Latest Blahg, Leah, sheep

[Patrick Moore]

I don't look for wisdom from Grant's blogs, but they do provide refreshingly honest and positive interest. 

I don't want a low-normal rd or new sweepback bar, but I do like reading about Rivendell bicycles and their riders.

This appealed: 

At the very end the ride, maybe 3/4 mile left, the leader for the 15 mph group whizzed past us. I said to my group, “Should we chase him?” They laughed because surely I was joking - no one had anything left in their legs after such a windy ride. I didn’t know if it was against the rules to break from the group but we were so close to the end that I decided to try. I chased and caught and even passed the rider, but when I got to my vehicle where my legs were jelly and my voice was raspy. Ok, maybe it was a little hard.

I don’t *really* care about beating people but I DO want them to know you can ride a steel, upright bike and be plenty fast and relevant and comfortable. I think that is my mission in this club

I expect Leah does have something of that "type A" competitive personality, and good for you!

Goats. Frankly, I like them better than platypuses. But they're close to sheep, and reading Grant's ecomium (I'll bet you have to look that up) of goats, it reminded me of this, stuck in mind from years and decades ago. Bad Child's Book of Beasts by Hillaire Belloc, illus. Lord Ian Basil Gawaine Hamilton Temple Blackwood, 1896.

The Cambrian Welsh or Mountain Sheep Is of the Ovine race, His conversation is not deep But then—observe his face!

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Patrick, ha! I am a type A personality. I have never been competitive though, so this feeling of needing to be quick is new to me. In club riding, I have discovered it is fun to go fast, and it’s also fun to explore where one stacks up in comparison to others. I’m sure if I move to the faster class I’ll be thoroughly humbled. We’ll see on Monday!
Leah

[Ryan]

Somehow I don't think you'll be humbled, Leah

All those years of schlepping your sons' excess stuff up and down "Killer Hill""  on your school runs, plus all the running and strength training you do will , I'm sure, stand you in good stead. And you have your not-so-secret weapon; a Raspberry Racing Platypus😊

[Joe Bernard]

The question is what she would do on one of those 16 lbs. carbon racers. Borrow one, Leah! Let's find out! 🤪

Joe "in the slow group" Bernard

[Ryan]

don't know about carbon but I could easily imagine Leah on a Roadeo...just sayin'

[Patrick Moore]

+1. Sell your Platypus, Leah. It's not enough. You need a tricked-out Roadeo with aero wheels and 6" drop between saddle and bar and a 56 X 11 top gear.

I recall the pleasant feeling of riding my mountain bike long ago, with those horrible 1990s tires that were the equivalent on pavement of riding into a 25 mph headwind, and passing men my age (early 40s back then) on hi-zoot road bikes. I didn't do this nastily, but it did give me an egotistical thrill when I passed at a brisk speed differential and oh, so casually! waved a forefinger, with the obligatory "nice bike!"

The response was often a muted snarl. OTOH, I recall reeling in a roadie in the distance a few years ago and, about to pass him, he sped up. He was like me a grizzled graybeard, and we played passing tag for a few miles -- old man slow motion; we would have snarled at each other but we were too out of breath. We raced along side by side at exactly 14.743 mph.

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[Leah Peterson]

Patrick - Sell my Platypus? For some soulless road bike? This Platypus was forged from elven fires and painted in a color so wonderful that it didn’t even exist so we had to create it. There’s only one Raspberry Platypus on God’s Green Earth and it’s a racing Platypus, which makes it rarer still. Oh no, if I cannot ride the Racing Platypus in the club rides then they are not worth riding. I mean, would you expect Pam Murray to ride a road bike and not her Betty Foy? Unthinkable! 

I’m happy you relate to besting other riders though - I did laugh as I pictured you racing the graybeard at 14.7 mph - which is plenty fast, by the way.

Ryan - I blush at your confidence in me. I will give an honest report if I get to hang with the faster group on Monday. Even if they kick my Platypus tail.

Joe - Nope. I don’t even want to borrow a soulless road bike. Being forced to orient myself to the head-down, lean forward position would probably demonstrate for the group an excellent crash. They would have to take time to gather and package all my body parts, which would have a definite negative impact on their pace. 

Leah

On Apr 30, 2022, at 4:17 PM, Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Garth]

Isn't the point of Leah riding with her group to show people you don't need a carbon bike like everyone else, don't need to wear the same clothing as everyone else, or even ride like everyone else ? Keeping pace can be in an infinite variety of ways :)  Many cyclists have never seen such a bike as Leah's, they just assume that every bike is like theirs, or what they see at a bike shop. They have no idea what such a bike feels like to ride. Just keep doing what you're doing . Not that you need to be told to be yourself .... !

Non-conformity ..... that's what all the World thrives on, oh hell, there is no World without It. This doesn't infer isolation or going lone wolf .... on the contrary .... you will never feel more connected, more involved ... with Everyone !

Goats ?

Goooooooooooooats !

I like Goats too.

I regularly ride to a group of rural homes where 2 families have goats across the street form each other. They are so much fun , so fascinating, so playful and their expressions on their faces priceless.  Words ? Who need words ? Communication is an "inside job" , you know ? All that "space" between the lines, in the "silence".... Hah !  Far from empty ..... it's full of Life ! 

[Julian Westerhout]

I would imagine and hope that the point of Leah riding with her group is for Leah to enjoy herself riding her bike in the company of others ...    Just ride.      :) 

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, IL 

[Joe Bernard]

Garth said: 

"Isn't the point of Leah riding with her group to show people you don't need a carbon bike like everyone else, don't need to wear the same clothing as everyone else, or even ride like everyone else?"

Yes, I'm (mostly)* being facetious cuz I know there's no way she's going to ride one. As she so eloquently explained! 

*I am curious how crazy fast she would be but we'll never know. 

[Mike Godwin]

When I lived in the East Bay of SF Bay Area, a popular route for the racey crowd was along Mt Diablo Blvd in Lafayette. I would take my tricked out folding Peugeot coaster brake 20-inch bike with a plastic white basket with appropriate plastic flower to Ace Hardware. I changed every part on the bike I could with aluminum bits, plus Velocity rims of course. I'd get up speed and spin that sucker out and draft the racey boys. So much fun. Ace Hardware was 1-mile sprint, I was kind winded after that, but it was so much fun to annoy the carbon crowd. 

Mike much slower now in SLO CA

[Eric Marth]

Congrats again Leah on joining up with a group who aren't quite on the same page as you regarding frames, riding style, practicality and the rest. It will be interesting to see how the group changes over time. 

Has anyone borrowed a Platypus? Have you gone on a double Platy ride with your mentor? I'm curious for the carbon riders' impressions after their first spin with a Riv. 

Happy riding :) 

[Richard Rose]

Hmm, there is a possibly underlying impression / theory that the bike one rides somehow defines them. I am approaching 67 years of age & have been riding my whole life & a lot since around 20. Huffy clunkers & borrowed Schwinn Stingray’s as a kid led to my PX10 as a newlywed. Other steel road bikes followed. I did triathlons for a while. Never much cared for aluminum or carbon road bikes. But then I discovered MTB. Went from riding very competitive big group road rides to solitary ones in the woods. Steel, aluminum & finally carbon full suspension bikes. I actually abandoned road biking. But the trails are not always accessible. So kind of rediscovered the road but differently - backroads & gravelly ones. Mostly alone. That and back problems got me thinking about a Riv & a Clem in particular. Today I am equally happy riding my Clem as I am my beautifully designed & crafted Ibis Mojo 3. One constant for me has been my fascination with the folks behind these bikes. From Richard Sachs to Grant Peterson to Roxy Lo. They all love bikes. All kinds of bikes & all kinds of riders. I find myself in each of them. Just a friendly Sunday morning ramble.

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On May 1, 2022, at 9:41 AM, Eric Marth <eric...@gmail.com> wrote:

Congrats again Leah on joining up with a group who aren't quite on the same page as you regarding frames, riding style, practicality and the rest. It will be interesting to see how the group changes over time. 

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[Steven Sweedler]

Richard thanks for the mention of Roxy Lo.  Interesting story   Steve

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Steven Sweedler
Plymouth, New Hampshire

[Richard Rose]

My favorite Industrial Designer. Hers is a fascinating story.

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On May 1, 2022, at 10:36 AM, Steven Sweedler <swee...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[lconley]

Not so long ago, I could draft the bike club on this for a few miles. The tires are Surly Black Floyds - think Rene Herse tires in 26 x 3.8. Light bikes accelerate faster, but don't really do much for top speed.

Laing

[Patrick Moore]

That's great! And lovely bike. I'm curious how small a Q factor you can get with such tires, with a SS drivetrain. I daresay it won't get below 160 mm?

I'd love a bike like that to replace the sandy-path Monocog with 700C X **2.8 mm** tires, as long as I could keep the Q to 160 or less...

What is the weight of those things? FWIW, my 700C Schwalbe Big Ones, in the lightest model, measure 61-62 mm on Blunt SS rims and weigh 450 grams on a digital scale, lighter than any RH tire in the same size category.

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