SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

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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Quandry

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Quandry What a quandry I’m in sometimes on my Sunday long rides. Was there ever a wind today! Stronger than the one blowing this Flag. I had it against me for most of the way out; and some of the time on the way back. You’d think that a stiff headwind (26 mph, with stronger gusts!) would be a great time to work at pushing into the wind in order to develop better strength. For flatland dwellers, it’s a good substitute for hill work. But should I, or shouldn’t I? There’s the long-ride quandry. My Sunday long ride is supposed to be about maintaining a steady pace. Then there’s the possibility that pushing too hard when I’m far from home will leave me so depleted that getting back home again will be a major struggle. For all my concerns in that area, when I got that wind behind me I couldn’t resist pushing the pace; trying to get up to 25 mph again, as I did last Sunday. I made it to almost 24 mph. Time was when it was hard for me to touch 15 mph even with a tailwind, so I guess I’ve gotten somewhere! Today I tried a new on-bike snack: FitCrunch. I found them in a store, on sale for 50 cents per bar. They’re pretty good, and are a nice change from Clif Bars!

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Aren\’t We Cranky?

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Aren\’t we cranky? Cranky? Cycling generates endorphins; and endorphins generally put a body in a good mood. So why be cranky? Or rather, crank-y? Well, we shouldn\’t ignore crankarm length entirely. I had no idea that crank length is involved in how easy or hard a particular gear feels. Not being an engineer or bicycle mechanic, I never though about it. That\’s why I ask, Aren\’t we cranky? But tell me, is crank length involved in mechanical advantage? My road bike\’s cranks seem to be the right length for me. At any rate, when I went for my professional fitting, the fitter didn\’t mention changing my cranks\’ length. Now I wonder whether changing my crank length might help me to improve my speed. Yeah, I know — I\’m looking for the lazy way! Crank length isn\’t always directly related to the bicycle. Do you do off-bike step-up exercises? I read somewhere that you should use a box that\’s twice as high as your crankarm is long. For me, that should be 14 inches. The only thing I have available is a 7-inch high aerobics stepper. Since it\’s all I have, that\’s what I use. Maybe someday I\’ll have something better. Until then, I\’ll have to hope that my riding generates enough endorphins to keep me from getting cranky.  

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It Worked Sorta

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It worked — sorta. The forecast for today looked quite dire. Then, yesterday, I found a four-leaf clover; and I wished on it for the weather to NOT be bad today. Up to a point, it worked. When I rode out to the salvage store this morning, it was overcast; but not raining. It was, however, windy. At 7 am, the weather site I checked said the wind was 13 mph. Happily, I had a tailwind much of the way home; but with about a mile and a half to go, it turned into a headwind. What\’s more, it seemed to be getting stronger. That wind was whipping up white caps on the river! After I got home, I checked the weather site again. Sure enough, the wind had increased to 18 mph; with gusts up to 30 mph! I had wanted to take the trailer today, and bring home a big haul. I\’m glad I decided not to! It was hard enough bucking that wind with the panniers. But I made it home; so wishing on a four-leaf clover wasn\’t futile. In fact, it worked, sorta! And the salvage store actually has some pretty good stuff, despite \”salvage\” sounding like inferior goods rescued from a shipwreck. Back to the lucky clover. It would be nice if its power extends through tomorrow. It\’s going to be sunny, but the wind: 10-20 mph. And from the North. That means a headwind much of the way home. If it\’s 10 mph, it will be a nuisance, but not too bad. But 20 mph? YIKES!!

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For All Intense Purposes

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For all intense purposes? Isn\’t it, \”for all intents and purposes\”? Not always! Intensity, so they say, is the component of training that cyclists most often get wrong. (See The Cyclist\’s Training Bible, p. 33) When they should be taking it easy, they ride a little too hard; and when it\’s time to go really hard, they\’re under-rested; and can\’t go hard enough.  Am I making that mistake? Is it why I\’m making so little progress towards improving my cruising pace? Brief but intense efforts are needed to improve force. They can also help to improve anaerobic endurance as well as muscular endurance. For me an intense, or \”force\”, workout looks something like this: 1) Ride easily for a mile or so, using the small ring and larger cogs. 2) Shift onto the large ring. Keep shifting to smaller cogs until it feels very hard to pedal and my cadence has slowed to about 50. 3) Work to push the cadence to 70 or so. I began with 10-second intervals; and at first it took most of the 10 seconds to get my cadence up to 70!  4) After the pre-determined amount of time (10 seconds, or whatever) shift to the small ring and bigger cogs, and ride easy for two minutes. 5) Repeat 2) through 4) twice. That\’s one set. 6) Ride easy for 10 minutes before doing another set. Sometimes I do two or three sets during a ride; sometimes only one. Usually my first hard effort goes the best, and I suspect that I don\’t ride easily enough between hard efforts.  What I have done does seem to have helped, but not as much as I would like. For all intense purposes, I guess I\’m not intense enough.      

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