Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Bike ride
Today was the day for testing the route to work to see if it's bike-able. The weather was iffy--I didn't mind the clouds and the temperature was nice for biking, but with rain and wind forecast I decided not to do the full 24.6 mile roundtrip and instead I went more or less to the halfway mark and back--12.5 miles. The route wasn't bad. Hilly, but not so bad that I had to get off and walk any of it. The town bits of Ellicott City and Catonsville were nice because the traffic was moving slowly and looking out for pedestrians, doors opening, cars stopped, etc. So those places were easy to navigate. And the rest of the route had nice shoulders most of the way. The downhill bits scare the bejeezus out of me, though--I go really, really slowly because I hate feeling out of control and I want to be able to stop quickly. But it took me an hour and a quarter to do the route, which would mean that if I biked to work I'd have to leave at 7 to get into work in enough time to change and get going by 8:30. So I don't know if I'm going to do this on any sort of a regular basis. Maybe once in a while, but it's just a couple of miles too long for my comfort. I was hoping to be able to manage it in under an hour. I need to move someplace flat. I also need to go figure out how many calories I just burned. But first I need a shower--between yesterday's digging and today's ride I ache all over!
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6 comments:
WOW! Good for you! The only trouble with biking TO work is then you also have to do it home again. Of course, if you did it regularly you probably would be able to shorten the time somewhat - but what do I know, I am afraid to do even slow, flat areas...
I second that Wow. That's quite a distance to do -- 50 miles a day. Ambitious and maybe easiest in spring and fall when it's neither cold nor blazing hot. I have tended to keep my mileage in the 15-25 range but that's not saying much. More than that and my arse kills. If you've got to navigate streets and traffic, etc., that ride could take awhile. It would seem much easier to do 25 mph or more but it's not as easy as you think. Amy is right though -- you cycle there and you'll have to cycle home. I have seen people lose plenty of weight biking all over the place.
I say go for it but make sure your bike is in good shape with the right seat, it's fitted well and mechanically in good shape. I have a hybrid bike and it doesn't go as fast as a road bike and tends to be comfortable for shorter jaunts, which is fine with me.
No, no, no--it's not 50 miles a day, just 25. It's not the distance that's a concern, really, just the time. For some reason, mentally, I'm o.k. with spending two hours a day commuting, but not more than that. Mostly I think this is because it would stick Brian with a lot of extra work at home--I'd be leaving the house before the kids are even up and getting home when we're supposed to be eating dinner. Back when I was touring I averaged 10 m.p.h. with my loaded down bike. I was hoping that by taking all the bags off I'd increase my speed. But I think you're right about what's slowing me down--traffic, terrain and my bike. I can't do anything about the traffic (it took me three minutes just to make the turn out of my street onto the main road, and I spent a lot of time at traffic lights) or the terrain, and upgrading the bike is a catch-22--I don't want to put a lot of money into something I may not use much, but I might be more likely to use it if it were a good piece of a equipment! I'm riding a cheap Schwinn hybrid, bought mostly to keep Claire company on short rides on her bike. It's not a terrible bike--the frame is light enough and the components are all made by the same companies that made the components on my good touring bike. But the rear derailleur is crap (in anything but the lowest or highest gears it jumps around) and there are no toe clips. I can put on toe clips and attempt to adjust the derailleur myself, although my track record there isn't great and I don't want to spend $100 on a tune up when the bike itself cost just a bit more than that! I also need to adjust my seat height--that alone might speed me up a bit. I wasn't getting full enough extension on my legs so a lot of my effort going uphills was wasted. I could also increase my speed by switching to road tires, but that's a trade off--the nubby hybrid tires are better on the gravel and potholes. I know I'd also be more comfortable with drop handlebars instead of the upright ones, but that's an expensive upgrade (at that point it's better to get a new bike).
I think if I start riding often enough to get fed up with the bike I have, then I might be able to convince Brian that it makes sense to get me a $900 bike! Or just fix up my old touring bike. We looked into that last year, but I'd have to junk everything but the frame and start all over, so it would be about $500 to get it back in working condition. Since I'm only saving about $3 a day if I ride to work instead of driving, it would take a lot of commuting to make up that money!
Ah OK, I was thinking that was a terrible commute and couldn't imagine you'd have to drive that far.
I took my bike in for a check up a couple of months ago and I needed a new rear derailleur. I went ahead and had them both replaced and it cost me maybe $75 and that included a couple of other adjustments.
I've had it on the trainer and it changes gears MUCH better than it did before. Once it's warm enough I'll get it out on the trails.
I bought my bike at Hudson Trail Outfitters on sale for $400 and it's a hybrid.
But if you're looking check craigslist. There's an awesome selection of bikes on there and you could get something (like a Trek) for a great discount and then have it tuned up and maybe upgraded for much less than buying new. I've seen some great deals on there. You could ask someone at a bike shop what to look for ... a guy once sold a much sought after Trek for $25 not knowing it's true value. The bike sold in about 10 minutes. There are plenty of hidden gems.
I do think having the right equipment is important if you're going to ride a lot. But I don't think you have to spend a fortune for the right equipment. Good seat and good gears essential.
In your case it doesn't sound like it's necessarily about saving money but getting some exercise, which is even better.
Oh, but Sarah, it scares the daylights out of me having you ride your bike in traffic!
Well, if mom doesn't like it you'll need to give up on that idea. :-)
I only ride on trails because I'm prone to bike wrecks and I know one of these morons around here would smush me. :-)
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