When do you know it's over?

Quoted message said:

On Dec 20, 2:59 pm, Crescentius Vespasianus <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

The question is: When do you know that it is over in cycling, and
it's time to move on to other pursuits. I have some personal clues,
but I don't want to reveal them, to bias any feedback I may get to
this question. Only serious replies, and if there is someone out
there that has given up cycling totally, to tell their experience
would be helpful.

Dear CV,

I'd probably give up cycling (or at least RBT) if I ever find myself
reduced to specifying "only serious replies."

Well there is always alt.tasteless-jokes for your creative outbursts.

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.tasteless.jokes

ha-ha :-)

email hidden said:

My serious reply isn't being taken all to serious by anyone.

A propellerly designed bike should go MUCH faster up against the wind.

Dear Gaby,

A) Yep.

B) Nope.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

On Dec 21, 7:57 pm, Crescentius Vespasianus <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I have read the replies, there were
thoughtful, and intelligent (most).  I
have compared them to my own notes, but
one item on my notes that I didn't see
in any of the replies.  Let me explain.
  On weekends I usually do 60-80 mile
rides, a couple weekends ago, I planned
an 80 mile ride.  So I start off, and
finally leaving the city and in an
exposed area, I realize that I'm facing
15 mph headwind.  This was after I had
gone 15 miles.  I stopped, looked at the
ground, and I did something I've never
done before, and kind of ashamed to
admit here.  I turned the bike around
180 degrees and took a mighty tailwind
home...............I knew then, it was over.

Dear CV,

If you're ashamed of anything, it should be the drama queen business.

Sounds like common sense about a trivial matter, coated with an absurd
amount of self-dramatization.

Here I was, thinking that something bad was troubling you.

Go for a pleasant ride on a less windy day and quit obsessing (and
boasting) about distance.

I'll save my sympathy for Sheldon.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

On Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:16:47 -0800 (PST), "[email hidden]"

Quoted message said:

My serious reply isn't being taken all to serious by anyone.

Quoted message said:

A propellerly designed bike should go MUCH faster up against the wind.

Dear Gaby,

A) Yep.

B) Nope.

You are talking from your anus again Carl little boy.

YES YES YES

Mark said:

Crescentius Vespasianus said:

I have read the replies, there were thoughtful, and intelligent
(most). I have compared them to my own notes, but one item on my
notes that I didn't see in any of the replies. Let me explain. On
weekends I usually do 60-80 mile rides, a couple weekends ago, I
planned an 80 mile ride. So I start off, and finally leaving the city
and in an exposed area, I realize that I'm facing 15 mph headwind.
This was after I had gone 15 miles. I stopped, looked at the ground,
and I did something I've never done before, and kind of ashamed to
admit here. I turned the bike around 180 degrees and took a mighty
tailwind home...............I knew then, it was over.

On those days when you just can't bear to ride upwind, ride downwind the
whole day and have a friend pick you up. Once a year or so is more than
enough to get you (or at least me) out of the doldrums.

Mark J.

In a Dutch cycling magazine there was an article about someone who took
a ride where the direction was just determined by the wind (upwind) and
the sun. He came in places where he never been and got a long distance
from home. When he thought it was enough he just went to the nearest
train station and took a ticket home. I liked that idea...

Lou

aka Gaby de Wilde said:

Quoted message said:

On Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:16:47 -0800 (PST), "[email hidden]"

Quoted message said:

My serious reply isn't being taken all to serious by anyone.
A propellerly designed bike should go MUCH faster up against the wind.

Dear Gaby,

A) Yep.

B) Nope.

You are talking from your anus again Carl little boy.

YES YES YES

For what it is worth, there have been limits put on maximum wind speed
for HPV hour record attempts, since fully faired vehicles generally do
get forward propulsion from tailwinds, sidewinds and even quartering
headwinds - therefore on an oval track, the wind would be of net benefit
to speed.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
Beer - It's not just for breakfast anymore!

Crescentius Vespasianus said:

I have read the replies, there were thoughtful, and intelligent (most).
I have compared them to my own notes, but one item on my notes that I
didn't see in any of the replies. Let me explain. On weekends I
usually do 60-80 mile rides, a couple weekends ago, I planned an 80 mile
ride. So I start off, and finally leaving the city and in an exposed
area, I realize that I'm facing 15 mph headwind. This was after I had
gone 15 miles. I stopped, looked at the ground, and I did something
I've never done before, and kind of ashamed to admit here. I turned the
bike around 180 degrees and took a mighty tailwind home...............I
knew then, it was over.

You're reading way too much into that experience.

I once called a girlfriend to get my shop truck and pick up three
cyclists from the halfway point of our New Year's Ride. So what?

I'm sure you've groaned and sweated a long sticky climb, red faced and
weary, as have we all. There's a descent on the other side.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

When the fat lady either sings or steps out in front of you.
Phil Brown

On Dec 21, 8:57 pm, Crescentius Vespasianus <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I have read the replies, there were
thoughtful, and intelligent (most).  I
have compared them to my own notes, but
one item on my notes that I didn't see
in any of the replies.  Let me explain.
  On weekends I usually do 60-80 mile
rides, a couple weekends ago, I planned
an 80 mile ride.  So I start off, and
finally leaving the city and in an
exposed area, I realize that I'm facing
15 mph headwind.  This was after I had
gone 15 miles.  I stopped, looked at the
ground, and I did something I've never
done before, and kind of ashamed to
admit here.  I turned the bike around
180 degrees and took a mighty tailwind
home...............I knew then, it was over.

Sounds like it's time for some attention to the diet.

Some nice lean protein-- steak, salmon, chicken, along with lots of
semi-crispy steamed veggies and smaller quantities from the potato/
rice end of the food spectrum. And some good rest. Maybe some
whirlpool and sauna time, along with something "other" IRT physical
activity, something perhaps new or a past interest, taken at a pace
that insures fun and safety.

"That's why they call it the off season."

Happy Holidays! --D-y

Quoth Chalo Colina:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Unless there are balance issues to contend with, it seems to me that a
bike with a very low step-through would be as good or better than a
trike without one.

Tom Sherman noted:

Quoted message said:

Well,Sheldon Brown is riding a tadpole trike with low seat (Greenspeed
GT3) these days.

In my case it's not exactly balance thats at issue, it's starting and,
especially, stopping.

I have a rare form of MS, only affecting my lower body. It makes my
legs uncoordinated and weak. Also, the spasticity of my leg muscles
makes it very difficult for me to get my leg over the saddle.

http://sheldonbrown.com/health if you're curious about the details

The last bike I rode was my Raleigh Twenty, which does have a step-
through frame.

It's difficult for me to start up on it with the saddle at a reasonale
height, because one leg isn't strong enough for me to lift myself up
onto the saddle.

More worrisome, however, is the stopping issue. I worry about not
being able to unclip fast enough to get a foot down as I come to a
stop. This is particularly an issue if I were to try to ride up a
hill, and not be strong enough to keep up steerage way.

Riding without cleats or clips is not an option, because I don't have
sufficient coordination to keep my feet placed properly on the pedals.

I also don't trust either leg to be coordinated enough to let me put a
foot down to balance a stopped bike.

I haven't actually fallen from a bike, but the last few times I tried
it, it was very scary.

I like the Greenspeed a LOT, but getting up from it is pretty hard for
me. I actually bought the Greenspeed before I became a cripple, just
'cause it was so much fun to ride.

I'm keeping my eyes open for a good deal on an upright trike or a
trike conversion kit that I could use on one of my remaining
bicycles...

Sheldon "Tripod" Brown
+-----------------------------------------+
| Bicycling isn't supposed to hurt! See: |
| http://sheldonbrown.com/pain.html |
+-----------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

email hidden said:

Quoted message said:

On Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:16:47 -0800 (PST), "[email hidden]"

Quoted message said:

My serious reply isn't being taken all to serious by anyone.

Quoted message said:

A propellerly designed bike should go MUCH faster up against the wind.

Dear Gaby,

A) Yep.

B) Nope.

You are talking from your anus again Carl little boy.

Dear Gaby,

Thanks!

My off-line bet was that you'd soon respond that way. A rueful friend
who originally thought that there was something to your nonsense now
owes me dinner.

I tried to lure him into a double-or-nothing sucker bet, but he
declined.

Goodbye,

Carl Fogel

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

Goodbye,

Carl Fogel

Uh oh.

That's when you know it's over.

Cheers,

Dan

In article <[email hidden]>, A Muzi

Quoted message said:

I'm sure you've groaned and sweated a long sticky climb, red faced and
weary, as have we all. There's a descent on the other side.

Why, just last week, on the way back on an out-and-back ride with a 20
mph headwind out, I had to stop for a red light behind a
tractor-trailor rig. When the light turned green, it was a glorious
38-40 mph motorpace (well, at least until he drew away from me) with a
tailwind that pegged the computer at 41.9 max...first time I'd used
the 50x11 when it wasn't downhill (this new bike is my first experience
with a compact crank) since I'm a spinner not a masher.

So I got my reward for the out work with near instant gratification on
the way back.

Dan

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Sheldon Brown said:

I'm keeping my eyes open for a good deal on an upright trike or a
trike conversion kit that I could use on one of my remaining
bicycles...

I don't know the name of the maker, but there is a British conversion
kit that makes the bike into an upright tadpole trike. Simpler than
fussing with the drivetrain and doesn't require cornering gymnastics. I
recall seeing a picture of one in an old Bike Culture Quarterly, maybe
one of the York Rally reports. There might even have been some coverage
of it.

It's over when: you come home and find your (bike) clothes on the front
lawn.

It's REALLY over when: they're on fire.

Bill "just a story" S.

Owen said:

On Dec 21, 8:59 am, Crescentius Vespasianus <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

The question is: When do you know that it is over in cycling, and
it's time to move on to other pursuits. I have some personal clues,
but I don't want to reveal them, to bias any feedback I may get to
this question. Only serious replies, and if there is someone out
there that has given up cycling totally, to tell their experience
would be helpful.

An obituary in an English cycling magazine started with the words;

"He was 95 when he no longer could throw his leg over the bar.."

Guess that was an euphemism for getting too old to ride

Owen

He should have just gotten one of these.
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=80ybm8z&s=1
Dan Burkhart
www.boomerbicycle.ca

Sheldon Brown said:

I'm keeping my eyes open for a good deal on an upright trike or a
trike conversion kit that I could use on one of my remaining bicycles...

Places that deal in lowrider bike parts would probably be the most
economical source for trike conversion kits. There are two basic
kinds I have seen-- one uses stub axle wheels and the other uses
regular front and rear bike wheels.

http://megalowrider.com/Virtual/VirtualPages/Item_Page_ALL_TYPES.asp?ItemCode=F9901
http://megalowrider.com/Virtual/VirtualPages/Item_Page_ALL_TYPES.asp?ItemCode=F9991

Harris may already have a relationship with a wholesaler of lowrider
bikes and parts.

Best of luck sorting something out that works well for you.

Chalo