Cycling

Lucas loves cycling. My main bike is a Performance R207 road bike. (Actually, most of it is an R205, but after two years I put enough miles on it that the frame cracked, and so I got a new frame.) For six years, cycling was my primary form of transportation, and I didn't buy my first car until I was 24, and lost Stanford's housing lottery and had to move off-campus.

My bikes aren't particularly fancy, but if you're interested, you can see all the technical stuff.

Where I ride

When I was living on campus, I'd mainly ride to the grocery store and to get around campus. On weekends, though, I'd try to get out and do some fun riding. Most weekends I'd ride to my parent's house in Belmont and back. In fall of '96 and '97, I also participated in the Saturday morning "Low-Key Hillclimbs." Each weekend a group of cyclists would get together to ride up one of the hills in the Bay Area. It was a nice way to see some of the different places to ride in the Bay Area.

Now that I live 15 miles from campus, I commute by car most days. When time allows, though, I still enjoy riding, especially on Canada Road out by the Reservoir. The scenery is simply awesome, especially at sunrise and sunset. Plus I still enjoy the thrill of racing along the valley at 30 miles an hour on the aerobars.

Sightseeing Trips

Every once in a while, I like taking longer, all-day rides. I ride at a slow, relaxed pace, go sightseeing, explore new areas, and stop frequently to eat. Several of these longer rides have been over 100 miles.

Hill Climbs

Along the way, I've also climbed a few hills. Recently, I've also toyed with the idea of making a compact gradiometer , for measuring the steepness of climbs.

Aerodynamics

Curious about the quantitative effects of my aerobars, I took a (very) few measurements, and made a bicycle aerodynamics page. It might not be hard science, but it was fun.

Photos

On long bike trips, I often bring my camera along. The Bay Area offers a stunning variety of landscapes. So I've started putting together a small collection of photos from around the bay .

Personal Records

Time Trialing

Pushing through winds hurricane,
Hypoxia numbing the brain,
It feels like a dream,
My legs want to scream...
"Dear brain, have you gone insane?"

Just for fun, I've started keeping track of a few personal records . They're not very fast, but it's always fun to set a personal best, no matter what the speed.


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