Official Road Cycling Thread

[erickonphoenix]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Houston heat isn't a dry heat either. I spent the summer of '96 there and even the cars would sweat.

We get out early to beat the heat but you definitely need to be careful. It can be dangerous after 2 pm.

[Markr]

I have been to Austin a few times on business, and could not get over the heat and humidity. Stayed in an Embassy Suites and walked across to some shops, a Micro Mart from memory or something like that, and had to change my shirt when i got back. Those sorts of trips to visit IBM were the days!

It has been windy and raining here for the last couple of days, so no cycling - i am itching to get out.

[M_Six]

25 miles again today. Repeat of yesterday's ride. Wind out of the west today, but that made the eastbound legs fun.

[chassis]

22 miles out and back, good ride. Another afternoon ride, starting at 5pm. Partly sunny, with some welcome cloud cover. ~1/3 of the ride is well-shaded by trees on both sides of the trail, which is nice. My schedule lately hasn't cooperated with my preferred morning ride. Light trail traffic.

Ordered new rotors. The new pads aren't bedding in very well with the 15 year old rotors. I hope I don't chase pad/rotor combination any further than new rotors.

[M_Six]

35 today for 100 on the week.

[Markr]

Still raining here, so no cycling. I have the next 2 weeks off work, so will hopefully get some cycling in, weather permitting! Feels like we have gone into Autumn a couple of months early in the last week.

[M5Rick]

About to go on a 10 miler at new location where I've found a nice straight route in Hants, rain permitting

[M_Six]

After 4 years of dodging COVID, it finally caught up with me. Not doing too bad, but something simple like taking a shower saps every bit of energy I have. Plus the remnants of hurricane Beryl will be passing through my area this week, so it's going to be a rainy mess. Not sure how long it will be before I can get back to riding.

[Markr]

Sorry to hear that Mark; wishing you a speedy recovery. I too have avoided Covid thus far, but hear that there is a lot of it going around at the moment.

Don’t be tempted to get back in the saddle before you are properly recovered.

[chassis]

New rotors were delivered today. Hope to get them installed and a ride in during the weekend.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by Markr

Don’t be tempted to get back in the saddle before you are properly recovered.

This is the hard part. I feel 95% normal, but I'm still testing positive and everything I read says jumping back into your normal exercise routine too early can be a bad thing and may lead to long Covid. Most sites strongly suggest two full weeks of rest. It's only been 5 days for me and I'm climbing the walls with boredom.

[Markr]

Understand entirely. I had a chest infection a few years back in the February and went out on the bike a bit too soon, in the cold weather I might add, and ended up with pleurisy, no cycling for 6 weeks and a ban on cycling in the Winter - otherwise pneumonia could be on the cards, hence now only being a fair weather cyclist!

Take it easy!

[chassis]

Knocked out 22 miles after playing 18 holes of golf. Great ride.

Weather was mid-upper 80s and some breeze. With the declining sun and some clouds it felt good.

I changed the front rotor and it fixed the wobble and rubbing on the pads. I don't remember damaging the front rotor so it must have gotten bumped being loaded/unloaded from a car. I don't do long downhill runs where the brakes could overheat.

I will change the rear rotor sometime this weekend.

[Markr]

Glad the rotor replacement fixed your issues.

I managed 27.75 miles this morning, weather was a bit cool and breezy, but not too bad.

I was about 5 miles from home when a pack of 4 cyclists went past me, so I thought I would push myself a bit and kept within about 30 metres of them to within about 1/2 a mile of home, when they went a different way.

As a result of having something to chase, I averaged 18.6 mph on that sector, which is a bit up and down (a Strava PR for me) - my normal is about 16 mph, and prior PR 17.2 mph, so pleased with that.

My competitive side came out!

[chassis]

Replaced the rear rotor today, both rotors feel pretty good!

What is the consensus on cleaning/washing the chain? I sprayed my chain and gears with brake cleaner last year to get rid of years of crud. Then re-lubed with "dry" chain lubricant. So far this season things have been fine.

But with the mileage I am doing lately I have the desire to spray out the crud again and re-lube. Is this bad for the chain or gears?

[Markr]

I remove the rear wheel and after protecting the frame, spray the chain with degreaser and scrub clean with a stiff(ish) brush, then do the same to the cassette. Once all dry, I then lubricate with a ceramic chain oil.

It comes 80% clean, but I also have it fully strip down serviced every couple of years and they obviously soak everything and clean, and both the chain and cassette come back bright silver and perfectly clean (as does the entire bike).

[Markr]

Just knocked out 34.4 miles this morning. Weather was bright, but a little breezy on a couple of the legs. Had a chain off event moving from front small cog to large and changing between both is a bit hit and miss. Suspect cable stretch as nothing else has changed - another job!

They have put all the signs up for a local music festival called Womad, so the roads are going to get a little busier for a couple of weeks, so I may need to adjust my route once it kicks off.

[erickonphoenix]

We logged 36.38 miles this morning. Averaged 12.2 mph which is about 3 mph under our target pace for the Marfa100k in the fall.

Overcast morning in the low 90s but then the sun came out and it got extremely hot. Bad enough when we were moving but tied up at intersections was an absolute boil.

[chassis]

22 miles, great ride. Milder weather lately made the ride quite enjoyable.

Light trail traffic. Pads are bedding in with the new rotors nicely.

[M_Six]

I wish I could get out and ride. The weather has been great. It's beautiful out there tonight. But this damn fatigue is ruining things. I had to take a nap this afternoon. I *never* nap. I hope this clears up soon.

[M_Six]

Got 20 miles in today. Very low effort ride, but no fatigue. I felt pretty good. Just need to ramp it up slowly.

[M_Six]

Back to my usual 30 mile ride. Feeling pretty close to normal again.