If you haven't had the chance to go for a moonlight ride, go do it right now. It's OK, I'll wait.
This week I have been riding home with my headlights off (once I get off the road). I actually prefer the low light conditions to having a headlight for a few reasons.
Riding with just a bar light gives a tunnel vision effect--everything ahead is clear, but everything to the sides remains a mystery. It's quite easy to see, but I don't like not being able to see to the sides.
A head mounted light I really don't like for commuting...it makes it easy to see wherever I'm looking, but it also makes it far too easy to inadvertently blind oncoming drivers. I don't want them blind. I also have a tendency to want to play with the light, in the sense of trying to look at everything off to the sides. "I wonder if I can see the creek through the trees...yep! Can I see the tops of these trees I'm riding under? Yep! Crap, am I running off the trail because I'm not paying attention? Yep!"
Riding in moonlight is something completely different though. Monday's ride had a not-quite full moon, but I had a well-defined shadow in front of me the whole way home. I could make out every important detail of the trail, though it was very grey. Tuesday was overcast and it was pretty similar--I didn't have a shadow, but I could still make out all the details I needed to. Wednesday was the best, it was raining lightly and the trail was like a mirror. turning the light on didn't illuminate the trail any better than running with the light off, it only made trailside features more visible. Night rides in the rain are an awesome way to gain a new perspective. Rain gear gets hot when the temperature is hovering just under 50, though (I had the pit zips on the jacket open, at least).
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Routine, interrupted
My morning routine has been relatively simple.
After I get up, shower, and eat breakfast, I start thinking about what to wear for the day's ride. Previously, that meant I would go to weather.com and look at the temperature + chance of rain, then dress appropriately.
For the past two weeks or so though, their temperature has been way colder than reality.
I learned this when I brought up their site, saw that the current temp was 30 degrees, and dressed for the cold.
It was actually 47, and I was burning up the whole way there (and didn't have time to stop and take off any layers).
Today it says it's 39. The actual current temp is 51.
What this means is...weather.com, you have become useless to me. Stop being useless. (OK, fine, I still use the radar)
After I get up, shower, and eat breakfast, I start thinking about what to wear for the day's ride. Previously, that meant I would go to weather.com and look at the temperature + chance of rain, then dress appropriately.
For the past two weeks or so though, their temperature has been way colder than reality.
I learned this when I brought up their site, saw that the current temp was 30 degrees, and dressed for the cold.
It was actually 47, and I was burning up the whole way there (and didn't have time to stop and take off any layers).
Today it says it's 39. The actual current temp is 51.
What this means is...weather.com, you have become useless to me. Stop being useless. (OK, fine, I still use the radar)
Friday, October 31, 2008
Quick reminder
Just a quick entry, but an important reminder:
Check your bolts!
I didn't ride in yesterday because after I got all my bike clothes on and started to wheel my bike out the door, I saw everything on the rack wobbling.
Upon investigation, it was missing the rack bolt on the top right.
Upon further investigation it was also missing the bolt on the bottom left.
I should have checked everything when I noticed the water bottle cage was coming loose, but alas, I did not.
So just a reminder: Check the tension on all the bolts periodically!
Check your bolts!
I didn't ride in yesterday because after I got all my bike clothes on and started to wheel my bike out the door, I saw everything on the rack wobbling.
Upon investigation, it was missing the rack bolt on the top right.
Upon further investigation it was also missing the bolt on the bottom left.
I should have checked everything when I noticed the water bottle cage was coming loose, but alas, I did not.
So just a reminder: Check the tension on all the bolts periodically!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Another chilly/wet ride
Another ride in conditions most people would hate today.
This morning the temp was about 37 with a chance of rain. The forecast originally called for rain/snow showers, but they took the snow out until 10pm and lowered the chance of rain in the morning to <30%. There was a higher risk of rain in the afternoon though, so I had a good set of clothes with me. Here was my morning wardrobe:
Terramar Merino Wool Long Sleeve Crew
Sugoi jersey--don't see it on their site, but it's long sleeve, lightweight merino wool, half zipper front, single pocket in the back
Woll semi-tights from Rivendell - Unfortunately their rather annoying web design won't let me link directly to them, but this is the best I can do
Defeet wool socks
Showers Pass touring jacket with hood (did not use hood in the morning)
Manzella Cascade Gloves
And a pair of Velowear lycra shorts, since the tights don't have padding
The morning ride was great, the legs were just a tiny bit cool at first, but warmed up pretty quickly. I was surprised how warm I was when I got to the office, I think I might have worn a little too much on my torso--should have just had one jersey. Could have also done with some lighter gloves, but I wanted the waterproof ones in case of rain. I only saw two people on the morning, neither on bikes.
The ride home was in total darkness, with rain, at about 39 degrees. I threw on the set of rain pants I always keep in the trunk bag (they are good for rain and as an extra windproof layer in case I underdress), attached the hood to my jersey, and set off. I also threw on a pair of Visorgogs (scroll to the bottom of the page) to keep the water and cold air out of my eyes.
This ride was also surprisingly comfortable. Except for discomfort around the neck from the rain hood, I was prety good the whole way. The neck discomfort is pro bably just a personal thing, I really don't like things on my neck too much, and anything that passes between my chin and the strap of my helmet causes similar annoyance. I was definintely warm enough the whole way home--once again, I could have lost a layer from my torso and not gotten cold.
The only part of me that got wet from anything other than sweat were my cheeks, toes, and a small bit of my wrists between the gloves and the sleeves of my jacket--it would be nice if the gloves had longer cuffs, but I can deal with them as they are.
About 2.5 miles into the ride, it began to sleet pretty hard. It stung my face pretty good where the hood didn't cover, but the visorgogs kept my eyes clear. They are not as good as I had hoped for fog prevention though, they kept fogging up even in the moderately warm 39 degree air. Moving them around to get airflow cleared them out fairly quickly though.
I would recommend all the clothing I had, it's all of good quality and everything seems to do the job it's advertised to do--I expect the gloves will be good for at least another 10 degrees, and after that I might be able to fit liners in them. Unfortunately Performance only had the large and not the XLs though, those would be a better fit.
Performance has a matching set of wool tights to go with the jersey, but don't buy them to use as an outer layer. They have a fly in them (made just like the one in a set of briefs). Maybe no one would notice, but it's not the kin The Rivendell ones are nicer beause they have a higher percentage of wool, a looser fit, and are a bit more casual looking. They do cost more, though.
I might ride tomorrow and I might not...depends on whether the night ride is still on. Looks like I might be doing two nighttime trail rides this week. Is this great or what?
This morning the temp was about 37 with a chance of rain. The forecast originally called for rain/snow showers, but they took the snow out until 10pm and lowered the chance of rain in the morning to <30%. There was a higher risk of rain in the afternoon though, so I had a good set of clothes with me. Here was my morning wardrobe:
Terramar Merino Wool Long Sleeve Crew
Sugoi jersey--don't see it on their site, but it's long sleeve, lightweight merino wool, half zipper front, single pocket in the back
Woll semi-tights from Rivendell - Unfortunately their rather annoying web design won't let me link directly to them, but this is the best I can do
Defeet wool socks
Showers Pass touring jacket with hood (did not use hood in the morning)
Manzella Cascade Gloves
And a pair of Velowear lycra shorts, since the tights don't have padding
The morning ride was great, the legs were just a tiny bit cool at first, but warmed up pretty quickly. I was surprised how warm I was when I got to the office, I think I might have worn a little too much on my torso--should have just had one jersey. Could have also done with some lighter gloves, but I wanted the waterproof ones in case of rain. I only saw two people on the morning, neither on bikes.
The ride home was in total darkness, with rain, at about 39 degrees. I threw on the set of rain pants I always keep in the trunk bag (they are good for rain and as an extra windproof layer in case I underdress), attached the hood to my jersey, and set off. I also threw on a pair of Visorgogs (scroll to the bottom of the page) to keep the water and cold air out of my eyes.
This ride was also surprisingly comfortable. Except for discomfort around the neck from the rain hood, I was prety good the whole way. The neck discomfort is pro bably just a personal thing, I really don't like things on my neck too much, and anything that passes between my chin and the strap of my helmet causes similar annoyance. I was definintely warm enough the whole way home--once again, I could have lost a layer from my torso and not gotten cold.
The only part of me that got wet from anything other than sweat were my cheeks, toes, and a small bit of my wrists between the gloves and the sleeves of my jacket--it would be nice if the gloves had longer cuffs, but I can deal with them as they are.
About 2.5 miles into the ride, it began to sleet pretty hard. It stung my face pretty good where the hood didn't cover, but the visorgogs kept my eyes clear. They are not as good as I had hoped for fog prevention though, they kept fogging up even in the moderately warm 39 degree air. Moving them around to get airflow cleared them out fairly quickly though.
I would recommend all the clothing I had, it's all of good quality and everything seems to do the job it's advertised to do--I expect the gloves will be good for at least another 10 degrees, and after that I might be able to fit liners in them. Unfortunately Performance only had the large and not the XLs though, those would be a better fit.
Performance has a matching set of wool tights to go with the jersey, but don't buy them to use as an outer layer. They have a fly in them (made just like the one in a set of briefs). Maybe no one would notice, but it's not the kin The Rivendell ones are nicer beause they have a higher percentage of wool, a looser fit, and are a bit more casual looking. They do cost more, though.
I might ride tomorrow and I might not...depends on whether the night ride is still on. Looks like I might be doing two nighttime trail rides this week. Is this great or what?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Slooooowing
My last few rides have seen a sharp decrease in speed. I don't know if I have trouble pushing myself when it's cooler, if the layers of clothes get in the way, or if it's just the very lackadaisical attitude I have toward maintaining tire pressure.
I had thought that I was wearing myself out with other strengthening exercises I've been doing, but I did nothing but relax over the weekend and today saw my slowest commute yet. I don't have additional pain, it just seems like I'm going 5mph slower than usual with the same effort. I don't mind slowing down when I am taking it easy, but going slow for unknown reasons is starting to get old.
There's been road construction along my favored route for the past week. They are running some culverts under the street, but I have never seen it done like this before--it is running along the road as opposed to across it. For over half a mile the road is cut right down the middle of one lane, and they are gradually digging that up, putting in the pipe, and patching the asphalt. It keeps the road closed in the morning, and in the afternoon I get a nice coating of dust from where the work has been going on. On the bright side the construction hasn't affected the road where I ride down the hill, so I don't have to be careful at speed. It will just be a bit annoying to ride up the rough pavement once they're finished. I would get pictures, but it is quite dark by the time I get to that area now.
The cooler weather.darkness is definitely affecting the traffic on the trail now. Today I saw one walker and two cyclists, one of whom had no lights (but at least there were reflectors. I also saw three deer. I am totally ready for the sun to come back now. That happens when, some time in March?
I had thought that I was wearing myself out with other strengthening exercises I've been doing, but I did nothing but relax over the weekend and today saw my slowest commute yet. I don't have additional pain, it just seems like I'm going 5mph slower than usual with the same effort. I don't mind slowing down when I am taking it easy, but going slow for unknown reasons is starting to get old.
There's been road construction along my favored route for the past week. They are running some culverts under the street, but I have never seen it done like this before--it is running along the road as opposed to across it. For over half a mile the road is cut right down the middle of one lane, and they are gradually digging that up, putting in the pipe, and patching the asphalt. It keeps the road closed in the morning, and in the afternoon I get a nice coating of dust from where the work has been going on. On the bright side the construction hasn't affected the road where I ride down the hill, so I don't have to be careful at speed. It will just be a bit annoying to ride up the rough pavement once they're finished. I would get pictures, but it is quite dark by the time I get to that area now.
The cooler weather.darkness is definitely affecting the traffic on the trail now. Today I saw one walker and two cyclists, one of whom had no lights (but at least there were reflectors. I also saw three deer. I am totally ready for the sun to come back now. That happens when, some time in March?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Temperature declining
It's definitely getting cooler out, though nothing I would call cold yet.
The morning commute was in the standard long sleeve jersey and shorts, but when I left to ride home I stopped before I even got into the parking lot to put on the wind shell. There's a definite difference in low 50s with sun and low 50s at night.
I have recently been turning off my headlight when I get away from the roads and riding as much as I can on night vision. It's definitely an interesting experience--being able to see the edges of the path, but not the surface itself. I can make sure I don't run off into the grass, but there is no assurance at all of not hitting a tree branch.
While doing this today, another rider came up behind me. I saw that he was coming because his light caused my shadow to stand out in front of me. He pulled up next to me and informed me that there were a few people ahead, in case I couldn't see them (I could). I responded by turning my own light on full and completely drowning out his 1 watt LED. What can I say, I spent a long time building that light and I can be a bit of a showoff sometimes.
He then scored extra points by noticing I was riding a Long Haul Trucker, and mentioning that people kept asking him for bike advice so much that he wrote a 6 page article on it, and recommended the LHT most highly. I was starting to like this guy.
We talked for a bit as we rode--he is in the unfortunate situation of working in a location that is not safe to get to by bike, as well as living somewhere where he can't safely get to the trails, so he has to load up the bike after work, drive to an access point, then do all his riding after dark. That's dedication, I don't think that I would be doing very many rides at night if I wasn't commuting--except some occasional mountain biking, perhaps.
Soeaking of mountain biking, I might be able to do a night ride this weekend. I have decided that the trials are close enough to my apartment that I should be able to go when I'm on call, because I can get out of the woods and back to my apartment within an hour if something goes bad at work. I'm seeing a STOMP show that might interfere with this particular ride, though. Hopefully I'll be able to do both, but I guess if I miss this one ride I can survive. I'll just have to post at the Ohio Mountain Bike Association forums and see if I can get something together. It will read something like "Anyone up for a slow night ride this weekend? I break my collarbone on 50% of my nocturnal trail excursions."
Tomorrow's ride should be the chilliest yet, temps will be well below 50 in the morning. Not sure if I want to break out the tights yet or if I'll wear some loose pants that are comfortable enough to ride in. Decisions decisions... Normally I leave the tights for below 45, at least.
The morning commute was in the standard long sleeve jersey and shorts, but when I left to ride home I stopped before I even got into the parking lot to put on the wind shell. There's a definite difference in low 50s with sun and low 50s at night.
I have recently been turning off my headlight when I get away from the roads and riding as much as I can on night vision. It's definitely an interesting experience--being able to see the edges of the path, but not the surface itself. I can make sure I don't run off into the grass, but there is no assurance at all of not hitting a tree branch.
While doing this today, another rider came up behind me. I saw that he was coming because his light caused my shadow to stand out in front of me. He pulled up next to me and informed me that there were a few people ahead, in case I couldn't see them (I could). I responded by turning my own light on full and completely drowning out his 1 watt LED. What can I say, I spent a long time building that light and I can be a bit of a showoff sometimes.
He then scored extra points by noticing I was riding a Long Haul Trucker, and mentioning that people kept asking him for bike advice so much that he wrote a 6 page article on it, and recommended the LHT most highly. I was starting to like this guy.
We talked for a bit as we rode--he is in the unfortunate situation of working in a location that is not safe to get to by bike, as well as living somewhere where he can't safely get to the trails, so he has to load up the bike after work, drive to an access point, then do all his riding after dark. That's dedication, I don't think that I would be doing very many rides at night if I wasn't commuting--except some occasional mountain biking, perhaps.
Soeaking of mountain biking, I might be able to do a night ride this weekend. I have decided that the trials are close enough to my apartment that I should be able to go when I'm on call, because I can get out of the woods and back to my apartment within an hour if something goes bad at work. I'm seeing a STOMP show that might interfere with this particular ride, though. Hopefully I'll be able to do both, but I guess if I miss this one ride I can survive. I'll just have to post at the Ohio Mountain Bike Association forums and see if I can get something together. It will read something like "Anyone up for a slow night ride this weekend? I break my collarbone on 50% of my nocturnal trail excursions."
Tomorrow's ride should be the chilliest yet, temps will be well below 50 in the morning. Not sure if I want to break out the tights yet or if I'll wear some loose pants that are comfortable enough to ride in. Decisions decisions... Normally I leave the tights for below 45, at least.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Various
Hey, I never followed up on my 60-degrees-and-raining commute post.
Conclusion: Long sleeve jersey (thin merino wool), rain jacket, and baggy shorts are fine, bordering on too warm.
The next day was a 50 degree ride through dense fog. I had forgotten one little aspect of fog: It makes you wet. I frequently had to wipe the front of my glasses down with my gloves, and it was chilly--right at the point where I was pondering to pull out my jacket, but not quite enough to motivate me to do it. Plus I was running late and didn't want to stop.
One of the things about riding in the cold--you can feel fine while on the bike because your core remains warm, but when you change at work, notice that your skin feels quite cold to the touch. After a few minutes at work, the chill starts sinking in deeper....I'm generally much colder 20 minutes after a ride than during. I may start leaving a jacket at work (where I am normally quite warm).
Did some mountain biking again yesterday, I was finally able to coordinate with my rother and get him on the trails again. We hit John Bryan State Park and did 8.5 miles or so, at roughly half the speed I commute to work. That's a pretty simple trail, and I am quite slow on it. I have concluded that it's hard to actually be bad at road biking, but it's pretty easy to be bad at mountain biking. It's still fun, though. Oh, and there were some very attractive women hiking. Maybe I should take up hiking.
Oh, on the way back I had to purchase gas. I was on the same tank from Aug 28 to Oct 11, so the driving less seems to be working for me.
Conclusion: Long sleeve jersey (thin merino wool), rain jacket, and baggy shorts are fine, bordering on too warm.
The next day was a 50 degree ride through dense fog. I had forgotten one little aspect of fog: It makes you wet. I frequently had to wipe the front of my glasses down with my gloves, and it was chilly--right at the point where I was pondering to pull out my jacket, but not quite enough to motivate me to do it. Plus I was running late and didn't want to stop.
One of the things about riding in the cold--you can feel fine while on the bike because your core remains warm, but when you change at work, notice that your skin feels quite cold to the touch. After a few minutes at work, the chill starts sinking in deeper....I'm generally much colder 20 minutes after a ride than during. I may start leaving a jacket at work (where I am normally quite warm).
Did some mountain biking again yesterday, I was finally able to coordinate with my rother and get him on the trails again. We hit John Bryan State Park and did 8.5 miles or so, at roughly half the speed I commute to work. That's a pretty simple trail, and I am quite slow on it. I have concluded that it's hard to actually be bad at road biking, but it's pretty easy to be bad at mountain biking. It's still fun, though. Oh, and there were some very attractive women hiking. Maybe I should take up hiking.
Oh, on the way back I had to purchase gas. I was on the same tank from Aug 28 to Oct 11, so the driving less seems to be working for me.
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