The Bicycling thread

[slowpokepete]

Pic from this morning's ride...Louden Road, Ghent, NY.

April 24, 2022 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

SPP

[robsryder]

The bike that I have the most miles on (and it will likely stay on top) is a Schwinn Voyager purchased in 1983. At the time of purchase I was living in southern Ohio and I traded in my older much less expensive Schwinn road bike. I rode that 15 speed (3 x 5) very regularly with the fellow that owned the local bike shop (and sold me the Voyager). He grew up in the area and knew the back roads, and more importantly, the good placed to find breakfast out in the country.

I still have that bike as it is very comfortable to me, but it has rim clincher brakes. While these work well, there is really no comparison to the modern disc brakes on bicycles. My Schwinn in now in the basement on the trainer. I use that bike for reference measurements when I have purchased newer bikes. My newer bikes all have disc brakes, I won't be going back to rim brakes. [Note- I have a 30 year old Cannondale tandem that my wife and I use to take trips on. Once her hip replacement healing is complete we might see about riding the tandem again. The tandem has rim clinchers for the front and rear wheel and the rear wheel has a supplemental drum brake. I obtained a Trek step-thru e-bike for my wife after her heart incident last year. She really likes the e-bike, which makes it even more unlikely that the tandem will see much future use. But, I'm just not inclined to get rid of it - we do not need the room occupied by the tandem.]

I like red motorcycles and red bicycles. I have had to travel about some to find red bikes with the attributes that I desired. It is a well-known fact that red bikes are faster.

[kurtr11s]

I had an '80s era Schwinn Le Tour. If I used that as an example of the capabilities of rim brakes, I would come to the same conclusion. But that would be like condemning BMW motorcycle braking based on the performance of an R90/6!

I have both rim and disk bikes and continue to prefer the rim brakes on the road. Just the sound of a group of 'modern' cyclists coming to a stop sends a shiver down my spine similar to fingernails on a blackboard. Hopefully this is another area that will eventually get fixed.

Here are the arguments FOR road disk: 1) Carbon rims suck when used as a brake surface AND they wear out fast - carbon rims are too expensive to use as brake disks, 2) Everyone knows that 32c tires have the least rolling resistance and best aerodynamic profile on the road - can't use them with rim brakes (wink), 3) when a bike costs $7500, what's another $500, right?, 4) You don't have to do much maintenance on them - just take it to the local mechanic a couple times a year (and how many people properly maintained their rim brakes? Probably few), 5) the hydraulic reservoir makes an additional hand position on the hoods, 6) No brake fade when doing 10 mile long descents, 7) Stop great in the rain, also while making a 10 mile long descent.

None of those arguments sway me. I ride aluminum rims. I don't ride my road bike in the rain. I don't have 10 mile descents. I don't pay over 5k for bikes. 25C is big enough. I do my own maintenance and make sure that my brake pads are in good shape and replace them fairly often. I also change out the cables and liners (usually at the start of each year).

I'm sure I'm in the minority. I usually am.

[kurtr11s]

Here is a pic of my road bike. Taken on the shore of Lake Ontario in Oswego. I think this was last May.

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[slowpokepete]

July 1, 2022 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

SPP

[robsryder]

Last Sunday morning I was on a solo ride a bit north of Summerfield, NC (in Piedmont region of NC) and a feller in a car coming towards me flashes his lights. He said that he had just seen a small bear (80 to 100 lbs estimated) crossing the road. I kept an eye out but didn't see any bears (including an angry momma bear looking for her cub!). I did see more bikes out in the country than cars that early morning.

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[Lee]

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[littlebriar]

We took our bikes on Mackinaw Island a few weeks ago. While we rode around the island, there was a very large group of people free swimming around the island. I think it was a fund raiser. It's 8 miles around the island by bike. Most of the swimmers were quite a bit offshore so it must have been at least a 9 mile swim in open water.

[Lee]

We took our bikes on Mackinaw Island a few weeks ago. While we rode around the island, there was a very large group of people free swimming around the island. I think it was a fund raiser. It's 8 miles around the island by bike. Most of the swimmers were quite a bit offshore so it must have been at least a 9 mile swim in open water.

Wow that's a long swim in Huron's cold water.

[Lee]

Left the island this morning and stopped at the Log Slide and Au Sable Light Station on our drive to Marquette, MI.

Logs were slid down the sand dune and floated to Grand Marais.
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Took the the Light house tour.
Only foot traffic, no bicycles allowed on the nice 3.2 mile gravel road round trip

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Old ship wreck remains near the lighthouse.
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[Lee]

H-58 west of the lighthouse is a good motorcycle road. I pulled over to let 3 sport bikes pass and have fun.

[Lee]

This is part of the 4 mile section of M-185 around Mackinac Island that had to be repaired at over 6 million dollars in 2021 after high water and wave action destroyed a large section on the road. When we were there in 2019 the waves were splashing on the road and the lake level got higher in 2020.
It's several feet lower this year.

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[Lee]

Marquette, Michigan today.
Docks where Iron ore pellets are loaded into ships.
Train cars similar to coal cars drop the pellets down chutes into the ship.
The chutes are in the up position in my pictures.
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This is a abandoned dock no longer attached to the shore downtown.
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[slowpokepete]

Just a rainy 100k on the Albany-Hudson Electric Trail.

Stuyvesant Falls....

October 4, 2022 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

October 4, 2022 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

October 4, 2022 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

SPP

[henzilla]

Needed ride back from town and came up with this since H was working . Dropped Dodge off at mechanic to do stuff I don’t want to

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Gate to beer garden at Real Ale Brewery

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Axis deer running this area now, don’t care for that beer as too citrusy for me. Their Fireman’s 4 is a popular ale
The deer are larger than whitetail

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Cypress in State Park on slow pace colorwise

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My grumpiness was better in spite of wind!


Been a “few weeks” and nice welcome back headwind in spots before heading home