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. 

 

You are not kidding about cycling stuff being expensive.

Try

www.performancebike.com

www.nashbar.com

www.bicycleclothing.com

I have had good luck saving a lot of money by shopping at those sites.

nightc1: Yeah bar height etc otherwise it will feel weird switching back and forth.
I tell you I'm loving the single speed mountain bike. I may never go back to the gears again. I get such a boost of extra satisfaction when you make climbs the gear guys are struggling on. I took all the suspension off of it a few weeks ago too. I devolving.

Thanks everybody for at least laughing at the sprinkler experience.  I was definitely cooled off, I am sure the look on my face was fabulous.

Panda cycling is definitely expensive and it doesn't get any better when you get around other cyclists.  I went on my first club ride on Saturday with about 60 other people and it was like a high school fashion show all over again.  Everyone is quietly and covertly checking everybody else's gear  out.  It is fun but it makes you want to have new "cool" stuff. 

I bought my husband and I new shorts with the gel chamois, me one jersey and him two jerseys for under $110 at performancebike.com about 2 weeks ago.  Mr Jiggles told me to google Sheila Moon a few weeks ago and so I am saving part of my "allowance" for a while to get ome of her beautiful jerseys (very feminine) but it is going to cost a bundle in comparison to performance but I am going to look good!

Jiggles by highlighted letters do you mean the darker type or the underlined links?  You can get darker type by highlighting the words and clicking the captital B above the message box when you are typing.  If you mean the underlined links, you can copy and paste a link into you message body and it will automatically link to the webpage.  I hope this answers your question, if not let us know.

mrjiggles, yes, I still want a motorcycle. I?ve been riding for nineteen years now, and I?ve heard ?Uncle Fred? stories the entire time (usually much worse than yours?you got off easy). I?ve even been hit by a car once. Just repeat after me: ?A single anecdote is not data.? You had a bad experience, and chose not to get back on the horse. That?s fine?for you. Please don?t attempt to get on a high horse and think the rest of us stupid for continuing to ride. The odds really are in your favor if you?re not stupid about it (ride sober, get training, ATGATT).

?Race of Truth?: A TT bike is going to be my reward when/if I ever make my target weight (I seem to yo-yo up and down a few pounds around my current plateau). I may build one up myself on a one-size-smaller road frame to keep costs down, if I can?t find something workable on eBay or the like.

Weight, kickstands, etc.: My bike came without a kickstand, and I?ve never bothered to add one. If it was a city bike, then I could see doing so. I do agree with the notion of dropping personal weight before becoming an all-out weight weenie. It is much less costly to lose the goo around the middle than it is to shave grams from the bicycle. My setup is around 25 pounds with water bottles, seat bag, and pump.

Wow, so my $150 bike weighing in at 25 pounds with kickstand is not too far off the weight of what most of you ride.  Here I thought I was probably riding in the stonage considering there are so many super light bikes out there.

When I was researching less expensive bikes (I support myself, my wife and my 3 kids & a dog on my salary, I can't afford to spend alot) what caught my eye about the GMC Denali Road Bike was how many seasoned cyclist bought it for goofing off with and ended up using it to train since the quality was so good and only a few items needed changed (usually brake pads, pedals, and a seat... though I personally LOVE the seat.. no problems with it and I don't even wear bike shorts).  I may change the pedals out... but the brake pads will definitely get a change to something with a little more stopping power in the next few weeks as I want to be as safe as possible when I hit the mountain roads.

behanna, so you too want a motorcycle.  I would think it might be quite a bit less dangerous than riding on a busy street on a bicycle.  That is if you aren't hotdogging it from lane to lane and driving like a mad man on a mission or constantly riding stupidly like in someone's blind spot or tailgaiting or something.

There are actually quite a number of motorcyclist around here and most are pretty responsible, though like bicyclist there are always a few that give all the others a bad rep by zipping through traffic a bit too rapidly.

Hi everyone, just dropping in to say HI!!  Nothing to add today, well not really, but I'm staying out of this Motorcycle thing, let's say, I have some life experiences with it and they ain't good ones.

Hope all is well with the peleton today, see ya all later. DAN

leinad, just something interesting but I was born in the Akron/Barberton/Cuyahoga Falls area about 50 miles from Elyria.  I don't think I'd want to ride a motorcycle on those roads either unless they've improved greatly since last I was up there visiting family.

Heck the scare of potholes alone gives me a shiver down my spine.

How are the roads out in Elyria?

Just dropping in to say so far I've biked a total of 156km and that should be upped by another 50km this weekend as I'm planning another cycling picnic trip with the hubby.

God I love it!

Panda- You are right about bike stuff costing a fortune! 

The list of equipment needed for training for the tri is incredble b/c there are 3 sports.  Cycling takes the cake though, cause I needed a new bike..... hmmm maybe a second job?!?  I have found a ton of stuff on www.performancebike.com.  They run weekly specials, so I kill time at work by browsing their pages.  Plus the bike shops around here give me discounts b/c I am with Team In Training, so that helps too :). 

The advice on here is great!  Thanks guys!

For good, and reasonably priced cycling clothing check out Mountain Equipment Coop.  Prices are in Canadian dollars and you must pay $5.00 to become a lifetime member:

http://www.mec.ca/Main/home.jsp?bmUID=1180037 492099

night, WOW someone who knows where Elyria is, ain't to many of those around.

The riding around Akron is actually pretty nice, we ride occasionally with the Akron bike club down in the cuyahoga valley

.  Some roads are pretty bad in some areas, they (being rural road crews) chip and seal a lot of the country road around us and it makes for some rough riding until they get pounded down by cars.  Kevlar belted tires are the norm around these parts.

Hi Raven, good to see you are out and riding, How's things in Montrel these days?

Well here is a challenge for all you speed crazy riders out there (and I know your out there),  I just got back from a ride, it was 35 miles, my average speed was 19.5mph, now go out and do a ride of at least 20 miles and see if you can beat it.  Just thought it would be fun to throw that out there.

DAN 

Dan- I used to live in Edinboro, PA...kind of close to you... A roomie of mine was from Akron and we would travel over there all the time :).  It's nice out there from what I can remember.

dan, nice challenge!

question about driving behavior :   [sorry my posts are always so darn long!]

preface : my standard policy when a road intersects from the right is to make eye contact with approaching drivers to try to determine whether they see me and to get or give an indication of whether they should pull out in front of me or wait for me to pass. if i get no clear signal, i continue to assume they don't see me and ride defensively & take evasive action if needed.  

behavior : i commonly see drivers approaching an intersection from the right & planning to make a right turn onto the intersecting road. as they approach, they are looking off to their right instead of looking to the left to assess the status of oncoming traffic. i've even noticed that i do it sometimes when i'm driving. it's always made me wonder, what is it that makes people look in, what i perceive to be, the exact opposite direction of where they should be looking? i've concluded it's the practice of "looking where you are going" and that most people continue to look ahead for so long as they are moving forward. and it's a good practice to avoid running into something. i don't dispute that. but many drivers, after extended staring to their right as they roll to the intersection & keep creeping forward, then proceed, at the last second, to throw a dashing glance to their left to find out if they're gonna get creamed by a large vehicle if they pull out, and if not, they'll complete their turn, often without ever having come to a complete stop.  

as a cyclist, this behavior is beyond annoying - it's lethal. when i'm approaching an intersection where i have the right of way (no stop sign, green light, etc.), i'm small, and i'm often off to the right hand side of the road. i'm not easily seen, so drivers who only throw a passing glance, suitable for spotting an oncoming car or truck, to their left-hand side are likely to not see me. even worse, if i'm already in an intersection, they will often miss me entirely when they turn their head and blink, to look left, and if it's clear, they can peel out right on top of me if i'm not adequately defensive about avoiding them.  

this has changed the way i approach intersections when i drive. i stop farther back. i come to a full stop. i creep less, i look more carefully.  

we're all cyclists and probably all drivers too. i'm curious how others here modify their own driving behavior based on what we learn from riding the roads with dangerous, inconsiderate, hostile (or courteous, responsible, considerate) drivers.  i learn as much from the drivers who are trying to be considerate, but who i feel actually make the roads more dangerous & unpredictable by giving me the right of way when it's not genuinely my turn to proceed into an intersection.  

do you see this same behavior? and what lessons have you learned & incorporated into your driving habits?

Carri, on my commute home today I had one of those run-ins with the ultra considerate driver that almost got me creamed. 

I was riding in the right shoulder of a fairly busy rural highway and a rural mail carrier was approaching me head on in the shoulder.  I looked over my shoulder to see if the lane was clear so I could move out onto the road but a woman was driving behind me.  She slowed way down and just kind of followed me refusing to pass but not giving me enough room to move out into the lane. 

Meanwhile, the mail carrier was watching the mailboxes and not me and I was quite nervous he would hit me.  He did look up and stopped and I was able to stop to let the lady pass me.  She waved kindly and kept driving like she had done me a favor when if she would have just passed me I could have taken the lane and avoided the near heart attack.

I have noticed I treat cyclists more like any other vehicle than I would have in the past.  If there are two lanes I move over to the left lane completely where in the past I might have pulled partially over and slowed to pass the bike.  I also watch the shoulder more when I make a turn because I have been cut off many times in just the last month that I have been riding a lot.

Dan - I did 35 miles yesterday and averaged 17 mph and I was pushing myself.  I don't think I am going to be making that challenge for a few months yet.

Dan, Can I go down hill and raise you 10 mph :-) Just kidding that is an impressive average speed.

Carri, When I drive my car I tend to look for the places that bicycles shouldn't be. I have seen a lot of new cyclist where I live lately. They seem to be on the side walks and riding into oncomming traffic. When I am on my bike I try to educate them about stuff that will get them killed.  I also tend to look at other drivers in the eyes when I am in my car as well. I guess being safe on the road is the same if you are in the cage or on the bike.  Good post.

Carri, what you do is how I approach intersections as well, I use the same technique with cars backing from driveways.  Always assume no one sees you it's the best way.  Still i have had many close calls.

BTW, please people, I know some of us are passionate about some of the things we do, but if another has expressed an opposite opionion and hasn't done it in a hurtful way don't jump on them if you can avoid it.  One of are buddies had a bad experience with motorcycling and was just explaining his mishap, I think this wasn't meant as a blanket condemnation, just fact.  I think some statements where said in a hurtful way now he has chose to leave us, please use your judgement wisely, OK!

The reason I have chose not to comment (I will now however ) is that 3 close friends have all been KILLED on motorcycles by drivers not paying attention, and my father was seriously hurt in one, he survived but sold all his bikes, he had 4 of them.  So just like our sport has its risky side, so do others and some choose to stop when the risk is to overwhelming to accept.  No one can stop you from doing what you do, even if they disagree with you. 

I will get off my soap box now. DAN

Another nice day of commuting topped off with a driver error that probably wasn't as dangerous as it seemed at the time.  I was at the first intersection leaving work.  The oncoming taffic stopped abruptly and a second or two later our light went green.  I got up on my pedals and started to crank then I noticed this white coupe approaching at high speed from the left.  The driver had just blown through the red light.  She was veering to her left -- to avoid hitting me, I suppose-- and she had plenty of room because everybody else was stopped.  Other than that, it was kind of a TT training run on an 80 ish afternoon.  I know I need to work harder, MrJ, I didn't have any trouble getting off of my bike when I reached my front door.

Dan, I agree we need to keep the conversation friendly even when something doesn't quite sit right.

Benhana, I agree anecdotal evidence is interesting but not necessarily meaningful.  Accident statistics for the country were published earlier this year.  Being out on the road is hazardous to your health regardles of how you get around.  The number of fatalities is highest for cars, SUVs and light trucks,  I am not sure whether pedestrians or motorcyclists got second place, bicyclists came in lowest.  I am pretty sure that this merely reflects how many people (potential victims) are out on the road each day in each category.  Most people are driving a car or truck and bicyclists are fewest in number.  So it is probably some sort of Poisson distribution -- a very small likelihood of something happening on any given outing but the likelihood of something happening on one of the outings increases as the number of outings increases.

What I find more interesting is the more or less established distribution of bicycle related accidents by age and by season.  This is the season when the number of accidents increases dramatically.  It is also the time of year when the number of cyclists -- with or without proper preparation -- increases dramatically.  As far as I can recall, the 18 to 25 age group is the most accident prone and I believe this correlates well with motor vehicle statistics.  The invincibles are more likely to take ill-advised risks and they also may have concentration problems.  The accident statistics go up again for people in my age group -- coordination and concentration issues are the probable causes.

I would like to ride a motorcycle to the office when I am not riding my bike.  I would like to try racing -- it's in my blood.  I would like to try mountain biking ( and I might one day).  But I can't quite get myself motivated enough to go out and do these things.  That is not intended to discourage anyone else from doing those things.  It's just an explanation of why I am moving out of my comfort zone at a snail's pace.

Poze:  I have had some encounters with rural postal delivery people and their vehicles on the wrong side of the road.  Not  a lot of fun and then to have one of those well-intentioned drivers dogging you creates a real dilemma.  You handled the situation in probably the safest way possible.  But since the driver seemed to trying to allow you out on the road you might have considered sprinting to get ahead of her.  Just a thought

To follow up on what Dan said about voicing opinions:

This is about the last place that I want to put on my moderator hat and have to edit or delete anything.  While I don't think anything has been said at this point that was outside of the posting guidelines, it's always a good rule of thumb to avoid saying something that can be interpreted as abrasive or rude. 

I know sometimes I am about to post something and read it again, only to find out that I might not have used the best wording.  It's hard to tell intent on the internet, so we have to be mindful of how our words can come across, as it is the only thing people have by which to judge us here.

So please be respectful of one another.  Thank you!  And now I too shall get off of my soapbox.  :)

Now for my fun post.  :)

Carri - I spent 5 years as an auto claims adjuster, which makes me very cynical about the ability of people to maneuver their vehicles.  I am one of the most defensive drivers I know, and I always assume everyone else is going to do the exact wrong thing at the exact wrong time.  I think that's helping me with cycling.  :)  I don't know that I've changed any of my driving habits recently.  But I'm not sure that I could get more defensive/careful at this point!

Dan - I am in no way even touching your crazy challenge.  But you knew that already, didn't ya? 

Thanks everyone for the links and shopping recommendations!  When I'm not poor anymore I shall have to check them all out.  I admit it's not the best reason to spend more, but I do feel obliged to my local shop.  They have spent a lot of time on me so far, and have really gone above and beyond in a couple cases.  So when I can I'm trying to give them my business, for now.  But now I'm poor!

9 more commuting miles today, home to job 1 to job 2 to home again.  Gets me to 39 miles in the past three days (plus a softball double header and an indoor soccer game).  Not too shabby for a newbie short-trip commuter!