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
No comments:
Post a Comment