Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

To get better — ride more

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I joined the club for its Sunday morning ride today. The B’s did a 30-mile round trip over rolling hills out in the country. It’s the fifth time this year I’ve done the ride, and I noticed one thing above all else: it’s getting easier.

That’s not to say it’s an easy ride. The hills offer plenty of challenge. But when I compare my ride time and average speed from when I first did the ride this year, they’re better.

I think there’s only one reason for it. I’ve ridden more this year than last. In fact, when I checked my stats at the end of today’s ride, I found that I hit 2,679 miles for the year. That’s two miles more than I rode all of last year. And there are still two more months to go. I should finish 2009 with a nice mileage total.

Although I haven’t done a century ride this year — my longest ride was 77 miles — I’m putting in more miles on the typical ride. I’m at 21.6 miles on average now. That might not mean much, but I think riding longer toughens a person, and helps prepare for the longer distance rides.

I’ll keep it up, I hope, at my current pace. I ride three times a week, four if I get lucky. I work on different aspects of my riding — cadence, hills, intervals — but mainly, I just ride. Let’s see — by riding another 320 miles over the next two months, I can finish the year at 3,000 miles. Heck, that’s doable. We’ll see if I reach that mark by Dec. 31st.

Why bike computers suck

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HemmelsRideGuest writer Jeff Hemmel checks in with another view on the average speed debate we’ve been kicking around here.

I love my bike computer. It keeps me informed, letting me know how fast, how far, and how long I’m riding. It even gives me the time and temp, although to be honest the latter function is far from accurate. But I have also come to realize one undisputable fact — bike computers suck.

That’s my conclusion. Now in a Quentin Tarantino-esque way of getting there, I’ll give you the supporting argument.

You see, like probably most of you who’ve made the transition into more serious cycling, I didn’t start with a computer. I just rode, guessing at how far I’d gone or how fast I got there, but never really obsessing about it. Eventually, however, curiosity got the better of me and I hooked up one of the little gizmos to my handlebars, a magnet to my wheel, and voila, suddenly I had knowledge.

And I loved it. Now, I knew exactly how far my typical route really was, just how fast I was going at any given moment, even my average speed over a two-hour ride. By the time I signed up for my first charity event, I had a good idea of what I could do, and thanks to that computer, I didn’t go crazy at the beginning, kept my pace up during the middle, and even found myself with some decent reserves at the end.

But as the saying goes, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. What once were regular, enjoyable rides were suddenly taking on an air of seriousness. I started checking the computer readout like a man possessed, constantly pushing myself to better my last time, or at least equal it. God forbid I should fall, gasp, below my average. When I got my road bike, things only worsened. Now, I reasoned I had done that time on a clunky hybrid. Surely I had to beat it by a good margin on my new speedy road machine. To not would be like, well, a sign of the apocalypse or something.

On a ride the other day, it was like that little computer brain had taken on the personality of the Robot in Lost In Space. “Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! If you do not increase the current pace you risk finishing with an average speed below, I repeat, below the critical threshold of 18.2 mph!”

It was then and there that I realized that in trying so hard to become a better bike rider, I was forgetting perhaps the most important thing — to enjoy the ride.

So I ripped that computer from my handlebars and threw it onto the side of the road. Just kidding. I did, however, do the next best thing. I clicked to a screen that didn’t give me any information that I could immediately process into a speed or time, things that were fast coming to signify a loss or failure. Yup, like Doctor Smith used to do to the robot on occasion, I pulled the plug. And free from the data, I just pedaled. I don’t know how fast. But I do know it was a fun ride. I wasn’t rushing to reach any imaginary checkpoint, or agonizing over whether I had slipped off my pace. Instead, I noticed that there was actually a decent breeze on what had seemed like a scorching day. I noticed the trees that lined the paved rail trail I was riding were gently swaying, and that, if I steered carefully, I could enjoy their shade.

I noticed that I was out riding my bike, rather than sitting in a cubicle somewhere, or locked in traffic.

Yes, I ride for fitness, and yes, I ride because I think cycling is a pretty cool thing to do. But I love cycling because, above all other things, it’s fun. Obsessed with the computer, I was beginning to forget that fact.

No, I don’t plan to give it up. C’mon, I’m not that crazy. But every so often, when I feel my inner competitor becoming just a little too competitive, I click away from that screen. I pull the plug. And I do what I started out to do…

Enjoy my ride.

The Bike Noob’s own ride this morning ended with an average speed of … well, as you all said, it’s just not that important. What mattered today was riding a favorite route with some new folks I hope to ride with a lot in the future. Thanks for all your lively comments to the last post.

An early thousand and a good ride

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Funny how what used to be major biking milestones now pass almost unnoticed.  I completely missed it, but back on May 13th, I hit 1,000 miles for the year.  Last year, I didn’t hit that magic mark until June 13th. Now I’m wondering what kind of mileage I’ll wind up with for the year. My total last year was 2,677. I should hit 3,000 with no trouble this year — but I won’t be making a conscious effort to do it. I’ll just enjoy my rides.

Like the ride we did today out in the Hill Country. A friend suggested we ride from Dripping Springs this morning, so he, Mrs. Noob and I, and three other friends drove the 12 miles out there and rendezvoused at 8:15 to hit the road. 

Mrs. Noob — uh, Pat — and her friend Susie decided not to try to keep up with the rest of us, or to go as far. I’ve mentioned Pat’s bike before. Here it is:

PatsBikeShe catches a lot of flak about having a kickstand, but she does ride clipless. The tires are 32mm, and she had the bike shop add a higher stem to give her a quite upright position when riding.

We hit the road with four other women we called “The Green Team,” since they all wore hi-visibility green vests. They stuck with us for the first seven miles, then we split off.

This is one of my favorite rides in the area. The country roads are in pretty good shape — a few rough patches — and on Sunday morning, traffic is light.

SDTHere’s what most of the ride looked like to me: Scott, Dee Dee, and Tom lead the way along lightly-traveled country roads.

Clouds blocked the sun for most of the ride, and the temperatures held in the mid-70sF. Quite humid, though, as the forecast called for a 70 percent chance of rain. We hoped we would wrap things up before it got wet.

CowWhat vehicles there were are used to bikers on these roads over the weekend. We’re careful to move to single file along the edge of the road when we detect a car or truck coming up behind us. The animals are equally blase about bikers. This cow has seen it all before, and we didn’t interest her in the least.

Remark from Scott: “Isn’t it funny how a little bit of skunk odor actually smells good?”

Two minutes later, he amended his thought: “Oh, that’s not a little bit anymore.”

We climbed moderate hills in easy gears, keeping up our momentum most of the time. Tom had some derailleur trouble, which made smooth shifting a challenge. He’s a strong rider, but because he had to concentrate so much on his gearing, he described his ride as “hard work.”

But for every uphill there’s a downhill, and we got down in the drops as the road swept us along. As a result, none of us were at all tired when we got back to our starting point. The stats: 34.3 miles at an average speed of 14.7 mph. Pat and Susie had ridden a little over 19 miles, and were already lunching at a nearby cafe when we pulled in.

A good ride, a meal with friends, and we pulled the car into the garage just as the skies opened up. Can’t get much better than that.

Today’s ride capped off a week where I rode every day but Saturday, for a total of 125 miles. I can’t remember the last time I rode that many miles in a week. With two more weeks to go until summer classes begin, it looks like I’ll be spending a lot of time in the saddle. Can’t wait.

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