Random thoughts at 29 mph.
04-05-09, 01:15 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
Random thoughts at 29 mph.
For some weird reason, during this morning's Napa Gran Prix criterium I kept getting hit by totally random thoughts. A sampling:
Fifty pedals clicking in at the same time is a weirdly beautiful sound.
30 mph is fast enough to notice a doppler shift from the music over the PA.
The space between a double set of Bott's Dots is enough for a 23mm tire.
There are some ridiculously expensive bikes in the Masters peleton.
There are some ridiculously fit guys in the Masters peleton.
You could probably race a flat crit on a 3-speed bike.
Cornering is so much better with your elbows bent and your hands deep into the drops.
Fifty pedals clicking in at the same time is a weirdly beautiful sound.
30 mph is fast enough to notice a doppler shift from the music over the PA.
The space between a double set of Bott's Dots is enough for a 23mm tire.
There are some ridiculously expensive bikes in the Masters peleton.
There are some ridiculously fit guys in the Masters peleton.
You could probably race a flat crit on a 3-speed bike.
Cornering is so much better with your elbows bent and your hands deep into the drops.
04-05-09, 01:29 AM
#3
Over the hill
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 24,376
Bikes: Giant Defy, Giant Revolt
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 998 Post(s)
Liked 1,206 Times
in
692 Posts
Here's mine...
"F*ck they're going 29 mph again! I'm too slow for this sport."
"F*ck they're going 29 mph again! I'm too slow for this sport."
__________________
It's like riding a bicycle
It's like riding a bicycle
04-05-09, 01:31 AM
#4
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
"Jolene" by Dolly Parton is a great song, but totally wrong during a bike race.
04-05-09, 01:32 AM
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
Dolly Parton probably has more plastic than my Trek 5200.
04-05-09, 02:24 AM
#6
Senior Member
04-05-09, 06:54 AM
#9
Announcer
If the 50 clicks are a cool sound, you should have heard the old metal toe clips scraping the ground. THAT was a cool sound.
There are a lot of ridiculous things in the Masters peloton.
Istanbul by They Might Be Giants is a song that you do NOT want stuck in your head during a race.
There are a lot of ridiculous things in the Masters peloton.
Istanbul by They Might Be Giants is a song that you do NOT want stuck in your head during a race.
04-05-09, 06:58 AM
#10
.
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 40,375
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 15 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 27 Times
in
12 Posts
04-05-09, 07:10 AM
#11
King of the Ramsey Hills
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Saint Paul
Posts: 320
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
04-05-09, 07:52 AM
#12
Old & Getting Older Racer
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: SoCal
Posts: 5,343
Bikes: Bicycle Transportation: 2022 Hyundai Kona Electric, 2019 Kia Niro Plug-In Hybrid
Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 41 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times
in
5 Posts
Yesterday mine was: "F*ck they're going 29 mph again! I'm too old, fat, and slow for this sport."
__________________
Thanks.
Cleave
"Real men still wear pink."
Visit my blog at https://cleavesblant.wordpress.com/
Lightning Velo Cycling Club: https://www.lightningvelo.org/
Learn about our Green Dream Home at https://www.lawville.org/
Thanks.
Cleave
"Real men still wear pink."
Visit my blog at https://cleavesblant.wordpress.com/
Lightning Velo Cycling Club: https://www.lightningvelo.org/
Learn about our Green Dream Home at https://www.lawville.org/
04-05-09, 07:54 AM
#13
Batüwü Creakcreak
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: The illadelph
Posts: 20,791
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 229 Post(s)
Liked 288 Times
in
160 Posts
If the 50 clicks are a cool sound, you should have heard the old metal toe clips scraping the ground. THAT was a cool sound.
There are a lot of ridiculous things in the Masters peloton.
Istanbul by They Might Be Giants is a song that you do NOT want stuck in your head during a race.
There are a lot of ridiculous things in the Masters peloton.
Istanbul by They Might Be Giants is a song that you do NOT want stuck in your head during a race.
04-05-09, 10:07 AM
#17
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
04-05-09, 10:14 AM
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: chicago,Il
Posts: 2,401
Bikes: yes please
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
hmmmm. this hurts. no way I can keep this up. do I even want to? I dunno. I'll see how it goes, see how I feel. If it starts to rain, I'm pulling out. what is that nutcase doing? we're going way to fast to do stupid stuff like that. should I move up. no way. I don't think I can. how far in the back am I? do I really care. Hey, there is whats-his-name. Should I say hello? no. then he'll see I can't breathe.
04-05-09, 12:35 PM
#21
Cat 4 roadkill
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 190
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I'm always getting weird songs stuck in my head during crits ("if you like piņa coladas..."). Sometimes on group rides, I sing them out loud, badly, but in a race, I figure if I've got enough wind to sing, I should be attacking.
04-05-09, 12:41 PM
#22
Making a kilometer blurry
Song stuck in your head? Magical Trevor FTW.
04-05-09, 02:32 PM
#23
SmackTalk'rExtraordinaire
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: So. Jersey
Posts: 293
Bikes: LeMond Reno
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
At this stage of my cycling development, I would welcome the ability to have the Pina Colada song bouncing in my head rather than the feeling of lactate weighing down my legs.
Only thing that goes on in my mind when the attacks begin and I start to feel the lactate building is to concentrate on my "belly breathing" - Force the air out, let me naturally breathe-in. Sometimes it works and I can actually "feel" the lactate dissipate and I can stick on the wheel of the hammers or even make my own break for a moment, most other times, it's a long ride as a solitary chase rider to loserville.
Clarification: Not a genuine race, but a pretty brisk hammerfest ride where the avg jumps to 28+ and the sprints are in the 30's.
Only thing that goes on in my mind when the attacks begin and I start to feel the lactate building is to concentrate on my "belly breathing" - Force the air out, let me naturally breathe-in. Sometimes it works and I can actually "feel" the lactate dissipate and I can stick on the wheel of the hammers or even make my own break for a moment, most other times, it's a long ride as a solitary chase rider to loserville.
Clarification: Not a genuine race, but a pretty brisk hammerfest ride where the avg jumps to 28+ and the sprints are in the 30's.
04-05-09, 02:39 PM
#24
Peloton Shelter Dog
Here's my random thought when it hits 29+ mph:
'What ever made me think I could ride with these guys?'
The answer is never forthcoming.
'What ever made me think I could ride with these guys?'
The answer is never forthcoming.