Join in the fun; The Calorie-Count Cycling Club...

Welcome to all who have an interest in anything cycling of any kind.( road, mountain, commuting, stationary, whatever).

This is the place to come to ask that question you have been wanting to ask,

or tell that story about your latest adventure riding your bike,

find out how to use cycling to get in better shape, or anything else you can think of.

So, to start, tell us, what you ride, where you ride and what type of riding you enjoy.

Come back often too check out what's going on and see what's on everyones mind or add your knowledge to the group. 

 

lolly2, there are some tips for buying a new bike in this thread, so you might read through that :

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/3578 2.html

i have off-road pedals (speedplay frogs) and off-road cannondale shoes for my road/commuter bike. the shoes are totally walkable, and the frogs have lots of float & are easy to get in & out of (just like taking the cap off a juice bottle). i recently put platforms on my other bike, so i could ride it without spending $100+ on new frogs. now that i'm accustomed to clipless pedals, i feel less secure on the platforms (ironic given that i used to feel insecure about clipping in, now i feel insecure about not being clipped in!). i ride my back-up bike on some wet days, so my feet just feel more likely to slip off the platforms. also, if you bunny hop a curb or road bump, your feet can really come off those platforms (can you tell i learned that the scary way?!?).

I definitely plan to keep commuting in the winter.  I run in the winter, so I don't see why I shouldn't bike, too.  I might look into getting different wheels/tires for my bike, possibly.  Since it's a hybrid I could easily do something other than a regular road tire, and I'm not sure if that might make me more comfortable in inclement weather.  I guess I'll figure that out in a few months!

Confession time! Sorry but all intentions to ride as much as possible failed because I have Fibromyalgia and sometimes the pain is too much! I want to keep this up because I should be doing as much as possible. Does riding in my sleep count? Snort...snort!

Have a good ride everyone!

I've been thinking about my first winter if I start regularly commuting... and it actually has me fairly excited because there are no 92 degree days (like today).... yet this last winter there were only about 3 weeks where it got so cold that I was miserable outside.

If I end up commuting alot, I'll keep it up through all seasons, though being expecially careful in the fall with the inevitable piles of wet leaves.

.........

Tomorrow may end up being a bust on the commute.  My wife has ordered something big that has curb side delivery only so I have to be ready to head home.  I predict the commute will be around an hour and a half given all the stop signs and stuff... versus a 25 to 30min drive... well.. the car wins.   I'm not happy about it... but I'm in no position to really complain since I have my regular weekly ride with my co-worker friend scheduled for tomorrow and biking home on top of that would be a bit too much.  We're talking 18 to 19 miles each way and a 30 mile or more evening ride.  That would have me rubber legged.

:(

But this just means worst case sinario... I'll commute either Next Thursday for that 1/2 day commute deal.  Or either monday or tuesday but do a full round trip commute.

I'm a bit bummed... but I gotta be somewhat practical in terms of time.

.............

Something else.  I went and priced out all the gear I've bought thus far for my bike.  I'm going to consider the purchase a sort of no-interest loan to myself.  I'll pay it off through commuting to work and any short trips I need to make to the corner store for those odd items we need but don't require a full on drive over to Super Walmart.

I'll consider the value of my riding based on the current gas prices.   I know how many MPG I get in my car... so it should be easy enough to figure out the value per trip.  I'll probably just make myself a little html/javascript calculator for it.   For my commutes, I'll only count the miles I would have driven... not the extra distance from taking backroads.

According to my log, I commuted pretty regularly until I strained my back at the end of March.  When I bought my Aurora, I was advised by a New England native to wear lots of layers.  I normally wear jeans and a parka with a windbreaker for outer layers.  I found that glove and sock liners help immensely.  But I have to say that DC weather is generally pretty mild.  As a matter of fact I was still commuting in shorts and a short sleeve shirt with another layer underneath in December.  We had a few weeks when the weather dropped into the teens.  I could have commuted but I didn't have to so I didn't.  I think the biggest concern in really cold weather is frostbite.  You have to protect your fingers, toes and face but there are ways to do that.

Where I live gas cost 3.24 a gal . I typicly need 2 tanks a month to get to work. I am currently saving $ 103.00 a month not buying gasoline. If you add up total operating cost I  am saving $220.00 - $266.00 a month using the IRS .44 cents a mile rule. Depending on how many days I ride to work. I have dropped the insurance off of my car for the summer. The kids are out of school and if I need to drive anywhere I can use my wifes car for the day. I am so close to getting rid of my car but there are still times that I do really need my car. I am getting much better at working around those issues with better planning.

I had to ride my mountain bike to work today. I broke another spoke on the road bike when I went off the driveway. My 15 mile commute took me 54 min instead of 40 with an average speed of 16 mph. Not as fast as I would have liked to have been traveling. I really missed not having the 52 chain ring to pedal with . I did enjoy the smooth ride the from 2 X 1.75 tires and suspension fork though.

Ok, so, I have now fallen over 3 times on my bike.  :)

I just spent the last 35ish minutes practicing with my pedals and shoes.  I started inside, just clipping in and out.  I loosened the cleats on my shoes (which are not road shoes, not sure if they are MTB or not, but they are pretty flexible and will work well walking around).  That lasted 10-15 minutes.  Just clipping in and out.

Then I went out in my miniscule yard that hasn't had the dog stuff cleaned out in the last few days.  Ew.  But, softer to fall in grass.  Back and forth a few times, one huge crash where I actually ended up flat on my back.  Well worth the chance I could have landed in dog poo!  (I didn't, by the way.)  That would have hurt on asphalt.

After 10 or so minutes of that I felt I should get on the road and really try it out.  Still marginally terrified, I went in the basement and dug out my rollerblade pads.  Elbows, knees, and wrists covered (and head, of course), I now hit the street in front of my house.

Crashed once, making that crash #3 (including the one on my first try a couple weeks ago).  Still feel pretty unsteady, but I managed to clip in and out about 100 times probably.  :)  Well, maybe not that many, but it was a lot.

So, not sure if I will wear the shoes tomorrow on my commute or not, but there's my excessively long story about my practice tonight!

panda, I can just image the picture you must have made all dressed up like that, LOL over and over!!!!

you get props for perciverance ( iknow I spelled that one wrong).  Keep it up girl you will be so good at it before long that you will wonder what all the fuss was about.

I would suggest doing a weekend ride with the shoes first, and get so you are comfy before launching into the commute with them, just to be sure everything works out.

DAN

all you commuters are making me jealous with all this gas your saving, not to mention the money!

i do ride to about 90% of my club rides, most start in a town 10 miles from where I live so I quess I'm saving a little there anyway.

You guys have almost convinced me to give it a try even at 5:00 in the morning. DAN

Don't let my fuel savings fool you. I spend all of that money and then some on bike stuff ;D Please don't tell my wife I have a cycling habit.

tr,

I remember the days of toe clips and how hard it was to get out of them. I also remember the shift by feel. I still have a shift by feel bike and a bike with SIS shifters (6 speed) on the down tube. I no longer ride the former and only ride  the latter on my trainer and when I go to the beach and there are essentially no hills. The only time I have fallen is when I am practically standing still such as at  a red light (very embarrassing more than anything) but I fell more with toe clips than I have with Look Pedals. Of course by the time I transitioned to Look Pedals I was a bit more experienced also. I have crashed a couple of times at 20+ mph with the Look Pedals where I didn't get out of the pedals but that was probably good since I stayed with the bike and it protected me.

sandy

Awww nuts, I checked the forecast for my ride home from work tonight. This is going to be a rough ride on the mountain bike.

. A HIGH WIND WARNING is in effect from midnight until noon Thursday. This warning is vaild for the Front Range mountains and foothills and all of Metro Denver. Wind gusts overnight will be in the 50-60 mph range in the Metro Area, up to 90 mph in the mountains and foothills to the west of the city. Lows tonight will be in the mid 40s.

Sandy, my trainer bike is an all aluminum Trek 1000 circa 1987 with 6 speed Dura Ace indexed shifters on the down tube.  It was the first bike I had that had indexed shifting and clipless pedals, Time at the time but Look now.  I bought it after I buckled a Reynolds 531 Trek by running into the back of a parked Buick.  It was the only time I got to ride in an ambulance.  The steel Trek had Campy Nuevo Record and Toe Clips.  I loved that Trek and I still have the frame hanging in the garage with the Campy shifters on it.  I have to say it was a lot harder getting used to clips and cleats that it was clipless.

PandaJenn: I think the key is being able to anticipate the stop.  My motto is, when in doubt unclip.

Any average cost on resistance trainer for the basement? And any recommendations on which one to look at. My bike is not a mountain bike but rather a road bike; does this make a differnece?

Thanks for all the advice on winter riding. I will definitely keep that in mind.

Jane

tr

My trainer bike is a circa 1985 aluminum trek 2000 with full Dura Ace. I could afford Dura Ace then because I was single. I had a Guerciotti (steel frame) with full Dura Ace on which I bent the top tube and down tube when I hit a parked pick up truck head on. I still have that frame hanging in the garage. I was leaving my cul de sac the same way I did 1000 times before that at a relatively low speed and as I rounded a corner I was reaching (and looking) down to tighten my shoe straps and when I looked up I was about 3 feet from the pickup, a large one at that, and I said "oh S*&t" and ended up on his hood. My current bike is a Jamis Eclipse with a steel frame and carbon chain stays, seat stays and fork. I tend to like steel, I feel like I am beat up after a long ride on my aluminum frame. I also am on the 3rd frame on the Trek 2000. Two of them broke, one on the chain stay and one on the seat tube, from fatigue. Thus I decided not to  buy another aluminum frame although the aluminum today is probably better than 1985 I am sure. Trek has always replaced the frame with the exact same frame. I cannot believe they still have them sitting in stock somewhere.

sandy

I have a Nashbar catalog sitting here and they have trainers ranging from $90 to $650.  Most fall between $125 and $190 and are on sale so it is probably a good idea to buy now.  I doubt if they'll be on sale in come winter.  Mine is a mag trainer I got from Performance and it is probably 15 years old and it is still fine.  I don't remember the price but I would guess it was around $100.

I liked my steel frame too and I never warmed up to the Aluminum Trek. It was too "lively" for my taste. I'm sure aluminum is more forgiving these days.  My current bike, Trek number 3, is about a 1992 or 93 2300 that has aluminum seat and chain stays, lugs, and fork with carbon fiber seat tube, top tube, and down tube.  I've been satisfied with it. It has been upgraded to Ultegra 9 speed STI and Dura Ace cranks.

I was less that a mile from home when I hit the Buick.  I hit it from the back and ended up lying on the trunk. I took out the rear windshield with my face.  You can hardly notice the scars these days.

Carrihound, thanks so much for the info. I went tonight and bought a comfort bike.....Diamondback wildwood deluxe 2007. It felt comfortable but I read some articles on size and it seems to be very important. I got a 16. I am 5'4. The guy there seemed very knowledgable on the subject and said the size was good, so I went by what he said. My boyfriend got the mountain sorento version. We are both new at this and I am very excited to get started cycling on a daily basis.

Hey peepz, count me in. I've been doing spinning a lot...like 4 times per week. it's addictive...^^

spring and trh, you guys have to tell us the stories about how you manged to hit park cars, they have got to be good ones. LOL

jane, cyclops are very nice trainers and they run from 200- 400 dollars I think.

lolly, good luck with the new bikes!

amanda, welcome to the cast of characters, so tell us were do you live and do you ride outside too or just spinning for now?

I know we have some new members to our group and I will have to get you posted on the roster, just lazy, sorry!

DAN