So now that it is springtime again, I guess I have to get some new gear. I’d like another new tech-top, I already have the gloves I need (Pearl Izumi), I have shorts and a cycling tank. But I think I’d like to get a new jersey. Nothing with any logos on it. I’d really like to get the Brooklyn jersey, but it is so played out now. I have to find something else that I will like for the season and beyond. Oh yes, I even have a jacket for spring, complete with the three pockets on the back. I don’t really ever put anything in the pickets though because I ride with a backpack all the time. I have a Camelback that I’ve had for the past few years and it’s cool in that it it small enough to sit on the back comfortably (without the water pack) but still can hold all the crap I seem to lug around all the time. I just recently bought a new bag, called Hard Wear and I really like it. The biggest selling point of it for me was the fact that it has a compartment to hold my laptop. And it doesn’t feel like I have this lumbering bag on my back either. I am very picky about that actually. Years ago I had another great backpack by Black Diamond, which is mostly for hiking and mountain climbing, but hey, sports are sports. Kelty is also a great company for backpacks. I have a huge Kelty pack for when I travel–you know, the mountain backpack. Anyway, the Hard Wear also has a sweet compartment that is fleece lined and super soft to hold sunglasses. Word!! Also has lots of other compartments to organize all my crap. And I really do carry around a lot of crap when I ride. My friends make fun of me and say that if it all went down today, I’d be prepared for the apocalypse. And they are right.

I have been considering getting toe clips too lately, but the jury is not back on that one. I have a real fear of being strapped to my bike to the point of not being able to free my feet in time to catch myself when falling. I wear strapless stirrups now and have not freed a foot and fell on that side….embarrassingly. However, I think that the tendinitis I developed last year in my Achilles tendon came from not situating my foot properly on the pedal, and I felt my other one starting to give out as well. That’s when I thought that maybe the toe clips would keep me from ruining my Achilles tendons. The shoes are pretty cool, but the mechanics of the clip kind of elude me. I don’t know, maybe I’m just picky about my first choice stirrups. The ones I have are plastic and they just go right over the toe with no straps. At one point I fell and broke the right pedal and rode a few days with just the left stirrup and thought that I may stick with just the one stirrup, as I am right handed and always drop the right foot when I come to a stop. But then I changed my mid and fixed the pedal and I am back on two stirrups.

I am going to start doing my research and find the best of the best in terms of usability for the toe clips and report right back here what I find.

This weekend I am hoping against all hope that it is really nice out. I feel like taking a ride, taking some pictures to post and meeting some of the fellow road bikers.

Oh joy-SPRING!!

I have noticed the past two days more cyclists on the road. Cheers to you all!! I am hoping that as it gets warmer, more and more folks will get out on their bikes and ride to get around. Especially with the price increase on transit fares. I see no reason to pay money to get around when I can do it for free. Why put expensive gas in the car to get around on the weekend if you don’t have to carry anything?

Also cheers to the longer daylight hours, so that now I can see the ginormous potholes coming from a mile away….

The 5 Boro Bike Tour is coming up!! Sunday 4 May 2008!!

Seems like yesterday I just did it. That was last year, also in May, and that was the second one I did. That last time around I did it with a group of people and had a great time. I was part of a group of about five (me included) and my ex and I broke away from the other three and tore it up. I was on Jake (my cyclocross), and he served me very well. I was able to handle all the hills, dips and potholes much better than on my old road racer (which I rode the first time a few years before that). I felt like Superwoman. My ex, who rides not anywhere nearly as much as I do, had his new Bianchi cyclocross and he actually did very well too. Besides, he’s a man and just a tad stronger than me, so we stayed with each other during the ride. And our paces were kind of in line with each other, which worked out perfectly for the both of us.

I strongly suggest riding any tour with as many friends that you can wrangle up, but make sure at least one other person is at your same pace, just to keep away the boredom and keep you jazzed about the ride.

Oh, and just to throw this in (just to show you HOW hardcore I really am), the first time I rode, I was with a then boyfriend. I rode the entire course having an asthma attack!! One of the reasons why I broke up with that guy was the fact that he didn’t seem to care that I was having an asthma attack and he kept leaving me alone to ride on long stretches of the course. But I digress. I just wanted to let the world know that I finished a 40 mile bike ride unable to properly breathe the entire time!! Oh yes, I AM a bicyclist!!!!!!! I cannot be stopped….

I have to say the course they have for the ride is pretty challenging for anyone at any level. It is also very interesting how they cordon off sections of the BQE and FDR for us to ride. Albeit awesome to ride on a road that only cars have the priveledge to roll over, it is also insane in that you don’t realise until you are on a bike on these two roads just how messed up they are with the potholes. Unbelieveable. I’d like to have Bloomberg ride on a tandem attached to Jake and me, ride over the BQE and FDR and THEN have him tell me how effective 311 is at fixing reported potholes…

Also, the tour is just that: a tour. If you want it to be. There are always the Supermen and Superwomen who blow through it in like 20 minutes just for practice. OK, you know I jest about the 20 minutes, but I am always impressed to see the racers sharpen their teeth on this course. I am a fan of the gear they wear–you know, the jerseys with all the logos of their sponsors (some are jerseys you can buy in a bike shop with logos on them), the crazy shorts and toe clips, the odometers, the space-alien helmets and sunglasses…. truly a spectacle, even for a seasoned rider like me. I used to race (road) years ago, and wore all the gear, but decided it wasn’t for me. It took a few years to find my niche, but found that I liked city riding more than road racing. And tours such as the 5 Boro offer not only a cross between the racers and the casual tour-monsters, but for me, riding in my own city at my own pace….it brings a tear to my eye just writing about it!!

I haven’t decided yet if I will ride this year. I need to make a few calls–and soon–to see if anyone I know is game. As cool as I am with getting around the city by myself, I don’t really want to do the 5 Boro by myself. It really is better shared with friends. Although, don’t get me wrong, you can MAKE new friends there too!! Everyone is an enthusiast and it’s very comforting to be around your own bretheren. But I guess this year being that I am still single (BOO!!) and kind of not wanting to make an appearance out by myself like that (yes I know, stupid, STUPID), I may just let this one go by.

But it’s OK though. Spring, then Summer are on the horizon. There is plenty more to get involved with….

Then get yourself a cyclocross bike. A good one. Tough, durable, light, fast and all around kick ass gearing.

Then get your self into a city, preferably a big one, lots of traffic during the day and night. Get on your bike and ride in the city streets. Show those taxi drivers who’s boss. Be careful of the city bus drivers–they don’t give a crap about who they run over or what property they damage. Make sure to always stay on the bus’ left side so when the driver decides to actually use the rear view mirror, they will see you. Slip in between cars when they are locked at lights.

See how fast you get to your destination when you are not in a car, but rather can breeze inbetween them as they sit on their horns and scratch their heads.

Be weary of the folks who turn one way and are looking the opposite way. Oh they don’t even realise you’re there until you bang on the car, but then they get mad because you hit their car. Nevermind they were making either an illegal or just god awful turn. Be careful for motorcycles. They can pop out of nowhere and ruin your day. The double parkers who then open their doors into traffic? Puh-shaw!! Yell at them all you want, cuss even. Because they are morons.

A real wake me up is a sideswipe by a cab or idiot driver who just doesn’t care to share the street with a bicyclist. This is where you assert yourself. Ride like you are a CAR. Show no fear. You must be comfortable being inbetween cars and trucks or busses and vans or cabs and limos. All of which have drivers paying attention to everything else besides the road, least of all you.

Nighttime? Like crack if you are really into the challenge!!

First rule of the road: don’t ever depend on others for your own personal safety. Only YOU are responsible for yourself. Don’t expect the drivers on the road to look out for you because they simply won’t. Road rage is an indication of that. You must be hyper alert and have razor sharp reflexes. Even the pedestrians present a challenge as they like to stand way out on the corners and you may even have to weave inbetween them when making a turn. Watch out for ladies with big bags, they can snag you.
The downhill is your friend. Always pedal on downhills, thus exerting your authority even more to the cars around you. They actually show a little respect if you keep up with them sometimes. Only sometimes though. Cabs don’t like to be lapped by bikes. And they are vindictive. They will fuck with you at every chance they get.

Ah yes. Believe me when I tell you that I get high every chance I get to ride into Manhattan. Brooklyn is cool, it has hills and winding streets and is very roomy. But Manhattan is my drug. I become more focused on my bike than any other aspect of my life. I feel no pain on my bike. And that is the best drug there is. And guess what? Not ONE pharmaceutical company can sell that to you……

I noticed lately riding on moderate flats and downhills that I was not getting any resistance when I shifted down on the back anymore.

Funny, my first thought was, “Wow, I’m not getting any resistance. I think I might need to change the sprockets to something smaller. I must be getting in better shape!!” Man how the ego can play tricks on you sometimes.

After tuning more into the problem, I realised that I wasn’t going down to the last two smallest sprockets on the back. At this point, if I want to tear downhill, I have to stop and manually shift the chain myself, then get back on and go. Bummer, especially if getting chain oil and dirt on your hands and clothes is not too appealing. And yes, it still gets all over me when I wear my gloves. And then of course, it doesn’t always wash off immediately–double bummer.

After making a stop over to my local bike shop in DUMBO called “Recycle A Bicycle” on Pearl Street, one of the mechanics took one look at my gear mechanism and told me about the derailleur hanger. I had not known about it before, but I quickly learned that it is the metal piece hanging off the right side of the back end of the frame. It is the lowest part of the back of the derailleur and it controls how the chain shifts from one sprocket to the other. What’s keeping me from shifting all the way down is the fact that the derailleur hanger is bent inward toward the frame. So I essentially have in a way, cut off the room for the shifter to get the chain down to the two smallest sprockets.

Flash back now to the myriad times I lifted up my bike to get into a door and banged the back end. Or how many times I kept going into the elevator in my building and catching that hanger on the closing elevator door. I knew it couldn’t have been good, but I just thought I was just hitting the frame itself, not the hanger. So a new lesson learned: Don’t hit the bike on anything period.

Also I guess it goes without saying that falling off the bike doesn’t do much good for it (or yourself, or your knees) either.