Chilly vinter riding

[JonB]

I was out riding today sunday. It was snowing in the morning, so i toke to train to Louisiana.dk to see their exhibition. When it was time to go home, the snow had stopped, so i figured i would bike home.

The weather was freezing, and the wind was even worse. Luckily the wind came mostly from the rear, but also from the side. I did get about a 1/3 of the ride along the beach, and about 1/2 in open terrain. The rest was forest and houses, which killed the wind.

Riding was funny, especially along the beach, because of the different body temperatures. At the beach the wind hit hard from the side, so left leg was freezing. Left upper body had a nice temperature, so did right leg, but the right upper body was too warm. Maybe i had too much clothes on, but i could just open the jacket, which i did later when i was in the forest.

I met a few other riders, all in the forest, none along the beach.

ride stats:
1:58 hour
36.61 km
18.6 avg
37.33 max

 

[JimParker]

Thanks, for the cold weather report JonB. You inspired me.

Maria and I took our first Silvio ride in several weeks. I was on-call last night and had today off. It's been very cold (for North Carolina). The temperature was 38F this morning, clear skies, sunny, and a bit breezy. Because we were experimenting with cold weather gear, we didn't set out on too long a journey. The only riding we have been doing lately is on a Sofrider attached to a Cyclops indoor trainer.

We left our house and made our way out of town to farm country. The fields we passed were barren and brown, but remarkably serene. We were back home in 55 minutes, having covered 15.5 miles. Average speed was 16.9 mph, including a few prolonged stops at busy intersections. Max speed was 28 mph, on this entirely flat course. Maria didn't hit the same top speed because her jacket kept inflating like a parachute.

I paid attention to the path of the bike on this ride. A self-appointed expert on Cruzbike, who has actually never ridden a Cruzbike, insists on another forum that our bikes cannot be pedaled without swerving side-to-side like a salmon. He also states with authority of substantial work being done by the arms to hold the front wheel straight. As I rode along the thin white line on the side of the road, arms relaxed, all that bothersome noise dissipated in the crisp shimmering countryside.

Our clothing choice worked well. On arriving home, the only things cold were our fingertips. So maybe warmer gloves are in order next time, and a tighter fitting jacket for Maria.

Jim

 

[Mark B]

JimParker wrote: I paid attention to the path of the bike on this ride. A self-appointed expert on Cruzbike, who has actually never ridden a Cruzbike, insists on another forum that our bikes cannot be pedaled without swerving side-to-side like a salmon. He also states with authority of substantial work being done by the arms to hold the front wheel straight. As I rode along the thin white line on the side of the road, arms relaxed, all that bothersome noise dissipated in the crisp shimmering countryside.

Jim

Wow... Surely you couldn't be talking about the same guy that bases his opinion based on his homebuilt version of another design!! One that was so bad, he had to cut it up... Surely not!!

Mark

 

[John Tolhurst]

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Oh, look, 25 twisted smilies.

 

[John Tolhurst]

Its all my fault Jim, I was not able to remove all the flex from the handlebar and boom, as the placement of the FD narrowed the tube diameter.

I built a bike once from the back end of a road bike, crikey, what a flexy piece of crap that was. Luckily it was the SECOND one and the first was stiff as a board. Sorry, I can't give you a picture, :| I CUT IT UP rofl :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[trapdoor2]

Riding alongside a doubter (my brother) on a DF, his main comment has been, "I'm amazed at how little movement there is in the MBB, I thought it would be swaying from side to side constantly..." Of course, this also amazed me when I first got on it. However, when you look at the force vectors, it doesn't surprise me a bit that one may ride it without being able to tell the difference between directional (steering) movements and "pedal induced" movements. Heck, I have a hard time maintaining a "white line" grade of directional control on anything (DF, Baron, etc.).

So many of the arguments are based on facts from the extreme ends of the riding spectrum that it just gets silly. I have no doubt that riding a Cruzbike MBB is different from a non-MBB recumbent...that these differences might adversely affect a Cat 3 rider at some extreme of power usage just doesn't hold much significance for the bulk of recumbent riders, though we are all probably "Cat 3 'wannabe's"...to some extent.

Jon, Jim y'all are my heros. It is 14F (-10C) here this morning...I would NOT go riding today without electric knickers! :shock:

 

[Mark B]

trapdoor2 wrote: Jon, Jim y'all are my heros. It is 14F (-10C) here this morning...I would NOT go riding today without electric knickers! :shock:

Whiner!- I rode to work yesterday and today.

Of course, it was 45+ degrees both mornings..

Mark

 

[MrSteve]

Snip/

JimParker wrote:

I paid attention to the path of the bike on this ride. A self-appointed expert on Cruzbike, who has actually never ridden a Cruzbike, insists on another forum that our bikes cannot be pedaled without swerving side-to-side like a salmon. He also states with authority of substantial work being done by the arms to hold the front wheel straight. As I rode along the thin white line on the side of the road, arms relaxed, all that bothersome noise dissipated in the crisp shimmering countryside.



Jim

/Snip

I employ rider-induced moving-BB swerving, on the road.
Makes me look untrustworthy;
makes most drivers more aware of my presence.
:twisted:
(I only need one 'evil' smiley...'cause I mean it.)

-Steve

 

[JonB]

trapdoor2 wrote: Jon, Jim y'all are my heros. It is 14F (-10C) here this morning...I would NOT go riding today without electric knickers! :shock:

Just wear the right kind of clothes and you wont have a problem. I like whool, especially merino, from in to out.

 

[trapdoor2]

JonB wrote: Just wear the right kind of clothes and you wont have a problem. I like whool, especially merino, from in to out.

I have a full set of Merino's, top, bottom, sox and a gore-tex windbreaker. I have neoprene booties to go over my riding shoes. I have a Merino balaclava. I have insulated gore-tex gloves. Heck, on days like today, if I wear 'appropriate' clothing I cannot bend my arms or legs... :? :lol:

Generally, I have little trouble with cold weather (German/Norwegian blood, I suppose) but as I get older, I seem to feel the cold more. For the past few years, I have ridden all winter long...of course, we were having a 5-yr drought and only one week of sub-freezing weather per year. This is the first winter we've had (in many years) where the average temps have been so close to freezing for weeks on end...and so much rain!

It is supposed to be in the low 60's here Saturday and Sundy...I'm getting the Cruzbike prepped to ride both days!