2018 Beer Drinker Appreciation Society - Always Open (Page 42)

Gretchen - psyched for your coaching scholarship!  That's huge for your IM especially with all the travel!

Mike - welcome back and jealous of the trip!  I can't see the pic either but I'm sure it's a palm tree and the beach.  What more do you need?

Nicole - great work staying on top of the activity!  I've done nothing for two weeks and it's hurting me already.  I don't do well with full rest periods, I need to do SOMETHING, and I'm currently not, unless unpacking and assembling furniture counts

Probably a long shot here, none of you guys are into gravel biking are you?

Man, that's two this week.  The other day I reported the one selling foreign passports.  Now one completely in German?

That sounds like a reasonable resolution.  Love the Merritt pool drama!!!

Bikram yesterday and a bike lunch and swim evening double today.  Also got a crown replaced which while not pleasant, was really cool seeing how they make them with the 3D imaging of my teeth (vs. a plaster mold in the old days) and a robotic reverse 3D printer thingy that makes it on-site while you wait (vs. a temporary crown and waiting 3 weeks for a lab to do it).  In and out of there in under two hours.

Gravel biking is to road cycling what trail running is to, well, road running.  Mostly... I mean the trail runs Mark (MOlsen) does are more akin to mountain biking...but I digress.

You guys probably don't watch cyclocross either...  In any case, take what is basically a road bike frame, add provisions for wide tire clearance and mud build-up (either disc brakes or the old cantilver style brakes).  Instead of the crazy (and expensive) suspension get ups they use on mountain  bikes, you rely on wide somewhat treaded tires to get you through some terrain.  Think - a road bike you ride on dirt roads.  Or grass/muddy/hilly tracks, in the case of cyclocross).  

I started getting into the idea of 'cross when I was living in MA, and now that I live in central FL I'm surrounded by a wealth of opportunity in off road riding.  I've been told 'you could ride gravel for 10 years around here and never do the same route twice'.  You can't go as fast as you can on the road of course, but the lack of cars trying to kill you and intersections of death is very attractive to me...Plus you can set them up for bikepacking (think backpack camping, but on a bike).

Here's a travelogue on bikepacking to DC, close to home for Nicole and Mike

https://bike.shimano.com/en-US/information/news/gravel-packing-to-the-museum.html

Here, this is one of the new bikes I looked at - Salsa Journeyman:

(salsa journeyman.jpg)

Juan - what weather do you consider 'bad' in Madrid? 

Nicole - Glad the pool drama is sorted (for now, we all know that sort of business is never over...people always seem to need something to complain about!).  And thanks for the idea of the squats and bike kicks etc. - I need stuff like that to do until I have access to weights again.  And my bike...and a pool....

Mike - although having a crown sucks, that's a wonder of technology right there!  "I have a 3D printed tooth, check it out" 

I've toyed with the idea of taking my old Fuji and "gravelizing" it as best I can...wider tires (subject to clearance, which I think is going to be the limiter), a seat with more shock absorption, and a wider cassette range.  Just haven't gotten around to it yet.  My drive train is about toast on that bike, too, so I probably need new brifters and derailleurs so I might as well buy a new damn bike after all that LOL.

That's not a bad idea.  The tire clearance is really the killer, with rim brakes.  Typically even if frame/fork will hold wider, there's just so far those rim brakes will open up to accommodate.  I've have heard of plenty of people riding graded dirt roads on 25s and 28s though.  More padded seat, cushy bar tape, viola.  I saw a blurb about people in less developed countries with no paved roads don't have 'road bikes' and 'gravel bikes' - they have 'bikes'. 

Nowadays you can get a full Tiagra groupset (new Tiagra is 10sp, basically a few years' ago 105) in the $300s.  ($337, just found it at Merlin.  Then saw they have a full 105 11sp groupset for the same price)

https://www.merlincycles.com/en-us/shimano-105-5800-11-speed-groupset-72462.html?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=shopping&utm_term=Road+Bike+Groupsets&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIy5Lnq_H53gIV2eR3Ch0MKAU-EAQYAyABEgJSJfD_BwE

Cheers to freedom!

What?? 

I mean, our gym isn't some mom and pop shop or a small YMCA that you have to wait for someone to open the door.  No one could get into the pool area?  Wow.

YES!!!!  Congrats on the worst being over and focusing on you!!!!

I'm loving the heck out of cyclcross, and of course after I moved away from one of the cyclocross hot spots in the US...I get to watch on TV since I'm the type of cycling nerd that pays for the NBC SPorts Gold Cycling pass.  I get all the World Cup races that way.

It's not quite 30C, but it is 25C here in Florida.  Just sitting on the back patio, having a beer and enjoying the weather.  Going to an outdoor artisan fair downtown tonight.  

Are you at least close to 30*F?  

Also - that is not a small amount of snow for the beginning of December!!!  Thanksgiving to Christmas was always considered 'early season' skiing when I was in UMass Ski Club (ahem, 25 years ago....)

We've even had snow here in Baltimore already with more possible late this weekend into next week.  Early winter for sure.

Got it 45 minutes of hell on the trainer this morning - 4 x 4 @ 105%.  Ouch.  Going to try to get in an easy swim later while my daughter practices.

Also super excited - I'm going to the Citrus Bowl - we were there in Orlando anyway over the New Year's break but now with Penn State playing right down the road, I couldn't resist.