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Archives for December 2013

Wishing I Belonged to a Gym

12.08.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

This has been a tough week, biking-wise. We had something that is quite unusual around here: a cold snap. It’s part of the massive winter storm system that pushed through the country, but we got just the tail end. And we were very lucky. Compared to Dallas, which got lots of ice, we had very little.

The temperatures, though, made bike riding out of the question, at least for me. As you might know, I try to ride Tuesday when I get home from work, but I was stuck there late this week since we’re at the end of the semester. A lot of final projects are being finished on a rush basis, and I have to be around to offer suggestions, write critiques, or even save some from crashing and burning. I looked forward to Friday, when I didn’t have to go in. The semester was over on Thursday.

But biking wasn’t going to happen Friday. Too cold. I’m good for temps down to 40 degrees (4C), but if it gets any colder than that, I simply don’t have the clothes to handle it. Instead, my wife and I put flannel sheets on the bed and lit the fireplace for the first time this winter.

Image courtesy of stock images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
Image courtesy of stock images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Meanwhile, I saw that some members of my club were getting in their miles in spite of the weather. They did it indoors — at their gym (health club, fitness center, whatever you want to call it). Spin classes apparently were full.

We used to have a gym membership. Actually, it was my wife’s, but I could go over there from time to time on a guest pass through her. We dropped that membership a few years ago, for two reasons: she had stopped going regularly, and the cost was more than we wanted to pay, especially if we weren’t going to use it.

So this week, I found myself a bit envious of my pals. I’ve never enjoyed riding a stationary bike, but at least it would work up a sweat and I could feel like I was “pretend” riding. I didn’t do any pretend riding this week. I waited for Sunday to roll around and the temperatures to moderate some, and went out for a nice 18-mile jaunt through the neighborhood.

I know my Northern friends are chuckling right now. “The answer is easy,” they’re saying. “Just get yourself a trainer, and you’ll be able to ride, too.”

With Christmas just around the corner, that won’t happen. Any money we have will go to presents, and entertaining family visitors for several days. Trainers might make sense when you’re kept indoors for three months straight, but I’m used to riding year round, so I’ll hold out for better weather and try to make up for lost ground.

Looks like it got all the way up to 48 (8C) today. That might be the warmest it gets until next weekend. Anyone want to let me into their gym on a guest pass?

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Categories // Cold weather Tags // spinning, trainer

Who Subsidizes Whom?

12.05.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 3 Comments

Have you ever been riding along on your bike, when a passing motorist yells something like, “You don’t pay taxes — get off the road!” or something to that effect? In my experience, those shouts are triggered because bikes slow down traffic, and adversely impact a commuter’s driving time. In my experience also, that slowdown lasts for approximately three seconds. Then, the car is free to pull out and roar past — often at a distance too close for comfort.

On the urban planning website Planetizen, blogger Todd Litman dissects the internal combustion crowd’s arguments against supporting better infrastructure for cyclists, including the one on taxes. It’s a thorough, thoughtful piece, and I look forward to more discussion on this subject.

Litman’s post, “Who Subsidizes Whom?” can be found here.

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Categories // Safety Tags // infrastructure, taxation

Those Teeth-Rattling Cattle Guards

12.03.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

On a recent ride near Dripping Springs, I was leading our peloton of about six or seven riders, when I had to call out a warning.

“Cattle guard!” I yelled. “Two of ’em!”

We had reached a spot where a small ranch straddles the rural road. To keep his cattle from getting out into the surrounding countryside, the rancher had embedded two cattle guards in the road surface, perhaps 20 yards apart. And these weren’t flush with the pavement, either. They sent a bone-rattling vibration from the wheels up through the bike, right into your teeth.

About 300 yards down the road, we all stop at an intersection. But we have to be careful there, too. As we’re braking for the stop sign, we have to cross yet another cattle guard.

For those city folk who aren’t sure what we’re talking about here, cattle guards consist of several rows of steel pipe, laid into the road over a shallow trench. The pipes are spaced just wide enough that a hoof can pass through it, so a steer’s leg would wind up trapped in the guard. The cattle sense this, and keep away.

Here's one of those varmints now.
Here’s one of those varmints now.

Cars don’t worry about them much, but the skinnier your bike tires are (and the more pumped up), they can really feel the jarring the guards cause.

Some stretches of road are more likely to have cattle guards than others. The section I mention above is about four miles long, but has at least a half dozen. Other parts of the same ride have none over even longer distances. A section of the LBJ 100 bike route is known for all the guards in a relatively short stretch, but the guards themselves are some of the smoothest I’ve ridden over, and it’s not a big deal.

Sometimes, the guards come just before or just after intersections, and it's convenient to stop and rest a bit before rattling over them.
Sometimes, the guards come just before or just after intersections, and it’s convenient to stop and rest a bit before rattling over them.

The style of guard varies. Some are made of pipe with a fairly wide diameter, others with skinny pipe. Some are laid nicely flush with the pavement, but others protrude just a bit. Those are the ones you don’t want to cross too often.

To minimize the effect of the guards, a bike rider can take a simple remedy. When approaching the guard, put your pedals at 9 and 3 o’clock, and stand. Unweight the bike as it reaches the front edge of the guard. You’ll still feel the jar, but it won’t be as traumatizing as it would be if you stayed seated.

Riders usually get adequate warning that a cattle guard is coming up.
Riders usually get adequate warning that a cattle guard is coming up.

Overheard on a ride: “We keep crossing all these cattle guards, but I don’t see any cattle.”

Response: “They’re doing good job, aren’t they?”

No one I know likes to ride over cattle guards. But most folks I know like to ride out in the country. And in Texas, as well as much of the American West, you’ll encounter cattle guards. It’s a tradeoff that we just accept.

 

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Categories // Odds 'n ends Tags // cattle guards

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