Great job BobbyG ! I only rode my age once, and that was when I was 53. That's also been the farthest I've ever ridden in my life. Last week a coworker told me when her dad turned 70 he rode his bicycle solo from Humboldt, SD to Anchorage, AK. It took him 45 days and he covered more than 3,200 miles. As much as I'd love an adventure like that, I don't see myself ever having that kind of stamina on the bicycle.

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2268:

It was 45°F this morning when I left the house. At 6:30 AM. In January. In South Dakota. That is absolutely insanely warm weather. I took the road bike. Even with the 15mph headwind it was an easy rider for winter.

The temp is *only* supposed to rise about five degrees today, but that still puts us at 50°F. Oddly enough, despite us having above well average temps there is still quite a few snow piles hanging around. We're supposed to get back to normal January weather by the end of this week, with subzero temps starting next week. A 60° temp swing in the space of a few days is probably going to be painful.

Nice job, Birthday Boy! You may not have ridden long distance for a few years, but you do ride short-intermediate almost every day, which has kept your legs strong. Hills all the time, too.
I think you overdid it with the breakfast bars. I usually don't do any extra fueling for rides under 50 miles (I try to eat more protein afterwards) and for a 50-60 mile ride, if I start the day with a good breakfast, one snack is all I need.
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No bike commute for me today. Yesterday was great and I overdid it, so today's a rest day. I had the four miles of commuting, but it was almost 40° and gloriously sunny, which we haven't seen in awhile. So I went out for lunch for another 7.5 miles. The commuting and lunch run were easy miles on the folder; trying not to get sweaty for the morning commute & lunch run, went a bit harder uphill and into a 13 mph wind on the way home.

So? I still had legs after work and took the single speed out for 19 miles after work and learned a bit about it. I have it geared my preference now, (66") and for some reason, it never occurred to me that I would ever be spun out except on ridiculous downhills. All it took was turning around and having that 13 mph wind at my back. Because of that, I was surprised to note that I got 2 PRs. I would have been even faster on my road bike, because I was spun out at 25 mph. Picked up a local legend too. Today, my legs are cooked and I'll rest them properly. Wind is even higher today, 18 mph so no love lost.

To spice up the thread a bit, here's a pic of the bike from last night. I added a (black) bottle cage after I took this pic. I need to order a silver finish one soon.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1ee6a7ccc0.jpg
Fyxation Pixel single speed (42/17)

Smaug1 you may find yourself gearing the bike back up and maybe higher in the warmer months. I had a 66" fixed gear for the winter many years ago. That's pretty low, and it kept me warm since I was always in motion. I recommend you try fixed gear, too. But how hilly are your rides?

I rode to work today since I could not think of a reason not to. With both the bike ride and the subway ride being easy, I don't know what criteria to use for my decision. I realized this morning that I should be grateful for the good weather and take advantage of it.

The subway route is more vigorous than you might think since it's a little over a half mile between home and the subway station, and I walk fast and carry a heavy bag. Also, it involves climbing stairs, and I do that two steps at a time.

Kenosha is pretty flat, but any ride away from Lake Michigan is uphill, so climbing must be accounted for. Then wind too.
The way I approached it was:

• Rode the bike a few times with stock gearing. (71") I found that it felt high even on the flats, unless I had a tailwind. Some of the local climbs were just awful; I couldn't make them unless I hit them with a running start.
• Rode my gravel bike around on the flats until I found a gear with which I could work a bit and pedal into a bit of a headwind. Comfortable with no wind and spinning fast with a light tailwind. That was 7th gear. I calculated what that was and found the closest match by changing only the freewheel on the single speed. It turned out to be 42/17 for 67". (I may have said 66 before) I thought about 42/18, but that came out closer to 60, which I felt might be too low. Would've made climbs and headwinds better, but would've been quite relaxed indeed on the high end.

After several dozen miles around the area, including in town, outside of town and between town and "out in the county", I think this is about right. I have to pedal-mash to climb hills, but I can do it, even without a running start. I'm spun out at 23-25 mph, but that is a rare speed for me until I get outside of town.

I'm learning to deal with the single gear ratio instead of always being able to shift into something ideal. The rides are more steady as far as heart rate, because when I know a hill is coming, I hammer it to get some speed up so I don't have to mash at 10 RPM. I take breaks on descents more, because I'm spun out and I need the rest for the next hill. The riding experience is just completely different. I learned the other day I can't take a ride on this bike and expect an easy pace. I don't think I could stay in heart rate Zone 2 because climbing is so hard.

I can't wait to try it on some group bike rides this spring. The slow Tuesday ride around town should be doable. (12-14 mph pace) MAYBE the medium Wednesday ride outside of town? (13-15 mph pace) That one has a few serious hills which may have me doing The Walk of Shame and getting left behind on descents, where we get up to 30 mph pretty regularly.


That's a hidden bonus of city living. On one hand, you have the dirty air, but on the other, some lifestyle exercise that suburbanites don't get.
I think it'll work out if you just ride whenever it makes sense to. Seems like you've been doing that all along, even choosing to ride in the rain sometimes.

Note to self: I need to buy a cheap metric combination wrench set, as I now have at least four bikes with axle nuts in the way to change a flat. 2 with 15 mm nuts, one with 17 mm and one with 18 mm. Plus, they have the alignment nuts too.

You might be able to standardize one size axle nut. The axle diameters and threads are likely to be the same.

I don't take group rides a lot. I once went on one and brought my fixie. My friends were amazed to see me descend. Early on, I learned to spin with minimal bouncing on the saddle. It's a useful skill you're not likely to develop without a fixed gear. You will certainly be challenged if you take this bike on a group ride. But that doesn't mean it's not worth doing.

Yes, city life has some pluses and minuses, and they're probably even bigger here in The Big City™. I grew up here and started commuting by bike at age 16 or 17. Also people here have to walk a lot and usually climb the stairs on the subway. The obesity rate seems lower here than in the suburbs. I believe a study showed that bike commuting in polluted air is overall better for your health than a sedentary lifestyle until the pollution reaches a very dangerous level, a level not typical for NYC. I truly do not like the air here but it does not keep me from riding. In June of 2024, we had smoke from wildfires in Québec which turned the sky orange. It was quite upsetting, and everyone had to take big precautions.

Do you describe your home as suburban or urban?

I've never done that before with the breakfast bars. I haven't ridden over 2 and 1/2 hours in a long time so I usually don't eat while I'm riding. As I'm getting older though I feel like I need to eat a little more often and on Long shoots. I will now bring a snack even if it's just a few peanuts and that really seems to help... And it certainly helped on a ride. I absolutely did not feel fatigue until Mile 60 which surprised the heck out of me.

If I were to do this again or take a longer ride, not necessarily this long. I think I will also eat regularly, but I will get one of those gel packs or some sort of soft food that is easier to digest while riding. I know I've seen lots of suggestions on bike forms over the years. I think peanut butter and bananas come up often. Although something pre-packaged might be more convenient, although less environmentally friendly.

Jeremy can standardize on one size axle nut and Bobby can standardize on one size peanut

Well, the 17 and 18 mm ones are on hollow eBike axles with the cable exiting; they're quite a bit bigger in diameter.
Also, standardizing would make it harder, as I would need duplicate wrenches for that one size, so I don't have to remember keep moving wrenches around.

I know what you mean; pedaling in circles instead of just hammering on the downward side of the circle. I still seem to have this muscle memory from my BMX days as a lad. What I do is spin as fast as I can up to maximum RPM, and then coast until I feel I've slowed a bit. That was good enough for 25 mph.

Suburban. Technically, I live in Kenosha, which is defined as a medium sized city at just under 100k population. 4th largest in WI, I assume behind Milwaukee, Madison, (the capitol) and Green Bay. (home of the Packers!) I think it is rising, because we're on the border of Illinois, which is broke, raising taxes all the time and people are fleeing here and working in Chicago still, doing the road warrior commute. It FEELS like a small city to me, having grown up in the Chicago suburbs. If Chicago is a large city at 8 million, then sure 1/10 million is small? Apparently not.

Instead of peanuts, I recommend something more carby. Peanuts are fat and protein, but they are absorbed much more slowly than carbs. You don't need to fear the carbs if you'll be burning them right away. For this, I like Nature's Bakery fig bars. I get them from Costco, but I've seen them elsewhere too. They have the carbs and seem closer to whole food than gels. Easy to carry and it doesn't matter if they're a bit smashed either. Bananas and PB are awesome, as well as PB&J, but if you pack them to travel well, they're pretty bulky. They make hard banana cases (I have two) but I'm afraid I'd break my back if I fell on it in my jersey pocket. Maybe a half sammich case

You WILL do it again, right? 65 next year? Then, you'll retire and have so much time for biking that 65 miles will seem like nothing. ;)

Interesting commute this morning. We had a surprise snow last night. I woke up and saw an inch or so on the lawn and the wind was howling. 23 mph gusting to 40+ mph. Temp wasn't too bad, about 19, but the wind really added a bite; so near 0 with the windchill.

I bundled up, cleared the driveway, and deflated the tires on my eFatty. Here was a proper chance to try out the studded tires! They worked great. The only sketchy part was on the way to the dentist mid-morning: There was a stretch on the sidewalk where 3" of snow had drifted and I had to lean into the wind to keep straight, and the tires started to slip.

Here it is outside the dentist's office:
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f9486f09d6.jpg
Sketchy lock job through the spokes, but bike thieves seem to lose their appetite in this weather. ;-) Also, the front has a through axle with a keyed handle required.
You can see by the state of the downtube that I could use a mud flap for the front fender...

11yo got suspended yesterday. Another long story with a short stupid end. Our nanny volunteered to come in today, which she normally has off, so I didn't have to stay home with him. I rode today, but the ride isn't really long enough to shake anything off

Use tortillas. My 8yo calls it a PB&BeeB

My wife tried to keep bees last year. They flew away when the weather got cold, but they left us about two gallons of the good stuff, which I recently harvested (she felt guilty and wouldn't look at it). I've bottled most of it but there's some still leeching out of the smashed comb. Pretty soon I will give up on getting any more raw, and render it for not-raw and beeswax. We need more honey recipes. It's not a straight replacement for sugar because it has too much flavor and is not crystals. I think it's a little astringent. It's my first time doing the harvest and I think I got some pollen and "bee bread" that should not have come along for the ride. At least it's pretty easy when the bees are not in hot pursuit

What a simple, genius hack; thanks!

Tortillas are much better when smashed than bread!

Many years ago, a colleague invited me to be a substitute competitor in the NYC Triathlon. Her team was a relay team with one swimmer, one cyclist, and one runner. Good for me because I can barely swim and I can't run. They don't normally allow subs but one competitor had a family who was deathly ill so they allowed it. I had 5 days to prepare but actually none, as I was busy. The day before the event, I bought a lot of carby food. The night before, I stuffed myself with bean soup and bread and whatever. I brought a lot of those sugary energy bars etc. The venue provided them, too, and one of my water bottles had sugary energy drink. Well I never heard of this, but I couldn't take any more at a certain point. The stuff that normally tastes OK to me tasted terrible. I ran out of water and desperately wanted to drink more but I couldn't get the sugary stuff down because it tasted so bad.

I guess the fueling plan worked out OK because I didn't get that out of fuel feeling. I had no idea how to pace myself so I tried to keep my speed constant. I had no time to train. I had a heavy bike, and in my age group, I was in the center of the pack, so I was satisfied. Nice crowd there.

Whatever you managed, it was better than the "DQ" they would've gotten without you! :thumb:

It's 50F but I am dressing the way I used to 15 years ago for 20F, 2 shirts, tights, full-finger gloves. No balaclava, it's true...

^^ I'm definitely sinking into my comfort zone as I approach 50 (next year). I doubt I could ride my age right now, even with a lot of breaks

I seem to be going the other way. I am becoming more tolerant of the cold but less tolerant of heat.

When I got into my '50s and my average speed started too slow and longer rides became more difficult. Consoled myself with the thought that I am riding more often and more consistently and smarter through colder weather, wetter weather and snow.

Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2270:

This morning I woke up with subpar motivation. I was scheduled to ride a 22 mile route today. I really didn't feel like being out in the cold that long. I strongly considered modifying my work schedule and just riding to a client's office and back home for a total of about 9 miles. Then Facebook reminded me that on this day five years ago I rode my fat bike through a blizzard, taking an hour and 20 minutes to go 7.7 miles. And on this day two years ago I rode to work when it was -14°F.

I thought to myself, "Have I gotten that soft?" I decided the answer needed to be "no!" so I sucked it up and rode to our office, the first leg of the long route.

The weather felt especially frosty. The air temp was 16°F, but the humidity was very high and a steady 12 mph wind made it feel much worse than the thermometer claimed. I took the road bike, and the ventilated clipless shoes made my feet numb from the cold even wearing toe covers. My hands, thighs and face were frozen. My upper torso was chilly, but warmer than the other parts.

About three minutes after I got to the office, my coworker Kevin arrived. He also rode his bicycle, and looked just as cold as I felt. He concurred that the thermometer was deceptive this morning.

BobbyG I'm also more tolerant of cold and less of heat, but the heat bothers me mostly when I'm inside, not outside. Is it like that for you?

I'm thinking of an experiment in hopes of building my tolerance for low temperature in my hands since they have become cold in the last two years. Maybe I'll hold some ice for a minute every day or something like that. It worked with my feet a few years ago, though I did that inadvertently.

It felt cold this morning. It was around 20 °F, but thankfully, the wind was < 10 mph; first time for several days. The first block of my commute was unsalted, but the snow wasn't too deep or icy, so I took my folder. After that first block, it was fine. Salty, exposed pavement mostly. I think I'll stop by the grocery store on the way home today and get chili ingredients and make us a pot for dinner. We love frozen chili left-overs, 6 months later, when we're getting sick of everything else.

The ride to the grocery store across town for our board meeting last night was epic on the eFatty. I had just under half a battery left and it was bitter cold & windy; 19 °F with a 15 mph wind, uphill. The battery was blinking on the last bar by the time I got to the store. (they have a public dining lounge on the 2nd floor where we hold our board meetings)

I felt like it would be OK if the battery completely died for the trip home, as it would trend downhill and the wind would then be a tailwind. It wasn't bad at all, and I still had enough juice for a little push up the worst of the climbs. It was too cold to charge when I got home, so I popped the battery out and brought it inside, along with the charger. Had dinner, talked with the wife for awhile, then plugged it in and watched a movie. Let it go for about 3 hours at 3 A, so 9 Ah charged into that 15 Ah pack should see me through another month of winter, unless we get a LOT of snow. Looks like another inch or so of snow tonight & tomorrow morning; I'll be ready!

Looks like we're going into the deep freeze after Saturday. The HIGH temperature Monday will be 1 °F, and with the 20 mph wind, that translates to "Feels like -20 °F".

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...87bb1e05c6.jpg
I was glad for the studded tires as I approached this curve last night. I might've made an unplanned dismount otherwise...

No. It really seems to be the hot sun. We keep the house warm for my mother-in-law. And while that has me spending more time in my cool basement office/study, it's not oppressive like biking or walking out in the hot summer sun. For the last few years I use sun sleeves and a skull cap under my helmet and that helps. Part of that is being at a higher elevation where the heat from the sun can really be felt. But in my first 20 years here in Colorado I could ride all day in the hot sun without any repercussions (other than sun-burn).

Today was my first bike commute since Monday's big 64 year/64-mile birthday ride. I didn't ride Tuesday as we had a video shoot at a hotel and I didn't want to chance having any issues with stamina. The 3-hour shoot ended up being 5.5 hours with lots of different locations within the hotel, so lots of schlepping equipment. Wednesday was my usual improv practice night up north so I usually drive.

So this morning I grabbed my main commuter and headed off to work. Clear dawn skies and 28F. The 700x35 Charge Plug commuter felt so comfortable and luxurious after the lightweight 700x25 Felt carbon/aluminum. The Felt is stiff, kinda harsh, responsive and darty. The Plug exhibited the qualities I chose it for...relaxed, and composed, but swift. The current Blackburn tires from Walmart are a little heavier than the lightweight tires I usually get, but they are a little more comfortable.

I felt good, and strong until I got to the first significant uphill where my legs felt less potent than usual. Odd, because I had been hustling up and down the stairs at work Tuesday and Wednesday. I had intended to take the shortest route to work which takes me over the little green bridge at Middle Shooks Run Park. But I could see the sidewalk leading away from the other side was still encased in snow and ice, so I passed by it and took the next street.

Despite the "weak" legs I felt fine at work and was schlepping equipment across the parking lot and running up and down the stairs just fine.

On the way home after night fell I realized that since I replaced the original Shimano shifters with the Microshift 8's the cabling doesn't interfere with the headlight beam, as it did before. It only took two months of night commuting to notice that.

Not too cold this morning; mid-20s, but it had been snowing most of the night, so I had to clear the driveway. (wife is working remote today and needs to get out to an appointment) Then, change clothes and head out. The eFatty's battery is nearly fully charged from the other night, when I had to bring it inside to charge. I decided not to use power this morning though; the exercise feels good and I'm trying to keep my legs in some kind of shape for spring bike club rides.

The roads were brown sugar slush in the middle and up to 1/2" of snow at the sides. I had a tough choice: ride in the brown sugar slush with a bit more traction and make cars drive around me in the oncoming lane or ride in the mostly virgin snow off to the sides and run a higher risk of going down. I wound up doing the latter most of the time and mostly found truck tire tracks to ride in, so the knobs & studs hooked up OK. There wasn't much traffic on the road I took for the first mile; I only got passed once. On the 2nd mile, I got passed many times and the motorists were happy I could ride off to the side.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bf20ca1cc4.jpg
Choice was brown sugar in the middle or slicker, virgin snow off to the side.
The plow drivers must love when it snows overnight before garbage day. Most people brought out the trash before the snow, blocking the plow from getting the whole street. On the other hand, it also limits how much we get plowed in at the bottoms of our driveways...