ChrisL

Yeah I’m familiar with both. Gnarly rides, I haven’t done either. I climbed Ortega Hwy back several times back in the early 80’s on the 42/23 set up but that’s several thousand feet less climbing. One time I lost all momentum climbing live oak (shoots off Santiago canyon by cooks corner) and with my clips & straps couldn’t get my feet out & toppled over!

Many newer bikes have a compact 50/34 crank. The 34 is about useless for anything but hills so many with compact cranks will keep it in the 50 and cross chain. I did it too as my Bianchi has a compact. I had my Ritchey built with a 46/36 and I like the 36 better as you don’t spin it out on flats. Back in the day we rode 52/42 and yeah we used that 42 a lot more than just climbing.

It supposedly wears down the drivetrain faster due to the angle of the chain on the chainring & cassette.

I have spoken to the new people several times as well. The wife knows who I am. I should just ask her.

Reminds me when I bought my son a BMX bike with a freewheel & hand brakes. I reminded him you have to use the hand brakes to stop. OK dad…. And off he went. A few moments later he crashed into a wall but the scream & feet going 120 RPM’s backward pre impact was freaking hilarious. He was OK but damn it was freaking hard not to laugh.

Dark gray or navy. Goes with everything. Get the thinner one true to fit and the fleece lined one a bit bigger so you can layer.

Right… I just watched that video to! 😂 What I meant was back in the day. No old timer said ride a track bike it will make you stronger. They recommended it for pedaling & cadence. There was a cool shop owner in HB in the early 80’s who would help us young racer kids out. He cut us deals on gear and we did errands to work off the balance. He had a beater track bike with a front brake & let us kids spend time on it. I never really liked riding it tho.

In the 70’s & early 80’s many racers & serious riders rode fixed geared bikes (well track bikes) to improve their pedaling efficiency & cadence. Never heard that it made one stronger tho.

Both? I live in zippered hoodies from about now to June. I have the fleece lined one and a thinner one. The fleece one is a bit big & bulky to wear under another jacket but the thin one you can. Depending on temps I’ll wear whichever makes more sense. Sometimes I’ll wear a light wind shirt (baseball coaches wear them and golfers too. It’s a wind resistant SS shirt) over a t shirt and then wear the fleece. That works well when it’s cool & breezy. Anyway both are really practical but serve different purposes.

Dunno, I’ll have to try.

Persimmons are coming into season and the season is short. I go to an Asian market and get 5-10 lbs worth usually for under $1.00 a lb and binge on them. At my LGS they are $1.50 each… My mom had a persimmon tree and the new owners kept the tree but I don’t think they know what the fruit is as they never pick them. They look like they are close to peak though. (My daughter lives across the street from her house so I see it often) I love the Fuyu persimmon. When at the peak of ripeness it’s firm & crisp like an apple but super sweet. The rind is tough so you need to peel them first.

My dad loved papaya too and we had a tree in the yard but I didn’t really care for them. One of the few fruits I don’t care for.

Gimmick… I look for ones that are yellowish brown on the bottom 1/3 -1/2 of the pineapple. I generally shop on weekends & cut them up when my kids come over for Sunday dinner so find one mostly ripe. But you can get a green one & keep it in a cool place out of direct sun and it will continue to ripen.

When I was a kid my job was to cut the pineapple. My dad taught me his method where you cut the eyes out in a horizontal V shaped cuts. Took freaking forever. But I still do love fresh pineapple as do my kids and they are cheap at the LGS so we have them often. But I have modified the cutting method…

It is a thing. Pineapple ripens from the bottom up. It is part art & part science when to cut a pineapple. Wait too long and the top is good but bottom over ripe. Don’t wait long enough and the bottom is ripe but the top is tart.