As posted to rec.misc. bicycle:
I'm taking a "Street Skills for Cyclists" course. The final day of it
is this weekend, and calls for me to complete a 15 mile group ride.
It's bad enough that I'm the only fat rider on a comfort bike in this
group, but an even worse problem is that my bike wobbles when I
attempt to signal. I can't remove my left hand for more than a second
or two without beginning to lose control. Is there an easy solution,
or is it something obvious I am not doing? HELP!
I'm enjoying riding despite all the problems associated with the bike
learning curve. But I am looking forward to the day I don't have to
enjoy it despite beginner's difficulties.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Ride Report, March 27, 2007
Today's ride was on the Schuylkill Trail from Audubon to Norristown Transportation Center, and back, and parking lots, and just messing around on the bike. Miles were 18, fastest speed was 13 MPH. I helped warm up the trail for Uncadan's spectacular time trial a few hours later. It was certainly warm when he was done!
I have dental work scheduled tomorrow morning, so unless I ride early in the morning, no riding will take place.
I have dental work scheduled tomorrow morning, so unless I ride early in the morning, no riding will take place.
Monday, March 26, 2007
The Seatpost Letters
The Seatpost Letters
(apologies to C. S. Lewis)
"The Devil, the proud spirit, cannot endure to be mocked." - Sir Thomas More
As I was dressing for my ride yesterday, a devil appeared in my bedroom. Devils rarely make themselves visible to me, except during political campaigns of course, so I was startled by his appearance. The more so because he was riding what appeared to be a recumbent bike from Wal-mart, and dressed like Rush Limbaugh. I took some notes on our conversation.
"Who are you?"
"Hi, my name's Rob. I'm an apprentice tempter. I'm here to make you give up riding."
"I don't think you're going to have much success with that. Really, wouldn't your time be better spent trying to undermine someone's faith?"
"Nah, the apprentice tempters are given simple tasks at first. I'm new at the academy, so I start out here."
"You don't look like a demon, Rob. You look like an insurance salesman. Where's the pitchfork, horns, and cloven hooves? Your tie is crooked, by the way." It was ugly as well, but I didn't say so.
"Sorry," he said as he straightened his tie. "You are my first project, so I thought I'd dress up for it. "
"Speaking of dressing, Rob, I have to get ready to ride. You can come if you like. Bring that - thing - you are riding with you. Are those clipless pedals?"
Rob pulled a wadded packet of notes from his pocket. Two sheets fell to the floor as he did so, and he stooped to pick them up.
"Sorry," he said as he arranged the papers. "So in conclusion you see - no, wrong one. One minute please." After he reordered the papers he began again. "Neil how can you go out dressed like that?"
"I'm a bicyclist, and bicyclists often wear clothes like this."
"But you're fat."
"I was very fat. Now I'm a lot less fat, and I'll be less and less fat in the future."
"But you're fat. People will laugh at you if you dress like that."
"I think if people haven't seen either a fat person or a bicyclist before, they are more to be pitied than censured. I've worn Lycra in public before, and the world didn't end."
"You're fat. You can't ride a bike."
"I can, and I do. Is that the best you have, Rob, we are burning daylight."
"You are a fat man. You look ridiculous on a bike."
"All bicyclists look ridiculous, Rob. We wear silly-looking clothes and balance on moving gyroscopes. Speaking of which, hand me those socks, Rob. No, the ones with the fish on them."
He handed me the socks and continued reading from his notes. "It doesn't matter. Fat people are helpless, they cannot lose weight."
"I have, and I am continuing to do so. Really, Rob, are you reduced to poaching material from NAAFA? I expected more originality from you. Screwtape must be rolling over in his - whatever."
Beads of sweat appeared on Rob's forehead. He loosened his tie. "The weight comes back eventually. You never lose it."
"OK, Robbie, let me play devil's advocate here and agree with you-"
"Hurray!"
"Shut up and let me finish. Even if I woke up tomorrow and all the weight was back, I would have had the benefits of weighing less for the length of time I weighed less. Also, I have both the knowledge of how to lose weight and the confidence that if I did it once, I can do it again. Now Robbie, quit wasting my time. Devil, you and the recumbent you rode in on be gone!"
In a flash Rob and his bike were gone, and a few minutes later I was riding.
(apologies to C. S. Lewis)
"The Devil, the proud spirit, cannot endure to be mocked." - Sir Thomas More
As I was dressing for my ride yesterday, a devil appeared in my bedroom. Devils rarely make themselves visible to me, except during political campaigns of course, so I was startled by his appearance. The more so because he was riding what appeared to be a recumbent bike from Wal-mart, and dressed like Rush Limbaugh. I took some notes on our conversation.
"Who are you?"
"Hi, my name's Rob. I'm an apprentice tempter. I'm here to make you give up riding."
"I don't think you're going to have much success with that. Really, wouldn't your time be better spent trying to undermine someone's faith?"
"Nah, the apprentice tempters are given simple tasks at first. I'm new at the academy, so I start out here."
"You don't look like a demon, Rob. You look like an insurance salesman. Where's the pitchfork, horns, and cloven hooves? Your tie is crooked, by the way." It was ugly as well, but I didn't say so.
"Sorry," he said as he straightened his tie. "You are my first project, so I thought I'd dress up for it. "
"Speaking of dressing, Rob, I have to get ready to ride. You can come if you like. Bring that - thing - you are riding with you. Are those clipless pedals?"
Rob pulled a wadded packet of notes from his pocket. Two sheets fell to the floor as he did so, and he stooped to pick them up.
"Sorry," he said as he arranged the papers. "So in conclusion you see - no, wrong one. One minute please." After he reordered the papers he began again. "Neil how can you go out dressed like that?"
"I'm a bicyclist, and bicyclists often wear clothes like this."
"But you're fat."
"I was very fat. Now I'm a lot less fat, and I'll be less and less fat in the future."
"But you're fat. People will laugh at you if you dress like that."
"I think if people haven't seen either a fat person or a bicyclist before, they are more to be pitied than censured. I've worn Lycra in public before, and the world didn't end."
"You're fat. You can't ride a bike."
"I can, and I do. Is that the best you have, Rob, we are burning daylight."
"You are a fat man. You look ridiculous on a bike."
"All bicyclists look ridiculous, Rob. We wear silly-looking clothes and balance on moving gyroscopes. Speaking of which, hand me those socks, Rob. No, the ones with the fish on them."
He handed me the socks and continued reading from his notes. "It doesn't matter. Fat people are helpless, they cannot lose weight."
"I have, and I am continuing to do so. Really, Rob, are you reduced to poaching material from NAAFA? I expected more originality from you. Screwtape must be rolling over in his - whatever."
Beads of sweat appeared on Rob's forehead. He loosened his tie. "The weight comes back eventually. You never lose it."
"OK, Robbie, let me play devil's advocate here and agree with you-"
"Hurray!"
"Shut up and let me finish. Even if I woke up tomorrow and all the weight was back, I would have had the benefits of weighing less for the length of time I weighed less. Also, I have both the knowledge of how to lose weight and the confidence that if I did it once, I can do it again. Now Robbie, quit wasting my time. Devil, you and the recumbent you rode in on be gone!"
In a flash Rob and his bike were gone, and a few minutes later I was riding.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Ride Report, March 25, 2007
The weather was sunny this afternoon, with a slight breeze, sixty-five or so degrees. In other words, the perfect conditions to bike. That might explain why I logged 20.50 miles on the bike in about two and a half hours. Top speed was 13 MPH.
Today's riding took place in Pottstown, on the Thun Trail between Riverfront Park and Stowe. Unfortunately, the trail is rather short, so I had to travel it several times in order to reach my mileage figure. During the ride, I tried to work on signaling, gearing, obstacle avoidance - all matters that were covered in the Street Skills for Cyclists course. I still have balance problems when I try to signal. I have six days to solve them.
There was only one mishap during the riding. I tried to ride onto the narrow bridge on the bike path in Riverfront Park, realized I wasn't going to stay upright, stopped, and the bike pushed me back onto the wooden bollard. I wasn't cut or bruised, but I do have some abrasions. Unfortunately they aren't enough to take my mind off my sore back, neck, and hands.
Oh, and I did have to take what Phil Liggett might call a "natural break", or what I might call "unhydrating." It took some creativity to find a secluded spot off the trail to lower my bib shorts. I guess I can call myself a cyclist now.
Today's riding took place in Pottstown, on the Thun Trail between Riverfront Park and Stowe. Unfortunately, the trail is rather short, so I had to travel it several times in order to reach my mileage figure. During the ride, I tried to work on signaling, gearing, obstacle avoidance - all matters that were covered in the Street Skills for Cyclists course. I still have balance problems when I try to signal. I have six days to solve them.
There was only one mishap during the riding. I tried to ride onto the narrow bridge on the bike path in Riverfront Park, realized I wasn't going to stay upright, stopped, and the bike pushed me back onto the wooden bollard. I wasn't cut or bruised, but I do have some abrasions. Unfortunately they aren't enough to take my mind off my sore back, neck, and hands.
Oh, and I did have to take what Phil Liggett might call a "natural break", or what I might call "unhydrating." It took some creativity to find a secluded spot off the trail to lower my bib shorts. I guess I can call myself a cyclist now.
Technical matters with the bike
A number of technical problems with the bike emerged yesterday during the ride. These include:
- the saddle was too low for me. Uncadan in January noted that my weight caused the seatpost to slide down. While I'm 22 pounds lighter, it's still causing problems with my pedaling at times. Ed Hein adjusted the saddle height upward about an inch, which makes getting on the bike a little more difficult, but my pedaling is much easier. Uncadan's suggestion that the post be replaced with one that didn't have a suspension is worth consideration.
A complicating problem with setting saddle height is that my left leg doesn't have a full extension, but the right one does. When Bikesport fitted the bike to me, they did set the saddle at a good height for both legs, but my next problem arose shortly afterwards, namely that...
- the quick releases are not fully tightened. I've been setting the QR incorrectly on the front wheel. That's why Bikesport didn't hear the squeak when they checked for it - they know how to set a QR. I don't. Also, the seatpost QR needed to be tightened so the saddle height doesn't drop. Again, it's a problem of a 250 pound rider.
- the squeak I thought was coming from the front wheels is actually coming from the pedals. I can't tell if it's in the pedals, the cranks, or from my shoes rubbing against the pedal or the frame. When I replace the pedals with clipless, perhaps the squeak will go away.
- the saddle was too low for me. Uncadan in January noted that my weight caused the seatpost to slide down. While I'm 22 pounds lighter, it's still causing problems with my pedaling at times. Ed Hein adjusted the saddle height upward about an inch, which makes getting on the bike a little more difficult, but my pedaling is much easier. Uncadan's suggestion that the post be replaced with one that didn't have a suspension is worth consideration.
A complicating problem with setting saddle height is that my left leg doesn't have a full extension, but the right one does. When Bikesport fitted the bike to me, they did set the saddle at a good height for both legs, but my next problem arose shortly afterwards, namely that...
- the quick releases are not fully tightened. I've been setting the QR incorrectly on the front wheel. That's why Bikesport didn't hear the squeak when they checked for it - they know how to set a QR. I don't. Also, the seatpost QR needed to be tightened so the saddle height doesn't drop. Again, it's a problem of a 250 pound rider.
- the squeak I thought was coming from the front wheels is actually coming from the pedals. I can't tell if it's in the pedals, the cranks, or from my shoes rubbing against the pedal or the frame. When I replace the pedals with clipless, perhaps the squeak will go away.
Bike Commuting
For several weeks now, I've been reading up on bike commuting. My friends at Amazon delivered a couple of books on living car-free, and I've been reading the blogs of commuters, most notably Kent Peterson's. Meeting Ed Hein at the Street Skills for Cyclists course yesterday prodded further my interest in the subject. Ed's daily commute is 34 miles round trip. While there may be people who bike a greater distance to work, I find Ed's daily travel impressive because I know these roads and these drivers. It's one matter to read of someone living car-free or car-reduced in far off Washington State or the midst of New York City, it's another to find out that people commute by bike in your backyard.
I spent some time last night checking distances from my home to various destinations. Thanks to Mapquest, I know that my church is a little more than three miles from me, my favorite bookstore two miles, post office three miles, and two grocery stores, a drugstore, a convenience store, barber, bank, and takeout places are within five miles. My gym is six miles away, and my bike shop ten. My job is 15 miles away, and unfortunately the large number of highways involved in my commute, as well as my hours, weigh against my commuting to work. But there's little else that I couldn't travel to by bike, once I'm comfortable riding on roads. I live in a rural area, so the traffic here is lighter than the traffic I experienced yesterday. While I'm not planning on living car-free, living car reduced will be better for me, and presumably better for the environment as well.
I spent some time last night checking distances from my home to various destinations. Thanks to Mapquest, I know that my church is a little more than three miles from me, my favorite bookstore two miles, post office three miles, and two grocery stores, a drugstore, a convenience store, barber, bank, and takeout places are within five miles. My gym is six miles away, and my bike shop ten. My job is 15 miles away, and unfortunately the large number of highways involved in my commute, as well as my hours, weigh against my commuting to work. But there's little else that I couldn't travel to by bike, once I'm comfortable riding on roads. I live in a rural area, so the traffic here is lighter than the traffic I experienced yesterday. While I'm not planning on living car-free, living car reduced will be better for me, and presumably better for the environment as well.
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