Conference noted::bicycle

Does anyone know what that's all about?


Rod

     I dunno... Judging from his mood lately, I think he's just generally
    upset with the world... :-) No offense Graham (mainly I'm responding
    to your "I hate him! I hate him I hate him!" (LeMond) statement.
    
     Are they outlawing cycling over there???? :-)
    
       Chip

    > Are they outlawing cycling over there???? :-)
    Not that I've heard (but what would I know, I'm just back from three
    weeks suferring in the sun and heat as I do mulitple hi-alitiude
    cols...  But thereagain the weather is not an incitement to go out
    unless you like temps around 40 (F that is) torrential rain and winds
    gusting up to 40 mph...
    
    Graham, cheer up - straw burning is illegal as of next year...

    
    Don't worry, it's just nightshift detroying my brain cells...
    
    Normal service will resume shortly...  possibly...
    
    Graham.

     Right now? Here in New England?
    
     Answer; THE DAMNED CATAPILLERS!
    
             They're small (where I am right now). I hate scraping animal
             or insect part off my bike!
    
             Chip

    Chip, where are you riding?  I get more worm muck
    in the spring than caterpiller crap ever.
    
    Of course, I do ride in the rain.
    
    ed

    	Chip and Ed,
    
    	The word (according to my 19-year-old) is calapitter, not
    	caterpillar. I still chuckle whenever she uses this term.
    
    	Scott

    oh, like hepicopters.
    
    :-)

     No matter what you call 'em, they one of the world's best undiscovered
    adhesives...
    
     Hmmm, aside from sand in the road, there really isn't much to deal
    with. Especially after a couple good rains (spring) and the street
    sweeper activity.
    
       Chip

>>     No matter what you call 'em, they one of the world's best undiscovered
>>    adhesives...
    
    Hmm, I think I've just got an idea on how to improve the bonding of
    carbon fibre frames. What's the patent office's number?  :*)
    
    Graham.

    Well, caterpillars aside....here in Colorado, you have to deal with
    the TONS of HUGE grasshoppers that attack your legs and bike as you
    ride past.  They certainly know how to time that jump!  It's worse
    when you are trying to avoid a live one eating a dead one and get
    the gunk all over your bike as you get nailed by the jumper.

    -Nicki

    Yeah, I was there 2 weeks ago and had one that made the perfect jump.
    I looked down to see if I had chopped him in two and instead I saw him
    clinging to a spoke and going around and around.  I then noticed that I
    heard thousands of tiny cheers from the grasshoppers in the bushes and
    I saw five crickets holding signs that said "10" Then I heard Mary Lou
    Locust telling the home audience about the technical characteristics
    of the jump.
    
    :-)
    
    ed

     Acorns are here! Leaves a falling and covering stones and glass!
    I went out yesterday and nearly froze my feet off by the time I got
    back to the house - I think the wind chill had something to do with
    it. Anyway, booties today!
    
     Anxiety is setting in. My last race is this Sunday (Hollis). I'm 
    getting itchy for a new MB... I  have a (ready for this) 10spd
    Ross from the early 80's. It weighs a million lbs., it's ugly as
    sin (and most Japanese components :-), but works nicely. My 
    maintenance program on this this is air in the tires and infrequent
    chain oilings... It still has last year's mud on it. I'll get to it.
    Everytime have to move it around in the garage I have to sweep up
    dried mud.
    
     This time of year? IMHO, it stinks! Summer's swan song has passed,
    I'll be scraping the windshield (wind screen for Graham) soon and 
    I'll be getting fat during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays
    lamenting the fact that I'll be feeling guilty during the process
    and cursing myself for a lack of self control once I start pre-season
    training...
    
     Keeps it interesting, I guess...
    
          T
        Chip
         

    "Summer's swan song has passed,"
    
    where?  did you see summer?  Was I out of town that day?
    Why didn't anyone tell me it was here?
    
    :-)
    
    ed

    re: .13
    
    Huh?  Yesterday was the first day I could drive to work without having
    the A/C on.  I even opened the sun roof yesterday on the way home.
    
    Bob

            I don't know if the East has these things, but I'm sure that
       states neighboring New Mexico have them. We call them Goat Heads and
       we make sure that we warn foreigners about them this time of year.
       You have to be careful were you walk, and for those of us who love
       two wheel activities, fix a lot of flats. They seem to jump onto and
       into everything on which they can attach and transport themselves to
       other destinations in which to build Goat Head communities.

       MB'ers don't seem to worry about the Goat Heads, or the cactus for
       that matter. It's just those of us who prefer the road and ride on
       skinny tires that have a dislike of those little beast. Other than
       those thorns, Fall (IMHO) is the best season in New Mexico. Not too
       warm, not too cold, just about right, absolutely gorgeous.

       Now if we could just get drivers to pay attention to the road, and
       not spend so much time looking up at Hot Air balloons . . .

       /dale

    	/dale,
    
    	Funny, just the other day, a friend was telling me about
    	Goat Heads. I mentioned an incident back when my daughter
    	was young and got a sand spur under one of her little
    	toes. He then asked me if I'd ever heard of, or seen,
    	any Goat Heads.
    
    	BTW, he grew up in Oklahoma, and that's where he encountered
    	them.
    
    	Scott

    Re: .13
    
    It's still over 100 degrees here in AZ. If the heat doesn't
    bother you, the whiteflies *will*! It's incredible this year!
    
    They're smaller than blackflies and don't bite; just destroy
    foliage (cotton crops). And taking a 2 wheel ride guarantees
    you'll get your protein for the day by just riding with
    your mouth open!!  yuck...

    
    This is certainly the BEST time of year in Georgia.  
    Mid 50's at night, and highs in the upper 70's/low 80's.
    It normally rains less in the autumn than the spring.
    The first frost usually occurs in early Nov. The most 
    hated time of year is late winter/early spring. It drizzles
    for days on end.....
    
    
    doug
     

    Welllll,
    
    we haven't had snow here yet, but I'm sure that I saw Graham cleaning
    off his Titanium snowplough last week....

funny how we all do the same activity and yet reach different conclusions.

myself, i *love* the fall. it's my favorite time of the year. clean crisp air - 
beautiful colors (here in new england anyway) - and you don't *have* to ride
unless you *feel* like it.

call me wacky but there's something really nice about hiking a mountain
after all the leaves have fallen. you can see forever through the trees and the
fall air is free of the summer haze.

i agree with .19. the worst is late winter/early spring. the snow's all trashed
so you can't ski and it's muddy everywhere and soon the 'squitoes and other bugs
eat you alive if you have to stop and fix a flat.

     I'd never even heard the word "goatheads" before... Indigenous
    to the area, huh?
    
     Tell me, do you have a sh*theads? You know, those guys who wrap
    themselves around 3k lbs. of steel and go hunting for cyclists? :-)
    
     Ooops, sorry. I'm really not trying to start anything... Honest.
    
       Chip

    
    Chip, maybe we should find you a pair of  TI skis to deal with the 
    winter blues ;-)
    
    Shaw

     Not a bad idea, Shaw... I've been toying with the idea of
    in-line skates or x-country skiing (although I wouldn't have
    had much ski time the last few winters).
    
     I target shoot during the winter a lot - mixed with my cellar-
    dwelling training activities. So I do stay kinda busy... Nope,
    I don't have any Ti equipped guns... :-)
    
       T
     Chip 

	Chip,
	
	did you already look out for chains (to put on the back wheel) as an
	alternative to skis or skates. I just do not know if there exists in ti?

	regards

	Norbert

    
    	CHIP-
    
    		Mountain bike season is in full swing. The people I ride
    	with go year round. Me ? I'm a goin' Skiboarding. The art of
    	Glisee'. 8*)
    
    	Roger

     There is a Ti chain (the non-wheel type) going for approximately
    $375.00. It will supposedly last 5 toime longer than the standard
    steel version. But even at $40.00 for a Rohloff @yearly it still
    comes into the frivolous exotica category...
    
     Skiboarding, eh??? Hmmmm... Sounds like something I could hurt myself
    doing. I'll seriously consider it!
    
       Chip

       Re: .22

       Well we do have a few "sh*theads" here, but they are far and few
       between. Drivers here complain about how bad people drive elsewhere
       in the country, but they don't realize how bad they really are. But
       as far as people really trying to hurt or endanger a cyclist, it's
       not done on purpose much. I try to avoid riding much in the middle
       of the city, and prefer to ride near its outskirts or on rural roads
       outside of it. Many times you only have a car go by once every 4 or
       5 minutes out away from the city on busy days.

       The mayor here, this past Monday, introduced to the city council a
       bill to add a 2 cent per gallon gasoline tax within the city limits.
       This money is to be targeted at adding additional bike path's and
       lanes, plus bike/pedestrian over passes over some of the major
       freeway's and arteries. This is to encourage many of us who could
       bicycle commute to work if it were safer to do so, and to enhance
       the city's mass transit (bus) system. The present cost of a gallon
       of 89-90 octane unleaded gasoline is about $1.18, at most stations
       with small seasonal fluctuations.

       The city has a real problem in the winter with air inversions
       trapping car exhaust and other sources of pollutant's in the valley.
       Making a very ugly and poisonous brown cloud, that has in the past
       exceeded EPA guidelines. The EPA has fined Albuquerque many times
       for exceeding their guidelines, and there are nights when even
       burning fireplaces is banned. The city does actively enforces the
       ban on "no burn" nights. So there is some motivation there to get
       people to use other forms of transportation and may have something
       to do with the Mayor's introduction of the bill. The weather in
       winter here may be cold (about mid 20's in the morning,) but is most
       often dry and comfortable with appropriate clothing.

       Back to fall riding:

       The mountains are really wonderful here in the fall, with all the
       high alpine aspen's changing to golden yellow against an azure sky,
       with temperatures in the mid 60's to low 70's. What a wonderful time
       of year.


       /dale