Posts Tagged "bicycle"

Tough 20 miles yesterday

Posted by Bryan on May 1, 2009 in Blog, My Rides | 13 comments

When I was thinking about what to title this post I had a hard time. I usually try to think of something catchy or use something that occurred during the ride for the title. Yesterday’s ride was pretty run of the mill except for the fact that it seemed overly tough. So why not just say it was a tough 20 miles? At first I didn’t like it because, for a cyclist (whom I consider myself to be), 20 miles shouldn’t be tough should it? I should be able to ride 20 easy miles right? There’s only one hard hill on the route so it shouldn’t be bad. For some reason though it was a hard ride for me.

Sure, I haven’t been on the bike for two days but that means I should be well-rested right? I almost wonder if those two days off were bad for me. The two days were unplanned. I intentionally didn’t ride on Tuesday in prep for a hard hill repeat day on Wednesday. When Wednesday came it looked like rain but I headed to the place where I ride the hill anyway. I got there and discovered my front tire flat. As I changed out the tube a torrential downpour started. So much for riding. That’s why I had two days off.

I felt a little uncomfortable in the saddle yesterday too. Like I hadn’t ridden in a long time and had forgotten how to spin properly. It felt like my feet were in the wrong position the entire time. Granted, I don’t have the best form on a bike but I have a little. I wouldn’t think those kinds of effects would occur after only two days off. And when your uncomfortable it makes the ride feel bad. At least for me it does.

I’ve been on a pretty strict diet lately really watching what I’m eating. The two days I had off I ate OK at breakfast and lunch but ate poorly at dinner. I had some trail mix in the afternoons too which was out of the norm for me. I also wonder if I didn’t drink enough water on those two days off. I always have problems with not drinking enough water. I’m sure the lapse in diet and low water intake could have something to do with making the 20 miles tough.

I’m sure part of the toughness was psychological as well. For those that read my blog and know about White Rock Lake you know that you get every kind of cyclist out there. From big, overweight folks like myself to the uber-athletes riding unbelievable machines. I’m a big guy but I have an attitude that I should be able to do anything and do it as good as someone else my age. Unfortunately that isn’t happening right now (because of my poor fitness) and I think I’m letting the other riders at the lake bother me. I know I can’t hammer it right now with the speed demons but it bothers me that I’m constantly getting passed by them. Granted, I shouldn’t be able to keep up with them right now and may never be able to but it still bothers me. Yesterday was particularly tough because I was passed by a couple of riders that should have never been able to pass me. That stung a little bit.

I will say that there was one particular cyclist that I was just blown away by. I’ve seen this guy before and he epitomizes the look and ability of a pro cyclist. Trim, fit, long legs, unbelievable looking bicycle. He’s hammering it every time I see him. I don’t think it’s a time trial bike but he has the time trial base handlebars with the clip-on aerobars (it seems I’ve seen a lot of those out at the lake lately). The first time I saw him he was doing interval work. He passed me at a pretty good clip and then slowed down (still pulling away from me) and then he sped up again a little while later. Yesterday he was just flying. He must have passed me going close to 30 mph or more. No stopping this time. He just kept going. Amazing really. I think what makes it even cooler is the sound. I know when he’s coming because I can here this deep rhythmic sound as he pedals. It’s got to be a combination of his chain moving over the large chain ring coupled with his tires on the pavement. Maybe you understand what I’m talking about. It just resonates with me when I hear it.

This post actually turned out to be a lot longer than I planned. Am I whining? That’s not my intent. I know you guys/gals don’t want to hear me whine. Just telling you how the ride went and why I think it felt tough.

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Dealing With Canis Lupus Bitemus Cyclist

Posted by Bryan on Apr 21, 2009 in Blog, Uncategorized | 6 comments

On a recent training ride I had to deal with an animal that likes to prey on the cyclist. They sometimes lay in wait until you are on them and then they spring their trap. Other times they like to sneak up on you while you’re enjoying a nice leisurely ride. Other times they try and intimidate you by mounting a full-on charge straight at you hoping you’ll buckle to your fear and be an easy meal. These animals are often found on the rural roads that cyclist sometimes ride on. Also called Redneckus Maximus country. The animal I’m talking about is, of course, the Canis Lupus Bitemus Cyclist. The dog.

Because I’ve been doing most of my riding within the city limits in Jacksonville and Dallas I’ve never had to deal with these pesky critters. My ride this past weekend though was on a rural road with several dogs. I was totally unprepared to deal with it. My lack of preparation, and a comment by one of my readers, made me start thinking about how to deal with the canine while out cycling. Here’s a few things I came up with:

1. Practice your sprinting skills. If you’re like me you probably need a lot of practice in this area anyway. In fact, I have no sprinting skills whatsoever. So any practice I can get is good. This method only works though if the dog in question has a maximum speed less than your sprinting speed, you have a good head start, and/or your sprint endurance is greater than the dogs. From my experience this past weekend this method can work pretty good for the ankle biter version of the canine species; the terrier, schnauzer, chihuahua, etc. You know. Dogs with short little legs. If it is indeed a chihuahua you might try tossing it that bean burrito you have stuffed in your jersey pocket.

2. Give the dog a little shout out. I’m not talking about screaming like a little girl although some of you may feel like doing that. I almost did it last weekend when that huge pit bull (a.k.a. Fast Eddie from American Flyers) charged me. I’m talking about a well-timed shout at the dog using a phrase the attacking dog may hear at home. Mike suggested this method with a shout of, “Get off the couch!” and says he’s used it with good success. Other variations I could think of are, “Get out of the trash!”, “Leave the cat alone!”, or the all-time classic, “Get off my leg!” I wonder if brandishing a rolled up newspaper would have the same effect?

3. Practice your anti-mugger skills. No, I don’t want you throw your wallet at the dog. There are several dog repellent sprays on the market that could easily be carried in a jersey pocket. One of the ones I found is called Halt! Apparently the postal service has been using this stuff since 1966. It’s made of naturally occurring pepper extracts that cause extreme discomfort to the attacking dog. The can is pressurized and accurate up to 10 feet. I believe Nashbar sells a clip so you can mount a can on your handlebars. Just be careful not to spray yourself, or another rider, when sprinting for the town sign.

4. Talk to the dog’s owner. If you are repeatedly attacked by a particular dog you should either stop carrying beef jerky in your pocket or have a talk with the owner. This is much easier said than done especially if the dog in question won’t let you in the yard. You have a right to the road though and shouldn’t have to deal with a nuisance dog just waiting knock you off your bike which could get you sent to the hospital.

I know there are some other things you could do so I welcome your comments and suggestions.

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Hilly Loop Through Lake Murray State Park

Posted by Bryan on Apr 19, 2009 in Blog, My Rides | 14 comments

This weekend I drove up to my Mom’s in Oklahoma and took my bike so I could get a good ride in on Saturday. The weather didn’t cooperate as early as I wanted it to on Saturday so I took the opportunity to take care of some much neglected bicycle maintenance. I really wanted to try and find out what that creaking noise was that’s been bothering me lately.

I took my bike into my Dad’s garage and set about cleaning my rims of brake pad build up. While cleaning the rims I decided to go ahead and have a look at the front hub so I disassembled it and pulled the bearings out. The bearings looked good, as did the races, so I re-greased everything and put it back together.

I put my rear wheel up on the workbench to have a good look at it because I was still convinced the phantom creaking noise was coming from it – even after having the rear hub overhauled and a spoke replaced. After looking it over I determined that I had several spokes on the cassette side that appeared loose. Because the creaking noise I was hearing had a spoke-like twang to it I thought this could be the problem. I spent several minutes tightening spokes and making sure the rim was still true. A ride later would tell me if this fixed it or not.

Next I spent about 15 or 20 minutes roughing up the brake pads, adjusting the rear brake and securing my computer sensor to the front fork a little better. I reassembled my bike and decided to go out for a ride.

The night before I had scouted a couple of areas to ride. No matter where I rode there was going to be hills involved. I had forgotten how many there were around. The route I decided to take would give me a 15 mile loop but would be very, very hilly. In fact, I don’t ever recall being on the road I rode my bike on except for the night before when scouting it out. I was actually kinda worried about it because it had some significant hills. Short, long, rolling and steep. No way to find out except to ride.

I started out slow to make sure everything was working OK on the bike. Everything seemed in order. And guess what. No creaking noise. I was very happy. The air was still a little damp, as were the roads, from some on-and-off again mist from earlier in the morning. Not enough water to worry about though. From my Mom’s house it was about two miles to the start of the really hilly section. I need to come up with a name for it besides “really hilly section”.

Once I started on it I settled into a rhythm and just kept on cranking it. It was hard but I never came to a point where I might need to get off and walk. Several of the hills were multi-grade where they would either start or finish at a different grade. That made it interesting and made me do quite a bit of shifting. I tried to snap a pic of the hills with my phone but it didn’t turn out good.

The steepest hill was the last hill of the road. It wouldn’t be right any other way would it? I managed to get to the top of the hill and started coasting the half-mile or so to a stop sign. As I’m coasting I swear I hear a bicycle coming up on me. I turn around and there’s nobody there. A few hundred feet later I hear the sound again but there’s still nobody back there. A few seconds later I find out what the noise is. It’s a little ankle biter dog that’s apparently been chasing me while I’ve been coasting since cresting the hill. The sound I was hearing was his nails on the asphalt. Anyway, he gets to about three feet from me and just lets go barking. It scares me half-to-death and I’m lucky I don’t dump my bike. Another quick look reveals another small dog that’s just joined the chase. I shift up couple of gears and put on a little speed to leave them behind. They quickly get tired and I head down to the stop sign.

At the stop sign I could turn right and make a loop back home. It’s got an epic hill on it that I remember from the night before but the road is in bad shape. I decide to turn left and about 30 seconds later I wonder if it was a bad decision. Just after making the left turn I glance over to my left and there’s a huge pit bull bearing down on me at full speed from his yard. I immediately say, “Oh crap!” and get out of the saddle to start cranking it. Luck was on my side though because as he gets to the fence line at the end of the driveway he stops and just watches me ride on by. Thank God.

I didn’t drive this section the night before but I have kind of an idea where I’ll end up. My navigation skills were verified when I saw the Lake Murray State Park golf course on my left. I see a road up ahead and know where I’m at. I’m coasting down to the stop sign and see a few cows along the fence line to my right. Then I have to stop and have a second look. Sure enough, two of the animals standing there are Llamas. I turn around to have a better look and we give each other a good stare down. I think they wanted me to give’em something to eat. I took the pic to the right with my phone.

I turned left at the stop sign and took the road through Lake Murray State Park back towards my Mom’s house. All-in-all it was a great ride. I started later than I wanted but traffic wasn’t too bad. If I had ridden at about 3 hours earlier like I wanted to there’s probably a good chance I wouldn’t have seen any cars. When I got home I checked my computer. 15 miles in one hour. That sounds really good for me but it’s kind of deceiving. One some of those hills I was going pretty slow. On the downhills though I was able to speed along pretty good. One of the downhill sections I manged 31.5 mph and I wasn’t even tucked for aerodynamics. Not that you could make a dump truck aerodynamic.

I felt really, really good on the bike today. It could have been because of me doing the work I did before riding and it gave me a secure feeling. It may also mean that I’m settling back onto the bike after having a layoff for so long. My rear didn’t seem to bother me much afterwards which was nice. I probably could have ridden another loop but with it approaching noon I didn’t want to deal with the traffic. Maybe next time.

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Ten Awesome Looking Time Trial Bicycles

Posted by Bryan on Apr 7, 2009 in Blog, Cool Bicycles | 4 comments

When it comes to looks and style, it’s hard to beat the coolness factor of time trial bicycles. Built for speed, they employ aerodynamic designs that have been developed over years of testing and racing. Riders are fitted to their time trial bikes in order to transfer the maximum amount of energy as possible from their bodies to the bike. These specialty bikes also use cutting edge materials like titanium and carbon fiber in order to make them as light as possible.

I’ve collected some images of trial bike bikes that possess the ability to not only be fast but look fast.

This is a repeat of the Trek Equinox above but I’ve included it because of the awesome paint scheme that was specially done for Lance Armstrong’s comeback to professional cycling. The 1274 signifies the number of days that have elapsed since his last race and his return at the Tour Down Under this year.

This is certainly not an all inclusive list. I’m sure there are others out there that could have made this list but just weren’t included. My criteria for this list were that they have the coolness factor and aren’t prototypes. If you have a recommendation for the list please include it in the comments.

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I am Heft On Wheels (at least right now)

Posted by Bryan on Apr 6, 2009 in Blog, Motivation | 1 comment

I did a book review of Heft On Wheels by Mike Magnuson soon after I started Biking To Live. If you haven’t read it you should. It’s a great read. You can find it on Amazon here.

Over the last couple of weeks I had the desire to go back and read Heft On Wheels by Mike Magnuson again. I had let someone borrow mine and never got it back so I went and bought another copy. In fact, I finished it last week and have started it again. Why am I so interested in his story? For one thing it’s inspirational reading about a 255 pound overweight, chain-smoking, borderline alcoholic who turns his life around with a bicycle. Second, I can relate. The more I payed attention to it I started to notice a lot of parallels between Mike and myself. They are:

1. I’ve always ridden a bike. I can always remember having a bicycle of one type or another and riding it everywhere. One of the first ones I remember was silver and had a banana seat. I have no idea what brand it was but that’s not important. We lived sort-of in the country when I was this age and couldn’t ride our bikes really anywhere other than the two acres we lived on. My brother and I tore up those two acres though!

Jumping our bikes was one of our favorite activities. I remember setting up a huge ramp one time using an old basketball backboard that was actually half a sheet of plywood. This jump in particular stands out because I vividly remember failing to get enough speed on the approach and basically tumbling over the end of the ramp. I had a pretty nasty bruise from taking the end of the handlebars in the stomach but other than that escaped injury. I’m really surprised we didn’t seriously injure ourselves.

When I was 10 we moved to the city and we continued riding our bikes. We had a friend whose dad had collected a bunch of old junk bicycles and we would mix and match parts to make the ultimate machines. That’s where I cut my teeth on working on my bikes.

We would rides our bikes everywhere. To the local fishing hole, downtown, going to the store for my parents, etc. Imagine a little kid riding back from the grocery store with shopping bags hanging from the handlebars. That would be me on many occasion.

When I was in high school the Youth Director at my Church and I would ride our bikes across town to a friends house where we would stash our bikes and then run back home. Kind of like a duathlon. The next day we would run to our bikes and then ride home. It was about a five mile trip one-way.

2. I’ve always liked watching the professional bicycle racers on TV. Ever since I can remember I’ve watched the Tour De France. I remember trying to catch bits and pieces of it on Wide World of Sports back when Lemond was America’s only hope in the race. He was the sports figure I looked up to back then. Can’t say that I agree with him now-a-days but he helped shape my love for the sport of cycling. I remember when Lance Armstrong first started riding in the TDF and when he abandoned the race before being diagnosed with Cancer. I watched intently as Miguel Indurain won his five Tour de France races followed by Lance. Like Mike I received all the popular catalogs (Nashbar, Performance, and Colorado Cyclist) and drooled over them. Man I loved cycling.

3. When I joined the military right after high school I forgot about cycling. I’d still catch it once in a while on TV and always looked forward to July but I wasn’t able to ride again for a while. While on deployments overseas I had always hoped to be able to be in France in July and maybe catch a stage in person. That never happened though.

Then in 1994 I had the opportunity to do a bicycle ride from Connecticut to Ohio to help raise money for the children’s hospital in Akron. I jumped at the opportunity and bought my first true road bike. The Cannondale R-300 that I still ride today. I didn’t know much about serious road bikes at the time and probably didn’t get as good a bike as I should have. I really enjoyed that bike ride. I trained by myself for it by riding to and from work. Doing some long rides on the weekends and so on. Looking back I’m surprised we didn’t have any group rides.

4. I forgot about cycling again. After that trip to Ohio my life got busy again after being selected for Officer Candidate School and I moved quite a few times again. I tell myself that I had no time to ride but I drug that bike around with me everywhere. I kept it indoors so it wouldn’t feel the effects of weather (often suffering the wrath of my wife). I would see it all the time and it would never dawn on me that I could use it to help me with my weight problem. That’s probably not true though. I knew it could help me but I was just too lazy to use it. Every once in a while I would get the urge to ride and would drag it out for a spin or two. I even had it overhauled once or twice in anticipation putting in some epic time but I failed to follow through.

5. I liked to eat. I liked food and it liked me. Too much in fact. Super-sized fast food meals were a staple in my diet and were essentially another food group for me. I knew it was bad but didn’t care. I drank way too many soft drinks. I would eventually cut over to diet drinks but are they really that much better? How many people do you see order the double quarter-pounder with cheese, super-sized, with a diet coke? That was me. Ironic isn’t it? My love of food eventually cost me dearly but that’s another story for another time.

6. I knew I had a problem. Unlike Mike I don’t have an alcohol or smoking problem. Never did. The food though we have in common and it was going to kill me. After seeing my dad have a heart attack at an early age I should have taken the hint then. I was too stupid to do anything about it. Not until about a year ago when I started this blog. The last six months though were rough, especially with Dad passing, and I think I’ve finally started to get the message. It’s a shame it takes stuff like that to make us listen.

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