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September 25, 2006
Bicycle Fact Roundup -- for lack of a better title
Let's pause and take a moment to reflect upon what we've learned this year about bicycling.
Bike Shorts
Sure they look goofy but they are very comfortable. I bought a cheapo pair for $29.00 and am impressed with just how much they improve the riding experience. The material wicks the moisture away and the extra booty padding, well, keeps the booty from getting sore. The extra padding also serves to enhance the line of a man -- which is good as, if you were all-of-a-sudden stripped naked out of your shorts the way they fit sort of promotes shrinkage and mushage. The overall elasticity makes bicycle shorts the ideal dress item for men considering becoming exotic dancers -- you'd be able to stuff about ten thousand dollar bills down these things. (I'll bet if you stuff the first one hundred or so down the front part ... you know, the package area ... that the last nine hundred dollars will come in pretty quick. I base this on the theory that the female exotic dancers with the larger wazoobies (to recall an expression from eighth grade) probably bring in more tips; it only makes sense that the males with the larger-appearing packages would, likewise, do better. In a group, women exhibit the same type of herd mentality that men do in groups as small as one.)
Bike Chain
I replaced mine to correct some sort of clanking sound my bike was making. The clanking sound didn't go away but another, that I thought was just the noise a bike made, did. I believe, and the engineers among you feel free to jump all over me, that a chain is designed so that as that first tooth finds its way onto a chain hole each and every other chain hole -- and please forgive my technicalness here -- lines up automatically over a tooth. My chain was worn enough at the pins that it was a little longer from center of a chain hole to center of the next chain hole. So, rather than subsequent teeth being lined up over the next hole, the chain was actually sliding down on each tooth to find its home. This caused more friction, more noise and, ultimately, this poorly constructed paragraph. (Yes. I know. The first one wasn't a prize either.)
Holes in Inner Tubes
It would seem I can't fix one to save my life. Earlier this year I patched a hole in the sidewall of a radial well enough that I was able to drive the minivan down the road a (very short) spell so that I could jack it up on a concrete pad instead of a grassy area -- but -- I can't seem to patch a bicycle tire in a way that lasts more than a day. I carry an inner tube with me when I bicycle.
Handlebars and Seat Adjustment
My first fifty-mile ride about killed me. It wasn't good for you, either, as you had to read about me bitching about it. As it happened my handlebars were too low. Based on what I've read a seat is typically level with to two inches higher than handlebars. Four inches higher for those wanting to be truly aerodynamic. I want to be truly comfortable. My handlebars were four inches lower than my seat which led to a lot of weight on my shoulders and some soreness in my neck from straining to look forward. In order to raise my handlebars I had to buy a new goose neck.
Snacks
As a rule of thumb you should try to consume 60 carbs per hour. Also one bottle of water and one bottle of sports drink. I don't know how big the bottles are supposed to be so I down about 750 ml of water and whatever size Gatorade I buy that fits in my water bottle cage. I've added two dual cages and can tote around four bottles of fluid. Ahh ... I think, in the past, I've referred to my water bottles as one-liter in size ... I'm pretty sure they're closer to 750 ml. I'll leave it to you to make mental corrections regarding any entries you've read regarding this. For chewables, I take Clif Bars. And, of course, I'm not above stopping at a restaurant or ice cream place.
Bike computer
My bike computer and my GPS do not agree with each other when it comes to speed and distance. The bike computer is .4 mph faster than my GPS. I've adjusted my bike computer settings so that it more closely agrees with my GPS. On a ride with two buddies we had between us two GPS's and two bike computers. The GPS's agreed with one another ... my adjusted bike computer was close to agreement ... the untweaked bike computer had us going faster and farther than the GPS's.
Winter biking
We'll have to see how it goes.
Misc
The other day I saw a group of folks going out on a big ride. One of the riders had a Miami University jersey and bike pants. If checked the Miami stuff-for-sale website and didn't see it there. Maybe it was a MU Team thing and not available to the general public. If you happen across these items ... let me know.
Posted by delmer at September 25, 2006 10:57 PM
Comments
I agree with you about bike shorts. Before I started my own fitness campaign I thought they were a woosie item for poncy blokes in leotards. I now know they are essential.
Besides enhancing your manhood, as described, they protect it. Remember the Seinfeld episode about Kramer wearing tight jocks?
We need protection there when exposing ourselves to wear and tear. That's where the bike shorts come in.
Posted by: Michael at September 27, 2006 7:56 AM