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It Ain’t Pretty, But I Like It

12.27.2009 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

Guest poster Don Blount takes a new road, and finds that just going somewhere you haven’t gone before is its own reward.

It was an early morning and I was trying to get a ride in before going to work. I took one of my usual routes, this one being about 16 miles. I approached the turnaround point, which is located at a boat park at the top of a hill. It’s a pleasant place for fishermen, families who want to picnic as well as the many boaters who dock their boats or set sail from there.

It’s a dawn to dusk park with free entry for bikers and pedestrians. The guards usually just wave me through without a second glance.

But this day, I didn’t head up to the park.

Instead I took a right turn down an access road that I’ve passed many times but had never traveled before. I suspected it was on the other side of the waterway but had no idea what else was over there.

The short hill taxed my legs only a little, and as I crested the hill and began following the road I had a number of different perceptions. I found the road was bumpy and not smooth sailing at all for a road bike. I slowed down so as to not rattle the fillings out of my teeth.

It was a mostly undeveloped area, some marsh and quite a few people, most of them fishermen. I saw a motorboat heading out but couldn’t get to my camera quickly enough to get a photo.

I found myself going slowly because of the road surface and really taking in more of the scenery because it was all so unfamiliar. I think I only went about two miles on this road because I had a deadline and had to get back home.

But I found that I enjoyed it.

When I have more time I’ll go back and go farther, not for the conditioning of the ride or even for its beauty but for the variety that it brings.

Does anyone else have a route that isn’t necessarily a great biking route but one you enjoy for another reason?

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Categories // guest post, Rides Tags // Blount, guest post, Rides

Budget Busters

12.15.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 13 Comments

Our regular guest poster, Don Blount, came up with a suggestion the other day: Track how much we spend on biking during the year.

“Someone told me that biking was not an inexpensive activity,” said Don. “After buying a bike, what’s left? Little did I know the black hole I was getting sucked into.”

He’s not alone. I started tracking my biking expenditures this year, just to see how much this pastime put me back, and it’s been an eye-opener. So I checked with our other regular guest poster, Jeff Hemmel, to see if his story was similar. It was, but different.

Here’s a look at what we’ve spent this year. We broke it down into three categories: Apparel, equipment, and miscellaneous (Blount didn’t account for miscellaneous expenses).

So Don emerges as the winner (or loser), with $1,100 spent on biking. He explains his leading total this way: “I spent much less than this last year, my first year of riding, as I just used many of the items I already had, most of those were just barely adequate for riding in any season. And in the fall and winter I froze my behind off.”

Even though he spent over a thousand dollars, Don says it could have been worse: “I saved about $300 – 30 percent – by purchasing everything and I mean everything on sale. That’s either a sign of: a) my shopping savvy or b) the great markup on inventory by the biking industry.”

Jeff’s story was different because of the way he bought his stuff. “I had received my road bike last Christmas,” he said, “so was getting a lot of stuff I might not have purchased in a normal year. I thought it was interesting what I did to support my habit -— lots of deals on eBay, sold a number of other items on eBay when I wanted to upgrade to something else. Looking back, I feel like I didn’t really get much of anything this year, as I was really watching my money. Looking at this list, however, maybe I was wrong!”

Jeff notes that he bought three Pearl Izumi jerseys, either on eBay or at the PI outlet store, for a total of $80. His bike rack was a $6 eBay purchase. But his $90 shoes, that came as a birthday present, were given to him by his wife, “…so it’s really my money in the long run.”

In the Bike Noob household, we’ve been careful shoppers this year, too. Some of what I count as apparel purchases are really Christmas presents that I won’t be using. And then there was the entry fee I paid for a ride I never rode in because of illness. And the two nights in a Houston hotel plus meals and sundry expenses could have been added to the miscellaneous list, because they were the result of the MS150. But I decided not to.

I think the three of us would agree that all these items were needed. “I don’t consider many of these items frivolous purchases,” says Don. “Maybe the Garmin, but even that replaced a $20 broken bike computer. The others I can justify as either items needed for comfort on the bike (bibs) or safety (light) or replacement (tires).

“Looking toward next year I think I’m set on a number of things and don’t plan on spending nearly this much. But then again I didn’t plan on spending this amount this year.”

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Categories // Accessories, Equipment Tags // Blount, expenses, Hemmel

Be Seen, Be Safe

12.03.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 8 Comments

The clock has been set back, the leaves have fallen and it’s dark and cold mornings in many places. I ride for fitness so I ride my bike instead of walking on a treadmill or using an elliptical trainer in at a health club.

I’m fortunate that the part of Northern California that I call home allows me to ride year round. Barring rain, I’ll get out if I can. I don’t have to deal with the real nasty winter weather of snow, ice and sleet, that type of stuff.

But the darkness is another matter. Being out on a bike in early morning without proper visibility is a recipe for disaster.

Last year when I was out riding before sunrise, I scraped by with a rudimentary headlight. I purchased this Cateye headlight because it was affordable and I didn’t know anything about cycling lights. I thought a light was a light.

And quite frankly I couldn’t get my mind wrapped around paying $200 for a bicycle light. That was the cost of a light that a cyclist friend recommended to me.

I quickly learned the difference among lights. I discovered the Cateye was best suited for riding in lighted areas, meaning it’s a light you use that was best for being seen but not to help you see, at least if you’re riding in areas that aren’t well lit.

Well this year I replaced it with a Cyglolite dual LED headlight with a rechargeable battery. This puppy enables me to see in darkened areas where I wouldn’t have thought of going with the Cateye. It has a number of different settings – high, medium and low beams. It also has a flash setting, a setting for walking, although it’s awkward to carry on a walk because of the battery pack and an SOS flash setting.

Recently I started a ride with it on high and ended the ride with it on low as the sun rose. The separate battery pack, which I attach to the front of my bike, keeps the light going for several hours. I like this light, it does everything that I want it to. I guess it should as even on sale and with an additional discount it was about 10 times the cost of the Cateye.

On the back of my bike I have a flashing taillight and I make sure to wear plenty of reflective clothing. I have a vest similar to what crossing guards or outdoor workers wear, a “screaming yellow” jacket, reflective bands and also reflective logos on my shorts and other clothing.

Afterall, being seen is a step toward being safe.

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Categories // Safety Tags // Blount, guest post, lighting, Safety

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