Labels

Thursday, April 7, 2011

When will I get this bike thing down?

I think I have had enough experiences over the past few weeks to write a freaking book:

"Cycling for Runners: Your Body is Less Tempremental."

It's not that I have a bad bike, it's actually really nice.  The real issue is I'm riding that poor thing a ton and don't fully know what I'm doing in terms of taking care of it (and in some cases, myself).  However, I've learned a lot and continue to do so!

With the nasty storm I got caught in on Saturday, and another on Monday, I was beginning to realize that maybe my chain was not in good condition.  I had also ridden on the NCR trail a few times and really got my bike dirty.  All this probably contributed to gunking up my chain.  Combine that with the fact that I have put some good mileage on my bike in a short time, and that chain really needed some attention.

So I went and spent yet more money on supplies.  I bought a hard bristled brush, some degreaser, and some chain lube (both dry and wet).  I spent about two hours completely cleaning my chain and the rest of my bike's drive train.  I then went and applied dry lube which repels dirt better than wet lube, but washes off easier in the rain.

Today riding to work was so much easier.  I was easily 3-5 gears higher the entire time and pedaling was just so fluid.  Part of that may have been because I took Wednesday off to give my legs a breather, but the difference was so dramatic that the clean chain had to play a role.  Looking at my chain and drive train, you can even see how much cleaner it is now.

So yet another lesson learned.


After a day off Wednesday, I rode to work (27 minutes, very, very close to the time it takes me to drive), rode to the MAC, did 65 minutes on the elliptical and another 20 on the arc trainer, then rode home.

I'm getting more comfortable riding in the city and have learned that "taking the lane" as they say is actually better than staying as far right as possible.  It forces cars to only pass you when they truly have enough room.  It also lets you avoid the perils of the side of the road, and parked car doors opening.  It helps that in decent traffic I can pedal hard enough to go the same speed as cars now!

Biking through the city is truly faster (and cheaper) than driving.

No comments:

Post a Comment