May 27 daily ride reports :)

[SadieKate]

But then how about "Mature" gears?

All of my bikes are very maturely geared. Not a double in the house. Now that I live in flat-ter land, I do wish I had an 11 to go with my 52, though...

How about "wisdom" gears?

My 48x11 on Magpie is a taller gear than the 50x13 on the Litespeed. Long shallow hills can sure make you yearn for big gearing.

Bikeless, find a long hill also so the fatigue factor will help you decide. Short rollers are too tempting to power up and not give you enough of a slog-it-out test.

[SandyLS]

19 mile ride today on Paint Creeek Trail. It is crushed limestone and I was on my road bike so I didn't get up much speed. Strangest thing I saw was another biker with a parrot pearched on his handlebars. Both rider and bird seemed to br having a good time! What a beautiful day in Michigan for a ride!

[withm]

I test rode Trek FX 7.6 on Thursday evening. That red is nice.... and the bike handled like a dream but I ultimately decided against it for several reasons, the main being the the lack of a triple chain ring. Yes, they thought it could be changed, but thought it would be easier to buy a bike that already had one. However my wrists were very un-comforatable with the flat bar, which was by the way, much too wide for me. They said they could cut the handlebars down, and put on bar ends, but again, would rather buy a bike that already fits, rather than making it fit. I did ride it about 7 miles (no computer, not sure what I did unless I repeat it on my own bike, including the getting sort of lost part).

I had thought it would be a good commuter bike, that I could put racks on it, and ride the 12-13 miles one way to work. My commute has one pretty good hill for being right at sea level, but to me it may as well be a mountain. The 7.6 just wasn't going to do it for me.

I'm thinking now to get an aluminum road bike to use for errands and commuting, since I'm looking for dropped bars for more hand positions, triple chain ring, sturdier frame than my Pilot, and possibly tires a tad wider than 700x25, Even thinking of the Pilot 2.1 for this, or trek 1500. The shop has also suggested a Specialized Roubaix but they don't have one in my size right now for me to try.

The problem is I am so spoiled with the Pilot.... anything less seems, well, WAY less. LOL!

Sigh. Martha

[tulip]

I have a REALLY nice road bike, much nicer than I need. I love it and want to ride it all the time. It's the nicest thing I own, well, besides my front porch and my garden, which the bank mostly owns, whereas I own my bike outright. I went out for a 50-miler today, and only made it 10 before the sidewall of the tire blew out. The TIRE, not the tube.

The tire had some dry rot. You never know how long tires have been hanging around the shop. I got my bike in October, but the tires, while unused, were suffering from exposure to air. Check your tires for those tiny cracks and signs of age (tires, not face!)

[Tuckervill]

If you read Bicycling magazine, you'll have read about this Little Rock trail in the editor's column in the most recent edition. (http://www.rivertrail.org/)

We did the North Little Rock side from Cook's Landing to the end, about 7 miles, where the trail was closed off for Riverfest (www.riverfestarkansas.com).

My husband, who has never been on a ride longer than 3 miles, did all 14 miles with no problems. I knew he could, even though he has health issues with his knees and feet. It's a rather flat ride on that side of the river--some rollers and switchbacks. But it's through some really great scenery and rugged areas and we had a whole herd of deer cross in front of us. The trail was very crowded, but everyone was friendly. I noticed a distinct lack of dogs. Lots of over-40 guys with no helmets...what's that about?

I was also happy for my hubby to see lots of guys with big bellies and butts riding them off and going fast, and on all types of bikes. He said he couldn't care less, but now he's talking about eventually riding to work! (25 miles) Woo-hoo!

(To get to Cook's Landing from Little Rock, take I-430N to the Crystal Hill/Maumelle exit. Go east (south?) on Crystal Hill, and take a right on Northshore drive, then the next right on Cook's Landing/Young road. The trail will be down the hill on the left, until they get the big scary bike bridge over the dam done, and then it will be straight ahead.*)

Karen
*Provided as a public service for folks like me who may be passing through, but need to ride and need directions. By the way, I've found the best descriptions of bike trails on websites for runners rather than city or civic group websites. And information for non-major metro areas in the South is rather skimpy.