SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Something\’s Missing!

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Hey, something\’s missing here! To me, a bicycle\’s pedals look bare without clip-ins. Using clipless pedals, and cycling shoes with cleats, makes a big difference. Getting adjusted to clipless pedals can seem like a hopeless venture at first; but the effort is well worth it.  The idea of being attached to your pedals is scary at first; so if you don\’t want clip-ins, toe clips are a big help. When I was still riding the tricycle, the toe harnesses I got had straps; and I never could get the strap for the left-foot pedal fastened properly. That used to drive me crazy. After I started on two wheels, those toe harnesses didn\’t seem like such a good idea. I didn\’t like the thought of trying to reach down to tighten them while rolling; especially not as a newbie. That\’s when I got strapless toe clips. Later I went clipless and, after I got the road bike, I had the clipless pedals transferred to the road bike. I had kept the pedals with the toe clips; and had them put back on the hybrid. Now, trying to ride on platform pedals feels very awkward; and I think, hey, something\’s missing! Love to ride? Want to pedal more efficiently? Go clipless!    

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Just the Thing!

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This is just the thing for cycling enthusiasts! What could be a better day to raise awareness of Love to Ride than February 14? Once registered, you may enter rides at any time. Two or three times a year there are month-long \”challenges\”. You can join a team and then your team can take on whatever the particular challenge is. Sometimes it\’s Ride to Work; or it might be riding as much as possible that month. You can earn badges, too! When I first joined Love to Ride, at least, it was OK to record past rides for badge-earning purposes (although not towards the current challenge). That\’s how I got the Legend badge: 10,000 miles! There are many other badges, such as one for logging your first ride with Love to Ride. There\’s one for Ride to Work. You can even get a badge for buying a bicycle! Please see the Love to Ride web site for further details. It\’s Valentine\’s Day, so wear your heart on your sleeve — or put it on your handlebars — and go for a ride! It\’s just the thing!

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Roll \’em

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Roll \’em! Er, not quite that kind of roll \’em. I mean rollers for a bicycle; also known as \”a treadmill for a bike\”. I\’ve tried them, and found riding on them tricky. The fact that I didn\’t use them very often was a major factor. After all, I can\’t learn to do something if I seldom do it; and eventually I sold the rollers. I think that a large part of my problem was that I was overly tentative about how \”rode\” on rollers. I used the rollers inside of a door frame; but was still too concerned about \”losing it\” and landing on the floor with a crash — bike and all. But being too cautious on rollers is like trying to ride on the road at 2-3 mph. Usually I used them when the weather was really nasty. I remember riding them one day when I was cooped up indoors because of a tropical storm threat. Which is better, rollers or a trainer? That\’s up to the individual rider. I kept the trainer rather than the rollers because I can use the trainer to hold a bicycle steady while I clean it, or work on the chain. One of my books mentions Ride E-Motion rollers. But take a listen to this YouTube. I\’d need earplugs, or that noise would drive me crazy!  Maybe some time I\’ll try rollers again — and next time, I hope I can really roll \’em.

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And Sew It Goes

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And sew it goes? I  haven\’t done much sewing lately. I sure didn\’t get in much of a ride this morning, either. For one thing, I got started about a quarter-hour later than usual. I saw a huge fog patch hanging over my usual route, too, so I went to the park. The forecast had predicted T-storms. It wasn\’t raining, but it was overcast; and I was worried that all fury might let loose at any moment. I made only two rounds of the park before heading back home. On the way, I heard a man talking on his cell phone; and he said that it was going to start getting really bad in about 20 minutes. Home was less than 10 minutes away; and the heavy rain fortunately held off until after I got to work. I got a lucky break there. As to sewing, I had no luck finding matching buttons for the fuchsia blouse that I\’m making; and bought whitish ones. It\’s past high time I finished that blouse. This evening I even made the first buttonhole! I don\’t want to make more of them until after I check the bobbin; it\’s running low on thread. I finally repaired three blouses that have been waiting a week or more for my attention. I don\’t know why it\’s so hard for me to prod myself into doing it, because it\’s not a difficult chore; just a nuisance. And sew it goes. Would sewing be more fun if I could rig up my machine for pedal power?

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Asana on Two Wheels?

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How would Asana on two wheels go? Has anyone out there tried yoga to help with cycling? I haven\’t so far; but sometimes I wonder whether it would be a good idea. Cycling causes some muscles to tighten, and yoga can help to stretch them out. I haven\’t yet investigated books about yoga for cyclists; and I don\’t even have a DVD player. So I\’ll have to let DVD\’s fall by the wayside; but maybe, one of these days, a yoga book? My sensitivities to \”scented stuff\” make me very wary of actually trying a yoga class. And would it be possible to find a free class? Besides that, my schedule is crowded enough already. A nice, short talk-through YouTube such as this would be a good starting place. It would help even more if I could watch the screen as I attempt the moves. You know the old saying: \”We learn by doing\”. I\’m already familiar with the term \”downward dog\”, but \”warrior one\” is new to me. Or rather, it seems to be a different name for the gastrocnemius stretch. It probably would help me if I were more diligent about using the foam roller. Maybe that could take the place of yoga. But when I get home from a long Sunday ride, or after work during the week, I just want to have something to eat; and then I plunge right into blogging! If I could manage asana on two wheels, that problem would be solved.    

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Gyroscopic Effect

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There\’s gyroscopic effect; and there\’s gyroscopic effect. Ever play with a gyroscope? When I was about twelve, we kids got an old, metal one that older cousins handed down to us; and that thing provided a great deal of amusement. When we set it spinning, after about five seconds it started to make loud buzzing noises; and zip here and there for distances as great as six inches. It was hilarious! I have no idea what made it do that — perhaps some form of sympathetic vibration? — but we always laughed our heads off about it. Then there\’s the gyroscopic effect as it pertains to bicycling. It\’s why keeping your balance on a bike gets easier as you go faster. It\’s amazing how much harder it is to keep a bicycle erect, and on a straight line, as you go more and more slowly. Like that toy gyroscope, or a spinning top, the slower it goes, the more it wobbles; and ultimately, it falls over. As a beginner on two wheels, though, it seems counterintuitive. At that stage, it feels hard to control the bicycle at all. All this talk of gyroscopes has me thinking of Music of the Spheres; and from there, I start thinking about The Planets. Talk about spacing out!

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Are We Crazy?

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Are we crazy? Does riding bicycles really make us weird? It seems that it might! #1. I don\’t have a car; but if I did, my desire to ride my bicycle might easily lead me to letting that car become a \”beater\”. And my bicycle didn\’t cost nearly $10,000! #2. Without a car anyway, the only chamois I have is the cycling-shorts kind. Cycling shorts, incidentally, are well worth the cost. They\’re much more comfortable on a long ride than regular shorts. #3. I don\’t carry much in my jersey pockets. Does that mean it\’s not a cargo jersey? On long rides I\’m wearing the Camel-Bak; and it covers up the pockets. #4. So far I don\’t race imaginary friends, but I do sometimes bypass home so I can get my weekly long-ride mileage up to the day\’s goal. #5. Especially when it\’s been hot for at least a few weeks, my cyclist tan starts to show. My arms are several shades darker than my hands, and I can see clear demarcation lines on my legs. #6. Luckily I haven\’t had such an accident yet; but if I ever do, I bet that\’s exactly what I\’d say! #7. T-rex? I wouldn\’t say that I look like one; but I do have naturally tiny arms. #8. Oh, leg warmers! This time of year I need them almost daily, and I wish I had some heavier ones! #9. Maybe I shouldn\’t get myself started on this. I\’m not the one to talk about weight control when I need to shed about 15 pounds! #10. I haven\’t reached this point yet, but maybe some night it will come. Are we crazy? Maybe so!

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A SUNday Ride?

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Was this a SUNday ride? Today is Sunday, but it wasn\’t exactly sunny. Now and then the sun peeked out; but for most of my ride, it was overcast. For about the last hour it looked more and more like rain; and I\’m glad it didn\’t rain! I forgot to be sure my Garmin was fully charged (yes, AGAIN — when will I learn to take my own advice?); and it gave me the Low Battery signal when I still had about nine miles to go. After about two more miles, I decided to shut it off. I could estimate my roll time and mileage well enough post-ride. That\’s better than risking losing what data I already have. On Sundays, when I do a long ride, I usually don\’t worry much about maintaining a set speed. When I\’ve got 20 miles to go against the breeze in order to get back home, it\’s better to work at maintaining a steady pace. Today l stayed on the small ring and worked on keeping a rapid cadence. Today the temperature was pretty good for riding: mid-50\’s when I started. For next Sunday, I hope for clear skies and no wind. That will be a SUNday ride!  

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DIScomfort Zone

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Not many of us enjoy our DIScomfort zone; but we have to go there sometimes to improve as cyclists. Who wants to get faster? I know I do! But how much do I really want it? My gains in speed have come very, very slowly; and I think it\’s because I don\’t push myself out of my comfort zone often enough. Back in November 2009, when I got my adult tricycle, I decided to let speed take care of itself. Up to a point, it did. Then, after a few more months, I realized that I would have to make deliberate efforts to ride faster if I wanted to get faster. The same holds true for any bicycle. With my road bike, I usually take one day a week to do on-bike work to try to improve my force. It\’s over a year since I began to do that, but gains have been modest. Shameful to state, I\’m still a coward when it comes to really grueling efforts. Maybe my \”force intervals\” are too short; maybe I need to do more of them. Or perhaps I need to push for a certain speed for a certain length of time, never mind about getting into a really hard gear and working for a high cadence. I get the impression that either one can help to improve average speed, but the latter won\’t necessarily build muscle strength, will it? The difficulty in getting faster is one reason I\’m considering giving Tour de Cure a miss this year. I guess a good game plan would be to work on force for a few more months, and see where I am. I know this much: it won\’t be comfortable. Welcome to the DIScomfort zone!

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Worth the Trouble

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Riding a bicycle to get groceries is worth the trouble: it can help you save money on food! This morning I rode to the salvage store again. It was overcast; and I had an 18 mph headwind on the way home. But I got a pretty good load for just under $28.00.  As my sister said when I told her about my first trip there, \”salvage\” sounds like a shipwreck; but I think the idea is that the things are being saved from the discard bin. Cans might be dented; or outer packaging might be damaged. It\’s not unusual to find items there that are a bit past their supposed expiration dates. Cereal bars, for example, might not be quite fresh. But they still taste pretty good; and I need such things for take-along food for my weekly long ride. I can take them to work, too; and then I don\’t have to buy snacks out of vending machines. I\’ve been trying to work up a price book, as described in The Complete Tightwad Gazette, page 33. My price book, alas, isn\’t well organized; and I forget to take the book along when I go shopping. If you want to work up a price book, see also \”CTG\”, page 558-559, for possible complications of this activity. It would be nice if there were such a store around here for bicycle parts and accessories. For cyclists who know how to replace a chain or derailer, that would be great! As long as it\’s in decent condition, there\’s nothing wrong with a used bicycle trunk. But I guess I\’ll have to do without a store like that. I can still \”bring home the bacon\”; and get my exercise to boot. It\’s worth the trouble.

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