Life on 2 Wheels: the bicyclists thread
 

One of the big things I've been looking forward to as part of moving to Cali was getting back on my bicycles (my custom touring Gunnar Rock Tour and my DaVinci single speed modded MTB). I know I'm not the only avid cyclist out there who uses their bikes for not only fun but also to actually get places.

I figure we could share war stories, race info (for those into competitive and non-competitive rides) and other stuff. :hangloose:

Great idea for a thread Linus!

I am hoping to use my bikes (mainly the mountain bike) to commute to some places next year. I am rather limited on riding at least until early spring.

At the moment, I have my Gary Fisher Advance mountain bike in the trainer. I also have a Trek road bike.

Well. I went out for an hour ride (truth be told I managed to get a little lost). But the good side was that the bike fared well so I should be able to use it next week. I did feel sa little naked without an helmet, gloves and whistle (i have a dingy bell but they are, IMO, useless in traffic and a pealess whistle is awesome). We'll be heading to a couple of bike shops today and probably REI. My current helmet, somewhere in a box, is about 10 years old so its due to be replaced.

What I found truly interesting was that it pretty much felt like I had never stopped cycling. And the roads in this area of Los Angeles are a cyclist's dream: perfectly smooth with no glass shards on them.

Hehe.. you could always turn one of those bikes (probably the 1200 or the Timberline) into a single speed winter bike (with winter tires). I did that to my old MTB and it's awesome.

As for riding with 40lbs of stuff, take a look at Ortleib panniers and seriously consider getting a back rack on your bike. You back will thank you. The MTB should have the eyelets for this if the 1200 doesn't.

Advice pls.
 

Great idea for a thred,ive been intrested in bike rideng for a while but am haveing a prob with part of an injury that effects my tail bone and sciatica and am at lost what to do about it.When I ride i get numbdown the left side of my butt that goes down my left leg the longer I ride so when I get off the bike all I can do is stand for a while till I get the feeling back in my leg,the longer I ride the worst it gets.I had a mountain bike but never could get comfy on it,infact I have had a fue diffrent bikes but with pretty much the same configuration,at the moment im looking for a regular fat tired street bike that has some stretch room for me to be comfy ( chubby body hear) plus with a back injury I find being bent over on a multi speed bike very uncomfy after a while.Then I also have a slight vertago issue that comes and goes,since I started takeing motion sickness pills its a lot better.At the moment $$ is an issue so spending a lot on a bike is a consern,in thinking of checking freecycle to see if I can find a bike or maybe haunt garage sales or pawn shops...any sugestions of what I should/can do.

When I got up this morning it was raining (even though the weather forecast didn't indicate any). Go figure. Anyways, I watched some Big Bang to pass the time until it stopped and then went out for a hard 22km ride. It was glorious. The route I found was pretty decent and I think if I continue farther I may be able to log a return trip around 50km. I figure if I do that along with the P90X (once I figure out which box that's in) I should be able to return back to long distance touring form soon enough.

Life is good on two wheels.

If a recumbent bike, like Shad suggested, is out of your price range, look into a Schwinn. I used to have one because I hate all the gear work on tenspeeds, competitive, etc bikes. They are old school with the bigger tires and seat and no gears if you wish. I had one while in Daytona. The shop fit the frame to me too and it wasn't too expensive. I don't remember what it cost, exactly, but I was working in a fast food joint, so it couldn't have been THAT bad. :blink:

Here are a couple of links for you:


http://milo.com/mens-schwinn-legacy-...bike-blue-26-1

http://www.trails.com/list_36342_bes...ess-bikes.html

I have a bike like what you described. It's an old single speed fat tire beach cruiser, and I love it. I found listed on Craigslist for $50. I brought it home, took the chain off, cleaned it real good and re-oiled that and the sprockets, then bought two new thorn proofs tubes and put those on. I love that I don't have to bend over to ride and it has a nice fat leather seat on, so it sits very comfortable.

Jesse

Did 40km along the beach today. I am in total heaven. I think I'm definitely going to see about becoming permanent here in L.A. just because of the cycling alone! :cheesy:

Another great weather day so I decided to do another 38km loop. About 6km in I feel a wobble and notice the rear tire is making a strange sound. My heart sinks as a realize I'm getting a rear tire flat. GROAN! And my portable repair kit is still in a box somewhere :(

Luckily, I was a 5 min walk from the nearest bike shop. I had them change both the front and back tubes from regular ones to thorn resistant tubes along with a new tire. An hour later (it was busy and they were short handed) and a cold coffee later I was blissfully back on the trail. I ended up biking home in the dark but i had recently purchased a Blackburn high grade light. It worked perfectly. :cheesy:

Now to do some work (aka reading)

HAHAHA! The color of font and the thumb was a dead giveaway (at least for me).

Fortunately, I have not had a flat while riding (WHEW) You were lucky to find a bike shop close by. I would not be so fortunate to have that since I ride in rural areas. Have you found your portable repair kit yet? lol

I am going to attempt 17 miles this weekend! I may or may not be NUTS! Oh, and this IS Miss Pink :)

Pray for me!

:seeingstars:

How about bike fuckery? ;)

LOVE IT!

Let the bike fuckery begin! <chuckles>