I really miss seeing these guys. I can’t use barmitts above 20 comfortably.
Anyways, the cyclists are back out in MPLS since it was 50. I’m still amazed that fenders are so uncommon here — I think there’s generally more water on the ground for more of the year here than a place like Seattle, but basically no one has fenders. It boggles the mind.
Also, now begins the hell where it’s nice enough for pedestrians and dog walkers to be out, but the pedestrian trails are still under snow.
Most likely, she takes this train every day and hasn’t seen you before.
Sounds like she was flirting a little so it’s a hy either way.
an update to my fairweather post:
Today it slightly rained and the roads were empty. I hate this place.
I think it depends on where you are. Here in the sunset i saw as many people as ever, cargobikedads and all. We live on the main drag for cyclists, though.
I do full aero tuck on my commuter flat bar with basket, becasue i think it’s funny.
I honestly never want to go fast enough for full aero mode. I get scared on descents.
I have a dumb tuck “trick” that I can’t stop doing and will definitely result in me smashing my face into pavement at some point. I like to grab the top tube between my knees, get into a tucked ass-up-face-down position and then put my hands behind my back. It def decreases wind resistance, and it feels cool to do - the bike is entirely stabilized through your core and its kinda exhilarating. I’m also under the (mistaken) impression that I look cool doing it. I’m going to hit a bump at some point and just eat shit/die/scrape my face off on pavement.
I should stop doing this dumb thing and take the time to learn how to do actually cool shit, like a manual or yanno being able to hit drops well instead of rolling them 50% of the time.
This is a beautiful story
My old roommate used to do shit like that but quit when he hit a bump and opened up his lip on the stem. Didnt
crash though.
Yea, this is my future
Eh I usually take the bus when it rains. Dealing with wet pants isn’t really with it for 10 minutes on the bike usually.
When I lived 30 minutes away it was easier to decide if was worth it.
Rain
Pants
Changed my life.
Also I stopped caring about looking like a dork.
What I’m picturing makes you sound incredibly insane and I want a picture to confirm.
I think it’s the Naruto run but on a bike
Okay, yeah that sounds insane.
Fair-weather pathletes really harsh my mellow sometimes.
Today I’m doing the same commute I do every day, and within the first 4 miles some guy on a bike gives me a quiet “on your left” and passes me way closer than I’d have liked. NBD, whatever, it’s cool.
I end up catching him at a stoplight where the road ends and the MUP begins and instead of being in the road in the appropriate lane, he’s all the way over on the right side of the turn lane. Whatever, NBD.
I let him go before me because he’s already passed me once and I’m not feeling very racy anyway. He proceeds to go like 12mph and is fumbling around with his garmin, so I casually stroll past him since it’s a slight downhill grade and I can easily go 20 on my 650xPhat commuter’d out bike. It’s probably relevant that I’m wearing my office clothes, jeans, hi-top boots, and have bags on my bike.
As soon as I pass him, I hear him click down about 6 gears and he passes me again, but he actually looks over and laughs at me before going into full sprint, complete with the “standing while in the drops” maneuver.
OK. I ease forward. I ride this section every single day and I know there are 2 short but annoying hills coming up in a mile. I can hear his drivetrain crying for oil as I inch back up to him. We get to the hills, I watch him completely blow up and run out of gas, and I arrive at the T intersection at the same time as him. I look over and nod, he turns off and goes the other way.
The calm, cool, obviously not out of breath " hi! Nice day for a ride" kills them, especially when they’re too busy gasping to answer coherently.
Still amazes me how apparently fit roadiebros fall apart at the sign of little hills. Several little half-block-length hills on my commute see me passing fit dudes who are up out of the saddle and struggling to maintain momentum. I’m by no means fit or fast and I’m on a commute-loaded Elephant. I don’t get it.
A lot of fit people have no idea how to carry speed.
I’m out of shape as fuck and I mostly ride around on my tank of a basketbiek and somehow still am going faster than most people just by looking further ahead and braking less. It’s deeply satisfying.
Planing…lol
This happens all the time to me too, and I know I’m not a super fast climber because I’ve ridden with people who are. I think there are a lot of Zwift bros who obsess over power and heart rate etc on their trainers but don’t get out much until late in the “season” - so they’re good on flats, but no trainer can really make you a good climber.
Mass events like STP out here are a good lesson in how utterly shit lots of high mileage cyclists are at group riding and bike handling - it blows my mind in the same way that the fit young dude in lycra on expensive bike sucking at hills thing does.