I Hate following my own advice! (week 2)

A Diary of Injury Recovery II

I’m posting this series in the hope that it will be helpful and instructive for others.

So, the first two weeks of this weren’t a lot of fun.  I didn’t need to work too hard at not overdoing it.  Just about any time I tried to do much of anything, it turned around and bit me.

I wasn’t doing any training.  My usual routine includes morning stretching and core strengthening and toning exercises.  Those were just out of the question.  Yes I did ride, but at a very easy pace, and for much shorter intervals.  My morning spins or rides were dropped from my schedule too.

None of this took a lot of discipline.  Frankly, things just hurt too stinkin’ much to allow for more.

Basically, in this, the second week post-injury, I was kind of probing at the edges of the thing.  I was testing.  I know that exercise promotes healing, but…  too much, or too soon and the effect is to aggravate the injury, prolong the recovery period, possibly even do more damage.

I was testing, attempting that third step in the injury recovery process

“During the healing period, maintain light, healthy, non-aggravating exercise.”

I was trying to determine if I was ready for step three, and just how much was “light” and “non-aggravating.”

Below is the timeline continued.  This is the second week of the whole thing:

 Wed 24 April:  No riding.  The usual evening Path Ride was rained out, and I was Thankful!  Not doing much more than going to work and hurting.

Thurs 25 April: I led the easy part of this year’s first weekly Novice Road Ride.  It was a pleasant ride of about 17 miles, but I was being nagged by low level back and rib pain throughout.  I caught a ride home.  By the time I got home my back was on fire.  By this point I was getting really tired of taking NSAIDs.  My stomach wasn’t liking t much either.

Fri 26 April:  NO RIDING!!  I can take a hint already.  Took the day as easy as I could, and did nothing that was not absolutely necessary.

Sat 27 April:  I slept a bit later and drove down to Peachtree City.  I was able to ake the Saturday Morning Path Ride out.  It’s a very mellow, recreational paced, short ride.  It didn’t seem to trigger any kind of bad result.  This was my Saturday off for the month, so I didn’t need to work.  I spent the day resting, with the occasional NSAID dosage to reduce pain.

Sun 28 April:  I was feeling better for the rest day on Saturday.  I wanted to get out and move around a bit.  Of course the weather was pretty awful.  So I geared up for the rain, waited out one strong thunderstorm, and went.  It rained.  A lot.  I got soaked and a bit cold.  The ride was only 19.5 miles, and I took it easy, spending one hour and forty minutes.  I felt “okay” while out ther, but after I got home and cleaned up my rib and back went into extreme pain again.  Okay.  A bit much right then.  Clearly I needed to back off more.

Mon 29 April:  I went to work, was careful about lifting and moving, and went home.  I wasn’t comfortable, but things were showing an incremental improvement.  No riding and no training of any kind.

Tues 30 April:  After work I went out for a gentle and short road ride.  It felt goo to get out, and the short duration, low effort ride of 11.9 miles in just over an hour  didn’t trigger any unpleasant side effects.  Good!

Tires, Tubes, and Inflation

(Reprinted here from the Monday Missive by popular request.)

Tires are wonderful things.  They are actually quite simple, and yet…

The majority of flats we fix at the shop can be traced to under-inflation.  I don’t think I’ll ever understand this.  

• The range of inflation values is embossed on the side of every tire.
• Tires lose air pressure.  They aren’t very thick.
• If you don’t ride them often, they will go flat.  Pump them up before you ride.

The “roadie” mistakes:  Most “roadies” ride on under-inflated tires, unless they have recently over-inflated them.  Many road riders seem to be products of our society.  Like most Americans, they tend to think that if a little bit of something is good, then way too much must be almost enough.  Here’s the problem:  Under-inflated tires are flat-prone and make your bike slower.  Properly inflated tires roll more smoothly and don’t get as many flats.  For that reason, many roadies will run tires at the maximum inflation rating.  This is a bad idea, and it’s counter-productive.  An over-inflated tire is harsher.  It doesn’t roll smoothly over imperfections in the road, but rather bounces and vibrates.  Bounce and vibration are lost energy.  In other words they are slower.  Add to that, there is a risk of the tire exploding, or worse, of the over-pressure tire causing a failure of the wheel rim.

• Always stay at least five pounds less than the maximum value on the tire.
• There is an ideal inflation pressure for each tire width, and rider weight.  For most riders a 700 X 23 tire can be run safely and efficiently at pressures between 100 and 105 psi.

Common scenarios: 

1)  We have recently repaired a tire for a customer.  (Recently here is defined as less than a week.)  The customer comes back in with the same tire flat.

• If the customer is angry, in almost every case, we will find a puncture.
• Sometimes the recurring flat is our fault.  If it is, we fix it for free.
• Occasionally (rarely) there is some underlying cause for recurring flats.  This could be a sharp drilling at one of the spokes, a failing rim strip, a sharp piece of something embedded in the tire.

2)  “My tire keeps going flat!”  We ask,  “When did you last inflate it?”  If the answer is, “I don’t know, just recently.”  Then the tire has not been touched with a pump in the last three months.

3)  “I took this out of the shed and pumped it up.  I haven’t ridden it in a while.  Do you think the tires are okay?”  The tires in question are crumbly with dry rot.  The answer is an emphatic NO!!

4)  “I haven’t ridden the bike in over a year.  You guys did a lot of work on it, but things just happened and I didn’t get a chance to ride.  So when I went out to ride the bike the tires were flat, and I pumped them up, but they expolded!

Here’s what happened.  The bike was sitting on the tires.  The tires lost air.  (See above)  The bike settled on the tire, and the tire was forced “off the bead.”  So the tire was not well seated on the bead, and then the bike was rolled to the compressor.  (This made matters worse.)  The compressor started inflating the tire, and the owener didn’t notice the huge bulge of unsupported tube.  BANG!

Find out what pressure is right for your bike, and riding needs.  Check, or inflate, every time you ride the bike.  Be careful.

Your First Three Years ~ Part 12:

Going “clipless”

A Guide for Beginner (and Experienced!) Cyclists, to the Art and Practice of Cycling.  Becoming Proficient, Fit, and Happy on your bike.

For you who are going through this for the very first time:  By now you’ve heard about “clipless” pedals.  Sometimes these are referred to as “clip shoes,” or “clip pedals.”  They are the kind of pedals that require a special shoe and cleat combination to lock your foot into a special pedal.

What does this mean?  And why on earth are they called that?

In the beginning there where bicycles.  These machines had pedals that the rider pushed to make the bike go.  (The pedals were also used to make the bike stop.  But that’s another story.)  Somewhere along the line, some unsung genius figured out that the bike could be made to go more efficiently if the foot was attached to the pedal. 

At that time bicycles were all the rage among the upper classes, so this genius simply had one of the servants tie his boots to the pedals.  And lo!  It worked!  Of course, the genius needed an assistant to tie the shoes to the pedals.  More, the assistant had to be present at the stop in order to untie the shoes.  This wasn’t a truly practical system for most riders.

Along came another genius to improve on the idea.  This individual fashioned a metal basket to the front of the pedal.  The purpose of this basket was to hold a strap open so the rider could place his or her own foot in it.  The basket affair was called a “toe clip.”

So serious riders used bikes equipped with toe clip pedals.  That’s about where things stayed for a long time.  There were minor variations, plastic replaced metal, but mostly the system was the dominant one until some time in the late 1970s.

About then some Europeans figured out that it was possible to make a great improvement on the toe clip.  They did this by attaching a special cleat to the bottom of a stiff soled riding shoe.  The cleat was made in such a way that it could lock into a pedal.  With this arrangement, the rider could make power all the way around the crank stroke.  Since this new technology did away with the toe clip, it was naturally called a clipless pedal.

Why bother? 

The truth of the matter is that anyone can benefit from using clipless pedals.  From the moment that a rider first “clips in” to clipless pedals, there will be an improvement in efficiency of effort.  We all want to be able to go farther, faster, and stronger with the same effort.  At least that’s the assumption we make.  The simple fact is, that if a rider’s feet are solidly connected to the pedals, that increase in efficiency will take place.  But…  (Of course there’s a “But”)…  the benefit is immediate, but it’s not necessarily complete.

The Catch

To fully appreciate that improvement requires a good bit of training.  (We’ll cover that more in next week’s post.)  This training comes in two distinct forms.  They are, (1) Learning how to operate the pedals and not fall over, and (2) Developing the necessary psychomotor skill and musculature enhancement to make full use of the benefits of the device.

For now, we’ll only concentrate on the first of those two training aspects.  This is the part where we discuss how to not fall down.

Full Disclosure:  When you start riding with clipless pedals, you ARE going to fall down.  It’s completely unavoidable.

The above is true, but it does not have to be a catastrophe.  Before we discuss how to not fall down, let’s consider how to best take that fall with minimal injury.  Here it is.  When you fall down, hold onto your handlebars with a death-grip, and go ahead and scream.  That’s it.  Here’s the reasoning.  The most common injuries that adult cyclists suffer are 1)  Rotator Cuff injuries (broken collar bones, tears, fractures, dislocations), 2) Hyper extensions of the elbow, 3) crushing injuries to the wrist.  All of these come from extending the arm and hand to “break the fall.”  If you are wearing a helmet, it is not necessary to protect your head at the cost of serious injuries to the shoulder, arm, and wrist.  (If you don’t wear a helmet, maybe the wrist injuries are worth it.  Head trauma being so much worse.  Just wear your helmet!)

If you hold the bar all the way to the ground, you will land on the flat outside of your upper arm, and the flat outside of your thigh.  You will suffer some bruising, and possibly a couple of small “strawberry” abrasions.  Not too bad.

And that scream we mentioned?  Do it!  An open airway, with air being expelled (say by yelling) makes the thorax more resilient and more capable of absorbing impact without damage.

More Insurance ~ How to become more fall-proof.

The secret to being really good with clipless pedals, and to not falling down, is…  PRACTICE!!!!  Practice a lot!  Work with both feet.  Work on clipping out at the top of the crankstroke, and the bottom, and the front, and the back.  Left foot.  Right foot.  Do it again.  Do it more.  During the first year of riding “clipless” you should be working on the practice at least an hour of every week.  The objective here is to install a new set of conditioned reflexes.  Your goal is to become so adept, that you can get out of your pedals with either foot, at any time, without thinking about it.  Yes, it takes some effort, but not the kind that makes you sore, stiff, and tired.  Just plain old pattern practice.

What Type of Pedal should I get?

That question starts a whole volume of discussion.  Listen to your friends.  Read what the “experts” say.  But, before you buy, go to a shop, talk with the folks there.  Explain your intentions and your desires, and then listen to their advice.  And then…  Buy the product from them.  Yes, you can get it cheaper online, but the advice you just got is likely to save you a lot of money, and possibley some injury.  Why not pay it back?

Next Week: “Training in the Off-Season”  or “Spin Class?”

~//~

This series began with the post on Tuesday, 19 June 2012.  It is intended to continue for three years.  Each week, we will discuss exercises, skills, practices, and activities designed to bring the new (or “experienced”) rider a high level of cycling competence.  We’ll address common problems, and (always) stress safe practice.

~//~

A Note on Timing:  This series uses Mid-June as the starting point of the “Cyclists Year.”  We do this because this is the time that most folks decide to start riding.  If you are following this guide, you can “adjust” the timing to fit your personal “first three years.”  Do note that some of the posts will concern weather and seasonal changes.  When that starts to happen, just swap the “months” around to fit your personal timeline.

Your First Three Years ~ Part 11:

Hills   (The fat guy fallacy)

A Guide for Beginner (and Experienced!) Cyclists, to the Art and Practice of Cycling.  Becoming Proficient, Fit, and Happy on your bike.

Just what is this “fallacy,” referred to in this week’s title?  Simple.  It’s the intuitive belief that one must achieve and maintain momentum in order to conquer hills.  That, somehow, getting over the next hill would be easier and faster if one could just carry enough momentum into it.

Before we go farther, let’s define “momentum.”  It is the product of an object’s mass and its velocity.  Mass is often confused with weight.  They aren’t the same thing, but they are related.  Mass is the measure of an object’s inertia.  Sir Isaac (Newton, not the hurricane) tells us that objects resist change in motion.  Themore massive an object is, the more effort it takes to change its motion.

Since we can’t change the mass of our vehicle (rider + bicycle + accessories + cargo = vehicle mass) significantly during a ride, but we can change our speed or velocity, we tend to do just that, change speed.  We also know that more momentum most certainly will cause us to coast farther, and to be able to coast farther up a given hill.  Unfortunately, there is a bit more to it than that.

This week’s title could cause offense to some, and cause others to relax and say,  “That doesn’t apply to me.”

Both of those responses would be mistakes.  We’re not intending to poke undue fun at anyone here.  But the truth of the matter is that larger (read more massive) riders are a bit more likely to fall prey to this.  More, there’s a good intuitive reason for this mistake.  More massive riders tend to descend more rapidly.  (In some future post we’ll discuss this in greater depth.)  The point is, the big riders know that they reach the bottom of the hill going faster.  And it only takes a little bit of additional energy to retain that speed for some distance.  The problem is, that works pretty well in the flats, but much less so when climbing.

One of the problems is that the same physics that is responsible for the larger rider’s greater acceleration down the hill will be responsible for slowing them down much more quickly when ascending the hill.

So you’re a smaller than average rider?  Congratulations!  You have a bit of an edge.  Of course, if you don’t pay attention to the rest of this post you are going to lose that edge.  We say this because smaller lighter riders have a tendency to fall into the same trap as the diesels.  More, the temptation increases on a group ride.  There you are, light and quick.  Everything is fine.  Along comes a downgrade, and the big guys start to barrel ahead.  Naturally you pick up your pace to stay with them.  Oh goody!  You are now spending cardio capacity to increase speed while going down.  Your adrenaline rises, and you hit the bottom of the hill roaring along.  You don’t want to lose that speed, so you accelerate as the hill comes at you.  After all, you want to keep all that nice momentum don’t you?

The problem with this approach is that it’s just not efficient.  Riders who use aerobic capacity to increase speed going down, will arrive at the next climb with a bit less in the tank.

The Key Concepts:

Descending doesn’t help as much as climbing hurts.

It’s your average speed that gets you over the hill, not your maximum.

Never go anaerobic too soon on a climb.

 “Pulling through the top” is faster and more efficient than blasting through the bottom.

Let’s take those one at a time.

Descending doesn’t help as much as climbing hurts.

It’s the truth.  Remember suffering through “time, distance, rate problems” in Algebra I?  (Don’t worry, we aren’t going to work any of those here!  We just wanted you to remember the concept.)  The thing is, we spend so much more time climbing than we do descending.  A slight edge on a climb will beat a great margin on the descent.  Great descenders only do really well on downhill runs.  Since almost all bike rides are either loops or out-and-backs, and we end up where we start, it makes a lot of sense to pay attention to this principle.  Why would you make yourself slower (and much more fatigued!) overall, just to gain a bit of advantage on the descending sections?

It’s your average speed that gets you over the hill, not your maximum.

Think about that one for a few moments.  If attacking the climb at a greater initial speed causes you to decrease your average speed up the hill, you have decreased your average.  And you made yourself more tired in the process.

Here’s a simple test to see if you are falling into this error.  Are you passing folks on the way down, but being repeatedly passed by them on the way up the next hill?  If so, you are not doing something right.

Never go anaerobic too soon on a climb.

Recovering while climbing is hard, and it hurts.  It slows you down.  (A lot!)  It should go without saying that going anaerobic before the climb starts is way too soon.  It’s better, faster, and more efficient to stay fully aerobic on the first part of the climb, and push hard as you approach the top.

 “Pulling through the top” is faster and more efficient than blasting through the bottom.

There is a natural tendency.  We are all prone to it.  We’re just about at the top of a good stiff climb, the climb “breaks,” gets easier.  We all tend to breath a great big sigh of relief, and relax a bit as this happens.  It’s an easy thing to fall into.  But DON’T!  If we want to be more efficient (and faster), there is a better way.

As we reach that magic point where the climb tapers and things start to get easier, upshift to a harder gear, and keep the effort on, or even increase effort a bit.  For best results we should keep doing this, upshifting and working harder, as we go through the crest of the hill, and even into the beginning of the descent.  Keep working until we feel gravity begin to accelerate the bike.  At that point it’s time to relax, recover, and tuck into a nice, tight, streamlined position to achieve maximum results from the descent.

Think about it.  Let’s suppose we could do a magic, science fiction clone of you and your bike.  Now we start the two of you at the top of a hill, with a series of hills ahead.  Let’s call you “A,” and your clone “B.”

B starts out powering down the hill, and pulls slightly ahead of A.  At the bottom, A continues to slipstream, and concentrate on breathing.  B upshifts and attacks the hill, pulling a bit farther ahead.  B is now about 5 to 6 bike lengths in the lead.

A begins the climb and shifts into a lower gear, spinning the pedals smoothly and quickly.  B is jamming into a hard gear, attempting to maintain speed.  At this point B is beginning to breath pretty hard.

A, still breathing easily, downshifts again, and maintains a steady climbing cadence.  B ceases gaining.

Now B, breathing really hard, must downshift two, three, or even four gears, just to keep the bike moving.  B is really losing speed here, and A is beginning to make up a bit of the gap.

The two riders have now moved onto the steepest part of the hill.  A downshifts once more,  B must downshift yet again (to a gear or two lower than A) and try desperately to recover.  A is now closing on B rapidly.

The “steep” continues, and A catches B, pulls out and passes in a good steady rhythm.  B is gasping for air.

A sees the break in the climb coming, and upshifts, adding power and beginning to feel the effort.  B is now three to five lengths behind.

A reaches the climb break and upshifts again, increasing power as the hill becomes easier, and then does it again, absolutely powering over the top.  By this point B is back almost 100 yards.

As A hits the top of the hill, and double upshifts, B (finally) makes it to the climb break and gasps in relief, slowing.  A continues to increase power, accelerating across the top, and into the beginning of the descent.

B, still working to recover, makes it to the top and lets the bike coast across and begin the descent.  A was moving a good five to seven miles per hour faster at this point, and is now more than halfway down the hill.

Since A and B are about equal in descending, B will make no more ground for the first part of the descent, but..!  B will be partially recovered during the first half of the descent, and will again begin to power the bike toward the bottome.

Can we see how this is going to end?

One Last Hint:  To best learn good hill climbing techniques, go out and ride hills alone.  Do repeats and concentrate on the technique.  Start by going up them slowly.  Really slowly.  Repeat until you can do the whole climb without breaking into hard breathing, anaerobic effort.  Then practice going harder near the top of the climb.  Do this until you can judge just where to increase effort without busting yourself.  (NOTE:  You’ll be working on this skill for as long as you are riding.  Plan now to include “hill drills,” in your regular routine.)

Climbing is just about equally about training and technique.  Learn.  Remember.

Next Week: Going “Clipless”

~//~

This series began with the post on Tuesday, 19 June 2012.  It is intended to continue for three years.  Each week, we will discuss exercises, skills, practices, and activities designed to bring the new (or “experienced”) rider a high level of cycling competence.  We’ll address common problems, and (always) stress safe practice.

~//~

A Note on Timing:  This series uses Mid-June as the starting point of the “Cyclists Year.”  We do this because this is the time that most folks decide to start riding.  If you are following this guide, you can “adjust” the timing to fit your personal “first three years.”  Do note that some of the posts will concern weather and seasonal changes.  When that starts to happen, just swap the “months” around to fit your personal timeline.

Your First Three Years ~ Part 10:

SHIFTING (AGAIN!)

A Guide for Beginner (and Experienced!) Cyclists, to the Art and Practice of Cycling.  Becoming Proficient, Fit, and Happy on your bike.

By this point in your cycling career you’ve probably figured out (in a general way) which of your shifters does what, how to make it harder, and how to make it easier.  Likely you are still getting a bit of frustration about being in the “right” gear.  You’ve had a chance to experience just how good modern drivetrains are, but likely you’ve also noticed that they can be a bit touchy too.  Now it’s time to refine your approach to shifting.

Riding a bike is often a balancing act between legs and lungs.  One of the two is often suffering.  A general rule is to shift to move the work from cardio to muscular, or vice versa.  If your lungs are burning and your heart is racing, but your legs are not on fire, go to a bit higher gear, transfer the load to the legs a bit.  Let the bike slow some, and recover.

On the other hand, if you are breathing easily, and your legs are on fire with that nice lactate burn, shift down to an easier gear, let your legs spin up.  They will recover fairly quickly, and you will take a bit more of a cardio load.

Technique:

Now is a good time to slow down and pay a little attention to your shifting procedures.  Get smooth now, and it will pay you dividends later.  (Remember!  Smooth is fast.)

Devote a couple of rides each week to practicing shifting technique.  This is best done on your slow, or recovery rides.

In the beginning you were told that you needed to be pedaling when you shift.  You’ve figured that out by now.  But there may still be a bit of a problem.  Likely you are doing one of two things (and maybe both) that have a negative effect on your driveline performance.

Shifting Under a Load:

We always tell new riders to “pedal while you shift.”  Unfortunately, new riders often hear this as “Make mighty power by pedaling really really hard whild you shift!”  NO! What we are actually saying is,  “Let the bike coast, completely ease the pressure on your driveline, and be turning it over lightly while you shift.”

Here’s how to practice this technique:  Go out and find a nice flat stretch of road.  Get the bike up to a moderate speed.  Now, let it coast, but turn the pedals easily and make a shift in either up or down.  Do this while keeping the pedals moving, but with no pressure on them.  See?  Isn’t this much smoother?

At first, you will have to concentrate to let the bike go into coasting mode, then make the shift, and then resume power.  But with practice you will learn how to “unload” your driveline for only a moment, during the shift.

Remember!  Practice makes perfect.  Do this drill a lot!

Shifting with too little Driveline speed:

This one is a little bit the opposite of the scenario discussed above.  The rider lets the bike coast (maybe) but turns the cranks very slowly through the shift.  The chain has a tendency to rattle and resist the shifting motion.

To fix this, concentrate on turning the cranks more rapidly, but not with more power.  In other words, very little effort should be applied to the cranks, but the cranks should be turning over briskly.  Shift while the bike is coasting, but spin the pedals.  And once again, Practice!

The Big-Ring Bobble:

New riders (and many more experience ones!) often see making a change of chainrings as a big challenge.  (“Chainrings” are the big gears at the front of the bike.)  All of the techniques discussed above apply, but there is one added consideration.  That is the concept of a “Recovery Shift.”

Usually the difference between one chainring and the next is equivalent to about two, or two and a half, of the gears on the back of the bike.  This is quite intentional.  Consider, if you shift from a smaller ring to a bigger one, you have made an effective shift of two gears.  If you then downshift at the back, your net upshift is just one ratio, and you now have one more gear available for upshifting at the back of the bike.

Conversely, if you shift from a bigger ring to a smaller one, you have made an effective two ratio downshift.  If you then shift up one gear at the back the net is just a one ratio change, and you have one more gear available for down shifting.

Those two scenarios describe the concept of a “Recovery Shift.”  Here’s how it works.  You are working a bit too hard.  You look ahead and see that the hill is going to continue, so you know you are going to need more of the lower gears.  You are in the big ring on the front.  It’s time to shift to the smaller ring.  But if you do that, you will have shifted to a gear that is a bit too easy.  So you make the big ring down shift, and then recover by shifting up one gear on the back.  Likewise, if you are accelerating, and going to harder gears, you will find that the shift to a bigger ring is likely one gear too hard.  You recover by shifting the back down one gear.

Okay, that’s the theory.  Go out and practice it and then come back and try the next bit.

The “Secret” of Smooth Chainring Changes:

Shift the back first!!

When you need to make a chainring downshift, first downshift the back one gear, then downshift the chainring, then recover upshift the back one or two gears.  This “unloads” the driveline and allows the shift of the chainrings to be much smoother.

When you need to make a chainring upshift, first downshift the back one gear, then upshift the chainring.  This puts the “recovery shift” before the chainring shift, but it “unloads” the driveline and allows you to spin the pedals and assist an easy front upshift.

Believe me when I say,  “This takes practice!”  And..  “It is well worth the effort!”

Now go have some fun learning to operate your driveline more smoothly and effectively.

Next Week: Hills  (fat guy fallacy)

~//~

This series began with the post on Tuesday, 19 June 2012.  It is intended to continue for three years.  Each week, we will discuss exercises, skills, practices, and activities designed to bring the new (or “experienced”) rider a high level of cycling competence.  We’ll address common problems, and (always) stress safe practice.

~//~

A Note on Timing:  This series uses Mid-June as the starting point of the “Cyclists Year.”  We do this because this is the time that most folks decide to start riding.  If you are following this guide, you can “adjust” the timing to fit your personal “first three years.”  Do note that some of the posts will concern weather and seasonal changes.  When that starts to happen, just swap the “months” around to fit your personal timeline.