wow what a score. nice!

Had a pretty awesome weekend with the SDMBA "Archipelago ride" on Saturday - 42 miles/5,000' elevation in 5 hrs elapsed, with a couple stops at aid stations. It's called the "Arch ride" b/c it connects various "islands" of open space in North San Diego county with small little inter-neighborhood trails and road segments. A bikeforums road racing buddy came out early for a work conference and stayed with us for the weekend, so it was fun to have a companion for the entire ride and to get to show him some of my 'hood.

A wet winter means everything in San Diego is so green right now, just lovely. It was also a pleasure for me personally because I've always had a good sense of direction and take pleasure out of "connecting the dots" between various areas that I know and really intimately knowing the hills and valleys.

There was over 500 participants for the ride as well so after the first hour or so there was pretty much a continual line of riders covering every trail within eyeshot after cresting each hill or rounding each bend. It really was a rolling party! We started a bit late because our shuttle arrived late. The start window for the ride was 6:30 - 7:30; we were rolling by 7:45 AM. It took us an hour of climbing/wondering if we were lost before catching up to other riders, but after that it was a party-wave of mountain bikers for the next 4 hours! There were plenty of riders/familiar faces from the competitive road and track community so we weren't the only ones fast uphill :). There were even more full-time MTB'ers with more capable FS all-mtn rigs that were smokin' us on the downhill sections. Lastly, there were even a few dudes on gravel bikes who looked like they were having a blast, but had to (understandably) walk a few segments.

Overall it was a great route with great scenery and lots of smiling faces from all aspects of the cycling community in SD. I can't wait for next year!!!

Sounds like a great ride, [MENTION=89773]TMonk[/MENTION]! When the weather's nice and the people are fun, it hardly gets better than that. :)

Today I felt fast and strong on my commute, so I took that as an indication that it was time to shift from 42/18 to 45/16, my 3-seasons gearing. While at it, I replaced the old chain that was right at 1/8" stretch with my last remaining SRAM PC-7X. I've been impressed with those things -- not very blingy, but I've gotten the most quiet and smooth miles out of that chain than any other SS/FG chain I'd tried before. Shame that SRAM stopped making them.

I had a great commute today too. 65 and sunny for the first day so far this year in Chicago. They added running lanes to the lakefront bike path over the winter to keep bikes and runners apart but the signage is still super unclear. I've been riding on it daily all winter but this afternoon was the first time the path has been packed since last fall. So basically the last 7mi of my commute was an absolute cluster**** of bikes, runners, rollerbladers, dog walkers, etc. all using whichever lanes they felt like:twitchy:

I ended up riding that whole segment at top speed weaving through groups of slower riders and runners. I'm still in my winter gearing (46x19) but Ive got my summer tires on and I gotta say, Im kinda loving it. It feels so effortlessly fast. I think I'm actually gonna keep it for the time being. I know its a bit low but something about ~64 gear inches feels right to me for whatever reason compared to the ~72 that Im more used to.

Yeah! I usually swap between the summer tires and studs at the same time as my high and low gearing, but this year I also spent a couple weeks on the old gearing with the summer tires, and that quick acceleration was nice. It gets really spinny when the tires aren't holding you back, though! :lol:

I usually swap both at the same time too. I actually did go to my summer 46x17 gearing for a few days when the snow first melted but it was really windy that week so I switched back:innocent:

You're spot on about the acceleration. I think the lower top speed is mostly offset by the ease of spinning up to that speed. I guess thats especially true here in Chicago where I have a lot of stops, starts and obstacles but not many hills to contend with.

As the weather gets a little bit less volatile, Ill probably switch back up to 46x17, but for now I think the spinning might be a good fitness booster:lol:

Gotta build up that "constitutional wind" that I always lose over the winter. ;)

It was pretty great. I stupidly passed on a pair of Clement CX clinchers for $10.

Today I got #69 on a Strava segment.

Today I rode 70 miles at 16.2mph.

Dave

Today I gave Dave kudos on his Metric+ ride.


-Tim-

Today I do a lot of research, planning and thinking:
Last week my commuter bike was stolen, I was so frustrated that I bought two new used bikes: A On-One Inbred in 26" for commuting (with gears) and a fixie for pleasure. The fixie will be converted to a single-speed within the next weeks. Unfortunately I don't have enough post to share pictures or links, so I can only mention an old SOIL titan frame, Nitto stem and handlebar, Paul hubs, Sugino cranks, etc. No brakes yet....

Anyway, two new projects!

/Björn

Built a sister set of wheels to complement the last pair I built. 765g F, 875g R without skewer/bolts. Not too bad for 32h 3X and a slightly hefty rear hub. Sapim Laser spokes and alloy nipples. Bought a cheap bearing press off of eBay to put fresh bearings in the vintage WI front hub. Having a decent bearing press is so nice you guys. I love that both the Surly and the WI hub use 6901 bearings.
https://live.staticflickr.com/7907/3...1ae42715_h.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/7885/3...a1c2f712_h.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/7834/4...63d51136_h.jpg

^ Nice!

Today I cut my grass on Stava

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6f2db7232f.jpg

Sucks about getting your bike stolen. Any chance of getting it back?

Like your attitude, though. :thumb:

Get any KOMs?

nice

That would be the worst retirement ever.

Seems like a lot of grass.

The arrow shows where I literally ran out of gas at about 0.3 miles. Had a great pace going until then.

I was in the Honda going to the gas station to full up the plastic container until about mile 1.7 and then hit it hard but just couldn't get my heart rate up.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...31532b2d5c.jpg

Tomorrow I'm going to do a 95 mile recovery ride.

I should post my mower in the Hot or Not thread in the road forum. :)


-Tim-

Today I slept in after the 600K. Winds 15-25 both days.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3984388811.jpg

Thanks!
I don't see a chance of getting it back. It was my commuting bike used in Gothenburg, Sweden. Not expensive, but all the parts added to it to improve it over the time are the real loss. Now getting similar parts for the new one(s), like fenders, saddle, pedals, sensors, handle bar, etc. It was equipped with the SRAM Automatix which you cannot get anymore.

I am in dialog with my insurance, it should be covered by our household content insurance. The disadvantage is now a bunch of parcels with new parts showing up at home increasing the risk of getting divorced.

/Björn

nice rando ride @jlafitte! Crazy the types of rides you guys do! I'm good for 6-7 hours (tops) on the bike then I'm just done. Sometimes sooner!