Archive for 'Tips'
Day 40/41: 7 Flats, Randy, Ole’s Big Game
Posted on 01. Jul, 2009 by carlos.
7 Flats in 10 hours
I woke up in Sterling, CO with both tires flat. This would have been all and well but the goat heads were attacking Joe’s bike the previous day. He had 4 flats the previous day which had us in a town with no bike shop, 50 miles from next days destination, and 2 flats.
Thank you Sam Walton! Walmart had cheap patches that lasted only about 45 miles, exactly what was needed. I had our 7th flat (in 24 hours)as I was pulling into the day’s destination.
Touring Tip: If you are passing through places with goat-heads, bring enough patches and tubes for 10+ flats. You don’t want the horrible feeling of possibly being stranded, something we were on the brink of. Never underestimate how strong those little buggers are.
Thank You Randy Ballheim!
As luck would have it, our next host was a huge bike geek. His garage was a mini bike shop and he fixed Joe’s bike…with a 2×4 piece of wood and a hammer. It was quite the spectacle.
Click, click, click…*silence* BOOM! My tire got a nasty tear in it and the tube started to poke through. Once that happens, the tube explodes! The sound was enough to have Joe swerve from shock.
Randy came to the rescue a second time when, 7 miles into a 100 mile day we were stranded on the side of the I-76 access road. He stopped his day, went to go to the bike store (luckily open), and drove to us to drop off a tire. Thank you Randy!
Randy helping to fix up the tire situation:
Would you see this driving on the interstate?
One for the grandkids:
Hey Horsie:
Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse in Paxton, Nebraska:
The elephant is real:
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Day 14: Rain, Marlene, & Clicking Pedals
Posted on 04. Jun, 2009 by carlos.
Rain
We biked 42 miles for 5 hours in the cold rain from Wooster, Ohio to Mansfield, Ohio.
The first miles are not as bad as one would think. Your body warms up and the rain has yet to seep into darkest places of your shoes. It’s actually quite nice until you hit mile 6 out of 42…
Imagine two bikers on a long-stretched country road, soaked from the continious rain and longing for dryness and warmth. Think about the scene with their heads down and the water sloshing up from the bike tires. Every small puddle adds a few drops into the shoes while the brakes work at about 40%. We both had zoned out, turning our pedals over one at a time.
Marlene and Family/Friends
After a rain-soaked day of riding, our luck would prove itself again and have us stay with someone who went the extra mile to make our stay as comfortable as possible. We arrived in Mansfield, Ohio to an unexpected red carpet we appreciated with open arms. The warmth of the house and quips from her son, Jake, made us feel instantly welcome.
As a Pampered Chef saleswoman, Marlene took this opportunity to relive her work without selling anything to us. It was food ecstasy the entire night.
Leaving the next morning:
I decided to take the faster one:
A Clicking Pedal
I fixed the first maintence issue that was not part of a general tune-up. A clicking started in my Shimano SPD Pedal. It happened everytime I would get to the top of the pedal stroke. To make the matters worse, I could feel a vibration which started to drive me mad. I called Dave from Tsunami Cycles and he told me it was either one of two things.
1. The threads that attach to the crank need TLC. The solution is to dismantle to pedal and grease up what needs to be greased. Or..
2. Tighten the bearings inside of the pedal. To do this, turn a specific bolt (pointed to in picture below).
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Lassie Wanted Blood (Dealing with Dogs)
Posted on 21. Apr, 2009 by carlos.
Luckily, it only got my rear pannier.
This Sunday I went out for a solo 67 mile ride from Austin, TX to Bastrop, TX. The scenery consisted of beautiful farm country and huge family-owned plots of land. To keep myself entertained, I made animal sounds at every farm creature I passed: I’d bark at most dogs knowing they were safely fenced in. It became a game – all the dogs gave friendly ‘hello-barks’. Except this dog.
About 10 miles into my return ride, I came to a hill. The hill screamed at me, “turn around, you should not have done this.” To which I replied, “your mom.” I put my bike in the lowest possible gear and decided this hill would either make or break my ride. One pedal-turn gained me only about 4 inches of road: a challenge I gladly accepted.
Making it to the top gave me this huge sense of satisfaction. I had not walked that bike up the hill. I was tired, worn out, and not ready to ‘Hulk smash’ Fido.
The hill-top was not as imagined…
After climbing that hill, I expected girls in bikinis to hand out water, fellow cyclists to pat me on the back , and Mufasa to smile down from the clouds.
After passing 15 fenced-in dogs along the ride, it took me a few moments and some of my own barks to understand that a pack of three (#16, #17, and #18) were charging full-speed from a non-fenced house. I pedaled like a cartoon character, finding myself still in “granny gear,” and went nowhere.
The snarling badass-of-the-pack smashed headfirst into my rear pannier, jamming my bag into the spokes and sending me into a small ditch on the other side of the street.
I composed myself, took stock of the situation, and grabbed my frame-pump in an effort to look bigger. Two of the three dogs backed off, but the head of the pack stayed for a fight.
A car passed by, the driver no doubt wondered why I was in a ditch holding a frame-pump in the air.
I tried to look big, and failed miserably.
I pulled the pannier out from my spokes and, careful to keep the bike between myself and the dog, walked to the next house. Though that hill had taken all the energy out of me, I had enough adrenaline for the next 15 miles.
Lessons learned:
- Don’t bark at dogs unless you know they can’t get to you.
- Looking bigger works for some dogs, but not insane ones.
- Walking away may be the best bet for territorial dogs.
- Dogs do not know that roads are public spaces. Someone should tell them.
Preparation for our long distance ride:
- Picking up a small can of Mace.
- Getting an air-horn.
- Not barking at dogs (as much).
- Working on the whole looking bigger thing.
Tips and tricks for dealing with dogs:
- Outrun the dog. If you already have a good speed, putting a good burst of your own energy will tire that pup out quick and it’ll realize you are the cheetah in this race. I did this with one dog, and it gave me a nice little ego boost as well.
- Air horn or ‘doggy-horn.’ Picking up a small air horn will not only scare the kibbles and bits out of the dog, but will bring attention if you are in true danger. There are some ultra-sonic dog repellents out in the market which send sound waves only dogs can hear.
- Mace the face. We are keeping mace on our bikes for dogs that get too close for comfort. Make sure you are not on private property before spraying; this will help avoid the inevitable legal issues if you attack a dog in its own yard.
- Move from their territory. Most dogs will lose interest once you pass by their territory. Use this to your advantage and just move away from their domain.
- Call the cops. If you find yourself in a life-threatening situation, such as being cornered by a pit bull or doberman pinscher, we suggest keeping the bike between you and the dog and calling the cops right away. Not only is your own safety at stake, but the owner needs to take responsibility and face repercussions.
The tips listed above are how we plan to deal with dogs. Feel free to choose your own “weapon” from any of these resources: Crazyguyonabike.com, Pearlandcyclingclub.com or by searching Google for “dealing with dogs, cycling.”
For the fun of it, here is the house where the dogs came from:
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Image Credit: Milqito and hand-nor-glove
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What type of bike should I get to commute to work?
Posted on 05. Mar, 2009 by carlos.
I’ve been apprenticing at Tsunami Cycles, a cycle repair shop in Austin, Texas, for the past week. I am continuously reminded of the timeless adage, “the more you learn, the more you realize you do not know.” I learn how to fix a single tire, only to be told that many types of tires exist. I learn one way to remove a part, only to learn that different countries thread parts differently. The vast array of bikes grows with time. Thousands of customizations to each person’s liking are available and only a mechanic knows how to tell the difference.
PHEW…those were my overwhelming feelings, but let’s back peddle a bit. To start off, we do not need to fix bicycles. Let’s put repairs to the back of our mind and learn to simply identify the bikes we will be dealing with. This is the starting point that I needed to grasp.
Below will help you understand some general things about commuter bikes and some important questions to ask yourself.
What is a commuter bike?
Any type of bike can be a ‘commuter.’ The bike that gets you comfortably from home to work and back, is a good commuter. This is not the be-all end-all post for picking your bike, but we both have to start some where.
What questions should I answer about my commute?
Does it have a lot of hills?
If yes, then your answer is in a geared system. Make an automatic assumption that you will be getting a geared bike. Without detail on how gears work, they will ease your climb and give you more power when cruising on a straight path.
