Official Road Cycling Thread

[Bald Guy]

.

[erickonphoenix]

Got 19.2 miles in this morning trying to beat the thunderstorms expected this afternoon. Ran across this excavator cleaning the bayou for hurricane season. That's reassuring when your house is only 50 feet above sea level.

[chassis]

32 miles, good ride. Low 60s, mostly cloudy, fairly constant west wind. Autumn is here! Sumac and maple trees are well on their way to color change. Trail traffic was moderate to almost heavy.

11mph
75rpm
128HR

I attribute the higher HR to a bit higher speed combined with headwind on the way out.

[leo95se]

Originally Posted by erickonphoenix

Got 19.2 miles in this morning trying to beat the thunderstorms expected this afternoon. Ran across this excavator cleaning the bayou for hurricane season. That's reassuring when your house is only 50 feet above sea level.

Beamer rd! Hehe
Nice ride!

[M_Six]

Short ride today. 20MPH wind gusts that weren't friendly in any direction and more cars on the back roads than I've ever seen. Just pipped over 4k miles on the year, though.

[erickonphoenix]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Short ride today. 20MPH wind gusts that weren't friendly in any direction and more cars on the back roads than I've ever seen. Just pipped over 4k miles on the year, though.

Attachment 3815393

I'm always envious of your elevation gains

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by erickonphoenix

I'm always envious of your elevation gains

You mean our flat terrain? Benefits of living in the foothills of Mt Level.

It's even flatter when I ride the bike trail.

That said, the steepest hill on my backroad route is right behind our house and it's known locally as The Beast. Short, but very steep for a bit and the approach to it is a long upward sloping ramp, so you don't get to carry speed into it. It looks innocuous enough until you start to climb it. It'll elevate your HR for sure.

[erickonphoenix]

To get hill climb training for the Marfa 100 we had to cycle a few overpasses around Houston. Even the I don't think we ever broke 400. It's so flat down here you don't need a parking brake ever. However, we do get some serious head winds but Strava doesn't have a metric for that. lol

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by erickonphoenix

To get hill climb training for the Marfa 100 we had to cycle a few overpasses around Houston. Even the I don't think we ever broke 400. It's so flat down here you don't need a parking brake ever. However, we do get some serious head winds but Strava doesn't have a metric for that. lol

Riders from Florida talk about that a lot. Highest elevation in that state is 750ft or so, I think. They consider the wind their hills. I find headwinds annoying, though. I'd rather deal with a long easy climb than a headwind any day.

This area has two different riding environments. North of where I live is the end of a glacial moraine and it's fairly flat. There's a long, sloping ramp to the highest point, but it's not even something you'd call a hill. The runoff from the melting glacier carved stream and river valleys south of the moraine. They spread out like fingers. I live on one of the fingers, so any direction I take from my house will eventually go downhill. The area south of my house is known as the Seven Hills. Lots of rolling terrain there, so there's some climbing, but nothing like Europe or other mountainous areas. The local bike trail goes east-west across the moraine, so it's quite flat. The only elevation changes there are where the trail rises up to a road crossing.

[Vulpe]

First time breaking 15 mph average on these routes. I did feel like I was going faster today.

[chassis]

5ish easy miles together with a one mile hike in a local state park.

[M_Six]

I tried a Zone 2 ride on my older bike. Didn't work. Still a good ride and I'm happy with the average speed and calorie burn.

[chassis]

I got in a few more miles yesterday evening making it 10 miles on the day. A great 3-day stay in a heavily forested state park.

[chassis]

32 miles, good ride.

73rpm
11mph
~112HR

Upper 70s, mostly sunny, light-moderate breeze, light trail traffic. All good!

[Vulpe]

Didn't think I'd get on home on time. Part of the bike path was closed for construction so I took a route through a near by park. On my way back the gate to that park was closed so I had to find another way ugh.

[chassis]

40 miles! Planned on 30 and we decided to go for “only 5 more” on the way out!

Perfect day. Mid 70s, high cirrus clouds/filtered sun, low humidity. Head wind kicked up the last 7 miles which was a challenge.

70RPM
1.4mph
106HR

[chassis]

What mileage/life should I expect from bike tires ridden 90% on pavement and 10% on gravel?

My Schwalbe CX Comp tires are 2 years old with maximum 1,000 miles. My mind is suggesting that the tires are wearing noticeably but it might be psychosomatic. I searched online and several thousand miles seems reasonable. Comments?

[chassis]

20 miles. Most miles, 60, I have ridden in a two day period. Light rain and mid-60s at the start, low 70s and overcast at the finish. Good ride.

[chassis]

I looked more closely at my tires and the rear tire is clearly wearing faster than the front. Seems like one more season left for the rear. Front has more life left on it.

[Vulpe]

Ugh, I was supposed to ride today but I felt a little icky and it was supposed to rain. Of course it didn't until well after I would have gotten home.

I'll just treat today as a taper day as the Honolulu Century Ride is next Sunday. Hope I'm ready!

[Vindicator3]

Originally Posted by chassis

the rear tire is clearly wearing faster than the front.

This is unavoidable. Pro tip is to rotate the front tire to the back and put the new tire on the front, when the back wears out. Otherwise the front will rot before it ever wears out.

[chassis]

Originally Posted by Vindicator3

This is unavoidable. Pro tip is to rotate the front tire to the back and put the new tire on the front, when the back wears out. Otherwise the front will rot before it ever wears out.

Thanks! I was wondering about that - tire rotation.

Factory set of Kendas lasted 13 years with no rot or noticeable tread wear. I rode fewer miles per year then but total miles are at least the same, or more, than my current Schwalbes

Are tires today getting cheapened like everything, or are Schwalbes fast wearing tires?