Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

ABC

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The bike club I joined in January was profiled in a neighborhood newsletter as having A, B, and C groups. The A group could be classified as the “serious” bikers – fast pace, long distance riders on high-end bikes. The B group would be what I call the “15 mph crowd” – those who like to ride, and have pretty good road bikes, but just can’t keep up with the As. The C group would be parents on hybrids, kids, oldsters on cruiser bikes, people who ride short distances for fun and a little exercise.

Lately, discussions on the club’s Yahoo! group about As and Bs have been getting contentious. A couple of self-described B riders have used the term “weenie” to label the Bs. Others have taken umbrage at that – they want to be respected for their decision to ride for fun and not get roped into speed contests.

Another group has begun breaking down the Bs into B+, B and B-, or “wannaBe” groups, which has put some into high dudgeon over the whole labeling thing. One of the organizers of the club’s Sunday ride, which is open to anyone, takes issue with classifying riders at all. “We’re all one club,” he says.

Some self-classified B riders say they just want to make sure other riders of their caliber are on the Sunday ride, so they’re not left far behind on their own (These are no-drop rides, but it’s been known to happen). Other self-classified B riders are trying hard to become part of the A group, and are training hard to get it done.

It’s been awhile since I’ve ridden with the club. My last ride with them was in late January, and was a great experience. I got to see a route I hadn’t ridden before, and while there was no way I could keep up with the better riders, I did fit in with a group that was content to travel more slowly than the ride leaders. But I had bike issues and weather issues in February, and was out of town two weekends in a row in March.

This Sunday, I hope to join them again. I have a good idea who I can ride with, and who will leave me behind quickly. The longer distances the club rides will challenge me to build my mileage, and for now, endurance is what I’m after – not speed.

So, I guess I’m a B rider. Don’t care. I want to ride, not race. We’ll see if the ride breaks up into two distinct classes of cyclist. If it does, maybe I’ll just have to make friends with the ones at roughly the same level as I am – and we’ll all know that despite well-intentioned “one club” protestations, we really do fall into separate and unequal rider classifications.

Bandanas or sweat bands?

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When I first started biking last summer, one of the big irritations was the sweat that kept dripping off my brow and into my eyes. Then I rode with an experienced biker friend, who tied a bandana around his head as a sweatband. I tried one on my very next ride, and I was hooked.

The bandana was easy, quick, and available. I had a good half-dozen tucked away in a drawer. Most are the old-fashioned red ones with the black and white pattern. One is similar, but purple. One was issued by a local building supply chain, and has logos of all the brands they carry. The newest one was pilfered from my dog, who wore it at Christmas a couple of years ago. Its pattern is red chili peppers.

bandana.jpg

Emily the beagle and her (now my) chili pepper bandana.

I was hooked because the bandana worked. No sweat in my eyes. None even on the brow. Loved it. There’s only one problem: because they’re rather thin cotton, they absorb moisture quickly. At the end of an hour’s ride, my bandana is saturated. Not a big deal, because the ride is over. But after an hour and a half, or two hours, it’s dripping again. I suppose I could pull it off at a rest stop and wring it out — and I have. But that got me wondering: Is there a better solution?

The local bike shops have several alternatives. One is a full skull cover, that you tie behind your head. It has a sweat band sewn into the bottom hem. If you wear it, you look like a pirate, until you put your helmet on over it. Or, there’s just a plain headband that’s got some elastic for stretchiness. These things run from $10-$17, altho there do seem to be some you can get for as little as $5. Should I stick with the bandana, or try something new? Or do you have a different idea?

Easter ride

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I had to get out on the bike this morning, because it was a gorgeous day in Austin.  Bright and sunny, but breezy, and temps in the low 60s.

My mileage has been off lately, so I figured this would be a good day to go a little farther than usual.  I opted for Mopac, and figured I’d take two circuits of the route.

It was terrific.  At first.  With a north wind at my back, I hit 30 mph on a slight downhill stretch.  But when the road turned to the west and became slightly uphill, I started to struggle.  Still, I made decent progress.  I always look forward to the turnaround to head east, because there are some nice downhill stretches there where you can really let it all out.  Not today.  The wind had shifted a bit to the northeast, and was hitting me in the face.  I also had to pay more attention than usual to broken glass along this part of the route.  Luckily, the tires came through intact.

When the route turned back north, the wind really hit me.  This is the toughest part of the route for me, because it has more uphills.  I can usually take it easy on the downhill parts, but today the downhills were like uphills because of the wind.  Pushing the bike downhill at 11 mph into the teeth of a gale is not fun.

The stoplight at the top of the last hill gave me a minute to catch my breath and down some sports drink.  I considered heading home, but remembered my quest for more mileage, so I went around again.  If anything, the wind had picked up by now.  By the time I got to the northbound leg, I was struggling.  And to add insult to injury, two small groups of riders sailed by me, pedaling at what appeared to be an easy cadence.  They must have been going 20 mph.  I was at 13, and slowing.  I stopped at the top of a hill to drain the rest of my drink, and just rest awhile.  I was at the 17-mile mark, and told myself that if I were in an organized ride, I would have pulled off at a rest stop by this point anyway.

My cell phone rang.  It was my wife, reminding me that we had a tee time at noon.  She was a little perturbed when I told her I was still 20 minutes away from home, and it was already 11:10 (She had done the double Mopac loop yesterday, when the wind was lighter, and today was thinking not about bikes, but about golf).  I hustled home, and we got to the course late, but there weren’t a lot of golfers out today, so we got on the course with no trouble.

My totals: 21.2 miles, time 1:23:47, avg. speed 15.2 mph.  Conclusion: As much as I like to think I’m improving, I’m still a biking newbie.

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