Category: Biking

That time of year again..

lpaulriddle

We’re now halfway through November, so I’m once again riding home at dusk.  I leave UMBC at 5:00 and get home around 5:45.  By Thanksgiving, the sunset will be pushing back towards 4:45.  At our latitude/longitude, the earliest sunset is about 4:44pm and usually falls around December 9-10.  So the next few weeks will be my darkest rides home of the year.  I’m riding with the same lighting setup as last year:  a Planet Bike Blaze 2w and 1w both mounted on my front bars; a Blaze ½w on my helmet; 3 red flashers (various brands) mounted on the back of the bike (1 on each pannier and one on my rack); and a flasher on the back of my helmet.  I’ve been really happy with this setup.  In particular, the helmet-mounted headlight is great.  It’s not enough to light up the road ahead by itself, but it lights up wherever I happen to turn my head.  It’s great for making turns, because I can turn my head to light up the section of road where I’m about to turn, before it’s illuminated by the main headlights.  It’s also good for lighting up objects to either side of the road, looking at my cyclometer, chain/drive train, etc.  I find it particularly useful in areas without a lot of ambient lighting.  The Planet Bike lights have a very user-friendly mounting bracket, which makes them very nice for commuting.  It’s easy to move them back and forth between bikes, take them off when locking up the bike, etc., and if necessary, I can use one as a flashlight.  The lights also use standard AA batteries.  I use NiMH rechargeable batteries, which work great.  I steer clear of lights that use proprietary battery packs, because they tend to be expensive to replace.

In other news, I bought a new jacket this year too.  It’s a Novara Conversion Jacket (REI house brand) with removable sleeves.  I’ve always been a fan of removable sleeves, particularly in Spring and Autumn.  I had a similar jacket that I bought from Performance, but one of the sleeve zippers broke after about a year.  The REI jacket was about $15 more than the Performance version, but it’s better made in almost every way.  The zippers are higher quality, and it also has front pockets and a hanging loop on the collar, all of which the Performance jacket lacked, and the material seems higher quality.  I’ll be sure to post more about it after I’ve ridden with it for a while.

October Post

lpaulriddle

I needed to get a blog post in for October, to keep my streak alive: I have managed to write at least one blog entry each month since late 2009.

We just survived Hurricane Sandy, which was reportedly the largest storm ever to strike north of Cape Hatteras, and also it’s been quite some time since the Mid Atlantic was impacted by a hurricane this late in the year.  But then again, my memory only goes back to Hurricane Floyd in the late 1990s.  All in all, Sandy wasn’t too hard on our immediate area.  We got lots of rain and wind, but in general, it wasn’t as much of an impact as the Derecho that hit us last June, or the one-two punch of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in Summer 2011.  It was our second hundred-year storm in a row.  Statistically speaking, we should be good to go now until, oh, the year 2200 or so.

I took my bike through Patapsco State Park, and it was a big mess, as it always is after large rainfall events.  The river was running high and fast, and there were 8 or 9 downed trees on the Grist Mill Trail, as well as one huge mudslide.   The carnage was all on the lower section of the trail, between the swinging bridge and Lost Lake.  The upper Grist Mill, between the swinging bridge and Ilchester Rd, was clear, as was River Rd from the Avalon day use area out to the swinging bridge.

I then took River Rd from the park out to Frederick Rd.  The road had some mud and standing water in spots, but was otherwise in good shape.  The problem was that Thistle Rd was closed off (probably a fallen tree; I didn’t investigate) so there was a ton of car traffic diverted onto River Rd.  I took Frederick Rd down towards Ellicott City, and up Oella Ave., which was in good shape.  The No. 9 Trolley Trail was clear from Oella Ave. to its terminus at Chalfonte Dr. in Catonsville.  In Catonsville, Asylum La. was blocked off due to downed trees and power lines, so I had to detour onto Valley Rd. to get to UMBC.  I’m sure conditions will improve over the next several days.

In other news, my office is going to be moving.  I am staying at UMBC, but I’m moving from a building with nice, easy, ground-level access to my office, to a 6th-floor office which will require me to take an elevator.  This is going to require some changes to my bike commuting routine, so stay tuned for some new tips as I get settled in over the next several weeks.

Chain Joinery – Fixing stiff links

lpaulriddle

I’m still working on getting everything working smoothly with my old ’93 Specialized Rockhopper, after replacing the chain, cassette, front cranks and sprockets.  To compensate for larger chainrings, I ended up having to add a couple of links to my chain, and I thought I’d pass on a tip.

I have always found it frustrating trying to put chains back together with a chain tool.  I would always start by pushing the rivet all the way back into the link, and almost invariably, the link would end up so stiff I could barely move it.  I could never figure out how to get it loosened up properly.  My chain tool includes a secondary “ramp” for fixing stiff links, but it never seemed to do me any good.  It would spread the link apart a little bit, but the link would remain stiff.  Working the chain back and forth laterally, as recommended on various web sites, didn’t work for me either.  It was very frustrating, until I came up with the following strategy:

  1. Begin reassembling the chain with the chain tool as you normally would, except instead of pushing the rivet all the way into the link, tighten the chain tool only about 1 full turn or so, just so the rivet goes in far enough to hold the link together.
  2. Remove the chain from the tool, and verify that the link moves freely.
  3. Put the chain back in the tool (regular position, not “stiff link” position) and tighten another ¼ to ½ turn.
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3, pushing the rivet in just a tiny bit each time, and testing the link, until you feel the link start to stiffen up.
  5. Put the chain into the “stiff link” position on the chain tool.  Usually, this is the position closest to the crank handle.  Tighten handle around ¼ turn, just enough to slightly spread the link.  Never turn the handle more than ¼ turn in this position, or you may distort the link.
  6. Remove tool from chain.  Check to make sure the link has loosened up.
  7. Continue to push the rivet into the link little by little, checking the link for tightness each time (steps 2-3), and loosening it up as needed (steps 5-6), until the rivet is all the way in the link.  That should do it!

I’ve had great success with this method.  The trick is to keep the link loose by making small, gradual adjustments, rather than trying to free the link up after the rivet has been inserted all the way.  Good luck and happy riding.

Drive Train

lpaulriddle

We’re now about midway through September.  The first week of September featured weather similar to the inside of a gym locker room.  This past week, the weather has been beautiful.  We’ll see what the rest of the month holds.

I haven’t ridden my mountain bike since I broke my chain a few weeks back.  I put a new chain on, but then I decided I should also replace the drive train.  The cassette and chainrings were all mid-1990s vintage, and probably completely worn out.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they contributed to the chain’s demise.  So anyhow, replacement 7-speed MTB cassettes are pretty cheap online.  I bought a new SRAM cassette for around $17.  We’ll see how it holds up.  The gearing is a bit different from my old one; the small cog has 12T vs 13T on the old cassette, which will give me a slightly higher gear going down hills.  The largest cog is also larger, giving me a lower gear for climbs.  I don’t really need a lower gear on this bike with the kind of riding I do, but as you can imagine, there isn’t a terribly wide selection of gearing choices in 7-speed cassettes nowadays.  This was about the best I could find given how I’m going to ride it.

Buying new chainrings was an interesting lesson in economics.  It’s very hard to find replacement chainrings for old cranksets, and when you do, the cost of 3 new ones often adds up to more than the price of a brand new crankset (which includes the chainrings).  There was nothing wrong with my existing crank, but I ended up replacing it, because it was cheaper than buying 3 new chainrings separately.  The new crank is a Shimano Acera M361, with the same specs and gearing as the old one, and a chain guard to boot — I am a big fan of chain guards now that I’ve had one on my road bike for awhile.  One thing to be aware of, is that some of the cheaper cranksets have the chainrings permanently riveted on.  If you have any intention of replacing chainrings as they wear out (which is more likely if you do a lot of riding), you’ll want to stay away from these.  Of course, if you’re like me and wait 18 years to swap chainrings, it won’t matter, because you’ll be replacing the cranks anyhow.  🙂

I’ve got the parts installed on the bike, but still need to readjust the derailleurs and get it shifting smoothly.  Once I do, I’ll report back on how the bike rides.  I’m hoping it’ll be an improvement.

Summer’s End

lpaulriddle

Labor Day weekend is looming, the kids are back in school, the traffic is back in the mornings, and multiple tropical systems are swirling around the Atlantic.  Must be the end of August.  This time last year, we had just survived Hurricane Irene, and were bracing for Tropical Storm Lee.  Hopefully, September 2012 will be less exciting.

The dog days of summer weren’t particularly kind to my riding this year, as they have been in years past; but I did manage to finish August up with 14 rides.  If the weather cooperates, September can be a pretty good riding month, so we’ll see how that works out.  I’ve got a couple of business trips coming up in October that will likely cut into my ride totals that month.  My original goal of 180 rides this year is looking less likely, but that’s OK.  I am trying to get a little less goal-oriented about my riding, particularly as I’m cutting back on it a bit (at least distance, if not frequency) to do some running and other cross-training.

With all the extra school traffic now, I’m once again steering clear of Montgomery Road in the mornings.  Today, I cut through CCBC Catonsville again, the same route I took on April 20 and one or two other times since then.  It’s still a good route, but boy is it hilly.  Actually, most of my rides that avoid Montgomery Rd seem to be hilly.  It’s just the price you pay to stay out of traffic, I guess.

Breaking the Chain

lpaulriddle

You’d think after 4 years of bike commuting, I’d have seen every bike malfunction possible.  But today on the way in to work, my chain snapped.  That was a first.  As Murphy’s Law would dictate, it happened while I was crossing an intersection in traffic, going uphill, trying to make a left turn.  At first I thought the chain had just fallen off the small chainring, but upon stopping, I found that one of the links had broken in half.  Only one side of the link broke, and the other side was a little bent from being pulled apart, so I’m wondering if it actually broke earlier, held together for awhile, and just decided to pull apart the first time I pedaled hard on it.  I’ll never know.  Fortunately, the multi-tool I carry with me includes a chain tool, so I was able to take out the bad link, put the chain back together, and ride the rest of the way to work.  The bike doesn’t shift as well with the shortened chain, though.  I’ll be hitting the bike shop soon, hopefully tonight, to pick up a new chain.  The funny thing is, earlier in the ride, I was thinking about how it was about time to replace the chain anyhow.  It had over 1000 miles on it and had started to stretch out a bit.  Well, I guess today kind of seals that deal.

Reboot

lpaulriddle

I’m easing back into biking regularly after taking most of July off to rest my hip.  It’s still not 100%, but it’s manageable.  I honestly don’t think the time off the bike made much of a difference.  The soreness is in the front part of my left hip, and it happens on downward pedal strokes, as the hip is extending.  Lowering my seat a bit made a huge difference with this.  If the seat is too high, I get discomfort almost immediately.  With the seat lower, it seems to put less stress on the hip joint.  Occasionally it will bother me when I’m at rest, i.e. sitting at my desk or lying in bed; when this happens, a heating pad helps to relieve it.  I’m pretty sure I caused the injury riding fixed gear with my saddle too high.  It’s looking like my fixed gear riding days may be over.  All you 20-something hipsters out there, enjoy it while it lasts.  🙂

On a positive note, the downtime from biking has allowed me to rediscover running.  After about 6 weeks, I’m to the point where I can run around 2 miles, barefoot or with minimalist running shoes, 2 to 3 times a week.  I’m hoping to be up to around a 5K distance by the end of the year.  This time of year, I have to run in the morning, so on days I plan to run, I’ve cut back on my morning biking mileage so I can get to work earlier and run.  This has worked out really well.  The reduced biking has helped with my hip, and the running works different leg muscles (calves in particular) that don’t see much action on the bike.  I’m hoping I can keep it up over the long term.

This and That

lpaulriddle

I just ordered new tires for my road bike.  I’ve been running Continental GatorSkins on it for the past several years, and the front tire has lasted almost 4500 miles, with the back not too far behind.  I’ve had maybe 2 or 3 flats on these tires the entire time I’ve had them, but the sidewalls are starting to wear through to the threads, which means they’re about done.  I’ve been extremely pleased with the longevity, durability, and ride quality of these tires.  I’m replacing them with a very similar tire, the Continental Gator Hardshell.  The Hardshell purports to have even better flat resistance, so we’ll see how they do.  The GatorSkins set the bar pretty high.  Size-wise, I was initially going to go with 700c x 25, but I ended up staying with 700c x 23.  I’m running full fenders on this bike again, and it’s enough of a challenge keeping them from rubbing with 23s.  Wider tires would only make it worse.

I’ve had to shelve my fixed-gear bike for a while.  I think I threw out my hip riding it.  My left hip has been bugging me for a while now, and I noticed that riding the fixed seems to aggravate it.  My doctor says it’s a muscular thing and not doesn’t seem to be joint (arthritis) or nerve (sciatica) related.  I can manage it pretty well by stretching and paying very close attention to my riding form.  Lowering my seat a bit also helped.  I stopped riding the fixed altogether for around 6 weeks, and the hip was improving.  I tried the fixed again around a week ago, and it immediately flared back up.  Not a good sign.  We’ll see where it goes from here, but I may be looking at some time off from riding to rehab the hip, and possibly getting rid of the fixed gear bike.

Rain and Routes

lpaulriddle

Today was another one of those mornings where the weather radar failed me.  Usually, weather radar is a valuable ride-planning tool.  Today, although rain was predicted for most of the day, things looked fairly dry for my morning ride.  As soon as I got on the road, though, the rain picked up, and it rained pretty hard for the entire ride.  It tapered off as soon as I got to work (isn’t that how it always works?).  I didn’t pack any rain gear except a rain jacket.  I stopped about ½ way into the ride and put the jacket on, but by that time, it was too late.  I arrived at work completely drenched.  It seems like I have a ride or two like this every year, although they mostly happen in early Spring or in October or November.  It’s somewhat unusual to have a grey, drizzly day in mid June.

Anyhow, as I mentioned in my last post, I’m trying out some new routes to get from UMBC to my home in Elkridge.  Here’s a route I tried a few times last week.  This route avoids the Shelbourne Rd./Sulphur Spring Rd. intersection by cutting through Arbutus Middle School.

  • Exit UMBC via Poplar Ave. turn right onto Shelbourne Rd.
  • Just before you pass Arbutus Middle School, there’s a walkway that leads around the side of the building to the parking lot in the rear.  It’s just beyond the tennis courts.  Turn left onto this walkway and follow it to the parking lot.  You will need to turn a little early and ride a short distance on the sidewalk to reach the walkway.
  • At the lot entrance, turn left onto Sulphur Spring Rd.
  • Turn right onto Dolores Ave.
  • Turn left onto June Rd.
  • Turn right onto Oakland Rd.  Follow Oakland to the intersection with Selford Rd.
  • Proceed straight at the intersection.  Oakland Rd. turns into Cedar Ave.
  • Follow Cedar Ave. until it ends at S. Rolling Rd.  Turn left.
  • Follow S. Rolling awhile.  It will turn into South St.
  • Turn right at the entrance to Patapsco State Park.
  • Ride into the park and turn left on Glen Artney Rd.
  • Turn left onto River Rd. and exit the park.
  • Turn right onto Lawyers Hill Rd.

One of my objectives with this route was to avoid traffic on Shelbourne and Sulphur Spring Rd., and it does do that.  This route is OK, and I’ll probably ride it every now and then, but it’s not going to become my everyday ride home.  It has a number of disadvantages:

  • Cutting through the school property is not ideal.  The sidewalk doesn’t have ramps in convenient spots, so you have to either hop curbs, or follow the sidewalk all the way to the parking lot exit where there is a ramp.  The alternatives to cutting through the school are (1) following Shelbourne all the way to Sulphur Spring and turning left, which is a blind turn in traffic; or (2) continuing straight on Poplar out of UMBC and riding through the neighborhood there, which lets you out near downtown Arbutus, where there is a lot of traffic.
  • The route crosses Sulphur Spring Rd., Elm Rd., and Francis Ave., all of which are busy during rush hour, which means a lot of stop-and-go.  Granted, given the choice, I’d rather cross busy roads than ride on them.
  • The route is much hillier than my usual route home.  It runs through a lot of established neighborhoods, so there are a lot of opportunities to vary the route by riding on different side streets, but they all involve a lot of up-and-downhill riding, and some of the hills are pretty steep.  This is not really a disadvantage, but as I have to go up Lawyers Hill at the end of the ride, I prefer the rest of it to be a bit flatter.

I can envision taking this route once every week or two.  If nothing else, it’s a change of scenery, and it’s given me a new appreciation for my everyday route, which follows Sulphur Spring and Selford Rd.  Selford is flatter, and bypasses both Elm Rd. as well as the busier (and hillier) part of Francis Ave.

New Month, New Routes

lpaulriddle

I rode 16 times in May 2012.  We’re now into June.  After an exceptionally warm winter and early spring, June has started off with a spell of cool weather.  I’ve actually ridden with long sleeves on two mornings this week, which is almost unheard of in June.  It’s not ideal weather for enjoying our newly-replastered swimming pool, but it’s been great (albeit a bit wet) weather for biking.  And given how rare it is to get cool weather this time of year, you’re not going to hear me complaining.

After 4-odd years of riding essentially the same route home every day (from UMBC to Elkridge), I’m starting to look for some alternative ways to get home.  My primary motivation is to find routes with less traffic, but there’s also a desire to shake things up a bit.  My one requirement for a ride home is that it not take me more than 45 minutes.  I’m not interested in taking long rides home in the afternoon — I just want to get home, eat dinner, and enjoy the evening.  I also strongly prefer routes that don’t require me to get off the bike.  If the route is 100% roads, this is not usually an issue.  But to avoid traffic, sometimes I’ll consider cutting through an area that doesn’t carry vehicles.  That might mean brief detours onto sidewalks, curbs, fire roads, etc.  If I have to hop a couple of curbs, it’s not going to be a show stopper, but it won’t work if I have to walk the bike a significant distance.

My “usual” daily ride home takes me through Arbutus via Shelbourne Rd. and Poplar Ave., right on Sulphur Spring Rd., left on Selford Rd., right on Francis Ave., Left on S Rolling Rd., into Patapsco State Park via South St., out of the park via River Rd., and up Lawyers Hill Rd.  Total distance is roughly 8 miles.  There’s a reason I’ve stuck with this route for so long:   it works.  It’s quick, not too hilly, and the traffic is not too bad.  If I could skip one section, it’d be Sulphur Spring Road, because it’s very narrow and traffic can get heavy there.

I’m working on refining two alternate routes from UMBC to Elkridge.  One takes a different route through Arbutus, which skips out on a lot of traffic at the expense of a few more hills; the other bypasses Arbutus, Halethorpe and Relay entirely, by going into Patapsco State Park via Foxhall Farm Rd. in Catonsville.  This route requires riding a short distance on an unpaved fire road, and the beginning of the ride leaves a bit to be desired, traffic-wise.  Over the next few days, I’ll post in greater detail about both routes.