Author Topic: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition  (Read 40562 times)

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Online Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #925: October 24, 2012, 11:43:17 PM »
First ride home in the dark in 3 or 4 years.  About 22 miles, but some light for the first 7 or 8.  My HID light seems to have croaked, so I had to root around in drawers in my office for a light, found an old LED backup light that more or less got the job done. 

Offline comish4lif

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #926: October 25, 2012, 10:29:49 AM »
First ride home in the dark in 3 or 4 years.  About 22 miles, but some light for the first 7 or 8.  My HID light seems to have croaked, so I had to root around in drawers in my office for a light, found an old LED backup light that more or less got the job done. 
I think that the change in seasons and the lack of evening light is going to put the Kibosh on biking to/from work. People in the DC drive like maniacs. I feel like I am chancing it in a day-glo green shirt. IN the dark, I know someone will clip me - no matter how many lights and reflectors I have.

Offline Spinman

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #927: November 30, 2012, 04:52:42 AM »
JCA- Asked me to comment about the Lance Armstrong fall from grace.
In his situation is seems to me it was all about the money for everyone involved. His teammates were making money too so that is why it was kept quiet about Lance and the others doping issues.

I am a Spinning Instructor with over 20,000 miles logged on a Spinning bike so I understand the feeling you get when you think you could ride for hours without feeling tired. But to transfer that to making money , big money, by adding doping to the equation was a calculated missstep by Armstrong and his teammates. Just my opinion.

Offline Boss Dealwiler

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #928: November 30, 2012, 06:41:06 AM »
Comish - I got clipped the other day by some needledick in a brand new Audi right around dusk. No injuries to me but dudes car is going to need a couple of grand in repairs.  Donk was texting and turned right without even looking (I was right in front of his car and not in a blind spot).  The lights and reflective gear are great but you have to be on the defense 24/7 not got hit by needledick around here out on the mean streets.

Offline Boss Dealwiler

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #929: November 30, 2012, 06:50:20 AM »
Spinman - great seeing you back, hope all is well.

Anyway, I've logged about 2,000 miles this year and probably 20,000 over the years so I totally agree with what you're saying about the rush of riding for hours and feeling like you're on top of the world. The real problem with Lance is that the guy was a raging crybaby jerk that took what little bit of talent he had pre- and post-cancer and exploited that to make connections (Dr. Ferrari) that gave him the inside edge on an already dirty and corrupt sport. Once he managed his first TdF win it became a very big money and power machine that he and the USPS/RadioShack team felt no need to break up.

Lance has no conscience and I'm glad that he's getting what he deserves finally, it's just too bad some of the less fortunate guys that he chewed up (Hamilton, Landis) didn't get out sooner.

Offline comish4lif

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #930: November 30, 2012, 07:18:12 AM »
Comish - I got clipped the other day by some needledick in a brand new Audi right around dusk. No injuries to me but dudes car is going to need a couple of grand in repairs.  Donk was texting and turned right without even looking (I was right in front of his car and not in a blind spot).  The lights and reflective gear are great but you have to be on the defense 24/7 not got hit by needledick around here out on the mean streets.
No injuries to you, good. Glad to hear that; How's your bike?

Speaking of bikes, I got a new road bike at Spokes' Black Friday sale. Rode a few but took home a 54cm Specialized Secteur Comp Allez. Took it to Mt. Vernon and back last Sunday, a real nice riding bike.

As for commuting via bike, I've stopped for now. There's just not enough light to ride in, give my 8+ hours to the man and ride home and be able to do most of it in the light.

Offline tomterp

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #931: November 30, 2012, 08:31:03 AM »
JCA- Asked me to comment about the Lance Armstrong fall from grace.
In his situation is seems to me it was all about the money for everyone involved. His teammates were making money too so that is why it was kept quiet about Lance and the others doping issues.

I am a Spinning Instructor with over 20,000 miles logged on a Spinning bike so I understand the feeling you get when you think you could ride for hours without feeling tired. But to transfer that to making money , big money, by adding doping to the equation was a calculated missstep by Armstrong and his teammates. Just my opinion.

Hey Spin, welcome back!

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #932: November 30, 2012, 08:46:44 AM »
Thanks, Spinman.  I suppose if it wasn't for the greater likelihood for success in a sport where doping was generally practiced at the highest competitive levels (and apparently even at lower levels), LA would not have had as many participants in his fraud.  It was for the money and the personal prominence.  I'll disagree with Boss saying he had little talent, but it seems that the elite of the era (Pantani, Ullrich, Beloki before his injury, Zulle, . . .) all were closer to cyborgs or NASCAR racers, and it was the "team" and the "engineering" in a perverse sense that ended up better than Ullrich/Telecom or Beloki/ONCE. 

Other than his physical gifts, the other edge I think he had was his jerk streak that made him view everything as a competition he could win through more effort.  I think LA is very similar to Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in this respect.


Offline Boss Dealwiler

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #933: November 30, 2012, 09:17:57 AM »
Quote
How's your bike?
It's fine, one of the hoods got worked a little loose, but otherwise it was fine.  Dudes car had two really bad dents in it - one for the bar end shifter pushing into the plastimetal quarter panel (about a six inch gash) and another from where I landed. 

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Speaking of bikes, I got a new road bike at Spokes' Black Friday sale. Rode a few but took home a 54cm Specialized Secteur Comp Allez.

I'm a big fan of Specialized but I'm not too keen on the Comp frames to be honest.  The build materials are excellent (aluminum with a carbon fork is hard to beat), I just like all of my tubes to be straight.

Quote
There's just not enough light to ride in
That's why you need one of the Niterider Luminas (equivalent to a smaller car headlight):


Those run around $150 and have a 2-4 hour battery life depending on the setting.  When I ride around at night I have that on the front and two little blinkies on the back and I'm good to go whether I'm out on the Mt. Vernon Trail at 10pm or around Chinatown at 8pm.

Offline Boss Dealwiler

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #934: November 30, 2012, 09:26:32 AM »
Quote
I'll disagree with Boss saying he had little talent, but it seems that the elite of the era (Pantani, Ullrich, Beloki before his injury, Zulle, . . .) all were closer to cyborgs or NASCAR racers, and it was the "team" and the "engineering" in a perverse sense that ended up better than Ullrich/Telecom or Beloki/ONCE.

I never said he was a total scrub just that he wasn't someone you would expect to do what he did on his own without cheating and surrounding himself with a team of cheaters.  There were at the time, and are now, a TON of riders in the world that are just as good if not better than him that aren't getting the breaks he got (i.e. team invites, endorsements, designer PEDs).  My problem with LA is that if he had just acted like he didn't care about cheating (like Bonds or McGwire) I wouldn't give a crap.  His sanctimonious "I never cheated" combined with his continued ruin of former teammates puts him in the "eat a dick for life" camp.

Offline comish4lif

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #935: November 30, 2012, 11:53:14 AM »
Those run around $150 and have a 2-4 hour battery life depending on the setting.  When I ride around at night I have that on the front and two little blinkies on the back and I'm good to go whether I'm out on the Mt. Vernon Trail at 10pm or around Chinatown at 8pm.

I want these - or something like it...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B001RTL5L6/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=3375251&s=sporting-goods

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #936: November 30, 2012, 12:18:43 PM »
 

http://www.dontgethit.com/armband.html

Oddly, the armband is 17" long, and the legband is 14". There are some complaints that the legband is too short.

When you catch these in your headlights, there is no question that you will see it, or what you are seeing.

Offline Nathan

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #937: November 30, 2012, 12:57:32 PM »


http://www.dontgethit.com/armband.html

Oddly, the armband is 17" long, and the legband is 14". There are some complaints that the legband is too short.

When you catch these in your headlights, there is no question that you will see it, or what you are seeing.

Quote
• 7" of hook and loop for maximum adjustability

Must be some shoddy stuff if they didn't use Velcro® brand hook-and-loop fasteners :lol:

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #938: November 30, 2012, 01:00:09 PM »
http://www.amazon.com/Nathan-Reflective-Dots-Dashes-Yellow/dp/B000RP5NXM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1354298333&sr=8-4&keywords=reflective+stickers

I have these all over my stroller for night walking- they work and adhere to metal, so they should work on a bike

Online Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #939: November 30, 2012, 03:52:30 PM »
That Niterider light is totally the next generation from my HID light.  The HID is great for output (it's like being half of a BMW) ind the NiMH battery has pretty long life (I've never experienced dimming, even after 3.5 hours, the farthest I've ridden in the dark in one go) and seems pretty resistant to cold (I've ridden in the low single digits a bunch of time)....BUT,the battery pack is a pain in the butt, and the light structure itself is quite heavy (a real distraction when mounted on the helmet). 

One general problem with winter riding is that the new superlights are utterly blinding to oncoming traffic on the narrow confines of a bike trail, so much so that I only ride on roads with my HID light.  This is partly basic courtesy, and partly common sense (a head-on collision between two adults on bikes at a combiked 30-40 mph ain't pretty).     

Offline CALSGR8

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #940: December 02, 2012, 07:04:19 PM »
Anyone know of a site that reviews Exercycles?  Yeah every now and then I think I should get some exercise.  Then I watch TV until the feeling goes away!  Lol!

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #942: December 06, 2012, 03:55:59 PM »
BU student killed in crash on Commonwealth Ave. in Allston; fifth biker killed in Boston this year


I used to live on Commonwealth Ave in Allston- with the way local lanes get treated and the idiotic crap people would do jumping in an out of them, there were constant crashes outside our apartment

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #943: December 06, 2012, 04:09:11 PM »
I know the intersection at St Paul and Commonwealth.  From the description, the truck was making a right turn from the left lane on Commonwealth, which is a bit weird but done all the time by tractors with trailers attached.  St Paul is a busy street, but is probably smaller than the width of some subdivision entrances around here.  The cyclist was going fast and whacked into him. 

The thing is, they had set up cycling lanes on that stretch of the road.  I'm thinking the cyclist probably did not see the turn signal, saw little traffic in the lane immediately to his left, and assumed there was no turn coming.  He might have been looking at St Paul to see there were no cars turning onto commonwealth righting on red.  Of course, the truck driver probably was just tracking cars and trying to make the turn in a gap in traffic on a busy street.

Edit by Nathan - Continued in 2013 thread here:  http://www.wnff.net/index.php?topic=28338.0