Cycling Thread

[Johnny199r]

I live in manitoba. I don't cycle in winter. I was cycling in San Diego 2 weeks ago on a trip there. Boy, it was nice to ride again.

[worth]

yeah maybe i should invest in some aero bars

[Bigtime]

Ten days not on a bike was ten days too many, despite the stupid cold it was great to get back on the bike this morning.

[habernac]

Felt like February.

[worth]

My face hurt this morning. What is this madness.

[Simon96Taco]

Just stepping in to give kudos to all you guys riding through the winter and into this "spring". Still too cold for me!!

[habernac]

Lost feeling in 4 of my fingers.

[wwkayaker]

Last summer, I broke 3 spokes at different times. One was from snagging a branch and the other two I think was just age and use. Do spokes follow the line that if one breaks others are soon to follow?

Online, I can buy 100 spokes but that might be overkill as this bike is going into its last season for me.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by wwkayaker

Last summer, I broke 3 spokes at different times. One was from snagging a branch and the other two I think was just age and use. Do spokes follow the line that if one breaks others are soon to follow?

Online, I can buy 100 spokes but that might be overkill as this bike is going into its last season for me.

Yes, spokes can fatigue over time. If you have had a few break just riding along, I would consider a rebuild.

For building wheels, I've used spokeservice.ca They are sapim spokes which are good. They are based out of Victoria and their prices are good.

I've also used chainreaction and jensonusa for people who have to have DT-swiss spokes.

Another option if pinkbike. There are people who will build a set of wheels and have a bunch of spokes left over. You can sometimes get lucky.

[habernac]

bossy, you still doing repairs?

[wwkayaker]

Spokeservice.ca was quick and simple to get what I needed ordered.

[tete]

Has anyone regularly cycled from downtown (West Beltline) to the UofC? I may have part time employment there and I'd love to not have to pay for parking (in good weather). The hill/hills between downtown and the university scare the crap out of me however and I fear I'd never make it up them since I'm very out of shape and only have cycled on primarily flat terrain.

[JohnnyO]

Originally Posted by tete

Has anyone regularly cycled from downtown (West Beltline) to the UofC? I may have part time employment there and I'd love to not have to pay for parking (in good weather). The hill/hills between downtown and the university scare the crap out of me however and I fear I'd never make it up them since I'm very out of shape and only have cycled on primarily flat terrain.

It's not that bad it is flat most of the ride then a hill and back to flat to get to the U.

You have a bunch of options. Bow River Bike path to:

Home Road then to UofC: Home Road is steep but short a bit goofy with traffic. Once at Market Mall the path along 32nd will take you to the UofC

Edworthy/MacKay Road: No traffic long steady climb, can divert with switch backs. Cross at new light at Children's

Shaganappi/Edworthy: There is a path all the way that runs parallel and then over top 16th Ave. Then towards the Children's Hospital. This is probably the easiest of the choices.

29th Street: Path all the way to 16th Ave Steep climb. Light to cross 16th ave is a gong show sometimes.

Even 19th Street or 10th street. to 20/24th Ave.

There really is no way to avoid a hill.

All of them will seem hard for the first 1/2 dozen-dozen attempts after that you will be fine. Just doing it is the key. Who cares if you have to walk some or all of it at the start, by the end of the summer you won't even break a sweat.

[Fuzz]

I used to live in Banff Trail and would ride home from downtown. To lessen the grade, you can take 10th st, then cross at the SAIT road. This is OK, but you have to get across 10th, and deal with more traffic than I like. The lowest gradient option with the least amount of dealing with traffic is this one right here:

https://goo.gl/maps/1doiLEgAfhM2

This climb is very gentle and you shouldn't have a problem with it. Once you cross 16th(underneath) you can either stay on that road and at Nick's get your way on a path to 24th ave intersection, or do as I've shown and take the bridge. Depends where on Campus you are heading.

[tete]

Thanks for the suggestions! I think google maps was suggesting 19th or 29th St, but I wasn't sure if there were other routes. I'd be most comfortable on pathways/bike lanes, but am okay on quieter streets with traffic. I'll be at the library, so south end of the campus.

[Northendzone]

I have slowly been wrenching on both my commuter and my thunderbolt getting them ready to go for spring. It has been three weeks to do thing that should only take about 5 hours, but i see no real reason to rush to finish workin n either bike as they are staying in the stable for a while longer

[wwkayaker]

I’ve been wrenching on my mountain bike and am taking my time as well. Where I am at, it is going to take a few weeks of warm weather to get the trails dry enough to ride.

[Bigtime]

What a lovely morning...put the snow pants and goggles back on for the ride. My headwind going north was only a taste of what habernac had yesterday afternoon.

[Fuzz]

I was out of town for a few days. Had to dig up some of my warm clothes again, though I didn't go full goggle. Really not looking froward to the north wind on the way home. This has to end sometime soon, right?

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by habernac

bossy, you still doing repairs?

Yep, still going at it. Plus wheels for fat bikes have been popular. Built a couple sets this winter for people who are looking to use their fatbike more in the summer months.