Tuesday was the first day that it felt like summer riding. The sun was out, it had a little humidity, and the wind wasn't bad. I rode in bike shorts and a t shirt. I didn't even think about a jacket or tights. On our route we ride around Belle Isle. It's a great place to ride: there's water all around and the cars there are not in a hurry to get some place. The first warm day when school is still in session can be busy on Belle Isle. But on Tuesday, it wasn't bad at all.
Tuesday was also the first day that I rode with two water bottles. Summer is the time when you have to watch your hydration. Every year on PALM I'm amazed to find riders that don't have water bottles or camel backs. Some of the bikes don't even have water bottle cages. Biking is an exercise that you can do in hot weather. The heat feels worse when you stop. But you have to drink enough water. You feel cool on a bike but only because your sweat is evaporating to make you cool. If you feel bad on a bike ride, the most likely culprit is that you haven't been drinking enough water. On a long distance ride the goal is to eat and drink continuously.
First warm day: that also means that it is time to start seriously on my garden. Back to work! My plants, seeds, and bulbs are calling.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Metro Grand
Today was the day Judy and I were going to try to do 50 miles for the first time this year at the Metro Grand. How did we do? Well, first of all, it ended up to be 47 miles for us since this year we didn't lose the car. By the time we started, the temperature was in the mid 50's and we had bright sun. For once I was humble enough to take what I thought would be too many clothes. I wore everything: tights, long sleeve shirt, jersey, and jacket. It's hard to believe that 60 degrees is so chilly so soon after winter.
The news of the day was the wind. SW Michigan is flat and it gets flatter the closer you get to Ohio. We biked within sight of the Fermi plant cooling towers, so we were pretty far south. When it's flat and you are in farm land, there is nothing to block the wind. The forecast called for 10 mph winds. It was 18-20 mph and from the east. This meant that the first 13 miles we rode against the wind. We were crawling: 10, 11 mph. We were praying for hills, anything to block the wind. We did have the wind at our backs later for 9 miles which was nice, but we were dog tired. We have a lot of work to do to be ready for the PALM.
One thing we were able to practice was crossing railroad tracks. We crossed about 10 sets: good, bad, and very bad. One set had bolts sticking over an inch above the tie. They looked like they could tear the tires off of trucks. You are supposed to cross railroad tracks at a 90 degree angle. That keeps your wheel from getting caught in the gap next to the rail. Frequently used rails are slippery especially if wet or greasy. You can easily fall. One of our good friends broke her hip carefully crossing railroad tracks. If that isn't enough there are the trains themselves. One innocent set of tracks in the middle of the park today had an oncoming train. We took no chances and walked a lot of the tracks.
The news of the day was the wind. SW Michigan is flat and it gets flatter the closer you get to Ohio. We biked within sight of the Fermi plant cooling towers, so we were pretty far south. When it's flat and you are in farm land, there is nothing to block the wind. The forecast called for 10 mph winds. It was 18-20 mph and from the east. This meant that the first 13 miles we rode against the wind. We were crawling: 10, 11 mph. We were praying for hills, anything to block the wind. We did have the wind at our backs later for 9 miles which was nice, but we were dog tired. We have a lot of work to do to be ready for the PALM.
One thing we were able to practice was crossing railroad tracks. We crossed about 10 sets: good, bad, and very bad. One set had bolts sticking over an inch above the tie. They looked like they could tear the tires off of trucks. You are supposed to cross railroad tracks at a 90 degree angle. That keeps your wheel from getting caught in the gap next to the rail. Frequently used rails are slippery especially if wet or greasy. You can easily fall. One of our good friends broke her hip carefully crossing railroad tracks. If that isn't enough there are the trains themselves. One innocent set of tracks in the middle of the park today had an oncoming train. We took no chances and walked a lot of the tracks.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Training for PALM: April
While the weather for the first half of April was horrible for biking, gardening, and baseball, there can be few complaints about the last half. For one thing, all the rain happened during the work week and all the sun was on the weekends. I was able to ramp up by biking. I'm riding with the frequency I want (typically 3 times a week) but not the distance. At least I can sit on a bike seat for significant periods of time. And Judy had the first flat of the season (at the end of a ride, a mile from home) so we've gotten that out of the way. Last weekend we went with Kevin to see "Gone With The Wind" on Friday and then rode 37 miles with him on Saturday. Both took about four hours with intermissions and both left us pretty tired. This weekend is the Metro Grand ride in SW Michigan. We will be trying to go 50 miles for the first time this year. It will be in the 60's and there will be pancakes.
I want to remind those of you registered for PALM that you can add/drop meals and bus rides until June 1 and there is no penalty. Carson City, Millington, and Almont are small towns and it may be difficult to get food there. Consider getting the meals for at least these cities. In reality the meals on PALM are community events. They are the times when you can see everyone who is on the ride and talk to them. Consider getting some meals just for that.
Currently we have 4 buses going from St. Clair to Spring Lake on June 23 at the beginning of the ride. The buses hold 56 people and we have 224 people signed up. There will be some cancellations, but there currently is very limited seating (that is, no seating: 4 times 56 = 224) on the June 23 buses from St. Clair to Spring Lake.
I want to remind those of you registered for PALM that you can add/drop meals and bus rides until June 1 and there is no penalty. Carson City, Millington, and Almont are small towns and it may be difficult to get food there. Consider getting the meals for at least these cities. In reality the meals on PALM are community events. They are the times when you can see everyone who is on the ride and talk to them. Consider getting some meals just for that.
Currently we have 4 buses going from St. Clair to Spring Lake on June 23 at the beginning of the ride. The buses hold 56 people and we have 224 people signed up. There will be some cancellations, but there currently is very limited seating (that is, no seating: 4 times 56 = 224) on the June 23 buses from St. Clair to Spring Lake.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Time to start to do
Finally we are getting our first streak of 70 degree days and, amazing, it's falling on a weekend. I'm going to be able to bike two days in a row for the first time all year. Up to now the most I've been able to do is talk about doing things. Now I can actually do them. One of these things is gardening. I've been to garden club meetings, now I have to actually plant things. Or in my case now I have to get my yard in shape so that I can plant things. I was looking in the back of my garage as a place to plant some more vegetables. What a mess that is. All vines and tree saplings. But because of the emerald ash borer, it now has sunlight. Better get to work.
Wait a minute, now it's 70 degrees and I can go bike riding. Not only is it 70 degrees but there is no wind. I can go as fast as I can. Unfortunately I'm not in shape. On a day when I can bike as much as I want, I can only hope to go 30 miles. (I can tell you that the frogs are in full voice even in the middle of the day. It must be close to prom time. ) I'm looking at the 10 day forecast and there's some more bad weather coming, but the ratio of good days to bad days is much better. It's time for us all to get our training in. We can figure out where we put the lawn mower later, some time in the middle of the week.
Wait a minute, now it's 70 degrees and I can go bike riding. Not only is it 70 degrees but there is no wind. I can go as fast as I can. Unfortunately I'm not in shape. On a day when I can bike as much as I want, I can only hope to go 30 miles. (I can tell you that the frogs are in full voice even in the middle of the day. It must be close to prom time. ) I'm looking at the 10 day forecast and there's some more bad weather coming, but the ratio of good days to bad days is much better. It's time for us all to get our training in. We can figure out where we put the lawn mower later, some time in the middle of the week.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Where is spring?
By last Saturday I was desperate. No biking since April 3. The explanation I heard on the radio was that this year March had 61 days. I tried to think that maybe we just traded two weeks in March with two weeks in April. It wasn't working. Since I couldn't bike, I went to a 5 hour gardening class by Earthworks Garden in Detroit. Even that had to be held mostly inside. On my way home, I passed two twenty year old women riding bikes with very under inflated tires. I have a bike pump in my car, so I rolled down my window to tell them that I could pump up their tires. Now think about this from their point of view. While riding by the Cass Corridor, a guy in a car asks you whether he can pump up your tires. What could you expect their response to be? They live there. They let me pump up their tires. One of the bikes hadn't been out since last fall. I told them my sad story: no biking. They sympathized and said that riding with air in their tires was a lot easier.
Sunday it was sunny. Cold, but sunny. Windy, but sunny. I bent the 50 degree rule and went out for a ride. I arranged it so that I went into the wind at the start so that I could gauge how far I could go. I rode through neighborhoods so that the houses could provide some windbreak. I was able to get 20 miles in and it wasn't too bad.
On Tuesday, my normal biking day with my buddies, it was sunny and it got into the 60's. It was pretty pleasant. Should I wear tights? (I've been told that professional bike riders wear something over their knees until it gets into the 70's. It helps their knee joints.) Nah. It's warm and the sun is shining. I took a rain jacket because there was some rain in the west, but I didn't put it on. One thing about where I bike (Detroit and southeastern Michigan): while there are no hills, there is wind. We started out with the wind. Then some clouds rolled in and the temperature started going down. By the time I turned into the wind to come back, I had the rain jacket on and I was cold. Where were my tights? By the end of the ride, the temperature was in the low 50's and the wind was a steady 15-20 mph and another lesson was learned.
Sunday it was sunny. Cold, but sunny. Windy, but sunny. I bent the 50 degree rule and went out for a ride. I arranged it so that I went into the wind at the start so that I could gauge how far I could go. I rode through neighborhoods so that the houses could provide some windbreak. I was able to get 20 miles in and it wasn't too bad.
On Tuesday, my normal biking day with my buddies, it was sunny and it got into the 60's. It was pretty pleasant. Should I wear tights? (I've been told that professional bike riders wear something over their knees until it gets into the 70's. It helps their knee joints.) Nah. It's warm and the sun is shining. I took a rain jacket because there was some rain in the west, but I didn't put it on. One thing about where I bike (Detroit and southeastern Michigan): while there are no hills, there is wind. We started out with the wind. Then some clouds rolled in and the temperature started going down. By the time I turned into the wind to come back, I had the rain jacket on and I was cold. Where were my tights? By the end of the ride, the temperature was in the low 50's and the wind was a steady 15-20 mph and another lesson was learned.
Preparing for Hills
After spending last week riding in Tennessee and receiving a request for suggestions on training for hills (Tennessee is nothing BUT hills), I decided while it may still be early in the season, it might be time to post this.
Training for hills is not much different than training for the flats, except you have to think more about shifting and your power output may have to go up briefly if, or when, you run out of gears. Always remember that your cadence (the speed that your pedals, not your wheels, are turning) is the single most important ingredient in managing long distance riding and hills. You should be maintaining between 70 and 90 RPM with your pedals, irrespective of your speed over the ground. Some folks liken this to always keeping only a light pressure on the pedals. You do this by shifting to an appropriate gear to maintain the appropriate RPM.
As you head up a hill, or even into a strong wind, your effort (pressure on the pedals) starts to increase and your RPM starts to decrease. This is when you need to shift to a lower gear. As the hill steepens, you continue to shift down to maintain the proper cadence (pedal rotation speed) until you run out of gears. At that point, you either tough it out, stand up, or you get off and walk to the top. There is no shame in walking up a hill. Personally, I have walked up many hills. The thing to remember, is to shift before you need it. You need to anticipate the down shift, because once you start to slow down and increase the pressure on the pedals, it becomes difficult, or sometimes impossible, to down shift.
What kind of gearing does your bike have? Make sure your bike is in good shape and sufficient gearing for hill climbing. The number of gears makes less difference on hills than the lowest gear available. A small 22 gear up front together with a large 32 or 34 gear in the back makes for some awesome hill climbing ability. That is what I use.
As far as training goes, realize that the hills on PALM may be steep at times, but are usually short. This means you need to train your anaerobic capacity. This is different from the aerobic training you may be used to. I won't talk heart rate here, but in aerobic training, you put forth an effort that you intend on maintaining for a long period. In anaerobic training, you train for maximum effort that you only intend to maintain for a short time. You can accomplish this by interval training. If you don't have any hills nearby, like me, once you have warmed up for 10 to 15 minutes, you can do intervals by shifting to a higher (that is, harder) gear and stand up to pedal. Presumably, your cadence will remain the same, but the pressure on the pedals and your power output will increase and you will start to breath hard. Do this for one minute then rest at your normal gear and cadence for 4 minutes.
Do five or six of these intervals a couple times a week and hills should become much easier for you.
Training for hills is not much different than training for the flats, except you have to think more about shifting and your power output may have to go up briefly if, or when, you run out of gears. Always remember that your cadence (the speed that your pedals, not your wheels, are turning) is the single most important ingredient in managing long distance riding and hills. You should be maintaining between 70 and 90 RPM with your pedals, irrespective of your speed over the ground. Some folks liken this to always keeping only a light pressure on the pedals. You do this by shifting to an appropriate gear to maintain the appropriate RPM.
As you head up a hill, or even into a strong wind, your effort (pressure on the pedals) starts to increase and your RPM starts to decrease. This is when you need to shift to a lower gear. As the hill steepens, you continue to shift down to maintain the proper cadence (pedal rotation speed) until you run out of gears. At that point, you either tough it out, stand up, or you get off and walk to the top. There is no shame in walking up a hill. Personally, I have walked up many hills. The thing to remember, is to shift before you need it. You need to anticipate the down shift, because once you start to slow down and increase the pressure on the pedals, it becomes difficult, or sometimes impossible, to down shift.
What kind of gearing does your bike have? Make sure your bike is in good shape and sufficient gearing for hill climbing. The number of gears makes less difference on hills than the lowest gear available. A small 22 gear up front together with a large 32 or 34 gear in the back makes for some awesome hill climbing ability. That is what I use.
As far as training goes, realize that the hills on PALM may be steep at times, but are usually short. This means you need to train your anaerobic capacity. This is different from the aerobic training you may be used to. I won't talk heart rate here, but in aerobic training, you put forth an effort that you intend on maintaining for a long period. In anaerobic training, you train for maximum effort that you only intend to maintain for a short time. You can accomplish this by interval training. If you don't have any hills nearby, like me, once you have warmed up for 10 to 15 minutes, you can do intervals by shifting to a higher (that is, harder) gear and stand up to pedal. Presumably, your cadence will remain the same, but the pressure on the pedals and your power output will increase and you will start to breath hard. Do this for one minute then rest at your normal gear and cadence for 4 minutes.
Do five or six of these intervals a couple times a week and hills should become much easier for you.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Weather
Opening Day this year was gorgeous: in the 60's. The next day, Tuesday, was the usual day that my friends and I bike after work. It was supposed to rain. (It poured the Tuesday before.) It rained all around Detroit, but I took a chance and tried to ride anyway. I'm glad I did: it didn't rain and its been the last time the weather has been good enough to ride. The weather has been horrible. On this Tuesday (!) I went to a garden club meeting. It's helped me to face the weather before. The woman at the meeting was apologizing because the cold crop plants that we were supposed to get next week wouldn't be ready intil May. I had to tell her: don't worry about it - it's supposed to snow tomorrow. And it did. My garden is frozen mud. I still can't tell if what is growing are plants or weeds. My feeling is that only a weed has a chance. My daffodils are flat on their faces on the lawn.
The Tigers have been lucky. They were home for three days and then took off for a 10 day road trip and missed all of this. Think about Cleveland. They had six inches of on their field for a week. There were pictures in the paper of their Latin players throwing snowballs and working on snowmen. The Indians had to move their Opening Day game to Milwaukee where they could play in an indoor stadium. Maybe they could rent their own stadium out for the Stanley Cup playoffs. I'm thinking: is it too late to take up a winter sport? And really, what good is daylight savings time anyway? My brother has the right idea: he moved to Missoula, Montana.
The Tigers have been lucky. They were home for three days and then took off for a 10 day road trip and missed all of this. Think about Cleveland. They had six inches of on their field for a week. There were pictures in the paper of their Latin players throwing snowballs and working on snowmen. The Indians had to move their Opening Day game to Milwaukee where they could play in an indoor stadium. Maybe they could rent their own stadium out for the Stanley Cup playoffs. I'm thinking: is it too late to take up a winter sport? And really, what good is daylight savings time anyway? My brother has the right idea: he moved to Missoula, Montana.
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