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| Tales from the Woods |
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| 04-12-2007 |
 titanium bikes are made of aluminum |
Had a good laugh today when I read an article that appeared in Mountainbike Plus, a Dutch MTB rag that I am subscribed too. They were testing a couple of hardtail bikes made from different materials, one of them a was titanium Cube.In the foreword of the article, the venerable Jurgen Groenwals writes (I translated obviously ) "Titanium (an aluminum alloy with some titanium and vanadium added) is a.. blablabla"Good thing I sat down because I would certainly have tilted backwards in amazement. I quickly turned to the main article to find out that Mr.Groenwals was indeed convinced that titanium is actually an aluminum alloy.. he states :"Cube uses the socalled 3,5/2 (sic) alloy, which means 94.5% aluminum, 3% titanium and 2.5% vanadium.., blahblahblah"Well, he got the vanadium right. Obviously I wrote a mail to the redaction telling them about this mishap and demanded a correction in the next issue. I couldn't resist posting my mail on a few forums as well. Mountainbike Plus, which has some very good articles and is made by some very competent people, has earned a big Minus here. I mean, I almost take this as a personal insult! How can anyone that is supposed to be 'in the know' as pertains to bikes and stuff, make such an error. Furthermore I am quite sure Mr. Groenwals has read some of my stuff on titanium. I can only assume he was in some kind of stupor when he was writing the article. Errors are human, but this is not an error, he really is convinced that what he was writing is correct.Perhaps I should inform him that the Cube frames are made by Rewel, an Italian firm and from the pictures I saw from pre-producton bikes it must be said, Rewel has made a bit of a shambles from the welds. Let's hope the production frames are up to their usual standard, which is good to very good as far as welds are concerned.
Oh well, for the rest not much going on, another day, another ride on the rollers. I was still a bit frothing from the mouth when I got on them but managed to calm down considerably during the ride. No doubt helped by the soothing voice of Anastasia. Another big chunk in my book as well so I am happy considering the fact that I would rather be riding out. The weather is bad and from the forecast it is going to get worse , lots of rain and high temperatures, no frost or calmer weather in sight.
Ride Stats : 23K in 1h01mins
9986/88505
04-12-2007, 00:00 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 30-11-2007 |
| Marcia Baila |
Today I stopped a bit earlier at work - well, I took half a day off really - to be able to do a longer ride in the afternoon, without any lights. The weather was very windy and the backroads were covered with mud and grime and some light rain didn't help things. My bike got dirty . But with an average temperature of 8 degrees C at least the wind didn't feel cold. The narrow roads I prefer following were quite a challenge, the dirt making them slippery and the only time they were dry was at the parts that were exposed to the fierce wind. Needless to say, half of the time I got a good workout, the other half I could relax a bit with the wind in my back or blowing from the sides. But I loved every minute of it!
Ride Stats : 51K and 415 heightmeters in 2h18mins
9940/88505
I want to dedicate this little ride to the memory of Frederic Chichin , guitar player of the French rock formation Les Rita Mitsouko. He died november 28th after a short but fatal disease. I have always liked their music, and I also am quite fond of the singer, Catherine Ringer, for her looks as well as for her way of life (just check out her Wikipedia file and you will understand what I mean. This lady has balls !
 
30-11-2007, 16:33 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 27-11-2007 |
| Nightride |
I changed the saddle on my Hilset yesterday. The Tune Speedneedle won't stay put, it keeps sliding backwards. Don't know what caused it, it has been fine for the last 3 years and now all of a sudden it starts moving? Weird, anyway, saddles that don't stay where they are supposed to stay cause muscles pains and therefore must go. I had an SLR lying around and I mounted that instead. It's a bit heavier than the Tune and also a bit more comfy although I love the Speedneedle. It doesn't look like much but it really is a great saddle, at least for my bottom.Went out again, put my light-helmet on to try out the position of the 20W Lumicycle torch. It was raining (felt like snow) ever so slightly but I wasn't feeling cold at all. It's always a bit weird when you are out in the night for the first time. Anyway, this is what the helmet looks like:
You have to adapt to the tunnel vision and especially to the lights of the cars coming your way, blinding you and causing a momentary lapse of vision. With the helmet light at least I can give them a good flash when they get too annoying. Ride Stats : 28.5K and 175 heightmeters in 1h13mins9857/87845
27-11-2007, 18:33 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 25-11-2007 |
| Compulsory biking |
The whole day I was telling myself I would not ride today. No need for it since I had a good ride yesterday and could rest today in order to be fresh tomorrow for another week. But after seeing the cyclocross guys riding through mire and muck I felt I had to ride myself. As if I had to earn the right to look at them by doing something myself. Strange ways I know.SO I grabbed my book and got on my rollers for an hours' easy recovery, legs feeling good and hardly stressed because I just tagged along at a low intensity, enjoying another chapter in what turns out to be a masterpiece in the already highly esteemed Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R.Donaldson : Fatal Revenant . I also prepared my bikes for the upcoming winter. Changed the chain and middle chainring of the Litespeed and attached the Lumicyle HID to the Hilset. I also put the 20Watt Halogen Lumicycle light on my helmet. I want to try this configuration out during the upcoming road nightrides.I also need to change the Dura Ace cassette in the rear because ever since I put on a new chain it keeps skipping teeth in some of the gears. Ride Stats : 23K in 1h01min9829/87670
25-11-2007, 21:09 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 24-11-2007 |
| Outside again |
When I woke up the world was white.. white from the frost , the temps were just
above 0 degrees C but there was no wind to speak of, so the dew froze over and
the land was covered in a layer of smog. Strangely enough you only notice this
layer when you are rising above and out of it. I decided to ride the 30K Bloso
road route going over St Joris Weert, St Agatha Rode and then towards Leefdaal
and Leuven again. On the heights overlooking Leuven I clearly saw the smog
hanging, stretching its tendrils towards Meerdael Forest as well. Near the
forest however the layer wasn't as high as it was over more densely populated
areas.
It felt good to be out again, even though the temps were low - I
started out with 3 degrees C and near the end noticed a climb towards a whopping
6 degrees C. Legs felt good and it took me awhile to get used to riding a bike
that moves beneath you instead of the steady ride you get on the rollers. Didn't
overdo the pace nor the distance, taking it easy all the way, only adding one
extra climb towards the Smeysberg plateau and then returning next to the river
Yse towards Neerijse where I found the BLOSO route again. My warm winter jacket still
bore the muddy traces of a fall from last winter so I decided to wash it out when I
got home, together with all the other stuff. The smaller roads were covered in
mud, thick but fluid enough to splash and leave traces on clothing and bike.
Looking forward towards more rides out soon, and that also means mounting my
Lumicycle HID light to be able to ride in the dark next week.
Ride Stats
: 34K and 260heightmeters in 1h31mins
9806/87670
24-11-2007, 16:20 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 18-11-2007 |
| Sven and Johnny |
It's
getting almost as boring writing about it , as it is riding .. on the
rollers again. Still, it's my only option for the time being and
luckily I can while away the time reading a good book. Seems like the
only time I get to read a book these days. In the evening I hardly find
the time or if I do I read 5 pages and doze off. Not because the book
is dull but because I need my sleep and I usually get up very early in
the morning so I want to close my eyes around 10pm - 10.30 at the
latest. I am still waiting for ABC bikes to get the replacement
bearings for my Hilsets' Tune bottom bracket. I thought they would
have managed this in the 2 weeks since I called them but Tune
replacement parts are not easily to come by it seems.
Ride Stats : 25K in 1h04mins
9665/87410
Two things caught my attention today. The first was the amazing World Record time Dutch youngster Sven Kramer set on the 5000m speedskating World Cup in Calgary. I believe skating to be a very pure sport. Not pure in the sense of it being dope-free but pure in it being a sport where the athlete has to pit himself against himself, finding his or her limits and then exceed them. Sven did just that. He was angry because at a former World Cup he had lost his World Record and he was determined to get it back again. In fact, he was so determined that he also broke the 3000m record time on the way to his 5000m record time. This in itself is an extraordinary feat. Think about that for a minute. Its a bit like a 400m runner track runner breaking the 200m World Record whilst setting a new World Record on that 400m as well. Amazing stuff no less !The other thing is just a shard of a song Bad Company sang and which happened to be on my MP3 player whilst riding the rollers this afternoon..
"Johnny's life passed him
by like a warm summer day
If you listen to the wind
You can still hear him play"
from the song "Shooting Star" taken from their "Straight Shooter" album.
Hearing those words made me feel a bit sad. Life does indeed seem to pass like those warm summer days.. if you are young, you don't seem to realise that and you tend to become complacent and either postpone or put things off alltogether when you are getting older. So, as a good friend used to say.. "Carpe Diem" before its too late.
18-11-2007, 19:34 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 17-11-2007 |
| Roller Boy |
Again I did
not dare ride outside. So I settled for another hour on the rollers.
Average heartrate keeps going down which I believe to be a good sign.
Weather is crisp and cold but I will wait a few days more before
venturing out.
Ride Stats : 25K in 1h06mins
9639.5/87410
17-11-2007, 18:42 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 16-11-2007 |
| Melenkurion abatha |
Another trip on the rollers. A little bit faster than yesterday, heartrate is still too high but legs feel good. A good opportunity to catch up with my reading as well. Fatal Revenant is slowly unfolding its secrets to me. What a great book it is turning out to be, as were the 7 books that preceded it. I can hardly wait for the next installment in the Thomas Covenant Chronicles. Got my flu injection today so for the next few days I have got to wait and see how my body reacts. Hope to ride out at least once this weekend but we'll see.Ride Stats : 26K in 1h01mins9614/87410
16-11-2007, 22:42 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 11-11-2007 |
| For all those who were wondering |
I
have not been riding my bike lately since I am recovering from a cold..
I hope to be out and about soon. I think my body needed some time to
rest.Meanwhile I took possession of a new bike, a Merlin Works 4.0 full suspension bike. I ordered it at the end of August and the frame was delivered by ABG to Filip Sport at the end of September. Filip Sport started the buildup of the bike but I was still lacking one piece of the puzzle, a Thomson Elite 31.6/370mm silver seatpost.This choice of seatpost turned out to be a difficult one. There was no silver seatpost to be found in the Benelux and at long last Filip had to contact Thomson USA directly. They promptly delivered the seatpost within the week. Thanks to Thomson for this service and to Filip for not giving up.Now I am eager to get on the bike, sort out the seating position and brake in the disc pads. But my cold and the rainy weather will delay that moment for a while. But I already took some pictures, you can check them out here
11-11-2007, 16:57 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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| 30-10-2007 |
| Interval a la Tacx |
Didn't feel much like biking outside today. The Hilset still needs to get new BB bearings - ABC Fietsen in Wilrijk is taking care of that - and furthermore I wanted to do something a little tougher than usual. So I chose one of the Tacx interval training sheets and got on my rollers. Pretty tough training it was but I felt good doing it.
Got a call from Filip Sport this morning. He got a Thomson Elite silver 367mm saddlepost delivered from the US of A. but it sadly turned out to be the wrong diameter (30.9 instead of 31.6mm). Thomson aknowledged their mistake and will send the right size a.s.a.p..
Good thing I already got 4 bikes or I might start to feel just a little bit annoyed and impatient. But as it stands I really feel no pressure at all to have the Merlin built up. I am confident everything will turn out allright and with the winter coming up I will probably only ride it a few times on the road to get the seating position right and then put it under wraps until next spring.
"L'embarras du choix" the French call that. As it stands, this is the only pic I have so far of the "nearly finished" bike.
Ride Stats : 35k in 1h28mins
9420/86150
30-10-2007, 19:24 geschreven door Big Bad Wolf
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