Coming up with a cycling page was a tough one for me. There's no trip reports, as that's not how my mind works when I'm riding. I go off into "The cycle Zone", and am paying more attention to cadence, road conditions and traffic than anything else, especially when I'm on my road bike. And I ride more than I paddle, so you'd think I'd have more material.
But, I can talk about why I ride. Two main reasons - I like it, and I also ride for transportation. Been riding for those 2 reasons since I was able to ride a bike, and have never stopped. Some years, I didn't ride as much, but I still rode. I ride about 3,000 miles a year on average. Not hardcore, but a lot of riding just the same.
When I was in college, my old Columbia 12 speed was my means of local transport, and something to do on the weekend. I now live near there, so I still do a lot of the same rides 20+ years later. It's a very hilly area, so you get a great workout in just 20 or so miles, and some good downhills for the effort. I've hit 54 MPH going down one of them on my current road bike. Great fun when the pavement is in good shape!
When I lived in Boston right after college, a bike was the fastest way to get around many times. And now, I ride to work once or twice a week, and ride to do local errands on top of, or as part of my normal exercise rides.
I used to ride longer trips than I do now. Just can't stay comfortable on any saddle I've tried beyond maybe 35 miles anymore. I used to do a 50 miler pretty regularly from Ellington, CT to South Glastonbury and back, but I'm not sure I could do it anymore. Stamina wise, yes, but arthritic hip wise --- doubt it. 25 to 30 miles is my sweet spot now. Some days longer, some shorter. Despite how often I ride, I just don't improve my ability to sit on a saddle. Weird.
My road bike is a 2001 Specialized Allez A1 Triple. Great ride. I've done a lot of upgrades on it from stock, and every one has made a big difference. Of them, the new wheels and crankset have had the biggest impact. The original wheels were a little loose feeling in corners, and the rear wheel was constantly breaking spokes. It was a common problem with that model bike for several years. I had the rear wheel completely rebuilt in 2006, and that solved the spoke issue. And then in 2007, I put a set of Mavic Aksium Race wheels on it -- big difference. Tighter, much faster glide, and the bladed spokes look cool, too ;)
I also like the fact that the frame and forks are all aluminum on this bike. I don't quite trust carbon fiber yet -- let's see how long the frames last. I tend to keep a good frame 20 years or so. If my old Columbia hadn't popped a weld after 15 years, I'd still have it, and have converted it into a hybrid knockaround bike. There was very little original equipment left on the frame when I donated it to the Salvation Army. Hopefully, they fixed it, and someone is still riding it. The components were all much better quality than stock, even if a little worn. I liked it because it was a good, sturdy steel frame that would take just about any component upgrade. Too bad I lost my trust in it when the weld popped.
I also have a 2002 K2 Cheyenne hardtail mountain bike. It's a re-badged Zed Sport made for a big box store. I usually would only buy from a bike shop, but I got it on a warehouse clearance sale for half price. It's very basic, and the components aren't made for hucking the bike off a cliff or for serious off-road stuff, but I don't do that anyway. It's my run errands, take on vacation, ride on easy trails and bad roads knockaround. And it has served that puropse with distinction --- I haven't had to do a single repair on it, other than routine maintenance and truing the wheels after taking it on a backcountry ride that was a little beyond my skill level once. I've added removeable fenders for bad weather, and a better saddle, but she's otherwise stock. I've also gone to running hybrid tires on it in the summer (Bontrager Comfort, at the moment), and put the knobbies on for winter, vacations, or long off road rides. The hybrids are more efficient and quieter on pavement than the knobbies. They both have their place.
As a rider, I'm a typical Connecticut cyclist --- I ride solo about 99% of the time. It started out of necessity, when nobody else seemed to ride, and evolved from there. Now, I like it that way. Most clubs are geared towards racing and competition, and I don't like racing -- I like to ride for it's own sake, and don't care about how I compare to others. I do belong to the Central CT Bicycle Alliance, though. They're more geared to awareness and advocacy, and they actively promote (And run) bike to work events and other events geared towards getting people out of cars and onto bikes when it's practical to do so. That's an approach I understand and support.
A few bits of advice from a guy who's been riding for almost 40 years:
Idiots that are allowed to drive cars:
There's no escaping them. They're everywhere. From the self-obsessed princess on her
way to the mall in a material feeding frenzy, to the drunk redneck in a rusted out pickup
truck who likes to play "Swerve at the bike", to the nasty senior who thinks
that everyone else is in their way and turns left without looking, and every idiot in
between, you have a lot of folks to look out for when you ride. The best approach to
drivers is to be very aware of everything going on around you, and to expect that every
car you see is going to do something stupid, or doesn't see you (Same thing, really). I
find that I'm right a lot more often than I should be, but it saves a lot of hassles, and
maybe my life once or twice.
It's gotten much worse in recent years. I've been riding road bikes for over 30 years, and
had maybe 2 close calls ever until about 8 or 9 years ago. Now, I have about 6 or 7 a
year, and I ride a lot more cautiously than I used to! The most common are the ones that
run stop signs from side streets, and the ones that pass you and then turn right
immediately in front of you.
Dealing with drivers who are ignorant of the law is a tough one. I've been yelled at so
many times to get on the sidewalk (Or "get off my road"), that now I'm downright
abusive in response. Being nice didn't work, and ignoring them only works about half the
time. But around here, people seem to need to be verbally assualted in order to learn
anything, because according to them, they know everything already. I have to give a driver
a good dressing down several times a year, usually on my ride to or from work. Near where
I live, I almost never have a problem with anyone. In fact, the drivers here are pretty
courteous in general. In and around Hartford is another story altogether, and the more
expensive the vehicle, the worse the driver as a general rule. My nightmare is to be
surrounded by BMW's and Hummers in Hartford -- certain death. And out where I live, it's
the dual-wheel pickups and monster truck wannabes you have to look out for most.
Now if you don't obey traffic laws yourself, you shouldn't be talking about cars being
idiots. Red lights, stop signs, rules of right-of-way, turn signaling, and speed limits
apply to us just the same as they do to cars in most states. Here in CT, the law says
bikes are vehicles, and have all the same rights and responsibilities as any other
vehicle. I obey all traffic rules, and I also assert a few vehicular rights when
necessary, like taking a lane to turn left. I've done that in front of cops, and they just
wave as they pass me. Know the law as it applies to you as a cyclist, and don't be shy
about correcting ignorant people if they run their mouths at you. You might want to be
more polite than I am about it, though. 40 years of experience with northeastern drivers
and their attitudes has made me a little abrasive, especially considering I take every
precaution I can, including stopping when I don't have to. I'd rather give up the right of
way than have "He was right" written in my obituary, but that doesn't mean I
have to take arrogance lying down, either.
How to be seen:
Another big issue is visibility. If an old grandma or grandpa hits you, even if it's
right in front of a cop and clearly their fault, they'll skate in court on the old "I
didn't see them" defense. It still works. So, wear the brightest, most obnoxoius
clothing you can. Have a set of lights handy for fog, near-dark, and after-dark riding.
Wear reflective (And preferably retroreflective) clothing near and after dark. You may
think it's just a fashion thing, but my neon orange and optic yellow shirts look nuclear
bright even on overcast days, and from quite a distance. No way anyone with eyesight good
enough to drive can get out of a ticket by saying they didn't see you if you make yourself
as visible as possible.
An acquaintance of mine was hit by a yuppette in a big BMW who was "late getting to
her career" a few years ago. She ran a stop sign, hitting him and the guy he was
riding to work with. Nearly killed the second guy. She tried the visibility defense on the
cop (As well as trying to blame the cyclists for being in HER way), and he didn't buy it
for a second because both riders she hit A) Had the right of way because she had a stop
sign and they didn't, and B) Were wearing really outrageous neon shirts, and therefore
were very visible.
But the real reason to wear them is to avoid being hit in the first place!
Another strategy is to ride just inside or just outside the lane of travel, where you're
most visible. Too far to the side is as bad as being on the sidewalk, where NOBODY is
looking for you. A car backing out of a driveway is the biggest danger there, and a very
common way to get hit. You're much more visible in the road at the edge of the lane.
The inevitable:
Carry some basics in a seat pack. I hear people complain about added weight all the
time, but hey, I gain more weight in the winter than any seatpack weighs. Carry the stuff
-- you'll be glad you did someday. Simple is all you need -- I carry a frame pump, spare
tube, patch kit, cycling multi-tool, and tire levers in my little wedge packs under the
seats of both my bikes. And I've needed them all on quite a few occasions. After having
had to walk 15 miles with a bike with a flat over my shoulder once, I gave up on the
weight argument. $50 in the seat pack is good, too. You never know when a good ice cream
shop will pop up on your ride.......
Another good defense is flat-resistant
tires. I went from having flats 6 or 7 times a year on my road bike to one in 4 years.
That says it all.
Keep your bikes properly lubed and in good repair. Lubing twice a month, and an annual
tune-up at a bike shop at the very least can seriously reduce the incidence of mechanical
problems. Neither is expensive nor hard, especially when they both save you lots of $$$ in
repairs and replacement of parts. I wipe down and re-lube my chain and derailleurs after
every third ride, and clean and lube the whole bike once a month. My first chain and
cassette on the Allez lasted 6 years, which is about 18,000 - 20,000 miles. Not bad life
for an entry-level racing cassette and chain (Shimano Tiagra, which I replaced with
Ultegra, so I'm hoping to duplicate that lifespan, if not better it).
USE your bikes:
A few resources and things I like:
A few words about cycling
Great info source on all things bicycle
One other thing I recently acquired is a cargo trailer. A Burley Flatbed. Great little
trailer. You hardly notice it's there unless you're going uphill with a load (And even
then, it's not bad), and it will haul 100 lbs of stuff. I put a big plastic tote tub with
a safety reflector on it, and that's my cargo box for things like grocery shopping. It
looks cool with a 55 lb sack of barley and a cooler with yeast and hops in it, too. I get
a lot of compliments from strangers about it, and quite a few want to know where I got it.
I can ride to the gym, work out, stop at the grocery store, or whatever other store on my
way home, and have all my errands and a good ride in all in one shot, without handing any
of my money over to an oil company. Win-win-win.
The only thing I have to watch out for with it is speed -- it's only rated for 15 mph, and
I live in a hilly area. Even my mountain bike will go upwards of 40 mph on the downhill
from the gym back towards my house. Good thing brake pads are cheap! I only tow with the
mountain bike, though.. The Allez is a little too squirrely for that, in my opinion,
especially when you have to slow a loaded trailer going downhill. The Cheyenne doesn't
seem to notice.