BACK ISSUES Archives - Page 268 of 295

Rails to Trails

Rails to Trails Conservancy is on to something, I think. If a railroad isn\’t using a particular route any longer, why not let the public have access to it for recreation and non-motorized transportation? Rails to Trails routes are multi-use, so both cyclists and hikers could use the same routes. Apparently there are quite a few such trails in the USA. If only I were close to some of them! Yes, I have the MRT a stone\’s throw away, but riding a bicycle atop that levee can get tiresome in a strong wind! Much of the day it\’s also completely unshaded. That\’s not so good in hot weather when I\’m out riding for several hours. One of the most attractive features of a rail trail is, to me, its flatness. If such a trail passes through a mountainous area, I guess it would be very long and winding to allow for the low grade. What a great way that would be to catch some marvelous scenery! Rail trails also exist in other countries, such as the United Kingdom and Germany. How about a world tour using rail trails? Where did I put my bucket list?

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Wrap Sheet?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

I think I may need a wrap sheet! For keeping warm during cold-day rides, a friend mentioned ThermaCare. One of these wraps emits heat for 8 hours. I\’m unlikely to be on my bike for that long; and the instructions indicate that a wrap is a single-use item. Using them regularly would be a major money drain. What are other ways to keep warm when the ambient temperature is below 40 degrees; and the wind makes it seem to be sub-freezing? I think all cyclists are familiar with layering: wearing several layers of lighter-weight clothing instead of one heavy jacket. Of late I\’ve certainly needed that! How many layers? Only experience lets you know what will work for you. And temperature, of course, isn\’t the only consideration. Is it windy? How strong is the wind? Will it be a headwind when you\’re on the way home during your weekly long ride, and getting tired? That can be a miserable slog; and I shudder to think of adding rain to the mix. ThermaCare amounts to a portable heater. A wrap sheet like that might make cold-day rides easier to bear. I\’d be less tempted to cozy up in bed like that kitty, and sleep late.

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A Matter of Degree?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Is it all a matter of degree? As cyclists, we\’re bound to spend quite a lot of time outdoors; and that means paying close attention to the weather. Are the skies fair; or will it rain? Is it calm, or windy? If the latter, how strong is that wind; and at what point in the ride will it be a headwind? What\’s the temperature? And, are we talking about Fahrenheit or Centigrade? In the USA we use Fahrenheit, but most of the rest of the world uses Centigrade (aka Celsius). It seems a bit strange to me to read about the day Tom Simpson died during the 1967 Tour de France; and see that 40 degrees is considered warm. In fact, doing the conversion, 40 degrees Celsius is downright hot; 104 degrees Fahrenheit. And was that before factoring in humidity? Here, if the thermometer read 104 degrees on a swelteringly humid day, it would seem even hotter than that. In fact, I\’m we\’d have a heat advisory in effect! In humid conditions, perspiration doesn\’t evaporate; and we all go around enveloped in our own personal saunas. High humidity also makes cold weather seem colder. Your very bones feel chilled. I, for one, feel sluggish in cold weather; and have no patience with the argument that \”cold weather makes you feel perked up\”. It. Does. NOT!! Not in this humid climate. It\’s 40 degrees, you say? Let me know whether that\’s Fahrenheit or Celsius, so I\’ll know how to dress. It\’s a matter of degree.

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I Feel Like Hibernating!

BACK ISSUES / CAL

I feel like hibernating! Another onslaught of frigid air is on the way and I\’m considering changing my ride schedule because of it, even if I can\’t hibernate. Usually Monday is off-bikes day; but I think I\’ll want to readjust things this week. According to the forecast, tomorrow morning it will be 45 degrees; but with little wind. Day after tomorrow, however, the forecast says 47 degrees, and with a wind of 21 mph! Then on Wednesday, 35 degrees; but a wind of 6 mph. So, will the chill factor be worse Tuesday, or Wednesday? I found a wind-chill calculator, and figured it out. Results: Tuesday, wind chill 39 degrees; Wednesday, wind chill 30 degrees. Great. Both days will be plenty cold! Now I have to decide whether to take Tuesday or Wednesday off from riding. And I can tell you this: my nose will be running so fast, I won\’t be able to keep up with it! Cold temperatures do that; and wind makes it worse. Considering how much harder a strong wind makes it to control a bicycle, skipping the ride on Tuesday seems to make more sense. But Wednesday the chill factor will be colder, because the temperature will be much lower to begin with. Whichever day I ride, I\’ll have to layer up big time. Today I did a longish ride, 37.4 miles. I guess I\’ll do an easy ride tomorrow, take Tuesday off, and then decide what to do Wednesday. Come Saturday, I hope our local groundhog says that Winter is over! I feel like hibernating; but I\’m getting tired of it.

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I Done It Again

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I done it again!? I can\’t wait until it\’s warm enough for me to not need those \”wombat\” gloves! They make just about everything harder, from working the left-hand shifter (for the front gears, i.e. chain rings) to getting a bite to eat out of my top-tube pouch. Today again, it was a struggle to try shifting onto the big ring. The chain came off, and I had to stop and put it back on. This time a group of about five riders came by, and they stopped to be sure I was OK. One of them held my bicycle upright while I put the chain back onto the small ring, which helped a lot. Then I displayed my greasy fingers, and asked whether that meant my chain was over-lubed. He said, it probably did. So now I have to go attend to that chain. I\’d better measure it, too, to be sure it\’s not approaching replacement time. As to the trouble with shifting, maybe the front derailer needs some adjusting. I\’m not eager for more I done it again episodes.

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Wannabe \”Wrench\”

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I\’m a wannabe wrench, I guess. I have often wished I were better at basic bicycle mechanics, maintenance, and repair; that is, to be a \”wrench\”. Proceed with caution. I bet I\’d be great at losing parts; or forgetting in what order multiple parts came off of the bicycle. Then I\’d have a terrible time getting them put back on the bike, IF I could get them back on at all. I suppose you could remove what seems to be a single part, only to find that it\’s got multiple parts-of-parts inside. Fun, huh? I\’ve said enough times that I don\’t dare use one of my bicycles as a guinea pig. I guess putting the chain back on the small ring is a start, as is removing/replacing wheels. Especially the rear wheel. I still don\’t feel confident about that. Working on the tires? I know what to do to change an inner tube, but have always been terrible about practicing it. In part that\’s because cold weather causes my skin to get very dry. Struggling to get that tire on and off the rim means my cuticles get torn up; and even bleed. Bloody fingers aren\’t helpful in the workshop. Maybe someday I\’ll have the time and space (and the money!) for the luxury of my own bicycle workshop; then I won\’t have to be a wannabe wrench any more. Meanwhile there\’s always the local bike shop!

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Good Timing

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Good timing happens. This morning I hitched up the trailer and rode to the salvage store. It turned out to be, well, good timing. I got some unusual bargains today. As I was getting a one-pound block of mozzarella cheese out of the cooler, an announcement came over the PA system: if a dairy item in the cooler has a price sticker on it, buy one and get one of equal or lesser value for free! So I got two pounds of that cheese for under $3.00! There was a similar sale on luncheon meats, and I got two packs of bologna. Of late I haven\’t found much in the way of cereal bars, rather to my disappointment. I like to buy things like XL-Bars to take along on long rides; or to work for snacks. Maybe one day they\’ll have boxes of Clif Bars? Today there was an unusual amount and variety of candy; and I bought something like five bags of it. I put most of it away, and I\’m trying not to think about it! IF I can keep myself out of it, over time I\’ll have saved $5.00 or so. I calculated that I saved around $33.00 by shopping at that store today. Those savings covered about 75% of the cost of a new cyclocomputer for the hybrid! I hope you all have such a store available. A salvage store/discount grocery can mean considerable savings, very important if your budget is tight. It\’s also helpful if you\’re simply interested in frugality, tight budget or not. At the very least, you can put aside the money saved for bicycle stuff!

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Exotic New Vegetable?

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Looking for an exotic new vegetable? How about trying RUBARB: Rusted Up Beyond All Recognition Bikes. I like the idea of a place where anybody can go to learn how to \”tinker\” a bicycle. I know that I have 99.9% of how-to-work-on-a-bike to learn; so RUBARB ought to be a good place for me. In the book, Every Woman\’s Guide to Cycling, there\’s a chapter entitled, \”Get Your Hands Dirty\”. A couple of visits to RUBARB would be a great opportunity to do just that; and with somebody on hand (no pun intended) to talk me through things — and to come to the rescue if I goof up. Our local RUBARB is in an area of town unfamiliar to me; and it\’s far enough from home and work that I\’ve never tried to go there. I also am still not comfortable riding alongside heavy traffic, which I\’d probably be doing if I tried to go to RUBARB. According to the directions I found on Google Maps, it would take the better part of an hour to get there by bicycle. The distance itself is quite manageable; but as I just said, dodging traffic gets quite nerve-wracking. I\’m sure New Orleans doesn\’t have a monopoly on such programs. Maybe your home town has something similar to RUBARB. Indianapolis, for example. Or Seattle. So have a look around your local \”garden\”, and see what\’s out there. You might find an exotic new vegetable!

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An All-Encompassing Matter?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Have you ever been out on a ride and wondered which direction you were heading? The local part of the MRT is a good example. It takes a lot of bends as it follows the course of the Mississippi River. Therefore I can\’t keep track of which way is North; or South or East or West, for that matter. (Yes, I know which way is generally East/West, but that\’s not enough). I decided it would be a good thing to know when I was about to turn into a stiff headwind, especially during long rides. So I got a compass for my road bike. Here\’s how it helps me. Let\’s say I know that I\’ll have a headwind on the way home, and the forecast said it would be from the NNE. Being able to determine exactly which direction I\’m going helps me to adjust my efforts. As already stated, that bike path has a lot of bends. Even when my general bearing is towards the East, sometimes I\’m actually going North. Or South! If the compass lets me see that an upcoming bend in the trail will get the wind dead on my nose, I know I\’ll need to shift to an easier gear and get ready for some spinning. Mashing a hard gear into a stiff wind can be quite exhausting. Using a compass can be helpful when out riding the trails. Want to create a map of bike trails? That might require another kind of compass!

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Water Weight

BACK ISSUES / CAL

We despise water weight, don\’t we? Especially when we\’re watching our weight. But in this case, I don\’t mean unwanted water poundage on one\’s frame. I mean the weight of a full Camel-Bak reservoir on my, well, back. The one I have can hold 100 ounces, or a little over three quarts (liters). That right there is about six pounds. Add a cable lock; tube of Chamois Butt\’r; snacks; cell phone; and roll of bathroom tissue (in case the place I stop doesn\’t have any), and that\’s likely eight or nine pounds to piggyback. It feels like quite a load; but on long rides, it\’s a necessity. I\’ll take that weight on my back over collapsing from dehydration any day. Besides, as a long ride progresses and I drink the water, the weight decreases. I was thinking that I\’m lucky I\’m not packing along heavy water. I had the idea that it would weigh a lot more than regular water. Apparently it does weigh 10% more. That\’s less than I expected. All the same, I\’m not going to try using it, even supposing I could get it! Ordinary water weight is quite enough.

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