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| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 291 responses total. |
russ
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response 174 of 291:
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Aug 7 23:53 UTC 2002 |
I found the rhythm that Scott mentioned. It's something I'd once
learned, sort of, but my muscles had forgotten it. Today I tried
moving the crank all the way around with each leg instead of just
pushing downward, and suddenly it clicked. Even going up a gear
I was still pushing a lot faster with much less muscle effort,
perhaps due to the lower peak forces.
I made excellent time despite the wind. This probably means a
leap in average speeds is in the offing.
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bru
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response 175 of 291:
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Aug 8 03:28 UTC 2002 |
I still need to ride more. I ran the opposite direction to what I usually
ride, and found it was mostly uphill in this direction, gave me more of a work
out, less coasting. I remember from my youth finding that circular pedal
motion, and I tried it today,. Lots more of a leg workout, but also much
faster time.
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jaklumen
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response 176 of 291:
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Aug 8 09:39 UTC 2002 |
resp:174 ahhhhhhh... now I remember. Yeah, it was something taught to
me when I used to ride with a rec group. I am terribly out of shape to
really use it effectively now and will have to work back up to it.
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scott
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response 177 of 291:
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Aug 8 12:56 UTC 2002 |
I think there's a minimum fitness level you need to use that pedalling rhythm,
like running effectively.
Took a rather frenetic ride yesterday in that McMansion neighborhood off
Newport just north of M-14. Lots of fun curves and hills, terrible
architecture.
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bru
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response 178 of 291:
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Aug 8 14:43 UTC 2002 |
doubled my ride length today, and got a very good workout for my legs. Need
to keep at it.
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keesan
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response 179 of 291:
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Aug 8 19:15 UTC 2002 |
We are going on vacation! Island Lake Road, Tantree Farms (north and south
of Chelsea), possibly a friend near Manchester, and Tecumseh (jep) - all the
famous local sites. Only have to get our gears shifting perfectly, change
Jim's stem and handlebars from short woman to long man's sizing so he does
not have to ride upright, put on the pannier carriers, fix his water heater,
someone else's bike, Tim's VCR, put together computers for two people, and
we are off. The vacation includes computer lessons and a chimney inspection
and possibly furnace installation if time. Jim's favorite way of relaxing.
What is interesting to see in the vicinities of Chelsea, Manchester, Tecumseh
and Adrian besides Hidden Lake Gardens?
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slynne
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response 180 of 291:
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Aug 8 19:47 UTC 2002 |
Have fun!
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keesan
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response 181 of 291:
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Aug 8 21:32 UTC 2002 |
Will we have time to do that, too?
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keesan
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response 182 of 291:
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Aug 10 01:37 UTC 2002 |
Last night around 10 pm, as Jim was leaving my apartment, a raccoon climbed
up on his bike to beg for food. It was a lot tamer than most of the cats
around here. Jim was standing next to the bike and called me to see. The
raccoon got tired of waiting for us and went to my neighbor's door and tried
repeatedly to pry it open. We wonder if she feeds it. Jim got a couple of
good digital photos (the sort where he sticks the camera into someone's face
and hits the button and hopes they are in the photo - he was lucky this time).
Big difference between raccoons and groundhogs.
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keesan
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response 183 of 291:
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Aug 10 13:48 UTC 2002 |
Another raccoon in the trap at Jim's house. He is thinking Parker Mill again
as it is isolated from houses. Good excuse for a bike ride.
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keesan
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response 184 of 291:
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Aug 11 01:17 UTC 2002 |
A friend with the farm took the raccoon in the trap to some woods on the way
home. Jim was going to take it along with us to Independence Lake. He says
the extra weight is a good handicap so he can keep up with me. On the way
back we saw two flocks of deer - 10 and 15 - plus some singles. No raccoons.
There is another county park near Sharon Hollow with a working hydroelectric
plant and restored mill, and Waterloo State Rec Area is not far out of our
path. The bikes still need some work first. Mine makes a loud bumpy noise
every time the wheel turns with the rear brake on, and a loud squeaky noise
with front brake one. And some gear positions cause the chain to rattle or
scrape. The book desribes how to keep changing gears and keep changing cable
tension until everything works. Sounds time consuming.
Barton Hills required all my gears - highest gear at the entrance where the
hackberry trees are all in a row (they are edible), lowest gear climbing up
to the country club swimming pool and after that I walked to the water tower,
which must be the high point around here. Stein, Joy, Jennings are pretty
level. At the lake we met someone using a mop handle as a cane who is
attempting to get a bit of exercise to help recover from a fork lift injury.
I forget to feel lucky that I can bike sometimes.
The problem with biking to the lake is you get hungry, and after eating you
feel like taking a nap, and then it is nearly time to leave in order to get
back before dark. We swam one lap (a long lap).
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hash
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response 185 of 291:
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Aug 15 18:01 UTC 2002 |
I have a 2001 Specialized Rock Hopper. I bike to work every day (if it's not
going to rain and it's not going to be over 95)
the aabts looks cool, but I dunno if I'm ready for 20+ mile rides yet.
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keesan
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response 186 of 291:
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Aug 16 02:27 UTC 2002 |
2001 is the year it was made?
Jim is now a professional bike repair person. The neighbor who paid him $10
must have told a friend, as we found another old bike leaning against the
housse (where it must have been for a while, through a few rains) with a wet
note containing name, phone, and money attached. And another friend of a
friend wants a wheel replaced for a found bike. We have all of tomorrow to
get our bikes and camping gear and maps and food and pots ready for a 10 day
bike trip. Jim needs to change his stem and handlebars first.
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russ
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response 187 of 291:
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Aug 16 03:10 UTC 2002 |
I went out just before dark today and got in a pretty good ride.
I made good time despite the wind, chopping about 14 seconds off
my best time of the last several rides (and 26 seconds off my last
time despite more wind). I'm definitely going faster with the
"spinning" technique than I was with the "mashing" technique, even
at lower cadences.
However, I'm concerned about efficiency. I drank a full oversize
bike bottle and then drained the 2-liter in the aft pack, so I am
only getting around 30 miles per gallon of water. Maybe I need a
tune-up.
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russ
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response 188 of 291:
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Aug 16 10:06 UTC 2002 |
One thing that's curious... when I come back from an evening
ride I usually have a number of small black spots on my face.
Close examination shows them to be dead gnats. Apparently,
they can't get out of the way of something moving at 15+ MPH
and they don't survive the impact. (I'd opine that they
drowned, but I've found them stuck in dry leg hair too.)
If the Jains (?) are correct and we lose karma for everything we
kill, however accidentally, I'm going to reincarnate as a slug...
Does the happy-biker stereotype apply before the dead bugs
are on your teeth?
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clees
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response 189 of 291:
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Aug 16 11:19 UTC 2002 |
In the weekend of August 26th I'll be going to Italy for a week to do
some cycling. Yea! Sun, vino and mountains.
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jep
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response 190 of 291:
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Aug 16 13:49 UTC 2002 |
John and I rode for about an hour last night, which must have been 7-8
miles. We're not going to be able to ride further than that during the
week, since it's getting dark earlier.
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keesan
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response 191 of 291:
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Aug 16 15:05 UTC 2002 |
It is nice to read about people of so many different levels using their bikes.
Jim asks Russ where he is going that he is measuring the time in seconds. We
are usually happy to cut 15 minutes off of our time coming back from the lake.
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scott
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response 192 of 291:
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Aug 16 16:32 UTC 2002 |
I'd go nuts if I did the same route every time - I just like to go off and
explore neighborhoods and then go really fast on open sections.
I put the cheapo bike computer back on yesterday just to see how I was doing
with speeds and such. Top speed 36.5 MPH (downhill and in top gear), which
is about the same as last time. Probably 2-3 MPH faster overall, though.
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keesan
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response 193 of 291:
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Aug 17 00:42 UTC 2002 |
In theory we are leaving tomorrow on our bike trip. Since we did not have
time to figure out what the clunking noise in the rear wheel is when I use
the rear brake, or get the derailleur working properly on my nice lightweight
trek, Jim is taking apart the front derailleur on the heavier Raleigh 6 speed
to make it into an 18 speed. The gears work perfectly and we replaced the
wide curvy handlebar witha short straight one so I can ride bent over.
Any suggestions on what to pack besides the following?
tent, mats, bedding (layers - for temps predicted at 57 to 83), ground cloth
pressure cooker and wok with cover, knife, small cutting board, curved spatula
like strainer-like thing to use with the wok.
For pressure cooking - millet, lentils. Boiling in the pressure cooker -
oats. Stir-frying - peanuts, dried tofu, and vegetables given to us along the
way. Olive oil and soy sauce. Garlic. Dried apricots from our tree. Two
kinds of Chinese dried mushrooms. All in plastic tofu tubs. We may also buy
some noodles. Will be fed by friends half the time. What else is light and
compact and non-spoiling and vegan and whole-grain etc. that would pack well
on a bike?
Clothing also layers. Biking shoes or sandals, lightweight shoes for
non-biking. Rain gear. Windbreaker, flannel shirt, lightweight long sleeves
to keep the sun off, wool shirt for me, t-shirts, 2 pairs shorts, one pair
thin knit pants for over shorts and for pajamas, sweatshirt, hat, thin
sweater. What did we forget? Toothbrushes, floss, shampoo, dish/laundry
detergent. Toilet paper. Flashlight? We can still see until almost 9 pm
and did not need one last September and they are heavy. Digital camera?
Bathing suits. A hankie. Money and maps and some paper and pencils, maybe
a small notebook if I find one soon. One year we took a weather radio.
Bandages and antiseptic cream. Sunscreen for Jim who turns pink otherwise.
We will have four panniers each and larger items piled on the racks with
bungie cords. Everything in large plastic bags as the panniers may leak.
Please point out what we forget and what else might be helpful, tonight.
In theory we leave tomorrow (after packing tomorrow and replacing Jim's stem
and handlebars and putting on pannier racks on front, and Jim is fixing a
neighbor's bike first.).
The library has three MI county map books and an excellent large Washtenaw
County map and a smaller Lenawee county truckers' map showing which roads for
us to avoid. It labels quarries (good campsites if not currently in use),
cemetaries (good for lunch stops), and some parks I never heard of including
two in Sharon township one near a millpond. Various schools and camps and
proving grounds. Hayes state park is not too far from Tecumseh. Waterloo
is not too far west of our friends.
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keesan
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response 194 of 291:
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Aug 17 02:19 UTC 2002 |
The front derailleur sort of works on the Raleigh if you push hard enough.
The other method is to stop and move the chain over manually. This bike might
be better for flat areas than the Trek. I was into the very highest gear on
the Trek while not biking terribly fast. Jim thinks some oil might help the
Raleigh. The brakes were all rusted together when I got it. But the rear
derailleur has always worked properly. Perhaps the front one suffered from
disuse. But surely the brakes would have been used if the derailleur was
used. ?? Jim is busy working on the neighbor's bike. They got the wrong
sort of rear baskets for the bike and attached them with a bit of thin wire.
He is going to make something with bolts. Amazing how many different ways
there are to design a basket attachment and how many ways to design a bike
to take baskets or racks, and they rarely coincide. The bike arrived with
a note saying 'please fix this bike'. I would have replaced the decaying
looking tire but he says the sidewalls are not important and it has plenty
of tread. He straightened the rims and replaced a worn cone in the bottom
bracket instead. And put air in the tires (completely flat) - that might have
been what needed to be fixed. They are holding air just fine.
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russ
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response 195 of 291:
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Aug 17 02:51 UTC 2002 |
Re #191: I ride a route that's fairly popular with cyclists and
doesn't share much space with vehicles, which lets me ride all-out
for exercise rather than worrying about traffic all the time. That
also lets me gauge my performance with a stopwatch.
It may be the same path, but the scenery is always changing. If I
want new vistas, I can take off on a weekend and go though a park or
rec area somewhere.
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jep
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response 196 of 291:
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Aug 17 03:55 UTC 2002 |
Hayes State Park is across the road from Wampler's Lake. It's about 20
miles from Tecumseh. There's a private campground near Macon (2 miles
from Clinton), would you be interested in using that? That's the
closest campground I know of to where I live.
There are city parks around Tecumseh, but I've never seen anyone
camping at them. I would think the Tecumseh police would frown on it.
There are farmers all around here, though. I'd have tried to make
arrangements for you, but they're all friends of Andrea's dad, and
you'll probably have better luck just stopping and asking them
yourselves.
Take your cell phone.
John is looking forward to seeing you.
I can't give you any advice on vegan food. You can always snitch a few
ears of corn if you're not particular (field corn), or buy sweet corn
along the way.
I saw a few herds of zucchini growers near the edge of Clinton, but
luckily was near a side street and so I got away before they trapped
me. Who'd have ever thought they'd learn to cooperate... usually
they're in pretty stiff competition with one another.
Bringing vegetables out into farm country this time of year is bringing
coal to Newcastle.
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keesan
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response 197 of 291:
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Aug 17 14:05 UTC 2002 |
We will be visiting friends with a large garden and then friends with an
organic farm so it is just the staples we need to bring along. I might go
buy a few treats at the coop this morning.
'Take your cell phone' means as much to us as 'turn on your TV'. What I am
doing is forwarding grex mail to yahoo so that I can read mail at a library
where they don't allow telnetting. (I did figure out how to do it with
hyperterminal and Win95 but don't recall quite how I did it.) I should take
a list of phone numbers of people we might visit.
Looks like today will be the day for packing as it threatens rain. Jim is
working on the neighbor's bike basket.
Will try to remember about Macon and the campground but farmer's fields are
usually a lot quieter than even the public campgrounds. There was one state
park where they refused to take our money when we entered at 9 pm and then
insisted on waking us at 11 pm to collect the money. (They took the $2 park
entrance fee but not the $4 camping fee at the gate). Farmers are pretty nice
to people on bikes. We were given a grassy spot by one private lake and then
a tour of their steam tractor collection and egg factory. Some E. Germans
on a bike tour with a baby stayed at a monastery and a dairy farm near here.
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omni
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response 198 of 291:
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Aug 17 18:36 UTC 2002 |
take your map of Toledo. When you get within 5 miles dial 419 514 7387.
I'll come and see you.
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