The Bicycling thread

In a few posts back, I showed a picture of a Suzuki GT 185 and talked about Michelle's Trail 90. I was browsing through my Google photos and found a picture of our nephew with that same Trail 90 in 2017. He was living with us at the time - he was an intern at my company during his summer break from college.

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Since he was a little kid he has been my 'mini me': his Mom would bring him to watch us participate in triathlons and other races. We would stop at his house on our way to some motorcycle adventure and I would take him for a ride or, if he was at his grandfathers, we would get the Honda mini-trail out and go exploring. I could tell by his excitement even back then that we had him 'hooked'. So we got him started riding on Michelle's XT250 (our idea of an 'adventure' bike):

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In 2018, he accepted a job with the company and he moved to our part of the state. He and his buddy did their first triathlon last year. I built the Cannondale CAAD3 for him when he was a tyke in 2011. It was (again) one of Michelle's old bikes. I changed out many of the old components to new. He is still riding it. Looks pretty good, I think. His buddy is also a co-worker and his bike is the Surly Pacer that I built in 2008.

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And here he is with his R11R. Yup, it used to be Michelle's. There is a pattern, for sure. He really looks up to her. Well, literally, down on her. This is on the ferry across Lake Champlain to Ticonderoga. We were coming back from the Vermont MOV rally. He also rode to the RA rally with us that year. For good or bad, he has learned by being sandwiched between us for thousands of miles. He is a good rider and we're proud of him.

The cannonadale and the R11R are from about the same era. Don't the paint jobs look similar? Black/Silver/Mandarin stripes.

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I sure hope you still have the CT90. Those are very cool.

[QUOTE=vark;1203407]I sure hope you still have the CT90. Those are very cool.[/QUOTE]

Sure do. That picture is when we picked the bike up from his grandfathers place and brought it to ours. Over that summer he put a lot of wrenching and elbow grease into that bike: He learned a ton: from fork seals to spark plugs. He had it tagged and would ride around our neighborhood.

He then moved onto major service of the R11R. We went through almost everything I could think of. The only things I have left on the list are the Hall effect sensor wiring and a spline lube. Everything else from belt to battery has been replaced and maintained. Young man knows how to adjust valves, change and balance tires, replace the fuel pump and filter, air and oil filters, and so on...

And right now he is in the process of building his own gravel race bicycle. I'm not helping other than via FaceTime. He has borrowed all of my bike tools. We were all scheduled to do a gravel race in early June - but now he can take his time.

[QUOTE=henzilla;1203397][ATTACH]78266[/ATTACH]

Low ramp compared to some of ours... yeh, too many stories from this stunt... and a few missing teeth( not me somehow)[/QUOTE]

Brings back memories of a youthful experience (about 11 years old). We lived on a farm and had a long gravel driveway. Dad had gotten two large loads of gravel delivered that he planned to spread on the driveway and the sight of those two piles, one in front of the other was more than my Evel inspired mind could take. My Dad told the story for many years that he walked out of the machine shed just in time to see me speeding down the driveway on my bike and aiming for the gravel piles. In my inspired mind, I was going to hit the first pile, then fly in the air and land on the backside of the other pile. In actuality, what happened is my bike tire hit the first pile and stopped immediately, at which time I launched in the air and did manage to clear the other pile, but without my bike. Damn, but that was a rough landing!

Great stories. :thumb

[QUOTE=henzilla;1203403]Had the pleasure and pain of meeting John Howard around ‘72. He led a ride from Boone’s Cycles when Dan was there and punished about 10 of us, I was the youngest amongst the guys I considered old at 30-50...one other fella named Fritz or Franz was a hammer who jumped behind draft vehicles and just disappeared a few times. We then drove to New Braunfels to watch him in a criterium with the big boys... crazy pace. What a character and inspiration
I think of him when watching American Flyers and the Olympic boycott it brushed on as well as the Red Zinger Colorado race which became the Coors Classic
I followed all the news of his speed record attempt and was in awe

[url]https://pezcyclingnews.com/interviews/pez-talk-the-legendary-john-howard/[/url]

[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Howard_(cyclist)[/url][/QUOTE]


He was an early Ironman legend. Those guys trained by cycling across the country while surviving on rusty nails and scorpions.

There are little ‘inception points’ that happen when you are a kid that that maybe give you a push into a certain direction later in life. You may never even know or remember what it was. Now I realize that for me and motorcycles it was one of my Dad’s buddies along with the TV show CHIPS. For Ironman, it was one particular episode of Magnum PI where he entered the Ironman in the John Howard era. I swear I don’t even remember watching TV as a kid. Family only had a 13 inch B&W tv with 3 channels! But I’ve had those old shows playing while riding on the trainer and they bring back memories. Man was TV corny then.

[QUOTE=henzilla;1203403]Had the pleasure and pain of meeting John Howard around ‘72. He led a ride from Boone’s Cycles when Dan was there and punished about 10 of us, I was the youngest amongst the guys I considered old at 30-50...one other fella named Fritz or Franz was a hammer who jumped behind draft vehicles and just disappeared a few times. We then drove to New Braunfels to watch him in a criterium with the big boys... crazy pace. What a character and inspiration
I think of him when watching American Flyers and the Olympic boycott it brushed on as well as the Red Zinger Colorado race which became the Coors Classic
I followed all the news of his speed record attempt and was in awe

[url]https://pezcyclingnews.com/interviews/pez-talk-the-legendary-john-howard/[/url]

[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Howard_(cyclist)[/url][/QUOTE]

My first-hand John Howard story --

Back in the early 80's, John was in Birmingham for a criterium race in downtown B'ham, around the downtown parks. Course was L-Shaped, with some (all!) nasty 90-deg corners. In one of the corners, the city had setup several Port-A-Johns for the crowd. Before John races in the Cat 1-2 race, he ducked into one of the Port-A-Johns and settled in for awhile. Well, as luck would have it, one of the Cat-3 or cat-4 racers lost control at that corner and plowed into the Port-A-John containing J-H! It shook that port-a-john pretty good, knocking it off its pad. The crowds and the medics came to check out the crashed racer, and the door slowly opened on the Port-A-John. J-H stuck his head out, looked around, saw the "crashee" was up and moving, and ducked back into the port-a-john to finish his business. We were dying laughing, thinking that was one h---of a way to "relax" before your race!

:laugh
Awesome

My chatter about my OCD need for data got me thinking: what the hell am I doing?

Michelle and I had signed up for a duathlon that was supposed to be held next weekend at Watkins Glen. The bike portion is laps of the road racing course, so I was excited to do that. I had a training plan that got us ready for that and then a couple of gravel events over the next month. Obviously all of that stuff has been cancelled or postponed.

But I haven't stopped training to the plan. Over the last month, most of my effort has been toward high intensity interval training. But there is no point in 'peaking' right now. I may as well go back into a base building phase. My definition of base building is: consistently ride a lot.

So I think I'm going to try to just ride and enjoy the time outside. I do need a goal, though. So I'm signing up for a couple of Strava challenges: 1250km in May, and 7500m of climbing in May. In all my years of riding, I've never had a mileage goal. I do keep track of miles but my goals have been time based so as not to penalize rides with a lot of climbing. These challenges will be a stretch for me. In April I've ridden about 800km, so this would be a pretty big jump. Much of my April riding was on the trainer, however. It is easier for me to log miles outside.

Anyone else out there trying something new? How are you coping with no group rides, or event cancellation, or touring plans up in the air? I'll be honest that I am struggling. I organize a weekly group ride that has a stop at a brewery near the end of the ride. We've been doing this for many years. I already miss it and the season has just started. I also schedule rides with friends who aren't as bike crazy as us but still enjoy a jaunt along the canal. Will that be acceptable behavior in the coming months?

Motorcycling hasn't hit me so hard. Yet. My riding season usually starts in May but that is just local rides. June and July are our big months and that is when the new normal is really going to sink in.

[QUOTE=kurtr11s;1203542]Anyone else out there trying something new?...[/QUOTE]

You're keen. :)

I normally play squash, distance swim and do resistance training, but my club has closed, so all I am doing is daily walks at "moderate intensity" to keep a basic level of fitness.

I'll have the bike out pretty soon, but I'm just a duffer, and the pathways in our city are crowded. Once the Covid burns out, I should be able to get back in full shape in a few weeks. Playing squash, you can burn 500 calories in 30 minutes, at my weight.

[QUOTE=Rinty;1203555]You're keen. :) .[/QUOTE]

Hmmm. You are right.

Thanks for responding. I take comfort in hearing stories of how others are making do. I’m only riding in rural areas and staying out of the local parks. The parking lots for those areas are packed. I wonder how gyms are going to open back up? At least with swimming you may have opportunity to ingest chemicals which could neutralize the virus. Sorry, that is probably a US specific joke?

[QUOTE=kurtr11s;1203542]...How are you coping with no group rides, or event cancellation, or touring plans up in the air? I'll be honest that I am struggling....[/QUOTE]

Not a problem for me. I avoid group rides pretty much entirely.

Foremost, my life is busy and I don't want to have to coordinate with anyone about when/where/how I get exercise to stay fit. When weather and time slots open up, I want to have flexibility to go. I don’t want to have to text/email/coordinate with anyone or put off because I made a commitment to ride with someone at another time. I especially don’t want to have to wait for someone while my time slot gets eaten up. (If I agree to ride with others I arrive promptly and am respectful of their time, but I find too many others don’t share this philosophy.)

I also see too many people rely on others to motivate them to get out, which seems like a recipe for failure to me. I have heard fellow riders complain they aren‘t getting out enough because “there’s no one to ride with.” I guess they don’t like their own company.

A lot of riders seem to be of the opinion that riding in groups is safer. I feel exactly the opposite. In groups, there are too many different riding styles and skill levels. Other riders swerve, brake unpredictably, or obscure your forward and rear views. Large groups of riders make it very tricky for vehicles to pass, causing drivers frustration and leading them to take risks when they shouldn’t. Vehicles have little difficulty negotiating solo riders.

Beyond that, I find I can’t get decent exercise in a group ride in the same amount of time that I can riding solo. Either the pace is too slow and chatty, or even the fast-paced groups loose too much of the work-out effort to drafting, requiring more time/distance/speed to get the same level of effort I can riding solo in less time.

So yeah, no effect on my fitness riding.

Now all that said, I do enjoy very much riding with my family. We’ve taken many cycling trips with our kids, and these are wonderful times together. But they are very different rides from my routine fitness riding.

Those are some ambitious goals for May. Best of luck and hopefully weather will cooperate for you. My advice is to embrace the solo riding for the time being. Who knows - - you may come to appreciate the many benefits. :thumb

When I get home from this job I'll be in isolation for 2 weeks and won't be allowed to leave my property so no riding anything for me.:banghead

[QUOTE=kurtr11s;1203566] At least with swimming you may have opportunity to ingest chemicals which could neutralize the virus. Sorry, that is probably a US specific joke?[/QUOTE]

Hey, chlorine's a disinfectant! Swallowed or injected, it's probably just as effective. And alcohol is supposed to work, too. :)

[QUOTE=skibum69;1203607]When I get home from this job I'll be in isolation for 2 weeks and won't be allowed to leave my property so no riding anything for me.:banghead[/QUOTE]

Not even out on property? I don’t do inside well

[QUOTE=vark;1203587]Not a problem for me. I avoid group rides pretty much entirely.

Foremost, my life is busy and I don't want to have to coordinate with anyone about when/where/how I get exercise to stay fit. When weather and time slots open up, I want to have flexibility to go. I don’t want to have to text/email/coordinate with anyone or put off because I made a commitment to ride with someone at another time. I especially don’t want to have to wait for someone while my time slot gets eaten up. (If I agree to ride with others I arrive promptly and am respectful of their time, but I find too many others don’t share this philosophy.)

I also see too many people rely on others to motivate them to get out, which seems like a recipe for failure to me. I have heard fellow riders complain they aren‘t getting out enough because “there’s no one to ride with.” I guess they don’t like their own company.

A lot of riders seem to be of the opinion that riding in groups is safer. I feel exactly the opposite. In groups, there are too many different riding styles and skill levels. Other riders swerve, brake unpredictably, or obscure your forward and rear views. Large groups of riders make it very tricky for vehicles to pass, causing drivers frustration and leading them to take risks when they shouldn’t. Vehicles have little difficulty negotiating solo riders.

Beyond that, I find I can’t get decent exercise in a group ride in the same amount of time that I can riding solo. Either the pace is too slow and chatty, or even the fast-paced groups loose too much of the work-out effort to drafting, requiring more time/distance/speed to get the same level of effort I can riding solo in less time.

So yeah, no effect on my fitness riding.

Now all that said, I do enjoy very much riding with my family. We’ve taken many cycling trips with our kids, and these are wonderful times together. But they are very different rides from my routine fitness riding.

Those are some ambitious goals for May. Best of luck and hopefully weather will cooperate for you. My advice is to embrace the solo riding for the time being. Who knows - - you may come to appreciate the many benefits. :thumb[/QUOTE]

Too much in common to cut some quotes out.

Have ridden solo more than groups for some time now. Will do big century rides on occasion if a good cause and route is good.Maybe four of us that meet for those and sometimes stay nearly together. Used to do a lot of small groups of coworkers and it was always a disaster of some sort weekly and a lot of testosterone challenges welcomed or not. Dang good motivation but getting knocked down from dumb buddy moves wore me out.

We ride about four times a week together and maybe one of those we do solo... right now my mt bike is down and H waves bye-bye and goes play in the gravel and backroads. We do some hard rides, some easy days and get all the intervals and hills we choose and most of all have fun. Sometimes the fun part is ending the ride! We are averaging around 180 miles a week currently and prob 45 weeks a year unless we are on the motors.


We ride motorcycles and bikes enough together to work/ play well together... a plus! If one goes harder, the other will catch up at some point

I did an eighty mile loop the other day and trying to plan a water stop was challenging right now. I took enough bottles to make it without a stop
The closest store was at mile seventy three and the wells I have used midway are where the pipeline is going in and they had a drilling mud mishap at the river boring... and the water is a little “clouded” in the aquifer:banghead
I had mounted my summer extra bottle rack but had ejected one no doubt bouncing over cattle guards. I backtracked a few miles looking but gave up after climbing back up several hills. Then found the bad water and went into ration mode. Last ten miles in the heat, hills, and wind with a few sips was NOT fun... but it was still a great ride. Note to self: check rear bottle security more!
Today’s fun was us having a kickin tailwind around 20 mph and on last five miles to house, I was chasing H and felt the dreaded rear weave....FLAT.
H looked back and came back to entertain me while I did the change... still was a great ride... after I was rolling again:dance

I'm allowed outside but I have to stay on my property. Not a big deal, I have 2 acres and a lot of outside work to do building tent sites for our Moto B&B that may open one day in the future.

[QUOTE=henzilla;1203631]Too much in common to cut some quotes out.

Have ridden solo more than groups for some time now. Will do big century rides on occasion if a good cause and route is good.Maybe four of us that meet for those and sometimes stay nearly together. Used to do a lot of small groups of coworkers and it was always a disaster of some sort weekly and a lot of testosterone challenges welcomed or not. Dang good motivation but getting knocked down from dumb buddy moves wore me out.

We ride about four times a week together and maybe one of those we do solo... right now my mt bike is down and H waves bye-bye and goes play in the gravel and backroads. We do some hard rides, some easy days and get all the intervals and hills we choose and most of all have fun. Sometimes the fun part is ending the ride! We are averaging around 180 miles a week currently and prob 45 weeks a year unless we are on the motors.


We ride motorcycles and bikes enough together to work/ play well together... a plus! If one goes harder, the other will catch up at some point

I did an eighty mile loop the other day and trying to plan a water stop was challenging right now. I took enough bottles to make it without a stop
The closest store was at mile seventy three and the wells I have used midway are where the pipeline is going in and they had a drilling mud mishap at the river boring... and the water is a little “clouded” in the aquifer:banghead
I had mounted my summer extra bottle rack but had ejected one no doubt bouncing over cattle guards. I backtracked a few miles looking but gave up after climbing back up several hills. Then found the bad water and went into ration mode. Last ten miles in the heat, hills, and wind with a few sips was NOT fun... but it was still a great ride. Note to self: check rear bottle security more!
Today’s fun was us having a kickin tailwind around 20 mph and on last five miles to house, I was chasing H and felt the dreaded rear weave....FLAT.
H looked back and came back to entertain me while I did the change... still was a great ride... after I was rolling again:dance[/QUOTE]


Ambitious miles you’re laying down. Hydration definitely becomes an issue if there’s any heat/humidity. For longer summer rides, I have 3 bottle cages on the frame that are all filled. But there are also typically ample re-watering opportunities around here. Not like where you’re riding, which sounds pretty tricky.

I live in an urban area so distances tallied are not as great as what can be accomplished in more open rural settings. Fortunately we have an abundance of short steep hills, so it’s still possible to get a solid workout in a modest amount of time, even if the miles or average speeds don’t sound impressive.

[QUOTE=henzilla;1203631]

I did an eighty mile loop the other day and trying to plan a water stop was challenging right now. I took enough bottles to make it without a stop
T[/QUOTE]

Even without places being closed due to the virus I can see it being a challenge to rewater on some of the back roads you ride.

That is a lot of miles, Steve! My ambitious goal is about the same as your normal.

We have also seen many of our convenience stores closed during the lockdown. Many reports from friends that replenishing hydration is tougher now. So we are going to dust off our Camelbaks. I used to wear one for bike training because I didn’t want to stop. Now it will be out of necessity. I throw a bunch of ice in and my water is still cool after 2 hours. This isn’t Texas. It does suck having something on your back. Worse if hot. Not hot here in May.

We have a lot of roads in this part of the country. Routes are almost limitless. I have come up with a list of about 30 local villages and hamlets that we will use as destinations to mix up our riding a bit. Normally I stick to the ‘nice’ routes - like on the m.c.: hills, scenery, curves, etc. In May I will mix it up a little more.

Weather isn’t cooperating for at least the first few days of the month. I may have to resort to the trainer- which still counts by Strava rules. Just a lot harder.

I expect that Michelle will ride all of these miles with me. She says she wants to, anyway.

Just finished the month with a bike ride. Since the C-19 "stay at home except..." rules, I've done more miles in April (365+) that in almost any April since I've been tracking miles (since 1980). The only year w/more miles was back in '07, when we did a boat/bike tour down the MS river from Memphis to New Orleans. That trip, coupled with our normal weekly rides, was somewhere above 500 IIRC. Not too bad for an old guy, then or now.

[QUOTE=vark;1203796]Ambitious miles you’re laying down. Hydration definitely becomes an issue if there’s any heat/humidity. For longer summer rides, I have 3 bottle cages on the frame that are all filled. But there are also typically ample re-watering opportunities around here. Not like where you’re riding, which sounds pretty tricky.

I live in an urban area so distances tallied are not as great as what can be accomplished in more open rural settings. Fortunately we have an abundance of short steep hills, so it’s still possible to get a solid workout in a modest amount of time, even if the miles or average speeds don’t sound impressive.[/QUOTE]

You guys have got me all beat. I average about 75 miles a week. I live in a rural area of Michigan so it's flat and open country. Very boring but it can be a challenge when the wind builds unobstructed. I really miss the hills when I lived in California. I do a week long tour with my daughter up the east side of Lake Michigan every year. It's about 420 miles and takes place in early August. Unfortunately, I just got news that it was cancelled. That tour has always been a great motivator for training in the summer. It's great to get off the trainer and get back on the road.

[QUOTE=jgoertz;1203897]Just finished the month with a bike ride. Since the C-19 "stay at home except..." rules, I've done more miles in April (365+) that in almost any April since I've been tracking miles (since 1980). The only year w/more miles was back in '07, when we did a boat/bike tour down the MS river from Memphis to New Orleans. That trip, coupled with our normal weekly rides, was somewhere above 500 IIRC. Not too bad for an old guy, then or now.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=littlebriar;1203913]You guys have got me all beat. I average about 75 miles a week. I live in a rural area of Michigan so it's flat and open country. Very boring but it can be a challenge when the wind builds unobstructed. I really miss the hills when I lived in California. I do a week long tour with my daughter up the east side of Lake Michigan every year. It's about 420 miles and takes place in early August. Unfortunately, I just got news that it was cancelled. That tour has always been a great motivator for training in the summer. It's great to get off the trainer and get back on the road.[/QUOTE]

Those are some neat trips you guys have taken.

And the mileage you’re doing is very respectable. I definitely prefer to hit the hills - - it’s the best way to get a decent workout around here in a reasonable amount of time. But flats can be very challenging too, especially with headwind. You never get a break from pedalling, which really builds stamina. I try to do some of that every few weeks or so, but finding time is tricky.

And if you’re accumulating a lot of those miles on an indoor trainer - - more power to you. I have one too and use it but only in extremis. Nothing takes the fun out of cycling for me quite like a stationary trainer. Thankfully we just had an especially mild winter and I didn’t need to use it even a single time.

[QUOTE=jgoertz;1203897]Just finished the month with a bike ride. Since the C-19 "stay at home except..." rules, I've done more miles in April (365+) that in almost any April since I've been tracking miles (since 1980). [/QUOTE]

I have 490 miles this year and I think about 450 of those miles were ridden in April.
I can't go to the gym so I ride when I can.
Now that the weather is warm I would like to go to the Des Moines area bike trails, but Des Moines is the hot spot for Iowa.
With so many people off work now I bet the bike trails are busy and that would make it difficult to social distance.

[QUOTE=Lee;1203947]I have 490 miles this year and I think about 450 of those miles were ridden in April.
I can't go to the gym so I ride when I can.
Now that the weather is warm I would like to go to the Des Moines area bike trails, but Des Moines is the hot spot for Iowa.
With so many people off work now I bet the bike trails are busy and that would make it difficult to social distance.[/QUOTE]

I can confirm that in my area the paved trails are very crowded with users - - much more so than normal. It’s like everyday is a beautiful weekend after a long stretch of rain.

Not complaining - - it’s nice that people are getting out for fresh air. But I have pretty much had to stop using the trails since the lockdown began - - there just isn’t enough space to social distance. Plus a high percentage of the users are newbies and haven’t learned the safety protocols or trail etiquette yet. So it’s tricky to ride for reasons beyond social distancing.

I live in an urban area so my experience may be very different from trails in rural areas.

.

[QUOTE=vark;1203960]I can confirm that in my area the paved trails are very crowded with users - - much more so than normal. It’s like everyday is a beautiful weekend after a long stretch of rain.

Not complaining - - it’s nice that people are getting out for fresh air. But I have pretty much had to stop using the trails since the lockdown began - - there just isn’t enough space to social distance. Plus a high percentage of the users are newbies and haven’t learned the safety protocols or trail etiquette yet. So it’s tricky to ride for reasons beyond social distancingI live in an urban area so my experience may be very different from trails in rural areas.

.[/QUOTE]

Trails are indeed crowded, but the rural roads are only lightly traveled (this is changing rapidly, as the states are beginning to open up). April was a nice month to ride, as roads we couldn't/wouldn't ride in February because of high, uncomfortable traffic, were a delight to ride. Wish that part of the Covid-19 would stay! I took the RT out today, and while the sideroads were almost totally traffic free, the major highways connecting them were ramping back up to pre-Covid19 volumes. When all the businesses can once again open their doors, I'm afraid my mileages will drop again, and we'll have to drive farther to find low-traffic roads. (Trails aren't a major option in Alabama).

Until everything is open again, enjoy your ride! I certainly intend to do the same.

I am enjoying hearing your perspectives, as relates to riding, across the country and across the globe.

Here in NY state, we have a weird situation. The politicians talk about the situation as 'NY State' but what they really mean is 'NY City'. Today the governor showed a statistic of where the highest numbers of new infections by county. All were in the greater NYC area except Erie (Buffalo) which was way down on the list. Equally down on the list was 'rest of the state' - which is where I live. So, locally, we are following the mandated guidelines - which are driven by what is happening in NYC. There are a few isolated cases here and when there is a reported hospitalization, the reporting of where, when, and all of whom should be concerned is very quick.

So the roads are fairly empty. But they weren't that crowded to start with. Most people aren't impatient - a little better than normal. There is one exception. People who drive large diesel pickups. Maybe they are pissed that they have to work as normal while 'everyone else' can hang out with their families. They are very aggravated that I'm riding my bike in the afternoon and are eager to show me their displeasure by either passing way too close, accelerating entirely unnecessarily right next to me, or, in a few rare instances, 'rolling coal'. I really didn't even know that was a thing here - I had only seen it in the midwest.

Oh well, nothing new. At least I haven't had anything thrown at me so far this year.

[QUOTE=kurtr11s;1204035]There is one exception. People who drive large diesel pickups. Maybe they are pissed that they have to work as normal while 'everyone else' can hang out with their families. They are very aggravated that I'm riding my bike in the afternoon and are eager to show me their displeasure by either passing way too close, accelerating entirely unnecessarily right next to me, or, in a few rare instances, 'rolling coal'. I really didn't even know that was a thing here - I had only seen it in the midwest.[/QUOTE]

It might be they're pissed that they are paying so much for their diesel. Here in Michigan, the price of diesel is going up while gas prices are plummeting. The differential is almost $2/gal right now.

[QUOTE=kurtr11s;1204035]accelerating entirely unnecessarily right next to me, or, in a few rare instances, 'rolling coal'. .[/QUOTE]

I don't get the rolling coal thing. I've had it happen to me in town a couple times.
Here's a picture for those who don't know what it is.
[ATTACH]78350[/ATTACH]

I've certainly noticed an increase in aggressiveness by motorists over the last week or so on my rides. I've no doubt that the current economic situation has taken many people to their personal edge of sanity and I do have sympathy for them. My riding partner and I did get several "one finger" salutes during our loop ride yesterday. We are on wide open, two lane highways, he rides on the shoulder and I'm about a foot into the lane from the edge. No opposing traffic, yet because people have to move over slightly, we still get the honk and one finger salute. Wow.

Up to this point, our community has been very observant of social distancing, wearing masks when out, etc. It has resulted in about 50 confirmed cases of COVID in a county of about 180,000. The local, regional hospital has had very few patients to treat so the virus has been very manageable. However, in the last week you can tell people are getting very restless and many of the cautions are going out the window. I have great fear that our community is setting itself up for a major blow up from the virus in about 30 days.

[QUOTE=Lee;1204053]I don't get the rolling coal thing. I've had it happen to me in town a couple times.
Here's a picture for those who don't know what it is.
[ATTACH]78350[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]

Usually from the diesel truck owners that have turned the engine horsepower up. Many diesel engines performance can be “dialed in” through the use of aftermarket performance engine “tuners”.
OM

Gotta agree on some bad behavior from the cagers the last few rides.
There is a major pipeline project in progress and a lot of our calm backroads have become truck paths. We got coaled riding on the shoulder as he slowed for a group of cruisers were entering city limits and was on their tails honking to speed up I guess. Had a buddy behind him also driving a flat bed. Right as we were slowing to let that all develop he downshifts and gave us a puff... H was not impressed to say the least.

We also now get the pass us and drive on shoulder half way just as you clear us...subtle!

People are definitely wound up as things open , we are still trying to do the right thing...’both for C-19 and idiot drivers

On a slight drift ... got seriously Coaled twice in Appalachia...WV and TN, while on my GSA last summer. Looked me right in the eye and throttle up at a light and one passing me on a four lane. Calm thoughts prevailed

I agree about increasing traffic. Three weeks ago it was a ghost town, not so much anymore.

Even during the ghost town days, there was some tricky driving to deal with. On three consecutive rides, I witnessed multiple vehicles blow through stop signs and even solid red lights. All contractors in pick-ups. I guess they felt with no traffic on the road, the rules were suspended. I hollered “hey” at one guy who blew a red light - - I was passing through the intersection on green - - he gave me the finger and shouted f-u.

But in this urban area, in routine times, most of the close calls with vehicles are due to cell phone use. Too many near misses to count, and with the driver usually completely oblivious.

I have had “rolling coal” encounters, too, usually in rural areas. The most notable was on a long straightaway with good visibility forward and behind, me solo riding, no other traffic other than the pick-up coming up from behind. I was as close to roadside as possible, which is where I always ride.

This guy leans on the horn beginning from about an 1/8 mile behind me. Full downshift for maximum exhaust, and comes so close during the pass that his right side mirror grazes my left shoulder. Horn on entire time. Lots of fun.

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I wish our county and state roads had paved shoulder so I had more riding options. The gravel shoulder rarely matches the road so dropping to the shoulder doesn't work very well with a road bike.
I used to ride the county roads but now there's too many drivers reading a cell phone while driving.

I ride Michigan state highway around here. There are nice wide shoulders that were financed during the TARP money. It was wonderful. Then the MDOT chief ordered all state roads to have rumble strips ground on the shoulders and then they chip sealed them. The rumble strips cut the width in half and the chip seal makes for a bumpy ride. Bummer...

This discussion leads me to some current thinking I've been having. Like many of you, I've been a road bike rider forever. I also rode mountain bikes for a number of years, until I had so many friends getting seriously injured I decided maybe it was time to give it up (you know, those decisions you make as you get older and don't heal as quickly...is this something I enjoy so much it wouldn't matter if I were healing for a few months from the activity and couldn't participate in my other activities because of it?). Anyway, gravel biking is beginning to become pretty popular in my community (for a lot of the reasons just discussed about near misses on the road due to distracted motorists, angry motorists, cell phone users, whatever) and I'm beginning to think about transitioning from mostly road biking to gravel biking:

[url]https://dirtyfreehub.com[/url]

I would be interested in any thoughts from this community? Is anybody transitioning to gravel biking? Has anyone purchased a gravel bike?

Thanks!

[QUOTE=littlebriar;1204097]I ride Michigan state highway around here. There are nice wide shoulders that were financed during the TARP money. It was wonderful. Then the MDOT chief ordered all state roads to have rumble strips ground on the shoulders and then they chip sealed them. The rumble strips cut the width in half and the chip seal makes for a bumpy ride. Bummer...[/QUOTE]

Yep those rumble strips eat up a lot of the shoulder.

Thankfully little to no cell coverage within 15-20 km's of me on either side so no worries about texting drivers and I haven'y been in the hospital for trauma since I stopped racing DH.

[QUOTE=powwow;1204105]This discussion leads me to some current thinking I've been having. Like many of you, I've been a road bike rider forever. I also rode mountain bikes for a number of years, until I had so many friends getting seriously injured I decided maybe it was time to give it up (you know, those decisions you make as you get older and don't heal as quickly...is this something I enjoy so much it wouldn't matter if I were healing for a few months from the activity and couldn't participate in my other activities because of it?). Anyway, gravel biking is beginning to become pretty popular in my community (for a lot of the reasons just discussed about near misses on the road due to distracted motorists, angry motorists, cell phone users, whatever) and I'm beginning to think about transitioning from mostly road biking to gravel biking:

[url]https://dirtyfreehub.com[/url]

I would be interested in any thoughts from this community? Is anybody transitioning to gravel biking? Has anyone purchased a gravel bike?

Thanks![/QUOTE]

I transitioned to a “gravel bike” well over a decade ago. At that time “gravel bikes” didn’t really exist, because disc brakes hadn’t made their way over to roadbikes yet in any significant way. So rim brake calipers limited the size of wheels/tires that could be used. So I purchased a cyclecross bike and modified it somewhat to be more of a gravel/road bike.

I am still riding that bike today and will never go back to a straight roadbike. I find roadbikes are just too limiting. This bike can run up to 38c width tires, but I typically run 28, 30, or 32c depending on anticipated terrains. 30c ends up being a very good all-around width, and running at <60psi the ride is softer. I can ride anything from rough rutted gravel/packed dirt to pavement. I have no trouble keeping up with pure roadbikes on pavement, either.

This really is my “anything bike.” Short of technical mountain-bike terrain, it can handle almost anything. It’s really nice to be able to plan a multi-surface jaunt, or happen upon some unexpected gravel path or shortcut/detour and not have to turn back.

The modern breed of gravel bikes are even better, purpose built with improved disc brakes and better gearing options now with the new groupsets. I can’t recommend this style of bike enough. Very versatile and fun.

[QUOTE=powwow;1204105]

I would be interested in any thoughts from this community? Is anybody transitioning to gravel biking? Has anyone purchased a gravel bike?

Thanks![/QUOTE]

Quite a few of the reclaimed railroad bed trails in central Iowa started as gravel, then changed to blacktop or concrete.
There's a nice 240 mile gravel trail in Missouri that runs near the Missouri River (Katy Trail) that a friend I did a 2 day ride on.
[url]https://mostateparks.com/park/katy-trail-state-park[/url]
Nice little bars, food joints and parks along the route.
I have a hybrid I use for gravel trails but if I was starting over I might just have a nice carbon fiber gravel bike with two sets of wheels.