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Archives for May 2008

Doing the ‘Dillo (Ride report)

05.10.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

One thing I learned for certain after today’s ride — I’m getting better at this.

Today, I did my first organized ride since November. The Armadillo Hill Country Classic, the premier event of the Austin Cycling Association (ACA), follows some nice country roads northwest of Austin. Routes on the ride varied from a 14-mile family ride to 105 miles. I picked the 51-mile route.

Many riders, myself included, were concerned about the weather conditions we could run into. The forecast called for a high in the mid-90s. When I got up at 5:30 a.m., it was already 75. It was not looking to be a good day for biking. But luck was with us. A low cloud deck kept things overcast through most of the morning. At the start, a cool breeze kicked up. As it turned out, weather was not an issue on the ride.

It was a treat for me to make contact with a couple of Austin-area bike bloggers. Mike and Jared both turned out for the ride, and I was able to at least put faces with names. They’re both stronger riders than I am, and we never did get to rendezvous after the ride. I hope we can in the future.

Mike of “Mike’s Bike Blog” and Jared of “Just Another Nerd…”

ACA organizers were pleased that about 930 people preregistered for the ride. Add to that the riders who registered on site this morning, and the total number topped one thousand. That made for a dicey start. The 105- and 80-milers set off first, but the rest of us followed on their heels right away. Bikers took up most of the road that led from the high school to the heart of Liberty Hill (pop. 1400), and then strung out as the route hit lightly trafficked country roads.

The pack tackles another gentle, but long, uphill grade.

The route followed almost the same route as the Rip Roarin’ Ride last fall. It gave me a chance to compare my performance then and now. I was pleased to find that this time, the ride was relatively easy. The new bike made a huge difference. Roads I struggled on last year posed relatively little trouble this time around.

One of my favorite rest stops is Number 2, which we actually get to stop at both out and back. Besides friendly folks from the Liberty Hill Lions Club staffing the stop, it’s on the grounds of the Stock Tank General Store, which adds some Texas color to the ride.

Yours truly at the Stock Tank General Store. “Ah think ah’ll mosey in an’ git me a sarsparilla.”

Actually, there’s lots of Texas color on the ride. A couple of examples:

It’s a real place. But if you blink, you’ll miss it.

A donkey and a buffalo shared some pasture with a herd of longhorn cattle.

At the last rest stop of the ride, I ran into Gilbert Martinez, a co-worker of mine who is the Vice President of the ACA. He was riding with his wife Raeanne.

Gilbert’s on the right.(!)

From here, it was a quick seven miles back to the start. How did I do? As I said, I’m improving. Fifty-one miles in 3:22:47 (time in the saddle), for an average speed of 15.21 mph. I also hit a new maximum speed of 39.2 mph, which was a lot of fun while I was doing it, but a bit unsettling at the end of the ride, when I saw the number on the cyclocomputer.

Today’s ride whetted my appetite for more. I’ll have to go back to the ride sites, and figure out when and where to do the next one. Stay tuned.

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Categories // Rides

Smoked the old guy

05.07.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

As I pulled out of the Veloway parking lot to ride home this evening after my weekly three-times-around-the-Veloway ride, I was passed by a familiar-looking bike. It was orange. The rider was tall. Unbelievable. It couldn’t be HIM!

But when I caught up to him at the stoplight at the top of the hill, I saw that it was. Orange Novara Stradas are just not all that common around here. We chatted briefly, although with a bit more substance this time, and once again, I took off first when the light changed.

This time, I was aware of him behind me. He followed me again all the way to the intersection by the supermarket, when we were stopped at another red light. “Man, it’s a hot one today,” he said. It was about 92° F. We were both bathed in sweat. We chatted some more, and it turns out he lives just one neighborhood over from me.

When the light changed, I was ready. I had kept the chain in the large chainring, but my cleat missed the pedal when I jumped forward. He must have seen my trouble and held back, wary of the heavy traffic at that intersection. I finally clicked in, stood on the pedals, and charged up the notorious Mild Suburban Incline.

No cars were turning into the supermarket lot, so I was able to keep accelerating up the grade. This time, he didn’t pass me. When I got to the top of the grade, I looked back to check on traffic, since I have to cross two lanes to make a left turn. He was a good 50 yards behind. I signaled my left, crossed the lanes, and gave him a wave as I turned towards home.

Dang! I smoked the old guy, just three weeks after he got me. Yeah, baby! There’s life in this old dog yet!

What’s that? Huh? Well…I guess you’re right. For there to be a race, both guys need to know they’re racing.

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Categories // Rides, training

Tire talk

05.06.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

I picked up my bike from the LBS today. I had run it in for one of the two free tune-ups I get this year, since I bought it new at the shop in February. I figured it was important to get this taken care of now, since on Saturday, I’m riding in the Armadillo Hill Country Classic, and I want to make sure everything is copacetic.

So I was surprised when the mechanic wheeled it out and called up the report on it. “Gash on rear tire — recommend replacement ASAP.”

I usually do a quick visual check of the tire tread and sidewalls before starting a ride, and I hadn’t seen anything. But then, I have not been as diligent lately about wiping the tires off with an old towel, to make sure no nasties are stuck to the rubber. They’ve been covered with a fine layer of dirt I’ve picked up on rides, which makes it harder to detect any problems.

Sure enough, the mechanic and I rotated the tire slowly, and we found the gash — really a cut, about a half-inch long. We also found several tinier cuts.

The Specialized Mondo Pro with the blue Gerolsteiner stripes.

I had been really happy with the stock tires that came with the bike. They’re Specialized Mondo Pro, with blue stripes in the Gerolsteiner team shade. (My bike is the blue/black Gerolsteiner color scheme.) The tires I had had on my old Raleigh flatted frequently, one time twice on the same day. That bothered me, because the tire that flatted most often was a Continental Ultra Sport on the rear, and I had been led to understand that these were more resistant to flats. But the Mondo Pros performed like champs. And I admit I rode them over some debris-filled roads. Besides, my old front tire on the Raleigh was also a Specialized, and it never flatted.

The shop was out of the Mondo Pros, so for a replacement I chose its close cousin, the Specialized All Condition Pro.

Specialized All Condition Pro

It doesn’t have the colored stripes, but does have a traction belt where the color would be. The tread itself, instead of being smooth like the Mondo Pro, is siped for added traction. I haven’t ridden it yet, but I was relieved to leave the shop with it after catching what could have been a problem.

When I got home, I took a wet rag to the front tire and cleaned off the road crud. I found a small cut that they’d missed at the bike shop. It’s small enough that I doubt it will cause trouble this weekend (knock wood), but I will be watching it closely as I do my rides over the next couple of days.

What really got me in this whole experience was that the tire was only a little over two months old, and had maybe 500 miles on it. This is way short of the mileage a tire should normally get, although the glass and such that caused the cuts would certainly cut the tire’s life span short. I paid $42 for the new tire, and don’t relish the thought of replacing tires at that price every two to three months.

What’s your experience been with tires? Do they flat too often, or do you get good wear? Any pet brands? Brands to avoid?

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