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rbent Forum
https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl General Category >> rbent Lobby >> New 'bent converts https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl?num=1188361286 Message started by FlyingLaZBoy on Aug 28th, 2007, 11:21pm |
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Title: New 'bent converts Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Aug 28th, 2007, 11:21pm Just noticed that a BikeJournaler I'm familiar with named "Woodog" just bought a used Corsa from BROL classifieds... His first 'bent purchase, so the Woodog has gone bent!!!!!!! |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FooRider on Aug 29th, 2007, 7:50am Interesting. Woodog lives in my home town (one of them, at least), and I've often thought that if I ever find myself visiting the folks and have my bike along, I should look him up to get together for a ride. |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Aug 29th, 2007, 4:11pm He works at a college bookstore.... no answers yet as to why he made the switch! PB |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FooRider on Aug 29th, 2007, 7:26pm At the bookstore, eh? Even better. I've been wanting to find a connection to see if WKU has a cycling jersey. :) Say, did you invite Forrest to pop by here? |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by Strada177 on Aug 29th, 2007, 7:56pm FooRider wrote:
A WKU cycling jersey?? Foo,I'll be nice. There are several jokes I could make,but because I like you,I'll leave it alone. What is a Hilltopper anyway?? |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FooRider on Aug 29th, 2007, 8:05pm I am. ;) I think the whole Hilltopper thing comes as a result of the fact that the whole campus is on a hill. I know this because my dorms were always at the bottom of the hill, and the technology building where I had most of my comp sci courses was at the top. |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by Strada177 on Aug 29th, 2007, 8:17pm That goofy red mutt of a mascot is a good look for WKU. Classes? You actually attneded?? Can't ya just feel my love?!!! |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Aug 29th, 2007, 8:48pm I did invite him to stop by and say hi, but I believe he's at Bowling Green, not WKU... P |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by woodog on Aug 29th, 2007, 9:00pm heh... thanks for the invite. I've spoken with Foo in the past and yes, I'm at WKU, work at the bookstore here. .... but right now, I'm gonna run on home. It's the first week of classes and I don't get to ride the Corsa that became mine this past weekend. I'm at work from 7a.m. till 9p.m. until this weekend. later y'all.... but I"ll be back. woo |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FooRider on Aug 29th, 2007, 9:24pm FlyingLaZBoy wrote:
Western Kentucky University is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Just across town from the Corvette assembly plant where I used to work. |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by aikigreg on Aug 29th, 2007, 10:20pm Heh - I'm from Lexington. |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Aug 30th, 2007, 2:16pm I toured the 'Vette museum with my son when he was about 10, during a road trip... it was fun! PB |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by woodog on Aug 30th, 2007, 10:28pm Okay, here's the reason. I've been riding like a nut for the past four years, and i started because my health was lousy. I weighed nearly 300 pounds and the cholesterol level was nearly 400 points! Diet, exercise, and ditching the car got the weight down to 190 and the cholesterol down to 157 without drugs. I started riding with my old '85 Nashbar japanese road bike, and in Late October 2005 dropped some coins on a quality road bike, a 2004 Lemond Zurich. Sweet machine. Riding with my bike club was my recreation of choice, and I really racked up the miles, cracking 9,000+ in 2006 and becoming one of my clubs strongest riders. Problem, though, was that the Zurich, the Nashbar, the Sekai (another Jap cromoly bike), the Xtracycle (my utilitarian bike), and just about any other DF bike i've been on will hurt me on longer rides. Hurt me on the trainer where i would develop technique for the coming season. Last year on RAGBRAI I saw lots of bents. I had never seen one before then. Interesting machines. Then I started reading about how comfortable they could be. Then I started hearing about performance recumbents. All the while ending each day with sore wrists, neck pains, 'shrinkage'. This year on RAGBRAI i took my xtracycle and hauled my guitar across IA. I also developed severe groin numbness (same as last year on the Zurich that i took). I was impotent for 3 weeks. NOT GOOD. I like riding long miles, but riding my bike should not mean I beat myself up. I have spent nearly 500 dollars on saddles, stems, seat posts and handlebars and even a pro fitting to get comfortable on my Zurich. I also test rode Specialized, Raleigh, Trek madone, Giant... briefly considered having a custom bike built... but then decided hey, i think recumbents can satisfy my need for speed and bust a lung type workouts as well as being kind to my ever aging parts. I lurked at BROL and BACCHETTA forums. I decided on the Corsa because a rider named Beertruck took me and DecafBeanBoy on a brisk jaunt and I learned about speed. They just made sense. So I made the decision to get one and get good on one. It is my first recumbent. Now I see that there are utilitarian trikes that I can use to haul groceries, and even RANS has developed a bent that can handle an xtracycle, a truly amazing utilitarian device. From the few miles I've done so far I couldn't be happier. I'm going to be easy on myself until the muscle groups and handling skills develop a bit more, then investigate training techniques over the winter. so there. Woo's bent. will I abandon the DF bikes? Let's just say I'll ride the bikes I have the most fun on. If that includes the DF, fine. If not, fine. As an analogy I have a 1959 Gibson J-50 acoustic guitar. Beautiful with an incredible action and something of a collector's item. I also have a 1972 Aria Pro II acoustic guitar, a Japanese guitar that was an almost - mid - level instrument when it was made. Guitar afficianados turn up their nose at the Aria but are very interested in the Gibson. But the Aria sounds sweeter. Plays sweeter. Stays in Tune. Guess which one I play? ::) Woo |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by woodog on Aug 30th, 2007, 10:31pm oh, as far as making an announcement at Bikejournal, I did. On the TIB (today I bought) thread I wrote an entry that read TIB a 2005 Bacchetta Corsa that's all that's needed ;) woo |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by aikigreg on Aug 31st, 2007, 6:05am Awesome. I'll be interested to hear what you think of the new ride in terms of speed comparison in the next 6 months. Also, We have an HPV race every year in Xenia, Ohio That I'll be attending for sure. It's a great way to see/ride a lot of bikes and just have some fun. You should come! |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FooRider on Aug 31st, 2007, 7:12am woodog wrote:
Well, congratulations on the new ride, Woo. You said it was a 2005, but I can't remember what year Bacchetta switched the frames. Is yours steel, or aluminum? With the number of miles you log each year, you're in a whole 'nother class from "when I can get to it" riders like me, but I'll be interested to hear how you like the recumbent once you get it out of B.G. proper and out into the hillier country. I keep meaning to make it up for Tour de Cave one year, but I always seem to have something else going on--or my lovely bride wants to join me. Can't take both my girls. It's either one with her luggage and wheelchair, or the other all sprawled out in the back. |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by woodog on Aug 31st, 2007, 9:12am Hey Foo, It's the black frame, so it's definitely aluminum. It might be a 2006. I'm gonna take it on a longer ride this weekend out into the south part of the county, which is still fairly flat with a few hills. I don't remember talking with you about whether you rode when you were here or not, but the south of the county is flat, the east is beautiful rolling hills, and the west is killer hills. I've been advised by the seller of the bike, Gary Pichon, to gradually build up the legs before I try to tackle hills hard. He's from Marble Hill, GA, and I checked out the elevation profiles of that area, and no matter where you go, it's uphill. :) I'm gonna listen to him and put off taking it to the 'stinger' 10-18 % grades of the western part of the county until October. It's definitely geared for those hills with an 11-34 rear and a 53/39/30 front. I'm not that concerned about hills. I'm sure it will go up them, and that's all I really need to know. If you make it up to BG without your ride, give me a holler anyway. I've got a bike you can ride. ;) |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Aug 31st, 2007, 5:17pm All good reasons, Woo... especially that numbness thing!!!! ;D And you're exactly right, you can still have speed and a great workout -- I've dropped 40 pounds myself over a couple years, with the corresponding health improvements... Thanks for the info dump!!!!! The only thing you'll probably have to get used to is not being especially welcome in the middle of group ride pacelines any more -- you'll have to "pick your spots", especially into the wind.... but don't let 'em bug ya! Go get 'em!!! |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Aug 31st, 2007, 5:20pm woodog wrote:
Hmmm.... 18%???? You MIGHT want to look into a 26T granny -- but you probably don't need it... It's a light bike, and so are you... PB |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by woodog on Sep 1st, 2007, 5:08pm grin sezs it all... http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r21/woodogs-world/Corsa009.jpg woo |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FooRider on Sep 2nd, 2007, 6:46am So, when you showed up for the club ride, did they all have to sniff you and the new bike? "Hmm... he smells different, but I think it's still a bike." Nice picture. I couldn't help but notice how you got that train to pose for you, and that you have those nice, smooth blacktop roads up there (as opposed to the boulder seal that the TXDOT people use to try and discourage cyclists down here). Congrats again, and thanks for posting. |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by woodog on Sep 3rd, 2007, 2:39pm FooRider wrote:
heh. That ride in the picture was just me and another rider. Most of my club had gone to the Clarksville sunrise Century ride. I wanted to go to that ride, but I don't have the handling skills yet. today i did go on a 61 mile club ride with 10 others, and since they know me well there was none of the cold shoulder that i expect an unknown rider with a bent might face. (maybe not). These folks know me and like me anyway, so it was just Forrest on yet ANOTHER wierd bike. They asked me to lead out but I requested to stay at the rear of the group, telling them that i was unsure of my skill levels and didn't want to risk taking them out with a boneheaded move. I shouldn't have worried so much about that as it turns out, but better safe than sorry. I did ride hills today with the group, even though I promised myself to wait until October. Funny thing, I was expecting to get spanked on the hills, but it didn't happen. I did make sure to spin high cadence on the hills. I didn't leave anyon in the dust, but i didn't get dropped either. One thing that did happen near the end of the ride was this: about 5 miles out of town we see a rider turn in front of us. It was Keith, one of the group's stronger riders. I was riding with Brett and John, another of our really strong riders, and I tell Brett 'let's catch the carrot'. I see Keith (about a half mile ahead) go into full tuck, so I know he's seen us and will make us work for it. it's a pretty flat stretch of road, perhaps a 1% uphill grade, and I open it up, reaching and holding 34 mph. Amazingly (to me), I drop Brett and John like a rock and quickly cloe the gap with Keith, who was moving at 29 mph on a very windy day, and he says to me 'holy COW... you were FLYING.. then.. holy 'you know the word' check out that bike!' Brett finally catches up with us and we head into the final stretch at a more reasonable pace. I really like this bike. I could NOT have caught Keith on my upright. ;) oh, and Foo, yes the roads in KY are superb. I count myself lucky for that. woo |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Sep 3rd, 2007, 8:19pm woodog wrote:
Hee, hee, hee.... Woo, you've just "Done The Demo" on 'em.... ;D ;D ;D Welcome to 'bentdom! (especially into the wind) |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by woodog on Sep 21st, 2007, 11:08pm FlyingLaZBoy wrote:
Hee, hee, hee.... Woo, you've just "Done The Demo" on 'em.... ;D ;D ;D Welcome to 'bentdom! (especially into the wind) [/quote] Well I have a new computer and I've double checked the wheel circumference, and there's no way that was 34. 28 maybe, but that would be me spinning at 130, and 130's more than I'm capable of right now. I know, I tried. On a downhill, nearly rocking off the bike I was so out of control! :o Oh well, the thought that I was super bad was nice while it lasted. However, everything else was right. Anyway, a couple weeks later (last weekend) I took the bike on this route http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Hill-Climber-Delight and the climbs were brutal but I made it over the hills, and that's all that mattered. Felt pretty good after the ride too! Here's bikejournal entries of our club's pizza ride a few days later. mine: ------------------------------------- I was wanting to hang back tonight and ride a slow ride (really, I did!) but Joe, Kiersta and Brother John headed off into the distance and I just couldn't stand it. I was looking for the others in the back, but I was in that odd place - far behind the front group and far in front of the rear group. So I pick up the pace to get with the front group. They are ROLLING. Finally catch them a few turns before Dye Ford and then the rollers. Decided to throw restraint to the wind and took off. I got a good bit ahead of the group but I saw Kiersta hunker down and I knew I was done for. I poured on the coal, but still they come. I had planned to be far enough ahead that they would catch me before the big right hand turn and hill, but they caught about half a mile before those sections. I was totally cooked. Joe and Kiersta rolled on ahead (woodogs edit: a familiar sight to me as Joe and Kiersta are seriously strong riders, and kiersta can dust just about anyone I know) and John and I hung on the rear, watching them glide up the steep hills. When we got to the top of Matlock Joe and Kiersta were about to take off again. I said, 'oh no you're not leaving now... I gotta have a minute'. The rest of the ride was calmer, thank goodness. " --------------------------------------------- Here's Joe's entry (He's JoeBob on bikejournal, my reall name is Forrest, so that's me in his entry) Joebob: "I finally got to ride with the club tonight. It has been what seems like weeks since I last rode with the BGLOB group. We had a group of around 8 riders that left the park around 5:30. John, Forrest, Kiersta and I took off on a fast paced run down Carter Sims Road to Plano. We headed towards Dye Ford Road and Forrest turned up the steam. Kiersta hung on pretty well and I hung on Kiersta’s wheel as best I could as we traversed the hills at 28 – 30 mph. I registered the highest PPT level yet this year. After a very late lunch with my mom and sister in Nashville, a turkey burger with onions and tomatoes, I had little time to digest the sustenance. Oh, the acronym PPT stands for “Puke Point Threshold”. At more than one point I spent some valuable seconds trying to determine if John was too close behind me to safely hurl. After cresting Dye Ford at Plano road, we took a couple minutes rest. We headed on to 242 and met up with the rest of the riders and headed back to the park. About ½ mile from the park Forrest poured on the heat and there was no way I could keep up. Even trying to grab his wheel was soon to be an impossible task. The recumbent has some definite benefits over the standard design. " ------------------------------------------ What's not said above is that Joe and Kiersta were ahead most of the way, it wasn't a race at all, just fun rocketing, and I took advantage of them when they were unawares! ::) After the ride, no pain except for toasted legs I really dig riding a bent :) woo |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FooRider on Sep 22nd, 2007, 6:48am P.S. for residents of the D/FW Metromess: That's Plano, Kentucky. Good report(s), Woo. I'd say that was a lot of hammering for a 75-mile route, but I seem to recall having a lack of restraint on the first day of the MS 150 earlier this year (when I still had some legs). |
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Title: Kentuckians out there? Post by goldrushdave on Sep 25th, 2007, 3:45pm I-m a native Louisvillian myself!! Any other Kentuckians? Did you know Louisville had a fairly active recumbent club? Don't know if they are still active. David |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by woodog on Sep 25th, 2007, 9:02pm I had heard that Louisville had several recumbent riders, and a shop there is even listed as a Bacchetta dealer. I went to visit that shop but they no longer carried Bacchettas and they were 'iffy' as to whether they would in the future. Tis a shame, because that day if they had had a Strada in stock I would have bought it. All worked out in the end, though. I feel like an intruder around here, since it's geared towards TX and all, but I love the bent. I've had it just a tad over 4 weeks and I'll soon crack 1,000 miles on it. The Lemond Zurich, my former favorite machine with high dollar ultra sweet Mavic kysyrium wheels, carbon seat post and costly saddle sits neglected. oh well. ;D I was thinking that i could make the Claxton Century on November 10th, but that's WKU's homecoming weekend, and since i'm working in the bookstore and that's a big day for us, it ain't gonna happen. You gonna come up to Bowling Green for homecoming, Foo? woo |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by aikigreg on Sep 25th, 2007, 10:01pm Certainly Lexington has N-O-T-H-I-N-G in the way of bents.... |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FooRider on Sep 26th, 2007, 6:47am woodog wrote:
No, I'm afraid not. I never got my dose of school spirit (probably because I was always slaving away in the computer lab), and I only went to a few games even when I was living in Bowling Green. Kind of a shame, really. A buddy from BG was down here on business, a couple months ago, and we got to have dinner with him. To hear him tell it, They have pretty much done away with all the open grassy areas on campus, where people used to play frisbee and lounge around on blankets studying, and put up new buildings. Sounds like I wouldn't even recognize the place any more. The next time we'll be up is Thanksgiving. |
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Title: Re: New 'bent converts Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Sep 26th, 2007, 1:46pm woodog wrote:
Think no such thing, Woodog... As they say, "ALL converts are welcome..." ;) We just consider you a North Texas Wecumbent Wannabe... |
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