But, I Digress

#135

Saturday, January 7th

30 miles on the American River Trail

The usual ride (William Pond and back in one direction or another) with the usual suspects (Sacramento Recumbent Riders) is happening next weekend. I'll be hiking then, so I decided to start in Folsom and go to Wm Pond and back again.

It was WINDY. Like, gusts to 40mph. After about 20 miles, my brain felt like this.

I saw lots of people out also battling the wind, and birds taking advantage of the free ride south on the strong north wind.

Fishermen all along the river. The river's pretty low now since it has hardly rained at all this winter.

My flag, for a wonder, stayed put. But the flapping was deafening at times.

The ever popular waterfountain at Wm Pond was the stealth attack fountain today. If you stood downwind of it when someone was filling up, you'd likely get splashed.

I took several breaks, standing in the lee of various structures to give myself a leg break but most importantly, a wind break.

I only got stuff in my eye once. I got whapped in the face by a leaf and there were also lots of twigs to run over on the trail.

I was tired enough by the time I was coming home I took a nifty detour avoiding the steep hill just upstream of Sunrise boat launch. Thanks, Al, for showing me that. I also detoured around the Hazel crossing both times, using the bike lanes along Gold Country Blvd.

Although I wondered about my decision to do the whole 30 miles today, I'm glad I did.

Roll your own (ride)

Ride #69
Saturday, May 7th
19 miles on the very busy and very lovely American River Trail

The meetup.com site (where two of the bicycle groups I belong to reside) has a feature where a member of a group can suggest a ride, and when enough people also think the ride is a Good Idea, then it becomes 'active' and we can all pile on on and decide the details.
Last September, someone suggested early morning weekend rides, and we finally did it, eight months later. Since I was not in charge (no one was - quite refreshing) I'm not sure how many folks we had: 8 I think?

Anyway, we wandered along the path, chatting, sightseeing, chatting, munching, and having a great time. I missed seeing the deer, but there was at least one. And I got gobbled at by a turkey. I think I was being cussed at by next year's Thanksgiving dinner. Just you wait! Revenge is sweet with a side of cranberries.

The weather was cooler than yesterday, but as we got later in the morning the pesky wind picked up. I am still tired from Thursday's long ride, so the wind was not my friend! Especially when I was slogging up a little hill, on the steepest part, and the wind up and slaps me in the face! Hrmph!

Now, regular readers of this blog might wonder where, on this 1st Saturday, the Sacramento Recumbent Riders were. Well, they were there at William Pond as usual, and I got a little bit of flack for showing up at the meeting place and time but not riding with them.

It was a lot of fun watching our little band of casual bikers checking out all the different recumbents there today.

Most of the folks in the casual bike group ride either mountain bikes, or bikes like this one: a hybrid or fitness or comfort bike.

Hybrid bikes are quite popular: the rider's position is quite upright so there is less strain on the neck and shoulders and wrists and back. I used to ride something like this, but my body can't tolerate even that much.

I have a wonky knee, so I'm always checking out other people's bio-mechanical form as they pedal along. And today I did a little good in the world and helped two of today's riders adjust their saddles a bit higher.

Starting and stopping on a bicycle (a conventional or "safety bicycle") can be nerve wracking if you have always ridden a bike with the seat too low. "But I want my feet on the ground!". So a couple of folks worked on that as well.
Nothing like an impromptu bike clinic under a shady tree by a lovely river!

Me, I can lie down on the job.

We started at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, a popular parking place for bike riders. It is, wonder of wonders, Free! so I was expecting a very crowded lot. However, it was not too bad. And it has been repaved with beautiful smooooooooth pavement. The old surface was like riding around attached to a paint shaker.

I experimented with the most reclined seat position available to me on my trike.
I like it.
I'm keeping it.

CU

I'll take that one, and that one and - ooooh - that one...

Ride #46
Monday, February 21st

Finally home and finally no rain so finally rode! Yay!

13 miles or so on the Folsom South Canal

A bit of a headwind cramped my style heading south, but it was niiiice on the way back. I had intended to go maybe as far as Sloughhouse Rd, but turned around far short of that since my chain tube finally cried out for my attention loudly enough I could not ignore it any more.

I successfully navigated the White Rock Rd detour (only signed in some places but I have friends who told me where to go. Um, that came out wrong, didn't it?) and made my back onto the canal-side road. I had hoped to take some advanced beginners on this ride in the future, but there are no bike lanes on the detour roads. I don't mind playing in traffic and "taking a lane", but I know a number of my usual riders would not be comfortable in that situation.

Chain tubes are useful things since they help prevent chain tattoo (when the chain leaves a grease mark on a leg - often the calf with a recumbent bike). And they keep some of the muck off the chain as it whizzes along mere inches from the ground. And with a chain about 3x as long as a 'normal' bike, that's a lot of chain to keep clean! I have 2 main tubes on my trike (made from shorter segments).

As soon as I got home I wheeled the trike into the garage, popped the master link of the chain free, slid the chain tube off, sawed the ripped up split end off, flared the cut end a little (probably not enough), and reassembled my beautiful ride. Didn't take too long at all and now the top chain tube will stay well clear of the front derailer and all will be well for tomorrow's ride! I hope the weather holds - a little overcast and a chilly breeze, but no rain!

This is the whole route - my turnaround today was a little short of Douglas Road

The cure for helmet hair

Ride #42
Tuesday, February 8th
10? miles in blustery Folsom

This was scheduled as a group ride but the rest of the crew sensibly stayed home. Weather Underground predicted "northwest winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts to around 45 mph" today and I do believe they were right! I don't think I encountered any gusts, but it was a strong steady wind today. The high winds and clear skies meant that Sacramento, seen on my drive down to Folsom from the foothills, was a fantastically clear miniature model of a city against the distant bluish coastal hills.

I toodled around Folsom (I will admit I am more fond right now of straight paths since I'm getting impatient with curvy paths) but there was plenty to see today. Soaring raptors, motionless egrets, wind-blown blackbirds, squabbling Canadian geese. Also dogwalkers, stroller pushers, a small pack of speedy brightly colored cyclists, and a coffee-toting woman. Being subject to the power of suggestion, I stopped to get a cup myself at Peet's. I still am trying to figure out a quick effective way to lock my ride up, but the cable + U-lock seems to work out all right.

I was comfortably relaxed from my coffee break so I had plenty of time to admire the wildflower naturalization that is part of the new Bidwell overcrossing.

Near the end of my ride, I turned northwest (remember that weather forecast?) up a little rise, and I had to keep shifting down, and down, and down, until there was nowhere left to go. Headwinds are not as bad on a recumbent as on an upright bike, but they still BLOW. This was clipped from bad video footage, but trust me - I'm going 1.8mph.

Oh, yeah. The cure for helmet hair? On a windy day, remove your helmet, face into the wind, then face away from the wind. And you too can look like this! That fringe of hair you see sticking up on the top? Looks like the edge of a fur hood? That's the hair on the back of my head being blown straight up by the wind. Yeah. Sign me up for America's Next Top Model.

A handful more rides this week. Stay tuned!

Fall! (but not down)

The weather for today's ride (#4 for those following along at home) was cool (60 F) overcast and breezy (probably 12 - 15 mph). A Preview of Fall and an excuse to wear lightweight wool!

I remember riding on days like this on my old Trek bicycle and I would whine and grouse and sigh heavily when I had to turn into the wind. The wind really pushes you around on a bicycle. I did notice the wind on my face today but the trike is so much lower that it was merely refreshing instead of annoying. To get an idea of the difference in height between a conventional bicycle and a recumbent, consider this: I can roll my machine right into the back of the SUV and I suppose I could sit in it also and maybe only have to duck a little bit. My sweetie's bicycle cannot be rolled upright into the vehicle, since the seat won't clear the roofline. And when he's riding that bike, he is sitting on that seat. A lot more vertical surface area for the wind to push around.

Anyway, there were only a few souls out today - a few dog walkers, some joggers (earbuds firmly inserted), and a trio of happy cyclists. The bicyclist imitating an airplane (hands-free "flying") got a bit of a shock when I appeared suddenly around a corner (they were riding three abreast and oncoming!) but no crashing occurred. I saw some California quail on the trail (it was nice having a ground-level view of the birds) and some sparrows. The ponds and creeks are mostly dry this time of year but I am looking forward to eye-level waterfowl in spring.

There was a persistent annoying intermittent whisking sound on the right side: not a scrubbing sound, but a faint brushing. The clicking while coasting drowned it out, so I spent some time turning circles in the granny gear (granny gear is the absolute lowest gear available - since I don't tip over I can cruise along, still pedaling, about as fast as an infant can crawl) in a quiet cul-de-sac, leaning over and staring at the right wheel. The sound was matched to the turning of the wheel, that much I figured out. Finally occurred to me to see what was different on the left side. Duh! Turned out the reflector had come untucked from the spokes on the right. I tucked it back and all was well.

I un-reclined my seat and had less tingly foot. Wiggling my toes while coasting also helped. (Since one's feet are about at heart level on a 'bent, it can take a little while to adapt to the different circulatory requirements of the posture.) Pumped up the tires (Greenspeed Scorchers) to 80 psi all around (from 60) - I don't think I know enough to tell much difference yet. I have Schrader valves; my bicycle had Presta. I think I slightly prefer Presta but I can cope.

I did have one incident of spontaneous unclipping, which seemed to come from my right foot's desire to be slightly toe in rather than the tension being still too loose. So I might change the angle of the cleat on that side. I will be not at all surprised to find that I do not want a perfectly symmetrical setup left to right.

I ran my headlight, more because I could than because I had to: it is an older Cygolite with a bottle battery (fits in a short bottle cage). The on/off/intensity switch is on the support for the left hand mirror. I got an extension cord from the manufacturer so I could mount the headlight all the way forward. I've routed the wire with cheerful blue 'velcro' (designed for bundling computer cables). I need to pick up some black, but orange is hard to find. If I can't have orange, I'll go for contrast! You can see the blue on orange just behind the Scorpion sticker on the boom.

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More helpful information from benrideronline: I can so get orange velcro - just not at the local Fry's.