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Bike rack FAIL, originally uploaded by eidolon.

I needed to get a new trunk rack anyway.

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(right now in Cambridge it's 0dF, or -24dF with the wind chill factor)

Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.

18 degrees

Dec. 10th, 2010 09:28 am
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18 degrees, originally uploaded by qwrrty.

--
Sent from my bionic implant

Edit: the gear I wore for today's ride:

on the head:
  • neoprene face mask
  • helmet
on the torso:
  • t-shirt
  • light cotton sweatshirt
  • fleece pullover
  • windbreaker
  • reflective vest
legs:
  • regular underwear, jeans
hands/feet:In other words, not actually a lot of specialized gear, just a lot of layering.

The hardest things for me to keep warm are my ears and fingers. The face mask ($12 at the Army Barracks in Boston) is key, because it's thin enough to fit comfortably under my helmet, but still insulates enough to keep my face from falling off. The gloves ($11, also from the Army Barracks) are fingerless gloves with a mitten flip-top, which is perfect for winter biking: the mitten top keeps my fingers warm but I can pop out my fingers if I need to use my keys or open a lock.

HI CARS!

Nov. 18th, 2010 06:24 pm
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HI CARS!, originally uploaded by qwrrty.
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Anyone care to recommend a Boston local bike shop (fsvo "local") that has SPD-compatible sandals in stock? Especially for guys with big feet?

REI has some Keen sandals but no longer has any size 12s in stock. I tried at a couple of LBSs today and neither of them carried cycling sandals at all. (The guy at Back Bay Bicycle, amusingly, said he'd never even heard of them and thought it sounded like a terrible idea.) I'd prefer to buy locally so I can try them on if possible (a wise move given how much I regret buying cheapo sandals from Nashbar last year), and I'd prefer to buy from an independent shop whenever possible.
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[livejournal.com profile] palmwiz on his bike trip home from Montreal.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

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So [livejournal.com profile] omegabeth and I rode from Boston to Provincetown on Saturday, on a tandem bike borrowed from [livejournal.com profile] moominmolly and [livejournal.com profile] dilletante.

What happened?

  • Tandems are way cool. Everyone we rode with seemed to be cheered up just having a tandem on the road. We became known to the rest of the riders, and later, by apparently random people in Provincetown, as "those crazy tandem people."
  • [livejournal.com profile] omegabeth did not keel over and die from biking on her broken ankle.
  • [livejournal.com profile] omegabeth actually finished in way better shape than I did.  By the end of the ride, she was doing the bulk of the hard cranking.
  • [livejournal.com profile] omegabeth is clearly a mutant who has supernormal healing powers and possibly an adamantium endoskeleton.
  • Good bike fit is really important.  Really really important. Like, as important as you thought it was, and then more important than that.  I did an okay job of sizing the tandem to me, but "okay" is not good enough, especially for a trip like this.  I finished the ride with severe numbness in the ring and little fingers of both hands, and profoundly diminished gripping strength.  Right now I can barely turn a key in a lock, put on my socks, or write my name.  Calling the doctor first thing in the morning.
  • As important as it is to wear sunscreen, for the love of god remember not to wear it on your face. Because then when you start sweating, it melts and trickles down your forehead into your eyes, and it stings and you can't see and THAT WILL MAKE YOU DIE.
I have many many heroes today, but especially [livejournal.com profile] keyne and kids for their love and ongoing support of my madness, [livejournal.com profile] moominmolly and [livejournal.com profile] dilletante for the loan of their contraption and for invaluable technical advice, [livejournal.com profile] soong and [livejournal.com profile] sandhawke for sharing their homes (sometimes unexpectedly), [livejournal.com profile] bubblebabble and [livejournal.com profile] bitty for sharing their home and for gamely going along with our insane plans, [livejournal.com profile] inseriatim for repaying the favor and registering me when I started acting lame, and [livejournal.com profile] omegabeth for being such an amazing, untiring, perpetually upbeat and inspiring ride partner.  This life is sometimes an amazing place to be.
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117.9 miles: Truro sag stop, originally uploaded by qwrrty.

And massage break!

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106.7 miles: Wellfleet, originally uploaded by qwrrty.

The end of the Cape Cod Rail Trail!

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99.3 miles: day of repairs!, originally uploaded by qwrrty.

This rider had to fix a flat on an ancient road bike, no quick
release, old caliper brakes. No wrench, no tools. Fortunately a good
Samaritan who lives nearby stopped to bring tools from home.

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Awesome Braid Chick's shift lever failed on her. We were unable to
repair it but got her in shape to make it to the next bike shop.

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84.3 miles: Yarmouth lunch stop, originally uploaded by qwrrty.

My world right now: lying on my back on a hill in Yarmouth with a
nutella sandwich, looking up at this tree.

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74 miles: Barnstable stretch break, originally uploaded by qwrrty.

I am a lot more tired at this point than I usually am. Bleh! Pace
yourself, I said.

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63.78 miles: Sandwich lunch stop, originally uploaded by qwrrty.

No sandwiches in Sandwich. They ran out of bread!

Here I am trying to adjust the front derailleur so the chain doesn't
keep popping off the big ring.

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61.54 miles, originally uploaded by qwrrty.

The first rule of riding over the Sagamore Bridge is that you DO NOT
RIDE over the Sagamore Bridge.

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33.03 miles, originally uploaded by qwrrty.

First adjustment!

0.0 miles

Jun. 19th, 2010 06:03 am
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0.0 miles, originally uploaded by qwrrty.

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