WEATHER THERE: sunny, -2C (-5C with windchill), 8 km/hr cross/headwinds
WEATHER BACK: sunny, 7C, 11 km/hr headwinds gusting to 28 km/hr
I need to change my tires - BADLY.
My beautiful Myka Pro mountain bike is still wearing her insane Schwalbe Ice Spiker tires. These were the all-time best tires in the history of the world for riding on ice and snow, but now that the streets are largely bare they are simply 5 lbs of metallic rolling resistance. They are the bike tire equivalent of wearing spurs, given that there is no way I could possibly sneak up on someone: from a block out, a pedestrian would be able to hear me coming with the snap-crackle-pop sound of my studs demolishing the road beneath them. It literally sounds like I'm riding over Rice Krispies everywhere I go. I guess that's a good thing for safety - being loud - so I guess there is always a silver lining!
But, man, it does not help my feeling that I'm embarassingly out of shape to be riding on tires with that much weight and rolling resistance. I'm working my ass off to maintain speeds of 20 km/hr - and, sure, maybe that's a combination of me being out of shape and my bike needing a good spring tune-up and whatever other excuses I can come up with - but I'm thinking that these daily commutes would get a whole lot easier if I had my regular tires back on. I'm going to try to take my bike in to the shop to get the tires changed out on Wednesday evening or Thursday during the day because - sadly - I've never learned to change my tires myself. And, maybe even more sadly, I'm not that interested in learning - keeping the chain clean and lubricated is enough dirty work for my taste!
I'm hoping by next week I'll be back on regular mountain bike tires and enjoying an easier, faster ride. In the meantime, if you hear some snap-crackle-and-pop nearby and a whole lot of panting, feel free to wave and give me a sympathetic smile. I could sure use the encouragement!
Showing posts with label equipment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label equipment. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Ice Spiker Indeed!
WEATHER THERE: clear, -4C (-6C with windchill), 6 km/hr cross/tailwinds
WEATHER BACK: sunny, 1C, 13 km/hr tailwinds
All hail, Oh Mighty Ice Spiker tires!!
Wow. Just . . . wow. Seriously. With all the snow we got in early January, then the perpetual melt-and-freeze cycling we've been going through since then, roads and sidewalks are left covered in ice. For the first time in ages, I took advantage of the mild weather and hooked the trailer onto the bike and rode my daughter to daycare today. I was all fine and good until I got to her daycare and got off my bike, only to find that the sidewalks had been replaced by ice rinks and my shoes could barely get any traction. I walked her into the building with ginger baby steps, trying not to fall down.
Why the hell can I barely walk when biking was such a non-issue, you ask? Because I have the all-time greatest tires in the world on my bike! That's right, my friends! These Schwalbe Ice Spikers, man, I'm telling you - they are intense! I encountered many serious ice patches, some literally as smooth as an ice rink, and I didn't so much as waver - not even when pulling the trailer. I even stuck to my preferred residential route, which has much more ice cover than the main roads but makes up for it with virtually no car traffic, and there wasn't even a hint of lost traction.
By the time I got to work, I kind of wanted to make out with my tires. That's how much I'm in love with them. When it comes to icy roads, there's nothing I'd rather be on than my studded-out bike - my car has nothing on this puppy!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Pleurisy - Day 8
In my last post I noted that I've been tentatively diagnosed with pleurisy, an infection of the outer lining of the lung. I was put on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory painkillers to help with this, and I was also given a one-week trial pack of acid blockers by one doctor who was convinced it was not a lung issue, but rather a stomach issue. I've been taking all of these drugs consistently, even though I'm fully convinced it's not a stomach issue (I mean, really, stabbing pain directly under my left breast and in my upper dorsal rib cage that is worsened by breathing but unaffected by food/water intake is a stomach issue?? But I digress . . .).
By the middle of last week I was starting to feel a bit better. I was well enough to get my daughter back from her father, who was taking care of her during the worst of my illness. I shoveled my walkway on Thursday, and in anticipation of eventually getting back on my bike I took it into Revolution Cycle for winter tire installation and a tune-up. I went back to work on Friday.
My shoveling handiwork, and it's already snowed again - winter has arrived!
Perhaps all this optimistic activity was a bad idea, because overnight on Friday I was awakened with severe pains again. I was unable to fall back asleep because the pain was quite intense, so I spent the rest of Saturday exhausted and fighting dull chest aches punctuated by a couple waves of moan-worthy pains. Uh oh. It's back. Shitballs - and I thought I was getting better!
My daughter in her snow suit, pink toddler-sized balaclava, two layers of mitts, and snow boots. She's super-impressed.
Despite having finished my course of antibiotics and starting to feel worse again, my parental guilt pushed me to suggest a short outing to the park with my daughter today. After all, yesterday had been a "pajama day" that nearly drove me crazy because all I wanted was to nap but all I got was a toddler demanding my constant attention and energy. I thought life might be better if I wrestled her into her snow suit and took her to the park to burn off some of that energy. Besides, it might be a good test to see how my lung would hold up in the cold air.
Yep, still painful. And wrestling her into her epic snow outfit was really not worth it. She didn't even want to get out of the stroller, I basically had to tip her out to force her to play a bit. So, I just did a lazy two-block round-trip walk to the park and pushed my daughter around on the swings, being out of the house for a grand total of 45 minutes, and this caused some sharp chest pains. This was nothing compared to a 30-40 minute bike commute each way to work. Sigh! I want to be well enough to hit the road again! Hell, I want to be well enough to have the energy to do something other than sit on my ass and watch TV.
The new studded tires, just waiting to be tried out.
Man, I can't wait to try out those kick-ass studded tires . . . but it looks like I'm going to have to wait a little whole longer yet.
By the middle of last week I was starting to feel a bit better. I was well enough to get my daughter back from her father, who was taking care of her during the worst of my illness. I shoveled my walkway on Thursday, and in anticipation of eventually getting back on my bike I took it into Revolution Cycle for winter tire installation and a tune-up. I went back to work on Friday.
My shoveling handiwork, and it's already snowed again - winter has arrived!
My daughter in her snow suit, pink toddler-sized balaclava, two layers of mitts, and snow boots. She's super-impressed.Despite having finished my course of antibiotics and starting to feel worse again, my parental guilt pushed me to suggest a short outing to the park with my daughter today. After all, yesterday had been a "pajama day" that nearly drove me crazy because all I wanted was to nap but all I got was a toddler demanding my constant attention and energy. I thought life might be better if I wrestled her into her snow suit and took her to the park to burn off some of that energy. Besides, it might be a good test to see how my lung would hold up in the cold air.
Yep, still painful. And wrestling her into her epic snow outfit was really not worth it. She didn't even want to get out of the stroller, I basically had to tip her out to force her to play a bit. So, I just did a lazy two-block round-trip walk to the park and pushed my daughter around on the swings, being out of the house for a grand total of 45 minutes, and this caused some sharp chest pains. This was nothing compared to a 30-40 minute bike commute each way to work. Sigh! I want to be well enough to hit the road again! Hell, I want to be well enough to have the energy to do something other than sit on my ass and watch TV.
The new studded tires, just waiting to be tried out.Man, I can't wait to try out those kick-ass studded tires . . . but it looks like I'm going to have to wait a little whole longer yet.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Bum Sores
WEATHER THERE: clear, 8C, 11 km/hr tail/crosswinds
WEATHER BACK: sunny, 9C, 21 km/hr cross/headwinds gusting to 30 km/hr
My ass bones are sore. I guess not biking for a few days in a row gives my bum the opportunity to heal from the pressure sores I get from bike-riding. Since returning to the saddle on Wednesday, then riding for three days in a row, I found that by the end of the day today my bum felt raw like I'd just been paddled in some old-school fraternity initiation. It wasn't pleasant. I'm definitely glad that I get to rest a bit over the weekend, so that hopefully by the time I get back to the saddle again on Monday I'll have healed enough for it to no longer be sore, but not enough time has passed for the "ass callous" (the immunity I develop to the saddle pressure with regular riding) to fade completely.
I've heard that some cyclists - though I suspect it's more for the long-distance riders - wear padded shorts. That would be helpful, no doubt, for minimizing unfortunate ass-sores, but I just can't see pouring myself into those skin-tight bum-goblins twice a day for my meager 16-18 km round-trip commute. It just doesn't seem worth it. Besides, I suspect that wearing those when it's not absolutely necessary might eat away at my already threatened dignity. Maybe someday I'll become a long-distance rider and invest in a fine pair of ass paddings . . . but not now, and not anytime soon.
WEATHER BACK: sunny, 9C, 21 km/hr cross/headwinds gusting to 30 km/hr
My ass bones are sore. I guess not biking for a few days in a row gives my bum the opportunity to heal from the pressure sores I get from bike-riding. Since returning to the saddle on Wednesday, then riding for three days in a row, I found that by the end of the day today my bum felt raw like I'd just been paddled in some old-school fraternity initiation. It wasn't pleasant. I'm definitely glad that I get to rest a bit over the weekend, so that hopefully by the time I get back to the saddle again on Monday I'll have healed enough for it to no longer be sore, but not enough time has passed for the "ass callous" (the immunity I develop to the saddle pressure with regular riding) to fade completely.
I've heard that some cyclists - though I suspect it's more for the long-distance riders - wear padded shorts. That would be helpful, no doubt, for minimizing unfortunate ass-sores, but I just can't see pouring myself into those skin-tight bum-goblins twice a day for my meager 16-18 km round-trip commute. It just doesn't seem worth it. Besides, I suspect that wearing those when it's not absolutely necessary might eat away at my already threatened dignity. Maybe someday I'll become a long-distance rider and invest in a fine pair of ass paddings . . . but not now, and not anytime soon.
Monday, October 4, 2010
The New Trailer - And My First Fair-Weather Fall
WEATHER THERE: light rain, 10C, calm wind
WEATHER BACK:cloudy, 14C, 9 km/hr crosswind
On one of my days off last week, I turned weeks of indecision into action: after researching the relative pros and cons of various ways to transport my child with my bike (rear-mount child seat, front-mount child seat, trail-a-bike, and single-child trailer), I bought a single-child trailer from Mountain Equipment Co-op. Though I've used it very little so far - just a short test ride last Thursday (short because of the unfortunate Brazilian that prevented me from biking much at all last week!), another short ride to the park on Sunday, and to-and-from daycare today - it's been great! It's easy to attach and detach from my bike, it's much slimmer than my double trailer and that makes it lighter and less likely to get caught on a curb or on the door frame going in and out of storage, it's more comfortable for my daughter because she's more cocooned in it, and it's sturdy as anything.
Case in point: when taking it for a test ride on Thursday, it had been raining that day and I approached a part of the road where I had to get up onto the sidewalk. There was a big, deep puddle covering the edge of the road where it met with the curb. When I tried to ride up over the curb onto the sidewalk, my wheel caught on a deep pothole that was covered by the puddle, and I was thrown from the bike. I tumbled off, landing on the sidewalk (thankfully not in the puddle!), my bike fell over, and as soon as I landed I looked back in horror to see if my daughter was okay. Sitting calmly in the trailer, she looked at me with some semblance of surprise and said, "You okay, mommy? Mommy, you okay?" The trailer hadn't budged an inch.
I was okay - just a small scrape on my leg, nothing serious, and surprisingly not even a scratch on my hands or a bruise anywhere else. So I mounted back up and we continued on our merry way, none the worse for wear. If she were on a trail-a-bike or in a child seat, she would likely have sustained some kind of injury - or at the very least, been scared by the fall and perhaps developed an aversion to biking with me. Thankfully I went with the trailer instead! No injury, no scariness - just a fun ride.
I suspect that the Velcro used to secure the screen and rain cover will wear out sooner than I want it to, making it impossible to close after some use, and that might prove to be an annoying issue. I might have to sew snaps into the material when that time comes. However, that point hasn't come yet and hopefully won't come for a while. This trailer will hopefully get us through some winter commuting without issue - and, given its performance so far, I'm looking forward to it!
I suspect that the Velcro used to secure the screen and rain cover will wear out sooner than I want it to, making it impossible to close after some use, and that might prove to be an annoying issue. I might have to sew snaps into the material when that time comes. However, that point hasn't come yet and hopefully won't come for a while. This trailer will hopefully get us through some winter commuting without issue - and, given its performance so far, I'm looking forward to it!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
26" Studded Tires
DAAAAMN!!
Check out that bad-ass with the Ice Spikers on her shoulder!!
Are you as impressed as I am?
Admiring my new purchase
Consider yourself warned, winter: not only do I have a mountain bike this year, I've got these deadly studded tires, too!
I just picked up a pair of 26" x 2.10 Schwalbe Ice Spikers, with 304 tungsten-carbide spikes and a seriously aggressive tread. These suckers will get me to work on days when even my car won't be able to handle the snow. At 1.065 kg each, they're definitely not for use in fair weather conditions because the rolling resistance and weight of these bad boys will be quite a hindrance on bare pavement or light snow. Those milder winter days are what my existing 700 cc Schwalbe Snow Studs are for. I'm feeling prepared for anything now!
Okay, so these tires are expensive and really hardcore - some say they're not necessary for your everyday winter commuter. In response to that I say: I still fell seven times last winter!! And there were days I didn't even bother biking because the ice and snow were so bad. If these tires will help me out in dangerous situations, give me more confidence on the road, and maybe even save my ass from a serious accident - well, then, I'd say they're well worth their price and more.
I'm looking forward to trying them out! Not too soon, mind you . . .
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Bike Computer
WEATHER THERE: overcast, 6C, 11 km/hr headwind
WEATHER BACK: overcast, 11C, 11 km/hr tailwind
If you've been reading my blog since last year, you may have noticed that the format has changed a little bit. I no longer keep my faithful readers abreast of how long my ride to and from work takes me, or what I wore, or even what bike I rode. I figured that a lot of that information was either unnecessary or redundant, given that if the information was pertinent it would come up in my blog entry anyway. As for the timing, I've made a very conscious decision not to time myself this year. Inspired by the casual pleasure-riding a former colleague at my internship did, and finding that I was getting too competitive with myself about how fast I could make the journey, I decided it might be best to relax and treat my commutes like less of a chore or a competition and more of a casual pleasure ride.
So, no more timing! I have a computer on my bike that is tracking how many kilometres I traverse, how much time I log on the bike, top speed, average speed, things like that. I'll be curious to see how many kilometres and how much time I've logged at the end of the year! I think my total time is already somewhere around 3 hours, between a couple bike-commutes and a weekend ride with my daughter in the trailer. Sometimes I reference the computer as I'm riding to see how fast I'm going up a hill (so far, it's usually around 13-15 km/hr), or what speed I'm at when I'm cruising along a flat stretch of road (usually between 19-22 km/hr), but I'm trying not to focus on it too much. As long as I get to work on time and I'm enjoying myself, that's all that really matters. Or, well, at least that's what I'm trying to tell myself . . .
WEATHER BACK: overcast, 11C, 11 km/hr tailwind
If you've been reading my blog since last year, you may have noticed that the format has changed a little bit. I no longer keep my faithful readers abreast of how long my ride to and from work takes me, or what I wore, or even what bike I rode. I figured that a lot of that information was either unnecessary or redundant, given that if the information was pertinent it would come up in my blog entry anyway. As for the timing, I've made a very conscious decision not to time myself this year. Inspired by the casual pleasure-riding a former colleague at my internship did, and finding that I was getting too competitive with myself about how fast I could make the journey, I decided it might be best to relax and treat my commutes like less of a chore or a competition and more of a casual pleasure ride.
So, no more timing! I have a computer on my bike that is tracking how many kilometres I traverse, how much time I log on the bike, top speed, average speed, things like that. I'll be curious to see how many kilometres and how much time I've logged at the end of the year! I think my total time is already somewhere around 3 hours, between a couple bike-commutes and a weekend ride with my daughter in the trailer. Sometimes I reference the computer as I'm riding to see how fast I'm going up a hill (so far, it's usually around 13-15 km/hr), or what speed I'm at when I'm cruising along a flat stretch of road (usually between 19-22 km/hr), but I'm trying not to focus on it too much. As long as I get to work on time and I'm enjoying myself, that's all that really matters. Or, well, at least that's what I'm trying to tell myself . . .
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
And So It Begins Again! Sort of . . .
WEATHER THERE: clear, 10C, 17 km/hr tail/crosswinds
WEATHER BACK: a few clouds, 14C, 11 km/hr head/crosswinds
What has two thumbs and biked to work today? THIS GAL!! (pointing at self with said thumbs)
Despite having a terrible night's sleep (thank you, daughter, for your multiple overnight snack attacks and at least one bad dream), despite the weather calling for rain today, and despite wanting to be lazy for these last couple days of my internship, I biked today! Yay, it feels good to be back! Well, let me rephrase: it feels like an accomplishment to get back on the bike. And that makes me feel gooood. Here are some pros and cons to my ride today:
Pros:
- the exercise and fresh air really woke me up this morning
- I felt really good about myself
- having recently attached a computer to my bike, I was able to track my speed and ride time, which was really interesting
- I got to put my new bike through its paces for the first time - and the disc brakes are amaaaazing!!
Cons
- more pre-bed prep time required: I not only have to make my lunch for the next day, I also have to lay out my cycling clothes, pack my panniers with my work clothes, and transfer everything from my purse to my panniers
- I had to wake up earlier to give myself more time for the commute
- I'm so out of shape that after climbing the hill at the end of the High Level Bridge I genuinely felt like I was going to puke
- being on a new, unfamiliar seat hurt my ass bones (owwww!)
- my right hand got really numb during the ride - I hate hand-numbness
- when I confessed to my co-workers how much money I spent on my new bike, they were shocked and horrified that I would bring such an expensive bike on campus without first getting it insured against theft, and that left me feeling anxious for the rest of the day about whether my bike would be stolen while I was at work
After riding it for a somewhat extended period of time for the first time today, I have to say I'm a big fan of this bike. The shocks on the front fork make a huge difference in riding comfort, the wide knobby tires make me feel like I can more easily and confidently negotiate the rocky-sandy-dirty piles of crap that coat the edges of the roadway, and it's light enough that I didn't notice a significant difference in efficiency from my road bike. All in all, it seems like an excellent purchase for commuting!
However, I feel like I need to get more prepared before I can really get back to full-time bike-commuting. I will need to:
- invest in a reflective leg band to keep my pants from rubbing against the chains/gears
- move the bell from Eastwood (who is remains broken and unfixed) onto the new bike
- invest in some riding gloves to avoid continued annoying hand numbness
- alter my homeowner's insurance to include my bike so I can insure my new bike against theft
I have to pick up a newly-fixed Mike the Bike from the bike mechanic directly after work tomorrow, and on Friday I have a half-day that involves some moving of things out of my old office, so I won't be biking for the rest of the week. It was nice to get a flavour for what it's like to get back on the bike today, though, and perhaps I'll get back to full-time commuting again next week feeling more prepared, better insured, less ass-sore, and fully motivated! I'm looking forward to it!
WEATHER BACK: a few clouds, 14C, 11 km/hr head/crosswinds
What has two thumbs and biked to work today? THIS GAL!! (pointing at self with said thumbs)
Despite having a terrible night's sleep (thank you, daughter, for your multiple overnight snack attacks and at least one bad dream), despite the weather calling for rain today, and despite wanting to be lazy for these last couple days of my internship, I biked today! Yay, it feels good to be back! Well, let me rephrase: it feels like an accomplishment to get back on the bike. And that makes me feel gooood. Here are some pros and cons to my ride today:
Pros:
- the exercise and fresh air really woke me up this morning
- I felt really good about myself
- having recently attached a computer to my bike, I was able to track my speed and ride time, which was really interesting
- I got to put my new bike through its paces for the first time - and the disc brakes are amaaaazing!!
Cons
- more pre-bed prep time required: I not only have to make my lunch for the next day, I also have to lay out my cycling clothes, pack my panniers with my work clothes, and transfer everything from my purse to my panniers
- I had to wake up earlier to give myself more time for the commute
- I'm so out of shape that after climbing the hill at the end of the High Level Bridge I genuinely felt like I was going to puke
- being on a new, unfamiliar seat hurt my ass bones (owwww!)
- my right hand got really numb during the ride - I hate hand-numbness
- when I confessed to my co-workers how much money I spent on my new bike, they were shocked and horrified that I would bring such an expensive bike on campus without first getting it insured against theft, and that left me feeling anxious for the rest of the day about whether my bike would be stolen while I was at work
After riding it for a somewhat extended period of time for the first time today, I have to say I'm a big fan of this bike. The shocks on the front fork make a huge difference in riding comfort, the wide knobby tires make me feel like I can more easily and confidently negotiate the rocky-sandy-dirty piles of crap that coat the edges of the roadway, and it's light enough that I didn't notice a significant difference in efficiency from my road bike. All in all, it seems like an excellent purchase for commuting!
However, I feel like I need to get more prepared before I can really get back to full-time bike-commuting. I will need to:
- invest in a reflective leg band to keep my pants from rubbing against the chains/gears
- move the bell from Eastwood (who is remains broken and unfixed) onto the new bike
- invest in some riding gloves to avoid continued annoying hand numbness
- alter my homeowner's insurance to include my bike so I can insure my new bike against theft
I have to pick up a newly-fixed Mike the Bike from the bike mechanic directly after work tomorrow, and on Friday I have a half-day that involves some moving of things out of my old office, so I won't be biking for the rest of the week. It was nice to get a flavour for what it's like to get back on the bike today, though, and perhaps I'll get back to full-time commuting again next week feeling more prepared, better insured, less ass-sore, and fully motivated! I'm looking forward to it!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
New Wheels
Hello friends! Have I got news for you. I am the proud owner of a new BIKE! While I haven't yet named this new addition to my bike family, I must say I've been pleased as punch since bringing her home form Revolution Cycle on Saturday. Oh, and she's a girl - a welcome change of pace from my boys, Mike the Bike and Eastwood. Here are her first pictures:
My new bike: a Specialized Myka Pro hard tail mountain bike.
Accessories include a Topeak rack, front and rear fenders, and a water bottle cage.
Features disc brakes and some front-end suspension that was sorely missing from my previous commuter bike.
Yesterday I went into Revolution Cycle with one purpose in mind: spend more money than I'm used to, and get a bike that's going to handle some rough riding. The sales guy who helped me - Rob - asked me what I was looking for, and I said, "I'm a year-round commuter, biking 16 km a day, sometimes in the river valley but often not, and I want something under $800." He considered this for a moment, then responded, "I can help you with that."
Now, let's not kid ourselves here, I did not end up spending $800. The bike I was originally hoping to get my greasy paws on - the Specialized Ariel - was only available in extra large frames, and I need a small. That wasn't going to happen. He showed me a couple hybrids, but the frames were too big. Then he brought me to the mountain bikes, and that's where I met my new baby. I checked out a couple of the mountain bikes, and this one was out of my price range - marked down from $1,500 to $1,099 - but when I took it for a test ride I fell in love.
While testing it out, I hit as many potholes as I could, rode it off curbs, and tried to reach my top speed along flat, straight roads. I found that it was a fantastic all-around bike for whatever my commute might throw at me. It's MUCH lighter than Eastwood and features a wide range of gears with trigger shifters that got me through the wide range of 24 gears without issue. Because it's light and the tire pressure is high it is quite efficient, which means it can reach decent speed without an epic amount of effort on my part, while the front shocks make it a smooth ride that's much easier on my hands and arms. To top it all off, if I ever do want to try out mountain biking (and I've been thinking about it for a while because it seems like it would be really freakin' fun!!) I've got a really good bike for that. It's versatile, it's built to withstand a rough ride, and it's awfully pretty too. I am VERY happy with my new ride!!
Rob gave me a good deal - we wasn't able to lower the price of the bike, but gave me some deep discounts on my accessories (that were installed without extra charge!), gave me a longer stem for free, and didn't charge me tax. I couldn't be happier with the outcome! I'll have to invest in some studded tires for the winter, as the ones I have currently are 700cc's and my new baby is rocking 28" tires. But at least now I can outfit both Mike the Bike and my new girl for winter riding and get to choose day to day which one I want to ride - the road bike or the mountain bike! Win-win, methinks. Choice is a very good thing.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Week 45 - Day Three: Car vs. Bike Trailer - No Choice
BIKE: Mike
TIME THERE: 26 min. (from daycare)
TIME BACK: 25 min. (to home, not daycare)
WEATHER: partly cloudy, 16C, 9 km/hr tail/crosswinds there; raining, 17C, 33 km/hr headwinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga capris, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie (zip-up hoodie was traded in for a waterproof shell on the way home because it was raining haaaaard!)
NOTES:
How appropriate, given the blog I had just posted. When I got home from work yesterday, I noticed something was missing from my panniers: the car key. Hmm. Problematic. I emptied all the contents from the panniers to search for the key, and when I couldn't find it there or in any of my clothes' pockets I searched around my front lawn and the sidewalk outside my house. The frustration mounted as I spent 5 minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes searching frantically for my key to no avail. What the hell?
It occurred to me that the key might have fallen out of my pannier pocket when I threw my panniers under my desk at work, as I do every day when I first arrive there. I hoped it would be there, sitting idly under my work desk when I came back to work this morning. In the meantime, without a spare key (the spare was stolen during a home burglary a couple years ago and I never bothered replacing it), I was stuck without access to my car. That means I was stuck using the bike and trailer to transport my daughter to daycare. The same bike and trailer she refused to use yesterday to get to daycare.
On some level, I saw this as a good thing: maybe my daughter didn't care for the trailer because she's simply out of practice with using it. Maybe she doesn't remember how much fun it can be to play with all the straps and buckles inside and to go over bouncy bumps in the road. When I wrestled her into the trailer this morning, she quickly dropped the fight in favour of playing with a neat little buckle she found. Well, that was easy. She then proceeded to be a cooperative and even giddy little passenger the whole way to daycare:
"Hi, mamma!" she would call out from behind me.
"Hi, Sophia!" I would respond over my shoulder.
"Whoooooa, big bump!" she would exclaim joyfully as we hit a pothole. If only that pothole had been as fun for me . . .
When I got to work this morning I found the car key sitting under my desk, exactly where I hoped it might be. And now, my daughter and I are both back in the habit of using the bike trailer. Hopefully this lost key incident has kick-started a positive trend: less driving, more biking, even when I have to transport my daughter and/or other precious cargo. Oh, how the world works in mysterious ways! It all works out in the end.
TIME THERE: 26 min. (from daycare)
TIME BACK: 25 min. (to home, not daycare)
WEATHER: partly cloudy, 16C, 9 km/hr tail/crosswinds there; raining, 17C, 33 km/hr headwinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga capris, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie (zip-up hoodie was traded in for a waterproof shell on the way home because it was raining haaaaard!)
NOTES:
How appropriate, given the blog I had just posted. When I got home from work yesterday, I noticed something was missing from my panniers: the car key. Hmm. Problematic. I emptied all the contents from the panniers to search for the key, and when I couldn't find it there or in any of my clothes' pockets I searched around my front lawn and the sidewalk outside my house. The frustration mounted as I spent 5 minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes searching frantically for my key to no avail. What the hell?
It occurred to me that the key might have fallen out of my pannier pocket when I threw my panniers under my desk at work, as I do every day when I first arrive there. I hoped it would be there, sitting idly under my work desk when I came back to work this morning. In the meantime, without a spare key (the spare was stolen during a home burglary a couple years ago and I never bothered replacing it), I was stuck without access to my car. That means I was stuck using the bike and trailer to transport my daughter to daycare. The same bike and trailer she refused to use yesterday to get to daycare.
On some level, I saw this as a good thing: maybe my daughter didn't care for the trailer because she's simply out of practice with using it. Maybe she doesn't remember how much fun it can be to play with all the straps and buckles inside and to go over bouncy bumps in the road. When I wrestled her into the trailer this morning, she quickly dropped the fight in favour of playing with a neat little buckle she found. Well, that was easy. She then proceeded to be a cooperative and even giddy little passenger the whole way to daycare:
"Hi, mamma!" she would call out from behind me.
"Hi, Sophia!" I would respond over my shoulder.
"Whoooooa, big bump!" she would exclaim joyfully as we hit a pothole. If only that pothole had been as fun for me . . .
When I got to work this morning I found the car key sitting under my desk, exactly where I hoped it might be. And now, my daughter and I are both back in the habit of using the bike trailer. Hopefully this lost key incident has kick-started a positive trend: less driving, more biking, even when I have to transport my daughter and/or other precious cargo. Oh, how the world works in mysterious ways! It all works out in the end.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Week 44 - Day One: Mrs. Fix It Gets Bloody
BIKE: Mike
TIME THERE: 22 min.
TIME BACK: 22 min.
WEATHER: clear, 16C, 13 km/hr cross/tailwinds there; a few clouds, 23C, 6 km/hr cross/tailwinds.
WHAT I WORE: yoga capris, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie (hoodie in panniers on the way home)
NOTES:
Poor Mike. He's seen better days. His brake pads are wearing thin, especially on the rear wheel; some of the cogs on his cassette are missing teeth, making some gears essentially useless because the chain keeps skipping over the broken parts; the headset loosens up after a certain amount of use, resulting in creaking noises and distressingly shifting handlebars until I tighten it again; and, generally, the bike is feeling kind of stiff and creaky and in ill repair.
Over the weekend, I decided to attempt a bit of a home remedy by replacing the rear brake pads with brand spanking new ones. I've never done this before myself or seen anyone do this, but it didn't look too difficult. I did manage to figure out how they went on, but it took some futzing around to figure out how to loosen the brakes enough for me to get the new pads on and how to adjust everything to make sure it all fit together properly.
While working on the brakes, I managed to stab my thumb with a loose piece of wire from the brake cable. This thin, sharp, and filthy errant string of metal penetrated fairly deeply into my finger pad (which itself was pretty filthy from working on the bike). There was instantaneous blood flow coming out of a very tiny little hole right in the middle of my thumb, and given the depth of the wound there was a surprising amount of pain. I was close to being finished with the brakes, so I finished those off before trying to clean up my bloody mess. This was perhaps a mistake.
Blood flowed from my thumb, sullying the brand new brake pads and the wheel fork and even the ground beneath me. By the time I went to clean up my wound, it was all a big mess of blood and bike grease and road dirt. If the loose wire itself didn't cause an infection deep in my thumb from its initial penetration, surely this mess would have traveled into the wound and done it. Now, twenty-four hours later, my thumb is sore enough that I find it very difficult to text message and do other thumb-heavy activities, and I worry about whether some kind of tiny little infection will set in. Maybe next time I injure myself while working on the bike, I'll take the time to clean myself up right away before the wound starts closing. Or maybe I should behave a little more prissy and just pay someone to work on my bike for me. I'm too damn delicate for this stuff!
TIME THERE: 22 min.
TIME BACK: 22 min.
WEATHER: clear, 16C, 13 km/hr cross/tailwinds there; a few clouds, 23C, 6 km/hr cross/tailwinds.
WHAT I WORE: yoga capris, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie (hoodie in panniers on the way home)
NOTES:
Poor Mike. He's seen better days. His brake pads are wearing thin, especially on the rear wheel; some of the cogs on his cassette are missing teeth, making some gears essentially useless because the chain keeps skipping over the broken parts; the headset loosens up after a certain amount of use, resulting in creaking noises and distressingly shifting handlebars until I tighten it again; and, generally, the bike is feeling kind of stiff and creaky and in ill repair.
Over the weekend, I decided to attempt a bit of a home remedy by replacing the rear brake pads with brand spanking new ones. I've never done this before myself or seen anyone do this, but it didn't look too difficult. I did manage to figure out how they went on, but it took some futzing around to figure out how to loosen the brakes enough for me to get the new pads on and how to adjust everything to make sure it all fit together properly.
While working on the brakes, I managed to stab my thumb with a loose piece of wire from the brake cable. This thin, sharp, and filthy errant string of metal penetrated fairly deeply into my finger pad (which itself was pretty filthy from working on the bike). There was instantaneous blood flow coming out of a very tiny little hole right in the middle of my thumb, and given the depth of the wound there was a surprising amount of pain. I was close to being finished with the brakes, so I finished those off before trying to clean up my bloody mess. This was perhaps a mistake.
Blood flowed from my thumb, sullying the brand new brake pads and the wheel fork and even the ground beneath me. By the time I went to clean up my wound, it was all a big mess of blood and bike grease and road dirt. If the loose wire itself didn't cause an infection deep in my thumb from its initial penetration, surely this mess would have traveled into the wound and done it. Now, twenty-four hours later, my thumb is sore enough that I find it very difficult to text message and do other thumb-heavy activities, and I worry about whether some kind of tiny little infection will set in. Maybe next time I injure myself while working on the bike, I'll take the time to clean myself up right away before the wound starts closing. Or maybe I should behave a little more prissy and just pay someone to work on my bike for me. I'm too damn delicate for this stuff!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Week 43 - Day Two: Mike's Back!
BIKE: Mike
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: 26 min.
WEATHER: max temperate 21.7C, min temperature 12C, mean temperature 16.9C, 1 mm precipitation (sorry for the vagueness, I forgot to record the weather for this post and have to go by historical data)
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, tank top, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
Last night I walked home after a busy day at work, picked up my daughter from daycare, took Mike's tire to the bike store to get the broken spoke fixed, went home and made/served/cleaned up after dinner, put my daughter to bed, then proceeded to get Mike ready to hit the road again. I put the tire back on, lubricated the chain, and put the seat that I had only recently transplanted onto Eastwood back onto Mike. It felt like a long and horrible day, but by the end of the evening I felt pretty damn good: I'd be able to bike again! It felt like it's been a while.
It was really nice to be back in the saddle, though I know I say this every time I have a break from biking and return to it. It certainly comes as no surprise. Still, I've really enjoyed switching on and off between walking and biking. Doing one for a while makes me crave the other, and so when I switch back and forth whenever I desire I feel perpetually grateful for whatever mode of transportation I take, and I never feel bored. This is a pretty damn good system, I have to say.
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: 26 min.
WEATHER: max temperate 21.7C, min temperature 12C, mean temperature 16.9C, 1 mm precipitation (sorry for the vagueness, I forgot to record the weather for this post and have to go by historical data)
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, tank top, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
Last night I walked home after a busy day at work, picked up my daughter from daycare, took Mike's tire to the bike store to get the broken spoke fixed, went home and made/served/cleaned up after dinner, put my daughter to bed, then proceeded to get Mike ready to hit the road again. I put the tire back on, lubricated the chain, and put the seat that I had only recently transplanted onto Eastwood back onto Mike. It felt like a long and horrible day, but by the end of the evening I felt pretty damn good: I'd be able to bike again! It felt like it's been a while.
It was really nice to be back in the saddle, though I know I say this every time I have a break from biking and return to it. It certainly comes as no surprise. Still, I've really enjoyed switching on and off between walking and biking. Doing one for a while makes me crave the other, and so when I switch back and forth whenever I desire I feel perpetually grateful for whatever mode of transportation I take, and I never feel bored. This is a pretty damn good system, I have to say.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Week 43 - Day One: Walkin' Fool
Last Thursday I managed to murder Eastwood. Since then, I've been faced with a conundrum: do I work over my lunch hours to make up for the extra time it would take me to walk, or do I spend $14 a day in parking and drive? Also, it begs the question: when the Hell are you going to get your damn bike(s) fixed??
I ended up walking last Friday and today, opting to work over my lunch hours (which is, admittedly, stressful and not the best idea given the high rate of burn-out in my profession). It's been lovely because the weather has been gorgeous, so it's given me the opportunity to get some fresh air and sun and really take in the river valley as I book-end my days with a lovely de-stressor. However, I don't see this being entirely sustainable - especially the working over lunch bit - so I need to get at least one bike fixed, and soon.
Mike's broken spoke will likely be much cheaper to fix than Eastwood's broken cassette, so I'll concentrate on that. I took the back wheel off last night and put it in the car so I'm reminded that right after I pick up my daughter from daycare I need to swing by the bike shop and get it fixed. Hopefully by tomorrow I can go back to biking. As much as I like walking, I'm starting to miss the speed and exhilaration I get from biking. I'm also afraid that the more time I spend away from biking, the weaker my thighs will get, consequently making it more difficult to return to the saddle when I finally do.
So - back to biking tomorrow? That's the intention. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy every bouncy step of my walking today.
I ended up walking last Friday and today, opting to work over my lunch hours (which is, admittedly, stressful and not the best idea given the high rate of burn-out in my profession). It's been lovely because the weather has been gorgeous, so it's given me the opportunity to get some fresh air and sun and really take in the river valley as I book-end my days with a lovely de-stressor. However, I don't see this being entirely sustainable - especially the working over lunch bit - so I need to get at least one bike fixed, and soon.
Mike's broken spoke will likely be much cheaper to fix than Eastwood's broken cassette, so I'll concentrate on that. I took the back wheel off last night and put it in the car so I'm reminded that right after I pick up my daughter from daycare I need to swing by the bike shop and get it fixed. Hopefully by tomorrow I can go back to biking. As much as I like walking, I'm starting to miss the speed and exhilaration I get from biking. I'm also afraid that the more time I spend away from biking, the weaker my thighs will get, consequently making it more difficult to return to the saddle when I finally do.
So - back to biking tomorrow? That's the intention. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy every bouncy step of my walking today.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Week 42 - Day Four: Driving AGAIN, Eastwood is DEAD!
Last night, just as I was cleaning up after dinner, my daughter toddled onto the front porch and started playing with the bike trailer. "Mommy, bike stroller?" she said as she climbed into it and tried doing up the buckles.
"Do you want to go for a bike ride?" I asked her.
"Bike ride?" she responded. I think that means yes. So I strapped her in properly and put on her helmet and decided to go for a little family bike ride. It's nice to get out and do a bit of exercise with my daughter - we rarely get a chance to do that, so it's nice to fit it in when we can. Besides, I'd just had a little more for dinner than I intended to and I figured a little extra calorie-burning at the end of the day couldn't hurt.
So off we went for a bike ride. Eastwood was starting to make some weird noises, a rhythmic clinkity-clinky-clack every time I pedaled. When I was coasting it didn't make that sound, but when I was pedaling it did. Sometimes it got so loud people a block away were staring at me. This can't be good.
After about 20 minutes of tooling around our neighbourhood, weaving through the grid of residential streets, we started heading back. A few blocks away from the house, the clickity-clacking reached its peak, there was one loud clink, and then suddenly I was pedaling but feeling no resistance. I tried shifting gears up and down to see if the chain had just fallen off the cogs a bit, but that didn't work. I coasted to a stop despite pedalling frantically. Okay, what's going on here?
Somehow, the cassette had detached from the rear wheel, and in the couple minutes that I played with it on the side of the road with my daughter looking at me quizzically, I couldn't figure out how to fix it. So I walked the bike home, dragging the trailer behind it. So much for our family bike ride! What really sucks is that I had JUST switched the saddle from Mike onto Eastwood, this time taking Evillerider's advice and switching the saddle rather than the whole psot. And what really sucks even more is that I can't ride Mike right now because I haven't fixed that broken spoke yet! Given that Mike only has 24 spokes per wheel as it is, I figured it would be best to hold off riding him until I get that fixed.
So I have TWO bikes out of commission right now. Hence, driving today. It's okay, I had to go to the bank after work for a financial appointment anyway so I had to drive regardless. Nevertheless, I'd better get this out-of-commission bike situation under control - I still have the whole rest of the summer to bike-commute, and it'd probably be helpful to actually have a bike for that!
"Do you want to go for a bike ride?" I asked her.
"Bike ride?" she responded. I think that means yes. So I strapped her in properly and put on her helmet and decided to go for a little family bike ride. It's nice to get out and do a bit of exercise with my daughter - we rarely get a chance to do that, so it's nice to fit it in when we can. Besides, I'd just had a little more for dinner than I intended to and I figured a little extra calorie-burning at the end of the day couldn't hurt.
So off we went for a bike ride. Eastwood was starting to make some weird noises, a rhythmic clinkity-clinky-clack every time I pedaled. When I was coasting it didn't make that sound, but when I was pedaling it did. Sometimes it got so loud people a block away were staring at me. This can't be good.
After about 20 minutes of tooling around our neighbourhood, weaving through the grid of residential streets, we started heading back. A few blocks away from the house, the clickity-clacking reached its peak, there was one loud clink, and then suddenly I was pedaling but feeling no resistance. I tried shifting gears up and down to see if the chain had just fallen off the cogs a bit, but that didn't work. I coasted to a stop despite pedalling frantically. Okay, what's going on here?
Somehow, the cassette had detached from the rear wheel, and in the couple minutes that I played with it on the side of the road with my daughter looking at me quizzically, I couldn't figure out how to fix it. So I walked the bike home, dragging the trailer behind it. So much for our family bike ride! What really sucks is that I had JUST switched the saddle from Mike onto Eastwood, this time taking Evillerider's advice and switching the saddle rather than the whole psot. And what really sucks even more is that I can't ride Mike right now because I haven't fixed that broken spoke yet! Given that Mike only has 24 spokes per wheel as it is, I figured it would be best to hold off riding him until I get that fixed.
So I have TWO bikes out of commission right now. Hence, driving today. It's okay, I had to go to the bank after work for a financial appointment anyway so I had to drive regardless. Nevertheless, I'd better get this out-of-commission bike situation under control - I still have the whole rest of the summer to bike-commute, and it'd probably be helpful to actually have a bike for that!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Week 42 - Day One: Saddle Switcharoo
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 26 min.
TIME BACK: 55 min. (walking)
WEATHER: a few clouds, 12C, 24 km/hr cross/tailwinds there; a few clouds, 18C, 11 km/hr crosswinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
Given the negative impact Eastwood's saddle has been having on my sensitive lady-bits, at the end of last week I decided I'd try switching saddles with Mike. So I broke out my wrench and pulled the ol' switch-a-roo. But there was a problem: Eastwood's seat post was thicker than Mike's, so hard as I might crank the damn wrench it just never seemed to get tight enough around that thinner post. I did my best, and the post didn't seem to be sliding even as I tested it by hefting all my weight onto the seat. So I gave it a shot - I tried biking to school with Mike's thinner, less heavily-padded seat.
The effect on my lady-bits was instantaneously appreciation - no more cutting into me in that horrible way that Eastwood's saddle tended to, leaving marks and saddle sores. The problem was that as the ride progressed, the seat slid down because the seat post was too damn skinny. About a third of the way into the journey the seat had fallen as far as it could and was resting on the frame below, leaving me with my legs crunched up and unable to extend. It was a terrible ride, one I wouldn't recommend to anyone.
I gave it one more shot - adjusting the seat once more before heading home. I tried to get it even tighter than before, and I was hopeful that maybe this time I might make it work. Alas. This was not to be. Once again, it didn't take long into the ride before I sunk down by a couple inches, making me work much harder to maintain my speed because I wasn't getting full power out of my legs without their full extension.
FINE! Back to the way it was. I switched the seats back, and now Eastwood is once again messing with my lady-bits. I think there might be a way to play switch-a-roo with just the seats, instead of the whole seat post, but quite frankly I'm tired and cranky and I want to get my lazy ass to bed.
So until I develop another unbearable saddle sore, I'm leaving damn well alone.
TIME THERE: 26 min.
TIME BACK: 55 min. (walking)
WEATHER: a few clouds, 12C, 24 km/hr cross/tailwinds there; a few clouds, 18C, 11 km/hr crosswinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
Given the negative impact Eastwood's saddle has been having on my sensitive lady-bits, at the end of last week I decided I'd try switching saddles with Mike. So I broke out my wrench and pulled the ol' switch-a-roo. But there was a problem: Eastwood's seat post was thicker than Mike's, so hard as I might crank the damn wrench it just never seemed to get tight enough around that thinner post. I did my best, and the post didn't seem to be sliding even as I tested it by hefting all my weight onto the seat. So I gave it a shot - I tried biking to school with Mike's thinner, less heavily-padded seat.
The effect on my lady-bits was instantaneously appreciation - no more cutting into me in that horrible way that Eastwood's saddle tended to, leaving marks and saddle sores. The problem was that as the ride progressed, the seat slid down because the seat post was too damn skinny. About a third of the way into the journey the seat had fallen as far as it could and was resting on the frame below, leaving me with my legs crunched up and unable to extend. It was a terrible ride, one I wouldn't recommend to anyone.
I gave it one more shot - adjusting the seat once more before heading home. I tried to get it even tighter than before, and I was hopeful that maybe this time I might make it work. Alas. This was not to be. Once again, it didn't take long into the ride before I sunk down by a couple inches, making me work much harder to maintain my speed because I wasn't getting full power out of my legs without their full extension.
FINE! Back to the way it was. I switched the seats back, and now Eastwood is once again messing with my lady-bits. I think there might be a way to play switch-a-roo with just the seats, instead of the whole seat post, but quite frankly I'm tired and cranky and I want to get my lazy ass to bed.
So until I develop another unbearable saddle sore, I'm leaving damn well alone.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Week 41 - Day Four: Rain or Shine
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: (had drinks with co-workers after work, got a ride home)
WEATHER: light rain, 8C, 7 km/hr cross/headwinds there
WHAT I WORE: warm-up pants, t-shirt, waterproof shell
NOTES:
I feel like I've been a bit of a pansy when it comes to riding in the rain. For some reason, I was able to battle my way through heavy snowdrifts and slippery ice patches for the great majority of the winter season, and since we've turned the corner into spring I've become far less resilient in the face of bad weather. If it's windy or rainy or, well, for any ridiculous reason, really, I've sought out rides home or talked myself into driving so that it seems I've been missing more bike-commutes in the fine spring weather than I did all winter. What gives??
At least today I can feel good about myself for being able to say that "rain or shine, I'm a bike-commuter!". The rain fell quietly and clung to the exposed skin on my hands, pooling and dribbling off the rim of my helmet. As I splashed through puddles with no front fender and a fairly useless rear one, muddy droplets and a couple tiny pieces of cut grass collected on my face. I arrived at work with damp hair that quickly dried into a frizzy mess, feeling refreshed and cleansed by my wet commute.
There is something wholly pleasant about biking in less-than-ideal weather. I miss that about winter-biking: how alone and accomplished I felt as one of so few cyclists out there in the cold and snow. When I'm one of many, and I'm not one of the fastest or fittest or most fashionable ones, when I'm just another girl on a bike, it loses its romance. I'm not special anymore.
No wonder my motivation for biking lowers as the weather improves.
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: (had drinks with co-workers after work, got a ride home)
WEATHER: light rain, 8C, 7 km/hr cross/headwinds there
WHAT I WORE: warm-up pants, t-shirt, waterproof shell
NOTES:
I feel like I've been a bit of a pansy when it comes to riding in the rain. For some reason, I was able to battle my way through heavy snowdrifts and slippery ice patches for the great majority of the winter season, and since we've turned the corner into spring I've become far less resilient in the face of bad weather. If it's windy or rainy or, well, for any ridiculous reason, really, I've sought out rides home or talked myself into driving so that it seems I've been missing more bike-commutes in the fine spring weather than I did all winter. What gives??
At least today I can feel good about myself for being able to say that "rain or shine, I'm a bike-commuter!". The rain fell quietly and clung to the exposed skin on my hands, pooling and dribbling off the rim of my helmet. As I splashed through puddles with no front fender and a fairly useless rear one, muddy droplets and a couple tiny pieces of cut grass collected on my face. I arrived at work with damp hair that quickly dried into a frizzy mess, feeling refreshed and cleansed by my wet commute.
There is something wholly pleasant about biking in less-than-ideal weather. I miss that about winter-biking: how alone and accomplished I felt as one of so few cyclists out there in the cold and snow. When I'm one of many, and I'm not one of the fastest or fittest or most fashionable ones, when I'm just another girl on a bike, it loses its romance. I'm not special anymore.
No wonder my motivation for biking lowers as the weather improves.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Week 40 - Day Four: Saddle Sore
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 22 min.
TIME BACK: n/a
WEATHER: clear, 14C, 4 km/hr tailwinds there;
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
Eastwood, you need to behave yourself!
It's been almost two weeks that I've been riding Eastwood now because Mike is out of commission with a broken spoke that I have yet to replace. So far, I've been finding the ride remarkably comfortable (thank you, wide thick-treaded tires and shock absorbers!), and I've been surprised at how comparable the ease and speed of riding has been between my heavy mountain bike and my light, agile hybrid. It's made me wonder if I should just stick with the mountain bike permanently, especially because the shock absorbers and wide tires would likely make for a more comfortable, safer winter ride.
But there's a downside. I'm not sure why, but there's something about Eastwood that's giving me a saddle sore. Right where my left leg meets my crotch (nice placement, Eastwood), I have developed what is either a cut or a friction burn or something that freakin' hurts. Today, for the sake of experimentation, I wore a different kind of underwear to see if it might be the underwear band that's causing the problem, but so far I've found that not to be the case. It's something to do with how I sit on Eastwood's saddle, and how my riding position on this bike never stays where it should so I end up sliding too far forward on the seat. I've tried adjusting the seat so it tilts back a little bit, but then I just feel like I'm being slightly violated by the seat without it actually causing any difference in my sliding-forward tendency.
All I know is that this ain't working. I need to do something to fix it, but I have no idea what the problem might be. And I'm off to Calgary for the weekend starting tomorrow right after work, so I don't think I'm going to have the time to troubleshoot it in the next few days. And that really sucks, because this sore is making my daily rides very uncomfortable. Maybe I should try replacing Eastwood's saddle with Mike's, since Mike's saddle has never given me any problems in nine months of consistent riding. I hope that might help, because that would be a pretty easy solution.
Oh, Eastwood, you should know better than to mess with a woman's lady-bits . . .
TIME THERE: 22 min.
TIME BACK: n/a
WEATHER: clear, 14C, 4 km/hr tailwinds there;
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
Eastwood, you need to behave yourself!
It's been almost two weeks that I've been riding Eastwood now because Mike is out of commission with a broken spoke that I have yet to replace. So far, I've been finding the ride remarkably comfortable (thank you, wide thick-treaded tires and shock absorbers!), and I've been surprised at how comparable the ease and speed of riding has been between my heavy mountain bike and my light, agile hybrid. It's made me wonder if I should just stick with the mountain bike permanently, especially because the shock absorbers and wide tires would likely make for a more comfortable, safer winter ride.
But there's a downside. I'm not sure why, but there's something about Eastwood that's giving me a saddle sore. Right where my left leg meets my crotch (nice placement, Eastwood), I have developed what is either a cut or a friction burn or something that freakin' hurts. Today, for the sake of experimentation, I wore a different kind of underwear to see if it might be the underwear band that's causing the problem, but so far I've found that not to be the case. It's something to do with how I sit on Eastwood's saddle, and how my riding position on this bike never stays where it should so I end up sliding too far forward on the seat. I've tried adjusting the seat so it tilts back a little bit, but then I just feel like I'm being slightly violated by the seat without it actually causing any difference in my sliding-forward tendency.
All I know is that this ain't working. I need to do something to fix it, but I have no idea what the problem might be. And I'm off to Calgary for the weekend starting tomorrow right after work, so I don't think I'm going to have the time to troubleshoot it in the next few days. And that really sucks, because this sore is making my daily rides very uncomfortable. Maybe I should try replacing Eastwood's saddle with Mike's, since Mike's saddle has never given me any problems in nine months of consistent riding. I hope that might help, because that would be a pretty easy solution.
Oh, Eastwood, you should know better than to mess with a woman's lady-bits . . .
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Week 40 - Day Two: New Project
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: 26 min.
WEATHER: clear, 6C, no wind there; overcast, 15C, 19 km/hr cross/tailwinds home.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt
NOTES:
I have a lot to learn about bicycle mechanics. Not that I want to - in fact, I'm really not a fan of getting my hands greasy and spending my rare, precious free time trying to figure out how to attach trailers to bikes or change a tire or fix broken spokes. If I had more free time, I think I would quite enjoy this as a hobby - working with my hands, figuring things out, being practical and productive in a way that as an academic I just about never am. However, when my workspace is a cramped uninsulated front porch and my free time consists of about one hour per day right before bed, working on my bike isn't really something I crave.
However, I need to do something about Mike. He has a broken spoke and has therefore been out of commission. I have no time to take him to the bike shop to get repaired, and it occurred to me today that I might as well try to fix the damn spoke myself. I've already managed to wrestle the bent and broken piece of metal out of the spoke nipple (that's right, that's what it's called). All I need to do it put on a new one! It can't be THAT hard, right?? So, that's my new project: replacing poor Mike's broken spoke.
The only problem is finding the time to get out to MEC to buy new spokes. Perhaps I'll be able to get to that this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes!! Wish me luck . . .
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: 26 min.
WEATHER: clear, 6C, no wind there; overcast, 15C, 19 km/hr cross/tailwinds home.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt
NOTES:
I have a lot to learn about bicycle mechanics. Not that I want to - in fact, I'm really not a fan of getting my hands greasy and spending my rare, precious free time trying to figure out how to attach trailers to bikes or change a tire or fix broken spokes. If I had more free time, I think I would quite enjoy this as a hobby - working with my hands, figuring things out, being practical and productive in a way that as an academic I just about never am. However, when my workspace is a cramped uninsulated front porch and my free time consists of about one hour per day right before bed, working on my bike isn't really something I crave.
However, I need to do something about Mike. He has a broken spoke and has therefore been out of commission. I have no time to take him to the bike shop to get repaired, and it occurred to me today that I might as well try to fix the damn spoke myself. I've already managed to wrestle the bent and broken piece of metal out of the spoke nipple (that's right, that's what it's called). All I need to do it put on a new one! It can't be THAT hard, right?? So, that's my new project: replacing poor Mike's broken spoke.
The only problem is finding the time to get out to MEC to buy new spokes. Perhaps I'll be able to get to that this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes!! Wish me luck . . .
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Week 38 - Day Four: A Long Day
BIKE: Eastwood
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: 25 min.
WEATHER: light rain, 12C, 7 km/hr headwinds there; overcast, 14C, 19 km/hr crosswinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt
NOTES:
With Mike the Bike out of commission with a broken spoke (and missing teeth in the cassette, and in desperate need of a new chain), I determined last night that I would ride Eastwood to work this morning. Even when I was up until almost 2:00 am last night, I promised myself I would still bike today. When the alarm went off at 6:30 am and I couldn't will myself to open my sandpaper eyes, the only part of my brain that seemed to be working was the one that comes up with excuses not to bike. And yet, I did it. I just mindlessly got everything together, got my daughter ready, and headed out the door. Into the rain. Where the chain promptly fell off the chainring and I had to fix it with my daughter crying beside me and my hands getting all greasy before work. I sighed. It was only 7:30 am, and it's already feeling like a loooooong day.
I had a bit a slower day, which I'm grateful for because I really didn't have the mental capacity to handle a heavy client load. Still, not being busy made the day drag even longer. When it came to quitting time, my mind started racing, looking for someone to mooch a ride from. After all, it was forecast to thunderstorm during my ride, and sure, it wasn't storming right then, but what if I got caught in it half-way home? What THEN??
Nobody came to my rescue, so I reluctantly mounted up and rode home. This old $50 used mountain bike is an infinitely more comfortable ride than Mike, but the shifters are these terrible twist mechanisms that are imprecise and kind of useless, so I spent most of the ride both there and back today trying to ride the shifters and find some gear that might work for me while I clumsily rode clickity-clankity along with the chain not fully settling into gear. GAH! I definitely am not used to this bike.
Tomorrow I'm driving to work because I'm leaving early and heading off to the airport to visit family over the long weekend. That means I'm spending this evening doing laundry and packing and getting everything organized for tomorrow - which is actually quite a feat, considering I'll be travelling as a sole adult with a toddler. I just want to have a hot shower and drop into bed right now - I'm so dead tired - but it seems that's not in the cards. I have a trip to get ready for. SIGH!
It's only 7:30 pm. What a loooooong day.
TIME THERE: 24 min.
TIME BACK: 25 min.
WEATHER: light rain, 12C, 7 km/hr headwinds there; overcast, 14C, 19 km/hr crosswinds back.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, sweatshirt
NOTES:
With Mike the Bike out of commission with a broken spoke (and missing teeth in the cassette, and in desperate need of a new chain), I determined last night that I would ride Eastwood to work this morning. Even when I was up until almost 2:00 am last night, I promised myself I would still bike today. When the alarm went off at 6:30 am and I couldn't will myself to open my sandpaper eyes, the only part of my brain that seemed to be working was the one that comes up with excuses not to bike. And yet, I did it. I just mindlessly got everything together, got my daughter ready, and headed out the door. Into the rain. Where the chain promptly fell off the chainring and I had to fix it with my daughter crying beside me and my hands getting all greasy before work. I sighed. It was only 7:30 am, and it's already feeling like a loooooong day.
I had a bit a slower day, which I'm grateful for because I really didn't have the mental capacity to handle a heavy client load. Still, not being busy made the day drag even longer. When it came to quitting time, my mind started racing, looking for someone to mooch a ride from. After all, it was forecast to thunderstorm during my ride, and sure, it wasn't storming right then, but what if I got caught in it half-way home? What THEN??
Nobody came to my rescue, so I reluctantly mounted up and rode home. This old $50 used mountain bike is an infinitely more comfortable ride than Mike, but the shifters are these terrible twist mechanisms that are imprecise and kind of useless, so I spent most of the ride both there and back today trying to ride the shifters and find some gear that might work for me while I clumsily rode clickity-clankity along with the chain not fully settling into gear. GAH! I definitely am not used to this bike.
Tomorrow I'm driving to work because I'm leaving early and heading off to the airport to visit family over the long weekend. That means I'm spending this evening doing laundry and packing and getting everything organized for tomorrow - which is actually quite a feat, considering I'll be travelling as a sole adult with a toddler. I just want to have a hot shower and drop into bed right now - I'm so dead tired - but it seems that's not in the cards. I have a trip to get ready for. SIGH!
It's only 7:30 pm. What a loooooong day.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Week 38 - Day Three: Mechanical Failure
BIKE: Mike
TIME THERE: 27 min.
TIME BACK: n/a
WEATHER: a few clouds, 17C, no wind there; cloudy, 17C, 20 km/hr winds later in the day.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
One thing I noticed this morning was the dense moisture in the air after a hot summery day yesterday culminated in a thunderstorm last night. The lightning and rain moved on, but this morning it left in its wake the oppressive humidity that felt like a very mild version of Toronto summers. It brought me back to those days, running to catch a bus, slogging through a day of work, doing my grocery shopping in air that was sometimes so thick with moisture it felt like I couldn't breathe. Water would cling to my skin and make me feel sweaty even moments after drying off after a shower. There was something about that heat that I truly loved - the perpetual feeling of a warm hug, for instance - and there were other parts that weren't so charming - like always being sticky with sweat and moisture so I could never really feel clean.
Another thing I noticed this morning was the clankity-clank emanating from my back tire. I've heard this on and off for a few days, but I checked my spokes a little while ago and nothing was broken, and there seemed to be no other reason for that noise. Today it got especially loud and persistent, so I pulled over (hence the long ride into work this morning) and tried to figure out what was the matter. One of the spokes was broken and bent, clanking against the frame of the bike with every rotation of the wheel. I tried to unscrew it from the tire, but I couldn't get it to budge, so I did my best to tuck the bent spoke into place so it wouldn't clankity-clank the whole way there, and I figured I'd just have to fix it later.
After work, I ended up getting a ride home from a friend with my broken bike shoved inelegantly into her trunk. I figured it was probably bad news that I'd already ridden most of the way to work with a broken spoke, so for the structural integrity of the rim I should avoid riding on it again until it's fixed. So I got to be lazy! Which isn't so bad, especially considering that it was spitting rain here and there at the time we headed home. Still, it got me thinking: I'm going to have to make a decision about the fate of this bike. Should I fix the spoke, along with the broken teeth on the freewheel and get a new chain (all things I've needed to do for some time)? Or, should I ride Eastwood for now as I shop for a new bike, given that I was planning on getting a new and better bike at the end of the summer?
Hmm . . . decisions, decisions . . .
TIME THERE: 27 min.
TIME BACK: n/a
WEATHER: a few clouds, 17C, no wind there; cloudy, 17C, 20 km/hr winds later in the day.
WHAT I WORE: yoga pants, t-shirt, zip-up hoodie
NOTES:
One thing I noticed this morning was the dense moisture in the air after a hot summery day yesterday culminated in a thunderstorm last night. The lightning and rain moved on, but this morning it left in its wake the oppressive humidity that felt like a very mild version of Toronto summers. It brought me back to those days, running to catch a bus, slogging through a day of work, doing my grocery shopping in air that was sometimes so thick with moisture it felt like I couldn't breathe. Water would cling to my skin and make me feel sweaty even moments after drying off after a shower. There was something about that heat that I truly loved - the perpetual feeling of a warm hug, for instance - and there were other parts that weren't so charming - like always being sticky with sweat and moisture so I could never really feel clean.
Another thing I noticed this morning was the clankity-clank emanating from my back tire. I've heard this on and off for a few days, but I checked my spokes a little while ago and nothing was broken, and there seemed to be no other reason for that noise. Today it got especially loud and persistent, so I pulled over (hence the long ride into work this morning) and tried to figure out what was the matter. One of the spokes was broken and bent, clanking against the frame of the bike with every rotation of the wheel. I tried to unscrew it from the tire, but I couldn't get it to budge, so I did my best to tuck the bent spoke into place so it wouldn't clankity-clank the whole way there, and I figured I'd just have to fix it later.
After work, I ended up getting a ride home from a friend with my broken bike shoved inelegantly into her trunk. I figured it was probably bad news that I'd already ridden most of the way to work with a broken spoke, so for the structural integrity of the rim I should avoid riding on it again until it's fixed. So I got to be lazy! Which isn't so bad, especially considering that it was spitting rain here and there at the time we headed home. Still, it got me thinking: I'm going to have to make a decision about the fate of this bike. Should I fix the spoke, along with the broken teeth on the freewheel and get a new chain (all things I've needed to do for some time)? Or, should I ride Eastwood for now as I shop for a new bike, given that I was planning on getting a new and better bike at the end of the summer?
Hmm . . . decisions, decisions . . .
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