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Main
Date: 31 Mar 2007 13:38:23
From: Jorg Lueke
Subject: First Ride
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I finally got my Trek Pilot 1.2 from the store yesterday and was ready
to test out my first potential commuting route of about five miles.
Of course it's 40 degrees and raining, oh well. Sweat pants over the
bike shorts work fairly well, the only problem will be my feet. I
mount the fenders, reattach the front wheel, adjust the seat height
and get ready to go. One thing I learned is that this route has some
bad roads! I knew driving them they weren't the best but you can
really feel some of the cracks on a bike. The second thing I discover
is that hills are quite draining when they last longer than what I'm
used to in the gym :-0. I had to roll into a side street after one
hill to recover. The cars weren't too bad for the most part, but both
my potential routes do cross interstates. This one does it uphill
from my house so I may choose the route for the return trip (it is
longer as well). Tomorrow I'll test out the other direction. All in
all a very invigorating and motivating ride. I hope it will get a
little easier to manage as time goes by, this was only 5 miles.
I'd better get to doing my maintenance now, I did dry everything off
once I got back but I don;t think I'll ask about chain lubrication on
this group...
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Date: 01 Apr 2007 13:33:29
From: Jorg Lueke
Subject: Re: First Ride
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On 31, 11:40 pm, bitwisebob <bitwise...@gmail.com > wrote:
> On 31 2007 13:38:23 -0700, "Jorg Lueke" <jlueke_2...@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> >I finally got my Trek Pilot 1.2 from the store yesterday
>
> I like the looks of this bike, any comments on the bike...
> thx
>
I'll let you know over the next few months. I did test a few and
picked this one. One reason was the fit seemed really good. The
slightly larger frame 63cm was a bonus for me. I also liked the
slightly larger wheel diameter 28 versus 23/25. I'd definitely
recommend you to try this model but also look at something like a
Seqouia and other similar models.
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Date: 01 Apr 2007 13:31:02
From: Jorg Lueke
Subject: Re: First Ride
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On Apr 1, 2:56 pm, "The Historian" <neil.thehistor...@gmail.com >
wrote:
>
> Congratulations on your first road ride. I agree with you about hills.
> Nothing I did in the gym or on the bike paths prepared me for them.
There was one today that was too much, the rest I've been able to do
as long as I maintain some breath control and rhythm. I hope as I
ride that I'll hardly notice the hills in a few months.
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Date: 01 Apr 2007 13:29:19
From: Jorg Lueke
Subject: Re: First Ride
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On Apr 1, 5:03 pm, "Dave Mayer" <dave4...@hotmail.com > wrote:
>
> Nevertheless, a rare sweet moment will occur, such as when bad drivers try
> to race you past speed bumps. I like the shower of sparks effect,
> particularly coming from the undercarriage of a Volvo station wagon. Or the
> flying-load effect, when tools shower out of the back deck of a pickup.
Hehe, I'll post it when I have one of these :)
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Date: 01 Apr 2007 20:36:40
From: Bill
Subject: Re: First Ride
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Jorg Lueke wrote:
> On Apr 1, 5:03 pm, "Dave Mayer" <dave4...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> Nevertheless, a rare sweet moment will occur, such as when bad drivers try
>> to race you past speed bumps. I like the shower of sparks effect,
>> particularly coming from the undercarriage of a Volvo station wagon. Or the
>> flying-load effect, when tools shower out of the back deck of a pickup.
>
> Hehe, I'll post it when I have one of these :)
>
They are fun to watch. I had one about a month ago where the kid just
kind of ground metal at slow speed over 2 speed bumps. When he saw me he
forgot about the third speed bump and, yes, there were sparks.
I also heard him coming about 1/4 mile due to his 500 watt, 'boom'
music. He is one of the locals who likes to play those 20 Hz, 500 watt
sounds and rattle every bodies windows. I laughed when he almost left
the bottom of his car on the bump. Cops are high enough they can speed
over those so the speeding low riders are easy pickings right there.
Enjoy,
Bill Baka
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Date: 01 Apr 2007 13:28:38
From: Jorg Lueke
Subject: Re: First Ride
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On Apr 1, 10:28 am, tkeats2...@hotmail.com (Tom Keats) wrote:
> I'll just leave you with two and a half observations:
>
> When people see a bike up ahead of them, they've
> just gotta get ahead of that bike; they've just
> pathologically gotta. Doesn't matter how fast
> you're going. Doesn't matter if they're driving
> a car, or riding a bike themselves. Sometimes
> they'll do stupid things, like trying to storm
> past you if there's oncoming traffic, or you're
> a mere 20 feet from a stop line. Expect it, let
> those people go, and maintain your cool. Let them
> be the ones who bust a blood vessel. Let the
> impatient ones get ahead of you, and keep the
> uncertain, stunned ones who don't know where they're
> going, behind you.
>
> Riding will infiltrate your whole lifestyle,
> affecting the food you eat, the clothes you buy,
> your sleep, your daily routine. If you ride at
> night, you may even find yourself paying attention
> to the phases of the moon. You're an engine now.
>
> It gets easier. Sort of.
>
> cheers,
> Tom
Thanks Tom. I think most motorists are fine. A few are overly
cautious when passing a bike and a few are not cautious enough.
You're right about paying attention. I did the 9 mile roundtrip to
work and back (short way/long way) today. There's a couple stretches
that are more risky. Oddly it's not the busiest places but rather the
narrow and/or bad pavement spots where it's going to be hard to move
out of anyone's way.
I do hope to ride at night, half the year the commute is in the dark.
Plus there's a nice stretch of 11 miles that I drive 3 times per week
which I'd like to convert into a bike ride as well.
As to the clothes, those shorts really do help!
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Date: 01 Apr 2007 06:56:37
From: The Historian
Subject: Re: First Ride
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On 31, 3:38 pm, "Jorg Lueke" <jlueke_2...@yahoo.com > wrote:
> I finally got my Trek Pilot 1.2 from the store yesterday and was ready
> to test out my first potential commuting route of about five miles.
> Of course it's 40 degrees and raining, oh well. Sweat pants over the
> bike shorts work fairly well, the only problem will be my feet. I
> mount the fenders, reattach the front wheel, adjust the seat height
> and get ready to go. One thing I learned is that this route has some
> bad roads! I knew driving them they weren't the best but you can
> really feel some of the cracks on a bike. The second thing I discover
> is that hills are quite draining when they last longer than what I'm
> used to in the gym :-0. I had to roll into a side street after one
> hill to recover. The cars weren't too bad for the most part, but both
> my potential routes do cross interstates. This one does it uphill
> from my house so I may choose the route for the return trip (it is
> longer as well). Tomorrow I'll test out the other direction. All in
> all a very invigorating and motivating ride. I hope it will get a
> little easier to manage as time goes by, this was only 5 miles.
>
> I'd better get to doing my maintenance now, I did dry everything off
> once I got back but I don;t think I'll ask about chain lubrication on
> this group...
Congratulations on your first road ride. I agree with you about hills.
Nothing I did in the gym or on the bike paths prepared me for them.
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Date: 01 Apr 2007 05:25:12
From: The Historian
Subject: Re: First Ride
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Tom Keats wrote:
> In article <1175373503.018661.158440@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com>,
> "Jorg Lueke" <jlueke_2000@yahoo.com> writes:
>
> Riding will infiltrate your whole lifestyle,
> affecting the food you eat, the clothes you buy,
> your sleep, your daily routine. If you ride at
> night, you may even find yourself paying attention
> to the phases of the moon. You're an engine now.
As another new rider, I second this comment. I'm amazed at the changes
that I've undergone since I purchased my bike three months ago.
Neil
http://historian2wheels.blogspot.com/
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Date: 01 Apr 2007 01:28:07
From: Tom Keats
Subject: Re: First Ride
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In article <1175373503.018661.158440@l77g2000hsb.googlegroups.com >,
"Jorg Lueke" <jlueke_2000@yahoo.com > writes:
> I finally got my Trek Pilot 1.2 from the store yesterday and was ready
> to test out my first potential commuting route of about five miles.
> Of course it's 40 degrees and raining, oh well. Sweat pants over the
> bike shorts work fairly well, the only problem will be my feet. I
> mount the fenders, reattach the front wheel, adjust the seat height
> and get ready to go. One thing I learned is that this route has some
> bad roads! I knew driving them they weren't the best but you can
> really feel some of the cracks on a bike. The second thing I discover
> is that hills are quite draining when they last longer than what I'm
> used to in the gym :-0. I had to roll into a side street after one
> hill to recover. The cars weren't too bad for the most part, but both
> my potential routes do cross interstates. This one does it uphill
> from my house so I may choose the route for the return trip (it is
> longer as well). Tomorrow I'll test out the other direction. All in
> all a very invigorating and motivating ride. I hope it will get a
> little easier to manage as time goes by, this was only 5 miles.
You did very well, and I congratulate you.
I encourage you to persist, even though you
don't really need outside encouragement.
It doesn't hurt to get some, though.
A lot of folks would be put-off the thought
of riding, by 40 degrees + rain.
> I'd better get to doing my maintenance now, I did dry everything off
> once I got back but I don;t think I'll ask about chain lubrication on
> this group...
I'll just leave you with two and a half observations:
When people see a bike up ahead of them, they've
just gotta get ahead of that bike; they've just
pathologically gotta. Doesn't matter how fast
you're going. Doesn't matter if they're driving
a car, or riding a bike themselves. Sometimes
they'll do stupid things, like trying to storm
past you if there's oncoming traffic, or you're
a mere 20 feet from a stop line. Expect it, let
those people go, and maintain your cool. Let them
be the ones who bust a blood vessel. Let the
impatient ones get ahead of you, and keep the
uncertain, stunned ones who don't know where they're
going, behind you.
Riding will infiltrate your whole lifestyle,
affecting the food you eat, the clothes you buy,
your sleep, your daily routine. If you ride at
night, you may even find yourself paying attention
to the phases of the moon. You're an engine now.
It gets easier. Sort of.
cheers,
Tom
--
Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca
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Date: 01 Apr 2007 16:03:35
From: Dave Mayer
Subject: Re: First Ride
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"Tom Keats" <tkeats2005@hotmail.com > wrote in message
news:7vtnue.vh.ln@bud.garden.local...
> When people see a bike up ahead of them, they've
> just gotta get ahead of that bike; they've just
> pathologically gotta. Doesn't matter how fast
> you're going.
Yeah: there are drivers that will do everything to get around you. These
fall into 4 categories:
- Young guys in obnoxious, loud, jacked-up pickup trucks. The hip-hop,
white-trash demographic. These guys are genuinely dangerous, in that if
they don't peg you with their empty beer cans, they'll take your head off
with the rearview mirror. Particularly dangerous in rural areas, while they
are driving between their ijuana crops, or are basically bored and see a
chance run over a stray pet or to hassle a cyclist. However, between the
thumping of their 300-watt sound system, and their lack of legal mufflers,
you can hear these guys blocks in advance. As a cyclist, the best is to
just to dive for cover....,
- Young guys in beat-up nondescript white panel trucks, racing the crap out
of the company vehicle between service calls. These guys made the mistake
of graduating with useless BA degrees, and now are pissed-off with their
jobs, their lives and everything. Dangerous, in that they just want to get
their workday finished as fast as possible, and in general have nothing to
lose.
- Teenage girls blowing through stop signs in little sports-utility
vehicles. Between applying makeup in the rearview mirror and having a cell
phone essentially grafted to their heads, lack of attention is the problem
here.
- Egomanic/monomanics On A Mission, invariably driving 300-series BMWs.
Pointless ambition and associated impatience (gotta sell that condo and
score that commission!!!) and driver multasking the problem here.
But don't take this personally. Riding a bike safely is a Zen thing - you
must not carry with you any sense of justice, or any ego or have any other
preoccupations. In a driver/bike confrontation, the bike will lose. Ride
defensively, yield the right of way when there is any doubt, and constantly
assess and anticipate the motivations of the moving targets around you.
Nevertheless, a rare sweet moment will occur, such as when bad drivers try
to race you past speed bumps. I like the shower of sparks effect,
particularly coming from the undercarriage of a Volvo station wagon. Or the
flying-load effect, when tools shower out of the back deck of a pickup.
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Date: 01 Apr 2007 21:33:54
From: nash
Subject: Re: First Ride
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"Dave Mayer" <dave4242@hotmail.com > wrote in message
news:rJQPh.14268$aG1.10922@pd7urf3no...
> "Tom Keats" <tkeats2005@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:7vtnue.vh.ln@bud.garden.local...
>
>> When people see a bike up ahead of them, they've
>> just gotta get ahead of that bike; they've just
>> pathologically gotta. Doesn't matter how fast
>> you're going.
>
> Yeah: there are drivers that will do everything to get around you. These
> fall into 4 categories:
>
> - Young guys in obnoxious, loud, jacked-up pickup trucks. The hip-hop,
> white-trash demographic. These guys are genuinely dangerous, in that if
> they don't peg you with their empty beer cans, they'll take your head off
> with the rearview mirror. Particularly dangerous in rural areas, while
> they are driving between their ijuana crops, or are basically bored and
> see a chance run over a stray pet or to hassle a cyclist. However,
> between the thumping of their 300-watt sound system, and their lack of
> legal mufflers, you can hear these guys blocks in advance. As a cyclist,
> the best is to just to dive for cover....,
>
> - Young guys in beat-up nondescript white panel trucks, racing the crap
> out of the company vehicle between service calls. These guys made the
> mistake of graduating with useless BA degrees, and now are pissed-off with
> their jobs, their lives and everything. Dangerous, in that they just want
> to get their workday finished as fast as possible, and in general have
> nothing to lose.
>
> - Teenage girls blowing through stop signs in little sports-utility
> vehicles. Between applying makeup in the rearview mirror and having a
> cell phone essentially grafted to their heads, lack of attention is the
> problem here.
>
> - Egomanic/monomanics On A Mission, invariably driving 300-series BMWs.
> Pointless ambition and associated impatience (gotta sell that condo and
> score that commission!!!) and driver multasking the problem here.
>
> But don't take this personally. Riding a bike safely is a Zen thing -
> you must not carry with you any sense of justice, or any ego or have any
> other preoccupations. In a driver/bike confrontation, the bike will lose.
> Ride defensively, yield the right of way when there is any doubt, and
> constantly assess and anticipate the motivations of the moving targets
> around you.
>
> Nevertheless, a rare sweet moment will occur, such as when bad drivers try
> to race you past speed bumps. I like the shower of sparks effect,
> particularly coming from the undercarriage of a Volvo station wagon. Or
> the flying-load effect, when tools shower out of the back deck of a
> pickup.
>
>
You have learned well Grasshopper. keep it up
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Date: 31 Mar 2007 15:40:50
From: bitwisebob
Subject: Re: First Ride
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On 31 2007 13:38:23 -0700, "Jorg Lueke" <jlueke_2000@yahoo.com >
wrote:
>I finally got my Trek Pilot 1.2 from the store yesterday
I like the looks of this bike, any comments on the bike...
thx
---
Bob Anderson*Bitwisebob
Eugene Oregon
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