SpokEasy

February 2019

Not My Day

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Today was not my day. It started off with fog, in some places very heavy. I decided to ride in the park. That, at least, proved to be a good move. Before I had made one full circuit of the park, my headlight went dim; and I KNOW I charged it. But is the problem the electrical outlet; the charging block; the charging cord; or the battery connection within the light? I got new batteries recently, so I don\’t suppose the battery is bad. Do I need a new headlight? I had another, lower-powered headlight with me as a spare; but unfortunately the fastener didn\’t fit around the road bike\’s handlebars. I thought of securing the light to the left side of the front fork; but it looked like the light would snag on the wheel\’s spokes. No cyclists needs to have something snagging spokes, especially in front! It was a slow (but fortunately rather short) ride back home. Among the safety rules of cycling is, Don\’t outrun your headlight. I rode the hybrid to work, and I almost wish I hadn\’t. By the time I got off work, it was raining, with occasional lightning. I decided to take the short route home, which meant riding alongside traffic. That can be nerve-wracking even if it isn\’t raining; and it was another reason why today was not my day. According to the forecast, more rain is on the way in the next three days. I hope it holds off Saturday until I can make my grocery run! As to tomorrow, we\’ll see soon enough whether March will come in like a lamb, or like a lion.

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Use It How?

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Use it how? Use it or lose it, they say; but how do I do that? I\’ve got lots of ride data. Years of it, in fact. Now, how can I use it to tweak my training, and to become a better cyclist? I\’ve always logged my ride data in notebooks. All very fine and well, but the notebooks just sit there. So far I haven\’t done much to determine whether I\’ve truly been making progress. I\’m not sure whether my average speed has improved; or whether I can now ride at a specific speed at a lower heart rate than previously. Over the last year I FEEL like I\’ve gotten stronger, but perception isn\’t necessarily reality. Even though I seldom look through my notebooks full of ride data; and they take up quite a lot of room; I can\’t quite bring myself to throw them out. Here\’s where a spreadsheet might come in handy. Unfortunately I\’m not the most analytical person in the world; and trying to fill out spreadsheets with years\’ worth of numbers would make me cross-eyed! Besides, as indicated in the post linked above, speed (to give one item of ride data) can be affected by many factors. Fierce headwind? That would slow down most folks. Hills? I seldom get to try my mettle in hilly terrain; and when I do have to deal with hills, my pace really suffers. Visibility problems in fog or rain? Slowing down is only common sense. One of these days I must pore over all those ride records and try to determine whether things have changed for the better. I did the work to get all that data. But use it how? That eludes me.

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SIS

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Cute pic, but I don\’t mean sis as in sister. I mean SIS as in electrolyte drink. I prepared it last night and let it chill; then gave it the taste-test this morning. It\’s pretty good. I wanted to try it before taking it along on a long ride. With new foods and drinks there\’s always the chance, however small, of GI upset. I don\’t want to risk that when I won\’t be able to get to a restroom quickly! This morning I was too tired and sleepy to try going for a ride; and in fact, I\’ve felt dragged-down all day long. Don\’t days like that drive you crazy? The forecast for tomorrow morning says, overcast, with T-storms later in the day. I hope I get to ride in the morning; and maybe I\’ll take along a bottle of SIS.

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What\’s Going On?

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So what\’s going on as we ride? How fast are we going? What\’s our cadence? How hard are our hearts working? How many miles did we ride? What\’s our wattage output? Some folks don\’t give a hoot about such data. They just want to enjoy riding for the heck of it; and there\’s nothing at all wrong with that. In fact, it\’s a great start. Other riders do want to know. Maybe they like to see how many miles they can ride over the course of one year; or wonder what their heart rate is during riding. They might be training up for a century, or a charity ride, or even to race. This is where some kind of cyclocomputer is helpful. Depending on how much you want to pay, you can track quite a few aspects of your riding. To me, the most important data are distance and time. Then there\’s wattage. Power meters cost too much for me, but there are times when I wish I had one. Usually that happens when I\’m battling a headwind. Tracking your power over time is a better indication of progress than whether your average speed is increasing. Speed can vary according to terrain, wind conditions, and so on. But power output is power output. Want to ride without worrying about all that stuff? Go for it! Want to know how you\’re doing? Get whatever devices your budget allows, and find out what\’s going on.

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New Product Report

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Here it is, a new product report! Something new to me, at any rate. I\’d seen SIS products in bicycle shops and online, but hadn\’t tried any. Last week I ordered a tube of  SIS Go Hydro electrolyte tablets (berry flavor) along with GU-Gels and Zym tablets. My order arrived today. I couldn\’t find information regarding caffeine content on the SIS label, so I went into the company\’s web site. I found their Live Chat, and sent a message. Yes, SIS Berry has 75 mg caffeine per tablet. So, although I prepared the drink, I didn\’t dare take more than a taste of it. I don\’t need it to be keeping me awake all night! How would that look in a new product report? It\’s pretty good, and will probably taste better once it\’s been well chilled. The web site\’s info said, use within 24 hours of preparation, so I can drink it tomorrow morning. It also says, consume no more than 4 tablets within 24 hours. Getting back to the caffeine, I re-checked the Zym label. It says, 100 mg caffeine per tablet. No wonder I have trouble sleeping Sunday nights! For my long ride, I prep a quart of Zym. That\’s 200 mg of caffeine! Even though I\’ve drunk it all before noon, it doesn\’t seem to wear off by bedtime. My habit of having a Diet Coke when I get home from a Sunday long ride can\’t be helping in that respect. Next long ride I can try SIS instead of Zym. If I have concerns about the caffeine, I can take half the amount of caffeinated electrolyte drink as usual, and pack along some non-caffeinated electrolyte tablets. After all, if I don\’t try a new product now and then, I won\’t learn anything, right?

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More Than One Way

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It\’s long been said that \”there\’s more than one way to skin a cat\” (poor kitty😢) There\’s also more than one way of gearing a bicycle, it seems. I only recently heard of half-step gearing, when a co-worker mentioned it. It seems confusing; and in fact, half-step sounds like a dance! OK, I\’ve heard of \”dancing on the pedals\”; but what about that half-step gearing? This article includes a paragraph on the subject. I get the impression that I\’d find it tricky to ride a bicycle with half-step gearing. I\’m thoroughly used to adjusting gears by shifting rear cogs. Could it be analogous to a driver accustomed to automatic transmission suddenly trying to manage a car with standard transmission? For a pro-camp view (admittedly not a very recent one) on half-step gearing, see here. I guess it\’s largely a matter of what you\’re used to using. Riding with any particular setup quickly becomes second nature; and switching to a different setup throws the proverbial monkey wrench into the machinery. Whether we go with half-step gearing or not, we can still enjoy dancing on the pedals.

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Monday Blahs

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Who doesn\’t know the Monday blahs? This pic is a good example of how I usually feel on Mondays: tired and listless. It means going back to work; and that\’s not fun. How I wish I could work from home! For some reason I often have a hard time sleeping on Sunday night. Maybe I subconsciously dread going back into the workplace more than I realize; and that keeps me awake. Monday is my usual off-bike day. My reasoning is that Sunday is long-ride day; and I need an off-bike day to recover. But maybe I need to do an easy ride on Monday; and take another weekday off from riding. I remember a commercial on TV when I was a kid of about ten. It was for Alka-Seltzer®, and advertised \”Alka-Seltzer, for the blahs.\” As I remember, it specifically mentioned \”Monday-morning blahs\”. I don\’t think I need to start taking Alka-Seltzer; but why do I feel so dragged-down on Mondays? Perhaps my Sunday long ride gets my system overly stimulated; or do I get home from riding up to 50 miles, then sit around too much? I might never know😕, but the Monday blahs sure get me down.

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Don\’t Spoil It

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If you\’re in a good mood, don\’t spoil it! For an activity associated with feel-good endorphins, the word \”cross\” comes up often enough in cycling. Cross-training. Cross-country rides and even cross-country races (RAAM, anyone?), and cross-chaining. That first is a good thing. Cyclists need a certain amount of cross-training to work on muscles that are needed in riding, but that riding doesn\’t develop; such as the core. Cross-country riding could, I suppose, mean two things: cyclocross and Adventure Cycling epic tours. I\’ve never tried cyclocross, and lack both time and funds for epic tours. As to RAAM, I can\’t see myself riding 3000 miles in less than nine days, while getting three hours or less of sleep each night. I\’m in awe of riders who can manage it. Cross-chaining is less good; and is generally advised against. It means riding on the big-big or small-small gear combinations; that is, the big chain ring with the biggest cog; or the small chain ring with the smallest cog. Such gear combinations cause the chain to run at an angle, putting undue stress on both chain and cogs; and causing both to wear out faster. I should think any cyclist would be happier when bicycle parts need replacing less often. I know I am! Ergo let\’s keep that chain in a good mood; and in fact, let\’s keep the good mood going. Don\’t spoil it!      

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Are We Getting Railroaded?

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Are we getting railroaded? We hear of a bicycle\’s drivetrain. It sounds rather like travel by railroad, doesn\’t it? But without that drivetrain, we might still be kicking around on the Draisine! Having a drivetrain is certainly much more efficient than having to push yourself along using your feet. I\’m well aware of that, because I started on two wheels by using my hybrid as a glide bike. Caring for a drivetrain is as important as caring for the rest of the bicycle; and I\’m afraid I don\’t do the best job. Quite likely I over-lube the chain, because I\’m too concerned about under-lubing it. If I have to put the chain back on the small ring, my hands get very greasy. Even when the chain is properly cared for, a cassette eventually does need replacing. When my road bike had about 14,000 miles on it, I noticed that the cogs\’ teeth were looking worn, so I got a new cassette. Now that bike has 21,000+ miles on it. Last year I rode it almost 4000 miles. If I keep riding at that rate, I should need to replace the cassette again in about a year and a half. Keep the drivetrain in good shape, and All Aboard! Oh; wait a second. Are we getting railroaded here?        

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Ride Report

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And now, a ride report! It wish I could report on a view like the one at left! But I don\’t have any such vistas around here, so I\’ll have to stick with more mundane things. Windspeed is something that I can talk about for any ride report. What cyclist can\’t? I know from years of wind forecasts, and observing flags and windsocks, that they don\’t look like the pic at right in a 26 mph wind. A fifteen mph wind makes such objects extend nearly straight out; and with less fluttering than shown here. I\’d say that the wind in this pic is about 8-10 mph. Today\’s Ride This ride report isn\’t the greatest. I fought that wind most of the time when I was outward-bound; and my average speed was under 11 mph. Oh, well. Such conditions used to slow me to 8 mph. Bucking that headwind meant I needed to stay on the small ring, and use a rapid cadence. I think I need more work at low-gear, high-cadence riding. I used to ride at a lower gear and higher cadence as a regular thing. Now I\’ve developed some muscular endurance, and can ride on the big ring for longer. I\’ve gotten into the habit of riding the big ring at a lower cadence; usually in the 70s. Today\’s average cadence was 87! It made me feel quite out of breath. I began my ride at about 7:50 am; and got home around 11:45 am. In the next hour or so, I checked a weather site; and it said that the wind was 14 mph. Murphy\’s Law in action, I guess. So, why don\’t I wait for the wind to drop before going for a ride? One, I can\’t be sure the wind WILL drop; and two, I want to be sure I get my ride, so I like to go out early. I\’m glad the sun was out. Overcast conditions or — worse — rain, would have made my ride very miserable. As I rode, I saw a lot of high, white clouds moving in. Tomorrow it\’s supposed to get cloudier and cloudier, with 50% chance of rain Tuesday. Why can\’t it rain tomorrow instead, when I don\’t plan to ride? Now to start planning ahead for next Sunday\’s long ride. I hope to get in a 50-miler soon; but if the wind is like today\’s, I might not be ready for it.

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