At this point more than ever I think all this so-called 'tension' between Trump and Putin is just theatre, all for show, and Trump really is an operative for Russia.

I also think the whole Greenland and Canada takeover talk is just a diversionary tactic. Trump goes to annex Greenland, for instance, and NATO countries will have to divert manpower and resources to defend against that -- and that leaves less NATO military resources for Ukraine defense, as well as EU countries; Russia swoops in with an all-out attack on Ukraine and takes it. Then perhaps starts an invasion of EU countries.

You all know how the fascist-run FCC is now 'investigating' organizations like NPR news, and the big three broadcast networks (NBC, CBS, ABC) for being 'biased' (against Trump)? I say we all start banging on the FCC to 'investigate' Fox News for the same reason.

Nope, NTA. Your body, your choice. He needs to stop being a dick.

Maybe he took the Chunnel over to France and didn't realize it wasn't part of England?

Forgot to mention: headlamp is helmet-mounted. I consider it safer, I can shine the light wherever I need it rather than being limited to it where the handlebars are aimed. Also useful for getting the attention of motorists who aren't paying attention. Also for my use-case I can't see having a whole new front wheel built to my specs just to have that. Interesting though, I'll have to go look at what the maximum power output of that is just out of curiosity, most front-hub alternators are around 3 watts maximum.

Emailed that manufacturer for the exact voltage at maximum current output at what RPM, and whether it's rectified on the hub or output as AC. *shrug* never know, I wouldn't use this on my road bike but I might on my singlespeed.

Your husband/partner/whatever is wrong, your kid should have a helmet when riding. That's YOUR kid as much as his and you should have say in this matter. It's a reasonable precaution and he should just shut up and go along with it.

By the way if he isn't wearing one when riding either then he's being irresponsible with his life as well. Just sayin'.

I dunno, OP, how do you know?

Everyones' experience is different. You'll know when you're ready.

Yes, that's fine.

If the local LEOs aren't closing a public road entirely for a planned road race event, then you can still use the road -- just don't be one of those people who interfere with the race (I am a road racer, I've experienced locals being like that). Even if the road is technically 'closed' if there is an emergency then the race can be suspended temporarily if they'd otherwise get in each others' way, things are planned out in advance for possibilities like this -- which is one of the reasons there's always some sort of law-enforcement (local LEOs, Highway Patrol) on-site at road races; 'public safety'.

I've used 4000's and now 5000's, for years, and have no complaints about them. Some people don't like them though, so as with most things YMMV.

Rides up to 90 minutes: just water, possibly with electrolytes added in. Exception: if you're doing hard interval work, take fuel with you.

Otherwise: 200kcal carbs per bottle per hour for rides of more than 90 minutes or so is what I've always stuck with. I've always used maltodextrin, but some riders prefer fructose, or even combinations of carbs. Add electrolytes.

You can also take actual food with you on rides, many recreational riders do just that. Try to keep it light though, not anything heavy that will upset your stomach when exerting yourself or otherwise hard to digest, will just slow you down. Similar calorie guideline as for liquid fuel, but some protein isn't a bad idea either.

If you're really trying to lose weight you can cut the calories-per-hour in half, I've done that in the past myself with good results, and no 'bonking'.

They always say 'upgrade the engine, not the bike' and it's true. Spending $15000 on a road bike won't make you much faster than spending $1500 on a road bike in most cases. Seriously, the way to go faster, longer is to improve your fitness and your bike-handling skills.

That being said I've found that frame geometry can affect overall speed, but mainly in how the bike handles in certain situations. I used to race on an endurance-geometry bike, and when I finally got a race-geometry bike I noticed that I could take corners and curves much faster because geometry of the frameset meant the bike didn't need to lean over quite as much in corners and curves, so I could go faster through them without problems.

Quality name brand, bib-style, needs to fit you like a second skin but not so tight as to cut off circulation, and BTW you don't wear underwear underneath them.

Lots of good brands out there. Personally I use Voler, but that's because the team I used to be on used Voler for their team kit, and I thought the quality was good for the price. YMMV, as I said lots of good brands out there, just don't buy cheap off-brand because it's cheap. Also get some good anti-chafing cream like Assos Cream, it helps.

Otherwise your crotch just has to get used to it. Make sure you have a proper sized, shaped, and adjusted saddle for you, specifically, and BTW bigger and more padded counterintutively does not mean it's more comfortable.

Speaking as someone who used to be well over 300 pounds at one point in my life, and started riding regularly again as an adult when I was down to about 250 pounds, and who now is around 195-225 all the time and have been road racing for years, I think I can comment constructively on this subject.

Consider getting a wheelset that has 32 hole rims, and 'bombproof' rims like DT Swiss RR411's, or RR585's if you can find them somewhere. Your spoke breakage problem will likely go away. Note I'm assuming you have a road bike, not a mountain bike; same advice for a mountain bike, though, just different rim sizes, and you'd need to get a bike shop that can do wheel building help find you appropriate 'bombproof' rims with a high spoke-hole count.

So far as the rest of the bike goes: unless it's some ultra-light road bike frameset, it'll take quite a bit of punishment. The Trek Pilot 2.0 that was my original road bike went for years of training and even road racing before anything happened to it, and then it was a weld on the bottom bracket that started cracking that killed it. I doubt you're punishing your bike as much as I punished that Trek, so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

The area you'll probably have some difficulty with is your saddle. You need one that is not only the right size and shape for how you're built, but that will hold up under you without breaking. I can't really recommend one in particular, it's more of a personal choice. Find someone local to you that does bike fitting professionally and see if they can help you find a saddle that suits you, both to keep you as comfortable as possible while riding, and that isn't going to break.

The one thing you should know about riding out of the saddle is that it's actually rather inefficient energy-wise. You can generate an assload of power that way (which is why sprinting is out of the saddle) but you can also wear yourself out prematurely if you do it too much, even if you're holding back.

One word for you, young lady: Craigslist. Lots of good used bikes for sale there. Find yourself a decent road bike for a good price. 😉

Also welcome to the obsession club. 🤣

1. Don't ride through potholes
2. Learn to scan ahead constantly until you're doing it without thinking about it, and avoid things on the pavement ahead of you that you think might cause a puncture.
3. Stay on the pavement. All sorts of crap offroad can puncture you.
4. With regards to tire inflation: if your pump doesn't have a gauge (highly recommended you have one) then pump it up to the point you can put your full weight over the wheel and have the tire 'squish' only a little bit, like no more than a quarter of an inch for a skinny road bike tire.
5. Don't use duct tape as rim tape. It just plain isn't tough enough for the pressures involved, not even if it's 'Gorilla' brand duct tape. Actual rim tape is designed for this.
6. When you do get a puncture and are changing the tube out, you should take the punctured tube out carefully, noting where it's punctured, and match that up to where it was on the tire, then check the tire carefully for any object sticking in it that punctured it. Check both visually and by running your finger over the inside and outside of the tire. Doesn't take much to puncture a tube.

Also sometimes you just have a run of bad luck no matter how careful you are, but since you're new to cycling you're still in the learning phase of riding skills that will help you avoid punctures all the time. It's okay, I think most new riders go through this.

Typically, I have goals I want to meet, and a schedule to stay on if I want to meet those goals, so that keeps me motivated, even when it's so cold and dark out that I get frost buildup on the knees of my leg warmers. Dressing in layers helps. Having had nothing but a motorcycle (by choice) for 10 years of my life, so riding that all year 'round in all kinds of weather helps experientially, too, because I got used to dealing with the cold both physiologically and psychologically. There are deal-breakers, though; I can handle cold and wet, cold and dark, and dark and wet, but I draw the line at cold, wet, and dark, and a big fat hell, no! if it's cold, wet, dark, and windy.

It can always take more input and the output will be proportional to the input/output ratio just the way it is.

If however you want to change the input/output ratio, you'd need an amplifer on the output to give it some gain. An op-amp like a TL081 in a non-inverting configuration would give you however much gain you decide on by choosing the feedback resistor values.

Nope! It's complete junk! Don't even plug it in, it'll burn your house down!

Tell you what, since I'll be a pal and give you $20 for it, just because I'm in a generous mood!

🤣 Just kidding, if it works then that's a great gift, wish someone would gift me an o-scope, I could use one!

I wish I had a grandpa that would hand-me-down even a 100MHz dual-channel o-scope.

'Good job'? For whom, exactly? Russia? Putin? All the REAL enemies of America?

As an aside to all this, since the couch-fucker mentioned the media 'attacking' them: the fascist-run FCC is now """investigating""" news organizations like NPR. I say everyone band together and file complaints about Fox News and demand that they are 'investigated'.

In a way, they did come from a different planet. If you had a time machine and could go back to the era when those creatures were alive, you likely wouldn't recognize the Earth as the same planet you just came from.

Calling Trump a 'cunt' (and I'd like to point out that the OP used that word first, so lay off the damned 'report' button!) is an affront to self-respecting cunts all over the world, so kindly find a different derogatory term for him.

Personally I refer to Trump as 'the convicted career criminal, rapist, pathological liar, cheater, and traitor infesting the Whitehouse', but that's just me, I'm a wordy bastard 🤣