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Doin’ the Dillo – Again

05.08.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

Went out to Liberty Hill, Texas for the Armadillo Hill Country Classic, run by the Austin Cycling Association. It’s a great ride through some nice Hill Country scenery, and is always well attended. I last rode the ride in 2008, and was looking forward to going again.

This year, I convinced Pat to join me. She’d done well on other organized rides lately, but didn’t seem enthusiastic about this one. At first, she told me to go on my own, then said she’d join me and do the 28 miler (there were options of 14, 28, 42, 50, 61, 78, and 105 miles).

Pat waits for me to finish snapping pix so we can ride to the start.

Although I hadn’t registered until one hour before the deadline Thursday night, both our names were on the roster, and we got our numbers, t-shirts and goodie bags. Pat liked the fact that the high school where the ride started was open, and we could use their bathrooms instead of porta potties. Note to self: From now on, on organized rides, bring extra safety pins. We got only two pins to attach the ride number to our jerseys, and I was serenaded by the flutter-crackle-pop noise of the flapping number throughout the ride.

The start went off without a hitch, and we were soon in the country. The day was overcast, with a cool 65ºF (18ºC) temperature and a brisk wind from the northwest. It made riders work harder, but it wasn’t blow-you-over strong, so it was still doable. I figured it would slow me down, though, so instead of the planned 61-mile route, I decided to go 50 instead. A few friends I met at the start told me they planned the same thing.

Cyclists head down the main street in Bertram, Texas.

The Armadillo is known for its well-stocked and friendly rest stops. I skipped the first two, but made sure to stop at the one in Bertram.

A cyclist thanks the ladies for volunteering at the Bertram rest stop.

Replenished and refreshed, I headed out for the second half of the ride. The country roads were in various states of repair, some with new chipseal, others worn smooth by  the local traffic. Live oak trees canopied the riders in some stretches. And then there were the hills. Not killer hills — except for one short, steep one — but long rollers. My increased mileage this year helped, and I started passing other riders on the way back to Liberty Hill.

A typical view during the ride.

At the next-to-last rest stop, I ran into my friend Scott, who’d been left behind by his group. Scott has been out of the country for work lately, and hasn’t been riding much. He was getting cramps in his calves on the uphills. We decided to ride the rest of the way together.

We pulled into the high school parking lot at about 11:40 a.m. Pat was waiting in the car. When I asked her how her ride was, she replied, “Great! I breezed it! Now I’m pissed that I didn’t go 42 miles.” She’s getting stronger on the bike.

My own time surprised me. Although I still felt strong at the end, and had blasted some hills that beat me up two years ago, my on-bike time was only four minutes better than 2008. Thank goodness there’s always that brisk northwest wind to blame.

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Categories // Rides Tags // ride report

What kind of cyclist are you?

05.06.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

A little bit ago, I ran a post here called “Are You a Cyclist or a Biker?”  It got lots of response, but some folks thought that applying labels to ourselves is counter productive.

One reader answered the biker-cyclist question, but then posed one of his own — a better one, to my mind:

Better yet, what kind of cyclist are you? Over the holidays, I found that I had become a “care-taker” cyclist. I was going through the motions of a 30 mile ride without putting a whole lot of effort into it. Fortunately I snapped out of the lull and now enjoy “working” at it.

The serious cyclist.

That got me thinking. I hadn’t considered what kind of cyclist I am, because I always took it for granted. I ride a road bike, therefore I am a road biker.

But there are different kinds of road bikers. And I’ve got road biker friends who can’t wait to get dirty on mountain bikes. I’ve described myself as a “B” rider here — a charter member of the 15 mph club — but even that doesn’t answer the whole question.

Tweedy cyclists.

I’ve been a “caretaker” cyclist before. That’s not a lot of fun. I don’t race, except for the occasional time trial, when I’m racing against myself (Oh, all right, I do pay attention to certain guys’ times). I enjoy riding for distances, but I’m beginning to think that 100 miles is over doing it, and 100 kilometers might be just right. I’m not the most gregarious guy you’ll ever meet, but I do enjoy the social aspect of cycling, which is one reason I joined a club.

Mostly, I ride for fun and exercise. Notice I didn’t say fitness. I’d have to push myself harder to lose weight through cycling, but a one-hour ride can get me to sleep longer and deeper at night, can curb my appetite so I’m not eating so much, can slow my resting heart rate and lower my blood pressure.

The "oh my goodness" cyclist. (Liz Hatch.)

The fun of riding comes when I go places I haven’t been before, or when I’m with a group of like-minded congenial people, or when I push myself a little bit, and find that I’m up to the challenge.

I guess I’d call myself a “recreational” cyclist. If someone can provide a more descriptive term for the kind of riding I do, I’m open to your suggestion.

How about you? How would you describe your riding?

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Categories // Odds 'n ends Tags // cyclist

Ponza — My One-Hour Saddle

05.04.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 17 Comments

Over the last year, I’ve blogged more than once about my Selle San Marco Ponza. It’s the saddle I mounted on my bike last May, after complaining about the hard ride on my previous saddle.

I liked the Ponza for its narrow race-inspired shape. It has a slight upsweep at the back, which cradles the butt. I wasn’t getting the soreness on my bottom that the previous saddle was giving me.

That was before I started riding longer on it.

It’s been evident for some time now that the Ponza is okay for anything up to an hour. At about that time — maybe 55 minutes, maybe 65 — my butt hurts. Specifically, the soft tissue area right at the bottom of my bottom hurts. And the soreness will be there well into the next day.

In addition, I’ve been developing saddle sores. Bag Balm seems to do a good job of dealing with them, but still — on a ride of several hours’ duration, you don’t want to have to deal with an irritated pimple on your butt being rubbed uncomfortably by a saddle that has turned against you.

Much of the time, a one-hour saddle is fine for me. I can ride from my home to the Veloway, do three or four laps, and ride back home in roughly that 55-65 minute window I mentioned above. That’s about 15-18 miles.

But on weekends, I like to go longer. Two hours would be the minimum for me there. And to do that would require another saddle.

Recently, I did a Sunday ride with a group of folks I’d never ridden with before. Looking over their equipment, I saw many more generously padded saddles than I do on my club rides. When I asked people if the padded saddles don’t cause them problems on long rides, I got a unanimous no. Everyone said they feel as good after three hours on the bike as after an hour.

So, despite everything I’ve read or heard about how padded saddles can compress your sensitive parts, and cause just as much discomfort as the hard ones, I decided I would go for something cushier this time.

The new saddle is on the bike, and I had a good first ride. But I’m going to wait a bit before I review it. I need to get more miles on it — and rides of longer than an hour.

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Categories // Equipment, soreness Tags // saddle sore, saddles, Selle San Marco Ponza

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