Friday, May 28, 2010

The Friday Connection


Happy Memorial Day weekend!

We hope you are doing something fun (like a little biking) for the weekend.

This week's Friday Connection link is to bikewise.org. This is a service provided by Cascade Bicycle Club. The site shares bicycling related information on thefts, crashes, and hazards in your area. Give the interactive map a twirl and find out what's been happening in your neck of the woods.

Friday, May 21, 2010

The Friday Connection

Happy Friday!

What happens when your bike gets stolen? You might get it back. You might not. In Boise there have been a string of bike thefts. Boise Police are offering up a bike registration program to help cyclists. Fill out this easy form to register your bike today!

Park Tool School

Remember us telling  you about the great class at Idaho Mountain Touring we talked about? The class where you take apart your bike and put it back together? Well it is finally here! For those of you interested in Idaho Mountain Touring's Park Tool School here are the dates:

Road Bike Repair 101
June 15, 2010 (Tuesday)    
June 17, 2010 (Thursday)


Mountain Bike Repair 101
June 29, 2010 (Tuesday)
July 1, 2010 (Thursday)

Cost: $65

(We have heard a lot of good things about this class.)

Friday, May 14, 2010

The Friday Connection


Happy Friday, friends! It looks like this weekend is guaranteed to have awesome weather so I look forward to seeing you out there! Here are a couple fun links for today's connection. Don't forget, next week is Boise Bike Week! Lots of fun activities . . .



Check out these innovative pieces of bicycle art. Students from the University of Houston School of Art created these eclectic rides for this year's Houston Art Car Parade. For the full article click here. Do you think Boise should have something like this? Looks like fun, right?


Take the Go by Bike challenge and see how you can reduce your carbon footprint, the size of your waistline, and your fuel spending habits. (It's a very cool, fun interactive website.)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Puncture Vine, Horses, and Runaway Kids . . . Oh, My!

How much cycling can you cram into a weekend? A lot. Let's face it, folks, we only have two months until this showdown begins. Preparation is half the battle. Last weekend marked a 140 mile weekend (per the STP recommended training schedule). That is 70 miles each day. Uh . . . yeah, exactly.


The weekend started off with a bang! Friday I installed new tubes & tires on my 'green machine' entirely by myself. Yes, I am patting myself on the back. I'm proud to say I will never be stranded with a flat tire, unable to change it myself. Remembering to bring a tube could be a separate issue. Why the change? Smaller tires [25"] will be a bit faster and these babies, I'm pretty sure, are made of steel. Darn near steel, anyhow. (This theory is proven on Saturday's ride.) They will also last for 3000+ miles. A sound investment when you're living on your bike.


Saturday was filled with Saturday Market fun and some near death, . . . er crashing, experiences. Heidi and I headed out to the market for a little organic food shopping, which ended in some yummy food purchases, lunch, and a visit to the LBS (local bike shop).

Then end of our excursion brought the arrival of my 70 miles of training, spinning toward Eagle and beyond. After nearly being run over by a distracted cyclist on Friendship Bridge and averting a potentially terrible wreck with a two-year-old-darting-speed-demon on the Greenbelt, I made it to the safety of the open road. I rode out past the Emmett highway to Pollard Road before I thought of turning back for home. Of course I always forget to take photos on the road, until the very memorable image below.  I wanted to make sure I stopped to get a shot of Hill Road at Dry Creek Cemetery (truly lovely stretch of road). But when I say 'stopped' I mean crashed!!




Usually when I dismount (or clip out) I do it from the left side. This time I had too much weight on my right side and went down like a bundle of bricks. Can we say OUCH? To top it off I landed in a patch of puncture vine (also affectionately known as Goathead City)!  Yes, I know it's funny. After I was able to unhook and get upright, brushing myself off and plucking goatheads from my rearend, I was ready to hit the road. This was when I realized my right break lever was bent and not in a good way.

Uh oh . . .

After a good dose of elbow grease I got the lever back into position and headed toward home. My chain was screeching noisily but didn't appear too damaged. Really, I didn't have much of a choice. I had to ride, walk, or thumb it home. This got me thinking a first-aid kit might be essential on these long outings.

I made it 50 of the 70 miles. I was a little disappointed, but I figured I earned those miles with my skinned shin and bruised thigh. Sunday would bring better mileage.


Sunday brought another day of beautiful weather. I headed out toward Discovery Park for an easy 20 miles before venturing to Eagle. What I saw on the Greenbelt made me stop and shake my head.  Horses! Two riders saddled up side-by-side riding along the pathway. Really!? I watched in disbelief for a couple minutes before it dawned on me to get a photo (see below).


Hey, I love horses but on the Greenbelt they are a little too unpredictable to be dealing with (a little larger than darting children). I could tell one of the riders was having a little difficulty getting his steed to behave. I decided this was my sign; off in another direction I headed.

I hit the Bench and then accosted northwest Boise. After all my tooling around I stopped by Hawkins Pac-Out for some dinner action (big, juicy cheeseburger heaven). Hey, good grub can make 70 miles feel like a piece of cake. 



All in all it was a good weekend filled with biking adventure and lessons of the road. Stay tuned for tips on changing out your handlebar tape.

Until next time . . . keep peddling and rocking National Bike Month!

Friday, May 7, 2010

The Friday Connection


Here we are again at our favorite day of the week! Every Friday we post links to informative, interesting, or just plain fun links. This week we have a 'fun' link. We love it!

Celebrity and funny man John Leguizamo is a big cycling fan. Who knew? Watch as he shares tips on bicycle commuting--in New York! If you interested in reading the article click here.








 Also, don't forget! Boise Bike Week is coming right up.
 

http://www.boisebikeweek.org/

Sunday, May 16
Boise Vintage Bike Swap 
9 AM - 2 PM / Rite Aid, 16th  and State


Monday, May 17
Kickoff Celebration 
7:30 AM / City Hall Plaza, 150 N Capitol

Twilight Mardi Gras Ride 
7:30 PM / Hyde Park Cycle Sports,
1517 1/2 N 13th St

Bike Maintenance 
7:30 PM / Boise Bicycle Project, 1027 Lusk


Tuesday, May 18
Adapted Cruise 
6:00 PM / Municipal Park, 500 S Walnut
 
Road Biking Intro 
6:00 PM / Eastside Cycles, Bown Crossing



Wednesday, May 19
Street Smart Cycling
7:00 PM / George's Cycles, 251 E Front St

Women's Road Ride


6:00 PM / Velodrome, N Horseshoe Bend Rd

Recumbent Rally
6:00 PM / Julia Davis Park, near bandshell


Thursday, May 20
Mountain Biking Intro 
6:00 PM / Camel's Back Park, tennis courts

Pedal Power Picnic at the Park Sierra Club
6:00 PM / Sierra Club Office, 503 W Franklin


Friday, May 21
May in Motion 
7:30-10:30 AM / 8th Street & Bannock

Bicycle Block Party
4:00 PM / 8th Street and Bannock


Saturday, May 22
Pedal Power Parade
4:30 PM / Capitol Park, 6th & Bannock

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Bike Fittin'

5-4-10
Today I met with my physical therapist, Jay, to do a little 'bike fittin.' He spent an hour and a half measuring, tweaking, and finessing my ride. He pulled out his special tool kit which included such items as a plumb bob, a level/ruler, and a nifty plastic card that measures angles.

He began with measuring all the angles on my bike such as the seat height, the distance from the seat to the handlebars, my shoulder width, etc. He then watched as I pedaled away (on the trainer), noting my alignment. A couple of my coworkers were scoffing at this "bike fit" thing as if were a bit ridiculous. (I had to remind myself that they probably hadn't seen a bike in years, let alone remember how to ride one.)

I also had to remind myself that not everyone is riding two hundred miles in two days. Being comfortable in the saddle can determine whether one's riding enjoyment is optimized or not. Personally, I don't think it should feel like scraping your fingernails down a chalkboard. It should be fun!

After all the measuring, perfecting, and spinning there were some pretty significant changes. Thankfully none of the tweaks will put me in the poor house. The first and most important change was the raising of my seat by 2 inches! This could make a world of difference with my IT Band issues! (Can we say stoked?)

Also, the stem that holds my handlebars will need to be modified to one that is a few millimeters shorter—this will keep me from reaching as far. I think this will enable me to feel even more "at one" with the bike, too. Jay also adjusted my brake levers; they weren't evenly spaced. (In laymen's terms, one was cockeyed.)  Hmm . . . bike builder oversight? 

The last change was the repositioning of my cleats (in my cycling shoes). I had placed them a bit too far toward my heel. He moved them parallel with the 'kuckle' or ball of my foot. Rock on soon-to-be-powerful calves! 

All these changes will help optimize my physical mechanics and engage all the necessary muscles for efficient pedaling, not putting undue strain on any one muscle. I'm excited to test out my new bike (and lord knows it is going to be a long weekend ahead).

So, if you're toying with the idea of whether or not to go to a specialist for a bike fit I highly recommend it. It is like insurance for your cycling comfort/well-being.


One last thing . . .
A big thanks goes out to Jay. He not only got me set up to ride better, but he was a wealth of great tips.
You see, Jay himself is an avid cyclist. He is also an STP alumnus! He wasn't shy about sharing his STP experience or giving me some handy pointers. Thanks, Jay! I feel better prepared for the big weekend already.

Now, off to my training wheels . . .

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Nominate Us!!



We'd like to put our hat in the arena for Best Commuter/Travel Cycling Blog in the 2010 World Cycling Blog nominations! We need your help! Go to www.cranklisted.com and fill out the quick nomination.  The top 5 blogs with the most nominations in each category will be in for the voting starting on May 22nd.


Thanks for supporting the STP Experiment!