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Archives for April 2013

Tire Talk

04.23.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

I’m enjoying riding on a new purchase. I finally had to give in and buy a new rear tire. And in doing so, I decided to change my tire arrangement.

For a long time, I’ve been running a Continental Gatorskin 25mm on the rear, and a Vredestein Fortezza SE 23 mm on the front. The reason for this mismatched pair is my basic cheapness. That, and the fact that the Vredestein refused to wear out. It was only after I hit some bad debris that left a noticeable gouge in the front tire that I decided it was finally time to retire it.

That Vredestein — well, I’ve talked about them before. I really liked its unexpected ability to resist flats. That wasn’t one of its selling points when I bought it, but it turned out to be the best thing the tire had going for it. Problem was, it took fairly high air pressure. I ran 120 lbs. in the front tire, and the sidewall said it could take pressure up to 160 psi. But even at 120, the tire rode harshly on the  chip seal roads we have around here. It was not pleasant.

So I decided to replace the Vredestein with another Gatorskin. I run those at 100 PSI, and the ride is better cushioned that way. As you’re already aware, I’m a comfort-seeking rider. Cushioning is important to me.

Now, in keeping with my tight-fistedness when it comes to buying most anything, I shopped around for the best price I could find on a Gatorskin. It’s a fairly pricey tire, but a place I’d bought them before at a good price came through again. Pro Bike Kit of England was carrying Gatorskins at $32, and free shipping to the United States. That’s even less than I paid for Gatorskins at Pro Bike Kit a few years ago, ,when I was pleased at the low price they offered then.

One difference I’m really liking with the 25s on both front and rear is better handling. The wider front just seems to be more stable to me, and I’m attacking curves with more verve than I have done in some time. Maybe it’s just the newness effect — similar to the feeling you get when you finally wash your car. We all know a clear car performs better, right? Hey, I’ve experienced that first hand.

I’ll be watching the Gatorskins to see how well they hold up. While I like their flat resistance, they have tended to wear out sooner than other tires. Will they be able to match the Vredesteins for long life? The front tire that I finally replaced last week was first mounted on my bike in August of 2011. When I retired it, it had 6,748 miles on it. I doubt the Gatorskins will last that long, but you never know.

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Categories // tires Tags // Gatorskins, tires

Riding On Residential Streets

04.21.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

My friend Rick has been in the cycling doldrums lately. “I’m getting bored with our usual routes,” he said. “I had to struggle to get out and ride yesterday.”

But he broke up the boredom by picking an entirely new route — one he made up as he rode — and one that was unique for sticking to residential streets in our neighborhood.

“I rode more than 14 miles before I even crossed Escarpment,” he said. Escarpment Blvd. is the main north-south road through our subdivision, Circle C Ranch. Circle C covers a good chunk of Southwest Austin, and the developers continue to find ways to throw up more houses, even though we’re supposed to be under tight building restrictions because of a delicate water supply underneath.

“I just kept turning onto side streets, going up and turning around on cul-de-sacs, and I really built up the miles,” Rick added.

Rick’s news was something I could relate to. While I’ver never done a complete ride solely on residential streets, I recall being pleasantly surprised that I could rack up a 27-mile ride and never get more than four miles from my house. Since then, I work in a ride that includes many residential streets at least once a week.

A residential street I often ride. Cars parked on each side can be a problem if there's traffic -- which there often is not.
A residential street I often ride. Cars parked on each side can be a problem if there’s traffic — which there often is not.

Circle C Ranch might have advantages for this kind of riding that older subdivisions, suburbs, and cities might lack. For one thing, it’s fairly new. My house was built in 1994, and is among the older ones around here. So, it’s a somewhat upscale place, with home prices between $200,000 – $500,000, and mostly in the lower half of that range. Like many areas of that ilk, it was designed more for cars than for people, with wide, curving streets, few sidewalks, and few pedestrian amenities.

My wife negotiates a curve a few blocks from our house on a rainy day.
My wife negotiates a curve a few blocks from our house on a rainy day.

But those wide, curving streets are great for riding. While I wouldn’t want to spend as much time on the truly residential streets as Rick, mainly because of parked cars and drivers who don’t expect to see bikes there, I do have a few areas I visit all the time. The arterials are often four-lane divided roads with bike lanes and relatively low speed limits for cars. Those are great.

A typical arterial street that moves traffic through Circle C Ranch. Note the generous bike lane.
A typical arterial street that moves traffic through Circle C Ranch. Note the generous bike lane.

I like to start one of my rides by heading into an adjacent subdivision with a few decent hills. It winds out to a busy Farm to Market road, where I turn around, and zoom through some other streets. Then, I catch one of the arterials and ride two and a half miles to a different subdivision, where I can follow a twisty route that would confuse many of my friends, and ride out to another arterial. This one takes me north a couple of miles into yet another subdivision that appeals to me because the houses are very different looking than most of the cookie-cutter ones around me. I’ll wind around there a bit, catch another main street south and head out to Rick’s part of town, on the far southwest side of Circle C. A nice wide street gets me to the same Farm to Market road I hit early in the ride, and once again, I turn around. This time, I take a nice wide connecting street through another upscale neighborhood to a fun downhill that bends to the left. I can easily hit 34-35 mph on that hill, but at the bottom, I have to be careful of cars crossing. They’re not expecting a bike to travel faster than the speed limit through there. The end of the ride finds me heading back to Escarpment, climbing the hill past the HEB supermarket, and winding my way back home. It’s a nice 20-miler, and I can do it whenever I’m bored with my regular Friday evening ride, which uses some of these same streets, but adds two or three laps around the Veloway.

I can add an almost unlimited list of variations to this basic ride that keeps it interesting, because it puts me on streets I don’t often ride. Distances vary from nine miles to 27 miles. It’s not the kind of country riding I prefer, but it’s a nice chance of pace.

Do you have a route through mostly residential areas?

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Categories // Rides Tags // residential streets

Endorphins

04.18.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

My wife was coming off a particularly difficult week, both personally and professionally, and was glad to go for a Saturday morning ride. We pulled on our cycling shoes and helmets, and got the bikes out on the driveway in front of our house.

“Oooh!” she squealed. “I feel better already, and I haven’t even turned a pedal yet.”

She’s like that. Whenever she needs to be rejuvenated, she goes for a ride. It doesn’t even have to be a long one. One of her favorite routes is an 8.9-mile out-and-back in the neighborhood which she finishes in about 40-45 minutes. Whenever I do it, I feel unsatisfied. She, on the other hand, has “filled the brain with oxygen” and she’s ready to tackle work again. (She owns her own business and works from the house.)

But then, Pat has always been more in touch with her body than I have. Just a little exercise in the fresh air, and her endorphins start firing. I don’t have anywhere near that kind of reaction to a ride. For me, it’s exercise and recreation. For her, it’s exercise and that feel-good feeling.

That’s why I found it unusual when, halfway through that same Saturday morning ride, she wasn’t getting her endorphin rush.

“How you doin’?” I asked, when she caught up to me at the halfway point.

“Ugh,” she replied. “It’s not happening for me today. It’s just work.”

We had ridden up a .4-mile hill that isn’t very steep, but is always a challenge for her. After being off the bike for a week, she was really feeling the effort.

Later, at home, I asked her again whether the endorphins had ever kicked in.

“Not this time,” she said. “I just had too much going on in my head to relax and let it happen.”

Yeah, that makes sense. Outside pressures can make themselves felt, even when we’re engaged in some strenuous exercise. But those outside pressures stay out of my head. I do a pretty goo job of compartmentalizing, and when I’m on the bike, I’m on the bike. When Pat’s on the bike, her mind might still be at work, or dealing with extended family issues.

It’ll pass. Another weekend is fast approaching, and I expect she and I will hit the neighborhood streets and roads again — and this time, she’ll feel much better for it. Gotta fire up those pesky endorphins, ya know.

 

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Categories // Mental Tags // endorphins, exercise

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