Have A Saddle – October 17th Bike Ride

Texbiker.net Posted on by

The second adventure on my new Motobecane bike was as smooth and quiet as yesterday’s first ride. The correction of the saddle angle made the ride much more comfortable. The ride is firm but forgiving for all but the most severe bumps. There are two sections of the route in Oakhurst where the developer decided cobblestones in wide bands across the road would make an attractive design statement. If you are in a car they are noisy and somewhat rough but on my bikes these are teeth-rattling and bike shaking as I ride through them. It reminds me of certain race in France. I have found a path or technique that seems to minimize the vibrations but it is still rough.

Today’s weather is mostly cloudy rather than yesterday’s almost total blue sky. The temperature is 81 degrees but in the shade there was a hint of coolness. A 4 mph variable breeze was all there was. I wore my People for Bikes jersey. It was comfortable and the fit was perfect.

Todya’s ride data:

  • October miles 341.63
  • YTD miles 4343.23

10-17-2010 Ride Data

Additional charts and map.

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Texas Recycles Day Bicycle Round-up and Rodeo – Plano, TX

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Texas Recycles Day Bicycle Round-up and Rodeo
Saturday, November 13
Presented by Environmental Education Center – City of Plano
FREE!

official website

Find the old bicycles hiding in your garage, then ride them, tow them or pull them to the Bicycle Round-up and rodeo. Bikes for Tykes will be collecting bicycles for kids of all ages. Learn more at the adult’s bicycle safety seminars, children’s bicycle safety course, bicycle repair workshops, novice adult’s bicycle ride, and Bicycle Commuting Corral.

Dates:

* Saturday, November 13, 2010 @ 9:00 am
Texas Recycles Days

Texas Bicycling Blog and News Roundup for October 16th

Texbiker.net Posted on by

Collegiate MTB Nationals: Division 1&2 XC Results
from singletrack.com
2010 Collegiate Mountain Bike Nationals: Division 1&2 XC results from Northstar-at-Tahoe.
29. Chad Haga , Texas A & M University , at in 2:34:26
39. Christopher Haga , Texas A & M University , at in 2:41:44
47. Tom Schafer , Texas A & M University , at in 2:49:47
48. Sam Malanowski , Stanford University , at in 2:50:03
49. Shawn Small , Texas A & M University , at in 2:51:10
65. Brandon Ewers , Texas State University-San Marcos , at in -1lp

MORE BICYCLE CRASHES ON DALLAS BIKE TRAILS | Dallas, Texas …
from www.montesheraldblog.com
Wednesday, October 13, 2010 there were two bicycle accidents on bike trails in Dallas. The first incident involved a ped. …

Bike-in gets city rolling with its bicycle plans | Texas Cable …
from www.TXCN.com
Bicyclists from across the area rode along Houston Street on Friday morning on their way to Dallas City Hall.

And as cars, trucks and buses rumbled along nearby streets, the riders gathered in front of City Hall in another show of support for two-wheeled transportation.

About 100 cyclists participated Friday in the second annual Bike to City Hall event. …

October 16th Bike Ride – Smooth and Quiet

Texbiker.net Posted on by

This was the first long ride on my new Motobecane Le Champion CF. On Wednesday I went around the block to test my assembly work. Today was much more extensive at 50.10 miles. I did have to make a couple of adjustments shortly have I started. The handlebar stem bolts were not tight enough so the handlebar rotated but a few turns of the Allen wrench and that was fixed. Then the rear derailleur was not shifting right and adjusting the rear tension by one and a half turns fixed that.

2011 Motobecane Le Champion after today's ride

Since this is a new bike I was paying attention to how this bike rode versus my Mercier aluminum/carbon frame bike. The first thing I notice was how quiet and smooth the ride was. This is probably a function of being new while the Mercier is 5 years old. The miles can cause a noises to come about. The smooth ride was another thing though. Bumps felt different and the metal sound was not there either. Sometimes the ride reminded me of my Cannondale R600 all aluminum frame bike from many years ago with a firm ride but the Cannondale had no forgiveness with irregular road surfaces like “chip and seal”. One ride years ago on SR321 from Cleveland to Dayton (Texas for both of these) was a stretch of the roughest “chip and seal” I had ever encountered. My dentures were left along the road; oops I don’t have dentures. The Motobecane was a delight to ride but I did need to correct the saddle angle when I got home from the tip up to high position to level. Shimano Ultegra 6700 components shift with almost no effort. My Mercier has this Ultegra group but the shifting is better on the new ones.

Tomorrow I will have another ride of about 26 miles to gather more information. So far I am impressed with the bike and the ride. The handlebar tape wrap is very impressive and over 50 miles I had some time to look at it. The wrap is tight and the overlaps very precise. The Motobecane logo is embossed into the tape and visible about every turn over the handlebars.

This is not the final configuration. I am waiting on Shimano Ultegra pedals and a Lezyne aluminum frame pump. Amazon.com is scheduled to deliver these next week. I am not familiar with the Lezyne pump but the reviews were very positive. I like the look of the pump and the water bottle carrier.

Today’s ride data:

  • October miles 315.07
  • YTD miles 4316.66

Additional charts and map.

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