cycledork

Promise (half) kept

2010-07-21T19:45:00.006-05:00

A couple of months ago I gushed about relaunching Cycledork with daily reports about my progress with the Reoch-Zonneveld training program. I've stuck with the program but have neglected my reports. Short version: it's going better than I expected even if it has been an ass kicking one day at a time.

Longer version: I'm impressed that so far the 31 workouts I've done have been progressively more difficult and subtly more ass kicking. As mentioned previously, Reoch-Zonneveld is 50 interval workouts meant to last 26 weeks. My plan was to complete the program in 50 plus days. I started the program, went hard and productively for nine sessions, then had a family health concern (everyone is well — it was benign stuff that had malign symptoms; objective data demonstrates the stuff was benign) that kept me off the bike for a few weeks. So I started from the beginning again in mid June and mostly rode six or seven days a week, the four days I took off last week notwithstanding. The intensity of the endorphin rush merits the obsession.

Data I've gathered, as I expected, indicates I am indeed riding myself back into shape. The 10 pounds I expected to lose over the course of the exercise? Lost. I can go at least an hour anaerobic. My resting heart rate is now typically in the low 50s after being in the 60s at the start of this exercise. If I'm going to time trial Sept. 1, I've still got some work to do, but I'm confident I'm getting it done.

Today's data:
Weight: 143.0
Average heart rate: 157
Maximum heart rate: 183
Music: Squeeze, "Up The Junction"; The Avett Brothers, "Die Die Die"; Gorillaz, "Feel Good Inc."; Janis Joplin, "Call On Me (alternate take)"; NOFX, "The Moron Brothers"; John Fahey, "The Holly and the Ivy/The Cherry Tree Carol"; Patty Griffin, "Rain"; Freddy King, "Sen-Sa-Shun"; Krüger Brothers, "If I Had A Sweetheart"; Jimmy Buffett, "Come Monday"; The Rolling Stones, "Factory Girl"; Jimmy Buffett, "Everlasting Moon"; Guitar Slim, "Things That I Used To Do"; Wynonie Harris, "Lovin' Machine"; Roy Buchanan, "Soul Dressing (live)"; Mahgeetah, "My Morning Jacket"; Pearl Jam, "Evil Little Goat"; Gilberto Gil, "Quilombo, o El Dorado Negro."

The hibernation has ended

2010-05-19T18:05:00.003-05:00

I never stopped loving bicycles. I just lost, temporarily, the motivation to write about them. And for that matter, to ride them. More on those things later.

The good news, particularly for me, is that I'm back on the bike and with a specific focus. Over the weekend a friend of mine sent me a pdf of The Reoch-Zonneveld Indoor Winter Workout Program. It's 50 one-hour trainer sessions meant to get racers through the winter. The sessions are progressively more difficult. Since I learned of this document — from this same friend, as a matter of fact — I have been fascinated by it and striven mightily to obtain a hard copy of it. Amazon, eBay, zip. A grand total of 23 hits on Google. So my friend might as well have been sending me cycling's Gutenberg Bible (219,000 Google hits; 21 copies extant). Obviously, I would love to have my own copy but it appears to be as rare as, well, a Gutenberg.

What I'm going to do with Reoch-Zonneveld is ride myself back into shape. I'll probably take a day or two off each week. But for each day I do ride, I'll provide, at the very least, my end-of-ride weight, my peak heart rate during the ride and the music I listened to during the ride. My guess is that by the time I've done all 50 I'll be about 10 pounds lighter and my peak heart rate will be lower. If the stars align, I'll time trial again shortly after I've completed this program. While I'm explaining all that, I'm also going to do some catching up on other topics.

Today, for instance, I weighed 153.4 pounds. I didn't consider heart rate until I was on the bike, so that'll wait until tomorrow. I ended with a decent sweat but wasn't winded. Today's music: Janis Joplin, "Dear Landlord"; Old Crow Medicine Show, "Fall on My Knees"; Hank Williams, "Dear John"; The Brian Setzer Orchestra, "Jumpin' East of Java"; Steve Miller Band, " Rock 'N Me"; Otis Redding, " Cigarettes and Coffee"; African Music Machine, "AM-FM"; Rusty Bryant, "Lou Lou." I cut the music early because the scientist came home and I wanted to be able to hear what she had to say.

Anyway, if you've read this far, thanks. I'll try to make it worth your while to continue.

Spills and thrills

2008-07-13T18:53:00.006-05:00

Versus has an ad for the Tour de France targeting a low-road demographic. "Next time you're in your car," an English-speaking rider intones, "at 50 mph, strip down to your underwear and jump out the door — and that's what it's like to crash in a professional bike race."

[Update 7:20 a.m. July 14: I have since learned that the intoning voice belongs to Jonathan Vaughters, directeur sportif for Garmin Chipotle.]

This afternoon I performed the extremely slow-speed equivalent. At this left turn, which I've made dozens if not hundreds of times, my back wheel slid out and I bit pavement. So what if I was going 1/10 as fast as the rider referred to in the ad. My road rash is still impressive even if it's not uncomfortable and my kit was appropriately underwear like. My right foot popped out immediately and my left came out with little effort. Only one water bottle came out that I was able to quickly grab and run to the curb. Evans Road is not heavily trafficked so I was not at risk of having any body or bike parts crushed.

The frame, tires and wheels appear to be fine. Road conditions were great. I wasn't on paint (Phil Liggett warned about that during Saturday's rain-soaked stage), the weather was dry, dry, dry and the surface on this recently repaved road is practically virginal. The intersection is near the more or less flat top of a long hill and I had slowed considerably to let a car pass before I turned. The only thing I can think of is that I dropped too far left for the turn at too slow a speed.

Suckin' wheels

2008-07-04T15:33:00.004-05:00

I did the 100K Firecracker Ride this morning in about 3 1/2 hours, thanks to the people in front of me. As I rode I saw a few other folks I know but no groups I'd ever ridden with. So I'd catch the end of a paceline, let them tow me along in their draft and then move forward to another group when the line came apart. This is a very rude way to ride, but I did it anyway. Some of the pulls I got were incredible and I would've been happy to reciprocate but I was only allowed the front a couple of times. Anyway, when I got home I was comparatively fresh as a daisy. Lesson? If a solo stranger can catch your line, let the stranger pull when his or her turn comes.

Just like in the movies

2008-07-01T14:43:00.003-05:00

I may live in a Bicycle Friendly Community but it may also be a cycling culture backwater. The Triangle is more than 500 miles from the closest venue for the Bicycle Film Festival. Full programs have been announced for New York, Toronto and Minneapolis. Two historical films, "Road to Roubaix" and "The Six-Day Bicycle Races" and lots of the shorts look real interesting. Fortunately for rustics such as myself, both of those features are available on DVD. It's not just racing documentaries. There are also classics such as "Breaking Away" and what appear to be nice bits of nonracing movies and advocacy. In short, something for everybody — as long as you're there. Thanks to Savant Guardian, who lives close enough to go, for the tip.

Impending disappointment of Olympic proportion?

2008-06-29T18:34:00.002-05:00

This post may be premature as the Olympics are still six weeks away. The word now is that NBC will put the squeeze on online content from the games to keep people glued to their televisions. What concerns me is that, even with DVR, I won't be able to get wall-to-wall cycling. NBCOlympics.com and the official Olympics site appear to be intensely uninformative about what will be broadcast. Perhaps my anxiety will be for naught but I am waiting to be convinced. If you've got better information about anything from keirin to the road race, please share.

On the road again

2008-06-28T16:46:00.003-05:00

Of the 400-plus miles I've pedaled this month, the overwhelming majority have been cranked out in the privacy of the garage on the trainer. So today was something of a novelty as I was illuminated by sunshine, buffeted by wind, restrained by road resistance and humbled by hills. In other words, it was a real, normal ride. But enough has changed that I could tell it had been a while since I'd been out. Some roads have been repaved. Tobacco is maturing. The blazes for next Friday's Firecracker Ride are already down. That reminded me to practice signalling in case some group lets me catch a wheel — and to hope I catch a wheel to make some of the more inclined sections more tolerable.

Rained out

2008-06-12T12:17:00.004-05:00

As prepared as I was for the time trial, it was no surprise that I arrived at Lowe's Motor Speedway just more than four hours before my start time. No shock, either, that I was the first person with any connection to the race to get there. So I changed a tire, set up my trainer, rearranged other items to maximize efficiency, checked messages and read for a little while. About 5:40 p.m. I went for a lap to see if my freshly purchased time-trial helmet would cause my head to explode. No, but the wind is loud when it can go between your ear and the helmet.

When I got on the trainer about 5:50 p.m. I could see from my garage bay that the big flag was blowing south. Hard. Fifteen minutes later it was blowing north. Hard. Ten minutes after that a race official told everyone to get in the garage and said a decision on whether to start would come at 7 p.m. Then the sky opened; thunder, but none of the promised hail. I stayed on the trainer for a few more minutes but only pedalled distractedly. The race was cancelled at 7:05 p.m. The latest is that race officials are working with the track to see if a makeup date is available.

The day was nothing close to a total waste. Even though I didn't get to learn the advantages of the helmet and shaved legs, I get more time to just get used to the helmet. Plus I got to eat at Steak n Shake and enjoy my monthly cheeseburger ration. I'll probably go out along Old U.S. 1 over the next couple of weekends and see if I have the helmet positioned and sized correctly.

Cycledork is coming to town

2008-06-09T20:49:00.005-05:00

My race day No. 2 is Wednesday. Now, about 44 hours before the time trial, is when I need to start figuring out what to take. That's what the list is for. The list is comprehensive and meant to include everything that I normally would take for a ride or would not have in the car with me under normal circumstances. For instance, in day time I always wear sunglasses when I drive but since they're critical for the time trial, they go on the list.

It's a big, big deal for me to make a list. Some of you may know that I keep all my phone numbers, appointments and directions in my head and can drive myself crazy enough about work that I don't forget assignments. But the potential freakout-to-time-and-distance ratio involved with this exercise is too great for even me to trust to memory. In other words if I got to Charlotte and realized my skinsuit was in Cary I'd be fucked and very angry; I'd so much rather that didn't happen. The list I made a list before the last time trial that had 33 items on it. This time around, since I know a little more and circumstances are a little different, 34 items, a few of which are different, will go with me. They are:

1. bike
2. trainer
3. trainer wheel
4. skinsuit
5. helmet
6. gloves x 2
7. socks x 2
8. rules
9. seminar notes
10. aero shoe covers
11. shoes
12. iPod
13. shades
14. short hair ties
15. shorts
16. jersey
17. tools
18. torque wrench
19. pump
20. saddle bag
21. split sheet
22. allen bits
23. safety pins
24. fan
25. turn over watch
26. move up watch wrist strap
27. set watch to stop watch
28. lunch
29. fig newtons
30. water
31. pillow case
32. blue bin
33. CDs
34. list

New to this list are the aero shoe covers that I didn't have last time and the fan. The fan was a bit of wisdom shared at the seminar in February. It will help keep me cool on the trainer since it will be about 500 degrees at Lowe's even in the garage. Missing are zip ties, which I might throw in with the tools anyway, and a second stop watch, which I don't need since I'm going solo this time. The torque wrench and allen keys might seem to be tools (and they are) but since I store them separately from my bike tools I account for them separately. Some of these things are not things but directions, such as turning my watch (so I can see it when I'm in the aero bars). Every item has a function. The hair ties hold down the flappy parts of my watch and helmet straps. The pillow case contains all the clothes. The blue bin is home to the tools in the broadest sense, the pillow case and contents, iPod and papers. Why CDs if I'm taking an iPod? The CDs are for car use; the iPod and headphones are for the trainer.

About 37 hours remain before I head to Charlotte. During that time, I will check the list twice. At least.

Chains of fool

2008-06-08T20:31:00.004-05:00

I pulled the 2100 off the trainer yesterday morning so I could do two hours in the 100-degree heat. My chain squealed so badly after 3/4 mile that I turned around. The sad, embarrassing fact is that I'd rusted out the 113-link heart of my drive train. The 2100 went in the back of the car to The Spin Cycle. My hope was to have it back by Wednesday — no bike, no time trial. Carl was pedalling a beach cruiser outside the store. I sheepishly admitted my problem, expecting rolling eyes and a stern "maybe" for Wednesday. Instead, what I get is an enthusiastic $3 fix: a couple of chain pins and a pint and a half of kerosene. After all, I have all the tools, only needed a few dollars of parts, so why not? I left the shop as pumped as Carl.

I got home, used the chain tool on my Taco Tool to pop out a chain pin and get the chain in the coffee can full of kerosene. Popping out that chain pin all the way was a big, big mistake. Leave that chain pin in until you are ready to insert the new chain pin. The new chain pin, will, after all, drive out the old one and the chain will disassemble with the old one flush to the edge. Otherwise it's impossible to determine the orientation of the chain when it was taken off. That's critical so that you get the chain back on the drive train the same way it came off. Realizing this morning the magnitude of my error I went to the local Performance Bicycle and bought an SRAM 991 chain. Fortunately I had enough points on Performance Club card that I got the chain at a huge discount. Part of the SRAM magic: not only is it Shimano compatible (it mates with my chainrings and cassette) it comes with a manually assembled "Powerlink" so I don't have to drive another chain pin.

When I got on the 2100 late this afternoon I could not only hear but feel the difference. Ahhhhh. And should this ever happen again, I have a clean, clean, clean Shimano chain waiting — if I can ever figure out how it came off. Even a spare chain into the adventure, I'm ready to go for Wednesday.

I guess he'd rather be in Colorado

2008-06-04T20:35:00.008-05:00

Some of you may consider John Denver that sappy '70s guy but hey, if you've ever spent any time in Colorado with your eyes open, the title of the song speaks for itself. Especially when it comes to cycling. First of all, I've recently been in touch with the author of one of my favorite books, Road Biking Colorado: The Statewide Guide. Michael Seeberg is as cool, and as pumped about life and cycling in his state, as his prose suggests. The photo included with this post (near the top of Trail Ridge Road) is one of a few that he took for the book that he was generous enough to share with me. Having actually e-mailed this man and received a response is one of the highlights of, at least, my cycling life.

Seeberg is the man who exclaimed about Rist Canyon, "Near the top, you'll ride 12-percent grades!" As it turns out cyclists are invited to join the exclamation June 21-22 on the Ride de Rist, which is for everyone from pros to, well, dorks. The idea of being able to wheelsuck my way up Rist Canyon is remarkably compelling. Instead I will probably spend those days crunching my way through the hinterlands of Chatham County not far from my current home. My Rist ride will most likely wait until September.

As much as I enjoy and respect Rist Canyon, Independence Pass is a whole other kettle of fish. Independence Pass peaks at more than 12,000 feet and is one of the few (shit, maybe the only) roads that I'm scared to drive dry and in the light. I've gone over Trail Ridge Road (even confiding to some that I had "crushed it" and I plan to go over again during this year's annual Colorado Cycletacular), which Seeberg rates as even more difficult than Independence Pass, but I still believe Independence Pass takes more rider than I can offer. But here we have video of people apparently cheerfully racing up. Note the depth of the snow on the roadside and that most of the guys you see are in shorts. No doubt it's a ride that'll warm you up. Fun fact about Seeberg: he's gone over Independence Pass "some 50 or 60 times." Talk about separating the sheep from the goats.

What sort of trouble would this cause

2008-06-01T09:09:00.006-05:00

Like our friend Curt DeForest Jr., it may be that Bob Maddox is a man ahead of his time. He may also have provided a possible solution to my commuting conundrum. I'm still figuring whether this approach would reduce or increase my cadence.

Rollapaluza

2008-05-23T06:28:00.001-05:00

Now this is something I want to try. These sorts of races — basically, two bikes on rollers that drive distance calculators — have been around for decades. As reported in this month's issue of Cycling Plus (disclaimer: not identical to hard-copy version), Rollapaluza is catching on again in England. Basically it's a momentary stationary time trial. Really attractive elements: even the incredibly slow are done in less than a minute and lots of beer is involved. Now we just have to bring it over here.

What other people are doing

2008-05-12T21:06:00.003-05:00

In some of the world's great cities, municipal efforts (be sure check all the links in that article) and people try to inspire us to pedal. Closer to home, the local daily tells us how foolhardy and dangerous such an approach can be. No doubt there's risk — and risk here — in cycling but if I let that paralyze me before I hit the road I might as well not get out of bed in the morning.

Do as I say. Please.

2008-05-04T08:14:00.004-05:00

Just because I'm not commuting, especially during Bike to Work Week, doesn't mean you shouldn't. Now's the perfect time to make plans for next week, as in May 12-16. Here's a good link for what's going on in the Triangle. I will go on the Ride of Silence but that's after work May 21. If you're not in the Triangle, check out Bike to Work Week, a site that James runs from Erie, Pa. How good is his site? It's where I found the information for what's happening here. Of course, if you know what's happening in your area and James doesn't, tell him.

More about Aquaduct

2008-05-03T10:55:00.003-05:00

Virtue may be it's own reward but it's gratifying to see that sometimes there can be more to it. As promised, here's some more information about Aquaduct, the pedal-powered system that not only transports but cleans water. Turns out my friend and I — and some of you — aren't the only ones who think it's cool. It won the grand prize of Specialized's "Innovate or Die" contest (be patient; this site takes a few seconds to load).

My race against time

2008-05-01T14:02:00.009-05:00

Lowe's Motor Speedway is the coolest closed circuit I've ever ridden a bike on. So what if it's the only one. The Charlotte sojourn for the 10-mile time trial with my buddy Matthew achieved all of my objectives. With a time of 26:01.4 — 23.06 mph — I came in 13th out of 20 in the age 45-49 age group and 163rd out of 291, crappy form and all. After my concerns of the business casual rehearsal, I was relieved that handling the bike was a piece of cake. The big lesson: I can go faster, perhaps fast enough to pull at least into the top half of my age group and overall. I wasn't breathing nearly hard enough when I finished.

The experience was surreal and exhilirating. Richard Petty and I have shared the same track. And maybe the same garage. Want to warm up? Go to garage, pull the door open, set up your trainer. Who's been in that spot before? Dale Earnhardt? Bobby Allison? The sense of place is so strong that it's an inspiration to go fast but it is so intense that it was distracting. Maybe that sensation will pass with time.

Cool feature: high-end bike maker Cervelo brought every model of their bikes in every size. Before my warmup I got to do laps on a very expensive bike that I have coveted for some time (actually two, since I rode the aluminum and carbon models). Even though the fit was off, the performance was everything I'd ever read about. This experience was the equivalent of going to an amateur car race and having Ferrari say, "go for a spin in whichever one of our ridiculous and legendary vehicles you'd like." Indeed there was talk of loaning the bikes for racing.

I stuck with the 2100 because it fits so much better and I know it so well. We started early, with the slow riders, and passed a whole lot more people than passed us. When we crossed the finish line and started checking, one of the volunteers asked me what I thought. I said I thought I wanted to do it again. Next likely opportunity: June 11. Matthew has agreed to serve again as my second. So much for my assertion that I have no interest in racing.

Training crisis averted

2008-04-27T16:36:00.005-05:00

As I breezed along Old Apex Road just north of High House Road this morning, the zip ties on my cadence counter failed and the cadence counter dropped into the road. Within 10 seconds I was off my bike and moving back toward the flat, half-dollar sized device. I needed four cars to pass before I could retrieve it. Three cars went beside or over the counter. The fourth car, with me about 15 feet away, crunched it. Shades of the Garmin 301. I affectionately picked up the pieces, completed my ride and went immediately to Performance. Not only did they have a counter, it was on sale. Not having the counter would put a major crimp in my workouts, as I use it to determine speed and distance on the trainer. I also use it as a reminder for what gear I'm in on the road.

Business casual rehearsal

2008-04-19T22:23:00.004-05:00

I still have a lot left to learn about aero bars. My brother in law — props to him — and I went out this route so I could try 10 miles with the aero bars and skin suit. I also pulled off the seat bag and the bottle cages. My legs aren't shaved because over the 10 miles at Lowe's Motor Speedway the hair amounts to 2.4 seconds. If I come in behind somebody by 10 seconds or fewer once I've been to Lowe's, I shave. Also I don't have a time-trial helmet yet.

Anyway, the bike is harder for me to handle with the aero bars. I also came out of the aeros when I was going up hill or had a car tailing and not passing. I slowed myself several times by not shifting into a higher gear before I went back into the aeros. My posture was pretty crappy (evidence forthcoming) and the wind was not favorable. Bottom line: 27:41.1. I wouldn't have been last with that time at Lowe's but I know I can go faster than that — without aerobars. At least two more rehearsals are planned before April 30 and I hope at least one of them can be dress. The most significant variable is the bars so I'm convincing myself that speed is just a matter of settling in and learning how to use them.

Gearing up

2008-04-16T20:04:00.005-05:00

I picked up and installed aero bars, Profile Design Airstrykes, today. The installation was cool because I got to use my torque wrench and buy some hex drivers for it. I also tweaked my seat height and position. The good news so far is that my hands don't fall asleep the way they do when I'm in the drops for prolonged periods. Nevertheless, using the bars will take some getting used to. Based on my trainer ride, I'm going to be slower before I'm faster. I also really notice when I'm not keeping my knees aligned. I also have no idea about my posture. For all I know I still look like Quasimodo. Anyway, it's pretty official now: I've spent too much money preparing to time trial not to do so. If I get anything else, it'll be shoe covers and perhaps a spare razor to shave my legs. The goal is still to not finish last in my age group. We'll see what happens. The next event is April 30.

Something cool

2008-04-14T21:33:00.003-05:00

The title of this post is the subject line of the e-mail that provided this video below to me. I agree and, since it's cycling related, you get to see it here. I should do my homework to learn how I can contribute to help more. When I learn that I'll post here. Of course if you already know please give cycledork a spin. Thanks to the friend who sent the e-mail.

Just try to find a gig bag

2008-04-10T05:58:00.004-05:00

There was a time in my life when I considered buying an aluminum-bodied guitar but this one is beyond my scale, even in the upper register. Imagine the time and cost of replacing the strings. I assume the lack of commentary on this clip is because the BBC was left speechless, much as I am.

Your mouse click here

2008-04-08T20:31:00.004-05:00

Few people are more suspicious, and more suspicious of internet chain letters, than I am. Thus it is with some sheepishness that I present this link. Essentially, it asks that readers add their names to a petition to Google to add a "Bike There" feature to Google Maps, similar to that application's "Drive There" and "Take Public Transit" features. A modest request given the company's resources and the features already available. Maybe I let my guard down too easily but I was signer No. 30210.

Clarification

2008-04-08T06:33:00.004-05:00

Though I do not plan to commute for the foreseeable future, that does not mean I won't be riding. I plan to be on the trainer and on the road at practically every opportunity while I deal with the current hiccup. Despite the loss of the commuting miles, with the trainer time increasing, I expect my overall mileage to go up.

Streak over

2008-04-07T20:20:00.003-05:00

In the one year, 10 months and 19 days of cycle commuting, I missed riding twice. In fact, the last time I missed was Tropical Storm Alberto, which came 31 days after after my commuting started. But I failed to ride today and I will not ride again for the foreseeable future. Both bicycle and cyclist are fine; details later.

This time — I'm serious — I think I mean it

2008-03-31T21:04:00.005-05:00

Many of you know that I've been threatening to participate in the time-trial series at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Well, my skinsuit — the garment at right — arrived today. If nothing else I can say that I can fit into a men's extra small garment. The scientist said I don't even look close to ridiculous. Though very tight — there's reason it's called a skinsuit — it is amazingly comfortable. To supplement a response to ladymacsquish, the conventional wisdom about bibs and singlets fitting better is true. I wore it tonight while I did an hour on the trainer and it felt good even though it was straight out of the package. Getting it over my shoulders, both on and off, was a challenge but not even close to insurmountable. I have a few more investments to make and many more hours on the trainer and road before I spend a Wednesday in Charlotte but I think the day is approaching.

Annual Colorado Cycletacular set

2008-03-30T19:10:00.004-05:00

This year's event will be a little bit later, Sept. 12 through Sept. 20, than it has been the past few summers. That way I make sure that I avoid all of the airport nonsense that will be involved with the Democratic convention, among other things. Tourist traffic should also be significantly reduced by that time. On the preliminary agenda for this year are a reprise of Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park and perhaps two climbs of Rist Canyon. I'm hoping the weather holds.

Alternative miles

2008-03-29T10:58:00.004-05:00

Maybe not all miles are created equal but every mile has value. That's just another way of saying that I've started using my trainer again when the weather or clock don't suit my needs. Trainers, or at least my trainer, have downsides: no wind, no forward movement, no realistic road resistance, no mercy on tires, no easy way to measure speed or faux mileage. Advantages, however, include the abilities to: accurately start and finish rides at specific times, maintain specific cadences, use music as a training tool, avoid wind's less savory aspects.

The trainer is also an opportunity for recycling used or otherwise unusable gear. For instance, the tire problem can be alleviated by keeping a trainer wheel with a dedicated tire. The wheel is cracked and thus unsafe for the road; attached are an old cassette and a tire with a shim over a large puncture to go with a patched tube. Without the trainer those items would hold little value and the scientist would have strongly suggested I pitch them.

On my trainer at least, there is no direct and simple way to calculate speed and distance. Fortunately, my computer's cadence counter still functions, since it records pedal strokes and not wheel revolutions. Thus speed and distance can be inferred using arithmetic and knowing cadence and gearing.

Today's a perfect trainer day. It's raining, I have errands to run but I'm still itching to pedal. At 2:30 p.m. my iPod and I will mount up and crank out 45 to 50 "miles." Yes, I do count those miles along with road miles when the end of the month rolls around. Since I don't yet have a heart-rate monitor, I'll be shooting for cadence targets for certain lengths of time with the trainer set at a specific tension. Hüsker Dü and Led Zeppelin will be my companions as I spin.

Decent Friday

2008-03-21T15:31:00.005-05:00

The clock was ticking on my beloved Trek Vapor 2 helmet. We had spent thousands of miles together and been lots of places. But at nearly four years old, it was due for replacement. So, with a day off, I spent the morning shopping for a new helmet. A deeply discounted Louis Garneau Oz-zy (right) came home. The afternoon was devoted to christening the lid. To complete the ritual, tonight I might bite the head off a bat.

It's only hoops on the surface

2008-03-12T21:15:00.007-05:00

Cycledork aced the test and missed the point. Which was the point: pay attention only to what's expected and overlook things that are really worth seeing. Watch to the end — trust me, this clip may be manipulative but it's relevant. And the b-ball skills are really impressive. To see the video in its natural state or find out more about its backers, go here. Thanks to our friends at Peripheral Vision for the tip.

Cycling bloggers summit

2008-03-10T20:12:00.004-05:00

The brain trusts of two leading cycling blogs in the Southeast, Cycledork and Unsquished, rendezvoused over the weekend in a large southeastern Metroplex. Much beer was had by all as the virtues of cycle commuting and two-wheel transportation in general were lauded. My hosts were also gracious enough not to insist Saturday on a century of any kind in snow flurries while I was feeling the side effects of the previous evening's carbo loading.

Unsquished (man and legend are one) declared that his next step in cycling advancement could be a trainer. He was also generous to indulge me gory views of the scar remaining from his broken wrist, from which he appears to be recovering well. Ladymacsquish demonstrated the many virtues of her Surly Cross-Check on a 25-mile ride — Sunday — to and from the world's largest monument to a bad idea. Monument notwithstanding, the setting is quite scenic and cycleworthy. For my part I cheerfully offered gratuitous and unsolicited advice.

In partial response to one of the issues raised, I offer this link, which I stumbled across only moments ago.

I really wasn't making it up

2008-03-05T20:02:00.004-05:00

Some of you may recall that I ranted last summer about the habits of younger cyclists in Fort Collins, the northern outpost of the Cycling Riviera. Now Colorado State University concedes, based on a graduate student's research, that there is substance to my hopelessly antediluvian outlook. Only 9 percent of student commuters are wearing helmets? That's even lower than I expected.

Guess what? "As for the reason why students only wear their helmets for certain purposes, [pyschology doctoral student Itsumi] Kakefuda suspects a number of factors. She believes students hold a sense of invincibility as well as the perception that injury is less likely close to home."

Imagine my surprise at these findings. On the other hand, I suppose I should tone down the sarcasm, since someone has collected data to support my observations — and demonstrated that I was right all along.

The size of your tube doesn't matter that much. Really.

2008-03-02T20:11:00.004-05:00

Once again, a reader has come to the authority and asked Cycledork.

Dear Cycledork,

We've had an exciting weekend of assorted flat tires and tube mishaps, so now is a good time to ask a question about tube sizing. The tires on my Giant OCR3 are 700 X 26C. On getting home from picking up a replacement tube (and CO2 canister) at my friendly neighbourhood bike shop today, I noticed that the box says 700 X 23/25C. Now they definitely heard me when I said "26" and they always know their stuff, so I'm assuming that this tube is the right size. But what's with the confusing numbers?

Curiously,

H. Trouser

Dear Mr. Trouser:

I'm sorry to hear about your flats and tube mishaps. The good news is your latest tube should fit your wheel and tire just fine. According to Giant, the OCR3 comes with 700x25 tires so a 700 x 23/25 tube should be fine, even in a 26 . Tirewise, the "700" refers to the diameter of the wheel in millimeters (it comes out to about 27 inches) and the "23/25" refer to width, also in millimeters (a hair less than an inch). Tubewise, the 2100, not terribly different than the OCR3, came with 25s. I've been using 23s for several years. You can probably go as skinny as 23 or as fat as 28 or so. No big deal. Ride and be well.

Yours in velophility,

Cycledork

Cycling census

2008-02-26T07:32:00.005-05:00

How many of us are there really? I've wondered this for at least a couple of years as I've watched other cyclists when I'm on the road. But when I'm on a bike or in a car keeping track of how many cyclists I see is usually a dangerous proposition. So I have two questions: 1) what is the best method for counting cyclists and inferring a larger total from that and 2) what's (or is there a) the best way to do that from a bike? My guess on No. 1 would be something akin to the Audobon Society's Christmas Bird Count. It would be nice to know who's out for what end — commuting, training, exercise and so on — and where they ride but I'll take a gross number for starters. And I'm happy to start real small, say for Cary or specific areas of western Wake County. I've done a quick and dirty Google search but didn't find much. Please speak up if you know of other such censuses or if you have a neato mosquito sampling method.

Now all I need is a monkey

2008-02-17T10:39:00.002-05:00

He may not know it, but I encounter Carl Fogel, an authority on early bicycles, several times a week in my listserv wanderings. He sticks to business with humor and shares masterpieces like this. Fogel first came to my attention when I stumbled across Ted.

Jules Verne never imagined

2008-02-16T11:05:00.005-05:00

The Guardian reported yesterday that Mark Beaumont had successfully completed his cycling circumnavigation and blown 91 days off the old record. Though cycling through Istanbul was "without comparison is the scariest cycling I have ever done," it appears the only place Beaumont was hit by a car was in Louisiana. Maybe David Zabriskie is on to something.

My day at the speedway

2008-02-09T21:54:00.000-05:00

The roar of engines is interminable at Lowe's Motor Speedway just outside of Charlotte, N.C. I spent five hours at the facility's media center this afternoon at a time-trial seminar sponsored by the Carolina Cycling Time Trial Association. For $27.50, I got a T-shirt and advice from pro mechanics and coaches. I've been to conferences that my employers have paid exponentially more for at which I which I have learned exponentially less. Not ever having participated in a time trial, I wouldn't know one if it bit me in the ass. Nevertheless, it was heartening to learn that I already knew to show up way early, strip my bike of all extraneous crap like bottles and cages and be pissing clear by the time I hit the track as well as the basics, if not specifics, of how to eat on race day (light and balanced). There was lots and lots of stuff I didn't know and probably won't know even if ran the whole season — which I already know I can't. Ignorance aside (or perhaps embraced), I believe that at this very minute I could turn in a time that would not put me last in my age category. We'll see about that. I think a cheapo heart-rate monitor and perhaps some coaching advice are in my future. After all, I want to know how to make the 2100 sound like what I was hearing on the track today.

Better links for Sheldon Brown

2008-02-06T07:22:00.000-05:00

I'm probably the last cycling blogger to mention this, but Sheldon Brown, a man I never met and whose online encyclopedia I can no longer imagine living without, died Sunday. Doubtless his death is a huge deal for cyclists but his personal postings reveal an interested and interesting human being. Tales from people who knew him and who are affected even more than I am can be found here. Browse through the discussions or use the search feature.

My newest hero …

2008-02-02T11:09:00.000-05:00

Is The Bicycle Tutor, Alex Ramon. Ramon's site has videos showing how to perform bike maintenance and repair along with his concise explanation mostly in voiceover. It appears the site went up in December. Most of the current offerings are very basic — how to change a tire, how to adjust a derailleur and so on. The video arrangement indicates that the guidance will become more complex as time goes on. So far this is all stuff I know but it helps so much to see it and see it again. I breathlessly await the next installment.

The Kilmermobile

2008-01-29T07:37:00.000-05:00

I hope that when Marco Facciola becomes my boss that he's merciful. Facciola, 16, has just designed and built an wooden bicycle. Not almost all wood or just a little metal, but wood except where he used glue. It includes a really slick looking ratcheting system intended to keep him from pedalling as he goes downhill. Now that he has finished the bike (a personal project needed for completion of an international baccalaureate curriculum) he plans to "focus on my schoolwork, my part-time job and sports." Since he's not at the office yet I at least have some time to look busy.

Yield to Life indeed

2008-01-26T11:45:00.000-05:00

Don't worry: Yield to Life isn't some cryptic attempt to proselytize. In the traditional sense anyway. Time-trial monster David Zabriskie has decided being hit three times by cars was enough. So he's starting a public-education campaign to educate both cyclists and drivers.

Such efforts are not new. The League of American Bicyclists, for instance, talks a lot about cycling safety and works to train members to train the general public about how to ride safely.

Zabriskie's message isn't just share the road, but "to promote positive attitudes toward cyclists and replace any hostility that exists between motorists and cyclists with understanding, respect, and appreciation for all life on the road. Safety for every cyclist is the top priority of Yield to Life."

He, and the rest of us, have a lot of work to do. When I talk with noncycling friends many of them believe bikes shouldn't be on the road. I can usually bend that attitude even if I can't break it. I hope Yield to Life can provide me more ammunition as well as leverage Zabriskie's stardom and experience as someone who understands better than most that going for a ride should not just be a desperate attempt not to die.

I like stopping

2008-01-22T18:03:00.000-05:00

I pretty much quit using my front brake in November. When I would release it the caliper would not totally retract so I would have to pull the brake off the rim manually. Using the rear brake wasn't optimal but at least I slowed down. And I figured I'll get my bike tuned up soon enough. Last week I took the 2100 into The Spin Cycle for its +/-5,000 mile tuneup. Adjustments included new brake and shifter cables all around. Finding: now I can confidently go faster into a curve or turn knowing that I've got stopping power if and when I need it. I notice most at two spots on my commute, here in the morning and here in the evening. The beautiful paradox: by knowing I can stop, I go faster.

Some weeks never end

2008-01-18T20:04:00.000-05:00

For some cycle commuters bike to work week is every week. Others stick to the stricter definition of the week that includes May 15. And some riders just do it when they feel like it. Bike to Work Week is open to all approaches. Check out the map, event listings and forums. See or discuss what your locale is or isn't doing. There's a lot to talk about and Bike to Work Week wants to get the conversation started.

Just give me that countryside

2008-01-16T21:18:00.000-05:00

This question came in shortly before my extended holiday hiatus. Time to tackle it.

Dear cycledork,

What's the advantage of bib shorts over regular shorts? I'm willing to believe there must be one (other than looking like Eddie Albert in Green Acres), but I'm hard pressed to figure out what it is.

-lady macsquish

Dear lady:

Isn't looking like Eddy Albert enough? I do not own any bibs but I'll probably break down one of these days and buy a pair just to see how the other half lives. The magic — even greater than looking like America's most legendary lawyer turned farmer — is that bibs are widely felt to fit better and more comfortably than standard shorts. One review was particularly effusive about the Performance Elite Y Bib Short. It's hard to beat $40 for bibs, a price that's dirt cheap for any lower-body cycling wear. To give some perspective Bicycling magazine has had an award category for "Best Bibs under $200." The Elites probably merit my respect but it's hard to pull the trigger on something I expect would feel as good to wear as the other Performance shorts I have. My bet is that the closer I could come to that penthouse view bibwise the more likely I would be to ride in comfort.

Yours in velophility,

Cycledork

P.S. Any bib owners out there? Are they the Manhattan or Hooterville of cycling togs? We need to know.

Talk sense to me — I beseech you

2008-01-13T21:36:00.000-05:00

This is what comes of having customized Google subject feeds. Earlier tonight I saw an item about a rather ridiculous, obsessive event at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte — the Tar Heel state's time-trial capital — on Feb. 9 about hows and whys of cycling time trails. Moments later I pressed send to spend $27.50 to sign up for the the event. I'm interested in this seminar (?) even though I'm told there's no reason to bring my bike (which means a day off the road) and I'll get to drive 360 miles round trip. I really hope I can find time trials closer to home. If this isn't proof that I need to be saved from myself I don't know what is.

The hills are alive

2008-01-13T18:32:00.000-05:00

A complete stranger, Sherri, has sent in this question:

Quit smoking in July after 35 years. Bought an entry level bike in Nov, Felt z100. Riding the trainer most days at 60 minutes with Reoch Zonneveld workouts. I've been riding outdoors temps are in the 50s (can't do much in lower temps).

I've been reading about this cadence versus wattage stuff. My big fear is hitting a hill. I know I just need to do it and stopping
wondering/worrying about it.

Question, is there anything specific I can do in my trainer to help when I hit that first hill?

Dear Sherri:

It's hard to express how thrilled I am by your question — and what a good one. First of all welcome to cycling. I started on a trainer for about nine months before I got my road bike in 2004. I am not familiar with Reoch Zonneveld but I'm sure I would have benefitted from 50 different workouts.

About the hill in your future and how to approach it. First of all, accept that you'll encounter one and that you will slow down as you ascend. There's no shame in that. The good news is that the more hills you encounter and more directly you face them the stronger and faster you will become.

Now how can you and your trainer prepare? The bad news is that there is no realistic trainer substitute for a hill that I am willing to pay for. That category does exist though and includes the Travel Trac Real Axiom V3 Trainer ($799.99, performancebike.com) and the TACX I-Magic Trainer ($649.99, coloradocyclist.com for starters with lots and lots of add ons available). These are systems that run through a PC and both include variable resistance. I sampled the TACX once and it has the capacity to be a real buttkicker.

For cheapskates like me, the first step is a climbing block ($15 and up). The block raises your front wheel and is supposed to simulate climbing. I keep telling myself that's what it does. The second step is to crank up the tension, or resistance, on your trainer (free). Resistance is the functional equivalent of gravity, which is what keeps us in one place longer than we want to be when we're going up hill.

Short answer to your question: Work on keeping your cadence up at higher resistance. If you're already maxing out your resistance it's time to hit the road … up hill. And grade be damned.

Yours in velophility,
Cycledork

And now, closer to home

2008-01-12T22:09:00.000-05:00

This morning I signed up for the Frostbite Tour. While still a haul — it starts in Johnston County — it's closer to home than the Bicycle Tour of Colorado. And sooner, since the Frostbite is Feb. 23. I'm shooting for 100 miles, as I did last year, but I reserve the right to bail out at 100k, as I did last year. Distance will depend on temperature. Last year the ride started in the mid 30s and crept up to about 50. Ten degrees warmer and a century should be a snap. Ten degrees colder and I'll probably bag it at 40 miles.

Summer options

2008-01-10T22:00:00.000-05:00

Several days of brutal climbs highlight the 14th Annual Bicycle Tour of Colorado. The brochure arrived today. The "Durango/Telluride Loop" comprises 403 miles from June 22 to June 28. Colorado cycling guru Michael Seeberg rates five of the segments (including two optional ones) as difficult. The highlight, which the brochure describes as an option and Seeberg calls a bonus, is the East Portal Road in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Draw your own conclusions about the challenge that seven miles of 16 percent grade would provide.

As tempting as the BTC sounds, I think I'll stick with northeastern Colorado in August or September. Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park has been resurfaced and I'm itchy to try it again. Call me a coward, but I'm rationalizing that 23 miles of climbing topping out at nearly 12,200 feet makes up for any grade deficiencies.

amster amster dam dam dam

2007-11-09T21:47:00.001-05:00

The refrain in the title touched me as a 9-year old. But now it appears that the world's location of license is also the bike friendliest. Portland, Ore., which The New York Times recognized for some reason the other day, came in No. 2. Davis, Calif., the city that basically invented bicycle planning in the United States, inexplicably came in at No. 5, behind Portland and Boulder, Colo. (and Copenhagen at No. 3). Claiming three of the top five spots but not No. 1 tells me that Portland, Boulder and Davis need to work on their licentiousness. Get crackin'.

Existence of cycling confirmed

2007-11-05T20:25:00.001-05:00

According to today's New York Times. Well, in Portland, Ore. anyway. Other less authoritative sources, such as The Bicyclist, Bicycling magazine and the League of American Bicyclists had previously raised suspicions. Next step: prove that these machines and their users can be found elsewhere.

Turning and churning and burning

2007-11-02T20:38:00.000-05:00

Dear Cycledork,

I've been working pretty hard lately on my daily 7.5-mile commute, so yesterday afternoon I decided to dial it down a notch and just enjoy the ride home. Much to my surprise, my time actually improved. This suggests to me that I've been wasting a lot of effort, and that I need to pedal smarter, not harder. Any tips? Just for context, the ride is quite hilly, with about 400 vertical feet of climbing in each direction.

-lady macsquish

Dear Lady:
Funny you should mention this observation. Not only have I seen this advised and suggested in numerous places, I have been trying it myself lately. And I'm getting the same results you are. In most flattish places on my commute I'm dropping back a gear and staying at about the same speeds or going a little faster. Descending I'm backing off two with no drop in speed. Climbing I'm relaxing by a gear in some places but I'm also a masochist and enjoy pushing it on hills. Little bumps are easier to get over at speed since it's easier to keep spinning. Result: my cadence is up, my speed is up, my heart rate is up. I'm considering the semiultimate experiment for this weekend: riding my favorite so called time trial route. My guess is I will be down one or two gears and be at or better than my best time. Look for the report.

As far as hows and whys, I am not immediately able to lay my hands on the best explanation I recall reading on the benefits of spinning — riding so that the cadence, or revolutions per minute of the pedals, is higher. But since I wanted to provide someone else's made up explanation rather than my own, I found this at trifuel.com, a site for people way too interested in these sorts of things and who don't think they have to address lay people (in other words, you're on your own with most of the jargon):

When you pedal a bicycle, your muscular system produces power to propel the bicycle and your cardiovascular system delivers oxygen, fuels the muscles, and removes waste products such as lactic acid. Selecting your optimal cadence is a matter of keeping these two systems in balance. The optimal balance is different for each person.

Spinning at higher cadences reduces the watts-per-pedal-stroke, a measure of the force required to produce a given wattage. This makes the workload more tolerable for the muscles. Most experts believe that this is because fewer fast-twitch muscle fibers must be recruited to create the high torque levels required at low cadence. Pedaling with a too-low cadence increases reliance on fast twitch fibers, causing premature lactic acid accumulation, which makes your legs burn.

Pedaling with high cadence, however, does waste some energy. Imagine setting your bike up on an indoor trainer and cutting off the chain. If you spun 100 rpm, the workload would be zero watts, yet your heart rate would elevate significantly above resting. Just moving your legs fast does use energy. Research has consistently demonstrated that cycling at 40 to 60 rpm generates the lowest oxygen consumption for a given wattage. Pedaling at too high a cadence overloads the cardiovascular system's ability to deliver oxygen to the muscles. The most obvious symptom of this is ventilatory distress.

High-cadence pedaling works your cardiovascular system more, but reduces the relative intensity of the leg muscles. The key, then, is pedaling with enough cadence to keep your watts-per-pedal-stroke at a level that your muscles can handle, but at a cadence that will not overload your cardiovascular system. The optimal balance is different for every rider.

I will translate one phrase: "ventilatory distress" means you can hardly fuckin' breathe. What I get out of the rest of this passage is that cadence is a tradeoff between pushing your legs and pushing your heart and lungs. And another thing: there is not a direct correlation between higher cadence and higher efficiency.

Other sources, such as Bicycling Magazine's 1,000 All-Time Best Tips, point out that becoming comfortable with higher cadences in lower gears can help riders become more comfortable with higher cadences in higher cadences. So keep trying it, see what happens and keep us posted. I'll do the same.

Yours in velophility,

Cycledork

It can happen to you — or me

2007-10-31T21:19:00.000-05:00

A friend is enjoying the benefits of opiates the hard way. unsquished remains so but is less so than he was before. Check the details here. unsquished wants not to die while riding as desperately as I do and bikes with all appropriate attention to circumstances. But even that is not enough some times to avoid the big pink pill.

That has made all the difference

2007-10-29T20:37:00.000-05:00

Dear Cycledork:

I see a lot of bicyclists in my area drive on city streets, county roads and highways, which are often busy and have narrow shoulders, when bike trails run alongside the exact same route. Why is that?

Though I am admittedly not an avid bicyclist myself (I log a couple hundred miles a year, tops) I far prefer the safety of recreational trails than being on the road. I understand that trail riding can be limiting for long-distance riders who cover more ground than most bike trails provide, but why not take the trail when it's available? Is it uncool for "serious riders" to be seen on a bike trail?

Sincerely,
Mystified in Minnesota

p.s. I don't mean for this to seem "anti-cyclist" and I do acknowledge bicyclists' right to a share of the road.

Dear Mystified:

No anticyclist vibe inferred and what a great question.

Uncoolness doesn't have much to do with it. Safety does. Speaking for myself, I'll ride in the road instead of on the trail for a couple of reasons, which may boil down to one: I don't want to kill anyone — me included.

At this point I consider myself an experienced rider (+/-10,000 miles all seasons, all hours, all levels of traffic over the past 3 years) who goes faster than most of the traffic on the bike trails around here in North Carolina's Triangle. From my perspective, and I'm guessing the perspective of other experienced riders, riders on the trails are unpredictable. Trail riders, or more fairly, less experienced riders, are more likely to be moving slower than I am and are more likely to stop suddenly or move across the path unexpectedly. If I'm going 20 mph and they're going 12 mph and I fail to anticipate their action the results could be catastrophic.

Here's a sobering thought: drivers are, in most ways, more predictable even if they're assholes. Even though I can't take my eyes off them for a second I have a much, much better idea of what to expect. My guess is the riders you see feel the same way. Another way to put it is that it's a lot easier to ride defensively when it's clear I'm the one who will lose catastrophically.

All of that said, this is one particular school of thought, advocated by groups such as The North Carolina Coalition for Bicycle Driving and inspired by the classic "Bicycle Transportation: A Handbook for Cycling Transportation Engineers" by John Forester. Foresterians eschew segregation of auto and cycling traffic because, as the coalition puts it:

"Bicyclists are drivers of vehicles. Every street is a bicycle facility. Bicyclists have the right to access every destination reachable by public roads, and this right is protected by the traffic laws of every state. North Carolina law specifically defines bicycles as vehicles and assigns bicycle operators all of the rights and duties of drivers of vehicles on roads. Scientific analysis of bicycling practice in the United States shows that bicyclists who behave as drivers of street vehicles and follow the Rules of the Road enjoy travel that is much safer and much more convenient than those who do not."

I'd also like some clarification on your definition of "bike trail." Is it separate from the road? If so, how is it separated? How wide is it? What sort of surface does it have? Do pedestrians use it? Is it one way or two way? The answers to all of these questions would affect my willingness to use it. There is a two-mile stretch of road not far from the my house that has a paved, +/-10-foot wide, two-way bike and pedestrian path along a windy two-lane road. For the reasons stated above, I take the road every time. I'm also grateful to the transportation planners who had the foresight to consider riders such as myself in that stretch of road and mark it with signs with a bike on them that state, "Share the road."

The road does belong to all of us, motorized and otherwise. That said, there are creative ways to share. When I'm in Fort Collins, Colo., for instance, I use the bike lanes that are ubiquitous there. Though strict Foresterians would consider the spinelssness of my concession contemptible, for me it boils down to predictability. Drivers and cyclists there are trained that cyclists will be in the bike lane toward the right of the road on both sides. Drivers know where to look for me and cyclists are not surprised to hear someone call, "on your left."

There are some roads I will not ride on. Ever. At some point I have to acknowledge the hostility the road, its users and designers show toward cyclists and take another route. Even on the roads I will ride on not all drivers, nor all cyclists, are willing to share regardless of schemes for everyone to have a piece. But for me, the best way to show my good faith is make clear to drivers that I only need what I'm using and they can have the rest.

Yours in velophility,

Cycledork

Keeping time

2007-10-21T18:31:00.000-05:00

I put my cadence counter back on yesterday. After a slight adjustment this afternoon it was functional again. What it showed was that I pedal like I'm sleeping. In my standard around-town 53x17 gearing I was in the mid 70s. Between knocking it back to 53x19 and being vigilant, I was able to push up to about 90, which is where I wanted to be. The good news: I really have improved on hills. I followed this route and was able to keep my cadence at 80 or above on the two big hills on Old Jenks Road and U.S. 64, respectively. When I saw my cadence drop below 80, I shifted up a gear. Nothing to it. Not only that I completed the whole route in just a hair over two hours.

Now here's something …

2007-10-15T19:43:00.000-05:00

You don't see every day: Odd Bikes. Notice that it includes, for instance, the work of total freak Curt DeForest Jr on his BODY RITE thingy as well as a link to the Zero Bike that apparently has no wheel hubs and to Rohloff's 14-speed hub. Not to mention that I now know I need to make a pilgrimage to the Bicycle Museum of America in New Bremen, Ohio. Ah, the wonders just out there for the finding.

Why is the rent on my vent so exorbitant?

2007-10-08T19:08:00.000-05:00

We received this question this morning at cycledork central:

Dear Cycledork,
Why do some helmets cost $30 and others cost $200? What's the difference? Aren't they all made of basically the same stuff as a beer cooler?
lady macsquish

Dear lady:
For the same reason that air-conditioning devices range so significantly in price: mass and efficiency. The helmet on the left has 17 comparatively tiny vents and provides all the comfort, in terms of weight and air circulation, of wearing an anvil. The Bell Women’s Bella Sport, now on sale at performancebike.com, costs $22.99. The helmet on the right, a Giro Atmos, has 26 comparatively humongous vents, all of which are larger than the vents on the Bella Sport. It weighs 275 grams, or about 10.5 ounces. Imagine wearing air-conditioned feathers. Plus it offers the same safety as the Bella Sport. The Atmos, now on sale at performancebike.com, goes for $134.99.

Though this is beyond the scope of you question, all of that said, the Bella Sport is the better tool for someone who isn't going to be riding very hard for very long, say no more than 15 mph for an hour or less. For racers or others who are cranking out miles for hours at a time or who feel the need to take every advantage, the cost for comfort or fewer grams becomes worth considering.

And I'm glad you mentioned beer coolers. Beer is close to my heart and never far from my thoughts. It is my hope that bikes and beer is a topic we return to many times in our dogged pursuit of cycling truth.
Yours in velophility,
Cycledork

Ask Cycledork

2007-10-06T19:57:00.000-05:00

I have a sweatshirt that says, "There is no thing he does not know." I also have a sister who says I'm mostly full of shit and wife who, more diplomatically, says she's skeptical of some of my explanations. Anyway, the new link above to the right is where I prove the sweatshirt right. Or fake it. Regardless of the views of some loved ones, my lot in life is to dispense knowledge and banish ignorance. So if you've got a cycling question, I've got an answer. Unless inquirers specifically ask for offline responses, all questions will be answered here at Cycledork for everyone to see. Bring 'em on.

I knew this day would come

2007-10-05T19:12:00.000-05:00

when I have to worry about the competition. And from my friend at unsquished. Unsquished will likely offer a more intense commuter perspective while readers can expect a wider range of topics here at cycledork. Of course, since I'm not a mind reader, I might just be blowing this out my ass. That means you'll have to read both to know for sure.

It's for the kids

2007-09-24T19:07:00.000-05:00

A show of hands via comments please. Who among you walked to your grade school? Rode a bike? Took the bus? Got a ride?

Until I was in sixth grade, I either walked or rode my bike. In sixth grade I either took the bus (sometimes walking a mile uphill in the snow to and from the stop, really), begged my mom for a ride if I missed the bus or realized I was too malaised to attend school. Seventh and eighth grades, back on foot or bike. High school, for this purpose, is lost time (Cheech and Chong were huge during my formative years; I also spent a lot of time getting my face slapped at the back of the bus).

I'm curious about how you loyal few arrived at your educations because Oct. 3 is International Walk to School in the USA" day. Organizers cite three reasons to walk or bike to school: to enhance the health of kids (we're too fat); to improve air quality and the environment (we're too lazy); and to create safer routes for walking and bicycling (we're paving too much and in the wrong places).

Responsibility for this mortifying state of affairs should sit squarely on the shoulders of my generation (I'm 45) and would if we weren't so desperately trying to shirk it. It's our kids who are getting rides (my own once included, though at college she either walks or takes public transportation); we are the ones driving the cars and making the pavement an easy political choice. There's a lot more to this pathology but other sources beside this blog cover are better equipped to discuss the causes more comprehensively.

Of the 38 other countries listed as participating, I wonder in how many of them walking or biking to school is really considered a day worthy of being separated from all others. Along those lines I loathe Mothers and Fathers days. I resent being told I have to show my love to my parents on these single days when I want them to know I love them every day. Same thing here. If walking or riding to school is reduced to a single day, that's all that should be expected: a day, and a day only, when kids walk or ride.

Rant aside, one day is better than no days. Better to cycle or walk on this single day every year than not at all. I'll be happier when it turns into Walk to School week, or even better, month or year. To those of you with kids, get them out of your car Oct. 3. And the day after. And the day after that.

Taco Tool to the rescue

2007-09-23T19:12:00.000-05:00

Or at least that's what it used to be called. Anyway, I was glad I had one recently when my handlebars started to slip. What it is is a folding, palm-sized bicycle multitool with a buttload of allen keys, Phillips and standard screwdriver blades, tire levers and chain tool and so much more. So when I noticed my bars dropping, I stopped, unzipped my seat bag, extracted the multitool, tightened the offending allen screws, replaced the taco in the seat bag and roared off. Pedro's, the bike-tool impresario that issued the Taco Tool until at least 2004, now produces an equivalent tool that is shown at right. Get one. It can keep a pain in the ass from being a ride stopper.

Cycletacular posts now photographically enhanced!

2007-09-04T22:47:00.000-05:00

Several of the posts from the cycletacular now have pictures. See the view from the Horsetooth overlook, the entrance to Carter Valley Campground, and Rob and Luke, the friends who shared road and mountain bikes (and shoes) up Rist Canyon.

Hygiene

2007-09-01T17:48:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize until today that Hygiene sits at a critical junction of the Cycling Riviera. I just thought I'd picked about the perfect destination for a 100K victory ride. Located about 33 miles south of Fort Collins, it's the town that announces that if you keep pedalling you'll soon arrive in Boulder, Colorado's two-wheel Monte Carlo. Even though there are plenty of Litespeeds and high-end Treks up here in Fort Collins, the closer Boulder looms the more Looks and Times and Pinarellos show up. I expect going to a bike shop in Boulder is like scoping the parking lot at the Casino.

I caught a couple of Pinarellos a few miles outside of Hygiene who had been dogging it on the hills. So what if they were on their small rings. That group passed me at a stop light and hammered out the last couple of miles to arrive at a bait store and cycle shop about 30 seconds ahead of me. As I enjoyed my frozen strawberry bar, I noticed hot-shit bikes at every other business, including the grocery store across the street, the coffee shop on another corner and a bike shop across the street from where I stopped. They were beautiful bikes, all heading south and west toward Boulder. My suspicion though is that many of the people on these bikes are posers. The frustrating thing is not being able to recognize the real deal when I see it -- and I'd bet I have.

The ride back to Fort Collins was fast, somewhere around 20 mph. My mission complete, I was glad to get back to my end of the Cote d'Azur. It's also good to know that if I need energy gel and night crawlers in Hygiene, even if can't sort out my fellow shoppers, I know where to go.

Return to Rist Canyon

2007-08-31T17:51:00.000-05:00

Two years ago Rist Canyon kicked my ass. It kicked my ass again today but not quite as hard.

Nobody goes into Rist Canyon without wanting to. Rist Canyon ascends about 3,000 feet over about 12 miles. When I got here last week it was not on my intinerary. It was on my avoid-at-all-costs list. I considered returning to Estes Park today (it's hard to spend too much time at the omphalos) but I decided I wanted something closer to Fort Collins. Given the relative ease of the trip to Estes Park (only a few hundred yards on the smaller ring), I thought Rist Canyon would be a worthy, and maybe too much of a, challenge.

When I rode Rist Canyon in 2005 I did nearly the entire ride on the smallest, 30-tooth ring, of the three rings my bike had at the time. I don't have a 30-tooth ring anymore, just a 39- and a 53-, and teeth matter. Basically, the fewer teeth on a ring -- the rings are the things with teeth that pull the chain and to which the pedals are connected -- the easier it is to pedal, just not as far and not as fast as using the bigger rings (to learn more about this, check out sheldonbrown.com).

I used the big ring for the first couple of miles out of Bellvue. By the time I met up with Rob (right) and Luke (guys, if you're reading, let me know if I got the spellings right), I had been on the 39-tooth for a while. What blew my mind about these guys is that they were riding a road bike and a mountain bike. They'd agreed to switch shoes and bikes every two miles. When I met them they were still friends even though they had at least three switches left. I hope they were able to cope, and stay hydrated, after they found the Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department locked up tight.

There's no humiliation in taking a breather at any point in Rist Canyon. Look for the flattest uphill spot so it's easier to start once you're ready. I enjoyed the scenery, even when it wasn't scenic, in several locations. And I kept ascending.

Michael Seeberg writes of Rist Canyon in "Road Biking Colorado: The Statewide Guide," "Near the top, you'll ride 12-percent grades!" That exclamation provides only so much excitement when you're the one on that grade. Nevertheless, a mile or so from the top, a woman descending in a vintage Toyota slowed to tell me, "You're almost there!" I hadn't been so heartened since leaving Rob and Luke, or maybe since I got out of bed. Ten minutes later, I was looking at the Mummy Range, 50 miles to the west.

After a few moments I started the descent. Based on the elevations provided in Seeberg's book, it's about 700 feet down in about a mile. My high speed, I think, was over 49 mph (the speedometer, which records a sustained speed, clocked in at 48.6) but I couldn't see well because my eyes were being blown shut. Whatever speed I attained, it occurred while coasting. I braked only lightly until the last quarter mile or so, when I had to squeeze hard to avoid going into the traffic on Stove Prairie Road.

I broke 40 several times on Stove Prairie and might have been able to approach 50 except for the cattle guards (it's open range -- no livestock fencing -- for several miles), which were a real buzzkill.

My reward, beside the experience: the last popsicle at Carter Valley Campground.

Why can't I do this at home?

2007-08-30T22:39:00.000-05:00

Today I rode to Estes Park. All in all, it was about 25 miles up, 25 miles down and 45 miles rolling or flattish. And I rode it a lot harder, especially up, than last year. So here's my question, especially for any of you folks who know anything about conditioning: why is it that my last two rides of similar distance in North Carolina nearly left me for dead but I returned from this one fresh as a daisy? No doubt it is cooler and less humid here. I'm guessing that the weather helps keep me hydrated. Stopping for lunch (two slices of pizza and iced tea) probably didn't hurt either. But I don't get it. Let me hear your ideas.

By the way, I took U.S. 34 both ways. The high speed was just a hair under 39 mph. I did hit 45 mph yesterday coming down from Horsetooth. There was a lot of traffic and wind in the canyon today. The wind helped me on the way up and slowed me on the way down. I also learned that it's really not so bad to hug a granite wall in a two-foot wide patch of gravel when a semi is passing me on a curve.

Popsicle flavor of the day at Carter Valley Campground: tropical blend. There's one left in that box and I'm hoping it lasts long enough for me to get it.

Fort Collins: bubble town of the Bicycle-Friendly death wish

2007-08-29T17:32:00.000-05:00

It's no surprise that a city with great bike facilities has lots -- shitloads actually -- of people who use them. Right on and in a huge way. Nevertheless, it blows my mind how utterly oblivious the huge majority of those riders are to risk. I announce my dorkishness, for instance, by being part of the minority who wear a helmet. Earphones and -buds are ubiquitous. Road signs are for chumps. Forget about any indication of directional change. Riding time is the perfect time for that involved phone chat. No need to watch traffic, including other riders, since bicycles here apparently operate in protective bubbles (not mentioned in the Bicycle Friendly Community commendation). Local authorities must not have been alerted to my arrival as my bubble hasn't shown up yet.

Confession time: I do not stop at every stop sign and I don't signal every time I'm required to. But I do slow down at every intersection and I do look. And I avoid not stopping when a car is approaching my bike perpendicularly.

I understand that many of the riders I see are older adolescents and young adults who are still invulnerable. But they do things on bicycles that even they would be embarrassed to do in a car (see above). I also understand that age does not necessarily confer maturity or judgment, yet it's not just the bezillion college students who remove their brains whenever they ride. It's people approaching my advanced age who are old enough to know they have something to lose.

Don't get me wrong: it is too cool that bikes are so heavily used here and catered to. The bike racks in my mom's apartment complex are jam packed. How great would it be for every place to embrace cycling so thoroughly, especially if riders reciprocated in a way that didn't make me worry about killing them.

Carter Valley Campground

2007-08-28T22:23:00.000-05:00

I stop at this campground every time I go over Horsetooth. It's about 45 minutes southwest of the overlook above the reservoir, so it's perfectly situated as a rest stop. The office was closed Sunday so today was my first time in this year. What I appreciate most is the welcome I get. The proprietors greet me cheerfully whether I spend 50 cents or $50. On Sunday, a few miles to the north in Masonville, the owner of an "antique" shop told me to buy my beverage out of the machine outside instead of the cooler inside (I heard some really funny stories when I was a kid about vendors who make their own antiques). When I bought my mango popsicle(!) at the campground today, the owner told me where I could wash up and fill my water bottles -- for free. To boot, the men's room was surgically sterile. Not that I plan or want to perform surgery but it's nice to know it's there if I need it. If you're ever riding your bike on Larimer County Road 29 or driving your RV west of Loveland, stop here and spend money.

One other thing. At 4:44 p.m. EST, someone in Cary was my 1,000th visitor. I can tell that by looking at data provided by sitemeter. Thanks for reading.

The Lyons traverse

2007-08-27T20:57:00.000-05:00

For all the mileage I get out of telling my North Carolina friends about how every ride out here is uphill balanced on the edge of an abyss, I'll confess immediately that was not the case today. In fact, today's ride from Fort Collins to Lyons was more or less flat. Really. Flatter than most of the rides I take around Wake and Chatham counties.

Not only that, the ride was a success. I wanted to see if I could make the trip without getting on U.S. 287, one of the main arteries connecting cities up and down the Front Range. County roads -- paved all the way -- got me south from Fort Collins to Colorado 66 (about 33 miles) through ranch and farm country. Lyons is about five miles farther west. I was particularly concerned that paved roads would turn to dirt once I left Larimer County and entered Boulder County.

Lyons is a strategic key because it's at the bottom of one of the mountain roads (abysses included), U.S. 36, that leads to Estes Park. Estes Park is about 20 miles northwest of Lyons. My big ride for this trip will be from Fort Collins west to Estes Park up U.S. 34 (another mountain road) and returning via Lyons instead of just turning around. I am still mulling the route because 1) U.S. 34 is a beautiful road both for its scenery and pavement, 2) I know every turn in it and 3) it offers the best opportunity for the entire cycletacular to break 50 mph (on the descent). Weather forecasts have me thinking Thursday or Friday will be the day, so I have several days to decide.

Horsetooth and points south and east are the likely destinations for tomorrow's chapter of the cycletacular. It should be similar to Sunday but include real climbing. Since it won't be a survival or reconnaissance ride, I may see if I can add some speed.

The Horsetooth kickoff or triumph on the big ring

2007-08-26T19:40:00.000-05:00

It was an auspicious start for the cycletacular. No riding trip to Colorado can start correctly for this obsessive compulsive without going over Horsetooth Reservoir first. Horsetooth is about five miles from my mom's apartment and about 500 feet above it. The 500 feet occur over 7/10 of a mile. Then after a couple of miles down, another climb to the overlook. After one last descent, one last ascent. Then rollers for several miles meandering south. Anyway, the first time I rode this route two years ago I went over the reservoir and associated hills in my smallest gear (30/25) and wanted an even smaller one. Last year I badassed it and went over in the middle ring. This year it was the big ring, all 53 teeth of it, and my 21-tooth cog. Going 11 mph up the first hill was as good as going 50 mph. The pain breathing would be too much of a pain in the ass to describe. The other 50 miles were cake and included a foray into Berthoud, which I had skirted around previously. I have been to Berthoud before but only to experience an Estes Park Bobcat athletic team have its ass handed to it. This was better. Anyway, among the interesting things I saw along the route was a dead skunk in the middle of the road. Much to my surprise it did not stink to high heaven.

Yesterday, of course, was still part of the cycletacular even though it was spent off the bike. We went to Campion to determine the composition of County Line Road (the counties are Larimer and Weld; it is dirt) for possible inclusion in the Fort Collins-Lyons transit. Following the reconnaissance, we stopped by Lee's Cyclery for supplies (tube, CO2, gel, seat bag). Once outfitted I was ready to roll this morning. Many of you know that I do not take my gels for granted. Yesterday I picked up a new brand: Hammer. This is the shit (speaking metaphorically). The tropical flavor actually tasted sort of mangoish without the chalky pastiness that I've come to expect> Tomorrow's flavor is orange. Oh boy.

I wrote in the first cycletacular post that maps and pictures were coming. That's easier for me to promise on a Mac than on a PC. For some reason my Veloroutes maps won't save from this computer and Googlemaps requires too much mind reading on any machine. However, pictures should be forthcoming assuming the PC has something to interpret that type of data once I use up the disposable cameras I bought. My hope is still to provide you with stimulation beyond my prose.

Tomorrow's destination: it looks like Lyons.

Cycledork's annual Colorado cycletacular!

2007-08-24T17:28:00.000-05:00

Yes, readers, it's that time again. Believe me, waiting a year was harder on me than it was on you. The bike and I arrived in Denver this morning and will be here in Fort Collins until Sept. 2. It's about 25 degrees cooler here than in the Triangle with about zip humidity. There are significant differences in the view as well.

After acclimating today and tomorrow we hit the road Sunday. That'll be the kickoff of seven cycling-, mileage-filled days. Though some routes are already planned (and in some cases mapped), questions remaining for the week include whether I can get it 500 miles. Daily posts, though, will reveal answers. Meanwhile I need to get a disposable camera (having forgotten the scientist's) so that I can accumulate visual evidence.

Cycle North Carolina

2007-08-20T19:45:00.000-05:00

That's the name of an annual ride across the state and not necessarily a command. The ride, affiliated with Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society, fundraiser for starts in West Jefferson and ends at Currituck-Knotts Island. Depending on the exact route taken, the distance ranges from 380 to 495 from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6. Other stops, from west to east, includie Elkin, Greensboro, Mebane, Louisburg, Roanoke Rapids and Edenton. According to the literature I received, the support for this ride will make the Jimmy V folks seem like pikers. I don't think I'll be doing the entire distance this year but at some point, and I hope sooner instead of later, this is on the the to-do list. However, registration is available for the stages so getting in a day (Greensboro-Mebane? Mebane-Louisburg?) is a very possible possibility for this fall.

The limit?

2007-08-19T19:39:00.000-05:00

Did an English century today (beware — crappy map). I was able to execute my strategy as if I had planned it: find a group of riders doing the 100 miles, grab on to a wheel and let them pull me along. At about 20 miles the ride split: 50- and 75-mile riders left, 100-mile (it actually clocked in at +/-95) riders right. A group of five quickly caught a group of eight. The octet rode together for 10-15 miles. Just about the perfect size. Seven people could draft and the guy pulling on the front only had to go three to six minutes. Higher speed and energy conservation at the same time — a hard deal to beat. The group started to break up at the first rest stop. One guy rode on; two others stayed behind. Between the first and third rest stops (we skipped the second) a guy dropped off but we caught the guy who rode on. He kept going at the third rest stop, never to be seen again. Still, on flat or rolling terrain, the group of four stuck together thanks in large part to the generosity of the two strongest riders. At the fourth stop, rider No. 4 said he would probably drop off. I was bushed but managed to stay in contact with with the front two for about five more miles. Once we hit downtown Fuquay-Varina, though, there was no use maintaining the charade. the front two pulled away for the last time though they remained in sight for several more miles. The hardest part for the group was on downhill-uphill sections, which tend to pull groups apart and make them hard to put back together.

I crawled back to the parking lot of the Koka Booth Amphitheatre at Regency Park. I point out with some pride that I was not last and it wasn't even close. Based on my experience of Aug. 4, today and several other 80-plus-mile rides, 90 miles may be around my limit. Several of those rides have been solo efforts. I suspect that the group rides have just started too fast over the first 50 miles or so for me to have anything left at the end. Some of you may know that I have fantasies of riding across the United States. If my assessment is accurate, it will have a significant effect on how long the ride would take.

One more thing: this was the Jimmy V Ride for Research. It is the Cadillac of charity rides I've been on with four well stocked rest stops and sag support the entire way. Think what you want about Jim Valvano as a basketball coach and human being, but the foundation has raised buttloads of money for cancer research from, well, schmos like me. And as I said, they put on a hell of a ride.

Cycle soap

2007-08-16T19:42:00.000-05:00

I've spent portions of the last several evenings enjoying The Bicyclist. The Bicyclist is the story of Conrad, who has moved from Wisconsin to Portland, Ore., to find life and perhaps love (or maybe just sex) in a bicycle shop. The 13+ episodes so far run from 90 seconds or so to more than six minutes. Neither Conrad nor his associates would have anything to do with cycledork, who is too old, too spandexed and way too unbeautiful to make their scene. That said, The Bicyclist is must see for anyone who enjoys depictions of young-adult drinking, male sexual competition and bike jousting.

C'dork's Saturday cycling tip: one way not to die

2007-08-11T13:09:00.000-05:00

Ride long enough and it will happen: pedalling along, minding your own business as well as that of the surrounding traffic, as you approach an intersection or junction the car behind you passes so it can immediately turn right in front of you. Well, even if it doesn't happen to you, it happened to me this morning. It's probably the fourth or fifth time someone's done it to me over the last three years.

How I deal with it: First of all, I watch the road, see where I'm going and where the opportunities for automotive mischief — intersections, side roads, potholes, suddenly ending shoulders and so on — are. At the same time, I'm keeping an eye on oncoming traffic and an ear out for cars behind me. This morning I could smell that the car on my ass would pass and turn on to the upcoming side road. Though I slowed slightly I had to maintain some momentum since I was on a slight grade. With about about 150 feet or so to the junction, she passed. Since I expected it I braked and stopped, let traffic pass and got going again. One more thing I would have done, had I really been thinking, was downshift one or two gears to make restarting on the rise a little easier.

In some situations there will be even less space and less time to react. What cycling safety folks advise in such cases is to turn right on the inside of the car. I had just enough distance and shoulder that I didn't need to even though I considered it. Keep in mind it's a move that's probably hard as hell to rehearse. Just be ready.

Upshot: the driver's body language indicated an appropriate level of embarrassment and I didn't get flattened. Though not optimal the result is acceptable.

The end of the world

2007-08-05T11:39:00.000-05:00

May be west of Clayton on N.C. 42. Loyal reader htrouser did warn me of this likelihood even though he was not specific about where. The Tour de Wake went fine for the first 60 miles or so into Wendell, where my navigation started to falter. Even with a cue sheet I still had to know the secret names of the streets that turned into the roads I needed to be on. I also didn't help myself by not studying carefully enough to confirm the route around Clayton. Instead I took the long way through town, twice, before learning the identity of the secret street. By this time I had probably added 15 unneeded miles. When I finally got out of Clayton it seemed for one of the few times when I've been on a bike that the road was getting longer instead of shorter. So when I got to the intersection of I-40 and N.C. 42 after 87.8 miles with the prospect of 40 more to go in 95-degree heat, I decided sense was in order and I called the college student. She was prompt so I didn't tax the patience of the gas-station employee who was kind enough to let me wait inside.

There are several lessons to learn from this, the first time I have ever bailed on a ride. O the ignominy. First, know the route. Second, eat adequately before leaving. No matter how well the fluids are laid in — I had about a gallon with me and I replenished every 15 to 20 miles — the body still needs some calories to work with. Third, when it's that hot, leaving earlier is better. The original idea had been to leave around 8 a.m.; instead I hit the road about 10:22 a.m. Mistake. Fourth, consider the distance-temperature tradeoff. Even five degrees would have made the attempt easier.

Cycledork remains convinced that it is possible to complete the circumnavigation of Wake County. I believe the gap in N.C. 42 between I-40 and N.C. 50 can be filled and that I will succeed. Of course, if I fall off the edge, I will never be heard from again.

Cynical idealism or idealistic cynicism?

2007-07-31T18:05:00.000-05:00

Friends and acquaintances, knowing that I love competition of any sort (I once played Scrabble for three days for a teriyaki beef stick; one of my sisters took it but only after a loud discussion of what actually constituted victory), ask me how I feel about the Tour de France and cycling generally and the role that performance-enhancing drugs appear to play.

Depending on how you look at it I'm either a cynical idealist or an idealistic cynic. My instinct is that nearly all of them dope. On the other hand their skill is so far beyond mine, doped or not, that doping 1) probably doesn't mean much when comparing Tour riders to everyone else 2) probably doesn't mean much when comparing Tour riders to each other, since they're all doing it. I'm not sure what this means except that they're all light years better than I am or anyone I know is; at that level how much better do you really have to be?

Anyway, I've veered dangerously into murkiness. If I'll spend three days playing Scrabble for a 75-cent prize, it's probably no surprise I follow a number of professional sports very closely, and none closer than Major League Baseball. This article does a great job of pointing out that Americans having a good laugh at the expense of the Tour might be able to find their amusement elsewhere. I also wish more domestic sports fans could get a grip on the role of PEDs on their pastimes. Who knows how Scrabble would be different without them.

Northeast reconnaissance

2007-07-29T18:32:00.000-05:00

I've threatened for months that I plan to circumnavigate Wake County. For years the southern and western routes have been clear. Today I rode most of the northern portion. Though I have no map to offer at the moment, I can say that I followed the northeast border of Umstead State Park along the remarkably crappy Ebenezer Church Road for a crucial portion of the route. Even in its remarkable crappiness — mostly because it desperately needs resurfacing — I could manage the other traffic. Shoulders on the other roads were at least good with decent sight lines too. I made it to Six Forks Road, which was my plan unless I decided to go farther. A few miles to the south, Six Forks is an Amazon of traffic flow. Where I need to catch it to go north before going east toward Wake Forest, it is a tranquil country stream. The rest of the route from Wake Forest seems obvious: south on N.C. 96 to N.C. 42 into the dark heart of Johnston County, west on 42 out toward Moncure and routes northward into the extremes of Chatham and Wake counties before heading east toward home. With today's link under my belt, the circumnavigation could be next weekend. Or maybe later. Stay tuned.

Hangin' with the Bs

2007-07-26T21:20:00.000-05:00

Well sort of. Most of the people on this ride — The Spin Cycle B ride, advertised as between 17 and 19 mph — wouldn't have had any trouble on last night's ride. Maybe they just wanted to relax by going at A pace for most of the night. But it was a much more enjoyable group experience than last night. Some shaved legs, lots of hairy legs. A range of frame materials. Smaller percentage of team kits. And much more open. Huge thanks to Mike, who, when I told him I was new to group riding, told me what to do for 25 miles. Some of it I understood, some I didn't. I have no idea if I'm educable or not. Anyway, the rest of the group was willing to let me grab a wheel even though I never pulled. I'm optimistic that if I show up Tuesday I won't be asked to leave.

The A ride

2007-07-25T22:01:00.000-05:00

Dropped like a hot sack of cat shit. Smoked like a spliff of Rastaman ganja.

Most bike stores, including the The Spin Cycle, offer a variety of group rides, with skill levels ranging from the slowest at C to the fastest at A. My plan was to go on Tuesday's B ride, but the significant threat of rain — it was dripping on my ride home — kept me in. I figured what the hell, I'll try the Wednesday A ride. And after nine bikeless days and the last two with only my commute, I was itching for some miles.

Of the 12 or 15 riders who showed, I was one of two with a metal frame; among the minority with unshaved legs and not wearing a team kit; and the only one with a visored helmet and unmatched tires. I knew I didn't fit; the reception I got made it clear they knew it too.

My plan, even before I arrived, was that I would hope to draft someone as far as it would get me and when I got dropped make my own route instead of working to find the group. The plan worked for about 10 miles. Me and another guy got left behind on a long descent. It was like watching the Millenium Falcon engage the hyperdrive. The other guy did everything he could to outrun me and not acknowledge me. I'd give him room and then I'd reel him back in. That happened a few times. Anyway, we rode in proximity to each other for about five more miles before I let him go. He was thoughtful enough to indicate he was turning south.

I turned north and took a quick route back to The Spin Cycle. Austin, the one guy who did talk to me, was still packing his bike when I got there. He asked how my ride was and I told him OK — after all, I did get nearly 40 miles in and went really fast for parts of it. I also said that I knew I got dropped because I was too polite. Instead of holding back while the bikes in front of me coasted part way down the aforementioned hill, I should have gone into the middle of them and maintained my draft. I might have gotten dropped later but it would have gotten me through that point. Austin agreed.

The plan for Tuesdays and Thursdays for the forseeable future is to kick ass on the B ride until I'm sure I need more of a challenge. Then we'll see what happens.

The Firecracker and more

2007-07-04T17:30:00.000-05:00

Today was the 15th Firecracker Ride. This annual 50k and 100k event, sponsored by The Spin Cycle, is one of my favorite rides. Soemthing cool happens every year. Today was my third Firecracker. In 2005 I met cyclebuddy, still one of my favorite guys to ride with when we can both find time. Last year I was able to hop from group to group and wheel to wheel and thus go fast without expending a lot of energy.

This year I ran into a professional contact of mine at the first rest stop. He invited me to ride with his group, which included a guy that I met on my smokin' ride on Sunday. What a blast. They were good folks interested in hauling ass on the road and kicking back at rest stops. The best part is I have a standing invitation to join them on their regular Saturday and Sunday rides. I did try to talk up The Electra Challenge but didn't seem to find many takers.

Having spent the morning drafting behind these fine folks, I decided I wasn't done. I came home, had some water, filled my tires and then went out to complete an imperial century for the day. The bike is parked after 103.5 miles.

Twenty miles in less than an hour

2007-07-01T18:17:00.000-05:00

In fact, 20 miles in a few ticks less than 59 minutes. To make the most of this shamelss bragfest, I'll add that I averaged 20 mph for more than 28 miles. Then I coasted home the remaining 27 miles. I'll leave it to you to check the provided link showing the route to judge if the chest beating is justified.

The mystery of the black Pearls

2007-06-30T15:47:00.000-05:00

Some readers may remember my rant regarding Pearl Izumi products. A particular sore point was the chamois brand on my ass left by a pair of PI shorts. I swore months ago the offending shorts would go through the shredder. Instead they were exiled to the chair next to my dresser that serves as a clothing-storage annex. Today, I pressed the shorts into service for a 40 miler. It was a great ride and comfortable too. There's a hint of a seam on my thigh but nothing like what I got over the winter. Perhaps my judgment was too harsh or maybe I'm not as tender as I used to be.

Goo to the last drop

2007-06-17T09:59:00.000-05:00

For Christmas my daughter gave me some single-serving sports-energy concoctions. The virtue of these products is that they are meant to replace minerals and nutrients lost during strenuous exercise while being extremely portable. My rule of thumb, depending on the situation, has become one tube every 15 or 20 miles with water. Whether it's crap or not I do feel perkier in a hurry.

Specifically the individual portions from Christmas were of GU Energy Gel (Just Plain flavored), Jelly Belly Sport Beans (orange) and a PowerBar triple threat energy bar (Caramel Peanut Fusion). I was skeptical but these were gifts given in love so why not?

I tried the GU first and was impressed that the flavor lived up to its description, just the tiniest hint of vanilla or banana or both.

Next were the Sport Beans. Think Tang-tasting texturized chewy chalk. Not something I would choose for myself but still interesting in a mildly provocative way.

The PowerBar had all the appeal of sweetened sawdust that's supposed to be good for you.

Bottom line on those three: the GU is a clearly labeled, no bullshit product. One tube, one serving. The package says each serving provides 100 calories, 2 percent of the daily value of sodium, 1 percent of potassium, 2 percent calcium and 100 percent each of vitamins C and E. The beans sported a similar range of nutrients but generally lower percentages. It turns out the PowerBar is loaded with nutrients and leaves the GU and Sport Beans in its sawdust in that regard. It's also in the largest package and the messiest to eat.

So I learned I could buy into, and buy, gooish, products. So over several months of trips to The Spin Cycle and Performance Bike, I picked up tubes of PowerBar Gel (tangerine), Carb Boom! Energy Gel (strawberry kiwi), Accel Gel Protein Powered Sports Energy, Clif Shot Energy Gel (strawberry) and Clif Shot Bloks (lemon lime). All have about the same nutrient levels although the PowerBar gel comes with various levels of sodium and caffeine.

Carb Boom! is nasty, as is the Clif Shot gel. They had chemically induced strawberry flavors only in the same sense that Ovaltine is supposed to be chocolate but is really spinach-flavored dog turd.

The Accel Gel left no impression. All I can say is that it was gooey and sticky.

The Clif Shot Bloks were like high-energy Jell-o shots but they did not make me want to dance on tables. I was also sort of freaked out that they have the same consistency after an hour in a cycling jersey as they do at room temperature.

The PowerBar gel is everything the energy bar wasn't. Though not nearly as nutrient rich it actually offers flavor that to some could resemble tangerine in a small package.

At $1.40 a pop, I try to use my goo strategically, saving it for occasions when I'm going to work really hard or when I'm going a long way (50 miles or more). Since it's hot today and I want to go about 65 miles I'll have two or three with me.

Another anniversary boils down to miles

2007-06-15T20:23:00.000-05:00

This may be the one that matters most to me. June 14 was one year since tropical storm Alberto, the last day I didn't ride my bike to work. So today marks a year and a day that I've pedaled to work. Rain, heat, ice, ennui, I've two wheeled to work and back. I celebrated by riding to meet a couple of buddies for lunch at my favorite out-of-the-way smoky dive that, alas, is becoming less smoky and less out of the way. The good news, as I can stretch it, is that I was able to get my per day miles for the month past 10. I also had two ass-kicking beers at home tonight, partly for celebratory purposes — Left Hand Imperial Stout and Duck Rabbit Rabid Duck Imperial Stout. I just hope the weather holds for this weekend — screw next weekend, I'll be in St. Louis. Four hundred plus miles for June would be nice.

Accounting for 4278.7

2007-06-09T13:33:00.000-05:00

Put on your helmet, grit your teeth and get ready for a rush like few you can have. It's time to crunch numbers. It may offer all of the excitement of, well, accounting.
Today's as good a day as any to share the distances of cycledork. On June 10, 2006 I bought a new bike computer, a Mavic Wintech FS. In the year since I've racked up the miles enumerated in the title of this post. That total also includes the mountain bike miles I've cranked out. So, to rateify the number:
• 357 miles per month
• 82 miles per week
• 11.7 miles per day
Over that time there have been at least five complete weeks when I did not get on a bike.

In 2007 I've pedaled 1,819 miles. Rateified, that's:
• 343 miles per month
• 79 miles per week
• 11.3 miles per day
There was one week I was off all bikes, another week the Trek 2100 was in the shop and several weekends I could have been riding but did not.

Where is all this going? My goal for the year is to ride 5,000 miles. I'm 392 miles behind pace, or about 17 miles per week. Basically I need three 550-mile months to get back on track. I'm hoping to catch up over the summer but I already know of one entire week and another four-day period including a weekend between now and August when I will be bikeless.

As for the previous computer, a Garmin 301? In April 2006 it flew out of its handlebar mount in the center of a major intersection. As soon as I realized what I happened I dropped my bike on the side of the road and ran back just in time to see it get run over. I continued running, into traffic, to retrieve it anyway. Trust me, it was cool enough to risk death for.

The good news for you is that even I monitor all this minutia every day, I only plan to victimize others with the complete overview once a year. Be warned that there will be periodic but undetailed progress reports. Be grateful. My family has said since I was a kid that the most hideous torture they could think of was to be tied to a chair and have me recite facts, particularly statistics, that I considered of interest. I will try to not keep you in the chair very long.

C'dork helping dorks

2007-06-02T19:21:00.000-05:00

I was reading through one of my listservs this afternoon when I saw an e-mail from an unfortunate who wants to ride his mountain bike across the United States. Even though I have a fairly concrete plan for a cross-country ride, the thought of doing it on a mountain bike makes me want to take a nap. Anyway, another reader suggested the site warmshowers.org for our plucky mountain biker. My thought when I saw the URL was the same as yours but it wasn't what I thought or feared. There's no euphemism for a particular kink involved but more a direct question: if you wanted to ride your bike across the country and wanted a hot shower along the way, would you be willing to offer the same? After a brief talk with the scientist I decided yes. We'll see if anyone ever gets in touch with us.

the offroad less traveled

2007-05-31T19:36:00.000-05:00

My friends at The Spin Cycle are replacing the bottom bracket and truing the wheels on the Trek 2100. I hope to have it back for the weekend. In the meantime I've been riding my wife's antediluvian Nishiki Backroads mountain bike for which, outrageously, there is no image available. It's treated me well for the 10 miles per day I've been riding it. I pick shorter, flatter routes to get to work and around town than on the 2100. Though I make elaborate plans to avoid hills, I'm impressed by how quickly it spins up the inclines I can't avoid. To say nothing of its stability. Riding on giant tires is a lot like riding on tank treads.

No longer alone

2007-05-24T19:45:00.000-05:00

There's another bicycle commuter at work. He promised before he left for his wedding that he would start riding after he got back from his honeymoon. To his immeasurable credit, he's pedalled in the last two days since his return. He may not do it every day, much less to meet every work obligation, but it's a thrill to see more rather than fewer riders. I'm also impressed that he comes in on a GT Palomar, a model I also own, though his is several years newer. You rock, colleague.

A long way to pedal

2007-05-21T21:48:00.000-05:00

I picked up this link from Harrison, my transportation planner buddy. My second year as a commuter may have started this morning but some roads go on forever. Thoughts of cycling in the Northwest often leave me drooling and whoozy, but the article clarifies that we ignorant Americans have miles to ride before we're truly cycling friendly.

My red badge

2007-05-16T20:39:00.000-05:00

I was surprised to end up with a red arm band at the Ride of Silence tonight. When I arrived at the sign-in table, the woman asked if I'd ever been hurt on a bike. I'm pretty sure I responded with a mumbled "gurf?"

She asked again, "have you ever been hit by a car?"

"Yeah, but I was 12. It was more than 30 years ago."

"You get a red arm band," she said as she tied it around my left biceps.

I noticed that nearly every one else had a black one.

I pulled my bike to the back of the line. The people next to me told me riders with red bands were supposed to go to the front. I said I was happy where I was.

My justification, which I summarized for them even more briefly, was that it was an accident caused by me exercising the judgment of a harried, distracted 12-year-old. I was late for school and I almost avoided being perpendicular to the car. He clipped the back wheel. The driver stopped and I popped up and apologized. I hope he still doesn't have nightmares. My bike was slightly bent but I still rode to school. When I got home I'm pretty sure I stashed the 10-speed in the basement. Since I rode some days and walked others I don't think loyalty to walking was noticed from that time forward. And when you're 12 and late for school and you know that you dashed out in front of the car, that you got hit is the sort of thing you might neglect mentioning to your mom, especially when you can pedal away.

The ride tonight was good. I never ride that slowly — in places 7 mph — but it felt nice to be in a low, low gear spinning behind the other 86 riders. The five miles took about 35 or 40 minutes. Befitting its name, the ride through Research Triangle Park and east Durham was very quiet.

The ride home was in some ways better. I pulled Patrick, who was riding a folding bike, south along Davis Drive from RTP to Morrisville. What impressed me was that on a folding bike he could stay close enough that there was pulling to be done. One of the things I got from Patrick was perspective about red bands. He asked about my red band and then told me about his. He got whacked by a car probably about 20 years ago and landed on his head but everyone was able to walk away. He didn't realize until later he had a separated shoulder. But that's not why he was on the ride. He told me he rode because of a guy named Al Johnson, who made the ride with us tonight. Al damn near died after a bike wreck in Virginia some time ago that included weeks in ICU and, not suprisingly, months off the bike. Even though I never, ever want anyone to clip my back wheel again — or to cause it — I think it's understandable that I'm glad not to be Al. And I don't ever want to be. Let's just hope I can size up a situation better at 44 than at 12.

Six months of cycledork — and a year of commuting

2007-05-15T21:49:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow will be six months since cycledork generated the first message about socks on fire.

More memorable for the 'dork is that today marks one year of bicycle commuting. What a great fuckin' year, all +/- 4,000 miles of it. I've missed two days cycling to work: May 19, 2006 because of a flat tire and June 14, 2006 because of inadequate preparation for Tropical Storm Alberto. I'm now prepared for either of those situations not to mention many, many more. Here's to all the miles in front of me — and you. See you on the road.

Ride of Silence

2007-05-15T21:15:00.000-05:00

occurs every year during Bike to Work Week to remember cyclists killed or injured while riding. The Triangle ride is tomorrow, May 16 at 7 p.m. in RTP. Even though I find the concept a little melodramatic — trust me, I am aware every day that cyclists die or are hurt on the road — I plan on being there. Another purpose of the ride is to remind all of us that we share the road. I'm happy to add to the strength in numbers to underscore that reminder. A few more miles will be good for me anyway.

It's bike to work week

2007-05-14T06:38:00.000-05:00

Not just for me but for everybody. All week, May 14 through May 18. So go put some air in your tires and get pedalling. This means you.

Black coffee on bike

2007-05-12T09:57:00.000-05:00

Nothing comes between me and my coffee in the morning. And don't try. The black gold is essential to my precommute ritual. The good news, at least in this case, is that you can take it with you. bicyclecoffeesystems specializes in helping cyclists keep the coffee flowing out of the kitchen and during the ride. Even more heartening is learning that some people take their coffee even more seriously than I do.

Welcome friend

2007-05-10T20:30:00.000-05:00

My buddy who runs Peripheral Vision probably knows about as much about cycling as I do about photography. On the other hand, Cycledork can say much more certainly that I know much less about cycling than Peripheral Vision knows about photography. I am equally as confident the gap will not close any time soon. If you want to learn about pictures and how the pros take them check out this site, which is included in "Where the 'dork pedals" on the right side of the screen. If we're lucky maybe we'll see some bike shots on the site.

Not just more mapping software

2007-05-08T21:22:00.000-05:00

Yeah, veloroutes looks like googlemaps adapted for cycling. That is what it is — and so much easier to use. It is truly point-and-click software. For instance, check out this map for how I get started every day. It probably took me five minutes, if that long. There's probably a lot it can do with it that I haven't figured out, as well as a lot it can't do that I don't realize yet. For now I'm convinced it's the real deal.

Cycledork is impressed

2007-05-07T18:10:00.000-05:00

Even if this is complete bullshit. And that aroma may not be what I think it is if this guy has done the Race Across America eight times. Thanks to the Gears 4 Beersnewsgroup for keeping me posted. My guess is I'm closing in on 1 percent of the amount Danny claims.

Drum beats …

2007-05-03T17:27:00.000-05:00

for Bike to Work Week are already audible. The annual big event for cycle commuters is May 14 through May 18. If you live in western Wake County, one of The Cary News reporters is planning a victory ride (victory over what I'm not sure) and inviting anyone who wants to join him to go. I'll be going since the long route looks good. Maybe I can find out about the victory too.

All cycling roads start in Davis

2007-05-02T18:21:00.000-05:00

Every person in this country who rides a bicycle should pray — or at least generate a positive thought — toward Davis, Calif. five times a day. When it comes to cycling, this university town of about 65,000 is in its own universe. A lot of what is still considered progressive or radical cycling facilitywise in many places has been part of the landscape in Davis for decades. It introduced the bike lane to America while Lyndon Johnson was president. More than one-sixth of all trips in Davis are made by bike. There are no school buses in Davis because kids ride bikes to school. Davis is the only city in the United States to be named a platinum-level Bicycle Friendly City. But Davis sees challenges to and opportunities for its cycling supremacy, as this article points out. Thanks to Harrison Marshall, transportation planner and planning news aggregator extraordinaire, for the link.

Sheldon Brown shows how…

2007-04-29T10:25:00.000-05:00

to fold a tire. One of those things any of us could have figured out but didn't. Now watch the master make a tire the right size for a backpack or pannier. And even though you can only catch glimpses of it, be sure to admire Brown's beard.

Cycledork says …

2007-04-26T20:11:00.000-05:00

If you wear headphones when you cycle, you're a fuckin' moron. I've seen two riders since Sunday, including one this afternoon, with their ears covered. Numbskulls. Sensewise, hearing is a very close second to seeing when it comes to bike safety (I rank touch, smell and taste as 3, 4 and 5, respectively). I love my iPod probably even more than the next guy, but I also love knowing that a vehicle is approaching. And that the sounds from the engine, tires and exhaust tell me if it's a motorcycle or a semi. Wearing headphones is stupider than not wearing a helmet. At least if you're dumb enough not to wear a helmet, you have all of your senses working for you. Sort of, anyway. With headphones, you have chosen to ignore key sensory stimuli. For me, I would so much rather that the wages of ignorance are not death. And that can be the payoff when you can't hear the truck coming.