PolarLava::Blog

So I finally managed to drag my butt out of bed and ride outside this morning.  Between the cooler weather, rain, tiredness and general laziness, I haven't been riding outside much.  So it was nice actually get outside and have a good ride in decent weather.  And it was a very nice ride the first 90% of the way…

But just before I got to Deerwood Golf Course, heading south on Sweeney St. a car passed me from behind.  Not a big deal, it happens all the time.  But this time of year it's still pretty dark even near the end of my ride (6:15am).  So once this car passed and just as I started to look up the road, I see a guy on a bike sort of weaving right towards me from the other side of the road!  No lights, no reflectors and obviously no concern for me or himself.  Fortunately I had room to swerve to the right and avoid plowing head-on into this assclown.  I really believe that many people who don't ride seriously have no concept of how fast you may be moving.  In this case, I believe about 22mph.  I don't think they want to know what getting hit at that speed feels like anymore than I do.  Regardless, this is easily the closest I've come to being hit on my bike since having a car pull out in front of me a couple of years ago.

Needless to say he was barraged with some choice words after the fact.  I don't know if he was just a clueless "I ride on which ever side there's no cars on" knucklehead and/or whether he was making a long (i.e. straight line) turn into the golf course.  In any case, I don't have a lot of use or respect for somebody out riding their bike in the dark without any lights or reflectors of any kind.  That's just asking to get killed, trust me.  I've been riding in the dark for a number of years now and making yourself visible is rule #1…and #2…and #3.  And regardless of the time of day, KEEP RIGHT!

"Ride harder and faster" is something you hear a lot about in the cycling world…but this has taken it to a whole new level!  :)

With yet another cycling season in full swing, my Cycling topic gets another workout…

As mentioned just the other day, I got New Wheels! for my bike this past week (although still waiting on the parts so I can use them).  One of the things I was missing was rim tape which my lovely wife was going to (and did) pickup for me yesterday.  This being because she was going there to pickup "something" for Father's Day.  I gave her strict orders that it better be nothing more than socks or a hat after the cash I laid out last week on the wheels.

Apparently she and the girls found what they were looking for —as well as my rim tape.  And when I arrived home she was a giddy with concern because she bought me something and didn't want to wait until Sunday to give them to me.  Thus I was quite shocked to find that she had bought me a pair of Nike - Lance Armstrong 10//2 Bib Shorts!  I was quite stunned —and very pleased.  I have a number of pairs of shorts, but only a couple I find really comfortable for longer rides.  Thus I'm looking forward to wearing these as they seem as though they will be quite comfortable.  And everything I've ever read and heard is that once you start wearing bibs, you won't want to wear short anymore.

Pretty much since I bought my Trek 2120 in 1996, the back wheel had a small "hump" in it.  Nothing too serious, but something that has always annoyed me.  Apparently not enough to do anything about it though.  Near the end of last season while truing this back wheel I notice a couple of small crack beginning to form around one of the spokes holes.  This is a sure sign that rim failure is a near certainty in your future.  I was concerned, but simply couldn't afford to replace my wheels at that time.  Nor was I at the beginning of this season so I've continued to ride on it and hope for the best.  Fortunately the wheel hasn't completely failed yet, and it might not; although I do expect that cracked spoke hole to "pop" eventually if I keep riding on it.  But in the past couple of weeks the integrity of the wheel has become suspect as keeping it true has become a constant battle.  To the point that I've had to true it twice in the past week.  I believe I may be close to living on borrowed time.

So with some financial reluctance, a bit of research, a big sale at Bike Nashbar and 17111.14 miles on my 2120, I ordered new wheels this past Saturday.  And suprisingly when I arrived home yesterday I was treated to the sight of a box filled with a pair of Cane Creek Stratos wheels!  These should prove to be a major upgrade over my current wheels by a long shot.  They are certainly lighter than my current wheels —although I don't know what the old ones weigh, their moderate aero profile, and their design (spoke nipples at the hubs instead of the rims) should make them spin up faster.  And hopefully they will stand up to the pitiful roads that I often ride on.

Unfortunately some of the other smaller items I ordered —most notably the new tubes with longer valve stems I need, did not arrive yesterday.  Plus I forgot to order rim tape.  Fortunately I should be able to pick that up locally for a couple of bucks.  I also don't have the time to set them up right now and will probably do that some time during next weekend.  In any case, I'm looking forward to the upgrade.  :)

When I originally bought my Trek 2120 it came with Trek ISO 3K 700x25 tires on it.  That was more surface contact than I wanted or needed for the type of riding that I do.  It's pretty basic physics that a larger contact area means more rolling resistance.  Thus when I wore out those original tires I opted to switch to the much narrower profile Vittoria TechoTwin Tread 700x20 tires.  This was a huge improvement, but in hindsight probably less of a function of their width, but rather their lower weight.  If you don't cycle you likely don't understand what a huge difference lightweight tires make.

I've ridden on 700x20 tires ever since.  But after numerous pinch flats, a torn sidewall and my increasingly aching old body, I decided it was time to try something different.  I had also read that on rough roads —which is the rule rather than the exception in Western New York, wider tires provide more consistent road contact and in turn will increase your speed.  Thus the decision was made that when it came time for new tires, I would switch to a 700x23 tire.  So a couple of weeks ago I took my first ride on my new 700x23 Vittoria Rubino Pro tires.  And I'm now quite happy that I made the switch.  I haven't noticed a decrease in my performance and the ride comfort is definately much better.  The numerous moderate sized holes I encounter are now glided over and some of the larger bone jarring thuds are now merely annoying bumps.  I can now only wonder why I didn't make this switch sooner.  :)