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Passages: A biking saga (guest post)

06.09.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 9 Comments

After entering my first time trial last month, something I never thought I would do, I considered my progress since starting biking almost two years ago. Apparently, others go through the same type of progression. On Bike Forums last week, Robert Foster of California posted an item that neatly sums up our passages as bikers. He gave me permission to reuse the post.

It is strange how this sport seduces a person. When I first got back into cycling all I wanted was a bike that I could ride around town and get a little exercise. Then I decided there was no reason I couldn’t ride greater distances and maybe run a few errands. But I sure didn’t want a road bike. Then if I wanted to ride greater distances I discovered would need a road bike but I sure didn’t want to consider clipless pedals or Spandex/Lycra. I wasn’t interested in club rides or any other organized rides.

One day I decided to try club rides but I never wanted to ride in a pace line. And I wasn’t interested in trying to keep a spin going up a hill. One of the people I rode with asked if I wanted to ride a century and I laughed and said I didn’t think I was ready. Three months later I did my first century and was looking forward to my second.

I was perfectly happy to ride with the B riders but every now and then when we get together with the A riders near the coffee shop I will give chase for a while. But I would never consider racing. Last week one of the A riders asked me to consider the Bull Dog race at Camp Pendleton and I just smiled and said no way. Does anyone know how long that race is?

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Categories // guest post, Odds 'n ends

A newbie’s first road bike (guest post)

04.28.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

Ramon H.
Ramon H.

Bike Noob reader Ramon H. recently decided to make the move from an old mountain bike to a new road bike. Ramon, who lives in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, has been emailing me back and forth about the new purchase, and after a slight delay to wait for the right color, he took delivery on a Trek 1.2. I asked Ramon to describe the experience of adapting to a road bike.

My wife bought a bicycle on ebay. I made as many adjustments as I could. Naturally, I had tried adjusting the brakes, but the true of the wheels was way off on both wheels. There was no amount of adjusting that could be done that could rectify the situation. I did not want to bother adjusting for the true, so off to the local bike shop we were.

Once we were there, I decided to try getting on a road bike and trying it for posture. I had been to the shop a couple of weeks ago and had asked them to try a 50cm frame, but that day they did not have any available. I already had done some preliminary research and had heard excellent things about the Trek 1.2, being especially an excellent entry level road bike. I asked them if they had any frames available and they had a 50cm, a 52cm and a 54cm. I actually got in the 50cm and they let me take it for a spin around the parking lot. It was a perfect match. I tried the 52cm, but it was not a good fit. After several adjustments and several measurements to get a better idea of my true fit, I decided (with the OK from the wife) that I would buy the bike.

I did ask them if they carried another color since this one was white and red and they said they did not know. I also bought a frame pump, cage holders, tire liners, and a seat bag which they kindly installed before I took it home. Unfortunately, as soon as I got home, I went online to the Trek site and noticed that Trek sells the same model in blue (blue is my favorite color). So we called the shop back to see if we could bring it back to) get the blue one instead. The guy we dealt with said to bring it back on Monday (he needed to get the OK from his manager and he was gone already). He said that he should be able to make the exchange and that they should be able to special order the blue one.

I picked up my road bike on Friday from the LBS pretty late in the day, so I did not get to ride that day. I decided that I would go to a dedicated bike trail for the bike’s “maiden voyage” about half hour from where I live. Once on the trail, I became accustomed to the shifting, the posture and the dropped handlebars. I also did not wanted to bother with traffic and road debris. I was able to put in a relaxed 10 miles and was able to get the bike up to a max speed of 22.6 mph. I noticed an increase of 3-6 mph over my regular speed. I also noticed that I was a lot less tired than when using the mountain bike.

This morning, I decided to head out for a 15-miler on bike lanes around town. I caught a lot of headwind, but even with that decided to do an additional 5 miles; I ended up with about 22 miles altogether. During one of the segments of the ride, I caught some tailwind. I decided to get down on the dropped handlebars and took off like a scalded dog: 25.4mph max speed (yea baby). It was exhilarating and scary at the same time. I also noticed that the bike became much less stable and that BOTH hands (no fiddling with the odometer or waving at other cyclists) are required once you drop on the handlebars as you are holding on for dear life :lol:.

The only down side to the 20+ mile ride were: lots of road debris, I actually got off the bike at least 3 times to toss nails off the bike lanes; and the stock saddle did a number on my derriere. It was not that bad, but I did have to get off the saddle (and bike) every couple of miles after the 10+ mile mark. I was a little bit sore after the ride, but I can see that it would get quite annoying to have to get off the bike when doing a group ride.

I did further research on the whole wearing chamois or padded shorts and I just cannot get used to the idea of wearing it. I actually gag thinking about wearing wet chamois after a long ride *gag*. So after checking some entries under your blog and many other cycling sites, I will bite the bullet and order a Brooks B17 standard saddle. I am encouraged by the many posts talking that chamois/padding is optional once the saddle is broken-in. I will also take advantage of the stores’ (Wallingford Bikes) 6-month return policy in case I run into issues with it. I need to get on the breaking-in period rather quick since I will be signing up for a local 25-mile bike tour a month from now. I will let you know how the Brooks saddle behaves.

It’s my guess that a lot of Bike Noob readers have had similar experiences as Ramon. When to switch from mountain bikes to something else? Should I go all the way to a road bike, or get some kind of hybrid? What about those crazy bike clothes? And those clipless pedals? Welcome to the road, Ramon. You might be interested to note that Bicycling Magazine names the Trek 1.2 as one of the best bikes under $1,000.

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Categories // Bikes, guest post Tags // guest post

Why haven’t I been riding more? (Guest post)

03.03.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

Gilbert Martinez
Gilbert Martinez

Bike Noob is proud and happy to turn over this blog to a post by my friend and colleague, Gilbert Martinez. Gilbert is the Vice President of the Austin Cycling Association, the city’s largest bike club. His biking interests are somewhat different than mine, because he is more focused on the utility aspects of biking. But he’s been backsliding lately, and wrote about it in the February issue of Southwest Cycling News, the ACA’s monthly newspaper. The following is an edited version of his article.

I have a nearly all-purpose hybrid bicycle that allows me to do a whole range of cycling — from regular commuting, thanks to a rear rack and panniers, to quick jaunts and errands to my brothers’ houses.

When I travel, I sometimes pack my folding bike and enjoy hitting the streets in new destinations. If I want to go off-road, I have a front-suspension mountain bike that’s raring to go.

What I don’t have, it seems, is the will to ride.

Oh, I believe in cycling — I believe that cycling is better for me on all sorts of levels. I know that regular cycling will ease the symptoms of type 2 diabetes. I know that I’m feeling better, mentally and physically, when I’m riding regularly. I know that cycling is better for the environment and means that I use my motor vehicle less. I also know that simply riding my bike in Austin helps make Austin a more bike-friendly community. Plus, I’m certain that it’s fun because I’m reminded of that every time I ride.

So, what’s happened to my will to ride? Did I misplace it? If I did, have you seen it, and if you have, can you return it, or at least tell me where it’s gone?

Somehow, I’ve fallen off the bike, so to speak, and I’m searching for ways to more consistently get back on.

I’ve got some ideas.

I was inspired at the last ACA monthly meeting when we had a commuter bike show-and-tell. We had a wonderful turnout and a fabulous range of bicycles, including a recumbent. I loved hearing what these experienced cyclists said about what they carried on their regular commutes, how they dealt with night riding and with inclement weather, and how they modified their rides to overcome challenges.

It inspired me to come up with a plan.

First, I think I need to work harder at making cycling easier and more comfortable. For example, I can do a lot to prepare for a work commute the night before so that when I wake up I can get out the door quickly.

But, just as importantly, I think it’s also about challenging myself and pushing out of my comfort zone.

How easy is it to develop excuses if you only rode in ideal conditions? Granted, we have pretty good weather in Central Texas, but we do get rain on occasion. How often have you bailed on riding because of the weather? Because it was too cold, too wet, too hot, too sunny, too cloudy?

In fact, I had planned on riding my bike to the commuter bike show-and-tell but got scared off because of weather reports of steady rain beginning a couple of hours before the meeting. Of course, it didn’t rain, and I was left wondering why I let the excuse win out yet again.

So I’ve decided that 2009 will be the year I get back on my bike in a big way. I’m going to make pedal strokes, not excuses. I’m going to find a way to commute to work, even if it means once a week at first. I’m going to match my beliefs about cycling’s benefits to my actions.

Specifically, I’m getting excited thinking about a trip to Alabama and Georgia in June. Two lengthy rails-to-trails projects were connected last year — the Chief Ladiga Trail in Alabama and the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia. The Ladiga Trail runs about 33 miles from Anniston in northeast Alabama to the state line. On the Georgia side, the Silver Comet runs 61 miles to Smyrna, a suburb of Atlanta.

Remember what I said about comfort zones? I’ve never ridden a century before. I’ve done a metric century (62 miles) and a tad more a few times, but nothing close to 100 miles in one ride.

Time to get out of my comfort zone. I’m looking forward to making 2009 a year of riding, not excuse-making.

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Categories // guest post, Rides, training Tags // Commuting, guest post

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