New Frameset - Neener, neener, neeeener.

On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 3:08:20 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 1:32:45 PM UTC-7, duane wrote:
On 29/07/2019 9:59 a.m., jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 1:39:14 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Sunday, July 28, 2019 at 4:24:57 PM UTC+2, Tom Kunich wrote:
Saturday I suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous public transportation - Bay Area Rapid Transit was all screwed up with their fare machines that instead of recharging my Senior Citizen card issued me a new "normal" double the senior fare card. I guess it didn't help that I did 20 Km at 17-20 mph before starting out.

Then getting to San Francisco figuring out the ferry boat system was a rather major job and I finally figured it out and got to Sausalito where I captured an almost off the shelf Lemond Zurich for $275.

Back on the ferry carrying the frameset a Mexican tourist and his wife started talking to me about the Tour de France. These people identify not as Mexicans but as Hispanics so Egan Bernal's win is a win for the entire Mexico and south Spanish speaking people.

Finally got home and weighed the frameset against my Basso Loto which was the end of the line for that - the maximum steel bike from Basso with custom tubing etc. The Lemond weighs .7 lbs less but part of that is the carbon fiber fork. The frame is Reynolds 831 oversize. The Lemond threadless 1 1/8" fork has a steel top uncut.

We'll see how it turns out. I will sell the Pinarello Stelvio frame which also uses oversize tubing custom made to Pinarello specifications. While I like it, I simply am out of room and I love the way the Basso rides and intend to refinish it. Someone gave me a 64 cm Pinarello standard that I have to sell as well. I also have to get my oldest step-daughter's bike back to her. It now is in perfect riding condition with a replaced rear derailleur, new Concor woman's saddle, new chain, new brake pads on Campy Super Record brakes that were cleaned up, a new headset and new bar tape. It has downtube shifters, indexed, but with a six speed there's no point in changing to a seven speed brifter setup.

I'm having fun - what about you?


Well it was blistering hot here last week. Record temperature of 41 C. I wanted to start early on my day off last friday but I had a dentist appointment first so I|started my ride at 9.30 am. Did 75 km and at the end of my ride it was 38 C. F*cking hell it was like breathing hot air. Still averaged 31 km/hr but I was glad I was home and watched the TdF stage in my air conditioned bedroom. Temperatures are back to normal thank god.


I did short mileage yesterday -- maybe 55K, but it was about 90F and all between 4,5000 and 7,500 feet elevation in Salt Lake. My son and I were going to do something epic, but instead he slept in, and we did something semi-epic later in the morning after it started heating up. We went up Mill Creek Canyon and then Porter Fork Road which is a little over a mile and a half of average 11-12%. Basically a paved, twisting forest trail with some cabins. https://tinyurl.com/y2hse8wk I don't know what the maximum grade was -- probably 20%. I stalled out on one pitch and practically fell over.. The descent was miserable because of the narrow road and hikers, but it was super pretty. SLC can get wickedly hot, but if you get up into the canyons and under the trees, its nice -- still hot for someone from cool Portland, but manageable.

-- Jay Beattie.



~2500 meters over 55k with grades 20% sounds pretty epic to me. I did
about 800 meters yesterday over 85k and was beat.

Hold the presses, I was riding at elevations between 4500 and 7500. I gained 3K and some change. Our hotel in SLC is on the University campus is probably 4800 feet or so. That's where we started.

On the weekends, the canyons are like ant trails of lycra clad cyclists, including a large contingent of serious racers, some national and world class. Peter Sagan trains a lot in Park City and thrills the locals by riding with them, at least for so long as he lets them. My son's housemate is a cycling phenom who won the U23 short track nationals while we were out riding on Saturday. With all the mountains, even the poseurs are in good shape. It's not the legion of old dudes with bellies you see in Portland.

-- Jay Beattie.

-- Jay Beattie.

Well, it's good to hear that there are young people still getting into the sport in numbers. We do have some around here but not a whole lot. There seem to be middle aged people using cycling to get back into shape or get into better shape. They aren't very fast but every time I ride over one of the local climbs some kid will come flying by. Not like there used to be though. But maybe my riding schedule simply is different than these younger groups.

wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 10:32:45 PM UTC+2, duane wrote:
On 29/07/2019 9:59 a.m., jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 1:39:14 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Sunday, July 28, 2019 at 4:24:57 PM UTC+2, Tom Kunich wrote:
Saturday I suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous public
transportation - Bay Area Rapid Transit was all screwed up with their
fare machines that instead of recharging my Senior Citizen card
issued me a new "normal" double the senior fare card. I guess it
didn't help that I did 20 Km at 17-20 mph before starting out.

Then getting to San Francisco figuring out the ferry boat system was
a rather major job and I finally figured it out and got to Sausalito
where I captured an almost off the shelf Lemond Zurich for $275.

Back on the ferry carrying the frameset a Mexican tourist and his
wife started talking to me about the Tour de France. These people
identify not as Mexicans but as Hispanics so Egan Bernal's win is a
win for the entire Mexico and south Spanish speaking people.

Finally got home and weighed the frameset against my Basso Loto which
was the end of the line for that - the maximum steel bike from Basso
with custom tubing etc. The Lemond weighs .7 lbs less but part of
that is the carbon fiber fork. The frame is Reynolds 831 oversize.
The Lemond threadless 1 1/8" fork has a steel top uncut.

We'll see how it turns out. I will sell the Pinarello Stelvio frame
which also uses oversize tubing custom made to Pinarello
specifications. While I like it, I simply am out of room and I love
the way the Basso rides and intend to refinish it. Someone gave me a
64 cm Pinarello standard that I have to sell as well. I also have to
get my oldest step-daughter's bike back to her. It now is in perfect
riding condition with a replaced rear derailleur, new Concor woman's
saddle, new chain, new brake pads on Campy Super Record brakes that
were cleaned up, a new headset and new bar tape. It has downtube
shifters, indexed, but with a six speed there's no point in changing
to a seven speed brifter setup.

I'm having fun - what about you?


Well it was blistering hot here last week. Record temperature of 41 C.
I wanted to start early on my day off last friday but I had a dentist
appointment first so I|started my ride at 9.30 am. Did 75 km and at
the end of my ride it was 38 C. F*cking hell it was like breathing hot
air. Still averaged 31 km/hr but I was glad I was home and watched the
TdF stage in my air conditioned bedroom. Temperatures are back to normal thank god.


I did short mileage yesterday -- maybe 55K, but it was about 90F and
all between 4,5000 and 7,500 feet elevation in Salt Lake. My son and I
were going to do something epic, but instead he slept in, and we did
something semi-epic later in the morning after it started heating up.
We went up Mill Creek Canyon and then Porter Fork Road which is a
little over a mile and a half of average 11-12%. Basically a paved,
twisting forest trail with some cabins. https://tinyurl.com/y2hse8wk I
don't know what the maximum grade was -- probably 20%. I stalled out
on one pitch and practically fell over. The descent was miserable
because of the narrow road and hikers, but it was super pretty. SLC can
get wickedly hot, but if you get up into the canyons and under the
trees, its nice -- still hot for someone from cool Portland, but manageable.

-- Jay Beattie.



~2500 meters over 55k with grades 20% sounds pretty epic to me. I did
about 800 meters yesterday over 85k and was beat.

Ha... 110 meters over 75 km. The Netherlands are flatter.

Lou


I think it was the wind that got me more than the hills. But then again
starting out on what are normally rollers becomes actual hills when you
have to pedal on the down side.

But it wasn’t snowing so I won’t complain.

--
duane

On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 3:22:10 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 3:08:20 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 1:32:45 PM UTC-7, duane wrote:
On 29/07/2019 9:59 a.m., jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 1:39:14 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Sunday, July 28, 2019 at 4:24:57 PM UTC+2, Tom Kunich wrote:
Saturday I suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous public transportation - Bay Area Rapid Transit was all screwed up with their fare machines that instead of recharging my Senior Citizen card issued me a new "normal" double the senior fare card. I guess it didn't help that I did 20 Km at 17-20 mph before starting out.

Then getting to San Francisco figuring out the ferry boat system was a rather major job and I finally figured it out and got to Sausalito where I captured an almost off the shelf Lemond Zurich for $275.

Back on the ferry carrying the frameset a Mexican tourist and his wife started talking to me about the Tour de France. These people identify not as Mexicans but as Hispanics so Egan Bernal's win is a win for the entire Mexico and south Spanish speaking people.

Finally got home and weighed the frameset against my Basso Loto which was the end of the line for that - the maximum steel bike from Basso with custom tubing etc. The Lemond weighs .7 lbs less but part of that is the carbon fiber fork. The frame is Reynolds 831 oversize. The Lemond threadless 1 1/8" fork has a steel top uncut.

We'll see how it turns out. I will sell the Pinarello Stelvio frame which also uses oversize tubing custom made to Pinarello specifications. While I like it, I simply am out of room and I love the way the Basso rides and intend to refinish it. Someone gave me a 64 cm Pinarello standard that I have to sell as well. I also have to get my oldest step-daughter's bike back to her. It now is in perfect riding condition with a replaced rear derailleur, new Concor woman's saddle, new chain, new brake pads on Campy Super Record brakes that were cleaned up, a new headset and new bar tape. It has downtube shifters, indexed, but with a six speed there's no point in changing to a seven speed brifter setup.

I'm having fun - what about you?


Well it was blistering hot here last week. Record temperature of 41 C. I wanted to start early on my day off last friday but I had a dentist appointment first so I|started my ride at 9.30 am. Did 75 km and at the end of my ride it was 38 C. F*cking hell it was like breathing hot air. Still averaged 31 km/hr but I was glad I was home and watched the TdF stage in my air conditioned bedroom. Temperatures are back to normal thank god.


I did short mileage yesterday -- maybe 55K, but it was about 90F and all between 4,5000 and 7,500 feet elevation in Salt Lake. My son and I were going to do something epic, but instead he slept in, and we did something semi-epic later in the morning after it started heating up. We went up Mill Creek Canyon and then Porter Fork Road which is a little over a mile and a half of average 11-12%. Basically a paved, twisting forest trail with some cabins. https://tinyurl.com/y2hse8wk I don't know what the maximum grade was -- probably 20%. I stalled out on one pitch and practically fell over. The descent was miserable because of the narrow road and hikers, but it was super pretty. SLC can get wickedly hot, but if you get up into the canyons and under the trees, its nice -- still hot for someone from cool Portland, but manageable.

-- Jay Beattie.



~2500 meters over 55k with grades 20% sounds pretty epic to me. I did
about 800 meters yesterday over 85k and was beat.

Hold the presses, I was riding at elevations between 4500 and 7500. I gained 3K and some change. Our hotel in SLC is on the University campus is probably 4800 feet or so. That's where we started.

On the weekends, the canyons are like ant trails of lycra clad cyclists, including a large contingent of serious racers, some national and world class. Peter Sagan trains a lot in Park City and thrills the locals by riding with them, at least for so long as he lets them. My son's housemate is a cycling phenom who won the U23 short track nationals while we were out riding on Saturday. With all the mountains, even the poseurs are in good shape.. It's not the legion of old dudes with bellies you see in Portland.

-- Jay Beattie.

-- Jay Beattie.

Well, it's good to hear that there are young people still getting into the sport in numbers. We do have some around here but not a whole lot. There seem to be middle aged people using cycling to get back into shape or get into better shape. They aren't very fast but every time I ride over one of the local climbs some kid will come flying by. Not like there used to be though. But maybe my riding schedule simply is different than these younger groups.

Even in SLC, the demographic trends old. The deal with SLC is that the old guys are pretty ferocious, and like I was saying, they even had a doping problem n the masters' ranks. I went to one of my son's races a few years back and was amazed at the money the old guys were spending on bikes. Lots of S-Works and Pinarello F10s and similar mega bikes. It's the old guys spending the big money -- and not the broke high school or college kid who fell in love with Novo Record or Eddie Merckx as in the days of yore. The only reason my son had a nice bike is that he worked in a shop and got a pro deal.

-- Jay Beattie.

On 29/7/19 10:39 pm, Duane wrote:
On 29/07/2019 7:52 a.m., James wrote:
On 29/7/19 6:39 pm, wrote:

Well it was blistering hot here last week. Record temperature of 41
C. I wanted to start early on my day off last friday but I had a
dentist appointment first so I|started my ride at 9.30 am. Did 75 km
and at the end of my ride it was 38 C. F*cking hell it was like
breathing hot air.


Meh.Â* Normal for summer here.


Not here in Québec though it seems to be getting that way.Â* But our -40
winters are probably not normal for you either g


Nothing like -40 degrees here. Google says...

"The lowest minimum temperature was −23.0 °C (−9.4 °F) at Charlotte Pass
on 29 June 1994 in the Snowy Mountains. This is also the lowest
temperature recorded in the whole of Australia excluding Australian
Antarctic Territory."


--
JS

On 29/07/2019 11:28 p.m., James wrote:
On 29/7/19 10:39 pm, Duane wrote:
On 29/07/2019 7:52 a.m., James wrote:
On 29/7/19 6:39 pm, wrote:

Well it was blistering hot here last week. Record temperature of 41
C. I wanted to start early on my day off last friday but I had a
dentist appointment first so I|started my ride at 9.30 am. Did 75 km
and at the end of my ride it was 38 C. F*cking hell it was like
breathing hot air.


Meh.Â* Normal for summer here.


Not here in Québec though it seems to be getting that way.Â* But our
-40 winters are probably not normal for you either g


Nothing like -40 degrees here. Google says...

"The lowest minimum temperature was −23.0 °C (−9.4 °F) at Charlotte Pass
on 29 June 1994 in the Snowy Mountains. This is also the lowest
temperature recorded in the whole of Australia excluding Australian
Antarctic Territory."



I'm not sure what the lowest recorded temperature here was but:
https://www.mtlblog.com/news/weather...s-quebec-today

I think the norm is usually around -28 to 34. What has been different
the last couple of years is heavy snow with -20C. Normally with the
cloud cover retaining heat it's more moderate when it snows.

Anyway, I won't complain too much about the unseasonably warm
temperatures. Winter is here soon enough.

On 7/30/2019 7:04 AM, Duane wrote:
On 29/07/2019 11:28 p.m., James wrote:
On 29/7/19 10:39 pm, Duane wrote:
On 29/07/2019 7:52 a.m., James wrote:
On 29/7/19 6:39 pm, wrote:
-snip snip-

Winter is here soon enough.

+1

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 3:50:10 PM UTC-7, Duane wrote:
wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 10:32:45 PM UTC+2, duane wrote:
On 29/07/2019 9:59 a.m., jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 1:39:14 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Sunday, July 28, 2019 at 4:24:57 PM UTC+2, Tom Kunich wrote:
Saturday I suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous public
transportation - Bay Area Rapid Transit was all screwed up with their
fare machines that instead of recharging my Senior Citizen card
issued me a new "normal" double the senior fare card. I guess it
didn't help that I did 20 Km at 17-20 mph before starting out.

Then getting to San Francisco figuring out the ferry boat system was
a rather major job and I finally figured it out and got to Sausalito
where I captured an almost off the shelf Lemond Zurich for $275.

Back on the ferry carrying the frameset a Mexican tourist and his
wife started talking to me about the Tour de France. These people
identify not as Mexicans but as Hispanics so Egan Bernal's win is a
win for the entire Mexico and south Spanish speaking people.

Finally got home and weighed the frameset against my Basso Loto which
was the end of the line for that - the maximum steel bike from Basso
with custom tubing etc. The Lemond weighs .7 lbs less but part of
that is the carbon fiber fork. The frame is Reynolds 831 oversize.
The Lemond threadless 1 1/8" fork has a steel top uncut.

We'll see how it turns out. I will sell the Pinarello Stelvio frame
which also uses oversize tubing custom made to Pinarello
specifications. While I like it, I simply am out of room and I love
the way the Basso rides and intend to refinish it. Someone gave me a
64 cm Pinarello standard that I have to sell as well. I also have to
get my oldest step-daughter's bike back to her. It now is in perfect
riding condition with a replaced rear derailleur, new Concor woman's
saddle, new chain, new brake pads on Campy Super Record brakes that
were cleaned up, a new headset and new bar tape. It has downtube
shifters, indexed, but with a six speed there's no point in changing
to a seven speed brifter setup.

I'm having fun - what about you?


Well it was blistering hot here last week. Record temperature of 41 C.
I wanted to start early on my day off last friday but I had a dentist
appointment first so I|started my ride at 9.30 am. Did 75 km and at
the end of my ride it was 38 C. F*cking hell it was like breathing hot
air. Still averaged 31 km/hr but I was glad I was home and watched the
TdF stage in my air conditioned bedroom. Temperatures are back to normal thank god.


I did short mileage yesterday -- maybe 55K, but it was about 90F and
all between 4,5000 and 7,500 feet elevation in Salt Lake. My son and I
were going to do something epic, but instead he slept in, and we did
something semi-epic later in the morning after it started heating up.
We went up Mill Creek Canyon and then Porter Fork Road which is a
little over a mile and a half of average 11-12%. Basically a paved,
twisting forest trail with some cabins. https://tinyurl.com/y2hse8wk I
don't know what the maximum grade was -- probably 20%. I stalled out
on one pitch and practically fell over. The descent was miserable
because of the narrow road and hikers, but it was super pretty. SLC can
get wickedly hot, but if you get up into the canyons and under the
trees, its nice -- still hot for someone from cool Portland, but manageable.

-- Jay Beattie.



~2500 meters over 55k with grades 20% sounds pretty epic to me. I did
about 800 meters yesterday over 85k and was beat.

Ha... 110 meters over 75 km. The Netherlands are flatter.

Lou


I think it was the wind that got me more than the hills. But then again
starting out on what are normally rollers becomes actual hills when you
have to pedal on the down side.

But it wasn’t snowing so I won’t complain.

--
duane

I suppose you've done this ride. Since I can't remember it can you tell me about Pescadero Creek Rd to La Honda? Grade and length? Stage road is 7 1/2 miles from Pescadero to San Gregorio. The grade is mostly 5 and 6% with 7% on the steep turns.

I'm trying to lay out a ride in memory of a member that passed away this morning from Alzheimer's.

On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 6:22:01 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 3:22:10 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 3:08:20 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 1:32:45 PM UTC-7, duane wrote:
On 29/07/2019 9:59 a.m., jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 1:39:14 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Sunday, July 28, 2019 at 4:24:57 PM UTC+2, Tom Kunich wrote:
Saturday I suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous public transportation - Bay Area Rapid Transit was all screwed up with their fare machines that instead of recharging my Senior Citizen card issued me a new "normal" double the senior fare card. I guess it didn't help that I did 20 Km at 17-20 mph before starting out.

Then getting to San Francisco figuring out the ferry boat system was a rather major job and I finally figured it out and got to Sausalito where I captured an almost off the shelf Lemond Zurich for $275.

Back on the ferry carrying the frameset a Mexican tourist and his wife started talking to me about the Tour de France. These people identify not as Mexicans but as Hispanics so Egan Bernal's win is a win for the entire Mexico and south Spanish speaking people.

Finally got home and weighed the frameset against my Basso Loto which was the end of the line for that - the maximum steel bike from Basso with custom tubing etc. The Lemond weighs .7 lbs less but part of that is the carbon fiber fork. The frame is Reynolds 831 oversize. The Lemond threadless 1 1/8" fork has a steel top uncut.

We'll see how it turns out. I will sell the Pinarello Stelvio frame which also uses oversize tubing custom made to Pinarello specifications. While I like it, I simply am out of room and I love the way the Basso rides and intend to refinish it. Someone gave me a 64 cm Pinarello standard that I have to sell as well. I also have to get my oldest step-daughter's bike back to her. It now is in perfect riding condition with a replaced rear derailleur, new Concor woman's saddle, new chain, new brake pads on Campy Super Record brakes that were cleaned up, a new headset and new bar tape. It has downtube shifters, indexed, but with a six speed there's no point in changing to a seven speed brifter setup.

I'm having fun - what about you?


Well it was blistering hot here last week. Record temperature of 41 C. I wanted to start early on my day off last friday but I had a dentist appointment first so I|started my ride at 9.30 am. Did 75 km and at the end of my ride it was 38 C. F*cking hell it was like breathing hot air. Still averaged 31 km/hr but I was glad I was home and watched the TdF stage in my air conditioned bedroom. Temperatures are back to normal thank god.


I did short mileage yesterday -- maybe 55K, but it was about 90F and all between 4,5000 and 7,500 feet elevation in Salt Lake. My son and I were going to do something epic, but instead he slept in, and we did something semi-epic later in the morning after it started heating up. We went up Mill Creek Canyon and then Porter Fork Road which is a little over a mile and a half of average 11-12%. Basically a paved, twisting forest trail with some cabins. https://tinyurl.com/y2hse8wk I don't know what the maximum grade was -- probably 20%. I stalled out on one pitch and practically fell over. The descent was miserable because of the narrow road and hikers, but it was super pretty. SLC can get wickedly hot, but if you get up into the canyons and under the trees, its nice -- still hot for someone from cool Portland, but manageable.

-- Jay Beattie.



~2500 meters over 55k with grades 20% sounds pretty epic to me. I did
about 800 meters yesterday over 85k and was beat.

Hold the presses, I was riding at elevations between 4500 and 7500. I gained 3K and some change. Our hotel in SLC is on the University campus is probably 4800 feet or so. That's where we started.

On the weekends, the canyons are like ant trails of lycra clad cyclists, including a large contingent of serious racers, some national and world class. Peter Sagan trains a lot in Park City and thrills the locals by riding with them, at least for so long as he lets them. My son's housemate is a cycling phenom who won the U23 short track nationals while we were out riding on Saturday. With all the mountains, even the poseurs are in good shape. It's not the legion of old dudes with bellies you see in Portland.

-- Jay Beattie.

-- Jay Beattie.

Well, it's good to hear that there are young people still getting into the sport in numbers. We do have some around here but not a whole lot. There seem to be middle aged people using cycling to get back into shape or get into better shape. They aren't very fast but every time I ride over one of the local climbs some kid will come flying by. Not like there used to be though. But maybe my riding schedule simply is different than these younger groups.

Even in SLC, the demographic trends old. The deal with SLC is that the old guys are pretty ferocious, and like I was saying, they even had a doping problem n the masters' ranks. I went to one of my son's races a few years back and was amazed at the money the old guys were spending on bikes. Lots of S-Works and Pinarello F10s and similar mega bikes. It's the old guys spending the big money -- and not the broke high school or college kid who fell in love with Novo Record or Eddie Merckx as in the days of yore. The only reason my son had a nice bike is that he worked in a shop and got a pro deal.

-- Jay Beattie.

It is possible to put together a steel bike let alone aluminum that weighs within a lb or two of a top end CF bike. Very few of the amateur races are on courses where aero makes enough difference to sneeze at. But it looks to me like $7,000 or more for a bike or go home in shame even after you cleaned their butts.

On Wed, 31 Jul 2019 14:13:46 -0700 (PDT), Tom Kunich
wrote:

On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 6:22:01 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 3:22:10 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 3:08:20 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 1:32:45 PM UTC-7, duane wrote:
On 29/07/2019 9:59 a.m., jbeattie wrote:
On Monday, July 29, 2019 at 1:39:14 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Sunday, July 28, 2019 at 4:24:57 PM UTC+2, Tom Kunich wrote:
Saturday I suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous public transportation - Bay Area Rapid Transit was all screwed up with their fare machines that instead of recharging my Senior Citizen card issued me a new "normal" double the senior fare card. I guess it didn't help that I did 20 Km at 17-20 mph before starting out.

Then getting to San Francisco figuring out the ferry boat system was a rather major job and I finally figured it out and got to Sausalito where I captured an almost off the shelf Lemond Zurich for $275.

Back on the ferry carrying the frameset a Mexican tourist and his wife started talking to me about the Tour de France. These people identify not as Mexicans but as Hispanics so Egan Bernal's win is a win for the entire Mexico and south Spanish speaking people.

Finally got home and weighed the frameset against my Basso Loto which was the end of the line for that - the maximum steel bike from Basso with custom tubing etc. The Lemond weighs .7 lbs less but part of that is the carbon fiber fork. The frame is Reynolds 831 oversize. The Lemond threadless 1 1/8" fork has a steel top uncut.

We'll see how it turns out. I will sell the Pinarello Stelvio frame which also uses oversize tubing custom made to Pinarello specifications. While I like it, I simply am out of room and I love the way the Basso rides and intend to refinish it. Someone gave me a 64 cm Pinarello standard that I have to sell as well. I also have to get my oldest step-daughter's bike back to her. It now is in perfect riding condition with a replaced rear derailleur, new Concor woman's saddle, new chain, new brake pads on Campy Super Record brakes that were cleaned up, a new headset and new bar tape. It has downtube shifters, indexed, but with a six speed there's no point in changing to a seven speed brifter setup.

I'm having fun - what about you?


Well it was blistering hot here last week. Record temperature of 41 C. I wanted to start early on my day off last friday but I had a dentist appointment first so I|started my ride at 9.30 am. Did 75 km and at the end of my ride it was 38 C. F*cking hell it was like breathing hot air. Still averaged 31 km/hr but I was glad I was home and watched the TdF stage in my air conditioned bedroom. Temperatures are back to normal thank god.


I did short mileage yesterday -- maybe 55K, but it was about 90F and all between 4,5000 and 7,500 feet elevation in Salt Lake. My son and I were going to do something epic, but instead he slept in, and we did something semi-epic later in the morning after it started heating up. We went up Mill Creek Canyon and then Porter Fork Road which is a little over a mile and a half of average 11-12%. Basically a paved, twisting forest trail with some cabins. https://tinyurl.com/y2hse8wk I don't know what the maximum grade was -- probably 20%. I stalled out on one pitch and practically fell over. The descent was miserable because of the narrow road and hikers, but it was super pretty. SLC can get wickedly hot, but if you get up into the canyons and under the trees, its nice -- still hot for someone from cool Portland, but manageable.

-- Jay Beattie.



~2500 meters over 55k with grades 20% sounds pretty epic to me. I did
about 800 meters yesterday over 85k and was beat.

Hold the presses, I was riding at elevations between 4500 and 7500. I gained 3K and some change. Our hotel in SLC is on the University campus is probably 4800 feet or so. That's where we started.

On the weekends, the canyons are like ant trails of lycra clad cyclists, including a large contingent of serious racers, some national and world class. Peter Sagan trains a lot in Park City and thrills the locals by riding with them, at least for so long as he lets them. My son's housemate is a cycling phenom who won the U23 short track nationals while we were out riding on Saturday. With all the mountains, even the poseurs are in good shape. It's not the legion of old dudes with bellies you see in Portland.

-- Jay Beattie.

-- Jay Beattie.

Well, it's good to hear that there are young people still getting into the sport in numbers. We do have some around here but not a whole lot. There seem to be middle aged people using cycling to get back into shape or get into better shape. They aren't very fast but every time I ride over one of the local climbs some kid will come flying by. Not like there used to be though. But maybe my riding schedule simply is different than these younger groups.

Even in SLC, the demographic trends old. The deal with SLC is that the old guys are pretty ferocious, and like I was saying, they even had a doping problem n the masters' ranks. I went to one of my son's races a few years back and was amazed at the money the old guys were spending on bikes. Lots of S-Works and Pinarello F10s and similar mega bikes. It's the old guys spending the big money -- and not the broke high school or college kid who fell in love with Novo Record or Eddie Merckx as in the days of yore. The only reason my son had a nice bike is that he worked in a shop and got a pro deal.

-- Jay Beattie.

It is possible to put together a steel bike let alone aluminum that weighs within a
lb or two of a top end CF bike. Very few of the amateur races are on
courses where aero makes enough difference to sneeze at. But it looks
to me like $7,000 or more for a bike or go home in shame even after
you cleaned their butts.

Stay away from Iron Man computation of you think $7,000 is a lot.
Those old boys (and some of the girls) are riding $12,000 bikes :-)
--
cheers,

John B.