Bike ride suffering? Hurts so good...

A while back I wrote about how I sometimes feel giddy anticipation right before a planned bike ride. As one reader commented, it’s been the opposite for him. A ride for him has often been a good cure for a dreary mindset. Instead of starting off in upbeat mode, he pedals out in a mental funk, which from him and many others, often yields to an expanded, refreshed mind. I’ve heard others say they’ve found a long bike ride to be a great cure for a hangover. The re-oxygenizing of their alcohol-soaked brain cells brings them back to a feel-good mindset.

So sure, a ride can stoke us into happy feelings whether we start out excited, depressed or hung over. I started out depressed on a recent ride and as I rode, let any thoughts that came up just pass through without any articulation. This blank mind riding helped me get into a nice pedaling cadence as I drafted behind a strong rider for the first few miles. I started to distance my mind from the funky, gloomy gremlins that had dominated thoughts pre-ride and wave in refreshed spirits.

I tried blank mind riding on the next ride without listening to any music, as I usually do. That let me tune into the sound and feel of my breathing as I rode. But while trying to get all guru-meditator-like, I was distracted by an annoying and painful nutsack pinch for several miles. It took a few miles of tugging and pulling on my shorts, and happily that pain eventually went away. Then on an uphill sprint I do regularly for conditioning, I felt my lower back muscles tighten. Because I’ve had a history of dealing with back spasms, this familiar pre-muscle spasm feeling makes me slow down. Because I know it’s a foreboding sign. It’s a message from my lower back muscles, and they’re telling me this: “Don’t push it bro, or we’re gonna seize up, and you know what that means…PAIN. As in, too much pain to ride the bike pain.”

 So with that message received loud and clear, I pretty much lost the drive to ride at a fast pace for the rest of the ride. When physical pain like that shows itself, a bunker mentality of anguish creeps in, since now it’s no longer a ride to work out, it’s a ride to make it back home without getting a back spasm.

While mental suffering from feeling low down, depressed or hung over on the bike can usually be washed away with a vigorous leg and lung workout on the bike, there’s also the realm of physical suffering on a ride.

To me, there are two types of physical suffering, one from extreme exertion, and the other from actual physical pain.

When I hit the wall on bike from riding hard for a lot of miles, keeping any kind of blank mind, meditative state becomes a serious test of keeping focused. I always know when I hit that threshold: I do an occasional big sigh, or worse, an involuntary groan of anguish. When I hear myself groan, it’s plain that all I want to do is one thing: Ride as fast as possible so I’ll be home sooner, where the suffering stops and I can get off the bike. And rest. I don’t want to stop and rest for one reason. It’ll be that much longer before I’m done riding in suffer-mode for the day.

Then there’s the suffering from feeling sharp physical pain, and that does one thing to me: Drains the power from a ride, slows me down.

Like the distraction of the above-mentioned nutsack pinch, or a leg cramp, or suddenly tight back muscles that are promising to spasm, the physical pain inhibits the ability to ride the strong pace you would without them.

Mental pain, physical pain, suffering. It comes and goes on the bike. But when we can hang in there in the face of it, persevere and ultimately master it on a ride, there’s a reward: It’s a feeling of hard earned accomplishment, a satisfaction that keeps us coming back for more. And we do. Even though we know the price is none other than suffering.

Til next time, remember to strap on a helmet every time you get on the bike. Then remember to keep the rubber side down, ride safely, and most of all, have a blast.

-- Mark Eric Larson

Bike handling? Knowing how Not to crash...

Bike handling skills are good to practice, as some of the bike riding tutorials online tell us. You know, practice riding upright so you can do things like pull snacks or a windbreaker out of your jersey back pockets while still riding. Practice riding slowly, so you gain confidence maneuvering tight spots. Practice balancing on the bike while not moving, such as when you’re waiting for a red light. Practice peeing while still riding your bike, so you don’t fall too far behind other riders.

OK, the last one I added in, but only because I’ve seen pro riders do it on TV with the help of another rider steadying their bike. Quite a skill that looks pretty dicey to pull off successfully.

But for we common riders, it’s just not worth the risk. What if a side wind comes up and hits you, your bike and your steadier/rider with back spray? Or what if you lose your balance while in the delicate act of peeing and you crash? Oh, that’s a horrible image, but it has to have happened to a pro or two at some point in history, hopefully when no TV cameras were rolling.

But yeah, that one should probably be left to the pros, who are only doing it to keep from falling too far behind in their race. Best to just stop, get off the bike where there’s a tree or a bush, go behind it and pee. Or, better yet, at a public restroom if there’s one along the trail. Then get on the bike and ride in new relief.

Still, no doubt, having bike-handling skills to stay balanced in tricky situations definitely comes in handy. But when you think about it, handling a bike well in technical riding situations just amounts to staying upright instead of crashing. Making it through areas needing sudden braking, near stops, quick turns, acceleration, all without falling off the bike.

My theory is that having good bike handling skills to avoid crashing requires only one thing: The ability to free one clipped-in foot if you’ve lost control and are just about to fall down with the bike.

Case in point: Say you’re balancing the bike while stopped at a red light. This is do-able but it’s also an easy way to suddenly tip over with the bike. We’ve all done this. If you turn the front wheel the wrong way and suddenly you’re out of balance, gravity takes over and in a wink, you’ve hit the deck, possibly in front of a line of cars ready to run you over when the light turns green. In this case, even if you can clip out fast, you’re still more likely to fall, because these tip-overs happen in milliseconds. So while it may be a good bike handling skill to try stay balanced on the bike while you wait at a red light, it can turn dangerous pretty fast if you’re clipped in. A little less so if you’re not. So maybe it’s a bad idea to practice it at red lights where there’s traffic. Or maybe it’s not worth practicing at all!

I’ve crashed on my mountain bike and road bike many times and most of the time it happened because I couldn’t unclip one foot fast enough to break my fall. When that happens, you and the bike go down attached, and the only thing left to break your fall is one arm, depending on which side you’re falling on, left or right. And I can testify with the scars under both my forearms, nasty road rash is sometimes the result.

All my falls taught me the hard way – uh, it took way too long for it to sink in! -- that I had to loosen my pedal clips for a quick kick-out. Having that option, especially on a mountain bike, when technical riding can be almost constant, has kept me from planting my face on dirt and rocks more than a few times. Instead of hitting the deck or trail with both shoes stuck to the bike, an unclipped shoe frees a leg to throw out to keep you, and sometimes the bike, from crashing. So easy kick out clips are very worth it. I can’t adjust the grip of my road bike clips, so that has taught me the need to unclip a shoe a little earlier than I actually need to. Most of the time that works, but sometimes there’s not enough time, and guess what? I’ll fall clipped into the bike! Ugh. Hate it when that happens.

Don’t forget to smell the roses

Every now and again while on my regular 51-mile ride, one I usually time myself against my best times on various splits, I have to remind myself to forget about my time. And just enjoy the ride! This usually happens when I’m out there riding too slowly for a decent time for a number of reasons. I don’t have much energy, my legs are tired or weak, I’m riding into a headwind, it’s hot, etc. On those rides, I just tell myself to pedal and fully take in everything I see. And I usually notice a few things that I never saw before. I’ve always enjoyed checking out clouds for their unique formations and colors, so sometimes all I do is look up and see some amazing abstract art in the form of clouds. One time as I rode, a shadow came over me. I looked up, and there was huge buzzard flying at my speed high above me, blocking out the sun for a few seconds, like a low flying airliner.

Another time, a hawk flew above and parallel to my left shoulder as I rode, making me wish I had a GoPro on my helmet to get a great side shot of a hawk in flight. It’s funny how we’re conditioned to feel a need to photograph everything we like these days, apparently to show other people what we’ve seen, or just to have a recording of it on hand to check later. But it’s really not so bad to fully experience something great with all the senses and without photography. Doing that, the mind takes its own movie, the images are etched into the memory banks, ready for retrieval. I’ve often wanted to take a photo of the big white egrets that I sometimes see along the bike path, as they stalk rodent snacks in the tall grass. They’re beautiful tall birds on the ground, and when they fly, their wingspans are impressive as they power glide over the river and flora along the trail. So slow rides are really an opportunity to tune into the sights during a ride that are often missed when hammering for a fast time. I just have to remind myself of that, instead of being bummed about whatever conditions are making me ride like a snail that day.

Til next time, remember to pull on a helmet every time you get on the bike. Then, keep the rubber side down, ride safely, and don’t forget to have a blast.

-- Mark Eric Larson

Power assisted cyclist knocks out commute

So I’m starting off my regular ride, waiting at the stoplight where there’s about a quarter mile stretch of traffic heavy street to survive on the way to the bike trail, where there are no cars, just a river and wilderness.
A guy on a road bike, t-shirt and baggy shorts pulls up next to me and says, “Here’s the spooky part,” noting the upcoming stretch of heavy, medium-speed traffic that sometimes features drivers not so tolerant of cyclists.
“Just gotta grin and bear it,” I say.
The light turns green, and this guy takes off like a shot ahead of me. I’m surprised by his acceleration. I catch up to him at a red light, then pass him as I make my way off the traffic zone, through a university campus, over a bridge and onto the bike trail.
As I start on the trail, it isn’t long before the I’d guy passed, passes me and waves. He’s going fast. It’s a hot morning, I’ve got 48 miles to go, my legs are a little tired from the previous day’s ride in big time heat, so I say to myself, “Opportunity here. Catch his wheel.”
So I hump it up and reel him in and just sit on his wheel while he cranks out at 20 mph-plus pace.
It’s great. I’m in his slipstream, and it’s no problem to keep the fast pace with an easy spin. What could be better? I’m used to riding this stretch solo, most of the time trying to work the rust out of my legs and into a strong tempo. That’s never easy.
But as I follow this guy, I’m thinking, something here doesn’t add up. He’s doing this strong pace pretty easily, and doesn’t seem to be slowing down at all. He looks like a casual rider. There’s a pannier on the left side of his rear wheel.
I move up behind his shoulder to get a closer look at his bike. It’s a steel frame of a brand I can’t make out. I look up to his front wheel and there’s a large, round silver metal unit around the hub.
“What is it?” I holler, pointing to it. “Electric drive?
Yes it is he says, a $600 battery powered unit that gives about 18 mph of boost on flats and about a 15 mph boost on hills. His isn’t the biggest of the attachable front-wheel power assists, he says, but they’re out there. He controls it with a button near his left hand brake.
Turns out, this is his 15-mile commute to work, or 30 miles round trip. The power boost gets him to work and back without driving a car and relatively fast, without killing his lungs and legs.
The unit pops on and off easily, he says, and he plans to take it off when he goes on an upcoming bike tour.
Without it, the guy would probably not have the time or energy to ride his bike to commute without taking too much time out of his day, and would likely be forced to drive his car. And be forced to endure all the joys associated with driving a commute every day: Traffic slowdowns, caffeinated drivers prone to road rage, etc.
But with it, the car stays in the garage, so he saves gas and air quality. And he gets to ride his bike fast and easily for commuting, without paying a physical toll but still getting healthy exercise every day. Pretty much a win-win, win-win, win situation.

Let’s take an easier way back…
I could have used an electric power boost on one mountain bike ride I went on a few years ago with my buddy Kevin. We drove to the outskirts of Nevada City to a place called Round Mountain. After parking we rode on an uphill two-lane highway for about half a mile then got to a dirt trail that offered a series of switchbacks down a steep dropoff to the South Yuba River. We took it easy going down, because it was a little like traversing a cliff and falling would have been inconvenient! Once we got to the bottom, I suggested that instead of riding back up the cliff of switchbacks, let’s find the nearby road to the top of the trail where we started. Probably a little easier ride back.
Well, was I ever wrong! We found the road, which was steep and paved at first, and bypassed homes along it in the woods. But then the road turned to dirt and kept a steady long but gradual ascent of Round Mountain. It was a hot late summer morning, and we were already pretty beat, ready to get the ride over with. But it felt like we were riding on a treadmill to nowhere! The fire road got steeper and we would ride about 50 yards to the left turning road ahead, sure we were almost to the top. But no, we repeatedly got to the end of a stretch, only to turn the corner to find another carbon copy stretch ahead of us. We were dying!
Kevin rode ahead of me and by the time I finally got to the top, I was walking the bike in sandy roadway, completely spent.
We laughed about how much easier and shorter it sure would have been to just turn around at the bottom of the switchbacks and ride back up. But nooo….

Cramp prevention worth it
In hot riding conditions, keeping cramps at bay with lots of water and electrolytes is a major pain preventative.
This week I saw a bike trail rider at the turnaround rest point I regularly ride to. He was stretching one of his legs on the plank of a picnic table. If he has a cramp, I told him, I have some electrolyte gel caps.
Not cramping, just stretching, he said, adding that he too has electrolytes at the ready.
“It took me a long time to figure out, but the best defense against cramps is prevention,” he said.
We agreed that if leg cramps aren’t kept away with good hydration, they pretty much hang on, hurt and make it brutal to keep riding.
On a group ride one time, I cramped in both quads at once.  It was a warm August day and I had fried my quads on an extended climb, followed by a seven-mile descent in cool ocean air. When I tried to stand and pedal up a short pitch after the long, cool descent, both quads locked, and I fell right over!
I sat on the trail incapacitated and in the way of other riders until two nice guys dragged me to the side. Another rider gave me a handful of electrolyte gel caps which I downed with a lot of water.  I was amazed that within 10 minutes my quads relaxed, and I was able to get back on the bike and ride cramp-free. But the quad cramp scene could have been prevented. Just needed to down a lot more water and electrolytes a lot earlier in the ride.

Til next time, remember to pull on a helmet every time you get on the bike. Then keep the rubber side down, ride safely and make sure to have a blast.
-- Mark Eric Larson

Cyclists meet by chance, shoot the bull

Because I ride alone a lot, it’s always nice to chat it up with other riders when meeting by chance at a rest stop.
This past week while at the turnaround point of my regular 51-mile ride up to Folsom Lake and back, I met up with a couple of old guy riders like myself taking a break, and we had a nice time trading war stories.
To keep their privacy, I’ll call them Luke and Joe.
Joe is a guy that has passed me occasionally on the trail going about 20 mph. He’s medium height, trim, tan, rides with a blue sleeveless jersey and wears black running shorts instead of lycra pants. I remember the first time he passed me. I think I sped up to catch his wheel, and may or may not have passed him. But either way, I couldn’t keep his pace. When I saw him later at the turnaround point, I was miffed that this dude had dropped me so easily, like I wasn’t even there. Kind of a bruised ego thing. I just licked my wounds, and didn’t try to start up a conversation.
This time at the rest stop, Joe rode in after me. He and a cyclist couple talked of some rider they’d passed on the trail that hadn’t given enough room in the lane on a blind curve, and had ignored Joe’s yells to move over.
“I was yelling at him, and he heard me, but he wouldn’t move,” said Joe. “I stay off the median line. There, I just hug the fence.”
 “Hard to believe how stupid some of the people on the trail are,” said the woman cyclist. “That guy needs to be talked to.”
Then Luke rode into the rest area, a big, tall cyclist in a black kit on a black bike. I recognized him as someone who works at a grocery store I regularly go to.
I chat him up, and soon Joe, Luke and I, three older cyclists who love to ride, are trading stories. Joe’s a big talker, and he takes the lead.
Joe also rides a regular 50-mile ride, he said, and also mountain bikes. He’s a retired government number cruncher who used to put together budgets. He aims for a 20 mph pace on the bike trail, and says, “The only one I race against is myself.” Still, at his pace, he’s very hard to pass. You’d need to be doing a 21-23 mph pace to do that. Hell, on my best days I can do an 18 mph average.
 “If I don’t ride, I don’t eat,” says Joe, which I think may be literally true, because this guys seems like a possessed Spartan on a bike. Don’t know exactly how old he is, but he looks too young to be retired. I’m thinking he’s gotta be the fastest older rider on the trail. Borderline maniac, in a good way.
But Joe does show some humility. He tells of riding with a group of “serious studs” who had invited him to grab their wheel on the trail. He did, but soon found, “My legs couldn’t go as fast as theirs!”
Ahh, youth.
 “I take my bike out and push it to the front door,” he says of what sounds like most days. “And if I’m not too tired, I go.”
We talk about riding with and against the winds, which have been more common this year, making riding the trail a bit more challenging.
“I’d rather there be no wind,” says Joe.  One time I was riding like a god with the wind at my back, I mean, like a god, flying along when a squirrel tried to run through my front wheel and didn’t make it.”
He pulls from his saddlebag a folded up photocopied picture of his bike right after the accident, taken by a photographer who happened along the trail. The squirrel somehow got between two spokes of his front wheel, and was then slammed up against the top backs of his forks, snapping them completely off the frame. Joe said the front of the bike, wheel and all, just disappeared. He rode the handlebars into ground and flew off, scraping up the back of his left shoulder. Other than that, he was OK.
He got a new Trek with his insurance. He never used to, but now he brakes for squirrels. And he has a higher spoke count on his wheels.
His new bike is equipped with electronic shifters, which he likes. He says they shift under load without a problem, and that has led him to shift a lot more than he did when manual shifting. It goes thousands of miles before its battery needs a recharge. He doesn’t have disc brakes on his new bike, and rides on 23mm wide tires.
On his mountain bike he likes his 29-inch rims and loves the tubeless tires in the dirt, since he’s never had flat with them. Oh, once he did, but says he was able to keep enough air in them to ride, not walk, back to his car.
We talk about riding on roads with car traffic, and Joe declares to keep from being run off a two-lane highway, “you’ve got to own the lane,” so that cars have to go into the oncoming lane if they want to pass you.
We all agree that the fewer cars encountered on a ride, the better.
We all mountain bike and trade tips on some good local trails.
Luke asks if we’ve ever ridden the Flume trail on the northeast shore of Lake Tahoe. I have, and if you take the upper part of the trail, which Luke did, there’s an amazing panoramic view of the Lake. This trail has lots of sand, which is the decomposed granite from the rocky mountain terrain, and it can make for treacherous riding.
Luke says on the way back down the mountain he hit a stretch of sand at high speed, and crashed after touching one of his brakes. “It was a great ride until then,” he says.
“Sand is not your friend,” says Joe.
We all agree that speed is needed to get through sand, or the bike will bog down fast, and almost always go down.
I tell of a great mountain bike trail in the area that neither guy has tried. It has tough climbs and plenty of technical stretches of trail.
“I’m not big on technical trails with crazy climbs,” says Joe. “I’m not proud, I’ll just get off the bike and walk it.” Better than crashing out of control over a cliff, he says.
As for fast descents on a road bike, Joe says he’ll never push the speed up to 40 mph or higher for one reason: “If I fall, I’m going to be messed up.”
Talk turns to the home mortgage meltdown and a few other takes on current events. Then we all have to move on. We shake hands, exchange names, (Joe says we’ll never remember them) and ride off.

Til next time, remember to strap on a helmet every time you get on a bike. Then keep the rubber side down, ride safely and don’t forget to have a blast.
-- Mark Eric Larson