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Archives for June 2013

How Do YOU Ride In The Rain?

06.20.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 9 Comments

Okay, I have to ‘fess up. I am hesitant to ride in the rain. I shouldn’t be, and I have a reasonable amount of experience at it — although in Central Texas, we have far less opportunity to ride in the rain than people in other parts of the country.

Here’s what triggered this post: I have fallen four times on the bike since 2009. Two of the four falls were the result of rainy or wet  conditions. Each time, I had little in the way of open wounds, but took a long time to recover from being banged up. Shoulders, ribs, hips, etc.

I joke with my friends that “I’m too old to fall.” I say that because at my age, I know recovery takes longer. And yet, back in March, I did fall.

And three weekends ago, I was on a club ride when the skies opened up. Oddly enough, it happened on a stretch of road where I had been caught in a downpour just last summer. Then, I recall sticking with the group, and covering about 10 soaking miles. This time, I found myself reacting in a skittish, almost timid way to the rain.

I slowed way down. The guy I was riding with took off, and in no time was a quarter mile ahead of me. The shower we were in didn’t last long, and the road actually started drying out after the next couple of miles.

A member of our club whom I don’t know well was recently hit by a car, and although his recovery is nearly complete, I’m told he has a sort of post traumatic stress disorder about it. He’s almost scared to get back on his bike and ride in traffic.

I’m not that bad about rain, but I’m a lot more cautious than I used to be.

And yet, people ride in the rain all the time — relish it, even. So, readers, I’m asking for some reader participation here.

How do YOU ride in the rain?

Rather than post in comments at the bottom of this page, I prefer that you email me. I’ll compile the suggestions, tips, skills, guidelines — whatever you want to call them — and put them in their own post sometime in the future.

It’s unlikely I’ll be looking for rain riding opportunities even after I get some tips — but I’m hoping I won’t be as hesitant about it as I am now.

Again, to respond, just send an email to rainycamp AT yahoo DOT com.

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Categories // Technique Tags // rain

Seat Adjustment

06.17.2013 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

I had been bothered after a ride of any length lately. I’ve always had trouble being comfortable in the saddle after an hour or so, but now I was getting low back pain. It cleared up quickly once I stopped riding, but if I was going to continue to enjoy being on the bike, I would have to take some action.

The obvious culprit was the saddle. I had been fitted to the bike way back in 2009, and the most unexpected finding there was that my seat had been too far back. The fitter moved it forward, and I enjoyed the feeling of riding in a slightly upright position, with the bars a tad closer to me than they had been.

But in the intervening years, I’ve been experimenting — making tiny adjustments in the saddle position. Over time, those tiny adjustments became substantial changes. I guessed the problem must be that the saddle needed to move forward again, because at this time, it was as far back as possible. I had even considered getting one of those seat posts with the additional back offset. But I decided first that I would try to get the bike back to the original settings the fitter had come up with.

I didn’t have a sheet with my measurements, but I did have my garage window. On the window sash, I had written in pencil that the distance from the nose of the saddle to the headset was exactly 16 inches. Now, it was about 16 1/2 inches.

I made the adjustment. We’re told not to change things drastically — more than, say an eighth of an inch — so this was a drastic change. I rationalized it by reminding myself that I’d ridden in this position before.

On my first ride with the new position, I noticed the effect of the forward saddle right away. My arms bent naturally at the elbows. There was less pressure on my hands. I did a club ride of about 30 miles, and felt fine after it was all over.

Last week, I did a few short rides in the neighborhood before work, a longer ride with hills on Saturday, and a 37-mile club ride Sunday. No lower back pain.

It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty close. And I have a hunch that any further adjustment I make will be on the saddle height rather than fore and aft — remembering that raising the saddle has the effect of moving it back, and lowering it has the effect of moving it forward.

By all means, tweak your riding position for the most comfort — but be sure you have a record of your original settings. You might need them.

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Categories // Bike fit Tags // saddle

Keep It Simple, Newbie!

06.13.2013 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

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.

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Categories // guest post, Tips Tags // Blount, guest post, noob

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