Stuff

For some time now, I've been thinking of getting a toupée. You know, I'm not so young anymore, and, er, um, padding in certain areas of my physique is not as thick as it used to be.

So, this weekend I finally managed to gather up the courage to get one. I walked into a cycling store (I'm such a bike geek that I do all of my shopping in cycling stores now), yelled out "Give me a toupée!" from the door and this is what they sold me:


It looks crap on my head though. Might as well screw it on the bike and use it as a saddle.

Ok, this play on words didn't work out as well as I thought it would. Man, this blogging is hard. You try it. And I still don't know why Specialized named their saddle "Toupé". If you do, please, let me know.

So, I got a new saddle. Because the old one (a Bontrager Race) was uncomfortable on longer rides. I even sat on a some kind of a gel bench in the store to measure the width of my sit bones. 140 mm, they told me. This saddle better be good. I went through all this trouble to get it and it wasn't cheap either.

I also got a bell for the road bike:


I got one of these for the commuting bike years ago, and I must say I've been very pleased with it. It's very robust and loud, and only the deafest of pedestrians fail to jump aside after only a ring or two. Actually, I'm astonished that most cycling stores here only sell those crap, cheap bells, with weak springs, that don't really make a decent noise. And I know because I've been looking.

But even the Cat Eye isn't perfect: the fastening system isn't designed for oversized handlebar diameter. I had to secure it in place with a cable tie.

And finally, here's a picture of my bike, complete, just washed with the new saddle and bell. Also included is the obligatory bike pic accessory: the disembodied hand holding the bike upright.


Oh yeah, I actually took the thing for a longer ride, the first time this season. It was great, and easy as well. Man, I'm in a great shape. Either that or there really was a significant tailwind on the return trip. There was only one thing bothering me though: a slight clicking sound on the right side when pedaling. When I got home, I found out it was the plastic part of the pedal.

Perhaps it could be resolved by oiling the moving parts, but if not, there's not much I can do... except walk into a cycling store, with a wad of cash in my hand, and yell out "Give me Dura-Ace pedals" from the door. Belligerent, but functioning.

Brilliant morning

This morning I rode to work via a detour along the shores of Vantaanjoki. The sun shone, birds sang, the surface of the river was perfectly calm, flowers bloomed and fellow commuters all smiled happily and gave way politely to each other. All winter, commuting has been about getting from A to B, and occasionally, C, as fast and efficiently as possible, and getting some exercise while we're at it. But now, I remembered, once again, that bicycling can be an enjoyable outdoor experience as well.

This week, I've done some extra kilometers while commuting, instead of trying to micro-optimize the route, as I usually tend to do. That's because there's a fitness campaign at work, in which you get 1 point per 30 minutes of exercise. Therefore I have to lengthen the time I spend commuting somehow, and as it is totally unnatural for a commuter-tempo specialist as myself to slow down, I must ride longer distances. Even though that doesn't always help either; I'm just so damn fast that sometimes it only takes me 25 minutes to do a 30 minute distance.

Anyway, I've been riding through the central park, and I've gotten to like riding on gravel in the relatively peaceful forest. When riding on the roads with cars, it's always like start-accelerate-brake-stop at traffic lights-accelerate-turn-brake-accelerate-swerve-shake fist-yell-do universal hand signal-flee-brake-stop. In the park it's more like start-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-spin-stop. I like riding at an even pace for longer stretches. Of course, it's not all peace and quiet and solitude in the forest either. There are lots of other commuters too, so you have to look around a bit in the intersections. Then there are the dog walkers, groups of parallel nordic walkers, apparently blind and deaf pedestrians, wild elk, bears, boars, wolves and humans, highwaymen and such.

Oh yeah, and now the efficiency of my drivetrain has improved dramatically, up to 10%, I'd say. I finally got around to purchasing clipless pedals and cycling shoes for my commuter bike. Until last summer, my commuting distance was so short that I couldn't be bothered to optimize my setup, but now I got fed up with the constant need to readjust the position of the foot on the pedal.

I got Shimano SPD ones. I've had a difficult logistic problem: I need to either take the kid to the kindergarten each morning, or fetch him in the afternoon, and with SPD-SL cleats, it's just impossible to walk the 0.5 km distance. With the smaller cleats it's possible, even though there's a nasty crunchy sound on asphalt. And also, now I don't have to think about what shoes to wear when commuting. What do you wear, if not cycling shoes? I think that sneakers are the worst shoes for bicycling. They've got thick, round, flexible soles that feel like you've taped large rubber balls underneath your shoes. Lots of commuters seem to wear them though.

Communication in traffic

Yesterday, I got honked at, (again) by a car (taxi) driver. Apparently, I deserved it, because I rode on the road and the car driver had to slow down slightly because there were other cars coming from the other direction and therefore she/he couldn't overtake me immediately. So he (yes, I strongly suspect it was a he) communicated his disapproval by honking long and fervently. I, in return, extended my arm, then my middle finger and held it in that position, long and fervently.

By the way, here's some interesting statistics of the makes/models of cars rude car drivers drive, in my experience, from this year (2010):

1) Volvo V70 (black) - 100%
2) -- (0%)
3) -- (0%)

Total number of incidents: 2

Spring in the cycling shorts

Excellent. Spring has come, making bicycling fluent once again. It feels very rewarding, after months of slow, frustrating, vibrating, cold commuting on icy, unplowed, uneven roads, to take out the carbon fibre sports vehicle and fly down and up hills. I managed to do that on two days this week.

I think that persistent riding through the winter has been beneficial for the thigh muscle strength department, because there are hills that formerly felt challenging, but no longer can be considered "hills".

Then again, I've nearly forgotten what a longer bout of exercise in one sitting feels like. After going on just commuting the 7.5 km trip daily, for months, I wonder how a longer ride will turn out. I'll just have to try it out in the near future. Besides, two daily 20 minute bursts of tempo riding don't seem to burn calories very much. I haven't exactly ballooned, but my physique is not turning into more "climberesque" either. And, I really miss the pain in the legs that you get from riding for several hours at once.

In other (good) news, Bike Snob is releasing a book next week. I, for one, already pre-ordered.

Mostly rant

<rant>

Warning: this blog post contains crude generalisation, exacerbation and attitudes. It does not conform to political correctness, instead it presents the world and its inhabitants as black and white. Beware.

Here are some popular misconceptions non-bicyclists seem to have about bicyclists. Some of these are, probably, sometimes, intentional, but mostly, I assume, that these are things that people just haven't properly thought about.

1) Bicyclists in traffic are stationary objects

Misconception:
Car drivers, especially, often seem to regard bicyclists as stationary obstacles. You can always bypass a bicyclist, even though you are about to turn right in about 30 m, because cars are fast, and bicycles are slow. Even though there's a 30 km/h speed limit.

In reality:
The speed of a bicyclist can exceed the speed limits in urban areas, hence bicyclists can be as fast or faster than cars.

2) Cars are more important than bicycles

Misconception:
Cars have an implicit right of way over bicycles, even though they might have told otherwise in traffic school. This is probably because cars are expensive and only kids, the elderly and poor people ride bicycles. This is most probably a view that few people would admit, but surprisingly many have rooted deep in their minds, i.e. an implicit opinion.

In reality:
Nobody has the right of way over the safety of someone else, regardless the price tag on the vehicle.

3) Car drivers always have to overtake bicyclists

Misconception:
When driving a car, you always have to overtake bicyclists. Even if you are about to turn right after about 30 m, and there's a 30 km/h speed limit, and the bicyclist in question is doing 40 km/h. It's just not possible to slow down, or even not to speed up, behind a cyclist. Because bicyclists are slow, and inferior, when compared to car drivers.

In reality:
You can overtake bicyclists just like you can overtake any other vehicle: only when it's safe and reasonable.

4) You can't go over the white line

Misconception:
When driving a car, and overtaking a bicyclist, you can't go over the white line in the middle of the road. And why should you; bicycles are very narrow and they go slow, in fact they might be considered something similar to still, inanimate cardboard cutouts, erected on the roadside for no reason a car driver can comprehend.

In reality:
Cars do not run on railroad tracks (except in the movie Back To The Future III). The car driver has the opportunity, and the responsibility, of operating the steering wheel and the brakes. You can speed up, slow down, turn, and overtake only when it's safe to do it.

5) Light traffic routes are safe

Misconception:
Cars don't go to light traffic routes, so they're safe. You can walk, push baby carriages, walk dogs, meander on your Sunday bicycle ride and do cartwheels across them like you were in an open meadow. There's no need to observe your surroundings, you can just close your eyes and ears and drift from side to side when advancing on a light traffic route. And besides, if there's somebody else there too, you'll notice them and have a lot of time to react because everyone else on the light traffic route moves at the speed of a paralyzed snail, anyway.

In reality:
Some (most?) bicyclists use bicycles as a means of transport, so they're going somewhere. Often, when you're going somewhere in particular, like to the place where you work, you want to do it as quickly as you can. Bicyclists are in a hurry too, and they move fast.

It's f**king dangerous to move unexpectedly from one side of the light traffic route to another without looking around, because there might be a bicyclist advancing behind you, just about to overtake, almost silently, at 40 km/h. That would sting. Bicyclists should know better than doing 40 km/h on a light traffic route, but just like car drivers, they are sometimes in a hurry, pissed off and stupid.

And keep your dog in order, too.

</rant>

I don't know. I drive the car, too, but whenever I do that, I don't feel the need to defend my rights on the road, demonstratively. But whenever I ride the bike, I need to do just that, usually. It just feels like that bicycles are not considered equivalent to other vehicles here (are they considered that anywhere?).

<oh, some more rant>

Also, I'm a semi-vegetarian. Often, when going to restaurant with, say, co-workers, I'm forced to explain my choice of food because of that. You know, because everyone else chose the steak and I took the vegetarian spaghetti, or what have you. I really would like to not make a number out of it. I'd just like to eat, have a good time and get wherever I'm going to.

Just like bicycling. I'd just like equality.

</oh, some more rant>

Performance

Best. Rap. Song. Ever. (about bicycling)

Frank

I've been stubbornly bicycling to/from work all winter. But there's really not much choice. I could take the bus, but it just seems so frustratingly slow as there's not a straight connection. When it takes 30 min to advance about 1,5 km by bus, you inevitably find that even walking would be more efficient. And I don't like the smell of human. Well, I like the smell of some humans, but not in general. I'd rather inhale lots of fresh air, even though it tends to be mixed up with exhaust gases, than suck up the germs & perfume & miscellaneous emissions in a closed metal box.

And anyway, I tend to be persistent, so even if it's raining lots of snow, cats, dogs, knives and s**t, I usually don't find that a reason to not ride the bike. Lots of co-humans find that out of the ordinary, but to me, changing the established procedure seems a bigger nuisance than not changing it, even though the weather condition might seem impossible.

But, good news: lately bicycling has been quite fast & efficient. If you drive on the road, instead of the light traffic pathway, that is. And recently, I see, lots of part-of-the-year-commuters have been emerging out of their sells for the season. That's nice. The automobilists must get used to masses of bicyclers again, and the sooner, the better. It's been lonely on the roads, defending our rights, lately.