The "Where did you ride your bike today?" Thread...

[RiderJake]

Rode from Ocean Beach to the smoke stacks right outside Carlsbad and back.. Flat almost all..ride highlight.. Finding a credit card size wallet.. Driver's license, credit and debit card, $40 bucks.. Found it in a super duper over the top high traffic area of Mission Beach..laying right in the street.. Girl born in 2000!!!!!Googled the address..18 miles in the car later..gave my find to her very grateful mom!! Then to make the day perfect!! Went to San Diego Chicken Pie Shop restaurant and got a double pie dinner.. a piece of pie comes with the meal.. Coconut cream was my choice.. Everything delicious..

That's a good thing!
Did you remember to tell her mother that she might never meet such kind people again?

 

[Unchained]

That's a good thing!
Did you remember to tell her mother that she might never meet such kind people again?

I did not.. I have had a similar experience.. Mine came on a Monday as I arrived at work to find a small FedEx envelope waiting for me.. Inside was my wallet which I dropped at a beer garden in Brooklyn on Saturday.. I semi freaked out and cancelled my credit cards.. It cost me nothing to do the right thing..
I recently purchased a couple of jerseys that have a small zippered pocket separate from the traditional 3 pockets on most jerseys. I put my license and car key in there and then anything that falls out, like a gel or something I stand to lose less..
I also feel like real life is different than internet which often has easy access to worst case scenario stories were you lose your wallet and within hours some hack room in Russia, Philippines or India cleans out your bank account, clones everything, steals your life, buys cars,houses, file tax refund, maybe get married if they have time.. I know it happens.. I wish a pro rider would steal my identity and win some races using my name.. Maybe party w some super models.. one can only hope

 

[Miss Violet Smith]

Disclaimer: Please be aware that I'm very much a hobby cyclist, I don't ride far or fast and I'm absolutely not claiming to be any good at it, but I'm enjoying myself.

Today, I went first to the abbey to remind myself what cobbles feel like (fantastic! especially when it stops!) then up and down the P-berg a couple of times just for the fun of it, before doing a few loops in the nearby forests.

25k at most? I stopped a few times to chat with friends I met and to gawk at fish and waterfowl. Perfect autumn weather the whole time I was out, and I'm very happy with the world.

 

[Miss Violet Smith]

Great autumn day again, sun and a little bit of wind, so of course I wanted to get out for a bit.

I'm not sure when I'll be up for the entire Tour of Leuven (maybe never?) but I like to do some parts of it and to add in a few kilometres in the forest areas, Heverleebos, Meerdalwoud, Egenhovenbos, etc.

A longer ride today, although far from the full 80 km. I didn't do the Huldenberg loop and I didn't go to Wilsele, also because it's Saturday with a lot of people out and about, I modified the Leuven route to avoid traffic and deviations.

Happy that I can get up and down the Wijnpers hill twice in the same ride, of course on the lowest gear known to man and at glacial speed, but still!

Happy riding to everyone!

Ride Leuven - 80 km - Racefietsroute

Bekijk, print en download de racefietsroute 'Ride Leuven - 80 km' van Teamleader CRM Classics Tour (79,9 km).

www.routeyou.com

 

[Sciatic]

Disclaimer: Please be aware that I'm very much a hobby cyclist, I don't ride far or fast and I'm absolutely not claiming to be any good at it, but I'm enjoying myself.

Today, I went first to the abbey to remind myself what cobbles feel like (fantastic! especially when it stops!) then up and down the P-berg a couple of times just for the fun of it, before doing a few loops in the nearby forests.

25k at most? I stopped a few times to chat with friends I met and to gawk at fish and waterfowl. Perfect autumn weather the whole time I was out, and I'm very happy with the world.

Thanks for posting, I enjoy reading about your rides. But I hope we don’t adopt for regular use “just a hobby cyclist”—I’ve seen how “hobby jogger” gets used as the ultimate insult on the Letsrun forum. The reality is unless you’re getting paid regularly for riding a bike—whether as a pro, a stagiere, or from your social media presence—you’re doing it as a hobby. It’s true that some people take their hobbies more much more seriously than others (for example historical battle reenactors or motor car aficionados), yet it’s still a hobby, a recreation.

I do think for some folks cycling can be a way of life—especially since a bike is pretty unique in that it can replace other forms of transportation and take one to new worlds. As such I would rather not presume a hierarchy of lifestyle choices.

 

[Miss Violet Smith]

Thanks for posting, I enjoy reading about your rides. But I hope we don’t adopt for regular use “just a hobby cyclist”—I’ve seen how “hobby jogger” gets used as the ultimate insult on the Letsrun forum. The reality is unless you’re getting paid regularly for riding a bike—whether as a pro, a stagiere, or from your social media presence—you’re doing it as a hobby. It’s true that some people take their hobbies more much more seriously than others (for example historical battle reenactors or motor car aficionados), yet it’s still a hobby, a recreation.

I do think for some folks cycling can be a way of life—especially since a bike is pretty unique in that it can replace other forms of transportation and take one to new worlds. As such I would rather not presume a hierarchy of lifestyle choices.

Thank you for your very kind and thoughtful reply! As I myself find hierarchies and categories to be mostly unhelpful and sometimes even harmful, I do take your point.

My using the term "hobby cyclist" for myself is a bit of a self-depreciating joke, but I can understand wanting to keep that wording out of the thread. Hopefully it goes without saying that I would never dream of trying to categorise anyone else, here or elsewhere.

I propose a slight amendment of my second post. Since you quoted the first post, I would keep that one as is.

 

[Sciatic]

Thank you for your very kind and thoughtful reply! As I myself find hierarchies and categories to be mostly unhelpful and sometimes even harmful, I do take your point.

My using the term "hobby cyclist" for myself is a bit of a self-depreciating joke, but I can understand wanting to keep that wording out of the thread. Hopefully it goes without saying that I would never dream of trying to categorise anyone else, here or elsewhere.

I propose a slight amendment of my second post. Since you quoted the first post, I would keep that one as is.

Thanks and sorry Sevenall, I didn’t mean to direct that at you personally—your posts just happen to bring it up for me. And I understand you were trying make sure no one understood. I responded because I have had the issue in mind recently because in some other threads the question of whether a poster meets some vague criteria (has the bike racing chops) to comment in a race thread.

 

[Miss Violet Smith]

Thanks and sorry Sevenall, I didn’t mean to direct that at you personally—your posts just happen to bring it up for me. And I understand you were trying make sure no one understood. I responded because I have had the issue in mind recently because in some other threads the question of whether a poster meets some vague criteria (has the bike racing chops) to comment in a race thread.

No worries at all - I agree with you and your post actually makes me feel a lot better about having shared my experiences in this thread. Thank you again!

 

[Unchained]

Returning from a 70k ride coming through Playa Hermosa in Ensenada, BC and I see a big ,new looking white camper van w German license plate. See guy standing there with a his dog, looked German, if that's a thing. I greeted him in German and he was clearly surprised. The thing I can say best in German, is " excuse me for my terrible German and I have not spoken for a very long time, so sorry in advance.
The D European Union plates are pretty standard and his started w EF..I said are you from Erfurt? He said yes and I said that I had traveled there a few times. I explained that Efurt had a velodrome that was on my boyhood bucket list .I didnt explain because of an obscure reference made in a cycling magazine that I got second hand, and after reading that Olaf Ludwig considering it his home track, I wanted to go there.. Hope that is as random and obscure for folks. We talked for just a couple of minutes, mostly him telling me, all the way across the US, into Alaska and now he is heading to Argentina..
I asked if he had sampled American and Mexican beer and he politely said yes and we left it at that.. Man do I miss a delicious creamy, malty foam top Pils in Germany

 

[Unchained]

PS when I did most of my Eastern bloc velodrome and racing pilgrimage you had to reach out to racing clubs and federations to get locations and event schedules. Racing promotion in most places was done from public posters, posting at bike shops, word of mouth through bike clubs and in newspapers.. For many they will need to Google search newspaper

 

[Unchained]

Ford Sierra - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Station wagon w questionable interior, bikes on top and I slept in the back.. White was it's color but it was seldom washed

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

Into heavy gravel followed by a likewise surprising fresh new huge dip of water, due to massive flooding this past week, which I had happily forgotten about as my bike was my only form of transport in the dark early hours of this morning.

 

[Oldermanish]

That's a good thing!
Did you remember to tell her mother that she might never meet such kind people again?

I've missed that ride for a few years. We'd have January camps in Del Mar and that coastal section was either our return from 6 hrs to Palomar summit or Rest day snack ride. Good memories and good views. Has that been sabotaged by boarders on E bikes yet?

 

[Oldermanish]

PS when I did most of my Eastern bloc velodrome and racing pilgrimage you had to reach out to racing clubs and federations to get locations and event schedules. Racing promotion in most places was done from public posters, posting at bike shops, word of mouth through bike clubs and in newspapers.. For many they will need to Google search newspaper

You are definitely and adventurer after my dreams. Did you do any banked racing? Drinking beer in the infield is arguably the best choice in my dreams, too!

 

[Oldermanish]

Just cracked 20 degrees F here this morning. 4 weeks ago I was riding a gorgeous summit ride in shirts sleeves and, at this point; alpine ski season couldn't come soon enough.

 

[Unchained]

Feel near dead..this Saturday and Sunday are road cleaning, trail maintenance days.. worked a shovel and a tree trimming clippers.. There is a widely used path that is used by runners, walkers and mountain bikes.. It's mostly smooth, hard pack and I ride 28mm road tires down it regularly.. Felt like we got more than a half kilometer done.. Very satisfying and got lots of praise from people passing by..7am start and @11am finish. Carte Blanca beer is @$58 Mexican pesos for a 6 pack which is about $3.25....Let's just say I felt sleepy and sore after 2 cans of beer.. Can't remember when my beer tab was a dollar. Good way to spend US Veterans weekend..

 

[Miss Violet Smith]

Riding on snow has its own risks and I would advise against it if a) there are cars around; b) you want to ride at any kind of speed; c) you feel the least bit of apprehension doing it. (Having done it since childhood helps.)

All that said, I just had one of my best coffee rides ever on hard packed snow with a little gravel mixed in with the top layer. Very short, very slow, bright sun, -5°C, lots of birds in the trees, nice big orange for a snack.

ETA: oh, and obviously I traveled for the holidays. No snow like that in Flanders.

 

[42x16ss]

Summer storms have damaged roads and brought some localised flooding the last few weeks so mostly trainer time for me. Looking forward to getting back out.

 

[Mayomaniac]

I managed to ride the impossible Murito near Bolzano/Bozen, Rafenstein on a road bike.

On half of the really steep ramp I shifted from 32 back to a 30 and climbed out of the saddle, but I feel that I wouldn't have been able to climb the whole thing standing with a 30 as the lightest gear back. Lot's of wrestling your bike uphill (while mainly gripping the drops), but that is normal.
I haven't been this proud since I climbed the final climb of the Innsbruck WC with a compact with a 28 behind as my lightest gear.

Now I can put even the absurdest climbs in the Race Design Thread and say that I actually do them myself!

 

[Andre]

I managed to ride the impossible Murito near Bolzano/Bozen, Rafenstein on a road bike.

On half of the really steep ramp I shifted from 32 back to a 30 and climbed out of the saddle, but I feel that I wouldn't have been able to climb the whole thing standing with a 30 as the lightest gear back. Lot's of wrestling your bike uphill (while mainly gripping the drops), but that is normal.
I haven't been this proud since I climbed the final climb of the Innsbruck WC with a compact with a 28 behind as my lightest gear.

Now I can put even the absurdest climbs in the Race Design Thread and say that I actually do them myself!

very impressive Mayomaniac....no way I can do that.! 33% ...insane

 

[Mayomaniac]

very impressive Mayomaniac....no way I can do that.! 33% ...insane

I probably looked like Dumounlin on the final climb of the Innsbruck WC. Yeah, 1.4kms at over 20% average is just brutal, even with a 32 as your lightest rear gear.

 

[Sciatic]

I managed to ride the impossible Murito near Bolzano/Bozen, Rafenstein on a road bike.

On half of the really steep ramp I shifted from 32 back to a 30 and climbed out of the saddle, but I feel that I wouldn't have been able to climb the whole thing standing with a 30 as the lightest gear back. Lot's of wrestling your bike uphill (while mainly gripping the drops), but that is normal.
I haven't been this proud since I climbed the final climb of the Innsbruck WC with a compact with a 28 behind as my lightest gear.

Now I can put even the absurdest climbs in the Race Design Thread and say that I actually do them myself!

Whoa, that is impressive! And cool to hear about (and see photos of) that climb.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Whoa, that is impressive! And cool to hear about (and see photos of) that climb.

The road is wide enough to actually use it and it goes straight into the Salten/Il Salto climb. I've designed potential Giro stage with it.
https://www.cronoescalada.com/tracks/view/100567
It's the absurdly steep first part of the final climb. Really steep, but the road is in good condition and wide enough.
But overall it's really interesting, you start in the vineyards and go up to the zone where they cultivate apples and plums, plus the beautiful old houses/farms.

 

[Sciatic]

The road is wide enough to actually use it and it goes straight into the Salten/Il Salto climb. I've designed potential Giro stage with it.
https://www.cronoescalada.com/tracks/view/100567
It's the absurdly steep first part of the final climb. Really steep, but the road is in good condition and wide enough.
But overall it's really interesting, you start in the vineyards and go up to the zone where they cultivate apples and plums, plus the beautiful old houses/farms.

Great stuff. I like how the “easier” last .5 km is 10-12% 😊