mountaindave 

+1 I definitely want to check out the wet coast!

Can't wait to see your JP when you are happy with it - gorgeous bike!

gomango

Exquisite Weigle VR!

Try Compass Stampede Pass or Challenge Strada Biancas.

Dream tires for sure. Hope they fit for you.

northbend 

Holy moley VR! Wow I love it

Vonruden

Thanks Grady! I have a brand new pair of Challenge Grifo 33's, not sure they would fit and this one may be too nice for gravel conditions. I have wanted to check out the Stampedes.

Vonruden

thanks NB

thinktubes 

@Vonruden - jfc that's nice!!!!!!

gomango

The Stampede Pass tire is the real deal.

I have Strada Biancas on my Della Santa and Bilenky.

They are smooth, very smooth.

Wish they made a 700x32 version.

Ed.

Not standing, just coasting along. The piece of wood you see is my clue to hit the 'clicker' in my right hand. Silly me, I had the camera set to take multi-photos at some rate I forget. It couldn't get them written to memory sufficiently fast, so it was still clicking away several minutes later. I think it must have taken over 200 shots on my three pass bys.

Oh, and it's snowing...

Chrome Molly

46 miles of riding today, including a fair amount of car shopping. I've certainly taken the car to look at bikes, so this reversal was somewhat refreshing. It's interesting, the reactions you get, when shopping for cars on a bicycle.

Picture along the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, with lots of people fishing for walleyes in the background. The ride was pretty low key since I've been dealing with a cold all week long.

Prowler 

Finally got the Raleigh Professional out on public roads. All the way up to 36deg, overcast and flurries today. But dry clear roads and I cannot wait any longer to get back into shape. Just rode my 13 mile hilly circuit 'around the block' but it felt great. Over the winter I got a different Ultra 6 FW from @pastorbobnlnh. The one that came on the bike was 14-16-18-20-24-26. This one is 13-15-17-20-24-26. That 13T cog gets me the top gear I felt was missing and the 'taller' 2nd and 3rd seem like a better match for me too. I should enjoy grinding out the miles while getting used to this FW.

Maybe I'll have a chance of keeping up with @rhm in a couple of weeks.

pastorbobnlnh 

Yes, @rhm is hard to keep up with, especially over those long days and many miles.

jimmuller 

I ridden my bike over to the dealer to pick up a car after having some repairs done or maybe it was arranging to pick up when we bought it, and at least one employee in the showroom didn't like it at all. "Get that bike out of here." I mostly ignored him.

Lascauxcaveman 

I probably would have flipped him off. or maybe just said, "Oh? That's how you talk to your customers here? How's your boss gonna like that when I mention it to him?"

My mechanic sees me taking the bike off the rack and says wistfully, "Man, I've got to get me a bike again." But he's just about the sweetest human being imaginable.

Vonruden

Had fun on the Peg today.

JJScaliger

I got out today too, for 30 miles. Weather still is more typical of January at 36 degrees, but if there isn't ice on the roads I'm riding!

Tried out a pair of Challenge paris roubaix sew ups on the Motobecane Grand Record. My widest set of tubulars ever at 27mm. A couple of pics...





New red tape and shellac this week I promise!

jimmuller 

I took the Gazelle out for about 3-1/2 miles this morning as a warmup for the real ride. Temps in the low 30'sF. That bike is quick and requires sharp attention. Then I took the Masi around the block just because. It's pretty quick too. I guess I haven't ridden enough in the last 60 days.



Then we finally got to the main event, 20 miles on the tandem, the full length of the Minuteman Bikeway from Bedford to Alewife and back. It's our first tandem ride of the year. There is still a lot of snow on the ground but the bikeway was mostly clear.

pastorbobnlnh 

nlerner

I was on the Minuteman today, too, Jim, but no tandem sightings.

northbend 

Last details worked out on the bike for Eroica. Shakedown ride today was great.
34mm Dugasts are luxuriant!

gomango

Great pics everyone.

rhm

@TimmyT and I rode the "Blue Mountain 200k" with the Eastern PA Randonneurs on Saturday. Originally scheduled for March 21, it was postponed due to snow (we got about 6" of snow at my house, evidently a lot more farther north and west, where this ride was). A week later it still felt like winter. Awful headwinds for the first several hours. Tailwinds toward the end, but by that time we were feeling pretty beat up.


Easton PA on the left, Phillipsburg NJ on the right.


One of the many mountain valleys we rode through, rushing water in the streams, very pretty.


approaching Blue Mountain; looking west.


Fuji "The Ace" at the top of Blue Mountain.


The north side of the mountain, looking east.


Back on the Delaware River.

noglider 

@rhm, you guys did 200k, huh? Impressive. I went to a NYCC meeting this month where guys from LI Randonneurs and NJ Randonneurs spoke. Interesting stuff. I like how the average age of a randonneur is 51 years. But I would need to build up my endurance a lot to do that.

We had little bitty adventures on Citibike this weekend. My wife just got her membership, and she is so cute on this clunker of a bike. We went a few places. Technical problems with the system and with my bike made us late enough to miss the movie we were headed to, but we had fun anyway. We even had a few snow flakes during one of our rides. We also took our bikes along the river for a brief bit.

thumpism 

Truer advice was never given. Back in my shop days when customers questioned the wisdom of carrying a pump, patch kit and learning to use them we'd always say, "Never ride farther from home than you're willing to walk back."

I took off today for two hours on the RB-T for a B76 training ride. I just don't have many miles in and need better conditioning unless I want to train on the cross-country ride. I put a pair of clipless pedals on it since the last ride and also dug out my old Eclipse Professional handlebar bag to air that out. Probably has not seen the light of day in 20 years. The bike still has the Bontrager 26C tires from when I bought it and the rear has an annoying tread squiggle. Gonna buy some Contis but that has not happened. The loop is one of those long around-the-block routes on which if you head in that direction is about seven miles to complete the loop and get home. I'll have to clock it. Anyway, I did all the little side streets in the various neighborhoods along the way, looking for old cars/trucks/motorcycles (saw two ratty TR4s/one mossy '68 C10 Stepside/one okay K75) and was headed back when it appeared that the squiggle was becoming more pronounced. Maybe not. Got all the way to my cul-de-sac and had just made the last turn when "POW!" went the back. Walked that last block home a wiser man who's used up a little more of his apportioned luck. I had everything I'd need for a fix but the booting material. Next time I'll have that, too.

Chrome Molly

Temps in the 50's at ride time with little wind. 26 miles on the Roberts after work. I wouldn't have thought a bike with a saddlebag and fenders can go so fast. Those GB cypres tires are getting a thumbs up thus far.

gomango

I've been meaning to try them.

We hit the Greenway out to St. Louis Park, then over to Edina on the way back to Mpls., then back east on Minnehaha Parkway to the Ford bridge.

29 total on a Monday night is good enough.

Definitely will be doing the April Challenge.