Girl Passing on Left (FULL) (Page 60)

Offthegrid - 2009-02-18 9:57 AM

dcon - 2009-02-18 12:19 AM

Hey everyone.   I visited by local bike shop to take a look at a better bike.  The shop owner recommended that as a beginner I would be better off going with an aluminum frame and carbon forks.   He said that he has seen too many people spend a ton on a carbon frame and then figure out that they really don't have the time or knees or whatever for riding.     Make sense?

Here is the bike I'm looking at:

http://www.bianchiusa.com/09_c2c_nirone_c_tiagra_comp.html

actual frame color is like this one:

http://www.bianchiusa.com/09_c2c_nirone_c_veloce_comp.html

My first bike was a Bianchi ... I crashed it. Or, rather, a car crashed into me. In my extremely humble opinion, I'd say go with the best components you can afford, regardless of frame material... You may also want to consider looking online, too. I ended up buying my current bike online after 2 or 3 shops saw my weight at the time and didn't want to help. But I got all ultegra with 105 front derailler for a little under $1,100 online. The only thing I had to do was attach the handlebars. And plan to have to replace the seat right away. Or, if you're like me, four or five times.

There are many good aluminum frames. Especially for a first good bike I'd say no reason to pay for carbon. However, as Susie says, you want the best components you can afford. In the Shimano line, Tiagra level components are the lowest you should consider. 105 is considerably better; for a beginner it's absolutely the best bang for the buck.

Hi all,

I did my first track workout yesterday.  Susie (offthegrid) asked me to explain it/talk about it in the group thread.  I, unfortunately, don't know much about it.  A friend invited me to join her, and I agreed.  I know it helps with speed, and learning pacing.  But, I know nothing other than that.  Can someone explain it to both of us?

I hoped that someone from BT would see it, recognize my username, and introduce themself to me. So far, it hasn't happened, but while I pass people on the bike they sometimes say things like "You're no Hill Slug!" It always makes me smile.

 Great job on the run girl ! Loved browsing your albums, thanks for pointing out that we actually have them ! lol

I'm very lucky to have a partner who used to be a professional photographer and who likes to come to my events!

I was in spin class tonight (on another endless 25 minute standing hill climb........sigh) and since I was kinda bored (although working out........really I was ...lol)

I got to thinking, I've never ridden a bike in a group.......or in a race.  My first tri will be indoors, so it occurred to me that I have no idea what bike "etiquite" is (Or how to spell it as well).

So, any pointers on rules..... like properly passing someone, or being passed ....... just in general stuff I have no idea about ?... Do you have to tell someone you are passing, or ring the bell on the bike  ?  "RING RING".........

We finally did get to sit tonight and spin, but not before climbing freakin Mt. Whitney !...... good grief, I better get up muscular and 3 lbs thinner tomorrow !

Nighty night my wonderful team !

The general rule is keep right except when passing. Never cross the center line. No drafting (keep 3 bike lengths back). Passing needs to be completed in something like 15 seconds or you need to drop back. When passing, it's often customary to yell "passing on your left!" or "on your left!" but not everyone does it. This, of course, is where our fearless leader got her user name ;)

Need I tell you that serious bikers would never have a bell on their race bike!  ;)

i told my kids that when i raced in danskin last year it was the first time i ever got to say "on your left" and what it meant and stuff. so now when they're racing down the street and one passes the other, the passer always shouts out "ON YOUR LEFT!!" every single time it cracks me up!! LOL

gotta say though, i said it a lot in danskin, and it was my FAVORITE thing to say EVER!!! LOL

Happy Hump Day everyone! Well, hope it was a happy one...I know some of you in different time zones are already one day closer to the weekend! I am just doing a little procrastinating before getting into some marking. It is report card time...ugh... which means lots of marking and writing.

Dan- it's a great looking bike. My hubby has a Bianchi green bike and he loves it as his road bike and he had a few great tri's on it before his loving wife got him a Cervelo P2C last year.

Nicole- love the new avatar! Look at those wicked calves!

Julie- cool new hat! I hadn't heard of SweatVac before. Let me know how it feels/works!

In terms of track workouts...ditto what Amy said. There are so many benefits from doing track workouts- teaching turnover, good form, building strength, strong core, improving anaerobic threshold and the body's ability to handle/process lactic acid. Most of us can get pretty comfortable with our steady runs and they absolutely have their place in building endurance and managing pace but in order to see more improvement, particularly with speed, it is important to add speed sessions- either on the track or field or even on your regular route. Using a track is nice as it is a measured distance, often indoors and clear of snow/ice/debris, and sometimes also a cushioned surface. Do be mindful to change directions from time to time, particularly if it is a smaller track (200m). If there are no tracks close by, consider using a treadmill to do some speed intervals or on the roads consider doing pickups and strides between telephone/light posts.

Soy milk...definitely a fan. It did take some time for the hubby and I to adjust and we started with the vanilla soy before switching to regular soy. So Nice, So Good, and Silk...we'll switch between them. Typically we just have it on our cereal, though I have used it in lattes or even just warmed up and frothed. I hadn't heard about cancer risk and that is a little disconcerting- might have to look more into that one.

Have a wonderful Thursday, gang!

Amy, Susie, Nicole, Yvonne:  thanks for your feedback on the bike.   I will definitely go with at least the 105.    I hesitate to push higher because I know that if I really get into the riding, I will move up to a carbon frame in a year or two.

 Susie:  did you enjoy riding the Bianchi before the crash?

Yvonne: glad to hear your dh liked the Bianchi.  He's a very lucky guy - the Cervelo P2C is one hot looking bike and the reviews are great.

I love all of this discussion about speed training!  I used to just pound the pavement, then go out and race. I didn't really "train".  But after I started reading and implementing what I read, my race times started to go down.  I'm a big advocate for interval training (despite all of my complaining about Torture Dan ), but I also believe it's important to work long runs into my training (for endurance), and also hills and tempo runs.  Anything I can do to make it easier on race day (yeah, right).