Old road ride thread is locked, so I'm starting this again.

I'm interested in doing a ride with a group, or just me and a couple others.

I'm pretty much a noob to road biking since I just got mine about a month ago, and it's just been training and getting used to it up to this point.

I'd like to start off with some shorter routes, maybe 10-15 mi to get a feel for what a normal ride is like. I can hang around 15-17 riding by myself, and I realize that's a but slow, but I'm looking to improve that.

I've looked online at triangle cycling and all, but most of what those guys on there do are 30+ mile rides at B pace or better. Definitely not for me, yet. I'm looking for a few people at NCSU who wouldn't mind doing some rides together around this area. Nothing major, I could even go for some MTB rides if anyone isn't a road biker or doesn't have one. That opens up a lot of shorter, more fun rides like the greenway trail and stuff. I just love to ride casually and I'm looking for others who do too.

Any takers?

Free Thread for cycling/biking discussion.

4/20/2007 4:14:55 PM

I have a road bike and wouldn't mind some less serious rides...I usually ride alone so I'd welcome the company

[Edited on April 20, 2007 at 5:14 PM. Reason : ]

4/20/2007 5:14:23 PM

there's a couple short, slow rides on here, like on monday evening
http://ncbikeclub.org/calendar/ncbc0407.htm

4/20/2007 5:16:50 PM

I would definitely be up for a road ride one weekend. If anyone knows of some decent roads to ride on that aren't completely overpopulated with cars, let me know.

4/22/2007 5:21:09 PM

Finally went on a ride this morning, left from The Spin Cycle in Cary, went down kildaire and rode around Lochmere.

Nice group of folks that ride there - they do rides every weekend from either there or Cycling Spoken Here. Check it out on trianglecycling.com. There's some good rides on there, and there's a riding group called "Slow Spokes" that do ~C class rides with no drop. Great for newbies, like me.

I had a blast riding with them, so I just wanted to share that with anyone else looking for a more laid-back, fun riding group.

4/28/2007 1:52:33 PM

chatham is good during the day to ride, as is chapel hill rd.

usually when i go I use one of these two to cary and back

4/30/2007 8:31:12 PM

bttt for road biking discussion - will be riding tomorrow morning from CSH in Cary. PM if you are interested in joining.

6/2/2007 10:51:57 AM

have fun biking in the rain

6/2/2007 12:38:59 PM

Ooof... be careful out there. I got clipped on Thursday by a lady that wasn't paying attention and talking on her cell phone, failing to come to a complete stop.

Right knee busted up pretty badly, but I'll live.

6/2/2007 1:51:54 PM

drhavoc: Did she stop?

I'm no longer in Raleigh, but I'll be returning maybe this fall. We'll see. It's that or Colorado, or stay here in TN.

6/2/2007 5:20:19 PM

She did stop, thankfully. She even called the paramedics and the police.

6/3/2007 12:53:00 PM

bttt

Went riding yesterday evening...dumbest idea ever.

8/9/2007 9:14:56 AM

Heh.. I went yesterday around 12:30.

8/9/2007 9:27:32 AM

^^What time did you go? The key is to go in the morning when it's still cool out.

8/9/2007 9:52:25 AM

I'd rather ride when it's hot as hell mid-day than ride when it's so humid that the moisture condenses to me and my bike.

8/9/2007 12:44:00 PM

^Yeah i mean i usually ride after work in Charlotte, but my dad gets up at 3:30am every day and rides until about 7 with groups in Charlotte (he puts everything in excel spreadsheets), then goes to work 8-5 desk job as a software designer. I've gone with him a couple times this summer in the morning and it hasn't been so bad, but it involves going to bed so early, plus i can't keep up with his normal group of riders.

He says he puts about 14-15,000 miles on his bike every year riding 6.1 days a week, and he's like 60. It's funny when road bikers who race a lot join my draft lines in the afternoon and shout behind me "oh i've been riding with your dad for 20+ years!" and i've never seen them before. I get jealous that both my parents are in much better shape than me. I need to start riding more than 3 times/week. It's just so hot out, so i figured the morning might be a better time.

On a side note, anyone here ride the "Booty Loop" around Queens College in Charlotte? Bout a 2.8 mile loop that everyone does in Myers Park.

[Edited on August 9, 2007 at 1:01 PM. Reason : .]

8/9/2007 12:51:36 PM

starting next week, I'm hitting the road in the early AM...it's just retarded hot down here in ATL right now and I'm getting tired of just riding on the weekends.

[Edited on August 9, 2007 at 1:00 PM. Reason : .]

8/9/2007 1:00:14 PM

I ride w/ a group from MacGregor Village in Apex every Wed. at 6, and it's usually not a problem, but yesterday was just miserable.

8/9/2007 9:23:28 PM

Quote :

"it's just retarded hot down here in ATL right now"

do tell . . . do tell

i haven't ridden since the first part of june. i was commuting to work for a while until a large box truck intentionally tried to run me over. it kinda freaked me out and i haven't ridden on the road since. and its just too hot for mountain biking.

[Edited on August 9, 2007 at 9:32 PM. Reason : .]

8/9/2007 9:32:40 PM

^are you here in atlanta? if so, screw the roads...ride the silver comet. I usually only ride roads on Sat/Sun mornings. of course, the fact I work just a couple miles away from the trail head and have a shower at work does help

8/10/2007 9:14:48 AM

Quote :

"I ride w/ a group from MacGregor Village in Apex every Wed. at 6, and it's usually not a problem, but yesterday was just miserable. "

The melo velo folks?

8/10/2007 11:21:13 AM

Did a 3 hr ride with my buddy @ 5:40am.

8/10/2007 1:42:52 PM

^^^yeah i'm in atlanta. i've read about the silver comet, but never tried it. is it generally free of pedestrians? my image of paved greenway trails is the crowded paved trail around lake johnson in raleigh.

i'm really not much of a road biker. my commuter is a hardtail with slicks on it. i used to ride around some neighborhoods after work, but nothing major, maybe like 15-20miles.

[Edited on August 10, 2007 at 6:29 PM. Reason : .]

8/10/2007 6:28:30 PM

^^^ Yep.

8/11/2007 11:00:03 AM

my wife and some of her tri-geek friends did a 90 miler in/around Boone this weekend. It was most of the Blood, Sweat and Gears route. It's a killer rides with lots of hard climbs - http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/3643144


BTW, if any of you feel like you're in decent shape and really want to test yourselves, then you should definitely try some of the NC mountain centuries (100 mile rides). There are lots of them througout the year, each different and hard in their own way. If you're in good shape you can finish one in under 6 hours, otherwise, plan on riding for 8-9 hours. Most of these rides now also offer an half-century or metric century (100km ~ 67mi) if you're not up for the whole thing. Most have 9000-12000 ft of climbing for the 100 mile routes

Here's several of them. Many of them have already happened this year, but they usually use the same weekend every year:
Bridge to Bridge - http://www.caldwellcochamber.org/aboutus.asp?id06=155&cat06=49 - Sept 16 2007 - this one is particularly brutal because it's a point-to-point, and not a loop (where your net-gain would be 0). It starts in Lenoir and meanders around the Piedmont and foothills for 50 miles, then heads up HW 181 from Morganton into Linville, then a big loop around the Blue Ridge Parkway and HW 221. Then the real cruelty is the last 2.5 miles where it goes up to the top of Grandfather mountain at ~5800ft. If you've never drivin, run or ridden up GF mountain, there is really no way to describe it, especially trying to do it on a bike after 100 miles of other climbing. It generally fills up several weeks in advance.

Blue Ridge Brutal - http://www.ashecivic.com/BRB06infopage.htm - Aug 18 2007 (this weekend!) - this is a loop around Ashe county in N.W. NC. It's a pretty good "starter century". Hard, but not killer. Lot's of long steady climibing, and only one "stand and mash in your lowest gear" climb, but it's not very long. If you're really into pain, though, they offer an "Assault on Mt. Jefferson" add-on, which is an additional 3 miles tacked on to the end of the 102 mile ride that goes from 3200ft to 4500ft.

Ride Around Wilkes (RAW) - http://ridesaroundwilkes.tripod.com/ - May 5 2007 - this is another good "starter century". Wilkes county is in the foothills, before you get to the real NC mountains, so you mostly get a lot of rollers and no real deadly climbs.

Blood, Sweat and Gears - http://www.bloodsweatandgears.org/Home.html - June 23 2007 - this is an awesome ride starting in Valle Crucis and going though Blowing Rock and making a big loop around Boone. It has lots of varried terrain, several really good climbs and over 13,000ft of climbing.

Hilly Hellacious - http://www.blueridgebicycleclub.org/hilly/ - August 26 2007 - A ride around Asheville with 9000ft of climbing. Never done it and don't know much about it, but my wife is going to do it this year in 2 weeks.

The Assault on Mt. Mitchell & Assault on Marion - http://freewheelers.info/assault.html - June 11 2007 - this is kind of the pinnicle of Eastern US road cycling (I would actually consider the Bridge to Bridge up with the Assault). The Assaults on Mitchell and Marion happen on the same day - they use Marion as a "qualifier" for Mitchell. Since demand for Mitchell is so high, you have to ride Marion one year in order to get on the list to register for Mitchell the next. It has 11,000ft of climbing, but like Bridge to Bridge, most of the climbing comes near the end. It starts in Spartanburg, SC, and rolls for about 75 miles, then in the last 25 miles you climb into the mountains and up Mt. Mitchell (the highest point east of The Mississippi) from ~1300ft up to 6600ft.


Those are most of the big ones, I think. There are usually a few more smaller ones each year in the mountains, but the big ones are the most fun because of all the people, and they have the best support.

8/13/2007 1:07:10 PM

the silver comet is an old railroad that has been paved. it runs from vinings/smyrna out to the alabama border. it does have foot traffic, but i've never had much of a problem maintaining a solid 20 MPH on it. it's well graded, so there aren't much in the way of climbs. highly recommend checking it out

anyone have good DVD's to use for training on a stand? it's so damn hot (and my work days are so damn long) that I bought one today so I can ride at night after work or in the morning w/o getting up at the buttcrack of dawn. the stand came with a Trainright Time Trial DVD which looks good, but I'd like more variety.

8/19/2007 8:41:06 PM

are you looking for actual training videos, or just something to watch to pass the time?
If i were you, i would just pick some workouts and do them, and put some good TV-series DVDs in and watch them to pass the time.

8/19/2007 11:11:26 PM

Well, I can get a soilid workout in with nothing leading me. But I don't think I'm doing a good job at anything other than burning calories and busting a sweat. I'm trying to build technique so that I can go faster and further. Plus my climbing sucks balls right now.

8/20/2007 8:59:20 AM

then get off the Trainer and get out on the road.
seriously. if you want to ride longer and get better at hills, you really need to get outside

8/20/2007 9:35:46 AM

i do on the weekend...I was hoping there would be some kind of program that I could do indoors during the week b/c I just can't have a steady outdoor schedule with my work

8/20/2007 10:01:09 AM

just got back from the silver comet, thanks for the recommendation. I've been traveling for work so it was my first day on the bike in almost 3 months. Managed to get in 26 miles total. stopped once to rest and refuel at the 13mile mark, then another short food break at 21 miles.

are road bikes really that much faster or do i just suck that much? (i was riding a hardtail mtb with slicks). i felt like i was keeping a decent cadence but don't come close to the roadies paces. those guys were really zizzing by me. my average speed on the out leg was around 12mph, one the way back probably closer to 10. in my defense my tires were a little under inflated for a road ride, but i found out my pump was busted once i reached the trail and all i had as a back up was my mini pump. I said screw it, i'll just ride on slightly squishy tires.

[Edited on September 3, 2007 at 7:23 PM. Reason : .]

9/3/2007 7:22:19 PM

12mph is just pitifully slow for a road bike -- old ladies with blue hair and oxygen tanks can do better than that on a road ride. A mtb is plenty of fun if you're out doing trails, but on a paved surface the road bike will always be faster, easier, and a whole lot more pleasant. I'd guess that you just have the wrong set-up for that kind of ride.

9/3/2007 7:47:11 PM

Do you necessarily want your rides to be easy? I ride a mountain bike on the road all the time and keep it in the highest practical gear.

9/3/2007 8:11:50 PM

^i'm not necessarily looking for an easier ride, just never realized how much difference there is. i pushed the big ring for 75%, and the highest 3 in the middle ring for the rest.

^^yeah, its not a road set up at all. the thing ways around 35lbs. i'm just trying to get some base miles in and get my cardio and endurance back into shape. i even took my camel back with me so as to stay accustomed to having it on my back while riding.

my legs are on fire.

[Edited on September 3, 2007 at 8:22 PM. Reason : .]

9/3/2007 8:20:59 PM

Umm, 12 on a mtb on slicks on the road is still pretty sluggish. On my full suspended mtb with knobby tires pumped up pretty hard, I'll average about 13mph for 19 miles with about 5 miles on the Blackcreek Greenway and the rest in Umstead on the hardpack.

So either your tires were REAL squishy or you need to do some more riding.

9/4/2007 8:00:00 AM

MS150 this weekend! Anyone else going?

9/4/2007 4:21:05 PM

well like i said, it was the first time back out in 3 months. i was just happy to be on my bike again.
i don't have a computer, my speed is just a best guess based on mile markers and elapsed time.

9/4/2007 9:06:54 PM

Biking elitists are almost as bad as motorists.

9/4/2007 11:15:37 PM

Glad you liked the comet.

Two things on the road bike question - yes, they are a bit faster. I average around 20 MPH on the comet on my road bike. Of ocurse, I can lift my bike with a finger, so that probably makes a good difference. The other thing is there are some serious riders that use the comet. I'll have a good cadence going and be running around 25 MPH on the downhills out there and still get passed. I don't worry about it much. I know when I went up to Annapolis, MD and rode the Annapolis-Baltimore trail, I was the fastest guy out there that day. Maybe just more serious riders on the comet?

9/5/2007 9:57:54 AM

bttt

12/31/2007 8:26:54 PM

I hate all of you...

*swerves*

12/31/2007 9:46:23 PM

^we hate you too.

*share the road*

1/1/2008 7:38:19 PM

bttt

8/13/2008 10:23:11 AM

^thank you

8/13/2008 12:16:50 PM

^you get the info from the spinning thread?

it might be a bit generalized, if you have more specific product questions or if you are still having pain, lemme know, ill try to suggest some other ideas

8/13/2008 12:56:25 PM

I need my bike repaired. Best deal in Cary?

8/13/2008 12:57:45 PM

^^ the info definitely helped- thank you so much! most of the pain is just soreness due to the fact that I haven't been on a bike of any sort in a few years. There's one instructor at my gym that has been absolutely fantastic when it comes to helping me out- she's a big stickler for form. I'm going to pick up some shorts tomorrow I believe- I need to find some shops around here first. (Not much in the way of cycling shops in downtown Charleston).

I may invest in a road bike later this year- the heat/humidity is just too much for me to workout in at the moment. If so, I certainly know who to ask if I have questions

8/13/2008 2:07:16 PM

Anyone on here looking to sell a road bike? I'd like start riding but I don't know if I'm willing to shell out upwards of 600 bucks on an entry-level bike yet. Searching Craigslist hasn't yielded anything so far.

[Edited on August 15, 2008 at 12:18 PM. Reason : ]

8/15/2008 12:18:10 PM

I found a Trek 400 on Craigslist for $180.

8/15/2008 12:20:23 PM

the best way to beat the heat is to get out early in the morning.

8/15/2008 6:16:03 PM