Lest we think that Lance is the ONLY "Postie" who can ride fast....

[BiggJawn]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/3656556.stm

Floyd Landis is holding on to the overall lead in the Vuelta A Espana (Tour of Spain) and David just took off and ran for his stage.

Tyler took the time trial the other day, too. (but he's not a Postie, he rides for Phonak)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/3647962.stm

[Mika]

1. Hi BiggJawn

:hi:

Its a damned shame that we don't get any coverage of the world's greatest sport, isn't it?

-

I just started cycling again (after a 12 yr break - due to a serious accident). Got my Campy/Razessa road bike rebuilt, it needed a new set of clincher rims - Mavic Open Pro (I discovered that tubulars are just too expensive these days and the new clinchers are just about as good), and I got a new Chris King headset. It rides like a dream, although I don't. I put down 400 miles in my first month back - and I'm sore.


Nice to see another DU roadie here. :thumbsup:

[BiggJawn]

2. "...new clinchers are just about as good"....(snicker)

I have to go tyre shopping tonight after work. I blew the sidewall out of one of my Hutchinson Excels last night....:-)

I did 12 miles in 50 minutes last night, and 1/3 of that was into a 12 MPH headwind...

Wish we'd get more coverage than just the TdsF in July, but if it wasn't for "Le Train Bleu", we wouldn't even get THAT much, I fear....

[Mika]

3. Speaking of clinchers

:hi:

After a couple of flats after 4 rides on Hutchinsons, I switched to Specialized Armadillo 700 X 23 tires, after being advised by a friend.

No flats after about 400 miles, and at 120 psi they have a pretty low rolling resistance.

-


I loved my Mavic GP4 tubular rims and Wolber tires that I used to ride on, but, alas, Wolber's aren't available any more - and the good tubulars are just too expensive to ride on daily these days.

I did 19 miles in an hour tonight - I'm getting "it" back. :)


-

BiggJ, may I ask where you ride?

[BiggJawn]

4. 19 in an hour, and you're "getting it back"????

Oh, boy.....And I think I'm pretty hot when I can spool off 14 miles in an hour....Ich nicht Gerwerden! :-)

What I did was pick up a pair of Bontragers. They look a lot like Kendas or IRC ( I think they're made by IRC, since they're from Taiwan) and since I'm a big guy (284#) and not all that fast, I'll trade lightness for durability. I'm using 700X25's on the Raleigh, and 27X1 1/4 Conti's on my fuji and 27X1 1/8 Conti's on my Schwinn. The Conti Sport 1000 tyre seems to have a larger cross-section than most 27" tyres.

I don't flat, I just have trouble with the sidewall pulling loose from the wire.

I ride throught the cornfileds and beanfields of northwest Indiana. Mostly flat, or I can go over to the river valley if I'm in need of watching the HRM go "TILT!!" on the climbs..

[Mika]

5. Well, I used to be a nut in my 20's and early 30's

:hi:

I used to put a lot of mileage down in my youth. Lotsa centuries. Fast team riding too. I've ridden across Cuba, and done some pretty steep climbs up the Sierra Maestras. After a tragic event in my life I stopped riding in 1991 (and grew a beer gut), but, I'm back at it. I'm in Miami now, so other than the bridge to Key Biscayne its flat with constant prevailing easterlies. I lost 15 pounds in 4 weeks.

I was thinking about getting a heart rate monitor. Haven't felt the need.. yet. My thighs are sore though. Gotta upgrade my diet (fuel) too.


It is also GREAT to talk all things bicycles. I just love it (them).

:hi:

[BiggJawn]

8. I rode everywhere when I was a kid...

Typical American growing up in the 70's. When I turned 17, I got a motorcycle, then a car, and didn't ride again until I was in my mid to late 20's. And I wasn't that good. i was fat, smoked like an old buick, had a beer gut that almost rubbed the top tube...But i could still ride 10-15 miles with no trouble. then work and family pressures took out all my time. so fast-foward about 15 years to find a diabetic, obese 40-something who saw an old Fuji at a flea market. Now the collection has grown and includes a '78 Raleigh, a Panasonic, a Bridgestone, a Panasonic-made Schwinn, and the late-60's Fuji S-10-S

I had finally ditched the cigs that spring and wanted to try and dump the weight.

So I spend all my cigarette money on bikes and bike stuff and can ride 50 miles in 4 hours, have lost over 20 pounds since last october, and did 12 miles in 47 minutes tonight with 1/2 the route into a 10 MPH head wind...That shaved a whole 5 minutes off my time from 2 days ago!

And I LOVE to talk about bikes, too!

What kind of bike did you have in Cuba, and what do you ride now?

[Mika]

10. I rode across Cuba on a British made Falcon

I rode with a group of eight people w/support (wives and girlfriends/boyfriends). It was one of the best times of my life. Bicycle was the main form of transportation there, and a lot of cyclists ride Cuba for vacations. I still have the Falcon, but I'm not sure that it hasn't had too many miles on it (about 100,000+). I used to ride a candy apple red DeRosa frame w/Campy Super Record group during the mid 80's, but it wasn't quite the right geometry for me, so I sold it for a song (w/o the campy group), after I got my custom built Razessa - its a beauty! A hand made Spanish classic. Silver soldered hand made lugs, steel SLX tubing, fastback “California” seat stay design, downtube shifters, Cinelli stem and bars, and fork, 6 gear sprocket, 36 spoke cross 3 Mavic wheels, and comfortable as hell. Chrome! I put the Super Record group on it. This is the bike I’m riding again. I’ve had new wheels built on my Campy SR hubs, put on Dura Ace 7800 SPD pedals w/6 degree float (safer than the old rat traps), and it needed a new headset - got a Chris King Gripnut. Cool,fast, crisp and quiet.

I’ve looked at, and tried riding, some of these new 20 speed TIG welded aluminum and the all carbon racing bikes (of the “reduced geometry design”). They are harsh and uncomfortable as hell. Made me realize just what a classic, comfy, and wonderful bicycle I now have. I plan on keeping it, but I might look for a custom builder at some point for a new hand made steel frame.

[Blue-Jay]

6. Does anyone else think that Tyler Hamilton...

looks like Jackie Earl Haley from Bad News Bears fame?

[BiggJawn]

7. Only when he's got his "War Face" on.

I have to keep reminding myself "He rode 2,000 miles with a busted clavicle, John!" Because when he's not on the bike, he don't look all that tough.

[Nightowl_2004]

9. Go Posties!

Those guys are just flat out tough. No matter what anyone says!