Thread: the bicycle enthusiast thread, home of the TDF !!!

love bikes and cycling. here is our new clubhouse!
the TDF starts in a month!
tejay vangardren, a boulder resident should figure into this years TOUR !
there will be at least FOUR american sponsored teams and as many as 20 american riders!
some canadians too !
but there also seems to be interest in bicycles and equipment for us peddle pushers that cant ride 2 thousand miles in 20 days. This is the place for us too !

Thanks for starting this, Zam. I love my bike. The love affair actually began
about five years ago at the local Post Office. I was fat, out of shape, headed
into the building when this guy came breezing up on a road bike. He was
slender, svelte, with a complete biker's getup and helmet. I thought he was
about 25 years old, then I got a look at his face. Wow!

I asked him his age, and he said he just turned 80. Now, his bike wasn't a
fat-tired, 30-year-old old bike out of Monkey Wards with a grocery basket on
front, that one would expect of a guy his age. It was a full-blown road bike,
and he rode it like a man 50 years his junior!

I said to him that I wanted to be just like that when I was 80. He said, "You'd
better get started now!"

It reminded me of when Brian Dawkins said, "Take care of your body now, and
it will take care of you later."

Well, I got me a road bike and a big, thick cable lock for her, and I've been in
love with her since. After all, she's the only thing around that will let me ride
her anytime I want to . . .
.

Mines got a big motor on it. I live it too!

Originally Posted by topscribe

Thanks for starting this, Zam. I love my bike. The love affair actually began
about five years ago at the local Post Office. I was fat, out of shape, headed
into the building when this guy came breezing up on a road bike. He was
slender, svelt, with a complete biker's getup and helmet. I thought he was
about 25 years old, then I got a look at his face. Wow!

I asked him his age, and he said he just turned 80. Now, his bike wasn't a
fat-tired, 30-year-old old bike out of Monkey Wards with a grocery basket on
front, that one would expect of a guy his age. It was a full-blown road bike,
and he rode it like a man 50 years his junior!

I said to him that I wanted to be just like that when I was 80. He said, "You'd
better get started now!"

It reminded me of when Brian Dawkins said, "Take care of your body now, and
it will take care of you later."

Well, I got me a road bike and a big, thick cable lock for her, and I've been in
love with her since. After all, she's the only thing around that will let me ride
her anytime I want to . . .
.

outstanding first post, welcome to the thread !
you live in Tucson?
thats mountain bike country aint it?
I havent been to the old pueblo since the mid 90's, so I am sure a few things have changed.

will you be watching the TDF this year?

TDF one month away!
20 stages
over 2000 miles
climbs and decends up and down the alps and peyrennes.
and 2 rest days for the media and others who follow the tour and cant keep up !
the man who stands atop the podium in paris is the greatest athlete on earth !
SPEED
STRENGTH
STAMINA
STRATEGY
SKILL
SPIRIT
viva le TOUR !

SPEED
STRENGTH
STAMINA
STRATEGY
SKILL
SPIRIT
STEROIDS
viva le TOUR !

great thread ZAM. I can't wait for the TDF. I think I will plug into it some this year. Still don't see how they are the best athletes in the world though. Maybe the gutsiest.

Originally Posted by bronconut

great thread ZAM. I can't wait for the TDF. I think I will plug into it some this year. Still don't see how they are the best athletes in the world though. Maybe the gutsiest.

SPEED
STRENGTH
STAMINA
STRATEGY
SKILL
SPIRIT
maybe 1 to 3 % of the entire population can actually ride a bike 100 miles over flat terrain, of that very small percentage, less than 5% of those people could actually ride another 100 miles the very next day!
these guys ride over 100 miles EVERY day for 3 solid weeks ! and up and down the mountains!
skill?
take your bike to the top of any mountain, use your car! if in colorado go to the top of a pass , now just ride down hill and get it up to 60 MPH !
thats what these cyclists do ! the guys on MOTORCYCLES custom designed to folow the tour and manned by the BEST cycling professionals that BMW can hire, cant keep up ! These guys are riding on tires less than half an inch wide and the n motorcycles cant keep up !
strength?
ride your bike from boulder to the town up top and get back to me about strenght! just because the srenght does not appear in their arms, americans discount their strenght !
put them on a leg press they will blow away ANY NFL player you would consider "strong"
startegy?
you have to know the strength and weaknesses of every team and every rider on that team, and their potential to perform over 22 days on a variable 2000 mile course under various weather conditions !
the team managers are therefore some of the best COACHES in the world too!
I know theese sentements fall on deaf american ears, but the rest of the civilized world that watches the TDF knows they are watching the greatest athletes in the world!

It's more about stamina than strength. Not saying they don't have strength Doubt if they could out leg press any nfl player.

Originally Posted by Day1BroncoFan

It's more about stamina than strength. Not saying they don't have strength Doubt if they could out leg press any nfl player.

250 pound repitition, they would blow away ANY NFL player !
maybe max leg press there might be 2 or 3 guys that could push more lead for one single press than a TDF rider...maybe.
I know that lance did 5 leg presses of 500 pounds !

Originally Posted by Chef Zambini

250 pound repitition, they would blow away ANY NFL player !
maybe max leg press there might be 2 or 3 guys that could push more lead for one single press than a TDF rider...maybe.
I know that lance did 5 leg presses of 500 pounds !

That doesn't tranlate to bicycling power even if he can do 500. He most likely can since I can do almost 500. Im pretty sure there are a lot of NFL players that can do more than 500 for more than one or two times. Show me how much he can squat. Bicycling takes a lot more than strong legs.

Like I said, it's more about stamina than strength.

sorry, climbing the alp d' huez takes STRENGTH!
the fact that they do it after riding 100 miles first is just a testament to their athleticism.
not just stamina, on the days when they do an individual time trial they have to be the fastest. on the mountains, the strongest. on the decent, the most skilled. yes stamina is a major factor over the course of 3 weeks, but all aspects of athleticism are tested,
worlds greatest athlete !

who is the NFLs greatest athlete?
NBA?
MLB?
what makes them the best athlete?
not necessarily the best PLAYER, best athlete.
what are their attributes?

Originally Posted by Chef Zambini

who is the NFLs greatest athlete?
NBA?
MLB?
what makes them the best athlete?
not necessarily the best PLAYER, best athlete.
what are their attributes?

what makes the best athlete? training/conditioning and coordination. imo.

Zam, what is your take on steel frames vs Aluminum and/or carbon? I know that steel frames TEND to run a bit higher, but how does the ride compare for you