Today I rode a fixed gear for the first time. 84 gear inches is pretty tall.

This just popped up in my youtube feed for some reason. I thought some of you guys might get a kick out of it.

Today I cleaned my fixed gear bike.

Oh me too, but SS instead.

And I came close to third in a Mario Kart 64 tournament at the LBS.

awesome!

i rode every single day in 2017.
and so far 4 times this year....

This is awesome

Today I took my fat bike out in the snow. It was coming down pretty well and we had about 5-6" already of fresh snow. It was tough going for sure but it was fun. Rode down to the local sledding hill to see what was going on. Lots of kids out there. Decided to take my fattie down a few times after some questions from the kids out there. They wanted to see me do it so why the hell not? Lowered the pressure and rolled it. Did it twice and then headed home, and......I flatted. On the front. Really? Stopped in the neighborhood and a guy let me use his pump while he was shoveling the driveway. Made it about another half a mile or so and it was done. Walked it the last mile or so in the snow. Wasn't carrying a spare tube with me, and it wouldn't have mattered anyway. At 16°F there was no way I was gonna be changing it with Reynaud's Syndrome.

Today I looked at my fixed gear bike and wanted to ride it. It really is an addiction!

Dave

This video popped up on my feed today - fascinating. I own a very stiff aluminum bike and a very flexy steel bike. I don't think there's any real difference in watt transfer between stiff frames and flexible frames. What I do believe is stiff frames feel better to sprint on, and anything that makes me want to ride harder is "faster."

I'd be bummed to flat on a fat bike (not to mention in 16 degrees). Seem's like it should be the one bike where this isn't an issue.

Today I couldn't find a good free VPN to stream CX Worlds and only got about 20 minutes in before my data cap hit.

Tunnel Bear is worth the cost. Worked flawless.

That's what I used and loved it. Couldn't bring myself to pay though.

Like 8 bucks to watch all the world champ races without a cable subscription? No-brainer for me.

Adventures of the Incredibly Dorky Duo.

Finally got around to watching it. Loved it.

Today I (yesterday I) replaced the bearings in my rear hub will Phil Wood sealed bearings and they are buttery smooth! I also chopped down my steerer tube to clean up the cockpit.

related: that's how I got interested in cycling. was walking at lunch for years to lose weight. then I cranked it up a notch to running at lunch. then I made the mistake of trying to run faster. that's when I got introduced to Achilles Tendinitis. researched that cycling would be good while I recovered ... never looked back, even started bike commuting (but I did keep running in my cross training)

Was thinking about picking up running as a cross train too, do you find it helps maintain core stability?

Dave

I don't think so, but if you have good core stability it will help your running. running is actually very stressful for the back, as per my doctor

I am a runner more so than a cyclist. I have run multiple 50k and 50 mile races and can tell you that cycling (specifically spinning at high rpms) does way more for the core than running does. Core activation in running is only used to maintain good posture. Poor posture leads to back issues. The act of running (assuming you are biomechanically efficient and not overstriding) is a lot less stressful than Doctors presume. Run correctly, run efficiently and you'll run longer and farther with less chance of injury.

I believe it. I'm not a "runner" & certainly no athlete, tho I run & do other "athletics" I'm always so impressed w natural athletes whether I'm hiking, swimming or riding w them

Vaguely regret buying another Steamroller instead of a new Langster. Is that weird?

Errr yeah.

The steamroller is a staple of SS/FG; a classic and a workhorse icon.

The langster, not so much. While the newest rendition is better, the version before that was terrible with big s basing it off of a city bike/ hybrid.
The steel langster was not bad though; too bad big S did away with it.

Late last night I rode 31 miles on my fixed gear. Mix of MUP and quiet roads. Very dark. It was fun. Riding is one of the best ways I know to relieve the day's stress.