The general theme of "Just Ride" being riding without complication, daunting goals, and excessive complication, I have found a niche way to implement that principle: riding with multiple gears.
I was tired this morning and debated briefly whether to take the car to Stevie's, but decided to ride since I have the Ram which has a 35" low gear -- 30/23), and because the outbound trip has a net elevation loss of several hundred feet. I was tired all day and, this evening at 6 pm, found myself faced with a ride just shy of 8 miles with the temp closing on 90, a brisk breeze quartering against me, and the elevation to be regained that I had coasted down this morning. But, no sweat! Multiple gears! Wonderful things! I got on the Ram and headed south for 1.5 mile against the wind, no sweat, keeping it in the 70". Turned westward onto Coronado and the gradual climb toward the Mesa -- again, no sweat, dropped to the 66" and twiddled away. Crossed Loma Larga where the grade turns gradually upward -- no sweat; I've got 60" and 50" in the big ring. After 1/2 mile, Coronado meets the Mesa and turns viciously steep. No sweat! Dropped seriatim to the 60" and, bypassing the 44/23 = 50", chickened out to the 30t inner and, again seriatim, into the 45", the 41", and even the shameful 30X23 or 35". I twiddled seated up the steepest parts -- none longer than 1/4 mile -- seated, easy, comfortable -- except for the steepest 1/8 mile where I stood because it was more comfortable. I regularly clear these slopes on Riv #3 (70" fixed) and even #2 (75" fixed), not to mention the lethargic Fargo (38/32 = 34"), but, tired as I was today, it was hugely comforting to know that I could master these minor obstacles without straining. And the bar: 42 cm Noodle, just shy of 1" below saddle. The great virtue of the Noodle, for me, is the deepish drop (140 mm) that allows you to have a (relatively) high flat and (relatively) stretched hoods, with nice, flat ramps, over a (relatively) low hook. I rode the flats and the ramps comfortably on the gradual inclines, and was glad of the stretched out hoods against the wind and when the road turned upward. I stood only for 1/8 mile or so on the steepest section in the 35", not from necessity but for comfort. I averaged 11.66 mph clock running including a stop at the PO to get my mother's mail from her box -- including triaging some of the junk because I hadn't room for it all. Altogether, a good ride, despite initial tiredness exacerbated by the g-d flat. A very brief ride that, on a fixie, would have made me regret riding. But with a 35" low and a bar with flat just 1" below saddle, No Sweat! Patrick Moore, excreting more words per mile than anyone else in ABQ, NM -- http://resumespecialties.com/index.html patrickmo...@resumespecialties.com Albuquerque, NM -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
