Author Topic: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition (Read 41038 times)

MarquisDeSade · « **Reply #225:** March 25, 2012, 12:22:41 PM »

I had a similar situation happen back when I was in HS. Dog chased me one too many times and it first got hit with a U-lock (which only slowed it down) and then got steamrolled by a car when it tried to chase me home. I hate dogs anyway, so no tears were shed.

Sucks about your shoulder though.

MarquisDeSade · « **Reply #226:** March 25, 2012, 12:23:51 PM »

Quote from: Ali the Baseball Cat on March 25, 2012, 12:22:03 PM

I'm trying to bleed the hydraulic disc brakes on my Marin assault bike...

Hydraulic brakes are for hosers. Just go fixed-gear and don't worry about it.

Ali the Baseball Cat · « **Reply #227:** March 25, 2012, 12:25:03 PM »

Try riding a fixie down the Glover hill in Rock Creek Park and let me know how many weeks your knees need to be wrapped.

Quote from: MarquisDeSade on March 25, 2012, 12:23:51 PM

Hydraulic brakes are for hosers. Just go fixed-gear and don't worry about it.

Obed_Marsh · « **Reply #228:** March 25, 2012, 12:26:13 PM »

Dude was a Portland, OR transplant working the non-profits who did the full on anti-private motor vehicle rant. He earnestly wanted to ban cars from the Mall and city core. This was before Columbia Heights got rebuild. I got a good deal because the dude hoarded bikes, he had eight or so in the shed.

MarquisDeSade · « **Reply #229:** March 25, 2012, 02:49:27 PM »

Quote from: Ali the Baseball Cat on March 25, 2012, 12:25:03 PM

Try riding a fixie down the Glover hill in Rock Creek Park and let me know how many weeks your knees need to be wrapped.

You know I'm only clowning on you hoss.

MarquisDeSade · « **Reply #230:** March 25, 2012, 02:51:05 PM »

Quote from: Obed_Marsh on March 25, 2012, 12:26:13 PM

Dude was a Portland, OR transplant working the non-profits who did the full on anti-private motor vehicle rant. He earnestly wanted to ban cars from the Mall and city core. This was before Columbia Heights got rebuild. I got a good deal because the dude hoarded bikes, he had eight or so in the shed.

That's a new one - Felt hoarders. It's really too bad whitey took over Columbia Whites. Now you can barely get shot there.

Ali the Baseball Cat · « **Reply #231:** March 25, 2012, 03:00:42 PM »

I can assure you that for all the big box stores and gastropubs one can still get shot...so long as the 17th & Euclid and 14th & Girard crews keep the 40 year old beef going, there will be blood. Seems like every time we have the 'rents over there is crime scene tape and an ambulance (not in a hurry) down at 17th & Euclid.

Back to bikes, my assault bike has a broken spoke, so brand-new, never-ridden Mongoose MtB will be tomorrow's conveyance of choice...just as well, since it will be the first time I've ridden in 2 1/2 years, so trundling along on 2 inch knobbies won't exactly be slowing me down.

Quote from: MarquisDeSade on March 25, 2012, 02:51:05 PM

That's a new one - Felt hoarders. It's really too bad whitey took over Columbia Whites. Now you can barely get shot there.

MarquisDeSade · « **Reply #232:** March 25, 2012, 03:02:02 PM »

A Mongoose? I wasn't aware they were still in production. Is it NOS or what?

Ali the Baseball Cat · « **Reply #233:** March 25, 2012, 03:10:35 PM »

It's a Mongoose Meteore, probably a 2009...I bought it on the last day of the year in 2010 to get some company fitness stipend cash and it has been sitting in the basement ever since. IIRC it was an old model when I bought it, so it was pretty significantly marked down. Pretty sweet bike as mass-produced MTBs go.

Quote from: MarquisDeSade on March 25, 2012, 03:02:02 PM

A Mongoose? I wasn't aware they were still in production. Is it NOS or what?

MarquisDeSade · « **Reply #234:** March 26, 2012, 04:59:07 PM »

Holy hell, what a ride today. Got up feeling like total ass (gluttony hang over and four hours of sleep) but made it in with the Tedzilla loaded down in half an hour. The ride home was total ass but I impressed a former colleague after I managed to catch-up with him on the 14th street bridge. Hit 22mph doing so and that's with a hard wind and loaded down with a heavy laptop and Buddha belly.

Ali the Baseball Cat · « **Reply #235:** March 26, 2012, 08:14:47 PM »

First ride in 2 1/2 years, around 20 miles with a few decent hills towards the end. Heart did not pop its box to my surprise.

CALSGR8 · « **Reply #236:** March 26, 2012, 08:19:43 PM »

Did you guys see Competitor Magazine? Its free at many metro rail stations. Has a guode to running and biking gear!

Ali the Baseball Cat · « **Reply #237:** March 26, 2012, 08:22:07 PM »

Will give it a look next time I see one

Quote from: CALSGR8 on March 26, 2012, 08:19:43 PM

Did you guys see Competitor Magazine? Its free at many metro rail stations. Has a guode to running and biking gear!

CALSGR8 · « **Reply #238:** March 26, 2012, 08:38:27 PM »

Ill have to see. It may have been an old magazine someone had at work!

Obed_Marsh · « **Reply #239:** March 26, 2012, 08:40:16 PM »

MDS, the dude had different brands of road bikes. It was like he couldn't make up his mind so felt compelled to buy one of each and try them for himself. There was a bunch of boxes of aftermarket crap I dind't understand too. Seemed like an obsessive-compulsive bike shop.

People are freaking weird.

MarquisDeSade · « **Reply #240:** March 26, 2012, 09:07:27 PM »

Quote from: Obed_Marsh on March 26, 2012, 08:40:16 PM

People are freaking weird.

That "Elegant" Elliot Offen roams the streets proves that. If you run across another bike hoarder give me their number, I need to build a stable. Right now I've just got Tedzilla, the aluminum Trek, I need a steel touring bike, a single speed, and a carbon fibre racer with doping needles included.

Ali the Baseball Cat · « **Reply #241:** March 26, 2012, 09:26:17 PM »

I bought my road frame from Sierra in 2003, and it came in a box packed with the bewb page from a newspaper in Turin. I guess Sierra bought up some distributor's entire stock of Italian aluminum frames when everyone went CF. It took the next 8 months to acquire all the parts in various sales (and the tools to install them), but when all was said and done I had a hell of a sweet ride for not a whole lot of cash (a big consideration at the time, since 2003 was the year we bought our house).

Come to think of it, my Marin assault bike came from Sierra as well, and only required some minor tweaking of the disc brakes (and the addition of a pair of pedals) right out of the box. I probably put 15-20k miles on that thing without a problem other than the occasional puncture and having to repack the headset once.

Sierra has some amazing deals.

MarquisDeSade · « **Reply #242:** March 29, 2012, 10:26:03 AM »

Looks like my rear wheel is totally freaked. Spokes are stripped and it's totally out of true. Barely made it in this morning and I doubt I'll make it the 6.5 miles home with the wheel totally freaked. Looks like I'm going to have to get a new wheel this weekend.

Obed_Marsh · « **Reply #243:** March 29, 2012, 10:31:27 AM »

What happened?

The Chief · « **Reply #244:** March 29, 2012, 11:04:00 AM »

A pedestrian felt threatened and stood his ground

MarquisDeSade · « **Reply #245:** March 29, 2012, 11:06:36 AM »

Quote from: The Chief on March 29, 2012, 11:04:00 AM

A pedestrian felt threatened and stood his ground

All of the people on M Street are cheering my sorry fat ass on when I ride past them. There's one guy I see every morning that says "damn boy, you really working it, huh?"

Kevrock · « **Reply #246:** March 29, 2012, 11:08:42 AM »

Did you tell him "TourDefreakYou" ?

MarquisDeSade · « **Reply #247:** March 29, 2012, 11:09:43 AM »

Quote from: Obed_Marsh on March 29, 2012, 10:31:27 AM

What happened?

The cheap stock Trek rim finally had enough and threw in the towel. The spokes are stripped so I can't even true it to get it home, unfortunately. Fortunately, the maroons at Trek financing gave me a ton of credit and 12 months same as cash, so it looks like I'm getting a replacement bike this weekend.

MarquisDeSade · « **Reply #248:** March 29, 2012, 11:10:10 AM »

Quote from: Kevrock on March 29, 2012, 11:08:42 AM

Did you tell him "TourDefreakYou" ?

The fat oozing out from underneath my Caron Butler jersey said that for me.

Ali the Baseball Cat · « **Reply #249:** March 29, 2012, 02:04:58 PM »

You might want to invest in a nice set of wheels and stick with the old bike for the time being. Built heat-treated Mavic wheels with cartridge bearing hubs might be $500-600, but they'll last forever. Most stock wheels suck until you get to the $1,000+ bikes.

Quote from: MarquisDeSade on March 29, 2012, 11:09:43 AM

The cheap stock Trek rim finally had enough and threw in the towel. The spokes are stripped so I can't even true it to get it home, unfortunately. Fortunately, the maroons at Trek financing gave me a ton of credit and 12 months same as cash, so it looks like I'm getting a replacement bike this weekend.