Bicycling On-the-Road

JoshK · « **Reply #100 on:** 19 Jul 2010, 04:50 pm »

Thanks but I'm not all that fond of the fixie idea as I do have hills to climb. I live on the cliff and all the best places to go biking are down the hill which means I have to climb on the way back.

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #101 on:** 19 Jul 2010, 08:04 pm »

Same here, I love the idea of a fixie, but I'd never be able to go home

Man, what is wrong with you people, you have me back at bikes direct.com looking at a cheap dawes or Windsor. I don't have that kind of money

PhilNYC · « **Reply #102 on:** 19 Jul 2010, 11:54 pm »

Maybe you could get a fixie/single-speed with the one gear as a climbing gear...it would then teach you about high-cadence riding on the flats and downhills...

BikeWNC · « **Reply #103 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 12:16 am »

While you guys are deciding what bike Josh should get, I've been out riding! lol

PhilNYC · « **Reply #104 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 12:31 am »

Quote from: BikeWNC on 20 Jul 2010, 12:16 am

While you guys are deciding what bike Josh should get, I've been out riding! lol

I'm jealous because I don't have anyone to take a photo of me riding...!

I did a 56 miler yesterday with a friend...relatively flat (only about 1000ft of climbing) at just under 20mph average speed...still enough to wipe me out for today...!

bunnyma357 · « **Reply #105 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 12:33 am »

A fixie is a lot harder in your mind then it actually is to ride once you try it. There will definitely be some grades you have trouble getting up, but probably far fewer than you'd imagine. I have a flip flop hub, with a 2 tooth difference on the cogs, since I thought for sure I'd need it for some climbs, but to be honest I've never needed it.

Another cheap way to try a fixie, is just buy an older garage sale bike with horizontal dropouts and a new fixed hub rear wheel - shouldn't be too hard to accomplish for something in the $200 dollar neighborhood. That's basically what I did, but I already had the bike I had bought back in the mid-eighties. For $500 - $600 you can set up something very slick and customized to your particular tastes - pedals, saddle, bars, stem, etc.

If you do go this route, make sure you are aware of the dangers of a fixie, like cutting off a finger if you are careless while lubing up a chain - not likely to happen, but you just need to be aware of things and use appropriate caution.

The fixie really was a revelation for me, it seemed gimicky before I tried it, but I really respected all of the advice I had gotten from the Sheldon Brown website and he was very into fixies - and it wasn't too expensive to give it a shot - I just absolutely love it now. It makes riding fun the way it was when I was a kid. And as an added benefit it is my fastest most reliable bike.

Jim C

Levi · « **Reply #106 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 02:01 am »

North Carolina is just one of the best places to ride bikes!

Quote from: BikeWNC on 20 Jul 2010, 12:16 am

While you guys are deciding what bike Josh should get, I've been out riding! lol

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #107 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 07:51 am »

Hey Phil, would you say that those hills near San Mateo are difficult for a beginner?

PhilNYC · « **Reply #108 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 01:20 pm »

Quote from: ooheadsoo on 20 Jul 2010, 07:51 am

Hey Phil, would you say that those hills near San Mateo are difficult for a beginner?

On the route that I rode, there was one particular hill that I could see a beginner having some difficulty on (basically the last section of road that takes you up from Hillsborough up to Skyline Blvd)...but the steep section is pretty short, and based on what you've written here about your riding, I'm pretty sure that you'd be able to handle it. For me, the hardest part about that hill was that it was very early in the ride, so you don't get any real warm-up before it.

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #109 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 08:10 pm »

That's good to know, Phil, thanks. I talked my friend into riding with me, I will mostly be concerned for his ability to last 40 miles. Maybe we won't have to ride that section from his house...he is more fit than me, though he hasn't ridden as many miles.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #110 on:** 20 Jul 2010, 10:41 pm »

If you go on a Sunday, the section on Canada Rd (pronounced Can-YA-da) is actually closed off to cars and open only to bikes and runner...it's about a 5-7 mile stretch and very beautiful! A lot of people drive to the start of Canada Rd with their bikes and ride from there (and avoid the steep hill getting up there)....

Also note that on my MapMyRide route, there are a couple of little detours I took to stop off at my sister's home (the part that takes you on Sharon Park Drive)...so you could probably cut those sections out....

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #111 on:** 22 Jul 2010, 04:52 am »

wow, I talked my friend into buying pedals, shoes, shorts, slicks, tubes, tire levers...now I can only hope I'm up for the ride.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #112 on:** 22 Jul 2010, 11:20 am »

Quote from: ooheadsoo on 22 Jul 2010, 04:52 am

wow, I talked my friend into buying pedals, shoes, shorts, slicks, tubes, tire levers...now I can only hope I'm up for the ride.

Does he have a bike?

ooheadsoo · « **Reply #113 on:** 22 Jul 2010, 01:40 pm »

oh crap! I better call him up and make sure

he has a FS mtb and never i ntended to ride it on the road, so i feel kinda bad for talking him into this. oh well.

charmerci · « **Reply #114 on:** 25 Jul 2010, 08:46 pm »

I went down to the Champs Elysees this afternoon and took a few photos that I'd thought you'd like to see. (I can post a few more if you'd like.)

macrojack · « **Reply #115 on:** 25 Jul 2010, 09:05 pm »

WOW!! Our man in Paris. It's really kinda neat to feel connected personally to the event through you. Post away.

charmerci · « **Reply #116 on:** 25 Jul 2010, 09:43 pm »

OK!

They go towards the left up to the Arc de Triomphe.

Two minutes later they come down the Champs. There's Alberto Contador, the winner, in yellow - though I imagine most of you know that already!

Lance Armstrong in the center in red.

I took these with a point and shoot camera with my arms outstretched as far as I could to get over the couple of people in front of me. The rest of the photos that I took were more or less the same. You're pretty much stuck in one place trying to get the best position to take photos. As they zip around 8 times, people leave and you get better positioning that you don't want to leave. It was generally 3-4 people deep with tons of people constantly walking up and down the large sidewalks.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #117 on:** 26 Jul 2010, 12:58 am »

Awesome pictures! I have always dreamed about visiting France during the TdF and seeing it up close....

Ironic that Alberto won by the exact 39 seconds that he gained off of Schleck's chain-suck problem...

Levi · « **Reply #118 on:** 26 Jul 2010, 01:37 am »

+1

Agreed!

Quote from: PhilNYC on 26 Jul 2010, 12:58 am

Awesome pictures! I have always dreamed about visiting France during the TdF and seeing it up close....

Ironic that Alberto won by the exact 39 seconds that he gained off of Schleck's chain-suck problem...

charmerci · « **Reply #119 on:** 26 Jul 2010, 09:50 am »

Quote from: PhilNYC on 26 Jul 2010, 12:58 am

Awesome pictures! I have always dreamed about visiting France during the TdF and seeing it up close....

Ironic that Alberto won by the exact 39 seconds that he gained off of Schleck's chain-suck problem...

Yeah, that sucked!

That's why I'm not a fan of Contador any more. As soon as Schleck slipped quite a bit, Contador took off at high speed.

As for watching the TdF, your best view is really on TV. Watching on the Champs is really neat (if you don't mind packed crowds) because you know who's won already and you get to see them come around 8 times.

Not to discourage you to see it if you'd like - but France is expensive. Then there's the problem of finding places to stay during the Tour - book early! You wait for hours for them to come by at 40 mph and then zip! they're gone - unless you're watching on the climbs. The time trials are not so bad as you get to see each rider individually. It's best to watch them going slower around hard corners.

Plus, you never get to see on TV the parade of very noisy advertising vehicles (Festina watches, Haribo candies, etc.) that come by an hour before the racers for a half an hour, one after another blaring their music and announcements on HORRIBLE PA speakers!

Bring ear plugs to wear under your noise cancellation headphones!

But obviously, it is cool to see the actual racers during the race. One year here in Paris, I saw the old T-Mobile team going to the bus and saw Ullrich and even patted Andreas Kloden on the arm as he passed by (he was third that year.)