Show us your.......newbie progress!

[Nigelnaturist]

@pdh nice one, as @Mo1959 says the first anything is always nice also to backup what say said about the distance, it won't belong before 20 miles feels like you haven't been out.

Last thing about computers, this CPU I have just got, if what I read is true I might be able to unlock the 4th core on it making it a quad core, even a modest overclock, should get it close to if not better than mine

 

[Stonechat]

Got my first strava badge for doing a 2 hour ride

Got to the end of that ride and my hips were killing me, adjusted seat down a tiny bit and it's much better. Understanding far more how the steering woks and how shortening the stem has affected it, it's perfectly fine in the drops which is where I am 90% of the time and I'm starting to try to use the brakes on the top rather than suicide levers all the time now.

Never heard the term suicide levers before

I don't spend that much time on the drops, am mainly on the hoods, my 63 year old back is slowly adapting and I go onto the drops when into a stiff wind or on a descent, cannot stay too long

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Never heard the term suicide levers before

I don't spend that much time on the drops, am mainly on the hoods, my 63 year old back is slowly adapting and I go onto the drops when into a stiff wind or on a descent, cannot stay too long

The term comes from the levers that went under the bars on 70/80's racers and were very ineffectual at applying the brakes hence the term suicide levers. I had them on a Gitane, also another suicide option on that bike was the position of the gear levers on the headstock so if you were in a low gear on the rear so the lever was in the down position and you got out of the saddle to sprint you tended to catch it with your right knee there by got from 1 to 5th let you figure out what happens when you have so much slack chain to take up.

 

[Stonechat]

The term comes from the levers that went under the bars on 70/80's racers and were very ineffectual at applying the brakes hence the term suicide levers. I had them on a Gitane, also another suicide option on that bike was the position of the gear levers on the headstock so if you were in a low gear on the rear so the lever was in the down position and you got out of the saddle to sprint you tended to catch it with your right knee there by got from 1 to 5th let you figure out what happens when you have so much slack chain to take up.

Ah my old Claud Butler had those brakes that had an extension under the bars

 

[Learnincurve]

I may have confused my terms, I was on the hoods 90% of the time and tried the drops once and went "I don't like this" and went up again.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

I may have confused my terms, I was on the hoods 90% of the time and tried the drops once and went "I don't like this" and went up again.

You get use to it the more you do it, give me an extra 1mph or so on the flat at a steady cad of about 90-95, helps into the wind too.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Got my first strava badge for doing a 2 hour ride

darn it. didn't know about that. I have just done an epic 14.3 miles in 1hr 56 mins 56 seconds. I could have ridden around the pond a few more times and got a badge! Mind you having looked it up,. they were not exactly roads I haven't cycled before and I didn't take any photos either... The weather was for the most of it medium dense fog/hill cloud

 

[Harv]

http://www.strava.com/activities/279606503

Not been out much this year. Had a goof ride out with the family seeing as it's getting warmer.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

wey hay.... 14 miles but just not very fast... a little under 2 hours.
Must try harder... The really annoying thing was that had I have been just that little bit slower I could have got a strava challenge badge!
https://www.strava.com/activities/279519451

 

[Barnet Goat]

Did my first 100km ride yesterday (112k). Barnet to Hitchin via Wheathampstead and back via Watton and Essendon. Average speed a meagre 12.5mph. Thank you to the man in the white BMW and the cyclist who offered help when I was sat on a tree stump changing an inner tube. Thighs hurt today but did a short 15 miles nonetheless.

 

[Learnincurve]

Challenge is till the 7th so there is time for people

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Challenge is till the 7th so there is time for people

yep - all I have to do is take a photo, tag it and go slower tomorrow!

 

[Supersuperleeds]

darn it. didn't know about that. I have just done an epic 14.3 miles in 1hr 56 mins 56 seconds. I could have ridden around the pond a few more times and got a badge! Mind you having looked it up,. they were not exactly roads I haven't cycled before and I didn't take any photos either... The weather was for the most of it medium dense fog/hill cloud

You don't need to take the photo to get the badge or ride new roads, just do the time.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

You don't need to take the photo to get the badge or ride new roads, just do the time.

missed it by 3 minutes today! ride time was 1 hr 56 mins 56 seconds. elapsed time 1 hr 58 minutes 40 seconds... :bloody typical:

so same route tomorrow, and just so it more slowly!

 

[Nomadski]

Latest update on my mini odyssey since changing the cassette...

Wasn't able to shift much by the end of my last ride, and found I couldn't shift at all after trying to index the gears. Spotted fraying occurring on the rear gearing cable under the downtube so decided to have the cable out for a look...

Had the bike on a stand and dismantled the rear gearing cable and when the cable came out of the 105 shifter it looked like this...

Saw the cable had dismantled itself in and around the internals of the shifter so took it to the only place open...Halfords....

The guy essentially took it all apart and managed to get out the jammed cable and the stopper thingy at the end of what was left of the cable...

No wonder I was struggling to shift...

Thanks to @themosquitoking for his help today!