Join in the fun; The Calorie-Count Cycling Club...
Welcome to all who have an interest in anything cycling of any kind.( road, mountain, commuting, stationary, whatever).
This is the place to come to ask that question you have been wanting to ask,
or tell that story about your latest adventure riding your bike,
find out how to use cycling to get in better shape, or anything else you can think of.
So, to start, tell us, what you ride, where you ride and what type of riding you enjoy.
Come back often too check out what's going on and see what's on everyones mind or add your knowledge to the group.
This is the place to come to ask that question you have been wanting to ask,
or tell that story about your latest adventure riding your bike,
find out how to use cycling to get in better shape, or anything else you can think of.
So, to start, tell us, what you ride, where you ride and what type of riding you enjoy.
Come back often too check out what's going on and see what's on everyones mind or add your knowledge to the group.
That is a cool weather site, Carri, it took me a few minutes to figure out how to get that info for my area but now that I have it I will definitely use it instead of the site I was using. I particularly like the wind info. Thanks.
glad you like it!
i find the wind information especially helpful and accurate. i always check this the night before a ride. typically i "uncheck" all of the lines for relative humidity, thunder, dewpoint, to get a less cluttered picture.
i find the wind information especially helpful and accurate. i always check this the night before a ride. typically i "uncheck" all of the lines for relative humidity, thunder, dewpoint, to get a less cluttered picture.
Hi, my name is Jen and I am a biking newb. I haven't really done any cycling at all since I was a kid with a 3-speed bike, and I wasn't too great at it then. But I enjoyed it, and I'd like to be able to get some exercise biking around my neighborhood and on paved bike trails. I bought a "comfort" commuter bike a while ago from REI. They told me it was a good choice for a beginner, and it is pretty comfortable. It's a K2 T:9 Tailwind women's bike. I'm sure everyone's going to laugh at me, but I like the size of the bike, the nice big padded seat, and I like being able to mount and dismount without having to kick my leg up to ear height.
But here's my problem: riding a bike scares the crap out of me. I tend to kind of weave back and forth, so I'm not really stable. I don't trust the hand brakes to actually stop the bike without throwing me onto the pavement, so I'm constantly tempted to put my feet on the ground, which makes things worse. The brakes squeal like a dying rabbit.
The gear shift is a source of mystery and terror. When I'm flying down a hill at speeds approaching mach 3, it makes no difference what gear the bike is in, but I find myself futilely clicking the gear shift back and forth because in the mental fog of my life flashing before my eyes, I can't remember whether I'm supposed to be shifting up or down. I get a lot of strange looks when I'm out riding around, probably because of the screaming.
You might be surprised to hear that I haven't actually wiped out yet. So far I've managed to slow down the bike through a combination of braking, weaving, foot-dragging, and expletives.
I think this is 90% mental and 10% never learning the correct way to ride. It's not the bike that I don't trust, it's my own ability. How am I ever supposed to get to the point where I can hop on my bike to go get a couple of groceries or go to the library? Someday I'd even like to be able to bike to work or to the Metro station.
Is there a place I can go to learn where they won't laugh at me? I'm not all that athletic, I don't know any bike terminology, and, as you can see, I pretty much suck at this.
But here's my problem: riding a bike scares the crap out of me. I tend to kind of weave back and forth, so I'm not really stable. I don't trust the hand brakes to actually stop the bike without throwing me onto the pavement, so I'm constantly tempted to put my feet on the ground, which makes things worse. The brakes squeal like a dying rabbit.
The gear shift is a source of mystery and terror. When I'm flying down a hill at speeds approaching mach 3, it makes no difference what gear the bike is in, but I find myself futilely clicking the gear shift back and forth because in the mental fog of my life flashing before my eyes, I can't remember whether I'm supposed to be shifting up or down. I get a lot of strange looks when I'm out riding around, probably because of the screaming.
You might be surprised to hear that I haven't actually wiped out yet. So far I've managed to slow down the bike through a combination of braking, weaving, foot-dragging, and expletives.
I think this is 90% mental and 10% never learning the correct way to ride. It's not the bike that I don't trust, it's my own ability. How am I ever supposed to get to the point where I can hop on my bike to go get a couple of groceries or go to the library? Someday I'd even like to be able to bike to work or to the Metro station.
Is there a place I can go to learn where they won't laugh at me? I'm not all that athletic, I don't know any bike terminology, and, as you can see, I pretty much suck at this.
welcome jenb!
you're great raw material - you've got a solid bike, the desire to get out there & ride, & the smarts to know that you need to learn a few things & gain confidence.
all you need to learn are good safety techniques and a few basic rules about shifting, then you need some practice to improve your bike handling skills and you'll be up to speed.
i don't have time to post more now, but i'll try to write up some tips & post them this evening. i'm sure others will chime in too.
you're great raw material - you've got a solid bike, the desire to get out there & ride, & the smarts to know that you need to learn a few things & gain confidence.
all you need to learn are good safety techniques and a few basic rules about shifting, then you need some practice to improve your bike handling skills and you'll be up to speed.
i don't have time to post more now, but i'll try to write up some tips & post them this evening. i'm sure others will chime in too.
jenb, Welcome to the club!
Well as carri said, you have the right motivation, so find a ncie open parking lot (like an office area that's empty in the evening). and just ride around and learn how to use the brakes. You will feel more confident if you get the braking down so you can control your stops.
Look around and find a local bike shop and ask about clubs, make sure you tell the shop you are a newbie and are looking to learn. We all started the same way, and any good cyclist would not laugh at someone who wants to get better and enjoy cycling. Most of us all think that the more the better.
BTW where do you live? I have heard good things about K2 and the bikes they build.
While your at the shop ask about those brakes, some bikes just have squeeky brakes and others just need a little adjustment.
Come back often and ask anything you like and let us know how your doing.
DAN
Well as carri said, you have the right motivation, so find a ncie open parking lot (like an office area that's empty in the evening). and just ride around and learn how to use the brakes. You will feel more confident if you get the braking down so you can control your stops.
Look around and find a local bike shop and ask about clubs, make sure you tell the shop you are a newbie and are looking to learn. We all started the same way, and any good cyclist would not laugh at someone who wants to get better and enjoy cycling. Most of us all think that the more the better.
BTW where do you live? I have heard good things about K2 and the bikes they build.
While your at the shop ask about those brakes, some bikes just have squeeky brakes and others just need a little adjustment.
Come back often and ask anything you like and let us know how your doing.
DAN
Wow I didn't even know NOAA had that feature on their site. I usually just use them every year for tracking hurricanes. Nice. The closest location they show for me is about 60 miles away (Birmingham) but i can deal with that for the general info about wind and so on. It would be nice sometimes to know the wind speed to gauge how much of an effect it had on my riding & running.
No commute for me tomorrow. I'll aim for next week .. probably thursday. I still need some extra supplies and I want to do some more basic servicing to my bicycle. Last night I got the handlebars raised at the stem. Now they are closer to my new seat height. Tonight I'm going to open the crank and use some lithium grease on there if I can find my old grease gun. If not, I'll just put on some rubber gloves and manually apply the stuff. Also going to lube the chain and check my derailer's out.
Also need to install the bike rack onto my work car. That shouldn't take long but it'll require some extra thinking since the first time I installed it was on our volvo v70 station waggon.
Tomorrow I have my regular ride w/my co-worker cyclist friend. So getting as much servicing done tonight will help that.
No commute for me tomorrow. I'll aim for next week .. probably thursday. I still need some extra supplies and I want to do some more basic servicing to my bicycle. Last night I got the handlebars raised at the stem. Now they are closer to my new seat height. Tonight I'm going to open the crank and use some lithium grease on there if I can find my old grease gun. If not, I'll just put on some rubber gloves and manually apply the stuff. Also going to lube the chain and check my derailer's out.
Also need to install the bike rack onto my work car. That shouldn't take long but it'll require some extra thinking since the first time I installed it was on our volvo v70 station waggon.
Tomorrow I have my regular ride w/my co-worker cyclist friend. So getting as much servicing done tonight will help that.
Carrie: Nice graphics on the NOAA site and an amazing amount of detail. I have been using Weather.com for quite a while. It gives me hourly forecasts for the current 24 hour period -- I just checked the weather for tomorrow for my typical commute times (6 am and 4 pm) and a ten day extended forcast. Of course, nothing is guaranteed but it is better than the local news.
Power intervals tonight -- gotta build up those leg muscles so I can take on the hills.
Power intervals tonight -- gotta build up those leg muscles so I can take on the hills.
Thanks guys, it's nice to hear that I'm not hopeless! There's a middle school near my house that has a big parking lot, I went over there and rode around for a while and practiced braking. The brakes are still pretty squeaky and I feel like it's difficult to brake gradually. I'll call some bike shops this week and find out about clubs. I'm sure the folks at REI (where I bought the bike) could take a look at the brakes.
Dan, I live in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. The road traffic is really insane here, so my goal of eventually using the bike to commute is rather daunting!
Dan, I live in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. The road traffic is really insane here, so my goal of eventually using the bike to commute is rather daunting!
jenb, practicing in a safe parking lot is a great way to get comfortable. definitely get those brakes looked at - they shouldn't squeal or grab too hard. one tip is to get in the habit of braking first using your rear brake and then adding your front, so you don't brake hard in the front and go over the handle bars. i recommend getting very confident in your handling skills & bike operations before taking to the streets. cars only have a tiny amount of patience for cyclists who are very tentative on the road.
visit www.bicyclesafe.com . i always recommend that site to new riders for bike safety tips, especially when folks are riding on the road or commuting. these are common real-life examples of how cyclists can avoid getting hit by cars. very helpful.
as for shifting, there are a few concepts that will help once they become second nature to you. i'll try to explain them, but this may all sound like bike-geek-speak to you, so forgive me if i get too lengthy & techy. i don't have the kind of shifters you have, so i can't refer to the gears by number. instead, i'll discuss them by relative ring size. your bike has 3 chain rings in the front (i'll call them "big," "middle" and "small"), and i think it has 7 rings, or "cogs" in the back = a 21-speed bike. you'll have to map my "big/middle/small" and "large cog/small cog" to the 1-2-3 and 1-7 on your shifters.
conceptually, remember that the 3 rings in the front set the basic tone for your effort. think of it this way :
- the small ring : for climbing big hills, since your pedaling effort will be easiest in this ring.
- the middle ring : mid-range effort in this ring; offers wide spectrum of effort levels given your choices in the rear; if you want to pick a front chain ring & stick with it until you understand the gearing a little better, this is the work-horse and a good place to start.
- the big ring : for long flat stretches & downhills (and hills once you're really strong!); pedaling in this ring is a little harder, but the big ring will give you the most distance & speed "bang" for your pedaling effort.
for starters, you should try pedaling around a safe empty parking lot in each of the 3 front rings to feel the difference when you shift from one to the other. feel how pedaling gets slightly more difficult as you move up from the small ring, to the middle, to the big ring. they won't feel very different on a flat surface, but on a hill these small differences really matter. memorize the knowledge that you want to be in the small ring to climb hills, so that when you are coming up to a big hill, you know to go down into your little ring before you hit the incline (you want to downshift before you're on the incline - once you're climbing, it becomes more difficult & hard on the bike for you to shift gears); and know that the big ring is best for descending hills so as you approach a big downhill or if you are on a long flat stretch, you can shift into your big ring to get the most power from each pedal stroke.
now, the 7 rear cogs. think of these as your spectrum of pedaling choices within each of the 3 rings we just discussed. in theory, you can be in any one of the front rings, and any one of the 7 rear cogs - giving you 21 choices. i say "in theory" because (1) you'll find that there is lots of overlap in the way some of these gears feel, and you'll naturally start to use 3 or 4 of them way more than others; and (2) you don't want to stretch your chain cross-wise from the big ring in the front to the big cog in the rear (or vice versa, small ring to small cog), so some of the gear combinations are ill-advised (this is called getting 'crossed up' and your REI helper can show you what it looks like & what to avoid - it's not a horrible problem, but it's hard on the drivetrain & there are more optimal/efficient gear choices so you're best not to ride in a crossed up position).
intuitively, being in the middle of the rear cogset, as with the middle ring in front, is a mid-range effort position. from there, pedaling can get harder or easier, depending on how you shift. here is the tricky part : opposite of the front rings (where pedaling gets easier as you go from the large to medium to small rings), in the rear, pedaling gets harder as you shift from the large cogs to the smaller outer cogs. one easy way to remember this is that the closer you get to the bike, the easier pedaling becomes (the "easier" small ring and large cogs are set in very close to the bike frame & the "harder" large ring and tiny cogs are the farthest out from the frame).
other/general shifting tips : (1) i already mentioned, shift down to an easier gear before you get on a hill; (2) if you notice you are pedaling very fast or very slow, you are probably in the wrong gear & need to shift to normalize your pedaling rhythm, or "cadence;" (3) once you get used to shifting, think to shift down before you stop at intersections, that way when you start up you will not be in a hard gear to turn over; (4) avoid being crossed-up - often your chain will be noisy if you are crossed up because the angle puts the chain in contact with the front derailleur....
that's all i can think of at the moment - and probably waaaaay more than you were interested in reading. if none of this makes sense, ask questions & i'll try not to be so long-winded!
visit www.bicyclesafe.com . i always recommend that site to new riders for bike safety tips, especially when folks are riding on the road or commuting. these are common real-life examples of how cyclists can avoid getting hit by cars. very helpful.
as for shifting, there are a few concepts that will help once they become second nature to you. i'll try to explain them, but this may all sound like bike-geek-speak to you, so forgive me if i get too lengthy & techy. i don't have the kind of shifters you have, so i can't refer to the gears by number. instead, i'll discuss them by relative ring size. your bike has 3 chain rings in the front (i'll call them "big," "middle" and "small"), and i think it has 7 rings, or "cogs" in the back = a 21-speed bike. you'll have to map my "big/middle/small" and "large cog/small cog" to the 1-2-3 and 1-7 on your shifters.
conceptually, remember that the 3 rings in the front set the basic tone for your effort. think of it this way :
- the small ring : for climbing big hills, since your pedaling effort will be easiest in this ring.
- the middle ring : mid-range effort in this ring; offers wide spectrum of effort levels given your choices in the rear; if you want to pick a front chain ring & stick with it until you understand the gearing a little better, this is the work-horse and a good place to start.
- the big ring : for long flat stretches & downhills (and hills once you're really strong!); pedaling in this ring is a little harder, but the big ring will give you the most distance & speed "bang" for your pedaling effort.
for starters, you should try pedaling around a safe empty parking lot in each of the 3 front rings to feel the difference when you shift from one to the other. feel how pedaling gets slightly more difficult as you move up from the small ring, to the middle, to the big ring. they won't feel very different on a flat surface, but on a hill these small differences really matter. memorize the knowledge that you want to be in the small ring to climb hills, so that when you are coming up to a big hill, you know to go down into your little ring before you hit the incline (you want to downshift before you're on the incline - once you're climbing, it becomes more difficult & hard on the bike for you to shift gears); and know that the big ring is best for descending hills so as you approach a big downhill or if you are on a long flat stretch, you can shift into your big ring to get the most power from each pedal stroke.
now, the 7 rear cogs. think of these as your spectrum of pedaling choices within each of the 3 rings we just discussed. in theory, you can be in any one of the front rings, and any one of the 7 rear cogs - giving you 21 choices. i say "in theory" because (1) you'll find that there is lots of overlap in the way some of these gears feel, and you'll naturally start to use 3 or 4 of them way more than others; and (2) you don't want to stretch your chain cross-wise from the big ring in the front to the big cog in the rear (or vice versa, small ring to small cog), so some of the gear combinations are ill-advised (this is called getting 'crossed up' and your REI helper can show you what it looks like & what to avoid - it's not a horrible problem, but it's hard on the drivetrain & there are more optimal/efficient gear choices so you're best not to ride in a crossed up position).
intuitively, being in the middle of the rear cogset, as with the middle ring in front, is a mid-range effort position. from there, pedaling can get harder or easier, depending on how you shift. here is the tricky part : opposite of the front rings (where pedaling gets easier as you go from the large to medium to small rings), in the rear, pedaling gets harder as you shift from the large cogs to the smaller outer cogs. one easy way to remember this is that the closer you get to the bike, the easier pedaling becomes (the "easier" small ring and large cogs are set in very close to the bike frame & the "harder" large ring and tiny cogs are the farthest out from the frame).
other/general shifting tips : (1) i already mentioned, shift down to an easier gear before you get on a hill; (2) if you notice you are pedaling very fast or very slow, you are probably in the wrong gear & need to shift to normalize your pedaling rhythm, or "cadence;" (3) once you get used to shifting, think to shift down before you stop at intersections, that way when you start up you will not be in a hard gear to turn over; (4) avoid being crossed-up - often your chain will be noisy if you are crossed up because the angle puts the chain in contact with the front derailleur....
that's all i can think of at the moment - and probably waaaaay more than you were interested in reading. if none of this makes sense, ask questions & i'll try not to be so long-winded!
jenb, My wife's sister lives in Mannass VA. and I have riden in your area. There are lots of real nice bike paths up there, you should check them out. One is called the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD for short) and another runs from DC. to Mount vernon, The biggy is the C&O trail.
This would give you some places to ride that don't invole riding in the road, until you feel more comfortable with your new bike.
Oh BTW can you tell carri is a very enthusiastic cyclist and, might I add, very knowledgeable, LOL!! Nice post carri, you should write a book and save yourself rewritting that again.
DAN
This would give you some places to ride that don't invole riding in the road, until you feel more comfortable with your new bike.
Oh BTW can you tell carri is a very enthusiastic cyclist and, might I add, very knowledgeable, LOL!! Nice post carri, you should write a book and save yourself rewritting that again.
DAN
you folks are paying me by the word, right?
;-)
;-)
JenB: Hi! I live in Cheverly, PG County, just about where the BWI parkway crosses Rte 50. I commute from Cheverly to Greenbelt a couple of times a week -- maybe more as the Summer rolls on. I believe that Potomac Peddlers is the cycling club in your area (http://www.bikepptc.org/). But you live in the land of opportunity. You should check out the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (www.waba.org). They offer a number of classes. The next "Confident City Cycling" class is scheduled for June 16 at Hillcrest Recreation Center, D.C.. That will give you enough time to work on the suggestions that Carrie and Leinad have given you.
REI offers a number of courses -- some free and some not so free. Check the REI website under stores and events (or something like that). There is a Bike Maintenance 101 course at College Park on June 12. It's free and worth every penny of it. I sat thru it last year and picked up a couple of ideas. There is a general Road Cycling Course on June 10 out of the Rockville store and a Women's Road Cycling Course on June 23 out of the Bailey's Crossroads store. These last two courses are $55 each but I don't think that would be a bad investment.
Joe
REI offers a number of courses -- some free and some not so free. Check the REI website under stores and events (or something like that). There is a Bike Maintenance 101 course at College Park on June 12. It's free and worth every penny of it. I sat thru it last year and picked up a couple of ideas. There is a general Road Cycling Course on June 10 out of the Rockville store and a Women's Road Cycling Course on June 23 out of the Bailey's Crossroads store. These last two courses are $55 each but I don't think that would be a bad investment.
Joe
I've been in the DC area... actually stayed on Andrews AFB for a month or so while taking classes in various parts of MD & VA. I'm familiar with a lot of the bike paths up there.. and let me say... I think sticking with the parkinglot to begin with is definitely a good thing. Sure riding in the road to learn would be dangerous and you'd get honks and so on from cars... but riding on a busy bike path will get you many annoyed bicyclist as well as they try to navigate around you.
In the parking lot you can be pretty much to yourself (pending location and time.. etc)... and really get used to stuff without fear of getting on too many other peoples nerves.
The bike path I ride down here in AL is away from any truly big cities, yet even with the traffic we get on the bike path I wouldn't want to spend too much time on it trying to learn to ride better... expecially since it's not the widest path ever (most bike paths don't seem to be) so the margin of error is smaller.
So back to the parking lot... old black top... (sorry, Moonlighting Refrence in there ;) ...) where you can more easily practice turning and braking and so on without the pressure of others around.
But this is just my opinion. IF your bike path is relatively peaceful with few riders, then it probably would rock for atleast learning to get up to speed and so on... then save the parkinglot for learning t o turn effectively.. .pedal into turns and so on.
Brakes are easy to adjust. If you can't do it... sure you can take it to the shop where you got it.. or if your husband (I think you mentioned being married?) has any mechanical skills what so ever he should be able to adjust the pads. They are probably just too high and are rubbing.
In the parking lot you can be pretty much to yourself (pending location and time.. etc)... and really get used to stuff without fear of getting on too many other peoples nerves.
The bike path I ride down here in AL is away from any truly big cities, yet even with the traffic we get on the bike path I wouldn't want to spend too much time on it trying to learn to ride better... expecially since it's not the widest path ever (most bike paths don't seem to be) so the margin of error is smaller.
So back to the parking lot... old black top... (sorry, Moonlighting Refrence in there ;) ...) where you can more easily practice turning and braking and so on without the pressure of others around.
But this is just my opinion. IF your bike path is relatively peaceful with few riders, then it probably would rock for atleast learning to get up to speed and so on... then save the parkinglot for learning t o turn effectively.. .pedal into turns and so on.
Brakes are easy to adjust. If you can't do it... sure you can take it to the shop where you got it.. or if your husband (I think you mentioned being married?) has any mechanical skills what so ever he should be able to adjust the pads. They are probably just too high and are rubbing.
I extended my commuting routes today so I got in 31 miles. That gives me 148 miles for the week. Tomorrow is a day of rest. There is a big club ride planned for Sunday and I haven't figured out what I am going to do on Saturday.
Well, I ended May with 675 miles on the road bike. I guess I'll shoot for 750 in June.
Well, May is over and here is the damage so far
For the month , 1356 miles, new personel record!!
for the year 4685 miles, almost to my half way point. (10,000 total for 2007).
DAN
For the month , 1356 miles, new personel record!!
for the year 4685 miles, almost to my half way point. (10,000 total for 2007).
DAN
Your crazy Leinad! but good job!
Sunday is the race, although I plan to participate as a non-participant the weather is looking good!
Sunday is the race, although I plan to participate as a non-participant the weather is looking good!
Hmm... I haven't been pushing it much this last month. It was only the last day of April that I got my road bike. But Let's see...
250 min / 34 mile ride
various 4.4 mile rides... 8.8 total?
two 30 mile rides with my co-worker ... 60 miles
then 13 miles around at my inlaws... 13miles...
And then some riding around the neighborhood at various times... maybe 5 miles there.
Oh and 15 miles on one ride on the trail by myself
34
09 (rounding up)
60
13
05
15
__
137 miles for the month
Hmm... seems like it was more than that.. but hey can't complain since it's been a few years since I was riding around on my $50 k-mart special huffy mtb.
250 min / 34 mile ride
various 4.4 mile rides... 8.8 total?
two 30 mile rides with my co-worker ... 60 miles
then 13 miles around at my inlaws... 13miles...
And then some riding around the neighborhood at various times... maybe 5 miles there.
Oh and 15 miles on one ride on the trail by myself
34
09 (rounding up)
60
13
05
15
__
137 miles for the month
Hmm... seems like it was more than that.. but hey can't complain since it's been a few years since I was riding around on my $50 k-mart special huffy mtb.
Ok Dan, if I do 750 in June then you need to do 1500. lol.
I just took some time to create myself a bike log for last month. I bought a notebook for tracking everything (incase I reset my computer or something else)... now all my stats are done and I have listed out both how much I rode as well as the adjustments I made to the bike and when they were done.
I forgot to mention yesterday's ride.
30 miles with my co-worker again. Overall a good ride but I should have taken 2 water bottles with me instead of just one. Nicely though there is a waterfountain around the 1/2 way point.
The first part of the ride we were easily averaging over 17mph ... the way back and near the midway point I think we dropped to around 16mph. I ended up drafting a lot, but that helped out quite a bit in keeping the speed up.
I didn't reset my tripometer before hand... but I still had a good idea of what milage was on it before hand, so it made figuring out the halfway point pretty easy... plus the trail is marked so I couldn't really flub up.
I had adjusted my deraileurs on wednesday evening, oiled the chain yesterday before the ride, and my bike was shifting pretty buttery smooth for a change. I was having some problems getting into 7th on the back... now it's near instant change over :) ... on the front when going from 1st in the back and 2nd on the front into 1st on the front the chain would **gasp** jump off. It was easy enough to get it back on, but now this problem was solved as well.
I have a creak noise under normal to hard pedaling from what appears to be my right pedal area. So I'll work on tracking this down and fixing it this weekend.
Overall I think for my first month back on a bicycle in a few years I did pretty good. I'm learning more now than ever on bike maintanace... infact my old mtb is going to get some servicing this weekend as well :)
I forgot to mention yesterday's ride.
30 miles with my co-worker again. Overall a good ride but I should have taken 2 water bottles with me instead of just one. Nicely though there is a waterfountain around the 1/2 way point.
The first part of the ride we were easily averaging over 17mph ... the way back and near the midway point I think we dropped to around 16mph. I ended up drafting a lot, but that helped out quite a bit in keeping the speed up.
I didn't reset my tripometer before hand... but I still had a good idea of what milage was on it before hand, so it made figuring out the halfway point pretty easy... plus the trail is marked so I couldn't really flub up.
I had adjusted my deraileurs on wednesday evening, oiled the chain yesterday before the ride, and my bike was shifting pretty buttery smooth for a change. I was having some problems getting into 7th on the back... now it's near instant change over :) ... on the front when going from 1st in the back and 2nd on the front into 1st on the front the chain would **gasp** jump off. It was easy enough to get it back on, but now this problem was solved as well.
I have a creak noise under normal to hard pedaling from what appears to be my right pedal area. So I'll work on tracking this down and fixing it this weekend.
Overall I think for my first month back on a bicycle in a few years I did pretty good. I'm learning more now than ever on bike maintanace... infact my old mtb is going to get some servicing this weekend as well :)
Advertisement
New: Calorie Count Groups
Want to be a leader?Start your own group!
