SpokEasy

January 2019

Not Looking Good

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Alas, things are not looking good! This morning my Garmin wouldn\’t turn on; and I was sure I remembered charging it up after my ride day before yesterday. I was already running (pedaling?) late; so I did a short ride without it. At least I know where my five-mile point is; and that helped. I\’m waiting for somebody to come fix my ceiling; and while I wait I tried plugging the Garmin into my laptop. No response from the Garmin. I tried a different charging cable with the same result; namely, nothing happened. I\’ll have to go to the bike shop and let them have a look at the thing. I hope it\’s not worn out and needs replacing! I haven\’t had it for quite three years; and at the time I bought it, it cost over $400. I expect something with a price tag like that to last a long time! Lately I\’ve been getting some strange heart-rate readings from that Garmin. A ride summary might show that I attained a max heart rate that is in my Zone 5; but when I checked for time spent in heart rate zones, it showed zero for Zone 5. Maybe I was in Z-5 for only a split second; but maybe something about the Garmin was awry? When I\’m riding and see a HR in the 180s on the readout screen, I know something weird is going on; and maybe it\’s not looking good.  

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How Hard?

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How hard am I working? Did you ever wonder how much of a workout you\’re really getting during a bicycle ride? This is where having a heart rate monitor comes in handy. Some bicycle computers, such as the Garmin Edge 520, let you monitor your heart rate as you ride. First, the Garmin must be programmed with your pre-determined heart rate zones; and after a ride, the Ride Summary shows how much time you\’ve spent in which heart rate zones. Now, how do you determine what your workload was? Let\’s take a look at a ride of 50.2 miles, averaging 13.21 mph. My ride data showed the following heart rate zones/times (in minutes and seconds): Z2: 1:44; Z3: 113:18; Z4: 113:04. I rounded the times to the nearest whole minute: Z2: 2; Z3: 113; Z4: 113. Next step, multiply the zone by the number of minutes spent in that zone: 2 x 2 = 4; 3 x 113 = 339; 4 x 113 = 452. Then, add them up: 4 + 339 + 452 = workload 795. Here\’s the question for me: am I spending too much time in my HR zone 3? After at least four years, maybe even five, I still haven\’t achieved my goal of being able to cruise at 15 mph for prolonged periods. Am I in a Zone 3 rut? Looking back over my ride log, it seems rather like it. How do I improve? More \”force\” work (pushing for a high cadence in a hard gear)? Staying in a light-ish gear, but working for 100 rpm or more? Striving for a set speed — let\’s say, 17 mph — for x amount of time, no matter what the conditions? Some of all three? Gee, a coach sure would be helpful. I don\’t know how hard I should work!

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A Complete Washout?

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Am I a complete washout? I\’m not nearly as conscientious about cleaning my bicycles as I should be; and I\’ll be the first to admit it. On weekdays I have to go to work after I ride; and there isn\’t time to do a decent cleaning job and have breakfast, too. After I get home from work, I have other things to do. I\’m reluctant to try this outdoor cleaning routine. Or this one. I don\’t have my own yard; and one of the occupants of the unit adjacent to mine is prone to hanging around outdoors SMOKING!! That smoke sets off my allergies. If I were to spray WD-40® around, I\’d need a double filter mask. Such fumes bother me, big time. So do the fumes of many cleaning products. I\’ve tried a solution of Simple Green®; and that bothered me, too. Even though I put a bicycle on a tarp to protect the carpet, using soapy water would be a problem; and I certainly can\’t drag a bicycle into the shower with me! Another aspect of bicycle cleaning that I need to improve upon is the skill of removing the wheels and replacing them. The front wheel is easy enough, but I\’m always nervous about doing it to the rear wheel. Having a bicycle that looks brand-new all the time is low on my priority list. On the other hand, my bicycles need more frequent washing. But no gully-washers, please! That would be a complete washout, for sure.  

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Cycling Woes

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Cycling WOES? Yes, indeed! Occasionally I think that maybe there are better ways of getting around than by bicycle. By balloon, maybe? A hot-air balloon eliminates headwind problems; but apparently ballooning against the wind is impossible. It\’s all with the wind in a balloon; and that\’s inconvenient when your destination isn\’t downwind. Crashing, on the other hand, is far more survivable on a bicycle than in a balloon. But do hot-air balloons have chains that need to be maintained and that, sometimes, get dropped? This morning I had both: headwinds, and I had to stop and put the chain back on the small ring when it got dropped. There are times when shifting to the big ring simply doesn\’t work. When I try to shift back onto the small ring, the chain falls between the small ring and the frame. I was wearing very heavy gloves, which actually doesn\’t help when I need to shift to the big ring. They\’re really too big for me; and if anything that reduces the already-reduced dexterity of gloved hands. Another problem I had this morning was highly suspect readouts from my heart rate monitor. My Garmin\’s screen was showing a HR rate in the 180s, which I\’m sure can\’t have been right. Yes, I was pushing for 12-13 mph into a 17 mph wind; but from my breathing at the time, I\’d say upper Zone 4 was correct; or possibly low Zone 5.  But not Zone 6+! In fact, I don\’t even have a Zone 6 programmed into the Garmin. Maybe the HR sensor needs a new battery; and I can do without it for a while if I must. Meanwhile there\’s always RPE. Oh, these cycling woes!

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The Bright Side

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Let\’s look at the bright side. For instance, I gripe about riding in the rain, especially when it\’s also cold and windy. I get chilled through as well as soaked. On the other hand, riding in the rain has an upside: the falling rain does a lot to wash my road bike clean of grit, dirt, and muck. When I rode two days before New Year\’s, it wasn\’t raining; but there were some pretty dense fog patches, plus some wet spots on the bike path. When I got home after riding 50 miles, my poor bicycle was a mess! Then, on New Year\’s Day, there was a light rain. I got wet through; but my bicycle wasn\’t in nearly the state it had been after the ride two days earlier. Maybe that was in part because the January 1 ride was a much shorter one; but I\’m sure the \”natural bike wash\” helped. Incidentally, I find it easier to clean all that gritty stuff off my bike if I let it get dry first. Then most of it brushes off. That might be against bicycle-cleaning rules; but I don\’t have the hose and bucket to give my bikes a sudsy, outdoor washing. So if it rains on my bicycle ride, I can look at the bright side. 

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That Deadly Sin

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Oh, that deadly sin of sloth! Looking at the forecast for tomorrow makes me feel like this kitty here. I just want to lounge around and do nothing; and also stay in and stay warm! It\’s expected to be a chilly 49 degrees tomorrow morning; and the wind will be as strong as 20 mph! I know I need the exercise; but at the moment merely thinking of being out in the cold and wind is almost too much. I know it will make my nose run like crazy. That, in turn, makes on-bike eating harder; because it\’s hard to breathe through my nose and chew at the same time. At least I can be glad I\’m not out there riding right now. It just began to rain; and for the last hour or so the wind has been strengthening. It also seems to be getting cooler. It had been getting almost too warm for January, so I suppose we\’re paying for it now. So do I go out for my long ride tomorrow, or not? Fight the wind out there; or be lazy and stay home? They say, if you\’re not sure you want to ride, get ready to ride anyhow. Then, if you find that you really can\’t bear the thought of riding, take the day off. Otherwise, ride on; and eschew that deadly sin of sloth!  

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Cornered?

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Do you ever feel cornered; or wonder how to handle that turn? Cornering efficiently is an important part of cycling; and it\’s helpful to know how to make those turns without slowing to a crawl. Note: the video shown is British; so the riders are on the left-hand side of the road. I find that wide, sweeping left turns are the easiest to handle. Sudden, sharp turns to the right are the ones that make me uncomfortable. Maybe it\’s partly a visual thing; although right-handed, I\’m left-eyed. Or, maybe I need to think more about this. How do you corner on a descent, when you\’ve got a sharp turn? See this video for advice. It seems to be aimed at highly skilled riders, or even pro racers; but I suppose that the basic principles can be applied even to \”tame\” turns. Then there\’s the skill of making turns in traffic; especially left turns that involve crossing at least one lane of traffic before making said turn. Is turning the same as cornering? Good question. It seems to me that cornering is part of turning. Sometimes I wish I could take more time to practice these basic skills. Usually I have to get out there and ride my miles; or else make a grocery run. It sort of makes me feel cornered.

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Don\’t Be Slipshod!

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Don\’t be slipshod! No half measures! We hear these bits of advice all the time; and it gets wearisome. But how should you fit cycling shoes? Obviously, they should fit properly. I look for advice on various aspects of cycling, shoes included, everywhere I can think of; even in some unlikely  places! Fitting cycling shoes, I expect, isn\’t nearly as finicky a business as fitting pointe shoes. Even so, be sure they\’re comfortable. If cycling shoes are too tight, they hurt; and there\’s no room for a second pair of socks on a cold day. If they\’re too big, your feet slide around as you pedal. Hence the advice, Don\’t Be Slipshod! How long does a pair of cycling shoes last? That depends on how much you ride, I\’ve no doubt; and probably also on how hard you ride. Weather conditions might play a role as well. Shoes that get frequent soakings from rainy rides probably wear out faster. How do you know it\’s time to replace those shoes? If the part that cups your heel has become flimsy, it\’s time for new shoes; and if the uppers are separating from the soles, that\’s an obvious sign. If the shoes look beat-up in general, you might well need new ones. Expensive though they are, a good pair of cycling shoes is worth it. If you can afford it, get two pairs. That way, you can use one pair to ride while the other is airing out from the previous ride. If you\’ve gotten caught in the rain, the shoes that got soaked will have more time to dry if you have a second pair of shoes to use. Above all, remember what they say: If the shoe fits, wear it!

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Under the Weather

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You know how some days you\’re simply under the weather? I\’m no exception. This morning — oh, horrors! — I decided to skip the road-bike workout. For starters, I felt very tired. The temperature was in the mid-50s; and that isn\’t so very cold if I dress in leg warmers and several layers of windbreakers; double socks; skull cap; and heavy gloves. But the clincher was the wind. It sounded very strong to me. Last night the forecast predicted winds of 15 mph. Naturally, it was easterly wind! Merely knowing I\’ll have a headwind on the way back home makes me feel under the weather! The wind this morning sounded stronger than 15 mph, so I checked the NOAA site. It said the wind was 21 mph! Tonight it\’s going to drop to the low 40s; and the wind will still be about 13-14 mph. The one bright spot is that the weather is expected to be clear. As to my feeling so tired, I think my sinuses are acting up. During the day I noticed a strange, tingling sensation in my upper incisors. That usually means sinus trouble! Or maybe it\’s an allergy. It tends to hit me this time of year; and has done so for at least a few years without fail, which sounds more like allergy. This is the season when I have to take the bit in my teeth and slog through the miseries of cold and wind; and, sometimes, wet. I can\’t control the weather, but I can learn how to dress for it. Then I won\’t feel quite so under the weather.

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Active Couch Potato?

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Active Couch Potato? An active couch potato, I sometimes fear, is what I have become. The term is used for people who exercise regularly — even vigorously — but otherwise sit around most of the time. I’m more active off the bike at work than at home. When I’m at work, I get up about every 20 minutes. At home, I can too easily get absorbed in composing blogs, watching YouTubes, and so on; and get too little activity. Even on long-ride day! When the weather is cold, I don’t want to move out from in front of my electric heater. How I wish my window units had heat! As a renter, I didn’t have any say in what got installed. However, if I would just shove myself into action, the activity would warm me up for at least as long as I kept at it. For example, this place really needs a good vacuuming! Even standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes probably burns off a bit more energy than just sitting. My off-bike exercise sessions last, I’d say, 20 minutes at most. I do it that way because short sessions almost every day seem like a better idea to me than an hour twice a week. Those short sessions are also easier to fit in! I’d like to know this, though. How can I be a couch potato, whether active or not, when I don’t have a couch?

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