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The best laid plans

03.28.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 1 Comment

So today we were supposed to ride in the LBJ 100, out at the Lyndon Baines Johnson ranch about 60 miles west of Austin.  Pat planned to go 32 miles, and I would do the full 100K (62 miles).  I was really looking forward to it, because we’ve been out there before and took the National Park Service tour.  It’s in the Texas Hill Country, and is quite scenic, with quiet, hilly country roads.  For the ride, the former President’s daughter Luci opened up the ranch to the public.  The ride would start on the private air strip just north of the ranch house.

But yesterday, Pat had a bad fall dismounting from a horse after a riding lesson.  Nothing broken, but bad abrasions and bruises, and lots of soreness all over.  We even left last night’s performance of Hal Holbrook in “Mark Twain Tonight,” at intermission, because Pat was feeling so much discomfort.  By the time we got home, she had decided to skip the bike ride.

Before Hal Holbrook, we went out to dinner with friends at an Italian restaurant.  I figured it would be a nice opportunity to do some carbo-loading before the ride.  But I woke up this morning with major GI distress.  Mother Nature did not cooperate, and I decided the best thing to do was not try to tough it out, but skip the ride as well.

Too bad.  After good weather this week (and some much-needed rain), a cold front came through last night.  Temperature at ride time was only 40F, with a wicked wind gusting out of the north.  One of the guys in my club, who did do the ride, described conditions as “horrendous.”  That would have been good prep for me to ride in the MS 150 next month.  Last year’s ride was into a head wind all the way from Houston to Austin, and ride veterans say conditions were worse than they’d ever seen.  Fighting a cold wind would toughen me up for that kind of adversity.

Oh, well.  I’ll take it easy and eat some yogurt today, calm my insides, and hope I can ride tomorrow.  Maybe the weather will be difficult then, too.

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Categories // training Tags // illness, wind

Switching to 25s

02.08.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 3 Comments

Challenging day for a ride. Temp 73F (nice!), but wind from the south at 16 mph, gusting to 36. It was even blowier than last week, when I cut the ride short because the gusty winds made the bike seem unstable.

But I rode today anyway, because I have new toys. Actually, they’re a lot more important than toys. I bought new tires. The ones on the bike were showing signs of wear. The Specialized Mondo Pro on the front was the original tire, so it’s been on almost a full year. I felt it was losing grip, and the surface was cut up. The Vittoria Rubino Pro on the rear was a nice tire, but had flattened in the center of the tread, and was due for a replacement.

So I put on a pair of new tires. They had to have puncture resistance, and I decided that they had to be 700C x 25mm, rather than 23s. Nashbar had a nice price on just the tire I was looking for, so the bike now has a pair of Hutchinson Top Speed Kevlar Protech tires.

Why 25s? I mentioned a couple of months ago that one of our club members had switched to them, and liked them. That planted the idea. After reading more about the difference between 25s and 23s, I concluded that they were worth trying.

I figured my best bet on a windy day like today was the Veloway. It’s a three-mile circuit, so it would be into the wind half the time, but thickets of cedar and live oak that line the track block the wind somewhat, part of the time.

The ride over there was a taste of things to come. A gentle downhill a mile into the trip often gives me my highest speed of the ride, but today going into the wind, I topped out at 16 mph.

One benefit of the 25s was immediately apparent. They were more stable in the wind. I was also putting the good advice I got last week about riding in the wind to good use, and that helped — but the tires were the biggest change I’d made, and I was pleased to see the difference.

Once I got on the Veloway, another difference was evident. Better grip. I could attack the turns on the course with more confidence than I’d had with the old tires. I did five laps and then headed home, for a total ride of 21 miles. The 25 mm tires do seem to offer a softer ride than the 23s.

One of the arguments people use against 25s is that they have greater rolling resistance than 23s. According to Al Ardizone in the Feb. 5, 2009 edition of Road Bike Rider, that’s not true. He says 25s actually have less rolling resistance, and suggests riders use their weight to determine which size tire to ride. I’m still over 200 lbs., so according to his formula, 25s are right for me.

He’s also a proponent of lower tire pressures, for greater comfort with no loss of speed. Al suggests 85-100 pounds pressure. I had been running 105 lbs. in my old tires, and have the new ones at 100 now — recommended pressure is 87-101 lbs. I’ll decrease the pressure a bit on upcoming rides to figure out what’s right for me.

Interestingly, these might be last year’s model, because Hutchinson’s web site doesn’t list a Top Speed model. Their current Equinox seems to have the same specs as my tire. A check of Road Bike Review shows mixed reaction to the Top Speeds — some say they performed well, other say they’d never buy another pair. Anecdotal evidence is interesting, but a sample of only five reviews is not enough to generalize from.

So I’m looking forward to riding with the new tires. I’ll be watching closely to see if they’re as puncture-resistant as billed, and if they deliver increased comfort with no loss of speed. But after only one ride, I think I can safely say that I won’t be going back to 23s.

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Categories // Equipment Tags // Equipment, tires, Veloway, wind

Stiff winds cause trouble

02.01.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 6 Comments

I’ve had a question or two from readers about the name of the blog — Bike Noob. Since I’ve been riding for well over a year, is it realistic to still consider myself a newbie? But I still manage to come up with newbie questions, and I’ve got one for you today. First, some background.

I had a great ride today. The weather turned out to be even nicer than had been forecast. I took off for Southwest Parkway, because I wanted to get in a hillier ride than I have been lately.

But I wound up cutting the ride short. I had planned to go about five miles farther, but I was bothered by one factor: the wind.

It came out of the southeast, at a steady 10 mph. But the gusts were much higher, maybe even 30. I’ve noticed on several recent rides in strong wind that I start feeling uneasy when I’m going downhill in a stiff crosswind or a quartering wind. The bike starts to feel unstable.

There’s no good reason for this. I do the ABC Quick Check before each ride, so I know my tires are at optimum pressure, the quick releases are tight, and the wheels are rolling true. So I don’t think it’s the bike.

I used to look forward to downhills. I’d pedal like mad to see how fast I could crank up the bike. Today though, I coasted, and even feathered the brakes to keep the speed in what I felt would be a controllable zone. My top speed was 32 mph, and under other circumstances I could have topped 35 or 36 along these same stretches of road.

This is a different sensation than getting hit by a stiff crosswind gust that threatens to knock you over. Today, I got the sensation that the bike would go out of control before I was knocked over.

Finally, on a nice downhill stretch heading west, the sensation got to be too much. The wind was hitting me on the left side. I got that uneasy feeling, and decided to bag it.

By the way, I still considered this a good ride. The hills made me work hard, and physically, I felt good throughout and afterward.

I wonder if this feeling is left over from my crashes last fall, which led to some less aggressive riding than I typically did before the crashes. I’ve been riding with a bit more verve in the past couple of weeks, attacking corners and building speed. It’s just the downhills in the wind that are getting to me.

So, loyal Bike Noob readers: Any suggestions on coping with a stiff cross wind? My inquiring mind wants to know.

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Categories // Safety, Technique Tags // Safety, Technique, wind

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