Soiree of Visibility
andy| November 19, 2008 1:34 pm 
Archive for the 'Biking' category
Vigorous Climbing In Slovenia
andy| November 2, 2008 10:50 pmHere is a little video from my recent trip to Slovenia, where I did a lot of cycling. Among other, I biked from Ljubljana to Koper and then to Novi Grad, Croatia. All together about 107 miles.
Enjoy.
Spending Time Alfresco
andy| October 18, 2008 11:44 pmAs it stands, I have only two more months left to complete this year’s goal of a century a month. Last couple of months, I did everything from trying to challenge myself on Santa Cruz mountains, finishing my fastest century on Waves to Wine, go on unsupported century around Mt Hamilton, and finally did an unsupported almost double century in Napa. I wonder what I will do in November and December.
So, since there is two months left before the new year, I am asking you to help me find a more challenging goal for the next year. Here are some suggestions:
- 6 double centuries
- 24 centuries
- 12 unsupported centuries
- Century on a unicycle
- …
Well, let me know.
Frangible Tires
andy| September 25, 2008 4:17 pmToday on my ride to work, I broke my personal and probably most people’s record in the flats. And I am not only talking about the quantity but also quality.
Ok, start from beginning. I just recently moved to a new place in San Jose. Now my commute instead of involving suicide missions on Matilda Avenue in Sunnyvale, I just jump on the Guadalupe Trail at my condo and ride that all the way to Alviso. I have to cross a single road. The bad? Well, the Guadalupe Trail is currently mostly packed gravel. But it is totally worth it. Especially on my fixed gear. I zip at 20 mph and not worry about the cars.
Well, today in the morning I was waiting to cross the single road I have to cross and as everywhere in the Bay Area, the intersection has the car friendly but bike unfriendly sensors. So, I jumped on the sidewalk and pressed the pedestrian button. On the way back on the road I went through some brush. When I started to ride, I notice my tires are covered with some brown stuff. So I stopped to remove that and to my horror realize that the stuff was about a hundred thorns per tire. After removing couple of them, I heard the tire deflating.
So, I walked back home and switched to my road bike and zipped using the surface roads to work. Those roads are actually pretty good backup, especially since there is actually less traffic on them and are generally faster than my old commute from Sunnyvale. That is even though my new commute is close to 8 miles and my old one was close to 6 miles.
But back to my tire problem. I have not yet taken the tire apart, but I am convinced that what I will see is a tube littered with tiny holes all over the place. Coworker recommended I get the puncture proof tires. He recommended Armadillo. I guess I will see. It would be nice to find some with a more aggressive profile than a regular road tires. Something that will work good on the gravel.
Divagate From the Pack
andy| September 8, 2008 9:07 amEC and I attended a road bike race on Sunday in Benicia, California. This was my first road race and it showed. I did several rookie mistakes, but I finished the race and I was not the last. And hey, sustaining close to 25 miles per hour for 30 minutes with lots of turns is actually pretty good. After about two thirds of the race, the pack dropped us and a small group of us was trying to finish the race. That meant no real drafting, no real pace line. We were all over the place. But all said and done, we were not the last.
Couple of things for the next time:
- Practice taking corners at hight speed. One time in the corner 4 I hit the road with my pedal, which freaked me out for every turn from there on. That slowed me down significantly.
- Get warmed up before the race. Starting racing with a cold body may work for 10 minutes but not for 30 minutes
- Eat after being warmed up not on a cold stomach.
