The Cellar / Bikes!

**Posted by BigV** 4/14/2021 10:02 pm

I timed the routes this week.

My gate to work gate: 21 mins.

Work gate to home gate: 32 mins.

The pitch from the bottom of the bridge to the top of the bridge 6 mins of PAIN.

On my way to collect a pic of the bridge.

**Posted by BigV** 4/14/2021 10:07 pm

Ok, found it.

Here's a profile view of the bridge. Photobombed by the snow cloaked Olympics. Showoffs!

4100 feet of this up hell .

**Posted by griff** 4/15/2021 6:35 am

There are worse commutes. It gets easier over time.

I broke my front brake and shifter over the weekend, parts are getting expensive... The pandemic has added 10-15% to the price of bikes if you can get them.

**Posted by xoxoxoBruce** 4/24/2021 10:09 am

French bike rack...

And stone crazy...

**Posted by Diaphone Jim** 4/24/2021 11:58 am

Orthopedic surgeon on staff.

**Posted by BigV** 4/26/2021 10:00 pm

Good God.

**Posted by griff** 4/27/2021 5:53 am

Seeing a lot of very capable bikes being sold to some very novice riders who then feel compelled to be stupid.

I'm trying to get my bike shaped up for a much needed single track vacation. She's beginning to break more expensive bits.

**Posted by xoxoxoBruce** 4/27/2021 8:35 pm

Your bike is pretty new isn't it, you must be riding the hell out of it trying to keep up with Benny.

**Posted by griff** 4/28/2021 6:05 am

I've got 4 years of hard riding on it. The wheels are in rough shape (I may have just trued them for the last time) and we could use a suspension rebuild. I've replaced the levers and hydraulics fore (with shifter) and aft. I'm on my 3rd cassette and 5th? chain... maybe next bike I'll start tracking maintenance.

**Posted by BigV** 4/28/2021 6:16 pm

wow, tha's rode muddy and put away muddy. I would think the derailleur is more delicate than the cassette, though, obviously, the cassette is transmitting the power. I'm fine with the cassette I have, not happy with the derailleur or shifter or both. in high gear, or next to high gear, it's clanky and shifty under power. Not that I'm under power on high very much. My bike is very, very much more of a crawler than a zoomer. I think the phone bike app logged 21.4 mph once, with a tailwind downhill deserted road. On the way to work, the big bridge downhill is fast enough but way way way too narrow to let'er roll.

I've looked at the Prime 9 from Box and the Box One or Box Two cassette/derailleur sets with keen interest, but I think I'll wear this one out first before I double the cost of the bike with a drivetrain upgrade.

Side note, I'm definitely getting stronger. When it gets truly hot later in the year, I think I'll be suffering on the way home, but now it's just a hard ride home.

This bicycle commuting is like good hot sauce. It feels so, so good when you stop.

**Posted by griff** 4/29/2021 4:32 pm

Yeah, I forgot I broke a rear derailleur last year.

**Posted by BigV** 4/29/2021 7:36 pm

Just ridin a 1x now, only have a rear derailleur. I think the chainring in the front is a 34t, but no derailleur. Much simpler, and I have plenty of mobility. I definitely don't have a high top speed, but that's not how I ride or why I bought this bike, so, it works out.

**Posted by griff** 4/30/2021 6:46 am

Both my riding partners have 1x. Riding what we ride, small front rings are necessary. My one buddy bought a new bike this year. He had to get a smaller after market ring so he could climb properly. I like the idea as long as I'm not giving up climbing ability.

I've been looking at trail hardtails for my next bike. I'm not sure if I want to give up full suspension but a slacker head tube may make steep tech more rideable.

**Posted by griff** 4/30/2021 6:59 am

Scottish Cycling Develops 'Trail Therapy' Mental Health Program
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/interview-and-press-release-scottish-cycling-develops-trail-therapy-mental-health-program.html

The four main elements of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy are mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. Mountain biking requires focus and mindful awareness just to stay on your bike. We are also exposed to distress tolerance by the challenges presented as we ride and learning to understand that those challenges will eventually pass is crucial. Emotional regulation is important for people whose emotional states are less stable than others, and on the bike, supported by skilled therapists, they can work on controlling their more extreme feelings about what is happening around them.

Tied directly to emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness refers to our ability to assert our needs and desires in a kind way while interacting with other people. Stress and fear can affect the way anyone communicates, and learning to better conduct yourself in these situations while experiencing those feelings while riding will help you do so in the rest of life.

**Posted by xoxoxoBruce** 5/04/2021 11:39 pm

You can go downhill on 4 wheels too...

**Posted by xoxoxoBruce** 5/04/2021 11:40 pm

For the history...

https://homepages.abdn.ac.uk/nph120/meteo/Bicycles.pdf

**Posted by Diaphone Jim** 5/05/2021 11:41 am

I wonder if the "8 Man Crew" needs a coxswain,

**Posted by griff** 5/08/2021 9:43 am

Danny is at it again.

**Posted by BigV** 5/13/2021 5:50 pm

Good news:
I've continued my commute by bicycle since my last post, haven't missed a day. I'm satisfied with myself. I am getting stronger, the uphill bridge is still a grind, but I'm not sorely tempted to stop and sit down anymore. It's just at half an hour to get home, depending on headwinds. I've ridden in the rain a couple of times, that's to be expected. My indoor clothes are safe inside the drybag-style pannier bag. It's getting light out when I leave now, at first I could see colors, today I could see colors in the sky. The sun will be above the horizon during my ride soon enough.

Bad news:
Speaking of a grind, check this out.

That's the mark left by the teeth of the chainring trying to chew its way through the front outside edge of the right rear chainstay. I thought it was just loose or bent from a slow fall I had earlier.. nope, just loose because the bottom bracket is worn to hell. I've a new one on order--maaaaybe two weeks, maybe not. Bike parts are very hard to get these days it seems. I don't have the right puller to extract this part, heck, I don't even have the right tool to remove the cranks. The last crank arm I removed was a single piece of steel shaped like an 8-bit lightning bolt.

**Posted by griff** 5/18/2021 5:52 am

Ouchie bro.

**Posted by griff** 5/18/2021 5:59 am

Weekend ride in NC.

**Posted by griff** 5/18/2021 6:16 am

**Posted by Diaphone Jim** 5/18/2021 11:35 am

Is there an important difference between those curves?

**Posted by griff** 5/18/2021 1:16 pm

They are good examples of the trail construction, unfortunately pictures don't really translate the flow in that part of the trail system. As a rider, the interesting thing is the planning that has gone into it. The last time I ran that section, I was able to absolutely tear through it because I realized that all the curve exits set me up beautifully to handle the next entrance.

**Posted by BigV** 5/18/2021 7:40 pm

Super green, very pretty. How/who did you get the high angle pic of your face, presumably headed downhill in the first pic in the series?

Also. Downhill is lovely, but .. but.. how did you get up there in the first place / how did you get back? TANSTAAFL God Bless Heinlein.