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Archives for April 2012

Can’t Outguess Mother Nature

04.15.2012 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

We’d been expecting all week that Sunday’s club ride would be affected by rain. We were on the tail end of the big weathermaker that brought killer tornadoes to Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa Saturday. While we weren’t going to get anything that severe, the forecast called for a good chance of strong storms at about the time we’d be in the middle of our ride.

So we gathered under a sky dark with low clouds, high winds, and the threat of a line of storms off to our northwest. Consensus was that we would head northwest, but double back to avoid the worst of the rain and have maybe a shorter than usual ride.

A good turnout of 17 showed that not everyone was scared off by the threat of rain. There were even some new people in the mix. Our ride to the turnaround was uneventful, and the clouds actually started to break up. We regrouped and headed toward the west again, this time on a different road. But when the ride leader wanted to head north on Barton Creek Blvd. (the road that would take us to the infamous “Hail Mary Hill”) a few of us rebelled. Both John and Kenny had ridden long and hard on Saturday, and weren’t up for killer hills. The three of us decided to head east and work our way back to the starting point.

We battled the still-strong crosswinds on the way, but had a nice three-person paceline along Southwest Parkway. I suggested we go over to Convict Hill, where I would show them my usual Saturday morning hill workout. For Kenny, it wouldn’t be much of a challenge, but it would give him something new to look at.

Kenny is a strong rider — the kind of guy who does a 100-mile ride in a little over four hours on a Saturday, then comes back for a 45-mile club ride the next day as a “recovery ride.” When he saw Convict Hill, he extolled its advantages as an excellent venue for hill training. His idea of hill training is 30-second repeats, going all out, then standing and pushing hard on the steeper section of the hill. We got to the top, looped around for some other, less difficult hills, and roared down the smooth asphalt to head back to Starbucks.

The sky, which had lightened but was still overcast, was now darkening again. The wind was as strong as ever.  We chatted at Starbucks for a good half hour before the rest of the crew started to trickle in. It seems they had broken up on the ride over the desire of some to go farther, and others to head back. Around 11 a.m. I pulled the plug and said my goodbyes.

At home, I ran into my wife who was still in her biking clothes after doing some Veloway laps. We showered and grabbed a light lunch and were starting our house cleaning chores when the pitter-patter of raindrops sounded on the back patio. The rain came in two waves, first light, then heavier, but when it was all over we didn’t get much more than a couple of tenths of an inch. It was good for my scraggly lawn, but not the kind of soaker we really need around here.

So it turned out to be a good ride, but at 25 miles, a lot shorter than I expect to do on a Sunday outing with the club. Coupled with a ride of only 19 miles the day before, and I appear to have some ground to make up this month. But that’s okay. If Mother Nature cooperates the way she did today,  I should have my share of good weather weekends for riding.

—

By the way, that 19 miles on Saturday was the result of one of those flukes of biking: A bee flew into my big helmet vent, got stuck inside, panicked, and stung me. Since I tend to blow up like a balloon when stung by bees, I rushed home to attend to the problem, but since it stung me in the forehead and got only skin and bone, there wasn’t a lot to swell. Tylenol is great. Until it wears off.

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Categories // Rides Tags // hills, rain, Rides

Testing Some More Sunglasses

04.12.2012 by Ray Niekamp // 8 Comments

When I posted awhile ago about my switch to sunglasses that are worn over eyeglasses, Bike Noob reader Nate Schrader noticed that I had a mild concern about their stylishness — or lack thereof. Nate works for SunglassWarehouse.com, and said he wears a pair that may offer a more contemporary look. He sent them over, along with a second pair of glasses similar to the ones I currently use, and asked me to see if they work for me.

The glasses are quite different. One pair has the flared out lenses favored by bike racers and other fast riders. They wraparound the face, and theoretically deflect wind. In terms of style, they’re a more “with it” look than ordinary glasses. The other pair is traditionally shaped, a medium size, with copper-colored lenses for better edge definition in overcast conditions. I’ve been able to try out both pairs, and I have a definite preference.

Last weekend, I wore the “Overcast” glasses on my trip to San Marcos. They slide easily over my biking eyeglasses — a pair several years old that I no longer wear for daily use, but that work well when I ride. The copper lenses did just what they advertised. When I left the house on a cloudy morning, they made everything sharp. When the sun came out later in the day, the glasses cut the glare. After a ride of more than four hours, I was unaware the glasses were there, they were that comfortable.

Sunglasses with copper lenses. Medium size. Good stuff.

Size matters

The Overcast glasses came in medium size.

“What’s different about those glasses?” asked my wife.

“They’re not as large as my other ones,” I replied.

“I knew there was something about them that made them look better,” she said. “They don’t look as dorky — like old man glasses — as your other pair.”

Uh, thanks…I guess. The lenses were a little bit smaller than the over-the-eyeglass sunglasses I wear every day for driving and cycling. For her, it made a big difference in looks.

For me, the size issue had less to do with looks than with comfort. They just felt good. I think I might have to adopt these as my regular biking sunglasses.

So does build

Contrast that experience with the other pair, the so-called “sports shield” sunglasses. I’m afraid I can’t say much good about them. While they might be slightly oversized, compared with glasses of that style that are not made to be worn over eyeglasses, they simply don’t get the job done.

The Sports Shields. I think I’ll skip these.

The problem seems to be their shape. The wraparound style doesn’t lend itself to wearing over eyeglasses. The lenses catch on the point where the eyeglass lenses meet the temples, so the sunglasses stick out a bit from the face. The nose bridge doesn’t quite sit on the nose. I experimented by wearing these over different pairs of prescription glasses, each one smaller than the previous one. Finally, I dug out a pair of eyeglasses that I haven’t worn in at least a couple of years. They have lenses much smaller than the rest of my glasses, because they’re for distance vision only, and not bifocals. The wraparounds fit a little better over these. But they’re not really designed to be worn over eyeglasses — it’s just that their size and shape made them possible candidates.

I took my usual Tuesday evening laps around the Veloway. It’s a ride that I can finish is less than an hour. I certainly wouldn’t want to wear these sunglasses any longer than that, not only because they’re not at all comfortable, but because the poor fit leads to other problems — most notably glare from the sun getting in between the sunglass lenses and the prescription lenses. It almost negates the purpose of sunglasses to begin with.

In addition, they’re not well built. The sunglasses have an overall cheap feel about them. The frames, glossy black plastic, seem almost brittle. They didn’t crack or break while I wore them, but they do make creaking noises, as though the plastic is being stressed in some way. If I didn’t already have alternatives, I might consider wearing these, but they are really an unsatisfactory solution.

To be fair, SunglassWarehouse is in the business of selling inexpensive sunglasses. Everything retails for under $20, and the sports shields are priced at $13.56 during a “Tax Week Special.” The copper-lensed overcast glasses are on sale for $15.96.

If you’re a cyclist of a certain age like me, these types of sunglasses might be worth considering — if not for biking, then maybe for other purposes, like driving. But get the ones specifically designed for the purpose, and don’t try to make do with something just because it “might” work.

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Categories // Accessories Tags // Accessories, sunglasses

Biker’s Elbow

04.10.2012 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

For the last few weeks, I’ve been dealing with some minor pain. It started on the LBJ 100 ride, I think. The day after the hilly metric century, I experienced some soreness in my left elbow when I went out for an easy recovery ride. It’s not a big deal, but it is a noticeable twinge.

I thought it might have something to do with the way I held my arms during the long ride. Maybe I was pushing the elbows too far out for help on the hills. I noticed that if I kept my elbows in, the soreness went away.

I hadn’t realized it before, but I have Biker’s Elbow. No, although I capitalized it, that’s not its real name. It’s called “lateral epicondylitis.” You might know it better as “tennis elbow.” The American Association for Hand Surgery (Yes, it’s a real organization) says despite the name, most people who have tennis elbow have never played tennis. And if you want to get into the medical minutia, lateral epicondylitis is considered a form of tendonitis — but it isn’t really, because it doesn’t involve inflammation. It’s considered more a mechanical problem related to degeneration of the tendon that passes over a bony protrusion on the elbow.

What causes it? Repetitive motion. Any activities that repeatedly stress the same forearm muscles can cause symptoms, according to the orthopedic-oriented website, Orthogate. So besides swinging a tennis racquet, such things as running a chain saw, or using a paint roller can have similar results.

Now, cyclists don’t repeat motions much. Their hands are mostly on the brake hoods or in the drops. But it turns out that gripping can cause the same kinds of pain. Again, according to Orthogate, “When you bend your wrist back or grip with your hand, the wrist extensor muscles contract. The contracting muscles pull on the extensor tendon. The forces that pull on these tendons can build when you grip things.”

Treatment is simple in simple cases like mine: rest. (Duh.) Aspirin or ibuprofen should help. If it’s more serious, you’d better be talking to a doctor, because then treatment will involve everything from stretching exercises to physical therapy to, in extreme cases, surgery. Most disturbing was this advice from the Hand Surgery website: “It is recommended that activities that aggravate the symptoms are limited.” What, no biking? No way!

Since the LBJ ride, I’ve felt that twinge in my elbow on every ride. But on every ride there’s less of it. On today’s after-work quick 15 miles, I felt it once, moved my arm a little bit, and didn’t feel it any more. Knock wood, but I think the situation is under control. But you can be sure that I’ll be very aware of how tightly I grip the handlebars from here on out.

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Categories // Injury, soreness Tags // Injury, soreness

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