Cycling Miscellany

[Topper]

That sounds great. I have a couple of friends with the Kickr (direct drive version), and they really like it. I'll be interested to hear how things go for you. Glad to see you back in the saddle.

What are its advantages? Snap is $600 and Kickr is 1200. That's a lot more than standard trainers.

[Joe Public]

The Wahoo Kickr Snap. Mrs PAC consulted with our son-in-law who help manage a bike shop for several years and knows his stuff. I wasn’t that excited at first, but once I got used to the idea of returning to the saddle, and after doing a two-mile test ride after setting everything up, I’m pretty pumped. My Strava buddies will be surprised to see some posted runs from London and other international locales starting as early as Friday.

That sounds great. I have a couple of friends with the Kickr (direct drive version), and they really like it. I'll be interested to hear how things go for you. Glad to see you back in the saddle.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Swift is pretty slick. If you don't mind my asking, what trainer did you get?

The Wahoo Kickr Snap. Mrs PAC consulted with our son-in-law who help manage a bike shop for several years and knows his stuff. I wasn’t that excited at first, but once I got used to the idea of returning to the saddle, and after doing a two-mile test ride after setting everything up, I’m pretty pumped. My Strava buddies will be surprised to see some posted runs from London and other international locales starting as early as Friday.

[Moliere]

I used swift back when it was in beta. It kind of doesn’t make sense though since there are so few days in Houston that I can’t ride outside. But I have a bunch of people from Utah I follow on Strava that use it a lot in the winter.


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[Joe Public]

I'm back on the bike! Well, sort of. The missus gave me a very nice indoor trainer that's bluetooth-enabled. With the Zwift software program I'm able to ride various routes around the world, and do so with others in real time. It provides a surprisingly realistic experience--riding up hills requires an appropriate amount of increased effort. It provides lots of data, including speed, watts, etc. It'll never beat outdoors, but it's a nice substitute.

Swift is pretty slick. If you don't mind my asking, what trainer did you get?

[bluegoose]

I'm back on the bike! Well, sort of. The missus gave me a very nice indoor trainer that's bluetooth-enabled. With the Zwift software program I'm able to ride various routes around the world, and do so with others in real time. It provides a surprisingly realistic experience--riding up hills requires an appropriate amount of increased effort. It provides lots of data, including speed, watts, etc. It'll never beat outdoors, but it's a nice substitute.

YES!!! Those zwift programs look awesome. I've got a couple of friends that upload every ride to strava. I must say, I get a little touch of jealousy every time I see them going for a ride in France or Italy.

[PaloAltoCougar]

I'm back on the bike! Well, sort of. The missus gave me a very nice indoor trainer that's bluetooth-enabled. With the Zwift software program I'm able to ride various routes around the world, and do so with others in real time. It provides a surprisingly realistic experience--riding up hills requires an appropriate amount of increased effort. It provides lots of data, including speed, watts, etc. It'll never beat outdoors, but it's a nice substitute.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go1iV7bZbZs

Went and saw "Le Ride" yesterday. The guy from The Amazing Race and his buddy rode the 1928 tour route on bikes from that era. If the current riders were to watch this they would never complain about the current set up.

That looks awesome. Although, calling it a recreation is a little misleading since I didn’t see one clip of them smoking cigarettes.


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[RC Vikings]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go1iV7bZbZs

Went and saw "Le Ride" yesterday. The guy from The Amazing Race and his buddy rode the 1928 tour route on bikes from that era. If the current riders were to watch this they would never complain about the current set up.

[RC Vikings]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/philippa-york-would-have-swapped-cycling-success-for-personal-happiness/

Robert Miller is now Philippa York.

[bluegoose]

I am quite impressed by the Tour/Vuelta double, but less so by the sprinters jersey in Spain. That is an amazing feat to be able to recover from a tough tour and be ready for another grand tour, if not physically, then definitely mentally and emotionally.

And I agree with creekster's thoughts on Contador. I really couldn't stand him when he was younger, especially for his attack on Andy Schleck during an obvious mechanical in the mountains. But he has grown on me over the last several years.

[creekster]

I agree with that, since Froome did make great efforts to stay near the front in the sprint stages. Still, the overall title plus sprint title in the Vuelta is not as impressive as doubling up in the TdF because of the scoring structure.

Thats true. But the fact tat he did the double Tdf and Vuelta as well as came out on top in Vuelta points (finishing in 11th? or somewhere near there on the last day to keep the lead, for example) is overall an impressive finish ot the season.

It was weird watching Contador take another lap around Madrid holding the flag and soaking in the fans' adulation. He is one of those guys who I didnt like much when he was younger but who I have come to like as he matured. I will miss watching him bob around on his pedals in the high mountains every July.

[mtnbiker]

Yes, youre right. But it still is an impressive accomplishment.

I agree with that, since Froome did make great efforts to stay near the front in the sprint stages. Still, the overall title plus sprint title in the Vuelta is not as impressive as doubling up in the TdF because of the scoring structure.

[Moliere]

Contadors attack and ultimate stage victory on stage 20 was very fun to watch. It was on Saturday so I got to watch it live and it was fun to see Froome try to reel him in in the last couple kms only to have Contador hold on for victory. A very fitting win on a famous mountain in Spain for el pistelero.

Also, Froome finally wins the Vuelta, which he failed to do 5-6 times prior. Granted, the field was pretty thin this time around but there's no doubt Froome is the best all around cyclist right now. He's got the best team by far, but his time trialing is superb and he climbs with the best of them. He does seem to crash more than anyone else though and I wish someone would take advantage of that more. I understand waiting for someone that has a mechanical or waiting for them if the crash isn't their fault, but part of racing is handling the bike and if you crash on your own there should be no gentleman's rule on waiting for you.

[creekster]

Well, a point about Froome getting the top sprinter jersey is that they awarded the same number of sprint points at the finish of every stage. So the first across the line on a mountain stage got sprinter points. That's pretty dumb. Matteo Trentin won four stages with a true sprint finish, and was obviously the best sprinter in the field. In an interview, Trentin even said the sprint scoring didn't make any sense, and I agree with him.

Yes, youre right. But it still is an impressive accomplishment.