dropping roadies feels so good.

[ekoral]

oh, i love when a giant group of carbon roadies tell you that they're
"impressed" that you're climbing the same hill they are, on "that"
bike (atlantis). HA! and i proceeded to drop ALL of them with a giant
saddlebag full of fruit, clothes, book and bike lock.

damn that feels good.

Eli

[eflayer]

sounds competitive out there.

[dougP]

You'll be glad to hear that it's all in the motor, Eli. And maybe the
food you were carrying. One of my touring buds routinely drops me (on
my Atlantis) on long steady climbs on his 90s era Stumpjumper MTB.
It's main upgrade is Marathon touring tires.

dougP

On Nov 20, 11:56 am, eflayer <eddie.fla...@att.net> wrote:
> sounds competitive out there.

[dpco]

My Roadeo weighs about 2 lbs more than my Ti bike. I have the same wheel set up on both bikes. The only time I notice the weight difference is when I am lifting the bikes into my car. Actually, I prefer the Roadeo in the hills because I am more confident on winding, fast, downhills. Now, a loaded Atlantis is stretching a little.
Don

[Michael Hechmer]

I am reminded of a Friday night coming home from work.  My  career as a hospital chaplain was high stress and often left me drained.  I turned north for the last six miles feeling exhausted as I turned into a steady wind.  I plodded along without any energy when two guys in lycra went flying by me on mountain bikes, without so much as an "on your left"..  As I watched them go by I decided it was worth the effort to jump across the gap and get a pull home.  I lifted a couple of gears and bridged up to the pair of riders, but then quickly realized that that the second guy couldn't hold his friend's wheel, so I went around him and latched onto the lead back wheel.  He spent the next three miles trying fruitlessly to ride me off his wheel.  We reached a point where the road turned uphill.  Since I had ridden this road almost a thousand times I knew it got gradually steeper for the next 1 1/2 miles before reaching 10% for the last 1/4 mile at the top and knew that a rider needed to pace him/her self to avoid blowing up before the top.  I uncoupled, dropped into my little ring, let him go, and casually made my way  to the top of the hill.  When I arrived, I found my unwilling pulley doubled over, gasping for breath on the side of the road. I wished him a good day and turned down the dirt road, two miles from home.  It felt very sweet.

 

Michael,

take care of Self; it's one of a kind and irreplaceable

   

[René Sterental]

I, on the other hand, get passed by everyone and don't mind it a bit. I'd like to see them pulling/pushing my heft and see if they'd even be riding...

Not that I'm not trying to do something about it, just not quite succeeding yet. Getting passed is confirmation that I'm just not giving up yet.

Love your stories, though.

René

[Peter Pesce]

I had the opposite experience.

I saw a rider up in the distance as I approached the bottom of big hill. I was gaining, but not that quickly. As I caught up, I noticed it was a girl riding a comfort bike in flip-flops with her purse and some flowers in the front basket. Having just passed her as we approached the steepest 1/2 mile, I made a point to pick up my pace so she wouldn't be close enough to actually hear me wheezing as I climbed! I made it up the hill fast, for me, and pulled over to catch my breath. I had barely come to a stop when the flip-flop girl rode by serenely, barely 100 feet behind me.

That's the day I learned I am slow....

-Pete

[James Warren]

They're not.

I know stubborn people who stop just short of telling me that they wouldn't be caught dead ever attaching anything resembling a bag to their bike. It means that the kinds of rides I like to do (overnighters) are never an option for us planning group events.

-Jim W.

[newenglandbike]

It's been said that a bicycle without fenders is just a toy.    To me that's a little extreme, but makes a good point if the bicycle lives in an area that gets more than, say, 35 inches of rain per year.   However in my opinion it's not too extreme to say the same thing about provision for carrying cargo, however small (and not just water bottles).  

NOT that there's anything wrong with toys(!)-   but I think bicycles deserve a better purpose at least once in their lifetimes.

[Joe Bartoe]

matthi...@gmail.com said:

It's been said that a bicycle without fenders is just a toy.    To me that's a little extreme, but makes a good point if the bicycle lives in an area that gets more than, say, 35 inches of rain per year.   However in my opinion it's not too extreme to say the same thing about provision for carrying cargo, however small (and not just water bottles).  

NOT that there's anything wrong with toys(!)-   but I think bicycles deserve a better purpose at least once in their lifetimes.

I say:

I've run into many a racer and roadie that uses their high end road bike as their commuter vehicle. In fact, so have I. For 3 years, I commuted 4 days a week on average on my road bike, 15-20 miles each way. I used a courier bag or backpack, transporting my clothing and lunch each day, sometimes my laptop as well. When I get out for rides on the weekend, it's nice to feel unencumbered. The bike feels lighter and faster that way.

So, my road bikes are not just toys but transportation. Gloriously fast transportation. They are a tool that I use to get outside and stay fit. The idea that I somehow need to attach bags and racks to get usefulness out of my bike is ridiculous. There are times when it is appropriate, but even then I have a feeling that most on this list go a bit overboard.

Joe

Joe Bartoe
Synaptic Cycles Bicycle Rentals, Inc.
email: j...@synapticcycles.com
website: www.synapticcycles.com
Twitter: @synapticcycles
phone: 949-374-6079

---

Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:40:57 -0800
From: matthi...@gmail.com
To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [RBW] dropping roadies feels so good.

It's been said that a bicycle without fenders is just a toy.    To me that's a little extreme, but makes a good point if the bicycle lives in an area that gets more than, say, 35 inches of rain per year.   However in my opinion it's not too extreme to say the same thing about provision for carrying cargo, however small (and not just water bottles).  

NOT that there's anything wrong with toys(!)-   but I think bicycles deserve a better purpose at least once in their lifetimes.



On Monday, November 21, 2011 10:15:03 AM UTC-5, James Warren wrote:

They're not.I know stubborn people who stop just short of telling me that they wouldn't be caught dead ever attaching anything resembling a bag to their bike. It means that the kinds of rides I like to do (overnighters) are never an option for us planning group events.

-Jim W.

On Nov 21, 2011, at 6:53 AM, René Sterental wrote:
> I'd like to see them pulling/pushing my heft and see if they'd even be riding...

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[CycloFiend]

on 11/21/11 7:53 AM, Joe Bartoe at jba...@hotmail.com wrote:
> So, my road bikes are not just toys but transportation. Gloriously fast
transportation. They
> are a tool that I use to get outside and stay fit. The idea that I somehow
need to attach bags
> and racks to get usefulness out of my bike is ridiculous. There are times when
it is
> appropriate, but even then I have a feeling that most on this list go a bit
overboard.

I don't think anyone was saying that is the only way to make a bicycle
"useful". One thing is that the paradigm for buying a bicycle has been to
mindlessly mimic racing setups, which has several direct and indirect
effects on how the bicycle wants and tends to be used. When I roll home on a
rainy day, and someone passes me on an open wheeled racer which has been
fitted with seatpost mounted rear fender so that road spray still showers
them, it strikes me that they are using a less appropriate tool for the job.
Nothing more or less. I applaud the fact they are riding.

The other thing is that most of us have been on the receiving end of
semi-snarky "you got a picnic in that?" comments, which makes it perhaps a
bit easier to gloat when smilingly passing a pro-team-kitted rider on a
low-clearance bicycle. The more hours you ride, the more you realize that
outside of the upper echelons of serious racing circles, the bicycle iteself
makes much, much less difference

The point is, of course, that one person's "overboard" is another's "spartan
outing", and what should determine that is the rider's needs and choices.
My pack setup tends to morph with the seasons, as more layers demand greater
carrying capacity.

For me, I'm done getting sluiced during the winter, and I'm finished
stuffing my jersey pockets with clothing and layers and bars because my seat
pack only takes a tube, a mini tool and a patch kit. But, I still like
duking it out a bit on climbs with unknown riders, or seeing how hard I can
push it into a quartering crosswind.

Whether it's the loop into work, or longer rides, I'm the one I have to keep
happy, which is the whole point, eh?

- J

--
Jim Edgar
Cyclo...@earthlink.net

[Steve Palincsar]

On Mon, 2011-11-21 at 07:15 -0800, James Warren wrote:

> I know stubborn people who stop just short of telling me that they wouldn't be caught dead ever attaching anything resembling a bag to their bike. It means that the kinds of rides I like to do (overnighters) are never an option for us planning group events.

I think you should plan the events, and let those who wouldn't be caught
dead, etc., take their enjoyment in being left out. Maybe a touch of
envy would do them some good.

[William]

Jim

What I heard is that you've repurposed that figure of speech entirely.

Person A:  "Where you headed on that bike in this weather, Jim?"

Jim:  "I'm headed to the pub.  Gonna get sluiced tonight!"

Person A:  "Mind if I join you?"

Jim:  "The more the merrier!"

[Michael_S]

For some of us who have raced extensively at some point in our cycling lives ... you just can't get that "racer" mentality completely out of your body. Most of the time I'm happy cruising along along at nice pace. But something clicks and you go into that competitive mode and hammer. I find it remarkable that we can all exist peacefully on this forum regardless of our background and motivation. It's the quality that attracts me to the Rivendell ethos the most.

~mike

[Mojo]

I can see you just up the road Mike and its big ring&flat back now. I am after you!

[hobie]

It's about riding alot and not the bike. I see guys on carbon fiber who are monsters and great riders .I like my Rivs because of the versatlity and comfort. It's a good feeling though when you can pass a bunch of roadies riding carbon and they are younger. Then they see the fenders and all. I wonder if they think " I can beat that guy" or "If I can't hang with him I'll look like an ass". I love being 50 years young!!!!!! .   

[CycloFiend]

"Sluiced"?

Is that what the kids are calling it these days?

Hmmm.... ;^)

- J

--
Jim Edgar
Cyclo...@earthlink.net

Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries - http://www.cyclofiend.com
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"The bike between her legs was like some hyper-evolved alien tail she'd somehow extruded, as though over patient centuries; a sweet and intricate bone-machine, grown Lexan-armored tires, near-frictionless bearings, and gas filled shocks."

William Gibson - "Virtual Light"

[William]

The number of forums in which I could be considered fraternizing with the kids is dwindling  :)

Born in 1969 (69 dude!)

[Rick]

> The number of forums in which I could be considered fraternizing with the
> kids is dwindling :)
>
> Born in 1969 (69 dude!)

Ha. I was spawned in the Summer of Love, but am slower than
Christmas. I can add a variation on the theme, though.

Was out with some contemporaries, on a meander through some hills
south of town, and we pulled over for a second. One of us was on a
wife's Betty Foy, which drew a snarky "nice bike" comment from a young
lycra-clad carbon afficianado riding past. It was just before a nice
set of rollers that challenge my legs, but my buddy -- who is fitter
than your average fellow, even in his advanced years -- took Betty on
a quicker pace, caught, greeted, and dropped the critics, who
struggled to hold the line before bonking. I'm not generally amused
by random displays of machismo, but this one gave us all a chuckle.

[charlie]

Twas born in 58 so I can identify with the older part.....I've had my
moments blasting ahead of younger riders and those outfitted it tight
stretchy pants.....but I am under no delusions that I am winning any
racing events or that I am going to outride some younger riders out on
a recovery ride or feel gloriously smug passing them at the end of
their 80 mile training ride....."a mans got to know his
limitations" (Dirty Harry/Clint Eastwood)....and thats all I have to
say on this one.

[Bob]

When I was racing very, very long ago, our sponsor was the (French!)
manufacturer of some let's call 'em "basic" frames. We did
disproportionately well on those heavy, ugly things, substandard
wheels, too, and took pride in the fact our results were so good in
spite of them.

Shabby chic?

[Patrick in VT]

On Nov 20, 2:46 pm, ekoral <eko...@gmail.com> wrote:
>HA! and i proceeded to drop ALL of them with a giant
> saddlebag full of fruit, clothes, book and bike lock.
>
> damn that feels good.

i know the feeling. but i also know that this time of year, a lot of
really fast guys and girls are riding slowly (relatively speaking) to
build their base. getting fit and fast on a bike (or in any sport,
really) requires a fair amount of time doing things slowly and resting.

[Kelly Sleeper]

The plastic bikes (race bikes) are faster... and by a rather significant percentage point. It's still about the engine. I pass people going up hill and I'm 6'5" tall and 230lbs .. and I know that if it was me on the other bike weighing in at 207 lbs I wouldn't be passing me. Two equals at full on effort is when the difference kicks in. I do love watching those who are slower than I am working their tails off to get around me and or stop me from passing .. I guess it's the bell... :) or blue jeans, or long sleeve white shirt.. I think I showered this morning.. (sniffing underarms)

Kelly