The Bicycling Thread

[Lee]

Rides this week...


The single tract follows along the edge of these bluffs. No room for error.


That's an old horse-drawn wagon with wood-spoked and iron-hoop-rimmed wheels. It's behind the spring-fed well.

Do I see three metal hoops sticking out of the rock in the top picture?
Do they rappel on that bluff?

[wildbears]

Do I see three metal hoops sticking out of the rock in the top picture?
Do they rappel on that bluff?

Yes. There are 7 climbing sites along the trail.

Elsewhere, there's an 18-basket disc-golf course. When we get enough snow, I use the open fields there for cross country skiing.

That reminds me, I need a new pair of poles. Broke the tip off of one last year.

[wildbears]

More of the single track...

[955i]

Single-track . . . an invitation for old men to hurt themselves! LOL

[wildbears]

Been there, done that. You don't want to be out by yourself.

[955i]

New Years Day! 11 riders in my rural Oklahoma town rode this afternoon in glorious 65F weather. This is at least the40th consecutive year that at least one or more Cushing riders rode on New Years Day. Some years, ice or sleet and frozen roads kept the ride as short as several miles. Today we goofed around for 12 miles and ended up at a historic bar in town. Fun day.

[955i]

Pete, you would like riding with this group. Wednesday nights we leave about 5:30 to 6:00. Usually 6-12 riders in speed comfortable groups. We all arrive at some restaurant 25-30 miles away in nearby cities and towns. After beers and dinner, we load up the bikes and trailer them home in the dark. Non-riding friends and spouses are the "sags" and eat and drink with us at the end.

[Pete_Tallahassee]

I don't have a bicycle group like that. I have a soccer group but I don't play soccer so I guess I'm a "sag" when I drink after the game with them.

[955i]

Pete, I thought you still kicked the ball around a little. I still enjoy practice with the high School Varsity team from time to time. (I was their lay assistant coach for quite a few years.) They still tolerate me, but passes to me now had better be right to my feet because I can't stretch out and hop to snag those slightly errant passes.

[wildbears]

When I lived in Cincy, the local club had a New Year's Day Ride every year. One mile for each degree of outside temperature. The last one I rode back in the 80's, was 32 miles. I was wearing regular, fingerless cycling gloves and used a stick of Chapstick to keep my fingers and face warm. Defrosting at the sponsor's home involved several cups of Irish Coffee. I couldn't do that ride these days.

[955i]

A few years ago, it was bitterly cold, but all of us were geared up except for Dave B. who forgot his gloves. We rode as a group to his house 4 miles away. He went in AND NEVER CAME BACK OUT!. Big Baby! He was the carpentry instructor at Central Vo-Tech and pretty tough. His wife told us later, that he almost started to cry like a little girl as his fingers regained their feeling.

[wildbears]

I remember the pain.

[802Mike]

I have nerve damage in my left hand thumb and index finger. They get cold easily,
but I don't feel them getting cold so much as when they warm up.
After my morning workout I'll usually do a three mile walk. Sometimes it's colder
than I thought and haven't worn gloves. When I get done and get in the shower the
pain is so intense it brings me to tears. I've learned to warm them slowly.
It may be Raynaud's (ray-NOSE) disease, which is lack of blood flow to the area, but
I feel it's nerve compression. My thumb and finger are numb and feel swollen... like
you hit them with hammer, but don't hurt. That is, until they thaw out. As a result I
tend to drop things too. I can sympathize with your carpenter friend Dave B.

[Loggiebone]

MA has Rynauds that usually involves her digits. Very uncomfortable for her and the gray fingertips are ghostly. Thank goodness we live in Ga.?

[802Mike]

Pretty sure mine is nerve compression. It started after my shoulder surgery when I had a
nerve block and put the strap between my thumb and index finger on too tight. Now I feel
I continue to damage it with my work and I use a bent curling bar in my workouts.
My fingers don't turn gray.
Have her look into SuperBeets. It increases the nitric oxide and helps blood flow.

[955i]

Mike, I slept with my arm jammed between the mattress and the bedframe. When I awoke, my whole left arm was paralyzed, not just numb. Later that day it was determined I had "radial nerve palsy." I regained most function of my arm within 72 hours, but the doc said I might experience some numbness for a few months. Well, it has been one year and I have the exact symptoms you have: numbness in the index finger, the thumb and, to a lesser degree, my middle finger. I ride bikes with a retired physical therapist and instructor at OSU. He "100% guarantees" me that all feeling will eventually come back. Unfortunately, I notice no incremental improvement. He says that's normal.

We'll see. All the best to you and your recovery.

[wildbears]

Caloric Cost Of Cycling

[802Mike]

Overall, cyclist are in the best cardio of all athletes I recall hearing.
Not the ones that ride on flat terrain so much though.
I worked a few bike events with my GS in Eastern PA and VT (think hills)
So many times I heard, "I ride 100 miles almost every weekend". We were
calling for the van to come and get them.

[955i]

You know what, Mike? Hills suck.

[wildbears]

Oops! Unreleased Shimano 105 mechanical 12-speed groupset leaked - and it could be really cheap...

Story @ https://www.cyclingweekly.com/produc...roupset-leaked

[955i]

I just rode 30 miles in 39F windy conditions. It was relatively flat. I used the big chain-ring only on two downhill sections. I have an Okie 1x10!

[wildbears]

I only notice a lack of gear choices when doing a fast group ride. Somehow my road bike is often in between gearing compared to the 11 speed drives with compact cranks of the other riders. Mine has an 8 speed freewheel and 42/52 chainrings. So I'm often cranking too hard or too fast.

[wildbears]

Attention to all Octogenarian, Nonagenarian and Centenarian (80, 90 & 100 years old) cyclists.

The Royal Academy of Octogenarian Cyclists is an exclusive Facebook group which is specific for you. Come and join the fellowship of 1245 fellow cyclists from 33 countries worldwide and enjoy the camaraderie.

HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/GROUPS/702304553632156

[Lee]

Today was the 46th annual BRR ride. It's a bike ride from Perry to Rippey Iowa and back to Perry. 24 miles.
This ride is held no matter the weather. Today was comfortable with temps in the 30s, sunny and winds 10 to 15.









Debbie likes to wait next to the fireplace.

[955i]

Lee, you sent some of these pics to Cathy earlier. This really looks like a lot of fun. Here in Cushing, Oklahoma, we have an annual New Years Day Ride. Seldom do we have snow, much less piles of it like you all. BUT, 20's with and Oklahoma wind can still be a tester. This ride has gone on every year for at least 50 years. Some years only a few will ride it. But the string's unbroken.

Maybe next year, I'll make the BRR ride.

[955i]

All things considered, Lee, I'm a bit jealous. This looks like a lot of fun. Were there adult beverages available at the end of the ride?

[Pete_Tallahassee]

You guys are nuts, I'm with Deb.

[Flyboy]

Just purchased a system six to go with my super six...2 great road bikes...

[955i]

Flyboy, Super Sixes have changed markedly over the years. Did you buy a new one or an older one?

[Lee]

All things considered, Lee, I'm a bit jealous. This looks like a lot of fun. Were there adult beverages available at the end of the ride?

Rippy always has a beer truck or beer tent. I usually head for the pie at Rippey and have the beer back in Perry.



2020 pie



2019 pie

[955i]

Another couple of pictures of PIE that looks that good, and CabinFever will show up on a BICYCLE, too!

[cabnfvr]

We'll be back in Pie Town NM and Gifford Homestead UT later this year, and then off to Oark. Until then, the quest for a better pie will continue!

[wildbears]

How Do Geese Decide Who Leads? And how a paceline works.

https://birdsandwetlands.com/how-do-...ide-who-leads/

[wildbears]

[wildbears]

This is the 12th fatal cyclist crash in the city of Columbus this year.

We live southeast of Columbus and I sometimes ride up there on the bike trails. These trails occasionally are a bike lane next to traffic and they frequently cross roads at intersections. Last December I rode from south of Columbus up to Westerville on the northside of Columbus. While riding my bike on a crosswalk with the okay to cross light, a woman stopped her car to allow me to cross as the two women behind her laid on the horns. I also noted road rage among vehicles on that ride. It's a sign of the times.

[955i]

That sounds a pretty lousy, Wildbears. In the part of Oklahoma where I live, the car and truck drivers have gradually become accustomed to seeing bikes out on the road. It's obvious that the big rigs and oilfield trucks go out of their way to give us extra space.

[wildbears]

Another similar episode at the same intersection. This time a gentleman.