Time of the year

[Lou Holtman]

As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle. Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every road ride my bike looks like this:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79

Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.

The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er) dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7

Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.

Lou

[AMuzi]

Yes! Have hope! There's more daylight every day now.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

[funkma...@hotmail.com]

This is my CX bike after my last race about a month ago.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jKhLb9TNVbFiu9yQA

- it rained heavily the previous day, and at racetime it was lightly raining and about 45 degrees.

[Tom Kunich]

The thing that irks me about this time of year is the usual heavy rains between the years where the state government is reporting "total drought"'. If you have a gravel bike there are plenty of gravel trails to visit. But although we are covered with hills in every direction most of them are not fit to ride in the winter since the drought years turns the ground into a fine powder that rain turns into a slush with near zero traction. Riding the bike in the rain is not a sport in the very heavy traffic that has poor visibility and not a whole lot of respect for bicycles though that has certainly improved in recent years as more people are forced onto bicycles for transportation but to go nowhere. More and more homeless and jobless people are being forced onto bicycles for any transportation at all and a large percentage of these are completely unaware of the rules of the road further alienating drivers.

On the positive side, I just bought a Cannondale "real" gravel bike with too fat tires and mechanical disks which will be changed over to hydraulics when the Douglas sells. As for the Douglas Ti, when I attempted to convert it to a gravel bike, I shortened the stem so that it is about the length of the Airborne and on a ride Monday, it was just as manageable. My seated position is a little high but I can always go to the drops in the descents.

The Cannondale will need some work such as reducing the tire width to 34 from 40 and hydraulic brakes from the cable disks. One converts to hydraulics because they are self adjusting and you have to continually adjust the mechanicals because pad wear is so fast if you ride in difficult terrain.

[Lou Holtman]

Ahh. We had a wet autumn. This means that I have to clean my CX bike after every ride because in the forrest it doesn't dry up the whole winter. By the end of Februari I'm fed up with that and I only go off road when its dry. Most of the times it means road season starts.

Lou

[Frank Krygowski]

This past year, I finished a rather unique project: a reflecting ceiling
sundial. Analemmas on the ceiling of my study mark 11 hours and half
hours, and seven hyperbolas mark the months, from solstice to solstice
and back.

On the 21st, we had a rare sunny day. It was nice to see the reflected
"sun dot" tracking along the solstice curve, the most northerly one.

From here, the sun dot moves southward. Things will get brighter. Merry
Christmas and happy holidays to all.


--
- Frank Krygowski

[Frank Krygowski]

On 12/23/2021 7:06 AM, Lou Holtman wrote:
> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle. Yuck.

For nearly a decade I lived in a southern U.S. state. Northerners (or
"Yankees") were moving there in droves because of the climate. I moved
there to take an engineering job.

The climate drove me nuts. Spring was beautiful, but summers were
oppressively hot and humid, and winters were as Lou describes: gloomy
and wet.

I much prefer this northern climate. Snow is much more pleasant than
cold rain, for biking or for hiking.

--
- Frank Krygowski

[funkma...@hotmail.com]

That sounds really cool. Did you get a pattern somewhere for the analemmas or did you plot them yourself?

[Frank Krygowski]

I do think it's cool. It turned out to be much more interesting - and I
dare say beautiful - than I anticipated. It also turned out to be much
more difficult, and much more educational. It took several years.

I began it on a whim, after reading that Isaac Newton did something like
this when still a boy. When I started, I didn't clearly understand what
an analemma was, and was surprised my first hundred data points were not
on straight lines. I then went down a sundial rabbit hole, learning a LOT.

Partway through the project I took a crack at calculating coordinates of
data points. If my mirror chip had been precisely horizontal, that would
have been feasible, although complex. (Developing the equations required
a couple pages of trig coupled with Descriptive Geometry.) But I found
that my mirror was tilted a tiny bit southward, making the math too
complex for me. So ultimately it was all empirical. But as a result,
it's extremely accurate.

Here's a link to a less than wonderful photo.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/16972296@N08/51770098481/in/dateposted-public/

That was taken just after 11:30 in the spring. The sun dot is visible
between the Wright Flyer model and the tandem silhouette.

--
- Frank Krygowski

[funkma...@hotmail.com]

That's amazing! Nice work! Artistic as well! I was thinking about how you would compensate for parallax between the reflector and subsequent angle of the ceiling. Sounds like that math is as tough as I thought it would be.

[AMuzi]

Very nice!

[Sir Ridesalot]

That's why I like full fenders on my winter bike. Those fenders sure do stop a lot of crap from getting onto the bike. Full mud/water spray flaps help keep even more crap off my feet and bike.

In some ways I like rain over snow because once the sun comes out the roads quickly dry. It isn't nice riding in rain when the temperature is just above freezing though. I kind of like riding when it's snowing because I don't get wet. However the snow sticks around and melts a bit in the daytime if the temperature is above freezing and then that melt water freezes at night or in the shad and makes riding interesting. Like so many things in life either has advantages and disadvantages.

Merry Christmas to all.

Cheers

[Lou Holtman]

Nice! You have to replace the wallpaper though :-)

Lou

[Duane]

The snow has become more or less permanent here in Quebec and probably will
be there until April at best. -17 tonight. I admire the ones out riding
in this but I’ve lost interest. I’m mostly in my basement on my trainer
now except for skiing or snow shoeing.

Thanks for the non Covid, non TX, non political post. Been a while since
we’ve seen that here.

[Frank Krygowski]

On 12/23/2021 4:16 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
> On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 7:06:49 a.m. UTC-5, lou.h...@gmail.com wrote:
>> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle. Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every road ride my bike looks like this:
>>
>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
>>
>> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
>>
>> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er) dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
>>
>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
>>
>> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
>> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.
>>
>> Lou
>
> That's why I like full fenders on my winter bike. Those fenders sure do stop a lot of crap from getting onto the bike. Full mud/water spray flaps help keep even more crap off my feet and bike.

I like full fenders on all my bikes. The only serious downside I've
experienced is a bit more difficulty transporting the bike.

Specifically, I had to trim the bottom edge of front fenders slightly to
allow use of our axle-clamp roof rack; and if I throw my bike into the
rear of the hatchback, turning the handlebars (as is necessary) makes
the rear half of the fender protrude and take up space.


--
- Frank Krygowski

[John B.]

I, on the other hand, moved to a tropical country(s) and enjoy it
immensely. Warm rain is (so) much more pleasant then cold rain for
biking or hiking (:-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

[Lou Holtman]

No doubt that full fenders make sense for a road bike used in the winter. Although that bike has eyelets to mount full fenders and I have even a set lying around I didn't installed them because:
- that bike is used on road (winter) and off road (summer) and off road fenders are a PIA so I have to take them off. Too much of a hassle with full fenders.
- off coarse I don't go for a ride when is raining cats and dogs in winter time and for light drizzle or only wet roads I have good clothes/shoes
- like you said fenders make handling more troublesome,
- interfere with the ease of cleaning. Now I pop out the wheels put the bike in the stand with a tensioned chain and within 30 minutes it looks like new because everything is easy accessible with the right brushes, sponge and my secret potion :

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pRZ5ybQWi1cfYZEH8

Lou

[Lou Holtman]

That are brutal conditions. We don't have that here. I think when we had I would picked up cross country skiing.

Lou

[Frank Krygowski]

On 12/23/2021 6:42 PM, Lou Holtman wrote:
>
> No doubt that full fenders make sense for a road bike used in the winter. Although that bike has eyelets to mount full fenders and I have even a set lying around I didn't installed them because:
> - that bike is used on road (winter) and off road (summer) and off road fenders are a PIA so I have to take them off. Too much of a hassle with full fenders.
> - off coarse I don't go for a ride when is raining cats and dogs in winter time and for light drizzle or only wet roads I have good clothes/shoes
> - like you said fenders make handling more troublesome,
> - interfere with the ease of cleaning.

That latter is a benefit vs. detriment thing. I suppose fenders may slow
the cleaning process a bit, but they also greatly reduce the need for
cleaning.

I'll confess to cleaning my bike no more than twice per year.

=

I may have told this, but: Recently my wife and I were riding to our
credit union, taking a shortcut through the local forest preserve and
adjacent meadow. I didn't realize the usual path through the meadow was
unavailable and the rest of the meadow was very wet. We emerged with a
very muddy bike.

So I telephoned a friend living very nearby, explained my problem and
asked if we might stop and borrow a hose. He said "Do you know what you
just interrupted? Me using my pressure washer." So I guess that counts
as an extra time washing my bike.


--
- Frank Krygowski

[funkma...@hotmail.com]

Though not as brutal as Quebec, things are getting wintery here in north eastern MA as well. I joined a co-op studio last year, so spending a lot of time here:

https://www.tribreakaway.com/

https://www.strava.com/activities/6398673982

[AMuzi]

On 12/23/2021 7:40 PM, funkma...@hotmail.com wrote:
> On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 5:09:47 PM UTC-5, Duane wrote:
>> ELou Holtman <lou.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly fond
>>> of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the main reason
>>> for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess and most of the
>>> times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a row a light drizzle.
>>> Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers here are harvesting their
>>> beets and leeks and they are installing a fiber optic network in the
>>> remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet soil on the roads. After every
>>> road ride my bike looks like this:
>>>
>>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
>>>
>>> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike gets
>>> dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
>>>
>>> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got cold(er)
>>> dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that everything dries up so quickly.
>>>
>>> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
>>>
>>> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post.
>>> Happy holidays even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all my hope.
>>>
>>> Lou
>>>
>> The snow has become more or less permanent here in Quebec and probably will
>> be there until April at best. -17 tonight. I admire the ones out riding

>> in this but I’ve lost interest. I’m mostly in my basement on my trainer

>> now except for skiing or snow shoeing.
>
> Though not as brutal as Quebec, things are getting wintery here in north eastern MA as well. I joined a co-op studio last year, so spending a lot of time here:
>
> https://www.tribreakaway.com/
>
> https://www.strava.com/activities/6398673982
>

Here as well. It's been mild for this season, not below zero
F yet and no snow.

Which sorta offsets the freeze on Decoration Day which
killed a garden full of tomatoes. Oddly although it's not
cold now, our summer, while pleasant, was never hot.

[Andre Jute]

May Father Christmas bring each of you a pair of SKS P65 mudguards/fenders for each of your bikes. -- Andre Jute

[Duane]

It’s not unusual to see -30C here. -40 is not impossible. It’s not really
the cold that keeps me from riding though. I ride outside until the ice
comes. The snow/slush/ice/salt is no longer any fun. Add to that the
reduced visibility and sliding cars.

I’ve tried XC skiing a few seasons. I prefer downhill. We have a lot of
nice slopes near Montreal.

[Duane]

I lived in Boston for 5 years. You get a lot of snow though not as cold as
here. I remember some nice ski slopes in New Hampshire.

[AMuzi]

On 12/24/2021 1:08 AM, Andre Jute wrote:
> May Father Christmas bring each of you a pair of SKS P65 mudguards/fenders for each of your bikes. -- Andre Jute
>

Hmmmm. I'll keep my British steel mudguards thanks.

[Lou Holtman]

Never liked the queues for the lifts.
After a couple of clear days we are back to 'normal'. Gloomy and a drizzle; 8 C.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iRxCcX6WkpGazBhw6

Lou

[Tom Kunich]

On Thursday, December 23, 2021 at 11:08:32 PM UTC-8, Andre Jute wrote:
> May Father Christmas bring each of you a pair of SKS P65 mudguards/fenders for each of your bikes. -- Andre Jute

I have a Cannondale Optima gravel bike on the way and perhaps that will be good for fenders. I will have to judge that after a few rides on the gravel routes around here. Knobbies tend to need something to catch detritus thrown up on your back.

Poor John believes that I have to sell bikes to eat. This is the sort of mind that old really sick people have.

[Tom Kunich]

It is supposed to clear this morning through noon before the rain starts again so I might be able to get a short ride in. Otherwise it is suppose to rain the rest of the year while the Sierra Snowpack is building up really deep. But I'm certain that the Democrat Government in California will insist that we're in another drought and we all have to practice water conservation measures.

[AMuzi]

>>>> in this but I’ve lost interest. I’m mostly in my basement on my trainer

>>>> now except for skiing or snow shoeing.
>>>
>>> That are brutal conditions. We don't have that here. I think when we had
>>> I would picked up cross country skiing.
>>>
>>> Lou
>>>

>> It’s not unusual to see -30C here. -40 is not impossible. It’s not really

>> the cold that keeps me from riding though. I ride outside until the ice
>> comes. The snow/slush/ice/salt is no longer any fun. Add to that the
>> reduced visibility and sliding cars.
>>

>> I’ve tried XC skiing a few seasons. I prefer downhill. We have a lot of

>> nice slopes near Montreal.
>
> Never liked the queues for the lifts.
> After a couple of clear days we are back to 'normal'. Gloomy and a drizzle; 8 C.
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/iRxCcX6WkpGazBhw6
>
> Lou
>

As I mentioned yesterday it's been relatively warm with
almost no snow. Still, anything around zero C can be more
dangerous than actual cold weather:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2021/12/23/joe-biden-signs-als-bill/4841640279547/

[Roger Merriman]

The Optimo is a road race bike, with rim brakes only.

https://www.cannondale.com/en/bikes/road/race/caad-optimo

The SuperSix and Topstone are the Gravel offering. The Suppersix being a
CX/Gravel hybrid apparently.

Roger Merriman

[Tom Kunich]

Well, this is disk brakes and room for 40 mm tires. https://www.ebay.com/itm/125013485870?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

[Tom Kunich]

I think that a lot of stuff changed when they went from the aluminum chassis to the carbon fiber.

[Roger Merriman]

the bike does look good particularly for the price, though my experience
with cable disk I’d not go back to them, if anything rim brakes where
better.

Hopefully it’s rather drier where you are and your hopefully gentler, I am
after all a MTB at heart so do push gravel bikes quite hard.

Roger Merriman

[John B.]

As I have so often commented you really don't understand what you
read, do you Tommy. I never said that you needed to sell second hand
bikes to eat.

But them, those with severe mental problems do have a tendency to see
whatever they want to see when reading the printed page. Have you
talked to your psychiatrist about the medicine I suggested? It might
help with your dementia.
.
--
Cheers,

John B.

[Tom Kunich]

Well, my preference is for CX V-brakes and 32 mm tires but I would ride it for awhile to make up my mind. The bike can easily be set up for standard wheels and cyclocross V-brakes and the 9-speed DuraAce group is really nice. The rear derailleur is a medium length arm. So it will shift a 32. It appears that the front is a 52/39 and around here that simply wouldn't work. Well, not with me anymore.

[Tom Kunich]

So, you're having onset of dementia aren't you? Just as you said that you had never drawn your military retirement. Then you said you had. And then you said you haven't. I suppose that should come as any surprise to someone that thinks that socialized medicine is the cat's meow.

[Tom Kunich]

On Friday, December 24, 2021 at 2:59:11 PM UTC-8, John B. wrote:

By the way, some of the off-road rides around here are pretty difficult but not especially hard for a 29er with full suspension. The only problem I had with the roads around here with my Trek HiFi was the weight of the thing. But when I caught up with these guys on the trails I could blast right by them so fast on the uphills that they couldn't catch me in the really difficult parts where given an equal footing they would ride right by me. A large part of the "Bay Trail" is simply gravel. Some parts are paved but they are a minority. If you really wanted to work at it you could entirely circle the bay. I think that it is the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge that allows bicycles but it is scary as hell because the traffic going by is doing 80-90 mph. The lane you use looks more like a breakdown lane than a bike lane. Then at the end of it you have to ride on the edge of the freeway for a hundred yards or so before the off-ramp into Richmond which isn't exactly the "friendly city by the bay" where it isn't unusual for the Richmond police to go out to their cars to find bullet holes in them.

[John B.]

On Fri, 24 Dec 2021 15:12:45 -0800 (PST), Tom Kunich

No Tommy, it is simply another example of your inability to understand
what is written....

I admit that originally I attributed your shortcomings to your lack of
education but as you so frequently demonstrate, the truth is that you
live in some imaginary world where you are all knowing and always
right.

In milder cases it is called "Narcissistic personality disorder which
is defined as "a mental condition in which people have an
inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive
attention and admiration, troubled relationships, and a lack of
empathy for others".

But from reading your posts it is apparent that you have long passed
the point of a "disorder" and are now suffering from full grown
dementia.

I did suggest Xenex a medicine that has a calming effect on people
with your problems but apparently you have yet to try the medicine.
Perhaps it is, as you have said that you no longer patronize
legitimate pharmaceutical firms, that the cut rate places you
patronize do not carry the medicine.
--
Cheers,

John B.

[Tom Kunich]

Oh, so now among your other talents at which your education was in some manner different from my own you are now a medical doctor. It isn't far before you're making Biden look normal.

[John B.]

On Fri, 24 Dec 2021 15:42:49 -0800 (PST), Tom Kunich

Your education? You mean not being capable of graduating from High
School? While I not only finished High School but went on the 2 more
years of "higher education". Not a lot by any means but more then you.
And, I might add had finished my apprenticeship by the time I finished
high school and not only received a high school diploma but also a
certification from the "Manufacturers Association" stating that I was
a Journeyman Machinist.

As for Medical Doctor. No I have no education in that field however
although I do see a Cardiologist quarterly because of my pacemaker and
we chat a bit and when I described your antics, the rapid changes in
topic and threats of bodily harm when you were proven incorrect and he
stated that individuals that exhibited those symptoms quite frequently
"went completely mad" - I'm translating from the Thai here - and
became so "sick" - another translation - that they needed to be "put
away" - yet another translation.

He also mention that if the dementia had not progressed too far that
there were medications that might prove helpful, in some cases.

So you see Tommy, when I suggested Xenex I wasn't wrong. It might help
you.
--
Cheers,

John B.

[funkma...@hotmail.com]

Some years yes, some years no. We had the snowiest winter in several decades about 7 years ago, followed the next year by a 65 degree Christmas day - I went out on my mountain in shirts and a single layer jaersy that day.

[funkma...@hotmail.com]

And once again, kunich feels the need to derail an otherwise pleasant thread with an unsolicited insult.

[funkma...@hotmail.com]

And once again, kunich feels the need to derail an otherwise pleasant thread with a denigrating political comment. Fer fucks sake sparky, even Andre simply posted a well-wish here, what is your fucking damage that you feel the need to turn everything you touch into a steaming pile of shit?

[Duane]

Yeah that’s true. When I moved there in 87 I heard the horror stories of
people stuck on 128 in THE blizzard. It was pretty cold that wind (for
someone from New Orleans) But I do remember riding on some Christmas days.

We can get warming spells here during winter but it’s not a good thing.
The snow melts and then everything ices up when the temperature drops
again.

[AMuzi]

>>>>> in this but I’ve lost interest. I’m mostly in my basement on my trainer

>>>>> now except for skiing or snow shoeing.
>>>>
>>>> Though not as brutal as Quebec, things are getting wintery here in north
>>>> eastern MA as well. I joined a co-op studio last year, so spending a lot of time here:
>>>>
>>>> https://www.tribreakaway.com/
>>>>
>>>> https://www.strava.com/activities/6398673982
>>>>
>>>>
>>> I lived in Boston for 5 years. You get a lot of snow though not as cold as
>>> here. I remember some nice ski slopes in New Hampshire.
>>
>> Some years yes, some years no. We had the snowiest winter in several
>> decades about 7 years ago, followed the next year by a 65 degree
>> Christmas day - I went out on my mountain in shirts and a single layer jaersy that day.
>>
>

> Yeah that’s true. When I moved there in 87 I heard the horror stories of

> people stuck on 128 in THE blizzard. It was pretty cold that wind (for
> someone from New Orleans) But I do remember riding on some Christmas days.
>

> We can get warming spells here during winter but it’s not a good thing.

> The snow melts and then everything ices up when the temperature drops
> again.
>

+1
Treacherous especially when the wind blows snow over roads
glazing them as the temperature drops

[Sir Ridesalot]

+1

It's the same here in the part of Ontario that I live in. It makes for very interesting riding.There's not a enough continuous ice to warrant studded tires. The melt water that freezes is only in patches on the roads. It's a time when riding on a dirt road or shoulder is easier.

Cheers

[Tom Kunich]

Riding gravel in the winter around here is better since the ground really is very muddy (see levels over the eons goes up and down so the ground is ALL previous bay bottom or powdery type of mud). The gravel trails are just that - filled over with gravel every now and again as the old gravel works its way down into the mud. Eventually there is enough weight in the underlayer to maintain the gravel more or less permanently.

[John B.]

Growing up in "up state" New Hampshire we used to see that. "Black
ice" they called it where the snow had melted and then it froze and
the blacktop road had a thin coating of ice. The first winter I drove
I hit a patch on a corner. I was smart enough to be driving slowly but
I came around a fairly sharp corner saw the pavement turn "shiny" and
stepped on the brake. The car did a complete 365 degree spin, slowly,
and stopped nose into a bank. No damage except to me... I was scared
out of my wits.
--
Cheers,

John B.

[Andre Jute]

On Saturday, December 25, 2021 at 12:56:41 PM UTC, Duane wrote:
>When I moved there in 87 I heard the horror stories of
> people stuck on 128 in THE blizzard. It was pretty cold that wind (for
> someone from New Orleans) But I do remember riding on some Christmas days.
>

Ha! People here still talk about how, when we first came to live here, I walked around in a long sheepskin coat -- in the middle of the (so-called) summer. -- AJ

[Duane]

Lol

[funkma...@hotmail.com]

Not black ice, but this happened yesterday:
https://www.topinfoguide.com/breaking-news/seabrook-nh-car-accident-atleast-50-vehicles-involved-in-multi-vehicle-pile-up-crash-in-i-95/

[funkma...@hotmail.com]

I was a sophomore in high school when the blizzard of 78 happened. Nearly 3 feet of snow in 36 hours. It caught the entire state off-guard. shut the state down for nearly 3 weeks.

[William Crowell]

Lou H. wrote: "I am not particularly fond of this time of the year."

Here in the Sierra foothills, mother nature gets even with us during the Winter: During the Spring, Summer and Fall we have a veritable plethora of most excellent rides, starting at the end of our driveway, so no car travel is required. But the Winters are wet, cold and miserable! I normally don't even go out on my hardtail MTB, let alone my road bike, during the coldest parts of the Winter, unless I get a really bad case of cabin fever, and decide to put on lots of layers of clothing. Now I understand why old people like to buy that second house in Arizona and live there during the Winter.

[Tom Kunich]

The present forecast makes it look like I will be able to put in the 40 miles necessary to hit my target. I will be heading out as soon as it is light enough. Right now it is 40 degrees and won't get much warmer so I can look forward to another 30 minutes shower to warm up when I return since the way back will be directly into the wind.

[Roger Merriman]

That bike doesn’t seem to have the frame mounts for V brakes, to be honest
cable disks are better than wide CX canti but only just and a lot more
faff.

My climbs tend to be short steep and at the moment muddy, so traditional
gearing is going to be hike a bike, which is tedious!


Roger Merriman

[Frank Krygowski]

On 12/26/2021 9:14 AM, William Crowell wrote:
>
>
> Here in the Sierra foothills, mother nature gets even with us during the Winter: During the Spring, Summer and Fall we have a veritable plethora of most excellent rides, starting at the end of our driveway, so no car travel is required. But the Winters are wet, cold and miserable! I normally don't even go out on my hardtail MTB, let alone my road bike, during the coldest parts of the Winter, unless I get a really bad case of cabin fever, and decide to put on lots of layers of clothing.

That's one of several reasons I think "Bike lanes will transform
America" is a crazy idea. Before I retired I did a fair amount of
utility riding in winter, but here in northeast Ohio there were lots of
times bicycling just made no sense.

--
- Frank Krygowski

[Tom Kunich]

I looked closer at the rear triangle after I mentioned it and realized that there were no lugs like on the fork.

But maybe you can answer another question. TRP makes a cable actuated hydraulic brake. It has a built in master cylinder so it would self adjust the pads until they are work out. Do you know anything about these and if they work worth a damn? My experience with TRP is that they make very well engineered components.

[AMuzi]

+1
Even an 'every damned day' rider knows that some days are
stupid for a bicycle. When the beer trucks are up over the
curb sideways, a street is no place for a bicycle.

[Duane]

+1

[Duane]

+1

[Roger Merriman]

A friend had one for years, yes they are better than just cable. In terms
of power and feel, this said few years back he upgraded to full hydraulic
and definitely improvement.

They are quite expensive for what they are.

Can also get cable disks with twin pistons which again are touch better
than the standard single piston disk.

Essentially as hydraulic moves down the food chain, very little reason for
cable disks. And even less technical improvements.

My Gravel bike came with sora and cable disks I went though a few brakes as
the mechanism got trashed by the mud and what not, and tried twin pots
which where better in terms of power.

I did toy with cable operated but in the end getting shifters brakes plus
new cassette and rear mech, was though not cheap was worth the cost vs
performance.

I mainly got improved braking and a sealed system that like the MTB needs
the pads changed and the dead sheep washed out of it bar that it’s happy to
be left alone for most part.

I did also get a slightly wider gear range but it was mainly the braking.

For yourself I suspect your likely to be less MTB type use and bog
snorkelling.

This said only real advance cable activated has is feel/power so I’d see
how it feels stock first and once bedded in etc.

Roger Merriman.

[Tom Kunich]

The problem with changing to full hydraulics is changing from the 130 mm rear spacing 9 speed Dura Ace to something either a great deal more expensive or lower grade.

But I agree that riding it for awhile to see if it even needs improvement under the conditions I'll be riding is a good idea.

[funkma...@hotmail.com]

right, unless you have empty pannier bags it's hard to get away with more than a six-pack......http://truckspills.com/beer/

[James]

On 23/12/21 11:06 pm, Lou Holtman wrote:
> As I have already mentioned a few times here I am not particularly
> fond of this time of the year. The lower temperatures are not the
> main reason for this but the shorter daylight, the general gloominess
> and most of the times everything is wet. We had for two weeks on a
> row a light drizzle. Yuck. Combined with the fact that the farmers
> here are harvesting their beets and leeks and they are installing a
> fiber optic network in the remote areas I ride in leave a lot of wet
> soil on the roads. After every road ride my bike looks like this:
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZAxFi3nwoNGMnsL79
>
> Most of the time I just wipe my chain clean and dry because the bike
> gets dirty again the next ride. Long live wax based lube.
>
> The wind changed to the East the last couple of days and we got
> cold(er) dry air and clear skies. It always surprises me that
> everything dries up so quickly.
>
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/9dsY3t5GwYUdFPtG7
>
> Anyway just a non Covid, non TK, not political post. Happy holidays
> even to those who don't really deserve it. I just haven't lost all
> my hope.
>
> Lou
>

We're having a lovely summer here in Northern NSW, Australia. The
subtropics are living up to their name. Frequent rain and high
humidity, cool a times, and then hot and steamy. Some exciting storms too.

I've been riding my gravel bike more, but yesterday it was dry and cool
so I rode my road bike. 80km at 31.8km/h, solo. Nice round trip to
collect a new leather washer to make my Silca floor pump operational
again. Now I have Silca smooth pumping action again. Yo, baby!

--
JS

[Tom Kunich]

The politics here in the US is driving me nuts. Everything is "man-made global warming" which they have had to change to "Climate Change" so that they can claim that if it is hot it's because of climate change and if it's cold its because of climate change. Actually the climate has not been warming - since 1920 every warming indicator has been down SHARPLY.

So after they predicted another dry year we now have well over 200% the yearly average until this time which means that it will be well over average for the entire year. But they have stopped telling us where we stand to the normal yearly average. So, I managed to get in ONE ride in the last two weeks and today is sunny but 45 degrees so even though I could do with a ride I'm not going out. I'll ride tomorrow which is also supposed to be clear. And Saturday and possibly Sunday Jan 1.

[Frank Krygowski]

On Thursday, December 30, 2021 at 3:23:09 PM UTC-8, cycl...@gmail.com wrote:
> The politics here in the US is driving me nuts.

Then quit bringing it into a bicycling discussion group. And quit pretending your politics are science.

- Frank Krygowski

[AMuzi]

Any day which conforms to their theory is 'climate change',
proof positive. Any day not conforming is 'mere weather' or
'anecdotal'.

Hope that helps.

[Andre Jute]

Wasn't there a character in Alice in Wonderland who could and would "believe 61 impossible things before breakfast"... That's what global warming is like.

Andre Jute
See separate thread at https://groups.google.com/g/rec.bicycles.tech/c/icu9C57Y3XE

[Tom Kunich]

Perhaps it will help Frank who has NEVER known anything that will even pass for science. Science doesn't come from the center. It comes from the outer fringes of science. The moronic graduates these days don't even have a passing clue what science is - to them a peer reviewed paper is science. Actual science is something that they don't even begin to understand. He doesn't even understand that Thomas Edison didn't have a degree and Nickoli Tesla was so far in the outer fringes that he might as well not have.

Right this very moment when NOAA is telling everyone that the Arctic Ice is melting away, we have the largest expanse of ice since the survey in 2012 which was by far the largest ever measured. But Frank finds comfort in lies and the pretense that I, who actually was a scientist, don't know what I'm talking about when time after time my comments or predictions turn out to be true. That poor sick little mind can't comprehend the fact that I called the CDC on their PCR testing on covid-19 on every possible forum and FINALLY as of midnight tonight, PCR is no longer allowed to be used to detect covid-19. Poor little Frank has had absolutely NO experience with science and wants to use his knowledge of exactly nothing to counter my comments. Frank doesn't even seen to know how to patch innertubes.

[Tom Kunich]

Since 1920, every single indicator of atmospheric heating has been down, a LOT. We appear to be over the hump of the interglacial period and dropping down into another Ice Age. But it is possible that this is only a variable climate since the Ice Age is still 200,000 years off. So I won't worry about it.

[AMuzi]

> - SNIP A LOT-
> ...how to patch innertubes.

As we look forward to a new year (in hope or dread as each
personal case may be) I'm going to break my habit of
avoiding personal comments and ask you, please, during your
New Year's morning ride, to reflect on any time in your life
when a personal insult prompted someone to respond to you
with, 'Gee I guess I am a complete idiot; you're right on
every point and assaulting my character, capacity and my
beliefs was a big help! Thanks so much!'

I'll venture that has never happened and I'll bet it never
will, for you or anyone else.

[Lou Holtman]

I am looking forward to my New Years morning ride. It is always so peaceful. It looks that the streets will be dry for the first time this week and it will be 'ridiculous' warm for the time of the year (15 C). I hope the km's of the coming year will be as pleasant as the 11839 km of this year )I have closed the 'book' yesterday). Have a save New Years eve.

Lou

[Tom Kunich]

Andrew, you are quite correct. I have a t-shirt that says, "I'm an engineer so let's all just assume I'm never wrong" so my attitude must be common enough that others notice it. Talking to other engineers one can discuss things in a rational manner. What drives me nuts is the couple of people here who are pretend engineers that know absolutely nothing but think they do. While I was working for one of the foremost scientists in the world, one of them is bragging about knowing science because he worked on marine radios and the other had one real job which made him feel unknowledgeable so he took a job as a teacher repeating things from a BOOK. We both know what Jobst would have had to say about him. Learning from a book is but a start. I read all of the books that would have gotten me a bachelors degree and was learning the realities of the world as well. I was rather taken aback to discover that I had a degree in ship's navigation. And from a prestigious school in Marin County as well. To listen to these people droning on as if they had any idea of what they were talking about is like standing in front of a cage of chimpanzees listening to them chatter.

[Tom Kunich]

Well, you out distanced me by half again. I will go out this morning when the temperature gets high enough that my multiple layers will keep me somewhat warm. Only 25 miles or so. Another 25 miles tomorrow on New Years Day. I invited everyone but figure no one will show.

There are no quiet periods here ever. So be happy where you live. But I'm used to the sound of cars speeding around the turn a coupe of houses over. The owners of those properties either park old junkers out on the street to keep them from driving up into their living rooms or fill the driveway with their vehicles since if they are parked out in front they are destroyed. The city has placed steel poles in front of the turn behind that so drivers don't go into their house for the 10th time since I've lived here. But despite Frank's claim otherwise, we have less crime here than in Boston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago and New York City.

And no one bothers me. Even at 77 they know better than that. So it's time to go on a ride. Have a wonderful new year.

[Frank Krygowski]

On 12/31/2021 11:01 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>

[Much nonsense blathering trimmed]

>
> Right this very moment when NOAA is telling everyone that the Arctic Ice is melting away, we have the largest expanse of ice since the survey in 2012 which was by far the largest ever measured.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/nasa-finds-2021-arctic-winter-sea-ice-tied-for-7th-lowest-on-record

Tom, you've got to stop getting all your news from whacko sources.
They're playing you for a fool.


--
- Frank Krygowski

[AMuzi]

> I am looking forward to my New Years morning ride. It is always so peaceful. It looks that the streets will be dry for the first time this week and it will be 'ridiculous' warm for the time of the year (15 C). I hope the km's of the coming year will be as pleasant as the 11839 km of this year )I have closed the 'book' yesterday). Have a save New Years eve.
>
> Lou

Best wishes and yes, we'll be out tomorrow morning as well:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/NYD.html

[Tom Kunich]

Those sources are the US Weather Service and the Swedish ice survey. But that is what you call wacko sources. I suggest you make some common and long appointments with your psychologist.

[Tom Kunich]

Well, I just got back from a 27 mile 1300 foot of climbing ride. It was cold but I was dressed fairly well for it. Well, I really have to wonder how often I forgot to make entries in my diary. While I only have 4,011 miles on the Garmin because for quite a while I was going for light weight and used a small light altimeter/computer. I had the Garmin on only one of my four or more bikes. And in that 4,000 miles I have over 118,000 feet of climbing whereas, in my diary with over 5,000 miles I only have 98,000 feet of climbing.

I guess for 2022 I'll keep all of my records on the Garmin and then I can check it against my diary to see how often I forget to make entries.

[Frank Krygowski]

On 12/31/2021 3:35 PM, Tom Kunich wrote:
> On Friday, December 31, 2021 at 9:31:58 AM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>> On 12/31/2021 11:01 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>
>>
>> [Much nonsense blathering trimmed]
>>>
>>> Right this very moment when NOAA is telling everyone that the Arctic Ice is melting away, we have the largest expanse of ice since the survey in 2012 which was by far the largest ever measured.
>> https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/nasa-finds-2021-arctic-winter-sea-ice-tied-for-7th-lowest-on-record
>>
>> Tom, you've got to stop getting all your news from whacko sources.
>> They're playing you for a fool.
> Those sources are the US Weather Service and the Swedish ice survey. But that is what you call wacko sources.

And your sources are... ?

--
- Frank Krygowski

[Tom Kunich]

Frank, You can believe absolutely anything you want and you show that you do. Why don't you explain to us all about Zombies and elves and trolls?

[John B.]

But Frank, if Tommy were to "get his news" from accredited sources it
would demonstrate that he doesn't know what he is talking about.

But, since "Tommy is never wrong" it must be that the accredited
sources are incorrect.

Which, of course, makes sense to Tom, if not to the rest of the world.
--
Cheers,

John B.

[Ralph Barone]

It was nice to have a couple of days off from the squabbling, but I guess
that’s over now.

[Andre Jute]

The problem with "accredited sources", what educated non-communists used to call "journals of record", is that today they aren't in the news business but in the slanted opinion business, wholesale bias, zero facts. It you believe the mainstream media, whether what they put in or leave out, you're a fool, and if you have the privilege or contact with someone like Tom or me, or any other professional sceptic (and, for your information, all true scientist are professional skeptics -- read Karl Popper), you're a willing fool and therefore all the more contemptible. Anyone on RBT who still believes in Global Warming after I've explained why the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age make it virtually impossible, is on a religious trip, nothing to do with science, whatever the NYT claims. If you really want to know about global warming, read the earliest IPCC report, which flatly denied there was any such thing, then read the executive summary, written by civil servants, not scientists, which claimed exactly the opposite. If you want something to keep your old age busy, making a comparison between the facts in the main body of each IPCC report, and their opposites reported in the executive summary, which is what politicians and "journalists" work with.
>
Andre Jute
It's not so difficult to keep your head straight if you trust no one.

[Andre Jute]

Were you planning on filling the space Slow Johnny, Franki-boy and the incompetent bullies would leave, Ralph? Or are you just whining because you're a whiner, like you did on RAT? -- Andre Jute

[Andre Jute]

On Friday, December 31, 2021 at 9:34:48 PM UTC, cycl...@gmail.com wrote:

> Frank, You can believe absolutely anything you want and you show that you do. Why don't you explain to us all about Zombies and elves and trolls?
>

I'd rather hear about Lady Godiva in the altogether under her hair. On her bicycle, of course. -- AJ

[John B.]

Well, yes. As Tommy grows older his frantic efforts to prove he
really, truly, is wonderful seem to increase.
--
Cheers,

John B.

[Frank Krygowski]

I'm sorry.

If people pledge here to never believe any of Tom's nonsense, I'll stop
posting links to disprove that nonsense.

At least, as long as I can.


--
- Frank Krygowski

[John B.]

On Fri, 31 Dec 2021 19:51:04 -0500, Frank Krygowski

<frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>On 12/31/2021 7:10 PM, Ralph Barone wrote:
>> John B. <sloc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Fri, 31 Dec 2021 12:31:55 -0500, Frank Krygowski
>>> <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 12/31/2021 11:01 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> [Much nonsense blathering trimmed]
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Right this very moment when NOAA is telling everyone that the Arctic
>>>>> Ice is melting away, we have the largest expanse of ice since the
>>>>> survey in 2012 which was by far the largest ever measured.
>>>>
>>>> https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/nasa-finds-2021-arctic-winter-sea-ice-tied-for-7th-lowest-on-record
>>>>
>>>> Tom, you've got to stop getting all your news from whacko sources.
>>>> They're playing you for a fool.
>>>
>>> But Frank, if Tommy were to "get his news" from accredited sources it
>>> would demonstrate that he doesn't know what he is talking about.
>>>
>>> But, since "Tommy is never wrong" it must be that the accredited
>>> sources are incorrect.
>>>
>>> Which, of course, makes sense to Tom, if not to the rest of the world.
>>
>> It was nice to have a couple of days off from the squabbling, but I guess
>> that’s over now.
>
>I'm sorry.
>
>If people pledge here to never believe any of Tom's nonsense, I'll stop
>posting links to disprove that nonsense.
>
>At least, as long as I can.

I suppose that it is akin to the 18th century practice of visiting
"Bedlam" to view the demented and even, on occasion, renting a stick
to poke them with.
--
Cheers,

John B.

[Ralph Barone]

As do your efforts to refute him.

[Ralph Barone]

Frank Krygowski <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> On 12/31/2021 7:10 PM, Ralph Barone wrote:
>> John B. <sloc...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Fri, 31 Dec 2021 12:31:55 -0500, Frank Krygowski
>>> <frkr...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 12/31/2021 11:01 AM, Tom Kunich wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> [Much nonsense blathering trimmed]
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Right this very moment when NOAA is telling everyone that the Arctic
>>>>> Ice is melting away, we have the largest expanse of ice since the
>>>>> survey in 2012 which was by far the largest ever measured.
>>>>
>>>> https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/nasa-finds-2021-arctic-winter-sea-ice-tied-for-7th-lowest-on-record
>>>>
>>>> Tom, you've got to stop getting all your news from whacko sources.
>>>> They're playing you for a fool.
>>>
>>> But Frank, if Tommy were to "get his news" from accredited sources it
>>> would demonstrate that he doesn't know what he is talking about.
>>>
>>> But, since "Tommy is never wrong" it must be that the accredited
>>> sources are incorrect.
>>>
>>> Which, of course, makes sense to Tom, if not to the rest of the world.
>>
>> It was nice to have a couple of days off from the squabbling, but I guess
>> that’s over now.
>
> I'm sorry.
>
> If people pledge here to never believe any of Tom's nonsense, I'll stop
> posting links to disprove that nonsense.
>
> At least, as long as I can.
>
>

As Andy noted recently, when the rhetoric gets strong enough and the
positions are far enough apart, nobody ever gets convinced that they are
wrong. Based on that, I’m sure that an absence of rebuttal from you won’t
have any net effect on what people believe.

[Ralph Barone]

In the event that you hadn’t noticed, it is no longer the 18th century.

[John B.]

On Sat, 1 Jan 2022 02:38:35 -0000 (UTC), Ralph Barone

Not so much "refute" as to simply reveal the reality (:-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

[Duane]

Mine will be some exotic locale. Ridden in my basement. 😊

Enjoy. And happy new year.

[Duane]

+1000000

[Andre Jute]

I don't see that Tom is the party to blame here. There's a whole gang of thugs on RBT who constantly invent reasons to attack Tom. He has a right to defend himself. especially when he's right. Here's an example: the RBT Gang of Thugs have been abusing Tom for two years now as a liar and deluded and a fool etcettcetc ad nauseam for saying, with examples and excellent logic, that COVID admissions and deaths in American hospitals are vastly overcounted. Now the COVID establishment is finally admitting the same thing:
*****
"One important thing. If you look at the children that are hospitalized, many of them are hospitalized with COVID as opposed to because of COVID. And what we mean by that, if a child goes in the hospital, they automatically get tested for COVID, and they get counted as a COVID hospitalized individual when they may, in fact, go in for a broken leg or appendicitis or something like that. So it's over counting the number of children who are 'hospitalized with COVID' as opposed to because of COVID," --- Dr. Anthony Fauci on MSNBC, reported at https://townhall.com/columnists/katiepavlich/2021/12/31/fauci-finally-admits-covid-data-is-garbage-n2601272
*****
That scum who have failed to leave a mark on Tom in more than two years -- that's just about a definition of incompetence -- can make a good start on the long process of redeeming themselves by fulsomely apologizing to Tom on this point. I'll be presenting other points on which they should abase themselves in shame for being stupid or at best mindlessly gullible, in each case with the same result, abusing Tom for bothering to dig out the truth they didn't want to admit.
>
Andre Jute
No scapegoating on my watch, thank you very much.

[Lou Holtman]

If he was your neighbor would you be constantly shouting over the fence? Try harder.

Lou

[Tom Kunich]

My apologies and I won't let them tempt me again.

[Tom Kunich]

People without scientific training are never skeptics and instead are led by the nose like pigs via a ring through their nose. Again the bicycling content is that you can LIVE YOUR LIFE despite the lies of the politicians that there is this dangerous disease called covid-19. There IS this disease but it is far less dangerous than the seasonal flu. Unless it was your practice to go into hibernation to avoid the flu you shouldn't change your practices now.

[Tom Kunich]

At least I am using the CDC statistical pages. Even though I have shown everyone how to find them, people like John and Frank cannot do it. They prefer the words from the mouths of politicians that mean us ill.

[Frank Krygowski]

I understand the point, and in fact, I've generally stayed out of
climate change discussions. It's obvious that Tom and a few others are
impervious to facts.

But check this particular sub-thread on climate. My contributions were
very brief: one factual link from NASA, and one request for Tom's
source of information. Those weren't attempts to change Tom's mind. They
are for any readers who are still open to facts and logic.

If posts like those are to be forbidden, then the big liars and the
conspiracy theorists will have free rein.

--
- Frank Krygowski