Dawn Patrols

The first of the season’s Dawn Patrols is coming up fast. (Look for details at the end of this post.) I get asked about these. “Why go riding so early?” is the most common question.

The History: Some years ago, when I started riding brevets, I realized that, on the longer events, I’d be riding at night, and riding when fatigued or sleep deprived. I felt the need to simulate this condition in training. So I started getting up stupid early, and going out to do some moderately long rides. Sunday morning worked best for this, although I did these on other days too.

I found some interesting things. It’s amazingly quiet out at that time of the night. Night riding has its own challenges, and rewards. Traffic wasn’t a major issue. In fact, traffic was all but non-existent! Cool.

I don’t know when I started thinking of these as “Dawn Patrols.” The phrase comes from World War I, when flyers would rise before dawn, and take off into the early dusk, to be able to patrol the skies as the sun rose. And of course there’s Snoopy and the Red Baron, doing their Dawn Patrol bit.

At any rate, I was out riding in the small hours of the morning, and turning toward home, just about dawn. That sets the stage.

I talked about what I was doing with some friends, and to my surprise, several expressed an interest in doing this kind of ride with me. Thus was born the, “Dawn Patrol.” I’ve done these every winter since.

There is not a real, repetitive schedule to the rides. I try to get one or two in each month. As the season progresses, the rides start earlier. The idea is to become accustomed to riding for long periods of time, in the cold and dark. It works. And in the words of the sage Bobke, “We’re getting tough and buildin’ character.”

Over the years a format has grown up. We meet either in Fayetteville, or Peachtree City, in the parking lot of a pancake restaurant. We go out and ride in the night. At the beginning of each ride, we ride someplace that one would ordinarily avoid. We can do GA-54, right through PTC, for instance. There is no traffic! The centers of Tyrone, Palmetto, Fayetteville, and Peachtree City are magical in the Christmas season. We stop somewhere around dawn at some place where we can get some coffee. Then we ride back to the start. The post ride pancake breakfast is entirely optional, but usually well attended.

Riding pace is interesting. Night group rides tend to be group rides. That is, the group tends to stay together for safety and mutual support. The pace is strong enough to stay warm, but not overly vigorous. We don’t leave stragglers behind. We have, over the years, dropped a couple of folks off early. The structure of the rides is loose enough to allow this. No one rides as fast at night, and no one rides as fast in cold weather. These tend to be base building rides. They are good sociable rides. We tend to have lots of camaraderie, along with occasional bouts of mutual survival work.

Along the way, we’ve seen it all. Occasionally we have sudden turns in the weather, requiring an abrupt change of plans and routing. Usually, we end up cancelling out on at least one of these every Winter. That last is because it’s simply too cold to attempt.

What should one expect from a Dawn Patrol? The rides will get progressively longer as we go through the Winter. The idea is to ride so that we reach a convenient coffee stop at just about dawn. We stop for coffee, and then ride another hour or so to get back to the start. Consider, dawn will be between 07:00 and 07:30. The start times are posted, so you can figure about how long each ride is. Note that I’m doing this in terms of time and not mileage. Each route will be different. Expect to deal with differing road conditions, from four-lane highway, to occasional stretches without pavement. Some of the routes have us doing the last bit of return on Peachtree City’s recreational paths.

I hope you’ll come out and join us.

Details:

Conditions: Ride goes at any temp above 20 degrees F, and all weather. (Yes, we’re still doing it if it snows.)

Pace: Night Time Touring, approx 13 mph avg.

Requirements: This is serious night riding. Helmets, strong headlights, good strong taillights, reflective vests or sashes, reflective ankle bands are required. (Additional reflective and lighting equipment is a good idea.)

Strong Suggestion: Gear up as if you were on a tour and self-supporting.

Dates/Locations:

• 6 Dec. 05:00 Fayetteville IHOP parking lot.
• 17 Jan. 04:30 PTC IHOP
• 7 Feb. 04:00 Fayetteville IHOP
• 28 Feb. 04:00 PTC IHOP

Friday Follies ~~ The Big Jump

There are three guys I go mountain biking with. Well, in truth, I sometimes go mountain biking, and I’ve been known to go with a lot of different people. But in this instance, I’m referring to one of those collections of old friends. The four of us have known each other for a long time. Over the years, we’ve done a lot of things together. We’ll call the guys Gil, BB, and Pete. (Names changed. If this is about you, you’ll know who you are.)

The four of us have that kind of long lasting friendship that travels well through time. When we manage to get together, we are all right back where we started, laughing and joking as if only a day had passed since our last meeting.

Some years ago, I introduced each of the other three to the sport of off road bicycling. That’s not quite correct. Gil “discovered” mountain bikes on his own. He just hadn’t actually taken his into the woods yet. BB went once with Gil and me, and he was hooked. Pete was the hold out.

Like me, Pete had a motorcycling back ground, but his was all road, and totally crazy. I’d done a fair share of off road motor cycling. I’d also always been willing to let Pete lead on the road. In addition to crazy, he was good. He had the reflexes and the grace of the natural athlete. On more than one occasion this saved him. But the aging process took a toll on my friend, as it does on all of us.

It was one of those weekends. The weather was nearly perfect. It was a crisp mid-Fall day. The four of us had met in the mountains. We were going to ride this incredible trail I’d heard about. None of us had ever been on this one. According to the locals it was an amazing ride.

The thing turned out to be every bit as good as I’d heard. It was difficult to find the trail head. The first couple of miles were gentle climbing up an abandoned fire road. As we progressed, the road got narrower and trickier. There was some comment made about it not being single track, and lacking challenge and fun factor. That was before we came to the “turn off.”

As the locals had promised, there was a sign, a crude hand lettered one, nailed to a tree. We turned, and were instantly climbing some of the trickiest single track I’d ever seen. Inside of a half mile the trail had turned into a goat path up the side of a steep ravine. Another mile of hard technical climbing, and we were riding along a ledge, sheer rock face on the right, and a drop of several hundred feet on the left. We crested the ridgeline, and could see, perhaps a quarter mile of twisting, winding desecent ahead.

Pete was not with us. We’d dropped him. Gil, BB, and I were all pretty winded from the long tough climb. We waited for Pete. This was amazing country. It was old growth forest, lots of huge hardwoods, with almost no undergrowth. Somehow this area had been spared by the clear cutting of the timber companies in the early part of the last century.

Pete arrived, gasping for breath. By that time, we other three had pretty much recovered, so we pushed off. Guys are not always kind to each other. Pete followed, a look of grim determination on his face.

The descent was fast and somewhat technical, but not too challenging. We cooked down the side of the mountain. I almost lost it at a deep gully crossing. That was where Gil and BB passed me, and Pete almost caught up to me. We hit the bottom of the descent and went charging through some fun sections along a creek bed. Then the trail started climbing the next ridge.

This climb wasn’t as steep as the previous one, nor quite as harrowing, but it was steep, and actually a bit more technical. It also wasn’t as long as the first big climb. We came to the top, with Pete barely in sight behind us.

We’d arrived at a sort of almost plateau. The land sloped gently down into denser woods. We didn’t wait for Pete, but just pushed off and went for it.

The trail got faster, the descent steeper. We were soon playing tag with a creek bed, with the sides of the mountains closing in around us. Then we came to it.

After a short fast downhill, the trial twisted and climbed, it topped quickly and turned back down toward the stream. There was a sharp right turn at the stream bank, a veer back into the woods, still going slightly downhill, a fast wide left, and…

One of the first and best rules of trail riding is, “If you can’t see where you are going, walk it first.” A good corollary to this is, “If you don’t know the trail, stay slow enough to allow to react to surprises.” A second rule should be, “Never let ego connect with over-confidence.”

I was in the lead. The trail was fast, but sightlines were limited. I came around a sharp bend, just at the ragged edge of traction and saw it. There was an absolutely huge tree across the trail. No way I was clearing that! I braked hard and veered off the trail to the side, calling out, “Trouble!” Gil, right behind me, saw the same thing, and veered off to the left, stopping hard. BB had heard my warning, and slowed easily as he came out of the turn. The three of us stared at the obstruction.

The tree had apparently fallen some time ago. It was possible to see some daylight underneath it, and the trail was almost gone there. On examination, we could see where riders dismounted, and clambered over the thing. The top of it was a good four and a half feet above the trail.

There are some folks who can jump a beast like that. On examination, I could see some chain ring marks on the top of the log. Not many. And here came Pete, absolutely screaming around the bend.

My friend didn’t hesitate, didn’t even hint at slowing down. He charged right at it. He was going to try to jump it! Incredible!

Pete got the bike off the ground, but way too late, and no where near far enough. The front wheel of the bike hit the log… hard. The impact was about half way up the log face. Pete left the bike, assuming a perfect superman pose, in mid air. He flew clear, just above the log.

From our perspective, it appeared as if Pete traveled horizontally past the log, then stopped in mid flight, and simply went… straight down! There was a thump, a muflled “Oof!” and a puff of dust rose from behind the log.

At that point, Gil, BB, and I all fell down on the ground laughing. I think it occurred to all of us that our friend just might have been hurt, but we could not stop laughing.

Eventually, we managed to master ourselves. We all walked toward the log. That was when Pete’s face appeared from behind the fallen tree. He sort of peeked over it at us, a bewildered and pained expression on his face.

The exploration was over for the day. Pete’s front wheel was well and truly tacoed. I managed to straighten it enough to be ride-able. Barely ride-able, and then only with the front brake disconnected. Pete was pretty banged up. Nothing serious, bruises and a few abrasions, enough to cause one to slow down a good bit.

We made it back to the trail head. It took forever, but…

As we were loading the bikes on the cars, BB came over to me and said, “You know? That place where Pete landed? That was just full of poison ivy.”

Thursday Thoughts ~~ Thanks Giving

Thank you all for riding and being my friends.

Thanks be to the founders of our country.

Thanks for health and time.

Thanks to all soldiers, sailors, and airmen.

Thanks to those who have gone before, to pave the way.

It’s a thought.

The Count Down

It’s exactly one month until Christmas. That would give a lot of writers an automatic bit of “column fodder.” But that isn’t the Count Down I’m writing about. This is the time of year when I get very intent about next year.

Oddly, this is the time of year when all the other cyclists seem to migrate, along with the last of the songbirds, to somewhere else for the Winter. I stop seeing other riders while I am out there.

Consider this timeline:

• 15 days until the first Dawn Patrol
• 26 days until Winter begins
• 36 days until the Annual Penance 100+
• 53 days until the second Dawn Patrol
• 71 days until Mid-Winter
• 74 days until the third Dawn Patrol
• 95 days until the fourth Dawn Patrol
• 102 days until the last Dawn Patrol
• 108 days until Daylight Saving Time begins
• 116 days until Spring begins
• 120 days until the last Spin Class
• 207 days until Summer begins

Along the way to this we have twice weekly Spin Classes, Novice Road rides on the second Sunday of each month, Christmas Lights rides, Nights Under Lights Rides, Audax Tune Ups, the Annual Audax Ride, and any number of other daily and weekly markers. Each and every one of these is an opportunity to improve fitness, polish skills, make friends, ride with friends, and enjoy our world.

For some reason, the coming time of cold and dark is easier for me, if I count down to the warm times, if I have a calendar, and specific tasks. I know, rationally, that I can not affect the passage of the seasons, but there is that part which is comforted and reassured by the actions. It is as if, I do the things that will bring Spring, that will move the days along. Regardless, the training has begun in earnest, and the days, well filled, pass quickly.

The Trip That Didn’t Happen

I’m fairly “weather tolerant.” I will ride in a lot of conditions. That said, I bailed on this past weekend’s North Triple Gap Ride. So did everyone else. Why? The weather stank. It was cold, very rainy, and windy. I did go out and ride on Sunday afternoon. Again, the weather stank, but at least it was local, and not mountainous.

This seems to happen to me about every other year. I’ll attempt a trip to the southern Smokies just a bit too late, or too early. The ride gets cancelled.

I love riding up there, but weather is a serious consideration. There was one year when I pushed things a bit too far. I got caught, in what is sometimes called a “wintery mix.” I was climbing Wolf Pen Gap, in sleet, ice, and a bit of freezing rain. I won’t bore you with details, but I got out, and I was lucky to do so.

I often wish I was closer to the mountains. The problem is that it’s over 100 miles to Helen, GA. About a third of the roads to get there are kind of poor. I’m not happy about the thought of possibly getting into trouble that far from home. I’m even less happy about the risk of getting someone else into that kind of predicament.

I urge folks, always make your own decision. I do tend to push for “when in doubt, go.” But considered caution should be the watchword. Safety first.

There will be other days, and other rides. We will go north and do the “North Triple,” but it will have to wait until next year.

Sigh.

Gifting and Cyclists:

“My (chose one: friend, husband, brother, etc.) is a big bicycle rider. They just love to ride that bike. I’m trying to get them something they will like for Christmas, but I really don’t know what to do.”

That, good readers, is what I hear a lot this time of year. If you’ve been in the sport for a while, your friends and loved ones haven’t a clue what to do for you. For that matter, if you are new to it all, the same is true, and you probably don’t have all that clear an idea either.

So here’s the idea. Below you will find some cool stuff for cyclists, in varying price ranges. Just print this post out, underline or circle the items you are most interested in, and “accidentally” leave it out where your friends and family will find it. That covers hinting.

Alternatively, you could use this to identify useful or thoughtful gifts for various cyclists on your list. Note: For some of these items, it will help if you find out a bit about your target. Get clothing sizes, riding habits, and bicycle details, first! With just a bit of thought, and some applied sneakiness, it’s possible to find out almost all of this stuff, and it’s kind of fun too!

Fill in appropriate sizes below:

Shoe size: _______________________

Pants size: _______________________

Shirt size: _______________________

Hat size or measurement around the brow in inches: _______________________

Glove size: _______________________

Bicycle:

Color of bike: _______________________

Bike type (Make & model): _______________________

Size (measure from the middle of the center of the bottom of the frame to the center of the top tube): _______________________

Wheel size (on side of tire): _______________________

Tire Size (on side of tire)

Note: There are a lot of different kinds of tire sizes. Be prepared to note this exactly. For instance 26 X 1.5 is not the same as 26 X 1 ½. If you are not sure, just copy down all the numbers on the sidewall of the tire, in exact order. The folks at the bike shop are used to handling this.

Cassette (on rear wheel):

Number of cogs: _______________________

Number of teeth on largest cog: _______________________

Number of teeth on smallest cog: _______________________

Crankset (where the pedals are):

Number of gears: _______________________

Number of teeth on big gear: _______________________

Number of teeth on middle or small gear: _______________________

Number of teeth on smallest gear: _______________________

Happy hinting, and happy shopping!

$10 to $100

20 gel packs

Arm Warmers

Bar tape and installation

Bar tape or grips

Basic Tune up

Beanie or balaclava

Behind the seat bottle cage

Bell

Bike computer

Bike lock

Bike tune up

Bottle of chain lube

Chain (check number of gears on the back wheel)

CO2 inflator

Cycling Cap

Fayette Bike for Life membership

Fenders (check bike type and wheel size)

Frame pump

Full finger mtb gloves

Gloves, summer

Gloves, winter

Head band light

Head light

Hydration back pack

Jacket, cold weather

Jacket, Rain

Jacket, wind

Jersey, summer

Jersey, summer

Jersey, tri-sport

Jersey, winter

Knee warmers

Leg Warmers

Minor tune up

Mirror for bike

Mirror for eyeglasses

Multi-tool

Multi-tool, Small

Package of 2 shift cables, 2 brake cables, housings for both

Rack (to mount on the bike)

Reflective ankle bands

Reflective vest

Shorts

Shorts, baggy

Simple Green bike cleaner

Skull cap

Socks, summer

Socks, wool

Speed Clean degreaser

Sun Glasses

Swim kick board

Tail light, good and strong

Tire levers

Tires, Pair of touring road

Tires, road, high performance (check wheel size)

Tube patch kit

Tune up maintenance class

Under seat bag, large

Under seat bag, small

Water bottles

Water bottles, insulated

$100 to $150

Basic tune up

Bicycle computer with cadence feature

Bike computer (wired)

Bike maintenance class

Combine two or three items from above list

FitLab AT testing session www.fitlabinc.com

Frame pump

Full season Bicycles Unlimited Spin Class membership

Gift Certificate at Bicycles Unlimited

Good warm riding jacket

Heart rate monitor

Helmet

Jersey

Messenger bag

Nice helmet

Panniers

Professional Bike Fitting

Rain jacket

Set of high quality tires

Shorts

Winter tights

$150 to $300

Bicycle computer with cadence feature

Clip on aerobars

Clipless pedals

Excellent helmet

FitLab AT testing session www.fitlabinc.com

Full tear down & overhaul tune up

Good rechargeable light set

Heart rate monitor

Helmet, a really nice one

High end sun glasses

MTB shoes

Professional bike fitting

Roadie shoes

Rollers, indoor training

Set of shorts, jersey, and wind jacket

Shorts

Stationary trainer

Training wheelset

Tri-shoes (for bike)

Tri-shorts

Tune up, tear down and over haul type

Very good light set

Wetsuit (do this with a gift certificate, fit is critical)

XTR mountain bike pedals

$300 to $500

Complete bicycle maintenance tool kit

Compu-Trainer

Entry level mountain bike

Enter them in one of the MS 150 charity rides

GPS based cycle computer with HR monitor and computer download

Hard sided bicycle travel case

New Drive Line (chain, cassette, chain rings)(check number of gears on rear wheel)

Road shoes (check pedal type)

Set of training wheels, complete with cassette and tires

Shimano Dura Ace road pedals

Training wheel set with cassette, and training tires (check wheel size and the number & size of gears on rear wheel)

Winter cycling boots

$500 and up

Complete SRAM driveline, shifter, crankset, and brakes upgrade

Entry level road bike to use as a trainer & rain bike

Fixed gear or “track” bike ($700 to $2,000)

Full and complete home shop tool set (approx $1,000)

Loaded Touring Bike ($3,000 to $5,000)

Mid level road bike to use as trainer & rain bike (approx $1000)

Mountain bike, Absolute Killer type ($3,000 and up)

New commuter hybrid or road bike

Nicer Mountain bike (approx $500 to $800)

Power meter

Road bike, very very good ($3,000 & up)

Very good race wheel set

Sky’s the limit!

Trip to see Tour de France

New Orbea Orca, with full Dura Ace group

All expense paid trip to Durango, or Moab, including bike rental and guide

Very High end racing bike ($8,000 & up)

New Orbea Time Trial bike

A wine country tour in Tuscany

A guided and supported tour in Provence, France

A guided and supported tour across the US

Friday Follies ~~ The Long Chase

Long rides, such as brevets, tend to spread riders out. The small differences in ability and speed can amount to huge distances over the course of a long ride. Let’s say you average just 0.3 mph faster than me. If we are riding the same course, after three hours, you will be most of a mile ahead of me. Just about anywhere east of the Mississippi that means you will be completely out of sight.

Strange things happen on a long ride. Take the example above. I’m chugging along, aware that you are somewhere ahead of me, likely a long way ahead, since I haven’t seen you in over two hours. Now suppose you suddenly feel a desperate need to take a “nature break.” You pull off the road, lean your bike against a tree, and discretely slip into the bushes. I’m chugging along at an average of, say, 15 mph. That means I will cover the 0.9 miles between us in three minutes and 36 seconds. If you are off the bike for a total of seven minutes, I’ve just gotten far enough down the road so that you won’t catch me for another three hours.

Now, let’s suppose that it’s late in the day. I know we are going to be riding into the night, and I would like for us to be together to share lights and companionship in the coming darkness. So I increase my speed. I’m using a lot of effort to try and catch you, but I don’t know that you are now behind me.

You have reached a similar conclusion, and you think that I am still “back there somewhere.” So you slow down to let me catch up. Oops!

A few years back, I was riding a brevet in the Florida panhandle. The route went into southern Alabama. The road was a series of long, very low rollers. It was a beautiful day. This was a 200K, one of the shorter brevets, and I expected to do it well before dark, so I was riding it on my light and fast bike. I was feeling good and a bit frisky.

After the first control stop, I got in with a group. We were riding well, pacelining, exchanging leads often enough. Each of us took a few minutes on the front. The group was really cooking right along. It came to be my turn to lead, just as the route turned from heading west, to a south bound road. The road character changed. Suddenly the “rollers” were a bit shorter, and a lot steeper. (Bear in mind, most of my companions were Florida riders, and not used to hill work.) We had also picked up a stiff headwind. I’m a fairly large guy. Folks like to draft me in the wind. I didn’t want to let the group down. I wanted to keep up the pace we’d established.

As chance would have it, the second biggest rider in the group was right behind me. I couldn’t see around him. He was right on my wheel, so I figured the whole group was back there. I watched my computer, and focused on keeping up the pace.

I thought things were going well. I was getting a bit tired, but there was one more big hill ahead, and I didn’t want to hand off the lead with that ahead. I figured I’d give folks the courtesy of a lead exchange on the downhill side, so I redoubled my efforts to keep the pace up.

At the top of the hill I signaled I was pulling off, and moved out to the side. That was when I was able to see the road behind well for the first time in quite a while. The group was nowhere around! I looked farther back. They were broken into a very loose collection of stragglers, and were just then topping the previous hill, over a half mile back! Yikes! I’d cracked the group. Completely unintentionally. I felt like a complete jerk.

I spent the next half hour dropping all the way back and collecting everyone in the group, pulling them up to each other, and re-establishing the unit. That was tiring.

We hit the lunch stop just after I’d gotten us all back together. I’d like to think that what happened next was just chance. The group left the stop while I was inside the store, in the restroom. I left the lunch controle alone.

As I rode through the afternoon, I was looking for some company. I’m nearsighted. I can’t resolve objects at a distance well. This is especially true of objects at a distance in my mirror.

The route flattened out. The afternoon sun shone down and the glare was pretty bright. I thought I saw another rider, well out ahead of me. At almost the same time I spotted a small dark shape at the edge of the road, well behind me. (Remember, this is rural north Forida.) I thought to increase my speed slightly and maybe catch up to that rider ahead. I reasoned, I could talk to him or her, and maybe persuade them to have us slow and let that following rider join up.

I’d seem to be gaining on that distant rider a bit. Then I’d look down at my computer, or check my cue sheet and cross-check it with my GPS. Each time, when I looked up, that rider was again off in the distance. I never seemed to get closer than about 0.1 mile, or farther back than about a quarter mile. The rider behind seemed to be doing about the same.

Late in the day, I reached a decision. “To heck with that guy ahead!” I thought. I’m going to stop and wait for the one behind me. I slowed the bike to a stop and put a foot down. As I did, I watched that small dark shape off in the forward distance, expecting it to rapidly disappear. It didn’t. I checked the following rider. He seemed to be stopped too! What was going on here?

After a few minutes of standing, waiting for the other two to make a move, I decided to turn around and ride back to the follower. I did so, keeping a careful eye on that shape. I thought, “This way I will be certain to connect with at least one of these guys!” As I drew closer I came to a sudden realization. That “following rider,” now resolving into clarity as the distance lessened, was not a rider. It was a mail box! And sure enough, there, farther back down the road, was another small, dark, indistinct shape. Just in front of the next farmstead back. I turned around, facing again in my direction of travel. The place where I’d stopped, in front of a small house, had a shape standing on it. That shape could be another rider, or another mail box. I rode back to my turn around point, eyes fixed on that shape. Mailbox. And there, off in the distance ahead? That “leading rider” was still there, just in front of the next house. I fixed my eyes firmly on that shape and rode up to it, never taking my eyes from it. And it was… You guessed it. A mail box. I’d spent several hours of the afternoon, pursuing and being pursued by, rural mailboxes.

Late in the afternoon, I stopped at the last on-course-controle. I was tired from the day’s shenanigans. It was only 10 more miles to the end of the route. I had over three hours to complete the trip. I decided to avail myself of the opportunity, and take a good long rest and re-hydration break. While I was sitting there, eating, drinking, and resting up, an odd thing happened. The group rode up. Yes, the same group that had left me at the lunch stop. They had made a wrong turn, and added a good 10 or 12 miles to their ride.

They were happy to let me take the lead to the end of the course. I did it slower. Turns out I’m a better navigator than they were, and besides, there weren’t any hills to speak of in that last ten miles.

Thursday Thoughts ~~ Some Odd Numbers

Stay with this to the end. There’s a surprise and a bit of a moral there.

Necessary Disclaimer: I’m going to have to use some approximate numbers here, as I don’t have the documentation handy. I may off a bit, but not significantly.

Bicycle Accidents: A “bicycle injury accident” is one in which the cyclist is injured. All bicycle injury accidents can be divided into two groups. The first group is “Automotive Impacts.” That’s when a cyclist and a car collide. Doesn’t matter who hit who, whose fault it was, or who was moving and who was standing still. If a bike and a car collide it’s in this group. The second group is “All other bicycle injury accidents.” That second group includes anything a rider is doing that results in an injury.

Demographics: Let’s look at number of accidents per thousand riders per year. Let’s break these down demographically.

Cyclists age 5 to 15: In both categories, “Automotive” and “Other” the rate is just under 500 per 1000 per year. Pretty bad, but not unexpected. Kids fall over and run into things.

Cyclists age 15 to 25: The rate here is better, but not good. It’s still just under 400 per 1000 per year in each category.

Club Riders: You would expect things to improve here. These are the enthusiasts, the experts. Well, the number do get better. They are around 250 per 1000 per year in both categories. Better, but still not good.

Cyclists who routinely ride in adverse conditions: The word adverse here refers to situations that are usually considered dangerous or “bad,” rain, heavy traffic, bad road, night time, winter, etc. One could be forgiven for thinking something like, “These guys must be suicidal, and I bet their numbers are the worst of the lot.” In fact, this groups has about 3 impact incidents with automobiles per 1000 per year. They have a bit more than 2 of the “other” category of incidents per 1000 per year.

But these are the clowns who routinely ride in really bad conditions! Oh wait, it gets worse.

Industrial Actuarials (the folks who study the frequency and probability of accidents for industrial insurance carriers) talk about “exposure risk rates.” The idea is, the longer that somebody is exposed to a risk, the more likely it is that the bad thing will happen. Think of Russian roulette. If the idiot who plays it only loads one cylinder, and only tries once, then they have one chance in six of decorating the walls. But if they keep doing it, sooner or later… You get the picture. So the idea is, if you drive a lot, you are more likely to have an accident than someone who doesn’t drive as much. Apply this to cycling. The high mileage cyclist is more risk exposed. So according to this, theory, the incident rate should rise dramatically at some point.

Well, if we looks at those “club riders,” we find they typically ride about 3500 miles per year. Now guess what? That group of riders who routinely ride in adverse conditions? They correlate pretty well with an annual mileage too. Seems the majority of them ride between 8,000 and 10,000 miles per year. So according to the actuaries, they should be 2 to 3 times more likely to be involved in an accident than the club rider.

So they ride in bad conditions and they are more exposed, and yet, they have extremely low accident numbers. What’s going on?

Could it be that cycling is not as dangerous as it might seem? How about this? If somebody does something a lot, and does it carefully and thoughtfully, then they just might get pretty good at it.

Ride more. Ride thoughtfully. Ride your bike to work and the store. You just might live longer.

Food for thought.

The Annual Penance 100 ~~ Tourists, Use it well!

It is now just 43 days until our annual “Penance 100.” On January 1, we will ride from Bicycles Unlimited, down to Pine Mountain, over the mountain, through Warm Springs, and back to Peachtree City. A bit more than a century, done on the first day of the year.

We do this for a lot of reasons. Mostly, it’s an affirmation. We are saying, to ourselves and others, “We are still here!” We are reassuring ourselves that, even with reduced training time, and the recent holiday stress, we are still capable of doing a full century! In the winter yet!

For the savvy cyclist, training has already begun for the coming year. That said, I’ve always thought of the Penance Ride as marking the point where it gets serious. Spring will come, exactly 59 days after the Penance Ride. The “touring season” starts in the early Spring. It’s time!

How can a tourist use the ride as a training activity? If you are brand new to this, the answer is, by just surviving it! If you can complete a 100 miler on the first day of the year, you’re on your way.

For the more experienced rider/tourist, the Penance Ride offers a slightly different marker and opportunity. This is when you bring the good old “touring bike” out, add a bit of cargo, and begin the process of adapting to riding a heavier bike.

An old, and very good tourist’s training trick, is to gradually increase the load carried on the bike, until it is greater than that planned for a full event load out. New Year’s Day is a great time to begin this process. I’m planning ot do this ride on my tourist. It’s my most weather capable bike, and I begin with a fairly light load of clothing, and food for the day.

The heavier bike and load means that I will be riding at a more relaxed pace than some, and thus will be out there a bit longer. I’m not concerned. I have my lights on the bike, and a nice long ride is just what the doctor is ordering.

Are you still wondering if you can do the ride? You can! It’s just over six weeks away. If you are reading this, you were likely in decent shape this summer. Just get on your bike! Do our spin classes. Get in two more short rides each week. Get in one three to four hour ride on the weekends. Do that until the end of December, and you will do fine.

Remember, it’s all mental. Right?

Words on Climbing Technique

With a neat Gaps Ride coming up this Sunday, it’s a good time to do some climbing discussion. Be sure to read to the end, there’s some specific info on mountain climbing there.

I’m almost reluctant to write this. I gain a certain amount of enjoyment from out of climbing well. I’ll hasten to add, I’m not a great climber. I just do pretty good for a guy of my age and size. I often out-climb younger, fitter, and lighter riders. This is due to technique. I’m going to share what I know. Some of you will read and heed this. If you have a better power to weight ratio, and your technique is good, you will get to the top sooner.

Climb types:

Basically there are only two types of climbs; little ones and big ones. The little ones are usually called “hills,” and the big or “prolonged” climbs are mountains. Think in terms of time. If it takes only a few minutes to get to the top, it’s a hill. On the other hand, anything that takes a half an hour or more would qualify as a “prolonged climb.”

In this part of Georgia we have a lot of hills, but they are relatively small hills. There is a problem with this. It tempts us to attack them. After all, we can tolerate going anaerobic for a little while, and then the hill is over. This isn’t the best practice.

We have another odd thing in our local geography. All of our local features are erosion features. This means that, if you are going down hill, you are heading toward water. As soon as you cross the water (stream, river, lake, whatever) you will start climbing again. “Flats” just don’t occur in the bottom. We occasionally get a nice flat stretch on the top of hills.

One of the problems with this kind of terrain is that it tempts us to “build momentum” while going down hill. We do this because, “I need the speed to help me up the next hill.” Wrong! While this technique is intuitive, it does not work. When we attempt this trick we waste a lot of aerobic capacity building speed downhill. We’re actually fighting wind drag here. Then we arrive at the base of the hill with a terrific amount of drag, trying desperately to hold the speed, gasping for breath, and the hill is still ahead. Worse, gravity will decelerate us in very short order.

Secret #1: It’s your average speed that gets you over the hill, not your maximum. “Attacking” the hill at a high speed, will often cause you go anaerobic very early, resulting in a lower average speed. This is why, so often, “the first shall be last.”

Secret #2: Don’t go anaerobic too soon.

Okay, you read and hear this advice a lot. But I don’t often hear anyone explain how to accomplish this wonderful advice. If the hill pushes you into your anaerobic region, then you are not capable of controlling it. To do so, you must learn to be able to ride over any given hill while still fully aerobic. To learn this, one must do a lot of “efficient hill drills.”

Efficient Hill Drills Explained: This can be a really and truly frustrating exercise, but if practiced regularly, it is an extraordinarily rewarding one. You will need your heart rate monitor for this exercise.

First choose a hill, preferably a moderate one. Next select two heart rates. The first rate is about 75% of your Anearobic Threshold. The second rate is about 80% of Anaerobic Threshold. The objective is to climb the hill at 75% or less.

Begin from a standing start at the bottom of the hill. If your HR rises to close to the lower target HR, decrease speed, downshift, reduce cadence if necessary. Work on relaxing your upper body, your face, anything that is not necessary to the process of moving the bike. If your heart rate rises about the target, slow down even more. Should your HR reach the 80% point, you must stop completely, and recover in place until your HR is down to the 65% of AT range. Then continue the climb.

After a few repetitions of this drill, you will begin to learn to ride up the hill more efficiently. Now do two more things. 1) Pick a steeper or longer hill and work on it. 2) Do the same drill on the original hill, but set your heart rates even lower.

As you do these drills, focus on relaxing your body, lowering your breathing rate, shifting smoothly, and picking good low gears that allow you to spin up the hill. Admittedly, this is not the most exciting thing you will ever do on a bike, but it makes you a better rider.

Secret #3: Wait for it! As you approach a hill, let the hill come to you. Shift down keep your pedal effort light, and shift down early. When your speed drops to your best climbing rate, and you’ve matched your gearing to the hill, you can go to work. This is hard. Others will be passing you. You will reel most of them in somewhere around the middle of the hill!

Secret #4: When the climb “breaks,” shift up to a harder gear. And keep shifting up as you top the hill start the descent. All roads over hills have similar properties. There is always a point where the road builders begin to round the top of the hill off. At this point the grade of the hill decreases. This is where a savvy climber upshifts to keep effort even. As the climb nears the top, rather than going, “Oh thank heavens!” and enjoying it, keep the effort on for just a bit longer. Shift up to a harder gear. As the climb rounds the top of the hill, keep shifting up. Keep the power on. Continue this over the top of the hill, and into the next descent. Once you feel gravity begin to accelerate the bike, then you may reduce effort, streamline for the descent, and recover.

Secret #5: Get lighter. This may be the toughest trick to pull off, but it’s well worth it. Lose those extra pounds. I’m not saying get a lighter bike. (That may be in your future, but wait for it.) It’s a lot less expensive to reduce your weight, and it’s healthier. I’ll do some posts in the future on fat reduction. For now, know this, if you drop five to ten pounds in body weight, you’ve greatly improved your climbing capability, and likely improved your health. Now go out and price a bike that is ten pounds lighter than yours.

Secret #6: Get heavier. I know! This contradicts what I wrote in the Secret #5. Bear with me. I’m speaking about training weight. Use your heavier bike in training. Carry more stuff with you. Grab a back pack and put some stuff in it. Add 15 to 25 pounds to your climbing weight. Train to climb with this load. Then one nice day next summer, leave all the extra stuff behind, shift to the “light bike,” and enjoy the ride!

Prolonged Climbs: This refers to going up the big ones.

A rider who lives and trains in our area should be able to ride almost anywhere in the world. We do get enough hill work. But there is one problem. Our local hills are all fairly small and short. This tempts us to get in the habit of “muscling the hill.” We can attack shorter climbs, going anaerobic before we reach the top. We know that the hill is not all that tall, and we will be able to recover soon. Be advised, no one can muscle a mountain. The mountain is just too big, and allowing oneself to go anaerobic on a prolonged climb is a serous mistake.

Recovering while climbing is difficult and slow. Worse, if a rider needs to stop, the toll of the uphill re-start is high. Far better to stay completely aerobic on the climb. Settle down, stay inside yourself, and enjoy the scenery and the process of the climb itself.

Best technique: Mount your “climbing gears.” Go low early. Use “active rest.” Save any anaerobic efforts for the summit. Don’t celebrate the summit, “roll” it.

Mount your “climbing gears.” Install a lower gear cassette on your bike. (Be sure your driveline will accommodate this. Check with your mechanic.) The reason? If it’s not there, you can’t shift down to it. Attempting a mountain climb with a standard road double and something like a 12-23 is a stunt best left to 19 year olds who weigh 140 pounds. I’m not comfortable with approaching a climb unless I have a low gear of no more than a 1.22 to 1 ratio. (to find your low ratio, divide the number of teeth on your small chainring by the number of teeth on your larges cassette cog.) A road double with a 12-27 cassette had a low ratio of 1.44 to 1. This is barely adequate, if you are a really strong and really light climber. Think compact crank, and lower range cassettes, or a road triple and a 12-27 cassette.

Go low early. Many cyclist will try to “save” a gear or two while climbing. The thinking is, “I can downshift later, when my legs are tired.” This is a mistake. Ride conservatively. Use your gears and save your knees. Higher gears fatigue your legs more rapidly. Go to your lowest gears early. If you are still feeling frisky toward the end of the ride, then you can climb in a higher gear!

Use “active rest.” Prolonged climbs require using the same muscle groups for long time periods. This is fatiguing. Worse, the upper body tends to tighten up, increasing fatigue. You can stretch out, and “freshen” your main climbing muscle groups with this trick. While you climb, you establish your rhythm. Find a speed that lets you stay aerobic. As you begin to feel things tighten up and tire do this. Accelerate just a bit and upshift two gears. Now stand up, but do not accelerate. Let your cadence drop to keep you at the same speed. Climb for two or three minutes like this, standing at low cadence. Then sit down and down shift back to your steady state climbing gear.

The important part of this technique is to not accelerate while standing. Remember, an increase in horizontal speed on a climb, means an increase in vertical speed. That means using more energy, and thus increasing cardiovascular demand. Keep the speed down while standing and stretching out.

Don’t celebrate the summit. I see this a lot on multiple summit rides, such as the Gaps Rides. Riders will do a long climb, and then get off the bike and have a little party at the top. NO! This might be okay if it’s the last summit, and all down hill from there. The problem is, muscles start to go into “recovery” in a very few minutes, and it takes energy just to stand around. Prolonged climbs are usually followed by prolonged descents. Your legs are going to tighten up while descending. Why make it worse by stopping and standing around at the top. Besides, the ride is not over yet! The better technique is to “roll” the summit, keep going right into the descent. Recover there, and prepare for the next climb. Save the celebrations for the parking lot and the restaurant at the end of the ride. It’s safer, and much more efficient.

Is anyone else as pumped about going to Helen as I am?

About the Upcoming “Gaps Ride”

It’s getting on to late Autumn, so this will likely be the last shot I’ll have at the north Georgia mountains this year.

We’re going to go north, to Helen, Ga. We’re going to ride the notorious “back triple.” That’s Hogpen Gap, Jacks Gap, and Unicoi Gap. It’s a bit more than 40 miles with over a mile of gain. The scenery is glorious. The climbing is challenging. The descending is a blast!

This is an exciting ride and a real challenge. Don’t let the “stories” about Hogpen intimidate you. It can be done by mere mortals. Mount your climbing gears, and shift to low ones early in the day. If you ride this conservatively, it will provide plenty of challenge, but you will not have any serious difficulty.

Do watch the weather. And remember that weather in the mountains can be very changeable and very localized. Bring more clothing than you think you will need, and make your final decisions in the parking lot, just before. ride start. Remember, long steep climbs warm you wonderfully, but they are followed by long descents that can chill you. Be prepared to adjust clothing multiple times during the ride.

Completely Optional Bonus: We can stop close to the end of the ride for food and socializing. Betty’s Country Store is on our right as we return to Helen. The store is located on the corner of Younah Street and the Unicoi Turnpike, just at the north end of Helen. It’s a neat store, with a lot of interesting merchandise. There is a super deli in the store, with a seating area. It’s a great place for sandwich type snacks and a bit of post ride relaxing. From Betty’s back to the rally point is only about a half mile.

Date: Sunday 22 November.

Ride Time: We start promptly, at 10:00 AM

Rally Point: Helen, GA. The municipal parking lot on Chattahoochee Strasse.

Conditions: We’re going in almost any weather. (No ride if it looks like snow or icing is likely.) No make-up date. This is it.

To get there from Peachtree City:

Get on I-85 and go north. Keep on right through Atlanta.

Take exit 113 to I-985N

Go 22 miles on I-985 and take exit 22 for US-129

At bottom of exit go left onto US-129

Go 2.5 miles and turn right onto Jesse Jewell Pkwy

Go 2.4 miles and turn left onto Limestone Pkwy

Go 2.2 miles and turn right onto NE Cleveland Hwy (US-129)

Go around square and take 5th right, onto GA-75

Go approx 8 miles and enter Helen, Ga

As you are coming into “downtown” Helen, be alert. As soon as you cross the bridge over the Chattahoochee, you will turn right onto Chattahoochee Strasse. The municipal parking lot is about one block ahead on your right.

Be prepared to use the envelope system and pay a $2.00 parking fee.

Anatomy of a Utility Special

A “utility/commuter” could be almost anything. I know one local who uses a very high end, triathlon specific, full carbon, Dura Ace equipped, time trial bike to commute. He, quite wisely, throws a set of beater wheels on the bike and rides it to and from work, tossing in 20 or 30 “bonus miles” a couple of times a week. While I would not be comfortable taking a multi-thousand dollar bike into traffic and weather on a near daily basis, it works for him.

I know another gent who routinely rides a total junker, department store clunker. What’s more, he logs a lot of miles on this rig. I’d want a little more efficiency and reliability. But again, it works for him.

Most of us will want to be somewhere between the wonder bike and the “collection of parts traveling in loose formation.” Here’s some suggestions for your consideration.

Frame First: Pick a frame that fits you! And make sure it will be tough enough to stand up to your particular riding conditions. For some this could be an ancient “Schwine,” or a brand new entry level road bike, or a “sport hybrid,” or a mountain bike. But the frame is the heart of it. The frame needs to be strong, in good condition, and weather resistant. (More on that last in a moment.)

Generally, a more relaxed riding position is better here. If you are sitting more upright, your ability to see and be seen in traffic is enhanced. Besides, this isn’t a bike for “epic” rides, it’s a grocery-getter! A straight handle bar type bike is great for this stuff. It could be a mountain bike, a hybrid, or a more relaxed entry level type road frame. But make sure it has lots of “brazons” or “eyelets” for accessories. Incidentally, the bicycle industry now offers a “fitness bike” such as Giant’s Rapid or Dash. These would be extremely well suited to this kind of use. For that matter, an entry level cyclocross bike would be a great choice too.

Wheels: Super light, exotic wheels are all well and good, but for daily “beater” use, more conventional rolling stock makes more sense. Good, solid, dependable, conventionally spoked wheels will last a long time, be dependable, and are readily repairable. If your target bike doesn’t have this going for it, expect to spend around $250 to $300 for a good set. Don’t skimp here!

How do you “dress” the wheels? First off, spring for really good, high quality cotton adhesive rim strips. The cost difference is about $3.00 per wheel. The benefit is that you can run higher pressure tires with a fewer flats. (Make that a whole lot fewer flats!) Tires depend on the wheel size, which depends on the frame. If you are using 26” wheels, go with the thinner, higher priced, slicks. I’m particularly partial to Panaracer’s RibMo or T-Serv. Both can be had in a 1.25 inch width. They are tough and efficient, and they last.

If you’re using a 700c wheel, I’d use the widest tire that your particular frame will accommodate. (Of course you want to consider fenders. More on that soon too!) For heavy usage, I prefer at least a 700 X 25, but some road frames will handle up to a 700 X 32, as will almost all hybrids. The bigger tire is more comfortable, and puts more rubber on the road, hence better traction, and better load handling capability.

Components: A fairly common strategy is “great brakes and low end driveline.” Stopping and controlling turns is far more important than smooth flawless shifting. Besides, lower end drive lines may not always work as precisely and smoothly as the nicer stuff, but they are often a good bit more weather tolerant, and more forgiving of less than perfect maintenance. (I’m talking the lower end of bike shop grade here, not department store junk.) On the other hand, really good brakes don’t cost a lot more than low end ones, and they work much better.

Incidentally, a single speed, or “fixie” works real well for this stuff. There’s a lot less to go wrong with it, it provides a really nice workout factor, and often it lightens the bike up wonderfully.

Saddles, bars, grips: Chose these to work with the frame. Pick a saddle that will weather well, but that fits you, and is suitable to the position your frame puts you in. Bars and grips should be chosen with the same criteria in mind. Comfort and durability, not speed.

Accessories: Consider racks and bags. After all, if it’s a grocery-getter and errand runner, it should be able to haul stuff.

Fenders greatly improve the ability to ride in adverse conditions. They help to keep you and the bike cleaner and drier.

Lights make sense if you do errands during the early morning, or in the evening. Reflectors!!!!! A bell is a great idea.

Pedals just might be flats. After all, the idea is to have a bike that can be put to use with little or no notice. If you can’t always store the bike inside, you might consider a decent lock. It can go in your panniers or messenger bag when not in use.

Frame Weather Proofing: Weather proofing your utility bike frame depends a lot on what the frame material is, and the extent to which you will expose it to weather.

Aluminum frames don’t need much in the way weather proofing. Exposed aluminum develops a “patina” of surface corrosion, which then stops the process. However, aluminum in contact with other metals, such as the steel of a bottom bracket, can develop electrolytic corrosion. If your aluminum bike is exposed to a lot of wet weather, make sure it is cleaned and lubricated regularly. Either learn to remove and grease steel parts yourself, or pay to have this work done on a regular basis.

Steel frames are often amazing. They don’t tend to have electrolytic issues. However, exposed steel will rust, and rust is not self-limiting. It keeps going until the frame is weakened and destroyed. There are two issues to address in corrosion proofing a steel frame, internal corrosion, and external.

Internal corrosion. This occurs when water enters the frame during heavy rain riding, or from condensation. A frame can gradually rust from the inside out, and then fail. Prevention takes the form of two different actions. If the frame is ridden in heavy rain, remove the seatpost, and hang the bike upside down to allow it to drain. Store the bike in a dry place and allow it to dry out thoroughly. Heating the frame gently with a blow drier is a good way to drive moisture out. (Be sure to keep heat away from rubber and plastic parts of the bike!)

The second action is to introduce an anti-corrosive into the inside of the frame on a periodic basis. My favorite is to use about a half a bottle of T-9 Boeshield inside the frame every six months. Pour the T-9 into the main frame, and into the stays through the welding vent holes. Turn the frame as the T-9 is dripped into it. The idea is to spread the liquid anti-corrosive thoroughly inside the frame. About once every week or two go through a procedure of turning the frame upside down, and on each side to re-apply the T-9, which otherwise pools in the bottom of the frame.

Every six months, remove wheels and accessories, then rinse the interior of the frame out with a good solvent, such as kerosene, or turpentine. Allow to dry completely, and then re-apply T-9 to the interior.

External corrosion. Dealing with external corrosion is simple, but not always easy. Wipe the bike down regularly. Keep it clean. If the finish is scratched or chipped, sand the area immediately around the exposed metal and apply a touch up paint. It isn’t necessary to make this an esthetically pleasing job, but it is imperative that there is an air tight finish over the exposed area. I will often touch up paint a scratch or chip, allow the paint to a dry, and then apply a sticker over the touch up. This serves to hide the touch up, and to further seal the area.

Thursday Thoughts ~~ The Argument for commuting

Any of you who know me, well know that I am a strong advocate of commuting by bike. I am also strongly in favor of other forms of “utility cycling.” In this case, utility cycling means, using the bicycle for things one would ordinarily do in a car, i.e. post office, filling perscriptions, dropping off videos, making that supplemental trip to the grocery, etc. In other words, just running errands.

The typical adult in our area drives about 100 miles per week to and from work, and an additional 100 miles per week on other trips. Consider; If one were to replace half of those other trips with bike trips, that would mean a “found” 50 miles per week of training riding. Additionally, one would save 2600 miles per year of wear and tear on the car!

Cars are not faster! The typical trip in America is 5 miles, with a single passenger, and 5 pounds of cargo. This can be done on a bike. A 5 mile trip, at a moderate pace, takes a cyclist about 25 minutes. In an urban or suburban area the car takes almost as long, if not longer. Remember, you have to park the wretched thing, walk into the store, walk back, get it out of the parking lot, and then drive it!

If you keep a “commuter” bike handy, it’s possible to make the same trip, park at the door, and get back in the same time or less.

Would another four hours per week change your fitness picture?

Why should a tourist care? Touring is, among other things, about spending time on the bike, hauling yourself and stuff, and sometimes it’s in traffic. Commuting and utility cycling pretty are pretty much about the same things. The vehicular utility cyclist gains traffic handling experience, gains fitness, and increases the ability to tolerate time in the saddle.

It’s food for thought.

New Touring Ideas ~~ Finally!

1) Highest Point Tours: We ride from here in Fayette, GA to the highest points in all of the states that share common borders with us. We’ve already done one of these. This past Summer, we rode to Cheaha, in Alabama. Still on the list would be;

Florida. Florala. One way distance of 250 miles

Tennessee. Clingmans’s Dome. Way distance of 225 miles

North Carolina. Mt Mitchell. One way distance of 270 miles

South Carolina. Sassafras Mountain. One way distance 190 miles

Note: All of these distances are first approximation estimates, and are

subject to some serious refinement in the planning of these trips.

Best time of year for any of these trips would be late summer.

2) Outer Banks of NC: The basic idea is a long (maybe very long) regional tour. How does a trip to, and along the Outer Banks sound? Think about riding to the coast, then taking a two hour plus ferry ride over to Ocracoke. Next a long ride up Ocracoke Island, a 45 minute ferry ride to Hatteras Island, a provisioning stop in the town of Hatteras and a side trip to the Hatteras Light. Then a ride from Cape Hatteras up through the National Seashore wilderness preserve, a causeway trip over to Bodie Island, and an overnight stop in a great B&B in Kill Devil Hills, within sight of the Wright Memorial. We could do a quick side trip to the Memorial.

There are several ways we could arrange this tour. One is a very long one, about a two week tour, done as an out and back of close to 1,400 miles….

Or we could do a remote start/finish from Raliegh, N.C. or even Fayetteville, N.C. From Raleigh to the ferry is about 200 miles, a good two day ride. Then it’s possible to do the trip from the ferry up to Kill Devil Hills in a long day. An overnight in Kill Devil Hills, followed by a return trip down the islands to the ferry at Ocracoke, then two day’s ride back to Raleigh.

Each rider would be responsible for their own transport to, and from, the rally point in Raleigh.

Best time of year for this journey would be either mid-April, or late September.

3) Blue Ridge Parkway Tour: I’ve already suggested this as a possible. We’d take Amtrack to Charlottesville, VA, and then ride a self supported tour of the entire 460+ mile Blue Ridge Parkway. This would end in Cherokee, N.C. Riders would be responsible for their own travel from Cherokee to home. Figure about a week for this one.

Best time for this one would be late September or Early in October.

4) Key West Florida: This is pretty-explanatory. We could do a remote start, as the distance from Fayette County, GA to the bottom of the Florida Keys is a bit long. I would think we’d want to pick routes that kept the whole enterprise down to a week’s time, in total. There’s even a ferry option involving Ft. Myers.

There you have it. I need to know what kind of interest there is for each of these. Once I get enough feedback, I can start planning in earnest.

Please feel free to contact me either through the comments on this blog, or at my email address The.Road.Dragon@gmail.com

News All Around

Good news! We have a bike club!

Last night was the organizational get together for the new cycling club. From the dormant idea of a group of idealists, and the fresh vigor of a new group of enthusiasts, comes something special.

This is great! We had a large gathering of folks interested in promoting a club. We have revived the old Fayette Biking for Life. There are a new slate of officers, a lot of new members, and a new dedication and direction. Many many thanks to those who have gone before, to Carlton, and Dick, and George, and Bonny. Thanks to you, and to the efforts of a new group of people, a flame has been rekindled. We have a new set of officers, a sound structure, and the support of a core of good and concerned people. This is the beginning of something important and profound. A new dawn is breaking. I’m not sure why, but the words of C.S. Lewis seem appropriate. “Farther in, and farther up!”

Some Thoughts on Quality Bicycle Touring:

Before I go any farther… A few words are appropriate on the basic structure of ideal of group bicycle touring. This is my ideal. While I make no claims to being the absolute authority on this, my experience leads me in this direction. So… A group tour should do the following.

1. Include a group of cyclists who are committed to riding together, and to sharing the joys and challenges of a long multi-day trip.
2. Be self-supported. Meaning that riders will carry what they need on their bikes, clothing, tools, spares, etc.
3. Not involve intentional camping! Look, sometimes “guerilla camping” is necessary on a tour, but… I love a good hard day’s riding, but I am strongly in favor of clean sheets and hot water at the end of that day. I plan to stay overnight at decent, affordable, hotels or B&Bs.
4. Include mostly scenic routes, with a specific destination of some particular attractive type; i.e. mountains, historic sites, large and significant geographical destinations, or some such point of interest.
5. The ideal route would be a loop or out-and-back, that started and ended at home. This can be modified to include “remote start and ride home,” or “offset start” (where we go to a rally point and use it as a start/finish), or “local start – distant finish.”
6. Routing and riding should be flexible. If the group decides to go longer (or shorter) on a given day, this should be possible. Stops for enjoyment of unscheduled and unplanned points of interest should be allowable.

7) The Journey is the Destination!

New Touring Ideas:

I have previously mentioned and “teased” an announcement of a new touring idea. I’m not going to go into details until tomorrow’s post, but here are several (I think) cool tour suggestions.

1) Highest Point Tours: We ride from here in Fayette, GA to the highest points in all of the states that share common borders with us. This is actually a collection of several different tours.

2) Outer Banks of NC: The basic idea is a long (maybe very long) regional tour. How does a trip to, and along the Outer Banks sound? Long ferry trips, coastal wilderness areas with unspoiled beaches, great food and amenities at the destination.

3) Key West!! What more do I need to say on this?

Stay tuned.

Onward!

A couple of you managed to figure out where I was last week. Yes, I was on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Below are a couple of shots that only begin to show how good that week was.

In Kitty Hawk, by the surfer's beach.

This was just across the street from the B & B

At the Wright Brother's Memorial.

And Now...

I know that the past week was mostly a me-centered thing. I’m glad you were bearing with me. It was fun. Now, back to things cycling, touring, commuting, training, riding, and to bicycle related politics. (Don’t stress! I’m not going to take this blog into capitol P politics. I will, from time to time, run bits when the pols are doing things that affect bikes and riders.) There’s a lot of neat stuff coming.

Hint: I have a neat new touring idea! You’ll see more on that soon.

Back to the present. There is an organizational get together TONIGHT. It’s at the library in Peachtree City. If you ride a bike in this area, you need to be there.

There’s details on the blog Dan put up, at http://ptccyclingclub.blogspot.com/

When you get to the blog, look around, but please go to the post titled “New Life for Fayette Bike for Life." That’s the one with the details for the get together.

P.S. Don't forget, Nights Under Lights, tomorrow. In front of Bicycles Unlimited at 7:00 PM.

Friday Ooops!

Well, I'm back from vacation, and of course, my internet service is all fouled up. You'll see more stuff here on Monday, and a neat new tour idea on Tuesday and in the "Tuesday Tome."

Click the "Peachtree City Cycling club" link and get the details on the organizational get together for this coming Monday. If you're a cyclist, and local to Peachtree City and/or Fayette County, this is capitol I IMPORTANT!

Thursday Thoughts 11/5

Folks, things are starting to get pretty good in our area. There are a lot of exciting things going on. We cyclists are starting to get our act together and get organized. Have you noticed? We have several interlinked email lists operating now. There’s a movement afoot to get a serious cycling club organized. (for more on this, see below.) We have some real champions stepping up. There’s Jim, and Dan, Lisa C. and Lisa P, Chad, and Dave, Willard, and Mark. These folks are dedicated to making this a good place for cycling and cyclists. It’s starting to get good.

I’ve had this thought in mind a lot for the past week. Sometimes, I guess, one has to go away from home and view it from a different perspective. I am currently visiting a coastal area in a state to the north of home. The lot of cycling around here is somewhat odd.

The local cyclists refer to the “summer people.” I’ve heard something like, “The summer people and ride these clunkers and beach bikes. They ride on the wrong side of the road, and on the sidewalks, and they dart in and out of traffic. Everyone thinks we’re all like that. It makes it hard.”

Of course what makes it harder is that there are so few cyclists here. They are a lonely lot, unconnected. The nearest bike shop is over on the mainland, about 50 miles from here.

Folks, I’m telling you, we have it good. And it’s getting better.

Bike Club Organizational Get Together: Mark your calendar. November 9, 2009. At 7:00 PM. There’s details on the blog Dan put up, at http://ptccyclingclub.blogspot.com/

When you get to the blog, look around, but please go to the post titled “New LIFE for Fayette Bike for Life.” That’s the one with the details for the get together.

Please plan to attend. We all have something to gain from this.

The Odd State of Cycling in Another State:

A semi-local motorist stopped me yesterday. (He was certainly more local than I am. His car had plates for this state and county.) He asked directions. This often happens to me when I’m riding. Folks just naturally assume that a cyclist must be “from around here.”

I’ve found another fairly consistent thing about traveling by bike. Cyclists tend to be pretty much left alone and unbothered, regardless of the locale. Over the years I’ve wandered (deliberately or inadvertently) into a wide range of “locals.” Oddly, when on the bike, I’m usually tolerated, if not welcomed.

My friend Kevin speculates that this is because a traveling cyclist is “neutral.” Folks know we aren’t “from around here,” and we won’t be here long. We aren’t a part of the local interactions, just passing through. As a result, we don’t threaten anyone’s particular position.

I don’t know. I just know I’m usually treated fairly well, when I’m on the bike. Food for thought.

One thing I have noticed concerns directions. Locals are usually only too willing to misdirect a traveling cyclist. I don’t think the “misdirect” part is deliberate. But it hardly matters. In almost every case, if I’ve stopped to ask directions, someone is very willing to give them. They are almost always wrong. Either they take me into things a cyclist should never attempt (interstate highways, one way streets, major six lane traffic), or they are just completely unworkable. (And folks sometimes wonder why I carry cue sheets, a map, and a GPS?)

Incidentally, I did this yesterday. I was on a street that wasn’t quite going where I wanted to go. I asked a local for help. I wrote his instructions down and inserted them in my cue sheet holder. I then followed them closely. I found myself at the end of a street that stopped in a large sand dune. Clearly it didn’t go anywhere else. There’s a lesson in this, but I’m not sure what it is.

I find I am looking forward to coming back home. I can hardly wait for the next Spin Class, the Novice Road Ride on this coming Sunday, or the next attempt at Nights Under Lights.

On that note: These haven’t appeared on the Tuesday Tome yet, but each year I do a couple of Christmas lights rides. One of them is on the paths in Peachtree City, and the other is on the roads, through Fayette County. Watch for these soon.

Another Day in Paradise:

A couple of short rides await today. In between I’ll be doing tourist stuff.

I’ve been going out on the beach around 04:00 and walking, watching end of night, and the slow rise of the Autumn dawn over the Atlantic. This is good for the soul. Of course, “dawn” might be too strong a word for it. The past few mornings we’ve been having a good old fashioned Nor’Easter. It’s been blowing hard, and raining. This has made the surf magically wild, and the riding somewhat challenging.

Yesterday I had one of those conversations with a bystander at a store.

“How far are you riding?” he asked.

“Short ride today,” I replied. “Only about 30 miles.

“You riding on the roads?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “This is a road bike. It’s no good in the sand and dunes.”

“Aren’t you afraid out there?” he asked. “I’d be worried. Folks drive crazy.”

“I think I’m safer than in a car on a cell phone,” I said. “Besides, you’re a good driver, aren’t you? You’d be careful not to hit me. Right?”

“Oh sure,” he said. “But you be careful. There’s a lot of bad drivers around.”

Then this total stranger made a point of telling me about how a local rider was killed only last year. I refrained from asking him how many local motorists have perished in the same period.

Why is it that non-cyclists think we are in such peril? If armor would save you, no one would ever be hurt in a Suburban. The fact is, here in the off-season, there is not much traffic, and I’ve been treated quite well. Most folks actually wave and smile.