More N-1

Le Velo Jaune

I am continuing on my N-1 program. I have sold even more bikes. I have found great liberation in quitting the N+1 club. Those guys were snobs anyway. 

There have been as many as seven bikes hanging from the ceiling in my garage with my name on them. Now there are two (although there is one on the way). One of the two in there now is on thin ice. 

Riding is as much fun as it has ever been. 

Just another brick in the wall

The band is just fantastic. 

That is really what I think. 

Oh, by the way, which one's Pink?

My alarm went off a tad earlier, and it felt like it.  I got moving and made coffee as usual. I was able to carry those extra minutes forward and arrive at, and later leave, work a bit earlier.  

Rushing home I changed from slacks and dress shoes into my team kit and road shoes.  I filled bottles and pumped my tires.  Sixty minutes from desk to clipping is pretty darn good. 

Soon I was headed for the bike trail as the roads can be scary during the evening commute.  My legs took some time to shift from nothing to pedaling.  I was glad to be riding outdoors.  I’ve spent more time on the trainer already in 2018 than I did in all of 2017.  Riding on a trainer indoors has a lot of similarities to dental work.  You only do it because the alternative is even worse.

I hit a short downhill and coasted for a few moments.  You can’t do that indoors!

Indoor riding sucks!

If I trusted any of the half dozen weather sites/apps I use with OCD regularity, Tuesday was the last dry day.  Five days of rain were coming, starting that night.  A mix of tempo and short intervals was on the agenda. 

As I hit the first hill I got out of the saddle and the climb felt easier than expected.  THAT was a nice surprise.   After multi hour rides Friday, Saturday and Sunday I expected my legs to be dead on this Tuesday evening.   I didn’t have the motivation required to be watching a stopwatch so I had decided to attack each uphill and then ride tempo in between.  The bike felt faster than usual and I just went with it.  I was going out and back and the kilometers were ticking by.  Soon I reached my turn around point and I still felt good. "Time to push even harder," I thought to myself.

I was flying that day!

On the way back my legs still felt refreshingly strong, but my quads were now starting to complain. The intervals hurt just enough to be enjoyable.  If you don’t understand what that means, you are dead to me. 

Daylight savings time means sunset was a tad before eight pm.  I got home in the light and by the time I cleaned myself and dropped my clothes in the washing machine I was starving. 

Another unremarkable ride.  I was glad I had felt good. It was another brick in the base.  It all counts.

A Belgian Shower

Daylight is scarce these days and I’m usually at my desk before sunrise. Such is life close to the 48^th parallel. I expected my commute to be chilly but dry and I dressed accordingly.  I arrived as expected and felt terrific. I plucked the expensive electronics off my bike and locked it up. 

In no time I was making my way to the showers carrying my shower supplies and work clothes, my bike shoes clomping on the hard floor. The space I will call a locker room for the sake of this story was one hundred percent empty this morning.  In June there are ten guys in there at this time of day.  Today it was all mine.

Following a routine that has become rote I soon stepped into the shower and swung the handle to ten o’clock.  There have been a couple times when I had to wait two or three minutes for the hot water to make it to the shower head from god-knows-where. I was glad when it warmed up quickly.

While I lack comprehensive data to prove my point, I am confident that in the winter my showers at work are a little warmer and last a little longer than in the summer. It is a brief moment to dwell on the good work of an hour plus of riding before work and think about the day ahead whilst I enjoy the warm water on my oft chilled toes.

I settled in and got straight to work getting Davo cleaned and lubed when I noticed the water didn’t feel as warm as it had a moment earlier. I turned the handle to eleven o’clock which is as warm as it gets and it didn’t get much warmer.  In fact, it kept on getting colder.

I am typically slow to accept change but the temperature of the water dictated prompt action.

With the urgency of a five year old boy that has to pee I hastened to finish as fast as I could. Soap suds were flying in the shower stall and I was rinsing and spinning and writhing as the water grew colder and colder.  With no forethought I heard myself utter a hushed profanity. 

Finally I shut it off with a definitive twist and grabbed my towel like it was a lifeline. I squeezed it in my hands as if I could somehow pump heat into it. The room wasn’t particularly warm and the water on my body was cold.  I dried off as quickly as I could and got dressed like I was in a race. 

Soon I was at my desk and seeking to find warmth through coffee consumption.  A few dozen ounces later I was still cold.  I dug my emergency sweater out of my drawer and by about two in the afternoon I was finally warm. 

I don’t know if I have become a wimp (perhaps I have always been a wimp and I just didn’t know it) or if I just forgot what cold feels like but this was the third time this season I’ve found myself cold and almost indignant about the discomfort.  The first was on 5130 with DG and the second was on a coffee and lies ride two weeks ago and today was numero tres. 

You can’t apply Rule #9 when it is in the shower. 

Wet Willy

If you decided to stalk me you would soon find that most Wednesdays I commute by bike. When that doesn’t happen, there are usually good reasons. I might ride Tuesday or Thursday to adjust my schedule to accommodate social events, weather or near term training/racing objectives. At times I ride both Tuesday and Thursday if I am loading up on miles. I may also miss a Wednesday because the roads are icy and I’ve finally learned. Or I might skip it because I am sick or tired but that doesn’t happen often. 

Until this week I had been able to flex my bike commute a day or so to avoid the rain.  My schedule and the weather limited my options this week and I just squared my shoulders, put on a rain jacket and said, “Bring it.”  It was wet, I had to be careful of the wet pavement in spots, and my toes were starting to get cold at the end but it wasn’t bad. My headlight lit up the rain drops in the darkness. 

Fools all

Upon arrival at the office I had to take extra care staging my shoes, gloves and leg warmers so they would be less wet for the ride home. Not convenient, but not exactly the hardest thing I’ve ever done. 

There is a quote that I have shared previously that the only thing that is warm when wet is a hot tub. Riding in the rain isn’t misery, but it ain’t a hot tub.  

My short sleeve jerseys have been stuffed to the back of the drawer and my tan lines are fading fast. My shoe covers are emerging from behind my cycling shoes and selecting gloves for a given ride takes on increased importance.  

It would be an oversimplification to say riding in winter is different.  It is more complex and the price of mistakes is greater so the riding is by default more deliberate.  These rides that require attention and caution bring on introspection.  The carefree rides of summer seem distant if not mythical.

Give me Lumens or give me death

I bike commute a day or two each week.  When I don’t ride, I drive.  This morning I was driving to work along a relatively busy street and I was struck by how dark it was. There were street lights which seemed excessively high considering the task at hand and appeared only to illuminate the tree branches immediately adjacent to them.  The darkness was overwhelming.

My selfish mind quickly personalized the situation. “A cyclist would be invisible on this road,” I thought to myself. Ahead I could see the flashing yellow light where a bike route crossed the road.  I slowed because while I couldn’t see anyone there; the light was so bad I also couldn’t see that people weren’t there.  I had the same uneasy feeling when you outrun your headlights in the fog.

It served as a reminder that when it comes to visibility, as cyclists we have to assume one hundred percent of the responsibility to be seen. That isn’t a legal opinion, it is a self-serving way of life. A pinstripe of reflective material and a $20 light don’t cut it.  You might as well wrap yourself in a black blanket and lie on the road at midnight.

The Ninja look (all black) with token light also known as "I want to be an Organ Donor"

Ladies and gentlemen we are talking about your lives here. 

I will gladly defer to your personal preferences when it comes to how you light up the road in front of you for your visibility when riding in the dark. However, when it comes to the lights that exist so that others can see you, there is no acceptable reason not to have multiple strong lights pointing behind, in front and in fact covering all 360 degrees.  These lights must be bright, even bordering on offensive. It is good to remember that pulsing is better than blinking and irregular patterns are better than simple on, off, on, off.

I recommend an ambulance as your target lighting configuration.  If you can’t manage the rotating blinding lights on top then I suggest pulsing lights facing forward and backward that feature side visibility as well.  Two or three lights in back and a forward facing flasher in addition to a headlight should be a starting point.

Your objective is to be seen by people who are NOT looking for you.  You have to “interrupt” their visual trance.

We all have our favorite flavors when it comes to lights. Evo is a fan of Light & Motion products.

If you wear the shorts you are a cycling ambassador

The locker room at work is busy with fair weather commuters. Not only don’t I mind but I welcome everyone as increased critical mass should help the cause of bicycle commuters.

Before you mistakenly assume this is a post that is intended to give everyone who rides their bike a good feeling, read on.

On a recent drive home I witnessed two bone head moves by cyclists that violated several of my basic principles for riding bikes on the road.  These principles are in specific order: The laws of Physics always take priority, Obey the laws of the road and encourage others to do the same and finally, Be seen even at the expense of being offensive.

When it comes to bike vs. motor vehicles bikes always lose. Conduct yourself accordingly.  Follow the rules of the road and yield when you are supposed to.  Conversely don’t go when you don’t have the right of way.  Even when the old lady or polite hipster stops despite having the right of way and waves for you to ignore the stop sign.  Make them follow the law. 

Finally; flashing lights 24/7.  Make it a habit.  Better to offend some and be seen by all.

I won’t recount the bonehead moves I saw because we all see them.  

Don’t contribute to the problem.

Dues

Commuting Configuration

My last few rides have highlighted my journey to Dolomite fitness.  I’m not saying I’m ready, I’m just saying it has been a journey.

Here are the snapshots and my interpretation thereof:

Riding through Medina in short sleeves I was reminded of a ride on the same route with El Chefe’ where it was raining so hard a driver stopped and commented that we must be crazy or studs.  Those miserable miles built the base for this summer.

Thaw me out come June.....

Starting my morning bike commute at five thirty AM sans headlight on dry pavement was a treat.   In the light I could see the potholes and road iron that often “surprised” me on those dark winter commutes.  My Showers Pass Jacket hangs ready in the garage where it will rest all summer long.

In a rare move I added the south end of Mercer to a ride and although I kept the effort moderate I seemed to be flying. I had to double check my surroundings because the hill seemed so easy I wasn’t sure if I had really passed it. Increasing the power felt as easy as turning the knob on the radio.

What the hell would you use these for ??

I was searching for a particular glove in the back of a drawer and came across the thick winter gloves that had been standard issue back in January. They looked so cumbersome and out of place I found it hard to imagine actually wearing them.