SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

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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Surfaces

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As cyclists, we\’re bound to encounter a wide variety of riding surfaces. That road at above left looks wonderfully smooth. If only we could always have such a road to ride! Above right looks like one of those textured metal stairs that we find outdoors sometimes. I don\’t think it would be much fun to have to ride over that, especially when it\’s wet. It looks like it would be maddeningly bumpy even dry, and I suspect that it could make steering tricky. Loose rocks, and all different shapes and sizes. It would be fun to sort through them to find the prettiest rock, but it wouldn\’t be much fun riding over them. Even supposing the layer of rocks is very shallow, and has a firm surface beneath, a rider would have to be extremely careful to hold a straight line, I think. Trying to turn could well catch the front wheel and bring the cyclist down. As to below right, is that even a road? I hope not! It looks frightful. If you do have to ride over an irregular surface, they say that you need to stay relaxed. Tightening up is likely to exaggerate any movements of the handlebars. Let the bicycle chose its path, especially in mountain biking. I, for one, don\’t intend to go out of my way to find terrible riding surfaces, but sometimes they\’re hard to avoid. My home town has plenty of streets that are in disgraceful condition, and have been for years. Is it like that everywhere?

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What\’s in the Bag?

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What’s in the Bag? What’s in the bag? Not the proverbial pig in a poke, I hope! But just what do I carry in that under-saddle pack? Let’s take a peek into my Topeak! At the very bottom, and closest to the seat post, is my Park Multi-Tool. I put it there because it’s relatively heavy; and in that location it puts the least strain on the pack’s holding straps. With it go two CO2 cartridges and their nozzle; and a spare tube is a must. It’s a good idea to pump some air into that tube now and then, especially before a big event. I want to be sure it still holds air; but the catch with that is, it’s impossible to get every bit of air back out so I can fold the tube compactly enough. That makes it take up extra space in my pack. I don’t carry a patch kit. It seems redundant when I already have a spare tube; but if I were to do a long tour, having a patch kit as well as a spare tube would be extra assurance in case I had more than one flat. I also wiggle a tube of sunblock into the pack. Another item is a small plastic bag holding some bandaids; and squares of those heavy, blue paper towels called shop towels. There’s also an adapter I can use if I have to inflate my tires at a filling station. The last item: a couple of GU-Gels. So that’s it! An emergency kit, if you will. Even those few items cram the pack to capacity, but hey! All that what’s in the bag means that there’s no room for that pig to hide!  

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Move over, BK

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Move over BK; and let those racing cyclists grab their musettes! I don\’t really have anything against Burger King, although I rarely go there. If there were one nearby, I\’d probably go more often. In the cycling world, \”fast food\” has a different meaning. Pro cyclists participating in a race need to get their food in a hurry, while zipping through a designated feed zone; and their food must something that goes down easily and quickly. They say that those riders need 5000-8000 calories per day during an event such as the Tour de France. They\’re eating practically all the time when they aren\’t sleeping! It makes me think that most of us who push the pedals are actually lucky not to be pro-tour riders! By all accounts, during an event like the Tour de France, riders are likely to get tired of eating; and towards the end of such an event, eating starts to feel like force-feeding! It\’s hard to imagine getting tired of eating, isn\’t it? Especially when you\’re being very active, when you would think you\’d become voracious! I think like that until I\’m doing a long ride of several hours. Then I do start to lose my appetite about halfway through the ride. I get tired of munching bite-sized pieces of Clif Bars. My stomach says, I\’m not hungry. I don\’t feel like eating; yet I know that I have to keep the fuel supply going. Maybe it\’s time to make rice cakes again, as in The Feed Zone Cookbook. Apparently my gut needs more training. Then, when I\’m back home from the long ride, maybe I can cruise on over to Burger King? Or maybe I\’ll say, move over BK; and cook up something from the Feed Zone!    

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It’s Mardi Gras!

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It’s Mardi Gras! It’s Mardi Gras! Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is a big deal locally. I’m glad of the day off from work; but am only too happy to keep my distance from the parade routes. To begin with, today is not good weather to be standing around outdoors. Yes, it’s sunny, but it’s also COLD! As of one hour ago, the chill factor is well below freezing. Doubtless there are die-hard parade-goers who don’t care; but I’m not among them. If they want to freeze off their noses (and more), that’s their affair. Parade routes packed with people also means smokers. Tobacco smoke makes me feel sick. Crowds of people also means “scented stuff”, which I also find sickening. I’d rather avoid it. Go for a bike ride instead? It’s so cold that I think I’ll work out in the trainer later. The wind isn’t quite as strong as it was yesterday morning, but the temperature is lower. I just don’t feel like going out in it (see When Stop Does Not Mean Go). It’s Mardi Gras? It feels like just another day to me.   

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Aye, Eye?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

Aye Eye? Aye, eye? Is that really so? Yes, it is. Look where you want your bicycle to go. The bike wants to follow your eyes, they say. That can be tricky when you’re a beginning rider, and you very much want to NOT run into something or someone; it seems counterintuitive. The secret there is to glance at that thing or the person, but then look away and choose your clear path. Use your “third eye”: see Get Fast! I try to think of that when I’m turning corners or rounding curves. Whether I’m actually doing it, or only think I’m doing it, is unfortunately another matter. More important than the two points above is eye protection. There’s a vast range of sports eyewear out there. I’ve seen some that are crazy expensive (they must be ionosphere-high tech!) to the kind you can get for little more than pocket change. If you’ve spent much time outdoors, you’ve no doubt noticed that “sunglasses” don’t do under all conditions. That’s when lenses of different tints are handy. Something that drives me crazy is starting a long ride in overcast conditions, wearing vermilion lenses, and having the sun come out long before I get back home. Aye, eye; that sure can get miserable!

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Hope It\’s Better Tomorrow

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I hope it\’s better tomorrow! It looks something\’s rotten in the State of Denmark; and similarly, this morning\’s ride was rotten. The temperature was down to 42 degrees. For several days it had been about 59-60 in the morning, and gotten up to 80 degrees by afternoon; so that\’s a major (and sudden) change. It was mostly overcast. A gray sky makes a cold ride seem colder, and makes me feel lethargic. I think about how I\’d like to be home and sleeping, instead of focusing on riding. To top it all off, the wind was terrible! The weather site I checked this morning said the wind was 15 mph. When I got out there on the road bike, I thought it seemed stronger than that. I checked a different weather site when I had completed my ride. Sure enough, the wind was 20 mph. I had planned to put in at least 30 miles. Shameful to state, struggling against the wind was so tiring that I turned around at 7.3 miles. There\’s also something  demoralizing about seeing that you\’re going under 8 mph; never mind that you\’re actually working hard. My heavy, oversized gloves made it hard to get out a bite to eat; another reason why I turned back very early. To boot, I wasn\’t comfortable. Even with double socks, my feet were cold. I need thermal socks! My leg warmers weren\’t warm enough. I had on four \”top story\” layers, and still felt chilly. My head started to get cold, despite the skull cap I hope it\’s better tomorrow; but unfortunately, tonight is supposed to get colder than tonight. If I want to ride, I\’ll have to bundle up; grit my teeth; and go for it. And, perhaps, be glad that I\’m not in Denmark?

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