tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post9210178701184431188..comments2024-03-27T05:14:23.738-04:00Comments on Lovely Bicycle!: No Ride Too Short?Velouriahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-44376251588488646142013-09-21T05:15:47.564-04:002013-09-21T05:15:47.564-04:00Whenever I get fidgety from too much of being insi...Whenever I get fidgety from too much of being inside, I nip out to pull out any of my 7 bikes and saunter down the drive and back, just to feel the lovely old familiar feeling of being on a bike again. This isn't bad I guess after almost seventy years of cycling.<br />The distance? About thirty metres! It doesn't matter if you love bikes.Kiwi Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05862212310844206968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-21065304946396270372013-09-20T17:51:30.910-04:002013-09-20T17:51:30.910-04:00When one has kids, as I do, you will go on many ri...When one has kids, as I do, you will go on many rides of less than a mile, or perhaps a handful of miles, and they will be rides. Everyone's excited and, hey, these rides can take really long!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-68764572195989306632013-09-19T13:41:19.926-04:002013-09-19T13:41:19.926-04:00Did your notion of ride change? I've been read...Did your notion of ride change? I've been reading this blog for a few years and remember all the posts about riding in your neighborhood. Problems in winter, roads with heavy traffic, riding to the studio (and what to do when you had too much to carry (zip car?)). The articles on the latest bike you got to ride and review. Were those not rides? Did your notion of ride change? Then you started group rides, clipping in, long rides, clothes and equipment needed. Did your notion of ride change?<br /><br />I commuted to work today, 2.4 miles and it was a ride. Tomorrow a group of friends will go out at lunch and do maybe 12 miles at 14 mph pace, lots of talking and catching up. It will be a ride.<br /><br />I agree with anyone who says, seat in the saddle, wheels turning, its a ride.davidresteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16282909570660692952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-32343275942714619182013-09-19T06:16:38.901-04:002013-09-19T06:16:38.901-04:00I once thought 20 miles was the minimum distance f...I once thought 20 miles was the minimum distance for getting kitted up. Now I just ride my do-almost-anything bike any distance, just with different clothes, usually shorts over old bike shorts with tops appropriate to the weather, for as rides as short as 2 miles. I'd consider hotter if I had a reason to ride it.New England Bicyclisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16609454624593868118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-27268532491529851542013-09-18T02:46:16.892-04:002013-09-18T02:46:16.892-04:00I seem to have that cold and if I could go for a 1...I seem to have that cold and if I could go for a 1.7 mile ride I'd be glad and call it a ride. I'm in the 'if you rolled on two wheels it's a ride' camp. But its sure disappointing to be forced home early, sorry you didn't get the ride you'd hoped after getting all suited up in your wetsuit and gas mask :-) <br />MarkAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-78303697537651514932013-09-17T20:17:03.253-04:002013-09-17T20:17:03.253-04:00I prefer power grips b/c it means there's no a...I prefer power grips b/c it means there's no attaching of cleats on the soles of my slippers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-46448595503449490402013-09-17T17:06:58.827-04:002013-09-17T17:06:58.827-04:00Back to commuting to Midtown NYC from Brooklyn aft...Back to commuting to Midtown NYC from Brooklyn after 2 weeks vacation. Swore to myself I was going to ride a lot to interesting places and meandaneur here and there and eat at places I always pass but never have a chance to stop at.<br />Had 3 rear wheels needing attention and said to myself I'll take care of them all first thing. <br />So there I was 9:30pm last night, at the bitter end of vacation swapping out spokes and remounting tires on useable wheels. <br /><br />Hadn't even seen my bikes for 2 weeks. Was mad about mismanaging the vacation time (of all the ways to think about time off !).<br /><br />The docks at my marina are .25 - .3 miles long and a lot of people have lock bikes to go back and forth. If I rode 2 miles at the marina on pitching docks does that count as a ride? hahaha<br />Sadly I look on some of the bikes as tools to get to work. The motorcycle is a tool to fit in hard parking spaces. Fun? What's that?? <br /><br />Anyway, rode the 11 miles in this morning. Glad to have fun, ... on the way to work. <br /> <br />The MS Ride will be "fun" with this extra weight and loss of tone.<br /><br />Feel better, ... it was a "recovery ride"!<br /><br />Victor K.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-70025204011697092692013-09-17T15:50:45.881-04:002013-09-17T15:50:45.881-04:00As one does... As one does... Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-87364110633271836802013-09-17T15:01:39.452-04:002013-09-17T15:01:39.452-04:00Every bike ride involves two flights of stairs up ...Every bike ride involves two flights of stairs up and two flights of stairs down. And I hate carrying my bicycle up stairs. I think it takes about three miles of riding to make up for the hate I feel for carrying my bicycle up stairs. Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16547702089102195894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-67739320854561630432013-09-17T14:31:22.175-04:002013-09-17T14:31:22.175-04:00It bothers me when much chamois slime was applied,...It bothers me when much chamois slime was applied, and I return home with most of it intact and requiring removal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-73872422735297842712013-09-17T14:22:35.212-04:002013-09-17T14:22:35.212-04:00When I set off on my roadbike on what I think will...When I set off on my roadbike on what I think will be a non-stop 40 mile ride over some mountains, I of course like to wear my regular clothes. By which I mean my wetsuit, zebra-print robe, gas mask, and spike-heel slippers with SPD cleats.Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-83806703393329072752013-09-17T12:47:55.710-04:002013-09-17T12:47:55.710-04:00The crucial part of the question: "...is it a...The crucial part of the question: "...is it a preparation time to riding time ratio?"<br /><br />If, by preparation, you mean whatever you had to do to get over your flu symptoms and clear your schedule for a few minutes, that's one thing. But if, by preparation, you mean donning your cyclist-uniform ("kit"), then the Velouria of yesteryear is truly dead. Who kits up for a wee jaunt on the bike? That's more shameful than a 1.7mile "ride". For the record, a 1.7mile ride is only shameful if you thought you had to change clothes for it.<br /><br />I'm holding out hope that I've misread the question, but the opening paragraph is pretty ominous: "You get ready for a ride. You *get dressed*, fill the water bottles, top up the air in your tires, stuff your phone, money and snacks into your pockets, drag your bike outside..."<br />I get dressed every day, whether I'm riding or not.Screechhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15397676711365438175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-63169041956265339542013-09-17T12:27:20.650-04:002013-09-17T12:27:20.650-04:00well said. You remind us that we are all giving OU...well said. You remind us that we are all giving OUR opinion of what constitutes a ride. She deserves our sympathy. youcancallmeAlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02578252140097961816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-62186532147777765902013-09-17T11:14:38.657-04:002013-09-17T11:14:38.657-04:00Not yet. I've given it to some local riders to...Not yet. I've given it to some local riders to try.Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-75717320202005434642013-09-17T10:56:48.736-04:002013-09-17T10:56:48.736-04:00Any more words on how the brooks cambium holds up?...Any more words on how the brooks cambium holds up? i tried to look for your review 2-3 weeks later and found nothing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-42055613916116580042013-09-17T10:36:25.141-04:002013-09-17T10:36:25.141-04:00Agree here, wholeheartedly. I've found that wi...Agree here, wholeheartedly. I've found that with the right saddle and proper setup (a mysterious art in itself) I can get away with street shorts and shirts for 30-40 miles, no problem, and this is riding energetically in a "road bike" position. So, no padded shorts, jersey, gloves, glasses, helmet, though I do wear the necessary shoes for my SPD and Look Keo pedals. And no lock, often, since I just wheel my bike into the store or PO.<br /><br />I save the bike kit for longer, pleasure-only rides.Bertin753https://www.blogger.com/profile/02860648732848589740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-88041954080141681082013-09-17T10:33:22.884-04:002013-09-17T10:33:22.884-04:00I let my cyclometer determine if it's a ride. ...I let my cyclometer determine if it's a ride. I like that, to it, epic, or hills, dirt or the clothes I'm wearing are meaningless. Even when it seems I'm not riding so much it flashes it's numbers at me to reveal the opposite. It's very encouraging ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-58622298067357249482013-09-17T10:13:06.672-04:002013-09-17T10:13:06.672-04:00Something is wrong with seeing biking as doing &qu...Something is wrong with seeing biking as doing "rides." I think it connotes an obsessive emphasis on achievement. <br /><br />Sometimes "hike" is used the same way. Achievement hikers speak and think more in terms of miles, elevation gain and difficulty than in terms of place, destination and route. For such achievement hikers, a few miles is not really a hike. Seven or eight miles and a couple of thousand of feet gain is an "easy" hike. You don't really have anything to speak about unless the easy hike was dangerous. On the other hand, if one hikes twenty miles, and climbs 7000 feet, or "bags" a difficult peak, then one can say (boast) that one has done a "hike" even if all one did was to walk a trail. It is the same thing with biking among achievement oriented "ride" doers.<br /><br />If an achievement oriented hiker turned back in thirty minutes, they would say "I went out for a hike but had to turn back." A destination oriented hiker would say, I wanted to spend an hour or two on the mountain, or following the creek, today, but came home sooner because the weather was too bad to stay out so long. But the wind and the hail were marvelous."<br /><br />In the poem, The Idiot Boy, Betty Foy asked her son Johnny where he had ridden all night. He replied, <br /><br /> "The cocks did crow to-whoo, to-whoo, <br /> And the sun did shine so cold!" <br /> --Thus answered Johnny in his glory,<br /> And that was all his travel's story."<br /><br />I think it is in the spirit of Wordsworth's poem, The Idiot Boy, that Grant Peterson has suggested to "just ride." Her son rode all night long, and never thought of it as a "ride" at all. <br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-68815911984301298062013-09-17T08:37:18.505-04:002013-09-17T08:37:18.505-04:00So, Is it a date if you just meet your girlfriend ...So, Is it a date if you just meet your girlfriend for a bagel on your way to class? What if you just walk to the mailbox together when you and your husband go your separate ways on a dreary workday, or go to the same cafe every Sunday for brunch because your favorite Ex does too and you can depend on that one strong hug and occasional slap on the fanny once every 7 days...<br /><br />If you love your bike it's sort'a like that. At least for me. It counts.<br /><br />If your bike is just a tool for maintaining your BMI or the only way you can afford to get to the grocery store than it probably doesn't "count".<br /><br />SpindizzyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-84652636838260890402013-09-17T04:48:37.383-04:002013-09-17T04:48:37.383-04:00I am still riding pneumatic, well most of the time...I am still riding pneumatic, well most of the time. Sadly I do not have a fixed bike with me. Velouriahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00359329171411037482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-40182772473292026152013-09-17T02:54:57.835-04:002013-09-17T02:54:57.835-04:00You cannot lie to your heart; that wasn't a ri...You cannot lie to your heart; that wasn't a ride. You can tell because you returned with the question.<br /><br />Had it been a ride, there would be no question. Time, distance, speed, intensity; they're just metrics, data. We all ride on different drivers, different daemons and motivations, but simply put, were you for a moment, satisfied? Therein lies the ride.<br /><br />lonewheelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00166376918816214802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-82584265849702435452013-09-16T23:29:51.815-04:002013-09-16T23:29:51.815-04:00Ah! Somebody with their head on straight!Ah! Somebody with their head on straight!Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09710715433883677736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-90119386074202138662013-09-16T22:39:04.484-04:002013-09-16T22:39:04.484-04:00grant doesn't kiT up you do big diff.grant doesn't kiT up you do big diff.GR Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01145811568384053426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-49123757914510082972013-09-16T22:31:39.769-04:002013-09-16T22:31:39.769-04:00If you let all the air out of your tires you can c...If you let all the air out of your tires you can claim another .5 on your conversion ratio. You *are* still riding pneumatic???<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6467858377106451384.post-22757794727899934472013-09-16T22:23:32.559-04:002013-09-16T22:23:32.559-04:00Sir, you absolutely win this one. When I steal thi... Sir, you absolutely win this one. When I steal this tale for my memoirs I'm going to just substitute Spindizzy for David and S. Texas for Canada and deny I ever read this blog. You and your sibs must have been rock-hard, sounds like you could still rip the arms off the typical Fixter bare handed.<br /><br />Cheers...<br /><br />Spindizzy Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com