Random thoughts on bikes

I took my bike into Barney's this week for a tune up and general preventative maintenance. In the time that I've had it, I've logged over 2K miles. Looking back at my experience with my Dolce and Avail, the difference is significant. Honestly I wouldn't have believed it myself back in June 2010 or June 2011.

During Charles River Wheelmen Fall Century I sprinted 2-3 miles before the rest stops. Based on the zone stats in cyclemeter:
range: 10-20 mph
ride time: 3:42:11
distance: 56.111 miles
average: 15.10

range: 20-30 mph
ride time: 1:30:52
distance: 34.73
average: 22.94

range: 30-40 mph
ride time: 4:53
distance: 2.57
average: 32.5

The average for the miles before the rest stop:
mile 26: 20.73
mile 27: 23.44
mile 28: 19.9
mile 42: 23.77
mile 43: 21.6
mile 44: 26.73
mile 45: 25.26
mile 46: 21.76
mile 47: 22.57
mile 65: 23.62
mile 66: 21.92
mile 67: 17.68
mile 68: 23.83

To sum up the difference between Dolce and Avail in one sentence is this. "on the avail I can go faster longer and hold a high speed for a longer time."

When I showed up to 7HW rides, lots of people said "that bike looks fast". The thing is, it really does feel fast. All those little aero features of the avail does make a difference. I'm really glad I got the Avail instead of the madone or roubaix. It's not that either is bad. Both are great bikes, but they don't have the aero shaping of my Avail advanced. Those features make a big difference at the end of a long ride like a century. On both CRW Fall Century and Major Taylor century, I felt fresh at the end. The combination of carbon fiber and aero shaping makes it easy to do a century.

On a different note, Specialized Venge looks like an awesome bike.

The aero shaping is pretty sweet, but I'll never be able to afford it though. 5-10K is just too much to spend on a bike.

Giant has also come out with a new line of road bikes. What used to be Avail advanced is now the avail composite line. The new Avail advanced has a new frame layout using the same exact ride geometry.

One trend in frame is using carbon nanotubes in the resin, which makes the bonds stronger. Many top end bikes have that now, but it's way too expensive. From the look of it, it's atleast 10K to get a frame that uses carbon nanotube infused resin.

Summary of 2011

This year I've done a lot of riding. Excluding workouts at home and gym, I managed to log over 4823 miles on the bike. The summary from Cyclemeter

rides: 221
total distance: 4823
total ride time: 283:31
total calories: 180,247
average distance: 21.83 miles
average ride time: 1:16
average ascent 1278 feet
average calories: 816
number of centries: 4 - king's tour of the quabbin, mount greylock, CRW fall century, major taylor century

Hopefully next year I can get in 5K miles on the bike and do atleast 2 centuries. On my list of centuries for 2012.

Mount Greylock Century
Three notches

If time permits, I would also like to do one of the bumps challenges. Not sure which one yet, but it would be fun to do one.

Stating the obvious

On Sunday I went for a ride around holden. According to accuweather, the real feel temperature was 15 degrees. When I left the house, my water bottle had water in. By the end of the ride, a layer of ice had formed.

I was only out for about 50min and rode about 14 miles. I honestly didn't think it would be enough time for ice to form. I didn't notice until I grabbed the bottle near the end to get a sip.

The worst part of riding in freezing weather is the effect of cold air on the lungs. Even though my torso and legs were warm, taking a deep breathe was tough. That cold air really does a number on the lungs.

Hilarious spoof on Pearl Izumi

I can't stop laughing.



oh man, it's engineered for Uranus.

Pearl Izumi Pro softshell jacket

Now that I've ridden several times with the Pearl Izumi Elite Softshell Jacket, I decided to get another one. This time I found the P.R.O. Softshell jacket on sale at Huck N Roll.

http://www.hucknroll.com/pearl-izumi-p.r.o.-softshell-jacket-mens

So far I've been very happy with the Elite softshell jacket. I paid $112.46 for the Elite jacket last week. The P.R.O. jacket only costs $149.96, which is 33% off the retail price of $224.96. Having a second jacket makes it easier to ride every day. Often times I can't ride the clothes immediately after a ride, so it may not be dry by the next day.

Why do people ride?

My kids ask me "why don't you go to the gym instead of riding in the freezing weather?" Honestly, if I could handle spending 30mins on a stationary bike, spin class or gym workout, it would be preferable. Sadly, it's too damn boring and I have a hard time doing it. At some point, I will have to force myself to go to the gym when the road conditions are too bad or the temperatures too cold.

Lots of people ride for different reasons. My reasons are pretty simple, I'm addicted to riding. But that leads to the question of "why are you addicted to riding?"

I could list a bunch of rational reasons like cycling is low impact, great for cardio, gets you outside, and natural scenery. Honestly, I just love the feeling of being on a bike and riding around. I'm not into racing and don't have some hope of being an elite cyclist.

Being on a bike, is a zen thing for me. Everything else just seems to disappear and I'm only focused on riding. Most of the time 99.9% I don't think about work or anything else. My focus is on my cadence, breathing, looking out for potholes, listening to the gears and the feel of my legs. It rejuvenates my body and soul. Even when I'm out of shape, being on a bike for an hour gives me a great feeling.

On the downside, if I don't ride for a few days, I am very cranky. It's totally aweful.

Pearl Izumi long sleeve thermal baselayer

Last week I ordered another baselayer. To my surprise, it wasn't what I expected.
Pearl Izumi Thermal long sleeve baselayer is different than the transfer baselayer.

I have three of these Pearl Izumi transfer baselayer and they work well.

Looking at the pictures, they don't look any different. In terms of warmth, the thermal baselayer is warmer. The material is thicker and feels nice. Hopefully tomorrow I can get up early and go for a ride.