RR - 1st road bike experience

I was given a Cannondale F500 road bike by a friend that already had too many Ti and plastic bikes
to have any use for an aluminim crack n fail. I didn't even touch it for week. Then I had drop of
the wife's car at the shop early Sat, so I decided that the 10 miles back would be a good test of
the road bike thing. Started out from the auto shop very wobbly, thinking that this was going to
take some serious getting used to. The first 9 miles were very easy. Pretty much flat. Experimented
with standing and mashing a bit, but quickly spun out due to the flat ground. (My stand and mash has
a very low redline) Almost home, still no hills. OK, decide on slight detour to to try some hills.
First long hill, there's a guy on a bright yellow Colnago with matching jersey, shoes, socks,
gloves... you get the idea. He's waving to roadies going the other way with that italian palm up
open/close hand wave. I have to try catch him. I took it kinda easy as I didn't want to just pass
him and die. Caught up him half way up. Not tired yet, good. Notice that he's shiny smooth legs. So,
I pull out, pass say hello etc, then head down and start pushing. 20 seconds later I look back. This
guy's stuck on my wheel about 6 inches behind me. upshift 3 and stand. Really push now. Like any
good mountain biker, I have one good sprint in me. I was warmed up, still fresh and this was it. It
felt like I was running in slow motion. The road bike geometry really allows you to stand up,
stretch out and hammer. This felt really good now. Legs, arms, back, everything into it, not killing
any one part prematurely, everything was tiring evenly, this was good. About 40 sec later, the
lactic acid's unbearable, lungs burning, I back off and back, he's about 20 feet behind me. Coast a
bit, spin slowly and wait for him. First thing I notice is his color, he's a bit grey. He's
drooling, there's snot hanging off his chin, and he's weaving. He catches up and says, "Gasp, That
was pretty strong, Gasp, I couldn't hold your Gasp wheel, How long you been riding, Gasp Gasp Gasp".
I couldn't resist, I said "I just got this last week, this is my first time on it. This is kinda fun
huh?" He says "I, uh, um, do you, er, ... what?" I confessed to the whole MTB thing, and he felt
better. The detour was soooo worth it. I rode the rest of the way home with stupid grin that
wouldn't go away. I'm going to have to try that again.

-Bruce

 

bruce edge <[email protected]> wrote in message news[email protected]...
> I was given a Cannondale F500 road bike by a friend that already had too many Ti and plastic bikes
> to have any use for an aluminim crack n fail. I didn't even touch it for week. Then I had drop of
> the wife's car at the shop early Sat, so I decided that the 10 miles back would be a good test of
> the road bike thing. Started out from the auto shop very wobbly, thinking that this was going to
> take some serious getting used to. The first 9 miles were very easy. Pretty much flat.
> Experimented with standing and mashing a bit, but quickly spun out due to the flat ground. (My
> stand and mash has a very low redline) Almost home, still no hills. OK, decide on slight detour to
> to try some hills. First long hill, there's a guy on a bright yellow Colnago with matching jersey,
> shoes, socks, gloves... you get the idea. He's waving to roadies going the other way with that
> italian palm up open/close hand wave. I have to try catch him. I took it kinda easy as I didn't
> want to just pass him and die. Caught up him half way up. Not tired yet, good. Notice that he's
> shiny smooth legs. So, I pull out, pass say hello etc, then head down and start pushing. 20
> seconds later I look back. This guy's stuck on my wheel about 6 inches behind me. upshift 3 and
> stand. Really push now. Like any good mountain biker, I have one good sprint in me. I was warmed
> up, still fresh and this was it. It felt like I was running in slow motion. The road bike geometry
> really allows you to stand up, stretch out and hammer. This felt really good now. Legs, arms,
> back, everything into it, not killing any one part prematurely, everything was tiring evenly, this
> was good. About 40 sec later, the lactic acid's unbearable, lungs burning, I back off and back,
> he's about 20 feet behind me. Coast a bit, spin slowly and wait for him. First thing I notice is
> his color, he's a bit grey. He's drooling, there's snot hanging off his chin, and he's weaving. He
> catches up and says, "Gasp, That was pretty strong, Gasp, I couldn't
hold your
> Gasp wheel, How long you been riding, Gasp Gasp Gasp". I couldn't resist, I said "I just got this
> last week, this is my first time on it. This is kinda fun huh?" He says "I, uh, um, do you, er,
> ... what?"

Heheheheh - classic indeed! Least he didn't suffer from the usual disposition......

> I confessed to the whole MTB thing, and he felt better. The detour was soooo worth it. I rode the
> rest of the way home with stupid grin that wouldn't go away. I'm going to have to try that again.
>
> -Bruce

The dark side will have you, and thousands will mourn your passing......

Shaun aRe - Put satan back in the box 'dude'.....

 

"bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message news[email protected]...
> I was given a Cannondale F500 road bike by a friend that already had too Snip good story

I enjoyed reading that. I was the same way when I started riding with the roadies. We have strong
climbing legs and lungs. Your best bet on passing a roadie is on the hills but you better have the
staminia to maintain because when they hit the flat again they are gone. I've seen strong Mtbers
start strong in the club the past few years but they do have trouble when approaching 3 hours on the
road because of endurance.

Cleanbean

 

Cleanbean wrote:
> "bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
>
>>I was given a Cannondale F500 road bike by a friend that already had too Snip good story

Indeed, I actually chuckled a little bit

>
> I enjoyed reading that. I was the same way when I started riding with the roadies. We have strong
> climbing legs and lungs. Your best bet on passing a roadie is on the hills but you better have the
> staminia to maintain because when they hit the flat again they are gone. I've seen strong Mtbers
> start strong in the club the past few years but they do have trouble when approaching 3 hours on
> the road because of endurance.
>
> Cleanbean

heh, I'm riding road bikes to IMPROVE my hill climbing! I find that in our college mountain bike
races, the roadies all take off from the start and rail on the climbs... then as soon as it gets
narrow, technical, or downhill, I pass everybody again

Jon "Co" Bond

 

"bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message news[email protected]...
> I was given a Cannondale F500 road bike by a friend that already had too many Ti and plastic bikes
> to have any use for an aluminim crack n fail. I didn't even touch it for week. Then I had drop of
> the wife's car at the shop early Sat, so I decided that the 10 miles back would be a good test of
> the road bike thing. Started out from the auto shop very wobbly, thinking that this was going to
> take some serious getting used to. The first 9 miles were very easy. Pretty much flat.
> Experimented with standing and mashing a bit, but quickly spun out due to the flat ground. (My
> stand and mash has a very low redline) Almost home, still no hills. OK, decide on slight detour to
> to try some hills. First long hill, there's a guy on a bright yellow Colnago

Oh man, a poser on a Colnago. I hate that! You should have to take a VO2 max test to purchase such a
sweet machine. Keep ridin' that skinny tired beast, maybe you'll come across a pink and blue C40.

Shaun Bell

 

On Mon, 03 Feb 2003 08:43:41 -0800, "bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote:

[snip]

Nice.

The mind serves properly as a window glass rather than as a reflector, that is, the mind should give
an immediate view instead of an interpretation of the world.
:-]

 

On Mon, 03 Feb 2003 21:49:14 +0000, Shaun Bell wrote:

>
> "bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message

>> First long hill, there's a guy on a bright yellow Colnago
>
> Oh man, a poser on a Colnago. I hate that! You should have to take a VO2 max test to purchase
> such a sweet machine. Keep ridin' that skinny tired beast, maybe you'll come across a pink and
> blue C40.
>
> Shaun Bell

I thought I'd never touch it, but one ride and I can see how it would benefit my real riding. I'm
almost looking forward bad rain so I have to resort to the road again.

-Bruce

 

"bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message news[email protected]...
|<snip>

Man that made me grin. Seems like you've grown some horns there!

Simon "Oderim dum metuant"

 

"Shaun Bell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:utB%[email protected]...
>
> "bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
> > I was given a Cannondale F500 road bike by a friend that already had too many Ti and plastic
> > bikes to have any use for an aluminim crack n fail. I didn't even touch it for week. Then I had
> > drop of the wife's car at the shop early Sat, so I decided that the 10 miles back would be a
> > good test of the road bike thing. Started out from the auto shop very wobbly, thinking that this
> > was going to take some serious getting used to. The first 9 miles were very easy. Pretty much
> > flat. Experimented with standing and mashing a bit, but quickly spun out due to the flat ground.
> > (My stand and mash has a very low redline) Almost home, still no hills. OK, decide on slight
> > detour to to try some hills. First long hill, there's a guy on a bright yellow Colnago
>
> Oh man, a poser on a Colnago. I hate that! You should have to take a VO2 max test to purchase
> such a sweet machine. Keep ridin' that skinny tired beast, maybe you'll come across a pink and
> blue C40.
>
> Shaun Bell

Now that's an image I didn't need!
--
Slacker - hopefully I can still sleep tonight

 

"bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>... <snip the devil's work>

No contest. Ever been to Moab?

JD

 

On Tue, 04 Feb 2003 02:37:43 +0000, Simon wrote:

>
> "bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
> |<snip>
>
> Man that made me grin. Seems like you've grown some horns there!
>
> Simon "Oderim dum metuant"

How could you pass up a chance like that ?


-Bruce

 

On Mon, 03 Feb 2003 21:39:14 -0800, JD wrote:

> "bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>... <snip the devil's work>
>
> No contest. Ever been to Moab?
>
> JD

Nope. I've never ridden anywhere except local SoCal. Someday.....

 

um, i ride mtb in bad weather, not the other way round! course being a brit means im on an mtb more
often than not!

panda

"bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message news[email protected]...
> On Mon, 03 Feb 2003 21:49:14 +0000, Shaun Bell wrote:
>
> >
> > "bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> >> First long hill, there's a guy on a bright yellow Colnago
> >
> > Oh man, a poser on a Colnago. I hate that! You should have to take a
VO2
> > max test to purchase such a sweet machine. Keep ridin' that skinny
tired
> > beast, maybe you'll come across a pink and blue C40.
> >
> > Shaun Bell
>
> I thought I'd never touch it, but one ride and I can see how it would benefit my real riding. I'm
> almost looking forward bad rain so I have to resort to the road again.
>
> -Bruce

 

panda wrote:
> um, i ride mtb in bad weather, not the other way round! course being a brit means im on an mtb
> more often than not!
>
> panda

Hi panda, welcome to AMB ( you ARE new here, right?) check out the FAQ which among other things
suggests that you use proper grammar and punctuation so that people will take you seriously (
whatever that means) and that you not top post. British or American English... either one is fine.
--
a.m-b FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/ambfaq.htm

 

On Tue, 04 Feb 2003 08:48:32 -0800, Penny S. wrote:

> panda wrote:
>> um, i ride mtb in bad weather, not the other way round! course being a brit means im on an mtb
>> more often than not!
>>
>> panda
>
> Hi panda, welcome to AMB ( you ARE new here, right?) check out the FAQ which among other things
> suggests that you use proper grammar and punctuation so that people will take you seriously (
> whatever that means) and that you not top post. British or American English... either one is fine.
> --
> a.m-b FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/ambfaq.htm

Ouch, nailed by the format police first time

I figure that I'll hit the road when the trails are too muddy. It just takes too damn long to clean
my bike when I get it thoroughly plastered in mud.

You do it the other way around?

-Bruce

 

"bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message news[email protected]...
> On Tue, 04 Feb 2003 08:48:32 -0800, Penny S. wrote:
>
> > panda wrote:
> >> um, i ride mtb in bad weather, not the other way round! course being a brit means im on an mtb
> >> more often than not!
> >>
> >> panda
> >
> > Hi panda, welcome to AMB ( you ARE new here, right?) check out the FAQ which among other things
> > suggests that you use proper grammar and punctuation so that people will take you seriously (
> > whatever that
means)
> > and that you not top post. British or American English... either one is fine.
> > --
> > a.m-b FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/ambfaq.htm
>
> Ouch, nailed by the format police first time

nope: he's posted at least 5 times... the wonders of Google.
>
> I figure that I'll hit the road when the trails are too muddy. It just takes too damn long to
> clean my bike when I get it thoroughly plastered in mud.
>

That and one can tear up trails by riding them when they are too wet.

Trail police too. At least for today.

Penny

 

Penny S. wrote:
> panda wrote:
>
>>um, i ride mtb in bad weather, not the other way round! course being a brit means im on an mtb
>>more often than not!
>>
>>panda
>
>
> Hi panda, welcome to AMB ( you ARE new here, right?) check out the FAQ which among other things
> suggests that you use proper grammar and punctuation so that people will take you seriously (
> whatever that means) and that you not top post. British or American English... either one is fine.

Correction: Proper English is fine, American is merely tolerated

--
a.m-b FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/ambfaq.htm

b.bmx FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/bmx_faq.htm

 

"Jonathan Bond" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Cleanbean wrote:
> > "bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news[email protected]...
> >
> >>I was given a Cannondale F500 road bike by a friend that already had too Snip good story
>
> Indeed, I actually chuckled a little bit
>
> >
> > I enjoyed reading that. I was the same way when I started riding with
the
> > roadies. We have strong climbing legs and lungs. Your best bet on
passing
> > a roadie is on the hills but you better have the staminia to maintain because when they hit the
> > flat again they are gone. I've seen strong
Mtbers
> > start strong in the club the past few years but they do have trouble
when
> > approaching 3 hours on the road because of endurance.
> >
> > Cleanbean
>
>
> heh, I'm riding road bikes to IMPROVE my hill climbing! I find that in our college mountain bike
> races, the roadies all take off from the start and rail on the climbs... then as soon as it gets
> narrow, technical, or downhill, I pass everybody again
>
> Jon "Co" Bond
>

I picked up a older road bike just for endurance training. For my first ride, a friend and I did a
39 miler. Ouch. Wasn't used to that. A week later, we went to a nearby trail for some dirt. There is
a long, steep pipeline trail section that at best I would get about a quarter of the way up. After
the one road ride, I was able to stay on the saddle and tough out the whole climb in one shot. Did
take a long rest afterwards.....

--
Cameron

 

"bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
Caught up him half way up. Not tired yet, good.
> Notice that he's shiny smooth legs.

What? Do roadies shave their legs for aerodynamics?

--
Cameron

 

In article <[email protected]link.net>, "Cameron" <[email protected]> wrote:

> "bruce edge" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
> Caught up him half way up. Not tired yet, good.
> > Notice that he's shiny smooth legs.
>
> What? Do roadies shave their legs for aerodynamics?

Well, sure, that's the excuse.

Seriously, aerodynamically, leg-shaving makes about as small a difference as is measureable. maybe
1% in performance. This might matter to time-trials riders. The other roadies do it for the same
reason that MTBers wear baggy shorts instead of cycling shorts: so they look like the other guys
on the ride.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email protected] http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club