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Archives for July 2013

Rethinking Biking

07.21.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 6 Comments

If insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results, I guess it’s time for me to make some changes. Specifically, I’m taking a serious look at taking a hiatus from weekly club rides.

Two weeks ago, I was left behind by the rest of the B’s, and not by just a little. Today, I was the only B to show up for the Sunday ride, and they dropped me within three miles. I had already alerted the club president that I would be turning around before the rest of the group, so that wasn’t a problem. I wound up soloing on a route of my own choosing. But if I’m going to spend most of my Sundays riding alone, why bother with the club?

The main reason is, the club ride is my long ride of the week. It’s also the fastest I ride during the week. Even though I’m left behind, I push myself to try to stay close. If I ride alone, I don’t push it.

That’s largely because of my aversion to training. But if I’m going to get back to the point where I can at least acquit myself as an average B-level rider, I’ll have to train.

But it’s one thing to say I have to train — and even to start some kind of training regimen. I must stick with it. That’s where I’ve fallen down in the past. I’ll do intervals on a certain day two weeks in a row, then I’ll stop. If I’m riding alone, it’s easy for me to turnaround early, and turn that planned 58-miler into a 45-mile ride. Frankly, 45 miles would be pretty good for me these days.

Today, I got an added incentive to whip myself into biking shape. My wife and I are planning a European vacation next summer, and this morning she decided that it would be fun to spend part of it on bikes — as part of an organized bike tour. A great idea, I think. She’s already started her own brand of training for it — she found a new Pilates studio. I’ll just be more diligent about my riding.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress in the coming months.

 

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Categories // clubs, training Tags // weight

Nicknames

07.16.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 3 Comments

Guest poster Don Blount has been musing about the names cyclists call each other.

BlountOnBikingIt seems that my bike club is full of nicknames.

They are so numerous that I cannot remember many, but here are a few:

You could start with Fearless Frank, FF for short. He rides down hill like a man without fear. His epitaph should be: He never touched his brakes.

Then there is Ex Trez, the former club treasurer. This guy is 70 years old but rides like he is 40 years younger.

CB or Cherry Boy, a retired farmer, whose family grew or grows cherries.

Leadbutt for obvious reasons, I think.

Lonerider, who often puts in megamiles on his own. He also disappears from club rides as he goes off to do his own thing.

Grasshoppa – I am not sure about this one.

The Good Dr. Carl, not to be confused with the Evil Dr. Carl.

The Anti-Gravity Girls, two strong women riders whose name says it all about their climbing abilities.

Rocket. I have been told that he was fairly fast back in the day. He claims that he still is, even at 206 pounds.

And Capt. Hawk, sometimes shortened to just Hawk. He is a former Navy and airlines pilot. He said he was given his nickname during his Naval days when while flying a mission looking for enemy ships that a crewmember remarked that he looked like a hawk looking for prey.

That nickname stuck. He said the only people who called him by his given name “David” were his wife, always a sign of trouble, and people who did not know him real well.

That’s the thing about these nicknames — everyone who has one, likes it.

One of the funniest conversations I have heard  while out on a group ride happened when we met someone who followed our Yahoo group conversation.

One rider proudly introduced himself: “I’m Cherry boy,” he said. “Hi, I’m Leadbutt,” said the other. I was just flummoxed.

And if you are wondering, I am occasionally referred to as “The Editor. That is after all, what I do in my day job, but that has not really stuck — nor am I hankering for a nickname that would stick.

Hawk said that to have a nickname, you have to do something really memorable or boneheaded. I usually manage to avoid both (knock on wood).

What about your club? Is it full of nicknames too?

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Categories // clubs, guest post, Odds 'n ends Tags // Blount, clubs, guest post

I Am Such A Noob

07.14.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

After my crash during the week, I was anxious to get back on the bike. The road rash was painful (at this writing, still is), but would rub against nothing while in the saddle, so riding wouldn’t be a problem.

But I needed to replace my trusty old Schwinn bike computer. It had been flattened when a car ran over it right after my crash. I swung by Wal-Mart after work Friday and picked up a new one.

compNot exactly like the old, but pretty close. Instead of the Schwinn name, it was by Bell — the helmet and cheap bike accessory folks. It has the familiar two buttons below the display that the previous one had had, and operates the same way. More bells and whistles, though — this one also has you input your age and weight, so it can calculate calories and fat burned during a workout. Oooh! Who needs Strava?

So, I sat down with the instruction booklet Friday evening and set the computer. I inputted the wheel circumference (after manually measuring it in my driveway), and all the other stuff you’re supposed to do. Saturday morning, I mounted it on the bike for its first ride.

Immediately, I saw that something was wrong. As I pulled out of my driveway, still with only one foot clipped into a pedal, the computer was reading 15 mph. Farther down the block, once I started cruising, it showed a speed in the high 20s.

Hm. I must have set something wrong. I did my ride along a familiar route, so I would be able to save some of the data. But the readings I was getting on the new computer were around twice as high as I should get if it was accurate.

Sunday morning, after resetting the computer for the umpteenth time, I set out on another ride. I had decided to skip the club ride because of my road rash. Although I could ride easy, I didn’t think I was up for a 40-mile, two-and-a-half hour jaunt in the country. Next week.

Again, the computer registered high numbers. I stopped a few blocks into the ride, and adjusted the sensor mounted on the fork. Then I reset the computer to kilometers per hour, assuming that maybe there was a manufacturing flaw, and the miles and kilometer settings had been reversed at the factory. All that got me was cruising speeds upwards of 60 kph.

This disappointed me. I’ve been somewhat smug about not needing a fancy bike computer when all my friends have one. Current speed, max speed, average speed, and distance are really the only numbers I need. But now, after spending considerably more for this unit than the one it replaced ($23), I wasn’t getting any usable readings.

As I pedaled along, I noticed something odd from the front wheel. That sensor magnet was really spinning fast. Why, it looked like it was going twice as fast…oh, crap.

I stopped at the side of the road again, and this time I took off one of the two magnets on the front wheel. When I disconnected the old unit’s wiring and sensor, I had forgotten to take the magnet off the wheel. Instead, I installed the magnet from the new unit. Now, I had two. Double the magnets, double the fun.

I set off again. The speed was right where it should have been — between 12-15 mph. On the slight downhill through a nice subdivision, it registered 26 mph. I rode over to the Veloway, which has a known distance of 3.1 miles per lap, and did two laps. Yep, 3.1 miles each time.

Next time you get a new bike computer, remember to take off the old wheel magnet before you install the new one.

And you wonder why I still call this blog Bike Noob.

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Categories // Accessories Tags // computer

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