I'm glad I read this. I've been a "bicycler"( I love that description...thanks Grant P) for the past 22 years. I've never raced and found early on that group rides weren't for me. I've never been fast (15-17mph avg at best..usually 13-14) and found that trying to go above that took the fun out of riding for me. I hit the big 5-0 Saturday and it hit me like a boot to the groin (mentally at least). I was however able to do a wonderful 77 mile ride on my GP designed Sam Hill. I Rode to two neighboring towns and back, some mixed terrain, stopped for lunch (had my first bison burger, great, even though a bit too heavy for a mid ride break). Total time a bit over 6 hours. Time on bike 5 1/2 hours or so. Point is I finished. It was the longest ride of my life. I feel I could have easily done another 23 miles for a solo century, but I had commitments and had to stop at that.
Sunday I was able to get out and do a 50 mile all road ride on my Ram. Lots of curvy roads and fast descents (Jack Brown greens are unbelievable). I recouped pretty well from Saturday's ride and pushed myself pretty hard. When I got home I logged my miles and started to flip through my computer to the avg speed, but decided what the hell and cleared the trip out. I guess I didn't really want to know how fast or slow I was. I had an awesome time and that was all that mattered. I guess the point I'm trying to make is this. I'm so thankful I didn't let my slowness discourage me over the years. Bicycler-ing for its own sake has always been what I looked forward to the most when the weather was nice. And even when it wasn't so nice. I love it as much today as I did 22 years and 80 some K miles ago. As for Grant Petersen designed bikes I can honestly say they are my favorites. Ride quality, aesthetics, the whole picture. They are truly a pleasure to own and use. They are the benchmark I set to gauge all other bikes I own and ride. I'm quite fond of my other bikes too, but they are certainly no Rivendells. Thanks Grant! Sorry to ramble on, Clyde (1/2 century old bicycler who lives among non bicyclers,who wanted to share his experiences with other bicyclers) Canter n Sun, Nov 21, 2010 at 3:17 PM, robert zeidler <zeidler.rob...@gmail.com>wrote: > Well said my friend and this is what I failed to say earlier. Unless > you're racing for the rent money, it is completely and totally about how you > feel. If you are 1/2 slower on a metric century, but had a great time, > that's what counts. > > Speaking of Jan, whom I really respect, but nonetheless, he says rando's > aren't racing but that's what they are doing. I stopped racing waaaay back > in '92-it was time. It took a while to get it out of my blood. I still > like going fast, but when I ride a century or a double metric, I make sure > there is a lot of fun mixed in. If I want to snap a pic I do it. Were are > all going to end up in the same place eventually. Think it will matter who > got there first? (just a litl joke!). > > > On Sun, Nov 21, 2010 at 1:31 PM, Noel <emiller3...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> A one pound weight difference in a frame actually indicates a fairly >> significant difference in tubing thickness. Speaking only for myself, >> significant differences in tubing thicknesses make for significant >> differences in ride quality. >> >> Now, I don't exactly agree with Jan's "planing" hypothesis, and I >> don't feel I'm any faster or slower on bikes with thicker or thinner >> tubing, but I do indeed prefer the "feel" (how's that for an objective >> measurement?) of thinner wall tubing. Heavy gauge tubing (meaning >> anything over .9/.7/.9) of standard diameter and *any* gauge OS tubing >> feels wooden and dead to me - "thudding" is a pretty good >> description, IMO. I personally find that a mix of .8/.5/.8 and . >> 9/.7/.9 standard diameter makes for a lively frame - and I'm 200 >> pounds on a 63 cm. frame. >> >> Weight? Don't know and don't care. If I wanted light I'd by a Madone. >> All I care about is ride quality, and I agree that Grant/Riv are >> building frames out of such heavy tubing that ride quality suffers - >> even with my beloved Grand Bois Hetres. Thankfully, enough people >> disagree with me that Rivendell is able to keep its doors open! >> >> Noel >> Orange County, CA. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> >> . >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. >> >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
