A+ ride yesterday – survival of the fittest. It was a good time, and everyone was smiling at the end of the ride. Sure we dropped some people, but we had the A- ride behind us, so they would have been picked up.
One guy got in my face early in the ride telling me I was going too fast… I don’t know why someone would come out to an A+ ride and complain about the pace. Fortunately the ride leader had a talk with him, but only after he nearly took me out by swerving within inches of my front whilst I was leading the group at a fast pace – not sure why he chose that moment to debate the speed of the ride.
Once we got through that early hiccup and the group got into a groove, the ride got to be lots of fun. Dick was there to push the pace with me on the big hills. Tim and Ian were showing me how to rotate quickly through a pace line – it’s a pretty cool skill – something we should practice more – could come in handy if we ever race together. Victor kept everything running smoothly and I did my part to keep things safe at high speeds.
There were a couple of moments where trucks passed the group at precisely the wrong time, endangering an on-coming car in one instance and a couple of on-coming cyclist in another. Near the end of the ride, I was at the front of the group again and my front wheel hit a rock and nearly took me out as I zigged and zagged for a very long 1 second to get it under control. No one else seemed to notice. Fortunately, no harm during the day, but it highlighted one of the challenges of riding with a big group.
After a shower and a burrito and bean salad, I took a nice 30min nap, then did yard work.
Overall, it was a pretty good day.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
The curse of the three legged dog and the dead snake
Riding to work yesterday on wet roads, making a 90 degree downhill turn whilst passing an unlikely cyclist on a foggy morning when my tire hits a newly smashed snake in the middle of the road. Fortunately my spidey senses kicked in and I stayed upright - just - and avoided a painful body-hits-pavement scenario.
Riding home on the same day, I'm on a long gentle descent straightaway moving at 30+mph along a row of parked cars when a very cute fluffy black three-legged dog steps out from underneath one of the cars directly in front of me. He/she was as surprised to see me as I was them, and my reflexes once again took over, saving me from that devilish hound.
Riding home on the same day, I'm on a long gentle descent straightaway moving at 30+mph along a row of parked cars when a very cute fluffy black three-legged dog steps out from underneath one of the cars directly in front of me. He/she was as surprised to see me as I was them, and my reflexes once again took over, saving me from that devilish hound.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
MTB with Ian to Marshman
So I decided to ride up to spectate Marshman, a local sprint triathlon at Marsh Creek, and asked Ian to join me in a bit of Mountain biking while we were up there.
After a late start, we headed down Hillsdale at 25+ MPH in sub 50 degree weather. It was tough to stay warm in the first couple of miles, but eventually warm blood reached our extremities and we had a nice easy ride up to Downingtown and along the Struble trail. When we got to the trail head, we saw the cyclist racing down the road toward the 282 turn. We made our way 100meters up the hill and carefully crossed, taking some nice pictures of the cyclist before we continued our off-road journey.
After 12 miles on pavement, it was nice to get off-road and do some single track. When we got to where I thought the race start/finish was, we found out it was on the other side of the lake. We took a break and a picture of the fog clearing off the lake, then headed back along the trails to the other side of the lake.Once on the single track again, I almost forgot about the race and just enjoyed the trails, but this was a fairly short ride in the woods and soon we were back on the roads heading to the race.
It was fun being at the race - the energy level is high and everyone is having a good time. I got to see some friends, including Andy H (he actually one the race!), and met his friend who came in third, then saw Rob J who came in 4th. Pretty funny. I rode with Andy a few times this summer, and of I've run and raced with Rob many times before. Small world.
So we headed back to the trails, and I soon realized that I am way out of MTB skills - just not riding enough. The first clue was when I endo'd going over a pile of logs, which would have been no problem a couple of years ago. Then, about 20 mins later, I was following Ian down a partially overgrown single track, not particularly difficult, but I wasn't really paying much attention and my front wheel went slightly off the track into the wet grass and I was down for the count. Ouch. It didn't help that I only had one treaded MTB tire on the rear, so my slick road tire on the front did not handle tall wet grass very well.
Anyway, most of the riding was awesome. My skill level is spotty. On the way home, we did small section of Harmony Hill which was fun.
Good times. Peace.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
agressively defensive and sometimes illegal
We were all taught to drive defensively. When riding a bicycle, being a defensive rider is even paramount to one's safety.
When riding in a group, I like to be the one in front, especially on the downhills. I typically have no trouble going faster than everyone anyway and I don't like the restricted response time a group of riders has when one rider makes a mistake or runs into trouble.
When riding in traffic, I do as much as I can to stay away from the cars. For example, I will ride through a red light if there is no cross traffic and if I have an upcoming turn which will take me out of traffic.
Sometimes I use other cars for protection. Going through a stop sign at the same time as a car is a good example of this.
I also try to stay highly visible. Lights and reflectors at in dusk/evening of course. Riding in the middle of the road when making a left turn sitting up high, signaling with my arm. I have a bright yellow backpack - pretty hard to miss.
Of course having a good cruising speed gives drivers more time to see you. So I try not to lose momentum when going up a hill. Sometimes that means buzzing through a stop sign or not slowing too much at a turn - of course I would only do this if I can see the cross traffic from the distance.
When riding in a group, I like to be the one in front, especially on the downhills. I typically have no trouble going faster than everyone anyway and I don't like the restricted response time a group of riders has when one rider makes a mistake or runs into trouble.
When riding in traffic, I do as much as I can to stay away from the cars. For example, I will ride through a red light if there is no cross traffic and if I have an upcoming turn which will take me out of traffic.
Sometimes I use other cars for protection. Going through a stop sign at the same time as a car is a good example of this.
I also try to stay highly visible. Lights and reflectors at in dusk/evening of course. Riding in the middle of the road when making a left turn sitting up high, signaling with my arm. I have a bright yellow backpack - pretty hard to miss.
Of course having a good cruising speed gives drivers more time to see you. So I try not to lose momentum when going up a hill. Sometimes that means buzzing through a stop sign or not slowing too much at a turn - of course I would only do this if I can see the cross traffic from the distance.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
my first bike race
I've done plenty of racing... triathlon, adventure racing and running; but until now, I haven't done a pure bike race.
Yesterday I rode the Univest bike race. (http://www.spartacycling.com/rides/) ...
Wake up at 4:40, in the car by 5 at the course by 6:15. Race start 8am - could have slept an extra hour.
Constant drizzle sucked the energy out of everything.
Lined up too far back with someone I knew and spent the first 20 minutes weaving through wet roads, on-coming traffic, and slow / inexperienced riders to get to the lead group of riders. Bobby Julich, celebrity pro rider was at the front group which was pretty cool.
Once we caught the lead group, we were moving at a really BORING PACE - I like to go fast and I expected to go fast today, but it was early in the ride, in a big group of unfamiliar riders on an unexplored course in rainy conditions, and everyone was being conservative.
Visibility sucked through my prescription cycling glasses due to the rain and the fact they were fogged up. Water was spraying up into my face from the rider in front of me, so taking off the glasses wasn't a good option either (not to mention my nearsightedness).
At one point, while I was leading the pack, I started to shift over to let someone else lead, and I bumped into the rider next to me (apparently he was looking back to the left and I was looking back to the right - bad timing) - fortunately, no harm done, but a scary moment going 25mph or more in the rain.
5 minutes later as we descend a bumpy downhill, I hear a KLUDUNK - not sure what it is, but a moment later when I look at my bike computer... IT HAS VANISHED - CRAP... Decision time - stay the course or go back and see if I can find this $150 bike computer. I decide to go back and find it...
... there are a few hundred additional riders coming in the opposite direction., visibility sucks and I'm going up hill now and they are barreling downhill at 30mph or more not expecting me... so after scanning for the bike computer for 5 minutes whilst dodging other cyclists, I decide to give up this effort and try to play catch up.
It didn't take long for me to over take the next group, but soon after I passed them I missed a turn. I didn't find this out until I had already gone halfway up a big hill, and an grizzly old dude pulls next to me in an cool vintage car and tells me I missed a turn.... ugh...
... so I turn around, get back on course and hit a monster hill that pretty much everyone is walking up (IT WAS THAT STEEP) - I was glad to have made it to the top without walking, but it took a lot out of me. Brutal!
At some point, I decide to take off the glasses so maybe I can see the course markings telling me when to turn! I catch up with another group, but the splash from other riders burns my eyes, so I pull ahead and ride solo the rest of the course, having to stop only one more time to look at the cue sheet to make sure I was still on course.
I didn't catch back up with the lead group - but was only a couple minutes back at the finish.
I might have to try another race with better conditions.
Yesterday I rode the Univest bike race. (http://www.spartacycling.com/rides/) ...
Wake up at 4:40, in the car by 5 at the course by 6:15. Race start 8am - could have slept an extra hour.
Constant drizzle sucked the energy out of everything.
Lined up too far back with someone I knew and spent the first 20 minutes weaving through wet roads, on-coming traffic, and slow / inexperienced riders to get to the lead group of riders. Bobby Julich, celebrity pro rider was at the front group which was pretty cool.
Once we caught the lead group, we were moving at a really BORING PACE - I like to go fast and I expected to go fast today, but it was early in the ride, in a big group of unfamiliar riders on an unexplored course in rainy conditions, and everyone was being conservative.
Visibility sucked through my prescription cycling glasses due to the rain and the fact they were fogged up. Water was spraying up into my face from the rider in front of me, so taking off the glasses wasn't a good option either (not to mention my nearsightedness).
At one point, while I was leading the pack, I started to shift over to let someone else lead, and I bumped into the rider next to me (apparently he was looking back to the left and I was looking back to the right - bad timing) - fortunately, no harm done, but a scary moment going 25mph or more in the rain.
5 minutes later as we descend a bumpy downhill, I hear a KLUDUNK - not sure what it is, but a moment later when I look at my bike computer... IT HAS VANISHED - CRAP... Decision time - stay the course or go back and see if I can find this $150 bike computer. I decide to go back and find it...
... there are a few hundred additional riders coming in the opposite direction., visibility sucks and I'm going up hill now and they are barreling downhill at 30mph or more not expecting me... so after scanning for the bike computer for 5 minutes whilst dodging other cyclists, I decide to give up this effort and try to play catch up.
It didn't take long for me to over take the next group, but soon after I passed them I missed a turn. I didn't find this out until I had already gone halfway up a big hill, and an grizzly old dude pulls next to me in an cool vintage car and tells me I missed a turn.... ugh...
... so I turn around, get back on course and hit a monster hill that pretty much everyone is walking up (IT WAS THAT STEEP) - I was glad to have made it to the top without walking, but it took a lot out of me. Brutal!
At some point, I decide to take off the glasses so maybe I can see the course markings telling me when to turn! I catch up with another group, but the splash from other riders burns my eyes, so I pull ahead and ride solo the rest of the course, having to stop only one more time to look at the cue sheet to make sure I was still on course.
I didn't catch back up with the lead group - but was only a couple minutes back at the finish.
I might have to try another race with better conditions.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Shimano SH-R300 Shoes
After a few days of researching various bike shoes, I narrowed the list to two shoes: SIDI Ergo 2 and the Shimano SH-R300.
The SIDI were more money, but had the promise of a good quality, long lasting shoe that could be adjusted to fit my foot as needed.
The Shimano was a custom form fitting shoe that had the promise of a perfectly comfortable shoe after I went through 30 minute custom fitting process.
For about $100 less, I ended up going with the Shimano shoes at $250. That is a lot of dough for me to spend on bike shoes!
So, now I've done a few wrides with these shoes, here is what I think.
At first, I thought I made a mistake. My foot seemed loose in the shoe, I wasn't getting much power, and the tongue was rubbing my right foot on climbs.
I then changed cleat location and pushed them all the way back. That helped a lot with the power. Then Iwas a bit more careful with the tongue when I put the shoe on and was careful not to over tighten the shoe, that seemed to fix the rubbing problem.
The extra room in the shoe actually adds to the comfort. A bit hard to describe, but my foot is snug after getting these shoes heat molded, but other shoes were so constricting, I thought that is what bike shoes were supposed to feel like (of course my feet got numb after long rides in these other shoes). In these shoes, they are fit snugly without feeling constrictive. The main benefit is comfort. After a few long rides and many short rides, I really like these shoes. They are responsive and comfortable.
At first I didn't like the way the looked and almost decided not to buy them, but they are actually pretty cool and very visible in dark situations. Being very light in color, I was worried about them looking dingy. I did a 3 hour ride in the rain, and they still look great (and held up fantastic for the ride).
I've read some reviews suggesting that the heel pad on the bottom of the shoe wears out quickly. I've used them for several weeks on over 20 rides and have not noticed any significant wear - and I do a lot of commute miles that requires frequent dismounts. So, I'm not worried about this. I also checked an 8 year old pair of Shimano shoes that I have put thousands of miles on and have not yet worn down this pad, so I don't think this is an issue.
The SIDI were more money, but had the promise of a good quality, long lasting shoe that could be adjusted to fit my foot as needed.
The Shimano was a custom form fitting shoe that had the promise of a perfectly comfortable shoe after I went through 30 minute custom fitting process.
For about $100 less, I ended up going with the Shimano shoes at $250. That is a lot of dough for me to spend on bike shoes!
So, now I've done a few wrides with these shoes, here is what I think.
At first, I thought I made a mistake. My foot seemed loose in the shoe, I wasn't getting much power, and the tongue was rubbing my right foot on climbs.
I then changed cleat location and pushed them all the way back. That helped a lot with the power. Then Iwas a bit more careful with the tongue when I put the shoe on and was careful not to over tighten the shoe, that seemed to fix the rubbing problem.
The extra room in the shoe actually adds to the comfort. A bit hard to describe, but my foot is snug after getting these shoes heat molded, but other shoes were so constricting, I thought that is what bike shoes were supposed to feel like (of course my feet got numb after long rides in these other shoes). In these shoes, they are fit snugly without feeling constrictive. The main benefit is comfort. After a few long rides and many short rides, I really like these shoes. They are responsive and comfortable.
At first I didn't like the way the looked and almost decided not to buy them, but they are actually pretty cool and very visible in dark situations. Being very light in color, I was worried about them looking dingy. I did a 3 hour ride in the rain, and they still look great (and held up fantastic for the ride).
I've read some reviews suggesting that the heel pad on the bottom of the shoe wears out quickly. I've used them for several weeks on over 20 rides and have not noticed any significant wear - and I do a lot of commute miles that requires frequent dismounts. So, I'm not worried about this. I also checked an 8 year old pair of Shimano shoes that I have put thousands of miles on and have not yet worn down this pad, so I don't think this is an issue.
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