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eBikes

Ever consider eBikes? I’ll admit it. When I first heard about electronic bikes; and even saw/heard people buzzing around on them, my knee-jerk reaction was that they weren’t “real” bikes. How can it be a “bike” if the rider isn’t pedaling? It also struck me as a lazy way to “ride”. How could riding one of those things be “exercise”? Isn’t the motor doing the work? Then I read a letter in “Letters from our Readers” on page 05 of the December 2018/January 2019 issue of Adventure Cyclist; and it gave me a different perspective on ebikes. As the writer pointed out, electronic bikes can give people who are no longer able to use a regular bicycle (such as older folks with knee problems) a way to keep riding. An ebike doesn’t cause the air pollution that an internal combustion engine does, and doesn’t make nearly as much noise. What about the safety aspect of ebikes? I think I\d be worried that the thing would run away with me! But it looks like a lot of things that apply to riding a conventional bicycle also apply to riding its electronic counterpart. Be visible; learn to handle the ebike at low speed before trying to push the pace; and so on. For me, I think the hardest part of riding a ebike would be having that buzzing almost next to my ear. I have noise sensitivity issues, so as long as I’m able to ride a regular bicycle, I intend to do so. All the same, an ebike is an alternative to keep in mind.

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Oh Yeah?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Oh yeah? Enough surprises for a while? Was I wrong! I got yet another surprise today. A few minutes ago I went into the kitchen, and was astounded to see a lizard perched on the edge of the counter; one of those little green ones that are very common here. (Most people call them chameleons; but they\’re actually anoles.) I was hanging out in my bathrobe, having recently returned from a ride. I though of catching the critter in a jar; and letting it sit long enough for me to get dressed and take the jar outside. Then I could let the lizard go. Oh, yeah? That\’s not so easy! Anoles are hard to snag. They seem to be quite wary; and they\’re very quick. Even if you manage to grab one in your hand, it\’s hard to hang onto it. Then I remembered: anoles eat insects. Beginning in June I\’ve had a lot of tiny six-legged invaders. I don\’t know why the sudden invasion; I\’d never had that problem before. But a lizard in here might take care of some of those cucarachas!

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More Surprises

BACK ISSUES / CAL

I got more surprises today. Despite yesterday\’s forecast of \”clear\”, it was almost completely overcast at 6 am today. I took a quick look at the NOAA site, and the forecast didn\’t say it would rain; on the contrary, it said \”mostly clear\”. So I took off at 6:37 am; and indeed, the sky cleared as the morning went on. I began the ride wearing vermilion lenses; but packed along the dark lenses just in case. Sure enough, by the time I reached my turnaround point, I needed dark lenses. There was almost no wind, for a change. I wish that happened more often! And it was at my back on the way home, also for a nice change. I kept feeling like I had a headwind, which means I was pedaling at a fair clip. And still more surprises! My overall average speed was 14.42 mph! I didn\’t expect it to be that high, because of my slower warm-up mile; and a slower cool-down pace for almost a mile before reaching home. But for the rest of the ride I averaged 14.7 mph? I got yet another surprise upon reaching home. The power was out! I had seen a truck from the power company just before I got to my front gate; but I thought they were working on the wiring for a new house that\’s being built. Luckily the \”juice\” came back on after about 15 minutes; and I got an automated call from the power company. The cause of the outage had been \”an animal\”. They didn\’t specify, so I\’ll have to guess. Ants? (That\’s happened before). Squirrel gnawing on something? Not impossible, I\’d say. That\’s enough surprises for now, don\’t you think?

My Garden?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

My Garden? Truth to tell, my garden isn’t growing any too fast; because it exists only in my mind. If I’m ever able to have a place of my own, with a small yard, maybe I can try out my green thumb. And I could, what if would I try go grow? Tomatoes, for sure. I’d want to have kale, which is hardy enough to keep growing in cold weather. “Winter cabbage”, in fact, is the German name for kale. I think I’d have broccoli and onions, too. I hope I’d be able to raise red onions; that’s the kind like best. I think it would be interesting to try the three sisters. It sounds like a good way to raise three crops in a rather small space. In fact, if I got into gardening, several small patches 3-4 feet square would probably be the best way to begin. There’s no point in getting overly ambitious, and trying to plant a half-acre my first season. I’d want some flowers, too. Nasturtiums are pretty, and parts of them are edible. I’d want red salvia, to attract hummingbirds! Planting certain flowers/herbs adjacent to certain veggies is supposed to help with pest control. I’d like to experiment with that. Spading is something I’d need to approach with caution. Years ago I tried digging up a strip of bare ground alongside the place I rented. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to start getting some practice in bed preparation. Lo and behold, I gave myself trigger finger in both middle fingers. Ultimately, I needed surgery on both. Or maybe it’s all a daydream. I suspect that I like the idea of having my garden more than I truly want to have one. Tilling the soil would limit my riding time too much. Who knows, though. Someday I might be out there raising — well, not Cain, I hope.

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Surprise

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Considering last night\’s forecast, it was a surprise that the sun was out this morning. I saw that clouds were building up towards the West, however; and I decided to skip the salvage store. It\’s some five miles away, after all; and I couldn\’t know how soon the weather might break bad. Thus I went to a store much closer to home; and I packed along the poncho just in case. When I got out of the store the sun was still out; but the clouds were increasing. The wind was building up as well. In fact, for the last few blocks before I got home it was blowing pretty hard. If I had gone to the salvage store, I would have been fighting it for miles! So now I\’m home, listening to the wind and expecting it to start pouring at any moment. It can be frustrating to change your plans because you anticipate bad weather; and then have nothing happen. Sometimes, though, you get it right. And then you can say, \”I\’m so glad I\’m not out there!\” That\’s the kind of surprise that I like!

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Feeling the Bite

BACK ISSUES / CAL

I\’m feeling the bite; and I, for one, would not call dentistry \”painless\”. If nothing else, dental work can be a major pain in the bank account! Yet again, I\’m faced with oral surgery. It\’s coming up in just a few days; and there goes money that I\’d rather use for other things. For starters, I need some new cycling shorts; and I\’m lucky I don\’t need a new bicycle! It\’s a good thing I haven\’t made travel plans for the holidays; plane tickets are crazy expensive. I\’ll have to work my riding schedule around surgery day, so I can minimize off-bike time. My procedure is scheduled for 8 am; and will require sedation. I don\’t dare try to ride when I\’m still spacey from that stuff; and I know it won\’t truly wear off until quite late in the day. Possibly I won\’t feel up to riding even the next day. Here\’s the bright side to feeling the bite: I won\’t want to chew much for a day or two. Finally, a great excuse to eat ice cream!

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Nervous?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

\”To have cold feet\” is to be nervous. So, am I nervous when I head out for a ride on a cold morning, and my feet are cold? Or, if they aren\’t cold when I start my ride, it isn\’t long before they do get cold. Those socks shown at left look warm and cozy; but when I\’m on the bike in cold weather, nothing seems to keep my feet warm. I\’ve tried wearing a pair of cashmere socks over regular socks; but it does\’t seem to help much. Would these hand warmers be suitable for feet? Here\’s the catch: do I have room inside of my cycling shoes for them? Toe covers? Maybe. Several years ago I had some toe covers; but they had loops to hook around the heel; and a sort of band across the bottom of the shoe, just behind the cleats. Those bands got torn up from my efforts to get my left foot clipped in once I began pedaling. I figured, why buy more if they\’re only going to get ripped apart? You may have already guessed that my hands, too, get cold. Only my heavy \”wombat\” gloves have room inside for those heat packs. There are days when my skull cap doesn\’t really keep my head warm. Cold feet, cold hands, cold head, cold nose — migosh, must I move to a sea-level country on the Equator?

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Brake Even

BACK ISSUES, bicycling / CAL

Brake Even Gotta have brakes that work! Brake even is what we need when we’ve got to stop that bicycle. We’d be in big trouble without brakes, wouldn’t we? What little bicycle riding I did as a kid involved coaster brakes; the type that you operate by pedaling backwards. The kind I’m familiar with now is the rim brake, which has brake pads that contact the wheels’ rims. My adult tricycle had front-wheel rim brakes only. Contrary to expectations, the tricycle’s brakes gripped harder when wet! Most of the time that wasn’t a problem. There was just once, on a misty morning, when I had trouble. I was approaching a stop sign, and not even going all that fast. I started to brake; and next thing I knew I was on the ground with the trike on top of me. Just what I needed, a temperamental tricycle! Both my hybrid and road bike have rim brakes. During wet rides, when I know I have a stop coming up, I lightly hold the brakes for a few pedal strokes, to help get the worst of the moisture off of the wheels’ rims. Even so, it takes longer to stop than it would when I’m riding in dry conditions. Disc brakes? I’ve never tried them. Here’s a pro and con discussion of rim vs disc brakes. If the latter are heavier, I’m probably better off with rim brakes. Whatever kind of brakes you have, be sure they’re in good working order. You don’t want to break a leg if they don’t work. That’s not what brake even is about.

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Good Derailment

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Who ever heard of \”good\” derailment? We don\’t want trains to derail, because it can be a major disaster if they do! A bicycle chain is quite another matter. We want it to \”derail\”, i.e. be able to shift from one gear to another. If it couldn\’t, we\’d be stuck with single-gear bicycles; or maybe fixies. That\’s good derailment. I\’m not nearly advanced enough to sense when my bicycles\’ derailers need adjusting; unless the chain hesitates and clatters like crazy when I try to shift gears. Someone once showed me how to adjust the rear derailer, and I watched one or two YouTube videos about it; but I don\’t dare try it on my own. Because I use the rear shifter so much more, it\’s easy for the front derailer to get pushed to the back of my mind. That doesn\’t mean the front derailer isn\’t important; because it is. Having the big ring lets me ride at, say, 14 mph at a lower cadence than I\’d need if I stayed on the small ring. On my road bike, to shift to the big ring, I have to push the shifting lever hard and hold it for several seconds. (The bike shop says that\’s normal for my bicycle). If I don\’t, the chain doesn\’t make it on to the big ring; and when I try to shift back to the small ring, the chain comes off, and I have to stop and put it back on. Fortunately it isn\’t hard to do, but I can never get all the oil off my hands. So, as long as our derailers are properly adjusted, our gears can stay on track, and we can enjoy the ride!

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When Time Is Short

BACK ISSUES / CAL

How can we manage when time is short? Being a cyclist isn\’t only about riding. Off-bike exercises are important, too; and that means making the time to do them. Many sources that I\’ve read state that riding a bicycle is not only about the legs. You need strength and stability in the core; and in the arms and upper body. Example: if you find that you can\’t ride up even a mild incline without wavering like crazy, you need to work on those muscles. I sure did! Such work doesn\’t have to take gobs of time; at least, not when you\’re essentially a recreational cyclist. Especially when you have a regular job! But what happens when you\’ve gotten in something else; and can\’t fit in even a 15-minute workout? I would say, pick out the moves that need the most work. If the exercise routine that you had planned includes both core and leg moves; and you believe that your core needs more work; go for the core moves. Of course there are the days when time is short for a ride. Some say, unless you had an easy/recovery ride scheduled, make your short ride an intense one. I should take that advice more to heart. I\’ve never done well when it comes to pushing myself beyond what is called \”comfortably painful\”. Or at any rate, I haven\’t done nearly enough of it. In the end, when time is short, it comes down to using your time wisely. No matter how much time we seem to have, it always goes fast.

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