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September 2019

Cycling in Belgium

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Cycling in Belgium This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.”   Cycling in Belgium starts at birth, it seems. I remember reading that in Belgium, I believe it was, they place a cold bicycle saddle against the bottom of a newborn baby. The shock supposedly starts the child on a lifetime of cycling. Odd sort of a kick-start, don’t you think? And indeed, Belgium seems to have a good reputation for cycling. Parts are flatland; and some parts are quite hilly. Something for everyone! Here are some possible routes. Are you a flatlander, like me? Maybe you’d like to keep to the coastal plain region, and use a road/gravel bike. Any route with cobbles would count me out. Cobbles alone sound bad enough to me; never mind cobbles + steep climbing! I hadn’t though much about the terrain of Belgium; but since it’s included in the the Low Countries, I had vaguely assumed that it’s flat. Not entirely, it’s not! If I went on a bicycle tour of Belgium, the climate would be hard on me, I suspect. I should be used to rain (we average 60 inches per year where I live). But if it’s going to be chilly or downright cold as well as raining, I would soon be very uncomfortable. Maybe I need a rain suit! Possibly some long johns, too. Love chocolate? How about visiting Brussels, and the Chocolate Tasting Tour? It sounds like this tour in itself isn’t done by bicycle; but how about the choc-o-tour as a sidelight on a bicycle tour that includes Brussels? After all, as Eddie Merckx said, “Ride lots.”

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Medic Alert

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Medic Alert can be a big help. It\’s useful even if you don\’t have a serious medical condition. Medic Alert is your ID if you become ill or injured, and can\’t speak for yourself. You never know what might happen. You might crash when you hit an unexpected slick spot in the road. Suppose you developed heat-induced illness if you ran short of water on a hot day? Or, perish the thought, there\’s always the chance of a losing contest with a motor vehicle. If you have a medical condition that needs to be known if you\’ve fainted, or been knocked unconscious, a Medic Alert device lets emergency personnel know about it. Severe allergies? Diabetes? Heart condition? The wearable device provides your most critical medical information along with Medic Alert\’s contact number and your personal ID number. Emergency responders can quickly access the information they need. MA is served worldwide, and has affiliates in nine foreign countries. If you\’re planning a bicycle tour abroad, MA would be a wise idea. It\’s like the good old Scouts\’ motto: Be Prepared.      

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Labor of Love?

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Labor of Love Can riding your bicycle be a labor of love? Monday is usually off-bikes day. But today is a day off from work, and Cycle September is on. So I went for a ride. It will help my team! After having put in 37.5 miles yesterday, I tried to take it easy, which wasn’t all that easy. The breeze was from the Northeast,  which meant a headwind on the way home. It was blowing at 9 mph; not all that strong per se, but that’s enough for me to feel it, particularly when I’m trying to go easy! A 9 mph wind is nothing to that hurricane. Dorian’s max sustained winds have dropped to 155 mph since last night, but he’s still one mean storm. To make things worse, he’s now almost stationary. What movement there is, is still westward. After I got  home from my jaunt on the road bike, I took the hybrid for a ride to the ATM. Luckily those machines don’t take holidays, and I thought it would be wise to get a little extra cash, in case things come to the worst with that hurricane. Let’s hope that Dorian won’t be a second Labor Day Hurricane. He’s bad enough now! Eerily, Labor Day in 1935 was on September 2. I tried something new before this morning’s ride: Bob’s Red Mill Muesli Cup. I got it on sale day before yesterday, and I hope I find it on sale again soon. In the meantime, I’ll put in some more miles for Cycle September — as a labor of love.

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Those Were the Days?

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\”Those were the days\” sounds like looking back on the past with nostalgia. But was it always so much better in \”the good old days\”? They say of tennis that you need out out-think your opponent, rather than outrun your opponent. This training sounds like it\’s aiming at something quite similar; and it sounds brutal to me. Ride all those miles (kilometers, they say here), and ride a lot more with all those \”attacks\”? I guess that\’s one way to get strong, but not the method I\’d choose. Such a ride would have me feeling like #10 on this chart. It sounds to me like the training mentality back then was a boot-camp style, All hard, All the time. Joe Friel would probably have a fit about that! When did those riders get to recover? Were they more prone to overuse injuries, and premature burnout, than today\’s serious cyclists? We must remember that things change over time. What was \”normal\” in Fausto Coppi\’s day is now likely to be viewed as detrimental. Sixty or seventy years from now, serious cyclists may well be horrified by the way things are done in the present; and they\’ll be saying, Those Were the Days?!      

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Cycle September 2019

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Love to Ride\’s Cycle September 2019 challenge begins today! I kicked off the month with a ride of 37.5 miles. Not with these time-trialing wheels, though! I\’m nowhere near fast enough to be thinking about time trialing. In fact, I tried to take my time (no pun intended) today. Today\’s mileage was actually quite a big jump up from what I\’ve been doing. Last Sunday I rode only 29 miles, and they say you shouldn\’t increase your mileage (or time) by more than 10% from week to week. At least today felt a bit cooler. It was overcast a good deal of the time. I wore my sun sleeves, which helps keep my arms from getting quite so hot. Much of the time I was riding the small ring. At one point, when I tried to shift onto the big ring, my chain got dropped! I didn\’t have any helpful YouTubes at hand, either. I need to watch this one about ten times, and then maybe I\’ll remember it next time. My road bike seems quite prone to chain drop lately, and I\’ll be getting it checked at the bike shop soon. In fact, that bike is about due for a complete tune-up. If it will take more than a day, I can ride the hybrid while the road bike is in the shop. But I hope the time without the road bike is minimal. Cycle September 2019 is on!

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