Hitting Goals

Well, It looks as if the rain is going to start as of Tuesday. If that carries on for very long or not remains to be seen.

So I went out today to try and reach my yearly goal.

I've already passed 4,000 miles for the year and almost rached 4,500 miles.

But today might be the last chance for a reasonable amount of climbing so I took it.

The 3,468 ft of climbing put me well over 200,000 ft of climbing for the year. That's just short of 61,000 meters for the year.

While I haven't been seeing bicycles around the area I did my rides during the week, today was an entirely different case. I saw literally dozens including probably 2 racing teams out on training rides.

This changes my entire outlook on the bicycle business though that doesn't change the fact that if people are buying new bikes they certainly aren't showing up at the shops I go to.

Most people can hardly hold a screwdriver properly so this represents a rather sizeable clientele for something that cannot be purchased over the Internet.

While I was a way from the top of one climb a couple of e-bikes came tearing by, going so fast that I wondered if they had overridden the speed limiter. I am REALLY slow up climbs but this was close enough to the top that I could see them go over the peak while I was only a hundred yards or so behind.

They were built heavy-ish with probably 32 mm tires of them and a fat-battery pack mounted under the downtube. Flat bars. As I crossed the peak I put it in the big chain ring and kicked it up to 20. On the third turn I caught them. The road at this point is a little difficult to pass because of the road and also because there was an awful lot of traffic. I finally got around them and dropped them like a rock hitting 30 mph and barely slowing for the turns. I then had to climb yet another road and while I was kicking it pretty hard to beat them over the top, I started wondering if they had run their batteries down on the long climb they passed me on. There is NO WAY that they could ride those heavy bikes up these hills without the battery assist and although this road isn't very high, it would seem eternal if you had to push the bike over it. The rod down the other side is so cracked and rutted that it is dangerous to ride at 12 mph. Well, one more mile and you have a coffee stop.

So the business is looking a whole lot better than my prior opinions and the stopping of the big races in the US is purely because of the dumb asses making such a big deal out of Armstrong's doping when EVERYONE was doping. This drove away the sponsors and this is what we get for it.

I do not like doping in cycle racing or anywhere else but it is something that is going to be there no matter what steps you take to stop it. So the best you can do is to punish those that are caught and not those that haven't been.

On 11/24/2019 4:36 PM, Tom Kunich wrote:
Well, It looks as if the rain is going to start as of Tuesday. If that carries on for very long or not remains to be seen.

So I went out today to try and reach my yearly goal.

I've already passed 4,000 miles for the year and almost rached 4,500 miles.

But today might be the last chance for a reasonable amount of climbing so I took it.

The 3,468 ft of climbing put me well over 200,000 ft of climbing for the year. That's just short of 61,000 meters for the year.

While I haven't been seeing bicycles around the area I did my rides during the week, today was an entirely different case. I saw literally dozens including probably 2 racing teams out on training rides.

This changes my entire outlook on the bicycle business though that doesn't change the fact that if people are buying new bikes they certainly aren't showing up at the shops I go to.

Most people can hardly hold a screwdriver properly so this represents a rather sizeable clientele for something that cannot be purchased over the Internet.

While I was a way from the top of one climb a couple of e-bikes came tearing by, going so fast that I wondered if they had overridden the speed limiter. I am REALLY slow up climbs but this was close enough to the top that I could see them go over the peak while I was only a hundred yards or so behind.

They were built heavy-ish with probably 32 mm tires of them and a fat-battery pack mounted under the downtube. Flat bars. As I crossed the peak I put it in the big chain ring and kicked it up to 20. On the third turn I caught them. The road at this point is a little difficult to pass because of the road and also because there was an awful lot of traffic. I finally got around them and dropped them like a rock hitting 30 mph and barely slowing for the turns. I then had to climb yet another road and while I was kicking it pretty hard to beat them over the top, I started wondering if they had run their batteries down on the long climb they passed me on. There is NO WAY that they could ride those heavy bikes up these hills without the battery assist and although this road isn't very high, it would seem eternal if you had to push the bike over it. The rod down the other side is so cracked and rutted that it is dangerous to ride at 12 mph. Well, one more mile and you have a coffee stop.

So the business is looking a whole lot better than my prior opinions and the stopping of the big races in the US is purely because of the dumb asses making such a big deal out of Armstrong's doping when EVERYONE was doping. This drove away the sponsors and this is what we get for it.

I do not like doping in cycle racing or anywhere else but it is something that is going to be there no matter what steps you take to stop it. So the best you can do is to punish those that are caught and not those that haven't been.


Good point. Despite chemical enhancement in all sports (even
Adderol for chess players!) cycling is, in the public eye,
tied to cheating.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 11/24/2019 6:58 PM, AMuzi wrote:
On 11/24/2019 4:36 PM, Tom Kunich wrote:
Well, It looks as if the rain is going to start as of Tuesday. If that
carries on for very long or not remains to be seen.

So I went out today to try and reach my yearly goal.

I've already passed 4,000 miles for the year and almost rached 4,500
miles.

But today might be the last chance for a reasonable amount of climbing
so I took it.

The 3,468 ft of climbing put me well over 200,000 ft of climbing for
the year. That's just short of 61,000 meters for the year.

While I haven't been seeing bicycles around the area I did my rides
during the week, today was an entirely different case. I saw literally
dozens including probably 2 racing teams out on training rides.

This changes my entire outlook on the bicycle business though that
doesn't change the fact that if people are buying new bikes they
certainly aren't showing up at the shops I go to.

Most people can hardly hold a screwdriver properly so this represents
a rather sizeable clientele for something that cannot be purchased
over the Internet.

While I was a way from the top of one climb a couple of e-bikes came
tearing by, going so fast that I wondered if they had overridden the
speed limiter. I am REALLY slow up climbs but this was close enough to
the top that I could see them go over the peak while I was only a
hundred yards or so behind.

They were built heavy-ish with probably 32 mm tires of them and a
fat-battery pack mounted under the downtube. Flat bars. As I crossed
the peak I put it in the big chain ring and kicked it up to 20. On the
third turn I caught them. The road at this point is a little difficult
to pass because of the road and also because there was an awful lot of
traffic. I finally got around them and dropped them like a rock
hitting 30 mph and barely slowing for the turns. I then had to climb
yet another road and while I was kicking it pretty hard to beat them
over the top, I started wondering if they had run their batteries down
on the long climb they passed me on. There is NO WAY that they could
ride those heavy bikes up these hills without the battery assist and
although this road isn't very high, it would seem eternal if you had
to push the bike over it. The rod down the other side is so cracked
and rutted that it is dangerous to ride at 12 mph. Well, one more mile
and you have a coffee stop.

So the business is looking a whole lot better than my prior opinions
and the stopping of the big races in the US is purely because of the
dumb asses making such a big deal out of Armstrong's doping when
EVERYONE was doping. This drove away the sponsors and this is what we
get for it.

I do not like doping in cycle racing or anywhere else but it is
something that is going to be there no matter what steps you take to
stop it. So the best you can do is to punish those that are caught and
not those that haven't been.


Good point. Despite chemical enhancement in all sports (even Adderol for
chess players!) cycling is, in the public eye, tied to cheating.

Likewise, despite copious data to the contrary, it's made out to be
extremely dangerous and a huge risk for brain injuries.

We need a much better publicity and advocacy agency.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Sunday, November 24, 2019 at 10:36:09 PM UTC, Tom Kunich wrote:
Well, It looks as if the rain is going to start as of Tuesday. If that carries on for very long or not remains to be seen.

So I went out today to try and reach my yearly goal.

I've already passed 4,000 miles for the year and almost rached 4,500 miles.

But today might be the last chance for a reasonable amount of climbing so I took it.

The 3,468 ft of climbing put me well over 200,000 ft of climbing for the year. That's just short of 61,000 meters for the year.

Impressive numbers.

While I haven't been seeing bicycles around the area I did my rides during the week, today was an entirely different case. I saw literally dozens including probably 2 racing teams out on training rides.

This changes my entire outlook on the bicycle business though that doesn't change the fact that if people are buying new bikes they certainly aren't showing up at the shops I go to.

Most people can hardly hold a screwdriver properly so this represents a rather sizeable clientele for something that cannot be purchased over the Internet.

All three the bikes I have now I bought on the Internet, sight unseen. You have to grasp up front that you will have to solve some minor fit issues, and that you won't have spotted all the components that if you had ridden the bike you would have the maker or the store remove and replace with something superior or at least more convenient. However, once I tuned each of these bikes to my preferences, in the case of the Trek with a good deal of help from Trek Benelux, a very superior manufacturer, I was very happy with each of the three. Sure, it's a risk, but you can reduce the risk to an acceptable level by getting all the data beforehand, studying it carefully, and comparing to bikes that you already have. I found that the biggest guarantee of happiness was dealing with Germans -- all three the bikes I've kept in the long term were supplied to me by Germans.

While I was a way from the top of one climb a couple of e-bikes came tearing by, going so fast that I wondered if they had overridden the speed limiter. I am REALLY slow up climbs but this was close enough to the top that I could see them go over the peak while I was only a hundred yards or so behind.

They were built heavy-ish with probably 32 mm tires of them and a fat-battery pack mounted under the downtube. Flat bars. As I crossed the peak I put it in the big chain ring and kicked it up to 20. On the third turn I caught them. The road at this point is a little difficult to pass because of the road and also because there was an awful lot of traffic. I finally got around them and dropped them like a rock hitting 30 mph and barely slowing for the turns. I then had to climb yet another road and while I was kicking it pretty hard to beat them over the top, I started wondering if they had run their batteries down on the long climb they passed me on. There is NO WAY that they could ride those heavy bikes up these hills without the battery assist and although this road isn't very high, it would seem eternal if you had to push the bike over it. The rod down the other side is so cracked and rutted that it is dangerous to ride at 12 mph. Well, one more mile and you have a coffee stop.

So the business is looking a whole lot better than my prior opinions and the stopping of the big races in the US is purely because of the dumb asses making such a big deal out of Armstrong's doping when EVERYONE was doping. This drove away the sponsors and this is what we get for it.

The blazers really know how to shoot themselves in the foot -- and in everybody else's foot. I got so tired of the never-ceasing ads for the doping witch hunters interrupting the Olympics, I turned them off before the bicycles even came on.

I do not like doping in cycle racing or anywhere else but it is something that is going to be there no matter what steps you take to stop it. So the best you can do is to punish those that are caught and not those that haven't been.

The UCI simply isn't sophisticated enough for subtleties like that.

As an aside, in my opinion by far the best sporting management in the world is NASCAR's -- almost zero scandals -- but of course NASCAR is a privately-owned series, in which what the sainted Brian, and his inner circle of guys who game up through the ranks, is the law in NASCAR.

Andre Jute
The UCI could do worse than hire a chief executive out of NASCAR but of course they'll never keep him because the blazers will insist on having a say

On Sunday, November 24, 2019 at 8:29:45 PM UTC-8, Andre Jute wrote:
On Sunday, November 24, 2019 at 10:36:09 PM UTC, Tom Kunich wrote:
Well, It looks as if the rain is going to start as of Tuesday. If that carries on for very long or not remains to be seen.

So I went out today to try and reach my yearly goal.

I've already passed 4,000 miles for the year and almost rached 4,500 miles.

But today might be the last chance for a reasonable amount of climbing so I took it.

The 3,468 ft of climbing put me well over 200,000 ft of climbing for the year. That's just short of 61,000 meters for the year.

Impressive numbers.

While I haven't been seeing bicycles around the area I did my rides during the week, today was an entirely different case. I saw literally dozens including probably 2 racing teams out on training rides.

This changes my entire outlook on the bicycle business though that doesn't change the fact that if people are buying new bikes they certainly aren't showing up at the shops I go to.

Most people can hardly hold a screwdriver properly so this represents a rather sizeable clientele for something that cannot be purchased over the Internet.

All three the bikes I have now I bought on the Internet, sight unseen. You have to grasp up front that you will have to solve some minor fit issues, and that you won't have spotted all the components that if you had ridden the bike you would have the maker or the store remove and replace with something superior or at least more convenient. However, once I tuned each of these bikes to my preferences, in the case of the Trek with a good deal of help from Trek Benelux, a very superior manufacturer, I was very happy with each of the three. Sure, it's a risk, but you can reduce the risk to an acceptable level by getting all the data beforehand, studying it carefully, and comparing to bikes that you already have. I found that the biggest guarantee of happiness was dealing with Germans -- all three the bikes I've kept in the long term were supplied to me by Germans.

While I was a way from the top of one climb a couple of e-bikes came tearing by, going so fast that I wondered if they had overridden the speed limiter. I am REALLY slow up climbs but this was close enough to the top that I could see them go over the peak while I was only a hundred yards or so behind.

They were built heavy-ish with probably 32 mm tires of them and a fat-battery pack mounted under the downtube. Flat bars. As I crossed the peak I put it in the big chain ring and kicked it up to 20. On the third turn I caught them. The road at this point is a little difficult to pass because of the road and also because there was an awful lot of traffic. I finally got around them and dropped them like a rock hitting 30 mph and barely slowing for the turns. I then had to climb yet another road and while I was kicking it pretty hard to beat them over the top, I started wondering if they had run their batteries down on the long climb they passed me on. There is NO WAY that they could ride those heavy bikes up these hills without the battery assist and although this road isn't very high, it would seem eternal if you had to push the bike over it. The rod down the other side is so cracked and rutted that it is dangerous to ride at 12 mph. Well, one more mile and you have a coffee stop.

So the business is looking a whole lot better than my prior opinions and the stopping of the big races in the US is purely because of the dumb asses making such a big deal out of Armstrong's doping when EVERYONE was doping. This drove away the sponsors and this is what we get for it.

The blazers really know how to shoot themselves in the foot -- and in everybody else's foot. I got so tired of the never-ceasing ads for the doping witch hunters interrupting the Olympics, I turned them off before the bicycles even came on.

I do not like doping in cycle racing or anywhere else but it is something that is going to be there no matter what steps you take to stop it. So the best you can do is to punish those that are caught and not those that haven't been.

The UCI simply isn't sophisticated enough for subtleties like that.

As an aside, in my opinion by far the best sporting management in the world is NASCAR's -- almost zero scandals -- but of course NASCAR is a privately-owned series, in which what the sainted Brian, and his inner circle of guys who game up through the ranks, is the law in NASCAR.

Andre Jute
The UCI could do worse than hire a chief executive out of NASCAR but of course they'll never keep him because the blazers will insist on having a say

They don't even build bikes to fit my 6'4" body anymore. The "Extra Large" is invariably a 58 cm. I ride them and get used to the rather poor fit but I think that when my 62 cm Basso is restored that it will be a far better rider than the others.

On Sunday, November 24, 2019 at 8:29:45 PM UTC-8, Andre Jute wrote:

As an aside, in my opinion by far the best sporting management in the world is NASCAR's -- almost zero scandals -- but of course NASCAR is a privately-owned series, in which what the sainted Brian, and his inner circle of guys who game up through the ranks, is the law in NASCAR.

Andre Jute

Daytona is 24 hours so they use drugs as well.

On Sun, 24 Nov 2019 22:14:59 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

We need a much better publicity and advocacy agency.

We need *a* publicity and advocacy agency.

Adventure Cycling seems to be taking up a little of the slack.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

On Monday, November 25, 2019 at 7:18:53 PM UTC, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Sunday, November 24, 2019 at 8:29:45 PM UTC-8, Andre Jute wrote:

As an aside, in my opinion by far the best sporting management in the world is NASCAR's -- almost zero scandals -- but of course NASCAR is a privately-owned series, in which what the sainted Brian, and his inner circle of guys who game up through the ranks, is the law in NASCAR.

Andre Jute

Daytona is 24 hours so they use drugs as well.

No, neither at the 24 hours of Daytona nor at the 24 hours of Le Mans. All these people are right on top of each, and it would come out almost instantly. The doper's own team would dob him, for fear of him causing a monstrous accident.

Andre Jute
Powered machines and dopers are mutually irreconcilable

On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 23:08:05 -0500, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Sun, 24 Nov 2019 22:14:59 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

We need a much better publicity and advocacy agency.

We need *a* publicity and advocacy agency.

Adventure Cycling seems to be taking up a little of the slack.

Well I guess so!
I had a look at their site and they are advertising a "A Sex and Bike
Touring How-To".

The lead-off sentence is "Is that a kickstand, baby, or are you just
happy to see me?"

(if I were only 20 years younger...)
--
cheers,

John B.