Marylandnewbie

Well Mars is absent today so he asked me to kick off a thread. Taking my duties seriously I contemplated many possible topics:

• Backpack vs. pannier: which way leads to true salvation?
• Compare and contrast the post apocalyptic visions of H.G. Wells Time Machine with those of The Terminator.
• Where is Mars?
• Should cagers who injure cyclists be sentenced to riding a bike on the roadways for 6 months so they understand the impact of their driving?
• Why is the song you get stuck in your head always the worst piece of music you know?

But none of these really excited my imagination. Finally I hit upon the topic for this week. With Halloween a little over a week away do any of you have plans to ride in costume? Anyone have a great costume idea -- either bike related or something you think will work well while riding?

For myself, I might ride in costume. Last year I wore one of my long-sleeved, obnoxious orange, Alertshirts and had my wife use black tape to create a jack-o-latern on the back. (It helps to be somewhat round in physique for this one). I have a wonderful long Dracula type cape, but I think it is too long to ride in and if there were any wind I know it would kill me.

tibikefor2

Batman, of course

robtown

I'll ride as an orange popsicle. Acutally it's my obnoxious orange long sleeve jersey and we've been getting our first frosts - brrrr.

I do get one longer round trip commute in each week - 36 miles to class Monday mornings. Then it's back to the 12 mile one ways.

CigTech

The Denali is a Road/MTB Frankenstein bike so I was thing.... Frankenstein.

TriBike: you should get one of those BMX chest plates that look like the batman sutie and go with that.

balto charlie

mornin' all: I had my first cold in over 3 years this weekend. I was just bragging how I hardly get sick since bike commuting. Last time I say that. It's getting colder every morning. Played with my light setup. Only getting 1 hr burn time with the Optronics H3 bulb. Will have to switch out with the MR16...Newbie is that the bulb you use?
Costumes! I usually look rather hideous as it is. a cape would be cool if it didn't hang up in the wheels. I'll have to think about it. Need orange pants! Black bike. I don't know what that is but at least the colors are right.
Robtown: 36 miles TO class is a long 1 way commute.

ducati

We have snow flurrying down this morning! Very pretty. I actually felt quite warm on this commute, I must be getting used to the weather. 36 degrees according to my car's temp gauge.

My preheated polar bottle worked fine this morning. Coffee isn't toasty warm when I arrive (~55 min commute time) but warm enough. I'm enjoying the coffee buzz while riding, although I do notice my heart rate goes higher on climbs

I won't be riding in costume; I work at a law firm, and I already appear to be in costume when I show up (workout-type clothes), I think a formal costume might just be too much

Marylandnewbie

Cig -- I like the idea of a chest plate to complete Tibike's transformation into Batman.

Balto -- I use MR16 bulbs. I have a 10w narrow flood and a 20w narrow spot (I don't remember the exact degree of these bulbs off the top of my head). Off of my 5AH battery I can get about 3 hours normal riding which includes switching between the 10w and 20w as needed. I would guess if I used just the 10watt I could push that out to over 4 hours easily. I may use my lights tomorrow and I will definitely be using them on Wednesday since I have to work late. Good luck with your lights.

It was a great riding morning. A little chilly, but sunny and so much fall color. I was surprised by the number of riders still on the commute. Maybe high gas prices raised the base number of riders around here.

dalmore

Costume? The thought had not even occurred to me ... Well now I have to think of something. hmmm ...

flythebike

I'm feeling a bit run down and I have a fitness test coming up so this week I will probably run at 40%+. I took Metro today (will ride home from there) and will do the towing my son thing tomorrow and Thursday, and Metro Wednesday and Friday. There is a Haloween parade on Wednesday and my son will be Elmo. He knows Elmo when he sees him and says "El-mo". But he also calls those pumpkin headed candy baskets - you know the orange plastic ones, Elmo. He's 2. I have a Vo2 max test on Saturday and I want to to be fresh. Last year I took it after racing on a Sunday and then commuting every day the next week and I think my fatigue skewed the results.

I had a great mountain bike ride yesterday, gained some skills in log hopping and crossing drop-in stream crossings. Just got this MTB and there is a trail I can hit that is five minutes ride from my front door! How cool is that?!

tibikefor2

Fly: maybe I will see you at the parade on Wednesday.

Well I bit the bullet this morning and submitted my Pactour Elite application for next June. I now need to get into shape to ride the 17 days accross the good ol USA. If I can finish the ride everyday before sunset, I will qualify for the race accross america.

Cool morning commute, but tomorrow will be colder. My wool jerseys so far have worked out quite well.

Cig: Chest plate, hmmm and hide my muscles or lack thereof

Marylandnewbie

Tibike -- If George Clooney can use a molded chest plate you have nothing to be ashamed of! Good luck on your killer rides and I hope you make it to RAAM.

I loved it when my son was younger and Halloween was all confused excitement. He mixed up all sorts of characters and costumes, but he was in overdrive for about a week before Halloween. Now at 9 he is developing his "cool", so it is all a little more pragmatic.

By the way, does anybody have suggestions for some durable platform pedals that will accept toe clips? I have broken yet another pedal, this time the outer frame piece broke, so it is still usable. For some unknown reason, pedals on my bike seem to be almost as disposable as tubes! So I'd appreciate any suggestions based on commuting experience. I don't want to switch to clipless for two reasons: 1) I already have enough coordination issues dealing with toe clips; 2) now I can simply pull my toeclips off in winter time and ride in boots.

TheDL

Costume: The Instant Ninja

Today's ride was great...blissful even...then it was ruined when I stepped out of the shower and it hit me, "Damn, I'm at work."

fender1

My orange & black halloween bike!

flythebike

Great looking rig. You should list the specs! Especially what hubs are those? Nice lugwork in the front end especially.

fender1

Thanks! It is a nexus 8 speed internal hub on the rear and a Schmidt Generator hub up front. Here is a link to thread on the build etc.

https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/237685-vintage-schwinn-conversion-nexus-8-pics.html

tibikefor2

Fender: Nice project bike.

xroader

brrr - Under 40 when I left the house today. The winter gear I ordered from Nashbar hasn't arrived yet, so I bundled up a bit too much with what I had and had to stop after a couple of miles and loose a layer - started home with less on, it was about 50 with a cool breese, but never warmed up. Got home feeling like a popsicle.

Had a heck of week last week with three flats and a ruined sidewall (the last flat was my fault, I was trying to make it home knowing the tire was shot) I got a new tire on over the weekend.

I have a feeling it is going to be a long winter.

vrkelley

Marylandnewbie, No dressing up for Halloween. Traffic is a zoo so I'm either working from home or taking the day off.

Brr cold this afternoon. Got a question about refueling for long distance commuters. When I started commuting, I'd be noticably 'out of gas' after about 30 minutes, then it went to 45mins, and now it's up to an hour and a half and I refuel after the ride too.

What is your experience? Do you refuel while riding even if you don't feel hungry?

Marylandnewbie

Xroader -- weather like this is the toughest to dress for, its so easy to go over or under. Its just experimentation and some guess work. Tomorrow will be colder, so maybe your morning layers from today will be right tomorrow. As for your bad luck with flats, you just have to roll with the punches. I've had multiple flat weeks, but they are usually followed by several uneventful weeks.

Vrkelly -- To bad about the costume. I don't worry about refueling during the ride, but most days I knosh on a little something when I get to work. Sometimes I go all out with something like a Clif bar, but more often some fruit or a peanut butter sandwich does the trick. I try to keep my hunger reigned in since I really don't need the calories. The only exception are days when I don't get breakfast before I ride -- then I'll usually stop and pick up a real breakfast.

Gusboh

Do any of you carry guns on the VLC?

I've never even considered it before, but with all the gun threads going on, i figured someone might?

ss is still a heap of fun - biopace is great

balto charlie

vrkelley: I eat when I am hungry but seldom need to in the Am. PM is a different story. I catch a train between bikes on the way home and can/do eat there. I have been eating steel cut oats in the morning. That really gets the fires burning for a long time.
I've been reading the geek forum on building lights. I see your post often. I have just read 20-30pages tonight. I'm bleary eyed~~~~~ I can't believe the systems folks have made. I hope to road test mine later this week. I have to come up with 2 systems as I have 2 bikes.

balto charlie

Is that a gun one in your sig. looks like your looking down the barrel. Gus: Are you the biker that homebrews? I brewed for many years in the 80's and early 90's.

Gusboh

Yeah, the avatar might need to change...

I do brew, why'd you stop? Ingredients are about a million times better now, might want to give it another go.

vrkelley

Yeah, it's a good sloooowww read. I find that the geek lights hold up better over the long mileage. Haven't posted there in a while. Best wishes on your test runs.

tibikefor2

vr:
If you do not eat breakfast before the ride, your body has enough glycogen stores to sustain for 1:15 or riding before any harm can be done. This is assuming that you have a balanced diet with a decent amount of carbs. This is actualy good training for your body. When I get to work I have a recovery drink which has 48 grams of carbs and 15 grams protein. I then have a light breakfast.

For the ride home, I have a cliff bar 1:30 hour before my ride. As I want the cliff bar to be well on its way to be converted for fuel. When I get home I have another recovery drink and then dinner.

The other important aspect is that your body can efficiently consume up to 300 calories and 20 ounces of water per hour.

Just my 2 cents.