I’ve been riding long rides three days in a row for the past three weeks to check out how the concentrated riding affects my speed on each ride. I’ve had one fast day in each of the three-day spans, and two slow to medium fast rides on the other two days. But oddly, the fast rides happened on the first day the first week, the third day the second week, and the second day on the third week. No predicting days of feeling strong and fast, and those when there’s not much energy to get any kind of strong pace. So far for me anyway, strong days seem to happen randomly.
Headwind riding discovery: One of my least favorite conditions in riding is a headwind or a side wind. But I get them all the time, and I’ve had a hard time, when riding solo, to establish and keep any kind of strong pace. One thing I tried, and it has worked really well, is to get down in the drops, (yes, that’s a no-brainer!), but then I don’t look in the distance. I keep my head down and my vision just ahead of my wheel, and concentrate on generating a power rhythm as I pedal. I’ve managed to hit 20-22 mph in strong headwinds for a quarter mile or more, and I think the head down helps with the pedaling concentration. Just have to make sure it’s clear ahead, so there’s no running into anybody! Give it a shot, see if it works for you.
Tire smarts
Good road bike tires aren’t cheap, so it’s good to get the most out of them. But it’s best to know when they’re worn enough to change to keep from having to deal with unexpected flats.
I like how this guy gets the most out of his back tire before he changes it out. He takes the tread down to nothing in spots, way down to the Kevlar! After I watched this I realized I’ve pulled off some of my tires too early, wrongly thinking they were too worn down to ride safely.
Check out this video, the Aussie dude has a great tire rotation system...
Pay it forward
Unpredictable darting squirrels are a common danger on the trail I ride. I ran over one while banking down a short curved descent, and it made me crash. I flew through the air and the underside of my left forearm stopped me, but the asphalt induced road rash was nasty. Fortunately the bike was OK and I didn’t break any bones.
Another time I managed to stay upright when one darted under my front wheel. And I’ve had multiple close calls with squirrels darting in front and alongside the bike out of the blue.
The frenzied little guys have no clue, and who wants to ride over and kill a squirrel? They’re nice little animals.
On my regular turnaround rest spot an aging squirrel has ventured to see if I have any food. So I’ve given him little pieces of apple and some nut chards. Figure it’s my way of giving back to the squirrel community. He came out the other day to get a couple snacks and chased off a competing squirrel with the same idea. A guy with a hunting dog, a pointer, came by and the dog tried to get the old squirrel after he darted into some bushes. Happily the dog came up empty. The owner was relieved too. She said the dog has caught squirrels before.
“That can’t be pretty,” I said.
She assured me, it isn’t.
Poor little critters. Fight amongst themselves for food, get hunted down by dogs, hit by cars and cyclists. It’s rough out there. But when one takes you out on the bike, sympathy for ‘em is kinda hard. Plus, they don’t seem to have a problem reproducing around where I ride.
Hell, I still like ‘em. Bless the nutty little critters! They’ll definitely keep you on your toes on the bike. Hopefully all encounters with them end without mayhem. I hiss at them like I’m a snake whenever I see them ahead. Most of their little brains figure out they need to run out of the way. Uh, most anyway.
‘Til next time, remember to strap on a helmet every time you get on the bike. Then remember to keep the rubber side down. Have fun and ride safely.
-- Mark Eric Larson
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