Keep It Simple, Newbie!

Guest poster Don Blount has a new biker in the family, and he’s learned that sometimes, “Keep it simple” is the best tip he can give.

BlountOnBikingMy sister-in-law Gina, who lives in Ohio, recently took up road bike riding. She bought a Giant Avail 1, a slick aluminum frame bike designed for women.

She has already managed to get out for a few solo rides and was planning to join in on a group ride soon.

We have talked and texted a lot about biking since.

Our conversations have reminded me a lot of when I purchased my bike in August 2008. I wanted to know anything and everything I could about cycling. And yet, it seemed that I repeatedly received the same answer from more experienced riders: “Just ride and enjoy it.”

And although Gina and I have discussed quite a few things I now find myself saying to her: “Just ride and enjoy it.”

I see now that it is easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of cycling whether it be cycling cadence, breathing, what to carry in your jersey pockets or saddlebag. Particularly when you are as inquisitive as Gina, and I guess I would fall into that category as well. But many things about cycling you learn in time.

The most important thing is to just enjoy your time on the bike no matter what type of riding you do.

There are plenty of things that will be learned in time.

Don Blount's sister-inlaw, Gina, practices fixing a flat tire. The supervisor at right was no help but would not move out of the photo.

Don Blount’s sister-inlaw, Gina, practices fixing a flat tire. The supervisor at right was no help but would not move out of the photo.

I did share a few things with her during her recent visit to Stockton. I told her to carry a spare tube, an inflator whether it be a C02 cartridge or pump (I carry both). And I also recommended she to learn how to change a flat on the road. To that end I had her practice by changing the tube on my bike’s rear wheel.

Finally, I suggested she wipe down and inspect her tires after each ride and to wipe down the chain too. By inspecting the tires you can see the wear and remove any objects embedded in the tires before they have a chance to penetrate the tube and cause a flat. Wiping down the chain removes dirt and grime the chain picks up while on the road. Removing it helps the drivetrain run more smoothly and helps reduce wear on those parts.

For that matter, our flat-fixing lesson came in handy. Less than a week later as Gina prepared to go out for a ride, she discovered that she had a flat front tire. “Let’s just say it took a little longer than when I did it with you,” she said in a text. Unfortunately, by the time she had the tire repaired it was too dark to ride.

She said the lesson she learned was to check the bike well before it is time to ride.

Some Basic Tips For Noobs

I decided not to ride Sunday morning, because it was pouring rain when I woke up. Dumb move. Things were pretty well dried out by 9 a.m., and if I’d been a little more patient, I could have gone. As it was, I did a short ride with my wife, as I mentioned in the last post.

But I wanted to make up for the lost B ride, so I posted that I would go Monday morning, since it was a holiday. We would do the Same Fitzhugh route that the A’s did on Sunday. Three others came out to join me, including Yasmin and Frank, two new B riders who rode with us for the first time last week.

Both of them have recently bought new bikes, and they’re both strong riders who will only get stronger and faster as they keep riding. As we negotiated the rolling hills along Fitzhugh Road, Frank stayed with Buddy, who moved well out in front. Yasmin got ahead of me, and while I had some trouble sticking with her, we were closer together than Buddy and Frank were to us.

At the turnaround, about 16 miles out from the start, Yasmin complained that her saddle was bothering her. She’s a tall woman, and the bike frame she had appeared to be sized for a man. But the saddle was a narrow racing style. I could relate to her distress. I rode a narrow racing saddle for about a year, when I finally ditched it some something wider and more comfortable.

“When you take it back to the shop, ask them to fit you with a wider saddle,” I suggested. Because of women’s wider pelvises, they need wider saddles than men, anyway.

At another rest stop farther on, both Yasmin and Frank expressed concern about their hands. They were getting numb, and they were shaking them out periodically.

In Frank’s case, he was riding with his elbows locked. “One of the guys told me to ride with my elbows bent,” he said. “I’m trying to get used to that.” Bending the elbows takes weight off the hands. The saddle should have been positioned in such a way that the elbows naturally bend when the rider is in his standard riding position. When I had my bike fitting some years ago, the fitter said it’s more common that people have their saddle too far back rather than too far forward. For most people, he said, moving the saddle forward will provide that elbow bend and make for a more comfortable riding position.

Fitters often use KOPS, or Knee Over Pedal Spindle, as a way to determine saddle fore-aft position. But the other day I was re-reading Peter White’s excellent contrarian article about bike fitting, where he pooh-poohs that notion. It’s all about balance, he says, the kind of balance between power and comfort. The article inspired me to do some tweaking on my saddle position.

It turned out that Yasmin was pushing her hands against the brake hoods. While that seems like a normal position for a new rider, it can cause the hands to go numb quickly. I showed them how to position the hands so the pressure is on the outside heels of the hands, not the webbing between the thumb and forefinger. “It usually doesn’t take much of a shift in position to relieve the pressure,” I said.

We wrapped up the ride and went our separate ways. I hope the tips about saddle width, bending the elbows, and hand position will help Frank and Yasmin enjoy their riding. I fully expect it will have negative consequences for me — it’ll just make them stronger riders, and I’ll be left behind again.

Glasses in the Rain

I was really looking forward to the end-of-semester break. My riding has fallen off in recent weeks, and the coming down time would give me the opportunity to rack up some miles on the bike.

My wife and I rode a whopping nine miles yesterday, amid spatters of rain.

Today, I am confined to the house, as waves of showers move north across Central Texas. After our rainless spring and summer, we need the moisture. But it sure interferes with my ride plans.

I’ve indicated before that if I’m out on a ride and get caught in a shower, it’s no big deal — I’ll soldier on home and not make much of it. But if it’s raining and I’m still in the house, I won’t be heading out to do a ride.

And my reason for not wanting to ride in the rain might not be what you expect. It’s not because I’m concerned about falling on wet pavement. I’ve done that before, so I’m extra cautious when I ride out there. It’s because of my glasses.

It doesn’t matter if they’re clear eyeglasses or dark sunglasses, they’re going to get spotted with raindrops. And that makes visibility an issue. I don’t like to be in a situation where I run the risk of hitting something that I couldn’t clearly see, because my glasses are covered with water.

These glasses have enough spotting after a couple of minutes in the rain to limit one's ability to see.

Maybe that’s a stupid reason not to ride. I know plenty of cyclists do go out and brave the rain. So here’s a question for them: How do you keep your glasses clear of water?

I use a method that kind of works: I use my index finger like a windshield wiper, and rub it across the lens a time or two. Sure, it’ll smear the lens a bit, but it also clears off the droplets, and I can see again. The glasses will need attention once the ride is over, but that’s no dig deal — they’d probably get cleaned anyway.

One old trick I’ve heard of is to smear some spit over your lenses. It sounds disgusting, but there apparently is some merit to it. However, I’ve also heard that the spit trick is really to be used when the lenses fog over. Up to now, I’ve only used my finger in those cases, too.

So how about it, veteran riders? What do you do to keep your glasses clear on a rainy day ride?

Relax

When I bought my road bike three years ago, I was getting the cursory fitting common to bike stores. The salesperson doing the fitting stepped back, and with a scowl, said, “Relax! Your shoulders are hunched. Your arms are locked. That’s not the position you want to be in.”

She was right, of course. “Relax” is probably the best advice you’ll ever get about cycling. Not only does it apply to your position on the bike, but just about any other aspect of riding.

Let’s take the basic riding position — the one I was having trouble with in the shop. If a rider adopts that position on a long ride, it’s likely to end badly. Your neck will be sore. So will your arms. You’ll be tiring out your muscles when you don’t have to. Your upper body — neck, shoulders, and arms — don’t move the bike forward, so you want to take them out of the equation. No side-to-side motion. No up and down motion.

This road bike rider has been fitted to ride in a relaxed position.

The relax advice applies to other riding moves, too. You’re climbing a hill? Relax. Be still from the waist up. Cycling coach Andy Applegate says you don’t want even an ounce of unnecessary tension. You want whoever is watching you to be unaware of the effort you’re putting into the climb.

Descending? Relax, too. It’s easy to tense up when the bike points downhill. Sometimes those runs can be pretty scary. Tenseness can affect your ability to control the bike. Drop your shoulders, loosen the death grip on the handlebars, bend your elbows. Tilt your eyes upward to look forward instead of craning your neck.

Here comes a corner. Relax. Coach Carl Cantrell says tensing up causes the bike to pull to the outside. You can lose control, and might have to brake to get control back. And we all know how jumpy a bike feels when you brake in the middle of a turn. Relaxing while cornering should become instinctive, says Cantrell. “It is the single most important thing most people can do to improve their cornering.”

Are you falling? Relax. “As you hit the ground,” said one commenter on a biking forum, “try to stay as loose as possible. If you’re tense or stiff, it’s easier to get hurt.”

Starting that first century? Or a big race? You’re probably tense with anticipation. Relax. Smile to relax your facial muscles. Breathe. Calm yourself by thinking positively. Then maintain that relaxed attitude once the ride begins.

For me, a relaxed position isn’t easy to come by. I catch myself from time to time with hunched up shoulders. But I’m getting better. I remind myself every so often to relax. I shift my riding position. I shake out my shoulders. I shift my hands on the bars.

We recently featured several guest posts on the most important thing the posters learned about biking. I’ll add my two cents to the mix. The Most Important Thing: Relax.

The Most Important Thing: Clive Chapman

Clive Chapman

The latest post in our series of The Most Important Thing I’ve Learned About Cycling comes from across the pond. Clive Chapman, a 47-year-old engineer, lives in Birmingham, England. He’s married to the “long-suffering Liz,” and they have two children. Clive is an army veteran and rugby coach, who once played rugby at a very high level. But he let himself get out of shape. Now, he cycles to regain his fitness, and blogs about his efforts at www.massivemtber.co.uk. Here’s his story.

As my Army and rugby background indicates I was as fit as a butcher’s dog back in the day.  Besides rugby, I mountain biked regularly and have been a regular cyclist since I was around 6 years old!

June, 2009

For reasons I cannot fathom I stopped all sport and cycling when I hit my late 30s. The phrase, “It kind of just happened” seems as good a reason as any.

Then in June 2009 I found to my horror (unbelievable but true,  it was a total surprise) that I was 312 lbs (22 stones 4 lbs here in England) and had a number of health issues related to morbid obesity.

Earlier I had discovered by chance http://frank.kinlan.co.uk and his blog about a bloke roughly my age and condition whose life was transformed by cycling. It struck a chord and inspired me to do the same.

April, 2011

To cut a very long story short, here I am in April 2011 weighing 214 lbs (15 stones 4 lbs) and no longer have the health issues, having lost 98 lbs so far and am continuing to lose.

I’ve achieved this by commuting every day to work by bike, a 24-mile round trip, MTBing as often as I can at the weekend, (I road cycle too) and watching the old grub intake. I’ve even sold my car as it was not being used.

I’ve pedalled through two of the worst winters on record here in England and now cannot imagine doing anything different.

So onto lessons learnt about cycling. For me there is only one:

  1. DON’T EVER STOP!

From fit bloke and regular cyclist to fat bloke and dead man walking in a few years all because of my cessation of hostilities with the trail is something I’ll always regret. The hard work and heartache it has taken to get where I am now could have been avoided.

But I’m nearly back to where I want to be and the “Don’t ever stop!” phrase is now placed at the head of my blog as a permanent reminder to me of what can happen if I take my eye off the ball again.

Finally on the subject of blogging, I have made a load of new friends via the blogosphere, all top people who encourage, cajole and support this poor weak-willed sap when the going gets tough. Do not underestimate the power of the Internet, because I wouldn’t be where I am now without it. So thank you to my cyber pedalling mates!

Oh, OK — that’s two lessons!

If you would like to join Clive with a guest post on this blog, write one on the topic: What’s the Most Important Thing You’ve Learned About Cycling? Details available here. These posts will run periodically on Bike Noob.

The Most Important Thing: Steve Martin

Steve Martin

 

Bike Noob is happy to feature the first in our series of guest posts, “The Most Important Thing.” Our first author is Steve Martin, a relatively new biker from northern Virginia. Steve, a retired military officer and current civil servant, also writes his own blog, There and Back Again.

Last Spring, I returned to the cycling hobby I dabbled in over 15 years ago. Needless to say, there were a great many things I have learned in the past year. If Mr. Niekamp is “The Bike Noob,” then I must be something on the order of “The Bike Incompetent.” Fortunately, I get to pick the name of my own blog and I have taken it in a different direction.

While I am nowhere near an expert on most bicycling subjects, there is one particular area I feel qualified to speak on: flat tires. Many people go months at a time without flatting. Some lucky souls go years at a time. I have managed to get NINE flats in my first 12 months of cycling, seven of those flats in the hell that was June to August, 2010. Each flat was a different lesson.

So I’ve learned a few things about flat tires in the past year, mostly through a series of unfortunate mistakes on my part. I humbly offer these tire-related tips in the hope that others may not need to learn these lessons like I did – the hard way.

1. Don’t skimp on tires. In my view, they’re the most important and potentially the most-easily damaged piece of gear on your bike. A good set of tires will not only help you avoid learning how to change a flat on a hot dusty road, but they will let you ride faster. Spend some extra money on puncture resistant tires and you’ll more than make up the difference in the money saved on spare tubes, repair kits, and the dramatic decrease in frustration.

2. Pump your tires before every ride. I check my car’s tire pressure once every Blue Moon. Do that with your bike and you will suffer. It’s a small thing, but make sure your tires are properly inflated before every ride.

3. Inspect your tires before every ride. Run your hand along their entire length and visually inspect them for bits of glass, nails, staples, etc… that are slowly working their way toward your beloved inner tube. Remove as necessary.

4. Don’t underinflate your tires. Especially if you’re a Clydesdale like Yours Truly. Low pressure invites a “pinch flat,” which is a nasty event because pinch flats almost always immediately lose pressure. There is no “limping home” with a pinch flat, which occurs when the tube is pinched against the rims, usually during a jarring bump, and two holes result.

5. Don’t overinflate your tires.

Remnants of an overinflated innertube explosion

In an effort to avoid a pinch flat and improve rolling resistance, you may be tempted to do this. Don’t. Your tube will explode and the resulting noise will sound very similar to a shotgun blast. When this echoes down the street, concerned neighbors will rush to their fences to see what happened and you will be considerably embarrassed. Trust me on this.

6. Always carry a spare tube and a pump. This almost goes without saying, except I must say that I have violated this rule more than once and flatted while doing so on two occasions. I believe the odds of getting a flat dramatically when you don’t have one or both of these items. Why this occurs is one of Life’s mysteries, but if my experiences are normal then it is an undeniable Truth.

Twisted tire due to turning inside-out

7. Don’t flip your tire inside out. When changing a flat, you may be tempted to flip your tire inside out (and can’t think of a good reason for this right now, but when I was fighting with my tire in 90 degree heat, it seemed like a good idea at the time). Many tires have kevlar beads that hold them in place. If you turn your tire inside out, you will find that the bead twists and cannot easily be returned to its original state. This will cause your tire to be hopelessly askew after you mount it on the wheel. See the attached photo as evidence.

8. Mount your tire so that the valve stem is next to a recognizable part of your tire.

Valve stem over the Bontrager "r"

This way, you can quickly compare a hole in your inner tube to a specific part of the tire and thus identify an foreign objects that are causing punctures.

9. Practice changing tires in the comfort of your own home. Practice makes perfect, or at least it makes you less of a klutz than you would be without it. Put on some nice music, grab a cold beverage of your choice and give it a shot. This is infinitely preferable to learning on the side of a highway in sweltering heat.

10. Consider a CO2 cartridge. Tube-mounted pumps will get the job done, but the last 30 PSI will wear you out. A CO2 cartridge takes seconds. They’re small and easy to store in a saddle bag or jersey pocket. They aren’t necessarily the most intuitive thing you will ever use, so if you decide to go with these, refer to Tip #8.

If you would like to join Steve with a guest post on this blog, write one on the topic: What’s the Most Important thing you’ve learned about cycling? Details available here.

Those @#$%&! Cross Winds!

The wind has been relentless this spring, mostly blowing from the south. I’ve been trying to plan my routes so that I’m heading more or less into it on the way out, and with it on the way back, to get a little relief.

But Saturday, I joined a small group ride in a different part of town from my usual haunts. The road we would mainly ride was Bee Caves Road — which goes roughly east-west, and features lots of long hills.

It’s a lot of fun to ride in decent weather. But I hadn’t thought about the key feature that would affect us this time — the wind was going to be hitting us crosswise, not head on.

Just a few minutes into the ride, we were heading east on a nice downhill, when pow! the wind smacked me and moved the bike toward the traffic lane. It was unsettling. Bee Caves Road is four lanes wide, with an added center lane. The speed limit is 65. Traffic is usually steady. Yipes! If that wind was going to have the potential to knock me into traffic, it could be a ride with an unhappy outcome.

Cross winds are funny (not funny ha-ha, but funny hmm). If the wind was steady, it wouldn’t be a problem. Leaning a bit to the side toward the wind — like the riders in the picture — seems to help.

It’s the gusts that get you. How do you maintain control of your bike when it’s being buffeted from the side?

A quick check of the interwebs doesn’t turn up much help. Most of the advice about riding in cross winds applies to racers, and tells them to form an echelon. Although I was in a small group — maybe eight people — there was no way we would be able to stay packed tightly enough to form an echelon. I doubt any of us would know how to. I spent most of the ride on my own anyway, with a few riders well ahead of me, and the rest trailing by a large distance.

My reaction was to slow down. I was not comfortable riding on a shoulder — even a generous one like  the ones on this road — if I was going to get pushed one way or the other. But some advice I’ve seen says your stability will improve as you pick up your speed. For example, instead of coasting those downhills as I was doing, the advice is to pedal. By applying some power to the rear wheel, you’ll become more stable.

Gack. I was hitting speeds above 30 mph on the downhill stretches, and getting smacked by a gust at that speed can be pretty unnerving. That’s why I slowed down.

A commenter on one of the biking forums I visit said, “It takes a while to get used to the idea that getting blown around some is OK.” Yeah, I’m not there yet. But I’m sure I’ll have lots more times to try, the way the weather is going lately.

Others say to relax, especially in the elbows and upper body. One commenter suggested that unlike headwinds, when you want to minimize drag by keeping your body in an aero position, a better strategy in a cross wind would be to sit upright. That makes “holes” in your profile to allow wind to pass through.

I won’t be seeking opportunities to ride in cross winds, but I’m sure they’ll come. I’ll remember to relax, enjoy getting buffeted, and stay close to the right side of the shoulder. In the meantime, I’ll be glad I don’t regularly ride in the conditions this Dutch cycling team had to contend with earlier this year. The travails of the guy 48 seconds into the video are a hoot. Click the YouTube button to watch it in a larger size – and perhaps a smoother speed.

“Ja, Michael, you have the lightest bike!”

A Pair Of Good Noob Tips

When I first started checking out Ray’s blog, it was because I was in search of tips. After years of riding a hybrid, I had made the move to a road bike, and found myself with a lot to learn. I’ve now been a “roadie” for several years, but I still remember a few of the lessons I learned along the way.

Time to share…

Feel Your Pedals

Ray gave a nod to this in a previous post, but it’s worth revisiting. For best results, it’s better to “feel” your way into Shimano-style road pedals than to look and aim.

Why? I’m not quite sure. But I know that early on in my experience with road pedals, especially when in traffic or on a group ride, I frequently fumbled with trying to click in properly. Alone it was often no problem, but when the pressure was on I often missed. Then I took a fellow rider’s suggestion to just feel my way in, rather than try to aim and click in, and found much better results.

Try this on your next ride. As you push off, hesitate for a moment to allow the pedal to swing into its natural, up-and-down orientation. Then without looking, swing your toe forward at a downward angle. It should naturally find the front of the pedal, allowing you to then simply push down and click into the locked position.

That’s a technical explanation, but it’s not a technical move. Rather, it’s one that works best when you don’t try, don’t look and aim, and just feel your way through it.

Relax Your Shoulders

Next time you’ve got the sun above and behind, check out your shadow. I was watching mine the other day and it showed me some bad form — namely I was hunching my shoulders.

I’ve noticed a lot of people do it, especially noobs. Riding with our hands on the brake hoods, we often brace our arms to hold ourselves up, rather than relax the shoulders and bend at the elbows. It creates a lot of tension in the neck and upper back, as well as puts a lot of pressure on the hands. I had been dealing with numbness is my hands a lot as of late, as well as having some saddle issues. Forcing myself to relax and drop my shoulders felt weird, but I could tell by my shadow put me into a more proper riding position. For the first time in a long time, I had no numbness in my hands…and that was over the course of a nearly 50-mile ride.

Sure, you’ll likely feel it in a few other places. Your core muscles are engaged more in this position, and you can also feel it in your triceps. But if you really focus on the proper form, it will become second nature after several rides.

Just remember, Frankie said RELAX…not shrug.