cold

It's gonna be 2 degrees in the morning,with a wind chill of -10.....im going for Breakfast,and we can talk it over about the hike, but im not sure i want to get out in that low of temp and wind chill for any length of time,so i don't know about the hike? 8:15 at SIS"S....joe

WatZ-UP!!!!!

Yep, thats right, no ride Saturday....But we will meet for Breakfast at 8:15,then go for a hike @CJ for those who want to,maybe up the east side to the campgrounds then up the hill and back, whatever you all want to do????Just bring 2 kitchen trash bags for your feet ,there will be one stream crossing and we wouldn't want to get your toesies wet now would we? hehheeh!!Should be a good time so you might as well come and go!!!!!!! joe

snow,why??

Man,i an't liking this, shouveling all that stuff off my drive way is for the birds!!i just pushed enough off to get my car in and out! my back is sore already! I did get 6miles of cross country sking in today, it was great,and it's still snowing,i know i got at least 8 or 9 inches so far! Gonna take some time for this to melt!Thats why we got trainers i guess....later, have a good day and don't get hurt! joe

Saturday 1/31/09

Well, looks like it might be another hike come saturday, after tonight it might be a few days before we can ride again, I'll post something Friday for sure about a hike as to where and when etc... Also send me your total miles for Janurary on the 31st and i will make a list and put it on the blog.Thats all for now folkes!!! go shovel some snow!!!!!

Three weeks to go!!!

2009 Versus Tour of California schedule:
February 7 Preview Show 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT)February 14 Prologue - Sacramento (live/same-day delay) 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT)February 15 Stage 1, Davis to Santa Rosa (live/same-day delay) 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT)February 16 Stage 2, Sausalito to Santa Cruz (live) 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT)February 17 Stage 3, San Jose to Modesto (live) 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT)February 18 Stage 4, Merced to Clovis (live) 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT)February 19 Stage 5, Visalia to Paso Robles (live) 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT)February 20 Stage 6, Solvang time trial (live) 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT)February 21 Stage 7, Santa Clarita to Pasadena (live/same-day delay) 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT)February 22 Stage 8, Rancho Bernardo to Escondido (live/same-day delay) 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) joe

Breakfast ride 1/24/09-55 days till spring

It got a little dicey here and there, but it felt so good to get out and turn the crank and get the heart rate up again,it was worth it! The temp was 20degrees with a wind chill of 10-wind out of the north at 12mph,there were 6 riders,3 single speeds,a great ride and a good breakfast. joe

Saturday ride 1/24

OK boys and girls, we're going to give it a try tomorrow morning. 2 weeks without Sis's pancakes and withdrawal is starting to set in. Forecast shows about 20 to start, with NW winds of 14 mph. No precip. expected. Road surfaces look clean and dry, but watch out for gravel. We'll take the short route out, then re-assess the return route over pancakes.

We will be looking for singlespeeds for Joe, Tracy, Terry, and Doug. Others? It's going to be great. While down south in my LBS I saw a Trek Madone 5.5, single speed! Now that's what I call a project! Of course, I haven't seen Tracy's, yet. Maybe it will top the Madone.

Hope to see everyone!

Just Imformational

Single-speed Cycling
Until 1937, when they were first permitted to use derailleur gears, those giants of men who competed in the Tour de France – and in all other races up to a similar year – rode bikes with just a single gear. Initially, in the case of the Tour until about 1906, they were not permitted to use freewheels, thus rode fixed-gear or fixed-wheel. Whenever the rear wheel was rotating, so the pedals were rotating too. The advent of the freewheel at least allowed the rider some respite from constant pedalling, and helped average speeds increase. However many races were won at very respectable speeds despite the absence of derailleur gears: most riders mounted sprockets of different size on each side of the rear wheel, and could thus change gear by removing the wheel and flipping it over to use the other gear. Later some put double sprockets on one or both sides, and changed gear by manually shifting the chain from one to another. This often required a chain tensioning device, which can be seen in some contemporary photographs.
There are plenty of good reasons for still riding single-speed bikes even today. They are much simpler, cheaper, and can easily be as light as much more expensive geared bikes. Moreover they are excellent for training, as you have a simple choice: pedal in the single gear, or walk! You cannot progressively chicken out on a hill and crawl your way down to 'granny' gear. When travelling at higher speeds, you must learn to pedal smoothly at very high cadences of 120 per minute or more, and this builds what is termed souplesse in your pedalling style. Traditional European training methods for pro cyclists normally put them back on a fixed-wheel or single-speed bike when they returned to training in the New Year, and used that to improve souplesse before switching back to a normal road bike after 1000 to 2000 miles. Being so simple, single-speed bikes are ideal for bad weather training, as they can be cleaned and maintained very quickly. Some pros still recommend single-speed or fixed-wheel bikes for certain types of event, notably hill-climbs, although no-one would attempt more general or multi-stage road racing on such a machine now.
Riding single-speed and fixed-wheel can normally be done on the same bike, but they are quite different experiences. Fixed-wheel has been described as an almost spiritual experience, in which you forge an intimate link with your bike, the ultimately pure bike ride. However it can be dangerous: 'fixies' tend to dispense with brakes, as you can brake your rear wheel by slowing the pedals down. In traffic and many real road situations, this can prove risky. When riding fixed-wheel, your pedals are constantly rotating, so you cannot position them to avoid groundstrike when cornering. Finally, if you ride fixed on hilly routes, descents can force extremely high cadences, and the slightest mistake such as a desire to freewheel can be catastrophic. If you want a similar experience but without the spiritual depth and concomitant risks, ride single-speed rather than fixed-wheel.

Saturday 1/24/09

Sorry guy's. i couldn't wait any longer!!! Saturday's ride should be a good one,we should have 3 single speeds and if Doug brings his we will have 4, that will be cool, probably go up the short rt and see how we do,I guess Brian S. can't go, ironing to do i suppose! hehehe!! love it!!! see ya later, joe!! Man, it's good to have this back!!!

till then

We can use this blog untill they get oru other one up again.pass on the url to anybody you have an e-mail for, i don't have tracys, or brian h. or james, so please pass it on(alt-ccr.blogspot.com) i think,joe