50!



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I know the feeling!

Once, a few years back, I was at the top of San Francisquito Pass Rd. (North-west of El-Lay). A 15%
grade, smooth pavement, almost perfectly straight, no driveways or cross streets, and a 20MPH
tailwind!!

At the bottom I looked at my Comp', and it showed me a max speed of
62.3, (100KPH for you Europeans)! Not bad for a old Schwinn touring bike!

From that day forth I have called that particular grade "Mile-A-Minute hill"...

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": http://www.geocities.com/czcorner
 
David storm wrote:

"Could have gone faster but a darned Porsche was in my way.."

How many Cyclists can say that? LOL!!

You went 70 doun a hill at NIGHT?! And people calle me brave/insane!!

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": http://www.geocities.com/czcorner
 
No, I didn't go 70 mph at night. I said I have heard that tandem racers do it. I'm still a little
sane and want a few more years on this planet.

"Chris Zacho "The Wheelman"" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> David storm wrote:
>
> "Could have gone faster but a darned Porsche was in my way.."
>
> How many Cyclists can say that? LOL!!
>
> You went 70 doun a hill at NIGHT?! And people calle me brave/insane!!
>
> May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris
>
> Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": http://www.geocities.com/czcorner
 
[email protected] (Claire Petersky) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> For the first time on the commute into work this morning -- I had a personal best of the top speed
> of 50+ mph coming down Kamber Road.
>>
> Claire Petersky ([email protected])
>
> ......................................................................
Congrats on the road bike boogie.. Anything over 40 is flying. My last time at 50+ was a downhill on
the mid Tennesee Century in '99. I hit 52 and the locals said that over 55 was possible.

I remember just tucking in, praying,looking at the computer,and going sh**, sh** a whole bunch.

islandtime
 
[email protected] (Claire Petersky) wrote in news:[email protected]:

> For the first time on the commute into work this morning -- I had a personal best of the top speed
> of 50+ mph coming down Kamber Road.
>

Happy 50, Claire!!! Wow! I don't have many hills like that, so I haven't felt that rush, yet.
Plus, with the tank I ride, the fastest I've gone (peddaling downhill at full speed, in highest
gear), is 36mph!

We do have a considerable hill near my house. Some day I'll have to brave it, and go full speed down
it! Problem is (and the only reason I haven't "braved it"), once I hit bottom, the hill back up is
exactly as steep and as long! Yuck!

Glad to see that some people don't lose their courage! Congrats!

--
Smile!!

__O _-\ <,_ Eric Babula (_) / (_) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
 
We all know that 50 is off the chart fast for most bicyclists, but that is a routine speed in a car
to say the least. 50 on a bike *feels* so much faster than 50 in a car due to the wind resistance
pressure, wind buffeting, noise, rush of the ground going by, relative instability of the bike
compared to a 4 wheel car, etc. Any other?

I think perceived speed on a bike is at least twice that of in a car. 25 on a bike is like 50 in a
car perceptually. Or is it even more, perhaps an exponential relationship. Air resistance is
exponential.

Opinions?

Wayne
 
In article <[email protected]>, Wayne Pein <[email protected]> writes:
> We all know that 50 is off the chart fast for most bicyclists, but that is a routine speed in a
> car to say the least. 50 on a bike *feels* so much faster than 50 in a car due to the wind
> resistance pressure, wind buffeting, noise, rush of the ground going by, relative instability of
> the bike compared to a 4 wheel car, etc. Any other?
>
> I think perceived speed on a bike is at least twice that of in a car. 25 on a bike is like 50 in a
> car perceptually. Or is it even more, perhaps an exponential relationship. Air resistance is
> exponential.
>
> Opinions?

I haven't hit 50 mph yet; just 38.something (which I think is doing pretty good, considering my ride
and how it's accessorized). But I consider a couple of things:

1) there are times when everything goes so right. Like when a hitter just *knows* he's gonna
moon-rocket that baseball right outa the park, and then he does. At those times, everything
just clicks, without thinking about air resistance, or any other self-second-guessing
factors. At those times, the rest of the world seems to stand still, and time itself seems to
stop for a moment.

2) really, truly *speeding* in a car doesn't really seem so fast -- until you've gotta stop, or
carve a turn, or get a blowout. Maybe it can be the same on a bike.

So, I think there can well be times & places where doing 50 on a bike can just feel ... natural, and
without any freak-out factors.

And, conversely, other situations where it might be downright scary :)

cheers, Tom
--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca
 
[email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote let it be known in news:[email protected]:

> 2) really, truly *speeding* in a car doesn't really seem so fast -- until you've gotta stop, or
> carve a turn, or get a blowout. Maybe it can be the same on a bike.
>
> So, I think there can well be times & places where doing 50 on a bike can just feel ... natural,
> and without any freak-out factors.

Here amongst the Green Mountains of Vermont, I've hit 50+ many times (my record is 53, but there are
some rides on which I hit 45-50 routinely).

I can tell you that at 50mph on a bike, all that goes through MY head is images of broken spokes,
cracked frames, blowouts, patches of sand, siezed hubs, wildlife darting in from the roadside... any
one of which could lead to a catastrophic meeting of my skin with the pavement.

--

Curt Bousquet moc.enilnacs@PTNN < Reverse for email

Road biking in Southern VT and Western Mass.

My 2002 bike log: http://www.scanline.com/bikelog/2002.html
 
Wayne Pein wrote:

> We all know that 50 is off the chart fast for most bicyclists, but that is a routine speed in a
> car to say the least. 50 on a bike *feels* so much faster than 50 in a car due to the wind
> resistance pressure, wind buffeting, noise, rush of the ground going by, relative instability of
> the bike compared to a 4 wheel car, etc. Any other?
>
> I think perceived speed on a bike is at least twice that of in a car. 25 on a bike is like 50 in a
> car perceptually. Or is it even more, perhaps an exponential relationship. Air resistance is
> exponential.
>
> Opinions?
>
> Wayne

Perception is entirely in the mind. It seems (to me) to be related to personal danger. A carnival
ride feels faster than it is. A little sailing sloop or skiff feels much faster than it is. You can
be ripping along in whitecaps at 15 mph and get a great speed rush. Even 25 mph on a bike feels
fast. Beyond that, you can use the way your eyelids want to peel back as an organic speedometer.
Best regards, Bernie
 
Bernie <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Wayne Pein wrote:
>
> > We all know that 50 is off the chart fast for most bicyclists, but that is a routine speed in a
> > car to say the least. 50 on a bike *feels* so much faster than 50 in a car due to the wind
> > resistance pressure, wind buffeting, noise, rush of the ground going by, relative instability of
> > the bike compared to a 4 wheel car, etc. Any other?
> >
> > I think perceived speed on a bike is at least twice that of in a car. 25 on a bike is like 50 in
> > a car perceptually. Or is it even more, perhaps an exponential relationship. Air resistance is
> > exponential.
> >
> > Opinions?

<snip>

My wife and I got up to 60mph on a 9.5% grade while touring on our recumbent tandem trike. This will
probably stay as a record for us! Because the trike is so stable, it was not too scary, but the
feeling of speed was wonderful. Our butts are only 8 in. off the deck, so that cheese-grater
pavement just zips by! Unless cornering hard, it's pretty difficult to flip this baby, so even a
blowout is not too serious an affair. Still and all, those speed make you wonder....

Scott
 
[email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote in news:[email protected]:

>
> I haven't hit 50 mph yet; just 38.something (which I think is doing pretty good, considering my
> ride and how it's accessorized). But I consider a couple of things:
>
Tom ride up Cypress and you are sure to hit 75-80k on those long downhills. A friend and I can do a
little better than that drafting and slingshoting (sp) each other. For others Cypress is a 10k 7.75%
average grade hill with 4 hairpin but no other turns.
 
In article <[email protected]>, Mike Latondresse <[email protected]> writes:
> [email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote in news:[email protected]:

> Tom ride up Cypress and you are sure to hit 75-80k on those long downhills.

Yeah, but I'd rather do it with rubber on the ground for at least part of the time, rather than
while falling off the edge of a cliff :)

I've been using a cycloputer for only a little more than a year now. Most of that time has been
urban riding. I have no idea what speeds I had previously attained, since I had no speedometer back
then. The computer has really been an eye- opener. Sometimes it feels like I'm screamin', but the
'puter tells me I'm a slug. Other times, it feels like I'm slowly going nowhere, and the 'puter says
I'm going fast.

I bemoan there really are so few places in the city where one can really boot it. Coming out of
Stanley Park on the Drive is one spot, I guess. And NW Marine Drive. And maybe 45th, between
Boundary & Kerr. But, gotta watch out for those @#$% jaywalkers. A few times I've hit the lights
just right on Knight Street, from 37th to Kingsway. I think that's where I've recorded my max speed
on the cycloputer.

> A friend and I can do a little better than that drafting and slingshoting (sp) each other. For
> others Cypress is a 10k 7.75% average grade hill with 4 hairpin but no other turns.

I really wanted to do Buntzen Lake last summer, but never got around to it. Maybe this time around.
I used to play around on the BLT a decade or so ago. But, I've gotten too old for record stores (or
whatever they call them now, with these newfangled CDs and DVDs), and likewise have gotten too old
for the North Shore.

The milk crate slows me down. So does the front fender. But I think my worst impediment to speed is
the horn. It's so anti-aero.

cheers, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca
 
In article <[email protected]>, Zoot Katz <[email protected]> writes:

> Turn it around.

I /have/ thought about turning the riser bar upside down. I could just leave the horn where it is.

But, maybe it provides a little lift for poppin' wheelies.

The lure of speed is sometimes compelling. Especially when other people talk about it. But, I guess
I've got to be reconciled to being happy with what I've got. It ain't fast, and it ain't pretty, but
it's ... whatever the hell it is. And it's grown on me.

cheers, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca
 
[email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote in news:[email protected]:

> In article <[email protected]>, Mike Latondresse
> <[email protected]> writes:
>> [email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote in news:[email protected]:
>
>> Tom ride up Cypress and you are sure to hit 75-80k on those long downhills.
>
> Yeah, but I'd rather do it with rubber on the ground for at least part of the time, rather than
> while falling off the edge of a cliff :)
Tom Cypress has a road that skiers use to get up there. We road up to the first lookout today (time
problem) and did 74kph down and this is a slower section. Hey try it.
 
In article <[email protected]>, Mike Latondresse <[email protected]> writes:
> [email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote in news:[email protected]:
>
>> In article <[email protected]>, Mike Latondresse <[email protected]>
>> writes:

> Tom Cypress has a road that skiers use to get up there. We road up to the first lookout today
> (time problem) and did 74kph down and this is a slower section. Hey try it.

It does sound like a tempting adventure, now that Ol' Pig Iron has undergone it's spring tune-up,
and I have some time on my hands for awhile.

Speaking of the tune-up -- I finished it up this evening, and took a notion to go for a test spin
around the neighbourhood. I stepped into the pedal and went to mount, and ... mush. ??!! "Aw, ****,"
I thought. "How'd I end up with a loose crank?" (I skipped doing the BB, because I took care of that
back in February.)

Then I remembered, I took the freewheel off to do the rear wheel bearings, and just spun it back
onto the hub. Whew! So I rode up the hill on 37th, beside Little Mountain a few times. The freewheel
is on there good and tight, now.

I guess a ride up Cypress oughta really cinch 'er down.

And I feel better with the new brake pads on.

cheers, Tom

--
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[point] bc [point] ca
 
Mike Latondresse wrote:

> [email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote in news:[email protected]:
>
> > In article <[email protected]>, Mike Latondresse <[email protected]>
> > writes:
> >> [email protected] (Tom Keats) wrote in news:[email protected]:
> >
> >> Tom ride up Cypress and you are sure to hit 75-80k on those long downhills.
> >
> > Yeah, but I'd rather do it with rubber on the ground for at least part of the time, rather than
> > while falling off the edge of a cliff :)
> Tom Cypress has a road that skiers use to get up there. We road up to the first lookout today
> (time problem) and did 74kph down and this is a slower section. Hey try it.

Tell me about your wheels and tires?
 
Bernie <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

>> Tom Cypress has a road that skiers use to get up there. We road up to the first lookout today
>> (time problem) and did 74kph down and this is a slower section. Hey try it.
>
> Tell me about your wheels and tires?
>
Bike is a Litespeed Classic with Chorus so the hubs are standard 9s Chorus 32 spoke with Moscova
rims and Specialized Turbo Armadillo (sp?)700x25s. I got the Specialized tires cus last summer I did
a trip up the island to Port Hardy, cross to Bella Coola and from there to Williams lake over 500+k
of dirt roads and they still haven't work out.
 
Wed, 30 Apr 2003 17:46:17 GMT, <[email protected]>, Mike Latondresse
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Bernie <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:
>
>>> Tom Cypress has a road that skiers use to get up there. We road up to the first lookout today
>>> (time problem) and did 74kph down and this is a slower section. Hey try it.
>>
>> Tell me about your wheels and tires?
>>
>Bike is a Litespeed Classic with Chorus so the hubs are standard 9s Chorus 32 spoke with Moscova
>rims and Specialized Turbo Armadillo (sp?)700x25s. I got the Specialized tires cus last summer I
>did a trip up the island to Port Hardy, cross to Bella Coola and from there to Williams lake over
>500+k of dirt roads and they still haven't work out.

I feel their kevlar belt adds to one's confidence level at speed.
--
zk
 
Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:

>Wed, 30 Apr 2003 17:46:17 GMT, <[email protected]>, Mike Latondresse
><[email protected]> wrote:

>>Bike is a Litespeed Classic with Chorus so the hubs are standard 9s Chorus 32 spoke with Moscova
>>rims and Specialized Turbo Armadillo (sp?)700x25s. I got the Specialized tires cus last summer I
>>did a trip up the island to Port Hardy, cross to Bella Coola and from there to Williams lake over
>>500+k of dirt roads and they still haven't work out.
>
>I feel their kevlar belt adds to one's confidence level at speed.

I wouldn't trust 'em myownself. I had one blow off at the rated inflation pressure, and have talked
to others who have had the same problem. I transitioned to Conti Gatorskins and haven't looked back
(plus they feel like "normal tires" and not like they're made out of solid rubber).

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame
 
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