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25 new of 291 responses total.
tod
response 225 of 291: Mark Unseen   Aug 28 17:46 UTC 2002

This response has been erased.

russ
response 226 of 291: Mark Unseen   Aug 29 01:48 UTC 2002

To clarify:  Back in May I rode Utah route 7 (or is it 2? it goes from
I-15 to US-89) east of Springdale, which has some switchbacks a few
miles out of town.  I'll let you get the maps to see where that goes. ;-)

While catching my breath on the trip up, I took plenty of pictures.
There wasn't time to snap pics on the way down, and it would have
ruined the fun anyway.
scg
response 227 of 291: Mark Unseen   Aug 29 03:03 UTC 2002

Ok, that sounds like I'd probably count it as hilly.
russ
response 228 of 291: Mark Unseen   Aug 30 01:48 UTC 2002

Taking it easy and even stopping to pick up an abandoned bicycle to
drop off at lost & found... walking the last half-mile... still
averaged more than 12 MPH over time-in-motion.  The difference between
all-out effort and really slacking is remarkably small.

Re #227:  I bet you would.  My altimeter said it climbed about 800
feet.  Most of that climb was along a bit over 3 miles of road.
polytarp
response 229 of 291: Mark Unseen   Aug 30 01:49 UTC 2002

fag.
keesan
response 230 of 291: Mark Unseen   Aug 30 17:31 UTC 2002

Were you in Barton Hills?  Lots of hills, paved roads and very little car
traffic.
If anyone ever needs a bike part in Milan a guy on Main St. most of the way
out of town with a big collection of old bikes in his yard can help.  He gave
us a tire when mine got damaged.  He is willing to take all our old women's
3-speed bikes and find them homes with kids who cannot afford new ones. 
Someone on a bike at the supermarket sent us to him.  
polytarp
response 231 of 291: Mark Unseen   Aug 30 20:50 UTC 2002

fag.
clees
response 232 of 291: Mark Unseen   Aug 31 19:02 UTC 2002

Back from Lombardy, Italy. It was great, but strainuous. (wet too, 
loads of thunderstorms)
All'n all I estimate I climbed more than 12,000 ft. in four rides.
Overall distance 320 kilometers.
scg
response 233 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 1 05:39 UTC 2002

My ride today:  Los Altos (roughly Palo Alto) to Santa Cruz, taking a somewhat
roundabout route to get more big hills in.  115 miles, 11,000 feet of
elevation gain.  Around 10 hours total, slightly over 8 hours of on the bike
time.

Scary moment for the day:  Somewhere near the bottom of the final ten mile,
2,000 foot high speed descent to the parking lot, I was coming around a corner
and found a patch of gravel.  I remember one of my wheels starting to slide
(it must have been the back wheel, since I don't think I could have recovered
from the front wheel sliding at that speed), but fortunately it caught before
it had slid far enough to make me crash, and I was able to stay upright and
keep going.  These $50 tires that wear out after a little more than a thousand
miles seem well worth the cost.

I later learned that somebody else had crashed there shortly before I went
through.  She smashed her helmet, and had some road rash on her leg, but
fortunately seemed otherwise alright.
clees
response 234 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 1 12:39 UTC 2002

That makes my effort look pretty meager, Steve.
russ
response 235 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 1 17:46 UTC 2002

Steve is definitely Grex's answer to Lance Armstrong.  I might be
able to climb one such hill on a 30-mile ride, but over and over...
keesan
response 236 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 1 19:38 UTC 2002

We just went maybe 200-300 miles (on mostly gravel roads) but it took 10 days
of biking, about 2-5 hours/day.  I will eventually post photos and travelog.
Started north of Chelsea and continued in a big circle through Tecumseh,
Milan, Dundee and back and forth staying in yards and once in pole barn while
it poured.  We met the owner while cooking lunch on the front porch at
Bridgewater Lumber (they said their picnic table was the only one in town and
it had a roof).  Other high points included a private tour of the Dundee
Military Pool (vehicle) museum after we stayed in the owner's yard, scones
for breakfast after staying in another stranger's yard (he waved at us as we
were going by around dark), tour of a dairy operation, the largest vegetable
farm that sells at market (it was ten times as big before her husband died
recently), orchard, organic vegetable farm, pawpaw grove, Tecumseh swimming
hole and bike trail, unofficial Milan bike shop (he gave us a tire), and
getting our photos in the Milan weekly newspaper just for being there.  We
brought back two colds, one poison ivy, and another camping mat.  We were
amazed to find that nobody we visited had a digital camera yet and that almost
everybody had white Corelle dishes.  On our trip we found no skunks or
raccoons or helicopters and only one smoker (on a bike).  But lots of smashed
opossums and groundhogs.
tpryan
response 237 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 2 19:12 UTC 2002

        opossum....two forks up!
russ
response 238 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 2 21:21 UTC 2002

I still seem to be improving.  Despite the wind today, I averaged
over 3/10 of a MPH faster than my previous personal-best record.

On the downside, my front derailleur isn't shifting correctly.  I
need to see if the stop screw moved, the cable stretched, or the
mechanism is binding.
keesan
response 239 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 3 01:14 UTC 2002

When you figure it out, come fix mine.  Did it possibly get bent?
scg
response 240 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 3 05:05 UTC 2002

If you're dropping the chain (shifting off the gears), one of the set screws
moved.  If it's shifting into the wrong position, it's a cable issue (or,
possibly, the deraileur got bent).  If it's getting stuck in mid-shift, and
you're having to push hard on the shift lever to get it to move, the mechanism
is binding (or the cable is getting stuck somewhere).  These are all pretty
easy to diagnose while riding, without even looking at it.
russ
response 241 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 3 11:35 UTC 2002

Re #240:  It's reluctant to shift onto the largest chainwheel.  I've
fiddled with the cable adjuster, but the problem persists.  It's hard
to tell the difference between a setscrew, bent derailleur or stretched
cable without going over it at close range.
gull
response 242 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 3 12:52 UTC 2002

I've never had a front derailleur that shifted *smoothly* onto larger
chainwheels.  I'd guess, though, that something has shifted so the
derailleur isn't moving as far in that direction.  The question is which
of those causes is the problem.  Usually front derailleurs have to move
a bit past the chainwheel to actually get the chain to shift.
clees
response 243 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 3 20:49 UTC 2002

Have you got a triple (with granny) or a double in front?
It might be that your front derailleur isn't fit for what you want.
bru
response 244 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 3 22:56 UTC 2002

someone stole my bike.  I am really ticked off.
russ
response 245 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 4 04:29 UTC 2002

It's a triple chainwheel, and it's the same derailleur that's been
on the bike since I bought it.  It may well just be dirty.
keesan
response 246 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 5 02:03 UTC 2002

Bruce, was it locked?  Today at the library we met someone who said he had
left his bike at the library (unlocked) and it was stolen.  Today he found
a bike in an alley (unlocked) and since it was still there a few hours later,
he took it.  Jim fixed the gears and brakes, etc. and will get him a lock.
In Tecumseh we were told not to bother locking our bikes.  In Ann Arbor things
are different.  

If you rig up some way to keep the rain and sun off your bikes, we would be
willing to fix you up a replacement.

Leaving a bike unlocked around Ann Arbor is not a whole lot different from
abandoning it - people assume the owner does not want it.  You cannot blame
them unless they took it from our yard (where you really also ought to lock
it to the fence or some other bike).  
bru
response 247 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 5 02:43 UTC 2002

They took it out of my back yard.  They didn't take rhiannons because it had
the flat.  I put the spare tube in it and it blew.  I bought a new tube and
it seems to be doing well.

If anyone sees a black huffy with white speckles and the name STORM on the
frame with a shiny front wheel adn rusty rear wheel and a yellow tag hanging
from the handle bars, call the A2 police.
tod
response 248 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 5 02:56 UTC 2002

This response has been erased.

clees
response 249 of 291: Mark Unseen   Sep 5 06:14 UTC 2002

Nobody leaves his/her bike unlocked in Amsterdam.
Hey, frequently locks are more expensive than the bikes they lock. 

Estimated, any average bicycle changes ownership six times before it's 
so run down it's a wreck. The changes don't happen by sale and re sale, 
but by bicycle theft. 
Bicycle theft makes crime rates in Amsterdam appear to be very high.
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