First ride of the season



P

[email protected]

Guest
The snow is all but gone and so are the resulting puddles (lakes?). So
I decided to bike home after dropping my car in for service: first
ride of the year.

Well, I made a couple of mistakes. First, I forgot to check on the
current weather conditions, which turned out to be suboptimal: 30 KMH
wind from the north (half my ride home was north); -4C (windchill
-12C). The remaining puddles were now skating rinks. Second, I took
my father's old bike (Raleigh Twenty folding bike) because it was
easier to get in and out of my car. Unfortunately, it hasn't been
maintained since he died in 2001. Might as well have been a fixy with
a big gear.

So, I fought a stiff wind on a badly maintained bike. All I can say is
that I'll ride my own bike when I pick up the car.

I guess I'm a terminal case.

Jeff
 
[email protected] wrote:
> The snow is all but gone and so are the resulting puddles (lakes?). So
> I decided to bike home after dropping my car in for service: first
> ride of the year.
>
> Well, I made a couple of mistakes. First, I forgot to check on the
> current weather conditions, which turned out to be suboptimal: 30 KMH
> wind from the north (half my ride home was north); -4C (windchill
> -12C). The remaining puddles were now skating rinks. Second, I took
> my father's old bike (Raleigh Twenty folding bike) because it was
> easier to get in and out of my car. Unfortunately, it hasn't been
> maintained since he died in 2001. Might as well have been a fixy with
> a big gear.

The Raleigh is cute, but I'm replacing the SA AW 3 speed hub with 7
speed Sachs/SRAM hub myself. You forgot to mention that the brakes are
utter **** (though maybe you're not in a hilly region).

> So, I fought a stiff wind on a badly maintained bike. All I can say is
> that I'll ride my own bike when I pick up the car.
>
> I guess I'm a terminal case.

Yup, sounds like you're a no-hoper. Still, you're in reasonably good
company here.

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
"Americans are broad-minded people. They'll accept the fact that a person can
be an alcoholic, a dope fiend, a wife beater, and even a newspaperman, but if a
man doesn't drive there's something wrong with him." - Art Buchwald
 
So the crappy brakes are SOP. Okay. I'd thought maybe it was due to
lack of maintenance. It was a great bike when my father bought it (ca
1970). Bikes really do last forever.

Winnipeg is used as the template for most billiard tables.

I ran the local marathon a few years ago: the difference between the
highest point on the course and the lowest point was 28 feet (yeah,
twenty-eight). And most of that was from the use of an underpass and a
bridge.

Jeff
 
[email protected] wrote:
> So the crappy brakes are SOP. Okay. I'd thought maybe it was due to
> lack of maintenance. It was a great bike when my father bought it (ca
> 1970). Bikes really do last forever.

Yup, it's because of the *super* long reach brakes. It's possibly to
make it better, but it would be a rather involved project. Still the
Raleigh is a nice little bike, Sheldon Brown has a page devoted to them
(if you're interested).

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/raleigh-twenty.html

I'm working on making mine into a nice little travel bike. Mine fits in
a standard suitcase so I can fly without worrying about getting dinged
with a fee.

> Winnipeg is used as the template for most billiard tables.
>
> I ran the local marathon a few years ago: the difference between the
> highest point on the course and the lowest point was 28 feet (yeah,
> twenty-eight). And most of that was from the use of an underpass and a
> bridge.

Sounds nice, I'm currently living in Seattle, so riding a bike is a very
up-and-down affair. I'd guess there's something like 800' feet of
cumulative climb just going to work, and slightly less coming back.

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.
-- Frank Zappa
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Dane Buson <[email protected]> writes:
> [email protected] wrote:
>> So the crappy brakes are SOP. Okay. I'd thought maybe it was due to
>> lack of maintenance. It was a great bike when my father bought it (ca
>> 1970). Bikes really do last forever.
>
> Yup, it's because of the *super* long reach brakes. It's possibly to
> make it better, but it would be a rather involved project.

Ryan Cousineau suggests finding an adaptable BMX fork w/ a
V-brake. In terms of just having a decent brake, that's
probably the best solution I've heard so far.

I've decided to keep my own Twenty as stock as possible,
at least for the time being. With the orig chromed rims,
that pretty much relegates it to being a fair-weather bike,
which is okay with me. I just want to retain its overall
sexy look. And I'm rather enjoying the nostalgic blast
from the past provided by the AW 3 speed.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca
 

> Well, I made a couple of mistakes. First, I forgot to check on the
> current weather conditions, which turned out to be suboptimal: 30 KMH
> wind from the north (half my ride home was north); -4C (windchill
> -12C). The remaining puddles were now skating rinks. Second, I took
> my father's old bike (Raleigh Twenty folding bike) because it was
> easier to get in and out of my car. Unfortunately, it hasn't been
> maintained since he died in 2001. Might as well have been a fixy with
> a big gear.
>
> So, I fought a stiff wind on a badly maintained bike. All I can say is
> that I'll ride my own bike when I pick up the car.
>
> I guess I'm a terminal case.
>
> Jeff

That low temperature was rough! But, the wind? 30 KM per hour is stiff? We
are having 30 MPH wind here in north Texas. I would kill for some 30 KMH
wind. But, you can keep the chill....

Pat in TX
>
 
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> The snow is all but gone and so are the resulting puddles (lakes?). So
> I decided to bike home after dropping my car in for service: first
> ride of the year.

And here I was *****ing about 10c - 14c temps. Whereabouts are you riding?
I hear Nfld got 20 cm last week.


It was so sunny today I couldn't resist. Of course the temp was 1c. First
spring ride 14c; second 10c; third ride 1c!

The temps are going the wrong way!!!
 
"oilfreeandhappy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Year-round riding isn't as bad as many people think. In your case, you
> weren't dressed for it. That's the key. Wool socks, ski gloves or
> mittens, balaclava, and layers; and you could easily ride year-round.

Context is your friend!

As for winter riding; I've been cycling year-round for years. But these
were the first 3 rides of _spring_.
 
>Context is your friend!
As for winter riding; I've been cycling year-round for years. But these

were the first 3 rides of _spring_.

Thanks recycled-one. You're correct. I was responding to the original
post.
Jim
 
"Dane Buson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Sounds nice, I'm currently living in Seattle, so riding a bike is a very
> up-and-down affair. I'd guess there's something like 800' feet of
> cumulative climb just going to work, and slightly less coming back.

Elevation profile here: http://www.jimcarson.com/rsvp/i-90_commute.gif. Jim
used to work at Amazon -- don't you live at a similar elevation? And the
Eastgate demarcation is about where you're office is?


--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky
 
oilfreeandhappy wrote:
>>Context is your friend!
>
> As for winter riding; I've been cycling year-round for years. But these
>
> were the first 3 rides of _spring_.
>
> Thanks recycled-one. You're correct. I was responding to the original
> post.
> Jim
>
Gloves are a definite below 50 F, but after about 2 miles of hitting it
fairly hard I find myself sweating, even with only long bottom sweats
and a tee shirt. At least in the summer I know I am going to be sweating
the whole time. I have found myself with no gloves, sweating profusely
and my hands totally freezing.
C'mon summer.
Bill Baka
 

>
> That low temperature was rough! But, the wind? 30 KM per hour is stiff?
> We are having 30 MPH wind here in north Texas. I would kill for some 30
> KMH wind. But, you can keep the chill....


I forgot to mention our wind was gusting to 50 MPH. But, I miscalculated the
KMH to MPH conversation. It truly has been a windy winter and spring. All
in all, though, I think the wind-chill you had would have bothered me more.
I was out in the car yesterday and the gusting wind rocked the car! I was
thinking I was glad not to be on a bike.

Pat in TX
 
Claire Petersky <[email protected]> wrote:
> "Dane Buson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>> Sounds nice, I'm currently living in Seattle, so riding a bike is a very
>> up-and-down affair. I'd guess there's something like 800' feet of
>> cumulative climb just going to work, and slightly less coming back.
>
> Elevation profile here: http://www.jimcarson.com/rsvp/i-90_commute.gif. Jim
> used to work at Amazon -- don't you live at a similar elevation? And the
> Eastgate demarcation is about where you're office is?

That sounds about right. I tried to go look it up, but I'm not having
luck finding elevation data at the moment. I also tried gmap-pedometer,
but the elevation profile isn't showing up.

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even
where there is no river. -- Nikita Khrushchev
 
Tom Keats <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Dane Buson <[email protected]> writes:
>> [email protected] wrote:
>>> So the crappy brakes are SOP. Okay. I'd thought maybe it was due to
>>> lack of maintenance. It was a great bike when my father bought it (ca
>>> 1970). Bikes really do last forever.
>>
>> Yup, it's because of the *super* long reach brakes. It's possibly to
>> make it better, but it would be a rather involved project.
>
> Ryan Cousineau suggests finding an adaptable BMX fork w/ a
> V-brake. In terms of just having a decent brake, that's
> probably the best solution I've heard so far.

True, but I'm not aware of a stock 20" fork that has a long enough
steerer. If you find one, be sure to tell me.

> I've decided to keep my own Twenty as stock as possible,
> at least for the time being. With the orig chromed rims,
> that pretty much relegates it to being a fair-weather bike,
> which is okay with me. I just want to retain its overall
> sexy look. And I'm rather enjoying the nostalgic blast
> from the past provided by the AW 3 speed.

Well, I'm using it as a travel bike, so it does need ot be able to take
at least a little rain. I do need to make up a fair-weather bike, as
most of my bikes are pretty heavily skewed towards rain and utility. It
might be nice to have a sunny day bike.

SemiOnTopic: It's like amateur week out lately. On the positive side
I'm seeing a lot of people out on bikes. On the negative side, I'm
seeing a lot of people out on bikes, especially on my route to and fro
work. Only a couple near collisions last week. /sigh

--
Dane Buson - [email protected]
"Is it worse to get your head handed to you,
or your heart handed to you in a couple of pieces?"
 
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