My Most Recent Ride 2011 (Part IV of the series)

DId you try the Corsa? I am going to follow in your footsteps!

 

I started with a Strata. I rode the V-Rex, P-38, Burley Jet Creek, and a Tour Easy before I chose it. Speed was a big part of the decision. The Strata was great I loved the steel frame. The downside for me was the mesh seat and my back didn't get along after about 50 miles. So, I moved up to the ti-Aero with the M5 carbon fiber seat which fit me much better. Interestingly, the Aero wasn't much faster than the Strata.

 

Jon, I have not rode a Strada but have rode the Corsa. I think one of the main differences in those two would be in the ride. For sure the Corsa is stiffer and therefore you would notice that when riding hard or up hills. The steel frame of the Strada would provide a little bit of flex which would make the ride much softer, especially if you have any of those little bumps in the roads and on chip seal etc. With either, I think you get a lot of bang for your buck. Good luck and I hope you find one under your tree this Christmas.

btw, I've now got a few miles on the CA-2 and I'm loving it more and more with each ride. One of the most amazing things about it is how it handles on loose gravel. The Giro does not handle loose gravel worth a hoot but this thing handles it very well.

 

Mark had one there for me to try. He told me the geometry was identical but the handlebar width is 19 inches instead of 23 inches. Mark said people freak out with how little of space they have for their legs in the "True" tweener bars. I looked at both and started with the Strada. I looked at the Corsa tweener bars and decided the other differences (upgrade on derailluer and shifters) was not worth it. I wanted more space for my legs.

Anyway, I am pretty sure there will be one of these in my stocking this Christmas. Now I just need to find some money!!!!!

 

Jon, for what it is worth, I thought the narrow handlebars would be a problem but have found that to not be the case. The only time I've noticed a difference is that once in a while when I'm on the big ring I had touched my calf on the chain. I think it has happened 2 or 3 times now. Once I realized what it was it quit. I think it was happening when I was really pushing the speed so mashing a bit. When I'm just going even speed it is not a problem at all.

btw, on my last ride for some odd reason I suddenly got this urge to ride a bit faster so kicked it up in the big ring and rode that way for a few miles until I was too tired to go further at that gear. My leg never did touch that time so maybe I'm used to it now.

When I rode the Corsa was the first time for me with the narrow handlebars and I had absolutely no problem. However, if you have big legs I suppose that really could be a problem.

 

Never have test-ridden any bicycle:
all my bicycles were bought first and then ridden... all one of 'em.



That's to say that I have no personal experience/wisdom/opinion to share on
any bike other than my own, let alone the various models made by Bacchetta.


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A quick little ride today.
Quick for me, that is.

My intent was just to sprint back and forth on the local 2-mile long
stretch of road until I tired. Make, maybe... four passes or so.

Gee, I'm slow this year!
My fastest mile was only a little over 20mph:
last year I was capable of 24mph.
So that was disappointing.

On the other hand, I maintained a high overall average speed
of 17.2mph for my 21 mile ride.
That is a good average speed for me, a good-and-fast average.
So I'm sort of satisfied.

This means that my climbing speed is up and my flat-road speed is down.

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I did overtake and pass one bicyclist, but it was hardly fair.
We are both kind of old and we were both on bicycles...
other than that, well, there's no comparison.

-He was puffing along at less than jogging-speed on his knobby-tyred
low-geared mountain bike, wobbling all over the road.

(I am impressed by anyone working out on a bike, in public, in this heat!)

-I was puffing along at 20mph.

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Thanks Dennis. Maybe I will go back and try the Corsa after all.

 

A little on the Our Community Place Shenandoah Bike Festival.


Last night I had my mind made up to do the 50 mile ride. Well Once I arrived I saw that there were about 60-70 people doing the 100 miler so I I decided at the last minute to do it. My Goal was to do the entire ride with stops by 3 pm, which is not a bad goal for my 40 pound lawn chair.


We actually did not get started till close to 730 and we were off. I yo-yo’d with the second pack until the first stop at mile 23. I ran in filled my bottles and took off. I knew they would eventually catch up and around mile 43 a pace line of about 10 people caught me but I Lucked out because there was another rest stop. I took off again ahead of them and stayed ahead until mile 65.5 When I happened upon a dude who crashed through a fence after failing to negotiate a hairpin turn. I was the only one with a cell phone and I got an ambulance there in short order. It kind of ruined my ride, but I am always willing to help other riders even if they ride a DF. As you can see he took out that fence.





He is lucky he had helmet on, he had a slight red mark on his head but the helmet had a big gash in it. He was also complaining about ribs and shoulder injuries

I finished the ride in about 7 and a half hours including all stops. The last 10 miles were brutal. All climbing and 96 degrees.

I had 99.3 at the end of ride so i went around the parking lot a few times to get my 100..lol

50 miles of climing 8,100 feet of elevation.


http://www.svbcoalition.org/downloads/events/svbf/svbf-100mi-map.pdf

360 riders and only one recumbent! Enjoy! Now I am gonna have a Corona or 3!

 

Great Job Brian!

I planned on doing the 101 miler at Blazing Saddles yesterday but the heat beat me. This ride is usually very small but this year they threw the gauntlet down by saying the record was 5 hour 7 minutes and they were going to be timing riders. Needless to say well over 200 showed up.

There were lots of tri people and fancy high dollar bikes with young buff boys and girls talking about how the 5 hour record was going to fall. I didn't care about being timed so I left 7 minutes before the mass start. I wanted to see just how quickly the lead group caught me and how large it was. I had a feeling the over 1000 feet of climbing in the first 15 miles would narrow the field a bit.

So at 19 miles Into The Ride, they caught me at 1:04 so they were right on a 5 hour pace. However, there were only 8 of them. I continued on my pace hovering between 17.5 and 18 and around mile 29 a solo rider caught me on a long uphill grind. He then stopped at the rest area and I didn't see him again for a while.

Now by 9:30 the temperature is in the 90's and the heat index is well over 100. It was brutal and I was beginning to think about aborting at the 78 mile mark. Mile 50 came and went, I caught two guys who started 15 minutes before me, later they caught back up working in a little paceline with the fella who caught me at mile 29. I passed them back on a long downhill and didn't see them again for awhile.

I passed two riders from the lead group fixing a flat, so now there were only 6 ahead of me. But the heat was winning, my time was beginning to slow and I couldn't replace my fluids fast enough, my belly was full but I was beginning to dehydrate.

Mile 73 someone finally passed me. A young tri girl riding very strong. I caught up with her at the mile 75 rest stop. I gave her the good news that she was in about 6th place now.

I had to stop to cool off a bit and I was very concerned that I had only consumed about 50 of the 100 ounces I was carrying. To make matters worse I didn't feel thirsty even though I knew I needed to drink. Bad signs. With that in mind I bailed and dragged myself in for the 78.

78.19 miles in 4:37 total time 4:27 ride time with 4742 feet of climbing
17.6 moving average.

 

That is still impressive! No way I could ever do that again...the MS150 in August several years back was the last long distance ride I did in extreme heat where making the mileage was a big deal. Glad to know that you know your limits and don't feel like you have anything to prove...I just wonder how many that continued, suffered a bit from heat exhaustion, cramps, or dehydration. Any news on whether or not the 5 hr record was broken?

 

Ward, I could not even do that in good weather. My hat is off to you.

 

I didnt do a long ride today, i just wanted to stretch my legs and break 600 miles for the month-(personal best for me). I got my oldest daughter out of bed and took her along for a 6.5 mile trek around my back road route. She about passed out on mile 3..lol. I told her that is what she gets for living in air conditioning her whole life. Kids today i swear....

Ward I know what you mean about the heat I was gonna pack it in as well but I don't ride as fast/hard as you and I was pretty well hydrated all day. I am not a greyhound, more like a bull, stubborn and have no sense when to say when. Another reason is I knew you were doing the 100 and I was not gonna let you get even farther ahead...

Everyone needs to be safe in the heat and listen to what your body is telling you

 

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That's a great little story-within-a-story!
The picture is also pretty awesome.
Thank you for sharing this.

Oh, and of course: Good Work.

 

Don't know yet, it was very close as I saw a few of the lead group after I finished eating. I asked one fella and he said, "I don't know, just glad its over".

There were still well over 100 riders out on the route when I left the high school at 12:15. Brutal!

 

Ward- I am gonna try to at least catch up a little bit to you, but after the 9th I wont be riding at all for about 2 weeks. Were Going to Alaska to visit some friends and unless I can rent a bike I wont be riding.