40 Miles after a Month Off

The last time I was on my road bike was September 19, 2009. I've commuted to work a couple of times, and have been jogging regularly, but a long list of excuses has kept me off the road bike. This weekend the family and I planned to visit Victoria's parents outside of Cleveland, Texas, and I made sure the bike made the trip too. It was time to break the cycle.



I woke up on Sunday, and put on my cool weather kit -- summer bibs and jersey, with arm & knee warmers, skull cap, and full finger gloves. It was in the high 50s, clear, with a moderate wind. The weather was perfect, and I decided I would put in a solid 40 miles. I was worried about my fitness, but I also knew that I didn't have a choice. I could continue to not ride, or I could literally get back on the bike.

As I warmed up, I felt okay, but could tell I'd been off the bike. I was riding into a headwind, and struggled to maintain 18 mph over the flat terrain. My quads burned a little more than usual as I held a 95-100 RPM cadence. The ride felt a little more strenuous than usual, but nothing extreme.

I made the turnaround at Mile 20, and had the wind at my back. I started hitting 20+mph with the same effort, but now felt really warmed up and in the groove. I spun along, stopping only to take a photo of a mileage sign showing the distance to my old hometown.




When I finished the ride and uploaded the data, I was surprised by what I saw. I finished the 40 miles with an average speed of 18.7 mph, and a heart rate of 149BPM. The last time I did the same route, which was in early August, I finished with 18.8 mph, and a heart rate of 137BPM. The heart rate difference is most likely due to the headwind. Otherwise, I basically performed identically.

I'm not foolish enough to think that I'm in the same cycling shape as I was a month ago. I've started to slip just a little. The running helps with general fitness, but it's not the same as training on the bike. Likewise, commuting helps, but it's not training. Truth is, as my situation in Houston stabilizes, I'll be riding more. As that happens, I'll be crafting my rides to make sure they bolster my bike fitness. Until then, I'll keep running, commuting, and trying to squeeze in a road ride per week or so.

2nd Bike Commute, 1st Injury

Late last week I installed my new bike rack and panniers, and properly mounted my taillights. I also fabricated a very basic bracket to attach the front fender to the fork. When finished, the commuter rig looked like this:



Although I expected my homemade bracket to be totally mediocre, it's actually not bad. I used a flat piece of aluminum, cut to length, deburred, and drilled for mounting. It works pretty well, except it really needs square holes and carriage bolts or two mounting holes to help square the alignment. I like the way it looks, and as long as I keep the bolts tight, it will function properly.


I installed all of this hardware and equipment last Wednesday night in preparation for a Thursday commute, but that night my oldest daughter took a trip to the ER. All is good now, but I had to postpone my 2nd commute to Tuesday. On Monday night, I loaded the panniers with notebook, clothes, toiletries, and shower shoes, then woke up early Tuesday morning and was on the road by 5:45a.

I immediately appreciated the panniers. It is much more comfortable to ride without a backpack, and except for when turning, I really didn't notice that the panniers were even there. I kicked them a couple of times when clipping in, but after a few stops I figured out how to engage the pedals without ever touching the panniers.

At one point in my ride, I have no choice but to travel on a busy road. There's just no way to get to the office without choosing the lesser of multiple evils. It's busy enough that today I decided to ride on the sidewalk. As I made a left turn on to the busy road, I had to execute a very sharp s-shaped series of turns in order to get on to the sidewalk. The weight of the panniers took me by surprise as I started the turn. As I quickly unclipped and attempted to transfer my weight and rebalance, I crossed up the front tire. I hit my knee pretty hard on the bike, and came to a complete stop at the entrance to the sidewalk. I pushed the bike over to the sidewalk and had a look at my knee.

The knee didn't hurt much, but blood was already dripping down my leg and into my sock. What the heck? It was dark, but from the street lamp I could tell that I didn't have a big injury. It looked like a puncture wound. I inspected the bike, and found the source of the damage. When my knee hit the fender of my crossed-up front wheel, I hit it hard enough that a protective cap on the end of a fender stay was punctured by the fender stay, which then punctured my leg. Check the black caps in the below photo.


I made sure nothing was rubbing on the bike and that the bleeding had stopped, and then rode on to the office. Once there, I snapped this photo of the injury:


The wound is only about 3/8" long, but it's pretty deep. The end of the fender stay gouged a little channel into my leg, but I'm happy that it wasn't just a straight puncture. I cleaned and dressed the little wound, and it feels fine now.

I learned the hard way not to underestimate the impact of panniers on bike handling. I'll think twice before I try to make another series of sharp turns at low speed. I almost forgot -- even with the injury, it was another great bike commute in Houston!

Sick and Tired of Not Riding

The whole family has been sick this week. It manifested as a cold for Vic, Lola, and me. For Betsy, it meant two trips to the emergency room. We're all recovering, but it has meant that riding time has been scarce.

I haven't been on the bike in over a week, although I have at least run a few times. My fitness is holding for now, but I need to get on the bike this week. I plan on commuting by bike twice this week, and then working in a ride next weekend. Perhaps I'll ride with a local group or shop ride. Regardless, I'll be back on the bike. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, and the best way to break the cycle is to ride.

The 1st Houston Bike Commute -- My Bike and the Route

In my last post, I promised to provide more details on my commute. I'm about to tell you more than you ever wanted to know.

PREPARING THE BIKE

You've read about my conversion of my Marin Hawk Hill MTB to a hybrid. I took it a step further before my first commute ride, and bought full fenders, a rack, a new taillight, and panniers. As you can see in the photo below, I've installed everything except the rack and panniers.


The fenders are Planet Bike Cascadia ATB fenders, and they installed with minimal fuss. The biggest issue is that the front fork that Speedo installed to replace my suspension fork has a larger-than-normal gap between the wheel and the fork, and I had to temporarily zip-tie the fork to the fender. I'm working on making a new bracket so that I can properly gap the fender to the wheel, as well as give the fender the right stability. Unlike the front, the rear fender installed with no issues at all.

I did not install my Planet Bike VersaRack Disc because the M5 x 45mm screw for the lower mount was not long enough. Since I'm using the same mount hole for both the rack and the fender, I needed a little longer screw. I ordered some from Fastenal (highly recommend for hard to find hardware), and they should be here Monday, which will be just in time to install the rack and hang my new Axiom Typhoon panniers.

Perhaps most importantly, I installed both of my headlights on the bike, and a new taillight. The main illumination is provided by my Cat Eye HL-EL 500, which is the same design but less bright than the HL-EL530. I also put my smaller Cat Eye headlight on the bike, and set it on blink for visibility. The taillight is a Planet Bike Blinky Super Flash. It is truly the brightest taillight I have ever seen on a bike. It hurts to look at it. Seriously. Just to add a little more safety, i threw my old Cat Eye taillight on my backpack to provide some backup.

With everything installed, I was confident that the bike was ready enough for the 1st commute. I made sure the tires were properly inflated and that my emergency seat bag was stocked, and rolled out at around 5:45a.


THE ROUTE

I mapped out the route a couple of weeks ago, drove it last weekend, then remapped it again before I rode. I eliminated as many busy streets as I could, used bike lanes and routes where possible, and used footbridges to cross two Houston bayous. Check out the detailed route in the below map.



Unfortunately, west Houston is not a cyclist's paradise. I didn't count, but I bet I roll through 20 stop signs on my 15 mile route. I also have to cross two busy streets without a traffic signal, as well as ride on the sidewalk of a couple of busy streets. The sidewalk riding is maybe 5% of my route, but I'll be trying to find a better route. Even with the problems, I still think that overall the route is good, and relatively safe.

Without photos, the details of my commute will put even the most dedicated bike commuter to sleep. I'll leave you with a few highs and lows:

• I had to make a quick stop when a high school kid turned in front of me. Luckily, I was ready for it.
• Using the footbridges required me to navigate a few feet of path with offroad conditions. This might be an issue when it rains.
• I felt great when I rode on the sidewalk. Not because it was smooth or comfortable, but because I was scared out of my wits to ride on those particularly busy streets.
• I travel through an extraordinarly wide mix of property -- the obvious wealth of the Memorial Drive corridor, industrial areas near my office, and lower middle class neighborhoods dotted with gang tags and homes in need of repair. The worst cycling? The Memorial Drive corridor. Drivers were speeding, and cut it way too close for comfort.
• It was EXHILARATING to commute by bike. I felt like I accomplished something before I even got to work.
• I enjoyed ringing my bell at folks. Especially when it's gentle ting-ting sound startled them.

I promise to take photos over the next few weeks, and give you some examples of the good and the bad. In the meantime -- ride your bike to work. If I can commute in Houston, then you can commute wherever you are.

My 1st Bike Commute in Houston

This post is actually a prologue to a more detailed post that will follow in a day or two. I've been so busy with the new job, trying to find a house, and being a Dad and husband that I haven't really had time to write a more descriptive post. I can't leave my readers hanging too long, so I wanted to give you a little insight into the 1st commute.

The high points (or low points) are:

• There are way, way more cars in Houston than in Austin or the Rio Grande Valley. Even at 6:45a, I encountered bumper-to-bumper traffic on some of the larger streets (Beechnut and Bissonet, for the Houstonians). I used the sidewalk for a few blocks on both of these. It sounds bad, but this type of riding accounted for about 5% of my overall commute.

• I used neighborhood streets to avoid traffic, which really worked out well. It required me to cross a few bayous (errr...large drainage ditches to non-Houstonians) using foot bridges, but that was actually nice, as you can see in the photos.

• One of the most dangerous sections of my commute is on Wilcrest, which is a major street, with 2 lanes each direction and a bike lane too. The cars pass VERY close, and they're usually exceeding the 30-45mph speed limits. I'll be trying to find another way around this section. As you can see in the photo below, cars rule this street.

View of Bayou from Foot Bridge

One of the Foot Bridges I Cross (Dismount for Pedestrians!)

Wilcrest Drive -- The Friendliest Bike Lane in Houston (REAL PHOTO)

Overall, it was a great first commute, with only a few minor problems; as such, I'm hoping to make the commute a twice-a-week occurrence, perhaps starting next week. If you want to hear more about the commute, click back in a few days for details about my commuter rig, the commute details, and the fun of showering at work.

Getting Ready for my First Houston Bike Commute

As I've mentioned, I'm in the process of prepping my mountain bike to be a commuter bike. Due to a few constraints, I was targeting this Tuesday as my first bike commute day. The shower at work needs tile repair that will be completed by Tuesday. My fenders and rack will arrive Monday and be installed Monday night. Based on the convergence of all of these details, Tuesday looked like THE DAY. Until I remembered I am working Sunday.

Due to current business conditions, my team is working rotating Sundays. Tomorrow is my first Sunday, and it struck me as a great day to ride to work. I can test out the route under minimal traffic conditions, and get empirical evidence of what I'm in for when I ride during the week. It's 14 miles each way, so I'll also get in a little exercise.

I still need to take care of a few basics. I need to go by a bike shop and pick up a seat bag since my old bag was packed away by the movers. I might buy some plain ol' Eggbeaters, as my Candy pedals are a tight fit with my new shoes. I'll throw some stuff in my backpack, including a change of clothes, baby wipes and deodorant. In other words -- I'll "make do".

I'm looking forward to a good ride tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.


P.S. For those of you that want a homework assignment and know something about Houston bike routes, think about how you would ride from the intersection of Gessner and Briar Forest to the intersection of Corporate Drive and the Southwest Fwy (Hwy 59). Discussion to follow...