Southern California - So Cal needs a long thread "What's Up?" type thread!

The air along the coast actually seems worse this morning. It seems like some of the wind from the west brought back in the ash that was hanging over the ocean. No riding today -- aaarrrrgghhh!

:( I hope it's not like that tomorrow. Of course, I'm going up north and away from the burn areas.

ewwwwwwwwwww...are your jockeys all wet? :pNot yet.....and this time I pulled out my Calvin Kleins. :p

just did a short 15 miler with a hint of smoke over some of the climbs. I'll just make plans for my larger ride tomorrow.

well, it really should start clearing soon. I say that, though, and I saw on the news awhile ago that Santiago Canyon is still burning pretty badly. :( We need all the fires out and then the air will truly clear up. Not to say that our fire fighters aren't doing all they can.

Hey, for those of you who run, can someone tell me if he/she has ever had numbness in the foot? The first week I started running, no problem. This past week, I've noticed twice that my left foot goes a little numb and tingles when running on the treadmill. I hate that. I don't have some weird circulatory disease or heart condition, do I?

shoes too tight?????? Running is all about SHOES!!!!

It's RAINING!! Well, light rain at least!

Did 30 mikes on the new bike this morning.

Send the rain closer to LA then! It'll help reduce the amount of ash that is floating in the air.

I went outside and smelled a little smoke. So I went back inside and started working on my beater bike whose bottom bracket went south. Strangely it has a bottom bracket that isn't sealed. Do I want to buy a new bottom bracket for the beater, or just repack this one?

Send the rain closer to LA then! It'll help reduce the amount of ash that is floating in the air.

Didn't last long :( Saw something about some remnants of Tropical Storm Kiko coming our way that may cause some scattered rain showers. It WOULD be nice to get some enough rain to wash the ash out of the air, though I didn't not really notice that much along the coast betewen Del Mar and Carlsbad this morning.

'''So I went back inside and started working on my beater bike whose bottom bracket went south. Strangely it has a bottom bracket that isn't sealed. Do I want to buy a new bottom bracket for the beater, or just repack this one?'''


Hey that depends. Wipe off everything and eyeball it. Any pitting anywhere? What condition are the bearings in?

Those bearings are really cheap to replace.

It's sprinkling and cool in Sherman Oaks. The air does seem better, but due to my lungs, I'm not risking it on a bike today. Sad thing about the rain, we really do NOT want much more than sprinkles. Nothing worse than compromised land becoming mud and sliding. That's going to be the next big disaster if we get a true rainy season out here in the winter. Just look at GP when Vance almost got swallowed by tons of mud coming down on Forest Lawn! :eek: I can't even imagine some of these newly burned canyons and what type of hazard they will pose if hit hard with rain. :(

Off to get my halloween costume. I love dressing up, even if it involves black teeth and tongue, black around the eyes and pea soup. :p

it's SMOKEY here now, I guess the Palomar fire merged with the Witch fire in Ramona area....

Rode about 90 miles this AM, most in the Santa Monicas. The drizzle really helped clear the air.
The air quality in Westlake where is was raining a little was much better than further east. I'd guess
air will be OK in Ventura/SB tomorrow.
See you there.

Thanks for the update, Steve. I'm getting excited about the ride tomorrow. I worked out at the gym and was a little out of breath but I'm bringing my inhaler. I NEED A RIDE!!!!!

Light sprinkes near downtown. Time to go for a run. :D

Rode about 90 miles this AM, most in the Santa Monicas. The drizzle really helped clear the air.
The air quality in Westlake where is was raining a little was much better than further east. I'd guess
air will be OK in Ventura/SB tomorrow.
See you there.

Where did you ride? I hooked up with the Sundance shop ride this morning. We did Rock Store, down Encinal, up Decker, totalled out about 30 miles. Air was fine and started getting rained on as we finished up. Really nice morning in the hills.

Sheldon

Hey, for those of you who run, can someone tell me if he/she has ever had numbness in the foot? The first week I started running, no problem. This past week, I've noticed twice that my left foot goes a little numb and tingles when running on the treadmill. I hate that. I don't have some weird circulatory disease or heart condition, do I?

I occasionally have the same problem, even cycling. I have changed the way I lace my shoes, skipping some of the eyelets (is that what they're called? :rolleyes:) when lacing and not lacing too tight. I also make sure when I tie my shoes, I leave a little extra room (I tighten my laces, then flex my foot to just loosen it a little at the top). Not too loose, you don't want the shoe to slip.

Also make sure you're wearing the right size. Sometimes you need a whole extra size larger in running shoes. :o

Hope that helps. :)

Hope that helps. :)

Thanks, Lady. :) I had no numbness today on the teadclimber and I did have my shoes tied looser.

But I did not get my new cycling shoes, damnit. I'm so mad at my lbs right now. :mad:

I went outside and smelled a little smoke. So I went back inside and started working on my beater bike whose bottom bracket went south. Strangely it has a bottom bracket that isn't sealed. Do I want to buy a new bottom bracket for the beater, or just repack this one?

BB parts for those can be pretty cheap if you can find them-- separate spindles, cups, and bearings. If the bearing surfaces on the spindle is pitted you might want to just get a sealed one. The other thing you should get if the bb doesn't have one and you keep this bb is a little plastic liner-- they're cheap and they keep water from coming up through the holes on the bottom where the cable guide attaches.

It was raining in SoCal? Does that help the fire situation?

nah it wasn't measurable down here so it didn't help put out the fires, but it did help clean the air a lil

Got lazy today and didn't ride.

Picked up my first Accelerade; hopefully this will be better for me than Cytomax. Also dropped by Nytro. My first time there. The bikes that I like the most (look-wise) are the Quintana Roo's. Fortunately/unfortunately, I don't know how to swim, so I'll never need something like that. :)

Woohoo!!! :beer:
My friend M kicked butt in her first Half Ironman today in 90+ deg heat over in Tempe today!! 5:41! Don't have all her splits yet, but she did a 33 min swim (she is an AWESOME swimmer!), and if she did about a 2 hr run split (she has a 1:45 half marathon PR), then her bike split was right around 3 hrs, or 18.5 mph average. Not bad for a woman riding a road bike on the hoods (she never got the hang of the aerobars on that bike) who had NEVER ridden more than 30 miles before we started riding together beginning of August!

I was lazy today too ... but then again, I was out there for 13 hours yesterday.

Did a new loop from my house which included the new road from Twin Oaks in San Marcos to connect to San Elijo Hills. The new road has a 2.4 mile 8% climb to the ridgeline, then drops into San Elijo/ Elfin Forest Area. The climb up from San Elijo side is about a 2 mile climb @ 6.5% average grade up the bomb back down. Dropping into San Elijo was 46mph with a strong breeze coming from the coast. Dropping into san Marcos I got to 58 mph NEW TOP SPEED for the Bianchi. The new roads have a very smooth decent.

This was also the first real climb done on teh bike with the doubles. I felt comfy climbing at 7.5mph up either side. Climbing from San Marcos required some time off the saddle and the other side, I spun up at about 8mph at a good cadence. Though I did 4+ miles of 6+% grade, the real test is when I go up to Baldy or Palomar.

Woohoo!!! :beer:
My friend M kicked butt in her first Half Ironman today in 90+ deg heat over in Tempe today!! 5:41! Don't have all her splits yet, but she did a 33 min swim (she is an AWESOME swimmer!), and if she did about a 2 hr run split (she has a 1:45 half marathon PR), then her bike split was right around 3 hrs, or 18.5 mph average. Not bad for a woman riding a road bike on the hoods (she never got the hang of the aerobars on that bike) who had NEVER ridden more than 30 miles before we started riding together beginning of August!

That's awesome! Congrats to M! :beer:

Woohoo!!! :beer:
My friend M kicked butt in her first Half Ironman today in 90+ deg heat over in Tempe today!! 5:41! Don't have all her splits yet, but she did a 33 min swim (she is an AWESOME swimmer!), and if she did about a 2 hr run split (she has a 1:45 half marathon PR), then her bike split was right around 3 hrs, or 18.5 mph average. Not bad for a woman riding a road bike on the hoods (she never got the hang of the aerobars on that bike) who had NEVER ridden more than 30 miles before we started riding together beginning of August!

Well done!

Well done!

The results are posted, and it's even better than I thought. She rode 2:55 for 56 miles, or 19.2 mph average!!

The results are posted, and it's even better than I thought. She rode 2:55 for 56 miles, or 19.2 mph average!!

Wow! :eek: Your friend is a badass. Congrats to her! :beer:

The results are posted, and it's even better than I thought. She rode 2:55 for 56 miles, or 19.2 mph average!!

She's faster than me already. :(

I ran over my first squirrel yesterday :eek: I've had so many close calls on the MUPS and it finally happened. Front tire went bu-bump, and the squirrel made a crazy noise that you wouldn't think the little guy could make, and then he ran off. Hope he not limping around half broken :(, and I'm sure glad he went under the tire, and not through it. This was my first ride on my new Felt which kicks ***.

I ran over my first squirrel yesterday :eek: I've had so many close calls on the MUPS and it finally happened. Front tire went bu-bump, and the squirrel made a crazy noise that you wouldn't think the little guy could make, and then he ran off. Hope he not limping around half broken :(, and I'm sure glad he went under the tire, and not through it. This was my first ride on my new Felt which kicks ***.

I'm always scared of doing this too, and no one wants to hurt those little animals. However, more lucky you didn't go down and get injured. It sucks, but there really is nothing you can do when they run out in front of you. And think how upset you would have been had the Felt been damaged!

I'm always scared of doing this too, and no one wants to hurt those little animals. However, more lucky you didn't go down and get injured. It sucks, but there really is nothing you can do when they run out in front of you. And think how upset you would have been had the Felt been damaged!

I was actually pretty relieved, that it finally happened, and it wasn't a big deal! I've had so many close calls with squirrels and rabbits, and I've almost gone down many times trying to avoid them.

I ran over my first squirrel yesterday :eek: I've had so many close calls on the MUPS and it finally happened. Front tire went bu-bump, and the squirrel made a crazy noise that you wouldn't think the little guy could make, and then he ran off. Hope he not limping around half broken :(, and I'm sure glad he went under the tire, and not through it. This was my first ride on my new Felt which kicks ***.

Had a pigeon fly into my front wheel one time. It got trapped in the spokes and pulled through
the fork about three times before I could stop.

It did not end well for the bird.

Had a pigeon fly into my front wheel one time. It got trapped in the spokes and pulled through
the fork about three times before I could stop.

It did not end well for the bird.

That just sounds messy!

not sure if it was a good thing the squirrel stopped to see your new Felt:p

Had a pigeon fly into my front wheel one time. It got trapped in the spokes and pulled through
the fork about three times before I could stop.

It did not end well for the bird.You need bladed spokes.

I ran over my first squirrel yesterday :eek: I've had so many close calls on the MUPS and it finally happened. Front tire went bu-bump, and the squirrel made a crazy noise that you wouldn't think the little guy could make, and then he ran off. Hope he not limping around half broken :(, and I'm sure glad he went under the tire, and not through it. This was my first ride on my new Felt which kicks ***.
There's a whole bunch of stories here: http://www.chainreactionbicycles.com/squirrels.htm

Mine is "squirrel never had a chance", happened on a MUP on my tandem.

Noticed in another thread...

Okay, I might have to make another trip in March... I can fly roundtrip for $180. :D

We may have a repeat Foo visitor in a few months' time.

Just when the air quality in SD got better, my air cleaner arrived in the mail. :p Anyone I know in SD that wants to give it a try let me know. My eyes/nose problem due to the fire is mostly gone.

Picked up the Fenix flashlight and the Dinotte 200L in the mail. The only thing missing now is the Jimi wallet thing which I've ordered way before all these. Just realized the amount of stuff that I've recently purchased, so no more bling bling for the next little while. :p

how is the Fenix???? I want pics!!!!!! LOL


on another note, does SDBC do race reimbursement program on races? I'm looking to join a club for next season and do alot more racing.

how is the Fenix???? I want pics!!!!!! LOL


on another note, does SDBC do race reimbursement program on races? I'm looking to join a club for next season and do alot more racing.

SDBC members are encouraged to join the USCF and represent the club in races. The club hosts several major USCF races each year. In addition, the club holds a series of club races, which allow all members to compete against each other for club honors presented at the end of the year. SDBC also organizes teams of elite riders and provides, through corporate sponsorship, equipment, clothing, entry fees, and travel expenses. Junior, senior and masters teams are formed for both men and women.

To me that sounds like "maybe". Are you an elite rider? :p

Has anyone seen the Volvo commercial where the family is driving SAG for the wife/mother as she's riding her Orbea down various roads? Great commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjeg2HLNIOo

I won't be able to give you pics, but you're welcome to try them. :)

Yes for the latter, but I've never looked into it since the only ones I can beat are kids on trikes. :D From membership app, "racing members are eligible for USA Cycling/NORBA race reimbursements". You may want to check with blue_nose on this.

all is well....i have managed to get back on the bike after the week off from the fires...

the guy at performance had the gawl to harrass me about wearing a Big Ring cyclery shirt...ballsy...anywho...performance is having a 50% off sale right now on marked down stuff...i picked up a pair of Castilla Bibs and jersey for 40 bucks total!!!

rocking it kids!!

how is the Fenix???? I want pics!!!!!! LOL


on another note, does SDBC do race reimbursement program on races? I'm looking to join a club for next season and do alot more racing.

Jeff...i am not sure if SDBC does but i know that Dewalt does...Ben just sent his stuff in and you get a portion of it back.

depending how much you want to race let me know and you might be able to join the team i am racing for...that's an if...i don't know if they are looking for anymore CAT 5's or not but i can ask for ya.

BTW, if you're timing your SDBC membership for some race, then don't do it last minute; at least not online. It took me a while to get the email and stuff after I did it online.

SDBC members are encouraged to join the USCF and represent the club in races. The club hosts several major USCF races each year. In addition, the club holds a series of club races, which allow all members to compete against each other for club honors presented at the end of the year. SDBC also organizes teams of elite riders and provides, through corporate sponsorship, equipment, clothing, entry fees, and travel expenses. Junior, senior and masters teams are formed for both men and women.

To me that sounds like "maybe". Are you an elite rider? :p

I'm ok fast but not elite fast

The team I sorta rode with last season merged with Cal Spas in Temec. Seems about 2 dozen club members but not sure if I want to drive to Temec every weekend for the group ride, same goes with the SDBC in down by UTC. Ranchos is close to here but no reimbursement program til CAT3 Cal Spas will reimbursement 1 race a month or up to $40.