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Post by brianbutler on Dec 13, 2023 22:17:12 GMT
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Dec 14, 2023 5:44:16 GMT
Brian, you have had an excellent year! You have me beat, I ride little more than half as much.
All the Best
Jim
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Post by brianbutler on Dec 14, 2023 13:02:24 GMT
I have only done 7000 miles twice before. If I can manage another 257 miles in 18 days I will have an all-time best, but it is currently well below freezing here and my go-to bikes are in desperate need of overhaul. I am trying to get motivated though.
Brian
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Post by brianbutler on Dec 27, 2023 20:58:10 GMT
Finished off the year with a personal best annual mileage - 7260. We are supposed to get rain on the 28th, 29th, and 30th. Then I have a music thing on the 31st, so I scrambled around and finished off my miles in two rides today:
I used the Viscount Gran Sports, just about the only usable bike in the rotation.
The pavement was slightly wet so I used a "board certified" mudguard.
Evidently nothing new on the Covid front. Hopefully it will stay that way from now on.
Happy New Year to all of you Viscount fans.
Brian
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,390 
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Post by Jem on Dec 27, 2023 22:07:25 GMT
Brain - I don't record the majority of my rides, and I only turn on the iPhone app when I do a planned ride, - but I know you have me beat by more than 50% easily - What a great year, great effort and keep on peddling! As they say 'use it or lose it' and 'motion is lotion'.
Out of interest, why was July down a bit?
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Post by brianbutler on Dec 28, 2023 0:59:05 GMT
Brain - I don't record the majority of my rides, and I only turn on the iPhone app when I do a planned ride, - but I know you have me beat by more than 50% easily - What a great year, great effort and keep on peddling! As they say 'use it or lose it' and 'motion is lotion'. Out of interest, why was July down a bit? I think a bit of fatigue after May and June, plus two weeks of family vacation where I did not ride as often or as far.
Brian
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Post by wheelson on Dec 29, 2023 0:50:39 GMT
Great to hear, Brian. It’s way beyond anything I have done in recent years, although I have high hopes for the upcoming year. My plan is to always have a bike ready to ride, so airless tires on a couple of bikes is my secret weapon. I don’t like them on all bikes permanently as the compound simulates 80 psi, not the most comfortable ride for gravel long distance. Bikes so equipped are akin to the “quick out” fire truck. Ready to go for that ride window between raindrops.
Best,
John “wheelson”
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Post by brianbutler on Dec 29, 2023 2:32:04 GMT
Great to hear, Brian. It’s way beyond anything I have done in recent years, although I have high hopes for the upcoming year. My plan is to always have a bike ready to ride, so airless tires on a couple of bikes is my secret weapon. I don’t like them on all bikes permanently as the compound simulates 80 psi, not the most comfortable ride for gravel long distance. Bikes so equipped are akin to the “quick out” fire truck. Ready to go for that ride window between raindrops. Best, John “wheelson” That's a good plan. I'm looking forward to reconditioning the bikes I wore out this year and establishing a stable of ready-to-go rides.
Brian
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Post by triitout on Dec 29, 2023 3:55:19 GMT
Great year Brian! I'm very happy to see I'm not the only one with OCD when it comes to mileage recording. I've been logging since 1977. I'm sitting at 6412 outdoor and 2058 indoor on the smart trainer with the Fulgaz app. Like you, July was a very down month due to the wild fire smoke, heat, poor air quality, pneumonia, and bumping up my run and swim miles for IM 70.3 Long Island. After a tropical storm blew in on race day mid Sept, I ended up with 40% of the field being a DNS. I want back to being a Viscount cyclist again and set a goal to hit 40,000 miles in 4 years needing to hit 8000 to do it. Did around 3000 of the year's total in Oct, Nov and Dec. Like you I'll be hitting 70 years old in a few months and I never take it for granted that we can keep doing what we love. I'll start 2024 needing around 8400 miles to hit 200,000 lifetime. I would never have imagined where this was going when I innocently started logging way back when. We have a local guy, Brian McKAY whose's a recent retiree and 63 years old who is hugely inspiration every year but this year he went way above and beyond his 20,000 mile years. As of today, he's sitting at 36,400 miles for the year. Not a typo! He's going to wrap it up at 36500 which is 100 mile/day average! My fleet was getting very run down with minimal maintenance the past two years. I dove in full blast this month and got them all up and running and clean....except the red/white Aerospace GP. The more I went after the rusty and chipped paint areas, I came to the realization this was beyond touchup. I'm not as mechanical as you guys and not being up for a real paint job which would mean dealing with the BB, I opted for brush on white gloss Rustoleum. Believe it or not, it worked well on my indoor beater GP which I did last year so I gave it a shot Two coats are on and next up will be the red section. It actually looks pretty good so far! I'll post some photo's when it's done. Sorry for the rambling post but I figured it's been a while! Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year with many good rides, lots of miles and most importantly, good health in 2024!! Cheers, Michael Edit: I shot a quick photo of my rustoleum job so far.  IMG_4406 by |
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Post by wheelson on Dec 29, 2023 4:55:57 GMT
Michael, that paint looks good to me! The priority here is to protect the steel as these Viscounts are our workhorses. Carefully applied paint, no matter the vehicle, works well and looks good. I’ve had very good success with powdercoat, downside is a complete tear down, bead blasting, and 400 degreeF bake. Cost is roughly $150 around here. Only my most transported bikes warrant this as this process is highly scratch and chip resistant. I’ve done quite a few “rattle can” paint jobs with automotive paints but have gone away from that lately because of environmental and health concerns.
Best,
John “wheelson”
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Post by brianbutler on Dec 29, 2023 13:08:26 GMT
Yes, Michael, that paint job does look quite good. I have tried a few techniques and have never been happy with the results so now I just do a wash. compound, polish, wax sequence and pretend the battle scars and patina enhance the "character" of the bike. Congrats on the mileage.
Brian
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Post by triitout on Jan 1, 2024 1:41:36 GMT
Completed the GP rehab project as the OCD kicked in to get my final Viscount cleanup done before Jan 1. The fleet is now ready for 2024 milestones. For those who are in the states, does the term Earl Schieb paint job ring a bell? That's basically what I went for. It looks great from 10 yards away. Just don't get too close! Most importantly, it's just more motivating to ride a bike that's freshened up vs worn down. I installed my last new white Nashbar saddle and even put on the Aerospace GP top tube decals straight for a change. May all your milestone fantasies work out in 2024.  IMG_0064 by |
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Post by brianbutler on Jan 1, 2024 2:41:14 GMT
Yes! Earl Scheib, he'll paint any car any color for $29.95. Except now he is probably a US Senator. No, wait. he was born in 1908.
Brian
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Post by triitout on Jan 1, 2024 3:11:39 GMT
Wow, that video was more entertaining than the New Years Eve specials on tonight! Amazing how cheesy the ads got as the prices went up. They went out of business July 2010 but amazingly there are zombie Earl Scheib locations still ongoing in NY metro. You just can't kill 'em.  Iconic in a way not dissimilar to Death Forks me thinks! |
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on Jan 1, 2024 16:35:15 GMT
Wow, that video was more entertaining than the New Years Eve specials on tonight! Here in UK, they really scraped the bottom of the barrel for last nights TV, worse than a normal night. |
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Jan 2, 2024 22:56:14 GMT
In 1966, my brother had his car painted at Earl Scheib; much of it peeled off when we (after curing) washed the car with a pressure washer. The problem was not the paint but the prep. We sanded it down ourselves and Earl Scheib repainted it on warranty for $12; the new paint stayed on. Hey, I rode yesterday bringing my 2024 total to 17 miles.  Cheers Jim |
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Post by brianbutler on Jan 3, 2024 1:40:06 GMT
I now have on good authority the correct number of bikes I need. My 6-year-old grandson was here today, looked around the garage and basement, and asked me how many bikes I have. I said 17, but 4 of them are frames, not yet built. He asked why I had so many and I said I ride a lot and need different bikes for different purposes. He reflected on that for 10 seconds or so then announced "I think you only need five bikes." Honestly, I can't argue with that so it is my new goal.
Brian
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Post by triitout on Jan 3, 2024 3:46:48 GMT
I now have on good authority the correct number of bikes I need. My 6-year-old grandson was here today, looked around the garage and basement, and asked me how many bikes I have. I said 17, but 4 of them are frames, not yet built. He asked why I had so many and I said I ride a lot and need different bikes for different purposes. He reflected on that for 10 seconds or so then announced "I think you only need five bikes." Honestly, I can't argue with that so it is my new goal. Brian Are you really going to throw away all of the acquired wisdom of a sage, nearly 70 year old cyclist and dispense of the sacred N + 1 rule because of your 6 year old grandson??? Is an intervention from everyone in this group required??? If you go down this new dangerous path, you can expect the groans of your comrades to be in your head 24/7. Be careful with these new ideas. Be very, very careful.   |
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Post by triitout on Jan 3, 2024 3:52:27 GMT
Since we're embracing the brilliance of Earl Sheib, I felt it my duty to inform you that according to debretts.com, an Earl ranks above a Viscount. Are earls above viscounts? Earl is the third rank of the Peerage, standing above the ranks of viscount and baron, but below duke and marquess. Before King Canute (c. 994-1035) an 'ealdorman' administered a shire or province for the king. Henceforth, my repaint formerly known as Viscount Aerospace GP shall now be referred to as Earl Aerospace GP. Thank you very much   |
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Post by brianbutler on Jan 3, 2024 12:48:29 GMT
I now have on good authority the correct number of bikes I need. My 6-year-old grandson was here today, looked around the garage and basement, and asked me how many bikes I have. I said 17, but 4 of them are frames, not yet built. He asked why I had so many and I said I ride a lot and need different bikes for different purposes. He reflected on that for 10 seconds or so then announced "I think you only need five bikes." Honestly, I can't argue with that so it is my new goal. Brian Are you really going to throw away all of the acquired wisdom of a sage, nearly 70 year old cyclist and dispense of the sacred N + 1 rule because of your 6 year old grandson??? Is an intervention from everyone in this group required??? If you go down this new dangerous path, you can expect the groans of your comrades to be in your head 24/7. Be careful with these new ideas. Be very, very careful. I promise to go slow, one day at a time.
Brian
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Jan 3, 2024 23:41:44 GMT
Cutting back to five bikes may be a hard path. For the bike obsessed, the correct number of bikes is a few less than the available space to store them; I am constantly correcting for this (see chart). I have tracked my bike ownership through the years and can't seem to escape the pattern. I suspect others have this problem; hi, my name is Jim and I am a bikeoholic! Cheers Jim  Bicycle Curve by Jim_Gude, on Flickr |
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Post by brianbutler on Jan 4, 2024 0:45:00 GMT
Unfortunately I have competing disorders. I am a bikaholic but also a neatnik/thrower. My bike curve will probably have wild swings as one or the other pathology prevails.
Brian
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Jan 4, 2024 18:20:51 GMT
Unfortunately I have competing disorders. I am a bikaholic but also a neatnik/thrower. My bike curve will probably have wild swings as one or the other pathology prevails. Brian Competing disorders, I understand as I love classic bikes and I love classic cars. This winter I am simultaneously rebuilding the front suspension on my MG Midget and working on a couple of bikes; I rarely get the bike parts and car parts mixed up. I am not a neatnik, in fact I am the clutter king. My current state of multiple projects has my shop in a complete mess; I scramble for places to temporarily store things. nevertheless I must have my hoard of parts organized in such a way that I can find them. This includes putting disassembled hardware in labeled baggies. I hate looking for something that I just handled yet cannot remember were I placed it; I am working on this. Despite my best attempts, my work benches are always cluttered requiring me to move items in order to use the bench. Yes, I do have competing neat/clutter disorder.
Cheers Jim
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Post by dracco on Jan 4, 2024 18:42:29 GMT
triitout wrote: "Ealdorman" is an Anglo-Saxon term, and as you indicated thus pre-Canute (Cnut) who was a Dane. However it is not equivalent to "Earl", and the title lives on today as "Alderman" referring to a non-elected member of a county or borough council, often a deputy Mayor. Typically in more recent times (relative to the Anglo-Saxon and Danish eras), aldermen were recruited from the well-to-do merchant class (so not aristocrats passing on an hereditary title), and often exhibited considerable middle-aged spread, hence the term "aldermanic" to describe a ruddy-faced, overweight and pompous individual with an inflated opinion of his own importance. (Think of Gillray's satirical cartoons, which are populated with a variety of aldermanic figures)
Earl was a Norman (Norseman) title, introduced by the Viking invaders and is derived from the Danish "Jarl".
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Iconic in a way not dissimilar to Death Forks me thinks!
