My speculation... not because I know... but
Maybe it's a bit of the 'Roman Empire, roman roads, and roman chariot track width' which accounts for so much in our wheel based world - like train track width, etc...
... ok, it's not about track width...
but thinking back to the earlier days of bike road racing, and not even that far back, I can remember when we rode 5 spd, 6 spd and even 7 ultra into the early 80's.
with that you needed a bunch of cogs in the teens, so it was rare to go much over a 21 on the rear for most road races. Races with real climbing we did in 23 & 25s...
and all that with front ring set of 53/42... or 54/44... (for flatter races) with that climbing cog of 21 or 23 or 35... really flat races meant you had a 13-> corn cob...
The ONLY way to get those around with any kind of 'spin' would require a leverage that a 170 or more could produce...
That Standard , like roman chariot track width has persisted into the 'modern' era...
I'm still on 172.5 (and on one bike 175) ...
I'm curious and will prolly spring for a crankset at 165, to 'see' what that really means/dos - because it's interesting and fun to experiment...
...maybe '165' might be for cycling what 'Shaped' and short, really wide skis did for skiing ??? (alpine skiing...)
Ride On
Yuri

Jones, tweener, cusper, whatever. My eldest sister, 15 years my senior, is a boomer. She had a decidedly different childhood than me; it's never made sense to me we're considered the same generation. I'm part of the baby boom as a statistical phenomenon, but generationally, nah.

Gen X is coming right along, whether they're invited or not.

I was just joking but interestingly, as time goes on retiring bikers probably will have little acquaintance with, e g., down tube shifters, Brooks saddles, leather chamois, nylon stretched over a foam helmet shell, fixing a flat, sew ups, friction generators, riding on a highway protected only by a painted line, triples, public hiker/biker camps for 50¢ a night (showers included), eating an entire pizza, no phone or internet...

I'm on the tail end of all that. But time waits for no man.

I've worked my career in software, and to this day all my colleagues are under 40 with a good number under 30. This has not kept me young; on the contrary, it has made me acutely aware of being ignorant of their world. And it is their world, not mine.

Oh yeah! Clipper to compile dBaseIII accounting program source code... back in late '80's and, Android's Google? Early 2000s? Ahead of the pack back in those days wouldn't mean much nowadays...

Sheesh– a 'giant' slave labor problem?!


Trump administration bars Giant Bicycles imports to the US, citing forced labour allegations | BikeRadar https://share.google/dmezkrPD0NzoAhGgf

Dang... lot'a bikes over the years, mostly 15 speeds (accidentally trashed a friend's Fiorelli), e.g., Schwinn Sierra (first roadie), custom 520 Trek (whippy but lot of tour miles), Raleigh Grand Prix (heavier than f***), 2 Le Monde Zurich (stretch 'ya out), Bianchi (should'a kept it), Giant full suspension (nearly killed me), Trek 5200 carbon (best of best), scandium front suspension Salsa (delicate), only bike in my stable now... alloy Felt (ole pal)... fine for me NOW but can't imagine 100 mi on it, even if I had the legs for it (or, maybe I just don't have the azz for it anymore?)

…. Stumpjumper (to good to be forgotten)

I'm glad there is a 65+ thread. :)
sometimes entertaining, ... the ramblings of older folks. Shame no gals are regulars here, or so I think. ;)

Loving wool jersey weather. :thumb: Fall can be sooooo nice. Except the return to grass mowing season, following Summer's drought.

Lately, I've been riding more frequently (thanks to great cycling weather), taking fewer pictures along the same 'ol routes, posting a bit less - and trying to post only with a positive comment. Humor, or attempts at humor, seem to be a mistake on the social(?) side of WWWdot.

And in the interest of less 'screen time' - it is Noon and almost 60* and dry - so, ... let's ride. Bye.
Be well all. :hug:

Did your ever code in Fred? I've literally never met in person or online, any other Fred survivors. I'm not talking PHP here lol.

Nope, but Fortran back in mainframe days... */

So, are you an engineer ? I did a lot of Fortran programming as an engineer both on mainframes and PCs.

True, all that.
Now having accumulated some pages of life history, it's very natural to find reflection, often.
The 'passing' of things, ways, how it all was and ran. The two edged sword of 'memory', as we remember (imaginery or real) it.
Things appreciated and now no longer available. Things we hadn't appreciated until they are gone...
Old bikes we rode... Our younger experiences and friends...
Being honest, it wasn;t all great, it was very much a mix , as is today.
Our new machines are just as lovely, maybe even more so (depending on how you view beauty).

But yes, a big plus would be to have a stronger feminine apparent presence here in BF and in 50+. A broader window on our Cycling World is always a plus.
As much as we might try, the male pH of how topics are discussed is inevitable, without active female participation. In nature its very rare to find a 'herd' where males predominate - most all herds have a a larger contingent of female.
...or maybe they just don;t care to mix with us ?
That seems to work...
So hopefully we hold onto the 'good' and stay open to the 'new'.

It is Saturday, and we have a meeting group of older riders/racers who meet late morning, after doing our riding of choice. Then we 'discuss', re-bond', and re-ground.
so it's time to

Ride On
Yuri

Eat more pizza, …
 

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3bda8e387.jpeg
wood fired pizza oven, burned the thin crust a bit at the edges - but I was not complaining.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cbc230ec6.jpeg

Nope- not a scientist... only exposure to Fortran was in school for statistical analysis of financial data using Markov Theory...

I never used FORTRAN outside college. Nor COBOL, thank god. COBOL class almost had me change my major to Astronomy or Psychology :lol:

IRL I coded in whatever the project needed. Lately I fool around with Python, but that's manager level coding. Basically crap coding quality.

True story my company hired a contractor once to help us through a project. He'd never coded C, which seemed problematic since it was a C project. He asked to borrow my K&R C bible one day, and took it home. The next day he came in, pointed to some esoteric part of the language and asked me to explain. He was cranking out running code that very day. JFC that intimidated the hell out of me. Then I was reviewing his code and realized he had no error handling. I asked what would happen if the user entered an invalid value, like zero. He asked, "why would they do that?" Oh my. I was no longer intimidated.

This only makes sense as I ride from home - 98% of the time. But I rode my fastest bike to get to a paved trail - 6 miles away - to ride slow. T'was a day for enjoying early Fall. No precip, low 60's (barely), full overcast, minimal breezes and odors everywhere in the thick air, after some rain the past few days. I was dressed to stay warm and 8-10mph in long stretches on the easy trail let me soak in the surroundings. Sometimes Life just feels soooo Good.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...daaf6fa79.jpeg
down by th river
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fda739eff.jpeg

Thank you guys for reminded me of how lucky I was when graduated and spent seven months in a cubicle at Morton Thiokol (did no work on Booster o-rings) doing aerodynamic performance, seriously disliking it and made my break. Got into mining, traveled the World and retired in my 50s very happy.

One of my recollections... flying across country to an office in Massachusetts to bring a network of microcomputers up to date with the latest computers and inventory/accounting programs while the staff was gone for the weekend. Worked through the weekend and the local radio station had on a song challenge. That's the first time I heard (and for hundreds of times) the lyrics- 'Cry, cry if it makes you feel better... Set it all down in a tear-stained letter.' Then, I drove a rental Pontiac Bonneville to the hotel. Front wheel drive? Good thing tho because it'd snowed overnight. First time I ever drove in the snow!

Got my flu and Covid shot yesterday. Tossed and turned in a bed all night. Mild flu symptoms this AM. Think in the future only one at a time. Never had this strong a reaction. Bummer. :(

I just got my flu and covid shots half an hour ago.

Last year, they told me to not get them on the same day. This year, bam & bam on my left arm.

My wife and I got both shots at the same time a month ago; no after effects at all.
As a bonus the pharmacy (Hy-Vee Supermarkets) had a deal that every flu shot would give the recipient a 20¢/gallon discount on the next fill-up at a Casey or Hy-Vee gas station. Neither shot cost us anything except about a five minute wait.
The flu shots saved us $3.72 on the 9.3 gallons I squeezed in today for the 323 miles that I have driven about town since the last fill-up a month ago.

Yeah same here last year, no issues but this year, thinking... pass on covid.

Last year I did the same thing and had a really bad reaction. This year I had them separately two weeks apart and had very mild reactions to both of them.

I also got an RSV shot at my PCP’s office per his advice. He said RSV can be really bad for seniors like me who are over 75 years old.

My wife and I got both Flu and Covid shots about a month ago. She had no reaction except a sore arm. I felt awful the next day but was fine the following day and the arm was a little sore but glad we got them. We have spent some time with our granddaughter and it seems she brings a lot of junk home from daycare so we are just trying to be cautious.

Ten days ago I had the latest covid, flu, and shingles vax done. I had 2 in my right arm and 1 in the left, but do not remember the order. Both arms were sore, with the right arm remaining so for a few days. It was already sore and stiff as I am recovering from shoulder replacement surgery. No other reaction.

Boy, the last two words in your opening sentence sure change its meaning.

Did what may have been the last ride of the season yesterday, with temps in the 40s. 20 miles of paved and gravel road from Rochester, VT to the end of Bingo Brook Rd. in the Green Mt. National Forest. November rides are sometimes possible, but it’s not every year we see temps get much above 45 in that month. Over the years I’ve gone from envying those who can ride year-round to appreciating the break to put in more time at the gym and hopefully do some Nordic skiing. Gotta be philosophical, I guess.

Guessing you're referring to one of the 4,255 posts before yours. (It would help to quote the post you have in mind.)

That is genius! With that insight I'm now guessing it was my post he was referring to. Since then, I did get the flu shot and I did pass on having the covid shot, so... I could get covid and... pass on covid.

My bad, #4255 by Delbiker.