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Effectiveness

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How can we measure our effectiveness? Wouldn\’t we all like to be able to make such a dramatic impact as the one that formed Meteor Crater? I\’ll skip the K-T Boundary type of impact. That would be overdoing it, to put it mildly. I, for one, am unlikely to cause such an effect on the cycling world at large. I\’ll never win a big, important race on the global cycling stage; nor will I ever coach a cyclist to a major championship. Most of us, in fact, won\’t. But what can the ordinary, everyday cyclist do to effect the best possible impact on his/her riding abilities? How about interval training once or twice a week? I\’m not sure I\’ve done enough such work, or done it correctly, because it usually seems that my cruising speed during weekly long rides isn\’t increasing. What kind of effectiveness is that; IF it even is? I do notice that I\’ve gotten better at going faster for short stretches; so I guess that the \”force\” intervals I did have helped. Lately I\’ve been letting such hard efforts fall by they wayside. I\’ve been feeling persistently tired and stuffy-headed, so I\’m focusing my efforts on just getting in some miles. What other possibilities are there? Find a fast-ish group to ride with? Not too fast, or constantly getting dropped would erode my morale; but if I want to get faster, I have to work to ride faster!. Mini-races as the above article mentions? Whatever you choose to do, I hope the effects are all good.

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If Only

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If only riding fasted would MAKE me fast! But I would say, be cautious about going out on an empty stomach, especially when you know you\’re going to be fighting a headwind. I wouldn\’t do it on a day when I plan to do hard efforts, either. For years I\’ve noticed that, once my stomach starts to growl, bonking could be seconds away; on the bike or off. That goes back to long before I even began to ride; and I believe it\’s part of why I\’m hanging at 15 pounds more than I really want to weigh: I\’m afraid of getting hungry. Riding in a fasted state is supposed to help your body learn to be a better fat burner. When glycogen levels are low, the body has to tap into its fat stores. At some point, however, you\’ve got to have some carbs. The body\’s fat has been compared to the wax of a candle; and its glycogen, to the candle\’s wick. A candle can\’t burn any too well without a wick. A week ago, when the temperature was 57 and the wind a stiff 22 mph, I tried an easy, 20-minute \”fasted\” session in the trainer. It seemed to go OK. Maybe some day I\’ll try a short, easy, fasted outdoor ride. The caution here is to take along something high-carb that you can eat if you do feel the bonk coming on. You don\’t want to have to ride miles to get home to your food if you do bonk! This, in fact, is why I carry a few GU-Gels with me on all rides; even just going to and from work. Now, if only I could get faster!

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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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