Ramble ride report
https://randoramble.posterous.com/three-freds-on-fred

Great report-love those. I'm either going to need to eventually show up to one of these Rambles or start Photoshoping myself into the pics. What's the date of the Feb Rando if you know? I have a mountaineering trip on Feb 10th or so.

How early does Ben need to hit the road to make the ride start by 7:30? I have no excuses anymore.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...5&id=769313422

Did 30 this morning to try out the pickle fork-FAIL. You can see the amusing list of bike saddle commentary at Facebook. Must have been cold at 6:30-8:30 because my toes froze and my double gloved fingers.

The new wheels:



They are laced on Dura-Ace 7900 hubs. They were 25% cheaper with a custom build than new factory built 404s with Zipp hubs.

Sweet wheels-don't those Schwalbes detract from the carbon weight saving properties?

BTW-My brother is asking how to keep his fingers warm. He's wearing what I wear, Pearl Izumi lobster gloves with Smartwool inserts. I hit a wall with that combo yesterday after 30 miles in what I assume were sub 30 degree conditions. I do carry packets of chem warmers just in case.

drool.

BTW at first I thought that light switch in the picture was a spoke card.

really nice wheels Isaias, maybe you'll be as fast as me someday

Great TR GB. Loved the picture of Bens leg. Also loved the name, (psst, you were the only fred). Ben's a beast.

Harry: I use mountaineering gloves with wool liners(almost always use wool liners)when temps go into the low teens and lower. Extremely bulky but keeps my fingers from freezing. Sometimes I use just the shell, other times I use the shell and liner(plus wool).

Side note: I'm home today sick as a dog. Muscle aches and fever with a bucket of snot. Slept 12 hours last night9-9. I should be fine for our meet on Sunday, hopefully.

Ride harder.

To comfortably get down into the 20's I quit thinking about bike specific gloves. Get the puffiest mittens you can find at a camping store.

FWIW I got an over mitten at REI that I can wear over my liner + gloves. Winter riding is all about layers.

The Puffiest Mittens. That would be a cool name for a band.

Sometimes you can be stoking a furnace in your core and it doesn't reach the extremities. Although I have noticed my hands and feet warm into a ride, so complicated.

I have a pair of new mittens I bought for the Mount Washington climb in February, they should work.

BTW-signed up for 800 miles in 30 days on Map my Ride. Help. Any long rides planned in near future. I only have 135 so far. Should have done the rando then I'd be up a hundred.

Had a nice 24 mile snow ride this morning. It started getting deeper after Edgewood.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/62320765

<<<-- Work's side parking lot when I arrived

Good job, Charlie... kudos!

thanks but wrong Charlie. The racks are my son's efforts. I'll pass on the thanks from you.
nice snow pics. I missed another snow ride due to my illness. Still am laid up w/ fever(comes and goes) and a strong cough, with a few muscle aches thrown in. My presence in Sundays Brunch is in doubt. I'll keep y'all posted.

Yes, thank him on behalf of all of us.

Sorry to hear that you are still under the weather and likely won't infect us on Sunday (this part's a good thing). Get well!

SHA is getting some blow back for installing a pocket lane on US 40. So I am collecting positive comments on Baltimore Spokes to encourage more bicycle accommodations by SHA: https://www.baltimorespokes.org/artic...11010814335384

FWIW I rode US 40 up to near Hagerstown, really nice wide shoulder and may be the longest continuous hill in Maryland. Someday I want to go back and try riding it from Hagerstown to Baltimore.

Those bike lanes running parallel with the RTOLs is absolutely the correct thing to do even if dunderhead non-cyclists don't get it. Route 40 East needs those, too.

Hey Guys, I'm gonna bail. Still got the phlegm thing going and a headache. This flu really knocked me down. Have fun

That's me in a pocket lane. I like these things on State highways. I get to jump the cue at the light and I am out of the way till the cued traffic leaves. Personally I would rather have bicycle accommodations only at intersections then the current slandered only at mid-block. Of course that would never happen but if it did there would be some serious rethinking about bicycles and cars sharing the road.

P.S. Don't forget to comment here https://www.baltimorespokes.org/artic...11010814335384

P.P.S. Its 30 deg with 26mph winds here. I'm chickening out going for a long ride today. When it warms up a bit then I'll go out and play.

Hey all,

It has been a looong time since I have posted here. Almost as long as since I have ridden seriously. But that is another story. Getting back into shape this winter, but I HATE exercising indoors. I don't mind riding in the cold, but this winter has had me more spooked than usual due to the colder temps and increased precip.

I'm fine clothing wise, but what are you all riding to deal with below freezing ice issues? Or am I more worried over nothing. I have my road bike (which I prefer) but can only run 21-23's or my old MTB, which is not as enjoyable for long rides, but has more tire choices.

-D

Get well soon, Charlie! I've only had the flu (the real thing) once, and I felt about as miserable as I ever have in my life, to include the aftermath of my knee surgery.

Of course, we will toast in your honor!

I've been reading your and NoRacer's thoughts on this, and checking out the links. Interesting. I've never ridden in one of these. My work commute has one RTOL in a fairly busy spot. The overwhelming majority of the traffic there is going straight, and immediately across the intersection my nice, wide, smooth shoulder resumes. So what I generally do is stay in the RTOL lane, far enough to the right to just block the traffic behind me, but far enough left to (hopefully) convey that I'm not actually turning right. I know that the proper spot for me is really in the straight-ahead lane, and I almost always opt for the "where would I be if I were in a car?" approach -- unless there's another option that I think will have me cause less interference to traffic flow. In this spot, almost all of the cars are going straight (and doing maybe 35-40 mph); the few cars turning right should be slowing down, anyway, to make the turn, so I'm not inconveniencing them as much as I would the go-straighters (plus I just have far fewer "car-me interactions" there, which is ultimately my goal!) and once I'm across, I'm out of everyone's way.

I guess painting some lines on the road would be a nice way to signal to the world that, yeah, I really do have the right to the straight ahead lane, but I'm not sure that, ultimately, I still wouldn't end up squeezed between the straight-aheads (who would have to cross into an oncoming traffic lane to give me my three feet) and the right-turners.

I have a couple RTOLs on RT 40 where motor vehicles are decelerating anywhere from 80 MPH down to about 45 MPH while in the RTOL and only going about 25 MPH to make the actual turn. The traffic is way too fast for me to ride in the RTOL, so I MUST ride in the straight-going lane. Unequivocally, the only things not getting me killed in these areas is my lights flashing brightly and reflective materials on my orange safety vest, CamelBak, around my ankles, on my winter cycling boots and on the bike. Some of my tires have reflective material on the sidewalls as well.

A ninja would get creamed in short order attempting to cross these RTOLs.

Yeah, so much of Route 40 is just crazy, I can't imagine how nerve-wracking it must be to ride that regularly -- I'm not too keen on it in my car! My RTOL situation is much more manageable because of the slower speeds, and because it's a pretty short lane, too.

It was great seeing you, Harry, and GB again today! As I said on my FB post -- hopefully I'll be on my bike next time. ;

Charlie, You were greatly missed at brunch. There were many Bloody Marys consumed in your honor.
Get well soon. -GB

...and a couple of Killian's, too!