very good.!

On the club ride last night, I broke the front shift cable on my Domane. I'm bringing it into the shop over lunch today, as I don't know how to replace a cable on this bike and I also don't really have time. Or, being more honest, I don't want to SPEND the time on it. I'd rather be riding. I'm going to skip the club ride tonight, as I need to mow the lawn.

It's a good day for a rest day anyhow, my legs are sore from the club ride last night: 40 miles averaging 17.3 mph. Pretty fast for me. I wound up with 590 miles for June; goal was 497. (800 km)

All that is a long-winded way of saying I drove to work today, like some kind of muggle.

Took the 16 inch Dahon Getaway on one of the surface street routes. Since I replaced the brake levers and thumb shifter with an integrated straight bar 7-speed indexed shifter/brake lever and a somewhat matching newer brake lever the ride experience has been a little bit more composed.

The bike felt fast and smooth on the way in, but over some surfaces and bumps the bike seemed a little extra squirrely with an off-putting clunk sound.

My first thought was the spokes had loosened up in the back... however when I tried to jiggle the wheel it seemed solid. I checked the flying buttress both the connection at the top and the hinge at the bottom and they were both solid. I checked the frame hinges and they also seemed solid. So when it happened again I went back to the rear wheel and started feeling the spokes individually to see if any were loose. None were loose but 2 were broken. I'm not too worried since these are heavy steel wheels and the spokes seem to be able to support the wheel as it is. But I will have to replace them because eventually it will ruin the wheel. It's just that removing the rear wheel is such a pain in the patoot. The band brake cable has to be disconnected... then reconnected and adjusted. The rear derailer Slides into the rear drop out with some sort of chuckThat is finicky to get back in when replacing the wheel. And then there's the after market rear axel kickstand which I put on. I suppose some sort of Change stay mounted rear kickstand would be less trouble... But I kind of like the way the rear axle mount kickstand looks...kind of jaunty.

It's supposed to be dry out tomorrow so I think I will take one of the lightweight fenderless bikes.

That little Dahon is a survivor. Something about it worries me though. You make it sound like it's always on the verge of breaking down.

I've planted the see for noglider to consider a folding bike for his NYC bike life, but I think you're poisoning it with your posts about this bike, making him think that all folding bikes are as sketchy as Li'l Yellow there.

I drove to work yesterday with my road bike in the car after breaking the front shift cable on Monday night's ride. After beating myself up a bit for not knowing how to do it on a brifter, I decided to bring it into the shop over lunch and have them do it. I decided I just don't have time and I want to be back on the bike sooner rather than later. I hope it will be ready for Monday night's ride.

I took yesterday off, as a really burned up my legs Monday. They're still sore today.

I lead the club ride tonight, a beginner-friendly one. I'm debating to take an eBike and rest my legs a bit more or take the gravel bike and just take it a bit easier.

As for commuting, I did take my Lectric XP Lite folding eBike on a grocery run last night. My nice next door neighbor and I had a chat and he said he'd like to come over and catch up later. So I rode to the store and got some seasoned chicken pieces and sweet potatoes for the Weber kettle. My wife and I wound up chatting and eating for a couple hours until the mosquitoes came out. I went and got an oscillating fan, which mostly took care of them. He tried to start the grill for me while I was out, but he's not a griller these days and if he does grill, he's a gasser. (I use the tumbleweed starters under a chimney of coals)

Speaking of grilling, here's a little present for my commuting buddies: a nice easy way to prepare steaks. Either for the grill or skillet:

Get a good steak: fillet, T-bone, porterhouse, strip or ribeye. Choice grade is fine. I like bone-in type for some extra flavor, but that adds the challenge that it cooks more slowly next to the bone.

Get a lime and some salt, pepper and garlic powder. ("SPG" as we grillers call it) Freshly ground pepper is best, it doesn't matter for the salt & garlic.

Scrape the steak with a serrated knife or something to rough up the surface.

Cut the lime in half and squeeze some lime juice on it and shake the SPG on it, then grind it in with your hand. Let the steak sit out on the counter for a half hour or so. It'll start to turn gray as the acid from the lime juice and salt work on the meat.

Meanwhile, fire up the grill or warm up your skillet.

For the grill, the fire doesn't need to be too hot, since you'll cook directly over. Sear each side of the steak for a minute or two with the lid off, then move it away from the flames and finish it indirect with the lid on until it's almost done to your liking. (I like 'em medium.) then remove it to a cutting board (use the juice groove side) and wrap it with foil for 5 minutes or so and it'll finish cooking like that. When you want to take it to the next level, get a sweet potato and asparagus and cook them each about 40 minutes indirectly before putting the steak on. I season the scrubbed potato skin and asparagus with extra virgin olive oil and SPG.

For the skillet, the skillet should be medium hot for the sear. Put some butter or ghee in, melt it, and then sear the steak on each side that way for a couple minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and finish it like that, flipping another time or two.

I think it's become a metaphor for my life. jk I really thought I had it all sorted out...oh well, such is life with a 37-year-old cast-off.

I rode a more normal, trouble-free bike today... my 2006 Felt F-65

(Why yes, that is a pink eraser in the front brake lever...it's my parking brake.)

I have to say, my 5mi commute seems to be getting worse and worse. I was doored and thrown to the ground back in early May, and while I'm mostly physically recovered (nothing serious, just lingering pains in my hands and kind of a contusion that hasn't fully flushed from my lower right leg), it could be partly a result of my mental state, but the drivers just seem completely careless and inattentive. So many people follow no rules or standards (no signaling, ignoring lanes, lights and signs, idling as if they're parked and then zooming into the road, passing and then cutting you off). I really feel unseen these days, and I'm six-and-a-half-feet-tall, with blinking lights. Smartphones, overly powered and insulated vehicles and a lack of road maintenance and traffic enforcement have made what was usually something generally enjoyable into something a little terrifying. Even my fellow cyclists are ignoring rules and etiquette these days (does anyone ever announce themselves any more when they pass?). I've been bike commuting for >25 years but most everyone is telling me to throw in the towel.

It this basic lack of accountability. Not only by motorists, but by cyclists and police.
You have to work hard to hold others accountable for what they're supposed to be responsible for.
Drive a car and the issues just change. Have you seen any dash cam videos on YouTube recently? It's appalling how many people think they're going to mess with truckers by passing and then brake-checking them and get away with it. I assume they DON'T get away with it, since truckers have dash cams, these days.

Cyclists are having dash cams now too; I see more and more commute videos in the bike commuting ****** sub.

That's a good reminder - I've been meaning to rig up a bike cam to be able to (capture who's responsible for my untimely death and) have something to hold people accountable and show how appalling things have become. Though it was about two years ago when a motorist chased me down and tried to run me into parked cars for which I filed a police report but nothing came of it (I had their license plate), so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it's only getting worse and reminded that even evidence won't be enough.

I've thought about folding bikes, believe me. Maybe I could sell a bike or two to help buy a Brompton, but jeez, they're expensive.

I'm getting slow! On Monday, someone sped by me on a Brompton. All kinds of people are passing me.

I started using an AirZound Airhorn in 1995 and haven't looked back. Actually I do look back with the Take-A-Look glasses mount mirror I also started using around 1995.

The horn is loud enough to get most driver's attention...I can see their head snap to my direction. A glasses or helmet mounted mirror is superior to a bar mounted mirror with regards to image size and the ability to see behind you from curb to curb with a slight turn of the head. It's no more difficult to get used to than the rear view mirror at the top of your car's windshield.

I had put a small headlamp and tail lamp on my helmet a few years ago, but when I finally started running them in flash mode during the day I saw real results.

Eleven years ago I began using a helmet cam and that also made a huge difference. At first I thought I would be able to document all the crappy drivers out there. And while I was able to document some bad behavior, what I also discovered was I could replay close calls and stressfully events, review them and learn how to better avoid them. I also could see my reaction to events and learned that adrenaline distorts perception, and that many things I found stressful and threatening were in fact not as dire.

I'm calmer and feel more secure now even though traffic does get more free-form, but my routes through Colorado Springs are on less-crowded roads and more MUPs these days.

Here are some of my edited bike commute vids. You may hear my horn occasionally...its A LOT LOUDER than it sounds on video.

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2149:

Yesterday afternoon on my ride home I came across a couple of kids (12-13ish) that were stopped along side of the MUP. I passed them, and then something told me to turn around and check on them. Turns out once of them had dropped a chain off his front triple, and then in trying to get it back on the ring had really jammed the chain. He seemed skeptical that I could help, but I reassured him that over the years I have fixed hundreds of these. Took about a minute for me to break the chain loose and get everything back in place. He was grateful, and it felt good that I could make the day slightly better for someone.

I went to the gym last night and was a good boy and worked real hard. I woke up kind of sore this morning. Thankfully I did upper body weights which didn't affect my legs for today's ride to work.

The hemorrhoid I've been struggling with the last few years has been extra angry lately. That does affect the riding, mostly with the comfort of sitting on a hard Brooks saddle. I know you wanted to hear all about that.

This morning was 72°F with a light headwind. Humidity was up, but overall a very pleasant morning. I was starting the day by riding to our company office 8 miles from my house. I'll ride to a client over lunch and work there in the afternoon. Then I'll head home at 5 PM for a long weekend. I should log about 22 miles total today. I took my road bike, which is my usual choice for summer riding.

My normal commute to the office is 1 mile through my neighborhood to get to the MUP, then five miles on the MUP, then 2 more miles on the streets out to the corner of the city. Today right when I got on the MUP I pulled in behind a guy on an e-bike. After a few hundred yards we got to a slight hill and he slowed down, so I announced I was passing and pulled out. As soon as I got in front of him, he resumed top speed.

Not wanting to be "that guy" who passes people and then immediately gets passed again, I decided to put the hammer down and try to stay in front of him. I cranked for all I was worth for five miles, and he never caught me. I wound up passing a whole bunch of other bikes in the process.

I noticed once I got off the MUP and could relax a little, that I still was traveling faster than my normal speed. Even on hills I would climb them a gear or two higher than normal. I'm guessing the five miles of spinning hard got my body in a rhythm that didn't immediately turn off. By the time I made it to the office I was a sweaty mess, but in a good way. I felt like I had the best workout I've had on the bike in quite a while.

I traveled the eight miles to the office in 30 minutes on the nose. Considering for three miles I was on the streets with stop signs and stop lights, I was pretty happy with the overall 16mph average speed. I think that's a pretty decent pace for an old fat guy like me with a mechanical heart valve riding a non-ebike.

I do some of what you do, particularly looking back at mishaps and close calls and asking myself what part I played in them. I haven't had any mishaps in many miles, and I think it's because I keep adding useful habits. I'm glad you described the benefits of flashing helmet lights and your camera. I'm sure I would enjoy those benefits, too, but it's already too much trouble for me to start and end a ride, and I can't add any more complication.

This leads to another thought, and I ought to start a new thread on it. My stress level seems to be rising in traffic. I'm all too aware of the dangers I face. I know some people our age who have decided not to ride on public roads and streets anymore. I probably will not make the same decision, but I respect theirs.

Took the '84 Nishiki 12-speed yesterday following the 2006 Felt 2x10 the day before. The Nishiki is a little heavier and a little slower but more comfortable, plus it corners and brakes better with its 700x28s vs the Felts 25s.

I rode one of my surface street routes to work which is very light on traffic, and even more so yesterday. I left work at noon and took the trails to see what they were like at that time of day on a weekday. Just a little more crowded. There was a stiff breeze from the south east which helped on my initial north leg. But when I turned east it was a little tougher. I've felt strong this week and was able to muscle through it. Hunching down low while on the hoods helped, and dropping down to the drops helped even more. In the past I've noticed that can be good for an extra 1.5 MPH in the wind and allows me to shift up a gear or two.

But I didn't know my exact speed because the speedometer battery was dead. And yesterday day the speedo on the Felt gave me the low battery warning. The Felt has a Plant Bike Protege 9 wired unit that takes the coin sized CR2032 battery. I carry spares in my regular grab-and-go-everything's-packed commute bag, but I took my light nothing-but-office-clothes bag so no spares on me, but I found one in my desk at work. But the Nishiki has a cheaper, smaller unit that takes a smaller 386 button battery. I think I have one in my regular bag, but I left that at home again in favor of the lighter bag. I ran next door to Autozone, but they were out and I didn't have the time or inclination to hoof it another quarter mile to WalMart.

I could have used my GPS app like I do on the 16-folder. That app will call out my speed every minute, or whatever I set it to, but riding into the wind it was nice to not be reminded of my diminished progress.

Rather chilly this morning (for July) at only 10C/50F, according to the thermometer on my house. Bit of a north-west breeze too. Made me wish I had long sleeves. Warm days are forecast for next week.

When I think of "that guy", I think of someone who's a bit of a jerk. If you had passed someone and then immediately slowed down, you'd be "that guy". Passing someone and then maintaining your speed, even if he passes you back, doesn't make you "that guy" (in my opinion). If anything, he's "that guy". Anyways, kudos to you for beating an e-bike up a hill! I certainly can't do that anymore, not against the newer more powerful ones anyway. I had thoughts about putting a smaller chain ring on my fixed gear this morning as I was struggling up the steeper inclines.

Had a bad fall today. Scraped up right leg and sprained left middle finger. Bike crash? No, trying to chase down a dog in a campground to load her up for home, and tripped over a stump.

Somehow we have screwed up the training of this doodle so she hears "come" as "let's play tag, humans are IT," and she is about 1.5 yo with an athletic build, so my 48yo fat butt is not going to catch her unless that's what she wants

aka "the traffic finger"

(I'm glad it wasn't worse...heal up!)

I can't remember which subforum it was in but there was a long running thread how "it's always a race, you just don't know I am racing you." I was going to link it but the one I googled wasn't the one I remembered

My old boss would get in his pickup when that happened, drive alongside his dog, and open the door. Worked every time. Of course he had to take the dog for a drive every time as well or the next time..

Rode my "main" commuter, the 2015 Charge Plug (not an e-bike) Monday. Took the Yampa/Dale/Chestnut Street route both ways. Aside from navigating the ever-changing bridge construction work a block from the office it was an unremarkable ride; cool and clear in the morning, a little hot and possibly slightly humid (unusual in Colorado Springs) on the way home.

Sometime while I was sleeping, someone exchanged my blood for 20W-50 motor oil. I could not get anything going this morning. Every hill was a mountain, every breeze a gale-force wind. I don't use any sort of heart rate monitor during my commute, but it didn't seem like my heart rate was increasing enough to meet the demands of my legs. I'm never at my best in the mornings, so hoping for a more energetic ride home this afternoon. Have a great day, everyone!

Nice lap today

I'm a morning person...but I've had those "thick motor oil" mornings now and again.

Took the main commuter again yesterday, but took the trails (vs the streets).

It was clear and cool in the morning, and I had some thoughts and issues rolling around in my head. I was a couple of blocks beyond the big hill out of the immediate neighborhood before I knew it and couldn't remember struggling up it. I don't know if that's because I took it in stride, or because I was so wrapped up in whatever thoughts were going on in my head (now forgotten) or if it is some new, age-related issue I need to add to the growing list...just kidding...well, sorta.

The trails were crowded with other cyclists, dog-walkers and joggers. Closer to work the homeless seemed to be congregating on the pavement more than usual. Early on I was passed by younger guy on a road-bike and I tried to follow a few length behind. I did okay, helped by the crowded conditions. He slowed and was respectful of others...not like so many others.

I tend to take the same route home as I take in the morning so I hopped on the trails again. Still kinda crowded, but as it is uphill on the way home, and I faced a slight headwind, I wasn't going all that fast as it was.

Back in 2015 I spend weeks comparing bikes back to back before settling on the Charge Plug and 10 years later it still feels just right.

After so many days of smooth sailing at work, my day ended with some frustrations. Having 6-8 miles to ride them out sure helps.