Hybrid Bicycles - Where Did Your Hybrid Take You Today?

Still winter. But raising degrees during miday keeps the road fairly ice free. In these conditions the hybrid is a superior choice if you want to speed it up! ...and a pic of the bike doing the stuff!

28 miles today around Friendswood and Pearland, TX. 73 degrees, almost feeling a bit warm already. I think 65-70 degrees is the perfect riding temperature for me.
Is anyone else using this crossingways.com site? I carry my mobile phone running "gps cycle computer" in my back jersey pocket and it takes gps readings every minute, then I upload the gpx file to crossingways. I can also set it to show live, my dad was watching last weekend while I was riding and he could see me in real time on the map.

http://www.crossingways.com/Track/Freds_bike_ride__Jan_23_2010_9770.en

I did a solo ride on Saturday in the Florida Everglades, 27 miles of unpaved levee. I'm probably going to get a bike with a suspension before I do that again, even these vultures thought I was a fool...

http://www.boomspeed.com/artoflaw/incoming/crossroads_003.jpg

Ended up in the Highland neighborhood of Denver yesterday, and decided to cut through downtown instead of going around it. They built this new bridge over the Interstate-25 I thought I would hop on. Get to the other side (the downtown side), and find this weird piece of art:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2752/4315930149_7b5c0c5b0b.jpg

Just wtf is that supposed to be?

Nice bridge though. The downtown side has this spirally ramp that's fun to go down all fast like.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_GW75NWraW4E/Sz510FyAhXI/AAAAAAAACxs/4NRVBOKvMOw/2010NYDride-sm-1.jpg
I've been down that way before, not by bike. I have a friend who is all into trains and trolleys and stuff. Pretty neat to see the old street cars.

Its really sad that neither Denver nor Colorado Springs has the huge network of streetcars that both cities used to have.

Rode around the neighborhood and did 11.2 miles in this frigid weather, 19* at start and 21* when I pulled on the driveway. First ride in sub 20* temp ever. The key to riding is to put layers of clothing, used old wool socks over my full finger insulated gloves and go. It was sunny this morning so I thought I'd take a chance to ride. I don't usually ride in the winter month's (Dec - Feb) but I thought I'll try this for the new decade.

Those roadies might as well be laughing at their good fortune of just being there on that fine day.

Great job sampling Maryland's wealth of trails.

"You've done us proud, son" :D

I rode the East Coast Greenway again today
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC00613.jpg

I've been down that way before, not by bike. I have a friend who is all into trains and trolleys and stuff. Pretty neat to see the old street cars.

Its really sad that neither Denver nor Colorado Springs has the huge network of streetcars that both cities used to have.

Howdy, you'll be happy to know that there "thinking" seriously of bringing the "trolley's of some sort back to Colorado Springs! Big meetings going on at the moment, haven't heard what the outcome was! FYI. :)

Looks like some sort of monument to sausages. Freud would have a field day.


Ended up in the Highland neighborhood of Denver yesterday, and decided to cut through downtown instead of going around it. They built this new bridge over the Interstate-25 I thought I would hop on. Get to the other side (the downtown side), and find this weird piece of art:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2752/4315930149_7b5c0c5b0b.jpg

Just wtf is that supposed to be?

Nice bridge though. The downtown side has this spirally ramp that's fun to go down all fast like.

I rode the East Coast Greenway again today
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC00613.jpg


I hope that's a thermos in that bottle-holder - full of hot chicken-broth! Yow!

17 miles, on rail-trails, thru city park, round about the town with the wife, not even 40F, filtered sunshine, although it did finally get sunny as we headed home and made the days supposed high temp of 42F from 3-4PM. Stopped at a little corner store for a piece of homemade choc. cake, YUM! 203 miles for the month of Jan. on the "frankenbrid", a LOT more miles/hours on the trainer, hope it start's going the other way soon!

Howdy, you'll be happy to know that there "thinking" seriously of bringing the "trolley's of some sort back to Colorado Springs! Big meetings going on at the moment, haven't heard what the outcome was! FYI. :)
I've heard about that. There's also talk in Denver as well, specifically down Colfax Ave.

It would be great to see street cars back in town.

First ride of the season.
25 miles. Arlington VA to Eastern Market DC
Ride report is on my link below, and photos are in the "K Street" thread in the Southeast regional forum.

Took an old broken printer down to the recycle center.

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Can't believe the amount of snow the right coast is getting... we are supposed to get a little toouch of the stuff today and then the forecast is for more unseasonaly warm temps.

Our snow is vanishing and our roads are clear and dry.

The bike took me from the shop to home, after getting, my new Shimano Deore triple crank/chainwheel set installed, along with a new Sram 8 speed casette and chain so the "frankenbrid" has a new drivetrain! You can actually feel how much "stiffer" the new crankset is over the OEM set that came with the bike (Suntour). It's a nice upgrade and will make a enjoyable bike even more so, jmho. Of course the clouds chased me home from the bicycle shop, there talking about SNOW tonight, rats!

...getting, my new Shimano Deore triple crank/chainwheel set installed...!
That's the same upgrade I had done last week. Felt good. The new bottom bracket is much smoother than my old one. Didn't notice any difference in speed (44T instead of 42T) but I'll watch my averages over the year and see if there is a difference.

It was night & day when I upgraded to Ultegra triple - 53 - 39 - 30T from the stock cranks that came with my Trek 7.5 FX, 48 - 36 - 26T M443 Octalink. Much smoother and the better transfer of energy were very notable. I like these external bottom-brackets.

Good luck with yours Deore's! Those are nice.

Finally the planets aligned and I was able to squeeze in a ride today. Being retired, you would think I would have all the time in the world.. but the list of things I need to do just keeps getting longer. Anyway, first ride since Feb 1, after all the snow in Feb, and the crud filled roads and blocked MUTs, everything is clean now. Nearly 50, sunny, light breeze, and a whopping 13 glorious miles on the MUT around BWI airport (Baltimore - Actually Glen Burnie). I will possibly do it again tomorrow before the rain moves in for the next 4 days. Daylight Savings Times starts Sunday...Spring in a couple weeks!

Pete

Pete

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_GW75NWraW4E/S6E8ER7fDsI/AAAAAAAAC2M/6G2cXXEhrUg/03-17-10ride-1.jpg

Did 27 miles of "errands" today, a nice day with a still chilly wind as it's March but was able to bail the ear covers, jacket and full fingered gloves by mid-day!:D The photo is on the "low bridge" of the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail in Co. Spgs. CO., (sorry for the crummy photo it's my cheapie cellphone camera).

That's the same upgrade I had done last week. Felt good. The new bottom bracket is much smoother than my old one. Didn't notice any difference in speed (44T instead of 42T) but I'll watch my averages over the year and see if there is a difference.

Yep, much smoother, the difference I noticed is that I used to be able to "cruz" easy on rollers (little up and down hill's) on the large chain wheel on the 3rd. cog. Now it's seem a bit tough on the new 44T than on the 42T so I'm going to have to "man up" (lol) the speed I guess or use "middle chain ring 5th. cog" more for that type of terrain. Panther's "53T large chainwheel", OUCH, I can feel my old, arthritic knees screaming at me now! ;) I was thinking of having the 44 change to a 46T but not for a while now!

I went to my usual summer ride path today. It was a gorgeous day with plenty of sunshine but I started late so I only managed 36 miles.

today's 33+ mile ride was my first with the Colorado Springs Cycling Club (CSCC), since 2005. It was a tough one as they set a pace a bit faster than my normal and they took us up and over this unreal 4 stage HILL!! Man it was a killer, the only thing that didn't make me feel to bad, that I had to get off and walk the bike a bit was I made it farther than most of the group before I started walking the last steep incline before the top! Not bad for the guy with the least amount of "conditioning" and the "heaviest bicycle" ;) It was nice to ride in a group again, it's been 5 years.

This group is kinda neat as it's a Thursday ride, called the Old Pharts Ride, most the guys and gal's are retired and older, LOL, at 54, I might be the "baby of the group"! Well it's supposed to "Winter Storm" tonight, Friday and Saturday so it was great to get a "taste" of Spring for a few days!

Yep, much smoother, the difference I noticed is that I used to be able to "cruz" easy on rollers (little up and down hill's) on the large chain wheel on the 3rd. cog. Now it's seem a bit tough on the new 44T than on the 42T so I'm going to have to "man up" (lol) the speed I guess or use "middle chain ring 5th. cog" more for that type of terrain. Panther's "53T large chainwheel", OUCH, I can feel my old, arthritic knees screaming at me now! ;) I was thinking of having the 44 change to a 46T but not for a while now!

Deore cranks are great. Have been using the 48\36\26 config for over a year now. I think this years unit is lighter with an alloy middle ring instead of a steel. I managed about 2500 miles out of the Deore BB cups then sourced the XT cups as a replacement. They lasted in excess of 6000 miles. They are nearly twice the price of the Deore cups but sometimes the XT cups are on deal.

I was looking to replace all the rings and actually found that it was cheaper to buy an OEM Deore (sans cups) than source all three rings. Economics of madness.

Best thing about the Deore external units is their ease of maintenance.

Enjoy!

Today I took my Hybrid (Cube Nature 2009) East along the Clyde Valley then along the Forth and Clyde canal for a bit before zipping back along the river Kelvin. Passed through Glasgow city centre then cycled on up to Strathaven. 70+ miles. Beautiful spring day and perfect conditions. Magic!

Today my Allant took me to the supermarket and, later, to the local recycle center for a day's total of 27.9 miles. My first long (to me) ride on this bike and it felt perfect!

My Marin Larkspur took me into four smaller towns with the longest ride ever on this hybrid, 50.3 miles.

Only a short ride. 18 miles from Arlington VA to the cherry blossoms in DC, then downtown and Georgetown.
The day started below freezing and I had things to do. I couldn't start my ride until after 2pm and I had to be home around 5.
Will post the ride report later this week at the link below.

Today was a ride to the post office and park with Pepper in tow. I'm happy to say the Allant handled pulling the trailer just fine. I, however, struggled a bit with the extra weight. I've gotta get more practice towing that trailer. It was just over 11 miles total.

To work :D My first bike commute. Didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would, and I got there 20 minutes early! HA

Awesome! You must live pretty close to work though.... maybe 4 miles, give or take? If I had a short ride like that, I'd rarely drive!

My hybrid got me to work this morning too. It only took me an hour and nine minutes (close to my fastest time for the 17 mile commute).

yeah its only a couple miles (maybe 3 or so) but I'm totally new to commuting on bike, so I left with plenty of time to spare. Better early than late, right?

Of course, this means I can wake up later now hahaha :D

Had my first organized ride on Sun. I normally ride 15-20 miles and had done 30 miles once before, so I was not sure I could do the 50 mile ride. I am happy to say I finished all 50 miles in 3:18.33 with an average speed of 15.2 mile an hour. I am ready to train for a metric and then a full century.

A couple days ago I rode to Latch Island and along the Mississippi in Winona, MN.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9bgwb4ziysk/S7lAypHl62I/AAAAAAAABPM/sNovUuKddoo/s640/DSC_0089.JPG

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_9bgwb4ziysk/S7lAOGQjrVI/AAAAAAAABM0/4uT5CiA3NoI/s640/DSC_0053.JPG

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_9bgwb4ziysk/S7lAwE_oNBI/AAAAAAAABO8/3bl9jENe3RY/s640/DSC_0086.JPG

Well I came up a little short on my 60 miles,only did 57 miles I did ride from the house down to the Mayflower. Had a P&J for lunch, Took a few pictures and talked to this old guy from California for a little while. I fought a killer head wind all the way home. I feel great. My ass & the saddle had words again though. I worked on the Mayflower some 25 years ago, Did some restoration work to it. Funny how you take for granted what in your back yard.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n235/Timber_8/mayflower004-2.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n235/Timber_8/mayflower005.jpg

It was a perfect weather day so we hooked up the trailer and took Pepper for a ride to the PO and park. Had a nice picnic lunch at the park while watching a gaggle of kids romp around. Pepper was very interested in the high-pitched voices of the smaller ones...I think he thought they were kindred beings ;)

Took a 22mi jaunt through downtown Atlanta towards Stone Mountain. Low 70's and sunny! Lots of riders out and it was pretty heavy traffic here and there in the city with the Dogwood Festival in full swing. They actually had bicycle valet parking at the festival!

This was my first ride on my Michelin 40c TransWorld Sprints. I was pleasantly surprised at their smoothness. Moderate turns are buzzy and NOT confidence inspiring due to the knobby edges, but otherwise, pretty quiet. They are noticeably slower (maybe ~2 mph slower with equal effort) and a touch noisier on pavement than my Conty 28c SportContacts, but very, very ridable. Aside from some quick veers onto some fields and packed dirt, I haven't got to evaluate them yet on gravel or trails. Hopefully this coming weekend!

This is a shot of my hybrid's first real maiden voyage off road. We went to Yellow River Park outside of Atlanta. Decent park with lots of mtb and equestrian trails. Lots of single track portions too. While these were relative easy trails overall, there were quite a few steep uphills and narrow tracks dotted throughout.

I was very pleased with my 40c Michelin TransWorld Sprints. I ran them at 35psi and they handled everything solidly. Admittedly, there were no over-the-top rocky sections, but there were enough loose dirt and slightly muddy sections and I never had a problem slipping or sliding. Next weekend, I'll kick it up a notch and maybe see what the limits of the tires (or probably me!) are.

I wish I took more (and better) pix, but I was more interested in riding :)

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Took the Allant for our 29-mile dog food run. The ride started out nice and breezy but by the time we headed home the wind had picked up to 30 mph with gusts of 40+. What a ride! At the end, the last block was directly into the wind and it was like getting sandblasted. Fun, and exhausting.

Me and my bloke rode our new Trek FX bikes together for the first time. Took his kid with us so we didn't go fast or far but we really like the bikes so far and we had a fun ride. :thumb:

Shes treating me well so far 14mile trip today. Hill killed, the flatland was a breeeeze. Avg speed 13mph. Max speed 35mph.
Schwinn Tourist;

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/4852/bikeedge.jpg

Yesterday, about 21 miles from Fort Lee, NJ to midtown Manhattan. Shake down ride for Sunday.
Oddest thing I saw was a wheelchair chained to a bike rack.

yesterday rode 22 miles total to check out what this kaitai can do.

couple miles in Hoboken, NJ - then from Ground Zero up to 96th street on the West Side Greenway, then cut to Central Park and rode all the way south to the Village - took the Path back to Jersey City, went out then rode back to Hoboken.

picture of my friend with the bikes during a pit stop in Central Park

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs524.snc3/29821_413790258853_767553853_5440511_8131614_n.jpg

Stone Mountain Georgia Park.

Bike New York 5 Boroughs ride. 42 mile tour but with the ride from and back to where I was parked, it was a 65 mile day.
Temperature was 69 when I got up at 4:30 am. High was around 90.
Rode back by way of Central Park just to get some shade.

I rode the C&O canal.

Not all 162 miles, just the block from TJ to 30th and only because I thought I could make a nice picture there.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC02601.jpg

Rode into DC again today where my aluminum crank arm proved no match for my legs of steel.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC02632.jpg

I don't use toeclips, but I carry a few toe straps with me. They came in handy today. Rode home (about five miles) with one pedal.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC02630.jpg

Duke Ellington School of the Arts
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC02640.jpg

rough map of 30+ mile manhattan/brooklyn ride for this sunday

http://www.mapmyride.com/route/us/ny/new%20york/775127311346871178

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs568.snc3/31027_10150174850845191_635955190_12424675_1659186_n.jpg


http://hphotos-sjc1.fbcdn.net/hs568.snc3/31027_10150174871765191_635955190_12425262_2010364_n.jpg

For Saturday, in order - UK, Finland, Belgium, Austria, Slovakia, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia, France, Sweden.
It was a long day.