All things biking.

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Bad Gopher said:
Glad you like it. I've yet to drive or bike it myself, but I was involved in its design. The design team originally envisioned it as a (non bridge) high fill through that old mine but eventually took our advice and made it a bridge. In retrospect, I can't imagine it as a big pile of embankment. Also, we put the project manager in a headlock until he agreed to a 5 percent grade for economy (less rock excavation). A little steep in the uphill direction for bikers; hope it isn't too oppressive.
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Odd to even think of it any other way. Glad you went the route you did!
 

I recently read a book called Two Wheels Good, The History and Mystery of the Bicycle.

Really enjoyed it. Plenty of early history and some interesting looks at how bikes have been viewed culturally and politically. Just the section on China was fascinating. Bikes went from a hated symbol of Western Colonialism to Marxist tool to Pro Democracy vehicle to embarrassingly backwards anti-capitalist marker.

Also there is a chapter dedicated to Danny McCaskill. Dear god! I had forgotten this.

 



fan of Ray Williams said:
Vingegaard also involved in a crash and suffered injuries.

www.bbc.com

Jonas Vingegaard suffered lung injuries in Itzulia Basque Country crash

Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard suffered a collapsed lung in Thursday's crash in the Itzulia Basque Country race.
www.bbc.com
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Damn. That's a couple of losses for Team Visma early in the season, combined with losing Primoz Roglic in the offseason. Depending on how long they are out, that will definitely make for interesting Grand Tours like the Giro and possibly the TDF.
 




Spaulding!No! said:
Please forgive me. I rode an e-bike for the first time and it was amazing.
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No reason to ask for forgiveness at all! The e-bikes are fantastic, it gets more people out on the trail and builds interest in biking. Just don't be a complete dumbass, know how to handle your bike at higher speeds than you have been accustomed to, and for God's sake, wear a helmet.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
No reason to ask for forgiveness at all! The e-bikes are fantastic, it gets more people out on the trail and builds interest in biking. Just don't be a complete dumbass, know how to handle your bike at higher speeds than you have been accustomed to, and for God's sake, wear a helmet.
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And don't ride an e-bike on wet/muddy trails (true for any bike, not just e-bikes). E-bikes can weigh a lot, and can do a lot of damage to the trails. Make sure the trail is firm before you add a bunch of ruts to the path. I'll get off my soapbox now...
 




fan of Ray Williams said:
Says this looks like the Visma team for the Tour de France

x.com

x.com x.com
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That is going to be one tough team to beat, especially if they are all healthy. Kuss and Van Aert are obviously the most notable domestiques but honestly every one of those guys has a strong history of setting the pace on any Stage.

Looking forward to a good Tour!
 

I was going to post this last Sunday:

Note to self: If you are going to do the MS-150, you should train for it:rolleyes:
 




Ski U Mah Gopher said:
I was going to post this last Sunday:

Note to self: If you are going to do the MS-150, you should train for it:rolleyes:
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Holy crap, I just took a look... that ride is flat as f'k, and it's a net downhill. You can do that falling out of bed in the morning. A gain of a little over 1000 feet each of the two days? I can't hardly get 7 or 8 miles from my house without climbing over 700 feet...

I'm kidding.... a little bit anyway. Yes, if you don't ride that much, you need to do at least SOME prep work before events like those. But damn, that is a really flat route. Most everything in Minnesota is though.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
Holy crap, I just took a look... that ride is flat as f'k, and it's a net downhill. You can do that falling out of bed in the morning. A gain of a little over 1000 feet each of the two days? I can't hardly get 7 or 8 miles from my house without climbing over 700 feet...

I'm kidding.... a little bit anyway. Yes, if you don't ride that much, you need to do at least SOME prep work before events like those. But damn, that is a really flat route. Most everything in Minnesota is though.
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On hills in Minnesota:

The driftless area in SE Minnesota is quite hilly. The bluff and coulees are quite steep and challenging. The Wisconsin side is even more challenging.

On the MS-150 route:

Yes it is quite flat (except for the beginning and end), but my legs got really heavy at about mile 120. I would leave a rest stop and feel fine for about five or six miles, then die again. The ride ends on a nice .4 mile climb.
 


So much for the previous post some dummy decided to put up.

Two-time defending champion Vingegaard to ride in Tour de France​

Paris (AFP) – Two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard will ride in this year's Tour de France after recovering from the serious injuries he suffered earlier in the season his team Visma-Lease a Bike announced on Thursday.

www.france24.com

Two-time defending champion Vingegaard to ride in Tour de France

Two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard will ride in this year's Tour de France after recovering from the serious injuries he suffered earlier in the season his team Visma-Lease a Bike announced…
www.france24.com www.france24.com
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
So much for the previous post some dummy decided to put up.

Two-time defending champion Vingegaard to ride in Tour de France​

Paris (AFP) – Two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard will ride in this year's Tour de France after recovering from the serious injuries he suffered earlier in the season his team Visma-Lease a Bike announced on Thursday.

www.france24.com

Two-time defending champion Vingegaard to ride in Tour de France

Two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard will ride in this year's Tour de France after recovering from the serious injuries he suffered earlier in the season his team Visma-Lease a Bike announced…
www.france24.com www.france24.com
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This could (hopefully!) be a very interesting Tour. Pogacar is really good, obviously, and if healthy Jonas is really good. But there are going to be some strong contenders behind those two this year. Just as he did in last year's Vuelta, Sepp Kuss could certainly step up if Jonas isn't 100%, but Kuss hasn't looked 100% this year so far either.

Primos Roglic, now with Bora after leaving Jumbo, is going to be very strong and he'll have Jai Hindley helping pace him who was a factor during much of last year's Tour, along with Aleksander Vlasov who is also a very strong rider. I would expect Roglic to be the biggest threat to the two favorites.

Remco Evenepoel with Soudal-Quickstep is another who could most definitely factor in his first Tour. He won the Vuelta two years ago and was strong in the Dauphine earlier this year, although faded a lot in the last few mountain stages. He also broke his collar bone earlier this spring, which could factor. Remco is a rider to watch if he's healthy, a phenomenal climber. And they signed Mikel Landa to help pull Remco along, which will really help.

Ineos hasn't been on the podium recently, but Carlos Rodriguez will have a very very strong team with him; Tom Pidcock, Egan Bernal (seems to be healthy finally, Kwiatkowski is always a strong domestique, and Gerant Thomas SHOULD help, but could be tired after pushing to take 3rd at the Giro earlier this year.

Some other riders who will factor will be both Pello Bilbao (Bahrain), Felix Gall (AG2R), Richard Carapaz (EF), David Gaudu (Groupama), both Yates brothers, et al

I'm really hoping that Roglic, Remco and Rodriguez make this year's Tour more than just a duel between Jonas and Pogacar. At the very least, I'm expecting a FANTASTIC Tour kicking off next weekend
 

Spaulding!No! said:
Please forgive me. I rode an e-bike for the first time and it was amazing.
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My hot girlfriend and I bought e-bikes last Spring. They're like the fountain of youth. Especially great if you're riding with your lady. e-bikes are the great equalizer for women. No waiting for her to catch up. No whining. Just right there with you stride, for stride the whole way.

They're great for discovering a new city/town. We do a lot of weekend getaways, and bring the bikes with us. Des Moines, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Red Wing, Baraboo, etc. We also rented e-bikes in Chapel Hill & Boulder last year. You can zip around and see everything in the open air like on a regular bike, but can cover so much more ground.

The rails to trails thing is amazing. What a fantastic way to repurpose old railroad tracks, into fun, useful bike trails. We did Red Wing to Cannon Falls a few weeks ago. Stopped in Cannon Falls for a drink, before heading back to Reed Wing. 50 miles round trip in a few hours. Last weekend we did the Fox River Trail from Green Bay along the river, about 50 miles round trip. Stopped a a winery along the way. Tomorrow we'll be riding the Gandy Dancer trail from St Croix Falls to Danbury, and back. We'll probably have a beer at a couple townie bars along the way. Just a really nice way to get out in the good weather, and enjoy nature.

We also use them A LOT here in the metro. Start at Minnehaha Falls, down the river to the Stone Arch bridge. Up the street to the 1029 for a lobster roll. Back through downtown to the Mpls Sculpture Garden, along Lake of the Isles, & Cedar Lake, to Calhoun, Harriett, stop at the rose gardens, the zen gardens, the bird sanctuary, stop at the Malt Shop for a boozy shake, along Minnehaha Parkway, to Lake Nokomis, and end up back at Minnehaha Falls, without feeling the least bit tired, or breaking a sweat Same with St Paul. Start by the Lake St bridge, ride down the river/Warner Road past downtown Stp, loop back through Mounds Park (amazing views), hit the St Paul Brewing Co on Payne Ave. back through DT, up West 7th, Mancini's for an Old Fashioned.

So much fun.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
My hot girlfriend and I bought e-bikes last Spring. They're like the fountain of youth. Especially great if you're riding with your lady. e-bikes are the great equalizer for women. No waiting for her to catch up. No whining. Just right there with you stride, for stride the whole way.

They're great for discovering a new city/town. We do a lot of weekend getaways, and bring the bikes with us. Des Moines, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Red Wing, Baraboo, etc. We also rented e-bikes in Chapel Hill & Boulder last year. You can zip around and see everything in the open air like on a regular bike, but can cover so much more ground.

The rails to trails thing is amazing. What a fantastic way to repurpose old railroad tracks, into fun, useful bike trails. We did Red Wing to Cannon Falls a few weeks ago. Stopped in Cannon Falls for a drink, before heading back to Reed Wing. 50 miles round trip in a few hours. Last weekend we did the Fox River Trail from Green Bay along the river, about 50 miles round trip. Stopped a a winery along the way. Tomorrow we'll be riding the Gandy Dancer trail from St Croix Falls to Danbury, and back. We'll probably have a beer at a couple townie bars along the way. Just a really nice way to get out in the good weather, and enjoy nature.

We also use them A LOT here in the metro. Start at Minnehaha Falls, down the river to the Stone Arch bridge. Up the street to the 1029 for a lobster roll. Back through downtown to the Mpls Sculpture Garden, along Lake of the Isles, & Cedar Lake, to Calhoun, Harriett, stop at the rose gardens, the zen gardens, the bird sanctuary, stop at the Malt Shop for a boozy shake, along Minnehaha Parkway, to Lake Nokomis, and end up back at Minnehaha Falls, without feeling the least bit tired, or breaking a sweat Same with St Paul. Start by the Lake St bridge, ride down the river/Warner Road past downtown Stp, loop back through Mounds Park (amazing views), hit the St Paul Brewing Co on Payne Ave. back through DT, up West 7th, Mancini's for an Old Fashioned.

So much fun.
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I am going try some of those loops you provided! Yes, it is enjoyable riding and I also like the instant connection with other riders- people are eager to share their enjoyment.
 

Minneapolis named best big city for biking. St. Paul is cruising not too far behind.​


Miles of protected bike lanes have earned Minneapolis the top spot in a 2024 ranking of best cities for cycling in the U.S.

It is the second year in a row that Minneapolis claimed first place in PeopleForBikes' annual City Ratings, which score cities of different sizes on a scale of 0 to 100. Minneapolis scored 71 out of 100 – beating out all other big cities.

St. Paul wasn't too far behind, with a score of 61 out of 100. St. Paul rose from 7th place in 2023 to 4th place this year, demonstrating a joint commitment to bike infrastructure in the Twin Cities, the ranking said.

"High-scoring cities often perform well across six factors captured in the acronym SPRINT: safe speeds, protected bike lanes, reallocated space for biking and walking, intersection treatments, network connections, and trusted data," according to the ranking.

Minneapolis lowered default speed limits on residential streets from 30 to 20 miles per hour and 25 miles per hour on arterial streets, which contributed to its high ranking.

Bike infrastructure has improved around the country post-pandemic. Still, the average bike score for a U.S. city is 25 out of 100.

Other big cities on the list included Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, Philadelphia and New York City.

www.startribune.com

Minneapolis named best big city for biking. St. Paul is cruising not too far behind.

Minneapolis takes home the top spot in a ranking of most bike-friendly U.S. cities.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
My hot girlfriend and I bought e-bikes last Spring. They're like the fountain of youth. Especially great if you're riding with your lady. e-bikes are the great equalizer for women. No waiting for her to catch up. No whining. Just right there with you stride, for stride the whole way.

They're great for discovering a new city/town. We do a lot of weekend getaways, and bring the bikes with us. Des Moines, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Red Wing, Baraboo, etc. We also rented e-bikes in Chapel Hill & Boulder last year. You can zip around and see everything in the open air like on a regular bike, but can cover so much more ground.

The rails to trails thing is amazing. What a fantastic way to repurpose old railroad tracks, into fun, useful bike trails. We did Red Wing to Cannon Falls a few weeks ago. Stopped in Cannon Falls for a drink, before heading back to Reed Wing. 50 miles round trip in a few hours. Last weekend we did the Fox River Trail from Green Bay along the river, about 50 miles round trip. Stopped a a winery along the way. Tomorrow we'll be riding the Gandy Dancer trail from St Croix Falls to Danbury, and back. We'll probably have a beer at a couple townie bars along the way. Just a really nice way to get out in the good weather, and enjoy nature.

We also use them A LOT here in the metro. Start at Minnehaha Falls, down the river to the Stone Arch bridge. Up the street to the 1029 for a lobster roll. Back through downtown to the Mpls Sculpture Garden, along Lake of the Isles, & Cedar Lake, to Calhoun, Harriett, stop at the rose gardens, the zen gardens, the bird sanctuary, stop at the Malt Shop for a boozy shake, along Minnehaha Parkway, to Lake Nokomis, and end up back at Minnehaha Falls, without feeling the least bit tired, or breaking a sweat Same with St Paul. Start by the Lake St bridge, ride down the river/Warner Road past downtown Stp, loop back through Mounds Park (amazing views), hit the St Paul Brewing Co on Payne Ave. back through DT, up West 7th, Mancini's for an Old Fashioned.

So much fun.
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Love the report! Though you lost me at Baraboooooo (I went to HS in Reedsburg, their neighboring town and rival. But yes, Baraboooooo is a pretty town and nice place to see).

How fast to e-bikes go? Are they super heavy?

Seems like a great option, and one that my wife would be much more up for compared to a traditional bike ride.

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Love the report! Though you lost me at Baraboooooo (I went to HS in Reedsburg, their neighboring town and rival. But yes, Baraboooooo is a pretty town and nice place to see).

How fast to e-bikes go? Are they super heavy?

Seems like a great option, and one that my wife would be much more up for compared to a traditional bike ride.

Go Gophers!!
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As a guy that does a ridiculous amount of road cycling, I can't believe how awesome the e-bikes can be. For a number of years, I would have told you they are just for fun, screwing around, easy ride, et al (and it is all that), but I would have said they weren't for hard core roadies. No way. I was SOOOO wrong.

There are obviously all kinds; big heavy ones with huge tires almost like a dirt bike were mostly what you saw but now some of the big road bike manufacturers have caught on and put out road bike models with the battery/motor.

My first one was a Trek built on the Domane frame (their longer distance road bike), had the Bosch motor and battery and was pretty cool but to me was still built like a tank (compared to a $10,000 road bike that weights 15-16 pounds anyway). Four settings; Eco, Tour, Sport, Turbo, with Turbo going up to 28 mph on a flat segment.

I had that bike for a year or so before Trek went back and revamped the bike; still built on essentially the Domane frame, but with the TQ battery/motor. Just an absolutely incredible bike. About 10-15 pounds lighter than the earlier version with the Bosch system. The battery may have a LITTLE shorter range but the options are just amazing. You would have to know a lot about bikes and about Treks to glance at my bike and know that it's an e-bike and not just a road bike.

Three settings, and you can adjust each of the 3 settings to the power output that you want. I have my first setting set to give me about 70 Watts (which for me doesn't do a LOT more than offset the extra weight of the bike and maybe a 1% grade). My 2nd setting I have set to give me up to about 150 Watts which I'll use if I'm trying to take it easy that day, maybe a recovery day, and/or looking at slopes of 3-6% and I'm not looking for a massive workout that day. The third setting I have is set to the max of 300 Watts which is kind of ridiculous, only for use in extreme situations for me.

I can do almost any bike workout that I want on my e-bike and the best part about the e-bike is it gets me out on days I MAYBE wouldn't want to ride on one of my other road bikes; windy days, maybe my legs aren't feeling it, and especially like now; broke my ankle 2 months ago and I'm just getting on the bike and getting my miles back up and I'll ride my e-bike for probably at least the next week or two until my legs get back at least most of the way and then start getting in workouts with one of my other road bikes.

Buy with confidence!! Get out there on the trail/road and have a good time and BE SAFE!!
 

Dang, really missing the world feed on Peacock for the Tour de France. Gotta figure something out.
 

Little bit of drama today (Stage 2) with Tadej and Jonas.
Jonas was able to stay with him.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Little bit of drama today (Stage 2) with Tadej and Jonas.
Jonas was able to stay with him.
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Pretty impressive for Remco and Carapaz to battle back and come across with Tadej and Jonas.

A lot of GC guys still right there; would have preferred Roglic looked a little stronger but really these first two days in the heat was just about getting through it and not losing a lot of time.

Ineos looking steady with 3 guys in the pack that within 21 seconds of the lead, strangely enough you could make an argument for any of their 3 guys to be the main GC guy with Rodriguez, Bernal and Pidcock.

Stage 4 Tuesday will definitely shake things up, it will be an entertaining day of cycling
 


Looking ahead, just for the heck of it because it basically was a deciding factor in last year's TDF...

Interesting to see that the top 3 ranked Time Trialists in this year's TDF (at least in the first search I found) are the 3 guys who are in the #1, #2 and #3 spots with the yellow jersey right now. TT rankings:

#1 - Remco
#2 - Pogacar
#3 - Juan Ayuso

For other GC guys, Vingegaard is #7, and Primos Roglic is #11.

First Time Trial will be Stage 7. Can't wait to see that later this week!

A long, LONG ways to go but Pogacar has to be happy with a 35" lead after just 4 stages. And his team looks strong as hell. Going up the final climb today, Pogacar had three UAE teammates most of the way and by the time they got near the top, Vingegaard was all alone, no Visma teammates in site.
 

Ogee Ogilthorpe said:
As a guy that does a ridiculous amount of road cycling, I can't believe how awesome the e-bikes can be. For a number of years, I would have told you they are just for fun, screwing around, easy ride, et al (and it is all that), but I would have said they weren't for hard core roadies. No way. I was SOOOO wrong.

There are obviously all kinds; big heavy ones with huge tires almost like a dirt bike were mostly what you saw but now some of the big road bike manufacturers have caught on and put out road bike models with the battery/motor.

My first one was a Trek built on the Domane frame (their longer distance road bike), had the Bosch motor and battery and was pretty cool but to me was still built like a tank (compared to a $10,000 road bike that weights 15-16 pounds anyway). Four settings; Eco, Tour, Sport, Turbo, with Turbo going up to 28 mph on a flat segment.

I had that bike for a year or so before Trek went back and revamped the bike; still built on essentially the Domane frame, but with the TQ battery/motor. Just an absolutely incredible bike. About 10-15 pounds lighter than the earlier version with the Bosch system. The battery may have a LITTLE shorter range but the options are just amazing. You would have to know a lot about bikes and about Treks to glance at my bike and know that it's an e-bike and not just a road bike.

Three settings, and you can adjust each of the 3 settings to the power output that you want. I have my first setting set to give me about 70 Watts (which for me doesn't do a LOT more than offset the extra weight of the bike and maybe a 1% grade). My 2nd setting I have set to give me up to about 150 Watts which I'll use if I'm trying to take it easy that day, maybe a recovery day, and/or looking at slopes of 3-6% and I'm not looking for a massive workout that day. The third setting I have is set to the max of 300 Watts which is kind of ridiculous, only for use in extreme situations for me.

I can do almost any bike workout that I want on my e-bike and the best part about the e-bike is it gets me out on days I MAYBE wouldn't want to ride on one of my other road bikes; windy days, maybe my legs aren't feeling it, and especially like now; broke my ankle 2 months ago and I'm just getting on the bike and getting my miles back up and I'll ride my e-bike for probably at least the next week or two until my legs get back at least most of the way and then start getting in workouts with one of my other road bikes.

Buy with confidence!! Get out there on the trail/road and have a good time and BE SAFE!!
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I have a love/hate deal going with e-bikes...

The hate part:
  • They're heavy and cause a lot of damage to dirt trails, especially this year when the trails have been soft from the rain.
  • People who ride them on trails generally have no idea how to ride them on trails. You get a lot of idiots out there stopping in blind spots and such.
  • People who think they're getting exercise by riding an e-bike are equivalent to someone taking the escalator and thinking they've just climbed a flight of stairs.
The love part:
  • I know quite a few folks that will ride an ebike to work but not a regular bike (as they'd be sweaty and mess if they rode a regular bike). Much better for them to be riding the e-bike vs driving a car.
  • The whole "my partner can keep up with me now" deal is nice - that way groups of people can bike together which is more fun and improves safety.
  • Increases the number of people riding bikes, which in turns helps in getting more trails built and more visibility for biking.
So, I went with the "love" part and signed up for the Minnesota E-Bike Rebate deal this morning. I'm one of the 18,000 or so that applied. About 1,300 people will qualify. It took about 15 minutes for them to get 18,000 applications, and then they shut down the portal.
 

Mark Cavendish, the fucking legend. Wins 35th career TDF Stage to pass Eddie Merckx and hold the record on his own. I honestly didn't think he could do it, as much as I wanted him to do grab one more. The patience he showed today, took his moment, shit, he pulled away from Philipsen, not just hold his lead.

Well done, Cav.
 

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