Critter management

When riding on remote roads or bike trails that lead through wilderness, there’s a good chance you’ll encounter wildlife. Some, like blue heron, great white egrets, turkeys, deer and coyotes, are quite a thrill to see in their natural habitat.

But others are best treated with a red alert. Because if you accidentally hit them while on the bike, they can make you crash. That will injure or kill the wildlife and/or injure or kill you. Squirrels and snakes top that list for me. For me, the scariest, unpredictable little critter that can run under your wheels and make you crash, is a squirrel. I’ve had a few run-ins with them and a lot of close calls. Their little brains don’t comprehend fast moving bicycles, so they’ll just run across your path, in an oblivious, frenzied scramble for nuts or whatever else makes them flit about.

One such squirrel took me out as I was riding about 18 mph down a little dip on a nearby bike trail that was in the middle of a sweeping left hand turn. It happened so fast, I couldn’t react with an evasive move. I remember looking down and seeing a small dark movement toward my front wheel. When my front tire hit the squirrel, the left lean I had on the bike jerked the tire all the way to the right, sideways, and my momentum sent me flying through the air as the bike dropped under me. I was fully stretched out and landed on the asphalt on my extended left forearm, which I put out to break my fall. My elbow took the biggest hit, with the underside of my forearm heavily skinned up. I got up, and looked around, and never saw the squirrel. He had to have been killed, and probably limped away and died. Sorry Mr. Squirrel. I rode to a nearby water fountain and ran water over my bloody arm before heading home.

After that, I’m as squirrelly as any squirrels I see while riding. I see one off to the side of road and I make like a snake. I hiss as loud as I can to hopefully send the message that they’re about to be a snake’s snack if they don’t run the other way. That usually works. But these little guys are totally unpredictable in which way they dart. Some will sit on their hind legs, watch you, and not move a muscle as they watch your wheels whip by them, inches away. Others, as if fleeing from a fire alarm in their heads, sprint right out in front of you at the last second! It’s crazy making, I tellya! If you’re lucky you can miss ‘em. Be thankful when you do, because the alternative can be not so fun.

A few months ago, I lost my rear wheel because of an evasive move I made from a darting squirrel. I hit the brakes as he ran to my front wheel. I leaned on the bike to try to avoid him, but in doing so, my right heel went too far toward the bike frame and collided with the spokes of my rear wheel. That popped two or three spokes out and blew the rim out of round and into an oval. That immediately jammed the rear wheel and put me into a about a 10 yard skidding stop.

So, the bike rendered unrideable, I shouldered it and walked to a nearby park. I called a friend who luckily could come and drive me home. That prompted me to buy a new, much upgraded wheel set, front and back, which I had been planning to do eventually. So in this case the squirrel accelerated my wheel set upgrade, so it wasn’t all bad. A little expensive, though!

Just yesterday, on the way back from a long ride on a nearby bike trail, a squirrel, in the shade, slowly ambled right in front of me at the last second from the right, and I jerked the bike left, just missing him! I yelled back at the crazy little critter, as if he knew English, and took a few deep breaths as I continued to ride.

So it’s a crapshoot when the squirrels are out, and in the autumn nut gathering season, it seems like they’re everywhere on the nearby bike trail. I’m so leery of them that I’ve decided this year, I’m going to avoid the bike trail near my house for the fall months. Just not in any hurry to do another flying skid off the pavement!

Snakes, I’ve found, are almost always avoidable, provided you see them in your path early enough. I’ve always managed to go around them, then warn any oncoming riders of the snake’s presence. Let’s hope we can all avoid squirrels and snakes and wild turkeys and any other critters that might cross our paths while on the bike. Keeping alert with eyes ahead at all times is, of course, the best prevention. But I’ve been caught off guard even while riding in a critter detection mode.
A lot less dangerous, but still annoying are bees. I've found that when a bee hits you while riding fairly fast, they hit hard, like a small pebble. One time I followed a buddy on a ride who got one in his helmet! He knew immediately that there was a bee in his bonnet, and skidded to a stop on the side of the road. He unsnapped his chin strap, pulled off his helmet and ran his hand through his hair til it flew off. 
He handled an unnerving situation well. Even though he could feel the bee inside his helmet, he found a safe place to stop and then addressed the problem. That beats trying to flip off the helmet while still riding, and risking a nasty fall. So the key was that he never panicked, which is not always easy to do, but is definitely the best way to go.
I've been stung by bees while riding, once right in the stomach through my jersey -- the bee must have gotten caught in it and stung his way free -- and once recently in the wrist near my glove. I didn't even notice I'd been stung until the end of the ride. But here's a good thing to do if you get stung: Stop and pour some water from your bottle in any nearby dirt, if possible, and rub the mud into the sting. That's after pulling out any stinger that may be embedded. The mud will dry out the stung area and keep the pain and swelling in check. It works, so good to remember.

So when we make it home safely and relatively intact from a ride where critters roam, or anywhere else, we should all just take a moment and thank our lucky stars. We were able to go on a ride, get a workout, and come home the better for it. As one pro football coach has his team shout in unison to fire them up: 
"Who’s got it better than us? NOBODY!"

Til next time, remember to always strap on a helmet before every bike ride, and then, most importantly, keep the rubber side down!

-- Mark Eric Larson

Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelf

Ride for the gold

When going on a ride, whether it’s a long one, or one around the block, I make it a habit to think about what I want out of the ride before I get into the saddle.

That’s because I’ve found one of the most gratifying parts of a ride is the reflective time afterward, feeling that because of what I worked on, I became a better bike rider.

This can happen in small ways and big ways. I always think about what the challenges of an upcoming ride are likely to be, then focus on ways to work on them, instead of being bothered by them.

Like if there are going to be headwinds on the ride, one of my least favorite things, or excessive heat, I have a little talk to myself.

For wind, I decide that I’ll draft behind any rider that’s got a good pace, to get through it as painlessly as possible. Or if there’s nobody to draft with, I decide that this is just like a climb, and that it is just adding to the workout. Somehow, that makes the headwind seem like it’s helping more than slowing down the ride.

For hot rides, I make sure I have enough water that I regularly drink. And I wear a sweatband on my forehead to keep sweat from dripping into my eyes, which is no fun at all! If I do those things, and take electrolyte gel caps for hot, sunny climbs, I can usually tough out the conditions without quad and hamstring cramps and help myself get generally stronger.

Another challenge to a ride is having to drive in traffic with a lot of cars. Surviving riding with traffic is its own reward, but it takes heightened awareness to stay out of trouble. The best policy in traffic is to consider yourself on red alert at all times.

I have to tell myself to slow down in traffic, since I noticed that when I’ve been in a hurry to get through it, it seems like I’m more likely to make risky, unsafe moves with the bike. If I just relax and take my time, and I’ve heard other riders talk of how this benefits them, there’s more reaction time and a better chance to ride safely with traffic. Using hand signals, going with traffic flow, and generally assuming that drivers can’t see you, is a good way to go. Most drivers don’t realize how fast bikes move – especially a road bike -- and often try to beat them to a turn, or an on ramp, only to cause a possibly turn too closely in front of the rider. 

The best way for a rider to beat that is to stay out of right hand turn lanes if you’re going straight. That means you’ll have to check over your shoulder, and if you have space, merge into the second inside lane before the turn comes up. If you look before you switch lanes and use an arm signal, most drivers coming behind you get that, and give you room. That clears you out of the turn lane and away from a conflict with a turning car.

And, if a car is about to pull out on the right as you approach, look at the driver to see if they see you and make arm motions if you need to get their attention. If they look like they’re about to pull out in front of you, slow down and veer to the right behind them if possible. Don’t go left, that’s where other cars are and that’s pure danger.

Other much more fun challenges on rides are to pick areas you want to improve upon on during an upcoming ride. If you’re on rough roads that are annoying for the unexpected jars they produce, think of it as an opportunity to improve your bike handling skills in choosing the smoothest line on the road. Sometimes that’s tricky, because the bike lane – if there is one – can often have gravel or rougher pavement than the main road. So if you use the edge of the main road, you can be putting yourself too close to passing cars, trucks and semi-trailer trucks.  But finding the happy medium will improve your bike handling skills, and they come in handy when you have to make a quick maneuver on the bike to keep from crashing.

Another fun challenge to improve your fitness is to work on riding faster and building up your cardio fitness. One fun way is to see how many other riders on your route you can pass. Or see if you can catch a particularly fast rider ahead of you. Or you can time yourself on a stretch of ride you do often, such as a long flat segment, or on repeated small climbs. My Garmin bike computer shows me how much faster or slower I am on comparable rides.

So setting personal goals before any ride will let you finish with a review of what you did, and many times help you feel like you got the most out of a ride. 

And even when you have a tough ride, checkered by a flat, or sluggishness or other annoyances, remember you can always learn something on those rides, too! Always remember they can add to your riding knowledge, even if they seem ridiculously challenging, as they sometimes do!

Til next time, always strap on your helmet before a ride, and most importantly, work hard to keep the rubber side down!

-- Mark Eric Larson

Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelf

Drivers vs. cyclists war rages

Sure, there are plenty of instances when bike riders make incredibly unsafe moves in traffic, ride without a helmet, and blithely ignore all rules of the road, leaving driver curses and shaken fists in their wake.

But on the other side, there are plenty of drivers that ignore traffic rules and put cyclists riding responsibly in traffic in serious harm’s way.

Today I was just coming home in the car from some errands and saw a van do a last minute high speed left hand turn – right in front of what looked to be a veteran road cyclist – forcing the cyclist to brake into a skid to avoid a nasty collision. The rider had the right of way, wore a helmet and full riding kit, and I saw him look over his shoulder to get a good look at the van that had just about killed him.

I took a left down the same neighborhood road and looking in the rearview mirror, saw the cyclist had turned back. He was headed down the street. I knew what he was going to do. He was angry and was going to confront the driver. The van was three cars ahead of me, and stopped for a red light. The rider pulled up to the driver side of the van, pointed and shouted. I didn’t hear what he was shouting, but I don’t think it was “Have a nice day.” The driver – couldn’t see if it was a man or a woman – apparently just rolled up the window in defense. The rider swung back and passed my car, spitting on the ground after venting his anger.

I wouldn’t recommend chasing down a driver that has narrowly missed killing you due to negligence, it can lead to a violent confrontation in which nobody wins. But I could see the cyclist’s point and the fear and anger that had spiked through him because of the close call. He wanted to tell the driver what the hell his or her driving blunder almost did, and how serious it was. Getting yelled at by the cyclist will probably make that driver be more careful around cyclists they see on the road in the future. Let’s hope so. But a shouting confrontation also has a dangerous side to it. What if the confronted driver is a hothead with a gun at the ready? Even if not, the shout down just feeds the fire of animosity that is all too common between drivers and cyclists.

Somehow more awareness of the need for friendly cooperation between cyclists and drivers needs to be boosted. A public service ad campaign would be a good start. Something. Here’s to that.

My friend Russ wasn’t so lucky as the rider I saw today. Last year he was riding his road bike, wearing his helmet, when a car passed him on his left then suddenly turned right down a street, right in front of him. Russ couldn’t avoid the car, hit the back end of it and flew to the pavement on his left shoulder. The driver didn’t stop, either.

“Left me for dead,” said Russ.

Russ tore up his shoulder, and had to undergo three surgeries over several months before it was repaired. The good news is, the driver of the car was tracked down by police, and Russ was able to get a generous claim from the driver’s insurance. It was a young man driving his parents’ car.

So it ended up OK. Russ wasn’t killed, which he very well could have been, and he got the medical care he needed and money for a new bike. But he went through a year of pain and meds, lost work time, a lot of misery. And it all could have been avoided if the kid had just driven responsibly.

Good thing is, though, now Russ has a nice new road bike, and he’s ready to ride again.

Here’s to more cyclist/driver awareness and cooperation on the road, so everybody gets home safely.

Until next time, remember to strap on a helmet before every ride. And on the ride, keep the rubber side down!

-- Mark Eric Larson 

P.S. Here are the hot links to Carroll I's safety tips put out by Edmunds mentioned below: 
Co-existing with Bicyclists: 10 Rules for Drivers: http://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/coexisting-with-bicyclists-10-rules-for-drivers.html And for bicyclists: http://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/coexisting-with-drivers-10-rules-for-bicyclists.html


Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelf

Eat well, ride strong

No doubt about it, having enough water in your body is important when going on a long ride, but it’s equally important to eat well. It puts fuel in your tank and gives you much needed energy reserves when pedaling long and steady.

The back pouches on a biking jersey can hold most of the food you need for a ride of 60 miles or less. Stuff like energy bars, chews, small apples and bananas, almonds, raisins, beef jerky, all eaten a little bit at a time when you stop for a rest, will keep you strong. Your body burns up a lot of calories on a ride, and even if you’re trying to slim down, eating high protein snacks along the ride will keep you from delirium and the “I got nothin’” bonk!

The salt in jerky is good protein replenishment to the sweat coming off your body, as are electrolyte gel caps. Not enough salt and potassium when you’re working your legs hard over an extended period can bunch up the lactic acid and bring on a dreaded pain fest of muscle cramps. So it’s always best to keep the water, protein and salt flowing as you ride.

And believe it or not, even junk food sometimes does the trick when you’re feeling weak and depleted on a long, hot ride.

My two buddies told me of the time they were climbing from Highway 395 up to Monitor Pass near Markleeville. In the summer it’s a hot, 10-mile grinding climb, and they were just barely hanging in there from running out of water when Marc, riding ahead, stopped at a lookout area to take a rest. He said hello to some tourists, and asked them if they had any water. No, they said, but they had a cooler full of ice cold Cokes, and he could have one if he wanted. Overjoyed at the prospect, the thirst wracked Marc thanked his newfound friends and drank down the coke, its sugar and caffeine doing a direct beeline to his cerebral cortex.

Just then, Pat, the other riding buddy, pulled up, looking

like he’d been crawling across the desert on his hands and knees. Would he like a cold Coke? Oh yes, yes, he said, and soon partook in the unfathomable joy of the cold liquid energy he poured down his gullet.

Instantly revived, Marc and Pat got back on their bikes. They thanked the friendly tourists, and rode strongly the rest of the climb.

Cokes or caffeinated soda of any kind sound like the wrong idea for nutrition while riding on a bike, but it can be just the boost you need if your body is depleted.

Professional bike rider Chris Horner of Team Radio Shack proudly eats Snickers bars and drinks Cokes when he rides, and he’s had quite the successful career. He’s happy to dial into the sugar and caffeine lift they give him.

One recent ride, buddy Marc and I had ridden about 50 miles including a big climb up Mt. Rose, northeast of Lake Tahoe. We had another 10 miles of climbing left to do up Clear Creek Grade from Carson City to Lake Tahoe. We were tired and figured we needed a little pick me up. So we stopped and bought Cokes at a convenience store in Carson City and poured them in our water bottles. The cold soda tasted great after we got on the bikes and headed up the mountain.

But here’s the thing. We really didn’t notice any boost in our energy levels as we expected to. So that meant to me one thing: All the Coke did was maintain our energy. It didn’t add to it. So it worked, but in a subtler way that time. In any event, good hydration and nutrition is a major part of riding strong and setting free your natural riding abilities. I’ll talk more about that next time.

So until next time, don’t forget to strap on a helmet before every ride, and if at all possible, keep the rubber side down!

-- Mark Eric Larson

Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelf

Hey, my quads just cramped...Timmmberrrr!

I’ve recently done some long, hot summer rides, and they’ve reminded me of the importance of keeping hydrated on the bike.

Whenever I’ve ridden without enough water in my system, I am prone to cramps in my quads (thighs) and hamstrings, and those are no fun to cope with while riding. They hurt and inhibit your pedaling rhythm. And sometimes cramped up quads make you fall down and go boom! And that’s just no fun at all.

I first dealt with quad cramps on big mountain bike rides years ago. They would happen when I unclipped and stepped to the ground after a lot of tough climbing. Ouch, the muscles would freeze up and it hurt too much to even walk. But I could fall, no problem!

 My first long road bike ride was in warm summer weather in Napa and that’s when I got an education on proper hydration. It’s all about drinking enough water and having electrolytes in your system to keep the lactic acid from seizing up you quads and other leg muscles.

This was an organized ride, with many other riders and well stocked rest stops. I did the 60-mile version. At the midway rest stop, I figured if I downed a few bananas and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, then just filled my water bottles, I’d be good to go the rest of the ride.

 I saw other riders had Cytomax drinks to help keep them from cramping, but I was pretty sure just water would work for me. The second half of the ride started with a tough climb, with steep pitches and switchbacks. Even though it was in the shade, it was hot, and made everybody pedaling sweat it up as they slowly grinded it out. I didn’t rest at the top, and pushed on to a fast seven-mile descent. Flying down that was a blast. The road was smooth the turns were wide, nothing but fun.

At the bottom there was a hairpin turn, and the course went to a narrow back road with occasional small hills to climb. At this point, I didn’t realize it, but the wind from the descent had stiffened up my quads building up lactic acid, right after they had been pushed hard on the climb. Plus, I hadn’t been drinking enough water, because I pretty much forgot to. So up comes a short climb, and I decided to stand up to get some momentum. As I stood on the pedals, not one, but both of my quads locked up into cramps. I couldn’t move them forward at all without pain. The bike quickly slowed to a stop on the hill because I was in too high of a gear. I couldn’t even kick out of my clips. So what happened? I tipped over!

I’ve fallen off of a mountain bike enough to know how to fall without injury most of the time, so I tipped to the right and broke my fall to the asphalt with my gloved hands. So there I was in the middle of the road, with my bike on its side next to me – my fall had pulled me out of my clips – and so I sat up. My legs were straight out, but I couldn’t get up, they were locked tight.

That’s when other riders, bless ‘em, stopped and helped. One guy picked up my bike and leaned it on the rock cliff on the side of the road and out of the way of other riders coming through. Then he and his buddy each hooked me under my arms and dragged me off the road to the side, my heels dragging along the asphalt.

So then at least I was out of the way, and everybody passing asked if I was OK. I figured, I’d be sitting there for awhile until my quads could relax on their own. But then riders, who apparently had been in my position at some point, began offering me their remedies. One woman gave me some Tums, telling me the magnesium is a good electrolyte for cramped muscles. Another woman gave me a packet of Cytomax powder to put in my water bottle. Then a man stopped and held out his palm with six white gel caps in it, offering them to me.

“I’m a cardiologist,” he said. “I know it’s not a good idea to accept meds off the street from somebody you don’t know, but just take these, and your cramps will be gone in five minutes.”

I trusted this guy, no problem. He was a bike rider! Offering help! So as I’m washing down these gel caps with my Cytomax infused water, I asked him, “What are they?”

“They’re super electrolytes,” he said. “Believe me, you’ll be up in five minutes.”

So he rode off and I rolled around, trying to get up. I managed to get to my feet, and in a flash, my quads quickly relaxed. I was blown away! I got on my bike and finished the rest of the ride, no cramps at all.

So since then, I realized, it’s really important to take measures to avoid cramping, even though recently I cramped on a long hot climb from, yes, not drinking enough water. It’s easy to forget to drink enough, so it’s a good idea to keep reminding yourself to keep drinking your water.

Especially on hot summer rides with a lot of climbing, I’ve found it greatly helps to drink a full bottle of water before getting on the bike. Then have two full bottles of water on the bike. And I found later out those gel caps I took while sitting on the road in Napa were something called Endurolytes. They, too, are definitely good to take before and during a tough hot ride.

Plenty of water and electrolytes, not to mention enough food, is what keeps you pedaling free and easy. I’ll talk about nutrition on a ride next time.

So until next time, don’t forget to strap on a helmet before every ride, and if at all possible, keep the rubber side down.

-- Mark Eric Larson

Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelf

Vee loffs zee cycling, YaYa, GoGo!

A great thing happened on a ride yesterday. My buddy Marc and I were climbing the hot, sunny switchbacks up Mt. Hamilton, in the foothills east of San Jose. Marc, riding ahead of me, encountered a caravan of a van and motorcyclists as he pedaled the hot climb. The passengers in the lead van cheered for the parched Marc as they drove next to him, cheering “Ya Ya Ya!”, and snapped his picture as they drove by. He waved, gave them the thumbs up, downed some energy gel as they asked him if he was OK. They had German accented English. They were guided tourists checking out a beautiful spot of California, some of them trying it out on those big American Harleys! He told me about it when we met at the top of the climb, where there’s a beautiful observatory and spectacular view.

“Did you see those motorcyclists?”

They had ridden by me. I said I saw them go past me, but there were no callouts. I probably wasn’t suffering like Marc, he was far ahead, punishing himself on the sweltering climb. So at least he inspired their cheers!

But as an experienced road cyclist in the U.S., Marc was pleasantly surprised by the warmth shown by the German tourists toward an unknown cycler. They appreciated his determination, and let him know it. This kind of thing is a rarity in our part of the world, where motorcyclists and drivers tend to look at cyclists on the road as irritating, in the way and best crowded out of the way.

On the other hand, there are many cyclists that constantly incur the wrath of drivers because they don’t obey traffic rules in a “hit me if you dare” attitude. They just fuel the already long burning fires among drivers resentful and intolerant of bike riders.

I’ve been in both situations: Driving, I’ve been angered by cyclists flouting traffic rules and forcing evasive moves. And riding my bike, I’ve been livid at drivers that have tried to honk and run me off the road. Both are bad situations.

In the U.S., cars have dominated the roads since their invention, and bike riding hasn’t been a commonly used way to get around as it has in old countries.

So here, I think it’s a perceived threat to the car’s traditional road dominance that often triggers an “us vs. them” anger-fueled opposition.

But in Germany and other European countries, where bike riding is embedded in many of those cultures, drivers and riders have a much more enlightened and healthy “we” mentality toward each other, one of support and cooperation. 

So let’s dream a little. With enough goodwill and tolerance cultivated among drivers and cyclists in this country, the fist shaking will hopefully some day be replaced with friendly waves and goodwill.

This can happen if both drivers and cyclists extend the olive leaf of mutual respect, by sharing the road and obeying traffic signals. So, no doubt, here in the U.S., both sides have a long way to go.

Still, back to the dream. Let’s visualize the day when most drivers and cyclists in the U.S. automatically drop their “us vs. them” mentality, and start thinking respectfully and harmonically with a cooperative “we” on the road and in traffic.

Now, I’m not saying American cyclists pedaling hard on a ride need to be cheered on by all drivers like the German tourists did for Marc. No, just being given enough room on the road is the best symbolic cheer that can be made by a driver.  

But hey, as my ride buddy Marc can attest, it absolutely lifts the spirit when moral support for a cyclist pops up out of nowhere from a passing motorist. All from just offering a wave, a smile or word of encouragement. So let’s do it!

Until next time, remember to strap on that helmet before every bike ride. And always keep the rubber side down.

--Mark Eric Larson

Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelf