Big Shot

Billy Joel said so well, "You can cry in your coffee, but don't come cryin' to me." I'm not cryin', but I'm warnin'!

I just wanted to leave a reminder that preventative maintenance and general tune-ups on a bike are wonderful things to remember. I passed a fellow this morning who was pumping up his tire enough to limp to work without having to change it on the roadside. I don't know his maintenance schedule, but I know mine's been deficient recently.

Half way home last night I started getting this strange skipping sensation in the drivetrain. It was incredibly regular. I couldn't shift away from it. I will tell you that it is incredibly annoying to have your pedal stroke interrupted every 2nd or 3rd rotation with a sudden skip. My first thought was that the rear derailleur had slipped out of alignment and was jumping between gears, although there had been nothing to cause that. Once I got home, I got the bike up on my repair stand. (And may I insert here that if you're going to spend any time at all working on a bike, that a repair stand is almost a necessity.) As I started spinning the pedals, I could feel the tick. So, I looked at the rear derailleur, from whence the sound came. I could see the chain not mating up well with the cogs, but couldn't tell which direction it was off. Turns out that the problem was a seized chain link. I could see some signs of rust on the outside of the chain pins, but the chain wear is still within limits. There is just one link that does not flex properly. I lubed the entire chain — something I should have done before the first ride of the year — and it is working well except for that one link.

Now, I usually listen for squeaking from the chain to indicate the need to lubrication, but I hadn't thought to give the bike a once over after it sat for the long winter (and most of last summer). Had I done that, the chain would have been better prepared for the rain I drove through both to and from the St. George ride last month.

This morning, after the service work last night, the chain skipped less, but that link is still not bending smoothly. I still had some skipping. So now, instead of a preventative lube in February, I'm looking at removing a chain link and hoping to still have adequate length on the chain, or replacing a chain entirely. 

Hazy Shade of WInter

The Bangle's song really describes the weather around Salt Lake that has kept me off my bike this past week. There's a patch of snow on the ground, the sky is a hazy shade of winter. Temperatures dropped this past week and it's rained and snowed most days. Like I said before, I'm kind of a fair weather biker, so this has put me back into a car for my commutes.

An example of the weather comes from my weekend. I took a flight to Lake Powell to escape the winter up here and look at houseboats. (Thanks, Vanya, for flying us.) Most of the way down, the clouds were hovering just above the plane, and because of the cold (-10° - -20 ° C) temperatures, we couldn't punch through without a risk of icing the wings. So, we were funneled down the valleys of Utah and over low passes to get the Page, AZ. Once we got south of Bryce Canyon — and began our descent — the skies opened up and it was glorious and warm. Then when we landed we were warned of 40 MPH winds possibly coming later that day. After our business down there, we headed home, but couldn't make the turn to the west to get on the right route home. The freezing clouds just made a wall to our left side the whole way. We ended up following the low lands up to Price, where we were hemmed in on all sides with mountains and clouds. So, we had to park the plane there and bum a ride home through a snowstorm. (Thanks, Mom.)

Today I'm looking out at a beautiful day, that just happens to be stuck in the single digits (Celsius). I may be able to eke out a ride yet, but it's just teasing me daily. 

Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm a wearin' the green. Are you?

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I think I went a little under my preferred minimum temperature of 0° C this morning, but I somehow still overheated. I had some really cold areas when I got to the office, but my core was quite warm, and I was sweating. How does that happen?

Getting the hang of proper layering is something that takes time and practice. A few years ago I got it down pretty well. This year I'm starting again. I guess I could keep a log of temperatures at ride start and end, the clothing I wore, and my comfort level and complaints. But, I don't even keep a training log or a journal of my life. I don't think that I'm going to get that scientific about clothing. As it stands, I'll just try to build a best guess system of layers. Oh, and just for the record, this morning it was leg warmers, foot covers, bibs, a long-sleeved jersey, a vest, and a windbreaker. I could have probably skipped the vest and been okay. I also wore a baclava under my helmet.

I need to get back in shape. I spent a lot of this morning's ride panting for air and coasting. Now I did maintain an average speed of about 29 km/h — about 18 mph for those of you not accepting of metrics — but it really burned me over the 13 km course I take to work.

BTW: I choose to use metric measurements in my cycling and most aspects of my life as I find them easier to work with. And in much the same way as most Americans just understand the length of a foot, I find that just understanding the length of a meter or decimeter makes the system easy to use, without worrying about the whole conversion thing. Weights, distances, and volumes are pretty easy. I'm still struggling on overcoming my SAE upbringing when  it comes to temperature, but I'm working on it.

I'm on Fire

"Hey, little girl, is your daddy home? Did he go and leave you all alone? Whoa, I'm on fire." I had the Boss running through my mind as I rode home along the Jordan Parkway trail with my little girl in the trailer behind me.

Carrying Beth behind me increase the time to 50 minutes from 30 for the ride, but it was fun. The commute also increased to 15 km from 13 km since I took a detour through the neighborhoods so as to not have to deal with the fact that 1300 West has no shoulder through most of West Jordan, and it seems the city has no plans to add one on what could be one of the most cycling-friendly roads in the Salt Lake valley.

I was heartened while riding the trail to see several other bikers, both roadies and tread-heads, kids on scooters, moms on roller skates, skate boarders, walkers, equestrians, and even a family who took up the entire bridge while the two-year-old (or at least so he looked) walked his bike ever so slowly across while his mom tried to not roll backwards on her roller blades. This early burst of Spring — even before the vernal equinox — is well received, and the switch to Daylight Saving Time seems to have brought out all kinds of people enjoying the weather and leaving their cars behind. There were people hooked up to their 'Pods, and other enjoying the rhythm of life. There were people who could figure out that the yellow line was a divider, and others who just spread their trip across the entire trail. I saw babies in strollers (even beside Beth), and bikers with white hair. It was a totally different experience from driving on a crowded road. Even though I had to slow down numerous times when overtaking a group, I enjoyed the entire commute.

This was the first time I've brought Beth home from work on the bike. Although I threatened to ride with her last week, I was scared off by cold weather. I have decided that I have some minimum temperatures for riding. I want a morning low above 0° C (32° F) and an afternoon high of at least 10° C (50° F). Call me a fair weather cyclist if you will, but I have my standards. The weather predictions for this week meet those standards, so I'll be riding as much as I can to and from work this week.

How did Beth do on the commute? Very well. She slid into the Chariot and dozed off quite soon after we took off. She didn't wake back up until after we had pulled into the garage. That's a great time to take a nap. I just wish I could have done the same.

Tomorrow will probably be back to the road for a quick trip to and from work — yes, still in the bike — but this was a great change of pace.

Where Do All the Lonely People Go

Listening to Howard Jones right now. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I'm trying to title each entry with a song that somehow fits my mood or the ride of that day. Today, it's just what's on the 'Pod right now.

I wanted to just note that when you're in the habit of commuting by car, and need a car at work, bicycle commuting is more difficult. It's not just a matter of getting ready for that day; I've found that I need to prepare for a week. I need to have a week's worth of clothes, lunches ready for Monday morning. That also requires that I finish up the laundry over the weekend so I have clothes to take.

There's also that issue of temperature: in the car, I can ignore it; on the bike, it dictates my clothing choices and is involved in my route choice. After preparing for the week and the morning's weather, I also need to be aware of what that afternoon and the next morning hold for weather to have the correct gear ready at work or home. Once all of that is worked out, then it's a matter of getting my bike, clothes, lunches, and gear to work on Monday morning to start the week off.

Once I get rolling on the week, it does get simpler as I will only need to worry about what my transportation needs are for that night and whether I can accomplish those on a bike or if I'll need a car. (Ah, the joys of suburban living.) And I do save close to $3 per day in fuel when I don't drive. For a good week, that's $12 of fuel I will never have to buy! I'm lowering the demand on fuel for everyone and saving myself cash! That savings almost offsets the cost of new tires and tubes to replace the ones I wear out.

Now,  the bicycle commute does afford me up to an hour of exercise each day that I wouldn't otherwise get, since it replaces 30 minutes of driving with 60 minutes of riding round trip. And I don't have to get as upset with drivers usually. Most drivers are either relatively courteous toward the biker, or ignore me altogether. Either way, I don't have to think about them much. 

Anyway, I'm now adding the complexity of taking my daughter home with me on the bike today. I've had to determine a modified route that will utilize the bike path and streets with wider shoulders to ensure her safety in the trailer. Tonight I'll see how my idea work out for that.

Maybe I'll even become bold enough to take the Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge for some period this year. Maybe.