Cycling / Running - Logs, Stories, & Pictures (any fellow cyclists or runners here?)

[Shifty]

Anyone with cycling experience in the Los Angeles area?

No, but I bike a bit in San Diego. I did the 24 mile Bayshore Bikeway loop from the Coronado ferry dock all the way around San Diego Bay back to downtown last Monday, which is a great easy morning ride. And I do an evening bike ride across the border to Tijuana monthly on the first Friday of every month to meet up with a big Mexican biking group there and have some quality beer and tacos. If you ever come down south, hit me up for some good routes.

 

[Codz]

Interesting. I was planning on moving down to the south Los Angeles/Riverside area soon. Good to know.

 

[Urwumpe]

Does somebody know if Shimano pedals are sold in pairs or as singles?

I want to change my MTB from standard platform pedals to SPD clipless pedals for the this years bicycle season, so I can get used to it.

But shopping online is a bit confusing right now.

 

[Evil_Onyx]

Pedals are usually sold in pairs, and when they are not its usually specified.

 

[Codz]

Thinking about taking the [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_River_bicycle_path"]Los Angeles River bike path[/ame] sometime this Spring. Looks like it'd be quite the ride, going from Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles.

 

[Urwumpe]

Thinking about taking the Los Angeles River bike path sometime this Spring. Looks like it'd be quite the ride, going from Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles.

Looks like a cool trip. I used the first warm day this year for riding along the Mittelland canal to the Sülfeld lock and back. Was a lot more flat than usual, but faaaaaast...

http://www.google.de/maps/dir/52.41...0.6692433,8789m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m3!4m2!3e1!5i2

 

[Codz]

Nice. The trip I'm looking into is basically this route.

 

[Urwumpe]

Nice. The trip I'm looking into is basically this route.

Yeah.... some labels on the map just sound like the best of gangster rap. :lol:

 

[Codz]

Yeah.... some labels on the map just sound like the best of gangster rap. :lol:

Yeah, something like a grand tour...:rofl:

 

[Evil_Onyx]

With the good weather over the last week, I've dusted off my bike got it serviced and almost killed myself with my first 3 rides of the year. a 8.3km installation (post service) ride, a 15.4km through [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradgate_Park"]Bradgate Park[/ame] on a school holiday and a 14.2km ride today.
My aim this year is to loose 10kg and average 75km cycling and 2km swimming a week in September.

Anyone else setting themselves targets? If yes, then please share.

 

[Urwumpe]

Anyone else setting themselves targets? If yes, then please share.

Right now I only have one goal...

Get the new pedals installed on my MTB this weekend and the shoes configured.

Now have Shimano XT PD-M785 pedals and Vaude Kelby TR shoes, just need a free weekend with halfway good weather, because I want to clean the MTB before modifying it. I don't need dirt in the aluminium threads.

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Winner of Boston Marathon: 2:09:XX for 42+ km
Me an hour ago: 0:37:30 for 6 km
Not bad......

 

[martins]

Anyone else setting themselves targets? If yes, then please share.

Only that: being a bit less lazy than during winter. Which for now seems to be working. I've finally succumbed to pressure and got myself a smartphone, and use it mostly for tracking my rides. According to this strava app thingy, I've accumulated 790 km over the first two weeks of using it (including, I admit, also my commute rides, and not containing any ascents of note). Let's see how long the enthusiasm lasts ...

 

[Evil_Onyx]

Strava is good keep track of your rides and analyse them afterwords, so you can see where to improve.
I managed to injure myself last week(nothing to do with cycling) and have had to keep weight off my legs, I really want to go out cycling but know I will probably make things worse if I don't wait a while.

 

[Urwumpe]

I've accumulated 790 km over the first two weeks of using it (including, I admit, also my commute rides, and not containing any ascents of note). Let's see how long the enthusiasm lasts ...

Which means, you have gathered about ten times more km on Strava, than I had in the past two months of using it. :lol:

Finished modding my bike last week:

Now that the German weather is finally less hostile, its finally no problem doing some kilometers after work.

No special goals right now... but I would like doing the 25 km trip around the Hattorf Woods in 45 minutes at the end of the summer ... Right now, I need around one hour for it.

 

[steph]

Just bought a second-hand bike a week ago. I wanted it to be as simple as possible for simplicity's sake and for weight reduction, but after an off-road ride with it, I kinda wish it had at least some form of suspension, since it was a bone-jarring experience :lol:. Maybe a new fork, with adjustable suspension, would be a good idea, but I'm afraid to do such a major operation on it yet. As far as city-cycling and mild off-road goes, it's perfect.

I'm a bit afraid of it getting stolen. The place where I have to keep it (dorm rules, no bikes inside) is easily accessible from the outside, and there are people scavenging the garbage bins daily, literally feet away from it. What's worse, some guy started taking pictures of it a few days ago, then scampered away when confronted, which is really, really bad news. Since it's as basic as it gets, I was hoping it wouldn't be a good theft target, but it's going to be sitting almost permanently in a vulnerable location, so it's a worry.

I'm thinking of adding an extra anti-theft device between the front wheel and the frame. It's useless to have two anti-thefts between the front wheel and the bike support, if just cutting one is enough to be able to get away with the frame minus the front wheel, which would basically mean a total loss.

Edit: one major worry is that if anyone really wants to steal it, he could just unscrew the support and get away with the whole package, dealing with the anti-theft devices later in a safe location.

 

[steph]

Well...had to stop using the bike due to a certain ...ahem...numbness and loss of functionality problem. Funny thing is, this didn't happen on the first few rides, so I'm guessing the seat got a bit tilted in the wrong direction.

But it's been happening constantly for the last few times I've used it, and I've been using it almost daily, so it just dawned on me that if I keep doing this, I might end up with permanent issues. It's almost scary how quick the loss of feeling occurs ... not even 20 minutes after I start cycling, I can almost say I don't feel a thing there. The problem gets worse if wearing a backpack and/or during uphill rides.

So...off the bike for at least a few days to allow for complete recovery and then only use it after I've changed the seat. I've seen bike seats with gaps in the middle section to relieve pressure, but I think the problem might also be relatedd to how narrow the seat is, and an old-school, wide bike seat might be the solution.

 

[Urwumpe]

So...off the bike for at least a few days to allow for complete recovery and then only use it after I've changed the seat. I've seen bike seats with gaps in the middle section to relieve pressure, but I think the problem might also be relatedd to how narrow the seat is, and an old-school, wide bike seat might be the solution.

Many modern seats also expect you have some extra cushion in your pants to distribute the pressure.

You can simply measure where your hip bones accept the seat forces and then look if your seat is really too thin, often it can really be the case.

On my bike, the rather narrow seat is exactly wide enough, but I needed to change the angle a bit so all pressure goes on the right spots.

 

[steph]

Well, got another seat, but now the seat keeps coming loose in the seatpost clamp. Initially I thought I'd change the entire seatpost with one that has a simpler clamping system, but apparently the 29.5 seatpost that my bike has is very hard to find around here. I managed to keep it together with some plastic straps and I'm seriously thinking of gluing the damn thing together to make a more permanent solution. It's perfectly rideable anyway, so no real worries there.

The seat clamp is of the type where one long screw holds the whole thing together (about 3 parts, I think). Thing is, it was rock solid before I detached the old seat, so maybe I've done something wrong and that's why it keeps getting undone.

Well, with that problem out of the way and the brakes & derailleur adjusted, I can't wait to go on long trips with it. Planning on going to Mt. Vladeasa this weekend or the next. About 80 km to get there, with more than 1000 m in height difference at the end, but the roads leading there are quite ok. I'll leave on daybreak, and get there when I get there :lol:. The first 50-60 km of relatively level road should be done in at most 4 hours, but the final climb should be "interesting" . I'll stay the night there and do the return trip the next day.

 

[Soheil_Esy]

Bicycle World Record 207 mph 333 km/h

On November 7th of 2014, on the famous Circuit Paul Ricard located at Le Castellet in South of France, François Gissy has reached an incredible speed of 333 km/h on the rocket-propelled bicycle designed by his friend Arnold Neracher. More than 300 km/h on a skinny and completely stripped bicycle, this is amazing, and crazy! Who thought that one day a daredevil on a bicycle, with a rocket under the saddle, could travel the quarter mile in less than 7 seconds?

Data of the fastest run set on 7 November 2014:
Peak speed: 333 km/h (207 mph) attained after around 250 meters

November 12, 2014

Lying on top of his bicycle with three rocket engines attached to its shining frame, a French daredevil has broken the world record, covering a quarter mile in less than seven seconds, beating a Ferrari F430, and hitting a top velocity of 333 km/h.

Francois Gissy blasted off to glory at a motor racing circuit in Le Catallet, France, achieving a top speed of 333 km/h (207 mph) in just 4.8 seconds from a standing start and crossed the finish line in under 7 seconds.

Making his way to top speed required rocket propellant engines that work with highly concentrated 90% hydrogen peroxide. The rest of the bike is homemade. The frame was made together with friends in Spain. The brakes are ordinary rubber pads. The tires, however, are made for speed. They were tested by Michelin to 300 km/h for one hour with 100 kg load on each tire.


You had to be on the lookout Friday to see a plume of white smoke emerge from a frail bike on the Castellet circuit. In a second, the plume was gone, as well as the bike. Even the Ferrari F430 out for the occasion failed to keep up with the lightweight rocket bike. At the finish line, the GPS installed on the bike indicated he reached a top speed of 333 km/h. This is a new record for François Gissy and designer of the rocket motor Neracher Arnold.


“In all, we made three trials. The first to 166 km/h to take the matter in hand. We did a second test next to a Ferrari at 260 km/h. Then we filled the tank with more pressure and then we beat our old record at 333 km/h.,” Gissy told Corsematin online publication.

While thrilled with the achievement, it was not as “fun” as most people would think, he said, as his heart was “pounding” so much.


“Yes, there is a risk. That is why I am lying on the bike, to conduct a mass balance. The track also plays a very important role, it must be really smooth because if there is a bump, I could fly away,” Gissy said about his race. But to keep the race safe in case of any misfortunes, paramedics and a fire truck waited for him at the finish line.

The 32-year-old Gissy broke his own record of 285 km/h established on October 7, 2013 in Interlaken (Switzerland).

But Gissy still aims for more.

“We can go from 0 to 400 km/h in less than two seconds. But to design a more powerful bike, we would need sponsors,” Gissy said.

http://www.bicycleworld.tv/rocket-powered-bike-goes-333kph/news-666/