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That Fickle Wind

03.17.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

I always look forward to Spring Break. Often, I’m out of town, but this year I had plans to stay home and do a lot of riding. But we had to run up to Dallas Tuesday and Wednesday, which put a hole in those plans. This morning, I was ready to get out and put down some miles.

I haven’t had a lot of decent mileage rides yet this year. Time seems to get in the way, and I usually can’t find more than an hour and a half for the bike. That’s good for about 20-25 miles — a nice ride, but not what I’ve been looking for.

So today, I was ready. Pat would be at some business appointments around town, and I had the morning to myself. It was an almost perfect day: overcast, in the upper 60s, but with a brisk cool wind that forced me to put on my arm warmers for comfort.

I decided to head for a favorite destination of mine — the little town of Creedmoor, southeast of Austin. With the wind blowing from the southeast, I knew I would struggle heading out — but I would have a nice tailwind heading back.

Mostly, when I ride to Creedmoor, it’s on Sunday mornings when the traffic is almost nonexistent. Today, I had to contend with lots of trucks. Mostly, they were pretty good. They gave me room on the right, and often waited behind me if the road was narrow.

I didn’t break any speed records getting to Creedmoor, but I wasn’t trying to, and the wind wasn’t helping. We always stop at a gas station/convenience store to fill water bottles and take a break, and I did this time, too. The few people going into and out of the store were friendly, and almost every one of them had a pleasant, “Good mornin’.”

I finished a Clif Bar, and got back on the bike. The ride back was going to be a good one. Right off the bat, the farm-to-market road I was on pointed down, and with the wind at my back, I easily topped 30 mph, just coasting along. It happened again a few minutes later on another northbound road. And that would be the last time on this ride that the wind would be my friend.

Going west on a narrow country road, I felt a strong cross wind. If the wind was continuing from the southeast, it should have pushed me along, not hindered me. Clearly, it was now coming straight from  the south. I couldn’t depend on that helping tailwind.

I reached a built-up intersection, and saw from the flags flying from some buildings that my suspicions were correct. The wind had shifted. But it had shifted to more than south. Now, it was blowing from the southwest. It would be more or less in my face most of the way home.

As I pedaled, I shifted my left hand to near the center of my bar, and grabbed my water bottle with my right. I nearly fell over. A gust of wind got the bike, and pushed it toward the curb. I got it back under control, but knew I would have to pay attention from here on out.

So it was a bit of a slog. I still got in more miles than I’d done so far this year, so that was good. But it occurred to me that I can’t remember a ride where one leg was so much better because of a helping wind. I’m sure the wind god is saying, “Here comes the Bike Noob — let’s get ‘im.”

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Categories // Rides Tags // wind

Skipping the T-Shirt Ride

03.13.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 12 Comments

I’ve been mulling over my riding plans for this year. You might recall that I mentioned in an earlier post that I hoped to do more organized rides than I did in previous years. But I’ve reassessed that idea.

Organized rides are a lot of fun. You get to see other bikers and look over their equipment, size up their riding abilities, and put down lots of miles in the company of people with whom you share at least one interest. You plunk down your $30, or $35, or $40, and in return you get a route that’s been scouted out, sag support during the ride, and rest stops manned by usually helpful volunteers. There’s also a goodie bag that might have a water bottle, an energy bar, a discount coupon or two for biking supplies, and other tchotschkes.

But the other evening, I was enjoying a ride with my friend David, and talk turned to those rides. “Yeah, you pay 35 bucks for a t-shirt,” he said.

David has done his share of those rides over the years, but is no longer interested in them. He noted that in most cases, the rides run over routes that can be ridden for free if the rider is willing to forgo the kind of support the organized rides provide.

Now, I know that most of these rides are sponsored by worthy charities. In fact, that used to be one of my criteria for taking part. But I’ve been rethinking that aspect, too. For the past several years, my wife and I have picked a small number of charities to support — only two to three — and that’s where we send our money. I’d like to think that I’m not entirely selfish.

In my area, the biggest riding group around, the Austin Cycling Association, does informal rides on Saturday and Sunday mornings. You show up, get a map, get some brief instruction from the ride starter, and then you’re pretty much on your own. Even if the rides don’t exactly mirror some of the better-known organized rides, they do cover a lot of the same ground.

Or, you could just sit down with a map and plan out an excursion on your own.

Last night, I started doing just that. Nothing definite yet, although I do have several ideas in mind. I think I’ll start riding places I haven’t been to yet, even if they look like a lot of places I have been to, just so I can break new ground. I had already made up my mind to skip the MS 150 this year (although that’s one I’ll probably do again in the future), and I think I’ll drop my plans to take part in some other rides.

The weird thing about this is, I’m surprised it’s taken me so long to come to this conclusion. I follow lots of biking blogs, and it seems that most of their authors just hop on their bikes and go. But I, on the other hand, have had a pretty well set repertoire of routes, and I need to expand on that.

So, one of these days I’ll put the bike on the car rack and head out to the Pedal Thru the Pines route. I’ve been meaning to do that ride for three years, and haven’t yet. But I’ve got the route map, and I’ll go without the crowds. Ditto the Real Ale Ride in Blanco, Texas. And the Wurst Ride in New Braunfels (which I’ve actually done once, but it’s been awhile, and I’d like to tackle it alone). I’m looking forward to the rest of this year, and all the new places to go and things to see.

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Categories // Rides Tags // organized ride

A New Year, a New Bout of Noobishness

01.01.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 11 Comments

The new year kicked off with a smorgasbord of different rides.  It seemed everyone wanted to get out on their bikes on January 1.  Mrs. Noob and I decided to do the “Resolution Ride,” sponsored by Bicycle Sports Shop and Austin Cycling Camp.  The 9 a.m. start didn’t faze us, since we have long since stopped going out on New Year’s Eve and braving the highways on “amateur night.”

Anyhow, got there in plenty of time, and the first two people I run into are two of my favorite Twitter pals, Torsten (@twtx61) and Tim (@T_Starry).

Torsten and Tim. TNT? They're dynamite bikers.

They were both doing the 50-mile option, but Pat and I decided to do the 25-mile distance.  The plan was for me to go out at my own pace, then wait for her at the end.  Since there was beer and tacos at the end, that wouldn’t be too much of a problem.

But I sensed a problem several miles into the ride.  My left foot felt like it was rocking on the pedal.  I’ve felt that sensation before, and it turned out to be a bad cleat.  However, I know that cleat is in pretty good shape, so I was trying to figure out the cause of the rocking.

My left heel felt a bump.  I looked down, and saw that my heel was hitting my left chainstay.  Wow, I thought, that cleat must be coming loose!  Since I carry a multi-tool with me, I decided to stop at the top of the next hill and tighten the cleat.

I never got there.  Suddenly, I heard a “clank,” and my foot fell into thin air.  I looked down at a horrifying sight – no left crankarm or pedal!

I stopped the bike, got off and looked back down the road.  There it was – about 20 yards back.  Some cyclists coming up behind me were pointing at it, and wondering who the poor sap was who — oh, it must be this guy, as they saw me walk toward the crank and pedal lying in the middle of the shoulder.

“Hey, ya need anything?” came the familiar call, as each cyclist passed me.  This time, I said something other than, “Nope, I’m good.”

“You got an 8 mm Allen wrench?” I called out.  Lots of sheepish looks as they pedaled by.  One guy thought he did, but it was the same Park Tools multi-tool I have, that only goes up to 6 mm.  I plunked down on the guardrail at the side of the road.  Although this was a non-supported ride, Bicycle Sports Shop did have a van on the route, helping with more than routine repair jobs.

One guy had a novel idea.  “Use my car key,” he said.  I’ll be darned – it worked, up to a point.  At least I got the pedal bolt screwed in about halfway.  I didn’t want to risk more than that.  “Thanks, but I don’t want to bend your key,” I told him.  “I’ll wait for the van.”

Pat caught up to me, and told me the van was helping with a flat tire a little ways back.  I told her to keep going.  I would either get fixed and catch her, or I would be a while, and meet her back at the shop later on.

One of the Austin Cycle Camp riders pulled up, and he had a super-deluxe spiffed-out multi-tool that had an 8 mm.

In no time, the bolt was tightened, and the pedal was securely back on the bike.  I hopped back on, and caught Pat about a mile down the road.  We had a great ride, with the wind mostly at our back on the return leg.

Pat is glad to be at the top of yet another hill.

So, why the heck did the crank come off?  It’s not the first time it’s loosened up.  I had the bike tuned last fall, and the mechanic mentioned that he tightened it.  I do the ABC Quick Check before each ride (except this one), but the day before it was tight.

The 8 mm wrench is sticking up from the set.

It’s an easy fix.  I’ve got an 8 mm Allen wrench, but it’s part of a set I keep in the garage.  Clearly, I couldn’t get at it when I was 30 miles from home.  This afternoon, that wrench came off the set, and is now ensconced in my seat bag.

I think I’m also going to have to be more attuned to the tiny variations in my bike’s feel.  If I know the cleat doesn’t seem right, for example, I’m going to stop right away and check it out – not wait until I get to the top of the next hill.

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Categories // Equipment, Maintenance, Rides Tags // cranksets, repair

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