If You Ride a Bicycle Regularly...

[tskeeter]

Aug 3, 2015 15:32:51 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

Aug 3, 2015 13:26:59 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

...

He said he started off riding mountain bikes on dirt trails, but he changed to roads because he kept breaking stuff on his bikes. ...

It is certainly a pain when things break on your bike when you are in the back country. Of course, there are worse things to break. I never broke anything but did have one crash that left me unable to ride and limping about a mile to get out.

When I started on the mountain bike a few years after seriously riding a road bike, I kept going over the front handlebars. Couldn't figure out why. Then one evening my ex looked up from her computer with a smile on her face. She had found an article about a bicycle company which had given bikes to motocross riders as a promo. They were also going over the front of their new bikes. She asked me what hand I used to engage the clutch on my motorcycle. I told her my left. Yes, I was locking down the front brake hard. Never went over the front again once I was aware.

Time to switch the brake cable from one brake lever to the other?

[billisonboard]

Aug 3, 2015 15:45:22 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Aug 3, 2015 15:32:51 GMT -5 billisonboard said:

It is certainly a pain when things break on your bike when you are in the back country. Of course, there are worse things to break. I never broke anything but did have one crash that left me unable to ride and limping about a mile to get out.

When I started on the mountain bike a few years after seriously riding a road bike, I kept going over the front handlebars. Couldn't figure out why. Then one evening my ex looked up from her computer with a smile on her face. She had found an article about a bicycle company which had given bikes to motocross riders as a promo. They were also going over the front of their new bikes. She asked me what hand I used to engage the clutch on my motorcycle. I told her my left. Yes, I was locking down the front brake hard. Never went over the front again once I was aware.

Time to switch the brake cable from one brake lever to the other?

That is exactly what the bike company did with the motocross riders. It was weird but for me, all I needed was the awareness of what I was doing and I was able to stop doing it.

[Deleted]

Aug 3, 2015 15:20:17 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Aug 3, 2015 14:28:35 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

My friend dug out her old cruiser to try bike riding since I kept going on about how much I liked it. She liked it and went and bought a used Trek hybrid. I warned her that you don't just buy a bike. If you start riding, you buy gear.

I was surprised by the amount of money I was spending on gear and accessories just to be comfortable riding and have what I "needed". I quickly discovered I didn't know what I was getting into when I bought my bike. Once I got all that together, I thought I was done, at least until it got cooler and I needed warmer clothes.

Then I started wanting a road bike.

Now tskeeter is cracking jokes about a whole stable of bikes. I don't see me getting THAT carried away. LOL!

Bad news.  Ain't no limit to what you "need".  Soon you're going to graduate to new pedals and cycling shoes, so you can ride more efficiently.  Then are tights and long sleeved jerseys, so you can continue to ride outdoors in cold weather.  And the shoe covers, to keep your feet warm.  And a cycling jacket, with wind resistant front panels and breathable back to help wick away perspiration on those cold days.  And lights.  Cause in the winter time it gets dark before you've got your daily ride in.  And a good floor pump, cause those frame pumps take a lot of work to top off a tire before every ride.  And the repair stand, to hold your bike while you clean or service it.  And tools.  Chain breakers, freewheel tools, third hands, allen wrenches and pedal wrenches.  Cause who wants to leave their bike at the shop for two or three days for a minor repair or adjustment?  And the roof rack, cause you're gonna want to explore new places to ride and get to races in other places.  And you'll ride with your buds, so you've gotta have a rack for at least four bikes.  At least you haven't bought a rack for the car and another rack for the truck, or your own wheel truing stand.  Yet.      

Yes, that is bad news. I kind of get the feeling you're getting a kick out of telling me exactly how bad it can get. LOL!

But you know what, I don't have a regular hobby that I spend a lot of time and/or money on. So if cycling ends up being my thing and over time I spend a lot of money on something I really enjoy that helps me be healthy, well, worse things could happen.

I've always liked road trips and I've already started thinking about venturing farther from home to explore new places on my bike. If I didn't ask "where do you ride" in my OP, I meant to. I'm curious about where people ride regularly, just because my area has only started getting bike-friendly in the last few years and we still have a long way to go. I was also hoping people would mention bike-friendly, scenic places that might be worth traveling to.

I think most people that have posted so far live a long way for me to take a road trip somewhere near where they are. I live in the southeast part of the country. But I also get 5 weeks of vacation time every year, so a long road trip isn't out of the question if I come across something I really want to do and I plan for it.

If I ever say I've started trying to fix and change stuff on my bike myself, you'll know I officially have the fever. I'm soooo not into fiddling with stuff.

[billisonboard]

I'm not going to quote but will throw some things out there. 

When I lived in the Puget Sound area I had a "Bakery by Bike" book. It was fun to have that type of stop on a ride. 

Used to do about a seventeen mile ride out to breakfast and then back again. Got a day off to a wonderful start. 

I hear the northeast in the fall has incredible colors on the trees.


AND - please tell me you know how and carry the means to fix a flat and a broken chain.  To me, that is a personal safety issue. 

[Deleted]

AND - please tell me you know how and carry the means to fix a flat and a broken chain. To me, that is a personal safety issue.



I promise I will learn. Soon! I do carry a spare tube, levers, a mini-pump and a small multi-tool. But I don't know how to use them yet. And if my chain breaks, I'm screwed.

I've paid more attention these last few months, and public places around here don't even have bike racks or anywhere to leave a bike while you go inside. If I did want to ride to a store or other place of business, I wouldn't know what to do with my bike when I got there.
 

[tskeeter]

Aug 3, 2015 16:19:54 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

Aug 3, 2015 15:20:17 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Bad news.  Ain't no limit to what you "need".  Soon you're going to graduate to new pedals and cycling shoes, so you can ride more efficiently.  Then are tights and long sleeved jerseys, so you can continue to ride outdoors in cold weather.  And the shoe covers, to keep your feet warm.  And a cycling jacket, with wind resistant front panels and breathable back to help wick away perspiration on those cold days.  And lights.  Cause in the winter time it gets dark before you've got your daily ride in.  And a good floor pump, cause those frame pumps take a lot of work to top off a tire before every ride.  And the repair stand, to hold your bike while you clean or service it.  And tools.  Chain breakers, freewheel tools, third hands, allen wrenches and pedal wrenches.  Cause who wants to leave their bike at the shop for two or three days for a minor repair or adjustment?  And the roof rack, cause you're gonna want to explore new places to ride and get to races in other places.  And you'll ride with your buds, so you've gotta have a rack for at least four bikes.  At least you haven't bought a rack for the car and another rack for the truck, or your own wheel truing stand.  Yet.      

Yes, that is bad news. I kind of get the feeling you're getting a kick out of telling me exactly how bad it can get. LOL!

But you know what, I don't have a regular hobby that I spend a lot of time and/or money on. So if cycling ends up being my thing and over time I spend a lot of money on something I really enjoy that helps me be healthy, well, worse things could happen.

I've always liked road trips and I've already started thinking about venturing farther from home to explore new places on my bike. If I didn't ask "where do you ride" in my OP, I meant to. I'm curious about where people ride regularly, just because my area has only started getting bike-friendly in the last few years and we still have a long way to go. I was also hoping people would mention bike-friendly, scenic places that might be worth traveling to.

I think most people that have posted so far live a long way for me to take a road trip somewhere near where they are. I live in the southeast part of the country. But I also get 5 weeks of vacation time every year, so a long road trip isn't out of the question if I come across something I really want to do and I plan for it.

If I ever say I've started trying to fix and change stuff on my bike myself, you'll know I officially have the fever. I'm soooo not into fiddling with stuff.

Who? Me? 



(there might be a reason why I can recite this stuff off the top of my head )


One of the more scenic (and challenging) places I've ridden was the Blue Ridge Parkway from Roanoke, VA to near Asheville, NC.  At the time I rode it, it was a two lane road with no bike lanes.  However, traffic was light, low speed, and very courteous.  This is also a great opportunity to visit Biltmore House, in Asheville.  (Biltmore is that great chateau style manor house that used to appear in the Sears paint commecials.  Just as spectacular as it appears in the commercials.) 

When I lived in Buffalo, NY, my friends and I used to like to take Sunday morning rides on the parkway along the Canadian side of the Niagra river from the Peace Bridge to Niagra Falls or to Niagra on the Lake and back.

Check out rail to trails locations that are bike paths, often unpaved, that use abandon railroad grades.  I've ridden the Elroy-Sparta Trail, in central WI (unpaved, great tunnels), the Root River Trail, in southeastern MN, (paved, nice scenery, stop in Peterson for a piece of pie) and the Cannon Valley/Cannon River Trail, in southeastern MN (paved, great fall color, travels through farmland and into the Missippi River Valley at Red Wing).

A place I haven't ridden, but would like to, is along the old highway through the Hood River gorge in northwestern OR, starting at Multnoma Falls.  Or, from Timberline Lodge (worth a visit on it's own), on Mount Hood, down to the town of Hood River.  This is part of Oregon's fuit growing area and orchards for all types of fruit abound.  (Wave at the passengerd on the Hood River Railroad sight seeing train as it winds it's way through the orchards!)

If you're up for a real challenge and some playing in light to moderate traffic, how about the west side of Logan Pass from the west entrance to Glacier National Park to the top of the pass?  Ride by lakes, along Avalanche Creek, over a road cut into the side of a mountain, get misted or splashed by roadside waterfalls, from the evergreen forests to above the treeline alpine meadows in a single day.

Speaking of national parks and alpine meadows, Tuolome Meadows and the upper section of Yosemite to the Tioga Pass entrance on the east side of the park has nice scenery.  Many sight seers never get out of Yosemite Valley, so the number of people is quite a bit lower in Tuolome Meadows than in the valley.  Again, this is a two lane, no bike path, no shoulder roadway.  So you need to be comfortable with passing cars and RV's.  This is the place of Ansel Adam's high country photos with alpine lakes, towering peaks, and snowfields until mid summer many years.  Watch deer feeding next to roadside ponds and check out the hotdog stealing coyote trotting down the edge of the road just down from the campground.

Also used to enjoy riding around Stone Mountain Park, near Atlanta, on Sunday mornings before the park got busy.  A lot of the rural roads around the Atanta area were nice rides, too.  Low traffic counts, rolling hills, farmland and trees.  And again, courteous drivers.  I remember looking over my shoulder while slogging up a steepish hill on a hot summer day to find four cars patiently waiting for me to reach the top of the hill.  The decision is still out as to whether it was simply patience, or whether they were waiting to see the the crazy guy on the bike was going to stall out and fall over.  Based on my riding experience in that area, I'm choosing very patient drivers. 

In the Lake Tohoe area, there is a nice paved bike trail along the Truckee River from Tahoe City to Squaw Valley ski area.  This is a ride through a  pretty mountain river valley with a river fully stocked with tubers chilling on a relaxing ride down th river.  Other branches of the Tahoe Trailways Bike Path meander along Lake Tahoe's western shore.  The long term plan is to connect this bike path network with other bike paths in the area so the route will extend the full length of the Truckee River from Lake Tahoe, through Reno, to Pyramid Lake.           

[MJ2.0]

This thread is making me miss my bike. It's at the house and I can't really ride it while I'm there.

[Deleted]

tskeeter, of all the places you mentioned, Atlanta is the only one that I can do fairly easily. I've made that drive countless times. And if I go there, I don't even have to stay at a hotel unless I want to. Patient drivers are good lol. Hmmm....

The trail I rode this morning crosses a few streets. The drivers in that area are use to seeing cyclists and most of them are very courteous. Sometimes so courteous that I get confused and flustered. Even when they have the right of way, they'll stop and wave me on. Once I stop, I have to get my pedals situated before I get going again (don't laugh!), and between that and trying to make sure another car isn't coming from the other direction, I almost always get flustered because I don't want to be in anybody's way or make them wait unnecessarily. A few weeks ago I got so flustered and goofy that I scraped my leg up with my pedal lol.

This morning it happened again and I tried to wave the truck that was waiting on me to go ahead. I was laughing at myself for being goofy and there were cars behind him. He wouldn't go, just kept waving me on across the street. I was slow, but I finally managed to get across the darn street.

I've tried stopping farther back from the street so they'll just go, but sometimes they still stop. Maybe I should learn to trackstand or something lol.

I'm very appreciative of the drivers that look out for the cyclists that are out, but goodness it gets me out of sorts sometimes.

[ArchietheDragon]

Aug 3, 2015 19:00:10 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

This thread is making me miss my bike. It's at the house and I can't really ride it while I'm there.

Queen said it best. 



Get on your bike and ride

[Deleted]

MJ2.0, you can't take your bike with you when you're away from your house? Is there any way you can accomodate your son while you ride? I've seen parents on trails with little trailers (I don't know the proper word) behind their bikes, with a small child in it. I don't know how good or bad of an idea that is for your son's age, just thought I'd mention it. I want everybody that wants to ride a bike, to be able to ride. LOL!

[tskeeter]

Aug 4, 2015 14:52:06 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

MJ2.0, you can't take your bike with you when you're away from your house? Is there any way you can accomodate your son while you ride? I've seen parents on trails with little trailers (I don't know the proper word) behind their bikes, with a small child in it. I don't know how good or bad of an idea that is for your son's age, just thought I'd mention it. I want everybody that wants to ride a bike, to be able to ride. LOL!

A common generic reference for these bike trailers is a bugger.  After one of the first versions of a bicycle trailer that was mass marketed. 

[Artemis Windsong]

An informative article on bike adjustments.


bismarcktribune.com/news/columnists/adjust-bicycle-for-maximum-comfort/article_4a4ced7c-3d30-5eeb-a2d7-783ebc46b66f.html

[MJ2.0]

it's actually time I teach DS how to ride his bike. Someone got him one for his 3rd birthday (so it might actually be too small, lol) and it's at X's aunt's house. X doesn't know how to ride a bike so I guess it's up to me to teach him. I've envisioned us bonding while doing our nightly biking since I found out I was pregnant, so I guess I need to start working to make that a reality.

[Artemis Windsong]

The nightly biking or another pregnancy?

[MJ2.0]

dear Lord, the biking!!!!

[Cookies Galore]

Aug 3, 2015 14:03:56 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Aug 3, 2015 13:26:59 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

A male coworker that's been riding bikes for years went riding with me and a friend this morning. He brought a "granddaddy" bike instead of his road bike to help him ride slower. He rides faster than both of us and I ride faster than my friend. I was happy to have a chance to ride with someone that's faster than me, because I've heard that helps you eventually get faster. But we couldn't just take off and leave the 3rd person lol. Or ride so far that she couldn't get back. It was fun.

He said he started off riding mountain bikes on dirt trails, but he changed to roads because he kept breaking stuff on his bikes. I told him I've been wanting to ride a dirt trail since I do have a mountain bike, but I'm scared to go in the woods by myself. He said I was going to make him dig up a mountain bike. I told him that's not necessary if he's going to have me always breaking something on my bike lol.

He does group rides, so maybe I can get some pointers and info about them from him about it. I hope we get to ride together again so I can see how I do trying to keep up with him. And he showed me where the trail we rode connects to another one to ride further into the city. We didn't keep going this morning because we'd already rode more miles than my friend had ever done.

I'm still resisting the temptation to go look at road bikes.

Every committed bikie needs a fleet of bikes.  A mountain bike, a great road bike, a road touring bike with a triple crankset, maybe a city bike, and, if you want your significant other to keep you company on your rides, a tandem.  As you gain experience, you'll want to try racing.  So you'll need a few more bikes.  A good road racing bike.  A tight framed crit bike.  A track bike for the velodrome.  And probably a cyclocross bike, to help you keep in shape for the summer road and track season.  And you'll need a clunker, for those winter days when you don't want to get you good bikes dipped in mud and slop.

Now, call your insurance agent and ask them if your standard insurance policy covers the $30K or so that you've invested in all those top of the line bikes, bike racks, and other related accessories.  (If you really get into it, it's not a cheap hobby.)

You sound like my husband! He's excited about house hunting now that I said he can have a bike room.

[Cookies Galore]

Aug 3, 2015 14:28:35 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

My friend dug out her old cruiser to try bike riding since I kept going on about how much I liked it. She liked it and went and bought a used Trek hybrid. I warned her that you don't just buy a bike. If you start riding, you buy gear.

I was surprised by the amount of money I was spending on gear and accessories just to be comfortable riding and have what I "needed". I quickly discovered I didn't know what I was getting into when I bought my bike. Once I got all that together, I thought I was done, at least until it got cooler and I needed warmer clothes.

Then I started wanting a road bike.

Now tskeeter is cracking jokes about a whole stable of bikes. I don't see me getting THAT carried away. LOL!

It's the same with running! You have your running shoes, back ups, trail shoes, cold weather gear, hot weather gear, "ooh, these shorts are 50% off!" gear. Lol. Finances might be a reason to only have one physical hobby!

[NancysSummerSip]

You sound like my husband! He's excited about house hunting now that I said he can have a bike room.

<<Plans to move in with Cookies and Mr. Cookies and rent the bike room.>>

[Deleted]

Aug 5, 2015 9:52:57 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Aug 3, 2015 14:28:35 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

My friend dug out her old cruiser to try bike riding since I kept going on about how much I liked it. She liked it and went and bought a used Trek hybrid. I warned her that you don't just buy a bike. If you start riding, you buy gear.

I was surprised by the amount of money I was spending on gear and accessories just to be comfortable riding and have what I "needed". I quickly discovered I didn't know what I was getting into when I bought my bike. Once I got all that together, I thought I was done, at least until it got cooler and I needed warmer clothes.

Then I started wanting a road bike.

Now tskeeter is cracking jokes about a whole stable of bikes. I don't see me getting THAT carried away. LOL!

It's the same with running! You have your running shoes, back ups, trail shoes, cold weather gear, hot weather gear, "ooh, these shorts are 50% off!" gear. Lol. Finances might be a reason to only have one physical hobby!

Lol, I sorta stopped by a bike shop yesterday to look at their used road bikes. They were all busy with other customers, so I used that as my excuse to just take a quick look only at the used road bikes and LEAVE.

I dropped my bike off at "my" shop for the tune-up they give new bikes. I stayed focused and didn't even glance at all the goodies lol.

The man that brought my bike out said that what he liked about working on my bike was that it was dirty. He said it makes him a little sad to work on bikes that are dusty. He sounded so serious, and it made me smile. Life's simple pleasures..... 

[Cookies Galore]

I ended up buying a Trek 7.2 on Saturday. I really had my eye on the Cannondale Quick (and I know hubs really wanted me to get one) but I didn't like the wide handlebars of the men's bike and the women's bike was a tall (I needed a medium). Yeah, they could have ordered a women's Quick in my size but hubs and I both had the "I want a bike and I want it NOW!" mindset. The Trek was comfortable and was all grey (gotta look cool) so I said why the hell not. I had so much fun riding around my neighborhood when we got home! I went up and down hills pretty well, if I do say so myself! I start my half marathon training at the end of the month, so now I have another cross training activity. :-)

[Wisconsin Beth]

The neighbor kid brought home a bike about 10 days ago.  The bike my son (5.5) refused to try to ride is now being ridden by him.  Well, sort of.  The training wheels are a problem.  But this thread (and post) had me poking around for better training wheels and I might have found some.  Can't hurt to try them at any rate.  Because I want both my kids to ride bikes.  So thanks Pink!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

When I could ride, I had a couple of different circuits that I took around the horse farms in Lexington, I looked for those that were 10-20 mile circuits and would do 20-30 miles on weekends.  The roads were well paved but not highly traveled, and the area around the horse farms was hilly to get some work in.  To find these, I just drove around for awhile to look at where I could park my car to start the ride.  In my neighborhood, I had a 6 mile loop that I could add mileage in 2 mile increments.  I would do this ride after work, I tried to do this after the rush hour - around 7-9, while it was still light outside.

My bike is a Specialized road bike that I paid about $1200 for 8 years ago.  Right now, it's gathering dust in the garage as I'm not sure if I should be getting back on it.

[Deleted]

I don't know how I missed these posts.

Cookies Galore, are you enjoying your bike?

I'm up to riding 20 miles now, but I haven't been riding as often as I was. It was just too hot to ride any time after mid morning and I could only do that on my days off work, so my routine kind of fell apart. Now that it's not so hot, I need to find my groove again.

I'm still fighting the urge to buy a road bike. I do look at them every now and then, if I find a deal on one left over from last years models or something, I'll be reallllly tempted to pull the trigger.

[Cookies Galore]

Sept 23, 2015 17:46:50 GMT -5 @pinkcshmere said:

I don't know how I missed these posts.

Cookies Galore, are you enjoying your bike?

I'm up to riding 20 miles now, but I haven't been riding as often as I was. It was just too hot to ride any time after mid morning and I could only do that on my days off work, so my routine kind of fell apart. Now that it's not so hot, I need to find my groove again.

I'm still fighting the urge to buy a road bike. I do look at them every now and then, if I find a deal on one left over from last years models or something, I'll be reallllly tempted to pull the trigger.

I am! I already made my first modification by replacing the stock grips with the Ergon GP3s. Hubs and I went on a 17 mile bike ride on Sunday. :-)

[Wisconsin Beth]

I did put new training wheels on my son's bike.  He (and his sister) both says these are much better training wheels so I need to order another st for DD's bike.