Just went for a bike ride. The kind with no motor.

"AMGtech - now with more recalls!" (amgtech)
08/28/2016 at 23:11 • Filed to: None

Holy crap I’m not a kid anymore. I mean, I’m only 30, but SHIT! Haven’t done that in at least 5 years. To top it off I was dumb and rode straight up a big hill to start. Felt like this guy.

On the plus side, I got checked out twice. I was bombing up the first hill right by some girl and she just kept staring and said “look at him go!” The second was at a bus stop, she had been playing on her phone but saw me and just stared with a big ol’ smile as I went past. Felt good. Yes, they could have been laughing at the old fart riding by, but come on let me have a victory here!

DISCUSSION (33)

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/28/2016 at 23:19

I used to bike to the shopping center and other end of town before getting my license. Kept me in shape for running. I can still do it but hate the idea of a bike with no suspension.

wiffleballtony > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/28/2016 at 23:40

I haven’t rode a bike since the mid 90s. And it was a BMX.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins)
08/28/2016 at 23:46

I used to ride all over, almost daily. It’s great for staying in shape if you push hard enough and go far enough. I ride a hard tail mountain bike with basically semi knobby tires, decent on/off road combo tires. Never could get into a proper road cycle, especially with potholes, cobble stones, and light rail tracks all over the city.

EL_ULY > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/28/2016 at 23:52

I’ve had a for the last 5 years..... used it for the 1st time last year to go to the store a couple blocks down.... still currently out of breath lol.

BoulderZ > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/28/2016 at 23:59

Nice work! Keep after it, you won’t regret it. I’ve been riding, racing, and commuting for 30 years and still love it, even on the hard days (-17 F, snow, rain, wind, 100+ F temps, all good in their own story-producing ways). Enjoy the ride.

smobgirl > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/29/2016 at 00:50

I worked on a couple of my bikes today with the intent of riding to work tomorrow but the only one with good tires needs different pedals. Good reason to procrastinate...if I'm skilled enough, I can put this off until spring!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > BoulderZ
08/29/2016 at 00:56

Awesome! That’s really impressive. I think I’ll stick to fair weather and avoid commuting for safety reasons, the road to work is very busy and very narrow with blind corners and things.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > smobgirl
08/29/2016 at 00:57

You can do it! I have faith in your ability to procrastinate! Or you know, just swap pedals from another bike

BoulderZ > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/29/2016 at 01:02

Indeed, all routes are *very* relative, and weather is definitely an acquired taste. I’m very lucky where I am. Many places are really not good for it at all. Enjoy!

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/29/2016 at 04:05

Kinja'd!!!

riding a bike sucks when you start riding again (when my cycling sabbatical ended I felt like my lung was about to fall apart)...but you can get your body to new lengths. And please don’t ever get this jersey. You’re only 30, you are still a young doggo

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/29/2016 at 07:52

I haven’t gone on a bike ride in a long time. But that is mostly because I picked up hiking and my mountain bike is a hardtail with no front suspension. That makes for some uncomfortable rides! At least I have some nice knobby off road tires on it but its just a struggle with rocks going downhill. Once the cooler fall air rolls in, I think I will try to pick it up again though. This time of the year is just way too hot.

TheRealBicycleBuck > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/29/2016 at 08:29

“Proper” road cycles are over-rated. I realized that if I wasn’t competing, it didn’t make sense to ride 23 mm tires pumped to 120 psi. So I bought a cyclocross frame and mounted 35 mm tires which max out at 80 psi. It makes a huge difference in ride comfort.

For many years I used a mountain bike with street slicks for commuting. The same skills you use to hop obstacles off-road work for curbs, grates, etc. and make the commute just a little faster and a lot more fun.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > TheRealBicycleBuck
08/29/2016 at 09:07

Completely agree. I don’t run slicks though because mine sees dirt on occasion. Or used to anyways, and hopefully will again.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/29/2016 at 09:10

Hiking is great too, I’ve been trying to do more of that this summer. And I’ve taken my nephew who inevitably decides hiking is too slow, and we start trail running instead. That is super fun.

functionoverfashion > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/29/2016 at 09:10

Nice! I started mountain biking a couple years ago after taking 8 years off (yes, eight! you want feel young? There ya go). So I started riding my old bike that I bought for $300 in high school. Riding with my friends who all have $3000 mountain bikes. I felt like a schmuck but I kinda-sorta kept up, and I had to prove to myself that I’d actually go and do it, before blowing a ton of money on a bike, what with a full time job and two young kids.

But man, it was worth it. I’m in great shape - relatively - and I got a great deal on a new bike, all blessed by the wife, and I can get out in the woods with my friends to drink beer ride bikes at least once, maybe twice a week. It doesn’t hurt that there are trails right from my house. And it’s all in the name of fitness!

Cheers. How sore are you today?

TheRealBicycleBuck > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/29/2016 at 09:15

When I was in college and only had room for one bike, my ride was a mtb with slicks. I bought a second set of wheels and mounted knobbies so that weekend trips to the trails were just a wheel swap away. It was much better than trying to swap out tires and tubes or riding knobbies on the street.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > functionoverfashion
08/29/2016 at 09:19

Nice! Sounds a lot like my story but with current numbers, my bike was just over $300 shortly after high school. Hopefully will make it out with friends at some point, but I’m not lucky enough to have trails right by my house, at least that I know of!

Actually not too sore at all, I’ve been doing a bit a of walking and hiking all summer, and try to be active anyways. It was mostly the cardio part that killed me.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > TheRealBicycleBuck
08/29/2016 at 09:22

That’s a really good idea. I might look into that. Or I might just keep it how it is, my city has a lot of dirt trails that I would love to ride. I just need to get my stamina up so I can make it to those trails.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/29/2016 at 09:23

Trail running always seems so dangerous. I feel like I trip on stuff often enough while hiking and would just eat shit if I were running. But I also enjoy the relatively slow pace of hiking. It is more about the slow and steady than anything. I tend to miss out on the scenery while biking but doing it on foot really forces me to just observe every detail.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/29/2016 at 09:28

I definitely understand that feeling. Luckily I’ve always been pretty sure footed and never had too many issues tripping. And the danger is part of what makes it fun! Definitely miss out on scenery though.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/29/2016 at 09:31

Oh man, and I definitely would have been eaten by snakes if I were running during a couple of my hikes. There have been twice where I came across a rattle snake and only knew it was there because the bush next to me started rattling so I backed away. Those fuckers are scary!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/29/2016 at 09:34

Ahh! Luckily I don’t have to worry about them. The only potentially deadly creatures I have to worry about are brown recluse spiders (very rarely deadly, and not terribly common anyway) and the wife!

TheRealBicycleBuck > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/29/2016 at 10:43

It can be done. While on an organized training ride for my first MS150, I heard what sounded like a monster truck approaching from behind. It was some random MTB guy on full knobbies (not semi-slicks). We were cruising between 18 and 20 mph. He was doing at least 22 by himself. I never saw him again, so I don’t know if he bonked, turned off, or just powered through the full 45 miles.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/29/2016 at 10:44

Well if you get back into it and get back into shape, you can easily say that you’re tougher than any of the tough- looking leather-wearing fatties you see on motorcycles.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
08/29/2016 at 10:46

If you have big knobby tires, you can mitigate the harsh ride somewhat by dropping the air pressure in the tires to around 25-30psi instead of the usual 40PSI that goes into those tires.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > BoulderZ
08/29/2016 at 10:49

I hate riding in cold weather. Getting the right clothing balance is a challenge. I found it’s hard keeping my extremities (hands, feet) from getting too cold and my core from getting too hot on longer rides.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > TheRealBicycleBuck
08/29/2016 at 10:50

Impressive! That’s the other thing I like about mtb’s and knobbies on the street, the looks you get from the guys with skinny tires and spandex, and it’s that much more of a workout.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
08/29/2016 at 10:51

Lol except I’m still a scrawny little white boy! Nobody is going to think I’m tough!

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/29/2016 at 11:16

That’s okay... what you lack in size, you can make up for it in tenacity and endurance.... kind of like this:

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
08/29/2016 at 11:22

It’s not that harsh on normal trails but rock gardens with any sort of speed are quite painful. It is just part of the trouble with a hard tail no front suspension bike. I normally run it around 30 psi for that very reason. My bike has been sitting on my porch since like last fall though. I am thinking about finding some time to ride it again but I think I will just avoid rock gardens.

DynamicWeight > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
08/29/2016 at 11:43

Starting with a big hill is not a mistake! Always climb first. Also, as a fellow 30 year old, I commute by bike nearly every day, it’s great!

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > DynamicWeight
08/29/2016 at 12:26

I think I should have started with a considerably less step hill. Unfortunately my route to work would be scary on a bicycle, too narrow and too much traffic with blind curves at 40+mph.

BoulderZ > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
08/30/2016 at 01:09

I couldn’t agree more. The farther the temperature diverges from median “comfortable”, say 70 F, the narrower the margin of error for dressing. My only success has been in layering and what I’ll call Adaptable Gear, such as synthetic base, zippered mid layers, and configurable outerwear (pit zips, full zips and storm flaps, cuff systems, hood conversions, and so on). But a shell layer alone can be $500+ these days (top, bottom, shoes, etc.). Add in the need to carry a few options (now you’re looking at high dollar bags, or locking cargo boxes on racks...), and it’s not at all straight forward, or cheap, or simple. Time makes it simpler, but time is maybe the most expensive commodity of all.