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Slick Streets – And Not From Rain

07.11.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 8 Comments

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I got home from work early Wednesday, and made ready to knock out some quick miles on the bike. It was a hot one — 98 degrees (37C) at 3:30. I dressed in my loosest, lightest weight jersey, some old lightweight bike shorts, and filled my water bottle with ice.

When I reached the Veloway, I was the only one on the three-mile track. Not a car in the parking lot. Not another bike to be seen.

I decided this was not a day to do fast laps. Just maintaining a steady cruising speed would be a challenge this day.

After three laps, I decided to head home. That would give me a 15-mile ride — just about one hour on the bike. Plenty for these conditions. I crossed the gravel parking lot and pointed the bike up LaCrosse.

About a mile from the Veloway, I turn off LaCrosse onto Escarpment to make the last stretch home. Would the stoplight be green or red today? It’s usually red. Today, it was red again, but the cross traffic had a left turn arrow, and that meant I could go ahead and make my right turn without interfering with any cars.

I turned — slid — and the next thing I knew, I was on my stomach in the intersection, with my bike clattering over me. WTF?

The drivers around me just kept going. I got to my feet quickly, and picked up my bike and carried it to the curb. I had some road rash on my right shin, and blood trickled down into my sock. I felt a tingle on my right hip where it had hit the pavement. The shorts were still in one piece.

A glance at the intersection showed me the problem. Some oil had thinned out under the bright, hot sun, and spread a small slick right in the intersection. I must have hit that slick just as I applied power to the pedals to turn the corner. Although I could see the slick clearly now, when I walked over to where I had been when I slid, it wasn’t obvious at all. The sun didn’t reflect off its surface from this angle.

My right shifter was bent inwards, and I couldn’t pull it back to its normal position on the handlebar. I would have to ride the last two miles home with my right hand at a funny angle. I could get out an Allen wrench and adjust it later.

And as I was preparing to get back on the bike, I noticed one other casualty. My bike computer, lying in the intersection. I would have to get it, but now cars were turning across my path. I had to wait. I did — and I watched as one car made its right turn, right over the computer. On my way home from work Friday, I’ll stop at Wal-Mart and get a replacement. It’s only $12.

Now that we’re in the hot part of summer, take care on the roads. Rain won’t be a problem, but oil slicks can be.

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Categories // crash Tags // crash, heat, oil

Not Entry Level

07.09.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

A few weeks ago, I had my bike over at the bike mechanic’s place. David is an experienced wrench, and has even worked for one of the domestic pro race teams. Now, he’s our very own club mechanic, and I have taken my bike over to his place several times and waited for him to finish up with another club member or two.

This time, we were dealing with my balky front derailleur. He made short work of the repair, but he really wanted me to do something about my rear wheel.

“It’s on its last legs,” he said. “I trued the spokes, but the hub is shot. It’s time to spring for a new wheel.”

We kicked around some ideas for wheels. David, who admits to having champagne tastes when it comes to bikes and components, recommended a high-end wheelset that I just wasn’t going to go for.

He finally agreed with me that a lower-end model would be just fine, and would still be an upgrade from the stock rims that came with the bike.

“I know these are no-name wheels,” I said. “But for an entry-level bike, I think they’ve worked out pretty well.”

My bike is a 2008 Specialized Allez Elite Compact. That means it has upgraded components over the base Allez.

It's got a different saddle now, and the water bottles have been moved to the frame, but this is pretty much it.
It’s got a different saddle now, and the water bottles have been moved to the frame, but this is pretty much it.

“You know, this really isn’t an entry-level bike,” he said. “Look at what you’ve got.”

He then started at the front and worked his way to the back, pointing out features I’d taken for granted long ago.

“You’ve got a carbon fork,” he said, “but you also have a carbon seatpost and carbon seat stays. The geometry of the bike is race-like. It’s an aluminum frame, okay, but aluminum can take a beating, and it’s relatively light.

“As a matter of fact,” David added, “Dave Wenger has an Alleez.” (David says the “Specialized guys” don’t use the French pronunciation for Allez — ahl-LAY — meaning, “go,” but instead call it the “Al-LEEZ.” I won’t.) If you’re involved in cycling in the Austin area, you’ve probably at least heard of Dave Wenger. He’s one of the top racers in this area.

“Really?” I said.

“Yes. He uses it in local criteriums, where he can really bash it around. Now, it’s been upgraded all around — wheels, drivetrain — but he races an Alleez. That’s really a pretty good bike you’ve got there.”

Well, that made me feel better. I’ve had some components changed on this bike, too — had an Ultegra rear derailleur mounted, although I also downgraded to a Sora shifter. The Bicycling magazine Buyer’s Guide says the current Allez model — the Comp Compact M2 Apex (sigh) — offers “the vibe of a race machine but manners best suited to riders taking their first, exploratory pedal strokes, or to more experienced rouleurs seeking a bike with ride-all-day comfort and enough get-up-and-go for the local Tuesday-Night World Championships.” So, entry level and beyond.

Frankly, I can’t vouch for all-day comfort on this bike. I’m pretty done in after four hours in the saddle. Still, it’s good to know that the Specialized Alleez — excuse me, the Allez — is nothing to be ashamed of when I line up at club rides with the Madones, and the Wiliers, and the BMCs, the Cervelos, and Kuotas some of my fellow riders are taking out.

And a new member who’s been riding with us for just a few weeks decided he needed a better bike than his old steel 10-speed. He bought an Alleez — Allez — too.

 

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Categories // Bikes, Specialized Tags // Allez, bike

My Get Up And Go…

07.07.2013 by Ray Niekamp // 2 Comments

…has got up and went.

It’s been a good week for riding, but today reminded me of what happens when I try to go too far beyond my typical training regimen.

The B’s were looking forward to a run to Creedmoor. That’s  36-mile round trip, and would have been just right for most of us. It would be a long enough ride, but not too long. That’s important when you consider that the temperatures will rise into the 90s (32-35C) quickly after the overnight low only got down to about 75 (24C).

We sort of stayed with the A’s until about three miles into the ride, when they veered off onto a road we haven’t taken before on club rides. The B’s didn’t follow, but continued on our route. At the next light, we caught up to several A’s who had jumped out ahead of the pack, and missed the turn. They had to scramble to try to intercept or catch up to the main body.

Meanwhile, we had an uneventful run, with only one minor incident: An oncoming car laid on his horn. Why, no one could figure out. We were two abreast in our lane with no cars behind us. This guy had the road all to himself. Asshat.

As we approached Creedmoor, I could feel myself flagging. I had done that Fourth of July ride the other day, and then Saturday I did a route of about 20 miles, but with lots of hills — some of them pretty tough. Now, I watched as the rest of the B’s became little dots on the horizon, and I didn’t feel particularly interested in trying to catch them.

At the convenience store in Creedmoor, I joked that Buddy had used the facilities, bought some Gatorade, and almost finished the bottle by the time I got there. But I think everyone was happy for a break. The heat had moved in already, and we were all drenched in sweat.

When it was time to leave, I made sure everyone knew the turn we needed to take. “The road turns right 90 degrees,” I said, “and then you bear right almost immediately. I want to make sure you know that, because you’ll be way ahead of me.”

Sure enough, I was dropped coming out of the parking lot. They scampered off in the distance, while I pedaled steadily, just putting miles under my wheels, but not trying to catch them. The sun beating down on my back was wearing me out.

Just before reaching I-35, I could see Buddy ahead of me. I held out my arm to signal that I would be pulling into another convenience store lot. He apparently didn’t see me, and kept going. I stopped anyway.

I got not one, but two full bottles of ice water, and went through both of them. I finished a Luna bar that Maggie had given me back at the first rest stop. And I rested. I’d come less than 10 miles since Creedmoor, but I was done.

The route isn’t terribly hilly, but there are some good rollers. And I knew that on the way back, I’d have to climb Davis Hill from the backside. That prospect didn’t appeal to me at all.

So I made an executive decision. Slaughter Lane has a bike lane almost all the way back to the Starbucks. It’s seven miles, and Slaughter is a four-lane divided street with heavy traffic that likes to exceed the speed limit. Just the kind of road I hate to ride on. But it was a straight shot back, and would probably cut about two miles off our regular route.

At one point on that stretch, I could tell just how tuckered out I was, when the front tire went into the gutter, and rubbed against the slightly raised asphalt as I corrected the steering. The asphalt was just high enough about the gutter that the edge grabbed the wheel, and I thought for a terrifying instant that I would fall over, into the traffic lane. Bye-bye Ray.

I recovered, and redoubled my efforts to stay with it. I did get the rest of the way to Starbucks, where everyone was enjoying their drinks on the patio.

It turned out that they did some bonus miles. Buddy was far enough behind them that he couldn’t tell them the correct turn at a certain point, and instead of going south, they went north. By the time they’d figured out where they went wrong, they had to add about four miles to their trip.

For me, this was an annual reminder. I seem to get caught riding too far, too long, without a) enough base mileage, or b) enough rest. Our good riding in Texas happens in the spring and fall anyway. Forget summer. For the next month or two, I’ll ride within myself, and when September comes, think about piling on some more mileage. In the meantime, I’ll make sure I’m as diligent about taking my rest days as I am about my ride days.

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Categories // training Tags // heat, tired

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