Like the layers of an onion.

(freestyle thought to follow - unedited and not tied up)
Travel by human power is a unique and often overlooked alternative. While my initial attraction to bicycling (at least in my so called adult life) was for fun and recreation, it has slowly been revieled to me some of the many aspects of the bike. I wonder if anyone's taken the bicycle and broken it down like an evolutionary tree. Each branch seems both wound around the trunk and fireing off in a different direction at the same time.

What brought this up is my experimintation in Single Speed and (soon to stores near you) Fixed Geared bikes. I've been running a Single Speed for a bit now, and absolutely love it. I've even done a bit of climbing on one... which in retrospect was not the most brilliant idea I've had. Today, with any luck, will be my first venture into the world of fixed gears. The cog I've ordered came in. With any luck, I'll have that sucker on the bike tonight and I'll get to see what the fuss is all about.

Stay tuned for the ride report.

The addiction begins to take over.

Brother in law gave me a used Cannondale touring frame for my birthday.
Two days later I found a POS rigid MTB at a garage sale up the street.
$10.00.

I now own:
2 recumbents
2 mountain bikes
2 road frames
and
1 single speed road bike..

With my trip coming up in November.. I'd love to add a Bike Friday to the list.
Something tells me that, before too long, I'll have to trim this group down a bit.

Perspective

Got a nice little formula from a friend the other day.
[ H² / 10D ]
where H = height difference in meters,
and D = distance traveled in meters)

Very Nice.
My Col de Pilot ranks a measly 2.4.
The ride planned for November.... 6.4, which if it was in Colorado, it would be the 3rd toughest climb in the state.
BTW the site where I got this is Colorado Bicycle Climbs.
Might just break this down and try to compile this info for my island/state.

2005 TDF Picks.

Ok... So I'm posting this a bit late. (list created prior to the start of le Tour)

1. Armstrong. Yes it will be a miracle, but I think he's got the commitment, focus and desire.
2. Ullrich. Always the brides made
3. Vinokourov
4. Basso
5. Beloki
6. Heras

I'm not really trying to predict a winner, or the order, but this is how I see it playing out.
Dang that Boonen is just an amazing sprinter!

Aero-Bellies and the lure of the Recumbent

I might be outing a few people here, so if I disapear...

I've noticed something, and I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or not. So I'll put it here until I have more time to do a bit more research on the matter. (however the hell I would do that is beyond me at the moment.)

Riders of recumbent bikes, are more likely to have "Aero-bellies", aka beerbellies, aka the midlife paunch. Now, I've not really delved into the the reasons why this would be, but I do have a theory.

(Here's where the lynch mob forms)

Recumbents can't climb. (Or so I've been told)
And since recumbents can't climb, recumbent riders avoid hills. This leads to less attention paid to the whole concept of power to weight ratio. Air resistance plays a larger part in workload on a flat road than rider weight does. It's only when the road turns up that the weight of a rider plays a significant role.

So, do recumbent riders have aero-bellies becuase they think that they can't climb and avoid hills, therefore what they weigh is less importants.
OR
Do riders with Aero-bellies ride recumbents, becuse it gives them a reason (er, excuse) for not being able to climb?
I leave the question to the reader as an exersize.

Point proven.

She took offense.
My bike (Lightning Cycle Dynamics P-38 recumbent) spoke to me.
She told me that she's not done with me yet.

Now, I've got a big ride planned for November.. a hill climb. Or rather a mountain climb, as it's far and above anything I've ever done. 18.95 miles at an average grade of 8%. There is still some doubt about my success of that ride, though hills no longer scare me. Rebumbents are known for three things: 1) Fast as hell, 2) Comfortable as heaven, and 3) they can't climb.
Put on the table my upcoming ride, and known item number 3. Seems that I'm adding to my own potential failure by using a bike that's "known" for not climbing well for a ride that is all about climbing. I've been playing with the idea of taking my mountain bike just for this reason. I've even looked into folding bikes. I was really not sure what I was going to ride on that monstrous challenge.

I happened on the Club Ride this past Sunday. What was scheduled as the normal 30 mile, mostly flat, out and back turned into a hill ride. The ride leader (ok, the guy in the front of the pack) took a right turn and started up a side street. We ended up climbing for about 9 miles. Mostly lower grade, say 5% or so and rollers. Now, 'bents aren't supposed to be able to climb. Somehow, I was in the lead of the group for most of the ride. Responding strongly to break aways and generally riding quite strong. My P-38 was proving a point. I think she wants to do this ride in November. I heard that quite clearly. Now, I know what you're thinking; "this guy was in the sun too long.. he's hearing his bike talk to him. One word. Heatstroke." But I'm telling you, I felt fine. Drank my water on a schedule, didn't push too hard, etc etc. She told me she wants to do this ride. How else could I respond to an uphill attack? I'm not that strong of a rider. The attacker ran out of legs and couldn't bride the gap. I contemplated jumping, but I'd never ridden this route before and didn't know what hills were left.
We should have gone.
She wanted to.
I could feel it.

She's ready for the ride in November.
I'm the one that needs to work on it.
Point proven.
(and 'bents can climb- it's usually the rider that can't)

Now, if she'd only tell me her name.

The end of a love affair?

Since my discovery of recumbent bikes, I've been passionate about their virtues. Everyone I talk to gets an earful, and then some, about the advantages of the 'bent and the disadvantages of the traditional diamond frame bike. I originally purchased a RedBent from a huckster in SoCal. Yes, it's a recumbent, but it was a total piece of crap. I quickly upgraded to a BikeE AT. Black and probably the easiest to ride bike that's ever been made. It didn't take too long for me to upgrade from that bike as well. (see a trend?) This next step, was a big one. I jumped from a utility style recumbent (the BikeE) to a high end recumbent legend, the Lightning P-38. This bike cemented the recumbent in my mind as the next evolutionary step in cycling. Agile and supposedly 10% more efficient in slicing through the air. What more could you ask for?

Then came, the other.

After some online conversations with a cycling maniac, CommuterDude, and a few others, I began to investigate the concept of Single Speed bikes. I could attempt to explain the allure of this type of bike, but I'd fail at reaching the essence of what makes them beautiful. Recumbent single speeds are not really practical as you cannot stand up and mash your way up any hills. With a bent, you need your gears to spin.
I experimented with my commuter mountain bike; leaving it in one gear for a few rides. I was considerably shocked to see my average speed increase. Yes, increase. I only used one gear, and I was faster. More importantly, I had fun. More fun than I usually have on the ride home from work.
Fast forward a few months.
I stumble across a guy that has a road frame for sale, cheap. One that he was going to make into a fixed gear (don't get me started on that subject just yet). While I was there, I purchased a near complete bike off him for $40. Two days latter, I take that same bike to the LBS and whamo.. It's a Single Speed.
Now, with just over 25 miles on the bike, it's my favorite bike to ride.
I've begun to doubt my relationship with recumbents.

I even look at fixed gear bike porn…
I feel dirty.

A single speed bike is nearly the opposite of a recumbent. Where a recumbent is pushing the envelope of technology, aerodynamics, and engineering; the single speed bike is an exercise in simplicity. Everything that can be removed has been. Including the rear brake.

Am I over my love of recumbents?
Or, is this just a fling?

Twelve Steps (er Thirteen)

1. We admitted we are powerless over Work - that our lives had become unfocused.
2. Came to believe that a power greater than Shimano (Campy) could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of Cycling as we understood It.
4. Made a searching and fearless inventory of our tools.
5. Admitted to non-cyclists, to ourselves, and to another cyclist the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have Cycling remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Cycling to remove our shortcomings.
8. Make a list of all persons we had met, and became willing to teach cycling to them all.
9. Made direct attempts to teach cycling to our families, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were at work promptly left to go cycling.
11. Sought through riding and cycle maintanence to improve our conscious contact with Cycling as we understood It, praying only for knowledge of It's will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to non-cyclists, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
13. Amendment - Contemplated the shaving of our legs, at least once a season...
    

What, you're offended?
Bite me.

Food for thought (bananas anyone?)

From purely a logical standpoint…
A gallon of gasoline represents approximately 30,700 Calories (assuming that a human could convert gasoline to energy). A medium sized banana represents approximately 108 Calories. That’s 284 bananas per gallon of gasoline. I don’t care where you live.. gasoline is looking pretty cheap.

When I ride my bike to work, I use about 752 Calories to travel the 14 miles. That’s about 6.9 bananas. When I drive my car to work, it uses about .54 gallons of gasoline, or about 16,578 Calories, or about 153.5 bananas. Gasoline isn’t looking too great now.

Roughly speaking, riding my bike to work is about 22 times more efficient than driving, purely from a energy consumption standpoint. 22 times.

Ah, but what about time.. surely, you say, it takes more time to travel by bike!
Yes. It does. For me. For others, it does not.
My average speed on my bike on my preferred (read; less direct but safer and more scenic) route is around 14mph. My average speed by car, by the fastest route I can find, is about 16.27mph. So, I save about 9 minutes by traveling by car.
That’s it. 9 minutes. And the freeway and the rear end of the same car for 40+ minutes aint all that scenic.

Now, I have not, on purpose, mentioned the cost of vehicle ownership; vehicle purchase, maintenance, insurance, taxes paid to maintain roads. Etc. etc.
Nor have I mentioned the difference that between spending 120 a day on my bike vs. 102 minutes a day sitting in traffic on my health and mental well being.
And, I’ve not talked about:
Car emissions kill 30,000 people each year in the U.S. (1, 1998)
Most ozone pollution is caused by motor vehicles, which account for 72% of nitrogen oxides and 52% of reactive hydrocarbons (principal components of smog). (2, 1990)
If every commuter car in the U.S. carried just one more person, we'd save eight billion gallons of gas a year. (3, 1990)

Sumtin’ to think about. (while you’re riding your bike, perhaps)


(1) From the Eugene/Springfield (OR) Bicycle Map (1998?), which further credits the American Lung Association, Oregon Traffic Commission, Association of Commuter Transportation, American Automobile Association, and City of Eugene.
(2) 30 Simple Energy Things You Can Do to Save the Earth. Los Angeles: South California Edison, 1990, p. 11.
(3) 30 Simple Energy Things You Can Do to Save the Earth. Los Angeles: South California Edison, 1990, p. 52-53.