The Little Silvo That Could-WARNING LONG

[Cruzbike Chris]

Ok, so to start with, NO Charles I did not get a picture. I sure wish I had my Swann camera on my helmet for this one, believe you me. Normal Saturday morning ride alone as usual since I didn't want to push it today after two days in a row of speed rides going for 19+, really don't know how Larry does it but 19 is smoking for me. I usually average 18+ on a normal ride so 19 average was really pushing it for an old man like me. When I got up this morning I had planned on just doing a longer, 30 miler with a goal of staying below 18 mph average, 1000' climbing and under 130 on the HRM. Well that worked out very well for the start. At about the 13.5 mile mark as seen on Strava that all changed. First you need to know I have never ridden in a peloton, never really rode DF's except a mountain bike and never really thought I would ever be going as fast as I do now. I started with the conversion back in 2012 and fell in love with the setup and comfort so much I finally found a used Silvio and have been in love every since. Of course Rick, not as much as I love my wife of 32 years but you couldn't convince her of that. And thanks to Ratz for some help of course (he should be on the payroll) it is setup perfect. So to get back to my ride, I see up in front of me about a mile or so a large group of riders heading down Western Blvd. Now I know these roads of mine pretty darn good and have ridden them a bunch since getting the Silvio back in July. I don't at first try to reel them in but you all know what that means. Yeah, come on Chris what are you waiting for? I start picking up the pace a little when I turn on Western and see there are more than 15-20 riders and start having second thoughts with that much power there ain't no way I can catch them. But you couldn't tell that to My Silvio, she just kept creeping up to 20+ and when we turned on Jim Christol road I could then see it was the local Corinth Cycling Club by their shirts. Now I don't know all the etiquette for cycling and all but I knew I couldn't just climb on the back and they would welcome me so I just eased up a little and rode for about a mile or so. One of the guys on the back, a big guy did say hello and looked back but that was about it. This run is usually pretty quick for me as it is blocked by a bunch of trees on both sides and they just laid down new asphalt too so I can usually pick it up pretty easy. We were rolling about 18-19 mph or so, a couple of cars pass us on the left and I knew I could easily pass all of them now on the next turn and sill have about a mile to pull away so I did what every Cruzbiker does, I gunned it. Wow! Fun, Fun! To say the least, that was pretty cool, passing all these wedgies on their high dollar bikes and all their cool colored jerseys and little ole me just Cruzbikin! Believe it or not, it was very exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. I didn't know how they were going to react. I know normally I yell "PASSING ON THE LEFT" or such when I pass in an charity ride, but, for this ride I just let My Silvio do the talking. They all start yelling "HEY" real load as I passed and I just raised my arm and waved and said a polite "GOOD MORNING YA'LL". Now I know there was a lot of chatter for the rest of the ride for them and I was just a Cruzbiking and smilin my way home, 15 more miles to go now, of course at a little slower pace. I circled around the little town of Krum and headed on home down 156 not knowing where these guys were going to end up. I circled under the bridge at I35 and heading home down the service road for my final 2 mile loop and yes what do I see over the Rector road bridge but a bunch of wedgies again crossing the top side. Same folks, yes. I was no more than 20 yards or so from them when I start hearing them all yell at me and waving. I continued down the service road knowing they were going to be coming up on my right on a back road parallel to me. And they did, yelling and screaming undetectable words or cussing for all I know. Again I just raised my hand for a polite wave as I pulled away from them yet again and made my final turn home smiling all the way! I did finish up with a little faster than expected, 18.3 mph and 133 bpm @ 974' of climbing for 30 .4 miles, so all good for a better then perfect Saturday ride on MY SILVIO! Just get out and ride......and have fun!

 

[kenhardwick]

Long...but a fun read

Hi Chris,
Glad you are enjoying your Silvio 2.0.....if you weren't SO OLD...maybe you could ride a bit faster....

 

[Andrew 1973]

"I did finish up with a

"I did finish up with a little faster than expected, 18.3 mph and 133 bpm @ 974' of climbing for 30 .4 miles, so all good for a better then perfect Saturday ride on MY SILVIO! Just get out and ride......and have fun!"

Nice stats and it sounds like more of an experience than a ride. Now if only Strava could capture the essence of why we ride.

 

[LarryOz]

Chris - 19mph on a Silvio 2.0

Chris - 19mph on a Silvio 2.0 is extremely good! Well done!
In my testing is took about 205 watts to maintain the stock S2.0 at 20mph.
And, that is about all I could manage for an average at the Mid-Atlantic race. An it was a flat pan route.
It was hard to watch Charlie Ollinger take off on that Vendetta, but there was no way I could keep up. He beat me by 14 miles over the 12 hours! Ouch. Of course I must point out that was 54 and he was 20 something! haha
Anyway;
I ride the Vendetta 2.0 now - It is so much faster. It will go 3 mph faster on the same wattage (so, that's how I do those speeds now)
No magic, I am just an average guy that rides 15-20 hours a week.
So,....
Same testing on the V2.0: 23,3 mph on 196 watts. There is a learning to curve pedaling and apply power to the drivetrain at 20 degrees rather than 28. I still have not really mastered it, and it may take some time.
Recently - I stuck on my new 88mm rimmed CF wheelset and Cont 4000 s II tires, now I am able to do 25.1 mph on 200 watts.
It is absolutely amazing! (Did I mention there was a V20 frame for sale on ebay! haha)
.........
I still have the new Rotor QXL super-eliptical rings, full disc wheels and a more aero handlebar setup to work on for more speed. It is rather fun experimenting. Too bad I still have to work 50 hours a week.. Not too close to retirement I'm afraid.
......
Keep up the good work and keep riding!

 

[Rick Youngblood]

Nice write up Chris and great

Nice write up Chris and great job. Sometimes that's what it takes to get a little respect from your local roadies. I think a lot of us can relate to your story. It's taken me 3 years get respect from my locals. Now they all know me as the guy on the fast yellow recumbent - they all wave, smile, say hi, etc - that's nice!

I get so darn competitive at times too, maybe not as much Larry

. When I get one or more in my sight, I line them up and pull the trigger...it's so much fun to finally be the one passing instead of being passed.

You know Chris you're not done yet 18.3, those stats are going to keep climbing! But, I got to say, it helps when to get pushed by other cyclist.

 

[ratz]

Taming the locals

If you are a strava user; that's one way to attack the barrier with the local roadies. I took a different approach this past summer. I followed all the serious riders in the area; the guys that lead the weekly A and the B group rides on the routes in my area and the Solo TT freaks. They are easy enough to find on Strava and most don't require permission to follow. Then as they did good rides I gave the proper kudos for good ones; but not every ride just the good rides.

After a while I got the follow backs, then I posted a few instagram photos to rides on Strava of the Silvio and Vendetta. So even though I rode at different times than most of them; they all got to know about these cool and different bikes. By the end of the summer I'd get thumbs up from the Pacelines I'd encounter going the other direction; I would get definite waves from cars that past me with the high end TT bikes on them etc, and the posts on Strava saying hey I say you on hwy xx today while I was driving; cool bike. We did a social tour in our area; while I didn't ride the 100 mile group because I road with Mrs Ratz I did get to go up to one of the high speed pacelines and I was welcomed in by a couple guys that had been wanting to see the bike in action close up. By the end of the summer I had done a few join ins for a few miles before our routes diverged.

That was far more fun that just catching the anonymous groups and wondering if I should stay behind them or drop them. Prior to that it had just been the occasion solo guy or two-some that I would encounter. Next summer I plan to start showing up at the rides where these regulars will know at least by the bike.

You just have to be prepared to smile at the jokes about putting the bike together wrong.

 

[Rick Youngblood]

You just have to be prepared

You just have to be prepared to smile at the jokes about putting the bike together wrong.

That's a great approach Bob. Most of the roadies, I encounter welcome me aboard now, ask about the bike, and hey, they are just like us out to have a great time, with a basic common interest.

One of the funniest remarks from a fellow rider I got when I rode the McArthur Century this past summer at one of the pit stops, was "bet you couldn't wait to get off that thing"! He caught me off guard, and I had to pause a minute before giving my reply.

 

[LarryOz]

I know Rick, somehow people

I know Rick, somehow people seem to think that it is uncomfortable in some way! Amazing.
Then I start going down the list - my neck doesn't ache, my butt doesn't ache, my wrists don't ache... then you can see the little wheels in their head start turning...