SpokEasy

November 2018

Feeling the Bite

BACK ISSUES /

I\’m feeling the bite; and I, for one, would not call dentistry \”painless\”. If nothing else, dental work can be a major pain in the bank account! Yet again, I\’m faced with oral surgery. It\’s coming up in just a few days; and there goes money that I\’d rather use for other things. For starters, I need some new cycling shorts; and I\’m lucky I don\’t need a new bicycle! It\’s a good thing I haven\’t made travel plans for the holidays; plane tickets are crazy expensive. I\’ll have to work my riding schedule around surgery day, so I can minimize off-bike time. My procedure is scheduled for 8 am; and will require sedation. I don\’t dare try to ride when I\’m still spacey from that stuff; and I know it won\’t truly wear off until quite late in the day. Possibly I won\’t feel up to riding even the next day. Here\’s the bright side to feeling the bite: I won\’t want to chew much for a day or two. Finally, a great excuse to eat ice cream!

Feeling the Bite Read More »

Nervous?

BACK ISSUES /

\”To have cold feet\” is to be nervous. So, am I nervous when I head out for a ride on a cold morning, and my feet are cold? Or, if they aren\’t cold when I start my ride, it isn\’t long before they do get cold. Those socks shown at left look warm and cozy; but when I\’m on the bike in cold weather, nothing seems to keep my feet warm. I\’ve tried wearing a pair of cashmere socks over regular socks; but it does\’t seem to help much. Would these hand warmers be suitable for feet? Here\’s the catch: do I have room inside of my cycling shoes for them? Toe covers? Maybe. Several years ago I had some toe covers; but they had loops to hook around the heel; and a sort of band across the bottom of the shoe, just behind the cleats. Those bands got torn up from my efforts to get my left foot clipped in once I began pedaling. I figured, why buy more if they\’re only going to get ripped apart? You may have already guessed that my hands, too, get cold. Only my heavy \”wombat\” gloves have room inside for those heat packs. There are days when my skull cap doesn\’t really keep my head warm. Cold feet, cold hands, cold head, cold nose — migosh, must I move to a sea-level country on the Equator?  

Nervous? Read More »

Brake Even

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Brake Even Gotta have brakes that work! Brake even is what we need when we’ve got to stop that bicycle. We’d be in big trouble without brakes, wouldn’t we? What little bicycle riding I did as a kid involved coaster brakes; the type that you operate by pedaling backwards. The kind I’m familiar with now is the rim brake, which has brake pads that contact the wheels’ rims. My adult tricycle had front-wheel rim brakes only. Contrary to expectations, the tricycle’s brakes gripped harder when wet! Most of the time that wasn’t a problem. There was just once, on a misty morning, when I had trouble. I was approaching a stop sign, and not even going all that fast. I started to brake; and next thing I knew I was on the ground with the trike on top of me. Just what I needed, a temperamental tricycle! Both my hybrid and road bike have rim brakes. During wet rides, when I know I have a stop coming up, I lightly hold the brakes for a few pedal strokes, to help get the worst of the moisture off of the wheels’ rims. Even so, it takes longer to stop than it would when I’m riding in dry conditions. Disc brakes? I’ve never tried them. Here’s a pro and con discussion of rim vs disc brakes. If the latter are heavier, I’m probably better off with rim brakes. Whatever kind of brakes you have, be sure they’re in good working order. You don’t want to break a leg if they don’t work. That’s not what brake even is about. 

Brake Even Read More »

Good Derailment

BACK ISSUES /

Who ever heard of \”good\” derailment? We don\’t want trains to derail, because it can be a major disaster if they do! A bicycle chain is quite another matter. We want it to \”derail\”, i.e. be able to shift from one gear to another. If it couldn\’t, we\’d be stuck with single-gear bicycles; or maybe fixies. That\’s good derailment. I\’m not nearly advanced enough to sense when my bicycles\’ derailers need adjusting; unless the chain hesitates and clatters like crazy when I try to shift gears. Someone once showed me how to adjust the rear derailer, and I watched one or two YouTube videos about it; but I don\’t dare try it on my own. Because I use the rear shifter so much more, it\’s easy for the front derailer to get pushed to the back of my mind. That doesn\’t mean the front derailer isn\’t important; because it is. Having the big ring lets me ride at, say, 14 mph at a lower cadence than I\’d need if I stayed on the small ring. On my road bike, to shift to the big ring, I have to push the shifting lever hard and hold it for several seconds. (The bike shop says that\’s normal for my bicycle). If I don\’t, the chain doesn\’t make it on to the big ring; and when I try to shift back to the small ring, the chain comes off, and I have to stop and put it back on. Fortunately it isn\’t hard to do, but I can never get all the oil off my hands. So, as long as our derailers are properly adjusted, our gears can stay on track, and we can enjoy the ride!

Good Derailment Read More »

When Time Is Short

BACK ISSUES /

How can we manage when time is short? Being a cyclist isn\’t only about riding. Off-bike exercises are important, too; and that means making the time to do them. Many sources that I\’ve read state that riding a bicycle is not only about the legs. You need strength and stability in the core; and in the arms and upper body. Example: if you find that you can\’t ride up even a mild incline without wavering like crazy, you need to work on those muscles. I sure did! Such work doesn\’t have to take gobs of time; at least, not when you\’re essentially a recreational cyclist. Especially when you have a regular job! But what happens when you\’ve gotten in something else; and can\’t fit in even a 15-minute workout? I would say, pick out the moves that need the most work. If the exercise routine that you had planned includes both core and leg moves; and you believe that your core needs more work; go for the core moves. Of course there are the days when time is short for a ride. Some say, unless you had an easy/recovery ride scheduled, make your short ride an intense one. I should take that advice more to heart. I\’ve never done well when it comes to pushing myself beyond what is called \”comfortably painful\”. Or at any rate, I haven\’t done nearly enough of it. In the end, when time is short, it comes down to using your time wisely. No matter how much time we seem to have, it always goes fast.  

When Time Is Short Read More »

Distracted Riding

BACK ISSUES /

Don\’t get into distracted riding. Hello! Do you know where are you riding? We hear so much about distracted driving, and its sometimes tragic consequences. Many years ago, when portable phones were first coming into use, I saw a car with a bumper sticker that read, \”Hang up and drive!\” I agree with that. I\’m also all for cyclists not trying to text/talk on a cell phone/take selfies, etc. while riding. Several years ago I saw a young man who was riding alongside traffic, one-handed; and texting with the other hand as he rode. He didn\’t appear to be paying much, if any, attention to where he was going. I have to wonder how long he\’ll continue that behavior before disaster strikes; if it hasn\’t done so by now. Driving a car also demands constant vigilance. It\’s nearly 16 years since I last drove a car; but I remember that I had to constantly be checking the rearview mirror and outside mirror.  In addition, I had to keep alert to what I saw through the windshield; and I constantly glanced behind me in case another vehicle were there. I know you can\’t rely on the outside mirror alone, because you never know when somebody might be hanging in your blind spot! Why, with all the attention required to drive a motor vehicle safely, would anybody try to divide attention between driving and trying to text/talk on a phone? Please, folks, give some though to other road users, motorists and bicyclists alike. Oh, and cyclists: don\’t give in to the temptation of distracted riding.

Distracted Riding Read More »

Riding Blind

BACK ISSUES /

I ended up riding blind today: when you\’ve got a long ride planned, always be sure your cyclocomputer is fully charged! I though I had juiced up my Garmin; but apparently I had forgotten to do so. On the way home, with 16-17 miles still to go, the thing beeped. I looked at the screen; and saw a low battery warning! I continued to ride a short way; and then I decided to turn the Garmin off. I didn\’t want it to run out of power entirely, and lose what data I already had. It was weird to automatically glance at that screen and see it blank. I couldn\’t tell how fast was I going; and I had no idea what my cadence was. Neither did I know how my heart rate was doing. It was like flying blind. At least I knew how far I rode before I turned around to head for home; and all I needed to do was double it to get my total mileage. I could see what my average speed was on the way out: well over 14 mph (nice following breeze!) The forecast predicted a chance of T-storms by 9 am; but I lucked out. I ran into a few drizzles; but missed the worst of it. I rode through stretches where there had, apparently, been heavy rain. My poor road bike is a mess! There have been times when I\’ve been caught in a blinding downpour. I\’m glad that wasn\’t the case today. It\’s scary when I\’m really riding blind.

Riding Blind Read More »

Get a Grip?

BACK ISSUES /

Get a grip on it! Or a good handle, or something. What I refer to here is bicycle handling skills. Mine, I admit, are very basic, although they seem to be adequate for the type and amount of riding I do. Suppose, however, that I decide some day that I want to take up large-group riding? Or even take a crack at racing? I\’d have a tremendous amount of catching up to do! When I started to think about bicycle racing, I soon sensed that speed isn\’t the most important aspect of racing. Skill is! Your casual cruising speed might put any Tour de France maillot vert winner\’s top sprint speed in the shade; but if you haven\’t got the bike-handling skills to use and control such velocity properly, you\’re a disaster waiting to happen. So, what skills would I need? Yes, I would need to develop much greater speed; but I\’d also need to learn to make sudden, tight turns at high speed. And to ride almost shoulder-to-shoulder with other riders; and while inches away from the rear wheel of the rider in front of me. I\’d need to learn how to \”bump\” without losing control. I never learned how to ride no-hands; much less how to maneuver the bike while doing so. I lack the confidence to ride — fast! — down mountainsides, and still remain in control. All that is probably just the beginning! It\’s a tall order. I don\’t think I\’m up to it. Or am I? Truth to tell, I haven\’t tried it yet; so I haven\’t got a grip on it.  

Get a Grip? Read More »

Goal in Sight

BACK ISSUES /

My goal is in sight! I\’m drawing towards my goal of 5000 miles (road bike + hybrid) for the year. An average of just over 10.3 miles per day from now through December 31 will do it. I hope Nature cooperates. It isn\’t looking all that good for tomorrow\’s long ride. There\’s a chance of T-storms by 9 am; but all I can do is hope for the best. How about progress? Have I made any this year? During my weekday morning rides I sometimes average 15 mph for 6-7 miles, which is improvement. It used to be hard to touch 15 mph at all! On the other hand, I\’m still a long way from being able to average 15 mph for hours on end, never mind blazing along the bike path at 20 mph. Well, I can get up to 20 mph or so; but I can\’t sustain it for long. However, to be able to reach 20 mph and hold it for more than one second is in itself progress. Alas, progress is slower than I would like. But why? Am I stuck in the \”sorta hard\” trap? Have I reached my physiological capacity for improvement? Do I make my recovery rides too hard? Or am I plain old lazy?  Time to haul out Get Fast! again. Perhaps the best nugget in there is the statement on page xii: \”… getting fast means riding fast.\” Maybe I need to do more work at pushing the pace during my weekly long ride? It can\’t hurt to try! If I\’ve got the goal in sight, getting faster means I\’ll get there, well, faster.

Goal in Sight Read More »

A Paul Revere Twist?

BACK ISSUES /

How about a Paul Revere twist on cyclist training? Remember the Longfellow poem about Paul Revere\’s ride? The signal that British troops were approaching was to be made by lanterns: \”One if by land, and two if by sea\”. Maybe this training decision is analogous: to train by miles; or by time? One of my cycling books suggests that going by time is a better choice if you\’re riding a mountain bike. For example, you might ride 8 miles in one hour on a highly technical track. This can be equal in effort to riding 20 miles in an hour on the road. It also says, if you ride both MTB and road; train by time for rides on both bicycles. I do go by time when doing short, intense efforts. When making such efforts, I peek at my speed now and then to see how fast I\’m getting (have I hit 20 mph or more yet?); but I have to keep an eye on time elapsed. I also have to pay careful attention to where I\’m going if it\’s still dark! During the week, I often don\’t have much over an hour for my ride. Over time I\’m trying to go a bit farther and a bit farther. I need more \”force\” work so I can get faster and get in more miles! For the weekend long ride I go by miles; and I try to maintain a steady pace, even if I\’m not going as fast as I would like. I don\’t have to be in a frantic rush to warn of an invasion, so there\’s no need for a Paul Revere twist.

A Paul Revere Twist? Read More »