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Finding Your Biking “Style”

10.21.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 12 Comments

I’ve now been biking “seriously” since the summer of ’07, and recently, I got to thinking about what types of riding I enjoy most.

I do a lot of different kinds of rides, but all my riding is on the road.  Although I own a mountain bike, it is strictly an errand bike, and I do not take it out on recreational rides.  On the road bike though, I do the occasional short time trial, trying to hold my top speed for eight miles; I go to the local Veloway and do anywhere from six to 18 miles, sometimes lazily, sometimes with intervals or fartlek, often in just the small chainring to work on cadence; I ride with my club on Sunday mornings, sometimes struggling to keep up with the peloton, sometimes leading a slower B group ride; I ride a collection of routes from the house of varying length, sometimes sticking to my suburban-style neighborhood, sometimes venturing out into the country.

I imagine it’s much the same for most of you.

But if you had your choice, what kind of riding would you prefer over the others?

I have come to the conclusion that my cycling style is easy long distance.  I like to ride country roads with light traffic.  I like to ride without feeling any external or self-imposed pressure to finish by a certain time.  I like to be able to stop, and perhaps take pictures every so often.

My idea of bicycling heaven.

Living where I do, that kind of riding is fairly close by.  I have a couple of routes that will put me on roads like those within six to 10 miles.  Or, I can toss the bike in the car and drive a little farther to get to even less traveled roads.

Now, that’s not to say that I have now begun to ignore other types of riding.  For one thing, I know I have to do some speed work just to be able to enjoy the riding I prefer.  It’s no fun to be 35 miles into a ride and feel tuckered out.  I do the occasional hill work, so I can handle the hills I run into out in the country.

But I’m not at all crazy about the kind of riding a lot of my acquaintances take for granted: long jaunts on the shoulder of a high-speed highway.  The popular “Dam Loop” west of Austin is a magnet for many area riders.  I find it to be most unpleasant, and having ridden it a few times now, I will avoid it from here on out.  (That’s not to say I won’t do it again sometime — I just don’t like it all that much.)

I would guess that the riding I prefer actually accounts for less mileage than the other riding I do.  But that’s okay — it becomes something to look forward to.  I’ll toil on the hills and during intervals, I’ll put in the miles on suburban residential streets, and I’ll ride the shoulders of fast roads — as long as I can get that 35-60 mile weekend ride in, away from heavy traffic, enjoying the scenery, the animals, and the company of like-minded bikers.

I’ll bet some of you have your own idea of the perfect ride.  Come on, weigh in.

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Categories // Rides Tags // Rides

A Pair Of Good Noob Tips

10.19.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

When I first started checking out Ray’s blog, it was because I was in search of tips. After years of riding a hybrid, I had made the move to a road bike, and found myself with a lot to learn. I’ve now been a “roadie” for several years, but I still remember a few of the lessons I learned along the way.

Time to share…

Feel Your Pedals

Ray gave a nod to this in a previous post, but it’s worth revisiting. For best results, it’s better to “feel” your way into Shimano-style road pedals than to look and aim.

Why? I’m not quite sure. But I know that early on in my experience with road pedals, especially when in traffic or on a group ride, I frequently fumbled with trying to click in properly. Alone it was often no problem, but when the pressure was on I often missed. Then I took a fellow rider’s suggestion to just feel my way in, rather than try to aim and click in, and found much better results.

Try this on your next ride. As you push off, hesitate for a moment to allow the pedal to swing into its natural, up-and-down orientation. Then without looking, swing your toe forward at a downward angle. It should naturally find the front of the pedal, allowing you to then simply push down and click into the locked position.

That’s a technical explanation, but it’s not a technical move. Rather, it’s one that works best when you don’t try, don’t look and aim, and just feel your way through it.

Relax Your Shoulders

Next time you’ve got the sun above and behind, check out your shadow. I was watching mine the other day and it showed me some bad form — namely I was hunching my shoulders.

I’ve noticed a lot of people do it, especially noobs. Riding with our hands on the brake hoods, we often brace our arms to hold ourselves up, rather than relax the shoulders and bend at the elbows. It creates a lot of tension in the neck and upper back, as well as puts a lot of pressure on the hands. I had been dealing with numbness is my hands a lot as of late, as well as having some saddle issues. Forcing myself to relax and drop my shoulders felt weird, but I could tell by my shadow put me into a more proper riding position. For the first time in a long time, I had no numbness in my hands…and that was over the course of a nearly 50-mile ride.

Sure, you’ll likely feel it in a few other places. Your core muscles are engaged more in this position, and you can also feel it in your triceps. But if you really focus on the proper form, it will become second nature after several rides.

Just remember, Frankie said RELAX…not shrug.

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Categories // guest post, Tips Tags // guest post, Hemmel, tips

Biking and Home Maintenance

10.17.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 8 Comments

“Are you riding again tomorrow morning?” asked my wife, as we were driving home from dinner out with friends.

“Yes,” I said.  “The club is taking a 66-mile hill excursion.  I’m going to leave with them, but I’m only going half as far.”

She was silent for a moment.  Then:

“I think we’ve reached the point where biking is taking over other important things in our lives.  When you ride on the weekend, you’re gone all morning, then when you get home, you crash on the bed for two or three hours.  There’s a lot of work around here that’s not getting done.  Now that your 100-mile ride is out of the way, it’s time to start pitching in more around here.”

Ouch.  She’s right.  Well, I’m usually not gone all morning on Saturdays, but Sundays can turn into three or four hour rides.  And yes, I do seem to be prone to napping after an exhilarating ride.

She ticked off a couple of must-do items: “We need to do the windows, especially the glass in the arched tops.  That bush on the front corner of the house needs to be drastically cut back.  The garage needs to be cleaned out.”

Right again.  Okay, I’m still doing the Sunday ride, then I’ll plunge right in to cleanup when I get home.

I had planned a B-level ride of about 35 miles, heading out in the same direction as the rest of the club, but stopping short and turning back before they hit their hilliest part.  As it turned out, no other B riders showed up, and 10 miles into the ride, I struggled up a tough hill.  Everybody waits in a parking lot at the top of the hill, but as I approached the crest, I saw them pulling out of the lot.  I flagged down the last rider and told him I was peeling off from the group.

Pat was surprised when I walked through the door just an hour and a half after I left for the ride.  She had on her bike clothes, and was just about to head out for a ride of her own.

I got the windows done, and did some maintenance on our old Kirby vacuum cleaner.  But after a short lunch break, her prediction came true — I flopped on the bed for a two-hour nap.

Okay, the bushes and the garage will get their due next weekend.  I’ll still ride — but I have a hunch my riding will take up a lot less time through at least the end of the year.

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Categories // Odds 'n ends Tags // home maintenance, napping

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