Penance Ride ~ On Saturday!!

This one is a challenge.  It’s not necessarily about how fast we do it.  It’s about doing it at all.

This is one of my favorite rides.  It has character.  It’s not difficult to navigate.  It’s good to go visit the “mountain to the south” in the Winter.  We should let each other know that we still care.

To begin with, most of us have not been riding as much as we would ordinarily.  We let the lack of daylight, the cold, the rain, and holiday distractions stop us.  It hardly matters who we are.  It seems that no one escapes the “Bermuda Triangle.”  We are not talking about disappearing ships here, but rather the triangle formed by Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas/New Year.  It’s a terrifically hard time to stay focused and motivated.  And often cyclists fall into it and disappear.

We eat too much.  We skip workouts.  Next thing we know, we’re overweight and feeling tired all the time.

Still, we aren’t “Pros.”  We are avid enthusiasts.  We ride for many reasons.  Some of us take it seriously enough to call it “training.”  But we ride and we work out.  So we will accept the challenge of a long Winter Ride.  It’s a sort of declaration.  We ride and say, to ourselves and the world,  “I am here!  I am still here.  I will always be here!”

The Penance 100+ starts at 08:00.  We will have a guarantee of usable daylight until at least 17:00.  Sunset will be at 17:42, and civil twilight will end at 18:09.  But remember, if it’s cloudy, we could lose our light earlier.  (I’d bring some kind of light, just in case…)  So plan on a day ending at 17:00.  That means we will have, at least, nine hours in which to get this done. 

The full length of the long loop is 108 miles. So an overall average of 12 mph gets it done in nine hours.  If we assume an hour and a half of stopping time, then a rolling average of 14.4 mph is necessary for the 5:00 PM finish.

Set your conditions:  Decide what you will ride in, in advance.  Set clothing and equipment aside.  Get up on the day, and make the final decision then.  Vow to yourself that you will go, if the weather is inside your pre-set conditions.  Then come out and do it!

Best Advice for the day:  While we care about you, the nature of this ride is pretty individual. 

If you want company, be prepared to compromise on riding style a bit.

Stay inside yourself.  This is not a day to establish a “PR.”  Take it easier and enjoy the ride.  By the time you reach Greenville (approx 33 miles in) you will know whether the full 108 miles is in the cards for you.  If not, there is no disgrace in making the turn and doing a bit over a “metric century.”

Have a bail out plan.  Let someone know where you will be going, and about when to expect you back.  Pre-arrange for an emergency pickup.

Ride to have fun.

Current Weather Outlook:  Temp around 47 degrees F at ride time, with a high near 63.  Cloudy, with a 50% rainchance.

Want a cue sheet in advance?  I will be doing a cue sheet email on Wednesday.  If you want to receive the cuesheet by email, contact me at the.road.dragon@gmail.com and let me know.  I’ll put you on the list.

Faded Glory

Once upon a glorious time, I was a Christmas Bike.  The shouts of joy!  The laughter.  The Father and Mother did an excellent job.  They bought me, and hid me in the neighbor’s shed.  On Christmas Eve, that year, they took the kids to the Midnight Service for the first time.  The eldest, my soon to be master and best friend, was just ten.  All of the children fell asleep in the car, going home.

Father and Mother smiled as the tucked the children in.  Then they went to work.  Father slipped out of the house, into the cold bright starry night.  He paused for a moment to look up at the clear distant starry firmament.  Then he continued to the shed where I was waiting.  He wheeled me to his garage, and spent a few minutes disting and polishing me, filling my tires up to the recommended 35 psi, and then stepping back to admire me.

I was wheeled in and placed in front of the tree, adorned with a large, bright, red, bow.  Father and mother then spent the next hour wrapping and arranging presents around the tree and me.

The house grew quiet.  The silence of the holy night fell upon us all.

Winter Dawn comes late in these latitudes.  Good thing too.  At the first dawning, the children began to stir.  They occupied themselves, as was traditional, with the small joys and gladnesses of their stockings.  (Each year, they would hang the stockings by the fire.  The parentw would fill them up with tiny presents, thoughtfully picked.  Then the stockings would be placed at the foot of each child’s bed, to be found in the morning.)

Father and Mother woke, and began their Christmas Morning Ritual.  Father came down the stairs first and lighted the tree.  Mother next, to start the coffee percolating, and to begin the breakfast preparations.  Finally, the increasingly excited and impatient children were called down to find the tree and it’s treasures.

As the children came down, Young Sir, with dignity befitting his lofty age and seniority, lagged behind the others, letting the younger ones descend first.  The effect was that they all bunched up on the stairs, in age order, youngest first.  This let them all see the tree at the same time.

The littlies gasped and shouted and ran to the presents.  Young Sir just stopped where he stood, gazing in awe and wonder.  Gazing at me!  He could not believe his eyes, wanted to, but simply could not believe it.

“Mother?  Father?” he said in a small voice.  “Is it for me?  Did I get a bicycle!?”

For the first, last, and only time, Young Sir failed to open his other presents on Christmas morning.  He simply had to get dressed and take me outside to ride.

And ride we did!  Up and down the chilly streets, around the block, and around.  Pictures were taken, and the beginnings of a part of family history and memory were enacted.  We made quite the sight, me in my shine and chrome, Young Sir astride.

In the years that followed, Young Sir and I were seldom apart.  We rode to school, and to the store.  I played the role of spacehip, submarine, fighter airplane, racing motorcyle, and simply  companion.  I was the means to Young Sir’s independence and mobility.

With time, I aged, but Young Sir kept me in good repair.  He removed some of my accessories, and replaced them with others.  I was pressed into duty on his paper route.  I carried him about his duties as a delivery boy for the pharmacy.  We travelled out into the country on camping and fishing trips.

As Young Sir grew, he came to a time when we were together less and less.  He acquired an automobile, and a girlfriend.  Eventually, Young Sir went away to college, and I became the ward of his youngest brother, Younger Sir.

Again, came the long rides, the trips to school, the rambles in the country, the adventures and explorations.  Again I did paper route duty, and for a time I was companion to another happy boy.

Those were the good days.

For a time I rested, slumbering, in a shed, covered with a tarp.  My tires dry rotted, and my chrome pitted.  I slept.

Young Sir came home once more.  He and his new bride were moving far away, and were picking up the things that would go with them.  Turned out I was to be one of those things.

After the move, for a time, I again rested.  This period, I spent in a basement, in a corner, quietly aging.

Then came the day when young sir came to me.  He removed the cover, and dusted me off.  He carefully dismantled me, cleaned, lubricated, polished.  Again, on a Christmas Morning, I was placed by a tree.  Young Sir presented me to my new friend, Young Son.  Again the cycle repeated itself.  Young Son and I travelled together.  We made happy memories.  Those where the second good years.

Now I sit and slumber.  I dream the dreams of times past.  My glory is gone, and I am relegated to this quiet place.  I am content, but if I could be granted one wish, it would be to rise and become again, a companion of people, a thing of worth, a vehicle of commerce.  An object of pleasure and joy.

For now, in the quiet cold, I dream.

Friday Follies ~~ Home by Christmas

The idea was simple.  The plan seemed flawless.  But…

I was young and mostly unattached.  At the time I worked for an establishment that was affiliated with a church of Scots origin.  My workplace had decided to give us all an (unpaid) break for Christmas.  But what the heck, it was time off!

The calendar put Christmas on a Friday, that year.  The way my shift worked, I would have 10 whole days away from work.  It seemed like a good time to do some Winter touring, stretch the legs, and re-connect with old friends.

I figured I could use the Greyhound Bus, in conjunction with my bike to accomplish all of this.  I bought a ticket, one way, from the mountains of Virginia to the Big City Up North.  I used my spare time in the last work week to prepare.  I prepped the bike carefully, and made thoughtful selections of clothing and gear to pack in my panniers.  On the last workday, I rode the loaded bike to work.  At the end of the day I saddled up and pedalled over to the Greyhound terminal.

There was a little grumbling about my calling the bike “luggage,” but in the end they agreed, and then tossed it, rather uncermoniously, into the big bus’s baggage holds.  A long night on the bus followed.  This was a “local” trip, which meant the monster vheicle wandered all over the place in semi-rural northern Virginia, a lot of Maryland, a bit of Pennsylvania, some of Delaware, and even a touch of New Jersey.  It felt like we stopped about every 15 minutes, and the trip took about 10 hours.

In the cold grey light of a Winter Morning, I de-bussed and waited to claim my bike.  I was a bit dismayed to see the handlers pulling a stack of crates and a lot of suitcasess off of the top of my bike, before dragging it out of the hold.

I had to make some adjustments, but my trusty steed seemed to work okay.  Of course there was a bit of brake drag on the rear.  A dismount and check showed that the rear wheel was out of true.  I opened the brake up a good bit, and continued to ride.  That night, staying at a good friend’s house, I pulled out my spoke wrench and did a “field expedient” truing job on the wheel.

I had a good visit of several days.  I spent time with old friends and some family folk I hadn’t seen in a long while.  Good cheer and a couple of epic parties, and it was time to hit the road for the long ride back.

I intended to make a couple more overnight stops with friends who lived (more or less) along my route.  During that first riding day, I got the early intimation of trouble ahead.  The rear wheel seemed to be drifitng out of true again.  By lunchtime, it was bad enough that I unloaded the bike, inverted it, and again applied myself to the task of bringing the wheel right.

In the middle of the afternoon, my rear tire went flat.  Dramatically.  It blew off of the rim, and the tube blew.  I repaired it quickly, and continued through the day.  But the wheel was going out of true again.

On ride day two, I made about 70 of my intended 110 miles before I had a real problem.  The rear wheel collapsed.  The rest of the day was a long hassle.  I managed to catch rides with two different pickup drivers.  That got me close enough to my intended overnight stop.  I was able to call for a ride and get picked up.

Need I say that, at that time, bike shops were few and far between?  Getting a new wheel was going to be a problem.  I called my home shop, which was only about 180 miles away.  “No problem,”  my friends said,  “We’ll ship you a new one.  Jimbo can take it over to the Greyhound station right now.”

The wheel arrived late in the day.  It was taccoed beyond belief.  Greyhound was unsympathetic.  Another phone call.  Another new wheel would be shipped immediately, and this one would be boxed.

The second new wheel arrived in the early morning.  It was intact and straight, but…

The new wheel did not have a freewheel installed.  I had no freewheel tool.  After a few moments of panic, I hit on a plan.  I would unlace the hub from my ruined wheel, and lace it into the new one.  That task, performed on a porch, took way too long.  I had to go inside repeatedly to warm my hands.  All in all, I lost the day.  Once I (finally) finished fighting with the wheel, and reassembling the bike, it was too late to travel.

On the next day I made about 60 mountainous miles before the new wheel failed.  Time to reasses.

I arranged to leave the bike with a friendly auto service garage owner.  I had no funds for travelling, so I shouldered my panniers and started walking, sticking my thumb out at any appropriate time.  The clouds were lowering as I progressed (slowly) toward home.

It was raining pretty good by the time I caught my last ride.  That one got me to within five miles of home.  It was late, dark, and mostly rural.  Rides were out of the question.  I walked the last five miles in sodden and chilly determination.

Late, late in on December 23^rd, I arrived at the house, to find it dark.  And cold.  There was a note from my reprobate roommate.  He informed me that he was going to visit some of his friends for Christmas.  He added that there was no food in the house.  He meant it.  A cockroach would have starved in there.  What my (soon to be ex) roomie did not mention was that he had left the heat turned up to about 150 degrees.  There had been less than 75 gallons in the oil tank when I’d left.  I built a fire in the hearth, and settled down in sleeping bag.

The next day I made some calls.  I had next to no money, and no credit with the oil company.  Besides, they weren’t delivering on Christmas Eve.

There is this about living in a small rural town.  Nothing goes unnoticed.  My two neighbors (one on each side) had seen the lights out for a couple of days, noted my arrival, and seen the smoke from the chimney.  They drew the appropriate conclucions, and the jungle telegraph started to work.

About noon, two good friends rolled up on their bikes.  They had gifts with them, sufficient parts to get my other bike running.  Around noon, my boss dropped by.  He had a five gallon jerry can of gas in his truck, so I would have some fuel to get the beater car going, and he handed me an envelope from the congregation.  There was $50.00 dollars in it.

Friends continued to drop by, with food!  And late in the day, an oil truck pulled up.  The driver said the load was paid for, but he could only put in 100 gallons.  He refused to tell me who had made the payment, and managed to get him out on Christmas Eve.

Dinner arrived, in the form of a lot of friends bearing many different plates and dishes.  Someone brought a tree.  We popped corn, and strung it.  Somebody brought a couple of light strings.

At ten o’clock, those of us on bikes mounted them, and we formed a procession.  We rode and drove over to the church for the Midnight Service.  After church we all regathered at my place and sang old songs, new ones, and Christmas Carols.

There have been many holidays since, some more memorable than others.  Some have been extraordinary, most very good indeed.  That was one of the best.

Merry Christmas to you all, and God bless us, each and every one.

Eats! And a few other things.

A new cook book for cyclists and other endurance athletes.   This one should be interesting.  Some of our local heros have put together a recipe book, specifically for cyclitst, runners, triathletes, and other endurance athletes.  I’ll be reviewing this as soon as I get my hands on a copy.  In the meantime, you can find out more by going to  http://racedayrecipes.com

The Christmas Lights Path Ride is tonight!  We’ll wind around quite a bit, and it should be excellent good fun.  The route is a bit wacky, but (I think) well worth it.  Do dress warmly, as the occasionally slower pace, and stops tend to cool you.  By now the results of Monday’s Christmas Lights Road Ride are in.  A grand time was had.  Seems like there are fewer displays this year, but those that are out, are more thoughtful, and more designed.  Some are quite beautiful, others more in the loud and garish spectrum.  I can hardly wait!

NOTE:  Helmets and good lights are a requirement, and we'll leave promptly.  And look for a bit of a surprise at the end of the ride.

Sneak Preview:  Only you, my faithful blog readers, are getting this now.  We’re cooking something up.  The merry elves at Bicycles Unlimited are toying with the idea of leading some mountain bike rides on our local trails.  We’re going to start testing various formats, and experimenting with this and that.  Possible outcomes include, led group rides, beginner’s clincs and rides, night mountain bike excursions, and any other fun-and-games we think might work.  Stay tuned.

Solstice

It’s the shortest daylight day of the year.  Congratulations!  We’ve made it to Solstice.  This is the day when the sun stops it’s southward plunge.  For the next six months each day is a bit longer than the one before.

On Winter Solstice, it always seems to me, the world takes a pause, draws in its breath, and then expells a deep sigh.  Most of the Winter is ahead of us, but we have made it this far.  Trials and troubles are always around the corner, things are never “all right,” but we will make the most of it.  We’ll be alright.

The long night is tonight.  We (some of us, anyway) will be celebrating it on bikes indoors.  I for one, will manage to go outside, on a bike, for at least a little while, on this night.  Likely that ride will be near midnight.  Rain or not.  I will ride to a quiet place, dismount, and walk into the trees.  It’s then that next Summer’s riding begins.  I’ll remember last Summer’s Solstice Celebration Night Ride.  I will pause and savor the sleep of the forest.  I’ll dedicate myself to the road ahead, then remount and ride back to light, warmth, and the coming holidays.

Two more Spin Classes before Christmas!  The last one, on this coming Thursday at 6:00 P.M., is always a special one.  We have a lot of fun, and the music is designed to match the festive spirit.  I promise, I’ll publish a playlist after the class.  (I always want this one to be a surprise.)

Christmas is almost here!  Need I say more.  Who is getting a new bike for Christmas?  Who already has?  What goodies will be under the tree?  Who’s going riding on that day.  “Hail thee festival day, we greet thee, with joy on this happy morning!”

The very good news for outdoors folk, is that it gets better now.  Most likely the extreme cold we just experienced is behind us, and won’t be repeated this year.  We’ll continue to ride the “hamsterbikes” as necessary, and a fair number of us will go out and ride the Penance Ride, on 1 January.

May the Solstice Bells ring out for us all, this night and ever.

Wonderful (Busy) Week

Amid the bustle of the season, and the attempts to get it all done, we have a few bits to offer.

Christmas Lights Road Ride: 

It’s tonight!  I love this one.  We go out, dressed in our best chilly weather regalia, and tour around the area, looking at (and occasionally riding through) some of the more extravagant displays.  I must confess, I’m a big kid.  I love looking at the bright and festive lights.  I still get a thrill of awe and wonder at them.

We’ll be leaving from Bicycles Unlimited, at 7:00 P.M.  Do dress for the weather.  It will cool quickly after sunset.  Remember the usual reflective gear and lights.  We will ride to be safe, and to have fun.  We’re not out to shatter any speed records, but do, please, plan to be able to keep up a steady 13 to 15 mph pace.  (At least between the attractions.)

Spin Classes:

I can hear it as I write this.  “What on earth is he talking about that for?  Isn’t this about “seasonally appropriate” stuff?  In fact it is.  We have fun in our spin classes.  We work hard, and play hard.  And the week before Christmas is special.  Expect a very strong, and somewhat emotional music playlist for these classes.  Especially for the one on Thursday!

Christmas Lights Path Ride:

A somewhat different route this year.  (I guess they all are.)  I’ve been out scouting.  This should be an extra fun one.  I’m planning a special surprise for the end of this year’s edition.  Remember rain cancels these rides.  So pray for dry weather.

We’ll leave from in front of Bicycles Unlimited, at 7:00 P.M. promptly.  Expect to be out for an hour and half, maybe a bit longer.  Do dress for the weather, and bring good strong lights.   Seasonal costumes are fun, but think about safety first.

Christmas Eve:

The shop will be open (at least for the first part of the day) for last minute stuff.  Smiles and cheer required.

Christmas Day:

You’re on your own!  Have a very, very Merry Christmas!

I LOVE this time of year!!!!

Friday Follies ~~ Chasing Miles

When I was a kid, like many of you, riding a bike was something I just did.  I looked forward to times when I could get on the bike, and more I looked for excuses to do so.  The bike and I were enough.  I didn’t pay a lot of attention to how much I rode, how far I’d gone, or how I rode.  Sometimes riding was hard.  Sometimes it was slow.  But it was all just riding my bike.

I’ve had times like that since.  Sometimes those periods have stretched out for years.

In my late teens and early twenties I discovered road bikes, and racing.  At first, I just rode my bike a lot, and raced when I could.  I started wearing “funny clothing”  (mostly made from wool), and took myself way too seriously.

At the beginning of my racing, I was fairly successful.  I had good results.  Then, as I advanced, I met some real competition, and I didn’t do so well.  I started studying and taking advice.  I started training.

Training was not an entirely new concept.  I’d already spent a large part of my life in various forms of athletics.  I had a pretty good idea (I thought) of what training meant.

My early experiences with coaching advice for cycling were not all that bad.  I took advice from my track coach, and from a few friendly older riders and officials.  I read a good bit.

In those days we didn’t have the instrumentation that we have now.  So training and workout structures tended to rely on time, and rough estimates of effort.  A workout instruction would sound like this:

            “Go out and get well warmed up.  Then find a good hard hill.  Climb it real hard.  Then descend and get your breath back.  Keep doing that for about an hour.  Then warm down.”

There were a lot of variations, but that was the gist of it.  Do a thing for a time, at some kind of effort level.

Somewhere in there, I was introduced to the idea of keeping a Training Log.  I have done so ever since.  It helps keep me honest, and on track, and helps me to diagnose problems.  It’s also (unlooked for bonus) a diary, stretching back over many years of riding, a reminder of things both good and bad that have occurred to my while riding.

Cyclocomputers and heart rate monitors changed just about everything.  Suddenly it was possible to know exactly how far I’d ridden, and (to some degree of accuracy) how hard.

Shortly after I gained the capacity to log miles, I read that so-and-so (insert name of big and famous racer) rode umpty-ump miles per year.  I read that most serious racers logged 3500 miles per year, and that, if one was really dedicated to advancing, the mileage would be much greater than that.  I didn’t pay much attention to that at the time.  I was already most of the way through a year.  But I did add a cumulative mileage function to my training logs.

The next year, I set a goal.  It was a goal in terms of miles ridden cumulatively.  Like many of my early goals, it was not very well informed, and largely unrealistic.

By the end of April, I was well behind my target, but not worried, as I still had much of the year ahead, and the worst of the weather behind.

Mid June arrived, and I was way behind my goal mileage.  I am serious about goals, so I set out to rectify the situation.  I set a revised schedule of miles to be ridden per month, week, and day.  I worked assiduously to do a bit more than goal on each ride.  I started to catch up to my target.

But other things happened too.  I wasn’t getting the results in my races.  I was tired and irritable.  I started to dread the rides.  I’d made cycling a job!  It wasn’t fun any more.

Late in the year, I suffered a cycling related skeletal injury.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was most likely somewhat a result of overtraining and fatigue.  I certainly aggravated it by attempting to get back into my “program” way too soon.

I’d fallen farther behind my mileage goal.  By the end of the year, I was actually, secretly, looking forward to getting off the bike for a while.  I didn’t make the annual goal miles.

The next year was a repeat of the previous one.  I had less fun, and worse results, and more injuries.  I was attempting to follow the Eddy Merckx training plan.  (Ride.  Lots.)  But there was one significant problem.  I am not Eddy Merckx.

While I wasn’t looking a revolution was taking place.  Along came Tudor Bompa, Joe Friel, et al.  The concept of periodized training was revolutionizing all of athletic training.  Wisely does the sage Friel say,  “Most of the riding that most cyclist perform is simply the accumulation of junk miles.”  (Emphasis mine.)  Friel’s point is that the mere accumulation of mileage is rather pointless, and most of us are riding in a region that is too hard to build all important base, and too easy to be of any use in increasing stamina.  At the same time we are beating ourselves to a pulp, and overtraining.

When I read that, it was like the sun coming up, in brilliant glory, after a long dark night.

Mileage is a byproduct of proper training.  It is also a byproduct of simply riding to get somewhere, or of riding for the sheer joy of riding.  Oops.  Riding for miles has a nasty habit of sucking all the oxygen out of riding.

I’m glad to see a lot of folks tracking their mileage.  I just hope we aren’t falling into a trap, and bowing down before the altar of a false god.

I confess, it’s fun to see the miles mount up, as a good year of riding progresses.  But it’s the riding that matters.

Thursday Thoughts: How we ride

Being a random collection of thoughts on the state of the bike in early Winter.

We who are devoted road riders are a bit like Mongol warriors.  We live on our bikes, as they did on their horses.  We don’t do so well walking, or dismounted.  In groups, we tend not so show a lot of order to our movements.  We are highly maneuverable, but individually, quite vulnerable.  In crowded situations we can break free and go just about anywhere we want.

It’s good to get into the woods again.  There is something amazing about rolling along a trail, and discovering little spots of magic.  Motor traffic and intersections are something we don’t have to worry about, and the noise volume is way down.  The “Stinky Trail” is a complete joy.  There are so many interesting and neat things about it.  One passes a bend and finds little touches.  I’d really like to do it in the snow.  Not a lot of snow, mind you, but it would be fun in a two inch blanket.

We are so fortunate to have the path network, here in Peachtree City.  It’s good to be jump on a bike and go anywhere in town, with little attention to motor vehicles.  Golf carts are becoming more of a problem.  They seem to proliferate with geometric speed.  On the other hand, Winter evening rides are a joy.  When it’s cold and dark, we cyclists own the paths.  We encounter only the occasional dog walker, and possibly only three or four carts in an hour of riding.

Stationary trainers and rollers can save one’s sanity.  I’ve logged already quite a few hours on the trainer this Fall.  I’ve just started the “Annual Humiliation” of recurrency work on the rollers.  I managed to disgrace myself completely for about a half hour.  By the end, I was staying on for five minutes.  Five wobbly minutes, but I’ll take it.  I might add, I worked up a delightful sweat doing it.

It’s time to embrace the cold.  Yes, we long for those long hot days of Summer, and we dream of the pleasant times to come.  But this is the time of their birthing.  Now we maintain, select, train, plan, and dream. 

Christmas is next week.  The year is about done.

Welcome Winter.

Looking Forward

The road edition of the Christmas Lights Rides should make a fitting end to a season of night rides.  A group of us have marked the cardinal and semi-cardinal points of the year, by riding at night.  We were out on the Summer Solstice, the Autumn Equinox, and the rough mid-point of each season.  It just so happens that the Christmas Lights Road Ride falls on the night before the Winter Solstice.  I don’t envision doing a mid-Winter night ride, so I guess, after this; we’re done until Spring.

Not that we will be done with riding, or with night riding.  There is still the Penance Ride on 1 January 2011.  That’s an auspicious way to start the coming year.  (And do be aware, if you feel you are not up for a full 100+ mile ride, there is a “bailout option,” of about 65 miles.  Both cuesheets will be available at ride time.

We’re all hopeful that the current nastiness will abate around the Christmas to New Years timeframe.  There will be Dawn Patrols throughout the Winter.  (Check the Touring Calendar to the left for dates.)

I, for one have already been hitting the trainer.  I plan to do my annual refresher training on rollers in the near future.  Trainers, rollers, and Spin Class are good things to do when it gets dark and nasty out.  (I’ll let you know how that goes.)  I’m not terribly fond of the “hamsterbike,” but when the alternatives are inactivity, or extreme cold, it starts to look pretty attractive.

Spin Classes turn out to be an amazing amount of fun.  I never expected that, but it’s true.

And we can always look forward to the challenge of Spring riding, with its chancy and changeable weather conditions.  I, for one, can hardly wait for the first Audax Tune Up!

Here’s a possibility:  Some years ago, I attempted a thing I called a Spin Master Class.  I think the name needs some work.  Possibly the words “Expert” or “Advanced” should be substituted in.  The idea was that once a week, those of us who were interested, could meet for a supplemental Spin Class.  I chose to do this very early in the day, on Saturdays.  For those looking for a more intense exercise session, to supplement the “regular” classes, this was the E-ticket Ride.

Details:  Meet once a week.  Small additional fee for class.  A workout much like the ones in the “regular” classes, but with more emphasis on cardio intensity intervals and active recovery.  Workout to last about one hour.

I’m interested to know if any of you have a serious interest in something like this.  Let me know by email, or comment to this blog.

New Rig:

“I love to go mountain biking, but you have to go so far to find good trails.  I just about never go.” 

I’ve heard that quote a lot, and uttered it myself from time to time.

A SOLUTION PRESENTS ITSELF!  Now, thanks to the good offices of the South Side Cycling Club and Peachtree City government, we don’t have to go far at all.  In fact it is now possible to ride our bikes to the trail head, and play in the dirt locally.  There are two different trails in town.  One of them is at the Baseball Soccer Complex, and the other, the Stinky Trail, is accessible from the bike paths, just off of Crosstown Road.  (If you are unclear on location and access, please come by Bicycles Unlimited.  We are happy to direct you and advise you on trail conditions and equipment.)

I greatly enjoy off-road riding.  Playing in the dirt.  Mountain biking.  But like the complaint I opened with, over the past five or six years, I’ve gone out less and less.  The time commitment needed to go to event he more local trails has tended to restrict and limit.  As a result, I’ve gradually eliminated all of the more serious dirt riding equipment from my stable.  Sure, I have a couple of rigs that do “okay” off road, but they aren’t true mountain bikes.  More, I’m basically a road rider.  I guess I just sort of lost the incentive.

With the advent of the local trails that has all changed.  I’ve ridden the BSC Trails on the FrankenFixed, and had a lot of fun doing it.  I tackled the Stinky Trail on the old ‘Goose SS.  That was fun too.  On those occasions, it occurred to me that the bike was limiting what I could do.  Sure, it was fun, but…

Enter the Solution!

I just got this baby.  It’s a Giant.  It’s an XtC 29er.  That means it’s an aluminum frame, hardtail, with a set of 29er wheels. 

The new ride

The thing is a no bones, mountain bike.  It’s made for cross-country riding, and it’s a great machine for our conditions.  Might I add, it climbs like a scalded cat, and handles with surefooted quicketude.  The brakes are fantastic.  (Yahoo!)  More, the wonderful folks at Giant and Shimano have developed a “29er specific” driveline.  But most important (to me) the bike fits!  It fits in a lot of ways.  The size is right, and it fits my particular riding style.  Wow!

Technical Digression  (skip this if tech stuff bores you):  You who have followed this blog for some time, will know that I’ve played around with various forms of the 29er type bike.  I’m impressed with how well they handle climbing, and how readily they roll over the rough stuff.  But there is an inherent problem.  You see, a 29er is actually a 700C sized wheel, with mountain tires on it.  It’s about 29 inches in diameter.  (Hence the name.) 

The thing is, with all that extra width, each rotation of the tire takes one about 12% farther.  When you consider that the usual “step” between gears is around 5 to 7 %, that’s pretty significant.  Boiled down, conventional mountain bike drivelines are just not low enough to handle the effectively higher final ratio of the big tires.

The 29er specific driveline has a much lower final, and is a bit lower on the high end.  That makes for delightful climbing, and still delivers plenty of top end.

~~ End Digression.

I’ve had the new bike on the paths in Peachtree City, and I’ve managed to do a fairly good, and seriously proper, off road ride with it.  It’s a blast!  Absolutely huge Fun Factor.”

The fun won’t stop there.  I expect to do a good bit more riding on this.  I’ll be spending a lot more time on our local trails.  I fully expect to take some of you with me.  Keep watching for more on that.

What to do about Winter?

Let’s review the bidding.  December is an Autumn month.  Winter does not start until 21 December.  So what’s with all this extremely cold stuff we’ve been experiencing?  The bad news is, it’s here to stay for a while.  The good news is that it won’t last.  For those of us who would much much rather ride outside, it’s going to be difficult for a while.

Cold Injuries:  Exposure to severe cold can result in several serious injuries, among these, Frostbite, chilblains, and trenchfoot.  Cold injuries are curious in that they tend to make the affected individual more susceptible to cold injuries in the future.  Think about this for a moment.  If one breaks a bone, the break site heals and is stronger.  Blisters, once healed begin a process of callus development.  The skin is tougher.  Over-exerted muscle tissue, once recovered, becomes stronger.  Not so with cold or heat injuries.

Cold injuries tend to be most prevalent in the extremities.  Hands and feet are especially susceptible.  In serious cold, the extremities require more protection and care.  Basically, if you have ever had a cold injury of the hands or feet, protect them, and keep them warm.

If you have the luxury of selecting the times you can ride, the next few weeks won’t be too terrible bad.  Simply wait until around noon, and get it done by three.  The mid-day temps are likely to be bearable, and it will be sunny more than not.

If you are an early morning rider, the next few weeks are gonna be tough.  My personal lower limit is 20 degrees.  I say that, but must add, that it’s difficult to operate in those temps.  We are going to be seeing early morning lows around 20, and even lower.  Ouch.

Riding in the late afternoon, and early evening will be challenging.  Temps start to drop between 2:00 and 3:00 P.M.  Worse, the seem to take a fairly sharp drop at sunset.  Dress warmly, and bring more clothing than you need at the start of the ride.  Expect to stop and pull more stuff on.  (See below for an important note on that.)  Folks intending to do either of the upcoming Christmas Lights Rides should pay attention to this.  It will be getting colder as we advance into the night hours.

Trainers, Rollers, and Spin Class were invented for just this kind of thing.  (Personally, I was hoping to give mine more of a break.  Last year was enough of a test, thank you very much!)

Above all be Patient folks.  As we look ahead, past Christmas, it appears that there is a good chance of a warming trend.  This current situation just may be the coldest temps we will experience this Winter.

Cold weather riding techniques:  Keep a good steady amount of effort going.  The activity will warm you.  Hills should be climbed with a steady effort.  Do not attack hills, as the extra output is likely to cause you to sweat, and then force a much less active recovery interval.  That’s a recipe for getting very cold.

Descending:  This is one of those counter-intuitive items.  We know that descending cools us off.  We are also aware that descending at a faster rate will cool us more.  Both true.  But as a result, the tendency is to brake and slow on the descents.  This is actually the wrong technique.  The problem is that braking, or slowing a descent increases the time.  The rider spends more time at rest, while coolig is increased due to increased air flow.  The best technique is to tuck down, into a tight aerodnamic position, and go as fast as possible.  This does two things.  It presests less body area to the wind, thus invoking less cooling.  Second, a rapid descent decreases the time of exposure, and that limits the total cooling effect.  So get it over with!

NOTES on advancing into cooling conditions:  The key is to plan for it.  Look at the temps at ride time.  Dress for them, and plan to ride easily at first.  If you are too warm, and go too hard, you will sweat, and then the chill really hits.  The idea is, warm up as the temps drop.  Have those extra layers already prepared, and carry them with you.  Organize them so that you can access them in the order that you will need them.  Make supplemental clothing stops brief!  Stopping is the enemy.  When you are stopped you tend to cool quickly.  So stop, pull out the gear you will need, and get it on fast.  Then get moving again.  Christmas Lights Riders take note, we will be watching the weather closely.  If it looks like a rapidly cooling night, we will plan to make a group stop for clothing adjustment.  Likely this stop will be about an hour into the ride.

Friday Follies ~~ Hot

The day started out warm.  The dawn reading on my porch thermometer was 83 degrees F.  And I had a heavy day planned.  There was a stinkin’ lot to do before I would be able to get on my bike and go for the long ride I desired.

I had to cut the grass, and worse, the part that was not shaded.  Better get that done early.  Then there was the pruning and weeding.  If I hustled, I’d have some shade for most of that.  There was the usual host of indoors chores to be checked off.  And the airconditioner was had a case of the colly-wobbles again.

What with a couple of dozen things, and another, it was almost 2:00 P.M. before I was ready to grab shorts, pump tires, and roll.

The weather guys on the radio where saying the temps would not reach 100, but only be in the “high 90s.”  I had no way of checking, but I estimated that it must have been about 99.999999999 degrees F.  And it’s always a good five to ten degrees warmer on the road.  So be it.

I rolled.

I knew it was a day to stay inside myself, not to push hard.  I was drinking steadily, and could tell I would need to refill bottles about every hour.

It was a good day for a solo Summer ride.  I moved steadily, just enjoying the clear sunny mid-Summer day.  It was beautiful out, even if it was too hot for the birds to sing.

About a half hour into my journey, I came to the first traffic light on my rambling route.  It was, of course, at a very large intersection.  With all that asphalt, and all those cars, it was hotter than the hinges of hades.  At the moment I stopped, my body’s cooling systems were overwhelmed.  Sweat poured down out of my helmet, and into my eyes.  I was standing waiting for the light, and totally “sweat blind.”  I had to douse from my bottle to clear my vision.

“Hey!”  a motorist called to me from a powered down window.  “Didn’t I just see you out in Brooks?”

I agreed.

“How in the world did you get here so fast?”

I replied,  “I rode.”

The light changed and we parted.  I was smiling.

The thunderstorm, on the way home was welcome.  The rain wasn’t exactly cool.  It was more like bathwater, falling from the sky.  But it was still a good bit cooler than I was, and it was refreshing.  The shower didn’t last long, and I was dried out, and good and hot again before I arrived home.

All in all, it was a good hot day on the bike.

Thursday Thoughts ~~ Let’s give back to the Sport

“Cycling has been good to me.”

Does that statement sound right?  If so, may we ask, have I returned the favor?  What have we, each and every one of us done to improve this wonderful sport, activity, pastime, therapy, passion, and joy?

Here’s a small list of things that might help our sport.  Perhaps you can think of more and add them in comments.

• Invite someone into the sport and help them get started.
• Wave, smile and be courteous and welcoming to all we encounter on the road.
• Stop and help a motorist.
• Join South Side Cycling Club Link.
• Give a kid a bike, and get them going on it.
• Make a donation to the League of American Bicyclists advocacy fund.
• Write to your congressman, senators, state representative, to your county commissioners, and your city council. Let them know (politely please) that you support them, and appreciate their work on our behalf.
• Ride like you are a neighbor and citizen of your community.

Just a thought.

Strength Work

What follows is by no means an exhaustive set of exercises.  These are good to get one started, and they are extremely useful in developing and strengthening some of the key muscle groups for cycling.

Let us start with a basic little goody.  This is called the "Magic Chair," or sometimes the "Wall Sit."

Magic Chair ~ Basic Position

There are (as we shall see) lots of variations on this goody.  But the idea is to get into the position, and hold it.  This strengthens the quads, and the abs, and with the arm extension (as shown) adds work to the rotator, and to the traps.  That's all good for a cyclist.

Here we see just one of the variations on the Magic Chair.  The addition of dumbells increases the difficulty.  Here's a promise; do this, and you will improve strength in several key support areas.
NOTE:  Start out with light weights!  It's possible to increase the weight as strength increases.

Magic Chair with dumbells.

Another Magic Chair variation

This is a starting position for several good strength exercises.  Please note that the weight has increased a bit in this pose.

Squats:  From the starting position above, gradually lower down into a partial squat.  Do not go lower than shown below.  Hold the squat for a long five count, and then slowly recover.

Weighted Squat

Lunge:  From the same starting position above, Step out into a long low lunge, as shown below.  Then recover by springing up and bringing the trailing leg forward to the start position again.  Repeat alternating first one leg forward, then the other.

Lunge

Front Leaning Rest:  This one strengthens the core, shoulder support muscles, and the all important upper arms.  (Its not bad for the legs either.)  Start by simply holding the position for 30 seconds at a time.  Relax out of the position, recover, and then repeat.
NOTE:  We are using the dumbell as a rest, gripping it with the hands.  This helps strengthen support muscles in the forearms.

Front Leaning Rest

Pushups from and elevated base:  This strengthens the core, as well as working on the glutes, and the support muscles in the arms, shoulders, and neck.  It's just like a pushup, except that the feet are on a stable elevated rest.

Dumbell extension, moving into an inverted side curl.  Again, start with lighter weights and work up, gradually to heavier loads.  Make the movements slow.  This should be a ten count exercise.

Begin

Hold those upper arms up!

Completed motion

Now reverse, back through the whole motion to the start.  Repeat five times and recover.



Butterfly Rotations:  Start from the extended postion, as above, and slowly rotate the extended arms through a 360 degree circle.  Do this in a slow ten count, recover and repeat.

Toe Raises, or Heel Lifts:  This can be done on a stack of big thick books, a two-by-four, or a step.  It's okay to extend your hand to the wall to stabilize.

Lower yourself down, and hold.  A three count to lower, a three count hold.

Now do a three count to raid up to a level foot postion and hold it for another three count.

And another three count to raise up as high as possible, then hold for a three count.

And repeat for five reps.

Have fun with these!