Author Topic: February Cycling Challenge 2015  (Read 27181 times)

jordanread

  • Guest
February Cycling Challenge 2015
« on: February 01, 2015, 11:05:35 AM »
The cycling challenge for February 2015 is up and ready for you!!

If you logged miles last month, and selected "Remember Me" on the form, you have been added to this month's sheet already.

If you didn't log miles, or are a new participant
Click here to fill out the form.

You can access the sheet at this link.

The historical data on your individual sheets will update from the January challenge a couple times per day, so if you have added miles to last month, and they don't show up, just give it a bit. If they aren't there within a day, or you have any other issues with the sheet, hit me up via email, Google+ Hangouts, PM, or just comment on this thread.

Happy Cycling!!

jordanread

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2015, 11:15:00 AM »
I will get some more fun stats later, but there were a couple of things about this last month that were pretty damn cool in my book.

Our average miles per participant dropped a it, but that is because in January, we had 19 new people join the challenge! Those 19 people contributed over 2100 miles this month. On our own, without prodding from MMM, we surpassed the miles of the Anti-Automobile April challenge from 2013, where MMM himself posted that people should do the challenge. That has previously been the bar, and we've come close before, but until January, we never beat it. This is a new all time record, and it couldn't have been done without you!!

Happy Cycling!!

Armer Student

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 28
  • Age: 35
  • Location: Munich, Germany
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2015, 02:01:07 PM »
I'm really looking forward to logging my miles/kilometers this month.

Jordan, thank you for putting so much effort in the spreadsheets and forum threads. It really keeps me motivated to see my stats---particularly the cost savings at 0.17€/km or 0.26$/mile---adding up over the month.

Happy Cycling! :)

AS, aiming for >400 miles in february.

Thegoblinchief

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #3 on: February 01, 2015, 05:36:39 PM »
I know I'm not hitting it big in the miles the past few months, but I'd say I had a productive start to February.

18 miles RT to work. At work, handed in my notice. I'll be (finally) a full-time SAHD in two weeks (though it's only 3 shifts over those days). Wooo!

Oh, and those 18 miles? Big snowstorm. Probably 3-4 inches on the ground on way to work, and another 3-4 added by the time I left. The worst parts where when I was going against the very brisk wind, snow scraping my face, and slowing me down so much a few times I had to walk briefly. A few other times a crosswind hit me and my bike literally slid sideways for about a foot. I've biked in crazier weather, but it's by far the worst we've had this winter. Less than 1/8 mile visibility at many points.

Added 30 pounds of groceries when I was 1/2 way home.

Keep riding all!

johnny847

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3188
    • My Blog
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #4 on: February 01, 2015, 07:41:16 PM »
I got sick for part of last month, so my mileage was much lower than I usual. I hope to get many more miles in this month, as I'm almost better!

Thegoblinchief

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #5 on: February 01, 2015, 08:12:58 PM »
I got sick for part of last month, so my mileage was much lower than I usual. I hope to get many more miles in this month, as I'm almost better!

Chuck Norris doesn't stop biking when he's sick. He gets sick on purpose so that other cyclists have a fair chance.

No, seriously, hope you get better :)

johnny847

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3188
    • My Blog
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #6 on: February 01, 2015, 08:40:41 PM »
I got sick for part of last month, so my mileage was much lower than I usual. I hope to get many more miles in this month, as I'm almost better!

Chuck Norris doesn't stop biking when he's sick. He gets sick on purpose so that other cyclists have a fair chance.

No, seriously, hope you get better :)
Pfft Chuck Norris doesn't get sick. He just expels the disease along with any other bodily waste.

Thanks!

jordanread

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #7 on: February 02, 2015, 05:11:51 AM »
I know I'm not hitting it big in the miles the past few months, but I'd say I had a productive start to February.

18 miles RT to work. At work, handed in my notice. I'll be (finally) a full-time SAHD in two weeks (though it's only 3 shifts over those days). Wooo!

Oh, and those 18 miles? Big snowstorm. Probably 3-4 inches on the ground on way to work, and another 3-4 added by the time I left. The worst parts where when I was going against the very brisk wind, snow scraping my face, and slowing me down so much a few times I had to walk briefly. A few other times a crosswind hit me and my bike literally slid sideways for about a foot. I've biked in crazier weather, but it's by far the worst we've had this winter. Less than 1/8 mile visibility at many points.

Added 30 pounds of groceries when I was 1/2 way home.

Keep riding all!

Sounds like a hell of a ride! My guess is that is the second easiest 18 miles you will ever do in the snow. The first easiest will be your last day (if it's snowing). It's amazing how much more effort it takes with just a bit of snow on the ground, but man I wouldn't trade it for a car ride any day! Congrats on the big move.
Did you have your trailer, or did you just do the groceries in the panniers?

Thegoblinchief

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #8 on: February 02, 2015, 05:22:29 AM »
Did you have your trailer, or did you just do the groceries in the panniers?

Panniers. I've done trailers in the snow. It's, uh, not fun.

jordanread

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #9 on: February 02, 2015, 05:29:40 AM »
Did you have your trailer, or did you just do the groceries in the panniers?

Panniers. I've done trailers in the snow. It's, uh, not fun.

30lbs...very nice. I'm kind of glad I temporarily nixed the trailer idea for now. You saw my panniers in the post last month...any suggestion or words of wisdom for someone is going to start doing a grocery run one to two times per week? You mentioned before that the bouncing can damage some of the more sensitive stuff, but anything other than that? How do you organize your packing?

Cool, I'll join in as I cycle pretty much every day.
Any way I can retcon my Data for January?

Yeah, visit the January Cycling Challenge and fill out the form to get your own sheet created. Go into your sheet, enter your mileage, and you are all set. After that, fill out the form for this month (previous miles will only come over if you use the same username), and you are all set. Going forward, if you select 'remember me' on the form, and log miles, you will be automatically added every new month. Your historical miles won't come over until I do a bit of manual work since the month is over, but they will come over once I get it all taken care of (probably after work today).

jordanread

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #10 on: February 02, 2015, 06:05:56 AM »
Cool, I'll join in as I cycle pretty much every day.
Any way I can retcon my Data for January?

Yeah, visit the January Cycling Challenge and fill out the form to get your own sheet created. Go into your sheet, enter your mileage, and you are all set. After that, fill out the form for this month (previous miles will only come over if you use the same username), and you are all set. Going forward, if you select 'remember me' on the form, and log miles, you will be automatically added every new month. Your historical miles won't come over until I do a bit of manual work since the month is over, but they will come over once I get it all taken care of (probably after work today).
Cool, I've just added everything for January.

Got it, and got your history imported into February. Happy Cycling!!

Thegoblinchief

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #11 on: February 02, 2015, 06:24:10 AM »
There's no real magic to packing groceries. Heavy stuff in the bottom. Milk, cheese, non bruisables like potatoes all make a good base. Ditto canned goods. Then produce can go on top of that. Then meat, then eggs.

Eggs also work nicely on top of something like a bulk bag of oats. Yesterday I put them on top of my work clothes in the other pannier. The first few times bring a plastic bag, but I haven't broken an egg in months. The key is tightening down the roll top closure snugly so things are lightly but firmly pressed against each other, and not bouncing around.

If possible, balance the panniers. Do you still just have one pannier or two? I have two and even then, if I forget and overload one bag the handling can feel really screwy on the way home. More than doable, but it might freak you out when first getting underway.

Bananas are the worst. They're heavy but so, so tender. But I don't buy them anymore for sustainability reasons.

jordanread

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #12 on: February 02, 2015, 06:29:31 AM »
There's no real magic to packing groceries. Heavy stuff in the bottom. Milk, cheese, non bruisables like potatoes all make a good base. Ditto canned goods. Then produce can go on top of that. Then meat, then eggs.

Eggs also work nicely on top of something like a bulk bag of oats. Yesterday I put them on top of my work clothes in the other pannier. The first few times bring a plastic bag, but I haven't broken an egg in months. The key is tightening down the roll top closure snugly so things are lightly but firmly pressed against each other, and not bouncing around.

If possible, balance the panniers. Do you still just have one pannier or two? I have two and even then, if I forget and overload one bag the handling can feel really screwy on the way home. More than doable, but it might freak you out when first getting underway.

Bananas are the worst. They're heavy but so, so tender. But I don't buy them anymore for sustainability reasons.

I actually have 3 panniers, but on normal days I only have one mounted that weighs around 30lbs (with stuff) for work. My thought was to throw an empty pannier on the other side on grocery days, and pack that one. It would probably make me more balanced than usual. :-)

Wolf_Stache

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 920
  • Age: 43
  • Location: Portland
    • Flower's Fang
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #13 on: February 02, 2015, 10:06:06 AM »
It was pouring rain this morning, and I wasn't going to ride. Then I jumped on here and saw GC's epic snow ride. Whats a little rain compared to that? So here I am, at work. I packed my clothes in my bag because I knew even my rain gear would soak through in that downpour - which they did. :)

Thegoblinchief

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #14 on: February 02, 2015, 10:19:53 AM »
It was pouring rain this morning, and I wasn't going to ride. Then I jumped on here and saw GC's epic snow ride. Whats a little rain compared to that? So here I am, at work. I packed my clothes in my bag because I knew even my rain gear would soak through in that downpour - which they did. :)

Glad I could inspire :)

ohyonghao

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 638
  • Age: 39
  • Location: Hillsboro, OR
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #15 on: February 02, 2015, 01:03:08 PM »
Didn't finish last month as well as I had hoped.  Was going riding with a friend in a neighboring town, had planned to ride over there (27mi, 1800' elevation), but my wife wanted to go to that town too.  Ended up driving over there to ride, so I had 54 fewer miles than I had hoped for.  Sunday morning I went on a short ride, but had woken up late so I couldn't get in as long of a ride as I had hoped for either, thus starting out this month with just a 25.4mi ride in the rain.  I have Showerpass booties coming in tonight so my feet shouldn't get soaked any more.

I'm running a 5k mid-March, so my miles this month may be a little lower than before.  No riding at work during lunch, and probably no Wednesday group rides, as I need my legs to recover for running every morning.  I have noticed that after two weeks of this my legs feel much better than at the start where they were killing me the next day, so I may up the cycling mileage depending on how I feel, but I'm trying really hard to not over train, something I've been guilty of before.

Oh, and awesome ride Thegoblinchief, PNW doesn't get snowstorms like the East coast does, so far this winter the worst we've had is a week of 20F with no rain/snow in sight.

Nancy

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #16 on: February 02, 2015, 01:25:39 PM »
I haven't been biking due to blizzard (lame-I know), but I'm going to try and get back to it this week.

Shor

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 478
  • Location: Orange County, CA, USA
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #17 on: February 02, 2015, 02:08:18 PM »
I haven't been biking due to blizzard (lame-I know), but I'm going to try and get back to it this week.
.... Yeah lame, heh... I haven't been biking as much because I would look out the window and think 'it might be a little cloudy today', and 'I might get a little bit wet'... :(

Let's do better this month!!

MidwestBiker

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 25
  • Location: Midwest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #18 on: February 02, 2015, 02:31:01 PM »
Thanks to Jordan for keeping this going. Lots of great inspiration from other cycling gauntlet-taker-uppers. I’m amazed at the miles people put on and the conditions folks ride in. In Minneapolis there was only a handful of days in December that the wind or snow caused real problems. Even today the ride in to work was easy, despite the 1 degree F temp: No wind and dry roads!

Looking back on January: 636.6 miles total! I don’t think I’ve ever ridden a bike more than 3-400 miles in a month in my life. Commuted 16 out of 20 work days. I will start noting each day my reasons/excuses for not commuting. Rode every day in January and December. Rode 20+ miles per day in January and 10+ miles per day from 12/4 on in December.

Challenging myself to ride 800 miles in February. Started off right by riding 30 miles on Feb 1.

Keep having fun on your bikes!

Nancy

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #19 on: February 03, 2015, 08:24:41 AM »
Trash Bags Trash Picker mittens for the win! My fingers were fine at 6F. Thanks to Russ for the suggestion.

I have some buildup of snow/slush under my fenders. Do you keep fenders on during winter biking?

mskyle

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 691
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #20 on: February 03, 2015, 08:25:33 AM »
Made it to work in just about 120% of my normal (non-snowy) commute time. This was my first time on the bike in February, and a kindly woman snowblowing out her sidewalk called me a "f***ing idiot." Thanks! (I think she had been cursing out cars and forgot that I would be able to hear her...)

Still lots of snow on the roads and some serious snowbank obstacles... most of the streets have snowed-in cars on one side of the road, which makes the roads feel VERY narrow when you're sharing them with cars. And it's really hard to see around the corners (15-foot snowpiles in places!). My least favorite part of the commute was a road I take through a certain well-regarded university's campus... there was still a good inch or two of packed snow covering the entire roadway. Not easy to start, stop, or corner!

The side benefit of the narrower streets is that when one of the lanes is half full of snowbank, it's not really wide enough for cars - instant bike lane!

Kmp2

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 379
  • Location: Cowtown
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #21 on: February 03, 2015, 08:28:03 AM »
I am slowly readjusting to winter, we were spoiled with a most beautiful January that melted all our snow... well 2" of new snow and back down to -15C (4-5F) and it's all come back. At least we have more daylight now.

I'm loving my shorter commute, it's easy to bike everyday and I can do it with out breaking a sweat :)

Winter bike to work day is Feb. 13 - you can sign up here.
http://winterbiketoworkday.org/

I don't actually work that friday, we'll see if I get up and bike down to the festivities anyway, their offering free coffee downtown...


Thegoblinchief

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #22 on: February 03, 2015, 08:50:40 AM »
I have some buildup of snow/slush under my fenders. Do you keep fenders on during winter biking?

I do. The buildup can be annoying, but it's far less annoying than road salt and grime spraying up your back all winter. Worst-case, get one of those MTB style rear fenders that sits up higher (off the seatpost). Just make sure to get the 29er size if you're running 700C wheels, because the standard 26" wheel fenders won't do jack for you. (Ask me how I know that....:P)

Nancy

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #23 on: February 03, 2015, 09:51:14 AM »
Good to know! Thanks, GC. I'm definitely looking into those seatpost fenders.

Thegoblinchief

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #24 on: February 03, 2015, 10:08:05 AM »
Good to know! Thanks, GC. I'm definitely looking into those seatpost fenders.

I'm not a fan of their standard fenders, but SKS makes really solid seat post ones. Just get the correct size, as I noted ;)

Shor

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 478
  • Location: Orange County, CA, USA
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #25 on: February 03, 2015, 01:16:32 PM »
Hey Jordan,
The summary on the right side listing out past months' miles looks like it got screwed up. It's referencing the 'Unique Participants' list but at the wrong rows for each person's.
i.e. mine was pointing at row 10 before when it should have been row 211. (I went ahead and modified my own sheet)
I'm guessing this may have happened when the 'Unique Participants' list got sorted by username alphabetical order.

Also, not too sure how we would make the list so that it stays static going forward, maybe set it and then as new people join they are added to the bottom?
Or more likely you have a script for grabbing all the numbers across months, putting it in the Unique Participants list and then setting the reference row in each person's sheet(?)

jordanread

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #26 on: February 03, 2015, 01:34:01 PM »
Hey Jordan,
The summary on the right side listing out past months' miles looks like it got screwed up. It's referencing the 'Unique Participants' list but at the wrong rows for each person's.
i.e. mine was pointing at row 10 before when it should have been row 211. (I went ahead and modified my own sheet)
I'm guessing this may have happened when the 'Unique Participants' list got sorted by username alphabetical order.

Also, not too sure how we would make the list so that it stays static going forward, maybe set it and then as new people join they are added to the bottom?
Or more likely you have a script for grabbing all the numbers across months, putting it in the Unique Participants list and then setting the reference row in each person's sheet(?)

Yeah, that should have automatically updated regardless of what happened on the Unique Participants sheet. Previously it was static data, copied from that sheet, but this month I updated it to be an actual reference so that when it re-imports history every day, miles that were added to the previous month do get counted. Since this is an integrated part of Google docs, there isn't much I can do to fix it directly. What I will do instead (later tonight) will reset it to be static, but build a method to update the static values for the first few days of the month. That way we get late mileage counted for the historical data. The funny thing is that it worked with sorting and filtering when I initially tested it (meaning it updated the reference), but it might not be able to handle this many tabs, and that much data.

Thanks for the heads up, and I'll get it fixed soon.

jordanread

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #27 on: February 03, 2015, 05:49:29 PM »
Sorry for the fuck-up everybody. I got it fixed. I haven't implemented the automatic import as of yet, but I'll run it manually the next few days. What I did tonight didn't re-import history from January, but it did switch to your data, and not something all wonky. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Nancy

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #28 on: February 03, 2015, 06:19:42 PM »
Dude, you never have to apologize to us! You're keeping this challenge going, AND you're making it awesome. Thanks for always taking care of the spreadsheets, Jordan!

PindyStache

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 241
  • Location: Minneapolis
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #29 on: February 03, 2015, 08:02:21 PM »
I have some buildup of snow/slush under my fenders. Do you keep fenders on during winter biking?

I do. The buildup can be annoying, but it's far less annoying than road salt and grime spraying up your back all winter. Worst-case, get one of those MTB style rear fenders that sits up higher (off the seatpost). Just make sure to get the 29er size if you're running 700C wheels, because the standard 26" wheel fenders won't do jack for you. (Ask me how I know that....:P)

I agree with having fenders. I ride an old MTB with 26" wheels, but fairly narrow tires @ 1.5". I got a set of oversized fenders that would fit a larger MTB tire so there is plenty of clearance for snow.

Kmp2

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 379
  • Location: Cowtown
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #30 on: February 05, 2015, 05:41:16 PM »
Ugh, I lost one washer/bolt off my rack, and now I have a loose screw on my fender... To top it all off I now have a suddenly very squeaky front disc brake...

I guess I should have gone over all my screws when it got cold, and tightened them up a bit... No idea how to fix the brake though. Some research required

wintersun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 327
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #31 on: February 05, 2015, 06:12:41 PM »
I just realised there is a February thread.  I am in!  My goal is in hours because I am on a stationary bike due to an injury.  My goal for this month is 12 hours. 

To find out my distance can I use a phone app?  or a fit bit?  or put something on my bike?

PindyStache

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 241
  • Location: Minneapolis
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #32 on: February 05, 2015, 08:13:49 PM »
I just realised there is a February thread.  I am in!  My goal is in hours because I am on a stationary bike due to an injury.  My goal for this month is 12 hours. 

To find out my distance can I use a phone app?  or a fit bit?  or put something on my bike?

Glad you are with us again and hope you are on the mend again soon!

People use a variety of tools to track distance--there many apps, several folks use Strava, some just remember how far things are and add them up in their head. I don't have a smartphone or anything so I use Google maps if I'm going somewhere that I don't already know the distance.

Nancy

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #33 on: February 06, 2015, 07:39:42 AM »
Biked in today at 4F. I felt super toasty since there wasn't much wind. Yesterday was bitingly cold with the wind, but I still felt pretty good.

Primm

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1317
  • Age: 55
  • Location: Australia
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #34 on: February 06, 2015, 10:06:55 PM »
I really need to record my distance travelled better. So far I've only been uploading what I record with my Garmin, which is ... barely ever.

ohyonghao

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 638
  • Age: 39
  • Location: Hillsboro, OR
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #35 on: February 07, 2015, 04:03:56 PM »
Got in a great ride, highest average heart rate I've had yet.  Broke some records on the way out due to a tail wind, but the way back was slow and hard.  My average speed dropped 2mph overall.  I use the Weather Underground app to check the weather.  I knew it was going to be rainy today, but I looked at the radar and saw that we have a SW wind and that all the rain was on us at the time and moving North and East.  I saw that South and West of us was all clear skies.  Made myself a MMM style 1,000 Calorie breakfast, and by the time I was done eating it and getting ready the skies had cleared.  There was always threat of rain far to the South, but I made it there and back with just the heavy winds.  Sort of sad I didn't get to really test out my new waterproof booties, perhaps tomorrow.

mskyle

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 691
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #36 on: February 11, 2015, 09:38:33 AM »
I am doing TERRIBLE this month, mostly due to all the snow we've been getting (Boston area). I've worked from home several days, so I lost out on my commute, and the 8-10 foot high snowbanks and angry motorists have been scaring me enough to keep me off the bike for cross-town rides. When I do go to work it's by some combination of walking, subway, and/or busing.

AND I had to spend money on my bike, because I lost one of my rear blinkies. Frustrating!

jordanread

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #37 on: February 11, 2015, 11:11:56 AM »
I miss my bike. This driving up to Denver thing is awful, especially with the beautiful weather we're having. I'm a bit really jealous of you guys.

Wolf_Stache

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 920
  • Age: 43
  • Location: Portland
    • Flower's Fang
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #38 on: February 11, 2015, 11:28:01 AM »
I miss my bike. This driving up to Denver thing is awful, especially with the beautiful weather we're having. I'm a bit really jealous of you guys.

I'm doing terrible this month too because of having to drive down to Portland. I have to go again this weekend to apartment hunt.

ohyonghao

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 638
  • Age: 39
  • Location: Hillsboro, OR
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #39 on: February 11, 2015, 11:55:18 AM »
I miss my bike. This driving up to Denver thing is awful, especially with the beautiful weather we're having. I'm a bit really jealous of you guys.

I'm doing terrible this month too because of having to drive down to Portland. I have to go again this weekend to apartment hunt.

You should just ride your bike to Portland, good STP training.  But seriously, that's pretty neat, I live just West of Portland in the best cycling area I could imagine.  Large country roads which lead to nowhere, so not much through traffic, well maintained, and seasoned drivers who are used to cyclists everywhere.  Where in Portland are you looking? We also have a Mustachian meetup once a month, so when you move you should join our forum thread/google mailing list/facebook group.

Last night I got off work to a flat tire.  Having had this occur a few times before I am now well prepared.  I keep a spare pump at my desk for just such an occasion, and have the tools in my box on my bike.  Including walking back and forth from my desk to my bike, then back to my desk, and back to my bike, it took roughly 30 minutes.  The patching was the easiest I've done yet.  I never hoped to become efficient at patching my inner tubes, and I had nearly a year of never a flat, but then suddenly the last few months I've been bombarded with them.  Learned a lot of how to fix them properly, tips and tricks, now it's a cinch.

b4u2

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 639
  • Age: 46
  • Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #40 on: February 11, 2015, 12:04:15 PM »
Just curious if someone here more experienced than I might lok at craigslist cedar rapids iowa and see if I am missing anything when it comes to bike shopping?

I have a schwin prelude road bike. A Schwin mountain bike (no idea at this point what the sub name of it is) that seems too small to me. When I pedal my foot can hit the front tire. I am 5'8" 214lbs. I have been looking for something to try and ride to work. 2 miles one way. I need fenders, lights, knobby tires? I have looked but not really finding anything.

TrMama

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #41 on: February 11, 2015, 12:53:34 PM »
Just curious if someone here more experienced than I might lok at craigslist cedar rapids iowa and see if I am missing anything when it comes to bike shopping?

I have a schwin prelude road bike. A Schwin mountain bike (no idea at this point what the sub name of it is) that seems too small to me. When I pedal my foot can hit the front tire. I am 5'8" 214lbs. I have been looking for something to try and ride to work. 2 miles one way. I need fenders, lights, knobby tires? I have looked but not really finding anything.

Remind me again why you can't just use the road bike? For a commute of only 2mi I'd just use the bike I had on hand before spending anything at all.

Wolf_Stache

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 920
  • Age: 43
  • Location: Portland
    • Flower's Fang
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #42 on: February 11, 2015, 01:44:23 PM »
I miss my bike. This driving up to Denver thing is awful, especially with the beautiful weather we're having. I'm a bit really jealous of you guys.

I'm doing terrible this month too because of having to drive down to Portland. I have to go again this weekend to apartment hunt.

You should just ride your bike to Portland, good STP training.  But seriously, that's pretty neat, I live just West of Portland in the best cycling area I could imagine.  Large country roads which lead to nowhere, so not much through traffic, well maintained, and seasoned drivers who are used to cyclists everywhere.  Where in Portland are you looking? We also have a Mustachian meetup once a month, so when you move you should join our forum thread/google mailing list/facebook group.

Hillsboro, OR. Just got a new job down there (really quick too, interviewed on Friday, job offer Monday, and they want me to start in 2 weeks)

b4u2

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 639
  • Age: 46
  • Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #43 on: February 11, 2015, 02:23:57 PM »
Just curious if someone here more experienced than I might lok at craigslist cedar rapids iowa and see if I am missing anything when it comes to bike shopping?

I have a schwin prelude road bike. A Schwin mountain bike (no idea at this point what the sub name of it is) that seems too small to me. When I pedal my foot can hit the front tire. I am 5'8" 214lbs. I have been looking for something to try and ride to work. 2 miles one way. I need fenders, lights, knobby tires? I have looked but not really finding anything.

Remind me again why you can't just use the road bike? For a commute of only 2mi I'd just use the bike I had on hand before spending anything at all.

I can try it. I don't have fenders and the roads are wet a lot right now.

ohyonghao

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 638
  • Age: 39
  • Location: Hillsboro, OR
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #44 on: February 11, 2015, 04:26:15 PM »
Just curious if someone here more experienced than I might lok at craigslist cedar rapids iowa and see if I am missing anything when it comes to bike shopping?

I have a schwin prelude road bike. A Schwin mountain bike (no idea at this point what the sub name of it is) that seems too small to me. When I pedal my foot can hit the front tire. I am 5'8" 214lbs. I have been looking for something to try and ride to work. 2 miles one way. I need fenders, lights, knobby tires? I have looked but not really finding anything.

Remind me again why you can't just use the road bike? For a commute of only 2mi I'd just use the bike I had on hand before spending anything at all.

I can try it. I don't have fenders and the roads are wet a lot right now.

You could get fenders for the road bike instead of another bike, though I support both options :-D.  I went with Crud RoadRacer Mk2 for my road bike, but it's a racer kind of bike.  There are ones that can go on seatpost.  I find the front fender is important for keeping your nose dry and keeps the water off your feet.  But fenders may run from $10-$50.

Shor

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 478
  • Location: Orange County, CA, USA
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #45 on: February 11, 2015, 05:47:09 PM »
Grats on the new job Wolf Stache! Very impressive, you musta totally blown em away at the interview!

Screwed up the balance of my rear wheel after getting a new tire.
Barely limped the bike home on a wobbly wheel. It was shimmying and squealing against the brakes the whole way so I completely unhinged the rear brakes and took it down a few notches in speed.
Didn't have the tool or the finger-gripping strength to adjust (all of) the spokes manually, and when I tried, I definitely made it worse (as YouTube videos would later inform me)
Gonna be out of the saddle until at least Tuesday next week while the LBS fixes up my blundering...
Ugh.. so sad..

b4u2

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 639
  • Age: 46
  • Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #46 on: February 12, 2015, 08:51:52 AM »
I have been googling a few schwinn road bike pictures and see some very nice ones with fenders. Just curious if fenders are universal? I am ready to order but unsure what type/kind to get. I will get on this bike once I have it set up.

I need to install the interrupter brakes as well. I also need to remove the cages on the pedals. Since my commute is short I am going to try the ride with my normal work clothes. Harley boots, blue jeans, t shirt, and 2 other light coats, I still need to figure gloves but maybe it will warm up by the time I get this thing going.

What about these? http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_575884_-1___204660
« Last Edit: February 12, 2015, 08:55:33 AM by b4u2 »

mskyle

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 691
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #47 on: February 12, 2015, 10:10:39 AM »
I have been googling a few schwinn road bike pictures and see some very nice ones with fenders. Just curious if fenders are universal? I am ready to order but unsure what type/kind to get. I will get on this bike once I have it set up.

With fenders you need to make sure they're compatible with your tire size and the amount of clearance under your fork. The Sheldon Brown article on fenders does a pretty good job of running down the types of problems you might encounter and the available solutions. The fenders you link to look like good ones, though! I have the Planet Bike ones, a wider version because my tires are 700x32.

b4u2

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 639
  • Age: 46
  • Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #48 on: February 12, 2015, 11:18:05 AM »
I have been googling a few schwinn road bike pictures and see some very nice ones with fenders. Just curious if fenders are universal? I am ready to order but unsure what type/kind to get. I will get on this bike once I have it set up.

With fenders you need to make sure they're compatible with your tire size and the amount of clearance under your fork. The Sheldon Brown article on fenders does a pretty good job of running down the types of problems you might encounter and the available solutions. The fenders you link to look like good ones, though! I have the Planet Bike ones, a wider version because my tires are 700x32.

Mt tires are 700cx25

TrMama

  • Guest
Re: February Cycling Challenge 2015
« Reply #49 on: February 12, 2015, 11:38:51 AM »
The tricky part with fenders on road bikes is that there isn't much clearance between the tire and the brake arms. That means it can be tricky to shove a fender into that space without it rubbing on the tire.

I'd take the bike to a local bike shop so you can get the salesperson to help you pick out a fender that will work. In the past, when I used cheap fenders, I even had the shop install them for me.