Sometimes you get out on the bike and everything comes
together. The weather’s sunny and warm, the air is dry, there’s no wind. And
the legs have plenty of firepower.
That happened to me on a recent ride. I couldn’t remember
the last time great conditions had converged so harmonically.
But it was on the ride back that things got even better. I
was a few miles in to the last flat-terrained 14.5-mile split of my 51-mile
ride when I got passed by a guy on a mountain bike. A mountain bike? I felt
pretty good, so I cranked it up to catch his wheel.
This guy had a strong cadence going, at around 20-21 mph.Which
was pretty impressive considering he was on an old gray Marin mountain bike. I
figured there was no way he could stay at that pace for too long.
As I rode behind him, I saw he had the rough-hewn look of a
rogue big wave surfer, or hardcore Harley rider. He didn’t wear a helmet, his
arms and legs were thick and muscular. His tan was a deep bronze, a
been-in-the-sun-and-wind-a-lot tan. He wore a gray cycling jersey with the
words Elephant Rock on the back. He’d cut the short sleeves off his jersey,
likely to give his big upper arms easier movement. His bike didn’t have any
shocks on it, front or rear. He had a spare tube wrapped around the stem of his
handlebars and a small pump attached to his bike frame. Looked like his tires
were slicks. I couldn’t tell if the bike frame was steel or aluminum or what.
But I’m sure it was a lot heavier then most road bikes, providing a lot more
resistance to pedaling at a fast pace.
I drafted the guy for several miles and he hadn’t wavered
from his 20 mph pace one bit. He just kept pedaling steady and hard, head down.
So when we approached a bridge where there’s an extended upward pitch, I rode
up next to him.
“Nice pace,” I called.
He turned and looked at me like he’d been distracted from a
trance and nodded. “Yeah, it’s in the blood. I’m from Colorado.”
The guy had a mustache and wraparound shades, and easily looked
fit enough to ride a mountain bike like a road bike.
“You a mountain biker?” I asked.
“Exclusively,” he said. After a few seconds, he added,
“Except when I’m drunk.”
“Where in Colorado you from?”
“Boulder.”
“Ride a lot of trails there?”
“Just roads,” he said. “You ride a mountain bike?”
“Yes, but mostly road bike these days,” I said. “My mountain
bike got stolen a few years ago. Now all I have is a junker.”
“Everybody rides fast here,” he said.
I fell back behind him and continued to draft. He kept his
pace all the way to my turnoff. I said so long, and he rode on, banging out his
pace with powerful pedaling.
I couldn’t believe that guy. Dude was a beast!
Tight schedule riding
Getting rides in before days of rain can be tough. I did it
recently, doing 51-mile rides on consecutive days, while working seven hours
each day. Since the rides are around three hours it combines for about a
10-hour ride/work day. One thing that can add speed to a ride done before going
to work is the sense that you need to ride with a bit of urgency to get back in
time. It’s just a mindset, but if you have it, it’ll add some punch to your
cadence. It’s like the feeling that if you don’t bang it, you’ll be late and
that mini-panicked mindset will keep the whip a-crackin’. It’s amazing how that
can push aside any tiredness you may feel and give a nice crispness to the
ride.
While having that “I’m a little late” mindset is good if you
have to get back for work or something else, it’s still a good idea to allow
yourself a little extra time on the ride just in case you get delayed by
something time consuming, like a flat. I figure it works best to ride like
you’re late, but still have enougn of a time cushion to allow for any unforeseen
delays.
Back tire wear
Back tires take more punishment than front ones since
they’re under more direct weight of the rider. Some riders will ride their rear
tires until there’s rubber missing in some spots, revealing the rubber and
nylon sub base of the tread. When they think it’s had enough, they’ll take it
off and put the front tire on the back then put a new one on the front. I’ve
got a pretty worn down back tire now, and I’m getting ready to replace it. But
I’m just going with a new one on the back. The front one doesn’t have a whole
lot of wear. Why? Only thing I can think of is that it means changing only one
tire instead of two! Really don’t know that one way will result in more tire
life than the other. So, I’ll stick with the easier change out of one tire.
Laser framed riding
A friend just gave me a red rear bike light that looks like
it might be a nice thing to use for riding in traffic and/or at night. It
shoots out red laser lines on each side of the bike, making a moving lane for
the bike. The idea is to help drivers give the rider enough of a space buffer when
passing them. I haven’t used it yet, but plan to do more nighttime commutes
beginning this spring. I’ll try it out and pass along whether it seems to do a
good job on night and traffic-heavy rides.
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: Have a blast.
-- Mark Eric Larson
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