Has anyone taken up Bycyling?

[OH Juli 15]

I got a few cards today peeps...Thanks for thinking of me. You're all such a nice group of folks.

I heart each and everyone of you.

[babygrl1234 6]

I got my Secret santa gift today!!!!!!!!!!

Someone in Florida was busy doing something other than butter churning.

Are we waiting until we all get them or are we opening gifts?

[babygrl1234 6]

Oh and I managed to score 4 Hannah Montana tickets.

And I ran 7 miles. Guess it has been a good day.

[mbsbike2002 0]

BG - sounds like it has been a good day, indeed. I've been busy getting caught up on school, but I did go out and get cold (cool) weather biking gear, which will ensure that we have a balmy winter here in Big D....

And, I sat down and figured out my biking goals for next year, and put together some interim goals & tasks to get there. Will post in the 2008 challenge thread shortly.

B

[hoosierpoms 0]

hello everyone....all that are out there enjoying the warm weather....We dont like you.

We have had 2 days of snow, ice, rain, and snow again. It did give me an excuse to stay home and chill out. I dont think I have had a break now since quite awhile back...it is nice to not have to be anywhere....

It is nice to see that everyone is still kickin butt at the gym and running....for me....ZILCH!!!!, NATA, YEA, NOTHING....

I have been leaving for work at 530 in the morning and not getting home until 8 or 9 at night......long days, but good food choices are still helping me with my weight loss. I have 3 more lbs to go to hit my goal for the end of the year..and 3 more weeks to get there.

You know I noticed when I was writing my Christmas cards out yesterday...(YEA running late) that you guys all have become a huge part of my life, and listening to everyone's advice on here has made this year very good for me....I am very grateful to have all of you as my friends....

OK>>>>>>>>>>enough of that...We are going to drop our 2 kids off to work and than head to town in the snow...yippy skippy...

BTW..my secret santa gift is running late......sorryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

:cry

[mbsbike2002 0]

HP - Glad to hear that you got a day for some rest and to spend time with the family. Also glad to hear that you've been doing well with the food, even though there hasn't been time for exercise.

We've had cold (not Indiana cold) and rain here most of the last week. It's sunny out, still in the 30's, so I'll go for a ride in about an hour or so...

Enjoy your day off. Hope that things calm down soon for you.

B

[babygrl1234 6]

Poop on snow and ice. We have gotten about a foot since last night and it is still coming down strong. I wanna move to Arizona.

[OH Juli 15]

I just wrapped my SS to ship out tomorrow. I hope it gets to where it needs to be by the weekend.

The weather is poopy indeed. I've been hit with crafting mania so exercising isn't high on my list. Also it's the weekend with the kid so finding a place or time to go is hard when it's snowy outside. I used to run behind her while she biked.

But tomorrow is a new day...I did bring home a jump rope to do that in the house but my built in 1922 house rattles on it's hinges when I jump. It's frightening!

[babygrl1234 6]

Jump roping is fun but house shaking...not so much. I was shoveling earlier for my exercise lol. Then I used our newly fixed snowblower. I must say after snowblowing for the first time, I will never shovel snow again. OMFG I cannot believe I was missing the easiness of this fantastic machine. I may not have to move to Arizona after all.

[mbsbike2002 0]

The one where our intrepid bacchetta bitch tries again...

Okay, for those who were paying attention last week, our hero got his shoe laces wrapped in the chain ring, took a header off of a recumbent bicycle (no small feat), and was caused to suffer a spectacular crash.

To avoid this fate again, I decided to wear my spiffy bike shoes, which are secured by velcro, not laces. Seemed like a wonderful idea. Unfortunately, our hero forgot one thing:

As you will notice, the tread does not have slots that go all the way across the shoe. How then, can they engage with a standard platform pedal? The short answer is, they don't. Proof that an Ivy-league education ain't worth shit these days... I noticed this problem about 5 minutes into my ride (quick study, huh?) when the only way I could keep my feet on the pedals was to put them way out at the edge and keep them at funky angles.

But - with JFK's words "We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard" going through my head, I pressed on. After another 25-30 minutes, though, I called it a day. My knees hurt from having to hold my feet at bad angles, and I was frustrated because even at bad angles, my feet still slipped off the pedals with the ease and regularity usually reserved for Phillips' Milk of Magnesia commercials.

I am now in a quandry, though. There is no doubt but that I will have to suck it up, buy clipless pedals and understand that I will fall on a frequent basis for a few rides. The problem, though, is that I have a nice paid of SPD shoes, and I want Speedplay pedals. Speedplay makes an SPD-compatible set of pedals (the Frogs), but some recumbent riders report problems staying clipped in to them - not sure if its a bike geometry issue, or what. The same problem doesn't exist with their road pedals. The road pedals, of course, will not work with my SPD shoes. Might just have to go with egg-beaters...

I'll sort that out in the next week or so. For my next ride, I intend to be a complete Fred (or a really old-school guy) wearing street shoes with the laces taped to avoid chain-suck.

Bike on,

B

[OH Juli 15]

Oh Dear, B.

That's funny and annoying. Being a Fred sounds like a good choice for a few rides.

You'll still be cool in our book.

J

[JennJenn92 0]

It's official, I weigh less than my husband.....

BG.....YOU GET THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS when you're with your TRUE FRIEND, I mean seriously THIS IS THE LIFE; IF WE WERE A MOVIE, we'd be Thelma and Louise! I say we need a GIRLS NIGHT OUT because I MISS YOU! You really are ONE IN A MILLION! Couldn't resist! Hanah Montana HERE WE COME!!!!

M~ I really can't wait until the day comes when your previous post makes sense to me! Don't worry, I get the gist of it and as soon as I actualy have a clue about biking, I'm sure I'll get it!

[babygrl1234 6]

Go Jenn! You are such a dork lol. We need to set up the Libby Lu thing. Since I got the tickets, I am assigning this as your job like asap. How long does it take? Do we need to get them out of school early?

Oh crap. I am turning into THAT parent.

[TexasFire 84]

B - Would you like to use my toe cage pedals? I never even used them when I bought the new bike since I wanted my Speedplays installed immediately. (I'm so impatient.) I thought the Frogs were just for mountain bikes?

[mbsbike2002 0]

Hey Stephanie -

Hope you had a good weekend in Houston with Robbie.

I appreciate the offer on the toe cages. I think I'm going to go ahead and get some good pedals. The Frogs were designed for mountain bikes, but they can be used on any bike (in theory). They appealed to me, since they have SPD-compatible cleats. I figured I could use the shoes I already have. After looking into it, though, I think the reason they don't work well with recumbents is that the cleat engages from the back of the pedal, which becomes the bottom on a recumbent. Gravity works against keeping clipped in. Looks like the best approach is a pair of road Speedplays and a new pair of shoes.

Which Speedplays do you have? Looks to me that there are some esoteric differences between the Light Actions/Zeros/X-series. Based on what I've read, it looks like stainless Light Actions are probably what I should go with...

B