Wind is the worst - and there is NO such thing as a tailwind [except that this is created by the powerbar lunches....]. I commute year-around here in PDX,OR [15 miles give or take depending on the mood]. Including ice and snow and the rain and some hail...blah blah blah....and have ridden in temps from 106 F to 12 F. I cheat and keep to the hardtail for the winter riding [have yet to build up that cyclocross bike with disks]... Hands are the hardest to me - below 20 degrees and I double layer a pair of moutaineering mitts over mid-weight REI riding gloves. For mid-20's and 30's I go with a set of weather resistant Performance heavy gloves. Agree on the under 50's - knee protection. Be it knickers or tights over the rest. Wool clothing is popular here and readily available on-line [but somewhat pricey]. Go with thermal/poly tops of varying weights from REI [zipper necks for venting]. Light vest [Zephyr] for a chill or rain cape [gotta love Phil and Paul] for chill and rain. Around freezing and I add a micro fleece top. The head gets a doo rag all the year because I'm follically challenged and when it is mid-20's a turtle fur ear/head band thing. Feet get the cheap $19 performance full booties for rain and cold. If it is snowy and in the teens - I actually add plastic bags inside the shoes over the socks to trap heat. Also full fenders for the wet... 40's is nothing!
Every time I open the thread and see this I cringe a bit. Layering is good but most people do not do it right. In cycling and climbing I teach a new layering: I call it climb/cycle naked. Most people put on their base layer, then a mid layer, then some insulation, and then an outer layer, and then a shell, etc etc etc... Then they start to move and immediately overheat and have to stop. Then take of their shell, and their outer layer and their insulation, and their inner layer then put back on their insulation and so on ad naseum. Dress as lightly as possible for the conditions you are in. Gummee (I believe) said it earlier. Start out cold. Do not just layer up blindly and go forth. Or you shall be hot, sweaty, wet and cold in short order. So take off your layers and free yourself!
That's not what he was talking about! :eek1 Seriously. Sometimes ya get it right and are comfy thru the whole ride and sometimes ya don't. I've gotten it wrong as often as I've gotten it right. Usually err on the side of too much rather than not enough. We have inmates riding in AK in the winter, so we ALL know it can be done. I don't actually own a lot of very warm layers. Of those, what I DO own, I usually wear doing something other than riding! My PI Thermafleece jersey is a MC layer. My fleece tights go skiing. Etc. Mostly what I wear are midweight or lighter. I just wear several of em. I have several different weights of baselayers, midlayers, etc. I usually just put a regular jersey over top of em. I also usually wear a vest vs. a jacket cause its easier to adjust temps with yer arms 'free.' M
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little... Cycling is a bit easier with arm warmers and leg warmers etc. When I went on some trips with the Colorado Mountain Club it was pathetic. Hike 10 minutes and do a "clothing adjustment" for 20 minutes. Rinse and repeat. In the mean time I'd be freezing my ass off on the side of the trail. But sometimes you get it right and warm up to the right temp, and some times ice drips off your nose.
I have the hardest time when temps are in the low twenties to the teens. It's just plain friggin' cold. I've come off ski trails all frosty on more than one occasion. But, yeah, warmer temps it is easy to over do it. Experience helps with dressing for individual habitus.
i tried some rollers yesterday afternoon :eek1 man that was scary! I thought that my pedal technique was pretty good - NOPE goign to do a fair bit of practice on a wind trainer and then maybe get some was allright when I was focused on a rock about 40feet in front - for about 1 minute and then off the side....... can see their benefit - of giving me a broken arm! any advise any one? Hay Ewe
Practice Practice Practice When I first got mine I fell off so many times it wasn't funny but I figured it out in the end and I haven't fallen off in ages and I can even do 1 handed now.
Read this... http://www.sportcrafters.com/frequently_asked_questions.htm#Roller_Riding_Tips_ They touch on all of the key points. It's mostly mental and being smooth is the key. High revs, smooth cadence, soft hands on the handlebar end up being the keys.
Don't try to steer the bike. You lean the bike to move on the rollers. Practice in a doorway, until you feel comfortable. DON'T look at the front wheel. Once your speed is over 10 mph you get smoother and can ride for long periods without any problems. I ride on the aerobars on the rollers for usually 5 - 7 miles and then sit up and ride one handed or just fingertips on the edges. I always keep one hand on the bars. Good cadence, good speed and good pedal stroke usually keep you on the rollers. I have ridden mountain bike, road bike and comfort bike on my rollers. Road bike is what I prefer.
thanks I like the idea of practice in a door way, that makes sense I opend the link to book mark it for later and the first picture i see is a bloke riding rollers with no hands - kinda awesome but also also nervous at the same time looking fwd to the challenge thanks Hay Ewe
Choose the right sized doorway and maintain your balance by just touching the door frame with your elbows as you need it. But don't rely on the prop too much. Learn to pedal smooth and then get out of the door.
So I actually rode a bicycle yesterday. :eek1 The Pedalphiles Hash had its 3rd analversary and Stick really really wanted to go. So we did. Lots of streets in/around Shooter's Bar and Grill. Not much to tell about urban riding except ya gotta watch for manhole covers! One of em snuck up on my and if I hadn't gotten my hands on my drops, I'da had a stem in my chest and prolly woulda crashed. It was a close thing. I was talkin to Stick on trail and WHAMMO! That tree cast a dark shadow and I basically wasn't payin attention. Luckily, I'm not writing this in a cast, with a busted up face, or any of that. M
When you get good enough, you can ride no hands, drink, eat, change TV channels, etc. I haven't quite mastered the skill of just hopping on and going without a prop. Just don't have the need to. M
Back when I had rollers, I had a basement. Unfinished. Perfect for this activity since it was cool and away from attention. More importantly there were the exposed overhead beams of the floor above that were perfectly suited for an overhead handhold for beginning. I used a couple of wooden boxes placed at the sides of the rollers as steps onto the saddle. The down side of this is after a big workout, I could barely get myself back upstairs. I eventually got to where I could pull a jersey off while riding the rollers. But after my last crash off them, (watching motorcycle roadracing tapes on TV), and leaning into the turn drops you off the rollers onto the floor and moving pretty good. I managed to miss the television and bounce off the wall and daybed, so no damage to the bike or me. The daybed did not fair so well. Those little legs snapped. I gave the rollers away to a younger fellow with the stipulation that he could never return them. I had a very cheap set from Nashbar, or Performance. Plain bearings, and a real workout to do an hour on them. I got to where if it was too cold to ride, I'd go skate for a few hours. In Colorado the days were rare when I couldn't get a ride in with the right kit that is.
I hadn't thought about the forward component of falling off of rollers, just the sideways. Now I have a much funnier mental image!
I'm in love: SE Stout 29er. Picked this up today. I've always wanted a bike that was like a big BMX bike but would let me get proper leg extension while sitting. The new generation of steel single speed 29ers built by companies with BMX backgrounds fit this bill nicely. Just a few rides and it's already one of my favorite bikes ever. all for $399! Jut some disc brakes, a BMX bar and stem, and some cr-mo 3 piece cranks away from perfection. Sweet.
Cr-moly CRANKS?? say huh? Sure, use a steel axle if you're a real masher, but cranks?? ain't never heard of noone, and I mean no one, bending/breaking decent aluminum alloy cranks.
