First Time Fat Bike Ride

A few days ago, one of the things my wife and I did for our nine-year wedding anniversary was rent fat tire bikes at Lovers Key. We’d never ridden this type of bike before but after 2 hours and 10 miles we were hooked. They are an absolute blast. We rode them on the 5 mile easy nature trail at Lovers Key and that was fun but we probably could have ridden our Townies on that. Where the fatties really shined was on the beach. Of course these bikes roll on the hard sand at the shoreline but they also roll easily over the soft sand. Whenever I go to the beach I always wish I could explore up and down the length of the shore but it’s usually just too much for walking. With these bikes we were able to explore the entire length of Lovers Key beach and we attracted a lot of attention. We had people stopping us asking about the bikes and taking pictures. Everyone assumed that pedaling on the sand must be hard but really it wasn’t.

The bikes we rented were Fat Tire A/T Cruiser II’s. They’re simple, inexpensive, steel bikes with huge tires, coaster brakes, and Shimano Nexus 3-speed hubs. The Nexus was perfect for the riding we did. On the cement you’d shift to third gear, most of the trail riding and hard sand was in second gear, and hills and soft sand was first gear. The 3 speeds covered everything. I’d love to buy a fat bike but for now it will have to go on the wishlist because a mountain bike and new wheels for my road bike come first. 

lots of Gopher Tortoises at Lovers Key

perfect bikes for the beach

Topeak Mini 6 Long Body Multi-Tool - review

I have three different varieties of Topeak multi-tools and this one is my favorite. The Topeak Mini 6 Long Body multi-tool is lighter than the Mini 9 and it has everything a roadie needs. It’s a saddlebag necessity. It’s considerably bigger than the original Mini 6 which must have been too tiny for most people because they quit making it. It has 6 tools (hence the name): 2/3/4/5/6 mm allen wrenches and a #2 Phillips head screwdriver. It’s 2.57 oz. and 2.6”x 1.1” and it fits in even the smallest saddlebag. 

http://www.topeak.com/products/Mini-Tools/mini6_long

I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel

I know I should do group rides more often and I do join them occasionally but for the most part I’m a lone wolf when it comes to riding. I think I need to make peace with that fact. I feel guilty about it but I have loads of excuses. For one I’d have to get up earlier since some rides leave a little early for me and I’d have to sacrifice my precious sleep. And for many group rides I’d have to drive my vehicle to get to the departure point which just seems silly. Also, I’d have to conform to the group. I’d have to do their route with their stops (or lack of). I’m the type of person who likes to mix things up and stop when and where I want to. I might want to take a silly picture or something. Lastly, most group rides don’t do the route I want to do. The exception is the Bike Bistro Sanibel ride, see my Allure of the Sanibel Causeway blog entry for more on that. That being said, I know group riding makes you a stronger rider. Every time I ride with at least one other person I push myself harder and get a better workout. They’re usually fun social events too. I guess what I’m trying to say is do as I say, not as I do. Get out there and do some group rides.

well this may not be a true group ride but at least I'm riding with a couple other people

November Rides

It’s that time of the year when there’s a charity ride almost every weekend pretty much for the  next six months and a lot of them are close to home. As they approach I’ll try and write about some of my favorites. Coming soon is:

Horrible Hundred, Sunday, November 16, 2014

http://horrible-hundred.com/

This ride is up in Clermont so you do have to travel a bit to get there but it’s worth it. Every Florida cyclist must do this event at least once. Holy hills! You WILL be challenged regardless what mileage you choose. I did this ride in 2012 when I was a rookie and my suffering was immense on the 70 mile route (called the Sucky 70). I hope to return someday and redeem myself.

big crowds

hills!

resting at base camp

Annual Turkey Leg Century, Friday November 28, 2014

http://www.caloosariders.org/

This informal ride starts at 8 a.m. in the Publix shopping center in Fort Myers at the corner of Six Mile Cypress Parkway and Daniels. Riders will then average about 18 mph and wind through a scenic route of Fort Myers Beach to Gordon’s Pass before stopping for lunch on beautiful Fifth Avenue in Naples. The ride is self-contained so bring a flat kit and money for lunch and two rest stops. For more information contact Jeff Brim at JeffBrim@yahoo.com. I’ve done this ride two years now and I always enjoy. It’s a nice bunch of people and you can cheat like I did and have your wife pick you after lunch.

lots of gorgeous views on the Turkey Leg Century

Tagalong Bikes

I’ve heard them called trail-a-bikes, tagalong bikes, trailer bikes, and tandem trailers. Whatever you call them, my daughter loves hers. One of our favorite activities is to hitch it up to one of my bikes and go to the park. Normally I connect it up to my Electra Townie 21D which is a perfect bike for that. But the other day my dad was using the Townie so I hooked it up to my Cannondale Synapse. Big mistake. We barely made it to the park as I struggled to stay upright. So now I know road bikes are definitely not made for this. So while I wholeheartedly recommend one of these things, make sure you hook it up to the proper type of bike.

bad idea

DZ Nuts Chamois Cream - review

more effective and lasts longer than others

When I first started cycling I didn’t use chamois cream but after a few months I started having some slight pain in the crotch/butt region so I bought a sample pack of this stuff and tried it on a 40 mile ride. I admit that I tried this brand because of the funny name and because one of my favorite pro cyclists is behind it (Dave Zabriskie) but I was sold on it before the ride was halfway over. It really works. My discomfort was greatly alleviated. The consistency of this cream is just right. It’s not too thick and not too light. It creates a slight tingly sensation but in a pleasant way, not a distracting way. I have since tried other creams but  DZ Nuts stays on longer and is more lubricating than others. Yes it’s more expensive than some but  In the end you might actually save money with the DZ Nuts since you don’t have to use as much. They also make a version for women which my wife swears by.

DIY Crosswalk

There’s a section on the MUP where I often ride where if you are heading West the path angles sharply to the right and down where you have to cross an intersection. You have to scrub a lot of speed and make a sharp turn to pick up the path or else you’ll go into the dirt/grass. I’ve had a couple of near wipeouts there. Well the other day I noticed that someone painted lines like a crosswalk across the intersection. This is great for two reasons. Riders can now follow the path across the intersection and maybe cars will see it and not block the intersection as they are apt to do. I don’t know about the legality of this but it’s a road marking that the county should have put there. Kudos to the unknown rider who did it.

Winter Weather Has Arrived

It was 49 degrees when I left my house this morning. For me that’s a very cold ride. My wife wouldn’t even ride in it. I was dressed for the dawn of a new ice age and 20 minutes into my ride I wished I’d dressed warmer. A Belgian hardman I am not. The 16 mph wind out of the north didn’t help matters. I stopped at Paradise Bikes to say to the boys and begged for a shot of whiskey. No luck. Alex had a laugh at how much I was wearing and Charlie chuckled at my homemade dress sock shoe covers. I’m glad to be a source of constant amusement. After warming up I left and continued on my ride trying my best to stay positive. Yes it’s cold and windy but at least the sun is out. And then I saw a sight that gave me some perspective. There in a roadside culvert was a flock of Spoonbills. Their pink color is striking and a lot of tourists mistake these birds for Pink Flamingos. That’s not a sight most cyclists get to see in November. Heck cyclists in other parts of the country can’t even ride and they would be thrilled to have our winter weather. Here in SW Florida we ride 12 months a year and it’s awesome. You wear a few more clothes during the winter and as little as possible during the summer. Bring on the cold weather. I’m ready for it.

looks like winter right?

Charlie hard at work

my homemade shoe covers (cut up dress socks)

2015 Bianchi Intenso Ultegra 11sp Compact - review

I have about 500 miles on this bike, it’s broken in, and it’s been back to the shop for it’s initial derailleur tuning so I think I can review it now. Let’s start with the superficial because lets face it, the first thing that attracts us to a bike is it’s looks. The 2015 Bianchi Intenso 11 Speed Compact is beautiful. My neighbor said it looks like a work of art and he’s right. It’s a sparkly celeste blue so it really stands out and looks unique. The tube shapes and lines look cool too. I like thinner top and down tubes and this bike has them. The top and head tubes have some aero-styling but the downtube is good old fashioned round. The seat and chainstays have some interesting twists to them and they also look different from the norm.  I assume this is where the compliance is created and they do a fantastic job. The only catch is because of the twists, attaching a cadence sensor is tricky.

Aside from being gorgeous, this bike has a lot going for it. At $2700 you get a lot of bike for your money. The shifters, derailleurs, chain, and cassette are all Shimano Ultegra 11 speed. I know there’s some criticisms to be made of the new 11 speed groupsets and I was very happy with the “old” ten speed groupsets but pretty much every new bike from every brand is now coming with 11 speed. It’s here to stay so we best get used to it. That being said, I’m happy with the Ultegra 11 speed drivetrain on this bike. I appreciate the slightly narrower shifters because I get a better grip and hey you get an extra gear with 11 speed. If the groupset proves to be more finicky than my ten speed (that hasn’t happened yet) I’m not worried because I have a very competent bike shop (Bike Bistro) that’s alway willing to make an adjustment.

Bianchi downspecs the Intenso with FSA brakes but they’re not bad. Sure they’re not as good as Ultegra but where I live (flat Florida) brakes are not paramount. Most of the other components are also FSA which is a brand I’m very familiar with and trust. The seat post is alloy which I prefer. Yes carbon would be lighter and possibly absorb the bumps better but this bike is already very light and I’m not a weight weenie anyways. It’s plenty light for my needs and where I live. There’s no hills around here. This bike also absorbs road chatter like a champ so I don’t a carbon seatpost for that. I’m not sure a carbon seatpost would even add much there. I just rode this bike 68 miles and about half of those miles were on the roughest roads I’ve ever seen and I felt great. No pain, no vibrations, and no standing out of the saddle to avoid bumpy patches. Bianchi touts the kevlar in this bike so perhaps there’s more than just marketing hype there. Lastly, I like an alloy seatpost because I don’t have to baby it so much. There’s less concern about over-tightening and slippage and you don’t have to use that carbon grip paste stuff.

I love that the Intenso has an English threaded bottom bracket, the FSA Megaexo crank is great, and the Fulcrum wheels are a step above your average stock wheels. This is a true do-it-all bike. It can climb (I’ve tested it extensively on some big bridges), it can sprint, and it can cruise. Bianchi markets it as their endurance bike but they describe it as comfortable without sacrificing speed. It’s not as upright as some sportive models but not as racy as a true racing bike. That’s exactly what I was looking for and it delivered. I’ve already set several PRs on it and I wasn’t in pain afterwards. Is it possible to have a racy endurance bike.? Yes and this bike is proof.

I only made three changes to the stock bike. I swapped the stock 120mm stem for the same stem in a smaller size (110). I have it flipped at -6 degrees but with the full stack of spacers it’s not really that aggressive. I tried it flipped to +6 and that was too upright. I also gave the stock San Marco saddle, which is very nice, to my wife. She’s been searching for the right saddle and it turns out that she loves this one. I’m a die-hard Fizik Antares fan so I won’t use anything else. Because I put my black Antares saddle on the bike I had to change the white Bianchi cork handlebar tape to a black Fizik Performance tape. Also, I just had to put a Bianchi dominatrix “master says faster” sticker on the seat tube. Google this sticker. It’s awesome. All in all this is an almost perfect bike that is very tough to beat at this price point. I think Bianchi has a winner here and I bet we’ll be seeing more of them on the road.

http://www.bianchiusa.com/bikes/road/coast-to-coast/intenso-ultegra-compact/