I have been thinking about getting a good steel bike (classic frame style). Does anyone have any ideas on how to get one without spending an entire retirement account?
I dream about getting a Colnago Arabesque frame and trying to collect Campy gear piecemeal, but that is waaaaay to expensive.
Thanks for posting. I didn’t even know such a thread existed. Awhile back I asked the following question as a vanity post. I hope you don’t mind if I ask it again here.
My question: I’m looking for a collapsible hand-powered trike (I can’t do much with my legs). Collapsible as in being easy to fold or quickly disassemble to put in a car trunk or back seat. So far I’ve had little luck. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
P.S. One solution might be to buy a small truck. But that’s not doable for me.
Please dont stop riding 5 abreast as you take up the whole lane. The people in the cars backed up behind you really appreciate it.
Just got back from a four day ride.
Day1: Dalton OH -> Zoarville OH plus bit more. About 50 miles.
This was all on the Sippi Valley trail (rail-trail) and the Erie and Ohio Towpath trail. Trails are always good for the first day of a tour. My legs need to work, but not too hard.
Excellent bike shop of the day: Ernie’s in Massilion. Just changed my chain last week. The freewheel was toast. Called this place, they said they had a freewheel. It is on the trail and they had it changed in less then a minute after handing him the wheel. I guess they do a lot of on-the-trail repairs. I found a nice quiet spot to hang my tent/hammock.
Day 2: Zoarville to Newton, WV. (50 mi). I was out of water to start the day, so I headed to towards Mineral City to see if they had any businesses. I found Stienbeck’s bakery where they had a sausage, egg and cheese english muffin for $1.50.Yum, and water too. After making use of the porta-potty at the ball field, this is where it became real bike touring day. A thousand or so total feet of climbing, scary downhills, cars and trucks. Luckily it stayed overcast and even drizzled a bit. Otherwise it would have been too hot. Crossed the Newton toll bridge with is over 100 years old and still privately owned and a beautiful steel bridge. Lots of cramps were had at the Holiday Inn Express although I don’t feel too smart about that.
Day 3: Newton WV to Scio OH. (50mi) Ate an entire bacon and pineapple pizza overnight and departed fairly early. The HLE had no hot food, but I scammed 3 oranges and other portable stuff. First part of the ride is south on WV 2, which is a good road for an experienced cyclist. It is mostly 55 mph, with at least a narrow shoulder in most places. Grades are not overwhelming as going inland into the WV panhandle would have been. Drivers were courteous. When getting near East Stubinville where the bridge was to cross back, google wanted to route me on a 7 mile safe bike route with 600 ft of climbing instead of dealing with the shoulders on WV 2 with potentially heavy traffic. I choose the traffic and it sucked, but I didn’t die or get a flat. And it was better then a huge climb in hot sun which I had ahead of me anyway. I had to haul the bike over a guard rail to access the pedestrian walkway. Not exactly ADA compliant. On the Ohio side I had to descend a flight of concrete stairs. After lunch in town from a BBQ food cart (excellent) I climbed out on US bike route 50 and up into the hills. Once the big climbing was done the topology became rollers which is much more fun. One segment of road stands out. County 171 west out of Hopedale is a freaking roller coaster. Best road of the trip. While I sit there contemplating what I just experienced, another fully loaded touring cyclist comes out of the woods and starts raving. “Can you believe that road! Woah!”. Hilarious. We are both heading for the trail at Jenkins so we ride together. We find a nice spot along the trail near Scio where I can hang my hammock in a shelter and he can set up his tent.
Day 4: Scio OH, to Dalton. 60 miles. First part of the day was with my new partner on roads up to New Philadelphia. On the way a fantastic breakfast in Connoton. It rained a bit heavy for 10 minutes, but was otherwise misting or just overcast. Very nice riding weather. I left my new friend and headed back on the trails back Towards to my car. Dodged thunderstorms, rode my age and was seriously bonked arriving.
Overall a nice relaxing quick tour.
Add me please?
Callout to fellow mountain bikers. Anyone have a good recommendation for an insect repellent that actually repels gnats? Mosquitos and ticks are easy to repel. Seems like most sprays work just fine. But gnats don’t seem to be repelled by anything.
I’ve tried about half a dozen brands of repellent from natural repellents to a 100% DEET repellent that was so strong it pealed the paint on my bike helmet. However, the gnats continue to buzz around my eyes. Super annoying.
If you put a motor on the bicycle it is easier to pedal....
I have done quite a few rides on Zwift (37 times up the Alpe) that were +3000 feet of climbing but on Saturday I did my first out on the road climb like that. 26 miles, 3018 feet of ascent. 7500 feet of ascent for the week over 77 miles of riding.
Saw this parked in the hood...
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