How many miles?

[Donald Munro]

Jeff Jones wrote:
> Let's see, I'm on my ninth frame now, having had one stolen, four
> break and four survive (two of which I sold, the other two I've still got). Five of those frames
> were steel, and the other four were all aluminium/steel GTs. I took advantage of the lifetime
> warranty on the GT which is why I'm still riding one. In fact I ended up with an extra GT frame
> (it broke but I got it fixed) because they gave me second hand one while shipping in a
> replacement for me.

Transporting your bikes between Belgium and Australia must be an interesting logistical experience
(I remember transporting 1 bike to NY and back when I worked there was quite an experience).

> No complaints about GT customer service from me, although I'm not surprised they went...broke.

They seem to be back in business or at least here in SA a local distributor which used to bring
in GT mountain bikes has now started bringing in some road bikes too (with a rather strange
design where the seat stays are attached to the top tube forward from where the seat tube meets
the top tube).

 

[Howard Kveck]

In article <[email protected]>, "Tom Kunich"
<[email protected]> wrote:

> "Jeff Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > > This is why the only way you can discuss mileage is if you
> maintain a
> > > log of every ride.
> > >
> > I agree. I do maintain a written log and have done so for at least
> the
> > past 10 yrs. Before that I wasn't really riding any less, but I
> wasn't
> > keeping detailed notes. I rode a lot when at Uni because there was plenty of time to do so, and
> > I was there for seven and a half years.
>
> I'm really surprised that you have put in so many miles. I ride all I can and yet only get in some
> 4000-6000 miles a year.

That's a pretty decent amount of mileage, really. I guess it depends on how much of a life you
want outside of work and riding. Or how obsessive you are about riding. My interest in riding has
gone in (ahem) cycles over the years. Some years, I wasn't that into it, others were pretty
focused on riding. A few years ago, I would ride to work every day (100 miles a week), a 100+
miles on one weekend day, 55-65 the other, an extra 40-50 miles on two midweek days and an extra
20 or so one other day. This on top of a ten hours on my feet work day. That would go on for
3-1/2 months and the other months were a lot less, because I managed a 10,000 mile year once and
a bunch about 9000+/-. About five years ago, however, I rode 14 miles on New Years and I got on
my bike again the next New Years Day. (I categorically and emphatically deny that had anything to
do with any appearances on "America's Most Wanted".) Now I ride fewer days a week and it seems to
be spread out over a greater part of the year. I think about the big mile months I had done and
can't see any point to it. I might get 4500 miles this year, but I have more fun and my fitness
is better now.

--
tanx, Howard

"Danger, you haven't seen the last of me!"
"No, but the first of you turns my stomach!"
Firesign Theatre

remove YOUR SHOES to reply, ok?

 

[Sergio Servadio]

On Mon, 17 Nov 2003, Sergio SERVADIO wrote:
> > Sergio SERVADIO <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:<[email protected]>...
> > > A friend of mine from Castelfranco Veneto, a guy who has no family of his own, no automobile
> > > but, yes, a job has consistently done 30.000 kms a year the last several years. At the age of
> > > 52, not bad as a record. Don't you think?
> You wouldn't believe what this guy has been capable of doing. I'll turn this post to his favourite
> buddy, in the hope he will tell everyone a few stories about him. Stay tuned

I stand corrected: he just turned 56 year old. I was promised a profile of this extraordinary rider;
it will be written by his friend Walter and forwarded by me to any interested correspondent. Or,
should I publish it on the NG?

Sergio Pisa

 

[Ewoud Dronkert]

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 09:46:10 +0100, Sergio SERVADIO wrote:
> Or, should I publish it on the NG?

Sure. (Has he done any racing ever?

 

[Sergio Servadio]

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003, Ewoud Dronkert wrote:
> On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 09:46:10 +0100, Sergio SERVADIO wrote:
> > Or, should I publish it on the NG?
> Sure. (Has he done any racing ever?

Not really. I was told he has often 'tailgated' GranFondo events, like the Campagnolo one (even
getting there by bike early in the morning, and back at night). You'll be amazed.

Sergio Pisa

 

[Bruce Johnston]

"Sergio SERVADIO" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Mon, 17 Nov 2003, Sergio SERVADIO wrote:
> > > Sergio SERVADIO <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > > > A friend of mine from Castelfranco Veneto, a guy who has no family
of his
> > > > own, no automobile but, yes, a job has consistently done 30.000 kms
a year
> > > > the last several years. At the age of 52, not bad as a record. Don't you think?
> > You wouldn't believe what this guy has been capable of doing. I'll turn this post to his
> > favourite buddy, in the hope he will tell everyone a few stories about him. Stay tuned
>
> I stand corrected: he just turned 56 year old. I was promised a profile of this extraordinary
> rider; it will be written by his friend Walter and forwarded by me to any interested
> correspondent. Or, should I publish it on the NG?
>
> Sergio Pisa

Sure, that would interesting to read. BTW, I wonder where Pappy is on this one? Hey Pappy, how
many miles?

B-

 

[Tom Kunich]

This group is up for it.

"Sergio SERVADIO" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Tue, 18 Nov 2003, Ewoud Dronkert wrote:
> > On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 09:46:10 +0100, Sergio SERVADIO wrote:
> > > Or, should I publish it on the NG?
> > Sure. (Has he done any racing ever?
>
> Not really. I was told he has often 'tailgated' GranFondo events, like the
Campagnolo
> one (even getting there by bike early in the morning, and back at
night).
> You'll be amazed.
>
> Sergio Pisa

 

[Jeff Jones]

Donald Munro <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
> Transporting your bikes between Belgium and Australia must be an interesting logistical experience
> (I remember transporting 1 bike to NY and back when I worked there was quite an experience).
>
It's OK with a bike bag. Sometimes they charge me an extra 60-70 euros, sometimes not, depending on
how much of a terrorist I look like.

cheers, Jeff

 

[Jeff Jones]

Sergio SERVADIO <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
>
> I stand corrected: he just turned 56 year old. I was promised a profile of this extraordinary
> rider; it will be written by his friend Walter and forwarded by me to any interested
> correspondent. Or, should I publish it on the NG?
>
Publish it here. We are discerning types

Jeff

 

[Jeff Jones]

"Tom Kunich" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> "Jeff Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...

> > I agree. I do maintain a written log and have done so for at least
> the
> > past 10 yrs. Before that I wasn't really riding any less, but I
> wasn't
> > keeping detailed notes. I rode a lot when at Uni because there was plenty of time to do so, and
> > I was there for seven and a half years.
>
> I'm really surprised that you have put in so many miles. I ride all I can and yet only get in some
> 4000-6000 miles a year. But when I retire.......
>
It's just habit for me - part of my daily routine involves riding. I also have zero (or very little)
commuting time to work. The longest break off the bike I've had in the last 15 years has been a
month, and that was in a year where I raced full time and did 32,000km (and not much else).

It's all relative. Plenty of people would look at your mileage and think "that's amazing - how can
you ride a bike that far?". Similarly I look at a pro's mileage and think "50,000km in a year is
bloody incredible."

Some pros still ride a lot when they retire - Allan Peiper is still very fit on the bike, despite
running a bradworst van for much of the year. I remember him telling me once "Don't eat these
things, they'll kill you" while cheerfully serving them to the masses at Gentsefeesten.

cheers, Jeff

 

[Bruce Johnston]

"Jeff Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Tom Kunich" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > You sure about those figures Jeff? That's 55 km per day every day.
> >
> I'm positive Tom. 55 km is a rest day. If anything, the estimate was on the low side.
>
> > Let's assume you take one day a week off for rest. Then let's say you lived in an area where you
> > could ride most of the days in a year. You're still going to lose a dozen or more days a year to
> > weather.
> >
> I don't take a day off/week for rest, but I do ride 45-60 km easy on Monday and Friday. The only
> days I don't go out are when I'm feeling like **** *and* it's raining hard outside. And because I
> spend most of the European winter (Nov-Jan) in sunny Australia, I can ride pretty much every day
> of the year.
>
> > So that's 12 + 52 = 64 or two full months of no riding. That means that you have to average some
> > 65 km per day every riding day.
> >
> My rest periods are dictated by work (about 15-20 days where I'm physically separated from my
> bike), illness/travel (maybe 7 days/yr), and just feeling bad (3 days/yr). So far this year
> (looking at my log) I've had 27 days off. That still gives me 338 days of riding, and given that
> I'm heading for 29,000km this year that works out at 86 km/day on the days that I do ride. My
> weekly totals correspond to this, strangely enough.
>
> > This is why the only way you can discuss mileage is if you maintain a log of every ride.

I can't hardly believe you never get mentally burned out where you want or need to take a few months
off the bike in all those years. Heck I do, especially after I got hit head on by a car. I didn't
get hurt bad but it did let the air out of my sails. Sometimes I just quit riding for 4 or 5 weeks
and travel across the US and visit national parks. I do admit to taking the mountain bike for Moah
Utah, etc. few places here and there that was nothing more then just a few fun miles here and there
but I guess if you think about it they are all fun miles and fitness if you are not racing
seriously.

 

[Tom Kunich]

"Bruce Johnston" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> "Jeff Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > "Tom Kunich" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
> > > You sure about those figures Jeff? That's 55 km per day every
day.
> > >
> > I'm positive Tom. 55 km is a rest day. If anything, the estimate
was
> > on the low side.
> >
> > > Let's assume you take one day a week off for rest. Then let's
say you
> > > lived in an area where you could ride most of the days in a
year.
> > > You're still going to lose a dozen or more days a year to
weather.
> > >
> > I don't take a day off/week for rest, but I do ride 45-60 km easy
on
> > Monday and Friday. The only days I don't go out are when I'm
feeling
> > like **** *and* it's raining hard outside. And because I spend
most of
> > the European winter (Nov-Jan) in sunny Australia, I can ride
pretty
> > much every day of the year.
> >
> > > So that's 12 + 52 = 64 or two full months of no riding. That
means
> > > that you have to average some 65 km per day every riding day.
> > >
> > My rest periods are dictated by work (about 15-20 days where I'm physically separated from my
> > bike), illness/travel (maybe 7
days/yr),
> > and just feeling bad (3 days/yr). So far this year (looking at my
log)
> > I've had 27 days off. That still gives me 338 days of riding, and given that I'm heading for
> > 29,000km this year that works out at 86 km/day on the days that I do ride. My weekly totals
> > correspond to this, strangely enough.
> >
> > > This is why the only way you can discuss mileage is if you
maintain a
> > > log of every ride.
>
> I can't hardly believe you never get mentally burned out where you
want or
> need to take a few months off the bike in all those years. Heck I
do,
> especially after I got hit head on by a car. I didn't get hurt bad
but it
> did let the air out of my sails. Sometimes I just quit riding for 4
or 5
> weeks and travel across the US and visit national parks. I do admit
to
> taking the mountain bike for Moah Utah, etc. few places here and
there that
> was nothing more then just a few fun miles here and there but I
guess if you
> think about it they are all fun miles and fitness if you are not
racing
> seriously.

I heard that the Slick Rock has gotten so 'popular' that it's a drag to try and ride anymore.

 

[Tom Kunich]

"Jeff Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Donald Munro <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> >
> > Transporting your bikes between Belgium and Australia must be an interesting logistical
> > experience (I remember transporting 1 bike
to NY
> > and back when I worked there was quite an experience).
> >
> It's OK with a bike bag. Sometimes they charge me an extra 60-70 euros, sometimes not, depending
> on how much of a terrorist I look like.

The more you look like a terrorist the less they charge?

 

[Ueyn Block]

Kunich wrote:

> I heard that the Slick Rock has gotten so 'popular' that it's a drag to try and ride anymore.

I rode it in May and it was 90-100 degrees (too hot later in summer for most people)... I
encountered at most a dozen cyclists on the whole loop. I had such a fantastic time I will
definitely go back. Thus, there are plenty of times when it is not a "drag to try and ride". It is
popular because it is a must-ride place to go.

-Ueyn

 

[Raptor]

Ueyn Block wrote:
> Kunich wrote:
>
>
>>I heard that the Slick Rock has gotten so 'popular' that it's a drag to try and ride anymore.
>
>
> I rode it in May and it was 90-100 degrees (too hot later in summer for most people)... I
> encountered at most a dozen cyclists on the whole loop. I had such a fantastic time I will
> definitely go back. Thus, there are plenty of times when it is not a "drag to try and ride". It is
> popular because it is a must-ride place to go.
>
> -Ueyn

During peak periods, Spring and Fall, Slickrock looks like a SoCal freeway in spots. The problem is,
there are too many tight choke points where riders stack up. At such times, Moab's other trails are
viable alternatives. I rode Porcupine Rim the weekend before the Fat Tire Festival, and though there
were at least 1000 riders on the trail that day, there were only one or two spots where a wait was
necessary, and that was less than a minute.

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall "We should not march into Baghdad. ... Assigning young
soldiers to a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning them to fight in what
would be an unwinnable urban guerilla war, it could only plunge that part of the world into ever
greater instability." George Bush Sr. in his 1998 book "A World Transformed"

 

[Tom Kunich]

"Ueyn Block" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:BBE3DCF0.16D6B%[email protected]...
> Kunich wrote:
>
> > I heard that the Slick Rock has gotten so 'popular' that it's a
drag
> > to try and ride anymore.
>
> I rode it in May and it was 90-100 degrees (too hot later in summer
for most
> people)... I encountered at most a dozen cyclists on the whole loop.
I had
> such a fantastic time I will definitely go back. Thus, there are
plenty of
> times when it is not a "drag to try and ride". It is popular
because it is
> a must-ride place to go.

Well, next summer.........

 

[Jeff Jones]

"Bruce Johnston" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
> I can't hardly believe you never get mentally burned out where you want or need to take a few
> months off the bike in all those years. Heck I do, especially after I got hit head on by a car. I
> didn't get hurt bad but it did let the air out of my sails. Sometimes I just quit riding for 4 or
> 5 weeks and travel across the US and visit national parks. I do admit to taking the mountain bike
> for Moah Utah, etc. few places here and there that was nothing more then just a few fun miles here
> and there but I guess if you think about it they are all fun miles and fitness if you are not
> racing seriously.

The only time I got mentally tired was at the end of a full season in Belgium in 1998 (and to a
lesser extent in 1999). I took a couple of weeks break at the end of '98 and it was the first time I
actually didn't want to look at the bike. But then I gradually got back into riding again and did
some gym work to keep me interested, and by the start of '99 I was raring to race again. I had a
much better season in '99 because I was a lot more used to the racing style in Belgium, and came
back relatively fresh.

I did force myself to hang up the bike for four weeks, during which time I started working at
cyclingnews. That was quite a lot of work at the beginning and although I was still riding
enough, I didn't have the mental energy to race until 2001 when I got the bug back (and got some
editorial support).

As far as injury time goes, I had three weeks off in '97 after a crash, but all the time I was
itching to get back on the bike again. Prior to that, my yearly breaks were never more than a week
or two, and I probably was a bit mentally burned out, but I had sufficient enthusiasm to keep going
day in, day out. Certainly addicted.

Now, due to work, I can never do more than two month (at most) blocks of racing at any one time, but
I find at the end of those I'm starting to go through the motions a bit anyway, and it's good to
change tack. It's also fun to experiment with different forms of training to see how effective they
are come race time.

cheers, Jeff