Give early thought about what people might ask you. Make a few phone calls for up-to-date status on projects and be ready to say “Checked on that this morning …”. Double check dead lines that might be coming up this week. Easy to forget. Be a little early if possible. Walk fast, look like you are going somewhere, even if just to the bathroom. Take something to write on. You may see the boss in the hall and you want to show him how important you think his words are, just in case he says or asks something. If you don’t know the answer to something, write a note. You’ll look like you intend to follow up which will impress him more than if you just didn’t know. Early on don’t be seen standing around someone’s desk talking. Everybody else will be, you’ll stand out if you are busy. BS later. So on, you get the idea.

If you get cleated cycling shoes practice clipping/unclipping a lot, in a safe place or even stationary. Your falls will most likely be when you stop but a false start can also result in a fall.

I use the platform side in town or when I anticipate a stop. I unclip (wish we didn’t call them clipless pedals) before I reach the stop. I don’t clip in until my start-up is stable.

If needed put a little oil on the pedal surface (the clip-in part). I just use a little chain oil.

Check your cleat screws (on the bottom of the shoe/sandal) occasionally for tightness. If one come out for a two screw cleat the cleat may rotate when you try to unclip and thus preventing you.

Also check your shoe bottoms (cleats) for dirt, mud, stones/gravel, and other foreign objects that will making clipping/unclipping difficult or impossible. I was once having difficulties and found gum in the works.

I find shoes uncomfortable. My feet swell in them and get hot. I only wear sandals, summer or winter. I most often wear wool socks, always in the winter, and my feet are comfee and warm and don’t even know when they are wet.

I use SPD cleats and walking in them is pleasant. I sometimes forget to take them off after a ride and don’t even notice I’m walking on cleats. Some at not the best to walk with.

I don’t pull up significantly except when accelerating or trying for that extra hard to reach speed. But I do pull up enough not to have to lift that foot with the other leg. If you get use to being clipped in and then ride unclipped at anything other than a slow speed you may come off the pedal completely or move over on the pedal. I recently bent my front derailleur with my foot on one of my high crank bikes (SWB). On a low crank bike (LWB) I might wear regular, non-cleated shoes (tennis shoes) without any problem.

Always clip in on anything as low as a trike to avoid the dreaded leg suck.

Edit: Well, I guess you can, change the handlebars that is. In April I modified the riser with this device (bought it from Lightening, the manufacturer of the bike). It allows the adjustment of the handlebar position fore and aft for comfort. It is a little heavy but I enjoy the flexibility. I also changed out the handlebars themselves to a slightly different style but they don’t show here.

on the Natchez Trace.

Here are some posts from my Facebook:

Thursday, 7 April, 2011

ME: Well, looks like I’m going to ride the Natchez Trace Century Ride Saturday (century meaning 100 miles in this case, not kilometers.). This ride goes north-east from Ridgeland. I rode the RideSouth Natchez or Bust ride (another century) at the end of 2010 from about the same location but in the westward direction. That was a very nice Fall ride. I’m looking forward to seeing the Trace in the Spring.

FRIEND: Have a good ride Gary. … Are you riding the CA2 ?

ME: Riding the Stratus XP. I still don’t have the Q-Rings just right on the CA. Rode the P-38 I bought for Jeanne (and she doesn’t like) this week for my first real ride on it (as opposed to riding it in the neighborhood when setting it up). Cockpit is a little cramped but I may be able to ride it. Would sell it.

Friday, 8 April, 2011

ME: I’m at the Hampton Inn in Flowood. When I first arrived I drove over to the ride start in order to put the location in my van’s Garmin. I’ll leave the hotel about 6:30 in the morning in the van. I’ll be riding this:

I went by the RideSouth bike shop. Jim Snider, the owner, will be riding a Quest Velomobile that looks something like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xUXfylQbf8

(Actually, here is Jim during the recent RideSouth Signature Ride)

I’ll be faster than him up hills on the (his) heavy Quest but nobody will touch his 40+ mph on the flats (I’m guessing his speed). I’ll have to average at least 15 mph for the hundred miles (while actually riding) in order to finish in the 7.5 hours allowed. My calculation takes into account a 9 minute break each hour, mostly for nourishment and water. They pick up anyone not finished by 3:00 and haul them back to the finish in a truck/van/trailer. I should be OK if flats and mechanical problems don’t delay me too much.

FRIEND: The Hostel Shoppe in Stevens Point had the Greenspeed velomobile for sale last year during the recumbent event in August. The Greenspeed looked more aero if I remember it. A friend test rode it, not me. Where is Flowood? Where are you riding?

ME: Flowood is just south of the east end of the reservoir in Jackson. We will be riding from the Old Trace Park near the Ridgeland Rec Center. The ride will be on the Natchez Trace, heading east on the out bound part of the loop. They will probably have support stations ever 15 miles.

Oh, here’s a link:
http://natchezcenturyride.racesonline.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=site.display&page_id=2887

A pole of the membership on BROL shows the following age distribution. I was surprised and I already expected them to be older riders.

This question was asked on BentRiderOnLine.com. This is what I said.

“I have a short ride or what I call a half ride (32 miles), and a regular ride (60 miles). I do the half ride when time is a concern, or it is cold.

Last summer I was doing the 60 mile ride 3 times a week but I have read that it might be better to do 4 rides a week, even if shorter. So, this coming summer I’m thinking about two of the 32’s and 2 60’s a week (I’m retired but Jeanne says riding the bike is my job).

When I really need to get home, or weather is threatening I may do 24 miles. Some summer weeks I may ride on two of my rest days with my wife (She doesn’t ride when it is cold). These rides are usually from 10 to 15 miles and at a slow speed (maybe 10 mph avg.).

I would like to do one 80 mile ride a month and something over a century each season. Last year I rode from Jackson to Natchez for 105 miles on the Natchez Trace. The year before that was from Jackson to Hattiesburg for 122 miles. This coming year I’m thinking about another Natchez Trace ride and/or a ride across Mississippi. I would also like to do a multi-day tour.”

Tomorrow is the last day of January. Even if I don’t ride I’ll still have 530 miles for the month. If I do that each month I’ll exceed last year’s 6,037 miles (9713 km). Actually, I should greatly exceed that distance as I expect January (and December) to be my low riding months. So, it looks really good for a new personal best for 2011. I know it is not all about distance, but riding distance is an indicator of devotion to something I really like. I’m sure others get as much pleasure out of much shorter rides. I’m sure I will too in the future, but in the mean time, ride, ride, ride. If the Devil wants me, he’ll need a fast bike.

Tuesday I got really wet, so did the bike (as I describe in the previous post). I took the seat sponge off and laid it out to dry. Felt dry when I put it back on for today’s ride. However, when I sat on it I compressed more water out and had a big round wet spot on my butt. It was not until I got home that I thought about how it must have looked when I walked around talking to people. They must have thought that the old man forgot his adult diaper.

Tuesday’s 50 miler was a little different. Although I most often eat breakfast I try not to eat much before hand. Then I generally eat every hour. The plan was to do a 60 mile ride, which has sort of become the default. On this 4 hour ride (on-the-bike time) on the Long Leaf Trace my favorite stations are about 1 hour apart. Gives me 4 one-hour segments. So, I ate breakfast, oatmeal with fruit, about 45 minutes before hand. I then took 2 Boost-type drinks, a bag of mixed, raw nuts, and a banana with. That would take care of the two rest-stop breaks (after hour 1 and hour 3) and I’d buy lunch off the trail.

At the end of the first hour I drank a Boost, and ate a few nuts, as planned. If things had progressed smoothly, at the end of the second hour (the 30 mile point which is the Bassfield turnaround) I would have gone to the little store in Bassfield and asked Neil to put me a sweet potato in the microwave, as he has done before. I would probably have also bought some chocolate milk to go with it and eaten the banana I had in the bag. But, things didn’t progress as planned.

At about the 25 mile point I felt a few drops. It was not suppose to rain until night. I decided it was too cold to take a chance, so I turned. However, a drizzling rain had move in behind me. Even a drizzle is a pretty good rain at 18 to 20 mph. Yes, my speed magically increased. I rode back about 2 miles and turned off toward the highway and a small gas station I knew of. I thought I’d give the rain a chance to pass, and have lunch. This was a false hope. The clouds did not look like a weather front but more of a wide area cover.

When I got to the gas station my pants were mostly dry, but my head and shoulders were wet, not soaked, but wet. My aerobelly was mostly dry. I love the fairing on the Stratus XP. It does a good job keeping off some of the cold and rain and protecting my bike computer, Garmin, and handlebar bag. However, once the rain collects on the trail the front wheel throws water up under the fairing and onto my pants legs.

At the gas station I parked under the overhang, over by the propane gas rack. Inside, there were 6 or 7 folks at the tables eating lunch. A couple tables where empty. I had a choice of grilled items, e.g. hamburgers, hot dogs, maybe late breakfast. I looked over at the food racks. Potato chips, candy, Yuk. Then I spotted the freshly made, still steaming boiled peanuts. They came in regular and large, Cajun and not-spicy. It was Cajun for me, and a bottle of chocolate milk.

I enjoyed the company. I think I’ll go back when it’s not raining. They had questions about the bike and my riding. Some of them rode when young. Everyone seemed to agree I picked the wrong day to go for a bike ride. As we talked and ate a guy came in and bought three 50-pound bags of something. He grabbed one bag and a young guy at the next table grabbed two, one in each hand and without being asked, and they carried them out. I asked at the next table what was in the bags. A guy said it was corn for the dear. Another guy quickly added that some people feed their chickens with it (a good comment since I think it’s illegal to feed dear for hunting purposes). I really enjoyed the Cajun boiled peanuts. I finished them and the milk, checked the weather. It was still a drizzle but had lessened. I headed out. 22 miles to home.

By now the trail was wet. So were my pants legs by the time I got home. My upper body was really soaked. Water ran down out from under my helmet but my Spider visor helped keep rain directly off my face, but not all (some came up over the fairing). My sunglasses-over-glasses fogged a bit from my hot breath blowing back over the cold surfaces, plus the high humidity. However, the sunglasses fully wrap around (with side windows) and seal against my face. Vision was much better than with just my regular glasses. I felt good. My nutrition was adequate for the ride. I was actually stronger that when I started. If I eat before a ride (even 45 minutes) the digestion robs me for 1 or 2 hours. If I know I have to put out serious energy early in a ride (such as the recent Jackson-to-Natchez ride) I’ll set the clock for 4:00 or 4:30, eat, and go back to bed. Maybe then just drink a Boost (or similar) at ride time.

After 6 miles I was back at Sumrall. I ate a few nuts, paused briefly and headed on home. My ride-segment distances, times and, thus, snack times were all messed up.

At home I parked under the car port to let the bike drain. Later, I wiped it down before taking it to the shop. I noticed that the chain was really messy. I’ll have to take it off, clean it, and re-lubricate it with T-9 (what I’m trying this year). Changed clothes, showered, drank another Boost-like-drink to stretch me to supper. Relaxed, snacked on nuts, and sipped 2 bottles of Gateraid. I neglected to drink adequately while rushing in the rain.

Overall, during the ride my energy levels were just a little lower than before my current eating scheme, at least lower than my strongest days. I’m thinking that I may not be eating enough carbs. Most ways I use to get carbs I am now avoiding. I find it a little harder finding an acceptable snack. Jeanne is sick with a cold-thing this week and so left overs are scarce. It is still way too early to come to any conclusions about my adaptability to this minimal-meat eating.

Note: Today I picked up some SILK Soy Milk. Chocolate. I like it. It is more expensive, about twice. It was $3.49 per half gallon. I noticed yesterday at Sam’s they had 3-carton containers for about $1.00 less per half gallon. I didn’t want to buy 3 not knowing if I’d like it or not. I’ll try the non-chocolate version next.

Written 22 January

My state of being:

I’ve been reading books on nutrition. Why? Well, I’ve sort of hit a plateau with weight loss and want to get that started again. I also want to improve my cholesterol and general health. I think maybe a whole-plant-food approach. In any case, I decided to give it a try. I may not totally give up eating meat and diary products but will keep it to a minimum, e.g. eggs once a week, cheese once a week. I started this madness around 11 January and here are some of my comments about it in a discussion forum (bentrideronline.com, including “My state of being” which is sort of my take on my current general health.

Comment about my default breakfast and initial (first week) reaction:

Had oatmeal for breakfast with a handful of blueberries and a handful of sliced strawberries, cinnamon, plenty of bulk. However, I’m still hungry. I think I’m missing the eggs and biscuits. Of course, it is noon but I’m not normally this ravishingly hungry, and I have been hungry for a couple of hours. This approach (whatever that is, I’m not sure yet) may call for more eating events.

15 January comment about a ride on 14 January:

Diet report:
Yesterday I rode 32 miles, today about 54. I had plenty of energy, was afraid I would not, as hungry as I have been.

My average speed was only about 13, my riding partner was on his new trike, an ICE Vortex (very sleek looking, really nice). I was on the Stratus XP with a fairing. At about the 40 mile point I started having lower intestinal pressures and had to race ahead for 2 miles to get to a rest station. What I discharged was not pleasant to look at. Last night I ate at a buffet with a large salad section, lots of raw plants, no meat. I also had some cooked veges including cabbage. Maybe some of the raw was not washed well or maybe this reaction is just part of my adjustment to the diet. Before the ride today I had oatmeal with fruit. On the ride for lunch I had a Boost type drink and a banana (at about the 27 mile point).

My state of being
My 12/7/2010 blood work.

…………………………(Reference Range)
Cholesterol………176 (140-199)
Triglyceride……….92 (35-159)
HDL Cholesterol….45 (41-75)
LDL (calculated)….113
HGC A1C…………..6.0 (4.4-6.1) 6.0 equates to about 126 with a glucose meter
Magnesium………..1.9 (1.5-2.6)
Potassium…………3.6 (3.4-5.1)
Creatinine…………1.02 (0.60-1.20)

I’d like to get my Cholesterol down a bit, maybe my Triglyceride. My LDL should probably be lower. My A1C should definitely be farther from the upper end of the OK range (I’m type 2). My Magnesium and Potassium are in danger of getting too low, I think, don’t really know. Creatinine?

After I settle down on the whole-plant effort I’d like to have another blood workup (not sure how soon Medicare will allow that). Of course I’m losing weight which may affect some things regardless of which diet I’m on. I’ll also be riding more, maybe 8,000 miles/year (projected) instead of the 6,000 miles/year last year.

I’m 68. My max heart rate seems to be up around 171 (empirical) unless it has decreased from last year. I feel good, but I feel better when I ride.

I have some eye infection/irritation. My son says it might be from wind drying on my 4 hour rides. I’m now wearing sun glasses and using drops. They are much improved. Maybe that was it (or sun damage). If the improvement trend reverses I’ll go get checked for more serious causes.

My weight started moving down again in the last few days. Last night I was just under 230 (down from 235, of course it oscillates daily but this is the first I’ve seen 230 since years ago). Just a change in eating might have knocked me off the plateau I was on, or what I’m eating, or maybe I’m not finding enough to eat. I’ll be sure to drink water just in case it is water loss.

I have 6,037 miles for the year. Almost made my age in hundreds of miles; I’m 68. I would have ridden yesterday or today but I’ve got this eyes, nose, throat thing. However, I plan to ride the first day of the year regardless. The forecast is for rain, so, I’ll shorten the ride if it does.

The last few months (before the holidays) I was getting in 3 to 5 rides a week for about 250 miles a week. Based on that activity, I expect to do 7,000 or 8,000 next year.

Most of my miles were on the Stratus XP but I also rode the Strada, XStream, GT3 trike, and CA 2.0.

My longest ride was from Brandon (east of Jackson, Ms) to Natchez for 105 miles (on the Natchez Trace).

My fastest average was 20 mph for about 30 miles (15 out and 15 back). That will probably be my life-time best. My doctor says I need to keep my heart rate under 120 bpm, just because I’m 68. Not going to happen, maybe below 130 before backing off. Hills and sprints don’t count. But, I do see myself riding slower.

I am lucky enough to live close to the Long Leaf Trace, within an easy 1-mile ride to the Hattiesburg end.

* Ride 10 metrics a month for the good-weather months.
* Ride 7,000+ or 8,000+ miles for the year.
* Ride more organized rides on the Long Leaf Trace or within an easy distance from home, e.g.
Birthday Ride (Long Leaf Trace)
RideSouth Signature Ride (Jackson to Hattiesburg, and return the next day - one day for me)
West Feliciana Classic Bicycle Festival
Tour de’ Tangipahoa
Gulf Coast 100
Natchez or Bust
* Drop another 15 pounds to get my weight down to 220.
* Only buy a bike if a really good deal shows up.
* Spend more time with my wife even if it’s at the grocery store.
* Become 69 years old.

Jeanne is going with me this year, Kurt not (does not want to get up that early and I’m sure when as cold as it is likely to be). We need to leave about 7:30 to arrive at Prentiss around 8:30 for the 9:00 start. It will be mostly a social ride and probably no more than the 27 miles she rode on a recent ride.

Looks like there will be 8 of us on the Jackson-to-Natchez ride Saturday (titled "Natchez or Bust"). 6 will be on versions of the Bacchetta Aero (5 on Carbon Aero’s 2.0). The schedule gives us 8 hours to cover the 105 miles. Of course that includes rest stops each hour (for water/snacks/elimination, but nobody will be resting); and lunch. I will probably be the heaviest rider. Not fair. I’ll be ridding this bike. Fair.

Those are my new AeroSpoke wheels which I’ve ridden with once. That was Tuesday for 70 miles. Even though a substantial distance/time I couldn’t tell much difference in ride quality. That could be because I’m not use to the feel of the bike yet. The wheels are a little heavier, but are mostly maintenance free, e.g. no spokes to break, no spoke-end tube punctures. I like ‘em.

Today’s 70 mile ride put me at 4941 miles for the year and within sight of the 5000 mile goal. I should exceed it on Tuesday, my next solo ride. Now to decide which bike to ride. It will probably be my new one, the Bacchetta Carbon Aero. The new wheels for it are scheduled to be delivered Monday, according to UPS tracking. These are the wheels I wrote in the last post. Hard to believe that was over a month ago. I have been riding a lot. The weather has been great. Isn’t that the way of things, you have more to write about when you have less time to write.

That was yesterday. Today I discovered that the 559 rear-wheel standard (the wheels I ordered) uses a 135 mm hub but the 650C rear-wheel standard (on the bike they are for) is 130 mm. The front wheels in these sizes use the same hub width, so no problem there. These 130/135 mm dimensions are the width of the hub where the wheel attaches to the bike. I posted my new-wheel intentions on BentRiderOnline.com and got feedback pointing out the discrepancy. So, I called Bacchetta (the bike manufacture) and verified that the Carbon Aero does require a 130 mm wide rear-wheel hub. I like to double check things. Then I called Aerospoke and they said they could put the 130 mm hud on the 559’s I ordered instead of the normal 135 mm for that size. The modification is easy to do since they have not actually made the wheels yet. Mine should be ready in about 3 weeks. If I had not caught this discrepancy I could not use the rear wheel on my new bike (but could still use it on my Stratus XP, which is native 559, but I really have no plans or desire to re-shoe the XP). Since I was able to change the order I feel so much better than I would have.

Forget the hub widths for a moment and let’s discuss the wheel diameter sizes: A “559″ diameter wheel is sometimes referred to as a “26 inch” wheel. However, there are a number of different wheels called “26 inch” that are not exactly the same size. It is much safer to use the metric designation for these and in the case of my new wheels that would be 559 millimeters, or just 559 mm. For tires to fit on these wheels we may sometimes designate the width such as 24×559 (24 mm by 559 mm) which would be about a 1 inch wide tire for a 559 mm wheel. Now, consider the 650C designation. This is a numeric name for a size, not the size itself. It is part of an international standard. The 650C wheel is actually 571 mm in diameter, not 650C. In a similar way the international standard road bike size of 700C is 622 mm. Go figure!

If you would like a better read you might enjoy this tire-sizes article by the bike Guru himself Sheldon Brown. Sorry he is now only with us in the virtual world. Happy trails Sheldon.

I’ve had a problem with my new bike, the Carbon aero. The day after getting it I took it for a ride, a short one as it turned out. I turned around at the 5 mile mark and returned home, replacing it with another bike before continuing. That was on 8 July. The problem was the same one I had on the XSteam and Strada. It’s the single-piece seat problem. It’s actually a tailbone problem but I notice it on single-piece seats. I’m fine on two piece seats, those with a separate but connected bottom and back. My tailbone is happy riding in the crack between the two pieces, but not with pressure or friction. I’ve since talked to others with a similar problem. Maybe my tailbone is closer to the surface, maybe it’s just more sensitive, maybe I’m too heavy, maybe … who knows.

However, as a result of this situation/condition I’ve already changed the seats on two of my other bikes, the XStream and the Strada (I’m repeating myself). Those bikes use a common mounting system, the CA does not. It has a simple flat plate that you bolt a seat to. Neither of the replacement seats I put on the XStream (Rans Sevo seat) or the Strada (Bacchetta Recurve) would easily mount. So, I ordered some 1″ x 1″ aluminum bar stock and made an adapter.

The adapter bolts straight to the flat plate and provides the standard mounting to either of the two seats mentioned above. Of those two I like the recurve the best and that’s the one I put on the CA as a trial, removing it from the Strada. That’s it on the bike in the top photo. Rode 60 miles on the reseated CA on 28 August. I know, 8 July to 28 August was a long time in the middle of the riding season to nurse a dissapointment. But I had to think, had to order metal, had to moan and groan while I waited for delivery, had to machine, had to mount. I’ve ridden it an additional 100 miles since the 28th and … comfort. Glorious comfort. Maybe a tiny bit of neck soreness since I’m really laid back and I don’t have a headrest for the Recurve.

Next? Order a Recurve seat for the CA, put the loaner back on the Strada (I want to ride it too), and check on a headrest (neckrest) for the Recurve.

Next Next? I’m thinking about putting AeroSpoke wheels on the CA. However, I don’t think I can match the color since the overseas frame builder and painter doesn’t use US standard paint codes. Otherwise, AeroSpoke could deliver the wheels in the right color and the CA could be color coordinated like my Strada.

My Strada

I again robbed the Strada, this time the wheels, to see if they fit and they do, although the AeroSpoke 559’s are a little smaller than the 650C’s that came with the CA. The Strada is safe and will get its wheels back because the color is wrong. I would not put red wheels on my blue Carbon Aero. I could just get new ones unpainted and let the carbon show. Or I could look for a local painter and take a chance on their matching abilities, but probably not. Maybe they don’t need to match to look good. I like bare carbon fiber and it would look good on any bike of any color, IMO. Bare carbon wheels would especially look good on the charcoal XStream and I could move them back and forth if I wanted to look spiffy on either bike. Or later get another pair. So many decisions.

See, retirement is not simple, and definitely not for wimps.

The photo of the Strada is with the original one-piece seat, not its current Recurve. The photo of the Carbon Aero is with the Recurve.

I need to record when I do such things as tire and chain changes so I can evaluate products. Until I come up with something better a note here will do. Here’s comment from my FaceBook.

Just took the Marathon Racer tire off the back of my Stratus XP. The inner threads were showing in a few places. Replaced it with just a Marathon, still a kevlar tire. The Racer is durable but is hard off and on. A tube change can be a knuckle buster and I often ruin a tube. Just did that getting this one off in the shop. I’m done with the Racer (but like with child birth, maybe done until I forget the pain).

Kurt said, “Dad, if you are still around in 2 years you’re going to be really fit!”

Look me up. I’m Gary Johnsey.