My how things have changed!
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Sunday, April 13, 2014
April 5th 27 mile Video
A mostly sunny Saturday ride with a couple of other riders. We faced stiff west winds for half the ride.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Spring!!
Saturday, April 12th: 70 F, light west winds, full sun -- a perfectly gorgeous day in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania!
I've been sick all week, and very busy at work, so my last ride was a slow, labored 22 miles last Sunday. I was almost afraid to go out -- I wondered if I'd be able to make it 20 miles. But about a mile into the ride I realized this would be downright easy. And it was.
I felt as if I should have rolled 50 miles today, but we have family in to visit and there will be more nice days to come, for winter is truly, finally over!
So a quick 25 miles, 1200' uphill, average just under 18 MPH, with no pushing. Some days you just feel strong, and this was one of those days. I'll push hard another day..
Yep -- I like spring!
Video to follow....
I've been sick all week, and very busy at work, so my last ride was a slow, labored 22 miles last Sunday. I was almost afraid to go out -- I wondered if I'd be able to make it 20 miles. But about a mile into the ride I realized this would be downright easy. And it was.
I felt as if I should have rolled 50 miles today, but we have family in to visit and there will be more nice days to come, for winter is truly, finally over!
So a quick 25 miles, 1200' uphill, average just under 18 MPH, with no pushing. Some days you just feel strong, and this was one of those days. I'll push hard another day..
Yep -- I like spring!
Video to follow....
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Road Clincher Tires Comparison Review
Tires are remarkable feats of engineering.
A tire must be perfectly round, or else cause dangerous wobble or shimmy at high speed. A tire needs to be resistant to wear and puncture, grip the road surface, maintain suppleness in a wide range of temperatures, not deform at very high or low speeds, and resist deformation to forces applied from underneath, side, or some combination (as in a turn). Tires must be easily mounted with simple tools. In addition, bicycle tires must be lightweight, look decent, and maintain high pressures -- all at a reasonable price.
Road racing bicycle tires are particularly critical.
A flat tire in a car or truck is inconvenient. A flat in an airplane can be trouble on landing but doesn't affect flight (if you have a flat on takeoff you should abort the takeoff) but a bicycle's limited amount of tire surface makes a flat -- especially at speed -- a dangerous event.
I've been on a never-ending quest for the perfect tire that is impervious to flats, provides superb road feel, lasts for a full season, weighs less than 200 grams, has at least 250 TPI, rolls well at high pressures (120-130 PSI), and that costs less than $100 a pair.
The quest continues.
In the meantime, I've found a few favorite tires. Below is a small table with my subjective assessment of various road tires.
I've been on a never-ending quest for the perfect tire that is impervious to flats, provides superb road feel, lasts for a full season, weighs less than 200 grams, has at least 250 TPI, rolls well at high pressures (120-130 PSI), and that costs less than $100 a pair.
The quest continues.
In the meantime, I've found a few favorite tires. Below is a small table with my subjective assessment of various road tires.
Brand
|
Model
|
My Assessment
|
Ride quality
|
Longevity
|
Durability
|
Cost
|
Continental
|
Grand Prix II
|
These are fantastic
tires, well worth the price and the hype. Like IBM – you can’t get fired
buying Continental. Nevertheless, Contis have a firm, even harsh ride. I’m
used to it, but often wander over to Vittoria for a supple, smooth-ride.
|
Firm
|
Good (1.5-2k miles)
|
No flats in several years
|
>$50
|
Continental
|
Gatorskin
|
Decent tires for harsh environments, but too
disconnected a ride for my tastes
|
Harsh
|
Good (1.5-2k miles)
|
No flats, but limited miles
|
|
Continental
|
Grand Prix 4-Season with
Vectran
|
We have these mounted on
our tandem and they are tough, tough, tough. While I’m not impressed with the
ride (nowhere near the namesake GP), they are good tires for those who prefer durability over road feel.
|
Squishy
|
Good (1.5-2k miles)
|
No flats
|
|
Vredestein
|
Fortezza TriComp
|
Still awesome (despite dated technology). I’m
never disappointed with these tires, but usually feel like I’m missing out on
something newer. Nevertheless, these tires continue to deliver.
|
Good
|
Excellent (2k miles)
|
No flats
|
|
Vredestein
|
Gran Fondo TriComp
|
These were a huge
surprise – low cost, awesome ride. These are truly the perfect winter training
tire – fast, smooth, and tough.
|
Good
|
Excellent (2.5k
miles)
|
No flats
|
|
Michelin
|
Pro4 Service Course Tire
|
Terrible – despite pumping up to 120 PSI, I
felt like I was riding on flat tires.
|
Squishy
|
No flats, but limited miles
|
||
Michelin
|
Pro4 Endurance Tire
|
This is a very good training tire, with decent wear. The ride is somewhat
firm.
|
Firm
|
Excellent (2.5k
miles)
|
No flats
|
|
Vittoria
|
Open Corsa CX III Clincher Tire
|
The fastest, smoothest riding race clincher
currently available. My favorite tire for fast events, but not suitable for everyday riding.
|
Excellent!
|
Poor (1k miles for rear tire)
|
No flats, but limited miles
|
>$50
|
Vittoria
|
Rubino Pro III Road Tire
|
Amazing price for near
Pro quality ride. I’m not a fan of tread patterns on road tires, but these
have a slick centerline that helps. Highly recommended commuter or training tire.
|
Very Good
|
Excellent (2k miles +) | No flats | <$50 |
Panaracer
|
I have not mounted a Panaracer since
the late 90s, when I was less than impressed with the somewhat squishy,
disconnected ride
|
|||||
Schwalbe
|
Marathon
|
I tried a set and
was very disappointed. Squishy, disconnected ride that felt like I was riding on balloons.
|
||||
Clement
|
Have not tried
|
|||||
Kenda
|
Have not tried
|
|||||
Maxxis
|
Have not tried
|
I've been happy with the selection and service from www.biketiresdirect.com, and they should have all in stock.
Monday, April 7, 2014
(Fairly) Safe Places to Ride
Despite occasional grumbles about loose dogs, angry drivers, and liquid manure trailers being towed WAY too fast (yes, really), our corner of Lancaster County is relatively serene for road bicycle riding.
At least it seems to be most weekends, weekdays between 0500 and 0730, 1000-1400, and after 1900. The problems arise during commuting hours when folks are in a blazing hurry.
Some places are never safe to ride. Parts of Maryland are exceptional (quiet roads, wide shoulders), but other horrendous.
What's your favorite place to ride? What towns and counties seem best suited to road cycling?
I'll submit that states and above are basically pointless to compare since there is such a huge variety. In Pennsylvania, for example, I find Lancaster and surrounding counties fairly good, whereas Fayette, green, and other SW PA counties are downright horrible for road riding (due mostly to narrow, twisty roads with no shoulder and drivers not used to seeing cyclists on the roads).
Post a comment below and let's build a database of good, not so good, fair, and awful.
At least it seems to be most weekends, weekdays between 0500 and 0730, 1000-1400, and after 1900. The problems arise during commuting hours when folks are in a blazing hurry.
Some places are never safe to ride. Parts of Maryland are exceptional (quiet roads, wide shoulders), but other horrendous.
What's your favorite place to ride? What towns and counties seem best suited to road cycling?
I'll submit that states and above are basically pointless to compare since there is such a huge variety. In Pennsylvania, for example, I find Lancaster and surrounding counties fairly good, whereas Fayette, green, and other SW PA counties are downright horrible for road riding (due mostly to narrow, twisty roads with no shoulder and drivers not used to seeing cyclists on the roads).
Post a comment below and let's build a database of good, not so good, fair, and awful.
Dogs
PREFACE
Inevitably someone will read this and let me know how evil, awful, and hateful a person I am for "hating dogs."
Please relax.
We have dogs.
I like dogs.
Correction: I like most dogs.
What I don't like are uncontrolled, angry dogs who threaten harm.
I don't blame the dog. I blame the owner who is either too lazy or too stupid to train or constrain the dog.
Pennsylvania has a state-wide "leash law," which requires every dog owner to properly restrain his/her dog. Nevertheless, plenty of folks think it's a right to allow their dog to roam free, pillaging garbage, soiling yards, and chasing unsuspecting cyclists. So if your dog runs out while I am riding on a public road and either threatens me or cuts off my travel, I will yell at, kick, or perhaps even harm your dog.
Dogs are not people and are not protected under law the way people are. This is as it should be.
So if you truly "love dogs," control your pet (Spay/neuter so we don't have a superabundance of dogs).
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Years ago I rode a long, steep, turning road for the first time in eastern, PA on a test commute. It was mixed wealthy gentleman farmer land with a few huge houses interspersed. I wasn't sure how far exactly this route would take me and had no idea what the roads were like (I was carrying a Rand McNally road map in my jersey pocket -- this was before Google Earth, and other route recon tools).
I came to a final switchback and was 50 yards from the top of this long, steady climb when I saw a giant German Shepherd streaking to intercept. I pushed hard but 15 MPH was max speed up that 10% grade. He was within 5 yards when I let out a primal yell that combined Drill Sergeant command, Dad "Don't!", and Pict berserker charge.
It worked. That giant attack mongrel stopped dead in his tracks. I kept rolling before he regathered his wits.
I looked left and there was an old lady bagging leaves. She looked like she had just witnessed a murder. I would have apologized but Cujo was back on my heels, so I kept pushing until the crest and the welcome downhill.
I sometimes wonder if she recovered.
---------------------------
One day I was riding in Amish country (around New Holland, PA) when I saw a little mop head dog streak from behind the barn built parallel to the road. I was rolling along about 25 MPH down the false flat and figured he'd soon be in my dust.
Wrong.
That dog was a missle and within seconds made a lunge for my front wheel.
Zigging and zagging was not an option. Neither was braking. So I held on tight and tried to bunny hop.
But his lunge and my hop were mis-timed, so my front wheel rolled along his back, my chainrings seemed to get caught for a millisecond in his coat, and my back wheel gave a solid THUD as the bike rolled across the dog's stunned carcass.
I was still upright when I felt the bike rolling as straight and true as ever. I looked back to see what happened and the dog was lying there with all fours splayed, looking at me with the look of the vanquished.
I rode there many more times and spotted him a couple of times, comfortably glaring at me from his perch at the front of the barn door.
----------------
Last fall I was bombing down the backside of a very steep ridge when I saw and heard a large black dog lying in ambush in a culvert that paralleled the pavement. He lunged just as I passed but his timing was off.
I looked back and he was in full gallop. He looked like a Shepherd-Rottweiler mix. My guess is that the owner was compensating for lack of strength, power, dignity, and control in his/her life and got a "mean dog" to fill the enormous void.
Bad choice.
I haven't been back on that road since then. It would be a good workout climb but is not worth the potential injury/lawsuit..
----------------------------------------------
We were visiting family far upstate NY (near the St Lawrence River) when on my ride back I was cut off by a pack of six dogs.
My first thought was that this group looked motley enough to be the crew from Up.
But the lead dog knew his stuff. He stayed low, and slowly worked to close the space between us.
The dog that sits and barks is rarely a threat. It's the quiet, stealthy one with ears back, poised to pounce that will get you.
I kept an eye on him, dismounted, kept the bike between him and me, and slowly pulled the pepper spray from my jersey pocket.
Whenever he would get within ten feet I would roar and lunge at him, letting him know he was in my space and I would fight if he entered. He would pause, then slip sideways as he backed, never shifting his gaze.
The other dogs stayed behind him.
I kept yelling for an owner, since there was a beat up old travel trailer in the woods just off the road (this is forgotten upstate NY -- many many desolate roads with 1 or 2 houses on a 2-3 mile stretch).
We played this game for about 5 minutes. They were too close for me to just turn around and go another way (NEVER turn your back to a threatening dog). So I pushed the bike and me forward, pushing them back 10' at a time as I got past the trailer. One last lunge and roar and the lead dog tired and trotted back to the dumpy trailer.
By then I was ready to have some words with Mr and Mrs Moron, but getting back to tempo on the return trip was more important. I clipped in, wound it up to 25 MPH, and kept it there all down the straight, flat road.
This is the worst type encounter -- far from any witnesses, the lazy, worthless owner unimpressed with law, threat, or loss of "pet," and a pack of untrained mongrels unused to interlopers on their "turf."
The best course is to avoid these spots, but it's tough when you're riding in new areas.
Inevitably someone will read this and let me know how evil, awful, and hateful a person I am for "hating dogs."
Please relax.
We have dogs.
I like dogs.
Correction: I like most dogs.
What I don't like are uncontrolled, angry dogs who threaten harm.
I don't blame the dog. I blame the owner who is either too lazy or too stupid to train or constrain the dog.
 |
| "Leave ma dog alone!" |
Pennsylvania has a state-wide "leash law," which requires every dog owner to properly restrain his/her dog. Nevertheless, plenty of folks think it's a right to allow their dog to roam free, pillaging garbage, soiling yards, and chasing unsuspecting cyclists. So if your dog runs out while I am riding on a public road and either threatens me or cuts off my travel, I will yell at, kick, or perhaps even harm your dog.
Dogs are not people and are not protected under law the way people are. This is as it should be.
So if you truly "love dogs," control your pet (Spay/neuter so we don't have a superabundance of dogs).
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Years ago I rode a long, steep, turning road for the first time in eastern, PA on a test commute. It was mixed wealthy gentleman farmer land with a few huge houses interspersed. I wasn't sure how far exactly this route would take me and had no idea what the roads were like (I was carrying a Rand McNally road map in my jersey pocket -- this was before Google Earth, and other route recon tools).
I came to a final switchback and was 50 yards from the top of this long, steady climb when I saw a giant German Shepherd streaking to intercept. I pushed hard but 15 MPH was max speed up that 10% grade. He was within 5 yards when I let out a primal yell that combined Drill Sergeant command, Dad "Don't!", and Pict berserker charge.
It worked. That giant attack mongrel stopped dead in his tracks. I kept rolling before he regathered his wits.
I looked left and there was an old lady bagging leaves. She looked like she had just witnessed a murder. I would have apologized but Cujo was back on my heels, so I kept pushing until the crest and the welcome downhill.
I sometimes wonder if she recovered.
---------------------------
One day I was riding in Amish country (around New Holland, PA) when I saw a little mop head dog streak from behind the barn built parallel to the road. I was rolling along about 25 MPH down the false flat and figured he'd soon be in my dust.
Wrong.
That dog was a missle and within seconds made a lunge for my front wheel.
Zigging and zagging was not an option. Neither was braking. So I held on tight and tried to bunny hop.
But his lunge and my hop were mis-timed, so my front wheel rolled along his back, my chainrings seemed to get caught for a millisecond in his coat, and my back wheel gave a solid THUD as the bike rolled across the dog's stunned carcass.
I was still upright when I felt the bike rolling as straight and true as ever. I looked back to see what happened and the dog was lying there with all fours splayed, looking at me with the look of the vanquished.
I rode there many more times and spotted him a couple of times, comfortably glaring at me from his perch at the front of the barn door.
----------------
Last fall I was bombing down the backside of a very steep ridge when I saw and heard a large black dog lying in ambush in a culvert that paralleled the pavement. He lunged just as I passed but his timing was off.
I looked back and he was in full gallop. He looked like a Shepherd-Rottweiler mix. My guess is that the owner was compensating for lack of strength, power, dignity, and control in his/her life and got a "mean dog" to fill the enormous void.
Bad choice.
I haven't been back on that road since then. It would be a good workout climb but is not worth the potential injury/lawsuit..
----------------------------------------------
We were visiting family far upstate NY (near the St Lawrence River) when on my ride back I was cut off by a pack of six dogs.
My first thought was that this group looked motley enough to be the crew from Up.
 |
| "I see a bicycle you are riding..." |
The dog that sits and barks is rarely a threat. It's the quiet, stealthy one with ears back, poised to pounce that will get you.
 |
| I'd be careful around this one |
Whenever he would get within ten feet I would roar and lunge at him, letting him know he was in my space and I would fight if he entered. He would pause, then slip sideways as he backed, never shifting his gaze.
The other dogs stayed behind him.
I kept yelling for an owner, since there was a beat up old travel trailer in the woods just off the road (this is forgotten upstate NY -- many many desolate roads with 1 or 2 houses on a 2-3 mile stretch).
We played this game for about 5 minutes. They were too close for me to just turn around and go another way (NEVER turn your back to a threatening dog). So I pushed the bike and me forward, pushing them back 10' at a time as I got past the trailer. One last lunge and roar and the lead dog tired and trotted back to the dumpy trailer.
By then I was ready to have some words with Mr and Mrs Moron, but getting back to tempo on the return trip was more important. I clipped in, wound it up to 25 MPH, and kept it there all down the straight, flat road.
This is the worst type encounter -- far from any witnesses, the lazy, worthless owner unimpressed with law, threat, or loss of "pet," and a pack of untrained mongrels unused to interlopers on their "turf."
The best course is to avoid these spots, but it's tough when you're riding in new areas.
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