🚀 go-pugleaf

Walt Horning <whorning@pipeline.com> wrote:

: Question: Do any of these people know how to shift gears? They were
: all peddling as if they were in a lower gear (fast peddling, while
: little forward momentum). The road was flat. As speed builds up, going
: to a higher gear to gain even more speed would make peddling easier
: relative to speed. They did not seem to know this. They could have
: easily done 30-35 mph in an upper gear.

Your amazing ignorance of anything to do with bicycle riding requires
comment.  First, riders such as you describe are going to be pedalling at
about 60 rpm.  A great deal of study has shown that this is about an
aptimum speed.  Secondly, the thing that limits the speed of a bicycle is
air resistance, primarily.  Of course gradient is also important.
Thirdly, there is no gear or pedalling speed that would enable those
riders, you, or any other human being to maintain a speed of 35 mph for
very long with an unfaired bicycle.  A Tour de France rider will travel at
maybe 25mph.  Unless you're in a lot better shape than I think you are,
you'll play hell going twenty for very far.  Feel free to use any gear you
want.   

-- 
Kenneth T. Cornelius  
kencorn@clark.net