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SpokEasy

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Alternatives

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Alternatives are everywhere. It\’s human nature to think of what else we might have, or could be doing, isn\’t it? That\’s true even if we seem to have a dream job. \”The grass is always greener…\” What might I be doing is I weren\’t an accountant/barista/code-writer…? What would I be doing if I didn\’t have to work? If I won the lottery, or if I were retired? What are my alternatives? Pro cyclists do it, too. After all, they\’re human. I notice that coffee shop/bakery/goodies comes up several times. A stop at a coffee shop seems to be a ritual part of many a group ride, which might explain it. Pro cycling is a tough life. Behind the apparent glamor of shiny bicycles and colorful kit flying past is a lot of work; dedication; sacrifice; and preparation. There\’s the training, and being away from home for long periods of time. There\’s the diet, and worrying about making weight.  Pro cyclists sometimes have terrific headwinds to fight during a race; and they might race through pouring rain, or even snow at high altitudes. Racing through the rain can mean getting plastered with mud; and fans can be a problem (hanging out in the path of oncoming racers to get a better view, for instance). Not to mention crashes that sometimes result in serious injury, or even death. I can\’t blame pro cyclists for having dreams of what else they\’d like to do besides ride a bicycle; and of what they\’ll do once their racing careers end. I don\’t blame them for dreaming of goodies, either. In fact, those strawberry-white chocolate muffins sound most tempting!

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Starting Over?

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Do you ever feel like you\’re starting over? Again? \”Buch der Geheimnisse\”. Book of Secrets. Is these such a tome about cycling? What\’s the secret to changing several things about your riding, and all at the same time? At a recent bike refit, I could see on the video screen that my right hip sagged downwards with every pedal stroke. I had been aware that I sat rather far forward on my saddle, but not that such motion was going on. I guess that\’s why the inside of my left thigh has always been prone to rubbing against the top tube. This isn\’t a problem when it\’s cold enough for leg warmers, as they protect my leg. But when it gets warm and I leave the leg warmers off, it can result in serious chafing, especially during a long ride. I wouldn\’t mind getting rid of that! So, I began to work at getting both of my sit bones on the saddle. OUCH! I had to scoot backwards to get the pressure off the sensitive area. It\’s a move of only a few inches, but does it ever make a difference in my riding! My reach feels different. Bike handling feels different. Pedaling feels different. It even feels like my cleat position is \”off\”. What\’s the secret? I guess it\’s really quite simple: take my time so my body can adjust, because I\’m starting over again. I just hope it won\’t mean another bicycle refit. Speaking of secrets, this morning my chain got dropped when I was trying to shift onto the big ring. That happens sometimes, and I\’m not sure whether the problem is me or the derailer. Of course my hands got greasy while putting the chain back on the small ring. Want to know a good way to get grease off your hands? Sunblock! But don\’t tell anyone else! That\’s our secret.  

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Sensitive Issues

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Cycling comes with its own sensitive issues. I\’ve probably touched on this subject before, but it bears repeating. Chafing is always a risk factor in cycling. How do we prevent it? Proper saddle fit. Shorts that are clean and fit well. Chamois Butt\’r. In late  June, I had a road bike re-fit. During the part where the fitter was filming me as I pedaled, I could see in the video screen that I was quite far to the right on the saddle. My right hip sagged downwards with every pedal stroke. I had noticed that, when I get home from a long Sunday ride and stoop to take off my shoes, that right hip cramps up badly. When I saw myself on the video screen, I figured I knew why. I began to make a greater effort to be sure that my sit bones are on the saddle where they belong. What happened? My \”tender parts\” took quite a beating, even though my saddle is a cutout model. And that, during a weekday morning ride that\’s an hour and a quarter long at most! Maybe that\’s why I got into the habit of riding \”sidesaddle\” to begin with. What do do? Cheapest thing first. Experiment with how and where I sit on the saddle. Sitting farther back on the saddle helps with crotch discomfort, but I noticed right away that the muscles at the very tops of the backs of my thighs felt rather strained. Have I been over using my quads all these years? And neglecting those glutes and hammies? Pedaling out of the saddle to give myself some relief works only for very short distances, and I can manage it only a few times within an hour-long ride. After that my legs refuse to do it any more. I can try using more Chamois Butt\’r in, well, the strategic place. Consider some new shorts. A new saddle with a larger cutout should be the last thing to try. My budget has sensitive issues, too.

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A Very Good Idea

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What is this very good idea? A universal derailer hanger! There are derailer hangers, and then there are derailer hangers. The one shown here is Shimano compatible. The people at my bike shop once said that most (all?) bicycles, at least road bikes, require model-specific derailer hangers, which makes replacing that hanger a bigger nuisance than I think it ought to be. You\’d think the manufacturers could get together for some brain-storming, wouldn\’t you? Suppose you\’re on a bicycle tour and your derailer hanger breaks; and the only bike shop you can find doesn\’t have the right kind? Adventure Cycling offers a Problem Solvers Universal Derailer Hanger! I discovered that my road bike\’s rear derailer hanger is quite vulnerable, and it galls me to have to miss the road bike for up to a week while the shop waits for the replacement to arrive. After the second or third time it happened I got, if I may say so myself, a very good idea. I began to keep a spare one at home at all times. If I\’m going to do a special event, such as Tour de Cure, I make a note to pack along that spare derailer hanger. I ought, in fact, to keep it in my road bike\’s under saddle pack at all times. Such a small part to cause such big headaches!    

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Lucky Again

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I got lucky again this morning. Sometime during last night I half woke and heard pouring rain and thunder. This morning it was still mostly overcast, and looked like it might rain again any time. I checked the weather site. It said, 60% chance of showers and T-storms. I decided to risk it and hook up my trailer for a trip to the salvage store. Just in case, I packed along my poncho. The overcast kept the temperature down, and it didn\’t rain! In fact, by the time I got back home about 10 am, the sun was coming out. But sometimes I think it would be nice to have a pack mule to carry my loads for me. My trailer can carry up to 50 pounds. I haven\’t ever weighed a load, so I\’m not sure exactly how much I\’m hauling on a trip home from the store. Even if it\’s less than 50 pounds, it can feel like a major drag. Today there was very little wind, and it actually seemed to be behind me on the way home 🙂 Usually it\’s the opposite. So that was good. I found Capri Sun Sport Orange Shock, a box of ten 6-fluid oz pouches for $1.50. I got it to try. It\’s pretty good. I \”bought ahead\” on peanut butter, ketchup, and dill pickle chips. At the rate I\’m going, I\’ll need an extra room just to hold my salvage store finds! I think that every time I get lucky again.

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Rides You Can Do!

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Oh, the rides you can do ! (To paraphrase Dr. Seuss…) I read about rides that sound so very tempting! Many of them nowhere near home. If I could get to North Carolina, maybe I could do one. The Coastal Ride would be my choice. It\’s flat! I can\’t seem to prod myself into doing the amount and kind of on-bike work that would prepare me for anything hilly. I so seldom get to do any hill-country riding that my muscles don\’t remember what climbing should feel like. Suppose I could make it to Maryland? The Seagull Century awaits. I\’ve heard that the ride is flat, but windy. That can be bad news, depending on how strong the wind is, and whether I\’ll have the headwind outbound or returning. Maybe it\’s past high time I checked out TrailLink. Or Backroads. I might find a suitable new route to ride! What I wish I could have now is a shady path to use. On a recent Sunday the heat index rose to 112! I was home before the worst of the heat, but I got hot enough. Afterwards I couldn\’t seem to get cooled down. This heat probably won\’t relent before October or even November. Meanwhile I\’ve got to keep riding. It gets me places.    

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Piling on the Coal?

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Piling on the coal is what the Furnace Creek 508 sounds like to me. A furnace to me is a heating device! I always wonder how a body of water gets named \”furnace\”. Perhaps it\’s the environment that\’s like the furnace? Whatever the explanation, a creek by that name lent its moniker to the Furnace Creek 508. It sounds grueling. A lot of climbing, and solo riders were required to finish in 48 hours. The 508 was another high-altitude event, starting at well over 3000 feet. It also ran through Death Valley. Time to look for an X-large Camel-Bak! I wonder how anybody can manage to train up to put themselves through such a test, especially if they live in a wet climate. New Orleans, for example, averages 60 inches of rainfall per year. My skin would be shriveling up the instant I got into a desert environment! I\’d be dying of thirst before the race began. There would also have been cold nights to contend with. Even in mid-Summer, high altitudes are cold once the sun goes down. Pack the jacket, arm and leg warmers, and the skull cap. Some heavy gloves, too. And, needless to say, there had to be plenty of ride food. Those riders had to keep enough coal on the fire.    

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Pickpocket Disappointed

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Pickpocket disappointed? The pickpocket is hoping to get something valuable, right? How much would, say, the Artful Dodger get picking the pockets of these racing cyclists\’ jerseys? Bars, rice cakes, and gels. Maybe a sandwich or two. Not worth risking a jail sentence for, right? Once you\’ve eluded the Artful Dodger and his gang, how do you get things out of those pockets while riding? So far I\’ve never tried. During long rides I\’m wearing my Camel-Bak, which covers up my jersey\’s pockets. Even if it weren\’t for the Camel-Bak, reaching back like that might cause my torso to twist too much, wreaking havoc on my steering. I can\’t ride no-handed. I suppose each rider develops an individual strategy for eating and drinking while rolling. This video, unfortunately, doesn\’t actually offer advice on reaching into jersey pockets while riding in a straight line. I suppose it\’s a matter of plain old practice. If I didn\’t need that Camel-Bak for long treks, I might be able to learn it! I could start by pedaling while hooked into the trainer, and could wiggle and twist without having to worry about causing myself to crash. I could learn what motions I need to make and how far I need to reach. I might become quite adept at picking my own pockets! Or would I be a case of pickpocket disappointed?

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Special Big Five Oh

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Today we celebrate a very special Big Five Oh. It\’s fifty years since Apollo 11 blasted off and headed for the moon. Somehow it seems appropriate that the moon is at the full. I saw it while I was out riding this morning. Beautiful! I’ve read a lot about the RMS Titanic, and how exciting the city of Belfast found her launching. That was in 1911 . Fast-forward to 1969. The launch of Apollo 11 must have generated the same kind of thrill. Quite likely a much bigger one. The Titanic was the largest ship of her day, expected to go on to a glorious career. Now, we were sending men to the Moon! Fortunately, unlike the Titanic\’s maiden  voyage, the Apollo 11 mission was a success. I remember a 25th anniversary program (I still had a TV then) about the first moon landing. I think they said the lunar module came within seconds of running out of fuel before landing; something about the originally planned touchdown site being too rocky, which hadn\’t been discernible through Earth-based telescopes. There was footage of one of the astronauts taking huge bounds across the surface and saying, \”Hey, man! This is GREAT!!\” Now we have some great memories, thanks to those pioneers of space, and all the workers who helped get them there. It makes today a very special Big Five Oh.  

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Feel All Thumbs?

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Do you ever feel all thumbs? I certainly feel all thumbs when it comes to bicycle maintenance. It\’s a relief to know that I\’m far from alone. For years I\’ve had a book on bicycle maintenance. Sometimes I\’ll browse around in it, but I don\’t dare try much by myself. Even watching videos doesn\’t help me much. They tend to go through things too quickly for me; and a video isn\’t the same thing as one-on-one personal instruction, where you can take it one slow step at a time. It reminds me of the saying: \”Nothing is as easy as it looks.\” How true that is! For example, watch those  who have had some practice change the tube in a bicycle tire. Those folks can get through it all in a few minutes. I have trouble just getting the tire off the rim! It takes quite a lot of strength. If anything, getting that tire back onto the rim is even harder. That\’s my reason for using tire liners. I first got them after my trike had eight flats in about 14 months, and I use them for the hybrid and the road bike, too. I even got them for the trailer\’s wheels! One day I might need to replace a bicycle. Then the old one can be my \”guinea pig\”, and I can start learning derailer adjustment and other things. I don\’t expect I\’ll ever become a professional \”wrench\”, but it would be nice to not have to rely on the bike shop.

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