When I planned yesterday to go for a ride today I forgot one very important thing - my daughter's birthday. She turned 7 today. I know that sounds awful but we had a big family party to celebrate her birthday last Saturday and this Saturday she gets another party for her friends (a gymnastics party). Silly me that it had escaped me on Tuesday that we were having yet another birthday cake on her actual birthday with my in-laws coming over (I don't remember having so many B-day parties when I was a kid )-: ). So when I told my wife on Tuesday night that I was riding after work on Wed, it was not exactly met with her approval. All was good though as I managed to leave work a little early and lo and behold - I finally got a bike ride in!! Another shoehorn special!
Glad to get that one done and over with...the first of the season. I kept going back and forth on deciding whether to stick with the fixie or take a road bike out. I went with the fixie and decided to simply ride the flat 4.8 mile loop near my home...that way I could easily bailout after the 2nd lap or shoot for one or two more depending on how I felt. Three laps was just right and gave me a decent workout with all the non-stop pedaling. I was happy with the 16 mph average speed.
As far as how the riding conditions were, all I can say is 50 degrees F never felt so warm and comfy!
Ride Stats (25Mar09)
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 14.4 miles
Time: 54 minutes
Average Speed: 16.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: Friday, 27Mar09
Temperature at start: 51 F (5:18 pm)
Temperature at end: 49 F (6:12 pm)
Gear: silk weight base layer/SportHill Summit LS jersey/PI Zephrr vest on top...and LG tights on the bottom...perfect for the temperature!
Showing posts with label Fixie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fixie. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Return From Hiatus
It's hard to believe that my last blog post was over six weeks ago. It wasn't planned...it just sort of happened...per usual! I even got a ride in 3 weeks ago but couldn't get myself to post about it.
So what's been going on in my life since early February? Essentially, I got sucked into the dreaded winter funk...a place I tend to visit each winter but was hoping to avoid this year. Couldn't do it. Despite the snow and lack of riding, January was a good month...even as I found my motivation waning. But in February, laziness took total hold and motivation was lost. It didn't help that near the end of January I suffered a pinched nerve, followed by a 2-week head cold in early February and most recently a bout of the flu. Add to that the stress of dealing with the most severe slow-down I've ever been through at work and you clearly have a good recipe for winter funk!
When I last posted I called out my need for an 8 week training plan to transition to the riding season at a certain fitness level. Sadly, 6 weeks later and that plan has yet to materialize. However, all was not completely lost as we made good progress on the bath remodel project.
Ride Stats (21Feb09 Ride)
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 17.5 miles
Time: about 75 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 14.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: Sunday, 22Feb09 (never happened)
Temperature at start: 38 F
Temperature at end: 35 F
Gear: the winter stuff
So in the final analysis, with Winter finally behind us (I hope I don't regret saying that), I accomplished a whopping total of 2 rides this 2009 winter season. To me that's a HUGE disappointment given my mindset at the end of 2008. On the other hand, riding in the cold in general was a first for me...something I never thought I could motivate myself to do. I guess I can only wonder what might have been accomplished had the winter been warm and snow-less. For example, simply doubling my meager December ride stats (5 rides for 82.2 miles) over the last two months would have been a HUGE success in my book.
So what's been going on in my life since early February? Essentially, I got sucked into the dreaded winter funk...a place I tend to visit each winter but was hoping to avoid this year. Couldn't do it. Despite the snow and lack of riding, January was a good month...even as I found my motivation waning. But in February, laziness took total hold and motivation was lost. It didn't help that near the end of January I suffered a pinched nerve, followed by a 2-week head cold in early February and most recently a bout of the flu. Add to that the stress of dealing with the most severe slow-down I've ever been through at work and you clearly have a good recipe for winter funk!
When I last posted I called out my need for an 8 week training plan to transition to the riding season at a certain fitness level. Sadly, 6 weeks later and that plan has yet to materialize. However, all was not completely lost as we made good progress on the bath remodel project.
Ride Stats (21Feb09 Ride)
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 17.5 miles
Time: about 75 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 14.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: Sunday, 22Feb09 (never happened)
Temperature at start: 38 F
Temperature at end: 35 F
Gear: the winter stuff
So in the final analysis, with Winter finally behind us (I hope I don't regret saying that), I accomplished a whopping total of 2 rides this 2009 winter season. To me that's a HUGE disappointment given my mindset at the end of 2008. On the other hand, riding in the cold in general was a first for me...something I never thought I could motivate myself to do. I guess I can only wonder what might have been accomplished had the winter been warm and snow-less. For example, simply doubling my meager December ride stats (5 rides for 82.2 miles) over the last two months would have been a HUGE success in my book.
Friday, January 9, 2009
First Ride of 2009
Yes! Finally got in the first ride of 2009. Took the 1:50 train out of Boston...got home by 3:00...and on the bike at 3:30 (I needed to do some stretching after not riding for 3 weeks). Anyway, I'm just glad I was able to get it in during the first full week of the month...not as exciting as riding on New Years Day, but it will have to do and it's now on the tracking sheet!! Who knows, with the weather forecast looking as it does this could be my only ride this month...unless the January Thaw comes on schedule.
It was a nice, relaxing, and reasonably warm ride as I decided to go slow for ice-dodging reasons. Overall, the roads were not too bad today.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 16.5 miles
Time: about 70 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 14.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: during the January Thaw
Temperature at start: 27.7 F
Temperature at end: 24.8 F
Gear: Polartec midweight base/Summit jersey/InsulaTour jacket/Zephrr vest on top...Polartec silk weight base/Bell Weather winter tights (circa 1988) on the bottom
It was a nice, relaxing, and reasonably warm ride as I decided to go slow for ice-dodging reasons. Overall, the roads were not too bad today.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 16.5 miles
Time: about 70 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 14.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: during the January Thaw
Temperature at start: 27.7 F
Temperature at end: 24.8 F
Gear: Polartec midweight base/Summit jersey/InsulaTour jacket/Zephrr vest on top...Polartec silk weight base/Bell Weather winter tights (circa 1988) on the bottom
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Last Ride This Year??
Had my sights set on two more rides this weekend and at least another two over the long Christmas weekend, but with a double barrel snow threat bearing down on southern New England for Friday and Sunday I decided to vacate the office this afternoon to get in what might be the last ride of 2008. Hope it's not the last ride, but I can't see myself riding in the snow, slush and ice left over from two major winter storms.
Anyway, it was a good ride...the longest ride on the fixie so far. Stayed warm enough except my toes got too cold, which was a first for me on these cold weather rides. Bummer, freezing toes always spoil an otherwise good ride.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 19.8 miles
Time: about 78 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 15.2 mph
Next scheduled ride: 12/26 - 12/28...but more likely in 2009
Temperature at start: 37.0 F
Temperature at end: 32.5 F
Gear: base/Summit jersey/InsulaTour jacket/Zephrr vest/Bell Weather winter tights (circa 1988 but they're still the best winter tights I've ever used)
I actually do like the snow...especially around the holidays. So...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!! (But I'll be hoping the January thaw comes on schedule and lasts the rest of the winter)
Anyway, it was a good ride...the longest ride on the fixie so far. Stayed warm enough except my toes got too cold, which was a first for me on these cold weather rides. Bummer, freezing toes always spoil an otherwise good ride.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 19.8 miles
Time: about 78 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 15.2 mph
Next scheduled ride: 12/26 - 12/28...but more likely in 2009
Temperature at start: 37.0 F
Temperature at end: 32.5 F
Gear: base/Summit jersey/InsulaTour jacket/Zephrr vest/Bell Weather winter tights (circa 1988 but they're still the best winter tights I've ever used)
I actually do like the snow...especially around the holidays. So...let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!! (But I'll be hoping the January thaw comes on schedule and lasts the rest of the winter)
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Sunday Ride - 12/14
Wow! What a difference 10 degrees makes. Today's ride was warmish. I had on a base layer, winter weight jersey (Sporthill Summit top) and the Pearl Izumi InsulaTour jacket...just the right combo for a long ride. Just one little problem. When you leave for the ride at 3:08 pm on a mid-December day, you haven't left yourself enough good daylight for a long ride. Had to settle for a 17.5 mile ride...was hoping to do 25 miles but that ride will have to wait for another December weekend day with temperatures above 40. Perhaps we'll get one soon but times running out I'm afraid.
So today I had my first self inflicted "incident" related to riding on a fixed gear bike. The loop I rode yesterday and today has a short downhill section on which I typically attain 33 mph while coasting. Knowing this, I used a little brake action yesterday to make sure I could handle it on the fixie. Today I decided no brakes...oops, little mistake. These old legs couldn't handle the RPMs on this section and my foot slipped off the pedal (yup, no clipless yet on this bike). I also learned that you need absolutely perfect timing to reengage foot to pedal at high speeds (moderate and low speed too) and I have the marks on the back of my legs to prove it. Plus it's hard to keep one foot on while the other is off at this speed, so the cars passing by must have done a double take when they saw me flying down the hill with my legs out straight and the pedals moving. Oh well, I survived that little incident fairly unscathed so I'll just chalk it up as a lesson learned. Thankfully, the rest of the ride went without incident.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 17.5 miles
Time: about 70 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 15.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: next weekend
Temperature at start: 42.1 F
Temperature at end: 40.8 F
So today I had my first self inflicted "incident" related to riding on a fixed gear bike. The loop I rode yesterday and today has a short downhill section on which I typically attain 33 mph while coasting. Knowing this, I used a little brake action yesterday to make sure I could handle it on the fixie. Today I decided no brakes...oops, little mistake. These old legs couldn't handle the RPMs on this section and my foot slipped off the pedal (yup, no clipless yet on this bike). I also learned that you need absolutely perfect timing to reengage foot to pedal at high speeds (moderate and low speed too) and I have the marks on the back of my legs to prove it. Plus it's hard to keep one foot on while the other is off at this speed, so the cars passing by must have done a double take when they saw me flying down the hill with my legs out straight and the pedals moving. Oh well, I survived that little incident fairly unscathed so I'll just chalk it up as a lesson learned. Thankfully, the rest of the ride went without incident.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 17.5 miles
Time: about 70 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 15.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: next weekend
Temperature at start: 42.1 F
Temperature at end: 40.8 F
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Saturday Ride
Made it out today for a slightly longer 16.5 mile ride on the fixie. I was too bored with the 14 mile ride which is a shorter loop I do twice. I get bored easy! We had around 4 inches of rain on Friday so it was no surprise that many roadsides were still wet...even had to do a little ice dodging.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 16.5 miles
Time: about 65 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 15.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: tomorrow (suppose to be mid-40s!!)
Temperature at start: 31.5 F
Temperature at end: 28.4 F
Housekeeping notes: I've added some new widgets! Local radar images are at the bottom of the page. A "Latest Ride Widget" courtesy of dailymile is on the right under "About Me." Dailymile is yet another training and social networking web site. It's currently in beta testing. Figured I'd try it out for a while.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 16.5 miles
Time: about 65 minutes
Average Speed: approx. 15.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: tomorrow (suppose to be mid-40s!!)
Temperature at start: 31.5 F
Temperature at end: 28.4 F
Housekeeping notes: I've added some new widgets! Local radar images are at the bottom of the page. A "Latest Ride Widget" courtesy of dailymile is on the right under "About Me." Dailymile is yet another training and social networking web site. It's currently in beta testing. Figured I'd try it out for a while.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
One Post, Two Rides
Quoting myself, "I might be a little slow getting this blog going but I've got ideas and lofty goals...and it looks like an early winter is setting in here in southern New England, so I might have some extra time too. Stay tuned"
Did I say I might have some extra time? What extra time??
My goal going into this past Friday was to get two rides in over the next three days. I knew it would be tough given the weekend weather forecast of snow on Sunday and our plan to once again find our "perfect" Christmas tree and get the lights on it. For us, buying a tree is not a quick errand...it's not even an activity that can be reliably scheduled in a 2-3 hour window, though we do try. In a good (lucky) year, it may take an hour...in a bad year it might start on a Saturday afternoon and wrap up the next morning! This was a fairly good year. We left the house around 2:30 pm Saturday afternoon and headed over to a previously unknown (to us) tree farm in Plainville. Traipsed around there for 30 minutes looking at all the half-way decent trees that were already tagged...okay, time to try another place (Sunlight Farms) we recently found in Foxboro. First Saturday in December and their pre-cut Frazer Furs are all picked over...time to move on, until I start talking to a worker about the tree farm we had just visited. He asks if we've been out back to look at their 3 dozen or so uncut trees (they're not really a tree farm, but apparently they planted some a few years back). The moment I saw these trees I had a feeling we would find ours. Bingo! 15 minutes later we're driving away with what I consider to be a great "tree farm" find. Total elapsed time of about 3 hours (after a few more Christmas decoration related errands). Not bad. Unfortunately, with the children's commitments in the morning and the tree adventure in the afternoon, there's no time left to ride the bike. That's the bad bike news.
The good bike news is I left work early on Friday and was able to get a 14 mile ride in and the snowstorm on Sunday was a nuisance event that was over by early afternoon...so another 14 mile ride shoe-horned into an otherwise busy weekend. It actually snowed for a while on the Sunday afternoon ride...so that was a first for me.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 2 x 14.2 miles
Time: about 60 minutes each day
Average Speed: not worthy of mention
Next scheduled ride: who knows with a week of forecast unsettled weather and no doubt another busy weekend
Temperature: ranged from 33 to 38 F for the 2 rides.
I had most of my new winter riding gear on during these two rides, but the verdict is still out on how much I like this stuff. Need a few more rides to finalize my opinion.
Did I say I might have some extra time? What extra time??
My goal going into this past Friday was to get two rides in over the next three days. I knew it would be tough given the weekend weather forecast of snow on Sunday and our plan to once again find our "perfect" Christmas tree and get the lights on it. For us, buying a tree is not a quick errand...it's not even an activity that can be reliably scheduled in a 2-3 hour window, though we do try. In a good (lucky) year, it may take an hour...in a bad year it might start on a Saturday afternoon and wrap up the next morning! This was a fairly good year. We left the house around 2:30 pm Saturday afternoon and headed over to a previously unknown (to us) tree farm in Plainville. Traipsed around there for 30 minutes looking at all the half-way decent trees that were already tagged...okay, time to try another place (Sunlight Farms) we recently found in Foxboro. First Saturday in December and their pre-cut Frazer Furs are all picked over...time to move on, until I start talking to a worker about the tree farm we had just visited. He asks if we've been out back to look at their 3 dozen or so uncut trees (they're not really a tree farm, but apparently they planted some a few years back). The moment I saw these trees I had a feeling we would find ours. Bingo! 15 minutes later we're driving away with what I consider to be a great "tree farm" find. Total elapsed time of about 3 hours (after a few more Christmas decoration related errands). Not bad. Unfortunately, with the children's commitments in the morning and the tree adventure in the afternoon, there's no time left to ride the bike. That's the bad bike news.
The good bike news is I left work early on Friday and was able to get a 14 mile ride in and the snowstorm on Sunday was a nuisance event that was over by early afternoon...so another 14 mile ride shoe-horned into an otherwise busy weekend. It actually snowed for a while on the Sunday afternoon ride...so that was a first for me.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 2 x 14.2 miles
Time: about 60 minutes each day
Average Speed: not worthy of mention
Next scheduled ride: who knows with a week of forecast unsettled weather and no doubt another busy weekend
Temperature: ranged from 33 to 38 F for the 2 rides.
I had most of my new winter riding gear on during these two rides, but the verdict is still out on how much I like this stuff. Need a few more rides to finalize my opinion.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving Day Fixie Ride
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
I'm thankful that I can spend the next four days with my family.
We're looking forward to the Polar Express in North Conway, NH this weekend.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 14.2 miles
Time: about 55 minutes*
Average Speed: approx. 15.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: tomorrow before we leave for New Hampshire...maybe
Temperature at start: 44.6 F
Temperature at end: 45.3 F
I'm thankful that I can spend the next four days with my family.
We're looking forward to the Polar Express in North Conway, NH this weekend.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 14.2 miles
Time: about 55 minutes*
Average Speed: approx. 15.0 mph
Next scheduled ride: tomorrow before we leave for New Hampshire...maybe
Temperature at start: 44.6 F
Temperature at end: 45.3 F
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
"Scheduling Fluke" Bonus Ride
Well, it was less a fluke and more a decision to simply leave work early so I could shoe horn another ride in. And a shoe-horned ride it was! Working in Boston means a minimum of 2 hours a day is consumed by commuting. Today I took the 1:50 PM train which got me back to Attleboro at 2:50 and to the house at 3:10. Plenty of time for a ride except because I'm home and my son has a late afternoon appt. that my wife will bring him to, we agree that I need to pick my daughter up at her school by 4:30. At least 4:30 is the target. We just don't want her being the last child picked-up on the day before the holiday. So I'm out on the bike by 3:25 (15 min. prep time not too bad IMO with all the winter gear on) and back home at 4:10...45 minutes of riding on a 12 mile loop. By the time I'm showered and out the door again it's 4:35 and I arrive at the school at 4:45...15 minutes late. The good news is there are at least 15 children still there including a couple of her friends...so no sad face when I show up. Sadly, this is a typical scenario for me for getting a short weekday ride in at this time of year. Truthfully, in the past I didn't have the motivation to make in happen...rather, it was all too easy to just decide there was no time for a "decent" ride. So far the fixie and the blog reading/writing has changed that dynamic. But how long will it last? I don't know the answer to that question but whatever it is it will be documented on this blog. Stay tuned.
I have a scheduled ride tomorrow morning, but my track record for following through on rides before family holiday events is miserable...at best. We'll see how it goes.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 11.9 miles
Time: about 45 minutes*
Average Speed: approx. 16.0 mph (that's more like it!)
Next scheduled ride: Thur 11/27 - Thanksgiving morning (got to earn the 2nd helping!) Temperature at start: 42 deg F
Temperature at end: didn't notice, but never got cold on this ride
*Note: a don't intend on tracking time accurately on my fixie (i.e., no cyclometer wanted!!)
I have a scheduled ride tomorrow morning, but my track record for following through on rides before family holiday events is miserable...at best. We'll see how it goes.
Ride Stats
Bike: Fixie
Distance: 11.9 miles
Time: about 45 minutes*
Average Speed: approx. 16.0 mph (that's more like it!)
Next scheduled ride: Thur 11/27 - Thanksgiving morning (got to earn the 2nd helping!) Temperature at start: 42 deg F
Temperature at end: didn't notice, but never got cold on this ride
*Note: a don't intend on tracking time accurately on my fixie (i.e., no cyclometer wanted!!)
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Darn Cold Fixie Ride!! - 23Nov08
Priorities
Cleaning the yard of leaves and a final mowing took precedence this weekend (the town compost center closes at the end of November and we're going away for the weekend after Thanksgiving, so...), which means that bike riding time was extra limited. Fortunately, the yard was certified clean by 3:00 PM so after a quick truck run to the compost center there was still enough time to shoe horn in a ride. As usual, I stretched the ride to the longest mileage possible without actually having to arrive back home in the pitch black...just the normal darkness that precedes pitch black! And even then the ride wasn't completely over as I had promised my daughter a short bike ride with her "phonics owl" (Echo) down to see the lake at both ends of our street...okay, now that's the portion of the ride that was darn cold. We were out riding for an additional 10 minutes or so.
Ride Stats
Distance: 14.2 miles
Time: about an hour*
Average Speed: approx. 14.2 mph (sadly)
Next scheduled ride: Thur 11/27 - Thanksgiving morning (got to earn the 2nd helping!)
Temperature at start: 31 deg F
Temperature at end: 28 deg F
*Note: a don't intend on tracking time accurately on my fixie (i.e., no cyclometer wanted!!)
The Bike
Most of my rides during the cold off-season are going to be on my Peugeot fixed gear (fixie). Today's ride was no exception. Truth be told, I'm not even sure I had ever heard of a fixed gear bike before a couple of months ago. In late September I found myself Googling some sort of bike or bike part or something, and as usually is the case, one thing led to another and yet another and then I found myself on the Harris Cyclery web site reading articles written by Sheldon Brown. Sheldon is a guru among bicycle mechanics...sadly, he passed away early in 2008. But his web pages and articles, and quite frankly, an ocean of cycling knowledge live on at the Harris Cyclery web site he developed.
Turns out, Sheldon was a strong advocate, a huge fan one could say, of fixed gear single speed bikes...especially fixed gear conversions. Check out these articles by Sheldon if you have some time to kill. Anyway, a fixie is a bike with a single gear ratio and no free wheel. The chain turns the single cog on the back wheel in both directions -- yup, you can pedal the bike forward or backward. What this REALLY means is that you CAN'T coast on a fixie...okay you can if you want but you'll look kind of funny with your legs and feet up in the air and the pedals still moving. Oh, and if you forget what you're riding and try to coast the normal way, the bike will rudely remind you of the primary rule for riding a fixie -- thou shall not stop pedaling the bike.
Okay, so getting back to "the bike", I thought it would be a cool idea to look into riding a fixie over the off-season. I mean, I know all too well the realities of riding beyond September...at least for me. No after work rides...lots of family obligations...the holidays...the cold..the snow. To me, riding a fixie represented the best way to stay on the road and maximize the fitness benefits of riding. Yup, a fixie would allow me to shoe horn in some shorter rides and still get the benefit of longer rides. Sure a trainer might work too, but I'm certainly no fan of trainers even though I own one. So a fixie it would be...now I just needed to get one.
Of course, me being me (impatient and liking new toys), I headed off to a couple of LBS to check out the Surly Steamroller and the Redline 925, both excellent fixed gear bikes according to many online reviews. Bummer...no 925 in stock at East Providence Cycle and the wrong size Surly at Union Cycle in Attleboro. I've lived in North Attleboro for almost 10 years now and I've never stepped foot in Union Cycle until this visit. Turns out, the Service Manager there (Ron) worked for Sheldon Brown a few years back and is himself a fan of the fixie. After tying Ron up in cycling conversation for the better part of an hour, it dawns on him that perhaps one of my old bikes is a candidate for a fixed gear conversion. In order to be a candidate, the frame must have horizontal dropouts. Most modern bikes have vertical dropouts and his guess is my old Trek is most likely one of these. That's when I mention the Peugeot...that's when his eyes light up. My Peugeot is a sports/recreation model circa 1983 that was my first bike for long bike rides and eventually fitness training. For the last 20 years it has been collecting dust, the last ten of those hanging on the wall of my garage. I knew I kept it for a reason. :) The next day I brought it to the shop, signed up for the conversion and three weeks later I was riding my "new" fixie.
The Strange Thing Mentioned Above
We had a guest this weekend -- an acquaintance of my daughters. His name is Echo. He is a stuffed animal -- an owl. A phonics owl to be exact. This will all make sense. My daughter is 6 and in 1st grade, and she is currently Superstar of the week in her class. One of the duties of the Superstar of the week is to take Echo home over the weekend so he can partake in family activities. One of those activities was a bike ride with daddy. I foolishly thought that the ride would be bagged due to the cold and wind...wrong! In any event, the owl ate with us, attended dance class with my daughter, slept near her, watched a movie with the children, etc. I'm sure you get the picture. The "phonics" part came earlier tonight as my daughter had to write a story about Echo's stay with us in her own words and without any spelling help from mom or dad. She did a great job!!
Finally, a promise to readers and myself. I'll try to keep most posts much shorter than this one.
Cleaning the yard of leaves and a final mowing took precedence this weekend (the town compost center closes at the end of November and we're going away for the weekend after Thanksgiving, so...), which means that bike riding time was extra limited. Fortunately, the yard was certified clean by 3:00 PM so after a quick truck run to the compost center there was still enough time to shoe horn in a ride. As usual, I stretched the ride to the longest mileage possible without actually having to arrive back home in the pitch black...just the normal darkness that precedes pitch black! And even then the ride wasn't completely over as I had promised my daughter a short bike ride with her "phonics owl" (Echo) down to see the lake at both ends of our street...okay, now that's the portion of the ride that was darn cold. We were out riding for an additional 10 minutes or so.
Ride Stats
Distance: 14.2 miles
Time: about an hour*
Average Speed: approx. 14.2 mph (sadly)
Next scheduled ride: Thur 11/27 - Thanksgiving morning (got to earn the 2nd helping!)
Temperature at start: 31 deg F
Temperature at end: 28 deg F
*Note: a don't intend on tracking time accurately on my fixie (i.e., no cyclometer wanted!!)
The Bike
Most of my rides during the cold off-season are going to be on my Peugeot fixed gear (fixie). Today's ride was no exception. Truth be told, I'm not even sure I had ever heard of a fixed gear bike before a couple of months ago. In late September I found myself Googling some sort of bike or bike part or something, and as usually is the case, one thing led to another and yet another and then I found myself on the Harris Cyclery web site reading articles written by Sheldon Brown. Sheldon is a guru among bicycle mechanics...sadly, he passed away early in 2008. But his web pages and articles, and quite frankly, an ocean of cycling knowledge live on at the Harris Cyclery web site he developed.
Turns out, Sheldon was a strong advocate, a huge fan one could say, of fixed gear single speed bikes...especially fixed gear conversions. Check out these articles by Sheldon if you have some time to kill. Anyway, a fixie is a bike with a single gear ratio and no free wheel. The chain turns the single cog on the back wheel in both directions -- yup, you can pedal the bike forward or backward. What this REALLY means is that you CAN'T coast on a fixie...okay you can if you want but you'll look kind of funny with your legs and feet up in the air and the pedals still moving. Oh, and if you forget what you're riding and try to coast the normal way, the bike will rudely remind you of the primary rule for riding a fixie -- thou shall not stop pedaling the bike.
Okay, so getting back to "the bike", I thought it would be a cool idea to look into riding a fixie over the off-season. I mean, I know all too well the realities of riding beyond September...at least for me. No after work rides...lots of family obligations...the holidays...the cold..the snow. To me, riding a fixie represented the best way to stay on the road and maximize the fitness benefits of riding. Yup, a fixie would allow me to shoe horn in some shorter rides and still get the benefit of longer rides. Sure a trainer might work too, but I'm certainly no fan of trainers even though I own one. So a fixie it would be...now I just needed to get one.
Of course, me being me (impatient and liking new toys), I headed off to a couple of LBS to check out the Surly Steamroller and the Redline 925, both excellent fixed gear bikes according to many online reviews. Bummer...no 925 in stock at East Providence Cycle and the wrong size Surly at Union Cycle in Attleboro. I've lived in North Attleboro for almost 10 years now and I've never stepped foot in Union Cycle until this visit. Turns out, the Service Manager there (Ron) worked for Sheldon Brown a few years back and is himself a fan of the fixie. After tying Ron up in cycling conversation for the better part of an hour, it dawns on him that perhaps one of my old bikes is a candidate for a fixed gear conversion. In order to be a candidate, the frame must have horizontal dropouts. Most modern bikes have vertical dropouts and his guess is my old Trek is most likely one of these. That's when I mention the Peugeot...that's when his eyes light up. My Peugeot is a sports/recreation model circa 1983 that was my first bike for long bike rides and eventually fitness training. For the last 20 years it has been collecting dust, the last ten of those hanging on the wall of my garage. I knew I kept it for a reason. :) The next day I brought it to the shop, signed up for the conversion and three weeks later I was riding my "new" fixie.
The Strange Thing Mentioned Above
We had a guest this weekend -- an acquaintance of my daughters. His name is Echo. He is a stuffed animal -- an owl. A phonics owl to be exact. This will all make sense. My daughter is 6 and in 1st grade, and she is currently Superstar of the week in her class. One of the duties of the Superstar of the week is to take Echo home over the weekend so he can partake in family activities. One of those activities was a bike ride with daddy. I foolishly thought that the ride would be bagged due to the cold and wind...wrong! In any event, the owl ate with us, attended dance class with my daughter, slept near her, watched a movie with the children, etc. I'm sure you get the picture. The "phonics" part came earlier tonight as my daughter had to write a story about Echo's stay with us in her own words and without any spelling help from mom or dad. She did a great job!!
Finally, a promise to readers and myself. I'll try to keep most posts much shorter than this one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
