Cycling - a chat about all things bike.

06-27-2011, 07:44 AM

Hey there folks. I was wondering if there were any other cyclists here?

Do you ride for fitness, transport or leisure? What bike(s) do you ride? Have you ridden all your life or come to it later in life?

I've been a cyclist most of my life. I took my Cycling Proficiency Test a year early, aged 8yrs old, at school and then took it again at the proper age a year later (this was the early 70s, I have no idea if kids take a similar test anymore). I cycled everywhere for many years, riding everything from cheap Shopper bikes and olde stylee ladies Raleighs through to ancient Moultons and prototype 'bents. Then, about 13yrs ago, I just stopped cycling regularly. My lovely KHS true temper hard tail (and nose) mountain bike was stolen, despite being locked to several other bikes in the garden, leaving me with no functioning bike.

Since giving up smoking last April I've been trying to keep the 50% lung function I have in as good a condition as I can by cycling again. I love that around here we have a wonderfully long National Cycle Route that ranges all through the county.

What are your favourite routes to ride? Do you keep training diaries? Are mph and cadence important to you or do you just ride regardless of the figures?

Linus · 06-27-2011, 09:20 AM

I've historical done long distance cycling rides (touring). It's been a while since I last did some riding (largely because of work travel). I'm hoping/planning to do a tour from Vancouver, B.C., to Los Angeles next year but may have to post-pone it by a year due to training requirements.

I'm not big on mph/cadence but do understand the importance of it, particularly cadence.

06-27-2011, 09:53 AM

Hey Linus...Vancouver to L.A sounds like an epic tour, I hope you get the time to put in enough training to do it next year. I'd love to get fit enough to do our CtC (coast to coast) or LEJOG (Land's End, John O'Groats - furthest south in England to Scotland)

I have yet to even care about speed and average this 'n' that but for the first time in my cycling career I'm thinking about cadence.

What tourer do you ride Linus?

Happy pedaling fellow pedalers.

Linus · 06-27-2011, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Incubus

Hey Linus...Vancouver to L.A sounds like an epic tour, I hope you get the time to put in enough training to do it next year. I'd love to get fit enough to do our CtC (coast to coast) or LEJOG (Land's End, John O'Groats - furthest south in England to Scotland)

I have yet to even care about speed and average this 'n' that but for the first time in my cycling career I'm thinking about cadence.

What tourer do you ride Linus?

Happy pedaling fellow pedalers.

Oh.. I'd love to do LEJOG. That'd be cool.

I have a custom Gunnar Rock Tour that I got about 6 years ago. I also have a beater Mountain Bike that I had switched from geared to singlespeed. When I lived in Canada, I used to use this bike for winter riding and some training. I'm thinking of getting a Surly or Gunnar fixie or singlespeed for training purposes.

What about you? What do you use for training and/or touring?

06-27-2011, 10:37 AM

Wow! Cool bikes there Linus. You're lucky to have custom velos. Sadly I have just the one ridable velo (there are two Moultons in the shed that have become restoration projects for someone who knows what they're doing and that ain't me!) I recently acquired Lady Haydock (yes I'm sad/mad enough to name my bikes :-)) She's a mid 80s Roger Haydock built, (for the woman I bought her from who is very similar dimensions to myself), Reynolds 531 tubed Touring geometry frame, 27in Mavic touring rims with a Campag Brevet drive...a very nice bit of kit and quite the best bike I've ever owned despite her being a lady of a certain age! She rolls beautifully and I've totally fallen back in love with cycling because of her.

I'm determined to do a supported Jogle/Lejog in the next couple of years for Breast cancer and respiratory disease charities.

I'd love a singlespeed hack for the winter here at the rainy, salty seaside. Do you ride yours much?

Linus · 06-27-2011, 10:49 AM

I haven't been riding as much of late due to recovery from surgery. I have a few more weeks of recovery and some work travel to do before I can start up again. I'm hoping by mid-July that I can begin running and cycling again. I have plans for at least one century to do L.A. to San Diego and then a return century.

I don't have to worry about snow, salt and sleet like I had before in Canada, it's the nice advantage of living here now compared to Toronto.

06-27-2011, 07:44 AM	#1
Daktari Guest Tournaments Won: 1 Posts: n/a My Photo Gallery	Cycling - a chat about all things bike. Hey there folks. I was wondering if there were any other cyclists here? Do you ride for fitness, transport or leisure? What bike(s) do you ride? Have you ridden all your life or come to it later in life? I've been a cyclist most of my life. I took my Cycling Proficiency Test a year early, aged 8yrs old, at school and then took it again at the proper age a year later (this was the early 70s, I have no idea if kids take a similar test anymore). I cycled everywhere for many years, riding everything from cheap Shopper bikes and olde stylee ladies Raleighs through to ancient Moultons and prototype 'bents. Then, about 13yrs ago, I just stopped cycling regularly. My lovely KHS true temper hard tail (and nose) mountain bike was stolen, despite being locked to several other bikes in the garden, leaving me with no functioning bike. Since giving up smoking last April I've been trying to keep the 50% lung function I have in as good a condition as I can by cycling again. I love that around here we have a wonderfully long National Cycle Route that ranges all through the county. What are your favourite routes to ride? Do you keep training diaries? Are mph and cadence important to you or do you just ride regardless of the figures?

06-27-2011, 09:20 AM	#2
Linus The Planet's Technical Bubba How Do You Identify?: FTM Preferred Pronoun?: He/Him/Geek Relationship Status: Married to my forever! Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Redondo Beach, CA Posts: 5,440 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 2,929 Thanked 10,729 Times in 3,172 Posts Rep Power: 21474857	I've historical done long distance cycling rides (touring). It's been a while since I last did some riding (largely because of work travel). I'm hoping/planning to do a tour from Vancouver, B.C., to Los Angeles next year but may have to post-pone it by a year due to training requirements. I'm not big on mph/cadence but do understand the importance of it, particularly cadence. __________________ Personal Blog \|\| [] \|\| Cigar Blog "We become Human Doings instead of Human Beings." -- Ram Dass

06-27-2011, 10:49 AM	#6
Linus The Planet's Technical Bubba How Do You Identify?: FTM Preferred Pronoun?: He/Him/Geek Relationship Status: Married to my forever! Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Redondo Beach, CA Posts: 5,440 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 2,929 Thanked 10,729 Times in 3,172 Posts Rep Power: 21474857	I haven't been riding as much of late due to recovery from surgery. I have a few more weeks of recovery and some work travel to do before I can start up again. I'm hoping by mid-July that I can begin running and cycling again. I have plans for at least one century to do L.A. to San Diego and then a return century. I don't have to worry about snow, salt and sleet like I had before in Canada, it's the nice advantage of living here now compared to Toronto. __________________ Personal Blog \|\| [] \|\| Cigar Blog "We become Human Doings instead of Human Beings." -- Ram Dass

06-27-2011, 09:53 AM	#3
Daktari Guest Tournaments Won: 1 Posts: n/a My Photo Gallery	Hey Linus...Vancouver to L.A sounds like an epic tour, I hope you get the time to put in enough training to do it next year. I'd love to get fit enough to do our CtC (coast to coast) or LEJOG (Land's End, John O'Groats - furthest south in England to Scotland) I have yet to even care about speed and average this 'n' that but for the first time in my cycling career I'm thinking about cadence. What tourer do you ride Linus? Happy pedaling fellow pedalers.

06-27-2011, 10:37 AM	#5
Daktari Guest Tournaments Won: 1 Posts: n/a My Photo Gallery	Wow! Cool bikes there Linus. You're lucky to have custom velos. Sadly I have just the one ridable velo (there are two Moultons in the shed that have become restoration projects for someone who knows what they're doing and that ain't me!) I recently acquired Lady Haydock (yes I'm sad/mad enough to name my bikes :-)) She's a mid 80s Roger Haydock built, (for the woman I bought her from who is very similar dimensions to myself), Reynolds 531 tubed Touring geometry frame, 27in Mavic touring rims with a Campag Brevet drive...a very nice bit of kit and quite the best bike I've ever owned despite her being a lady of a certain age! She rolls beautifully and I've totally fallen back in love with cycling because of her. I'm determined to do a supported Jogle/Lejog in the next couple of years for Breast cancer and respiratory disease charities. I'd love a singlespeed hack for the winter here at the rainy, salty seaside. Do you ride yours much?