[Phatboing]

@PotomacCyclist 111688 wrote:

Snow on Friday? Really?

UPDATE: W. Post is now forecasting a coating to 2 inches in DC and close-in suburbs. Northern Montgomery Co. and Loudoun Co. could get 1-4 inches.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2015/03/19/rain-to-messy-snow-early-friday-morning-greatest-accumulation-chances-northwest-of-the-beltway/

I reject this weather forecast. You will find me riding my skinny slicks, and/or stuck in a ditch somewhere.

[Phatboing]

I’m totally guessing, but I’m pretty sure my E number is 13.

[Phatboing]

@hozn 111726 wrote:

One other cautionary tail about this: a friend was racing me up a short hill once in a really tall gear; he pulled his foot off the pedal on upstroke and stepped through his front wheel, going over the bike hard and destroying the wheel. Be careful about pulling up when worn cleats — probably especially spd-style cleats (I’ve also pulled my foot out eggbeaters on a climb).

DISLIKE! A thousand times dislike!

[Phatboing]

@vvill 111722 wrote:

Also, I thought the whole lifting on the upstroke thing was a myth in that it doesn’t actually lead to any pedaling/performance benefits.

The myth is that you get extra power by pulling up, but if I remember correctly, any observed benefit is because your pulling-upping-non-power leg isn’t dead weight on the pedal, so your power leg doesn’t have to fight against that weight.

Anyway. Ride bikes, enjoy, don’t die, etc.

[Phatboing]

@vvill 111705 wrote:

I have to admit I’m not convinced on the “improving pedal stroke” thing – I feel like FG actually makes it’s easier to spin since the momentum of the wheel/cranks helps to keep everything turning.

It improves your pedal stroke if your approach to pedaling is stompy mashy hammer time. At least it did for me – it made me conscious of how my legs just sit around being dead weight on the upstroke. When I switched to the geared bike after a few days of fixed, I was able to use higher gears just because I remembered to lift on the upstroke, which meant that the mashing leg had less weight to overcome.

[Phatboing]

@dcv 111677 wrote:

We should definitely do this fixed, say Sat 3/28? (sorry out of town this weekend)

Er, no.

[Phatboing]

@dkel 111650 wrote:

utilizing the entire pedal stroke to generate power. The result is a smoother pedal stroke that uses more muscle groups in combination, as opposed to putting a lot of pressure on your knees by only maximizing your downstroke.

Noticed this too. If I get lazy on my upstroke, the bike reminds me with a gentle kick that there is no slacking allowed, you slacker. As a result, riding fixed with flat pedals has done more for conscious full-circle pedaling than riding clipless ever did.

I still have to get used to the higher cadences going downhill. Higher cadences lead to heavy breathing, and that doesn’t end well in this kind of weather.

[Phatboing]

Fixies are stupid.

Get one.

They’re awesome.

[Phatboing]

@Phatboing 104677 wrote:

29.1. I have heavy bones, k?

175 at 5’5″. My five week vacation fueled me up nicely.

174 today, making it 28.95. This is actually pretty awesome, because with my increased mileage for BAFS this year, there was also increased consumption of breakfast burritos. And I don’t care what the BMI wrongniks think, dragging fat studded tires on a singlespeed for a lot of the winter built me some muscle, and maybe even a little character.

[Phatboing]

@Raymo853 111433 wrote:

Since I have made a promise not to join a team next year, I can help out on the development of stuff. Also have ideas for side prizes:
– most DC/VA/MD (maybe PA and Del for people like Eric W) local shop visits with photos inside or out front for proof. (would get people to search out those obscure shops like Maryland Park Bicycles, the Old Bike Shop, Bud’s Bike Barn)
– biggest per day points rate improvement (random sample of ten days in Jan to compare to a random ten in March)
– longest pattern of alternating century+ and sleaze rides
– most states ridden in during a single ride, with a requirement to include DC and a prohibition on transport in cars, metro, on Rod’s trailer ….

One that last one, it would be feasible to do a DC, VA, WV and MD one. Does anyone realistic think they could fifth one in? A C&O ride would get you all those plus PA in about 200 miles, however, you would then be out there in PA. Maybe a requirement to make it home in the same day would make it even more challenging.

I feel like the “team cumulative points” page should include some forecasting too – like after the first week, the program projects which team’s going to win. That oughta fire up even more competitiveness and maybe we’ll have to start drug tests yay.

[Phatboing]

@hozn 111371 wrote:

It should change to “walk” 10-12 seconds after the light at Idylwood [turns red]. Sometimes it is indeed broken and this doesn’t happen. And if you don’t push the button this won’t happen.

I’ve timed it at 3 minutes after you boop the button. Usually feels longer, but the one time I consciously timed it, it was three minutes.

[Phatboing]

@dkel 111368 wrote:

It always seems broken to me. :p

Scofflaw!

[Phatboing]

Pancake club was a success. The deli needs to add staff to keep up, though, which they inevitably will as soon as they realize they’re going to be inundated by pancake-crazy cyclists every Monday morning.

[Phatboing]

SteveOhNo!

I’ve been feeling a bit exhausted today (despite pie), so will see how I feel by morning. The fact that this could make it a 100-mile weekend is tempting though.

[Phatboing]

What time does the caravan for the full ride set out from the Custis+WOD intersection?

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