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Archives for December 2008

Biking is hurting my golfing

12.26.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

The Bike Noob tees it up in Michigan last summer.
The Bike Noob tees it up in Michigan last summer.

In addition to biking, my other pastime is golfing. I’ve been at it for 20 years. I’m no good at it — but now I’m getting worse.

I go out most Saturday mornings with a regular group. Play often improves as the season goes on — I usually register the low net score in the group at least once during the summer — but this year, it didn’t happen. In fact, my handicap soared from a 14 to an 18.

Now, on the plus side, I get a stroke on each hole. But on the minus side, my actual play is a lot worse than that. I shot a 98 the other day, which is 10 strokes worse than my expected score on our par-70 course.

The reason for my poor play on the links is, of course, biking. I used to stop off at the driving range at least once a week, maybe twice, to practice my shots and hone my swing. Now, I head straight for home to change into cycling clothes and get out on the road for a quick pre-evening ride. Where a good weekend for me used to be two rounds of golf, now on Saturdays I won’t stick around the course after our round. I’ll head home to ride. On many Saturdays between August and October, I skipped golf entirely. I was training for my century, so I chose to ride instead. And my Sundays are dedicated to my weekly long ride, whether it be with the cycling club or on my own. A friend at the golf club recently asked me about my woeful game, and I replied, “If it’s a choice between biking and golf, I’ll take a bike ride.”

I really enjoy golf. It’s a skill, but to maintain that skill level, you must apply yourself. The great pianist Paderewski said, “If I miss a day of practice, I know. If I miss two days, my teacher knows. If I miss five days, the audience knows.” It’s just as true with golf. With some time off in the coming weeks, I will concentrate more on splitting my time between the saddle and the tee box. The weather here will be good for golf. As I write this, it’s 72F at 9 a.m., with a high forecast for 80F later today. Great golf weather. But then again, it’s great biking weather too…

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Categories // Odds 'n ends Tags // golf

Merry Christmas!

12.23.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

The Bike Noob is enjoying the holidays with my wife, the long-suffering Mrs. Noob, and our son, who flew in from Minnesota. Riding is not on my mind for these few days, although with moderating temperatures I think I might get out there a time or two.  I hope you are all having as nice a holiday as we are. Greetings to Bike Noob readers from around the world.

Merry Christmas!

Feliz Navidad

Joyeux Noël

Fröhliche Weihnachten

Feliz Natal

Geseënde Kersfees

God Jul

Vrolijk Kerstfeest

Shub Naya Baras

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Categories // Uncategorized

Skittish

12.21.2008 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

Maybe it’s my experience with two crashes in the last three months, but on the road lately, I seem to be a less aggressive rider than I used to be.

The other day, I was doing my weekly ride on the Veloway. It’s got some nice sections with tight curves — curves that invite you to stomp on the pedals and lean hard into the turn. I always look forward to those, especially a right-left-right combo near the end of the loop. I get down in the drops, and always check my cyclocomputer to see if I’ve hit my goal of 22 mph through the esses.

This time, I didn’t even come close. I did 18 mph on the first lap. Wow. I chalked it up to a warmup lap, and figured it would get better. The second time through, I hit 20 mph. That’s still off my goal.

I noticed that the line I took through the curves both times was wider than the one I follow when I’m really “on.” Why would that be?

Well, it’s been foggy the last few mornings, and that left the road surface damp. But it’s only really iffy at the approach to the hill I’ve mentioned in the past — the one where I lost control and crashed last month. A puddle collects right at the base of the hill, right on my line. So I’m going to go slower through there in any case, until it’s acceptably dry.

The esses don’t have that problem. They were damp, but not wet. I made a point of concentrating on the line the third time through. But by now, the light mist that accompanied the fog had turned to drizzle. I picked up a little speed — 21 mph — but cut my ride short and headed for home.

I guess I’m just out of practice. The amount of riding I’m doing has suffered lately because of cooler weather and demands at work. I know that more frequent riding will get me back into the feel of the bike. Now that we’re into the year-end break, I’ll get out there more often — I hope.

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Categories // crash, Technique, training Tags // improvement, training, Veloway

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