55 on 5/5

[N8YX]

Well, not quite. 53.0 by 'DSG's bicycle odometer, to be exact.

Did a half century plus on the area towpath (my front door to the John Glenn trailhead; Warmington Rd - north of Navarre, OH) this aftenoon.

We're headed for an appointment with a few of my favorite Messicans: Camillo the waiter, Jose C. (who needs no introduction) and whomever else shows up at the local eatery.

My plan is to be absolutely no good as an admin from about 8PM onwards, so y'all have fun and try not to kill each other at least until late morning tomorrow. :snicker: :cheers:

[kf0rt]

Thanks for the heads-down.

We want pictures! :lol:

[suddenseer]

Go out there and drink one for the Dripper!

[kb2vxa]

"We want pictures!"

By your command...

[kf0rt]

Nobody who can do 53 miles on pedal power in a day smokes.

True story.

[N8YX]

Nobody who can do 53 miles on pedal power in a day smokes.

True story.
Very.

Gave smoking up back in '88 - after doing it for five, maybe 6 years. Got in the way of workouts and other fun stuff. Food tastes a lot better now.

As far as pitchers go:

1) I killed 1.5 and only spilled a small glass. :lol:

2) 'DSG took one of me fiddling with the cell phone, standing next to our parked bicycles at the southernmost end of our trip. Unfortunately, it's none too flattering as the only thing you see of me is my bald haid. :whistle:

[KG4CGC]

Oops. How did I miss this?

[N8YX]

Oops. How did I miss this?

Too many erstwhile diversions elsewhere?

We're going to do the northern 2/3 of that leg tomorrow evening: A local bicycle club which I'm a member of is participating in something called "Night Rides On The Towpath". The event itself is sponsored by an area bike shop. We have to ride 20mi south of our place along said path to the shop. The group plans to ride roughly 8mi north, stop for ice cream at a stand in a town which was a waypoint on the Ohio-Erie Canal, then ride back south to the bike shop. Most of the ride will be in darkness; lights required.

Our journey will be up to the ice cream stand then another 12mi north to home...riding with anyone else who rode down from the Akron area. Since I don't own a bike carrier (yet), anywhere we ride has to be reachable by bike. Both of us laugh at a 40 miler now.

Will take the VX7R and see about working Echolink nodes along the way.

[KG4CGC]

Cool deal.
It's been about 9 years but I used to do a 20 mile run. Took about an hour through hilly country.

[N8YX]

Cool deal.
It's been about 9 years but I used to do a 20 mile run. Took about an hour through hilly country.
What type of bike, and what gearing front/rear?

Our Rockhoppers are currently set up with 44-32-22T chainrings and 11-34T cassettes. You can maintain 15MPH on a smooth surface at a 120RPM cadence, but if you try to push things much past that point you'll quickly tire your legs.

The Salsa Fargo that I've been building up is equipped with a Shimano Deore M590 touring crank: 48-36-26T. I'm thinking about putting the same setup on the 'hoppers if for no other reason than to increase max speed a bit.

We find ourselves in or close to top gear 95% of the time with the current cranksets, and the trails we normally ride aren't overly hilly. A mountain crankset is a bit of a liability on them - especially if the group you're with is riding road hybrids.

[KG4CGC]

Jebus. I don't know. It was the last year the produced the Mongoose brand in Taiwan. 24 speed full suspension. It was made between 1999 and 2000.

[N8YX]

Jebus. I don't know. It was the last year the produced the Mongoose brand in Taiwan. 24 speed full suspension. It was made between 1999 and 2000.
I did a bit of searching on BikePedia and came up with the following:

Crankset - SR XR17, 24/34/42 teeth
Rear Cogs - 8-speed, 11 - 28 teeth

The low and middle chainrings on that bike are a couple teeth higher than on ours, while the largest is a couple teeth smaller. Interesting. And the rear cassette is pretty much identical to that used on the Rockhoppers, the exception being that theirs are 9 - rather than 8 - speeds.

What matters is the large ring to small cog ratio: For a given speed you'll be pedaling a bit faster in "top gear" than I would in a sprint. Doable if you have a fresh start...but...

Rewind to last evening. We rode 20mi in just under 2h - non-stop - to get to the bike shop where the night ride was to depart. Of course, almost everyone trailered theirs and were "fresh" - so when the ride commenced in earnest, we got left. Managed to catch up to the pack, but soon tired and got left again. What's up with that?

Simple: Almost every one of them was running a touring or road crank (48 or 50t outside chainring) and mine is a 44t. I'll climb hills (in particular, single-track forest nastiness) better than any of them but on a path or road it's a different story altogether.

Note to self: Get that Salsa Fargo built soon.

All told, 41mi in a little under 6h with 2h of that in breaks. Not bad, considering Nicki wrecked twice and I had to un-fsck her bike each time. Jumped a bunch of deer and other critters. Smelled two places where mountain lions have been marking territory.

Here, kitty kitty. Me and 'DSG need new seat covers...