Road Bikes, Cycling

“Are there any cyclists out there? I haven't ridden my road bike in 15 years, but now I stripped it to the frame and am getting it painted. I can't wait to put it together, and go for a ride. My 10 year old son beat me in a race up a steep road a few weeks ago. I thought I'd sprint at the finish and take him, but my sprint ran out before the finish. I cleaned up my wife's old road bike and now my 14 your old daughter is riding it on 25 miles rides. It could be a fun way to get the old knees in shape.”

“next love after hiking”

“there are a couple of threads on biking...
TT biking club, can't remember the other one...”

“All my bikes are “old” too. But they go just fine. I used to ride all over the Boise area but the traffic is now so heavy and the drivers so rude that I feel like I I am risking my life every time I hit the road. That fear of being left for dead in a roadside ditch and training burnout have cased me to cut way back on the riding.

Bob: Do you have some special routes?

And thanks for calling it cycling not biking. To be biking is done by bikers in black leather on Harleys. Cycling is done by fit women with tight butts in lycra shorts on bicycles.”

“If cycling is done by fit women with tight butts in lycra shorts, sign me up for "tailing", not cycling. I haven't ridden a bike in Boise before, but when I don't have to haul a kid to school, starting next week, I'm going to try riding to work, from East of St. Luke's to close to Albertson's on State street. Its not very far, but on the way home I have to climb up Shaw Mountain Rd., a bit of an uphill grind.

My daughter is getting into it, so we might join some group on a ride wherever they go.. like Hill Road or something. My dream is to get in shape, then ride with a crowd of young people dressed in multicolored lycra, and wearing jeans and on my 33 year old bike (newly painted) smoke the youngsters. That is a pipe dream I know, but maybe I'll be able to keep up with them.

We don't live too far from the Greenbelt so rides there will be automobile free. How is the road for cycling up to Bogus Basin. That would be a pinnacle to shoot for.”

“Bob – I once raced which meant training with a group. I now prefer to ride alone or just with my hubby. Motorists do tend to give more room to a group of riders but I like not needing to conform to the group. The ride to Bogus is a good climb. If you’re not in that good of shape yet just head up and see how far you get. Next time see how much farther you go. I mostly ride in the desert south of town.”

“"...thanks for calling it cycling not biking..."

Ever see Super Troopers, where the female star tells the male star to meet her undercover as a biker, and he shows up in a leather bar with spandex cycling clothes?


I started riding to work yesterday, partway, for now. It's 18 miles in and
I'm going to have to build up to that.
My wrists and seat are killing me.

I used to ride everywhere as a kid. It sure brings back plenty of nice memories.”

“My wife's sister and her family live at the far south end of Cloverdale, so that would be a good destination sometime, and then I could get a ride home. My daughter rode up to Becker Ridge on Bogus Basin Rd, so that is a start for her.”

“Bob – here’s a good ride for ya. From the sister’s house ride to swan falls and back. Go south on Cloverdale turn west on Poen road then south on Swan Falls road to the Snake River. It’s a steep hill in and out of the canyon. It will work the brakes going down and the legs coming out. Rest rooms and water available at the river.”

“My road bike is over 20 years old, and B-gal's is a bit under that. Instead of buying new bikes a few years ago (for umpteen hundred bucks), we put 'em into the local bike shop for a total overhaul - we ended up with, essentially, brand new road bikes for a couple hundred bucks each. I would have done the overhauls myself, but wouldn't have ever found the time.”

“I've been moving, but scouted out some routes yesterday. Looking good here. I think I am on a popular/nice bike route.”

“Pathman, where did you move to? BoulderMan, I'm rebuilding my 32 year old bike, and taking this chance to get some old goodies on ebay that were too expensive back then, but are halfway reasonable now: Cinelli stem and bars, Campy seat post. The frame is 531 DB tubing, with Campy changers, Brooks professional saddle, so I'm halfway to a high quality vintage bike. I looked at the price tag of new bikes ($1000 to $3500), and got inspired to fix my old one.

The Swan Falls ride is a great idea. I can visit with the inlaws for about 5 minutes then hit the road. Then I can call the wife for a ride, and claim to have a flat tire. Plus no traffic out there. Perfect.”

“1983 Miyata, full Shimano Sante Groupo and started to ride again in October. It felt luscious to be back on the bike again. Real kid like joy. Then I fell into a deal for a $3800.00 Litespeed titanium bike. Its a freakin Farrari. Blows the Miyata out of the water. I've always had great bikes, but the litespeed (Anduril) one is in a class by itself. When I ride with a group, I feel like I've finally got a bike worthy of the Tour. Riding on it is like driving the sports car of your dreams.

I enjoy the classic on joy rides of a more leisurely pace, but flying is done on the new bike.

As for love...I was always a cyclist...then became a backpacker, then a canoeist, now a cyclist and yogi. I love them each equally, because they each compliment the other and provide the means to do each activity more completely. I finaly have it all...and I'm going to keep it...the next and final peice of the puzzle is the girl...manifesting my mate and companion should be it.”

“What has caught my attention is a tadpole trike recumbent, the terratrike in particular. After I ride my old roadie for awhile, maybe I can justify the expense as a commuter vehicle. I have a big hill to go down on the way to work, which would be way fun on a recumbent trike.”

“It's not really a Road Bike, but a coworker is sure trying to get me to buy his XL1200 Sportster. ;-)


last edited: 6/06/06 5:04:15 PM”

“Bob, we landed in Spokane. Nice place, I think we will do well here.”

“I'm going to go the route of resurrecting my old Specialized Rockhopper. For about 200 bucks it can be the old workhorse again. And, for about 250 bucks I can even get it fitted with a RoxShok front fork. I'm talkin about: new cassette and crank set, chain, A brakes setup for starters. These three are about 180.00. The bike shop will install for free anything you buy there....good deal.
”

“A new coat of powercoat for $65 is a deal too. That includes sandblasting.”

“The veteran of two centuries, including 3,000 training miles.

”

“I love the short cruise on the old classic.”

“I had a protoype Cannodale touring model and a Specialized Rockhopper Sport that I dragged all the way from NY to TN. Sold them off and purchased a Cannondale Hybrid for local cruising and a Giant OCR3 for the longer hauls. Love Cycling and B'packing equally and have spent equal big bucks to update both for my "Over 40 adventures" as long as I can. (ALSO have old school skates and a pair of rollerblades!)
Nashville is getting more bike lanes on the city streets but it still needs to come a long way to match other cities, like NYC and SF & LA, CA or Honolulu. Ride on!!”

“last night I performed a DNC (dustin n cleanin) on the Litespeed...tonight she flew like she was on fire...hence her name "Anduril". In 2 weeks I will ride in the Tour de Corn...LOL...65 miles all flat through the corn fields of East Prarie Mo.

I did a test run there yesterday. gonna be a great ride and maybe I'll find a solo single, available (that's the part I missed last time) non-smoker, attractive, athletic, intelligent, committed to growth, toned, fun, kind, sweet woman to meet and fall in love with.

Stranger things have happened in my not so distant past and being a miracle worker cold come in handy.”

“gee.... you don't ask for much, do you?? ; )”

“I'm looking for a needle in a haystack who is also looking for a needle in a haystack.

Who am I to deny someone (including myself) their heart's desire.”

“you have mail.”

“this sounds good for getting my fat ass back on the skinny seat

SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 8:30 AM Registration, 9:00 AM start – CYCLE THE BRIDGES

Meet: Highbridge Park, Riverside & .. Description: Ten miles, 11 bridges as we cycle the downtown parkland corridor. This ride is in conjunction with RiverFest being held at the park to celebrate/publicize the white water park and trail connections running by the park. Kids events, nature walk, climbing wall, food, pow wow, bands starting at 10:00 am just as we will be finishing our bridge ride. ”

“sounds like a perfect ride. Enjoy!”

“The tires on mine are old & cracking. What should I look for in a replacement? I ride streets, to & from work & shopping. The existing ones are 27 x 1 1/4.

Nashbar & performance bike have a zillion types with no guide on how to choose.”

“I ride Vittoria Rubino racing tires.

It is a widely used tire on the tour, Nashbar has a version that might serve you well. see below...and they are on sale too, plus here are some coupon codes that may work for you to save some additional money...

Bike Nashbar

Just Out: Coupon Code CR215 for 10% Off, Expires 6/14!

Coupon Code W215 for 10% Off, Expires 6/14!

Also TKM7 (Expires 6/5) for 10% off I'm told will work also.

"Deals on Drivetrain Components, Save Up To $100!"

Nashbar has really picked up on their shipping; I ordered a headset I think Tuesday, and it showed up Friday!



Performance Bicycle

99cent shipping on orders of $50 or more, use code RIDE99 during checkout, Expires 5/29. (May still work)

New 6001703, 10% Off reported now working! Try also 6001702, reported good for over $75.

Folks have had success in using both RIDE99 & 6001703 or 6001702 Together.




This is from Nashbar

Vittoria Zafirro 27-inch Road Tire

The Zafirro has outstanding resistance to wear and adheres well to a variety of road conditions. Aramid fiber reinforced rubber provides extra strength and cut resistance. 60 tpi. Max inflation to 100 psi. (27 x 1 1/8). Wire bead, 260g. Specify Size 27 x 1 1/8” or 27 x 1 ¼”
Item No. » VT-ZAFF27

Item # Options Price Order
VT-ZAFF27 27X1 1/4 Reg $19.95
now $16.95
VT-ZAFF27 27X1 1/8 Reg $19.95
now $16.95”

“this sounds good for getting my fat ass back on the skinny seat...


I just did 26 miles and my a** is sore!”

“If cycling is done by fit women with tight butts in lycra shorts, sign me up for "tailing", not cycling.

LOL. This is how I met my wife.”

“The restoration is coming along. I was standing on the curb in front of my house with the painted bike frame in hand, and a car pulled to a stop and two twenty somethings wanted to know what I wanted for the frame. Wow, that was a boost. My wife was standing there flabbergasted. It was like I paid these guys to say that. They were pretty insistent about buying it. I told them that it was priceless. I don't know who the dorky guy next to the bike is.







I'm shopping ebay for some campy parts to finish the job, but I've been riding it to work for a few days. It works great, but the motor has lost a lot of power. There are some words about the bike on the Patent Pending blog, http://patentpending.blogs.com
last edited: 6/14/06 5:03:56 PM”

“very sharp.”

“I thought, perhaps, that the larger fella was the restoration project. Nice bike.”

“I had the chance to teach my 14 year old daughter a thing or two about cycling and also about crashing in style. We went on a 22 mile loop out to Lucky Peak Dam, which is along a highway but the bike lane is seperated from the cars by a concrete barricade. At one point, my she was in front and I was behind her, and my front tire was close to her back tire, then suddenly it was 6 inches alongside it, and I had to go left and couldn't without hitting her tire, so I was going to fall. The bike path in that place was about 6 feet side, paved, with grass on either side. If I was going to go down, I wanted to go down in the grass and not on the pavement. So as I went down I planted one foot and pushed off the pavement and dove for the grass. I hit the grass and rolled, and was instantly back on my feet, like "I meant to do that." The bike was undamaged, I only got a small scratch, and we continued on. I'm enjoying the bike, but my ankles are sore.”

“we all have "meant to do that" stories...but your's certainly is courageous since you really did "mean to do it", by chosing to take the dive instead of letting your daughter get taken down...

You're a good dad.”

“Did your daughter hold up a small sign that said "9.5" or something?”

“She thought it was hilarious. She said it looked like a scene out of a James Bond movie, so that could be worse.”

“Do the cyclists have any advice on shoes and pedals? I've been advised to get speedplay X5 pedals.

I rode by old 33 year old bike on an 11 mile one way trip to Lucky Peak dam. It felt great, and the bike and the body were doing just fine. In other words I didn’t fall down, and the bike didn’t come unglued. On the way back I was passed by two cycling jocks on super nice road bikes: carbon frames, disc brakes, 9 speed cassettes, and they were very fit looking, and cruising along at a brisk pace. I wondered if I could keep up with them for awhile, so I started pedaling harder, shifted to a higher gear, got the rpms up in that gear, shifted up one more gear to my top gear, and gradually caught up to them. I tailed them for 5 miles, until I turned off the bike path to go home. It’s a good thing they had their $3000 bikes, or I would have smoked em with my 33 year old bike. Of course, they were just riding for fun, not racing and probably didn't know I was tailing them.”

“Thanks for the info, Stickmon”

“I rode in to work today, and went an extra 3 miles. I realized about the time BowlderSon and I got to his school that I had left one of the locks at home - oops! So I had to ride home to get it. At least I was then able to ride straight to work from home - in fact, the drawbridges had come down by then (they had gone up earlier), so it was a nice smooth ride in. I didn't even have to pound any hoods!

The Etrex said I maxed out at 24.6 mph - must've been when I was trying to make that light!”

“two cyclists were killed just outside of Denver yesterday. They were riding alongside a highway (apparently obeying all safety and legal rules) when a semi truck ran a redlight and collided with another semi truck and then hitting the cyclists.

The road they were on is used by many bikers, both for commuting and just for riding/training.

Very tragic.

Yall be careful.”

“Cycling is a great sport for people the love both fitness and machines. For less than $3000 you can ride a machine that is almost as good as what the professional racers ride. If you wanted a pro racing level of performance in a car it would probably cost you 100 times that.

However, the machine will go only as fast as the motor can push it. On a bicycle you are the motor. I have more than once seen someone with an old or otherwise inferior bicycle leave some rich boy on the latest and greatest wheels in the dust.

It is the clothes that make you fast. Buy one of those jerseys with all those sponsor logos on it and you increase your speed by at least 10%. (That was sarcasm for those of you that are perceptional challenged) I don’t get why people buy that stuff. If I’m going to wear as advertisement I expect them to pay me, not me pay them.

SHOES / PEDALS: Price drives my choices. The law of diminishing returns is alive and strong in cycling. Skip the bottom end stuff but most of the rest work fine. If you ride for fun, exercise or transportation think about using mountain bike shoes. You can walk in them if the need arrives. I ride shimano pedals and have uses shoes from shimano, nike, lake with no problems.

Keep the rubber side down.
last edited: 6/27/06 12:21:14 PM”

“stikmon....

i also fell into a great deal on a litespeed vortex bike a few years ago and i totally agree with you....it is like riding a ferrari....makes me feel like i am on the tour every time i ride it!!

idaho bob....

i use the speedplay pedals and have been very pleased with them.... lightweight and super easy to get into and out of (easy to keep clean, too)”

“Mtn Gal
I like your point.
In 1972, I was 14, and I rode to the Mackinaw Bridge and back with a friend, about 500 miles.
My buddy had a paper route and could afford a $500 bike, and paniers, and lots of neat gadgets. I had a $45 Huffy and a backpack from K-mart.
Guess who broke down about 100 times? Guess who was almost always out in front?

That trip was awesome. I love the fact that our folks let us do that.”

“and it was awesome, in spite of the heat. 95F reported at finish, my cyclometer was reading 109 in the sun. Two hour ride, 30 miles. I intended half of that but was have such a great ride I kept going. To downtown Spokane, saw the early prep for tonights celebration at Riverfront Park. East on the Centennial trail for a few miles (NICE!), back through downtown, north to Riverside State Park on the same trail, back to downtown for Pino Colada shaved ice and listening to a band in the shade, back to start. Felt great considering I haven't riden but a handful of times since October.”

“Good for you. I'm just getting into it and really having a blast. Today I did 40 miles on the open road in the country and feel really good about it. I think I'm getting ahead of myself because there's nothing else left of me for the day.”

“Nimblefoot, check out some of Chris Carmicheals books on training. I think it works great for me, of course great for Lance. If you are feeling that tanked, you may be overdoing it.


The Ultimate Ride by Chris Carmichael and Jim Rutberg (Paperback - Jun 1, 2004)
Books: See all items


The Lance Armstrong Performance Program: Seven Weeks to the Perfect Ride by Lance Armstrong, Chris Carmichael, and Peter Joffre Nye (Paperback - Sep 9, 2000)”

“this looks cool. Anybody interested?

Spokane to Canada, Self Guided bicycle tour”

“looks really cool. In east/central texas we have quite a few great rides....just ask Lance.
A professor here (SFA) is trying to get over 200 miles of hike/bike trails started beside the road system like they have in Europe. Several of us are working on this project.”