01

Wheeled Warriors

Three bikes parked at the office.  I bet you can’t guess which one is mine.

3

New gear on the way

After my little crash the other day, I had to replace my brake levers and front calipers. I decided to go with the same brake levers, the Tektro R200:

I debating putting back on my old Dia Compes or even getting a newer set of them to keep up the bikes classic looks. As this bike sees a lot of miles, I decided to go with comfort over looks. The large hoods are very comfortable; and after riding my wife’s 73 Peugeot with smaller classic-style levers recently, I decided I didn’t want to go back to that.

Calipers on the other hand, I wasn’t sure want to get. I found my choices here were limited as most brakes are designed for modern bikes which use a recessed nut inside the fork for mounting. Sheldon Brown’s site lists a couple ways to get around this, but I didn’t want to take a drill to my fork just yet. I searched ebay for some used brakes, older Shimano and Campy calipers as well as other brands. End the end I decided to go with Tektro as well, I found the R538’s, a long-reach caliper offered with standard bolt/nut mounting:

When buying components for older bikes there is always a desire to keep the bike looking classic, but the lure of newer and better components is always there. I suppose if I had an older bike that saw light weekend riding, I would go with the old stuff. On my Schwinn however, I’m voting anachronism for the sake of comfort.

What is your opinion on the matter?

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2

Ouch!

Yesterday afternoon as I was heading home from dinner, I managed to take a pretty nice spill.

The asphalt on this particular street was a good big higher than the gutter, close to two inches higher. I managed to veer a little far right which dropped me off and somehow also managed to turn my front wheel sharply enough to bring the bike to a stop with me taking a bit of a tumble over the front of the bike. I got a little bit of road rash and my left hand hurts pretty bad this morning, but all in all I’m fine.

The bike on the other hand…

Both brake levers were smashed up to the point where they can’t be repaired and the front caliper is bent pretty badly. But hey, broken parts are an excuse to upgrade! I’m probably going to get another set of the Tektro R200 levers as I really liked them, the large hoods made it comfortable to ride on them for long periods of time. I’m not sure where to go on the calipers though, I’ll be shopping around for a new pair today. Any suggestions would be welcome.

The good news is that I finally had a reason to try our local bus system, it’s not bad at all. The bad news is that this weekend’s 400k is out, and that’s really the worst part of the whole thing, so I guess I can’t complain really.

0

Solo Century

In preparation for the April 10th 400k, I rode a century yesterday.  I had planned to go for an early ride this morning as well, but at around mile 97 I broke a spoke which I wont be able to get fixed until tomorrow.

My average pace was about 15mph which is faster than my average time for both brevets I’ve done so far.  For Half the ride I had a decent headwind, which for one in my life I was actually thankful.  After this months 300k I realised how tough wind can be and was glad to be able to train with it for a period of time.  I focused on posture for the entire ride which reduced back pain and allowed me to ride on the drops as needed.

This was also my first time riding with gloves,  they are padded in just the right places and I had absolutely no hand pain like I normally do.

I acquired a new skill as well.  I can fetch a package of pop-tarts from my panniers, open then, eat then, and then put the wrapper back in my panniers all without stopping.  I tried to focus on making as few stops as possible, and on this ride I only got off the bike 3 times, and all stops were very short.

I have a really slow 80 mile ride with a group next weekend that should be good for building my mileage base but not stressing me too much the week before the 400k.

01

Back home

I’ve returned from my trip to Austin TX, we had a great time!  I scouted out some apartments and potential employment and generally explored my soon-to-be home.

Highlights:

• Rented bikes from Bicycle Sport Shop and got in some good riding.
• Consumed much coffee at Mellow Johnnys
• Breakfast as Juan in a Million
• Dinner at Salt Lick
• The people!  Seriously, I’m pretty certain Austin is the friendliest place I’ve ever visited.

As everyone knows it’s a great place for cycling,  bikes are everywhere.  Of course checking out well stocked bike shops led to a few impulse purchases, so my Voyageur has some new goodies.  I picked up a mirror, new water bottles, new bottle cage,  cue sheet holder, and some nice padded gloves.

June 1st is the move date, I can’t wait!

01

Heading to Austin

In about 6 hours I’ll be on a plane going to Austin to spend about 5 days.  I’m mainly apartment hunting (moving there in June).

I’m not doing the SXSW thing, but is there anything else I absolutely shouldn’t miss while I’m in town?

0

Sold my Giant Sedona

It can be a bit sad when you sell a bike.  Yesterday I sold my 2008 Giant Sedona to a co-worker.

I purchased it new in May of 08 as a way of getting around while I fixed my car.  I enjoyed riding a lot, but assumed that would lessen once the car was fixed.

That car never got fixed or replaced.

The Giant became my only means of transportation; it got me to work when it was 100+ or snowing, took me on my first “long” ride of 80 miles, and a couple overnight camping trips.  For a simple comfort bike, it wore a lot of hats and handled a lot of abuse.

After buying my Schwinn, I never rode it again, so selling it was not a hard choice.  A co-worker was interested in getting a bike and was threatening to buy something from Wal-Mart.  I convinced him that spending a little more on a used bike would be better for him.  I hope he enjoys it.

Goodbye my old friend, we’ve seen a lot of miles together…

0

Getting back into training

The past few weeks have been busy. Between work, school, and other distractions it has been hard to get in saddle time. I ended up missing the brevet I was supposed to ride in January. I wish I had a good reason, but I just overslept. Oops.

There is another 2 weeks from now. With not being able to ride much I was worried about doing this. I’m certain I can complete 200k, but I also want to turn in a decent time.

Yesterday I finally got in a good long ride and my fitness has not declined much if any. I’m very happy about that. I’m also trying to get a little more structure in both my riding and other aspects of fitness, namely my diet. I’m now keeping a log of all my rides as well as anything I eat. I really need to drop those last 10 lbs that seem to want to stay on me.

As hard as it can be at times, I’m learning I really need to make riding a priority, it seems to help me manage everything else.

0

Training ride

Yesterday I did a really nice 80 mile training ride an the Longleaf Trace.  This ride is tied for the most miles I’ve done in a day as I’ve made this ride once before in May of 2008.  This time over I made it in 6 hours instead of 9, and I could walk afterwords.

My nutrition was good as I was able to ride strong even towards the end.  The temperature started at 40 but was 50 near the end,  everything was fine except for my toes.  Wool socks and shoe covers are next to buy.

I’m really happy with how well this one turned out and I expect to do well at the brevet January 16th.

0

I completed the St Jude Marathon!

Yesterday I ran the St Jude marathon in Memphis TN.  This was my first, but probably not last marathon.

The race was extremely difficult.  I have plantar fasciitis on one foot which decided to flare up about 10 miles in,  and knee pain which decided to show up again at about mile 13.

My training and nutrition were good though,  at the 1-hour mark I felt like I had not been running at all.  Even at the half way point I was feeling pretty fresh.  After 14 miles or so, it started going down hill.

My goal was just to complete it, and while the official times are not posted, my heart rate monitor said I did it in about 5:50.  It’s slow, but I don’t mind, just glad to have accomplished this.

Very happy to be done with all this silly running for a while so i can focus on riding!  200k is coming up January 16th!