August Riding

[rebeccaC]

There is a lot of variation in Chromes, and I've never tired them. Which do you like?

Chrome Kursk’s….the soles are stiff enough for my use and they hold well on the serrated edges of my commuters mks pedals. I do use nylon-reinforced resin strapless toe-clips when doing some of the hills here in town on my commuter too.

They are very comfortable to walk in. The Pro Kursk has a removable plate for recessed spd compatibility if someone wants that too. The ones I have are a few years old and looking worn now. Sizes run large and I went one size down and they fit well. They also have a nice elastic loop to hold the lace ends securely on the top of the shoe.

[emily_in_nc]

Glad you were finally able to get back out and ride. When my sister had braces back in the day, she always ate scrambled eggs for dinner on days when she went to the orthodontist.

We're having Mexi-eggs tonight, in fact! Yesterday I was quite sore and had salmon and quinoa/kale for dinner. Less sore today - yay!

[north woods gal]

Some MTBs and fat bikes, even on the higher end models, are now coming with good flat pedals. I use the Expedo Spry on a couple of bikes and like them. Great pedal for the money and very light. These are the pedals I was using on the road bikes. Also having some cheap Giant plastic flats with pins that are not removable/replaceable, but as cheap as they are, I'll just replace them when the pins wear down too much. Have had very little wear on them, though, after a lot of hard use.

I don't get too excited about spending big bucks on my MTB flat pedals, though. In our rocky trails, they get beat up pretty bad. Of course, I could say that about mountain biking in general. If you're afraid of getting any part of your MTB all scratched up, you are in the wrong kind of biking. Honestly, though, for all the trail miles my MTBs have done, they show very little for wear and tear, even some of my oldest MTBs.

I do keep bucket of water outside the door, filled with slightly soapy water and a large car wash size sponge, though. Pretty simple and quick to give a muddy fat bike a bath before bringing it in the house. (We have a large, enclosed sun porch, which very quickly became my bike room. )

[ny biker]

I put the Gatorskin on my rear wheel last night. Then realized the directional arrow was pointing backwards, so I had to take it off and do it again. Also my frame pump no longer works right so I had to buy a new one -- fortunately REI currently has Topeak pumps on sale. Anyway, the Gatorskin was easier to get on and off than the Conti Grand Prix was. Though my hand did slip when removing it to turn it around, and I cut my knuckle on the spoke. Would have been worse if I hadn't been wearing vinyl gloves to keep my hands clean. I hate my tire levers -- they're too thick to get under the bead. On the recommendation of the mechanic at the LBS, I bought thinner metal ones, but they knick up the rim too much so I'm going to return them and look for something else.

Also I should add that since I changed the tire at home, I used my Kool-Stop to get it back on the rim. I don't bring the Kool-Stop on rides with me and I imagine it would be harder to replace the tire without it. But I do have a VAR tire lever to use on the road (it's smaller and fits better in a bike bag, though it's not as easy to use as the Kool-Stop) and since the Gatorskin seems easier to work with than the Grand Prix, I think I'll be okay.

Anyway I am really tired of tires. Four flats in 4-5 weeks, two from punctures and two from stem problems. Three of the four were rear flats. I'm finding it harder to get that wheel on and off since I put the mid-cage derailleur on the bike.

Re: pedals -- what's this about no more Speedplay Xs? Good thing I have an extra set of cleats at home.

I put cheap flat pedals on my mountain bike last winter and rode it once around my neighborhood. I had a terrible time get started without my foot being clipped in on the initial pedal stroke, especially on uphills. Haven't had a chance to get out and try it again, though I want to do that soon.

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Yesterday I helped with road markings for the club's century. It was my first time with this activity. Fortunately I was with people who have done it many times before. It was kinda fun and kinda messy. We had different colors and brands of paint, and the fumes from some were quite strong. My eyes were burning a lot. I felt better after I got home but this morning my head was all congested and my throat hurt. So now I can't tell if I have a cold or if I'm feeling aftereffects from the chemicals. Or maybe it's the new laundry detergent with the strong "fresh scent" that I used for the first time last night and then hung a bunch of clothes on a drying rack in my bedroom overnight. I'm going out for a ride after work tonight and then planning to stop at the store to buy different detergent.

[rebeccaC]

So many thousands of miles over so many years of my feet being clipped into one single position on the pedals for hours and hours at a time with the SPDs had caught up with me. It was a repetitive stress kind of injury.

Float ftw!!!
I have speedplay frog ti’s on my road, tour and fixie cuz I like having the float when I need it, the secure and reliable foot retention especially when pulling upward/climbing off the saddle/the high cadence of some fixie rides etc. and of course there’s the comfortable walking off the bike. No problems in the years I’ve used them.

I have the no longer made Carnac shoes, which has a sole constructed in a way that eliminates any hotspots no matter the length of, long hard climbs on or long headwind grinding it out on the pedals kind of rides.

Soooo for me…it’s a good thing that my feet and knees feel good even if other parts of my body may be in distress cuz of the ride.

[north woods gal]

Added another 1/10 mile branch on my MTB trails, today. That doesn't sound like much, but, believe me, that is full day of work and heavy work at that. Good section, though, with some hefty steeps that will give me a good workout. May be able to use it as a cross country ski section, too.

By the way, I do not cut down any large or even small trees, just an occasional seedling. Most of the trail work involves moving debris, raking, trimming over head limbs for the sake of safety, filling dangerous holes and so on. Also involves some cutting of old stumps and fallen dead trees that block the path. Have made an effort to minimize the disruption to our woods. Very little underbrush in our local woods, though, thanks to our overpopulation of deer and we also have an infestation of earthworms - an invasive species for us - that seriously deplete what few soil nutrients we have, so our woods should have more of an understory if truly healthy. The mostly bare forest floor does make it easier on me to lay out trails, but I would rather see my woods a bit more healthy.

Now at about 2.5 miles of trail on our property if you took all the pieces and strung them, end to end, but in order to actually to access and ride all the pieces, you have to ride over 6 miles with lots of doubling up on sections to access all parts. Usually takes me a full hour of riding, full out, hard, and that includes LOTS of climbing and techy turns and maneuvers. On a good day, I can average over 6 mph for average speed. If I just cruise and/or play with then objects such as logs and rocks, much longer and slower. So many ways to ride the trails, I never get bored. An almost infinite number of combinations. All beautiful, too, with me right there in the midst of it all the sounds and smell and ambience. Life is good in our north woods.

[emily_in_nc]

Your trails sound really nice, NWG. My husband put in trails on our 11-acre wooded property in NC which also didn't have a lot of undergrowth (lots of deer there too), but I think even if I rode every segment/loop, it couldn't have been more than a mile and a half total for each loop. Our trails were easy by MTB standards, but there was one little hill that was scary descending and a difficult climb up unless you were in the granny gear ahead of time. I didn't ride these trails much since I was almost much more of a roadie, but they were fun at times!

A couple of similar rides here the past two days on the bike path and roads. Hot and humid with heat index in the low 100s! Today traffic was worse on the roads, heralding the start of the holiday weekend, but the trail was not bad since the kiddos still had school. 27 miles yesterday and 29 today.

Ordered a couple of items from Amazon yesterday: A Polar water bottle that I can squeeze to drink from rather than have to use my teeth to open, which is impossible with braces and tender teeth! Also new Conti Gatorskin tires for both me and DH. He decided that riding the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires we bought for riding out west (goatheads!), where we didn't make it this summer due to my accident, was silly here in Florida. The Contis will save us about 1 lb. of rotating weight for each wheel (when coupled with lighter tubes, as we're also running super heavy bulletproof tubes) and allow us to save the Schwalbes for the next time we actually need them without wearing them out ahead of time. It will be nice to be a bit speedier once we get the new tires installed. I've gotten so used to the Schwalbes that I don't even notice that they are slower. DH just put them on his Trek recently and said he could really tell a difference in his average speed and acceleration. His Contis were well-worn, so it was time for new tires anyway.

[ny biker]

That makes sense, Emily. I envy the hot weather -- we are stuck in a cool pattern and it looks like it will continue. After reading the September outlook on a reliable local weather blog, I am now officially worried that we'll have another cold winter like we did 2-3 years ago. Twenty degrees below normal is one thing in August or September, but in January the colder temps are too much for the heat pump in my condo. It's bad enough not be able to go outside without dressing in so many layers that you can't put your arms down and you look like a tick about to pop, but when you can't be warm in the house either it's just too much.

I rode 17 miles last night, my new not-so-hilly hill route. It still needs some tweaks to eliminate a couple of difficult intersections where I have to stop on uphills to cross or turn at busy roads. Even though most of the roads around here do quiet down in the evenings, the main ones still have a fair amount of cars on them. But it's a good alternative to my usual route, and last night I was able to do it by memory without needing a cue sheet. Temps were in the 70s but it was somewhat humid which kept me from needing a vest or jacket near the end.

Am now trying to figure out my plans for the weekend. I will ride on Sunday, but don't know yet where or for how long. Monday is our club's century and I'll be driving SAG for that.

[Crankin]

Speedplay Xs were replaced by the "Light Action."
I am in Philly, where it looks dreadful for riding. I am in one of the inner suburbs; pretty, but narrow roads, no shoulders, curbs, and hills. And, I think I have found drivers worse than the ones at home. Aggressive, go through red lights, and generally do not look.
I probably walked 5 miles today, so I am good. Tonight is an early birthday party for my DIL before they move. Tomorrow we are pretty free, and then Sunday is my granddaughter's birthday. We will be heading home late Sunday afternoon and plan to ride Monday.

[ny biker]

A birthday already for your grandaughter. Time is flying. Happy birthday to both ladies.

Philadelphia is worth visiting. I went to college there. I've only ridden there with the Livestrong Challenge and after the first year they movedit farther out of town.

There's a new museum about the Revolutionary War there that opened recently. I want to visit as do my parents, though we're still working out the logistics since they don't drive long distances anymore. Might be worth looking into. And of course there's the Art Museum and Franklin Institute.

So I was at Target tonight and could not find my credit card when I got to the checkout. Earlier today I couldn't find some cash that I got back as change when I bought lunch yesterday. Went through my purse, the pockets of the jeans I wore yesterday... and then found both in the handlebar bag of my bike. I guess they fell out of my wallet during last night's ride?? Weird.

[Crankin]

That is weird, NY.
I imagine there is good riding just west of here. I've been to some of the historical stuff here, as my husband is from here, and we used to visit his cousins. I actually lived here for 3 months, right after I graduated college. A bad part of my life!
It is cool and about to be rainy all day here. It was 54 when we walked to breakfast and saw that it was 39 at home...