Cyclists?

[djwesp]

So.... I'm interested to hear how many people besides Mr. Denney and myself are cyclists in here? I'm not expecting much response due to the stereotype of the instrument. (which I contribute to every time I touch a buffet) However, it be nice to hear from you guys.


As it is my first year here in the lonely state of Nebraska, I'm trying to con as many people as possible into doing the B.R.A.N. (Bike Ride Across Nebraska) that they have up here every year. Apparently this summer it is 510 miles (over a 7 day span) in the Northern part of the state (the only area that isn't as flat as a pancake)

[Rick Denney]

So.... I'm interested to hear how many people besides Mr. Denney and myself are cyclists in here? I'm not expecting much response due to the stereotype of the instrument. (which I contribute to every time I touch a buffet) However, it be nice to hear from you guys.

I'm not much of a cyclist any more. But the bikes are still there in case I go back to it. My knees and my nerves became problems for me, in addition to being burned out after working up to an Ironman triathlon. Now, I'm too fat to ride bikes, heh, heh.

Bloke is not foreign to the cycling concept. Nor is Chuck G. And Mike Solms was an uber-cyclist back in the day, known nationally and highly conpetitive in New York.

Rick "who traded some fun nostalgic stories with Mike several years ago" Denney

[Chuck(G)]

My lovely wife and I have been riding tandem since before we were married. It's how I courted her.

[chhite]

Once this crappy European fall/winter yuck breaks, I'm back on the paths. It's a fantastic way to stay in shape and I can go weeks without starting the car. That is, until I have to move a tuba. Back in college I used to ride to school with my 186 on my back. It wasn't far but it did the job.

I commute daily and sometimes take the really long way home to get a good workout in. We're lucky to have lots of cyclists in the band now. Makes it easy to find a riding partner.

[tuba72]

[quote="djwesp"]So.... I'm interested to hear how many people besides Mr. Denney and myself are cyclists in here? I'm not expecting much response due to the stereotype of the instrument. (which I contribute to every time I touch a buffet) However, it be nice to hear from you guys.


Welcome to Nebraska! Yes, it can be boring, but not as bad as driving through Nevada. My bike will get out as soon as the weather gets warmer(and it quits snowing). I need to take it to Cycle Works to get the seat checked(it keeps sliding down and cramps my knees up) I guess that's what happens when you cannot pass up a good buffett!

Gary

[djwesp]

So.... I'm interested to hear how many people besides Mr. Denney and myself are cyclists in here? I'm not expecting much response due to the stereotype of the instrument. (which I contribute to every time I touch a buffet) However, it be nice to hear from you guys.


Welcome to Nebraska! Yes, it can be boring, but not as bad as driving through Nevada. My bike will get out as soon as the weather gets warmer(and it quits snowing). I need to take it to Cycle Works to get the seat checked(it keeps sliding down and cramps my knees up) I guess that's what happens when you cannot pass up a good buffett!

Gary

Or as soon as it is warmer than 16? Cycle works in Lincoln? Are they affordable?

[tofu]

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[WoodSheddin]

Live to ride - 5000 - 7500 miles a year.
Both road & off-road single track.

Even ride to gigs when possible.

Hell yeah!

[ZNC Dandy]

I actually stopped playing tuba to be completely dedicated to cycling. Until I realized I didn't have the time or money to do nothing but that and have no job. I had a Colnago with Campy Record innards. Great bike. One of the only obnes I found that fit me, as I need a 63 1/2 frame.

[corbasse]

I'm Dutch and live in a country where cycling is the national sport. I also live in a town voted Belgium's most cyclist friendly several times. It would be weird not to cycle.
Furthermore, getting to work by bike for me takes 10 minutes. By car it would take 20-30 min. + $$ parking fees.
With my former instrument I cycled everywhere in town, but now I have a hard case and have to take it into town on monday morning and out again on saturday evening by car and practice at work.

[Gorilla Tuba]

I certainly don't ride like I used to. However, I am a former roadie. I raced for a few US Trade teams (3Rensho Ishiwata, GS Mengoni, and Shaversport/Nishiki) back in the 80s and for a German Pro-Am team (Zehlendorfer Eichornchen). I was a sprinter (crit specialist).

Now I am fat.... I am ok with it.

[dmmorris]

Now I am fat....

This is my legacy as well. Cycling was one-upon-a-time my favorite thing. Thre are still many bikes hanging from the ceiling in my garage. All very retro by today tech, but still quite usable. I'll never be svelt, but I started working on it last year. I jez wanna be able to hang with the rest of the over 50 crowd on the MS150 this year.

[tubatooter1940]

I loved to bike until I got my first motorcycle.
I am working on svelt but at my age I walk and do my stepper to save my weather knee.

[SRanney]

Cycling recently has been on my stationary trainer, but I did have a dream last night that it was warm enough to ride outside.

I'm currently in the process of building up a recovered steel-framed Raleigh into a commuter for the 14 mile round-trip. I think it'll be a 1x9; should be just fine for South Dakota.

SR

[Rick Denney]

I think it'll be a 1x9; should be just fine for South Dakota.

When I lived in Dallas, you only really needed two gears, the with-the-wind gear and the against-the-wind gear. You'd use the former when drafting. Roadies would also need a sprinting gear.

Then, I moved to Virginia. Virginia has hills. Steep hills. Not a week after moving here, I showed up for a club ride in Arlington, and the ride went through the neighborhoods in the vicinity. My biggest cog was a 21 and I nearly tore the handlebars out of the bike getting up some of those hills. Now, I would have to walk. I immediately went out and traded my 42 inside ring for a 39 and my cogset for one that went to 26.

When I did Ironman USA in Lake Placid (which is in the Adirondack High Peaks region), I installed a triple on my time-trial bike. My roadie friends laughed at me as they passed me. I saw a few of them again, however. As I was toiling up the final hill in my granny gear at Mile 105, I was reminding myself that when I "raced" in college, ten speeds were all we had and I had a 42-52 up front and a 13-17 straight block in the back. Times change.

Rick "who needs internal combustion to climbs hills now" Denney

[djwesp]

I think it'll be a 1x9; should be just fine for South Dakota.

Then, I moved to Virginia. Virginia has hills. Steep hills. Not a week after moving here, I showed up for a club ride in Arlington, and the ride went through the neighborhoods in the vicinity. My biggest cog was a 21 and I nearly tore the handlebars out of the bike getting up some of those hills. Now, I would have to walk. I immediately went out and traded my 42 inside ring for a 39 and my cogset for one that went to 26.

Rick "who needs internal combustion to climbs hills now" Denney

I know the feeling. Moving from the Ozark Mountains to Nebraska is a big change. My body type is much more suited to hill climbing (big thighs and heavy down for the pedals), and the flat plains make me feel slow and white twitch muscle fiber challenged.

I haven't changed anything yet, although i just got barrel bars, since i'm leaning forward a lot more now it is nice to have a place to rest my forearms.



They make such a big difference here where it is so flat. Never really had to crouch much in the mountains.

[Mark E. Chachich]

I do not ride as much as I used to. Other then recreational
cycling, I used one of my bikes to commute to my lab when
I was doing my doctoral studies.

Mark

[Rick Denney]

I haven't changed anything yet, although i just got barrel bars, since i'm leaning forward a lot more now it is nice to have a place to rest my forearms.

Aerobars have one purpose: To make riding in an aerodynamic position more comfortable.

Even at my fittest I was much bigger and heavier than the average cyclist. That was an advantage on flat time trials, because, except for a tiny effect from rolling resistance, weight only affects acceleration (either due to gravity or sprinting). But big guys have big legs. When I moved to Virginia, the little guys around here would park on my wheel on the flats and hang on for dear life (we are not talking about racers here), but then they would roast me on the first hill. I couldn't draft on them very well because I made too big a hole in the air to hide in their draft.

I was also trained in flat Dallas and my fitness was optimized for flat, windy conditions. The Virginians would suffer and complain on a windy day, while I'd be happy and dreading that upcoming hill.

Those aerobars are also useful in a long downhill, but only if you have nerve. At IMUSA, we had a 10-mile descent from Lake Placid into Keene. With my weight advantage, I would go fast down that hill--close to 45 mph. The first time, I was nervous and didn't feel like the aerobars gave me enough control. My triceps almost exploded holding my upper body in an aero position where my hands were on near the brake levers. On the second lap, I didn't care if I died and I stayed in the aerobars and went about 1 or 2 mph faster.

Here's a picture of me in 1979 dwarfing my college teammates (I'm the fat guy on the extreme right).



Rick "who doesn't fit into THAT jersey any more" Denney

[djwesp]

I haven't changed anything yet, although i just got barrel bars, since i'm leaning forward a lot more now it is nice to have a place to rest my forearms.

Aerobars have one purpose: To make riding in an aerodynamic position more comfortable.
Rick "who doesn't fit into THAT jersey any more" Denney

You aren't kidding. It definitely improves my speed on the long rides (although being that far over puts a lot more pressure on the family---or the future family, depends on how you look at it)


I think the biggest adjustment for me is trying not to muscle the bike around so much. Being this flat, I'm not shifting as much and catch myself in too high of a gear all the time. My cadence gets way too slow, a problem I don't have on the rolling hills i'm used to.


I've gained a lot more weight this winter than I usually do (about 40 pounds right now)---because it is too darned cold here. I've always been a white male Oprah, in that I gain and lose a lot of weight (have since DCI), but i need to level off eventually--- next winter needs to be healthier.

Wes

[tubabill]

I love me a good mountain bike excursion!!!