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[Mascot]

Wow, nice. How did you manage that?

Edit - Ahh, just saw it on Hot UK Deals.

Yeah, sorry - meant to post a link. I was just heading out for a blast on the bike and forgot to add it. Just got back..!
There's nothing wrong with my 18-year-old Shimano spuds but they surely can't last forever and this seemed like too good a bargain to pass up.

Edit: took this pic today in the Severn estuary. Didn't spot Bride Of Chucky watching until I was checking it on my laptop. Apologies in advance for any nightmares caused.

*shudders*

 

[Psychotext]

Yeah.... that's pretty dark. lol

Also looks like that rock is on fire, which is all sorts of wrong.

 

[Mascot]

I'm gonna go back tomorrow and see if her head rotated to follow me as I cycled away.

 

[ph33nix]

I got my bike today.

Just feels so good to be back on wheels. Still gotta get the other stuff though...but I'm looking forward to my mornings again :-D

 

[Psychotext]

Nice.

 

[Mascot]

So who here cycles to work? I start a new job on Monday and am chuffed to fuck that I can easily bike in. Actually, it's only a seven-minute walk from home, but, you know. Bikes and stuff.
Plus it's on the way to the woods and I finish at 4:30pm, so straight from work to God's Playground seems like a sensible option.

FUCK COMMUTING! Traffic jams are for SUCKERS!!!11

 

[Jzero]

Switched to a bash & chain guide setup.

My work pants don't get stuck on the damn teeth anymore.

So who here cycles to work? I start a new job on Monday and am chuffed to fuck that I can easily bike in. Actually, it's only a seven-minute walk from home, but, you know. Bikes and stuff.
Plus it's on the way to the woods and I finish at 4:30pm, so straight from work to God's Playground seems like a sensible option.

FUCK COMMUTING! Traffic jams are for SUCKERS!!!11

I do. 8 miles each way.

 

[GillaTheGorilla]

So who here cycles to work? I start a new job on Monday and am chuffed to fuck that I can easily bike in. Actually, it's only a seven-minute walk from home, but, you know. Bikes and stuff.
Plus it's on the way to the woods and I finish at 4:30pm, so straight from work to God's Playground seems like a sensible option.

FUCK COMMUTING! Traffic jams are for SUCKERS!!!11

I do 10 miles each way everyday and love beating my bus home and flying past those in a jam. I am about to change jobs and half my commute time but plan to extend my ride to take in a few hills.

 

[robox]

So who here cycles to work?
FUCK COMMUTING! Traffic jams are for SUCKERS!!!11

14km 1 way. + any after school excursions.
used to do 8km 1 way.
was way too easy on road bike so it was the impetus to go fixed gear

 

[Mascot]

Danger? Quarries are not play areas? Stay away? Signs like this are like a red rag to a bull. They are practically begging me to jump in.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

So who here cycles to work? I start a new job on Monday and am chuffed to fuck that I can easily bike in. Actually, it's only a seven-minute walk from home, but, you know. Bikes and stuff.
Plus it's on the way to the woods and I finish at 4:30pm, so straight from work to God's Playground seems like a sensible option.

FUCK COMMUTING! Traffic jams are for SUCKERS!!!11

My commute is 14 miles from home to work. I don't beat the bus in the morning but in the afternoon - especially on nice sunny days when everyone is leaving work early - my one-hour commute time is much less than the time a bus would spend in traffic.

Distance 14.29 miles
Bike Ride
CLIMB 275 ft

Description: This is a 14.29 mi Bike Ride in . The Bike Ride has a total ascent of 275.59 ft and has a maximum elevation of 288.71 ft.

Distance 14.03miles
Bike Ride
CLIMB 515 ft

Description: This is a 14.03 mi Bike Ride in . The Bike Ride has a total ascent of 515.09 ft and has a maximum elevation of 288.71 ft.

Slightly different routes due to bike paths in the downtown area going different directions. Plus, there's this:

I'm usually in in the sub 300 range.

 

[Jzero]

Fuck! i broke my rear wheel axle

Well, that repair cost me $230 since i needed my bike for work tomorrow.

 

[kottila]

Anyone had any experience with the scary front wheel wobble while descending? It happens to me semi-regularly and it really gets to me mentally. not sure if it's the wheel, the bike, my positioning or a combination. Was out on a group ride doing 50k/h downhill, with some bursts of cross wind and suddenly the bike just tries to throw me off. Luckily I managed to get it under control again, but it scared the crap out of me. Dreaded every downhill for the rest of the ride, but luckily it didn't happen again that day. Hard to take it slow downhill when you know it means you'll lose the group.

It probably didn't look as bad as this, but it sure felt like it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VfngbsIUSj8#t=24

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

I've been dealing with that myself lately. I hate it because I'm so used to just gripping the handlebar for braking purposes, not holding on it for dear life. The little research I've done on it says it could be a truing issue so I'm going to be trying that first. My headset bolts keep coming undone from the vibration as well. I've had to tighten them up every three days or so and it's probably a 1/4" gap each time.

Yeah, my bike's scaring me right now.

 

[cbox]

Anyone had any experience with the scary front wheel wobble while descending? It happens to me semi-regularly and it really gets to me mentally. not sure if it's the wheel, the bike, my positioning or a combination. Was out on a group ride doing 50k/h downhill, with some bursts of cross wind and suddenly the bike just tries to throw me off. Luckily I managed to get it under control again, but it scared the crap out of me. Dreaded every downhill for the rest of the ride, but luckily it didn't happen again that day. Hard to take it slow downhill when you know it means you'll lose the group.

It probably didn't look as bad as this, but it sure felt like it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=VfngbsIUSj8#t=24

What's your position downhill? Maybe too much pressure on the front, or not enough? Ensure your wheels are true too, faster you go the worse it can feel. You may have also hit a weird patch of road that caused a snowball effect.

I downhilled one day and hit a patch of uneven road where roadworkers tarred the cracks. Started a violent wobble which I was luckily able to control.

 

[Psychotext]

The real answer is to lock up your rear wheel and go for the slide of your life!

 

[kottila]

I guess it was mostly a positional thing with too much weight towards the back. Tried a new downhill position today and had no problems. Feels like spring now, 10+ degrees, so I managed 110km today (euro century!). Obligatory photo

 

[Mascot]

Took a meaty tumble this afternoon down a steep technical rocky section known locally as Jacob's Ladder. The bike seemed OK but felt like the gears needed a tweak afterwards, so when I got home I gave it a good wash on my wall-mounted clamp outside and started re-indexing the gears.

Seemed like the damage was worse than I initially thought as the front mech totally locked up and I couldn't for the life of me work out what the problem was. The shifter was slack and I couldn't get the chain off the big ring - it was as if the return spring was knackered, but everything looked okay.

After twenty minutes of pissing about and scratching my head it suddenly occurred to me that I'd clamped the front mech cable against the frame.

Undid the clamp and *ping!* - everything back to normal.

What a dumbass!

 

[Psychotext]

Good to hear you're ok.

 

[outunderthestars]

Do any of you read any bicycle magazines?

I'm a big fan of Bicycle Quarterly:

Bicycle Times:

and Bunyan Velo:

All three cover bicycling from unique perspectives: Bicycle Quarterly is a very tech driven magazine, focusing on long distance riding. Bicycle Times covers non-competitive bicycle culture, and Bunyan Velo is all about bicycle travel/adventure. What do you read?

 

[Psychotext]

MBR

What Mountain Bike

Singletrack (sometimes)

MBUK (sometimes)

 

[Mascot]

Good to hear you're ok.

Ha ha - thanks..! If nothing obvious is broken and no giblets are hanging out of my sides then I'm always more concerned about the bike in situations like this..!

+1 for MBR above alhough i've not read it in a while. Used to subscribe to MBUK about twenty-five years ago - I can't believe those mags are still going..! Used to love the free VHS tapes of Hans Rey etc they used to give away.

 

[thomaser]

Two days until I go to my first long distance biking trip! Any last-minute tips? I have never used a racing cycle before, only mountain bikes. How should I sit on the bike to make it comfortable, and so on? I have a stiff neck/shoulder-area that gets irritated quickly, so I want to minimize any impact there. I have padded gloves, at the very least.

 

[outunderthestars]

Two days until I go to my first long distance biking trip! Any last-minute tips? I have never used a racing cycle before, only mountain bikes. How should I sit on the bike to make it comfortable, and so on? I have a stiff neck/shoulder-area that gets irritated quickly, so I want to minimize any impact there. I have padded gloves, at the very least.

How many miles are you riding? The key to long distance riding is comfort. Go slower than you think you should, and stay out of the hardest gears. Make sure you are stretching often and changing hand positions even more often. Eat before you feel hungry and drink before you feel thirsty. Keep your eyes on the horizon, and avoid dropping your head as this will cause that neck and shoulder soreness.

And above all, make sure you are having fun.

On my phone, so forgive the raw links:

http://www.bikeovernights.org/page/bike-overnight-resources/how

http://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/how-to-department/

 

[Mascot]

My bargain Scott spuds have arrived, and Start Cycles threw in a free Scott water bottle too, which was nice. I always appreciate it when they do things like this.

It's a bit of a risk buying shoes online without trying them on first but thankfully these fit like a glove, if you know what I mean. Forgot to buy a new pair of cleats for them but managed to find a couple amongst my biking stuff. I think they must have come free with some Shimano pedals I bought last year.

Right - lovely day here so off for a test ride!

 

[Psychotext]

I have a brand new pair of Shimano shoes that are in a box and have been for the last three month. I want to get a proper cleat fitting session done but I just don't have time to sort it out.

 

[thomaser]

How many miles are you riding? The key to long distance riding is comfort. Go slower than you think you should, and stay out of the hardest gears. Make sure you are stretching often and changing hand positions even more often. Eat before you feel hungry and drink before you feel thirsty. Keep your eyes on the horizon, and avoid dropping your head as this will cause that neck and shoulder soreness.

And above all, make sure you are having fun.

On my phone, so forgive the raw links:

http://www.bikeovernights.org/page/bike-overnight-resources/how

http://www.adventurecycling.org/resources/how-to-department/

Thanks for the advice! I'm going somewhere between 400-500 kms, depending on the routes. But it's spread over a week, so the daily distance isn't that bad. Around 70 kms on average. But it's still much longer than I have ever cycled before, so I'm curious to see how it will go. I tire very easily on steep inclines (probably normal), and there's at least one 10 km incline along the way, and lots of shorter ones. Went on an 18 km trip today on my mountain bike, and some of the steep 200 m-long inclines took all my strength to climb... using a road bike might make them easier?

The tempo should be nice and moderate. We're 32 people from athletes to untrained, so the pack will probably be stretched out a lot, with me somewhere in the back. But there are many stops with good food, so I'm looking forward to good times

I figured holding my head up for long periods would be very tiring, but you say the opposite, so I guess I'm wrong. I'm bringing stretch bands, massage balls and so on to keep the shoulders and neck healthy.

 

[outunderthestars]

Thanks for the advice! I'm going somewhere between 400-500 kms, depending on the routes. But it's spread over a week, so the daily distance isn't that bad. Around 70 kms on average. But it's still much longer than I have ever cycled before, so I'm curious to see how it will go. I tire very easily on steep inclines (probably normal), and there's at least one 10 km incline along the way, and lots of shorter ones. Went on an 18 km trip today on my mountain bike, and some of the steep 200 m-long inclines took all my strength to climb... using a road bike might make them easier?

The tempo should be nice and moderate. We're 32 people from athletes to untrained, so the pack will probably be stretched out a lot, with me somewhere in the back. But there are many stops with good food, so I'm looking forward to good times

I figured holding my head up for long periods would be very tiring, but you say the opposite, so I guess I'm wrong. I'm bringing stretch bands, massage balls and so on to keep the shoulders and neck healthy.

When you drop your head you two things. You make it more difficult to breathe, depriving muscles of oxygen, and you also put more strain on the muscles and tendons in your neck and shoulders.

Just remember to take it slow and steady, take it slow on hills, and make sure you are resting well between days on the bike. I am also a big proponent of recovery drinks.

 

[Psychotext]

You're going to hurt... bad. The worst thing is that if you haven't been cycling regularly then by the third day your ass will be utterly fucked.

I suggest chamois cream for every day, and then painkillers from day 2 onwards.

 

[thomaser]

When you drop your head you two things. You make it more difficult to breathe, depriving muscles of oxygen, and you also put more strain on the muscles and tendons in your neck and shoulders.

Just remember to take it slow and steady, take it slow on hills, and make sure you are resting well between days on the bike. I am also a big proponent of recovery drinks.

Ok, I'll try to keep my head up. Hills will be taken slowly, that's for sure. We got backpacks filled with recovery drinks, liquid magnesium, protein bars and energy gel from a sponsor, so I'm good at that point

You're going to hurt... bad. The worst thing is that if you haven't been cycling regularly then by the third day your ass will be utterly fucked.

I suggest chamois cream for every day, and then painkillers from day 2 onwards.

Yikes! The arrangers promised sore muscles and aching asses, but I hope it won't be so bad that I have to use painkillers Don't have chamois cream, but I have a tub of vaseline. Will that do?

 

[Mascot]

You're going to hurt... bad. The worst thing is that if you haven't been cycling regularly then by the third day your ass will be utterly fucked.

I suggest chamois cream for every day, and then painkillers from day 2 onwards.

Further to this, if you haven't ridden for a while you can buy a gel saddle cover to reduce initial bruising and ease ongoing ass-pain. The cool kids might stamp on your feet and flush your head down the toilet but it'll be worth it.

Something like this

 

[outunderthestars]

Further to this, if you haven't ridden for a while you can buy a gel saddle cover to reduce initial bruising and ease ongoing ass-pain. The cool kids might stamp on your feet and flush your head down the toilet but it'll be worth it.

Something like this

The issue with saddle covers is that most of them slide around like there is no tomorrow, and the get doesn't actually stay in place. If you can crush the gel padding down with the force of light finger press, how much support would it actually provide for someone's sitting weight?

One is better off investing in a good pair of cycling shorts::

 

[Psychotext]

Yikes! The arrangers promised sore muscles and aching asses, but I hope it won't be so bad that I have to use painkillers Don't have chamois cream, but I have a tub of vaseline. Will that do?

Better than nothing, I'm sure someone will have some you can grab though.

But I'll echo the padded shorts suggestion. I couldn't imagine doing multi-day rides without them.

 

[thomaser]

I have a Craft bib with padding - this one:

Don't know how it will feel in a long distance ride. It's been great for my shorter rides, though.

Haven't bought a gel saddle cover. Maybe tomorrow. I've spent so much money on this trip and on all kinds of gear that I'm hesitant to spend even more. Here's some of the stuff I'm bringing, most of it bought just recently:

- padded gloves
- padded bib shorts
- lightweight wind/rain jacket
- bike glasses with exchangeable lenses
- mtb clipless shoes
- cycle jersey with back pockets (got it for free, yay)
- energy gels, recovery drink in powder form, protein bars
- vaseline, sunscreen, maybe some antibacterial cream
- Gopro camera with bike and chest mounts
- Garmin 510 cycle computer
- phone with a bunch of cycle apps, probably won't use any of them since I have the Garmin
- portable battery pack so I can charge everything
- multi-adapter so I can charge the battery pack
- cables for all the doo-dads
- normal clothes, money, passport, a couple of books
- oh, and the bike, helmet and water bottle are provided once we get there

I think I have everything I need. Feels like I'm going on an expedition or something. I'm such a noob, haha

 

[Mascot]

The issue with saddle covers is that most of them slide around like there is no tomorrow, and the get doesn't actually stay in place. If you can crush the gel padding down with the force of light finger press, how much support would it actually provide for someone's sitting weight?

Ah, never used one myself - didn't think about it moving around. Just figured it might help in conjunction with a good padded pair of shorts.

 

[Christoff Yurievich]

Also, gel covers are more likely to cause problems with numbness in your crotch. Nothing more disconcerting than getting off the bike and finding out your dick fell asleep while you were riding. The pins and needles effect is just not something one should experience in that area.

 

[Mascot]

Also, gel covers are more likely to cause problems with numbness in your crotch. Nothing more disconcerting than getting off the bike and finding out your dick fell asleep while you were riding. The pins and needles effect is just not something one should experience in that area.

Strap some porn to your handlebars and voila! Problem solved.

 

[Psychotext]

Strap some porn to your handlebars and voila! Problem solved.

I... uhh... tried something similar once (Wife plus turbo trainer). It didn't help. lol

 

[Mascot]

I... uhh... tried something similar once (Wife plus turbo trainer). It didn't help. lol

POIDH.

 

[Psychotext]

Bah, too busy pumping

Spoiler

legs

to take pics.

 

[Mascot]

Heads up, UKSpandex-CycleGAF: six month sub to Cycling Plus magazine for £25 with a free Cateye Strada Slim (worth fifty bones, apparently) thrown in.

Interested? Click me.

 

[Danielsan]

Joining the club

My first real MTB.

Just had a test drive (37 km) with some buddies. Mostly road, with some hills and a small off-road section in between.

 

[Mascot]

Joining the club

http://i.imgur.com/263y7sC.jpg[IMG]

My first real MTB. :)

Just had a test drive (37 km) with some buddies. Mostly road, with some hills and a small off-road section in between.[/QUOTE]

Nice looking bike. Needs some mud on it though! :P

 

[Danielsan]

Nice looking bike. Needs some mud on it though!

Haha, in due time. Still need to get comfortable riding off-road. Eventually I want ride on this mountain bike trail which is relatively close by:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mSqHgcNHp4


FYI. I live in The Netherlands, so we don't have any real mountains.

 

[Mascot]

Haha, in due time. Still need to get comfortable riding off-road. Eventually I want ride on this mountain bike trail which is relatively close by:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mSqHgcNHp4

Looks like fun. How near? Can you ride to get there?

 

[Danielsan]

Looks like fun. How near? Can you ride to get there?

I could, but it's about 30-35km just to get there from where I live. Meanwhile if I were to take the train it would be 12,5 - 15km from the nearest station. I'm not sure that a riding all the way there, followed by the actual trail, and then all the way back would be recommended as a beginner. I do intend to try it at some point though.

 

[Psychotext]

Lovely bit of kit. Congrats.

 

[Kelas]

Ordered these as soon as the weather turned a bit nicer and got them in yesterday.

Already own a size m of the jersey in black, which I'll keep for stuffing layers under in the colder months; went for an s this time round which is a far nicer fit. Some people aren't way into branded shirts, but I stuck with what I knew (through 150+ washes, the black one is still pristine). Spent more on the gloves than I thought I'd ever spend on a measly pair of gloves, but they're super comfortable. Hopefully as hard wearing as my other endura stuff.

 

[Mascot]

New job, new opportunity to join the good old cycle-to-work scheme to save "up to" (lol) 42% off the price of a bike and equipment.

Brief details

Any GAFers used it? Care to share your thoughts?

 

[outunderthestars]

Joining the club

My first real MTB.

Just had a test drive (37 km) with some buddies. Mostly road, with some hills and a small off-road section in between.

Beautiful bike. Now go beat the snot out of it.