SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Magic Touch?

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Some people have the magic touch. I took the Garmin to the bike shop after work. I told them what was going on; and one of the guys took the Garmin and pressed the on/off button. Wouldn\’t you know, the crazy thing turned on immediately. I guess the man has a magic touch. It turned out that the computer was totally out of charge; but I have no ida how that happened. I though I had turned it off after charging it up day before yesterday; but maybe I didn\’t. At any rate, the guys at the bike shop said to take the Garmin home and charge it up; and see how it goes. Lately I got some strange heart-rate readings from the thing; and I hope that corrects itself! While I was at the shop anyway, I looked at Cateye computers; and some of them cost much less than I feared I might have to spend to replace the hybrid\’s computer. Things are looking up again.

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SMART

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When I was a kid, I used to like to watch a TV show called, Get Smart. One Maxwell Smart was working against an entity called KAOS (which I thought was  \”chaos\”). I remember one episode when the KAOS guys had tied up Maxwell Smart hand and foot, and stood him on his head in a corner. They had just exited out one door when Smart\’s working partner, Agent 99, came in through another door. He looked up at her and said, \”Hello, 66!\” She said, \”But, I\’m 99.\” Max says, \”I know, but you\’re upside down!\” Why that has stuck in my mind is beyond me. Aren\’t memories weird? Then there\’s SMART training for the cyclist or, I should suppose, any athlete. I\’m not so sure I\’ve been following it very well. Specific? \”Get faster\” is, indeed, rather vague. For years my list of cycling goals has included \”increase cruising speed to 15 mph\”. That gives me a target to shoot for. Unfortunately I haven\’t been doing it quite right (see \”Attainable\”, below). Measurable? Not as easy as it sounds. Checking for gains in my average speed over time might not mean much, when so many variables can affect average speed (terrain, wind, etc.) Attainable? Increasing my cruising speed is a goal I believe I can reach. I\’m better at averaging 15 mph for as long as 10 miles; time was when it took great effort to touch 15 mph for a brief moment. But I still can\’t do it for hours on end. Realistic? Working up to 15 mph, yes. I\’m not yet where I want to be with it, but I\’ve made some progress. How about 20 mph? Sometimes I can touch it and even hold it for a few seconds; does that indicate potential? Time-specific? Here is where I fall short, I think. As a new year begins, it\’s so easy to think that there\’s no hurry about working towards your goals for the year. Then, before you know it, it\’s December!

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Not Looking Good

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Alas, things are not looking good! This morning my Garmin wouldn\’t turn on; and I was sure I remembered charging it up after my ride day before yesterday. I was already running (pedaling?) late; so I did a short ride without it. At least I know where my five-mile point is; and that helped. I\’m waiting for somebody to come fix my ceiling; and while I wait I tried plugging the Garmin into my laptop. No response from the Garmin. I tried a different charging cable with the same result; namely, nothing happened. I\’ll have to go to the bike shop and let them have a look at the thing. I hope it\’s not worn out and needs replacing! I haven\’t had it for quite three years; and at the time I bought it, it cost over $400. I expect something with a price tag like that to last a long time! Lately I\’ve been getting some strange heart-rate readings from that Garmin. A ride summary might show that I attained a max heart rate that is in my Zone 5; but when I checked for time spent in heart rate zones, it showed zero for Zone 5. Maybe I was in Z-5 for only a split second; but maybe something about the Garmin was awry? When I\’m riding and see a HR in the 180s on the readout screen, I know something weird is going on; and maybe it\’s not looking good.  

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How Hard?

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How hard am I working? Did you ever wonder how much of a workout you\’re really getting during a bicycle ride? This is where having a heart rate monitor comes in handy. Some bicycle computers, such as the Garmin Edge 520, let you monitor your heart rate as you ride. First, the Garmin must be programmed with your pre-determined heart rate zones; and after a ride, the Ride Summary shows how much time you\’ve spent in which heart rate zones. Now, how do you determine what your workload was? Let\’s take a look at a ride of 50.2 miles, averaging 13.21 mph. My ride data showed the following heart rate zones/times (in minutes and seconds): Z2: 1:44; Z3: 113:18; Z4: 113:04. I rounded the times to the nearest whole minute: Z2: 2; Z3: 113; Z4: 113. Next step, multiply the zone by the number of minutes spent in that zone: 2 x 2 = 4; 3 x 113 = 339; 4 x 113 = 452. Then, add them up: 4 + 339 + 452 = workload 795. Here\’s the question for me: am I spending too much time in my HR zone 3? After at least four years, maybe even five, I still haven\’t achieved my goal of being able to cruise at 15 mph for prolonged periods. Am I in a Zone 3 rut? Looking back over my ride log, it seems rather like it. How do I improve? More \”force\” work (pushing for a high cadence in a hard gear)? Staying in a light-ish gear, but working for 100 rpm or more? Striving for a set speed — let\’s say, 17 mph — for x amount of time, no matter what the conditions? Some of all three? Gee, a coach sure would be helpful. I don\’t know how hard I should work!

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A Complete Washout?

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Am I a complete washout? I\’m not nearly as conscientious about cleaning my bicycles as I should be; and I\’ll be the first to admit it. On weekdays I have to go to work after I ride; and there isn\’t time to do a decent cleaning job and have breakfast, too. After I get home from work, I have other things to do. I\’m reluctant to try this outdoor cleaning routine. Or this one. I don\’t have my own yard; and one of the occupants of the unit adjacent to mine is prone to hanging around outdoors SMOKING!! That smoke sets off my allergies. If I were to spray WD-40® around, I\’d need a double filter mask. Such fumes bother me, big time. So do the fumes of many cleaning products. I\’ve tried a solution of Simple Green®; and that bothered me, too. Even though I put a bicycle on a tarp to protect the carpet, using soapy water would be a problem; and I certainly can\’t drag a bicycle into the shower with me! Another aspect of bicycle cleaning that I need to improve upon is the skill of removing the wheels and replacing them. The front wheel is easy enough, but I\’m always nervous about doing it to the rear wheel. Having a bicycle that looks brand-new all the time is low on my priority list. On the other hand, my bicycles need more frequent washing. But no gully-washers, please! That would be a complete washout, for sure.  

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Cycling Woes

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Cycling WOES? Yes, indeed! Occasionally I think that maybe there are better ways of getting around than by bicycle. By balloon, maybe? A hot-air balloon eliminates headwind problems; but apparently ballooning against the wind is impossible. It\’s all with the wind in a balloon; and that\’s inconvenient when your destination isn\’t downwind. Crashing, on the other hand, is far more survivable on a bicycle than in a balloon. But do hot-air balloons have chains that need to be maintained and that, sometimes, get dropped? This morning I had both: headwinds, and I had to stop and put the chain back on the small ring when it got dropped. There are times when shifting to the big ring simply doesn\’t work. When I try to shift back onto the small ring, the chain falls between the small ring and the frame. I was wearing very heavy gloves, which actually doesn\’t help when I need to shift to the big ring. They\’re really too big for me; and if anything that reduces the already-reduced dexterity of gloved hands. Another problem I had this morning was highly suspect readouts from my heart rate monitor. My Garmin\’s screen was showing a HR rate in the 180s, which I\’m sure can\’t have been right. Yes, I was pushing for 12-13 mph into a 17 mph wind; but from my breathing at the time, I\’d say upper Zone 4 was correct; or possibly low Zone 5.  But not Zone 6+! In fact, I don\’t even have a Zone 6 programmed into the Garmin. Maybe the HR sensor needs a new battery; and I can do without it for a while if I must. Meanwhile there\’s always RPE. Oh, these cycling woes!

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The Bright Side

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Let\’s look at the bright side. For instance, I gripe about riding in the rain, especially when it\’s also cold and windy. I get chilled through as well as soaked. On the other hand, riding in the rain has an upside: the falling rain does a lot to wash my road bike clean of grit, dirt, and muck. When I rode two days before New Year\’s, it wasn\’t raining; but there were some pretty dense fog patches, plus some wet spots on the bike path. When I got home after riding 50 miles, my poor bicycle was a mess! Then, on New Year\’s Day, there was a light rain. I got wet through; but my bicycle wasn\’t in nearly the state it had been after the ride two days earlier. Maybe that was in part because the January 1 ride was a much shorter one; but I\’m sure the \”natural bike wash\” helped. Incidentally, I find it easier to clean all that gritty stuff off my bike if I let it get dry first. Then most of it brushes off. That might be against bicycle-cleaning rules; but I don\’t have the hose and bucket to give my bikes a sudsy, outdoor washing. So if it rains on my bicycle ride, I can look at the bright side. 

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That Deadly Sin

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Oh, that deadly sin of sloth! Looking at the forecast for tomorrow makes me feel like this kitty here. I just want to lounge around and do nothing; and also stay in and stay warm! It\’s expected to be a chilly 49 degrees tomorrow morning; and the wind will be as strong as 20 mph! I know I need the exercise; but at the moment merely thinking of being out in the cold and wind is almost too much. I know it will make my nose run like crazy. That, in turn, makes on-bike eating harder; because it\’s hard to breathe through my nose and chew at the same time. At least I can be glad I\’m not out there riding right now. It just began to rain; and for the last hour or so the wind has been strengthening. It also seems to be getting cooler. It had been getting almost too warm for January, so I suppose we\’re paying for it now. So do I go out for my long ride tomorrow, or not? Fight the wind out there; or be lazy and stay home? They say, if you\’re not sure you want to ride, get ready to ride anyhow. Then, if you find that you really can\’t bear the thought of riding, take the day off. Otherwise, ride on; and eschew that deadly sin of sloth!  

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Cornered?

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Do you ever feel cornered; or wonder how to handle that turn? Cornering efficiently is an important part of cycling; and it\’s helpful to know how to make those turns without slowing to a crawl. Note: the video shown is British; so the riders are on the left-hand side of the road. I find that wide, sweeping left turns are the easiest to handle. Sudden, sharp turns to the right are the ones that make me uncomfortable. Maybe it\’s partly a visual thing; although right-handed, I\’m left-eyed. Or, maybe I need to think more about this. How do you corner on a descent, when you\’ve got a sharp turn? See this video for advice. It seems to be aimed at highly skilled riders, or even pro racers; but I suppose that the basic principles can be applied even to \”tame\” turns. Then there\’s the skill of making turns in traffic; especially left turns that involve crossing at least one lane of traffic before making said turn. Is turning the same as cornering? Good question. It seems to me that cornering is part of turning. Sometimes I wish I could take more time to practice these basic skills. Usually I have to get out there and ride my miles; or else make a grocery run. It sort of makes me feel cornered.

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Don\’t Be Slipshod!

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Don\’t be slipshod! No half measures! We hear these bits of advice all the time; and it gets wearisome. But how should you fit cycling shoes? Obviously, they should fit properly. I look for advice on various aspects of cycling, shoes included, everywhere I can think of; even in some unlikely  places! Fitting cycling shoes, I expect, isn\’t nearly as finicky a business as fitting pointe shoes. Even so, be sure they\’re comfortable. If cycling shoes are too tight, they hurt; and there\’s no room for a second pair of socks on a cold day. If they\’re too big, your feet slide around as you pedal. Hence the advice, Don\’t Be Slipshod! How long does a pair of cycling shoes last? That depends on how much you ride, I\’ve no doubt; and probably also on how hard you ride. Weather conditions might play a role as well. Shoes that get frequent soakings from rainy rides probably wear out faster. How do you know it\’s time to replace those shoes? If the part that cups your heel has become flimsy, it\’s time for new shoes; and if the uppers are separating from the soles, that\’s an obvious sign. If the shoes look beat-up in general, you might well need new ones. Expensive though they are, a good pair of cycling shoes is worth it. If you can afford it, get two pairs. That way, you can use one pair to ride while the other is airing out from the previous ride. If you\’ve gotten caught in the rain, the shoes that got soaked will have more time to dry if you have a second pair of shoes to use. Above all, remember what they say: If the shoe fits, wear it!

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