On rides like this i want to have a light quite bike with nothing that makes noise.  When I ride without my bike bag on the rack it makes noise when I am on bumpy roads.  Iam glad that I have a bike that fists me so well and has eyelets for fenders and a rack.  What I want is a good quick release rear rack.  I have one that works fine on my mountain bike, but on my road bike the release lever rubs my inner thigh. Oh well, such is the life of a cycling brain that gets lost listening to birds, wind and bike noise.

61st birthday ride

Image
I made a few wrong turns. I rode  about 2 miles down a sandy muddy red dirt road. I did not make it to St. Mark, but I did have fun. Sylvia is close with a car to take me home. The end of pavement on Spring Hill Road at the Florida Georgia State Line The Historic Florida State Capitol Building Yours Truly at the The Historic Florida State Capitol Building Oh yeah I discovered another dang segment on Spring Hill. This is where I met the first dirt road. I wondered if riders from Thomasville rode out here for kicks because it was a nice dead end. Well I did not think it was nice because I wanted to cross over into Florida and get to Tallahassee. Oh well I'm in ninth place, but it will be a long while before I ride 100 miles to get on that segment again. Yours truly at the Florida Georgia state line AGAIN on US 319 My bike in Sale, Georgia My 1996 Cycle Oregon bandanna and my flash charger. The flash charger is for my phone when it runs ou

61st birthday ride

View Jenny Lane to Tallahasse in a larger map On April 16, 2013 I am planning on riding double my age in miles. I was born in 1952, so I am turning 61 which means I am planning on riding 122 miles. The game of riding double your age was a game that I played with some cycling buddies when I lived in Portland, Oregon. I have never done a ride on my exact birthday, usually I ride the weekend after or before. This will be the first time since my 50th birthday that I am riding double my age. The game had a disclaimer that said that after 50 you could ride your age. I have been riding more regularly than ever so I am confident that I can do this ride. In January I rode round trip to Thomasville logging in 140 miles just to get a What A Burger. This ride is going be my first one way ride long distance (for me over 100 miles) ride.  My wife Sylvia is going meet me when I finish and give me a ride home. I am riding my bike from my home in Albany, GA to a small town south of Tallaha

ride like I stole it

<sarcasm  alert> I am an African American riding in the deep south.  I see Confederate flags all over the place.  I am fearless when I ride at all times in the country.  My biggest fear is a deer that will run out infront of me at night.  When I get into the city and ride on MLK though the hood on my hoods I ride like I stole it.  Nothin' like creating a segment to out ride drive by stray bullets. </sarcasm alert>

Social Cycling Classes

The classes vary from social to recreational to competitive. Most clubs would use something similar to the following: Class A - 19 - 23 mph (common riding speeds, not average speed) Class B - 16 - 19 Class C - 13 - 16 Class D - 10 - 13 The average speed for a ride would be somewhat less. Source(s): http://www.bikecal.com/ride-rating.asp

Strava Segment Madness

Image
I did not set up the segment.  I did not want to participate in the segment.  I found myself looking at my results and wondering who was number on on the segment leader board list and then I was hooked. There are not too many hills in here in SW Georgia, but one of them is near my job.  This segment is on the final approach to the ASU campus.  The grade is a measly .7% to 1.4% (54M to 64M) over a distance of about 2 KM.  The record was held by  Edward Picolo  at 4 minutes and 3 seconds.  When I started bike commuting in September 2012 I was generally tired at this point of my commute.  When I started using Strava in January 2013 I discovered the segment and I was a bit stronger in my endurance and I was always making an effort to finish strong up this hill. Only 5 riders appear on the leader board since 2012.  I have been competing against my best efforts for a few months until yesterday when I decided that I was going to beat 4:03 on the segment. I finished at 3:48 and I was am

Cycling Challenges

Image
I am uploading my cycling trip GPS data to a web the Endomondo sports tracking web site.  there were several cycling challenges that I joined to keep me motivated.  Screen shots are below showing my current status.  My first challenge has 6883 members.  The person who rides the most miles in April will get 20% off on a phone case.  I am ranked number nine in this challenge with 270.87 miles.  the leader has 533.64 miles. Next challenges has 352 members.  the goal is the same as the first challenge except the goal is just to be healthy from riding.  In this challenge I am ranked second with 270.87 miles.  the leader has 533.64 miles, The next challenge has 3,010 members.  the goal is to see how many miles you can ride in one year.  I am ranked 110 with 1,763 miles. The last challenge is to ride 10,000 miles in one year.  there are 153 members in this challenge.  I am ranked 30 in this challenge with 1,763 miles.

30 KMPH tail wind 20 KMPH headwind

Image
The wind trainer was turned on in full force this evening as I rode home.  I had the most wonderful tail wind on Leary road so I cranked happily along throwing caution to the wind (pun intended) knowing that I would have to pay for these fast and easy cranks when I turned the corner at eight mile Road and turned into the wind. Such is the life of the daily bike commuter, my favorite route goes in all four directions of the compass so I will always have headwinds and tailwinds. When I lived in Portland Oregon I learned to love hills, because you could not ride anywhere without trans versing a hill.  I soon began to love hills as you could toil up one side knowing that you would be blasting down the other side with ease.  Down here in the flat lands there is no such reward.  Yeah it is a perception that it is easy riding when it is flat, well i am here to tell you that hill riding is easier than flat land riding.  Down on the flats if you do not pedal you do not go.  You have to pedal

An April Fool Riding Home

I rode all the way home without a jacket or warmers. Farmers are irrigating the fields. I got my first mosquito bites of the season.