NFC Discussion Forums

402 posts

Tour of California

2008 Tour of California starts Sunday. Preview was on Versus TV last weekend. Gonna be tougher. Lots of big names this year including Tom Boonen.

2/23/2008 8:19:35 AM

402 posts

Levi Leipheimer rode an impressive time trial yesterday, cementing his yellow jersey. He beat the time trial world champ, Fabian Cancellara, by over a minute. David Millar was actually second, 30 seconds behind.

2/25/2008 5:10:59 AM

402 posts

Leipheimer wins the overall again. Hincapie wins the final stage in a great race. David Millar takes 2nd overall.

2/25/2008 3:54:28 PM

18 posts

Hi Dave! How's the biking/fencing/teaching in Illinois going? I've started biking and realized two things: 1. I quickly found out that biking here in the Pacific Northwest is way different than what I remember in Chicagoland. 2. I should contact you and Will to see how your biking is going, and ask you guys beginner questions. Tom CF

2/26/2008 5:12:53 AM

402 posts

Tom,

Great to hear from you! Ask any questions you want, you probably know I love talking biking. My biking is going well, although the weather is keeping me inside. I have been going to spinning classes pretty regularly to stay/get in shape.

Since I am now spending spring break/summer break in Utah, I am biking a lot out there, and , yes, it is real different than around here. Much tougher but more fun, too.

As for Will's biking... He has a couple of real nice bikes.

2/26/2008 8:08:46 AM

Will

625 posts

lol, yeah, I own two really nice bikes, which don't get ridden ever. Largely due to time issues...being that the hours I have to ride, aren't hours ridable. My daytime hours are mostly spent writing music. I would love to ride though, I still WANT to, but I need the career more. I'm hopeful that when I can not run three small businesses at the same time, I'll have a little more time to ride.

Fencing/fitness wise, I've had a tough winter, and I'm behind where I hoped to be right now, but I'm working on running more than anything else, and I'm planning on doing some serious fencing again this fall, spending the winter, spring, and summer working on my aerobic/anaerobic fitness, muscular development, and sport-specific skills. The general idea in a nutshell is that I'm re-tooling as a fencer to compete less as a larger power fencer, and fence with a much smaller frame, much much lower bodyweight. As you would imagine, that's a lot of work and change, and takes quite a bit of time. I have loved being 230-235lbs consistently over the past several years, and all that mass and power is a ball to throw around, but it's time to change for so many reasons, ranging from feeling I've taken that model as a fencer as far as I personally can take it, to wanting to have good health as I age, to just looking better. So I'm sure fencing around 185lbs or lower will be a lot of fun as well.

Never let fencing as a sport get the best of your love for fencing. The love of the fight, the combat, the sheer fun of jumping around poking people. The sport will strangle that in it's crib, if you let it. You compete to improve your fencing, you don't fence to improve your competing.

2/26/2008 9:02:27 AM

402 posts

Yeah, I was just pulling your chain, Will.

2/26/2008 11:03:03 AM

18 posts

I got a relatively inexpensive but decent bike (Giant) at the local bike shop. I'm figuring out how to get going without hurting myself. I'm already doing physical therapy for my left shoulder, so I'd rather not start another round. My other challenge is that I'm near the top of a hill. Any direction I go is a 100m drop, which means I have to finish my ride with a 100m climb (varying between 3% and 8% grades). If I go anywhere interesting, then I have multiple climbs (and drops) before I get home. Anyway, my first question is, do you find any accessories useful? I have a seat pouch for keys, ID and phone. Water bottle holder? Anything else?

2/26/2008 11:52:37 AM

402 posts

Make sure to carry spare tubes, and either a small frame pump or a co2 cartridge system. I personally prefer the cartridges since it takes no effort to inflate the tire after a flat. Also make sure to get tire irons to remove the tire if it flats. Walking home is no fun. I also carry a small patch kit in case of a worst case scenario. I prefer a Camelback for hydration, but I do pretty long rides and take bottles and a Camelback on most rides.

I know you won't overdo it on rides to begin with, but once you get in biking shape you will be glad you live on a hill. The only thing as good as doing hill climbs and repeats is to do sprint intervals. Of course if you are just riding for fun, the hill can be a pain. Do you wear cycling gloves? They are nice to prevent numbness and if you happen to fall they protect your hands.

If you want a good online source of information, try searching for Harris Cyclery or sheldon brown. There is some excellent information there. Online sources of bicycle equipment are www.performancebike.com or www.bikenashbar.com.

2/26/2008 11:56:50 AM

402 posts

Also www.pricepoint.com

Do you have a bike computer? I personally would never ride without one. You can go cheap or expensive depending on what you want. I have a Garmin gps bike computer. I think it is called an Edge 305.

www.sheldonbrown.com is the website for his info. He just recently passed away, but the information is great.

2/26/2008 10:15:47 PM

Will

625 posts

Oh, I know you were, I just wanted to say that junk. You know me, I'm worse than a political candidate about using any chance to get a good message in.

I echo dave's comments about gloves, I think the biggest things when I started were gloves, and buying GOOD bike shorts. Really look at the shammy. Good riding sunglasses were really helpful as well, just lightweight wrap arounds, helps keep the wind off your eyeballs too. I personally found a smaller profile seat combined with a heavy(ier) duty shorts were more comfortable over longer rides than the bigger plusher seat. Bike multi-tool? I forget if that was mentioned. Aerobars are sweet. Bar ends are great too, I have some big carbon fibre ones for my gary fisher mountain bike, and having the ability to change positions is invaluable. Clothes make a lot of difference in comfort, perhaps more than you'd initially guess. I know I love the windproof jacket I bought, since every time I seemed to ride with Dave, it was somehow freezing.

I'm assuming you're using clipless pedals...if you aren't, then start. They. Are. Important.

2/27/2008 3:54:06 PM

18 posts

Already got decent bike shorts, gloves are probably next up. Glasses aren't an issue yet, since I'm mostly going up and down (http://web.mac.com/tchwojko) rather than any distance. I'll probably switch to clipless pedals at some point. I have clips right now, and they don't fit my big feet all that well. If I start hitting some goals, I'll start justifying spending the money. :) Thanks for the advice guys!

2/28/2008 5:42:10 PM

18 posts