Had an interesting ancounter with a female driver - she had pulled into the entrance of a development, gotten out of her car and stood beside the road, yelling at me.
"Are you crazy, riding that bike at night?" she asked. "I didn't see you coming up that way."
I had no idea as to what "way" she was referring. I did not recall her passing me. I usually don't recall what went by, unless they come really close. I was into the ride "groove."
It was not dark, but dusk, and there was no "setting sun glare" to blind her to my red blinking light.
"I have lights and they're working," I replied as I cruised by her. She said something else. I did not catch the full comment, but I'm sure it was along the lines of "you shouldn't be riding that bike at night."
If I had been closr to home I would have stopped and had a chat with her, and asked whether she had been texting at the time, but it was really getting dark and I could not afford to stop.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Inaugural post
YABB! (Yet another bike blog!)
Welcome to Carolina Bike Rider, a personal blog/journal of bicycle-related experiences and observations.
This is my first blog, though I've kept a cycling journal for more than a year now. (My wife thinks I've been blogging the entire time, but it's really been a way to collect my thoughts about building and riding bikes; a way to work through the options when planning a build or modifications, or exploring a new train of thought regarding cycling.) I hope that my experiences and comments will be beneficial to other riders, as well as entertaining.
I've changed the title of this blog several times, trying to find something that is catchy but accurate. ("Horatio's Bike Blog" just didn't cut it!) The last iteration was "Red Bike Rider" because my main bikes are red (it was also a play on "road bike rider.") But not all of my bikes are red (see below) or will be, so, technically, I'm not exclusively a red bike rider. Red is my favorite color, but I decided it would be best to use a title that is most descriptive, rather than limiting, if perhaps a little bland.
First, a little personal information that will shed some light on topics for future posts.
Why I ride
I would describe myself as someone that rides for fun and health benefits rather than competition, i.e. a "Fred" (with aspirations - see below.) Like many others, I have been riding bikes since early childhood, and like many other middle-aged adults, I have come back to cycling after years of leading a sedentary lifestyle. I mainly ride because it's fun.
Typically I ride alone, since that works best for my schedule. Riding solo allows me to put things in perspective, and is often my substitute for therapy. My wife will often insist that I go riding if I'm in a bad mood. I'm less of a "lone wolf" these days, as there's a group of folks at my church I now ride with on a regular basis, and my wife and I are learning to ride a tandem.
I've been gradually building my annual mileage since getting back into the sport about four years ago. Last year I rode more than 2000 miles. I know that's not much for some, but it's the most I've ever managed. I'd like to double that number in 2012.
My goals for the year (above raw mileage) include (in no particular order): losing 10 pounds; completing one or more randonees; commuting to work several days each week; and putting in some meaningful mileage with my wife on our tandem.
What I ride
I generally prefer older steel frames (with newer components), but I do own three aluminum-frame bikes (Specialized, Trek and Bianchi.) Of the three, I prefer the 2011 Specialized Secteur, a hydroformed aluminum frame with gorgeous curves that (to me) rides as well as most steel frames. In fact, I chose it over several entry-level carbon bikes after numerous test rides. My oldest son has appropriated the Secteur for himself, so I don't get to ride it much these days. Details about the Secteur can be found here. The Trek will be my rain bike, or donor bike, should a better frame come along. The Trek got me back into cycling nearly four years ago, and was my first bike with integrated shifters.The Bianchi was acquired for my youngest son, but he has not "cottoned to it," as the old timers would say, so it will probably be a donor bike.
My primary ride is a 1987 Centurion Ironman Expert, updated with Ultegra STI shifters, a triple crank, and Shimano wheels. It's not very glamorous compared to, let's say, a Colnago, DeRosa or Merckx, but it's a great bike IMHO that is highly underrated. (The Ironman series has developed something of a cult following among riders who prefer classic/vintage steel bikes, as evidenced here.)
My back-up bike is a 1992 Schwinn Paramount OS (Series 2) equipped with Campagnolo Ergo shifters and drivetrain. This is one of the Asian Paramounts that is sometimes denigrated because it was not made in Waterford, WI where the classic Paramounts were built. According to Richard Schwinn, the OS series bikes were built to the same quality specs as the more expensive American counterparts, regardless of where they were assembled. I mean, really, frame brazing is not rocket science. The Series Paramounts are great bikes.
Both of my red bikes share commonalities, but handle differently. The Expert is a 54cm frame; the Paramount 55cm. Both have racing geometries. Both frames are made from lugged Tange tubing (Tange #1 for the Expert, and Tange OS for the Paramount), are fairly lightweight, and quite stiff at the bottom bracket. Most performance-oriented riders tout the benefits of a stiff bottom bracket, but some prefer more give from their frames. Personally, I don't like the frame to flex (i.e. twist) when I'm standing on the pedals to power over a rise in the road, so these frames suit me well.
The Expert is now my gold standard for ride quality, for both comfort and performance. It's as smooth as butter, and as fast as a red bike should be. I took the Paramount out for a ride recently, for the first time in nearly two months, and was immediately reminded of how twitchy the handling can be. From experience I can attest that this quality has more to do with me than the bike, i.e. once I've ridden it consistently for a few days in a row, the handling qualities seem perfectly fine because I have adapted to its responsiveness. But it is different than the ride of the Expert, and trickier to ride no-hands.
Such differences are some of the wonderful qualities of bikes that makes each one unique, and undoubtedly why it can be frustrating at times to find satisfactory fit and/or performance, even among bikes that share similar geometry.
For something REALLY different, there's the tandem. It's a 1990s Trek T100, an entry-level model, but a nice bike nonetheless. It's equipped with indexed 7-speed downtube shifters and a triple crankset. The previous owner and his wife used it for touring all over the U.S. We are not so ambitious. This was a partial Christmas gift to my wife.
I do not own a carbon bike, but that does not mean I never will (I like the Wilier Izoard.) Carbon is just too costly for my budget, and I have found carbon bikes don't ride any better than steel or aluminum bikes (no experience with titanium at this point.)
Where I ride
Home is in the Sandhills (or the midlands, if you prefer) of South Carolina. There are a lot of rolling hills near my home that I hated when I started riding again. Now I love them, especially since losing 20 pounds! I only wish there were some mountain roads nearby.
What I like to do
After years of just riding my bikes, I have also learned to adjust and repair them. I get a lot of satisfaction from being able to fix or replace whatever needs attention (with the exception of a certain two-tone Ironman Expert.) I don't have much experience servicing threadless headsets, or adjusting/building wheels, but I plan to conquer those challenge in the future.
As is true for many bike nuts, I have several rehab projects underway. Those include building my first bike made for randonneuring (a Roberts Audax of undetermined age), rehabbing a mid-80s Trek for my sister, and rebuilding a badly neglected Ironman Expert (future blog fodder.)
The Audax is a question mark in terms of fit (55cm top tube) and performance, since it was acquired as a frameset rather than a complete bike. It is badly in need of repainting, which is the first step in the rehab process. If all goes according to plan, this will be my ultra long distance bike, suitable for events of 200 km or more.
The neglected Ironman is the fuscia and yellow "Miami Vice" version. I took this photo after sawing off the upper section of the seat post.
I could have lived with the frozen seat post if it had been set a few cm higher, but such is not my fate.
Though I am not a "flipper" (someone who buys bikes, rehabs and re-sells them for a profit), I do enjoy a good swap, and I love finding deals. Hence, I routinely scan the area CraigsList ads for bikes and parts.
(I'm wishing I'd never seen the CL ad for that Miami Vice Expert. I've decided this is my "learning" bike, since there are so many issues needing attention.)
What I aspire to do
One of my dreams (fantasies?) is to enter and complete Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP), the oldest and longest-running organized bike ride in the world. PBP is a 1200 km ride from Paris to Brest and back that must be completed within a 90-hour time limit. It is held every four years. In 2011, some 5,000 cyclists from across the globe were registered for the ride. PBP is not a race and no awards are given for finishing the fastest. In fact, everyone who completes the ride within 90 hours receives a medal and their time is recorded alongside anciens (literally, "ancients" i.e. veterans) from past PBPs.
I'd also like to do some light touring with my wife on the tandem. She's nervous about riding in traffic, so I'll probably try to find us a rail trail to ride in the fall, when we've (hopefully) worked out all the kinks with her fit on the tandem.
Future plans include riding some of the great climbs of the Tour de France.
In the meantime, I'll do what I can to complete the projects mentioned above and train for some "epic" brevets. Those efforts will be chronicled here.
Happy pedaling!
Welcome to Carolina Bike Rider, a personal blog/journal of bicycle-related experiences and observations.
This is my first blog, though I've kept a cycling journal for more than a year now. (My wife thinks I've been blogging the entire time, but it's really been a way to collect my thoughts about building and riding bikes; a way to work through the options when planning a build or modifications, or exploring a new train of thought regarding cycling.) I hope that my experiences and comments will be beneficial to other riders, as well as entertaining.
I've changed the title of this blog several times, trying to find something that is catchy but accurate. ("Horatio's Bike Blog" just didn't cut it!) The last iteration was "Red Bike Rider" because my main bikes are red (it was also a play on "road bike rider.") But not all of my bikes are red (see below) or will be, so, technically, I'm not exclusively a red bike rider. Red is my favorite color, but I decided it would be best to use a title that is most descriptive, rather than limiting, if perhaps a little bland.
First, a little personal information that will shed some light on topics for future posts.
Why I ride
I would describe myself as someone that rides for fun and health benefits rather than competition, i.e. a "Fred" (with aspirations - see below.) Like many others, I have been riding bikes since early childhood, and like many other middle-aged adults, I have come back to cycling after years of leading a sedentary lifestyle. I mainly ride because it's fun.
Typically I ride alone, since that works best for my schedule. Riding solo allows me to put things in perspective, and is often my substitute for therapy. My wife will often insist that I go riding if I'm in a bad mood. I'm less of a "lone wolf" these days, as there's a group of folks at my church I now ride with on a regular basis, and my wife and I are learning to ride a tandem.
I've been gradually building my annual mileage since getting back into the sport about four years ago. Last year I rode more than 2000 miles. I know that's not much for some, but it's the most I've ever managed. I'd like to double that number in 2012.
My goals for the year (above raw mileage) include (in no particular order): losing 10 pounds; completing one or more randonees; commuting to work several days each week; and putting in some meaningful mileage with my wife on our tandem.
What I ride
I generally prefer older steel frames (with newer components), but I do own three aluminum-frame bikes (Specialized, Trek and Bianchi.) Of the three, I prefer the 2011 Specialized Secteur, a hydroformed aluminum frame with gorgeous curves that (to me) rides as well as most steel frames. In fact, I chose it over several entry-level carbon bikes after numerous test rides. My oldest son has appropriated the Secteur for himself, so I don't get to ride it much these days. Details about the Secteur can be found here. The Trek will be my rain bike, or donor bike, should a better frame come along. The Trek got me back into cycling nearly four years ago, and was my first bike with integrated shifters.The Bianchi was acquired for my youngest son, but he has not "cottoned to it," as the old timers would say, so it will probably be a donor bike.
My primary ride is a 1987 Centurion Ironman Expert, updated with Ultegra STI shifters, a triple crank, and Shimano wheels. It's not very glamorous compared to, let's say, a Colnago, DeRosa or Merckx, but it's a great bike IMHO that is highly underrated. (The Ironman series has developed something of a cult following among riders who prefer classic/vintage steel bikes, as evidenced here.)
 |
| Centurion Ironman Expert |
I've wanted a red-and-white Expert for 25 years! I purchased this bike last fall and built it with parts I had acquired over time. The first one of these I ever saw - and fell in love with - belonged to my next door neighbor when I was in grad school. (His wife, my wife and I were in the same graduate program.) He convinced me to buy a decent road bike from a real bike shop, rather than a cheap department store bike. At that time, the Experts were selling for around $700, so I had to settle for an entry-level sport bike. I still have that bike, a 1988 Nishiki Olympic, which I've kept for sentimental reasons.
My back-up bike is a 1992 Schwinn Paramount OS (Series 2) equipped with Campagnolo Ergo shifters and drivetrain. This is one of the Asian Paramounts that is sometimes denigrated because it was not made in Waterford, WI where the classic Paramounts were built. According to Richard Schwinn, the OS series bikes were built to the same quality specs as the more expensive American counterparts, regardless of where they were assembled. I mean, really, frame brazing is not rocket science. The Series Paramounts are great bikes.
 |
| Schwinn Paramount OS, Series 2 |
The Expert is now my gold standard for ride quality, for both comfort and performance. It's as smooth as butter, and as fast as a red bike should be. I took the Paramount out for a ride recently, for the first time in nearly two months, and was immediately reminded of how twitchy the handling can be. From experience I can attest that this quality has more to do with me than the bike, i.e. once I've ridden it consistently for a few days in a row, the handling qualities seem perfectly fine because I have adapted to its responsiveness. But it is different than the ride of the Expert, and trickier to ride no-hands.
Such differences are some of the wonderful qualities of bikes that makes each one unique, and undoubtedly why it can be frustrating at times to find satisfactory fit and/or performance, even among bikes that share similar geometry.
For something REALLY different, there's the tandem. It's a 1990s Trek T100, an entry-level model, but a nice bike nonetheless. It's equipped with indexed 7-speed downtube shifters and a triple crankset. The previous owner and his wife used it for touring all over the U.S. We are not so ambitious. This was a partial Christmas gift to my wife.
 |
| Trek T100, as purchased (NOT a red bike) |
I've reconfigured the cranksets so they are now only slightly out of phase, as opposed to radically out of phase as in the photo above. Now the captain's crankarms are two teeth in advance of the stoker's. That lets the captain (yours truly) add in a little more power on the downstroke, and it has also smoothed out our pedaling/coordination.
I do not own a carbon bike, but that does not mean I never will (I like the Wilier Izoard.) Carbon is just too costly for my budget, and I have found carbon bikes don't ride any better than steel or aluminum bikes (no experience with titanium at this point.)
Where I ride
Home is in the Sandhills (or the midlands, if you prefer) of South Carolina. There are a lot of rolling hills near my home that I hated when I started riding again. Now I love them, especially since losing 20 pounds! I only wish there were some mountain roads nearby.
What I like to do
After years of just riding my bikes, I have also learned to adjust and repair them. I get a lot of satisfaction from being able to fix or replace whatever needs attention (with the exception of a certain two-tone Ironman Expert.) I don't have much experience servicing threadless headsets, or adjusting/building wheels, but I plan to conquer those challenge in the future.
As is true for many bike nuts, I have several rehab projects underway. Those include building my first bike made for randonneuring (a Roberts Audax of undetermined age), rehabbing a mid-80s Trek for my sister, and rebuilding a badly neglected Ironman Expert (future blog fodder.)
The Audax is a question mark in terms of fit (55cm top tube) and performance, since it was acquired as a frameset rather than a complete bike. It is badly in need of repainting, which is the first step in the rehab process. If all goes according to plan, this will be my ultra long distance bike, suitable for events of 200 km or more.
The neglected Ironman is the fuscia and yellow "Miami Vice" version. I took this photo after sawing off the upper section of the seat post.
 |
The "Miami Vice" Ironman Expert, a.k.a. the bike from hell (also NOT a red bike) |
It's actually worse than it looks in this photo. There are rusty nicks all over, the down tube is splattered with tar, the crankset and front derailleur are caked with filth, and what's left of the seat tube is frozen in place! I took this photo prior to sawing the seat post in half, inside the seat tube!
I could have lived with the frozen seat post if it had been set a few cm higher, but such is not my fate.
Though I am not a "flipper" (someone who buys bikes, rehabs and re-sells them for a profit), I do enjoy a good swap, and I love finding deals. Hence, I routinely scan the area CraigsList ads for bikes and parts.
(I'm wishing I'd never seen the CL ad for that Miami Vice Expert. I've decided this is my "learning" bike, since there are so many issues needing attention.)
What I aspire to do
One of my dreams (fantasies?) is to enter and complete Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP), the oldest and longest-running organized bike ride in the world. PBP is a 1200 km ride from Paris to Brest and back that must be completed within a 90-hour time limit. It is held every four years. In 2011, some 5,000 cyclists from across the globe were registered for the ride. PBP is not a race and no awards are given for finishing the fastest. In fact, everyone who completes the ride within 90 hours receives a medal and their time is recorded alongside anciens (literally, "ancients" i.e. veterans) from past PBPs.
I'd also like to do some light touring with my wife on the tandem. She's nervous about riding in traffic, so I'll probably try to find us a rail trail to ride in the fall, when we've (hopefully) worked out all the kinks with her fit on the tandem.
Future plans include riding some of the great climbs of the Tour de France.
In the meantime, I'll do what I can to complete the projects mentioned above and train for some "epic" brevets. Those efforts will be chronicled here.
Happy pedaling!
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