I am riding more on this gig than in the last couple of years. Keep a bike at both client locations, blast it at lunchtimes. Currently running my 29" Merida (hardtail) and my 26" Bontrager Privateer (rigid). I don't think I have cleaned them once this year, just keep the vital bits lubed. Wow, those last few sentences are ripe for double-entendre.
Getting less precious and just riding the fuckers. Even on Strava Wow, there are some serious folls on Strava. Sponsored folls and all that. The beauty of being in your forties and on a mountain bike is that they are not my competition, and I don't need to wear lycra.
Part of the Coventry route is through a University campus, last week helped a dude back to his feet after he had failed to negotiate a cattle grid - the route goes all rustic and cattle are a feature. I don't know what he was doing but he was on the floor with his teeth through his lip (no helment (sic)) and his bike was over there with a taco'd front wheel. I can only assume he'd tried to gap it and come short, with his front wheel somehow angled enough to lodge at 90° down into the grid and flip him.
Flip him for real, as Fred Fenster would say.
He was groggy but me and a couple of joggers stayed with him until the medics arrived. These crazy kids.
Been spending most of this winter in the snow, holleuring at that, as it's been a good one. Currently sitting here waiting for it to officially be raining, pretending to be getting ready to ride bikes, but honestly I don't feel like getting muddy so I'm stalling. And I don't want to spend any effort cleaning up. Let's be honest I have no plans to ride today. But I'm looking at all these bikes in my apartment. There they are.
Rode a lot of lift-served bike park last year. DH bikes. Went to Whistler twice, which was as many times as in the previous five years. They figured out that building less-psycho tracks will make them more money than the super gnar. They still have the jaw-dropping bullshit for maniacs, but there is so much for gnar-adjacent old dudes now. Love it. I'm probably better than I used to be, and the bikes certainly are, but there are 25mph swoopy berm runs with tabletops that go forever now, and holy shit it's more fun than should be allowed. It is an absolute riot.
There's only one chairlift operation in the state, surprisingly. Stevens Pass. It's built by the same crew from Whistler, Gravity Logic, so it's dialed. They're in their fifth year of operation now, got a couple tracks that are worth riding all day (especially when work has free passes).
I'm not huge on drop bar bikes anymore, but I have been riding a ridiculous Raleigh Stuntman gravel bike around town. It's all brown everything, colors and logos lifted from the TV show Fall Guy (nobody gets the reference, changing the color for 2018). Reynolds 631, hydro discs, 1x11 cross drivetrain, and 50c tires. 50c! Been killing it on neighborhood shortcuts and potholed skreetz. I'm keeping it.
Both bikes were previously at the client sites, where riding was good and plentiful. Client now has me working at one site next to Birmingham airport. It's devoid of anywhere to ride other than lapping the business park. The roads around here are all motorways or places where you would be frankly insane to engage the level and speed of motorised traffic. Shit, even driving the 56 miles here can be a white knuckle-ride (it is the time where it's still dark and wet for the whole trip), And there is a ghost-bike at a particularly dark junction. I am not surprised, and yet still I encounter foll and foll cycling in the pre-7AM void in dark clothes with no lights.
At such times, I think of the one GAFFLER AKA STACKSWELL AKA GEEKS and mentally pour a Staropramen on the kerb for the fallen biking homie.
I therefore thought now would be a good time to get both bikes stripped and serviced which is where they are. And now the client has told me I'll be free to pursue opportunities on the free market as of the end of March.
I have been riding a ridiculous Raleigh Stuntman gravel bike around town. It's all brown everything, colors and logos lifted from the TV show Fall Guy (nobody gets the reference, changing the color for 2018). Reynolds 631, hydro discs, 1x11 cross drivetrain, and 50c tires. 50c! Been killing it on neighborhood shortcuts and potholed skreetz. I'm keeping it.
I'll be staying in the village Quorn (outside Loughborough) next month for a few days and the AirBNB host has a MTB for me to ride around. I'll commute to the local Uni on it too. Can't wait.
I ride my bike to work and home, that's about it. Miss me with that below 25F weather though, can't feel my feet. Commuted in the snow a couple times-- slow & slick. The streets are a mess. Mexico has better roads than Seattle. Especially Delridge & W. Marginal, yikes. Moved up here w/ a road bike, so can't squeeze anything larger than a 28x700c on that thing and keep the fenders, which unfortunately are necessary. What's up Duke? I'm still buried under home improvement projects most weekends, but I'm around. Hit me up for an Alki cruise n booze. BBQ weather can't come soon enough.
I ride my bike to work and home, that's about it. Miss me with that below 25F weather though, can't feel my feet. Commuted in the snow a couple times-- slow & slick. The streets are a mess. Mexico has better roads than Seattle. Especially Delridge & W. Marginal, yikes. Moved up here w/ a road bike, so can't squeeze anything larger than a 28x700c on that thing and keep the fenders, which unfortunately are necessary. What's up Duke? I'm still buried under home improvement projects most weekends, but I'm around. Hit me up for an Alki cruise n booze. BBQ weather can't come soon enough.
Yeah man freeze/thaw cycle and pretty wet: Seattle's roads are pre pretty gnarly. Head to the east side of the lake for better surfaces but bigger assholes. Daylight savings time is soon, that's when I ramp up my bike modes, definitely down for a w Seattle cruise!
welp, it finally happened to me-- right hooked by some lady distracted driving (which she fully admitted) not fun. nothing broken, sore left leg from impact, left wrist from falling. didn't hit my head on anything, which is good bc she was movin'. drivers going the opposite way stuck in traffic were freaking out so hopefully it looked cool. got all the license/insurance info. i was in a damned bike lane at the time. seattle drivers are the worst. bike seems ok based on a quick once-over once i got home. steel is real, dude(tte)s. ruined a great commute w/ some of the first short-sleeve weather we've had this year, too. hopefully i don't wake up sore tomorrow.
plaese to post rad bike pics in this thraed-- it's been a minute.
welp, it finally happened to me-- right hooked by some lady distracted driving (which she fully admitted) not fun. nothing broken, sore left leg from impact, left wrist from falling. didn't hit my head on anything, which is good bc she was movin'. drivers going the opposite way stuck in traffic were freaking out so hopefully it looked cool. got all the license/insurance info. i was in a damned bike lane at the time. seattle drivers are the worst. bike seems ok based on a quick once-over once i got home. steel is real, dude(tte)s. ruined a great commute w/ some of the first short-sleeve weather we've had this year, too. hopefully i don't wake up sore tomorrow.
plaese to post rad bike pics in this thraed-- it's been a minute.
Damn, that sucks. Hope you are okay G*be..I bought a couple of bikes to ride around and to keep in shape. Fun stuff.
welp, it finally happened to me-- right hooked by some lady distracted driving (which she fully admitted) not fun. nothing broken, sore left leg from impact, left wrist from falling. didn't hit my head on anything, which is good bc she was movin'. drivers going the opposite way stuck in traffic were freaking out so hopefully it looked cool. got all the license/insurance info. i was in a damned bike lane at the time. seattle drivers are the worst. bike seems ok based on a quick once-over once i got home. steel is real, dude(tte)s. ruined a great commute w/ some of the first short-sleeve weather we've had this year, too. hopefully i don't wake up sore tomorrow.
plaese to post rad bike pics in this thraed-- it's been a minute.
fuuuuuck that dude. Sorry to hear it. Riding on these roads gives a lot of power to distracted dummies, sometimes I can't handle it. I hope it's not enough to keep you off the bikes forever, we still have to get out there.
I've been been riding this gravel bike more than I thought I would. Been riding on mellow rail-to-trail routes. Gravel and dirt and paths and paved and some roads. People pay tons of money to fly to Ireland and ride from quaint town to brewery to natural wonder to whatever, on Jimster-style paths, and we have some great shit right in the foothills. I've been taking buses out to the sticks and finding my way back to the city, trying to stay on dirt or paths the whole time.
The winter's been really long, been a tough transition to bikes. There's still ten feet of snow on some of the trails up high, not sure when it'll get melted out. Feeling at least one year older, and in about February shape halfway through May. Oh well. Gotta go ride bikes! Here are bike-related pics of the last month:
Already been on chairlifts with the DH bikes a couple times this year. The local Stevens Pass has a track called Berzerker that's a little more raw and natural than the average bike park offering, and it's a total blast. Some crazy rooty chutes and giant holes and just generally silly bullshit that's so fun to mash through on a big bike:
Went to Whistler a few weeks ago and it was as great as ever. Still a lot of snow up top. Can't find my pics!
Still riding that gravel bike around. Been on a few great longer rides, out all day just exploring:
Still waiting on some snow to melt out up high so we can start hitting the bigger mountain bike rides. I am ready.
OMG you'd trip if you saw my friend's bike with a 28t chainring. I like a 30t best for around here. We only really pedal on the way up, some steep trailz.
billbradleyYou want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,914 Posts
Comments
Getting less precious and just riding the fuckers. Even on Strava
Part of the Coventry route is through a University campus, last week helped a dude back to his feet after he had failed to negotiate a cattle grid - the route goes all rustic and cattle are a feature. I don't know what he was doing but he was on the floor with his teeth through his lip (no helment (sic)) and his bike was over there with a taco'd front wheel. I can only assume he'd tried to gap it and come short, with his front wheel somehow angled enough to lodge at 90° down into the grid and flip him.
Flip him for real, as Fred Fenster would say.
He was groggy but me and a couple of joggers stayed with him until the medics arrived. These crazy kids.
Rode a lot of lift-served bike park last year. DH bikes. Went to Whistler twice, which was as many times as in the previous five years. They figured out that building less-psycho tracks will make them more money than the super gnar. They still have the jaw-dropping bullshit for maniacs, but there is so much for gnar-adjacent old dudes now. Love it. I'm probably better than I used to be, and the bikes certainly are, but there are 25mph swoopy berm runs with tabletops that go forever now, and holy shit it's more fun than should be allowed. It is an absolute riot.
There's only one chairlift operation in the state, surprisingly. Stevens Pass. It's built by the same crew from Whistler, Gravity Logic, so it's dialed. They're in their fifth year of operation now, got a couple tracks that are worth riding all day (especially when work has free passes).
I'm not huge on drop bar bikes anymore, but I have been riding a ridiculous Raleigh Stuntman gravel bike around town. It's all brown everything, colors and logos lifted from the TV show Fall Guy (nobody gets the reference, changing the color for 2018). Reynolds 631, hydro discs, 1x11 cross drivetrain, and 50c tires. 50c! Been killing it on neighborhood shortcuts and potholed skreetz. I'm keeping it.
Whagwaan with the bikemans dem?
Both bikes were previously at the client sites, where riding was good and plentiful. Client now has me working at one site next to Birmingham airport. It's devoid of anywhere to ride other than lapping the business park. The roads around here are all motorways or places where you would be frankly insane to engage the level and speed of motorised traffic. Shit, even driving the 56 miles here can be a white knuckle-ride (it is the time where it's still dark and wet for the whole trip), And there is a ghost-bike at a particularly dark junction. I am not surprised, and yet still I encounter foll and foll cycling in the pre-7AM void in dark clothes with no lights.
At such times, I think of the one GAFFLER AKA STACKSWELL AKA GEEKS and mentally pour a Staropramen on the kerb for the fallen biking homie.
I therefore thought now would be a good time to get both bikes stripped and serviced which is where they are. And now the client has told me I'll be free to pursue opportunities on the free market as of the end of March.
So, every cloud, and all that.
b/w
SNOW ENVY.
What's up Duke? I'm still buried under home improvement projects most weekends, but I'm around. Hit me up for an Alki cruise n booze. BBQ weather can't come soon enough.
not fun. nothing broken, sore left leg from impact, left wrist from falling. didn't hit my head on anything, which is good bc she was movin'. drivers going the opposite way stuck in traffic were freaking out so hopefully it looked cool. got all the license/insurance info.
i was in a damned bike lane at the time. seattle drivers are the worst. bike seems ok based on a quick once-over once i got home. steel is real, dude(tte)s. ruined a great commute w/ some of the first short-sleeve weather we've had this year, too.
hopefully i don't wake up sore tomorrow.
plaese to post rad bike pics in this thraed-- it's been a minute.
I've been been riding this gravel bike more than I thought I would. Been riding on mellow rail-to-trail routes. Gravel and dirt and paths and paved and some roads. People pay tons of money to fly to Ireland and ride from quaint town to brewery to natural wonder to whatever, on Jimster-style paths, and we have some great shit right in the foothills. I've been taking buses out to the sticks and finding my way back to the city, trying to stay on dirt or paths the whole time.
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The winter's been really long, been a tough transition to bikes. There's still ten feet of snow on some of the trails up high, not sure when it'll get melted out. Feeling at least one year older, and in about February shape halfway through May. Oh well. Gotta go ride bikes! Here are bike-related pics of the last month:
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okay
Got a new trail bike and it's really fast:
Already been on chairlifts with the DH bikes a couple times this year. The local Stevens Pass has a track called Berzerker that's a little more raw and natural than the average bike park offering, and it's a total blast. Some crazy rooty chutes and giant holes and just generally silly bullshit that's so fun to mash through on a big bike:
Went to Whistler a few weeks ago and it was as great as ever. Still a lot of snow up top. Can't find my pics!
Still riding that gravel bike around. Been on a few great longer rides, out all day just exploring:
Still waiting on some snow to melt out up high so we can start hitting the bigger mountain bike rides. I am ready.
1x11 setup. SRAM rear mech. Race Face cranks (uncomfortable crank arms--they rub on my shoes too often). I think the chainring has 32 teeth.
My 1984 GT Pro
(Sequoia, Descanso Gardens and Fort Tejon)