akky had a computer on last time, but we won't be meeting him until later. i hope anyone who has one will bring it.

grand army plaza sounds good (just inside the park), but we should plan to LEAVE at 11:30. likewise, the CP people should be ready to roll when we get there at noon. this is so that people at the GWB can be reasonably sure to roll at a given time and not stand around freezing. we can meet them at 12:30.

wfisher and others, don't worry about not keeping up. if we get enough people, i fully expect to divide into two groups at some point. otherwise, the rule in group rides is to ride slower if some members are slower. we'll get enough of a workout just getting there.

neuron, seriously, unless you get your pants specially tailored to fit over your enormous thighs, i'd lighten up on the gears. you're going to be trying for over 90 gear inches! i have a 14 cog that would go nicely with your 42, if you want to borrow.

oh man you guys were going that route on the fixes? I've only done it geared...those hills woulda killed me knees I think :S

i have a computer, the same one i have for all my bikes. makes me want to get a gps system for geek points.

anyway, yeah. thanks for the offer on the 14. good to have options. i hit sheldon brown's gear calculator last night, and found the 42/15 would be ~7o gi, which would be interesting for the spin. i'm gonna give that a shot. do you carry a chain-whip and a lockring tool with you wherever you go?

actually, yes. i've had some problems lately. i really do.

cool, not giving you ***** -- i carry a lot of junk with me as well.

Actually, I have a GPS device. It's a Garmin eTrex; I just got it 2 months ago. On another point, what's a sissy gear? Is that a really high gear or a really low gear? I thought it was the latter (for climbing hills) though certain members' comments suggest the contrary.

Cool, looks like we'll have a good group for Sat. Hope everyone shows up. Depending on how I feel and how early I get up, I might ride into the park, to get some extra miles in, but if not, I'll be at the bridge. Just remember, the gates are still up, so it's going to be crowded in the park, you might want to consider meeting outside of the park.

I am in. Really looking forward to it. I'll see the Grand Army contingent. I hope I'm not going to blow out riding a 48/15. I guess if I did the TA century on it I can prolly manage.

One question -- is the ETA return time after dark (ie should I bring my lights?)

We should be back at the bridge by 4 PM, if we don't have major mech. but this time of the year I always have my blinkies with me just in case.

i think i'm in too. game-time decision...

ok.

so i dropped down to my granny gear tonight after i got home, and took 'er for a little spin. and spin i did! i'm so used to having to 'push' the 52 the smaller gear felt like i was riding a freewheel bike. is that weird?

i'm going to tool around on this thing for a little while and get used to it. i think it might become my "winter" gear. it really feels like a new bike, and it seems like the handling is different. will changing the geometry of my saddle and bars make a difference?

So who is meeting at the Central Park angel and what time?

so far, i have neuron meeting at PP, wfisher meeting at CP, and akky meeting at the GWB. expressing interest, but not confirmed are:
iamjberube
chaloots
ultra-g
blindrobert
noumena9
FixednotBroken
williamw

i've invited a few guys from the messenger community. i doubt anyone will mind.

wfisher, plan to leave the park at noon, though we may run late. since it's the winter, i'm trying to keep us all from standing around too much. meet halfway through the cross drive at 72nd street. what the hell is that called? it's not exactly park drive, and it's not exactly a transverse. grrrrr. friggin shrinking vocabulry.

so, i imagine most people won't want to go this weekend after the snowdump. i'm going to go anyway, since i need the exercise. i'll probably ride with a brake for safety (ice and snow patches coming fast, esp. on downhills), but i'll play it by ear since i'd prefer brakeless on a country ride.

yo, Mr. White, you in, you bike cnt?

i rode from Times Square to Park Slope at 7 this evening. It was fun, in both the fun-as-in-fun and fun-as-in-I-almost-wiped-out-20-times and fun-as-in-spd-cleats-get-all-****ed-up-with-ice-yo

(I'm sadly going to skip the ride unless there is a miracle of melting.)

i guess that wipes out CM too, so to speak - NYC's finest can rest easy. as for saturday, i'll play it by ear and see how much of this crap melts away. F*kn snow. boo.

i'm gonna play it by ear too -- didn't slip and slide too bad last night, but i noticed my brakes icing up pretty hard-core. the lower gear is better for stopping though.

anyway. it's around 2 and it is still comin down.

last night me and a coupla friends rode home at 8:30. at first, i was really nervous, especially over the bridge. but after a while we started to have fun. in brooklyn, where the traffic was lighter, we started doing skid competitions. like half a block each.

i'm not doing CM tonight for personal reasons, but why not go if you can? i think it would be extra fun.

well, i ain't goin' to CM for personal reasons as well. but i have to admit, i don't have the snow-skills you do. any tips? i go down, or nearly wipe, just about every 10 yards. and my joints & bones just aren't happy with me when i do that, so i usually sit it out.

and yeah, the bridge sure sucks in the snow. i remember one time last year when i could barely
walk with my bike down the brooklyn side...

Looks like it's warming up now, and tomorrow is supposed to be warmer. I'll prob go since I need the workout also. (as I sit here eating a donut) . I'll ck how GWB sidewalk looks later on today when I'm driving home.

funny.

i had a u lock a couple of years ago when i first started commuting by bike, and would take the brooklyn across. the shadows of the bridge in the winter would refreeze melted snow/ice and unfortunately it looked exactly like shadows. i'd made the crest and was hauling and hit the massive patch of ice. i went down and slid for a good distance. good thing my bag and change of clothes padded me.

i'd thought the peds were walking funny, but i didn't put 2+2 together. most miserable part was when i went to lock my bike up, i no longer had a lock. it flew off someplace when i wiped, very possibly making a motorist below very unhappy. i was bummed, because i had to find a bike shop to get a new lock.

people still go to CM? i haven't been since the august one. no desire to get arrested again. :/

So who is still in? I will still go considering most of the snow has melted so it should be negligible.

The GWB was pretty clear this afternoon, just a little wet from the melting snow. I'm in, I'll be by the NY side of the bridge by 12:30 or if others want to do a little earlier I'm fine with that also.

I've got to pass up tomorrow unfortunately.

i'm gonna try for CP at noon. can anyone give me a more specific description of our meeting spot? i'll be on a plain yellow track bike. PM me for a cell # if necessary.