TimeCrunch & Time Out

It’s been just a wee tad busy out for a while now.  I am facing a period where there is just way too much week in the week.  Something has to give.

In this case, the “something” is this blog.  Please do not be alarmed, gentle reader.  We are not going away.  But this will be a very abbreviated post.

I’m sure you all encounter this from time to time.  There are some things in life too which we simply must attended.  Take this morning for instance.  I was giving serious consideration to spending another hour in bed, sleeping.  That was when my bicycle came into my room, and shook me.  (Rather rudely, I might add.)  The bike was adamant.  It was time to get up, and go out, and ride.  The bike was not interested in the recent late nights, or my other pleadings.  “Time to ride!”  it said.  Implacable.

For a lot of reasons, I will not be riding on Friday, and likely not on Saturday.  After that, I just may make a few posts.

What I’m leading up to here, is that it’s time for a vacation.  As of 8:00 P.M. this day, I am going off duty.  Normal posting will resume on 8 November.  In the meantime, I may slip a post in, but only if the spirit moves me.

Enjoy yourselves and do be safe during the coming week.

Ride Report: MidFall Celebration Night Ride

I sometimes wonder what people must think or how they perceive us.  Have you ever seen a moderate sized night ride?  It’s a treat.  (If you haven’t been on one, you’ve really missed out.)  When the group is coming toward you, you see a collection of bright lights, some high, some low.  They tend to weave and bob, gliding from side to side in relation to each other.  Now sort of clustered together, now strung out in a long line.  If you are out in your yard, or standing by the road, the thing comes toward you, seeming at first to be moving slowly.  Abruptly, the procession seems to speed up.  You may hear a voice or two, but you can’t make out what is being said.  The whole thing passes with sudden speed.  You have a moment when you may perceive that these are people on silent bicycles, reflectors in place, gliding through the night.  Then the group has passed, and you see only the collection of flashing red tail lights, receding into the distance.

I’ve seen some of the reactions.  People will stand and stare.  Sometimes they are obviously startled.  Motorists don’t seem to know what to make of us either.  They slow down.  They are reluctant to pass.  They tend to give us a wider berth.  Do they tell each other about us, the next day or so?  What do they say?

After a somewhat inauspicious day, we had near perfect conditions for last night’s ride.  The temps started in the low 70s, and only gradually dropped into the 60s.  We encountered not one drop of rain.  The sky was mostly clear, with enough cloud to give the rising full moon a lot of character.  We had very little motor traffic to contend with.  I think we might have encountered as many as 15 cars in the entire three hour ride.

The pace was (for the most part) comfortable.  We traveled about 33 miles.  Present were Scott, Bob, Judy, Dan, Chris, Teresa, Amanda, and me.  We got under way a bit late, as I was delayed leaving the shop.  (Thank you all for your patience!)

The route was the star of the evening.  We left Holonville and rode to Concord, then turned back to the west, and intercepted Flat Shoals Road.  It’s a deceptive road.  It leaves the impression that one is going mostly downhill to the Flint River, but there is a surprising amount of climbing along it.  Crossing the big bridge at the Flat Shoals was the first of the promised bridges for the evening.

Leaving the Flint behind, we climbed a stout grade for about a mile and then hit the second of the night’s surprises, a turn onto a dirt road.  This is Covered Bridge Road, but you have to be quick to see the sign.

The impression on Covered Bridge Road, is that you have managed to get well into the middle of nowhere.  There is not much in the way of signs of habitation or commerce.  It’s a long dirt road, with nothing remarkable on it.  Occasionally the road is rutted with “washboard” stutters, sometimes it’s deep in sand, mostly, it’s an almost smooth dirt road.  Three and a half miles of it, mostly downhill, and then, there is an apparent gate looming ahead.  This is the warning before traversing the covered bridge.

We stopped on the long, uncovered wooden span, to allow the group to reassemble.  (Many riders are not comfortable on dirt, and speed will vary, especially at night.)  Then, with a warning to stay off of the “tread planks” we proceeded along the long open span, and through the covered portion.  This is a fun thing on a bike, doubly so at night.

Once through the bridge, we were on pavement again.  I heard someone remark,  “I’ll never complain about rough pavement again!  As long as it’s paved, it’s good!”

From the covered bridge, we intercepted GA-85, and turned north to Gay.  As we rode, the moon was rising to our right, and illuminating the clouds in an amazing way.  It was distracting.  I for one, wanted to watch the moonrise, and found it distracted from my riding.  I don’t think I was alone in this.  The whole group opened up intervals, and grew quite.

At Gay we turned off of 85, and then along wonderful (sometimes a bit rough) pavement, on Mt Carmel Road, to GA-362, and finally, along 362 back to Hollonville.

Just a super nice ride, with just wonderful folk.  And no dogs!

Limits

There are many “limits” in the world.  Speed limits, “spending limits,” city limits, others spring to mind.  Back some time several really bright mathematicians devised a novel approach to a whole series of problems.  This involved setting a “limit” on a curve.  They discovered that amazing and marvelous things occurred as the function approached this limit.

Cycling is, sometimes a bit like that.  We think we know what our limits are.  Again and again, we discover that we can transcend those borders.  But there comes a time when we have pretty well established the boundaries of what is possible for us.  These are things like,  “I can’t go faster than 22 mph.”  Or it might be,  “I can not ride farther than 125 miles.”

Once we have established our boundaries, we tend to think of them as permanent and beyond question.  I would like to suggest that we test our limits from time to time.  Just as those mathematicians, we are likely to discover that interesting and surprising things can occur as we approach them.

It is sad, how often I hear self-imposed limitations.  And I do hear them.  I often witness self-imposed limitations attributed to age, to gender, to condition of life.  But I know this, amazing things happen as we approach our limits.  Sometimes we discover that the limit was an illusion.  Sometimes we find a completely different way to think and live.  And yes, sometimes we come back from the effort with a new knowledge of ourselves and with new limits, ones that are not as restricting.

So every once in a while, I suggest, we all get on a bike, and go do something that scares us.  Approach some limit and test it.

Notes:  The MidFall Celebration Night Ride is tonight!  And we will go, rain or shine.  See Friday's post for details.

Friday Follies ~~ Lists

Things I won’t do again (a partial list):

Roller skate with little children

Ice Skate on a mountain lake at night

Ride a motorcycle  (I’ve proven I can’t be trusted with one!)

Jump out of a perfectly good airplane in the air

Surfing

Hang gliding

Run another marathon

Descend a mountain, on a bicycle, in the snow

Eat sushi

Eat a baht bug

Poker

Wrestle an oiled pig

Jump a bicycle over a fire

Dodge an alligator on a bike

Deliberately ride into a clothesline

Technical rock climbing

Swim with barracudas

Crit racing

Mountain bike racing

Bicycling “under the influence”

Things I will do again (partial list):

Ride into a sunset

Ride the sunrise up into the sky

Ride up one of the grande cols of France

Ride in the Winter

Ride home in the falling snow

Share a beer with new friends at the end of a long ride

Long tours

Things I haven’t done yet (partial list):

Transcontinental tour west to east or the other way ‘round.

Pacific Coast tour

Baja on a bicycle

The Blue Ridge Parkway, north to south, in one tour

100 mile mountain bike ride (Leadville?)

Touring in Europe

More all night rides

More rides

More…

Random Notes:   This coming Monday, 25 October 2010 is the MID-FALL CELEBRATION NIGHT RIDE.  I’m recommending that you plan to use your tourist-type bicycle, or your more rugged duty bike.  We’ll hit some rough roads, but it will be worth it.  Incidentally, the heavier bike suggestion has an implication.  We’ll be going at a bit slower pace, and I do have a somewhat shorter “bailout” plan.  If we’re a bit slow, I will shorten the route accordingly.  (I don’t plan to have us out all night.)

Where:  Hollonville Opry House  (GA-362 & Kings Bridge Rd.)

Date: Monday, October 25

Time:  7:30 (sharp)

Distance/Pace:  40 to 45 miles, moderate touring pace.  Group stays

 Together. 

Requirements/Conditions:  Ride goes rain or shine.  Good lights, tail lights,

reflective vest or sash, reflective ankle bands, helmet.  Dress for weather.

Thursday Thoughts ~~ Reboot?

Technology advances.  So does marketing.  Take any good, functional, desirable product and two forces will work to change it.  First, there are the passionate devotees, who are constantly seeking ways to improve the thing.  Then there are the marketing folks, who simply want to find ways to make it sell more.  Both will try to change the thing.  The results are not always good or bad, and sometimes it can be hard to tell who is responsible.

On occasion some of these folks attempt to solve problems that don’t exist.  There are some basic areas that seem to cry out for “improvement.”  Weight, comfort, ease of use, braking, and reliability come to mind.  Always bear in mind, the people who make bikes want to sell them.  They want to sell more of them.  They will do absolutely anything, sensible or not, to make the new bike seem more attractive than the one you already have.

In the last 20 years, we’ve seen an enormous amount of change and advancement in bicycle technology.  As a result of this, high-end bikes have become incredibly light, surprisingly reliable, and much more versatile.  But you can only make a bike so light, and you can only add so many gears.

Now, it seems, the coming thing is to add electronics to the bike.  And why not?  After all, the addition of on-board computers and electronic controls did a lot for automobiles.

There are, however, some problems with this.  You see, it’s the human who is the engine.  It’s difficult to imagine tackling that problem with electronic devices.  No doubt someone will try.  Then the UCI will ban it from mass start events.  Then some big name racer will find a way to use the thing as a cheat.  (Come to think, something like that happened this year.)

We are not totally opposed to adding electronic devices to a bike.  We’ve been using a variety of cyclocomputers, GPS systems, and heart rate monitors for some time now.  But these are accessories.  If they fail, the bike keeps on working.

There are, and have been a lot of folks who think the wave of the future involves adding motors to the bike.  I wish them well.  I will never, willingly, have anything to do with such devices of the devil.  We are dedicated to bicycles here, not to thinly disguised motorcycles.

But what happens when the electronics are incorporated into the fundamental workings of the bike?  At this moment, Shimano is marketing an electronic shifting system.  It’s fancy.  It’s expensive.  If, no when, it fails the bike becomes unusable.  Others have tried this before, with very limited success.

As of this writing, the Shimano Di2 system is only available at the very top of their pricing structure.  It will, if successful, start to trickle down through the brand’s line.  Why would we want such a thing?  The answer is, “It makes the bike easier and faster to shift.”  Really.

I can only imagine what will happen in the field.  How will this thing hold up?  What will it act like when the driveline components start to wear?  What kind of abuse will it take?  And above all, what happens when the battery runs out of juice?

Above all, the thing depends on a computer.  We can only imagine what kind of things that will entail.  Do we really want to deal with software issues while riding?

Let’s look into the future for a moment.  It’s a beautiful sunny day.  You are out for a ride on your wonder bike.  All is well with the world.  But suddenly the bike shifts into an unwanted, gear, one that is exceptionally too high for the hill you are on, or way too low for the flat you are rolling.  A “system maintenance needed” light starts flashing on your dashboard.  You apply the brakes and the ABS system kicks in, bringing you to a very abrupt, shuddering, stop.  You attempt to restart the system, but it doesn’t seem to want to work.  You pick up the onboard phone to call for help.  The integrated GPS tells you that you are either in Marrakesh, or Sri Lanka, and the phone shows “no service.”  Congratulations.  You have just become a pedestrian.

More Progress

Here she is.  This is the “new build.”  It’s a Surly Traveler’s Check.  That’s their Cross Check frame, with the S&S couplers.  The frame couplers make it possible for this bike to perform a pretty neat trick.  (More on that soon.)

Here she is, in current trim.

Another, and slightly more flattering, view.

For now, this is a neat bike.  It’s a single speed, or it’s a fixie.  The magic is in the rear hub.  That’s a SRAM Torpedo.  The special thing about the hub is that it can be a fixed gear, or a freewheeling single speed, with the flick of a common screwdriver.

I’ve now put about 25 miles on the bike, and so far, I’m completely delighted with it.  This is a versatile frame.  There's a lot of clearance, for larger tires, fenders, mud, or whatever.  The bike's handling is sure, but delightfully responsive.  Rare, for me (with my huge feet) I don't have to worry about toe strike when cornering sharply!

In the very near future, I’ll be showing off, letting you see the bike’s big trick.

Like most projects, this one evolved and changed as I was working on it.  It is both more, and less than I envisioned.  Will this one be one of the "great favorites"?  Or will this become just another passing fancy.  Time will tell.

Next Project:  Now I have to build up the old frame, from years past, for this year’s Spin Class Season.  I have to get that done quick.  There’s some down time coming, but I’ll be instructing as soon as I get back.

Conflicts of Interest

How do we balance our lives?  We who ride bikes, and do so passionately, are faced with some challenges.  We all lead many different lives.  There is our work, which demands a lot of us.  Family and friends make their time demands on us.  We need to spend so many hours each day and week, doing the simple basics of living.  Cycling is a notoriously “time hungry” sport.  It is hard to “do it all.”

One thing I’ve noticed.  The dedicated cyclists among us generally haven’t a clue as to what is happening on Dancing with the Stars or other “reality TV.”

To maintain basic fitness requires at least five to seven hours of exercise per week.  Do less, and fitness suffers.  Do more, and fitness is increased.  (Of course it’s more complicated than that.  We’re talking fundamentals here.)

There is a question I get, fairly frequently, that I do not understand.  It is this.  “Are you riding today?”  The answer is,  “Yes.”  And on this particular day, I’m going riding, instead of blogging.

See ya!

Into the Swing of things

Here we go again.  It’s Monday.  It’s mid-October, and just about mid-Autumn.  Halloween is barreling down the road, coming right at us, and chasing the break are the Holidays!  In the meantime, let’s ride every chance we get, and make the most of those rides.  The time is right, the world is waiting.  It’s Autumn in north Georgia, and that’s about as good as it gets.

Holiday Gift Hinting:  For any of you who are working on gifts for the cyclist in your life, or who want some help hinting to others, refer to a previous post on the topic.  Gift hinting    

One week until MidFall Celebration Night Ride!  I’m stoked up about this one.  The route is going to be a blast, and the timing is right.  Expect to need to dress a bit warmer.  We’ll plan to make a stop to allow riders to pull on more clothing, about midway through the route.

Recommended:  Good lights, as always on these rides.  Watch the weather and dress accordingly.  Those of you who have the option, plan to bring your more rugged, more touring oriented bikes.

The New Build is Done!  Keep watching this spot.  I’ll have pictures and discussion up on this one soon.

Watch this space, and watch the Tuesday Tome!  We're adding a lot of seasonal rides.  Plans are in the works to bring back the Dawn Patrols.

Friday Follies ~~ Winter Mountain Biking

Winter is coming.  I think we can all feel it.  We’re enjoying a truly spectacular Autumn, but we know that it won’t last.  It will get colder, and darker.

Over the many years, I’ve suggested that one great way to get some Winter cycling done is to go mountain biking.  There are a lot of arguments for this.  The speeds are not as great, so one doesn’t encounter as much wind chill.  In among the trees there is more wind shelter too.  Mountain biking subjects us to steeper climbs, so we tend to make more body heat.  That helps too.

There are more serious aspects.  Mountain biking, off road, cross-country riding develops and hones bike handling skills.  Those skills just could come in handy on the road.

But more than any practical reason, it is just plain fun to get outside, into the woods, and play on a bike!

A good friend of mine is a pretty dedicated mountain bike rider.  Jim is an all around good guy, but he loves to get out into the back woods, preferably in the mountains.

Jim is a good bike handler.  He is not a crazy-nuts dare devil, but he has good skills.  More, he has an unusual talent.  Jim finds water.  He likes to get wet, and he has a positive genius for finding stream crossings.  Go riding with Jim, and you come back with wet feet.  I haven’t done this, but I am certain that, if Jim and I went for an off-road ride in the Mojave Desert, he would find a way to get us into water.  It would turn out that the stream was too wide to portage, and there would be no other way around it.

I should add, temperature does not deter this man.  I have been with him when it was in the mid-30s, and there were were, up to our knees in a wide stream crossing.  Ice was floating by, and Jim was grinning his head off.

Now I am not averse to water.  I know how to dress for cold temps.  But the combination of wet and cold is pretty tough.  Yet, my friend Jim seems to thrive on it.

A couple of years ago, Jim and I led a group on a mountain bike adventure weekend.  It was a blast.  It was in the late Fall, and it was up in the north Georgia mountains.  We hit Smith Gall woods.  Multiple stream fordings.  Deep water.  Chilly morning.  We even managed to find some wet stuff in Unicoi State Park.  I have this memory of stopping to pull my winter riding boots off and drain them, ring my socks out, and pull the whole sodden mess back on.

It’s been a while since Jim and I managed to coordinate schedules and get into the woods together.  It’s getting cooler out.  I’m thinking about going off-road riding.  I guess it’s about time to get my feet wet again.

Thursday Thoughts ~~ Presumptuous Assumptions

There’s something I have to get off of my chest.  So I’m engaging the Rant Mode.  Feel free to skip this post if that kind of thing bothers you.

Entering Rant mode…  NOW.  {*}{*}{*}

Before I go any farther, I must state this.  I’m not picking on any one person, and this is not aimed at any individual.  That said, some of you might have been guilty of this from time to time.

Let me paint a picture.

The shop is closed.  It’s almost ride time.  There are a group of riders gathered in front of the shop.  I’m among them.  We are waiting for the tick of the clock, for the official start time.  And someone comes up to me.  They want advice, or they want me to open the shop, or to “just look at this old bike I have.”  Basically they want me to go to work.  More, they want it outside of my working hours.  More, they want it for free!

I know others who encounter this kind of thing.  Doctors.  Lawyers.  Plumbers.  It happens.  I really feel for them.  I’m especially careful not to do this kind of thing to acquaintances and friends in other professions.

I work in a bike shop.  I do so because I like working, and I like working on bicycles and with bike people.  But the central reason that I work in a bicycle shop is that I ride.  Anything that interferes with that, with the riding, is going to be resented.

I might add, when this kind of thing happens, it’s apparent that the individual in question is not working.  I often wonder what would happen if I asked the intruder to do some free work, in their field, right then and there.  I’m certain such a request/demand would be resented.

Sometimes cyclists are just as guilty, or even more so.  I know that, in the heat of the moment, it seems like the most important thing in your world.  You simply have to get that flat fixed, or that balky shifter attended to.  But the shop is closed, and I’m on my own time.  Don’t even think about asking!  (The one question that might be appropriate, is,  “What are the shop hours and when are you going to be in there?”  Do not start to describe your problem!  Save that for working hours.  Do not presume to think that your failure to plan for your upcoming event constitutes a special case, and requires my immediate attention.

Listen folks.  I love you.  I want you to ride your bikes and get healthy, and strong, and happy.  However,  that desire does not mean I am willing to give up my ride time, and the time of others, to attend to your particular problem.

Respect.  There is a huge lack of respect involved in the act of approaching someone and expecting them to drop what they are doing, in their hard earned leisure time, and jump to a task.  This says that the individual in question feels they have some reason to expect to be treated as a special case.  The usual rules do not apply to them.  They obviously feel that they are somehow entitled to something outside the norm.  The demeanor of this kind of individual clearly states,  “I do not respect you, but I am entitled to a greater amount of respect from you.”  The last time I checked, we don’t have any royalty in this republic.

When it comes right down to it, there’s a whole lot of disrespect going on in our society right about now.  Cyclists show a lack of courtesy and respect when they blast through intersections, disregarding traffic laws.  Motorists fail to respect cyclist’s space on the road.  Politicians… Well, I won’t even go there.

People, let’s all show a little respect, courtesy, and a bit of consideration for our neighbors.  Okay?

Done.  {*}{*}{*} Rant Drive Off.  There!  I feel much better now.

Have a great day, everyone.

Autumn Expectations

We are actually having an Autumn season.  We can expect odd weather from time to time.  That’s part of living in north Georgia.  We are inland, and at a surprising elevation.  These things affect our weather.  There is no nearby large body of water to moderate our temp swings.  Most of our weather comes to us from somewhere else.  A lot depends on just which air masses get here, and in what order they arrive.

All that said, there is a La nina pattern in the Pacific.  This is sort of the opposite of an El Nino.  What it means for us is that we expect to see warmer than usual average temperatures, and drier conditions for the Fall and Winter.

Please notice the use of the word average.  We can expect to see big temperature swings on a daily basis, and over weeks too.  The averages will be higher, the swings will, likely, be wider.  It should be drier than the “normal,” but that doesn’t mean no rain.

What does that mean for cyclists?  We’re going to see some more really good riding weather, but we’ll need to be prepared for a wider set of conditions.  This is especially true for long rides.  It may start out quite cool, but the same day could turn very warm.  Expect to see plenty of days with a 25 to 30 degree temperature swing.  That means we’ll likely have to wear, and then carry, more clothing.

The long dry stretches will be tempting, but carry your rain jacket.  The rain, when it comes, will often do so without a lot of warning.

Learn to handle weather.  It’s going to be a good season to work on those weather skills.  For those who haven’t attempted colder riding, night riding, or Winter weather riding in general, this season presents opportunities.    We should see a wide range of conditions (sometimes all in the same day), but they should not be especially severe.  That should provide us with opportunities to attempt riding in varied situations, and yet not risk diving into something too harsh to handle.

It’s been gratifying to see how many folks have talked night riding this year.  Now how about night riding in cooler weather?  Rain?  Hey, maybe some will even attempt commuting.  Who knows where this could end?  We might even see some serious all season cyclists come out of this year.

Got Brakes? (Part 1)

Let’s start with one concept and a few terms.

The brake is the thing that slows you down and stops you.  It does this by using friction to convert mechanical energy to heat energy.  One concept should be kept in mind.  Friction always means wear.  By their very nature, brakes cause something to wear away, and eventually to wear out.

The control that you grab to apply the brakes is the brake lever.

Modulation:  This is the ability to vary the brake force.  A brake should be able to be modulated from barely slowing the wheel to a full lock up.

Center Pull Caliper:  A type of brake found mostly on older road bikes.  There is a straddle cable between two brake arms.  The brake arms rotate on a common pivot, and cross each other to apply force to opposite sides of the rims.

Side Pull Dual Pivot Caliper:  This is the kind of brake found on most modern road bikes.

Cantilever:  You find these on older mountain bikes, on some touring bikes, and on many cyclocross bikes.  These consist of two independent brake arms, with a straddle cable running between them.  Each arm rotates around it’s own pivot.  The pivots are on the forks, or the seat stays, on opposite sides of the wheel.

Linear Pull:  The Shimano proprietary name for these is V-Brakes ™.  Two longer arms, each on its own pivot.  These have a stiff steel “noodle” leading the housing to one side, and a cable between them.

Disk Brakes:  Found on many modern mountain bikes, and some heavy duty road bikes.  A rotor, is a disk of steel, bolted to the center of the hub.  There is a caliper mounted on the frame.  The caliper contains one or two pistons, which move small, high friction pads against the caliper.

There are two basic types of disc brakes.  Mechanical Discs are operated by a brake cable just as the other brake types are.  Hydraulic Discs are not cable operated, but use some kind of brake fluid to operate them.

Drum Brakes:  This is a much less common type of brake.  It has a pair of brake shoes inside a housing, called a drum.  The shoes are move outward to press against the inner surface of the drum.  These are generally a mechanically actuated brake.

There are advantages and drawbacks to every one of these brake types. We’ll be discussing those aspects in some detail in the near future, and we’ll have some tips on maintenance.

Trivia and Updates

Ah the wonders of base ten.  Some may have noted that yesterday was a day of some significance.  That’s because the date (by the purest of arithmetic coincidences) was 10-10-10.  Of course if we only happened to have four digits on each hand it would have been 12-12-2512.  In binary it’s even worse, being 1010-1010-1010.  Given enough time, Shimano will, no doubt, develop that into a driveline, and then Campy will claim they did it first with but theirs will be a 1010-1010-1011 gearset.

MidFall Celebration Night Ride:  It’s coming.  In just two weeks.  Here’s a bit of news on that.  We will meet and depart from the Hollonville Opry House.  It’s at the intersection of GA-362 and Kings Bridge Rd.  Watch the weather.  It could be getting cool that night.  We’ll go rain or shine, warm or cool.

A moon, just a bit past full, will rise for us, just after 8:30.

This ride just might be a bit shorter, but it will be well worth it.  I promise some challenging terrain, and some special rewards.  And just a suggestion here, but those of you with touring type bikes would be well advised to use them.  Don’t worry, the pace will be a bit calmer to allow for that.

Project Update:  The new build project is ne schedule, and maybe just a tad ahead.  I got the driveline completed this past week, and have added a few touches.  For any who are tuning in late, here’s the short and skinny.

I’m building up a Surly Traveler’s Check.  It’s basically a cyclocross frame, with S&S couplers.  So it’s a travel bike too.  I built up a rear wheel around the new SRAM Torpedo hub.  It’s a trick hub that can be used as a single speed or a fixed gear.  It doesn’t shift from one to the other on the fly, but it can be changed with the twist of a screwdriver.  No need to unmount the wheel and flip it.  Expect some pictures along about next week.

Starting tomorrow, we’ll be doing some technical work.  The subject will be brakes.

Friday Follies ~~ Only on a bike in Autumn

My daughter’s first “real bike” was a mountain bike.  That’s pretty common these days.  It’s difficult to find a road bike for a kid.

I must report that I did the same thing I see a lot of folks do.  I wasn’t too sure just how the kid would take to cycling, so I purchased a really cheap hunk of junk, “just to see if she was going to get into it.”

Now here’s a surprise.  I’m a dedicated cyclist.  So of course, I was going to encourage (read cajole and/or threaten on occasion) my kid to ride.  She rode.  She liked it.  It wasn’t always fun, but it was mostly, and it was together time for the both of us.

The junk bike became a problem.  (That’s another shock, I know.)

I replaced the junk bike with a pretty decent one.  It was still a mountain bike, but it was quality.  So naturally, we went looking for mountain biking adventures.  We had a quite a few of them.  I’ve chronicled some of them elsewhere in this blog.

Over time, my daughter became an accomplished off road rider.  Along the way she also got to be downright devastating on the road.

Together, we tried out lots of trails.  We rode at Tsali, and around the Asheville area.  We did a lot of local stuff, the horse park, the Camp Thunder trails, McIntosh Reserve, the old Quarters Road trails, and some that are not, and were never on the map.  We laughed a lot.  We cracked up on occasion.  There were times we came out of the woods soaked, covered in mud, near hypothermia.

I remember one shining moment.  This was near the time when the kid would be leaving home for college.  I think it was the last fall before she left.

The weather had done what it has here recently.  It had turned unseasonably cool, and dry.  Then it warmed a bit.  The leaves were starting to turn.  We had a day, a weekday no less, to go and play.

We prepped the bikes the night before, so as not to lose time in the morning.  It was cool, and dry when we left the house in the early dawn light.  We drove my old beater of a truck to the trail head, chattering all the way.  We were up for it.  We knew, from previous experience, that riding this particular trail in the middle of the week would be great.  There would be no one else out there, no crowding, no one to dodge.

Of course, our planned early start didn’t happen.  There were chores to do, and things that got in the way.  What with ten things and another, we didn’t make it out the door until late morning.

We got to the trail, and saw no one else around.  We had the place to ourselves.  We mounted and rode through the rough parking area to the trailhead.  We stopped at the verge of the trail for a moment.  We could tell by the cover of leaves that no one had been out here for several days.  This was not unusual.  Mostly these trails were ridden on the weekends.

After we worked through the rock garden we were both soon laughing.  We kept breaking through spider webs, and I managed to ingest a bug in one.  Good fun!  Many laughs.  Lots of spider webs.  No one had run through here, no rain had fallen, and the spiders had been busy.

Then we were in thick woods.  We were both warmed up, and the day had grown temperate.  One or the other of us would occasionally shout some kind of statement about the profusion of spider webs.  But then the competitive urge struck us, and we went barreling into it.

After a couple of hours, we reached the summit of a ridge, staring into the late morning sunlight.  We stopped and looked at each other.  Every leading surface on each of us, and on our bikes,  was covered in spider silk.  It glistened silver in the sunlight.  Yes it was sticky, but it was also glorious.

By the time we were leaving the trails, toward the evening of the day, the late sunlight was painting us in gold and orange, draped in our new coats of gossamer webbing.

It took us hours to clean the bikes and ourselves.  I did not have a camera, but I can see those moments, clearly as if they are eternally etched before me.  Light and glistening spider strands, grinning and laughing.  Thank you for this.

Thursday Thoughts ~~ Why they don’t stop!

Why is it that so many bicycle riders blast through stop signs and traffic lights?  On the surface, it would appear to be simple, self-centered lack of respect.  But let’s examine just what it takes to execute an intersection crossing in a group.

Here comes a group of cyclists.  There is traffic present, so they are riding in single file, along the right hand side of the road.  As the group approaches the intersection, the last two riders are checking to their rear.  They make a very good judgment decision.  When the group is closing on the intersection, and when there is sufficient gap in the overtaking traffic, this last pair moves out to “take” the travel lane.  They report their action to the riders ahead, and the entire group forms into pairs.  Now the whole group is making their final, brisk approach to the intersection, two by two.

The lead pair come to a complete stop, stepping to the ground with one foot, and waiting their turn in the rotation.  The moment it is their turn to cross, they push off, re-mounting and accelerating, clearing the intersection rapidly.  The moment they are completely across, they resume their single file formation.  Once they are about a hundred yards past the intersection, and still remaining in single file, they slow down sharply, waiting for the rest of the group to rejoin.

Meanwhile, back at the intersection, the second pair, and each pair in turn, repeats the actions.  Each pair pulls crisply up to the stop line, executes a definite stop, waits, and then clears the intersection with deliberate haste.  No one jumps out of turn, or disturbs the “rotation” of vehicles through the intersection.

After the entire group has cleared, they are likely to be separated by both distance, and a few intervening cars.  Because the leaders are moving slowly, in file, but are stable in their motions and course, the cars that are interspersed are able to pass and go on their way.  Also, the trailing members of the group are able to catch up and re-join.  When the last pair is re-connected, they shout this news forward, to have it echoed “All in!”  The report is repeated by middle position riders, until the lead pair hears it.  At that point, the leaders make a deliberate acceleration, returning to the ride pace.

Two things are required to make all this work.  Skill and trust.

It actually takes a lot of skill to execute an intersection stop and re-start.  A lot of things have to happen, in the correct order, and at a very quick pace.  Riders have to position their bikes, retain situational awareness, and downshift prior to the stop, while waiting until close to the intersection to brake.  They then brake with deliberate force, unclip from pedals, execute a complete stop, re-mount quickly, and accelerate, maintaining correct road position.  Properly executed, this can look like choreographed dance, or precision drill.

The other factor is trust.  Each rider has to be able to trust the riders in front and behind.  Leaders must be trusted not to blast away, taking advantage of the situation to leave others behind.  Following riders must be trustworthy also.  They must be depended upon to hold their positions, report situations, and to execute their duties correctly.

Could it be that most group riders lack the requisite skills necessary to accomplish this evolution correctly?  Could it also be that riders in the group don’t trust the leaders to wait for them?  Perhaps there is reason for both of these conditions?

Believe it.  This bears thinking about.

Another New Voice

I’d like to introduce a new member of the cast.  The story of how I met this individual is a bit long, and can be recounted elsewhere, at a more auspicious moment.  The short version goes like this.  Johann and I were out riding on a dark and moonless night.  We met a starship pilot.  That’s right, a flying saucer, visitor from another star system.  His name, as best as I can render it, is Blxngrff T’grangk.  (If you think the spelling is weird, you ought to hear it pronounced!)  We call him “Bill the Alien.”  It’s easier.

Now here is the first cool part of this.  Bill the Alien looks just like normal Terrestrial humans.  I don’t know if this is clever disguise, or the result of some sci-fi magic hypnosis-ray, or if humans are spread throughout the galaxy, or even if it’s a case of “parallel evolution.”  And Bill the Alien is silent on the question.  But believe me, he looks just as “human” as anyone else you’ve ever met.

The second cool part of the story is that Bill the Alien is a cyclist!  What’s more, he rides often with other cyclists here on Earth.  I’ll let him tell you about it now.

Greetings Earthlings!  This is Blxngrff T’grangk, or “Bill the Alien,” speaking.  Take me to your leader!  Just kidding.  I’ve always wanted to say that.

Before I go any farther, I should note, for those of you who are interested in grammar and diction, my name is properly rendered with a prolateral at the surname, and there should be a double-blat after the grax.  But you don’t have the type faces for this, and Road Dragon did the best he could.

It’s fun being here on Earth.  Your science fiction got an amazing amount of things right, and an equally amazing amount of them wrong.  For instance, as Road Dragon has already mentioned, my people are not green tentacled, bug-eyed monsters.  And we aren’t interested in eating you.  I don’t have a rocket ship or a ray gun, and I’ve never seen a babe in a brass bra.  (Although I must admit, many of your Earth women are definitely babes!)  Also, just to set the record straight, my starship is not a “fling saucer.”  In fact it looks much like a cross between one of your Piper Cubs and a new Chevy Corvette, only somewhat larger than either of them.  But I digress.  This is a blog about bicycles and cycling.  So I will stay on message.

Imagine my delight when I discovered that there are actually bicycles and bicycle riding here on your Earth.  We are avid cyclists on my world.  More, you have absolutely amazing bicycles.  Yours are far more advanced than ours.  I have learned so much.  I can hardly wait to return home with some of the innovations you have.  I am going to be one wealthy alien, and my academic career is bound to be one of historic proportions.

Do you find those statements odd?  If you simply reflect on them a moment, you will realize that they aren’t.  Technologies do not develop in the same way.  You know this from your own histories.  Let me give you two examples.  We never developed the internal combustion engine.  We don’t have much fossil fuel on our world.  We only recently coined a technical term for it.  The more common term translates roughly as, “the nasty black stuff that oozes from the ground and stinks.”  We do find it useful for certain chemical processes, but the thought of burning the stuff, honestly never occurred to us.

We did invent the bicycle fairly early on in our history.  It is one of the mainstays of our transportation and recreation.  Of course it helps that our world does not have many hills, and our climate is quite temperate.  Unlike you we do not have an axial tilt to our planet, so we don’t have seasons.  We go north or south to visit them, but they are permanent.  Our weather is also entirely predictable.

And that brings up another interesting innovation of yours.  We do not have clothing to protect us from the weather when we ride.  Honest, the thought never crossed our minds.  With that one innovation, we could ride in much larger areas of the planet.  Now that is cool!

We do have mechanized transportation.  In some ways it is more dangerous than your automobiles.  In other ways it is safer.  It evens out.  We control the operation of our engine vehicles very tightly.  After all, they could wreak havoc with our riding.  We will not tolerate that.

I find it amazing that you venture out onto roadways along side of your powerful, and dangerous engine vehicles.

There is a lot here that I do not fully understand.  Take one example.  When I look at how you Earthlings act as pedestrians, as cyclists, and as engine drivers, I am amazed that you have not yet killed off half of your population.  It completely defies statistical analysis!

There is a lot more I could say, and I will in future postings.  My new friends, Road Dragon, and Johann have requested that I write up my observations and comment from time to time.  I will be happy to do this.

So, my friends, to borrow a phrase,  “Live long and prosper.”  This is Bill the Alien, signing off.

Oh boy is it EVER Autumn!

Just got back from a chilly early morning ride.  Watch out for the deer.  It's rutting season, and they are very active.  I almost took out a flock of them (or the other way around), and they are very hard to see at night.

Please do plan to attend the SouthSide Cycling Club annual meeting tonight.  Click here for details.

Ride safe, but do ride.

Updates all over the place:

Maybe you haven’t encountered this anyplace else.  Southside Cycling Club will be holding its annual All Members General Meeting, tomorrow, at Maguire’s Irish Pub, in Senoia, Georgia.  This is an important meeting.  New officer and board elections will be held.  We’ll have a speaker.  The club is providing “horsey doovers, tea, and soft drinks.  Meeting will start at 7:00 P.M.  If you are a member, you need to be there.  Not a member?  Come anyway and join!

The Bicycles Unlimited Novice Road Ride is no longer going out on Thursday nights.  Sorry, but it’s done for the season.  However, there will be a Novice Road Ride on the second Sunday of each month, starting in November. 

• When:  Ride will be at 2:00 P.M.  14 November, 12 December, 9 January, 13 February, and 13 March.
• Where:  Start/Finish at Bicycles Unlimited.
• Distance:  23.5 miles.
• Pace:  This is a No Drop ride.  (Ride leader will stay at the back.)
• Conditions:  Ride goes rain or shine, at any temp above 20 degrees F.  (Dress appropriately for the conditions.
• Requirements:  You, your bike, and helmets must be worn.

Bicycles Unlimited Spin Classes Start:  The shop’s annual spin classes will begin on Tuesday, 2 November.  Here’s the basic rundown.

• WHEN:  Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:00 PM through March 10^th
• WHERE:  Bicycles Unlimited training room
• REQUIREMENTS:  Bring your bike and your stationary trainer
• SUGGESTED: (For maximum results) You should wear summer weight cycling clothing, bring a towel and plenty of water, have completed a recent Anaerobic Threshold Test, and wear your Heart Rate Monitor!
• COST:  $100 for the entire season, $30 per month, or $10 per session
• SIGN UP: Is currently going on.  Come in to the shop and get signed!
•  ***This is strenuous exercise.  You should always consult your doctor before starting any rigorous exercise program.

Don’t forget!  The mid-Fall Celebration Night Ride is coming up.  It will be on Monday, 25 October.  More details soon.

AND FINALLY:  Last week I went public with a schedule for the completion of my latest project bike.  I’m happy to report that I am on target.  The tricky wheel build is complete.  Now on to the driveline!

Friday Follies ~~ October

October is a strange month.  Things happen in October.  I mean weird and wonderful things happen.  Of course the climate is putting on a grand show.  We have the annual roller coaster weather-ride, and the incredible displays of turning foliage and fall sky.  But there is more.

I suspect that folks are a lot more weather sensitive than is normally thought.  At this time, people act differently.  By turns we see our fellow citizens become frisky and playful, and then morose.  I think it’s down in our bones.  We have this urge to go out and finish the gathering and hunting, to prepare for the coming Winter.  That gives us bursts of manic energy.  At the same time, we know that the cold and dark is coming, and that makes us slower and more cautious.

Once, in the midst of a fine mountain October, I was finishing my work.  I worked a factory job then, marking time until I did something else.  My shift started early in the day, and had the benefit of ending in the afternoon.

I was glad.  I’d ridden to work on the motorcycle.  (This was before I realized that motorcycles had been invented specifically to lure me, personally, to serious injury.)  The morning ride into the work had been almost bitterly cold.  But the afternoon was balmy.  I felt the joy of a Friday, with a fine Indian Summer weekend ahead.

I booted the cranky beast, and for a wonder, it started on the first kick.  I rode the thing home, and quickly changed into my cycling clothing.  My intention was to get in a quick ride, race the gathering dusk back to the house, and then begin the weekend in earnest.

I rode out of town, and found myself, without giving much thought to the process, doing the “climb route.”  I suspect that my intentions were to work hard on the way out, and do a mostly coasting ride back into town.  The land in that direction ascended fairly steadily for miles.  Eventually the “climb route” would intersect a state highway that led either up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, or down, but away from my home.  The thing was, that “decision intersection” was on a local highpoint.  It afforded a good vista to the west.

As I climbed, the sun was lowering, and the air chilling, but I was warmed by my exertions.  I reached the intersection, with the sun hanging low in the western sky.

It happened that the clouds were present in enough numbers to make for a pretty good display.  The sun was painting the sky with glory.  I was tempted to keep going, or to stand and watch the sunset display.  Either course would have been folly.  In those days we didn’t have good lights, and my bike was not equipped with any.  There would be no moon to light my way back.

I sighed, and (for once) chose the wise course.  I turned back toward home, and rode (mostly) downhill, as the Autumn evening advanced, and the sky reddened above and around me.  For a while, a late flying hawk kept me company, gliding above me, in formation.

I rolled into the driveway just as the last deep crimson glow was fading.  Perfectly timed, and not to be repeated until Spring, was this ride.  I had just carved a signature on a good week, written in the asphalt of country roads.

Not all rides are epics, or disasters.  Not every one is a comedy act.  Not every day is remarkable.  But sometimes, just doing the right thing, on the right day, leaves one with a sense of peace and tranquility, of accomplishment.

Life is good.