February 20, 2012

We had to make a trip up near a larger Dick's Sporting Goods (which we laughingly call "Big Dick's") because I actually had a $10 off certificate from using my Score Card for bike stuff (I never thought that'd be the case!).  I ended up getting a new, nicer helmet.  We made it back home back by 2, but since it had decided to snow overnight (only lightly, but it made thing wet), it took until about 3pm to finally did get up to 40F.  With some prodding from my wife, I decided to bite the bullet and go out, putting on all my thermal gear: thermal compression shirt, layered socks, full gloves with liners, thermal bib tights, thermal skull cap, and a windbreaker.

No doubt, it was cold and a bit windy, but I made it through town to the green-way then back in again to make about 16 miles in the cold (it was 35F when I got home at a bit after 5pm).  My layering worked very well, and the new tires were awesome in the snow and ice, not to mention that it seemed that everyone in town must've found out that I had Kevlar enforced tires and wanted to help me test them from the amount of broken glass I had to dodge!

Unfortunately, I did reconfirm how hard the cold can be on my lungs and had to use the stupid emergency inhaler when I got home.  But my hands and feet were toasty warm!  And the rest of the gear kept the cold at bay...and I really like the new helmet; it's a little more streamlined and less bowl-shaped than the other one.

February 19, 2012

Well, it's been hovering in the low 40s, and between snow storms and getting a stomach bug and little one birthdays, I haven't been out for about three weeks (coincidentally, it was the day before the stomach bug hit).  It's funny: this time last year, I was still in the "haven't been on a bike in 25 years and couldn't care less" kick.  Now I'm itchy to get out on the bike for a little while just to get out.  Monitoring the weather, I don't know if we're always so much cooler than Denver this time of year or if it's just because I'm hoping for a day above 40, but I'm keenly aware now of the disparity!

So, I decided to bite the bullet today and got all decked out in all my thermal gear, went to the garage, and pulled my bike down off the rack.  But, lo!, it had a soft front tire!  Not a happy moment!  So I trudged back inside, changed back into sweats, and proceeded to tear off the old stock tires from both wheels and put on my new kevlar ones.  With all the practice this fall, it only took me about 45 minutes to pull off both the old tires (putting in one new tube), and put on the new ones.  Of course, by the time I was done, it was too late to try to take it for a spin on my new shiny tires.  I'm hoping that this does it to significantly decrease the number of holes in my tires!  If this doesn't work, I'll be trading in for the heavier-duty tubes.  In the meantime, yet another week will pass before I get on the bike again with snow forecast tomorrow and busy afternoons the rest of the week.  I used to love cold and snow, so I can't believe I'm thinking this, but I'm ready for spring!  The funny thing is that I put over 100 miles on the bike in January (and around 1000 miles since I started in July), but I haven't been out at all in the month of February....

Oh, the cold!

I've always been one who loved winter and all its trappings, not minding the drive in the snow or the chill.  I begin looking toward a white Christmas come Halloween.  It's amazing how much things change!  I feel cramped and cooped up without getting to go out on the bike hardly at all lately.  Simply: it's too cold and snowy.  We're finally get that much-needed snow, but it means I can't get out on the bike.  At least at this point, I'm not inclined to brave sub-freezing (it was 7 degrees F this morning!) to get out on the bike.  Plus, I don't have studded snow tires, and the latest near spills I took were because sloppy snow.  With the clipless pedals, I'm sure to fall over!

However, the few times I have made it out amidst various illness and inclement weather, I've done okay with the new pedals and shoes.  I did come to a stop at a stoplight and put my right foot down (I unclip ahead of time when I see I may stop and rest my toe on the pedal) only to start tipping to the left.  I righted myself, but that wouldn't have been fun!  I've only gotten to use the knee warmers a couple times, but I do like the warmth they add!  It's still hard for me to figure out the layering I need, and I'm right now resistant to taking the backpack if I don't need it.  The last time, I did have the sense to take the arm warmers with me to stop and put them on so I didn't freeze!  I liked the length of the knee warmers well enough to get myself some bib knickers for those cool but not cold days.  Hopefully, I'll get a chance to actually use them soon!

One cool new feature of the trails around here is that they added an underpass for the trail so one no longer has to try to cross a rather busy road to get onto the trail.  That's made life a lot easier, though the grading is rather steep.  Still, not complaining!

And for the next season, I did get myself some new tires with kevlar...they're Schwinn and were getting good reviews at Amazon.com.  I'm hoping that it's a way to cut the flats down.  I may also pick up some liners...Wal-Mart has some Slime bike tire liners...I may look into something like that for reinforcing the tire before the goat head bur season hits again in the fall!  Of course, as long as I'm going on the road, glass is always an issue.

So, here's looking forward to warmer weather and getting to go out again!  My hope for this summer is to have family outings of my wife and kids on the weekends...but to get through the snow!

December 30, 2011

After a false start yesterday, I got out on the bike again today and made it 17.5 miles on the trails, which is the perfect place to wear my new shoes and practice with the new pedals.  Overall, it went pretty well, though I did decide to stop once and took my right shoe out of the clips then started tipping left.  Not good.  I have the pedals set at very low tension, so I was able to yank the other foot out and catch myself before completely eating concrete.  The rest of the ride, though, was uneventful and very relaxing.  One thing I've noticed with the new shoes is that because you're also pulling up, from the tops of my knees and up my thighs were also rather sore.  New muscles getting worked, I guess!

Christmas 2011

Well, Christmas season has seen me on the bike a lot less with cold and about a foot of snow.  However, Santa did bring me a new long sleeve jersey and a windbreaker for those colder mornings.  But he also brought me clipless pedals to go with my shoes that I got on a great deal months ago but haven't used.  I got the pedals attached, and I like the way they look.  They have a platform side, too, to give me some versatility.  I've gotten brave enough to put the shoes on and balance between the cars in the garage, but honestly, there is a great deal of trepidation to think about going out on the road!  I'm excited to try them, but all that I've read online suggests that I'll fall over at some point because of forgetting to unclip.  I'm thinking the greenway trails will be the best place to try them as there are no stop signs or lights.  We'll see how I do.  As it is, I'm feeling a bit antsy at having not been on the bike in general for a couple weeks.  The weather looks hopeful for tomorrow, so if I do get to go out, I'll wear the shoes but not clip in, or at least only clip in one at a time...here's hoping!

October 30, 2011

Ah, well I chickened out yesterday.  I wanted to go and even got all ready, but then I wasn't sure if I was going to end up getting too hot or too cold, so I just didn't even try.  I was a bit irritated with myself, but I planned a nice ride for today to make up for it.

Decked out in my cozy bib tights, a thermal compression shirt, jacket, full-fingered gloves, and a skullcap, I was ready to go out in 32F this morning.  I was doing well, too.  In fact, I had to take off the jacket because I was getting too warm.  I made it up my usual trails then entered onto the roads, going through some country roads tha are frequented by other cyclists.  Then I got a flat!  I didn't feel like trying to change the tire along the shoulder, so I called my wife to come rescue me.  I had about a mile's walk left to get to the small city I was meeting her at, and along the way, plenty of other cyclists passed me, but at least three actually slowed to ask me if I was okay.  One was concerned that I might be hurt, and then another wanted to make sure that I had what I needed to fix it, to which I thanked them and said I had a call out for rescue.  I'm always amazed at how friendly most cyclists are!  I am also very happy that I put my car rack on my car but ended up just biking from my house, so my wife had the car with the rack to come rescue me!

For better or worse, I'm getting quicker with the tire change, and I kept the old tube (after patching it) as a back-up...it ended up being a goat's head bur....

October 2, 2011

Well, I was about to take the little one out in the trailer on Wednesday, but when I moved my bike, lo!, the back tire was flat.  Thank YouTube for having instructional videos for repairing and replacing the tube.  I ran to Walmart and got the parts I needed, and I spent the evening getting the bike up and running.  I can now say I've replaced a tube, which was punctured by a thorn or a bur of some sort. It also prompted me to get a bike-mounted hand pump with a patch kit.

Thursday proved to be a nice trip to Baskin Robins with the little one, my wife and the baby meeting us there via the car.  The toddler seemed to enjoy herself, though she wanted to go with mommy to pick the dog up from my parents rather than ride with me, so I spent the first part of the trip back with her screaming at me.

Saturday saw me going out again for the longer ride. I did meet my wife and kids at the farmers' market again, then we went on to Le Peep's (me biking to meet them).  Then as I resumed my ride and headed toward adding a new leg to my ride, I realized the bike computer hadn't registered any mileage since the farmers' market, and no matter how I angled it, I couldn't get it to work for more than a few minutes until I was heading home.  Thankfully, the new one came and was easily installed.  I wanted to test it out that night, but I had to wait.

So, today, I went out with my new cyclocomputer, which worked great.  I made my usual first stops (Walmart then Safeway, where I get a newspaper).  I then headed on toward the usual greenway path.  Yesterday, I actually tried a new route that required less backtracking, so I went that way again today, turning into the parking lot that serves as one of the entrances.  I crossed the bridge then noticed a strange noise.  I slowed, and it kept going.  I looked down: the back tire was flat again!  CRAP!  I went back to the parking lot and leaned the bike up against a picnic table and called my wife.  Thankfully, I had that hand pump and patch kit.  The new tube is a presta valve, and I had a terrible time getting the adapter out, and as I talked to my wife on the cell (her first reaction was to think of who could rescue me), she watched YouTube on a how-to of patching a tire.  Pulling it off was easy, and the offending shard of glass fell right now, so the slash was easy to find.  I put the glueless patch on right away, not sure what to do with the silver disk.  Then my wife told me what I was supposed to do with that dang disk: score the surface where the patch would go.  Thankfully, I had two patches and did it correctly the second time.  I then got the tire all pumped up (Wow!  70 psi using a hand pump is not easy!), but re-installing it wasn't so easy.

After getting the wheel pumped and ready to go, I spent far too long trying to get it back onto the bike.  I just couldn't seem to get the stupid thing on so that it the chain and derailleur were all back in place.  Several other cyclists parked and went on, but not one asked if I needed any help.  Finally, after 45 minutes, I got the wheel back onto the bike and resumed the ride, feeling at first that the back wheel was going to fall off at any moment.  Finally, I focused on other things and just kept on my usual path, planning a repeat of yesterday (minus the farmers' market and Le Peep's) so I'd know about how far I went.

Both days, I ended up getting passed quite a bit by the serious cyclists, who tend to frequent the road I've added as part of the new leg of the ride.  There were a lot out both days, and there's no way I'm keeping up with them quite yet.  I'm becoming more confident and capable on the bike to the point of being able to take my water off, get a drink, and put it back.  But these people can take their hands off the handlebars and remain steadily at over 20mph.  I was relieved to see that quite a few of the men do not shave their legs.  That's not to say that many did, but there were a couple that looked like they were hiding Chewbacca under their spandex shorts.

In the end, the ride was about 33 miles today, so I'm guess about 35 yesterday with the added locations, so I'm okay with a two-day total of 68-70 miles!  Now I'm trying to decide if I want to try to bike to work one day next week....