Author Archive for risu

The weather was overcast yesterday, but it wasn’t raining, so there was no excuse to get out and pedal around a bit. Chris called me just as I was getting the bike ready to roll, but there was still a lot of daylight left after our lengthy discussion of matters tactical. This was a good opportunity to evaluate the performance of the Conti Rubber Queens that I had just switched to. On the first outing at the Ditch, they felt slower, but this was offset by the better traction and ride. On the pavement, I could definitely feel the increase in rolling resistance from the size, weight, pattern, and compound differences between these and the Michelins they replaced. Climbing was hellaciously sluggish. At speed, they tended to want to stay in motion, but accelerating them up to speed was harder. Once at speed, there was a more noticeable gyroscopic effect in turns, where they resisted the steer into hard corners. There may also have been a little change in steering feel from the slight geometry change the larger diameter imparted, but I really doubt I can feel something that slight. They are still new with molding hairs all over, so I’ll give them more time to settle in before I make any judgments. Heck, from the computer data, they were faster than my last ride on Michelins!

D = 11.67 km (7.25-miles), Vavr = 19.5 km/h (12.1-mph), Vmax = 39.4 km/h (24.5-mph), T = 36-minutes

This has been a good week for riding. The weather was ugly this past Saturday, but Sunday was clear for our trail ride. Monday was raining heavily in central O’ahu, but it stayed clear on the East end for the afternoon St. Louis DH run, then Tuesday went to heck. It was nice enough on Wednesday for an afternoon ride, but Thursday morning was again socked in. Hopefully the weather will be nice over this upcoming long weekend, but we’ll see – I don’t know if our luck will hold.

When I got home on Wednesday, it was early enough for a ride, but the sky was on the heavier side of overcast, so I waffled a little. Chris encouraged me to go while talking on the keitai on the commute home, and the heat inside the house underscored the point. Better to be outside in the wind than sweltering indoors. There was some sun out at MCBH, but for the most part, except for a brief moment on the way home, the thickest cloud interposed itself between wherever I was and the sun. Figures.

D = 13.73 km (8.53-miles), Vavr = 17.5 km/h (10.9-mph), Vmax = 36.2 km/h (22.5-mph), T = 47-minutes

Sunday, 27 June 2010

The end of the last full week of June was on and off rainy, but Friday turned to blue around mid-day, so the call went out. The bad weather had washed out or riding plans for the weekend before, so we were counting the days until the next opportunity. Ckucke was back in town but had plans for Sunday, and Chris was also out. Jeff and JT were optimistic, but as the weather on Friday night turned to rain that lasted intermittently through Saturday, the positive outlook tempered, then deteriorated. Sunday broke clear, so after a bit of phone finagling, we met out at the Ditch. Jeff, Sara, Danny, JT, Root, and I did the standard circuit, with the exception of Root and I taking the ironwood overlook trail back down. This time, I made sure to join the crew for a delicious bacon cheeseburger and draught beer at the Kailua Town Pub afterwards! It was a good start to a week of riding.

Pictures here

D = 12.47 km (7.75-miles), Vavr = 12.1 km/h (7.5-mph), Vmax = 40.2 km/h (25.0-mph), T = 1-hour, 2-minutes

Sunday, 13 June 2010

The sunny morning-drizzly afternoon schedule was a little off from the week before, so as I arrived at the trailhead it was raining – not a little drizzle, but a full-on downpour. Root arrived, but stayed inside his car until the rain subsided a little. The rain had fully stopped, but everything was shiny wet when Jeff, Sara, Danny, and JT pulled in. They were all incredulous at our prospects, but I was pumped and ready to go come what may. The sky out to sea was pure blue, so I was sure there would be no more. JT apparently was too, since he walked into the trail a little way and came back with the verdict of “powdery dry”. This pretty much stopped all the bellyaching, and the ride was on. We had apparently broken Doctor Paul on the Luana ride the weekend before, as he was absent. Chris and Ckucke were also absent. Continue reading ‘Afternoon Fun’

The sun and clouds were fighting for dominance all morning on Sunday, June 6th. Saturday had been clear, sunny, and hot, so the ground and air were still warm when Sunday rolled around. The trades and the rising warm air gave rise to rain-bearing clouds that intermittently dumped heavy downpours in random locations. The week before, there was one good squall in the mid-morning, but it was clear and dry by ride time. This week, the enhanced moisture continually generated clouds, some occasionally ringing the peak of Mt. Olomana.

When the group gathered at the park before the roll-out, the pavement still showed signs of recent rainfall. The air temperature was hot though, so I figured the ground would be moist at most, and would be progressively drying out. I left as if I was going all the way into Waimanalo, so I got there really early. Chris must have been giving himself lots of time to resolve the kinds of things that preempted him from the rolls of the previous weeks’ rides, since he showed up soon after I did. We had a lot of time to go over some of my latest tactical gear purchases before Jeff, Sara, Doctor Paul, and Danny rolled up, followed shortly by Root in his rice probe. I’m not exactly sure how Jeff coerced Paul to come on this ride, but considering how fast he can do the Tantalus climb and how regularly he rides, I figured he would have little problem with this 11-mile loop. Sara had previously balked at this ride, but I was pretty confident it was well within everyone’s capabilities. Continue reading ‘Moist at Most’