My Morning Ride...

[charles]

Originally Posted by Atomic

I bet. That girl who called my bike 'cute' was on a tricked out full record Wilier which only weighed 17lbs. Right there she had a 4lbs advanage over my bike alone.

BUT... riding a heavier bike and being a clydesdale myself, NO ONE can catch me on the descents. Possibly cuz I"m on every descent, especially the twisty ones.

My Moots is right at 14lbs now so she loves to go up! I'm a little gunshy on descents now since I had a nasty wreck in April and broke my collarbone...separated shoulder...road rash...etc, etc. The usual nasty bike stuff when spandex meets pave. How big are you? My buddy is about 6'4" and he drops off the hills like a falcon...I'm pretty small so I generally just meet him at the next stop sign. :)

Originally Posted by charles

My Moots is right at 14lbs now so she loves to go up! I'm a little gunshy on descents now since I had a nasty wreck in April and broke my collarbone...separated shoulder...road rash...etc, etc. The usual nasty bike stuff when spandex meets pave. How big are you? My buddy is about 6'4" and he drops off the hills like a falcon...I'm pretty small so I generally just meet him at the next stop sign. :)

I'm 6'6" and currently 220lbs or so. When I was racing at the top of my game, I weighed 165-170lbs and was a really strong climber (three time provincial hill climb champion). Once I got into my early 30s, I decided to change my body type and hit the gym with hard lifting. Now I'm just looking for fitness so I don't get dropped.

But seriously, 14lbs???? Man that is feather lite!

[charles]

Originally Posted by Atomic

I'm 6'6" and currently 220lbs or so. When I was racing at the top of my game, I weighed 165-170lbs and was a really strong climber (three time provincial hill climb champion). Once I got into my early 30s, I decided to change my body type and hit the gym with hard lifting. Now I'm just looking for fitness so I don't get dropped.

But seriously, 14lbs???? Man that is feather lite!

"Now I'm just looking for fitness so I don't get dropped" - aren't we all.

Yeah...it's super light...the wheels are carbon tubulars and come in right around 1100grams. The frame is Ti and the crank is compact carbon so it's a weight weenie special. I used to race a lot but now it was just more of a fun project...

Jeez...going from 165 to 220 is a huge body change...I'd be hating hills now with 50 extra lbs to carry up! Any idea what kind of watts you put out? I bet it's a big number...

Originally Posted by charles

Jeez...going from 165 to 220 is a huge body change...I'd be hating hills now with 50 extra lbs to carry up! Any idea what kind of watts you put out? I bet it's a big number...

Yep, it was a huge change. But it's nice going from having a chicken-like upper body to being able to bench 300+lbs. My shirts went from 15.5" neck and 34" arms to 17.5" nect and 36.5" arms and went from a 38 chest to 45". Also got a bit of protein gut, which ain't good. Too much lifting and not enough cardio while on my 'program'.

I have to say, that hills are a bugger now because of the extra weight and lack of riding fitness. I actually want to drop about 10-15lbs by the summer. There's one hill on our weekly that I get dropped on every time and I want to put an end to that. My drop in mileage correstponds directly with the birth of my daughter. That she'll be four in '07 means more independance and more riding time for daddy.

[charles]

Originally Posted by Atomic

Yep, it was a huge change. But it's nice going from having a chicken-like upper body to being able to bench 300+lbs. My shirts went from 15.5" neck and 34" arms to 17.5" nect and 36.5" arms and went from a 38 chest to 45". Also got a bit of protein gut, which ain't good. Too much lifting and not enough cardio while on my 'program'.

I have to say, that hills are a bugger now because of the extra weight and lack of riding fitness. I actually want to drop about 10-15lbs by the summer. There's one hill on our weekly that I get dropped on every time and I want to put an end to that. My drop in mileage is correstponds directly with the birth of my daughter. That she'll be four in '07 means more independance and more riding time for daddy.

Do you ride a trainer or rollers? I bought a Tacx last year and it made a huge difference in offseason fitness. I wasn't a big trainer fan but the Tacx fortius/imagic is worth the money without a doubt. I don't mind riding in the winter but it's the lack of light rather than the cold that keeps me off the road. Way too easy to get clipped by a car in the dark...

[Dan Pierce]

Charles,
LOVE both of those bikes! Might check out a Moot's for my next ride.
I'm 6'4", 185 lbs, and 27% Italian, so I love to climb. It's those long flats that kill me.
All the best,
dP

Originally Posted by charles

Do you ride a trainer or rollers? I bought a Tacx last year and it made a huge difference in offseason fitness. I wasn't a big trainer fan but the Tacx fortius/imagic is worth the money without a doubt. I don't mind riding in the winter but it's the lack of light rather than the cold that keeps me off the road. Way too easy to get clipped by a car in the dark...

I've had the same rollers since 1978. Just replaced the bearings on them, and the belt, so I'm good to go. I hear you on the light issue. It's impossible to get out after work when it's dark before you even leave the office. Since I've moved to Ottawa, the snow is also a big hinderance, even for mountain biking.

Starting this weekend, it's on the rollers every other night. I may even run a bit to speed up the process. When I lived in Toronto, one winter was particularly mild and my partners and I trained mostly on mountain bikes all winter (probably put in 3000km between Dec 1 and mid-March) and that season was one of the best of my racing career. Funny how things like family obligations and even work can get in the way of having a good season.

Originally Posted by dpierce84@insightbb.

Charles,
LOVE both of those bikes! Might check out a Moot's for my next ride.
I'm 6'4", 185 lbs, and 27% Italian, so I love to climb. It's those long flats that kill me.
All the best,
dP

See now long flats.... that's where putting down the hammer in a 53X12 is loads of fun, especially if you have a tailwind.

6'4" huh? We could get a couple of other top hat club riders and form a TRF TTT team.

[charles]

Originally Posted by Atomic

I've had the same rollers since 1978. Just replaced the bearings on them, and the belt, so I'm good to go. I hear you on the light issue. It's impossible to get out after work when it's dark before you even leave the office. Since I've moved to Ottawa, the snow is also a big hinderance, even for mountain biking.

Starting this weekend, it's on the rollers every other night. I may even run a bit to speed up the process. When I lived in Toronto, one winter was particularly mild and my partners and I trained mostly on mountain bikes all winter (probably put in 3000km between Dec 1 and mid-March) and that season was one of the best of my racing career. Funny how things like family obligations and even work can get in the way of having a good season.

I hear you...that's why I just have to get up at the crack of dawn to workout or it just doesn't happen...the day slips away too easily.

[charles]

Originally Posted by dpierce84@insightbb.

Charles,
LOVE both of those bikes! Might check out a Moot's for my next ride.
I'm 6'4", 185 lbs, and 27% Italian, so I love to climb. It's those long flats that kill me.
All the best,
dP

I haven't ridden anything like Ti before...this is my first and it seems to have all the best properties of carbon and steel combined. I just love it and the Moots is without a doubt welded like a piece of art. Great frame...

I need to go out riding with you two guys...I could draft behind your barn doors all day long.

Originally Posted by charles

I need to go out riding with you two guys...I could draft behind your barn doors all day long.

Remind me to eat lotsa burritos the night before we head out, okay?

[charles]

Originally Posted by Atomic

Remind me to eat lotsa burritos the night before we head out, okay?

[charles]

Originally Posted by dpierce84@insightbb.

Charles,
LOVE both of those bikes! Might check out a Moot's for my next ride.
I'm 6'4", 185 lbs, and 27% Italian, so I love to climb. It's those long flats that kill me.
All the best,
dP

That's a great pic dp...where'd you snag that?

[Dan Pierce]

Charles,
If anybody's eating burritos I'll pull if it's OK?

That pic was taken last Jan 29th after climbing 5 hours and 4 minutes up Mt Haleakala in Maui. You can see the snow cap on the Big Island in the background.

My LeMond is carbon/ TI and I love the ride. Full TI seems like the next step. Lasts forever, light, stiff, compliant ride, and if you scratch it, take it to a Rolex AD to get it buffed!
dP

[charles]

Originally Posted by dpierce84@insightbb.

Charles,
If anybody's eating burritos I'll pull if it's OK?

That pic was taken last Jan 29th after climbing 5 hours and 4 minutes up Mt Haleakala in Maui. You can see the snow cap on the Big Island in the background.

My LeMond is carbon/ TI and I love the ride. Full TI seems like the next step. Lasts forever, light, stiff, compliant ride, and if you scratch it, take it to a Rolex AD to get it buffed!
dP

You are EXACTLY right about Ti...nothing to worry about, lasts forever and just super stiff/compliant.

You're kidding me! I thought it looked familiar! I rode up it this past October! Talk about a brutal climb!!! It was never ending. Well worth it tho and the sunrise...well, that's priceless!

[mailman]

Originally Posted by charles

You are EXACTLY right about Ti...nothing to worry about, lasts forever and just super stiff/compliant.

You're kidding me! I thought it looked familiar! I rode up it this past October! Talk about a brutal climb!!! It was never ending. Well worth it tho and the sunrise...well, that's priceless!

That is a fantastic picture Charles.

[charles]

Originally Posted by mailman

That is a fantastic picture Charles.

Tanx! Hard to take a bad one at that place tho! Just amazing seeing the sun rise above the clouds...

[Dan Pierce]

Charles,
I rode w/ gocyclingmaui.com for ride support. Did you ride solo? Took me 5 hours 4 minutes to climb and over an hour to ride down. The decent was harder than I thought it would be. Being in the same position for so long had my hands and feet going numb.
Ride of a lifetime!
dP

[charles]

Originally Posted by dpierce84@insightbb.

Charles,
I rode w/ gocyclingmaui.com for ride support. Did you ride solo? Took me 5 hours 4 minutes to climb and over an hour to ride down. The decent was harder than I thought it would be. Being in the same position for so long had my hands and feet going numb.
Ride of a lifetime!
dP

I did it by myself...I actually drove it the AM before to see the sunrise and get a gauge for the distance. After the drive back I realized I didn't want to do the descent. I've bombed off the Alps & Pyrenees and that's fun but bombing off Haleakala didn't look fun...just far too long. So I had a friend meet me at the top and pick me up...they also met me halfway to get me fueled. It was a great climb tho...not the hardest I've done but certainly the longest...it just seemed like I was climbing for hour upon hour upon hour...oh wait, I was.

Wow, that's a climb I'd love to do and a descent I'd love even more! LOL I've never climbed for that long, non-stop... just brutal! Longest climb I did was up Lookout Mountain in Chatanooga in spring training. It wasn't that long, but pretty steep in places. The descent was a blast though fast and technical, just the way I like 'em!

Years ago I was training with Alex Steida (former 7-11 pro and first North American to wear the yellow jersey) and we were talking about tough climbs. As a guy who had raced all over Europe, I figured he would know. He said the big ones in the Pyrenees were brutal. I asked about Alpe Duez and he said it is actually a pretty easy climb if you are just doing the climb after a decent warm-up. But he said its brutal because in the TDF you climb it usually after having raced 120-odd miles over various mountain passes, so by the time you hit the bottom, youre pretty much knackered.

Around my area we have lots of brutally steep climbs, but they are never more than 3-4km at most.

[charles]

Originally Posted by Atomic

Wow, that's a climb I'd love to do and a descent I'd love even more! LOL I've never climbed for that long, non-stop... just brutal! Longest climb I did was up Lookout Mountain in Chatanooga in spring training. It wasn't that long, but pretty steep in places. The descent was a blast though fast and technical, just the way I like 'em!

Years ago I was training with Alex Steida (former 7-11 pro and first North American to wear the yellow jersey) and we were talking about tough climbs. As a guy who had raced all over Europe, I figured he would know. He said the big ones in the Pyrenees were brutal. I asked about Alpe Duez and he said it is actually a pretty easy climb if you are just doing the climb after a decent warm-up. But he said its brutal because in the TDF you climb it usually after having raced 120-odd miles over various mountain passes, so by the time you hit the bottom, youre pretty much knackered.

Around my area we have lots of brutally steep climbs, but they are never more than 3-4km at most.

I've ridden up Huez a few times and I thought it really wasn't that bad UNTIL I went up getting paced by a Euro continental rider. I kept his wheel for about 4 miles but we were just flying and my heart rate was pegged. I ended up doing Huez in 50 minutes so I was thrilled but can't even begin to imagine that kind of pace AFTER 100 miles. If you ride tempo it's a nice climb and nothing super steep. The Pyrenees are much harder where you can get plenty of chances at 14%. Owie. The first few miles of Pla d'Adet are horrible.

Hey if you're near Chatanooga you ought to make the drive sometime to Boone, NC. Great, great riding out there...some of the best in the US and there's nothing like Beech Mountain. She hurts...here's a shot of me heading up Beech this past fall...rain, fog, freezing, wind...epic...awesome.


And here's a few of us breaking off from our pack bombing off Beech...that's me sucking wheel in the back.

[astcell]

I've drive to Boone from Asheville and Hickory, it is very nice out there.

Very cool indeed. The only pic I have of me riding that is scanned is this one, taken in 1993, on a 100 mile training ride with a few ex-Italian pros who live in Toronto now. This was at about the 70 mile mark, and we were about to start to wind it up for a city limits sprint.



These guys were pros in the 1950s, and were mid-60s to early 70s then, and rode really good tempo for the entire ride. Two of them (one of whom was my sponsor) rode about 6000km a year! Man, when I am that old I only hope I can get in that kind of mileage and be that fit. I rode with them about once a month, just for fun. It wasnt as intense a workout as if I went out with my regular group ride, but the pace was steady the whole way through the ride and they didnt mind it when a few of us young bucks blasted off the front for a duel into a town.

[charles]

Originally Posted by Atomic

Very cool indeed. The only pic I have of me riding that is scanned is this one, taken in 1993, on a 100 mile training ride with a few ex-Italian pros who live in Toronto now. This was at about the 70 mile mark, and we were about to start to wind it up for a city limits sprint.



These guys were pros in the 1950s, and were mid-60s to early 70s then, and rode really good tempo for the entire ride. Two of them (one of whom was my sponsor) rode about 6000km a year! Man, when I am that old I only hope I can get in that kind of mileage and be that fit. I rode with them about once a month, just for fun. It wasnt as intense a workout as if I went out with my regular group ride, but the pace was steady the whole way through the ride and they didnt mind it when a few of us young bucks blasted off the front for a duel into a town.

That bike is just as gorgeous almost 15 years later...

Originally Posted by charles

That bike is just as gorgeous almost 15 years later...

Thanks... you notice it changed colour. I ordered it chromo nero and after a season, it was full of scratches (soft paint) so I sent it back to Treviso, Italy for a factory red colour scheme.

But the black chrome was stunning!

Originally Posted by charles

Yoikes! Looks like you are having a good time.... NOT!

BTW, always loved riding, particularly racing, in weather like that.

[charles]

Originally Posted by Atomic

Thanks... you notice it changed colour. I ordered it chromo nero and after a season, it was full of scratches (soft paint) so I sent it back to Treviso, Italy for a factory red colour scheme.

But the black chrome was stunning!

Yup, the black chrome is just

And you're sporting the now retro cool white tape/saddle combo...

Originally Posted by charles

Yup, the black chrome is just

And you're sporting the now retro cool white tape/saddle combo...

Is it retro cool cuz I have never changed that aspect of any of my bikes. Both Pinarellos and my Breezer have that look (although the Breezer has black rubber grips).

[charles]

Originally Posted by Atomic

Yoikes! Looks like you are having a good time.... NOT!

BTW, always loved riding, particularly racing, in weather like that.

It was really brutal...honestly the worst part was I just wasn't geared right. The weather didn't bother me too much except for the wind...it was SO gusty and with the deep carbon rims I was getting blown all over the place. I don't mind that weather either except I get a little nervous about visibility...I know too many people that have been crunched by cars.

[charles]

Originally Posted by Atomic

Is it retro cool cuz I have never changed that aspect of any of my bikes. Both Pinarellos and my Breezer have that look (although the Breezer has black rubber grips).

Well I don't honestly know if it ever went out of style but it's definitely IN style now...white on white seems to be everywhere. I even had to pimp out the Colnago with it. Just like a Rolex, good looking never goes out of style. :)