12.01.08
Posted in blogging, gear, info at 11:52 pm by Administrator
So there you have the latest light I got for the handlebars. If you don’t know, the law states that white lights are positioned on the handlebars, red on the rear. This light is from a company called Knog, which seems to have a lot of good stuff. The name for this light is the Toad. As far as I knew until now, I thought they only made lights and other small peripherals for the urban cyclist. However, upon inspection of the website, they have so much more. And they really seem like a good company. But, unfortunately, I have to post about my dislike for this light.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t totally hate it, but the design is dually cool and hindering. The outside of the whole unit is made of silicone, so when affixed to the handlebar, it doesn’t move around much. And the loop itself is also silicone and what yu do is unhook it from the body at the back where you see the loop overlap on the body in the back. Pretty neat idea, as you can pull it off and on easily when stopping and chaining your ride in the city. However, the flap that sits on top of the body seems a little too thick, so when in this weather, it is getting colder and you are wearing your fingered riding gloves, it is a bitch to try to press the little button to turn the light off and on. Granted you can pull the flap off to also press the button, but who wants to do that to turn the light on then ride? And again, with fingered gloves, it’s a bit of a pain in the butt. However, there are five LED lights and three settings for the lights and they are uber-bright!! I love rolling down the street and seeing the little light make the street signs glow in front of me, even as far as the corner from a few feet coming up the block!!
But again, if you also notice by the picture, the lights run vertically. So when attached to the handlebars, the bottom most lights get blocked by my brake lever!! Which then leads me to only one conclusion…. This light is made for fixed geared bikes. AAAARRRGGHHHH!!
These lights shown above are the same as the light I got for the rear. Also Knog. This one is called the Frog. The only color they had at the store was white, and the LED is red of course. Had I known that these lights come in all these gorgeous colors, I would have sought some out to match the color of my bike frame. Don’t let the little size fool you, the light is pretty powerful. Now I’m not going to say that cars can see you from up the block, but within a reasonable distance, you are visible, especially if you set the light to the flashing mode. This little guy only has the two modes, flashing and steady.
The store in my neighbourhood in which I get a lot of my gear is called Jack Rabbit Sports. I believe I have mentioned them before in another post, but this store is well worth mentioning again. However, they still haven’t updated the webpage for their cycling training programs. C’mon guys, get it together!! Sheesh!!
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11.06.08
Posted in blogging, gear, safety at 7:05 pm by Administrator
I am going to be blunt and just come out and say that I did not ride in the Tour de Bronx this year. Awww, I know, I know, I feel really bad, but I had to work the night before and I didn’t get to sleep until about five thirty or six and I snoozed for only about an hour or two, woke to the alarm, then realised that I wasn’t going anywhere after working the bar all night. Admittedly, two years ago I did the ride on one hour sleep and hungover, but that’s when I was working an office job. I had all the sedentary time I needed to be able to pull off a stunt like that. Not now though. I must use my incredible powers to entertain drinkers in downtown Manhattan. And the really funny thing is I have realised that I am able to work the way I do because I bike!! If I wasn’t as physically active as I am with the bike, I’d never have the energy to work late hours the way I do. So in essence, the biking has one more benefit for me: endless energy…
Yet even my amazing love for riding still hasn’t been able to keep me on the bike as much as before for the past three weeks. After the last fall, I got spooked as I usually do, but this time around, it got to me a little deeper. I don’t know, but I have stepped back and just taken easier. You’d think that as many daredevil falls as I have taken, I’d be used to them by now. And maybe I am, but skinning my elbow and knee on a lonely stretch of slick road in the middle of the night kind of freaked me out. Which also in turn has brought more of the Ghost Bikes more to my attention. I have even stopped to read the plaques that are mounted over them and read the name of the victim, the date they died and what vehicle they were hit by. Most of the ones I have read were fatalities by trucks. And lord knows I know how trucks operate…just like every other driver: they don’t pay attention. And being a truck, please!! The driver can pretty much do whatever he wants because the truck head to head with another vehicle is going to win. So that is a guaranteed death sentence for us cyclists.
I can say this: I have learned that never, ever AGAIN will I be riding on the right side of any vehicle on the road. Too much lately have I been pushed into parked cars by drivers making right turns and not looking in the mirror to make sure they can safely turn. Hell, I have been cut off on the left side by drivers too, but some catch you in their view and hit the brakes before shoving you off to the left while they complete their turns. But I find that it is safer to ride on the left, right next to the driver in their windows.
And no more daredeviling. I know, I have the compulsion to race other riders and do all kinds of adrenaline pumping feats in traffic, but I think I’m going to take it easier. I just cannot afford to get seriously hurt and I certainly don’t want to end up being remembered by another ghost bike in the city. Dare I say that I am becoming a more (GASP) casual street rider?!?!
My plans for racing have not changed. And in fact, I am even more on track for racing as I have now curbed my need for speed through the grid. I have to save that energy for the trainer and for the races.
And on the issue of safety, here is a device I have mentioned before that I think is a solid weapon against foot and car traffic…
Ah yes, the air horn. I found this on Amazon, and it’s not expensive at all!! Ah, I can’t wait to use this on the pedestrians on the Brooklyn Bridge. Is it devilish of me to want to see those mindless tourists literally jump at the sound of a blaring horn behind them? Maybe then they’ll learn…. I have heard this horn sounded once before, and I’m sure that cars would be able to acknowledge you if you rang it. Especially now that cars are forbidden to honk unnecessarily. I really think that this horn is a good thing for us in the never ending battle on the road.
Ride safe out there….
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10.10.08
Posted in blogging, gear at 6:51 pm by Administrator
Is it any wonder my bottom is sore or outright numb with streets like this? Really, here in NYC there are still cobblestoned streets, but only in lower Manhattan on the West Side and Soho and also some parts of Brooklyn by the waterfront near the old Navy docks by Red Hook. I won’t even talk about the old trolley tracks that are still embedded in the stones in Brooklyn which are evil traps that catch road tires and make you fall in front of moving cars… Uhh…maybe that’s just me. But anyway, my point being that it’s hard sometimes to get to these areas without having to roll over these stones and I feel the right seat could do the bottom good. So here is another seat that I have found, have a look:
This baby I found on the Trek site. Have a look around, it’s pretty cool. I may not be a fan of the bikes, but the gear is alright. This seat specifically is a Bontrager Race Lite Saddle, unisex from what I can see.
I don’t know why, but I prefer gear for men more than I do for women. I find that the fit of men’s gear suits me (as I am a whopping five feet eleven) but even more than that, I find that these companies sort of “coddle” women. It’s like this sexist sort of culture that makes all these “pretty” bright colors for women’s clothing, despite the fact that riding causes you to get covered in dirt and grease, thus ruining the pretty, pretty colors. The bikes are fashioned for “easy riding” and I swear if you go through catalogues, hey make the bikes different for “women’s bodies”!! Really?!?! Last I checked, we were of the human variety. It’s like the boy’s club and we’re not allowed. They say that we are smaller–I’m taller than the average man. We need different seats–that may be true, but I prefer the men’s seat because I don’t need extra cushioning on my butt. When I’m tearing down a hill I want to same advantage as the men do and I don’t need to be dragging a granny seat underneath me. They say that the handlebars need to be some kind of weird positioning for our smaller hands and smaller frames. It’s like they are trying to convince us that we are smaller and more inferior. Is it any wonder that there is no women’s Tour de France? However, there is an equivalent of the Tour, which is called the Grande Boucle which you can learn more about in this Wikipedia article.
However, I’m getting off subject. This is a topic that I certainly will get back to.
So anyway, once again I will leave you with a moment of zen:
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09.08.08
Posted in blogging, gear, info at 7:54 pm by Administrator
Not that I am biased or anything:
This is the bike that I am looking to get next, as I see my poor Jake slowly getting older. Geez, he’s only two years old, but the wear and tear or riding every day can take a toll on even the best made bikes. I’d really like to get the Felt cyclocross I posted here, but this one is more withing my reach, as the pro shop that is near me has one and is looking to sell. And I am looking to buy. ou can check out the specs and other Specialized bikes and gear here. Pretty cool site. Pretty cool gear.
However, living in the big city, I had to meditate as to what I’d do with two very nice cross bikes. I have come up with this solution: Jake is for commuting, the new bike would be for training. I couldn’t possibly mess up the paint job on a new bike like I have on Jake lacing a giant metal chain through it all the time. I’d have to ride the new one just out somewhere where I can pedal for a few hours, then turn around and get back home, without having to do any kind of stopping in a densely populate area.
And speaking of training, I think I mentioned before that I was thinking of hiring a coach, but that dream is coming closer to fruition. There is a shop in the city called Jack Rabbit that has set up a training program for people who would like to train and have the help they need. Upon first glance at this site, it doesn’t look like they have the programs for cycling, but I can almost guarantee that if they do not have a program set up, they can certainly point one in the right direction to a great trainer. I am going down that road within the next two or three weeks….
I am ready to hit the next level.
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08.19.08
Posted in blogging, gear, repair at 12:17 am by Administrator
While waiting for my bike to bike to be serviced the other day, I had some time to walk around the bike shop and browse. I cam across the tools and picked this one out. I just quickly looked at the container, decided that I needed to replace my broken Allen key tool, propped it up on the counter with some Alcis cream and ran off to work. Then I had some time at work to pull it out and look at the instructions and boy was I surprised!! This instrument has 16 different tools on it. Of course there are the Allen keys, one of which is a 5mm Allen Key that has an 8mm head that slides up and down, thus giving you two tools on the one key. There are also spoke wrenches, which I imagine one day I will learn what they are for, especially in an emergency situation. The black plastic sides pop out to become tire levers!! Sweet!! But the super awesomest thing about it is the chain tool. It installs or removes chain pins and loosens stiff links. Also has a chain hook. Double sweet!!
And double good that I have this tool because I learned that day that you cannot change the chain without having to replace the entire cassette as well. The chain and cassettes fit perfectly together as they wear on each other over time. Putting a new chain on an old cassette wouldn’t quite work. I did not really know that. But now I’m glad I do. I have been thinking about changing my cassette anyway, especially getting a gear that gives me more resistance on downhills. Now I have to figure out whether to get road gearing or mountain gearing. OH!! The agony of cyclocross!!
Well anyway, going through the website for Topeak (as I always do for anything I buy for my bike), I came across this glorious thing of beauty that must have been made by god him/herself:
Oh god, just looking at it brings a tear to my eye…. This bad boy, the Bikamper, uses a 26” mountain or 700c road front wheel in place of tent poles. This is a one person sleeper (kind of a bummer), three season and packs down compact enough to strap to the handlebars. How freakin’ cool is that?!?!
Also, I hate to report my poor bike seat is starting to die. I have already started looking for some new ones–again, the mountain or road gear dilemma–and going through said Topeak site, came across the link for another one of their companies called Allay which makes saddles. I was looking at this one as a possible candidate:
We’ll see what happens…
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07.17.08
Posted in blogging, gear, info, repair at 11:05 pm by Administrator
I have often had conversations with many riders who have told me heartbreaking stories of tire flats. I have just even had one myself recently. And I always mention Mr. Tuffy to others and they usually have never heard of it. Well if you don’t know, now you know.
Mr. Tuffy is a nylon or plastic strip that is sized for each tire size that slips in between the inner tube and the outer tire rubber itself. What you have to do to get it in is to deflate the tire, pull the inner tube out, fit the Mr. Tuffy strip inside, then put the innertube back in, inflate and ride!! It’s that easy!!
I used Mr. Tuffy on my road bike after a slew of flats and money down the drain toward patch kits and new tubes. I’d had enough. After using Mr. Tuffy, I have never had a flat again on those tires. I didn’t think I’d need it on the cyclocross (didn’t get my first flat for two years), but all good records must come to an end. I am going to get some Mr. Tuffy soon enough and make sure that I almost never have to buy another tube again.
You can find Mr. Tuffy at any bike store or go online to any bike site and you will find it.
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06.04.08
Posted in blogging, gear at 10:34 pm by Administrator
Oh how happy am I that summer is here. Beautiful blue skies, flowers in bloom, warm breezes, tan lines…. And time to shed the long sleeved jerseys for something like this baby from Craft:
Of course now is the time for rain and lots of it. Making sure your breaks are on point is key!! Aside from that, you need the right gear to stay dry. I have looked around for some rainwear and there seems to be a trend for the standard yellow jackets and pants that remind me of the rainwear you wore at camp. However, this beauty from Pearl Izumi caught my eye:
So far this spring, start of summer, there seems to have been a lot of rainy days. And my saddle seems to channel rain straight down the crack of my….well, rather than give up my saddle, which I really like a lot, I’d like to get my hands on these from Showers Pass:
My saddle is a WTB saddle here:
Now do you see the reservoir going down the middle of the saddle? Now, this is supposed to distribute your weight on your butt evenly so you don’t go numb, but I swear when it rains, it just channels the water into my seat. This is a great saddle and like I said, I will not change it. I think this is geared more toward mountain biking and I’m sure that riding on the mountain in the rain is a no-no. However, since I have a cyclocross, it is weird when I look up components for my ride, as some are mountain, some road. I dig the mountain saddle….
Anyway, there will be much to do during the summer, as I have joined two cycling clubs, and there are many tours just dying for my involvement. Also this year I am going to be on the lookout for ways of getting out of the city (gasp!!) and find roads to ride for miles and miles into the sun… And I fully intend to be prepped with the best gear!!
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05.27.08
Posted in blogging, gear at 1:06 am by Administrator
Yes, kids, the stubborn one here finally made the switch to clipless pedals!! What ultimately prompted me to do it is the fact that the regular metal pedals had those spikey things on them that kept stabbing, knicking, tearing and outright cutting my legs. I couldn’t take it anymore. So down to my regular bike shop I went, Bay Ridge Bicycles. Those guys are awesome.
So I was very trepidatious about getting the clipless for the first time. I was worried about being attached to my bike during a fall and breaking my ankle or even worse, falling in front of a car and not being able to get away in time, still being attached to the bike. (As you can see I was terribly afraid). I have even seen plenty of folks falling down not being able to click out in time. I didn’t want to add another item on the list of things that can hurt me on my bike. However, getting cut on the leg everyday from those awful metal pedals changed all that.
I didn’t realise that there were the clipless that were a hybrid of sorts. The pedals I got (above) can be used with the shoes that lock in, or they can be used without. I figured that during the learning period I could just switch to regular shoes. Well the first day I fell. Twice. The first time I caught myself on a fence. The second time was a full on fall, in the street, foot all caught up in the front wheel. How embarrassing!! I even hit my elbow and got a speed knot that really hurts when you touch it. But I’d rather a speed knot on the elbow than a broken ankle any day. I got up, dusted myself off, with the help of my friend John, and was kind of shaken. For a moment, I considered putting my sneakers back on and just trying at it again another day. But I wouldn’t let myself. I clicked my feet back on those pedals, shaking, but I did it. I didn’t fall again the rest of the day. I almost fell again the next day, but got my foot out in time. I realise now that I still have to be rolling to get out. And what has really helped is the advice that one of the guys in the shop gave me. I have played it in my mind like a broken record. This is what he said:
“When you’re coming to or even think you’re coming to a stop, click out.”
His advice was great. I click out when coming to corners like twenty feet away or if I think something is going to keep me from being able to move on, I click out about ten feet away and I have my foot out in time. The problem I keep having is forgetting that I’m clicked in sometimes and I stop on a dime and think I can just put my foot down. When I do that, I make myself roll some more and click out. Man, it’s an experience I can tell you. It’s almost like learning how to ride all over again!!
Now what I also get out of this is the power I get from using the clipless. I get more out of the rotation and man I swear even the dreaded uphills are not as bad!! I feel I have more control… Why oh why did I wait so long to go clipless?? I used to use the stirrups when I raced. I forgot how much power you get when attached to the pedal. But then when I stopped, I just went with the laceless and didn’t think any more about it. How stupid, especially now with my penchance for demoning through traffic, I need the control. I almost see now why fixed gear is so popular with the messengers.
The shoes I got are from a company called Lake. Check out the website. The shoes I got are these:
They are so comfortable!! And they are very sneakery, so you can ride and then also walk around without wearing the stiff, clicky road shoes (which now that I think about it is another reason I didn’t want to go clipless). They also have a really cool reflector on the back. Because of shoes like these, I feel much more comfortable with the switch. They are utility and fashion in one (girly coming back out…). I am really glad I got them!!
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05.20.08
Posted in blogging, gear, info at 4:57 pm by Administrator
So I went out for a bit to a friends house party on Saturday, much to the chagrin of my sickened body, but I am the ever vigilant socialite and must abide to an invitation by a friend. So off I went, riding pretty smoothly actually because I had been bedridden for a while, and I get to the gorgeous duplex apartment and, wheeling my bike in hoping to keep it off of the street, wow!! Here is a parade of old school bikes, belonging to the folks that live in the apartment. So like a dork, I whip out my camera and investigate.
The first bike that caught my attention is this one:
A John Deere?!?! Like the tractor dudes? I mean, is that for real? And I am genuinely asking because I really don’t know. I didn’t know that John Deere made bicycles. I can tell you that this bike was old because when I lifted the frame it felt like I was bench pressing a weight in the gym. Yikes. I can’t even imagine trying to get up a hill riding this bike, but I sure as hell would surpass the speed of sound if you put me on a downhill on it!! Here is the far-out shot:
Pretty cool for tooling around the neighborhood, grabbing scant groceries and some cat food no? I am a sucker for the front basket on a bike. It always makes me want to get out, pedal to the nearest Italian shop and buy some vine ripened tomatoes, fresh baked Italian bread and a brick of fresh spun mozzarella, and some flowers. Yeah, I girl out like that sometimes.
Next in line was this one:
Peugeot. Classic. Funny how being a more contemporary biker, I don’t come across bikes like these anymore and it is more reminiscent of my childhood than being a kitschy throwback for the uber-cool. I think it’s awesome that people ride classic bikes like they ride classic cars. It’s all about being in the know. Anyway, looking at the handlebars, I kind of squirm, as I have never liked the brake cords hanging out like this:
I am more of a streamline kind of gal.
But in speaking about these classic bikes, I have a a treat of sorts. I came across this site in my ongoing research to find all bike knowledge that I can. It is called Bicycle Classics and they have products to keep up your classic ride!! They seem to have a pretty good collection of parts and they seem to be as geeked out about bikes as I am!! Major plus in my book. Check it out. The site itself is very basic, they do not have any pictures of the parts, but it seems to me to visit this site, you really have to know your stuff, and perhaps this site is geared to bike geeks as well. It’s well worth checking out if you are serious about wanting to upkeep a classic bike.
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05.14.08
Posted in blogging, gear, repair at 4:20 pm by Administrator
I came across this site called Crank Brothers and nearly fell off my chair when I beheld this beauteous sight. This is their Cobalt XC wheelset, aluminum, stainless steel spokes, disc brake only, tubeless compatible, and in my favorite color, blue.
And being the bike-head that I am, I love tools. I can’t get enough of the Swiss Army style tools that cycling repair has to offer. I dig the fact that you can carry an array of tools on you in one little space in your bag and whip it out when you or a fellow cyclists need to fix a ride. So imagine the squeal that came out of me when I beheld this:
This too is on the Crank Brothers site. There are nineteen tools on this baby….nineteen!! Dude, I could sit for hours and play with this thing. And it comes with a “flask” to keep it in!! Oh my god, oh my god!! I need this to add to my collection of other fold-away tools, to keep in my bag and admire like Smiegel held on to the Ring of Power…
“Precious!!”
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05.02.08
Posted in gear, info at 5:59 pm by Administrator
For those of you who ride track or fixed gear rides (GRRRRRRRRR…..) I have some info for you too!! I found this page on the web on a site called oldskooltrack.com.
I tooled around a bit, and found it to be pretty interesting, despite the fact that I don’t like track riders just as being a snowboarder, I don’t like skiiers. I know, it’s stupid–we’re all out there to do the same thing and have fun, but human nature dictates we draw lines in the sand. I’m on the free-wheel side. You want to cut a line into the free-wheel side and I jump right into the cyclocross group.
But anyway, this site got me jazzed because, after all, riders are riders and we all love the rush no matter what the ride. And in fact, I had this crazy dream this morning before I woke up about riding a track bike around the city!! They obviously have some kind of subliminal messaging on the page….
Soon to follow are my thoughts on track bikes in the city.
Read the links and have fun!!
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Posted in gear at 5:15 pm by Administrator
I don’t need diamonds, I don’t like pearls, flowers die on you and men come and go…..
Cyclocross is FOREVER.
Take that DeBeers.
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05.01.08
Posted in gear, info at 5:03 pm by Administrator
Here I will post for you some information I have come across regarding eyewear for riding. Good stuff, very informative. I have gotten all of this info from the Village Cycle Center catalogue (link in sidebar). Read on…
Road Cycling Lenses tend to be darker than ones for mountain biking and generally use a red tint to filter out blue light and glare.
Off Road Lenses need an orange or amber tint also for filtering blue light that causes glare. Orange or amber tints increase contrast on the trail that pop out obstacles a little more than if you were not wearing glasses at all.
Road and Trail Lenses call for brown tints which improve depth perception and also reduce glare. They are good for variable conditions and the dark tint reduces eyestrain.
Grey or Smoke Tints keep colors in their most natural, unfiltered state, also reducing eyestrain.
Low Light Conditions, like cloudy days, yellow, red or orange tints are the way to go. They help protect the eyes and also create contrast.
Clear Lenses don’t provide contrast but are good for keeping wind, bugs, dust and other outside factors away from eyes.
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03.26.08
Posted in blogging, gear at 6:31 am by Administrator
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!!
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