MFP Cycling Club

RebelRenny

:drinker: Good Morning!! I have not been riding since last Wednesday. We've had a heatwave here. Hope to hop back into the saddle tomorrow. So looking forward to it.

I try to keep up with your posts, since I learn so much from them.

Have a great day everyone!! :drinker: :drinker:

Rebel

tipusnr

I didn't want to hijack this thread so started another one for some further sharing. Check out "Most Embarrassing (Humorous) Exercise Moment " for the story of my falling while standing still and add your own.

I'll check in again after my ride tonight.

mookiemoo

Well, I learned this trick from a buddy in Vancouver many years ago, maybe you all know it too, but I thought I'd pass it along just the same.

As you approach parked cars, always give them room so it they swing a door open you do not get collected by it, also, watch their front tire, if they are going to turn out, they will almost 99% of the time turn the front wheels first, then turn out, so if you see the front wheel turning out, hit the brakes and give the cager some space, they are about to try to hit you and then say "I never saw the nut on the bicycle" :huh:

I hope this helps in you daily ride, and if anyone else have these kinds of tips, please share them!

Cheers!

I will keep that in mind as I'm always nervous when I ride on roads - great tip!!

LisaKC

@megamom, Please reconsider wearing a helmet. I sweat like crazy, and I wear a HALO headband and a helmet. The HALO has kind of a rubber gasket (for lack of a better description) that channels perspiration away from your eyes. It doesn't interfere with the helmet. I've been more comfortable riding with the HALO than with other solutions I've tried. At the risk of sounding inappropriate, you can also put a panty liner in your helmet across where your forehead goes, and that will also help with perspiration.

@dino, your vacation sounds wonderful! Too much rain where I am.

I'm going to find tip's new embarrassing exercise thread now.

tipusnr

Ride went great. Rode with a fast strong group and only fell back once when I tried to climb the second steep hill in the set in the wrong gear. 31.45 miles at an average speed of 16.9 mph. My cycling computer does show one anomoly though. The fastest speed recorded is showing as 58.6 mph. Every other computer on the ride showed 35 mph which I can believe as I don't remember screaming in fear of my life during the ride. All the other data matches so I don't understand what is going on with the computer.

I also don't understand the noise in the bike. It is back loud as ever and now does sound as if it is coming from the front deraileur. I can't duplicate the noise when I'm off the bike so I'm going to have to look for scratches or other clues when I have time. I can't take it back to the shop until I get through, at least, this weekend's training. It doesn't appear to be a safety issue so I'm going to work it little by little.

robbienjill

So I traded out my ladies Trek 7.1 today for the men's 7.3. The salesman did change out the saddle and handle bars to the ladies and he PROMISED me that I will be able to be faster and that the gears will change more smoothly. Tomorrow is my running day and I also have to go to the ortho. to see why my left hip is bothering me, but I will def. be on my bike on Thursday. I can not wait!! Great job everyone:happy:

StuAblett

Jill, congrats on the new bike!
would love to see some pics :bigsmile:

Tip, wow that is a great ride, what a great pace too, you guys are screaming!

The noise, can you describe it?

Does the noise happen only when you are pedaling, or if you are not pedaling and coasting?

If you are hearing the noise when you are NOT pedaling, when you are coasting then it most likely has nothing to do with the front derailleur.

If you only hear the noise when you are pedaling then it has something to do with the drive line of the bike, that is the front and rear derailleurs, the chain, the pedals, cranks, bottom bracket, front chainrings, rear cassette, or rear hub and axle.

Stupid question time :happy:

I have no idea how much you know about bikes and maintaining them, so please understand I'm not trying to be an *kitten* :blushing:

Does this sound happen when you are just pedaling along, or when you are really kicking hard?

Could it be that your rear tire is rubbing the frame of the bike, the chain stays or seat stays? I've seen this happen with bigger guys on steel bikes as they tend to flex a lot.

Is if possible that one of the front chainrings is loose? You can easily check that with an allen wrench, if one is loose, it can squeak a bit each time you pedal, and speaking of pedals, is it possible one of them is loose or squeaking? I replaced a set of pedals on my bike once because one squeaked, we tried everything we could think of, rebuilt it and re-greased everything, put anti lock grease on the threads but no matter what I did the darn thing squeaked all the time, drove me nuts until I replaced it!

I'll do my best to help you narrow the problem down, just give me some info and maybe we can get you headed in the right direction!

Cheers!

gwynh

I am looking forward to my next ride. Can't ride on Thursday. Too busy during daylight time being a taxi mom for the kids. But, on Thursday, I will have made that big 500 mile total. Woooooo hoooooo!!!!!! :drinker: :laugh: :happy: I am pre-celebrating. I thought that 500 miles would be WAAAAAY down the road for me when I first started back at the begining of July.

I have to say, I have not lost much weight, but my legs are hard as rocks! Clothes are looser.
Glad to read about everyone's rides. I just am getting ready for school to start and find I have almost no time to post. But I am still here and chugging away at the pedals.

I sweat a ton too. I used to wear a sweatband, but that added about a pound to my head when my ride was done. lol. But I carry a sweat rag on my bike I use all the time. Also, I purchased a pair of ladies gloves. The thumb portion is made of terry cloth. That makes them ideal for wiping my eyes and face. I am just adding my 2 cents worth. I do have that helmet on all the time.

StuAblett

I only got in about 10Km today on the bike, I was supposed to do a C25K run too, but today started busy and just simply got busier and busier.:grumble:

I might sneak the run in tonight, but it depends, if not, tomorrow I guess.

One of my delivery runs today, I had a mountain of stuff on the trailer, and the delivery was a few miles away, up one long slope on the way back, not enough to call a hill, but certainly above level With all the weight on the trailer, I was really burning up the legs getting up that slope. Later, I had to make a run to the bank, just the bike, no trailer, after the slope run, just the bike felt like I was turbo charged or something :bigsmile:

At least I'm on track with the eating, the biggest problem is I have trouble eating enough:noway:

I'm building a basic flat bench for doing some weight lifting, I have a decent set of dumbbells, and I did a lot of weight lifting in my youth, so I'll add some strength exercises to the mix

Hope you are all having a good day!

tipusnr

The noise is a part of the drive train and happens in every gear now as long as I am pedaling. The chain has been lubed and the pedals removed and greased. Using the micro-adjuster on the front deraileur did quiet it a little so I thing the issue is there but have to take it easy as the bike shifts great and don't want to mess that up.

I can't reproduced the sound on the rack as it only happens with weight on the wheels and power to the pedals. I appreciate your help Stu. Now that I know it's not in the crank, I'm sure I'll find it. There are a few mechanics in my ride group tonight and I hope to get one of them to look at it as well.

StuAblett

OK Tip, is it a rubbing sound, a squeak?

Sorry, I love all things mechanical, and I love trouble shooting them too :bigsmile: just how my brain works, I want to fix stuff and figure out why it went wrong, as a kid I drove my dad nuts, I'd get a new toy, play with it a day or two, become bored and want to see how it worked, once I figured out how to use a screwdriver, none of my toys were safe :laugh:

My high school grad present was a full on mechanics tool kit. :drinker:

Did you check to see if a tire was rubbing the inside of the frame on the opposite side of the chain up front near the intersection of the seat tube and the chain stay? Could be your rear wheel was put on slightly off center, then with the pull on the chain side of the wheel when you are riding, the wheel could flex towards the frame and rub. Just an idea to run down.

I've got to tear down my front end, my steering tube bearings are squeaking, so I guess they need some TLC and grease.

Hope you find the problem it can be annoying and worrisome, wondering if something will break on your next ride :frown:

Oh, I got my run in, I upped my speeds too, from 4.0kph to 4.5kph for walking and from 8kph to 9kph for the jogging part, don't sound like much, but man it wore me out...... a good thing:drinker:

tipusnr

Well done Stu - I need to get back to running again. I'm looking at doing a 5K to benefit prostate cancer research.

The noise is a clicking noise. The last mechanic thought that as I pushed with my left foot the chain was slapping the deraileur.

Panda86

Hi all! Haven't been getting on the forum much lately :frown: Haven't been able to ride my bike in what seems like forever :sad: I ride a mile or so here and there, when I am riding to the walking path for morning walks or going to the store... but since my child trailer broke, I haven't been able to ride during the day because I have my kids. I might have to go take another look at it to see if I can fix it... I hate not riding. I feel poopy when I don't get a good ride in.... and I NEED to be training. And fall is right around the corner... and then winter. I know, shame on me for saying that. But its true. NEED NEED NEED to get a stationary bike to keep me working on days when I can't go out for a ride and for the winter months.... errrrrrrgh.

LisaKC

@Stu, you are a mechanical wonder! Unfortunately, I don't know much about my bike mechanically. I probably should learn some basic stuff at some point.

@gwynn, I've lost about 10 pounds on MFP, but this isn't the same body I started with. Slimmed down and toned up! I tend to not lose anything for several weeks, and then a few pounds come off at once.

We rode about 21 miles this morning. Our original plan was to ride about 30, but about 10 miles in, Al admitted his legs were cooked from yesterday's C25K, and after he admitted it, I did, too. :embarassed: The new saddle is great, but it is different, and I could feel it on the hills. The shop guy confirmed yesterday that I had it set up correctly, so I'm guessing I've been riding too high for quite a long time.

I've got about 3 weeks left in the C25K, and when that's done, we are going to start a training program for a century. I don't know that we'll ride a full century, but I'd like to be able to do the metric without much drama. I'm planning to use a simple plan from Bicycling magazine. It looks very doable. If anyone has a good program they'd like to share, let me know. :drinker:

tipusnr

@Panda....If you haven't purchased a stationary bike yet you might look at a trainer that could be cheaper. (I hope I have the name right). It is basically a stand for your rear wheel that lets it roll while offering resistance against it (there are various types and I'm an expert on none of them). You can even get a riser block to keep the bike level or pointed uphill or whatever.

They are a bit cheaper than a quality exercise bike and let you stay used to your bike through the winter. I'm considering one but don't know how much wear and tear it adds to the bike. Then there are rollers but they require balance as well and I, for one, don't want to fall down indoors.

shari253

OMG! this is embarrassing! but you guys are my bycycle support group, so I will confess. .. Yesterday i was gonna take my bike out for the first time. .. And I did, kind of. I had to put air in the tires with a foot pump and literally dust the spider webs off it! It was about 92 outside and I was sweating, so all I did was go down the driveway and back, lol. I don't feel safe on our road and I was too hot and tired to load my bike up and drive to a trail.

So that was my big "kickoff," lol! Hey, at least I didn't fall over!

The good news is that I've located my helmet, dusted off my bike, and filled the tires. Next time I will be ready to go.

Jax67

Well done Shari ... good luck for your first ride and enjoy it!! :drinker: x

StuAblett

@Panda....If you haven't purchased a stationary bike yet you might look at a trainer that could be cheaper. (I hope I have the name right). It is basically a stand for your rear wheel that lets it roll while offering resistance against it (there are various types and I'm an expert on none of them). You can even get a riser block to keep the bike level or pointed uphill or whatever.

They are a bit cheaper than a quality exercise bike and let you stay used to your bike through the winter. I'm considering one but don't know how much wear and tear it adds to the bike. Then there are rollers but they require balance as well and I, for one, don't want to fall down indoors.

I used to have the kind that held the back wheel on a stand and had a roller that the rear tire turned, which was then hooked up to a fan to give resistance, you could change the resistance in various ways. I got it used really cheap, and I used it over the winter on my crit bike, as I did not want to take it out in the rain in Vancouver, no fenders etc.

The full on rollers are very hard to use, but once you get used to them they are like a treadmill for your bike :bigsmile:

A buddy had a set and he used them in the hallway, that way he had a wall to kind of bounce off of :noway:

You can stand up and sprint on them if you have good bike control and are smooth, one time he was really going for it, really fast, and he kind of lost concentration, and rolled right off the side onto the carpet, his wheels were spinning really fast when he touched down, the tires did a burn out on the carpet and he launched down the hallway into his living room and crash landed on the couch :laugh: He was fine, but the carpet had some SERIOUS burn marks in it, lost his damage deposit on that one :bigsmile:

This kind of thing is known as a "trainer"



your rear wheel is held in place and the tire rotates the roller, you can set the resistance, this one uses a magnet.

Here is a set of rollers in use....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oCEY6ZhqQ4

Personally, I'd get the rollers, not the trainer, the trainer just locks you in on the bike, where as the rollers are a more of a challenge, you have to become smooth and you have to keep pedaling. If you put them in a good spot, like in that video, I think they are fairly safe too.

I just found these really cool rollers....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaYDZ-RSOTA

Wow is that cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qn9pdjiHZE

A review of a trainer :happy:

StuAblett

Shari, good for you, your journey has begun, it just takes one step! :drinker:

skywalker

I have GOT to move to a flatter state :laugh: 24.5mile bike ride and I actually climbed a short, but steep hill that has always defeated me... Until today! That's right, hill, I WIN, YOU LOSE!!! :laugh: Just a little personal victory. :happy: I love seeing improvement. To me, that was concrete evidence that I am getting stronger and more fit. I won't say I just glided effortlessly up that hill (I huffed and puffed), but I did it without stopping. Then temporary insanity set in and I added another hill right at the end of the ride. Not a major one though. :laugh:

tipusnr

Good job Skywalker! I made it to the club ride tonight after contacting a nationally known cyclist to look at my bicycle. We started out riding together and before we got out of the park and on to the road. He had diagnosed that he knew what the problem was and could fix it in 20 minutes.

I couldn't keep up with him after last night's ride so let him go as we got a late start. I turned as directed by the turn list and found myself alone. The map and the turn list didn't agree and the rest of the riders followed the map. Watching traffic while riding solo I missed the detour and ended heading back early. To get more miles, I added a couple of major hills but still came up a little over a mile short. Still, it was 29.46 miles and 16.6 mph average.

After the ride I went to Larry's house and, sure enough, he fixed my bike for free. If it stays fixed through the training this weekend, I'm talking to my bike shop! Still 20 miles from 1400...

StuAblett

Way to go Sky, conquering a hill is ALWAYS a great thing :drinker:

Tip, good to hear you got your bike fixed, but come on, you got to tell me what was actually wrong :bigsmile:

Was it just the front Derailleur out of adjustment?

Cheers!

StuAblett

I got in a good 10km today, mostly deliveries, including coming back from a delivery I made for a party last night, daught beer and server etc. The beer server, gas cylinder etc are not "Light" items :bigsmile:



The way back from this pick up is mostly uphill, nothing steep, but uphill just the same, hauling a full trailer, GOOD leg burn :bigsmile:

tipusnr

Tip, good to hear you got your bike fixed, but come on, you got to tell me what was actually wrong :bigsmile:

Was it just the front Derailleur out of adjustment?

Cheers!

Actually the derailleur was fine. The steel threads on the left side of the bottom bracket had worn their aluminum counterparts and left play in the match (as well as some grit). Larry put teflon tape on both the worn left side and it's counterpart on the right and put it back together as the bearing and shaft were fine. Then he went looking for the noise he found in the headset and determined that the shop had tightened it down too tight and it was binding. This would have eventually worn that bearing early and been unsafe so he adjusted that as well. He explained every step as he went along so I got a mini-mechanic lesson as well. A couple other tweaks and he declared the bike go to go though he would have liked to have changed out my steel small chain ring with an aluminum one to lighten the bike (thanks but no thanks).

His final comment was that, if it was his bike, he would take a couple of links out of the chain to have the tensioner riding in a more neutral position but that it wasn't causing any problems and I know how to remove links from a chain and have the tools to do it.

If I get through this skills class this weekend without mechanical problems I'm going to have a talk with my bike shop next week.

I'm starting to have a lot of respect for your rides. They may be shorter than mine but I'm not pulling a loaded trailer!!

StuAblett

That is great Tip, and it sounds like Larry is a good friend to have! :drinker:

I tell you, when I take the trailer off and ride just the bike, it feels like I'm on supercharge or twin turbo or some such thing:bigsmile: :bigsmile: for a while at least!

I'm wanting to get a good long ride in this coming weekend, but I might not, tomorrow is W2D1 of my C25K running thing, so I know I'm going to be sucking wind after that. Oh, I do have a Chiropractor appointment tomorrow AM so that should be an easy 20Km ride :happy:

Still stinking hot, sunny and humid here :grumble:

BarbieCat1

Hi everyone... I've been among the missing lately. That darned bike accident a couple weeks ago laid me low. I thought I was just bruised and scraped, but it turns out I'd injured my back, which didn't really start to hurt until about 5 days after the crash, when I got back on my bike for a vigorous ride.. way too soon.

I should have known better, as 3 years ago, when I tore the meniscus in my knee, it tore because I ignored a big bruise on my knee which had weakened it, making it more susceptible to injury. I put a lot of strain on the bruised area ... and it "blew". I guess this time around, I'd bruised muscles in my back... without realizing it, until I put it under strain. Dumb.

So, after seeing 3 doctors, 3 meds [pain, muscled relaxer, anti inflammatory], and just now starting physical therapy... this is the price I paid for my foolishness. With a bit of luck, I'll still be able to go on our bike trip next month. My PT thinks it's possible... he's aware of my goal. I'm going to see him 3 times a week.

But comforting news... I didn't gain any weight despite my inactivity and temporary disability... I even lost 1 pound. I couldn't really cook or shop, but I tried to eat as moderately as possible... small servings, avoiding fattening comfort foods.

Anyhow... I'm thinking there's a lesson here for all of us ... if you have a fall, illness or injury, take it easy... don't rush to get back into full activity.... take baby steps at first. Let your body heal in it's own good time.

I hope to get a modest bike ride in later today.. the PT suggested no more than 15 minutes to start and avoid twisting around in my seat, being careful getting on and off. He told me if it hurts... stop and wait a few more days.

Oh, and my wounded bike seems to be fine. :bigsmile:

tipusnr

@ Barbie. Thanks for the update on how you are doing. Hope everything progresses as scheduled - that sounds like a heck of a bike trip.

StuAblett

Barbie, glad to hear from you, I was wondering how you were doing. :flowerforyou:

I'm also happy to hear that your bike is OK too :laugh:

Yep, getting back too soon can be a bad thing, it is very hard to just take it easy.

Good news about the eating and losing a pound!

The past week I noticed my steering tube bearings were squeaking a bit, and today, I really noticed it when I was trucking the heavy load on the trailer, never being one to let basic maintenance sit too long, I tore it down, cleaned everything out and rebuilt it with new grease. It is funny, the grease that I put in there about 4 months ago was in bad shape, I think that maybe the extra weight I am still wearing and the extra load I put on the bike with the trailer might be the cause, I guess this is something I'll just have to plan on doing every three months or so:grumble:

I have to go across town tomorrow morning to see my chiropractor and then I'll take the long way home to get in a good 20Km ride, so I wanted to check to make sure everything was functioning fine, I'd also adjusted the brakes and fixed a nagging problem I had with shifting up from 6th gear to 5th, it would always jump 6th to 4th, on the way down it was fine, but on the way up it missed fifth. Not a big problem, more of an annoyance. I fiddled and fettered and I got it now to shift really smoothly in all gears up and down :drinker:

Of course I had to take it for a test ride :bigsmile:

I just got in, five more kilometers added to the total :glasses:

I am seriously thinking about getting one of these Flashing Safety vests......



..... and riding at night after work, I work until midnight or 1AM most days, so get on my bike and go for an hour ride, it is cool, MUCH cooler, no sunburn, and a LOT fewer cars and peds on the streets :bigsmile:

Might have to get some more lights for the bike too, I already have the tires with the reflective sidewalls, so that is good.

Night rides, might be the way to go, I can do my ride, come home, have a shower and then..... SLEEP

Cheers!

StuAblett

I went to the Chiropractor, the first time I went on my bicycle it took me nearly 45 minutes, today, 23 minutes :bigsmile:

I'd say that I'm certainly going a bit quicker than I used to!

Today I wore one of the new T-shirt jerseys I bought (looks like a t-shirt, but is made from cool-max) and the Hoss brand MTB shorts, both are still a bit tight :blushing: but I'm working on that :happy:
Boy I forgot how nice it is to wear a cool-max jersey, before wearing just a cotton t-shirt, when I got to the Chiropractor, I had to just about wring the sweat out of it, it stank and weighed a ton. The cool max jersey was still a bit wet, but not much, and while I was having my treatment, I was able to hang it on a hanger and it was practically dry by the time I was ready to leave! :happy:

What can I say about the shorts, man alive, I'd forgotten how nice it is to ride in cycling shorts :bigsmile: such comfort right away, no chaffing, no redness after the ride (in an area you don't want chaffing or redness :laugh:) Like I said, they are a bit tight still, but that will change!

I did nearly 9Km to the Chiropractor, then on the way home I struck out on a new route, go around the imperial palace, I went around twice, well 1 3/4, the route is about 6km each time around, the runners route is 5km, as they get to cut through on part of the grounds, but use cyclist are not allowed through there. Good route, about 2Km is a steady uphill climb, not that steep, but non-stop, then a 1km flat, then a 2km down hill, 1km flat, repeat. I did the uphill part twice, but the turn off for home is at the beginning of the downhill, so I only did that once today. On the downhill, in top gear, head down spinning for all I was worth (and no cages near me, on the road, not the sidewalk) I hit 51.4km/h, which is fast on an old mtb :glasses:

Hot and stupid humid out there today, but man you could not wipe the smile off my face with a blowtorch :bigsmile:

So it does not matter what you ride, where you ride, or how far you ride, just get out there, wind in your face and RIDE!! :drinker:


Hope you all have a great day today too! :happy:

Cheers

tipusnr

Once again. Well done Stu.

We are walking down to the Tomato Fest tonight. It's a couple of miles away but we decided not to ride as there is too much of a chance of someone, mistakenly of course, going home with a bicycle they didn't have when they left home. Andrea got her hybrid back last night so know we have a bike that we can use a trailer with.