Messages

31

Routes / August ride across america

« on: May 02, 2007, 02:31:38 pm »

Hello,
I just became a paid memeber and just joined the forums. I am looking for any advice in formulating a route from Nags head NC to Eugene Oregon. The ride is to draw attention and awareness to a goal that I want to achieve which is create an international NGO to build a montesorri school in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan. I know about the cyclist yellow pages (now) But really I need advice in sturcturing the route to go where I need to go and stop every day in a city to meet with churches and other organizations to ask for sponsership and volunteers.To be honest I used to simply race ride and train never rode across america. I am simply being honest, I can't really sit in one spot and pourt over maps constantly, so if anyone has some advice to make it simpler please advise me. I can ride and race very well...it is the talent god gave me, I want to use my talent to being other peoples to my cause that have talents in areas like administration, clerical, etc... All of this is tertiary to my main goal of simply riding the route and understanding how to formulate it better.

Thank you.

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

32

General Discussion / Sports drinks

« on: June 08, 2007, 10:18:11 am »

OK,
So obviously we have two conflicting suggestions. So instead of posting an argument, I will only add couple of things and let it go at that. The reason I said what i said about pasta is because it is true. Pastas are difficult for the body to digest. I am not a nutritional expert either. I just raced for a long  time in my life, like on an actual . The reason Cyclist and pasta go together is because in order to gain the benefits of pasta, you need to have it in your daily diet, and proportionatlly. Never  eat a huge gigantic plate of it before or even after a ride.

 But you know instead of inciting ome kind of debate over it that's simply my opinion,just take that as a simple suggestion.

Sports drinks?(AGAIN my simple opinion)

People love to swear by things like Cytomax..well that's dandy I guess, and I know many teams use it. I never noticed the difference between it and gatorade. That's just me. I will say that on long hot rides, I prefer cold water over everything. Gatorade is the bomb too but nothing beats cold water ON a ride. And carrying mixed bottle sets one gatorade one water is what I do as well. I used to mix a little kool-aide (sweetened) and gatorade at times. Another good thing to mix into gatorade for replacement afer a ride is something called :  emer'gen-c    .it is a dietary supplement that is claimed to be an energy booster. But the reason i mix it in with things like gatorade or kool-aide is because of what is in it:
some of what is in it:

Vitamin C B1 B2 B3 B6 B12

POTASSIUM

Chromium.

MOst of the other stuff in it will neithe take away or help but the things I listed DO help recovery. You can certainly find it in places like Organic grocery stores, whole foods carries it I believe and other health food stores.

It works..the taste is not all that but gulping it down with gatorade or kool-aid makes it hunky doory.
Having said these things..


If I came off as some kind of know-it-all expert then just forget what i said and simply go with what you feel and think will wotk.

Safe riding,

and have fun out there.

Paul.

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

33

General Discussion / Sports drinks

« on: June 06, 2007, 10:11:47 am »

Pastas and complex carbs should be eaten days before you plan on utilizing those carbs. simpler ones say like fresh breads have enougn sugars and fats in them to immediatly make you feel better.

I raced, for  along long time here is what worked for me:

AFTER a long ride? I would immeditaly drink ice cold milk and ovaltine OVALTINE. for meals? Believe it or not the things I got the most benefit from were: Ramen noodles with an egg dropped in (simple egg drop). The noodles are cheap and break down very quikly. I rode like a monster the weeks i ate them as my noon meal. Another thing that helped me HELPED me after a long grueling ride was two ice cold beers. Not three or more just two. Rerlxaed my muscles and I usually drank them later on in the evening, when I woke up I was READY to ride.

Things that never worked for me:
Protein shakes.
Power bars.
eating podwered anything out of a can.

Things that worked for me:
Dr.Peppers on long club rides.(sometimes we stopped for a rest and I drank one at a local ma and pa...ROCKET FUEL.
Eating plain corn flakes before a ride

Rice & eggs for breakfast.

Cliff Bars

Candy Bars
Eating pasta works and everything but don't DON'T eat it right before a ride. Or a day before either. Your body WORKS very hard to digest stuff like heavy pastas. You will ride worse than if you ate say a hamburger and some french fries. I generally eat pastas all week...but I eat smaller protions and know that if i eat say a monday meal of pasta, then be wednesday my body is ready to use that power.My best results came from stuff like Ramen pride, Chicken and rice, couple of beers before bed. I raced for 12 years, and this stuff worked for me after years of trying all the fad crap out there.

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

34

General Discussion / training over 50 yrs of age

« on: June 02, 2007, 04:28:47 pm »

Sail,
Those are great times sir. I average 18.4 MPH in the mountains of Boone. And that is me trying, 13-14 is great. And centuries are supposed to be laid back you get so much more benefit from the spinning and time on bike.Couple this with your age AND ailments, I think those speeds are good.

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

35

General Discussion / training over 50 yrs of age

« on: May 30, 2007, 01:37:00 pm »

Have you ever ridden a  bike seriously?(meaning: Have you ever ridden more than 10 miles at a given time and for periods ranging from weeks to months.)
If not then riding neighborhoods and small 10 mile loops is very very wise. As time goes on you can increase this loop and include things liek climbs, descents and other factors to augment your training.
I would be sure your doctor understands what you intend to do and then if he says 'ok' yet again then I say go for it and listen to your body.


"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

36

General Discussion / Pay phones in Canada

« on: May 30, 2007, 01:39:11 pm »

As much as I hate them too cells add a level of insurance to your ride. Tracfones cost like 20.00$ and you can get  times ranging from 20-50.00 quite easily. Otherwise I would do as you have mentioned stick to grocery stores for contacting the states.

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

37

General Discussion / Toruing shoes

« on: May 21, 2007, 05:05:20 pm »

Again as I have always told others here . Go to your local bike shop. Mountain bike shoes seem like the best way to go, but you have to realize that if you buy cheap shoes then expect a cheap result. I have a pair of road racing shoes that are almost ten years old..I use them for training and they lasted so long because when I first bought them I spent the money for a quality shoe.I understand budgets and the like and respect it, but two things you should never be cheap with, Tires or Shoes. Tires are the single most important aspect of your ride, and shoes come in second.

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

This message was edited by boonebikeguy on 5-21-07 @ 1:05 PM

38

General Discussion / Bike Stolen 2 Weeks Before X-Country Trip--IDEAS?

« on: May 26, 2007, 11:44:00 am »

Surly makes quality frames dude. Them and Soma. I am happy to see you got a Surly and one locally.

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

39

General Discussion / Bike Stolen 2 Weeks Before X-Country Trip--IDEAS?

« on: May 18, 2007, 12:34:51 pm »

I have a 53-54cm Puegeot racing frame...I could sell it to you. Cheap. It CAN be built up to at least 9-speed tech complete with STI shifters etc..if you invest a little money. Otherwise I suggest you hit a local bike shop or e-bay or even your local paper. Obviously somone watched you put your bike there recognized the components and frame as wrthy and ganked it. I won't say the "told you so" bulls--it about not locking it up...so my condolenjces.

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

This message was edited by boonebikeguy on 5-18-07 @ 9:31 AM

40

General Discussion / Spare Tire recommendations

« on: May 18, 2007, 12:44:54 pm »

Yeah. Ingnore going online first of all and support a local shop is my first suggestion. I am sure everyone here told you to shop online. Bad choice when it comes to things like tires..and I will explain. Possibally tires can be damged in shipping a mere scratch on the sidewall and you will be sending it back IF you catch it.  Secondly never buy JUST ONE tire. always buy a set, rotate them onto your bike at ther same time, then after some time of riding ROTATE the tires on the bike back to front.

Third. Shopping online is dandy wonderful. However supporting local shops has its advantages. The small amount of mark up in prices are usually the same you pay in that wonderful shipping cost for ONE TIRE. You also find great deals on 26's most of the time and can look at the set and see what you are getting without mix up mistakes and delays. Remember BUY A SET not one tire. If you can I mean I can certainly understand being frugal but when it comes to tires..the most important aspect of your bike, never buy them online if you can simply buy them locally. Find a bike shop near you and go there.I mean I luve me some Bike Nashbar and junk, but like I am buying my Giant locally and got a sweet deal and on lay-away without spending a lot of dough on shipping. The wheel set was THROWN IN...a bontranger racing wheel set that was RODE for thirty minutes by some snooty bike snob and switched out from a custom made frame, but BECAUSE I came to them they threw them in for no increase..pretty bad ass.
my good fellow you will never find deals like that online I can assure you.So online bike purchases are the cats pajamas....SOMETIMES. But local shops need your support or you'll end up not being able to even get a repair locally because you chose to shop online first.

Just my two-bits.

Oh yeah stay away from wire beads, they may be cheaper but to me theyr are not worth it. My best clinchers have never had them . Never buy really cheap tires, they are horrible. Always be willing to spend the good amount for good tires Bottom line everything on your bike depends on what you are riding on, Crappy cheap tires leave you with a crappy cheap ride, even spares should never be cheap crappy tires.

Paul.

PS
Even SPARES I buy in pairs..because if i have to replace one tire I just rotate the other in and use the older tire as my new spare. Make sense?

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

This message was edited by boonebikeguy on 5-18-07 @ 9:26 AM

41

General Discussion / BUs, pane or train?

« on: May 10, 2007, 02:17:16 pm »

Yeah I agree I was thinking the whole time that I need not worry about that rap right now. Thx

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

42

General Discussion / BUs, pane or train?

« on: May 10, 2007, 02:48:58 am »

I am trying to hammer out the last detail..my return from a coast to coast trip.... ANY suggestions would be muy muy good.

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

43

General Discussion / Solo touring

« on: May 09, 2007, 09:56:40 am »

Wow two years..in the 1880's pretty impressive.

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

44

General Discussion / Solo touring

« on: May 08, 2007, 11:39:37 pm »

Yea man what Dannyboy said. I have done a lot of shoirt tours like around Texas and in Kyrgyzstan, this year will be my very first trans america...I am so excited...can't wait. And I'll do it on my own regrdless...I'd love company but bottom line? ACA has roputes that are built with YOU in mind and relegate you away from busy interstates....
Please ride well and may the wind be with you.Always!!!

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb

45

General Discussion / Tech site for cheap equipment

« on: May 08, 2007, 02:32:34 pm »

I thought I would share this site with you folks:

http://www.tigerdirect.com

Anything electronic at really low prices.
I am bying my GPS, MP3 Player and a digi camera from them for my august ride.
I reccomend this site for bike nuts.

"Love is a river where crazy people drown"--Kyrgyz proverb