[Doug B]

I really enjoy these yearly biking updates, and I sure admire your determination and commitment! Thanks for posting.

I'm glad you enjoy the postings.

For me, biking is a lot like R/C flying. Once you get a healthy taste of it, it is very enjoyable. It allows me to be outside in the clean air and burn off stress and calories. I can ride slowly and deliberate. Or, I can try (emphasis on try) to be a speed demon. With flying, there is the challenge of flying a new maneuver or flying closer to the ground. With biking there are challenges of distance, elevation, and speed....individually or combined.

Just like flying, there is the technical side, where you can do your own maintenance, and then there is the connection you have with the machine. When you're flying, and the plane is acting funny...you can feel it in the sticks. The bike is the same way. When it's trimmed and in tune, it is a littoral well oiled machine. You can feel it. Carbon rides different than aluminum, which rides differently than titanium or steel. Some guys have as many bikes as we have airplanes. Some guys 'scratch' build a custom bike by buying all his end components, or by restoring an old classic bike. Different wheel bases, frame geometries, fixed gear bikes, gravel bikes, super light weight bikes, etc....

I hate having to work on my car. I love working on my bike.

 

[steener]

The 2018 installment:

This year, on the bicycle....
1. 1768 miles ridden outdoors
2. 630 miles ridden indoors on Zwift http://www.zwift.com (for those that are interested)
and a small number of rides on my mountain bike that are unaccounted for on my computer.

So, that's a total of 2400 miles for the year. Average speed for the entire (outdoor) mileage, 15.8 mph. Not bad, all things considered. My outdoor season was bleak this year. Bad weather, too much going on at work, and a lot of travel this spring was keeping me off the bike. But I've managed to keep my mileage up during the last couple of months riding indoors.

Longest ride of the season was 55 miles. Average ride was 24 miles.

3. No flat tires. yay.
4. Not chased by any dogs this year. yay.

5. One broken strand on my forward derailleur (shifter) making shifts into the big ring a bit difficult, otherwise, no major mechanical failures. I'll do some repairs and maintenance on the bike in February. The bike is now ten years old, about 20 thousand miles on it. I put an average of $75 worth of parts and maintenance into it every year.

6. Only three people to either flip me the bird or yell at me from their car window this year. One was rather comical. I normally just give them a nice friendly wave back in return. They are driving a 3000 pound weapon. I'm on a 17 pound bicycle, wearing a skin tight outfit that makes me look like a clown. Some people are very impatient drivers, however. They'll cross a double yellow on a blind curve or blind hill to pass me, only to save seven seconds of time on their drive.

7. Only two charity rides this year, and a small number of informal "meetup" rides.

Side note, http://www.meetup.com , is a pretty cool website. I've been on it for about four years now. It's a website that helps people with similar hobbies that live in a particular area meetup and enjoy their hobby together. Virtually any hobby. If you like programming computers while drinking exotic coffee - there is likely a meetup group for that. I'm in two local bicycle meetup groups and a scuba group. it's fun.

I'm signed up for a Gran Fondo (a race) in Chattanooga in early May 2019. We cross into three states, climb 5500 feet, and ride 80 miles. I won't actually be racing... I'll just be trying to keep ahead of the sweeper truck. The 80 miles doesn't seem to bad, nor does the 5500 feet of climbing. But, put them together.... yikes. I'll be doing this event with my Brother, so that should be fun. He is much faster than me, so I'll draft off of him a lot.

I'm also looking to sign up for the "Hell of the West" event this year (September?) in Grand Junction, Colorado. For those of you who might remember, there was a bicycle themed movie in the early 1980's called, "American Flyer". Kevin Costner starred. Two Brothers travel out west to do some bike racing in the movie. The Hell of the West event rides on some of the same roads that were used during the movie. I'm waiting to see if this event will interfere with NashBro or not. The dates haven't been set yet.

That's enough rambling...

Great numbers Doug. Glad your still riding. That fondo sounds like a great ride. Plan to do a Ride Across Wisconsin(RAW) this year myself. My son has kind of lost interest in flying and is all about cycling and running so thats where my time has gone to.
Ive become addicted to Zwift this off season. Its not cheap to get in to, but damn is it fun. We just had a Wahooligan party at the bike shop where we all raced up the Watopia KOM. Watched some friends almost tip over on a bike bolted to a trainer lol!

 

[West Coast Bro]

Well done both of you guys, three actually including Aaron's son :rockon:
I will have to live it vicariously through you guys, my back has been screwed up for a year and a half now, not able to do much
Hopefully time will heel. At least I can still work for the most part :drink:

 

[Doug B]

Well done both of you guys, three actually including Aaron's son :rockon:
I will have to live it vicariously through you guys, my back has been screwed up for a year and a half now, not able to do much
Hopefully time will heel. At least I can still work for the most part :drink:

West Coast,
Log into Zwift, and setup a free account. You can watch folks ride and like a creepy peeping Tom. It may inspire you to try to ride.. If your into bike riding, it's actually sort of interesting to watch the zwift races. I sometimes have a race playing on my iPad or on the TV while I'm paying bills or cooking dinner or whatever. It is interesting to watch how the groups come together at the end, and the strategy. Most races are broken into four groups based upon ability, like CAT1, CAT2, etc. but, it's A, B,C, and D group. D is the slowest and may get a nine minute head start. Then C with a six minute head start, B, maybe 3 minutes. At the end of the race, all the groups bunch up, and it's fun to watch.

When I'm racing, I try to make little breakaways at the crests of hills and such. I'll pump out 500 watts for 20 seconds and see how far ahead of the group I can get. They always seem to catch me, but it's fun, and good cardio, and good for interval training.

 

[Doug B]

I've been updating this thread for several years now. Here's the update for 2019.

"...And the ride, buy the numbers..."

Total mileage for 2019: 3433 miles

1. Miles ridden indoors, on Zwift: 1704 miles

For the outdoor stuff....

2. Miles ridden outdoors: 1729 over 76 rides
2a. Average ride Length: 22.5 miles
3. Number of Flat tires: None
4. Number of mechanical problems: one
4a. Shifter cable going to rear mech broke a strand, causing ghost shifting
5. Number of rides in the rain: 3 or 4
6. Number of "charity or organized rides": 9, I think.
7. Number of 50+ mile rides: 6
8. Average Speed for all rides: 16.1 mph
9. Average Elevation for all rides: 1100 feet
10. Top Average speed for a single ride: 19.8mph, 34 miles
11. Longest ride: 62 miles (100km)
12. Number of dogs that chased me: three
13. Number of car drivers that yelled at me: three

Some highlights of 2019:
A. I did three 50 mile 'charity' rides with my 23 year old daughter this year. She would get tired at about 40 miles. But we still had fun and I enjoyed spending the day with my daughter. One of the rides was 50 miles and 5 covered bridges. Most of the bridges were 100+ years old. Pretty cool stuff.

B. I rode the famous "Hilly Hundred" this year in October. It's a hundred mile ride occurring in the rolling hills of south-central Indiana with typically 3000+ participants. Two days of riding, with about 53 miles and 4000 feet of climbing each day. It was a bucket list event for me. Not sure I'll do it again. It was fun, but it literally rained the ENTIRE day on Saturday. I was soaking wet (but not too cold) for the entire ride. Sunday was a perfect fall day, however. The food sucked, in my opinion. And good food is a big part of what organized rides are all about.

C. My longest single ride of the year, the 60 mile (100km) ride was on the east side of Indiana, and one of the stops was at the childhood home of Orville and Wilbur Wright. There is a flying field in the back yard of their old house, and a museum. I've flown there before - maybe ten years ago. I did this entire ride nearly solo - even though it was supposed to be a group ride. There were about thirty people that showed up. Four guys were faster than me, and everone else was MUCH slower. The course was a figure 8 with two 30 mile loops. I think I was only one of five people that did all sixty miles. Actually, 62 miles. It was peaceful being on my own in the middle of cornfields on new (to me) roads. The headwind coming back was brutal.

D. I rode in the Chattanooga criterium race with my brother this year. Climbed some serious mountains during this event. Wow! I actually ran out of gears on one climb. It was the steepest and longest climb of my life - every ounce of energy in my legs to get up that hill. We don't have mountains in Indiana. The backside, going down mountain, I was coasting at 40mph. That's scary in the rain......the day started out pretty bad with a wicked rain storm, including hail, for most of the first 25 miles of the ride. This was supposed to be an 80 mile ride for me, but it was super-scary going down the mountains at 40 mph with sketchy brakes. Bicycle rim brakes don't work very well at all when wet. The rain was coming down very hard, down the mountain slopes and onto the roads. The water on the mountain roads was easily one inch deep. Crazy. Somewhere around 20 miles into the ride, a power line pole on the side of a mountain actually fell over right in front of me and a group of people onto the road. Very scary. It landed about fifty feet in front of us. My brother told me the second mountain was steeper and more treacherous than the first...with rain soaked brakes... so I opted to cut the course short and do the 50 mile route instead of the 80 mile route. As soon as I finished the ride, the rain broke and the sun came out. Figures. Still, I had a good time, and spent the most of three days with my brother. That's the most time I've spent with him in more than 20 years. It was a bit of a drive from Indianapolis, but I had a good time. My brother is much faster than me - and he finished the 80 mile course about two hours after I finished the 50 mile course. He climbed three mountains. I only climbed two.

E. I did spend a week with the family on vacation in San Francisco and the Lake Tahoe area. I was able to get a bit of city riding and mountain biking in during that week. It was fun to ride over the Golden Gate Bridge. Tahoe has some good mountain biking as well. Not as good as Moab, but fun.

F. I added a "Stages" brand power meter to my bike this year, as well as upgrade my computer. I was using a $30 Planet Bike computer that has served me very well for more than a decade. I upgraded to the Wahoo Elemnt Bolt computer this year with power meter integration, GPS mapping, and a few other features. I like the power meter - it seems to help me stay "in the zone" for power output and helps me to ride a bit faster/longer.

G. In late November this year, I laid down some cash to buy some carbon wheels. 38mm in the front, 50mm for the rear. They won't make me any faster, but they look pretty darn cool. These are not 'name brand' wheels like Zipp or Reynolds or Easton. They are Taiwan-made, 3k carbon, straight spoke, carbon hub, clincher, rim brake wheels. I've always wanted to try carbon wheels. I only was able to get one ride on them so far, and I notice the cross wind in the front, and the front wheel seems less nimble. But, as I get more time on them, we'll see.....

Overall, 2019 was a good year for riding. I was working crazy hours at work, especially most of the summer and fall, but was still able to get in a good chunk of riding (and flying and other hobbies). My outdoor riding mileage was about average with other years. Incorporating the indoor riding of Zwift (last fall) into my routine has allowed me to increase my mileage and keep my fitness level thru the winter months.

Everyone here knows what "Real Flights" simulator is for model airplanes. Zwift is much the same for bike riding, with an interactive trainer that adjusts the resistance as the terrain changes, etc. Zwift is very much like riding outside, except I'm about 4 mph faster on the trainer than in real life. I think the lack of headwind and the ease of drafting make me faster on Zwift. The legs hurt just as much at the end of a long climb or a hard race, however.

I've already started riding in 2020... logged 26 miles this morning on Zwift.

 

[446]

impressive! but i hope you don't wear the ambiguously gay outfits when you ride!

 

[Doug B]

impressive! but i hope you don't wear the ambiguously gay outfits when you ride!

Actually, I do. I'll be the first to admit the tight and colorful pants look like clown outfits. But, the cycling specific clothing prevents chaffing in the nether regions, they don't flap around in the breeze, offer good wicking in the summer, and have pockets in the back of the shirt to carry stuff.

Most of my jerseys are either pro-america, or pro-military themes (ie: POW/MIA, American flags, etc) or funny cartoon stuff like Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street.

oh, and Not "abiguously gay".... more like "deliberately tight and clown-like" :mrgreen:

 

[446]

ohh, i see... it's kinda like this...

:lol:

don't worry, it's not a rickroll!

 

[Doug B]

ohh, i see... it's kinda like this...

:lol:

don't worry, it's not a rickroll!

That's funny... No I don't wear tights. I wear the required uniform. :lol:

 

[West Coast Bro]

Lycra makes cycling much more comfortable........until you hit the deck!! Dont ask me how I know :mrgreen:

 

[bill3388]

Wow Doug, these are really impressive accomplishments! I always look forward to your yearly biking report. That Tennessee ride was crazy scary. How do you keep track of all these details? As I have said before. I really admire your dedication and discipline! Thanks for the update!

 

[JAG]

Nice summary. 2019 was my biggest year on the bike. Ended up with 4386miles.
Rode 12 centuries.
Best ride of the year was the Cherohala challenge in Tennessee. It was 115 miles and 10,000ft of climbing. We rode the Cherohala skyway and tail of the dragon. Worse part was 80 of those miles were in the rain and it got down to 38 degrees at the highest point.

Let me know if you ever make it down to the Evansville area.

 

[Doug B]

Nice summary. 2019 was my biggest year on the bike. Ended up with 4386miles.
Rode 12 centuries.
Best ride of the year was the Cherohala challenge in Tennessee. It was 115 miles and 10,000ft of climbing. We rode the Cherohala skyway and tail of the dragon. Worse part was 80 of those miles were in the rain and it got down to 38 degrees at the highest point.

Let me know if you ever make it down to the Evansville area.

Wow Jag. That's a lot of miles and lot of centuries. No wonder you're selling your R/C stuff. I've only done two centuries....ever. I might do the Pumpkin metric in E'ville in 2020. Maybe.

 

[Doug B]

So, I've been updating this thread for several years now. Here's the update for 2020.

"...And the ride, buy the numbers..."

1. 2020 Bike Riding Miles:
Outdoor Miles: 2096
Indoor Miles: 1709
Total Miles: 3805

Other Statistics:
2. Average Ride Length: 18.2 miles
3. Number of Flat tires: One
4. Number of mechanical problems: One (rear Mech shifter cable slip)
5. Number of rides in the rain: three, I think.
6. Number of "charity or organized rides": Only one this year. All others were cancelled this year due to Covid.
7. Number of 50+ mile rides: only One this year. Most rides seemed to be in the range of 24 miles.

Outdoor Miles Statistics
8. Total Amount of Time on the bike (outdoors): 5 days, 22 hours.
9. Total Elevation Gain: 81,717 Feet
10. Total Calories Burned: 85,807 (that's a lot of pizza and beer)
11. Longest ride: 52 miles
12. Number of dogs that chased me: One, I think. But It wasn't much of a chase.
13. Number of car drivers that yelled at me: None this year! Yay!

Other Statistics and Data:
1. Major Upgrades in 2020: Upgraded to Carbon Wheels in late 2019. Rode them all year in 2020. They don't make me any faster, but they look cool.

2. Two broken spokes this years, both the rear wheel, both while riding on the indoor trainer. Believe it might have been the same spoke both times. Crazy! The spoke tension in the wheel may need to be re-set entirely. I think that one spoke has a lot of tension on it.

3. One flat tire (front) this year. Happened as I was passing thru a construction zone with really bad pavement. Likely a pinch flat. Took my time changing out the tube, took about 12 minutes. I was near a neighborhood and two of the local residents stopped and asked if I needed any help. That was very nice of them.

4. A couple of the rides this year were rides that I specifically setup to do with my two kids (aged 24 and 22 years). I enjoy biking with my kids. After the rides we hit a dairy queen or a local burger joint for some food. Spending time with my kids doing bike rides is a lot of fun. I let them lead the ride, and we get to chat about what's going on in their lives and such. Precious moments for me. Had several charity rides planned for my daughter I and I to attend together in 2020, but covid cancelled them all. Hopefully we will get to do them in 2021.

5. The bottom bracket (that is the bearing assembly that supports the pedal crank arm spindle) is starting to wear, as is the crank spindle diameter. With more than 20,000 miles on the spindle, it's got a large wear spot that is beginning to get sloppy. I changed the bottom bracket bearing about 10 thousand miles ago, but it's had a lot of rain and grime in it - especially in 2019. Problem is, the nut assembly holding everything together is frozen solid. Even a two foot breaker bar isn't working. I need to soak the entire thing in penetrant oil I think. Or maybe put a heat gun on it. Or both, in reverse order. I also need to buy a new crank spindle assembly. eh.... maybe I'll wait until it's totally trashed out.... then replace it.

6. This is my second or third season with a Stages brand Power Meter integrated into the bike and blue-toothed to my on-bike computer. I'm truly not a data nerd, but I do like the data from the Power Meter. It has helped me become a stronger rider. My normal riding buddy picked up the same type of computer that I have (Wahoo Element Bolt), and he loves it. He's not sure about getting the Power Meter though. it's a bit of coin. I've seen my one hour FTP power increase over the past couple of years from about 2.7 to 3.1 watts per kilogram. Discounting stop signs and such, my average power output has increased from about 195 watts to more than 225 for 25+ mile long. In airplane terms, that's akin to upgrading from a .40 size engine to a .60 size engine.

7. Indoor miles are all on a Wahoo brand interactive trainer, paired with software called "Zwift". Zwift is a first person view video game, riding a bike along with people from all over the world. There are various places to ride, group ride events, races, etc. At any time there could be from 1000 to as many as 10,000 people riding zwift. I've been in races with as few as 30 people, and as many as 600. Historically, riding indoors is a torture worse than death. Riding on Zwift, however, makes indoor miles very enjoyable - especially the racing. The interactive trainer adjusts resistance as you go up and down hills, or draft riders in front of you, etc. While it's a bit easier than riding outdoors, the indoor trainer and Zwift is very realistic as compared to riding outdoors.... all things considered. Most of my indoor riding consists of about 20 minutes of "warm-up" followed by a 20 to 30 mile race event. I don't think I'll ever enter a real race, on an outdoor course. But racing in Zwift is a lot of fun.

That's enough... I've bored most of you guys with all of this cycling mumbo jumbo.

 

[Montana3D]

Is there any women to ride behind on this Zwift game that look like they ride further than the nearest all you can eat buffet?

 

[sparkplug]

kinda neat to hear of other peoples hobbys,l will think of you each time i pass a bike,that could be doug.Bet you got a great heart,and strong set of legs,unlike most pro bros who tend to be heavy. Keep on humplng them hills.

 

[446]

 

[446]

kinda neat to hear of other peoples hobbys,l will think of you each time i pass a bike,that could be doug.Bet you got a great heart,and strong set of legs,unlike most pro bros who tend to be heavy. Keep on humplng them hills.

ehh, i always want to throw something at the fart sniffers hogging the road. but i could be wrong.

 

[sparkplug]

Dont hold any thing back,i must say, wish they would pull to side,let cars go by.I did as much when driving a tractor down the road. On the other hand,how brave they must be,cars passing at 60, only feet between them,wind blowing them around. Roadkill not what i want to be,ever seen christmas tree riding a bike,blinking lights,shinnes all over,that be me with my back turned to cars. They hit dump trucks,cop cars,what is a bike,a bump. Play it safe,ride on trails and in the house.

 

[sparkplug]

I backed up,saw WF post on men in tights,still got tears in my eyes. If we flew dress like that,they would say we were bunch of ****,well, we are,just no skin tights, please. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :ray: :rofl: :rofl: back up post,start your new year right. Tears in my eyes,still.