C&O/GAP trip was absolutely amazing. I can see why people do it multiple times. It was nothing like I expected, and absolutely amazing scenery. I will post some pics when the guys send me their collection. It was five days of stepping into a totally different reality.

Riding with loaded panniers is interesting, and I learned the ever valuable lesson of "Don"t use a bike rack when loaded". I had the front wheel of the Lotus in a bike rack, tipped the bike over, and ended up tweaking the front wheel and fork. I then had to ride the next 150 miles with a wild tilt to the front end, but it worked fine.

It's awesome. Wait for the page to completely load - if the book icon in the address bar goes from light gray to black, click and enjoy. It makes the text larger, removes sidebars and ads, etc. For things like forums, it can make it a confusing mess, but for typical reading, it's nice.

The Hello camera is cool because it utilizes three cameras (more stuff to break! But still...), including one IR cam, so it can be used even in a dark room while retaining an almost instant response. It's also three-dimensional, so no fooling it with pictures like you could on the face unlock on Android phones a little while back (not even identical twins have been able to fool it).

Nice! Great color.

Whatever you are drinking, Billy, I want one. That has to be the happiest look I have seen in a while. Must be why you took that Wo2W was of the female persuasion.

Bill

So glad you enjoyed it. Let us hear more about the camaraderie too.

The Kitty is taking over...

So first ride report: It's the dream I wanted. It's a replacement of the CX commuter bike I destroyed when I also destroyed my ACL in a very, very stupid accident, so I knew what to expect ride-wise. It's nice and cushiony on the 32mm tires, but the frame is tight and snappy enough to not be a boring ride. Fits my needs perfectly. I plan on putting CX tires on it for gravel adventures, too, but it's perfect for what I wanted.

The only downside? Because it was a "budget" build where I just pulled the stuff off of the old bike, it's all 105 10 speed. I rode that stuff before I bought the Domane with DA9000, so I didn't know how crappy it was in a side-by-side comparison. Yeah, I'm gonna have to save my pennies for a rebuild in a year or two... I can't get the rear shifting to cooperate completely, but like I said before, I might just need to put a proper der. hanger alignment tool to it.

And this morning's highlight: When I got to work, the parking lot was empty, except for some lady I've never seen in my life. I rolled up to the door, did the old "right leg over the back while still rolling" dismount, hit the ground with my right foot after unclipping the left, and promptly found ZERO traction with that foot and fell right on my ass. Worst. Dismount. Ever. Still a little sore...

I've got the Park alignment tool, brand new, never used. I know Denton isn't close to Houston, but if you were going to be down here, you'd be welcome to use it. I might consider selling it actually. In all my years of riding I have never had a derailleur alignment problem so I don't know what I was thinking when I bought it. Let me know if you are interested either way.

Perfect.

Which reminds me. Need to practice my CX mount/dismount this afternoon.

whats the biggest tire it can handle? like i always say, bigger is better

105 is fine, ride the bike into the ground till you can upgrade, if you brake any of it while getting rad it wont be too saddening and will serve as motivation for upgrades

105 is bottom of the barrel entry level garbage (or so I've heard). That's what I ride.

I was wondering when you were back, so great to hear the trip was awesome. Looking forward to the full report/pics.

105 11spd on my Fuji CX. Since I usually drop that bike on the drive side (in the one race I've done so far), I'm glad I don't have anything nice on there.

I am a big fan of dreamy bikes. The best bikes are the ones that make you happy.

I have no idea, but I would have to say huge. I had these 32's on my CAADX and found them to be perfect for the road. I'd probably put 35 or bigger on it for offroad excursions. I could even get some snow tires on this ting if I wanted to get really crazy during the next inevitable North Texas ice storm.

105 5800 is friggin' awesome. 5700? It really was fine on the other bike. I don't know what the deal is on this bike. Like I said, maybe after I get a tool on it, it will be perfect. But the shifting action is noticeably more stiff on the 5700 than the 5800 stuff I've worked on. I'll likely ride it for 2+ years when 5800 is so cheap I'm unable to resist.

Thanks for the offer. I'm in the bike shop in Dallas every weekend, so I'll just drag it down there to set it right.

Nightcrawler ride this morning, around 25 miles I'd say. The first time I've been cold on the bike in months. It was delicious.

Many of my friends are riding a local century this weekend, including two of the Nightcrawlers who rode this am. People wanted an easy route, so I put together a little something that goes up a gradual-grade canyon, maybe 1-3%, for 5-8 miles or so. When the road runs out, we just turn around & ride back. Kind of perfect for today.

Then once we got to the end, my friend who specifically requested the easy route without too much climbing says, 'Hey, maybe we should ride all the little side canyons to get some more climbing in'. Fine by me, we climb the first side canyon, then turn back on the main road.

Forget it from there, I start down my favorite type of descent, this gradual mostly-straight type and I'm like a horse grabbing the bit with my teeth- I just can't stop myself. For some reason, this is the scenario in which I'm able to output the most power for the longest period of time, no idea why. I'll get on a descent like this and sustain 120% FTP and just chase people down. It is awesome to pass the boys, who are heavier than me, and have them
unable to catch me once I fly by.

Then we got coffee and no one was even sad about skipping the side canyons, we just had an extra 15 min to chat about bikes.

I'm still on 5700. I bought about a week before they announced 5800.

A brief google search netted one guy running 40's without issue on the crockett, but didn't really give any pictures to show clearance.

Thanks, guys! That bar was a fun place to be, you couldn't help but get into the spirit, especially with the help of the spirits. I only had a couple of Bahama Mamas, but the other folks . . . .

There was this employee (below) going around giving away free shots to anyone who wanted one, two shots at a time actually. Folks were getting RIPPED!





Then a bunch of folks invaded behind the bar area, causing the assistant manager no small amount of concern.





Those folks were determined to have a wild time before they had to return to the family setting of the ship.

And this was 4 o'clock in the afternoon, mind you. I would hate to see what it's like at night.

Good times. Wild and good.

Right, I forgot you had mentioned that.

Video please.

Won't be any spectators.

#prolly

Reminds me, whither [MENTION=209961]Makel[/MENTION]??