Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Cycling year 2011 is over for me
The 2011 cycling year is over for me though some enthusiasts still are riding. Yesterday I was in Riga, the capital of Latvia (240 km south from Tartu), it was nice +7oC and I saw several cyclists still training, however, in Tartu the weather is already bad for cycling, indeed. My year 2011 final milage is over 3000 km (over 2000 by the road bike and the 1000 by MTB), I am rather happy with this effort. I know that the "serious" cycling enthusiasts ride annually 5000-6000 km but the 3000 km sounds also OK for me. During the last two weeks I suffered from a sub-acute virus infection, common for this season of the year and could not train. Well, actually I could but I did not want to take any health risks. Now I hope there will be snow soon and I can start cross country skiing. The aim for XC skiing is something 200 km, mostly in classic style. Let's see, there is no snow yet. And to be honest, XC skiing is for me just only fun and nothing else, unlike the biking that is for me a challenge.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
The cycling season ends soon
It is about two weeks from the time I created the blog and wrote the first post. Not much to report, the cycling season in Estonia will end quite soon though the weather is relatively nice for the beginning of November. One can still see some enthusiasts riding on the roads, but rather due to the darkness than temperature or rain it is a dangerous activity. As the car drivers do not respect cyclists in Estonia, every week a cyclist is killed in the traffic. Well, I admit that most of those tragic cases have connections to alcohol, i.e. either the driver or the rider was intoxicated. Nonetheless, I feel it is time to stop cycling for this season, at least in the evenings. Probably I will ride during the weekend a short distance but that will be all for this year.
Another case is the daily commuting between the home and the working place. The distance is short (2.5 km only) and only about 500 m I have to use the heavily trafficked street. Though sometimes I have to use the car, last winter I tried to ride regardless of the weather conditions throughout the winter. In late November I will again install the studded winter tires (Schwalbe Snow Stud: http://www.schwalbetires.com/node/1368). The studded bicycle tires are an excellent invention, though expensive (2 x 30 = 60 EUR ). Last year there was once -25.5 oC in the morning, the streets were empty as the cars did not start, but I rode to my working place. The lubricant in the bottom bracket and hubs was so thick that it was physically exhausting to pedal, however, the studded winter tires were OK. The colleagues commented and asked whether this is masochism or exhibitionism? To be honest, the latter one sounds more likely...
Next time I will summarize my 2011 training diary.
Another case is the daily commuting between the home and the working place. The distance is short (2.5 km only) and only about 500 m I have to use the heavily trafficked street. Though sometimes I have to use the car, last winter I tried to ride regardless of the weather conditions throughout the winter. In late November I will again install the studded winter tires (Schwalbe Snow Stud: http://www.schwalbetires.com/node/1368). The studded bicycle tires are an excellent invention, though expensive (2 x 30 = 60 EUR ). Last year there was once -25.5 oC in the morning, the streets were empty as the cars did not start, but I rode to my working place. The lubricant in the bottom bracket and hubs was so thick that it was physically exhausting to pedal, however, the studded winter tires were OK. The colleagues commented and asked whether this is masochism or exhibitionism? To be honest, the latter one sounds more likely...
Next time I will summarize my 2011 training diary.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Background of this blog
In the time we are living it is an accepted life-style to have a personal blog. I felt it is time to join the community of the bloggers.
However, this is not the main reason I start to store some of my ideas and feelings in an electronic form. The particular reason to start this blog is that I pre-ordered a new road bike and I would not only like to share my experience with this bike but more importantly, I would like to proof myself that the order of a such an expensive "toy" really makes sense and it is not only an expression of the midlife crisis every man faces in his forties.
So far you can find the specs of my new bike from the Scott's homepage http://www.scott-sports.com/us_en/product/11270/64644/221878 . I am not a Scott bikes fan but the local Scott representative is the only bicycle shop in Tartu that has an acceptable range of bikes in stock to try. I rode some tens of meters with a bike similar to that I ordered and I was happy with the feeling I experienced. I have at the moment three different bikes (all are cheap entry level recreational bikes, one old Merida Road 850-14 road bike - with the frame far too large for me -, and two MTBs, one for everyday commuting in town and the another a bit better for occasional of-road riding). I purchased these bikes 2009-2010 when I started to cycle in order to drop my (over-)weight. In the beginning I was a total rookie with regard to everything related to bikes and cycling and I chose bikes only on the basis of their price tag (the cheaper the better...). Today I aim to ride annually 2000 km on-road and >500 km with the MTB (mostly still on tarmac and gravel roads) and it appeared that the cheap bikes simply do not last. I am a regular customer in bike service, for an example in all three bikes (likely due to my overweight) the chainrings of the cranksets are worn out (plus many-many other problems). So it was time to switch to a quality bike. I hope the Scott frame and Shimano 105 groupset will last (with an appropriate maintenance and service, of course) for the 10 000 km I plan to pass in the next four to five years.
Let's see, I will tell you, too...
However, this is not the main reason I start to store some of my ideas and feelings in an electronic form. The particular reason to start this blog is that I pre-ordered a new road bike and I would not only like to share my experience with this bike but more importantly, I would like to proof myself that the order of a such an expensive "toy" really makes sense and it is not only an expression of the midlife crisis every man faces in his forties.
So far you can find the specs of my new bike from the Scott's homepage http://www.scott-sports.com/us_en/product/11270/64644/221878 . I am not a Scott bikes fan but the local Scott representative is the only bicycle shop in Tartu that has an acceptable range of bikes in stock to try. I rode some tens of meters with a bike similar to that I ordered and I was happy with the feeling I experienced. I have at the moment three different bikes (all are cheap entry level recreational bikes, one old Merida Road 850-14 road bike - with the frame far too large for me -, and two MTBs, one for everyday commuting in town and the another a bit better for occasional of-road riding). I purchased these bikes 2009-2010 when I started to cycle in order to drop my (over-)weight. In the beginning I was a total rookie with regard to everything related to bikes and cycling and I chose bikes only on the basis of their price tag (the cheaper the better...). Today I aim to ride annually 2000 km on-road and >500 km with the MTB (mostly still on tarmac and gravel roads) and it appeared that the cheap bikes simply do not last. I am a regular customer in bike service, for an example in all three bikes (likely due to my overweight) the chainrings of the cranksets are worn out (plus many-many other problems). So it was time to switch to a quality bike. I hope the Scott frame and Shimano 105 groupset will last (with an appropriate maintenance and service, of course) for the 10 000 km I plan to pass in the next four to five years.
Let's see, I will tell you, too...
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