DMC707

An hour on the Spinbike while watching the end of SkyFall (the James Bond movie) -- then 30 minutes on rowing machine to cap it off

DMC707

Do you have a full shot of the Ciocc? -- the color and decals look identical to mine

Gdando

After learning to navigate city traffic I was rewarded with ocean breezes and a white capped volcano. Despite everything that doesn't work in Southern Europe days like this make it worth while.

Vonruden

Nice Gdando! I am snowed in and wishing I had a Fat tire snow bike right now. Love those pics.

spacemanz

Wow, that looks a lot like a certain area near Seattle. I've heard a couple people say Italy & Seattle have very similar climates & terrains, including the mountains. I'm definitely planning to explore a lot more, by bicycle, in the near future.

mikemowbz

Were you thinking of getting the Road or Cross model? Being used to riding fairly racy 80s road bikes almost exclusively, I'm perhaps preoccupied in my first impressions with some of the 'cross' characteristics (and should also note that I have no S&S experience upon which to base comparison there)...

I've only had the chance to ride it on the short jaunt pictured in this thread (where it did very decently over some varied terrain) and for 6 or 10 miles of pavement back here in Vancouver yesterday. The main triangle is constructed with quite a light gauge tubing, whereas the stays are quite beefy (not in terms of diameter, but solid); I was relieved, as a big guy at 6'2 1/2" and over 250lbs, to find that it hasn't so far given the impression of being inordinately flexy.

Geo on the 60cm model suits me very well. I thought about buying a size smaller, but suspect that would have been a problem in terms head tube length and implications for saddle-to-bar drop. I do notice the high BB, which has obvious advantages (including the fact that a hanging toe clip stays off the pavement when I miss the flip at a stoplight , though more pertinently keeping everything above the fray over rough stuff) - might prefer the Road version w/lower BB and shorter wheelbase if exclusively riding on pavement, but this one is much more versatile. In that vein, I will note that the nominal 33mm Clement LAS tires I have on, measuring almost 37mm fully inflated, are about as wide as the Breakaway will accommodate (with the chainstays being the point of limitation - you could put a bigger tire up front on the Comp Carbon fork, as some 'cross folks like to do). Good enough for my purposes. Can always swap wheels/tires for different applications (noticeably quicker with road slicks, of course).

Simple to break down and assemble. Clever design, and the quick-detachment cable setup makes this aspect of things a cinch. It fits in the Ritchey-designed suitcase, which is easy to wheel around and looks like it would provide adequate protection for airline travel if you pack carefully and make liberal use of foam pipe insulation in addition to the provided pads. Plenty convenient traveling by ferry and bus from the Olympic Peninsula to Vancouver via Vancouver Island this week.

I will definitely be making use of the fender eyelets and rear rack mount, big pluses for the Cross model given my plans. I may also swap the carbon fork for an All-City Nature Boy steel one for actual travel, saving the carbon one from getting marred/nicked up as is probably inevitable when journeying. With the carbon one, and a relatively heavy Selle Anatomica saddle, the bike is about 23lbs fully built with solid 36h rims (Mavic A719s at ~560g), STIs, compact double, and wide range 10sp cassette.

I'd be happy to share further thoughts when I've had a bit more time in the saddle on this one, but my first impressions are good. Fairly relaxed geo drop bar bike with a relatively (but not terribly) high BB and lots of nice features that lend themselves to varied use as passable roadie, capable commuter, light tourer, awesome gravel bike, or for-real 'crosser (though I'm no competitive type) - and it happens to fit in a suitcase for convenience. Pretty much as advertised. And, IMHO, it's a pretty slick looking rig, too (perhaps even to the point that a more low-key alternative might be preferable depending on where one might be leaving the bike unattended):

seedsbelize 

This is only the second time I can ever remember having to be rescued. In both cases, it was because I packed the wrong spare tube. And both cases have occurred in the past year.

rjhammett

The wind chill in the Twin Cities was -50 today. I went for a ride in the basement. Even there it was cold.

RALEIGH_COMP 

Was up in sonoma last week, snapped a couple pictures while I was riding around SSU. I sure do miss living up there...

obrentharris 

Rouge et Noir





This is the oldest of our local cheese makers, established in 1865. Strictly French-style soft cheeses made with local milk. They have a very nice picnic ground which, on this cool gray day, I shared only with the ducks and geese.





If you Canadians are wondering where all your geese went for the winter you can come visit them here.




It's always a good idea to bring a backpack or handlebar bag when visiting this place. Today's special was 8 cheeses for $20! We will share them with family and friends.



Brent

JJScaliger

Whoa that pic is awesome! I'm glad someone is getting out.

jimmuller 

Nice pics! Did you choose that bike specifically for that destination? I mean, could you still go there on, say, a white Peugeot instead?

obrentharris 

Mea Culpa.

Guilty of "Theme Ride" as charged!

Brent

JJScaliger

Well it warmed up today to 30 degrees so I ventured out for a 35 mile ride. I had wanted to take the Dawes but I couldn't get the ft derailleur to work properly so I took the Kelly. I think I might just replace that Suntour compe. It has been finicky since day one and it's reverse pull. I like the drillium look to the cage, maybe I'll go with a campy super record.

Anyway, I got out there while the getting was good and rode a little dirt too.





This road, an old farm road out in Foster, is half dirt and half paved with a super rocky double track connecting the two sections. The farms are mostly gone in Foster leaving forests with countless stone walls. I tried to ride it 8 years ago but the double track part was fenced off and had no trespassing signs. Google maps indicated that a path had been built there, and for a change was correct.

Kobe 

I know it must have been freezing JJS, but you make those roads look so inviting.

EBH

He sure does...

Roger M

Hungry now...

I've only have a couple of rides under my belt in the last week.

New years eve




Tonight I got out for about 25 miles in the rain

TimmyT 

Mine is a Designer '84. I will need to take some new photos. I don't have a full set in the present configuration. The rear seat stays are chromed on mine and the head tube has Ciocc written vertically instead of having the Ciocc badge like yours. I also have a full SR group on mine, with the exception of the brake levers, that are Chorus (?) aero.

spacemanz

Seahawks are up 16-zip at half-time, over the Saints. No riding today, but I walked to Safeway in the heavy rain earlier, & left my wet socks on to support the team. I put the C'dale Silk Road 500 back together recently, & rode it up on the beginning of the Sammamish River Trail last night. It rides great, but I need my old pedals off the Frejus. Pics later.

spacemanz

It worked, 23-15 Seahawks! I'm changing socks now.

Vonruden

It's only weird if it doesn't work.

obrentharris 

A gray and drizzly day in San Francisco today. My wife and I took our tandem across the bay on the ferry then rode over the Golden Gate Bridge and back to our starting point in Larkspur. Sorry, no obligatory Golden Gate Bridge shot: It was just too wet up there to stop for a photo, besides the visibility was only about 1/4 mile on the bridge.

Farmers Market, Ferry Building, and Ghandi.




On our way across San Francisco we stopped at Crissy Field to admire the Mark di Suvero sculptures. Those big steel constructions were right at home there in the big, wide field, with the steel bridge in the distance.




You will pardon, I hope, the distinctly non-vintage bicycle. Our gorgeous vintage Belgian tandem, which has made several appearances on these pages and is currently listed for sale on the tandem forum, is much too small for the captain and, so far, no one on this forum has offered to trade us a vintage tandem that might fit us better. (hint, hint)

Brent

spacemanz

I think all Cannondales that were hand-built in the U.S.A. are "classic", so actually quite appropriate. IMHO, anyways.

Vonruden

Getting ready





Something for the Schwinn fans

EBH

Nice pics Vonrunden