alfie43

I was born on April 14, 1943. You do the math...I'd rather not.

I am a former runner who ran everyday for over 30 years. With my new titanium knee, I was looking for an alternate exercise. This past May, I bought a Specialized Crossroads Elite. This 700c x 38c hybrid will be my winter ride. My carbon-fiber Trek 7.9 FX that I just ordered will be my fair weather steed.

After a few months of cycling this past summer, I started looking ahead towards winter. As an everyday runner who ran everyday through 33 Michigan winters, I had no doubt that I could ride December though March. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about dressing for cold weather aerobics and I already have a lot of the required gear.

I am currently riding 10-12 miles a day…every day. I try to ride hard at an 80-90 rpm cadence; strictly for fitness and only on concrete or asphalt. It’s really great to get out of the basement away from that instrument panel equipped stationary and get outside again.

At 6’ and 185 lbs, I don’t take or need supplements or vitamins. When I was in my 30s I found a much better method of nourishment: low fat, high fiber, non-processed foods, i.e., plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Tastes better, cost less and smells better than that “stuff” in the brown plastic jars.

I have learned a lot here on Bike Forums. Thanks to all for the help and thanks for the laughs.

Alfie

maddmaxx 

Welcome to the group.

Keep one thing in mind about biking and cold. You already know how to dress to stay warm but still be able to shed heat. The problem comes when something goes wrong with the bike and you need to stay warm while repairing a flat or poping a bad link out of the chain. Carry some spare clothing on the ride just in case you need it.

BluesDawg

Welcome to the madhouse. I look forward to reading about and seeing pictures of your rides.
Nice to see that you are already following the N+1 doctrine. Looks like you have yourself a couple of nice bikes.
Make sure you include recovery days in your schedule. Riding hard every day is not the best way. You need some easy days to allow your body to repair itself from the hard days so it will be ready to build on the fitness improvements.

Above all, have fun and keep us posted.

cranky old dude

Welcome aboard. Hey, you're supposed to post your picture, not some
young guy's (just kidding). Looking forward to ride reports and pics.

Happy Trails

Yen

Welcome! Congratulations on finding a new activity for yourself (and your knee) and two nice bikes.

+1 on BluesDawg's suggestion to take 1-2 recovery days each week.

In spite of your newbie status, you contribute a lot of inspiration. I subscribe to the same eating habits as you.... I just wish I started in my 30s rather than when I was almost 50.

George

Welcome aboard Alfie and glad to meet you. Just like above, recovery is part of the training, have fun.

Mojo Slim

Welcome aboard. Looking forward to winter ride reports and pictures.

stapfam

Was Going to warn you of N+1 but too late.

Still to come--Club Tombay- Bonking and DG.

jwbnyc

Welcome.

Beverly

Welcome to the group!

Be sure to take pictures of the new Trek when it arrives.

alfie43

"warn you of N+1 , Club Tombay, Bonking and DG"

stapfam,

Please define for the Newbie: N+1? Club Tombay? Bonking? DG?

Regards, Alfie

BlazingPedals

Durned kid! If you're having problems keeping up already, I guess that means we won't be getting the pictures of the pie anytime soon.

Seriously though, welcome to the group. I'm a few miles up the road, near Lansing. If you're riding every day in this stuff, I'm impressed! In the last week, even when It's gotten up to 35F, it's always with a 25 mph wind!

tsl

• N+1: Mathematical formula defining the correct number of bikes to own, where N is the current number of bikes owned.
• Club Tombay: For those who have fallen off their bikes because they forgot to unclip from their clipless pedals. Note: I'm not a member.
• Bonking: Ride hard all day without eating or drinking properly. When your body collapses, that's bonking.
• DG: DigitalGee, Gary, notorious member from San Diego

And welcome! It's nice to see the words, "winter bike" coming from another 50+er.

Now about N+1 and that Ti knee. You know you should have a Ti bike so they match, don't you?

Robert Foster

Glad to have another new member in the group. You will find that Cyclists are for more gregarious than you might have expected. Solo riders or group riders all are pretty supportive of each other.

Tom Bombadil

So you are one of the small target group that buys the highest end hybrids!! The total CF frame with high-end components.

I knew there were a few of you out there, but had never met any of your kind.

The 7.9 is a very nice bike. I've ridden the 7.9, 7.7, 7.6, and 7.5. Found the geometry comfortable and from the 7.6 on up, a very smooth ride.

Welcome aboard. I look forward to reading of your rides on that new beast.

Bud Bent

Welcome, alfie. I agree with Yen; I should have started the healthier eating much sooner than I did.

howsteepisit

Welcome aboard Alf! I just bought my wide some studded tires for winter riding and I am pretty impressed so far. Thats something that might be good for winter in MI riding!

JanMM

Welcome aboard the board.

I understand that Lance is planning to ride a Specialized Crossroads Elite on some of the mountain stages of the '09 TDF.

Allegheny Jet

Welcome alfie43,

Now don't go bragging too much about that titanium knee. A 58 yr. old on one of my club rides has had both knees replaced and he is a ruthless b****** on our rides, so, no sympathy here. Some of us are still waiting for our high tech after market body parts to be further refined (mine will be an ankle). After you complete your winter riding program my quess is that you will add a road bike (N+1) by June.

BlazingPedals

Yeah, and I think it should be yellow. Or black. But definitely not white.

Digital Gee

Fixed.

cranky old dude

Fixed it for you.

alfie43

the small group that buys the highest end hybrids….I knew there were a few of you, but had never met any of your kind”


Tom,
Deciding on the 7.9 was the final step of an interesting journey of discovery. I started out last spring searching for an activity to replace my running. I had no prior adult cycling experience other than the occasional casual ride on my $100 Huffy to the ice cream store with the family. So, I bought a Specialized Crossroads Elite comfort bike.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that it wasn’t the right choice. I wanted more performance. At that time, I also thought that I wanted to get my upper body lower in a more aggressive position and out of the wind. A second bike sounded like good idea, but I still wasn’t convinced that a road bike was the answer.

Last October, I took advantage of the Specialized “Test Bike” program. For a modest fee, I took home a Specialized Roubiax to test drive for a couple of days. I put about 40 miles on it and discovered that a road bike was not what I wanted. Certainly, the carbon fiber $4000 Roubaix was everything that is was supposed to be; incredibly light, responsive, fast, a precision drive train, and a surprisingly smooth ride.

However, I felt that my head and upper body were too low for traffic situational awareness, there was too much weight on my hands, and braking and shifting is a little faster and easier on a flat handlebar. I ride strictly for fitness. Therefore, I think that the balance of performance and comfort of the Trek FX 7.9 is a perfect fit for me.
Alfie

alfie43

"If you're riding every day in this stuff, I'm impressed"

Stuff? What stuff? What are you going to do when winter gets here, my friend? <G>

Alfie

alfie43

"It's nice to see the words, "winter bike" coming from another 50+er"


Uh...make that a 65er....shhh!