Sounds like what Jeff and I did for our first ride.  Definitely interesting not being able to see anything.

 

It was a group ride and everyone had lights. It's much better when you have lights

Just got caught up on this thread.  First off, sorry to hear about your bad crash Justin, and it's good to see that you're on the road to recovery.  Broken collar bones suck, and that x-ray looks brutal.  Looking at the video of the trail and going by your description of the crash, it sounds like you hit those bumps at just the right speed for the front wheel to nose into the face of the 2nd hump.  Same thing almost happened to the rider in the video but he managed to save it.  Next time, either go faster and treat it as a gap jump and land the bike on the back side of the 2nd hump or go slower so that the back wheel doesn't get kicked into the air just as the front is going into the dip.  Another way is to lift the front wheel a bit so that it doesn't nose into the face of the hump and cause a crash.

 

Nate, congrats on scoring a sweet bike!  Don't listen to all the folks who say slam the stem unless you're a racer or plan to be one.  Put it where it's comfortable and feels right, in the long run a comfortable position is better since you waste less energy trying to hold the position and get more power down on the bike.  Plus suffering on the bike is not my idea of fun.

 

Me?  I had one last glorious weekend on the bike, did 5 rides in 2 days and nearly 100km on the trails.  Everything fucking hurts today but it was worth it for an end of season celebration of riding.  Shorts weather in the middle of November, that was a gift from the weather gods that I wasn't going to waste.  Which was pretty much what every mountain biker in my area was thinking, I spent the whole weekend driving from one group ride to the next.  My bikes are dirty, my body aches, but goddamn I haven't had so much fun all year!

Awesome read posted on Paceline:

 

http://pvcycling.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/redemption/

Cool story!

BTW, for all the Sebring weekend, when are the attendees arriving? Anyone doing the Friday morning ride, meaning they're coming in Thursday night?

When is this Sebring thing again?

I get into MCO at 10AM on Thursday and then drive up.  I am stopping at a local shop to have them put the Calfee back together for me but Ben and I should be at the Marriott by 1ish.

Edited November 21, 201312 yr by VPI

I will probably not be up until later on Friday.  I have to be in Orlando Thursday morning and possibly again Monday morning which means I will go from Sebring to Orlando.  This could change.  I would like to be there Thursday night, if possible.

insurance just got billed for the surgery (dont know if more bills come later)

 

$21,690 

Sure, they won't pay that much though.  There will probably be more bills, usually doctors and hospitals bill separately, and then there is the anesthesiologist...

yeah, they're getting $4500. it looks like the bill for the device was $7,600. crazy system, so if someone didnt have insurance they'd have to pay retail unless they can negotiate a price on their own -- which is a little awkward

^ Agreed. It is insane, and something needs to be done about that. You should have seen the bill for my hips And what BCBS actually paid.

Went for a ride yesterday in Gambrill State Park. It was a bit rocky in some parts:

 

but overall quite a fun ride. Will have to go back!

Edited November 22, 201312 yr by Nebby

I have to get out on a ride tomorrow to try to get in some kind of riding shape for this Sebring trip. I have not been on the bike in what seems forever. Sunday looks pretty damn cold, high 20s +20MPH winds would be pretty rough.

Sweet trail! I haven't been on a bike in 4 months or more.

I have to get out on a ride tomorrow to try to get in some kind of riding shape for this Sebring trip. I have not been on the bike in what seems forever. Sunday looks pretty damn cold, high 20s +20MPH winds would be pretty rough.

 

I've been mountain biking a lot, but not much road biking. Hopefully I'm in okay-ish shape for Sebring

Sweet trail! I haven't been on a bike in 4 months or more.

3 months, 5 days, and 6 hours from the time you posted... but who's counting.

**BRENT**

Where is Gambrill State park?  Did the leaves make things sketchy?

Just came back from a 45 mile birthday ride! A bit windy, but otherwise great.

Nice Juan. I am hoping to get in over 100 miles in during this trip to Barbados.

I think those strava points will stand for a while

Where is Gambrill State park?  Did the leaves make things sketchy?

 

It's near Frederick, MD and the leaves weren't too bad on the yellow trail that I took. The black trail which I hiked today was much worse and made it quite tricky to navigate.

Nice Juan. I am hoping to get in over 100 miles in during this trip to Barbados.

I think those strava points will stand for a while

Yeah I can see that coming! Ha! 

 

I took a bike to Panama in '09, rode it around the Canal Zone a few times. Actually, if the drivers were not as crazy as they are, doing the "ocean-to-ocean" ride would take just a few hours. Now, riding in Panama City would be crazy beyond repair.

 

In the interior of the country, maybe, but people drive like possessed fiends. There are cycling teams and relatively well organized events (L. Armstrong did a triatlon in Panama City around 2 yrs ago, before his ban)  Most competitive cyclists there do train on regular roads with traffic, pretty crazy.

http://app.strava.com/activities/96943867

 

Liftoff! People were really nice on the road. No worse than DC I would say. Maybe a little better.

NICE!  I'm super jealous, it was 20 here today with gusts up to 50mph.  Safe to say that I did not ride.  Oh and there was snow on the ground this morning...

On Saturday I Rode in the NYC Cranksgiving race.

 

http://www.cranksgiving.org/ride.html

 

Which is a bike messenger style race. Instead of traditional checkpoints with race staff you go to a bunch of grocery stores, buy food, and bring it to the end to donate.

 

I had a great time, and gathered a bunch of food to give to the food bank. Although its a bit late for this year, I would highly recommend it to anyone near enough to participate next year. *STRONG* Knowledge of the area is kind of mandatory, as with any messenger race. Owning a smart-phone (I don't) also helps a LOT. 

 

Strava outcome of the route I took:

 

http://www.strava.com/activities/96942051

 

NOTE! This was the "long route." There was a shorter route, but I'm pretty sure that required going through the east village & further south in Manhattan, and fuck that. I don't need to get lost where the streets go at funny angles and don't have numbers. As you can see where I went way east towards the williamsburg bridge (no reason for that) when I should have gone west near the end, I am totally hopeless once I get out of the numbered streets. 

 

In lesser news, I am pretty sure I broke the rear hub on my Brompton as I was zipping through central park at 96th street. It wont shift into lowest gear *in* the hub which means something broke, according to everything I have read on the web. This was OK for the rest of the race, as its mostly downhill from there, but could suck in the near future if I want to ride up any hills... Since I think its kind of played out on FB, and have not been updating, I have put about 1850miles on the bike since I got it in early August. 

Edited November 25, 201312 yr by nikongod