|
|
| Author |
Message |
jep
|
|
bicycling
| 
Jun 22 14:49 UTC 2002 |
This item is to discuss bicycling.
|
| 291 responses total. |
jep
|
|
response 1 of 291:
|
Jun 22 14:50 UTC 2002 |
This item is linked from #9 summer agora to #119 in sports.
|
jep
|
|
response 2 of 291:
|
Jun 22 14:57 UTC 2002 |
I had to drop my son off at his mother's house. We'd talked about
doing it by bike, with him riding on his Adams Trail-A-Bike. (I've
discussed this previously, it lets John who's 6 ride on a bike, peddle
when he wants to, but it's attached to my bike and so he can ride along
if he gets tired.)
Today we tried it for the first time. It worked fine. It's about 6
1/2 miles each way. It took about 45 minutes to get there, counting a
wrong turn through a subdivision with no outlet in the direction we
needed to go, plus a stop at the bank. I got back home (riding
directly home) in about a half hour.
This is the longest ride I've had in years and years. I'm now tired,
sweaty even after a 2nd shower, but pretty pleased. It'll be a Good
Thing for me if I can keep it up, as I'm carrying an extra 40-50 pounds
with me everywhere I go. It's also something my son and I can do
together that we both enjoy.
Two weeks ago on vacation, we took the bikes out to Mackinaw Island and
rode the 8 miles around the island. It's almost totally flat around
the perimeter and so was easy riding, however we also rode (and partly
walked) up to Fort Mackinac and around, which is a steep grade.
We'd have ridden around Houghton/Hancock, but it was cold and rainy
much of the time we were up there, and so the bikes stayed in the back
of the truck.
|
jep
|
|
response 3 of 291:
|
Jun 22 14:58 UTC 2002 |
Whups, this is really #118 in sports, not #119.
|
ea
|
|
response 4 of 291:
|
Jun 22 18:05 UTC 2002 |
It appears to be both items 118 and 119 in sports
|
jep
|
|
response 5 of 291:
|
Jun 22 20:57 UTC 2002 |
That's interesting. All right, I'll do something about that.
|
jep
|
|
response 6 of 291:
|
Jun 22 21:00 UTC 2002 |
Dang. I was kind of excited when I saw there were two new response
items in sports since this morning. I killed 119.
|
keesan
|
|
response 7 of 291:
|
Jun 23 09:25 UTC 2002 |
Congratulations on making the round trip to Clinton and back - it will get
easier (tho not necessarily less sweaty if this weather keeps up). I presume
you had lots of fun along the way. We are hoping to be able to bike to
Pickerel Lake and back some time soon (in one day) but the only direct routes
are paved so it is likely to take 4 hours each way (3, anyway) because we
avoid car routes (paved roads). Yesterday Jim found a way to attach a rear
rack to my bike without the lugs (he modified something intended to hold a
reflector so that it connected the part of the rack that is supposed to attach
to the lugs, and the hole for attaching a fender, so now I can carry food and
maps on trips. How do you carry anything on the pseudo-tandem? Can you put
a rear rack on the rear bike? You would probably need a kid's size (20")
rack. There are also expensive bags that clip on the handlebars.
When is sour cherry season? We hope to join you at the orchard soon.
|
danr
|
|
response 8 of 291:
|
Jun 23 11:50 UTC 2002 |
I would encourage all of you who are getting into biking to join the
Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society. We have rides for bikers of all
skill levels (honestly!) and organized rides every day of the week. To
get more information, go to http://aabts.org. For a list of rides,
click on the "Calendar" link at the top of the page.
If you have any questions, e-mail me.
|
jep
|
|
response 9 of 291:
|
Jun 23 14:15 UTC 2002 |
re #7: I have a belt pouch; that allowed me to take my cell phone and
an extra bottle of water. I've also tucked a few tools in there in
case of emergencies.
I've been looking for a basket for the front of my bike for weeks, but
haven't found one yet. I don't know why they're so hard to find. They
weren't a couple of years ago. They just don't seem to exist any more.
|
ea
|
|
response 10 of 291:
|
Jun 24 00:02 UTC 2002 |
re #7, 9 ... I have a small pouch that clips under the seat on my bike.
I usually keep a screwdriver, a set of allen wrenches, and my bike light
(when I'm not using it) in the pouch. It works , but it's not really
big enough to carry much more ...
|
keesan
|
|
response 11 of 291:
|
Jun 24 03:08 UTC 2002 |
We could not find front baskets at the bike stores or K-Mart or in the catalog
(Nashbar). I own one front basket, Jim owns another and they are really handy
for putting your backpack into, or a jacket, or lunch. Kiwanis did not have
any either. Yard sales? We don't see them on bikes. We don't see baskets
on bikes, only sometimes racks and panniers. And trailers.
|
jaklumen
|
|
response 12 of 291:
|
Jun 24 06:57 UTC 2002 |
I feel a little better about being in Kennewick-- the atmosphere and
room for biking is better. I'll need to get in much better shape, but
I might try to retrace some of my old adventures. I used to bike with
a cycling group at the Schwinn here for a bit, and I once took a tandem
tour of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland with a buddy of mine.
The old bike I have should suffice until I upgrade to an ATB. The gear
shift isn't fixed yet.
|
jep
|
|
response 13 of 291:
|
Jun 24 12:37 UTC 2002 |
I searched the WWW and found this:
http://sportsbay.com/remfronbikba.html
It looks pretty much like exactly what I want. Big enough to hold a
grocery bag. I've never heard of sportsbay.com. Has anyone else heard
of them?
|
keesan
|
|
response 14 of 291:
|
Jun 24 14:23 UTC 2002 |
bikepartsusa.com has a large list of front and rear baskets in various sizes.
Small, large, and giant front baskets $11 $13 and $28. Silver or black, or
wicker. $2 extra on shipping. Complete and ready for attachment.
sportsbay seems to be associated with yahoo.
I did not use a graphical browser so don't know what the baskets look like.
If you get any baskets we would like to see them. They also have kids' front
baskets.
|
jep
|
|
response 15 of 291:
|
Jun 24 15:00 UTC 2002 |
Ah, yes, they have a lot of selection, including the one I saw at the
other site. It doesn't make sense to me that no one around carries
bike baskets. They used to be widely available at K-Mart, Walmart,
etc. I'll have to check with the bike shops; if I can't get one
locally I'll order one.
Thanks!
|
russ
|
|
response 16 of 291:
|
Jun 24 21:17 UTC 2002 |
Way to go, John.
I pulled my old Nashbar road bike out of storage and got it into
mostly-usable condition. The spokes and cables have some rust on
them but they are all working.
Unfortunately it still seems to be really heavy and slow, even
compared to my mountain bike which has much fatter, draggier
tires. Or maybe it's just the higher vantage point.
One thing for sure, the clip-on aero bars are a lot easier on the
wrists than normal handlebars. There's something about being able
to put your weight on your elbows which seems luxurious.
Anyone want a 27" wheel 21-speed road bike, cheap?
|
eskarina
|
|
response 17 of 291:
|
Jun 24 22:07 UTC 2002 |
Am I the only person around who thinks that the weather of late is WAY too
hot for any biking longer than a mile or so?
|
keesan
|
|
response 18 of 291:
|
Jun 24 22:10 UTC 2002 |
No, I agree, at least before dark. We cancelled a trip to the beach because
it is too hot to bike 20 miles each way. What we need is a cold morning and
hot afternoon and cold evening.
Russ, maybe some of the non-visible parts of your bike need work. Jim took
apart my bottom bracket and replaced bearings and cup and added grease, and
it goes much smoother now. Also oiled the chain and pedals, which helps grind
down the rust.
|
russ
|
|
response 19 of 291:
|
Jun 25 01:37 UTC 2002 |
John, you might want to invest in water-bottle cages for both bikes.
I know there are clamp-style mounts for bikes without braze-on mounts,
and those might suffice for both your bike and the Trail-A-Bike.
|
keesan
|
|
response 20 of 291:
|
Jun 25 01:55 UTC 2002 |
We have a collection of cages, two of which don't require mounts as they come
with clamps. Stop by and take a look.
|
jep
|
|
response 21 of 291:
|
Jun 25 02:22 UTC 2002 |
I bought a water bottle which had a plastic clip (is that the cage?);
unfortunately it broke. It's still usable but it slides some and the
bottle tends to fall out when I put it on John's bike.
I didn't ride on Sunday because of the heat. Today I was just too
busy. Tomorrow is going to be in the mid-90's again according to the
weather forecast. I'm taking the afternoon off; John and I are going
swimming somewhere.
This weekend it may cool off to the 80's for a high; we'll do some more
riding then.
|
clees
|
|
response 22 of 291:
|
Jun 25 08:48 UTC 2002 |
I would be nice if I could join in a bike ride while I am in Ann Arbor.
Unfortunately I'll be arriving on Saturday 14th September and be
leaving 22nd September (only one week), and on Thursday the blue will
be having her birthday, an event worth paying attention to.
|
jaklumen
|
|
response 23 of 291:
|
Jun 25 10:00 UTC 2002 |
resp:13 Swwwweeeeeeetttt! I might actually get one, because my
friends live *really* close to a grocery store! Muy onda!
|
russ
|
|
response 24 of 291:
|
Jun 25 12:04 UTC 2002 |
Re #18: I recall that it felt about the same when it was new, though
I could be wrong. It's not an overly heavy bike, so maybe it's just
the size and the gearing which makes it feel heavy. I will try to
remember to oil things and see if it feels different.
I'm still lusting after a recumbent, so I may have two road bikes
to get rid of soon (the Nashbar, and one Torpado frame in need of
un-bending the fork and lots of work on derailleurs - the Torpado
is probably the better bike hands down, but I got tired of trying
to fix everything and was too cheap to buy a quality replacement).
|
