Bicycle thread

[TheYeti]

Originally Posted by Gummee!

How the race was won: Strade Bianche

For those that don't want to watch the whole thing

M

That Cosmo character,is a riot.

[kbasa]

A beautiful and hard ride today.

[Mercury264]

Originally Posted by ducnut

Me, too.

+2 Damn, I like that...

[TheNedster]

Originally Posted by kbasa

A beautiful and hard ride today.

Strong effort! I bet that last short, steep pitch really sucked.

[Schnickelfritz]

Originally Posted by kbasa

A beautiful and hard ride today.

Very nice. I have a brother in Berkeley and a sister who just moved from Emeryville to Concord. I had a chance to do part of that route with my brother a few years ago.

[RxZ]

Cold front just came through, and now it is 60 degrees with nary a cloud in the sky. Rained just enough to pack the dirt at the local trail. I believe I shall head there now!

[fullmonte]

Originally Posted by Gummee!

Knock em dead, Killer!

Today was the Pick Your Poison mtb race at Booker T Washington state park. After being goaded into participating by Brandon, a riding buddy, I decided to enter the Cat2 mens over 40 class. I've never done a real mtb race before and figured it might be fun. Due to an unusually high turnout, the Cat2 races got started an hour late. This was great because with 90 seconds remaining until the start, I had to answer the call of nature with a hurried piss take. By the time I got back to the start line, I ended up on the second row. Then we were off like a shot through the grass section, which included a mud pit to keep us on our toes. I ended up behind a guy in a green jersey who ended up being a rolling road block. He held me up in the woods for about 2 miles. When I (and 2 others)finally got past him it was a relief. Shortly thereafter, I got unclipped in a bumpy section which cost some seconds. Time to make up some ground. Then, as I was coming up on another rider I got completely unclipped with both feet off the pedals. A resounding "FUCK!" could be heard throughout the woods. It took about 20-30 seconds to get the pedals where they needed to be and one guy passed me as I desperately tried to get clipped back into the pedals. My right shin was bloody and I was starting to get pissed. After getting remounted it was game on. I started catching people and passing them as space allowed. The trails at Booker T are tight single track with very few passing zones. I finally figured out you have to make your own. With the exception of Mister Green Shirt Shitwhistle, most of the racers were very good about letting me pass. I stopped counting at 6 but I probably got by about 15-20 guys. I felt sorry for the single speed dudes who were audibly struggling on the climb sections. Those guys are nuts. As I emerged from the woods after the first lap I looked at my timer and it said 39 minutes. Dammit. I rode it in 38 flat yesterday while goofing off and learning the course. This place is normally run clockwise, but the race organizers decided to run it counter clockwise today, which made it alien to me. Time to pour on the coals. People were dropping like flies. About 5 miles into the second lap, I got caught by a Cat1 racer and hung onto his wheel for a few minutes. Then he checked out and I had the trail all to myself for awhile. Near the end of the second lap I noticed a racer standing below the bridge in the creek. He was banged up, but otherwise alright. That had to hurt. It was a race ender for him. After seeing that he was OK, I pushed hard to the finish. Result: 2nd Place. The leader beat me by 2 minutes. I never saw him. The MC called him "Sandbagger" when it was our turn on the podium. It's frustrating to know I could have hung with him or taken the race, but I'll chalk it up to a learning experience. Gotta be first into the woods.

[zippy]

awesome ride/results !

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by fullmonte

Today was the Pick Your Poison mtb race at Booker T Washington state park. After being goaded into participating by Brandon, a riding buddy, I decided to enter the Cat2 mens over 40 class. I've never done a real mtb race before and figured it might be fun. Due to an unusually high turnout, the Cat2 races got started an hour late. This was great because with 90 seconds remaining until the start, I had to answer the call of nature with a hurried piss take. By the time I got back to the start line, I ended up on the second row. Then we were off like a shot through the grass section, which included a mud pit to keep us on our toes. I ended up behind a guy in a green jersey who ended up being a rolling road block. He held me up in the woods for about 2 miles. When I (and 2 others)finally got past him it was a relief. Shortly thereafter, I got unclipped in a bumpy section which cost some seconds. Time to make up some ground. Then, as I was coming up on another rider I got completely unclipped with both feet off the pedals. A resounding "FUCK!" could be heard throughout the woods. It took about 20-30 seconds to get the pedals where they needed to be and one guy passed me as I desperately tried to get clipped back into the pedals. My right shin was bloody and I was starting to get pissed. After getting remounted it was game on. I started catching people and passing them as space allowed. The trails at Booker T are tight single track with very few passing zones. I finally figured out you have to make your own. With the exception of Mister Green Shirt Shitwhistle, most of the racers were very good about letting me pass. I stopped counting at 6 but I probably got by about 15-20 guys. I felt sorry for the single speed dudes who were audibly struggling on the climb sections. Those guys are nuts. As I emerged from the woods after the first lap I looked at my timer and it said 39 minutes. Dammit. I rode it in 38 flat yesterday while goofing off and learning the course. This place is normally run clockwise, but the race organizers decided to run it counter clockwise today, which made it alien to me. Time to pour on the coals. People were dropping like flies. About 5 miles into the second lap, I got caught by a Cat1 racer and hung onto his wheel for a few minutes. Then he checked out and I had the trail all to myself for awhile. Near the end of the second lap I noticed a racer standing below the bridge in the creek. He was banged up, but otherwise alright. That had to hurt. It was a race ender for him. After seeing that he was OK, I pushed hard to the finish. Result: 2nd Place. The leader beat me by 2 minutes. I never saw him. The MC called him "Sandbagger" when it was our turn on the podium. It's frustrating to know I could have hung with him or taken the race, but I'll chalk it up to a learning experience. Gotta be first into the woods.

That's awesome! Congrats.



Me? 3hrs easy to moderate. Met a buddy at our usual meeting spot and rode around the loop. How is it I can have a headwind 3/4 to 4/5 or a ride? Riding a loop no less!

M

[ducnut]

Originally Posted by fullmonte

Today was the Pick Your Poison mtb race at Booker T Washington state park.

Outstanding!

Now, I know not to call you, on my next trip to Chattanooga. Nobody wants their ass handed to 'em.

[Chisenhallw]

Originally Posted by fullmonte

Today was the Pick Your Poison mtb race at Booker T Washington state park. After being goaded into participating by Brandon, a riding buddy, I decided to enter the Cat2 mens over 40 class. I've never done a real mtb race before and figured it might be fun. Due to an unusually high turnout, the Cat2 races got started an hour late. This was great because with 90 seconds remaining until the start, I had to answer the call of nature with a hurried piss take. By the time I got back to the start line, I ended up on the second row. Then we were off like a shot through the grass section, which included a mud pit to keep us on our toes. I ended up behind a guy in a green jersey who ended up being a rolling road block. He held me up in the woods for about 2 miles. When I (and 2 others)finally got past him it was a relief. Shortly thereafter, I got unclipped in a bumpy section which cost some seconds. Time to make up some ground. Then, as I was coming up on another rider I got completely unclipped with both feet off the pedals. A resounding "FUCK!" could be heard throughout the woods. It took about 20-30 seconds to get the pedals where they needed to be and one guy passed me as I desperately tried to get clipped back into the pedals. My right shin was bloody and I was starting to get pissed. After getting remounted it was game on. I started catching people and passing them as space allowed. The trails at Booker T are tight single track with very few passing zones. I finally figured out you have to make your own. With the exception of Mister Green Shirt Shitwhistle, most of the racers were very good about letting me pass. I stopped counting at 6 but I probably got by about 15-20 guys. I felt sorry for the single speed dudes who were audibly struggling on the climb sections. Those guys are nuts. As I emerged from the woods after the first lap I looked at my timer and it said 39 minutes. Dammit. I rode it in 38 flat yesterday while goofing off and learning the course. This place is normally run clockwise, but the race organizers decided to run it counter clockwise today, which made it alien to me. Time to pour on the coals. People were dropping like flies. About 5 miles into the second lap, I got caught by a Cat1 racer and hung onto his wheel for a few minutes. Then he checked out and I had the trail all to myself for awhile. Near the end of the second lap I noticed a racer standing below the bridge in the creek. He was banged up, but otherwise alright. That had to hurt. It was a race ender for him. After seeing that he was OK, I pushed hard to the finish. Result: 2nd Place. The leader beat me by 2 minutes. I never saw him. The MC called him "Sandbagger" when it was our turn on the podium. It's frustrating to know I could have hung with him or taken the race, but I'll chalk it up to a learning experience. Gotta be first into the woods.

[soewe812]

Originally Posted by Dranrab Luap

I really like this bike.


http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...y/zilla_xx.htm

Been enjoying mine

[Chisenhallw]

Be nice if they had my size.

[Aurelius]

I've tried repeatedly to get used to the round grips that come standard on a mountain bike, be they the OEM variety or aftermarket ones made of softer foam rubber. None of them seem to work for me; all of them leave my palms red and sore after less than an hour of riding. It's particularly bad when I ride trails littered with large roots, rocks, and the occasional fallen tree. Going over those causes the full weight of my upper body to come down hard on my palms, whereas on smoother trails I try to use my back muscles to keep the pressure off the handlebars. 'Contour grips', with a large flat shelf area on which to rest my palms work well, but they're heavy and not ideally shaped for when you're standing up on the pedals. Are there any other round grips I should try? Or maybe there's something wrong with my riding posture that I can correct?

[ducnut]

I've had great results with my Ergon GP1 grips. I know they're contour, but, I don't notice any difference when standing up. For sure, I'll never go back to a round grip.