Weather Riding: Suddenly Winter

What happened?  I went away for a week.  I left you all with a perfectly good late Autumn.  I figured you could handle that.  But I came back to…  Suddenly it’s Winter!

Okay, let’s poll the jury.  What do we do about this?

Johann speaking:  This is not cold.  Go ride the bike!  Cold is when the tires freeze and break.  Arm warmers and vest are all a real rider needs.  If you get cold, ride harder to make warm.

Bill here:  I think, since your planet has climates, that I will simply go south, below the equator, to where you are keeping Summer now.  Your birds are smart enough to do this.  So why don’t the so called “higher species”?

Road Dragon:  Most of us are mere mortals.  We are not blessed with the toughness of our Belgian friend.  We don’t own a personal flying saucer.  So we have to cope with the climate and conditions we are faced with.

And just what is facing us?  For those of us fortunate to live in north Georgia, we can expect the following for the rest of the Fall, and the Winter to come.  There is a la nina event.  This can make long range prediction hard, but the smart money is betting on the following.  We will have a warmer than usual Winter, but we can expect that to be on average.  We can look for much bigger swings or “excursions” from the norms, and averages will be higher.

That means we can expect to see some really chilly days, and some really warm ones.  We can also expect to see a wider daily temperature swing.  And (good news for cyclists) it will be, generally a good bit drier.

What does that mean to me?  That kind of depends on the type and amount of riding you are doing.

For short rides, between one and two hours, you can dress for what you see.

For longer rides, two to four hours and more, you are going to have to carry more stuff.  If you start out in the early part of the day, it’s likely to be pretty chilly, but it will warm up and you will be overdressed.  Similarly, if you are starting out in mid-day, it will be warmer and warming, but along toward late afternoon and evening, the temps are going to drop.  This just might be a year to rig a rack and some kind of carry bag to your training rig.

We can also expect different weeks of weather.  There are going to be some surprisingly chilly weeks ahead of us, but they are going to be interspersed with some fairly warm ones.

All this amounts to some challenges to consistent training.  The general strategy is; be flexible and adaptable.  Have your cold weather gear ready, but be prepared to enjoy the nice days too.  Don’t put the rain gear away.  (Dryer does not mean no rain.)  And be ready to bailout to the indoor trainer. 

A word on indoor training:  This just might be a very good year to get into a Spin Class.  Remember, consistency is golden.  Of course there are going to be days when you go to spin class, but it was brilliant, sunny, and warm.  On the other hand, there are going to be plenty of days when you are going to be glad to ride inside.

I recently had a conversation with a relatively new arrival to our area.  She said something like,  “This is the south!  I thought it wasn’t supposed to be cold here.”  I reminded her, as I do you now, of the lyrics of the song Dixie

In Dixie land whar I was born in,

Early on one frosty mornin’

The emphasis is mine, but the sentiment bears notice.  It gets cold.  We have a choice.  We deal with it, or we give up.  I think most of you are the “deal with it” type.

We’ll talk more on specifics in the very near future.  It’s good to be home!

Riding at the Beach

I’m sitting here, watching the advancing sunrise.  The day is much earlier here than in Atlanta.  It’s now 07:28, and the eastern sky is brightening.  Should be a good show.  There are clouds out over the horizon.

I brought the new Surly with me on this trip.  Its fixed gear/single speed capabilities are an excellent match for the conditions here.

Yesterday, we rode up to Lewes, Delaware, and checked out the ferry to Cape May, New Jersey.  We may just ride up there and take the ocean ferry over to Cape May today.

The wind blows here.  That is always a factor.  Yesterday the wind was out of the north, and doing a good strong job.  When we were riding northward, it was work to move into the stiff resistance.  On the other hand, when we were moving southward, it was almost effortless.

On that, we rode well to the south of here too, down to Rehobeth.  That was a snap, and a lot of fun, but the return trip was a long trudge into the wind.

It’s quiet here.  The “season” is over, and the “outsiders” have all left the shore.  When I get up to walk the beach, it is rare to see even one other human out there.

One amazing thing in this area.  There are big, wide bike lanes all over the place.  Motorists are generally courteous, tolerant, and respectful.  I find the big wide lanes nice, but it seems odd not to be out in the traffic lane, struggling for my existence.

With a bit of luck I’ll get in a long ride today.  But don’t hold me to it.  May your day be good, and may there be lots of safe and happy riding in it.

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.