CD's Saturday cycling tip: a break in the action

Readers have probably figured out that I like to take at least one decent ride over the weekend. Though it's a highlight 40 miles or more on Saturday or Sunday is not a requirement. I started eating yesterday for riding today: fluids, fruit, carbs, some protein, more fluids and kept that going through this morning. But fatigue, headache, stuffy nose, protosore throat and achiness made me realize sleeping, not cycling, was probably in my best interest. So sleep I did. None of the symptoms have changed, a clue that two or three hours on a bike would have made me feel crappier instead of better. There's always next weekend.

C'dork's Friday ride guide: going around in circles

Despite last week's injunction to get myself lost, likely time constraints will probably lead to the same old thing. It's lame to whine about it, especially when generally it's a pretty ride with light traffic. That doesn't change the fact that I need to find a route to get me to the unexplored northern and eastern portions of Wake County.

Bikegasm

My palms have sweated the last couple of days over the tabloid-sized Road: The Journal of Cycling and Culture Buyer's Guide. There is a woman on the front wearing a skintight red latex body suit with matching spiked-heel platform lace-up boots holding a playful but undeniably diabolical pitchfork. She is standing in front of what appears to be a group of racers hurtling through the mountains. Additional titles on the front list the gear detailed inside with the summary, "All the candy you could ever want!" Indeed. I had to hurry yesterday to look through the 288 road and race bikes and the pertinent cyclepornic details in a scant 45 minutes: Shimano or Campy or SRAM? Carbon, titanium or alloy? I'm hoping to take a good, long look at wheels and then maybe I'll turn to shoes or pedals or helmets. Then, after I've rolled over and had a cigarette, I'll take a good long look at the bikes again. And again. And again.

The end of cycling as we know it

Curt DeForest Jr. may be a man decades ahead of his time. Or he may be a complete freak. Anyway, he claims that his human-powered, flywheel-driven cage both eliminates the seat and can cruise at 50 mph. Check it all out at BODY RITE. All he needs to save the world for cycling and from the bicycle seat is a few million — just like me.

On to new heights

The new issue of Bicycling arrived yesterday and there it was, right on the cover: "100 Best Climbs in America." Key stats for the article include miles, average grade and feet of vertical gain. Nearby, relatively speaking, are two in North Carolina, three in Virginia and two in South Carolina. There are some buttkickers included, friends, the kind that make cycledork want to take a nap instead of hit the road. These rides are the sort of thing that makes me feel craven and flaccid for even suggesting The Electra challenge.

Branded

That's right. I bear the mark of Pearl Izumi. More the shape of an ibex horn than a scarlet letter, I arrived home so marked at the right junction of butt and hamstring after my ride today. The culprit: Pearl Izumi tights. More specifically, the seam of the chamois in the tights. Cycledork is similarly afflicted by PI shorts (both cheeks; branding had receded). So here goes a brief tights review. To begin with, the PIs fit me like a pair of low riders my daughter would have worn in eighth grade. Though warm, they fit the way they want to fit. The Louis Garneaus, though not fleece lined, fit more normally. I also have a pair of Cannondale chamoisless tights that fit normally and some fleecy generic leg warmers. Pearl Izumi shorts and tights that scar me, PI jersey with sleeves that ride around, water-resistant shoe covers that actively attract water. Perhaps I detect a pattern. Or maybe I'm the exception and PIs reputation is warranted.

CD's Saturday cycling tip: sand trap

Around here, municipalities prefer a sand-and-salt mix as their approach to snow and ice on the roads. A key tactic is to spread the mix at intersections of interest. For cars this works fine and on a mountain bike in the snow and ice a rider won't even notice. Things gets trickier after the precipitation is gone and the road is dry because the sand is still there. The trick is compounded as the passage of cars tends to sweep the sand on to shoulders or into corners — just the sorts of places road cyclists tend to ride or turn through. The situation is now as slippery in such spots for the cyclist as it was for the driver before the sand and salt. My morning commute has two notable dunes: one at Trinity and Chapel Hill roads, the other just down the street at Trinity Road and East Chatham Street. Cycledork claims no technical expertise but I try to avoid the sand if possible. If that's not possible — and in some situations crunching forward on sand and gravel is the best solution — slow down, especially through corners. If traffic allows, ride around it. Obviously, that's not always an option. So be vigilant. Watching and looking are always good habits, particularly when approaching a potential hazard. The payoff here is that sometimes that sand bar has enough tire tracks through it to actually provide a clear(er) path. Especially on a road bike, avoid braking while in the sand unless, of course, you want to slide.