Commuting - Extreme commute club: week 19

I going to Boston this afternoon for a follow up appointment with my doctor regarding the surgery I got around Christmas. So, no riding tomorrow. We got another dumping of snow over the weekend, though the weather today is quite lovely.

I was thinking of our Aussie friend: Cyloholic the speed demon. He mentioned that he uses aero bars on his bike. I have some on my roadie and used them when I wnated to giddyup or was bucking a strong headwind. I found they were hard to stay in for extended periods, though. It occurs to me that as verylong commuters or extreme commuters, getting aero should be one of our priorities. What can you do to get more aero, both now and when we go back to the VLC mode again when the weathr turns warm (for those of us in the north)?

For me, the single biggest thing I can do is take off all this winter gear I am currently wearing. My pants and jacket are relatively form fitting and don't flap in the wind, but I definitely have a bigger aero profile wearing all these layers. The large, treaded tires are slow, but only partially because of aero effects. For today, I can take off the permantly mounted lights (I don't really need them now that it is getting lighter out) and get my brake and shifter cables bundled up more neatly. I've been focusing on keeping my elbows tucked in and have my seat tilted all the way back. I could start working on the tailbox I have been thinking about...but that is a huge project and I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

Happy riding everybody, and I'll see you on Tuesday.

Switch from an upright hybrid to almost anything else! Oh and I suppose dropping another 40 lbs would make me more aero. Until then, any concern about aero for me is like putting a spoiler on a '76 Gremlin.

Mars you've got to do the tailbox -- show all of us who've done homebrew light setups what bicycle DIY is really all about! How hard can a styrofoam mold for fiberglass be to make or really show us how its done with wood veneers. Don't make us come up there and slap you across the face with an old inner tube to make this a formal challenge.

Here's hoping to get a full week of bike commuting in next week.

Over the past year my position on the bikes has been getting lower and lower. In the beginning my hands took too much weight so I set my now-sold comfort bike to as high as possible. Then I learned about fit and how to remove weight from the hands while leaning more forward, paradoxical as this sounds, but it works - just set the seat backwards. Now when I slightly bend my arms, my trunk is roughly at the same angle as riding on a road bike's hoods. I can't put aero bars, my handle bars seem to be too far forwards.

I inspired a thread topic, cooooool :D


Over the past year my position on the bikes has been getting lower and lower. In the beginning my hands took too much weight so I set my now-sold comfort bike to as high as possible. Then I learned about fit and how to remove weight from the hands while leaning more forward, paradoxical as this sounds, but it works - just set the seat backwards. Now when I slightly bend my arms, my trunk is roughly at the same angle as riding on a road bike's hoods. I can't put aero bars, my handle bars seem to be too far forwards.

Sounds like you adjusted your position correctly, I went the other way and moved the seat further forward and dropped the bars lower. The penalty is that I have more weight on my hands when not in the aerobars, and I can't take my hands off the bars. But when I get down my torso is horizontal and my thighs don't come up high enough to restrict my breathing. The extra weight forward when in the aerobars doesn't matter because it's not on my wrists, and it helps in climbing.

I've done a fair bit of mucking around with gear and found that my seating position was the #1 factor closely followed by panniers - they're like two little parachutes so I don't used them day-to-day any more. The most aero storage system I've tried so far is my topeak trunk bag. The next thing is wheels & tyres, I commute on 36 spokers and 37mm schwalbe marathons with mr tuffy's. My other wheelset is the Shimano R550 with 23mm Conti ultragators.... half the weight, huge difference in acceleration, more aero, but seem a bit too fragile to commute on.

Mars, the tailbox would make a huge difference - most definitely worth the effort!!. Fiberglass or eve carbonfibre over a styrofoam plug is really not all that difficult, and you would be instantly cannonised as the DIY god :)

Best wishes for a good report, MARS.

I do notice a little pick-up down in the drops and
my fixie can only be ridden aero but I also have been
cursed with bad feet. My feet give me many problems.
When my feet are 'good'.......my commute is fast and easy,
When they hurt, anything to ty to speed up is an exercise in futility:cry:.
I have my new temp assignment and it is in Rutland. The commute
is about 6.5 miles with about 1.5 of them really bad in-town stuff.
I rode my mountain beater in Thurs & Fri. because it has to be kept outside.
After the MotoBacon and especially the lithe and agile fixie, the MTB was
borderline unrideable :eek: I have respect '0 plenty for you guys who go
MTB it every day !!

Be safe !!

Well, I'm not exactly sure what happened but I dropped by the bike shop today to get some brake pads and walked out with a deposit slip for one Giant OCR zero with Ultegra groupset which I'm picking up at the end of the week. :eek: :D The ride home was easy with so much weight taken out of my wallet :p

Next decision, which aerobars....... :D

^^^^^ WOW !! Great stuff Cyclaholic !
Pictures soon ?? :D

Do us a favor though.....no more stat posting with this bike...
I feel weak enuff after the last batch......:roflmao:

Well I got 175 miles of commute comming this week at 35 miles a day.

I noticed last night that my peddles where moving with the chain. Is this caused by dirt in the drive train or is this normal? This only happens when I take my feet off the peddles. I don't fell it at all with my feet on the peddles. I have 145 miles no the Techtra lite over the last 4 days. How often do you need to clean and erlube the drive train and axles?

Wind appears to have picked up.
40 kph wind with gusts 60 kph

And its from the south, my 25k ride home is west to east.

Dangit, I NEVER get tailwinds :(

Well, I'm not exactly sure what happened but I dropped by the bike shop today to get some brake pads and walked out with a deposit slip for one Giant OCR zero with Ultegra groupset which I'm picking up at the end of the week. :eek: :D The ride home was easy with so much weight taken out of my wallet :p

Next decision, which aerobars....... :D


I tell you what, even with a kiddy on the way, the man still has his priorities straight!

Well I got 175 miles of commute comming this week at 35 miles a day.

I noticed last night that my peddles where moving with the chain. Is this caused by dirt in the drive train or is this normal? This only happens when I take my feet off the peddles. I don't fell it at all with my feet on the peddles. I have 145 miles no the Techtra lite over the last 4 days. How often do you need to clean and erlube the drive train and axles?

Hey Cig, that usually means that the freewheel mechanism is sticky. Nothing to worry about really. Its probably just really old and the lube in it is sticky. You CAN relube freewheels, but you might be better off with a new one (and a new chain) anyway. If its not causing any problems, I wouldn't worry about it.

The only thing that was extreme about me today was being extremely wimpy. Yep, I wimped out today. Had a really bad episode last night (skipped my medication for 1 day... BAD idea...) and was wiped out this morning. Slept in late and got a ride in to work with my wife. Tonight I am hoping for a good nights sleep and clear skies tomorrow am. It was supposed to rain today but it didn't really, and tomorrow its supposed to snow. Ha. Last time they said that, the snow was gone by 3pm.

Take care all :)

I tell you what, even with a kiddy on the way, the man still has his priorities straight!

:D

The missus and I were talking about it just recently and to my surprise she was all for the idea of me geting a nice road bike, she knows I've wanted one for a while. I reckon the pregnancy hormones had something to do with it so I figured I better get in quick before they wore off :p

So, are you doing the loop-the-lake ride this Sunday? (www.loopthelake.org.au)
I'm heading up on the train and meeting a friend at the start, he's a Cat.C racer and trains around that area so I'll probably blow a gasket trying to stay on his wheel :o . It's only 80km so we'll be back at his place in Swansea for a BBQ lunch and a few brews. You should come up if you're not busy.

Well today I had no Head wind so I made good time getting to work. My ARTS (Average Ride Time Speed) was 16.56 for the 16.84 mile ride. I made it in 1h 1m and 11 sec. On the ride home I had a 6mph Head wind. I have a new high speed down hill speed for the Techtra Lite. It's 30.2 MPH. I was flying this morning. My top flat speed has 22.1 MPH. I wear blue jeans on the ride, maybe if I got some biking shorts I could make better time?

Rykoala, Thanks for you thoughts on the fly wheel. I will pull it on the 9 and give it a good cleaning and relube. I have a new chain already and think I might just change it as well.

Well today I had no Head wind so I made good time getting to work. My ARTS (Average Ride Time Speed) was 16.56 for the 16.84 mile ride. I made it in 1h 1m and 11 sec. On the ride home I had a 6mph Head wind. I have a new high speed down hill speed for the Techtra Lite. It's 30.2 MPH. I was flying this morning. My top flat speed has 22.1 MPH. I wear blue jeans on the ride, maybe if I got some biking shorts I could make better time?

Rykoala, Thanks for you thoughts on the fly wheel. I will pull it on the 9 and give it a good cleaning and relube. I have a new chain already and think I might just change it as well.

The bike shorts will be way more comfortable than your jeans, in many different ways. Better padding, less abrasion, better sweat absorption. They won't restrict your motion either. In your jeans, you are likel y expending energy with each rotation of the pedals stretching the cloth out and back. Also, the biking shorts will make you more aero because they are so form fitting. The babes will like them too. :D

Mars, i'm not a psych, but i'm doing human factors work. i don't know if the 'real' psych community considers that psych stuff or not.

Cyclo - if you are gonna struggle to stay on his wheel, i think i'll struggle to stay in the same postcode!
I've asked the Mrs. what's doing, she'll get back to me soon i hope.

Anyway, commute was good this morning. Can't really think of anything wrong with it. Yesterday was the day of the doofus though. At least 10 major moron moments™ witnessed.

Would you believe it?! The rear fender is now also wrecked due to a stick flipping up and getting caught. AAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!! No word from the local council yet except an auto-reply that my request for work has been lodged.

I'm going to have to abandon these ultra-nice SKS fenders in favour of el cheapo plastic clip-ons which do not have stays and which are inadequate.

As soon as I hit the freeway this morning I spotted a couple of roadies about 1/2 mile ahead and ofcourse went into pursuit mode.... guessing that I should have them in about 2 - 3 miles..... 10 miles later and I'm seeing double from the effort as I finally close on them, these guys were riding real nice carbon with aerobars, looked like tri bikes, and they were pacelining regularly rotating. I held on for another 7 or 8 miles but couldn't stay with them up the last big climb, they faded into the distance.... I just faded

What I noticed was that their bikes showed signs of being ridden regularly and hard, they were wearing sun-faded lycra and didn't give me any attitude but once they realised I was there they pointed out road hazards and used hand signals, basically they seemed OK with me being there. They were lean and thickly muscled in the legs so I'm guessing they were very competitive racers, and they were moving! we were consistently up around 42 - 45km/h. I never really recovered from the initial chase even though I never took a pull up front and drafted them the whole time.

I love commuting :)

And with that effort, Gus would be dead.

Jur - have you tried the stick deflector idea that someone gave you?

Cyclo: I bet these guys' names were Lance and George. Were they wearing Discovery Channel jerseys?
Gus: I have given it thought but not a try. I am not convinced it would be any good. Right now after fixing my black set of guards I have one set looking OK to good, and one set half broken off and with big cracks. I am loathe to press my luck with the set that I managed to make look good again. Maybe I should lay off some speed through the bad section.

Jur -- that's some seriously bad luck with fenders. I've caught sticks and a few other things, but I've never broken the fenders. Usually the stuff just goes flying. I guess I've been lucky.

Cyclo -- I can't even imagine going that fast without being dropped out of a plane or riding off a cliff. Congratulations on the ride.

I had a very uneventful, pleasant ride today. Weather was great and the bike was rolling smoothly. I picked up an ad hoc riding partner on the ride home and for about 4-5 miles we rode along talking. We had hopscotched past each other a couple of times before he pulled up even. If he had come across me this time last year I couldn't have held up any conversation beyond gasps and grunts. As it was I was comfortable at 11-12mph uphill and probably could have sped up but that seemed rude. I'm not very up on the etiquette of such things since riding is usually solitary for me unless I'm with my family. Anyway it was a pleasant change of pace. Its also nice to be riding home in less than total darkness. These days if I push reasonably hard on the ride home I can make it home before you really need lights.

This morning a guy on a Cannondale went around me. I was going 16.5 MPH into a head wind of 9mph. This guy had the bike shoes, outfit and air bars. I had Blue jeans and pull over shirt. So I step it up to 19.7mph and stayed right behind. Then He looks back and see me there. He steps up the speed and I match it. then he looks back again to see me still right on his back tire. So he steps it up again to 22mph. So I step it up as well. After 3 miles he is getting winded. Me I have him drifting for me LOL. So we get to the bay bridge after 5 miles and he stops so I do to. He tells me he is wanting to know "Why did I pay $1500.00 for this set up when you can stay right behind me on a huffy?" I then told him what I paid for the bike and he got mad at himself...... I have $30.00 in the tires which is $5.00 more than what I paid for the Techtra Lite. LOL I then point out that is was a racing bike not just a huffy, and that I commute 35 miles a day. That made him feel a little better. But it did not help his ego when I told him that I had already rode 8 miles before he pasted me.

Needless to say I made good time getting to work this morning. My ARTS = 15.16 MPH with a head wind of 9MPH. After I got out of sight I slowed to 14 MPH. So just because you see a old Huffy rider don't think you can just run off and leave them in your dust...LOL

Cyclo -- I can't even imagine going that fast without being dropped out of a plane or riding off a cliff. Congratulations on the ride.

Oh no, no no, I was sucking wheel and breathing thru my ears while they were comfortable. I got my rear end handed to me this morning, I wasn't even in their league! :eek: :o

Cyclo - if you are gonna struggle to stay on his wheel, i think i'll struggle to stay in the same postcode!
I've asked the Mrs. what's doing, she'll get back to me soon i hope.


LOL. Nah, don't worry mate, he's on notice that I'm in it for a social ride because I stil have a whole lot of commuting to do. if I go for an 80km hammerfest on Sunday I won't make it to work on Monday :(

I had a really embarrassing moment this morning.

I was tooling along nicely, going quite fast because I want to build endurance. So after a while I see this rider in front of me on the path on a hybrid. Looked like the same guy I sometimes see in the home direction who sometimes sucks my wheel when I blow by him. Since I am hammering a bit, I pass him, say good morning and steam on. I hear the guy say "Hello. Oh, HELLO!" Hello, he's glad to see me, thinks I. After a few moments I look in the mirror, sure enough he's sucking my wheel again. So I pile on some extra speed. He keeps up. More speed and I'm beginning to blow like a whale. Gradually the chap falls back. At the bridge over the creek he catches up a bit as I slow down, and on the very steep hill he overtakes me (remember, I'm single speed so have to labour slowly up the hills). He says with a big smile, "I couldn't keep up!"

And blow me down, it's my own mate from work!!!! He was late, usually he starts 30 minutes earlier than me so we never rode together yet. Made me feel very small, I had to apologise and assure him I wasn't trying to drop him, which I was, but I didn't know it was him.

Whoa, some seriously fast riders here on this forum! Maryland, Jur, and Cigtech's stories show the pleasure that come from getting faster and more fit from our commuting. AS we put those hard miles behind us, there are not too many riders that can drop us, even in our commuting gear. On the other hand, Cyclaholic's story reminds us to remain humble, because the truly elite cyclists are still in a class on their own. Some of you might remember Doug the Cat 2 thug that I sometimes ride with. Every time I get cocky, it seems he shows up on my commute and leaves me gasping in his wake.

On the other hand, my pre-surgery speeds are really coming back. Today had light winds for a change, and I was able to keep above and sustain 20 mph on the flat sections of my ride. I can't wait for summer and getting the slicks back on my bike....

90 kph winds forecast for my ride home.
Should be interesting :/

Glorious day here in Central vermont !
Just a T-Shirt and Mittens for my winter gear !!
the weather took a nice upturn in temprature today !
Rode the MoToBacon instead of the Fixie...it felt very strange. :eek:
Supposedly in the 50's by Friday !
.
................................................http://www.anikaos.com/0004-pinkusagi/kaos-pinkusagi46.gif

As Lem said, it was nice. Light winds again. Such a treat to ride in mostly still air. And sun! One complaint about winter here is that it is cloudy way more days than it is sunny.

Well today I had a head wind of 15mph from the East. I ride West to East going to work, and East to West comming back. So the ARTS for 17.05 miles was only 13.46 mph. But on the way home I had a 15.17 MPH ARTS (Average Ride Time Speed) for a 17.44 mile ride.

One of these days I'm going to break the 60 min 17 mile goal I've set for my self. Then I think I'll have to shoot for a 55 min. goal. LOL it never ends. Do you guys and gal's think that a bike outfit will help break the 60min. goal? What elase can I do to get the time down to 55 min goal. Please let me know.

Mars, Gald to hear your getting back up to speed. Hope you recover fully soon. I always slow down when some one wants to ride with me. I also give them tips on Cadence and how and when to shift. This way we can ride faster toghter. And it helps them not wear out their legs as fast.

Do you guys and gal's think that a bike outfit will help break the 60min. goal? What elase can I do to get the time down to 55 min goal. Please let me know.


I have a couple of ideas for you to consider. First, yes, having cycling specific clothing will improve your speed and comfort on a high performance ride. Less wind resistance and much better heat management. Another thought is to get a heart rate monitor (about $100 for a cheap one) find our what your aerobic limits are, and then ride to your numbers on the monitor. That way, you will be able to empirically monitor your output at any given moment in your ride. having a heart rate monitor has made a world of difference when I am trying to ride at my best.

If you are going to ride your hardest for an hour, you will also have to consider hydration and food. Eat something light and easily digested, like a banana, before your ride. Have a water bottle and sip from it every 10 to 15 minutes as you ride.

Lastly, continue to post your results here. Having people aware of your goals and seeing how you are doing will help provide motivation.

I had a fabulous ride in this morning. My avg was over 14 mph. I haven't seen that sort of speed since last summer! Everything just seemed to fall into place as I was humming along.

I also started the ride with a prolonged badger sighting. I thought I'd seen him before but this morning he was out in the middle of the trail and had to run down the trail to get back to his burrow. Everyone know rabbits and squirrels are quick and woodchucks are surprisingly quick for such stubby legs. Badgers on the other hand are the RV's of small mammals. Sure they can accelerate for about 10 ft. but then they have to stop and wait for their rear end to catch up. It was a very amusing way to start the day.

This afternoon should be some serious spring riding with temps in the 60s. If all goes as well as planned we should make our first family ride of the year this weekend.

greetings all: been really really busy!! Major software upgrades for my microscopes. Lots of backups etc...No time for BF lately. Have been riding everyday, temps are great. Yearly mileage is approaching 1,000 miles(1600km to those down under, across the pond and N of the border,come to think of it everyelse in the world)
MDnew: a badger, didn't know we had those in MD, groundhogs are plentiful but a badger! I saw a pileated woodpecker this AM ride through the park. later all duty calls.

Well I am off today and there is a 22 mph West wind. If I only had that kind of a push on my work days. I set a new world record or something.

Any ways because I have the day off. I am taking the Bell headlight and wireing it to a 6 volt 6.5 Amp/hour battery so I don't have to keep buying AA batteries for it. I am also relubing the flywheel.

I also went over my stats and here there are for the past 7 days. Enjoy

Mars, i'm not a psych, but i'm doing human factors work. i don't know if the 'real' psych community considers that psych stuff or not.

Cyclo - if you are gonna struggle to stay on his wheel, i think i'll struggle to stay in the same postcode!
I've asked the Mrs. what's doing, she'll get back to me soon i hope.

Anyway, commute was good this morning. Can't really think of anything wrong with it. Yesterday was the day of the doofus though. At least 10 major moron moments™ witnessed.


What kind of human factors work?

Risk perception and attitudes to risk in aviation.

This was the first day in minths that I did not need to wear my coat or gloves. It felt great riding in slacks, sport jacket, and tie. I arrived ten minutes earlier than usual, even though the studs won't come off until Wednesday.

Paul

Beyond warp speed, beyond hyper-speed, even beyond ridiculous speed -- all the way to LUDICRIOUS speed this morning. For one flat stretch I was actually pedalling at 22 mph and it wasn't killing me.

If you were wondering why you put up with a winter of discomforts and a suiting up process rivaled only by astronauts and deep sea divers, today was the payoff. It was like 62F when I left the house. Freed of winter clothes and boots it felt like I was flying. I don't think I've ever felt stronger on the ride. The legs were just pumping along and I could feel the power just flowing along. It was a fabulous way to start a Friday. I hope everyone else had as good a ride.

SPRING hath arrived in these here parts. Shorts and a single poly top!!! Nothing extreme except the smile on my face.

Rolled up jacket and put it on the rack; rode in shirtsleeves. Spring!
LBS will lake the studs off on Wednesday.

Paul

Well today proved to be the worst day for road conditions so far this year that I've been able to ride in. The temps were in the low 20's overnight, and it snowed just enough to turn the roads into sheets of black ice. I had my studded tires on, so no worries there. The scariest part was watching people learn how to drive on ice.

Beyond warp speed, beyond hyper-speed, even beyond ridiculous speed -- all the way to LUDICRIOUS speed this morning. For one flat stretch I was actually pedalling at 22 mph and it wasn't killing me.

If you were wondering why you put up with a winter of discomforts and a suiting up process rivaled only by astronauts and deep sea divers, today was the payoff. It was like 62F when I left the house. Freed of winter clothes and boots it felt like I was flying. I don't think I've ever felt stronger on the ride. The legs were just pumping along and I could feel the power just flowing along. It was a fabulous way to start a Friday. I hope everyone else had as good a ride.

WooHoo!!

Risk perception and attitudes to risk in aviation.

That sounds pretty cool. Passengers, I'm guessing? Or do you look at pilot perceptions as well?

I must have been in LUDICRIOUS speed my self today. I was flying along and noticed that the cars where not passing me. So I looked at the speed-o-meter, and almost fell over. I was doing 32.6 MPH....That's a Cadence of 107. At frist I was flying at 25MPH and just having fun. I did not have to work today so I went for a ride around town. The wind was kicking 15 MPH from the south, I was headed north when I noticed that I was going just as fast as the cars. I was wearing shorts and a tanktop and street shoes. So I did not have the drag that I do when I'm in jeans.

Man that was a blast. Even with a cross wind of 15 MPH I was still hitting 23 MPH. I was having so much fun with the ride. that I did not notice that I had rode 20.46 miles when I was done. I made the ride in 1 hour 8 min 06 sec. Thats a average speed of 18.05 MPH. Even into the wind I was hitting 18 MPH. I think I'm going to start wearing shorts and a tank top to work. I love the go fast.

That sounds pretty cool. Passengers, I'm guessing? Or do you look at pilot perceptions as well?


Are you a pilot too, MARS ???
My brother flies for Continental. I was in Burlington last
saturday to meet him and hang out for a while due to BIA
being the trip home leg of his 2-day-er ! :)

Speaking of flying.....I am not worthy reading this stuff. CigTech and his Huffy :D,
Cycloholic etc... an extreme Avg. time/speed club in the works ?? :roflmao:

MDNewb ! Great wildlife expose' !! Did you use CigTech's chart to quantify the
acceleration speeds of the small rodentia :roflmao: Great Stuff. I feel better posting
up my results Vs. small animals than against the people who post here !
I live on Otter Creek and Ive seen almost every animal there s to see EXCEPT an
Otter ! :eek:

I must have been in LUDICRIOUS speed my self today. I was flying along and noticed that the cars where not passing me. So I looked at the speed-o-meter, and almost fell over. I was doing 32.6 MPH....That's a Cadence of 107. At frist I was flying at 25MPH and just having fun. I did not have to work today so I went for a ride around town. The wind was kicking 15 MPH from the south, I was headed north when I noticed that I was going just as fast as the cars. I was wearing shorts and a tanktop and street shoes. So I did not have the drag that I do when I'm in jeans.

Man that was a blast. Even with a cross wind of 15 MPH I was still hitting 23 MPH. I was having so much fun with the ride. that I did not notice that I had rode 20.46 miles when I was done. I made the ride in 1 hour 8 min 06 sec. Thats a average speed of 18.05 MPH. Even into the wind I was hitting 18 MPH. I think I'm going to start wearing shorts and a tank top to work. I love the go fast.

:eek:

We may need to start the very fast commute club! :D

That sounds pretty cool. Passengers, I'm guessing? Or do you look at pilot perceptions as well?

All pilots, mostly because i'm focussing on the operational side of aviation, and its the pilots who determine the outcome of the flight.
However, pax risk perception is a big deal for the marketing people - they need to know what the public think. Their studies tend not to be overly scientific though.

Cyclo - i don't reckon i can get there on sun mate. Mrs is stalling me, which usually means she wants to spend money :o

Cigtech -- I don't even know if my speedometer goes that high! I think we can definitively say you were going to plaid! (Pitched that one for all you fans of "Spaceballs: the Movie").

Lem -- Normally, I prefer to chart my speeds against small animals as well, but these past two days have seen me looking for faster animals.

Tonight I had the most unusual experience -- at least for me! A guy actually drafted off of me for 4 -5 miles. It all started when I passed him early on the trail and he exclaimed, "You're killing me on that bike?!" I chuckled but feeling my oats I decided to show him how much I was going to pass him on my upright hybrid. I throttled on up to over 16 mph. A minute later I looked back and find him kissing my fender instead of fading into the distance. We hopscotched over each other a couple of times in the flats section and then I pulled ahead going up the hill. Thanks to his riding my ass I kept up a pretty strong 14 mph up the hill. I managed to keep up 13.5 - 14 mph on the more shallow uphill running up to the top of the hill before he finally passed me and went on his way. Anyway, as a result I posted my fastest trip home ever. My ride home time was almost as good as my inbound time.

While this is hardly unique I have never been in a position where anyone has wanted or needed to draft off of me. It was very cool. Now if you don't see me posting for the next few days it will be because my sudden burst of speed landed me in traction or something. Anyway tomorrow it should be a quiet family ride on a nearby bike trail to finish out the week.

All pilots, mostly because i'm focussing on the operational side of aviation, and its the pilots who determine the outcome of the flight.
However, pax risk perception is a big deal for the marketing people - they need to know what the public think. Their studies tend not to be overly scientific though.

Cyclo - i don't reckon i can get there on sun mate. Mrs is stalling me, which usually means she wants to spend money :o

No probs, actually I pulled out too, both my kids have come down with a cold.... can't possibly leave the missus to manage them by herself even though she's saying that if I really want to go she'll cope somehow. That lady is a treasure.

In other commuting news.... as I left work yesterday I hit the intersection that's well backed up with traffic as usual, it's 2 lanes in each direction, I'm in the left lane approaching the stopped traffic when this idiot drives up beside me yelling "ge't off the f"ing road, stop hogging a whole f'ing lane... yadda, yadda" as we stop I start to get off my bike with the intention of walking over to his window (I knew we were going to be there a while) this is when he realises his mistake and starts frantically locking all the doors and close all the windows. The guy in the car behind him then said "don't worry about him, mate, he's a bit of a d!ckhead at work too, he's got no friends" I just had to laugh.

I picked up my new bike this morning. I've put about 20 miles on her as I made some adjustments. First impression is that this thing is light and FAST :eek: uphill and accelerating from stopped, I had the front end come up a few times when accelerating hard off the line. What a huge difference 30 pounds makes :D The riding position is very agressive compared to my LHT and I really need to get some aerobars before doing any significant distances otherwise my wrists will explode. I think she's going to take a little getting used to, especially the STI brifters and that 'about to go over the bars' sensation when braking hard..... but there's so much speed potential to explore :) Once I get the aeros I'm going to ferry in a few day's worth of clothes on the tourer one day then commute on the racer a few days..... can't wait! :p

photos next week ;)

Oh, on my joy ride today I did stop by the LBS and pick up a mini pump. Now I'm set with 2 tubes, a patch kit and pump. I did a DIY project today. Look for the post I put in the commute forum. Anyways hope every one had as much fun riding today as I did.

Well I had a head wind of 15MPH this morning. So my ARTS (Average Ride Time Speed) was only 14.19. I really need to get some air bars. I did ride to work in short and it helped a lot with the average speed. But I had a heavy pull over on and that was not good for the 80% humidity. I think I'll lose that pull over till next winter.

On the way home I was setting in the middle of the street between two mediums. When a car turned into the felt turn lane and did not slow down to turn. He just keeps on coming at 50 MPH. So I backed up about 5 foot and then he hit the medium on the other side of the cut though. He missed me by 2 foot. Of course he blow out both tires on the drivers side and stop on the medium. His wife starts yell at him and hitting him LOL....

Even with all that going on I still had a good ARTS of 14.90.