Hybrid to a road bike

5/14/20


Hello Reader,


I made the move from a Hybrid/Commuter bike to an entry level road bike. I didn't even know that GMC made a bicycle until recently, I purchased a GMC Denali Road bike pro off of Offerup. I had to do a few modifications to get it to where I would be willing to rely on it for riding into work.


Problems with the Bike:


Tires were shredded/sun cooked (bought 2 new tires on Offerup, bought tubes and liners from Greggs in Lynnwood)
Rear wheel bearings were a little loose (had to repack and adjust)
Freewheel cassette bearings were loose/worn
Gearing was tough for me (bought a new freewheel cassette from Staton that took the 8 speed cassette from 13/28 to 13/34)
After 1st 100 miles bottom bracket bearings were loose/worn out (replaced bottom bracket assembly with updated sealed bearings)
Front wheel bearings were a little loose after 115 miles (repacked and adjusted)


I will do a cost breakdown at a future post.


So with that, I sold Andre the Giant on Offerup to offset the cost, essentially covering the cost of my transition to a road bike.


The new cassette with that 34 tooth really helped me, it took somewhere between 10-15 minutes off of my commute home, and it made the hills more bearable. Here are a few pictures.


Keep the rubber side down,


TDC

The trouble is the intake

5/11/20


The trouble is the intake


Dear reader,


We had a beautiful sunny couple of days, here in the Seattle area any sun before July 5th is bonus. With the "stay home" order still mostly in place as we progress through the phases of reopening, all of the bicycle/walking trails are extra busy. Lots of people working in their yards, we will probably have the best summer for landscaping for the last number of years!


With all of this cycling to work I still have a hard time getting my weight down, I think I understand the problem....The trouble is in the intake....too much fuel.


Even when I ride to work 2 times a week (about 32 miles roundtrip), I have not seen the scale drop anything of significance. Probably because when I get home, I eat because I feel like I have burned so many calories.


There in lies the problem....I am eating what I "feel" like I have burned.... Let me see what happens if I keep to my meal plan AND ride into work 2 times in a week. Maybe that will be better.


How about you, do you tend to overeat after working out more rigorously than normal?


Let me know what you think,


and keep the rubber side down,


TDC