bicycles | Safe As Milk

Feb 27 2013

bicycles

Pedal Power 2013

Pedal Power 2013 was a couple of weeks ago. I sit on the board of this nonprofit and this is the annual event where we set up a competition for pairs of cyclists to generate the most watts of electricity per kg. We have modified bicycle trainers that turn the pedaling effort into electricity (that we run into an inverter and then into batteries and from there out to whatever needs powering). Our goal is to illustrate just how tough it is to make electricity in an effort for people to consider being less wasteful with electricity in their homes. One of the features of the event is that we use the power generated that morning to make breakfast to feed the riders. This year we powered a couple of waffle irons. It was tasty.

This year I entered with my oldest daughter. You can see us there in the foreground. I was born to wear spandex. Maybe not as anything more than a base layer, though….

Feb 10 2013

bicycles, food

RCC/GroundForce IT Snowflake Ride, 2013

2nd Annual Snowflake Ride from RCC this afternoon. Met up with some of the folks from our normal Sunday Rides and rode to Ashland and back. A terrific hook for this ride was that they offered soup and bread and beer at the end. There must have been 30 Crock Pots with different soup, bags of bread, a couple of apple pies, and tubs full of iced-down beer. Solid times.

As far as the ride went, I was okay for the first time on my bike in a month. My lungs were good thanks to all of the running I’ve been doing. My legs got heavy and tired at the end, though. Running is just different so its not a one-to-one benefit. Still, I didn’t pull anything and I banked enough calories to enjoy a couple of helpings of soup bread and beer. I hope this marks the start of steady Sunday Rides again. I like them.

Jan 28 2013

13in13, bicycles

MTB rides out at Hilbert (1/27/2013)

(click on that image for the full ride stats, via Ethan)

I finally got a chance to give my new clipless MTB pedals a spin this weekend out at Camp Hilbert in Goochland. These trails drain really well and the recent rain and snow didn’t leave much in the way of soft ground. And really, it was too cold for soft ground and the trail ruts I did see were frozen in. I got a text from Ethan on Saturday night looking to ride in the morning. I happened to be at a party at the time so my enthusiasm for an early start was low. Very low. I got it together in the morning enough to get out to the trailhead. I was hoping to enlist a couple of the other MTB-ers in our group but it was too short notice. I was going to be suffering alone. I’m a big, slow chicken on the trails and I spent the morning huffing through the frigid woods. It was great.

Except for going over my handlebars inside the first mile. I took a bad line on an approach to a u-ditch (I call them “whoop-de-doos”) and just ate shit before I even got into it. It hurt. It took me a solid minute to get up and get back on the bike. I want to say it was mostly assessing any injuries (nothing more than some bruises and a scrape) but I’ll admit to getting spooked by the crash and then reluctant to get back on. Once I got rolling again I had another slack run at a u-ditch where I didn’t commit fully and instead spent time worrying about being able to get my foot out of the pedal to break a fall. I ended up climbing out of that ditch. If I’d just hammered the damn thing I’d have been fine. I relied on that lesson the rest of the ride and didn’t some close to missing a line or bailing unnecessarily the rest of the morning.

The only way I’m going to stop worrying about being clipped in is to spend more time riding clipped in. I’m looking forward to it.

Jan 20 2013

bicycles

NXTLVL Big Ringing It

Jan 16 2013

bicycles, photos

James River Park, early 70’s

This is the 22nd Street tower in the James River park that grants access from high on the bank down to the river. We ride to and across this bridge when we ride the Forest Hill/Buttermilk/North Bank MTB loop. Adam, who sent me the photo, can actually ride down the steps of the tower. It’s fun to watch. I’ll remember to get a present day shot the next time we’re over there.

Jan 08 2013

bicycles, fun, running

2012’s fitness totals.

I feel like I had another active year in 2012. That’s good. I like being active. I get a real mental benefit from regular bouts of steady exercise. I know this because I turn into a dick (figuratively, of course, I retain my human form at all times) if I go more than a week without some kind of run/bike/swim/hike. And I almost never realize that’s what is happening until I’ve done something dick-y. Anyway, these are my numbers from 2012 as entered into DailyMile. It’s a handy site. I’m a fan.

My weight graph was not so good. Around Thanksgiving this year I decided that I had grown tired of the way I ate and decided to kick it 2002-style. Lots of beers, thirds at Thanksgiving, and every single Christmas cookie I could fit into my mouth. It was delicious but I felt, and eventually looked, like the quitter I was behaving as. I’m in the process of righting the ship and I think this graph will look a lot better in 6 months. I weigh every morning and log it all at Skinnyr, another very handy site for tracking.

Adam has got me all excited about data collection for this new year. I’ve got plans to track all kinds of things for 2013. We’ll see if it sticks.

Sep 05 2012

bicycles

Ultralilght gear or a hearty #2?

I’m a hearty #2 man, myself. I’ve joked forever about “having a salad” when presented with an opportunity to upgrade to newer, lighter bike parts. Semi-rad uses some math to further the case for GI regularity.

If your full-time job is something other than “professional cyclist,” I think you should save the money you’d like to spend on the newest ultralight bike frame, get something cheaper, and just take a dump before you go on your ride.

Via Drunk Cyclist.

Category Archives: bicycles