Winds, head and tail; cadence, slow; hooks, good.
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PATRICK MOORE
May 25, 2012, 4:22:20 PM5/25/12
to rbw-owners-bunch
A hardly epic 30 miler today, tho' the first 10 was broken up by
finding with a flat at mile four that I had forgotten to re-attach my
frame pump to the frame -- I begged a loan and got to try a very nice
Lezyne -- well, not sure what to call it: let's say a miniature and
better made version of the Topeak Road Morph. Not bad at all, tho' too
big for my Banana Bag, so might as well stick with my PB Roadie,
better than Zefal, IMO. At any rate, after fixing the flat, I returned
home to pick up the pump and the resumed my ride.
Anyway. Even though the steady 35 gusts to 50 winds with smoke from
distant wildfires haven't occurred, the wind was still directly ahead,
SSW, at 28, so I spent 14 miles or more in the hooks pushing the 72"
gear into it. Nothing worth photographing, tho' the bosque trail is
pretty and pretty green, relatively speaking, at this time of year;
but I did get a brief glance at a wild mother duck and four or five
ducklings daringly doing a commando advance through the sparse ground
cover from an acequia on the east of the path to the River on the
west. Various large birds, probably geese and ducks, cast shadows
ahead of my front wheel as they flew back and forth. Low 80s -- very
mild and pleasant, tho' humidity was somewhat high at 10%. (I'm
kidding, OK?)
Odd: perhaps it's just age, but I find it easier on my lungs to push
that 72" gear at 70 rpm against a headwind than to spin it at much
over 90 with a brisk tailwind. The received wisdom that riding fixed
helps your spin hasn't been true for me; it's made me a masher. I used
to spin at well over 100 to routinely maintain over 20 a 65" gear (I
was younger and fitter then, of course, but 42/17 X26.5 or 36X14 X 25
were my preferred cruising gears. Now 80 in the 72" is comfortable.
Of course, this left me with no remedy when some young 30- or 40-
somethings passed me and dropped me like a brick: like trying to
accelerate a tractor engine. Oh well, it is good to learn, as you age,
that the flesh availeth nothing. My attempts to speed up were half
hearted and brief. (The secret must be carbon fiber ...)
Oh, and the green Curt fixie felt wonderful, as usual.
--
-------------------------
Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM
For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW
http://resumespecialties.com/index.html
-------------------------
A billion stars go spinning through the night
Blazing high above your head;
But in you is the Presence that will be
When all the stars are dead.
Rainer Maria Rilke, Buddha in Glory
finding with a flat at mile four that I had forgotten to re-attach my
frame pump to the frame -- I begged a loan and got to try a very nice
Lezyne -- well, not sure what to call it: let's say a miniature and
better made version of the Topeak Road Morph. Not bad at all, tho' too
big for my Banana Bag, so might as well stick with my PB Roadie,
better than Zefal, IMO. At any rate, after fixing the flat, I returned
home to pick up the pump and the resumed my ride.
Anyway. Even though the steady 35 gusts to 50 winds with smoke from
distant wildfires haven't occurred, the wind was still directly ahead,
SSW, at 28, so I spent 14 miles or more in the hooks pushing the 72"
gear into it. Nothing worth photographing, tho' the bosque trail is
pretty and pretty green, relatively speaking, at this time of year;
but I did get a brief glance at a wild mother duck and four or five
ducklings daringly doing a commando advance through the sparse ground
cover from an acequia on the east of the path to the River on the
west. Various large birds, probably geese and ducks, cast shadows
ahead of my front wheel as they flew back and forth. Low 80s -- very
mild and pleasant, tho' humidity was somewhat high at 10%. (I'm
kidding, OK?)
Odd: perhaps it's just age, but I find it easier on my lungs to push
that 72" gear at 70 rpm against a headwind than to spin it at much
over 90 with a brisk tailwind. The received wisdom that riding fixed
helps your spin hasn't been true for me; it's made me a masher. I used
to spin at well over 100 to routinely maintain over 20 a 65" gear (I
was younger and fitter then, of course, but 42/17 X26.5 or 36X14 X 25
were my preferred cruising gears. Now 80 in the 72" is comfortable.
Of course, this left me with no remedy when some young 30- or 40-
somethings passed me and dropped me like a brick: like trying to
accelerate a tractor engine. Oh well, it is good to learn, as you age,
that the flesh availeth nothing. My attempts to speed up were half
hearted and brief. (The secret must be carbon fiber ...)
Oh, and the green Curt fixie felt wonderful, as usual.
--
-------------------------
Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM
For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW
http://resumespecialties.com/index.html
-------------------------
A billion stars go spinning through the night
Blazing high above your head;
But in you is the Presence that will be
When all the stars are dead.
Rainer Maria Rilke, Buddha in Glory
Mojo
May 25, 2012, 9:30:16 PM5/25/12
to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Patrick, I am in your fare city visiting me wee mum. I am also preparing for Ride the Rockies. So at 6am I left Four Hills and climbed up to Sandia Crest. It was a lovely morning, just under 60 miles RT, with headwinds both ways at times. The smoke had mixed out significantly by 11. The Riv road was great as usual except for shiverinduced shimmy starting down from the top.
PATRICK MOORE
May 26, 2012, 3:12:13 PM5/26/12
to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
You are a better man than I. What sort of gearing do you use to climb
the Crest? I've been meaning to experiment with, say, a 46/20 for a
50" gear but frankly, for the short distances I ride, the land between
Tramway and Double Eagle is ample.
Not riding today because of the smoke.
On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 7:30 PM, Mojo <gjtr...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Patrick, I am in your fare city visiting me wee mum. I am also preparing for Ride the Rockies. So at 6am I left Four Hills and climbed up to Sandia Crest. It was a lovely morning, just under 60 miles RT, with headwinds both ways at times. The smoke had mixed out significantly by 11. The Riv road was great as usual except for shiverinduced shimmy starting down from the top.
>
> --
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the Crest? I've been meaning to experiment with, say, a 46/20 for a
50" gear but frankly, for the short distances I ride, the land between
Tramway and Double Eagle is ample.
Not riding today because of the smoke.
On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 7:30 PM, Mojo <gjtr...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Patrick, I am in your fare city visiting me wee mum. I am also preparing for Ride the Rockies. So at 6am I left Four Hills and climbed up to Sandia Crest. It was a lovely morning, just under 60 miles RT, with headwinds both ways at times. The smoke had mixed out significantly by 11. The Riv road was great as usual except for shiverinduced shimmy starting down from the top.
>
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/U_ppVcyFexgJ.
> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
>
--
-------------------------
Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM
For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW
http://resumespecialties.com/index.html
-------------------------
A billion stars go spinning through the night
Blazing high above your head;
But in you is the Presence that will be
When all the stars are dead.
Rainer Maria Rilke, Buddha in Glory
You
--
-------------------------
Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM
For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW
http://resumespecialties.com/index.html
-------------------------
A billion stars go spinning through the night
Blazing high above your head;
But in you is the Presence that will be
When all the stars are dead.
Rainer Maria Rilke, Buddha in Glory
PATRICK MOORE
May 26, 2012, 3:13:10 PM5/26/12
to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Actually, 46/20, which is about as much as the dropouts will
accomodate, is 56" -- much to damn high. S3X, perhaps, one day.
accomodate, is 56" -- much to damn high. S3X, perhaps, one day.
Mojo
May 26, 2012, 11:00:25 PM5/26/12
to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Well Patrick I cheat with those new fangled derailers. 50/36 & a 9 speed 12-27 serves all my paved mountain riding needs. Friday I used the 36x27 for a while climbing into the big headwind. It's a very pleasant climb & descent. Recommended.
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