The 6-Miler

27February2008

Amateur weather forecasting

Posted by todd under: Riding.

Undeniable Truth of Bicycle Commuting No. 1:

If you ride the bike that has no fenders, it will rain.

26February2008

Way cool Wald bars

Posted by todd under: Handlebars; Reviews.

I am loving the new look and feel that a set of Wald 8095 handlebars is giving my Raleigh Super Course. If you are having some trouble finding a comfortable setup for your commuting bike, or if you just want to try something a little different, check these out.

I saw these bars at Scheller’s Harrodsburg Road location here in Lexington, Ky. They are selling them for $15.99. (In comparison, a new set of Nitto mustache bars will set you back at least 50 bucks.)

Adding to the coolness factor, locally at least, Wald is located right here in the bluegrass state — in Maysville. Wald has been around since 1905, when two brothers found success in Wisconsin by making and selling a tire-repair tool. They moved their operation to Kentucky in 1924. Wald’s Web site has a great page describing the history; the black and white picture in this post is from that page.

Wald is perhaps best-known for its baskets, which have an excellent reputation. I have never used a basket myself, but they fit nicely with any philosophy of practical cycling. (Incidentally, here’s a guy working on bags to fit in Wald’s baskets.)

But I digress …

I have a great Raleigh Super Course (from 1976 — in emerald green! Thanks for scanning the catalog, Sheldon, RIP!) that I hadn’t been riding much. I’d had it set up with flat bars and thumbshifters.

I was thinking of converting the bike to a single-speed, but I was daunted by the price and/or logistics. After seeing the Wald bars, I decided to reconfigure the bike, and leave the gearing alone.

In a moment of trying to be cool, I installed the bars upside down. After riding the bike on several commutes I decided to leave them that way, and added some cork handlebar tape from Nashbar (this stuff is a killer deal at $5.99 per bikesworth, by the way.)

Wow, what a difference. The bars transformed the bike!

The Wald bars offer three great places to rest the hands: On the ends; on the bends; and next to the stem. I find that I get a most comfortable fit by gripping the bends.

I think the bars work so well because of this diversity of hand-placement options, and because the rise of the bars (or the drop, if you install them like I did!), combined with the spread, is just right.

But don’t just take my word for it (although you should, of course!). Jim Almgren, excellent mechanic at Scheller’s says he’s selling a good number of these bars to people who are unhappy with the way their bikes’ fit, and he’s getting great feedback.

Jim also has some of these bars on his singlespeed, and he likes the way he can get leverage while climbing by gripping the bars at the ends.

Some of you might have tried mustache bars. The Wald bars don’t extend as far forward, and they sweep back further.

I can’t vouch for them being lightweight, since I don’t know or care about that.

These are not widely available online, although I did find them here (can’t vouch for the seller), but your local bike shop can probably order them.

Very highly recommended.

22February2008

New on the 2008 commuting bikes page

Posted by todd under: Commuter bikes.

I just added the Masi Soulville — a sexy number with a curved top tube, a leather saddle and cork grips (on a steel frame!) and the Redline R530 to the page, you will find pictures on the page.

I continue to be amazed at how the “commuter bike” segment has expanded over the last couple of years.  It’s a great time to be in the market — unless you have a hard time making up your mind.

21February2008

Why yes, ma’am, as a matter of fact I DID ride in this weather …

Posted by todd under: Things people say.

The gracious and (thank the Lord) highly skilled dental assistant at the office where I got a filling today repeatedly expressed disbelief that I had ridden my bike to the appointment. (The temperature was in the mid-20s.)

She came up with an impressive array of questions and observations: Didn’t I get cold? Wasn’t it going to be difficult to leave the warmth of the office for the chilliness of the ride home?

What about the forecast — was I aware that there was a possibility of freezing rain, and what would I do if that transpired?

I told her I would evaluate the roads and make a judgment accordingly. I will ride in every weather condition except ice.

But in fact, here in Lexington, Ky., the road crews put down so much salt that you could easily preserve a side of beef by rolling it on any six square feet of pavement within the city limits. This, combined with the fact that I mostly take well-traveled roads on which friction from many cars’ tires helps melt the ice, makes it unusual that ice is ever an insurmountable obstacle. (It happens maybe twice a year.)

A friend who was in the office for a teeth-cleaning visited me while my mouth was numbing. The dental assistant told him that she couldn’t believe I had ridden my bike — I joshed that I couldn’t believe she had driven her car.

My favorite exchange came while I was suiting up for the ride home and showing her my trigger-finger mittens, balaclava and winterized Bell Metro helmet. She wondered whether I also wore long underwear. (Yes! — when it gets down into the lower teens.)

I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and appreciated the great job she did on my teeth.

Still, the entirety of the exchange illustrates yet again the absurdity that such a practical mode of transportation should be so widely considered impractical — when the real impracticality (in this circumstance) would be a healthy American man requiring a 4,000-pound hunk of combustion-engine-driven metal to transport him less than 2 miles round-trip. Talk about crushing an ant with a sledgehammer …

20February2008

Embarrassing riding accidents

Posted by todd under: Crashes.

I started a thread about embarrassing riding accidents (based on recent experience — aack!) over on the Bike Forums list, and people are coming up with some pretty tragic-funny stuff, check it out.

Here is one of my favorites, courtesy of ollo_ollo:

One hot summer day, commuting home from work, I was riding uphill & coasting to stop at a red light. I forgot to unclip & did a slow motion fall sideways to land in the gutter at the feet of a couple homeless guys sitting on the curb with their cardboard sign. One guy says, “I hate it when that happens”. The light changed to green, so I got up & out of there as fast as I could. Don

Hey — another great argument for riding in regular shoes! And this from SDBluefish:

Riding home from the store with a bunch of groceries in a rear pannier. Got to the place where I leave the bike lane and cut over to my street. Doing my usual rolling dismount coming up to the curb, but totally forgot the very long loaf of French bread in the pannier. Leg hit the bread, and the bike and I hit the pavement. Someone driving past in a minivan pulled over, but when they saw I was getting up and cussing a blue streak they decided I was probably OK enough and drove away fast. Now if I’d had a loaf of nice, soft, American bread none of this would have happened! I blame the French.

“I blame the French,” that is classic. Thanks to all on that thread for the laughs. Many of us have been there (if you are a new rider, or just getting back to riding, beware lest YOU go there! ).

19February2008

Mastering the forced turn

Posted by todd under: Words from cycling sages.

“The forced turn technique must also be practiced intensely and consciously, since it by no means comes naturally. Initiating a left turn by steering right will probably require the beginning cyclist to overcome all sorts of reasonable inhibitions and demands lots of practice. Take your bike to a grassy area or an empty parking lot a few days in a row …”

– Rob Van der Plaas, The Bicycle Touring Manual, Page 131

15February2008

Burley D’Lite trailer: Initial ride(s) report

Posted by todd under: Burley D'Lite; Reviews; Riding with children.

Summary: Yessssssss!

****

I bought a used Burley D’Lite trailer off EBay, and it arrived two days ago. I put it together in the dining room. Even though I’m technically challenged it took only a few minutes. The assembly is intuitive, and the design is simple.

I love the hitch. It goes on and comes off quickly, and there is no part that has to stay on the bike. It’s also a very tight connection.

I fastened the trailer to my Breezer Uptown 8. The moment of truth came when Mary (3) and Jackson (1) piled in. It was a snug fit, but they didn’t seem to mind. Mary loved it right away.

Jackson had logistical trouble with the helmet, which was too big — we had to resort to Mary holding it up so it wouldn’t slip down over his eyes. He hollered the whole time while being buckled in, but once we got rolling he quieted down (as long as he could see). Caleb (7) rode alongside and gave me updates on Jackson’s facial expression, and most of the time it alternated between neutral and a half-smile.

(G picked up a Thomas the Tank Engine infant-size helmet at Meijer that looks like it will fit Jackson a lot better, so future rides should be less complicated.)

It was in the 40s, so I fastened down the plastic rain cover. It kept the wind off of them, and kept some heat in the trailer.

Today, I hitched the Burley to the Bridgestone XO-1 and took Mary with me to the bank and the library. It was about a 40-minute errand total, maybe 4 miles. I put a blanket on Mary and she was snug as a bug in a rug — her only complaint was that her helmet made her head itch.

Side note: When Bush set up the XO-1, it turned out that the granny (smallest) chainring wouldn’t fit. I don’t usually miss it, but I did today. Going up a hill, I suffered as I have never suffered before. Or at least as I have not suffered for a few months.

I will post pictures of the trailer later. Also watch for everyday-rider reviews of the new O2 3Flow rain pants; MKS-GR9 pedals; Carridice Nelson saddlebag; and the Bell Metropolis helmet.

14February2008

How NOT to go over a bump

Posted by todd under: Riding.

OK, there are certain parts of the body a man should protect at all costs.

Fellas, are you with me here? Can you already see where this is going?

So I am riding the Raleigh Super Course to work yesterday. It has been snowing with freezing rain over the last couple of days. I am coasting up to this footbridge behind Central Baptist Hospital. The footbridge is metal, and it looks slippery, so I am not going to try riding across that.

I get ready to dismount, but as I’m doing so I notice, between me and the footbridge, a hump of slushy-looking snow and ice. This hump is maybe 8 inches high. It looks pretty soft. I figure I will sort of coast through this slush and then dismount. So I am off of one of the pedals and ready to put my foot down as soon as I am past this obstacle, when I find out the hard way that this is not slush — it is solid ice.

The front wheel stops, my body keeps going and The Parts You are Supposed to Protect at All Costs hit the stem with greater velocity than I care to remember. In fact I write this with my legs crossed.

I am proud to say that I did not cuss. All that came out of my mouth in fact, and this is a direct quote, was: “OUCH. OUCH. OUCH. OUCH. STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!”

After crossing the footbridge, while I am pedalling away (accelerating fast, in an attempt to deal with the pain), I notice a guy across the street. He is looking over and sort of taking a few steps my way as if to find out whether I am all right.

Buddy, if you’re reading this, I’m OK — stupid, but OK nevertheless.

14February2008

Special delivery

Posted by todd under: Riding with children.

The Burley D’Lite trailer arrived today. It’s in pretty good shape, except for some cracks in the tires and lots of dust — somebody has had this in the garage for a good while, I’m betting.

Well, it will gather no dust around here. Mary (3) was too excited when the package arrived — she was looking out the window watching me leave for work, and if we could have gone for a ride right then she would have done it in a second.

I can see why Burley has a reputation for quality — the fabric and snaps are very heavy duty. The tubing is simply arranged and sturdy. The wheels go on with no fuss.

This is gonna be a blast. I will give a ride report ASAP, and it likely will be sooner rather than later, since the forecast calls for temperatures in the 50s tomorrow.

12February2008

How to make a quick (’forced’) turn

Posted by todd under: Words from cycling sages.

“Do that (make a quick turn) by sharply steering away from the turn just before you get there. You and the bike will immediately start to lean over in the direction of the turn. You would risk a disastrous crash, as your bike moves away precipitously from the mass center, if you were to continue in a straight line. You have very quickly achieved a considerable lean angle in the direction of the turn. This must be compensated by steering quite abruptly in the same direction. Since this is the direction of the turn, you are set up just right to make a sharp turn. Once completed, steer back into the turn just a little further, to get the lean for regaining the roughly straight course …”

– Rob Van der Plas, The Bicycle Touring Manual, page 131