April rides

[Crankin]

I used the Conti 4000s before I started using Gatorskins. They are easy to get on and off, semi-good for flats, but not perfect.

[Pax]

NY, weird about the stem, also annoying in the long run. Glad you found the piece of glass, always hated a mystery flat.


Finally got in a great ride yesterday (and when I say great, I mean great for my new normal, short but wonderful). I rode to the beach, then up the sand to the inlet and watched the surfers surf for a bit. It seemed like such a short ride I didn't take water, lesson learned! Had to stop at 7/11 and buy a bottle at the halfway mark.

[Crankin]

We only buy tubes with the long stems, non-threaded.

[Geonz]

April's off to a slower than usual start... the usual commute April Fool's day.... I had snuck out a couple of Saturdays for my favorite 20 mile loop from the house but blustery winds at 45 mph were in the forecast.
So instead I plowed through the wind to the bike shop and paid for a new bicycle.


I already have a longbike but... this one is a discontinued model and marked down ... I test rode it just to make sure it didn't fit, except... it did.

Monday I rode from work to bike shop and left Xtracycle there and rode it back... Tuesday commuted and went to teh Bike Club Pre-Season Party ... went shortest way home rather than the nicer long way because of... 25+mph winds...
Rest of week commutes were okay tho' I didn't get to do my usual lunch "lap around campus" because it was generally raining (it does, at least, wait for me to get to work & it stops before I have to leave)...

Today I had a REAL ride... out to St. Joseph for the "Illini Chill," and back so 11 + 20 + 11 miles (but on the Trek 7.5 FX so they were lots easier)... winds only 15 mph and the temps got above freezing by noon! My legs are tired and happy...

[Pax]

Nice new bike, Sue, it must feel like flying after your old bike.

[Geonz]

LOL no, not with those FAT tires. It's actually a little bit slower, I *think* (but impossible to tell since it's been so windy). The Xtracycle is still going to have an important place, especially since it has the dynamo hub and the bicycle powered blender, and the Transport has very *nice* disk brakes on that front wheel but ... they're not going to charge a light, much less my telephone the way the Xtracycle will (or at least it should once I figure it out...)

WHat I am especially happy about, though, is that it seems to have (in the week I've had it) equivalent or even more "WTF???" effect on drivers, who have been giving me the same wide berth that I get on the Xtracycle (but not my 'fast' 7.5 FX). I'm going to try to construct a little crate for the front with ... oh, for starters, a portable charger for USB things... maybe try to figure out a camera mount? ... if I actually were good at such stuff, I'd design a rotating Squirtgun or Projectile Releaser or Bubble Machine...

[azfiddle]

Thursday I just had time for a quick 11 miles after work. Friday was a busy day and the midday weather wasn't great- still windy and occasional showers after work. But today was gorgeous! My husband and I rode up Mt. Lemmon past milepost 6 - (total 27 miles for including riding from the house to the base). Then I got off the Ruby, had lunch and took the Surly to buy groceries and to go look for a new saddle for her.. but no luck so far.

Tomorrow is looking less favorable, with 67% chance of rain after 11, accompanied by wind gusts up to 31. Too bad because they have Cyclovia schedule from 10-3 pm - closing down streets for pedestrians and cyclists....

[emily_in_nc]

I am officially tired of gusty wind and way colder than normal temps! Here in NC, we are to be in the mid-20s tonight. In April. With all the flowering trees and shrubs in a riot of color.

This is just wrong.

I know many have it worse, but I am not a happy camper! We have only been able to manage riding once per week (picking the warmest day each week, which has been a Monday every week lately), between wind, cold temps, and general busy-ness. Ready for spring, for real!

[Pax]

... oh, for starters, a portable charger for USB things... maybe try to figure out a camera mount? ... if I actually were good at such stuff, I'd design a rotating Squirtgun or Projectile Releaser or Bubble Machine...

Bwaaahaaaa!! You crack me up! But I know you'll actually rig something up... please take pics.

[Crankin]

It's been the same here.... rain, rain, wind, one nice day. Yeah, I rode through the winter, but now, very little riding. We spent all day presenting at our club's bike workshop yesterday. Very good, but all I could think of was we are missing another day of riding. Today is nice and sunny, but cool and windy. I want to ride, but our friends who had plans with, want to hike. I may sneak out for a short ride before we hike.

[rebeccaC]

oh, for starters, a portable charger for USB things... maybe try to figure out a camera mount? ... if I actually were good at such stuff, I'd design a rotating Squirtgun or Projectile Releaser or Bubble Machine...

If you work out the bubble machine let us know and I’m getting a SON hub for my front commuter wheel…

btw…I have a friend who likes to ride across continents. She uses E-Werk and a cache battery with a SON hub to charge her garmin, phone and ipad mini.

[Crankin]

So, I was so determined to go for a ride that I went out this morning at 5:30 AM. Unfortunately, it was spitting rain, and I had no idea there was a chance of rain. But, it wasn't that cold for early in the AM, so I went off. After I had gone about 4 miles, the rain got harder, I was at the point where I could home the way I planned, or turn around, and it would have been the same distance. It really wasn't bad, so I kept going.
My ride ended up being a grand total of 7.3 miles, but it felt good. Now i am off to the gym and work.

[pericat]

April is my month for leaving winter behind. Today did an 11.4km ride, which is not far by most standards, but is very hilly so I was pleased with the effort. I made pics of elevation and gradient, since the mapping site does that:





New bike behaving very well. The gearing is very different from my old hybrid, but I think after all there are enough to get round all these bloody hills.

[Crankin]

I just came home from the hardest group ride I've done in a long time. It isn't that I haven't ridden in the area the ride was in, but there were some different roads and the on the familiar ones, we were going up instead of down. There were a lot of people; I did the shorter ride, which was only 28 miles, with 1775 feet of climbing. Long climbs... the longer ride was not much longer, 34 miles, but with almost 700 feet more of climbing, on hills I know that suck at this time of the year. So until the 2 groups split, near the end, I was in the front of the short rider group/back of the faster people. We rode to the Wachusett Dam, actually around it, through some gates on a sidewalk right next to the water. I had to put my foot down, with sharp right turns, I was getting dizzy. Once we got to the viewpoint, it was all uphill, although there had been lots of climbing before, too. Beautiful day, sunny, cool at the start, a day where it is hard to dress right. I was unzipping and zipping, and switched to a lighter head cover and took out my glove liners, which made it OK.It's about 55 now and the wind died down.
My average was the kind of average I have when I ride in the Berkshires (i.e. big climbs). But, I am happy, I stayed up front in my group and was clearly in sight of the faster people until they split off. And, I had my highest speed descent, ever, 33.6.

[rebeccaC]

I just had to go for a lunch ride in this perfect weather….an easy exploring ride through Venice and some shopping at the large Wednesday Santa Monica farmers market. It worked well to clear my mind and get a little exercise before continuing to work for too many more hours into tonight


Plus now I have a loaf of incredible tartine style sourdough kalamata olive bread, some beaufort cheese, avocados, small heirloom tomatoes and some medjool dates to share with those working with me tonight
.....and a guilty pleasure