Thursday, July 25, 2013

Freaky Biker Dude

There is a guy who lives in my neighborhood who my wife and I have named "freaky biker dude."

I know his name, thanks to the local bike shop, but I won't use it here because I don't want to single the guy out for ridicule. If you have seen the guy and want to talk about him, ride up to me at a group ride and we can talk.

First the good. This gentleman is an outstanding physical specimen. He is not very tall and solid muscle thanks to hours a day spent on a bike. I wish I had the ability and determination to ride as much as him. It's July turning into August and when I saw him today his skin is already a dark coffee color reminiscent of the leather chair I am sitting in at Starbucks while I write this.

Anyway, atop his flat bar road bike or racing bike (I've only recently seen him on) he does miles a day in all sorts of weather. Rain, sleet or snow, the U.S. Postal service has nothing on this guy. When we see him, my wife and I make a point of calling or texting one another and saying, "You'll never guess where I just saw freaky biker dude?" It might be 20 miles from the house with a lot of difficult geography in between. I think this guy must do 100 miles a day. Easy. Probably on a rest day he does a century.

My friends and I used to see this guy around midtown we call AIDS Man. He probably does not have AIDS, which is no laughing matter, but he does have superhero abilities, of that we are certain. What he is is probably a heroin addict. Well, more than probably. Anyway, we have consistently amazed over the the span of, what two decades now, that this man still walks the earth. I saw him fall over one day at a bus stop and go into convulsions. I circled back to see if I should call 911, only to see him doing the same act again when another car passed. My guess is that he did not have bus fare and needed a ride. A friend of mine once saw this guy throw up in Barnes & Noble after riding an escalator.

Anyway, my obsession with AIDS Man has been replaced by Freaky Biker Dude.

So here is that bad part, and this is where I don't want to get too far into the story. He has a mental problem. He rides for a reason, namely, that I don't think he is allowed to drive a car.

And here's the worst part. He's going to get killed.

He rides a lot, but not fast. Ever. He's usually taking up a whole lane at a workman pace that is going to result in a fatal rear-end collision from a texting teen or distracted minivan mom. It's not a matter of if. It's a matter of when.

And if he doesn't get struck by a motorist, he's going to be gunned down after yelling at the wrong person.

Take today for instance. I pulled up behind him about a mile from our respective houses and he was angrily signaling to the car in front of him. I'm not sure why he felt slighted this particular time, but I can tell you it might be anything, including the mere act of passing his pokey ass. In fact, he'll yell at just about anything, including people walking dogs.

You see, I don't see Freaky Biker Dude every day, but when I see Freaky Biker Dude, Freaky Biker Dude is usually yelling at a motorist about something.

Someday I will stop seeing Freaky Biker Dude and wonder what happened.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

My first road bike

My first road bike was a 1982 Schwinn Continental. It was what we used to call a ten-speed, and if I remember right that meant a 2X5. I remember picking the bike out at Wheeler's Schwinn on Wornall Road in Kansas City with my dad. If I close my eyes, I can still smell the bike shop. I can't imagine that it cost $100.

1982 Schwinn Continental - My first road bike.

I rode this bike all through high school and through part of college. The shifters were on the stem and it had cheater brake levers so you could break without going into the drops. God how I loved that bike. I would give just about anything to have it back.

1980 Schwinn Continental.
It was black with gold lettering, the same colors as the University of Missouri, where I suppose it ended up. I have no idea what happened to this bike. I don't remember selling it or giving it away. I can't imagine I abandoned it in the bike rack at Hudson Hall, but I might have. I just don't remember. A sad ending to a machine that served me so well. I probably bought this bike after seeing Breaking Away. I wonder how many bikes that movie sold?

In the late 1980s road bikes (10-speeds) were going out of favor. Everyone was buying mountain bikes and putting street tires on them. I was no exception. Dad and I headed back to Wheeler's and I picked out a gray Nishiki Colorado to take back to Columbia for my Junior and Senior years. I miss that bike too, but not like that Schwinn.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Simon Bennett does not let diabetes slow him down



Read the article here.

CICLI PINARELLO S.p.A.

I really enjoyed the profile of Pinarello in the May/June issue of Peloton magazine. Pinarello is an exclusive bike maker that knows its place in the world. They cannot be a Specialized or Trek, and have no desire to be. Their bikes are expensive and awesome racing machines and they make no bones about it. It is a fine family-owned business in the Italian Cycling tradition.



Here is a review of Tour de France Champion Chris Froome's Pinarello Dogma.

You can see CICLI PINARELLO S.p.A.'s Web site here.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Need To Park Your Bike?

I found this cool Google Maps tool that tells you where to find bike parking in Kansas City. Pretty detailed information.


Omaha Getting Some Love (and Kansas City too)

This is a good story from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy that mentions Kansas City and Omaha both as America's Next Generation of Trail Cities.

Rail Trails and Urban Renewal


The Rust Belt from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy on Vimeo.

This is a nice little documentary on how Cleveland is using rail trails to serve as the backbone of urban renewal in certain areas. Very cool.

On Getting Faster

I've taken up running, and even though I'm still relatively new at it I have established a habit of running at least three times a week.

Today on the road bike I noticed a huge difference not only in speed, but in my ability to maintain a fast pace for an extended period of time. Fast for me is 20 miles an hour on flat ground. Not blistering by any means, but fast enough that I think I can begin to entertain riding a regular group ride soon.

I also think riding my heavy bike path bike, a Specialized Sirrus, has made me faster and increased my endurance.

I have come to enjoy the feedback that you get from regular exercise. I can see improvements from week-to-week with my running and riding that you just don't see when you lack that rhythm.

Feels good.

Back On The Roads

I have been riding my road bike a lot lately. I love having more than one bike, but I am a bit of a streaker when it comes to riding the same bike and giving the other one (someday that will read others) a rest.

I love my road bike. It's a pretty much stock entry-level Specialized Allez save for Mavic wheels and nice plush handlebar tape. I love the thing. It accelerates like a sports car and after riding my heavy Specialized Sirrus, it seams feather light. It's mostly comfortable, too.

I have been riding the Sirrus on bike paths for so long that I'm having to get used to riding on the road all over again. It freaks me out to have cars pass me from behind more than perhaps it should. I've been going out in the mornings to ride before the traffic gets too thick and mixing in busier roads with almost careless neighborhood streets. Each day I find myself wanting to do a little more on the busier roads.

Now, if I could just up enough nerve to tackle more hills.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Didn't Mind The Hills Today

Two lessons I learned all on my own: Always start riding into the wind and always start riding upstream.
I was able to get away today for a longish bike ride. Since I'm spending the summer at home with the kids, I just can't get away for these rides, which were my staple last summer.

I had two hours or so, and so I went out and did a quick and dirty 20-miler on mixed trail and road surfaces on my road bike. I wanted to ride up on a bike path that follows a creek and tackle a few hills without having to contend with traffic.

I hate hills. This is mostly because I'm a clydesdale, or to be honest I'm fat. It takes a lot of effort to get my ass up those hills. And since I'm being honest, let me say that they freak me out. It's not so much that I'm worried that the effort will make me pass out from burning through too much sugar (I'm diabetic) or the cardiovascular effort, but that's part of it.

No, I'm still getting used to clipless pedals. I worry that I'm going to end up going so slow I'll fall over before I can clip out. This actually happened to me once when foot traffic caused me to come to a stop on a hill on the bike path. It didn't hurt. It was more like sitting down hard, but still, I don't care to repeat the experience.

Anyway, I've learned two things about riding. The first is that you should always start out in the direction of the wind. Of course the weather always seems to change when I get to my turn-around point and I end up doing the whole ride into the teeth of a gale, but it's a good strategy nonetheless.

The other thing I've learned is to head upstream on these bike trails. Upstream means uphill, and that means you can practically coast all the way home. That's an exaggeration, but you can take it easy on the way back.

In any case, this particular trail veers off the stream for a bit at what is usually my turnaround point, which is to say eight to 12 miles from where I start. I engineered that part of the ride to hit one of these massive hills, which begins with a few rollers that require a short burst of effort. Then there's one massive hill to contend with, which I got through with no issues.

These hills are more severe than anything one encounters on the roads around here. I don't know the grade, but they are steep.

I didn't mind the hills today. Granted, it was 75 and low humidity, so there's not much that can ruin a day like that, but still...

Friday, July 12, 2013

Testing Out A New (Old) Seat

I am testing out my Brooks B17 Saddle on my road bike. I noticed that in the grand scheme of things, the B17 is not a whole lot heavier than the saddle that I had on the bike in the first place. Maybe 60 grams.

I would rather be comfortable than shave a few tenths of a second off my average mile. I'm not the fastest rider anyway, and until I upgrade the components on my Specialized Allez, it's a bit on the heavy side anyway. Heck, the crankset looks like it was made out of iron (Shimano 2300). I'll worry about weight when I upgrade to anything that starts with SRAM.

The change was made easier for a couple of reasons. First, I don't have time to ride the excellent bike paths in our area because they are not close to the house and it takes a bit of riding or a car trip to get to the closest trailhead. My other bike is that workhorse of bike paths and rail trails everywhere, the Specialized Sirrus. It needs a new tire, which means replacing both because the stock tires are shit. I can't justify spending the money right now for decent Continentals.

After a few test rides I think I have the seat dialed in. The first ride the seat was too high and pitched too far back. I felt like I was falling off. The second ride resulted in my legs going numb because I overcompensated by pitching the seat too far forward.

Not it's just right. Whatever the bike, that Brooks saddle makes it the most comfortable ride in town.


Punishing My Pancreas

I have been running, walking or cycling every day this summer and it's had a positive effect on my blood sugars. I hadn't had a reading above 200 all month until last evening before dinner. I promptly went out and punished my pancreas for not behaving.

I had dinner and took my insulin then went out for a punishing 6-mile ride. Punishing in the sense that I hammered whenever I could, keeping it in a gear that would require my legs to continuously pump hard. By 9 p.m., I was at 70 and treated myself to a little ice cream, which got me through until morning when I woke up in range.

I file this one under the "take the bull by horns" department.