i would love to do even a short-length triathlon, but i don't know how to swim. i'm 20

i went from a Madone to a steel Specialized Allez. and have no regrets.

i prefer fixed and the only reason i have gears is because of my knees. i also enjoy the company of hipsters.

i usually ride w/o a jersey and wear my baselayer under my bibs. and still i buy rapha

i'm incredibly vain. i wear short shorts at work and in public as much as possible.

i was commuting leisurely and got passed by a granny once. or perhaps more times..

I rode on the MUP today.

And couldn't ignore the urge to pass all the Freds, thus making me the biggest Fred out there.

I promise not to do it again (for at least a few months or so).

The main reason I switched to road cycling from mountain biking is because I no longer want to ride techinical stuff and learn jumps.

Correction: I can't jump for squat.

And I can't take the adrenaline and hurt. I'm too proud of my silky smooth yet hairy skin.

When I saw the estimated delivery of my ROL wheels jump 3 days to next Tuesday I raged.

sad but true...

<--- check under my screen name

Bonktown has them for $35-$60 depending on model from time to time.

A fellow lover of The Magnetic Fields!

dont fel bad. you kan akchewley became a doktor and knot know how too spel.

A lot more common than you think. Question- at what part of the face are you looking when you talk to someone?

I chose a high-end LBS despite feeling intimidated, then crashed one of their bikes on my first test ride.

I was off my bike for seven months after the crash. First because of injuries, but later because of fear.

I still have to overcome a little sliver of fear before I start every ride.

I ride with a mirror and a front flasher. I remove them whenever I'm stopping by my high-end LBS.

I have SPD pedals on my road bike and my shoes are so old/cheap that they lace up. No velcro, no clasps.

I don't own a real cycling jersey (though I have finally ordered one).

I have only one pair of bibs and they have to line-dry, so I only wash them every fourth ride or so.

I tell myself I don't care if other roadies think I'm a Fred. (I'm lying.)

I live in the mountains, but I don't like hills. I gravitate toward the flatter routes I can find.

What happened with that? I've always been curious how that's handled.

I am SOOOOOOOO guilty of this!

The thread should have ended right here

I have that exact set up. You definitely need it.

Sealed the deal!

Same here, and it makes me really sad. I ride with a big all-female bike club, we all wear matching kit - sometimes I can only tell if I've ridden with someone before by recognizing her bike.

It's called "face blindness" - look it up on the internet, it won't fix anything, but at least you know you're not alone.

The LBS owner was very cool about it. He called my cell phone when I was in the ER (a couple police officers returned the bike to the shop after I was carted away in an ambulance) to make sure I was okay. Said not to worry about the bike. It helped that I did far more damage to myself than the bike. That was a 2010 Z85. I ended up buying a 2011 from him once I was back on the road.

I talked about this to another shop owner here a couple weeks ago, and he'd had someone t-bone a car on a test ride and totally destroy a bike. The manufacturer worked with the shop to repair/replace the demo. No charge to the customer. He said they consider the occasional test-ride crash a cost of doing business.

I walked a portion of a 10% grade hill this spring.

Bonktown.com is your friend. I have 3 all gotten from them for around 50 bucks. None are race cut however.

A few of these remind me of a story the late, great Lewis Grizzard told. Went something like:

There was a big tent revival going on and one night the preacher asked for a sinner to come to the front and confess all their sins to the Lord and the congregation and feel the power of Mercy and Foregiveness.

Old Lonnie Register, the town drunk and general reprobate came down the aisle and stood in front of the assembly and declared that he reckoned he was the biggest sinner in these parts and he wanted to tell it all.

"Oh, brother Register! Tell it all! Don't hold nothing back!" cried the preacher.

"Well, now. I'm a irresponsible drunk. I'd rather drink moonshine than do honest work to feed my children."

"Tell it! Tell it all, brother! Don't hold nothing back!"

"I play cards and roll dice and I'll cheat to win."

"Tell it, brother, tell it!"

"Instead of using my ill-gotten winnings to feed my hungry children I'll spend that money on loose, painted women to slake my carnal lust."

Tell it ALL! Tell it, brother! Tell it ALL!"

"And if I lose my money anyway and don't have any for them painted women I'll have sex with barnyard animals."


Total dead silence follows this.


Finally the preacher says " I don't think you should have told that."

That's okay, I am not race cut either.

I'm the opposite. I can go on a 4 hour group ride, and at the end, I have no idea what bikes anyone else is riding (except for that fugly Pinarello).
However, I am paying close attention to how people ride (climbing, attacks & sprints).

The realization that those that use the term Fred to describe other cyclists are the true Freds

i like using the stardard bottle cages...or maybe im just too cheap to by the carbon ones..

I am a better cyclist than 99% of the people my age (of course 98% of the people my age don't ride and 1% of the people my age ride tricycles at their retirement communities)

I have the jpeg of someone's avatar that we haven't seen in a while