1st Bike Ride!

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Squatch

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On the wrong side of the mountains!
I just got back from my 1st bike ride of the year a while ago. 6 sorta hilly miles of pure "felt like I was going to puke"!

Pretty humbling for a guy that used to do a quick 25 miles through a hilly state park after work most evenings. For many, many years cycling was the center of our lives. But that was a good while back. Before the knees left town.
Now closer to 60 than not. But I'll keep at it. Not the 1st time I've been out of shape. I doubt I'll ever be back to doing Century rides (100 miles) on Saturday mornings. But the workout rides will get better!

Last fall I added some fat cruiser style tires to my old Specialized Rock Combo to use for these rides. I rode that.




I probably will give the knees a rest tomorrow and do some weights. But I'll be back out before weeks end. It's not going to happen overnight. I need to get back in good enough riding shape to use the bikes as our dingy's behind the camper.
 
My bike would need a serious makeover before I could ride it and then I might need a serious makeover...lol
 
Sounds great. As you work into it, think about a bike fitting. A good friend who had ridden for years suddenly had knee issues with the same bike. Finally went and got a professional fitting ($300) and in two rides, his knee pain was gone.
 
Taku said:
Sounds great. As you work into it, think about a bike fitting. A good friend who had ridden for years suddenly had knee issues with the same bike. Finally went and got a professional fitting ($300) and in two rides, his knee pain was gone.
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Thanks but no need for that. For 3 decades I lived the bike life. I actually worked as a shop mechanic and did fittings. I've been trained in it. I used to specialize in fitting bikes for small women like Mama Squatch.

My problem is not fit or pain. Just plain worn out. Both hips and knees. Bad genes, A lifetime of long distance cycling, and a career at the phone company on ladders all day. I've been bone on bone in my knees since 1999. That's when the mileage fell off.

These days I can do some intensity or some mileage but not much of both at the same time. But I haven't been on the bike since last fall and I felt it today.

What's left of our bike collection. the Gold bike on the left was my 1st good road bike bought in 1979. That bike alone has been ridden in 26 states and has over 35,000 miles on it!



 
I just got a new bike to replace my cruiser. I didn't like the Electra foot forward or what ever they call it. It is ok but on hills the geometry for pedaling sucks. The new bike is a Specialized Roll. It is a "fitness" bike and is very comfortable. There are four different trim levels and both male/female bikes. Can't say enough about this as a comfort/fitness bike.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/fitness/roll
 
ski3pin said:
Bikes and Isuzu's!
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Pretty much. Back in the day when the Troopers were new a lot of cyclists owned them. I was one of them. Lot's of room for roof racks on real rain gutters. Room inside to change clothes. I'll add the other group they were popular with as well. Of course I belong to this as well.

Bikes, Canoes, and Isuzu's!

 
I've done a couple of rides since I posted this. I just got back from another. It's getting a little better but yes it's hot lately. Biggest issue is since I haven't ridden a lot in a long time I haven't done much stretching either. Add that to the advancing arthritis and the flexibility is going to be the biggest issue. Maybe I'll sign up for a yoga class. I think they call that "Suicide by Proxy"! :D
 
Regretably, I sold a 1987 Stumpjumper Comp last year that looked similar to your ride. I still have 2 other bikes and still ride some. I also used to work in bike retail 30 years ago. Over the past few years (turn 66 in 2 days) I've found the real challenge to be all the hills near my house in Portland. After experiencing some hip issues after some steep hill climbing a few,years back, I've watched with interest the advent of e-assist bikes in the past few years. Common in Europe and Asia, they are now hitting North America with many of the large familiar US brands adding them to their line up. I've test rode several including 4 just a few weeks back at an e-bike expo in Portland. I'm leaning toward the "mid-drive" motors mounted at the crank vs hub drive as they are said to offer more torque for hill climbing. Bosch, one of several major motor manufacturers from Europe has opened an office in the US anticipating growth in the market. I'm seeing more people commuting on them, particularly on Portland's hilly west side. Most of these bikes are e-assist meaning one has to be pedaling for the motor to engage vs a simple throttle mechanism. Also, for regulatory purposes, most are limited to a 20 mph max assist. The bike can go faster, but not with motor assistance. It's my understanding that California recently codified regulations for various types of e-bikes. The issue is when do they cease to be a bicycle and morph into an electric moped, etc. The Bosch systems I have ridden (and a few others) have multiple levles of assistance controlled via small handlebar mounted computers. Some offer ranges at the high end of 75 miles per charge depending on terrain, weight, and which mode of assist one selects. I definately see some of these in the cards for my wife and I in the near future. Right now, the idea of riding down to our neighborhood coffee shop or to the pub for a beer on a summer night is out of the question, unless were up for a full sweat workout. They can make a lot of sense for those with a long commute, for anyone with past injuries that make riding a challenge and anyone aging that still wants to stay active, but have reluctant joints. Of course, they aren't cheap, but since I have been following the trend, I have see pricing starting to drop as more players get on board. One of the issues is battery technology but they anticipate costs on those to drop over time. Lastly, the various manufacturers are offering these on street/commuter bikes, mountain bikes, fat bikes and cargo bikes.
 
I forgot to add that your photo of your Trooper brought back fond memories, as we had a 1988 that served well as our primary backroad exploration vehicle for a decade until we made the move to our '99 Ford F250 with a Granby FWC. We took it down some roads we probably shouldn't have gone down and had some great experiences.
 
Yeah the E bike thing has had me thinking. I saw one last fall down at the beach. Some Overlander in a 4wd van had one. They were heading off to Expo east when they left the beach. An old friend and his wife who do the fall beach trip with us have a class C motorhome. He is a big motorcyclist and they always bring a HIGHWAY legal scooter on the back bumper as a dingy.

I like the idea of an E bike when traveling for the same purposes. But they are not cheap. Neither are the conversion packages for existing bikes. I had a Smart car for a while. Smart introduced an E bike that was gorgeous. It looked like molded carbon fiber but was actually formed aluminum. Unfortunately the price was as out of this world as the looks.
https://www.smart.com/id/en/index/smart-electric-bike.html


I'm still toying with a gas motor conversion as well. Not quiet like an ebike but the good ones move out and are somewhat reasonably priced. I like this one.
https://www.bikeengines.com/

With all the existing bikes we have this makes sense to just convert one for each of us. Something to use as dingy's on a road trip with the camper.
 
I'm 64 and am fortunate enough to have only minor joint problems so am still putting in some pretty long miles on the bikes. When I can't pedal anymore I'll probably break down and buy a motorcycle. I guess I don't understand the appeal of the motor assisted bicycles: It seems like just a way to pretend you're pedaling without really doing any work, or in the case of the E-mountain bikes, just a way to try to skirt the rules against motorcycles on the trails. Hmm... Maybe I'll get a mule: they're allowed on almost all the trails including the ones closed to bikes.
 
Well no matter what Squatch, at the end of the day, you're out there and that's what counts. After reading your thread, I have even fewer excuses to get on my bike now.
 
GroovyDad said:
Well no matter what Squatch, at the end of the day, you're out there and that's what counts. After reading your thread, I have even fewer excuses to get on my bike now.
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That's reason enough for the thread! I've been riding a little here and there. I've got another lingering injury that's keeping me from doing as much as I'd like. But some is better than none.

The one thing that has kept me on bikes all these years is that it's fun. At least once you reach a certain base level fitness. Weight rooms ect tend to bore me to tears.
 
Squatch said:
Weight rooms ect tend to bore me to tears.
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Can't stand those places, but to each their own.

I used to commute on a bike 3 days/week, 14 miles each way and a nice hill to climb at each end. I figured I got 2 hours of exercise for the price of 1 that I would have spent sitting in my car. I dropped 30 pounds that I really didn't need.

Now, I ride regularly, both mountain biking and a bit of road. After she retired, my wife dropped her gym membership and started riding with me.

We just returned from Italy, where we did a week long tour of the Dolomite Mountains on bikes. We had a blast with a couple of friends we cycle with and another 7 riders from around the country. The youngest were our friends are in their mid-50's, the oldest was 77. We averaged around 30 miles/day, there were optional rides nearly every day up to about 50 miles.

Tonight I biked at Annadel State Park along with my wife, our son, and a friend. Only about 10 miles, but climbed 1000 ft also. The weather and company were perfect. Life is good!!
 
I had never heard of E-bikes. I remember the old ones that took a motor like Squatch was referring to. I had planned on a Yamaha TW200 for my "lifeboat", tool around transportation but some of those E-bikes are pretty impressive and I think I could carry that on the front hitch as it is smaller than a TW200 and would not block my view or the radiator to any large degree.... If not it could possibly go in the camper as there are no fumes involved.....

That would allow me to get a 6 1/2 foot bed and put a 7-8 ft camper in it without worrying about trying to carry something on a hitch extender. That makes my turning radius smaller, allowing for easier negotiation of tight spots......

Any thoughts on my thoughts? Anyone ever drive/own an E-bike?
 
Did you see this?

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/13751-e-bikes/

The 1st one I posted folds up and I think 2 of them would fit a hitch hauler.

This guy is using his.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/160263-Fat-tire-electric-folding-bike

If you already have a decent bike they can be converted easily. I'm really interested in trying this. Just need to get some other projects wrapped up 1st.

Personally I'm not crazy about the idea of a long bed camper in a short bed. Too much weight behind the axle.

I think my bike rack will get a lot of use in the front hitch i just installed. But not while driving. They would probably interfere with the lights. I'll carry the bikes on the back hitch. Then move them and the rack to the front once parked. Now I'll have rear access and the bikes stay locked to the truck when not in use. It should keep me from stacking the bikes and rack against a picnic table in campgrounds.
 
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