SpokEasy

March 2019

Trial and Error

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Trial and error is part of cycling. This morning I tried out my new headlight system. I put the new headlight atop my helmet, as planned. Then I put the mount that came with the new light on the road bike\’s handlebars; and I fastened the old headlight (at left) into it. I thought this would be a good way to get some extra light-power when it\’s foggy; but thankfully it was not foggy today! I just like to try out these things before I actually need them. That old light doesn\’t weigh quite 4 ounces; but it was still heavy enough to fall forward until it was under the handlebar. I was difficult to get that mount\’s band fastened over the handlebar tape; but even so, it\’s not tight enough. I need some shims for it, but it\’s too late to go to the bike shop now.  Speaking of trial, this morning I tried some 30-second spurts of working to go as fast as I could. I  reached 19 mph once; but that was with a tailwind. I stayed in a relatively easy gear for these efforts: on the big ring, but medium cogs. On the way back home, I tried pushing hard into the wind several times. That\’s supposed to be good for force development. Tomorrow morning\’s ride is likely to be a trial; and I hope not trial and error! They\’re predicting fog (yes, again!), which doesn\’t make me very happy. I\’ll have to see what things are like before trying more work like this morning\’s. I don\’t want to be put on trial if I make the error of hitting someone who isn\’t properly \”visibilized\”.

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Tapering

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Tapering before a long event is rather like coming down to the point, isn\’t it? I\’ve done four self-supported centuries, and I rode in Tour de Cure five times. Did I taper correctly? I\’m far from sure. The idea of tapering is to maintain fitness, but to lose fatigue. I can\’t seem to lose fatigue, unfortunately. I have a sleep disorder, and don\’t even remember what it\’s like to feel well-rested and energetic. Therefore I\’m always tired. If I want to do things, such as working to improve my cycling pace — or even simply going for a ride — I just have to do them, tired or not. But when I\’ve been working up to a special, long ride for months, what should I do in the last week before the big day? I\’m sure that tapering for a recreational cyclist like me is very different from tapering for a serious racing cyclist. I don\’t doubt that his/her day-to-day training in the months leading up to an A race (i.e. a high-priority, important race) is a much heavier workload (discussed in The Cyclist\’s Training Bible) than my day-to-day rides. Most sources say that work volume should be considerably reduced, but it\’s necessary to keep up some intensity. This can mean doing just a few very short, very hard efforts, maybe only 10 seconds long; mixed in with a modest amount of riding at a moderate intensity. And don\’t do the hard efforts every day during that final, pre-event week. Also, be sure to get plenty of rest. No late nights during taper week!

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Form

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Why talk about form? We don\’t need to be able to do a limber sit on the bike, thank goodness. I could do this (on the floor, of course) in my teens; and even into my twenties. I now suspect that the reason I was so flexible as a  youngster, was that I had no muscular development! Correct form on the bicycle, however, is a good idea; especially if you put in long hours in the saddle. I know from reading so much about ballet that correct form is crucial in dance. It seems logical to conclude that the same is true of sports in general. Correct form has many advantages. It helps to prevent injuries; and makes riding more comfortable. It helps with deep breathing, and makes you look better, too! My form isn\’t the greatest, I\’ll confess. I slouch too much, both on bike and off; and really need to watch it if I want to avoid developing a dowager\’s hump! As already stated, we don\’t need to do a limber sit on the bike; but flexibility is still important. It helps with good form, including getting \”aero\”; and muscles that have become too tight plain old don\’t feel good. Remember how Mom was always telling you to \”Sit up straight!\”? Maybe Mom was right.

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Chop Suey

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Supposedly \”chop suey\” means, \”mixed up\”; and I thought of it when I made a late lunch/early supper today. I had a hankering after Chinese food, but didn\’t want to spend the money on a restaurant. One of my favorite Chinese dishes is fried rice; so I set to. First I cooked up a pot of brown rice. I had some steamed broccoli; some canned sweet peas; and part of a red onion in the fridge. I had soy sauce, too; and a jar of coconut oil. After the rice was done, I sliced up some of the red onion and a clove of garlic. I drained any remaining liquid out of the peas; and got out what broccoli I wanted. On a recent visit to the salvage store, I got a can of Vienna Sausages in Buffalo Sauce® to try. I sliced up two of the sausages, and put them in a bowl with the rice. Then, I heated up the skillet with a little coconut oil in it. Also, I started a tiny saucepan of water heating, in case the stuff in the skillet began to get too sticky. I sauteed the onion until it looked milky. Then I added the peas and broccoli and kept stirring. After a while I put in the garlic, rice, and sausage. Next I added a good splash of soy sauce. After some more stirring, I decided it was done. I stirred in freshly ground white pepper and that was it! So there\’s chop suey. This certainly was not gourmet cooking; but it\’s food!  

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A Ride and After

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What happens during a ride and after? Today I set out around 7:30 am … no, make that 8:30 am. I forgot about setting the clocks forward; but whatever time it really was, I\’m glad I didn\’t have to go riding before sunup. There were some patches of terrible fog. If it had been dark, visibility would have been severely reduced. Some of the fog patches were much cooler than the surrounding area, making me glad I had worn leg warmers. Because I rode so little during the past week, I figured it would be unwise to try banging out 50 miles; and decided to leave today\’s distance at 29-30 miles. I did a little experiment: I tried having a bite to eat once every 20 minutes, instead of every 15 minutes; and brought SIS electrolyte drink instead of Zym. I like Zym better; but now and then I need to try new stuff. The usual Sunday ride plan is to go long and steady; but today I threw in two sets of three 20-second hard pushes to see how fast I could get. I touched 19.47! I really need a lot more of such work, or I\’ll be stuck at 13-14 mph forever =( After I got back home and had some lunch, I sat down to try some toe-spacers. It was hard getting them between my toes at all; and they fell out too easily. Maybe they\’re too thick. I bought them from the drug store, and chose them because they were the cheapest ones that the store had. Maybe I should have expected it. You know what they say: If you buy cheap, you get cheap. Remind me not to buy cheap if I need a new bicycle!  That was a ride and after!

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On My Toes?

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On My Toes? Do we cyclists need to keep on our toes? How can I keep on my toes? I need some ideas; and so I’ve revisited this Ballet Hacks video. The first hack discusses using pedicure spacers to help relieve cramped toes after a day in pointe shoes. I haven’t ever worn pointe shoes; but I thought that spacers might help my feet if they feel cramped after a long Sunday ride. The first time I tried them, it was a cold day. It was rather frigid in my apartment; and the trial wasn’t much of  a success. It was too chilly for me to not have socks on; and it was too awkward trying to pull socks over feet plus toe spacers. How can I keep on my toes like that? Today, now that it’s warmer, I tried wiggling the spacers between my toes again; and it seemed to go better. I hope to try it after tomorrow’s long ride; not that it’s going to be 50 miles. I haven’t been able to ride much this past week, thanks to nasty weather. I use orthotics in my cycling shoes, and really “should” use them any time I wear shoes; but they aren’t very comfortable in my sneakers for walking more than very short distances. I need to “work up” to them more. Maybe the toe spacers will help in that respect?

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OUCH!!

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Ouch!! That hurts! We all hope it won\’t come to injury. Unfortunately, the risk of injury while cycling is always there. Road rash and saddle sores. Overuse injury; and even broken bones. They say that, especially for the cyclist who races often, it isn\’t a question of whether you\’ll crash; but when. Anybody who has watched the Tour de France, or viewed the online pics, is aware of that. When I see those pile-ups, I\’m amazed that they don\’t have to carry away numerous riders on back boards! The commonest injury, according to the literature, is road rash. I cringe when I see those pics: torn-up Lycra®, and skin that looks like raw meat. I\’ll bet it\’s not fun for the rider to clean up such wounds! Saddle sores can happen no matter how careful you are. Once a saddle sore develops, about all you can do is to keep the area clean. Try to find a way to sit on the saddle so as to avoid pressure on the sore. Take a few days off if necessary; and wait for the sore to heal. Products such as Chamois Butt\’r can help reduce friction reduces the risk of sores. Overuse injuries are quite possible for the cyclist. After all, when we ride several hours at a brisk cadence, how many pedal strokes do we take? How many times must our knees flex and straighten to do that? Good form and proper bike fit go a long way in preventing overuse injuries. Broken bones? Who likes to think of it? A fracture would likely keep me off the bike for a long time! Prevention, they say, is the best cure. Let\’s all do what we can to prevent an Ouch.

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To Be a Wizard

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Oh, to be a wizard! A computer whiz, that is; and work some magic! Not to help me tune up my bicycle, although perhaps ebikes are tuned by computer. Some cars need to be tuned up by computer, after all. My trouble is downloading music CDs into my old laptop; and transferring them from there to my iPod. The last time I added a few CDs, their tracks somehow got interfiled with each other!  The first movement of Mendelssohn\’s Third Symphony was followed by something in Respighi\’s Pines of Rome! It drives me crazy. I bought a Lacie about three years ago, so I could download the music I\’d put on my old computer, and get it onto the iPod. I don\’t remember what exactly what to do. The web site keeps me so busy that the Lacie and my old laptop have sat; and Sat; and SAT!! One time I seemed to manage to download all of iTunes onto my computer. Maybe that explains the interfiled tracks? Trying to get the items deleted was slow and strained my wrist, so I let it go for a while. That \”while\” has gone on for far too long. Now I\’m baffled. This might seem trivial, but I want to get my all CDs loaded to the iPod so I can get rid of the old laptop. It\’s just lying around gathering  dust. I\’d like to have my music on the iPod because I\’d rather not bring a CD player in here. I hope the iPod hasn\’t reached its capacity to store music! What bothers me is, will clearing the old laptop wipe out all those Melodies of the Masters? I sure would like to be a wizard.

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In a New Light

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I\’m seeing things in a new light! To wit, I just got back from a visit to the bike shop; and I bit the bullet and bought a new headlight. The old one had become unreliable. I plug it into the charger and leave it overnight; and in the morning the indicator is on steady blue, not flashing. Supposedly that means that the light is fully charged; but then the headlight goes dim on me during my ride, and in as little as half an hour! That makes me very nervous. It simply isn\’t safe to ride without lights, even at a crawling pace. Too many people do it already; and I don\’t want to join their ranks. My new headlight will let me see things in a new light; or just plain in the light. I hoped to get a new headlight that could use those new batteries I bought recently, direct from the manufacturer; but no such luck. It seems that everything is USB now. And those batteries aren\’t cheap; they cost nearly $40 apiece! I\’ve got to use them for something, but I have no idea what. The new light came with a mount, of course; but it fits into the mount already atop my helmet. I\’ll put the new headlight there; and keep the new mount for a spare. You never know when a thing might come in handy!

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Foot Care

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Foot care is important for cyclists. Our feet can take a considerable beating while we\’re cycling, depending on how hard and how long we ride. What can we do to minimize the risk of pain and injury? Obviously, we need properly fitting shoes; especially if we want to ride long and often. If problems such as pronation are present, we might need orthotics. Comfortable socks are a great help. I, for one, have never liked wearing any kind of shoes without socks. The insides of shoes always have spots that feel rough, and rub my feet — and who needs blisters? Socks protect the feet from that roughness. Be sure to wear clean, dry socks for each ride. Dirty and/or damp socks can contribute to blister formation. I remember a joke I read when I was a kid: \”If an athlete gets athlete\’s foot, does an astronaut get missile-toe?\” Athlete\’s foot is an issue for some people. I never had trouble with it until about five years ago; but now I need to use an anti-fungal cream several times a week to keep it at bay. Let\’s not forget cleat placement. Some cyclists suffer from a condition called hot foot, which is the result of constant pressure during riding. Hot foot can be relieved in some cases by moving the shoes\’ cleats rearward. I haven\’t experienced hot foot myself, so I can\’t vouch for this. I\’m sure there\’s a lot about foot care that I don\’t know. I do what I do know to take care of my feet; and after that I just hope that there\’s no foul work afoot!

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