Rec.Bicycles Frequently Asked Questions Posting Part 1/5
Mike Iglesias
Archive-name: bicycles-faq/part1
Last modified: April 16, 1997
------------------------------
Subject: 1 Introduction
Answers to Rec.Bicycles' Frequently Asked Questions and Interesting Information
The following monthly posting contains the answers to frequently asked
questions posed to rec.bicycles and interesting information that cyclists
might find useful. Some of the answers are from postings to rec.bicycles,
and some are condensed from postings. Answers include the name and
email address of the author. If no author is listed, I'm the guilty party.
If you're the author and I've misspelled your name or have the wrong email
address, let me know and I'll fix it.
****NOTE****: I am not the moderator or "person in charge" of the
rec.bicycles newsgroups. I also have no way to help you with problems
reading the newsgroups unless you are at UCI; you'll need to talk to your
system or news admin for help.
If you have something you feel should be included in the FAQ, please write
it up and send it to me at the address below.
Note: I don't read each and every posting to rec.bicycles.*, so suggesting
that something be included in the FAQ may not be seen. If you want
something included, summarize the discussion and send me the summary.
This FAQ is posted to rec.bicycles.misc, news.answers, and rec.answers
around the 15th of the month. It is also available via anonymous ftp from:
<ftp://draco.acs.uci.edu/pub/rec.bicycles/faq.*>
<ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/rec.bicycles.misc/>
<ftp://ugle.unit.no/local/biking/faq*>
Check the "Archives" section for information on how to obtain the FAQ via
email.
Mike Iglesias
igle...@draco.acs.uci.edu
------------------------------
Subject: 2 Index
(! means updated since last FAQ. + means new section.)
1 Introduction
2 Index
3 Administrivia
3.1 Abbreviations
3.2 Gopher and World Wide Web access
3.3 Archives
3.4 Posting Guidelines
3.5 Electronic Mailing lists
+ 3.6 Posting Guidelines for rec.bicycles.marketplace
4 Rides
4.1 Maps
4.2 Touring supplies
4.3 Taking a bike on Amtrak
4.4 Travel with bicycles - Air/Rail/Other
4.5 Warm Showers List
5 Racing
5.1 Tour de France Jerseys
5.2 Major Tour Winners 1947-1996
5.3 Rating the Tour de France Climbs
5.4 How to follow the Tour de France
5.5 Tour de France Time Limits
5.6 Tour de France Points Jersey Competition
5.7 Bicycle Racing Movies
6 Social
6.1 Bicycling in America
6.2 League of American Bicyclists
6.3 Rules for trail riding
6.4 Commuting - Is it possible for me to commute by bike?
6.5 Commuting - How do I choose a route?
6.6 Commuting - Do I really need to look that goofy?
6.7 Commuting - Do cyclists breathe more pollution than motorists?
7 Marketplace
7.1 Marketplace hints/guidelines
7.2 Bike Trailers
7.3 One Less Car T-Shirts
7.4 Panniers and Racks
7.5 Clothing materials
7.6 Seats
7.7 Women's Saddles
7.8 Women's Bikes
7.9 Bike Rentals
7.10 Bike Lockers
7.11 Bike computer features
7.12 Recumbent Bike Info
7.13 Buying a Bike
7.14 Kids Bike Clothes
7.15 Repair stands
8 Tech
8.1 Technical Support Numbers
8.2 Ball Bearing Grades
8.3 SIS Cable Info
8.4 Milk Jug Mud Flaps
8.5 Lubricating Chains
8.6 Wear and Gear Slippage
8.7 Adjusting Chain Length
8.8 Hyperglide chains
8.9 Bottom Bracket Info
8.10 Crank noises
8.11 Cracking/Breaking Cranks
8.12 Biopace chainrings
8.13 Snakebite flats
8.14 Blown Tubes
8.15 Mounting Tires
8.16 More Flats on Rear Tires
8.17 What holds the rim off the ground?
8.18 Anodized vs. Non-anodized Rims
8.19 Reusing Spokes
8.20 Clinchers vs. Tubulars
8.21 Presta Valve Nuts
8.22 Ideal Tire Sizes
8.23 Indexed Steering
8.24 Sidepull, Dual Pivot, and the Delta Brakes
8.25 Seat adjustments
8.26 Cleat adjustments
8.27 SIS Adjustment Procedure
8.28 Where to buy tools
8.29 Workstands
8.30 Workstands 2
8.31 Frame Stiffness
8.32 Frame materials
8.33 Bike pulls to one side
8.34 Frame repair
8.35 Frame Fatigue
8.36 Weight = Speed?
8.37 Adjusting SPD Cleats
8.38 Rim Tape Summary
8.39 STI/Ergo Summary
8.40 Roller Head Bearings
8.41 Tubular Tire Repair
8.42 Cassette or Freewheel Hubs
8.43 Cassette or Freewheel Hubs take 2
8.44 "Sealed" Bearings
8.45 Installing Cranks
8.46 Stress Relieving Spokes
8.47 Traffic detector loops
8.48 Gluing Sew-up Tires
8.49 Common Torque Values
8.50 Measuring the circumference of wheels
8.51 Tubular Fables
8.52 Folding a Tubular Tire
! 8.53 Frames "going soft"
8.54 Inspecting your bike for potential failures
8.55 ETRTO numbers for tire sizes
8.56 Using a Quick Release
8.57 Tube and Tire Casing Repair
8.58 The Continuously Variable Transmission
8.59 Patching Tubes
8.60 Shimmy or Speed Wobble
8.61 Bike Part Failure Web Site
8.62 Rolling Resistance of Tires
8.63 Blowouts and Sudden Flats
8.64 Tied and Soldered Wheels
9 Misc
9.1 Books and Magazines
9.2 Mail Order Addresses
9.3 Road Gradient Units
9.4 Helmets
9.5 Terminology
9.6 Avoiding Dogs
9.7 Shaving Your Legs
9.8 Contact Lenses and Cycling
9.9 How to deal with your clothes
9.10 Pete's Winter Cycling Tips
9.11 Nancy's Cold/Wet Cycling Tips
9.12 Studded Tires
9.13 Cycling Myths
9.14 Descending I
9.15 Descending II
9.16 Trackstands
9.17 Front Brake Usage
9.18 Slope Wind, the Invisible Enemy
9.19 Reflective Tape
9.20 Nutrition
9.21 Nuclear Free Energy Bar Recipe
9.22 Powerbars Recipe
9.23 Calories burned by cycling
9.24 Road Rash Cures
9.25 Knee problems
9.26 Cycling Psychology
9.27 Mirrors
9.28 Another Powerbar recipe
9.29 Lower back pain
9.30 Saddle sores
9.31 Group Riding Tips
9.32 Riding in echelon
9.33 Mirrors II
9.34 Thorns aka Puncture Vine
10 Off-Road
10.1 Suspension Stems
10.2 MTB FAQ available
10.3 Installing new rear derailleur spring
+ 10.4 A Brief History of the Mountain Bike
------------------------------
Subject: 3 Administrivia
------------------------------
Subject: 3.1 Abbreviations
Some common abbreviations used here and in rec.bicycles.*:
FAQ Frequenly Asked Question. What you are reading now is a file
containing answers to some FAQs.
IMHO In my humble opinion.
TIOOYK There Is Only One You Know. Refers to the Tour de France.
See the glossary in the ftp archives for more bicycle-related terms, or
check out Sheldon Brown's Glossary at
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/biz/hub/glossary.html.
------------------------------
Subject: 3.2 Gopher and World Wide Web access
I've made the rec.bicycles ftp archives available via gopher and the Web,
and have split the FAQ up into individual files for easier access via
gopher. The FAQ is available via the Web as listed below.
You can access the FAQ and archives via the Web using these URLs:
<http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/>
<http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/bicycles-faq/top.html>
To connect to the gopher server, use the hostname draco.acs.uci.edu and
port 1071. Please don't ask me how to use gopher or how to configure
your gopher client; I don't know how to use all the available gopher
clients, nor do I have access to them. Please talk to your local gopher
gurus.
Again, please ask your local gurus for information on how to use Web
clients.
------------------------------
Subject: 3.3 Archives
I've made available via anonymous ftp a copy of the current FAQ and a
few other items on draco.acs.uci.edu (128.200.34.12). This is the
workstation on my desk, so I'd appreciate it if people would restrict
their use to 7pm-7am Pacific time. The files are in pub/rec.bicycles.
For those without Internet access, you can use the ftpmail server at
gatekeeper.dec.com to get copies of items in the archives. I really don't
have time to email copies of files to people who can't get at them easily.
To use the ftpmail server, send an email message containing the line
help
in the body of the message to ftp...@gatekeeper.dec.com. You'll get
a help file back with more information on how to use the ftpmail server.
Here is an example of what to put in the body of a message to to get the
README file:
connect draco.acs.uci.edu
chdir pub/rec.bicycles
get README
README for Rec.Bicycles Anonymous FTP area
arnie.light Arnie Berger's (arnie....@amd.com) "Ultimate bike light"
bike_gear.sea.hqx
Lawrence Hare's (l...@duck.svl.cdc.com) copy of a
Hypercard stack to calculate gearing. Lawrence says
there is a newer version on major bbs systems.
bike.lockers David H. Wolfskill's (da...@dhw68k.cts.com) summary of
bike locker vendors.
bike.painting Sam Henry's (she...@rice.edu) collection of articles on
how to paint a bike.
bike_power.* Ken Roberts program to calculate power output and power
consumption. See bike_power.doc for more info.
updated by Mark Grennan (ma...@okcforum.oknorm.edu)
biking_log.* Phil Etheridge's (ph...@massey.ac.nz) hypercard stack
riding diary. It keeps track of dates, distance, time,
average speed, etc., and keeps running weekly, monthly,
and yearly totals. See biking_log.read_me for more
information.
CA-veh-code A directory containing the California vehicle code sections
that pertain to bicycles and gopher bookmarks. See the
README in that directory for more information.
camera.tour Vivian Aldridge's (viv...@tamri.com) collection of articles
on cameras to take on a bike tour.
competitive.nutrition
Roger Marquis' (mar...@roble.com) article from the
Feb 91 Velo News on nutrition and cycling.
computer.calibrate
computer.install
Sheldon Brown's (Capt...@sheldonbrown.com) universal bike
computer calibration chart and installation suggestions.
cyclesense Larry Watanabe's (wata...@asimov.cs.uiuc.edu) copy of
the "Cycle Sense for Motorists" ready to run thru LaTeX.
faq.* The current Frequently Asked Questions posting
first.century Pamela Blalock's (pam...@keps.com) tips on training
for your first century ride.
frame.build Terry Zmrhal's (ter...@microsoft.com) writeup of
a frame building class he took.
gear.c Larry Watanabe's (wata...@asimov.cs.uiuc.edu) program to
print gear inch tables.
glossary Alan Bloom's (al...@sr.hp.com) glossary of bicycle terms.
lab.info Erin O'Brien's (bikel...@aol.com) article on the
League of American Bicyclists.
lights Tom Reingold's (t...@samadams.princeton.edu) collection of
articles on bike lights.
lights2 More articles from rec.bicycles.* on lights.
mtb.faq Vince Cheng's (vcc...@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca) MTB FAQ.
pam.bmb* Pamela Blalock's (pam...@keps.com) report on her
Boston-Montreal-Boston rides.
pam.pactour* Pamela Blalock's (pam...@keps.com) writeup of her PAC tours
across the country.
pbp.info Pamela Blalock's (pam...@keps.com) information
on her Paris-Brest-Paris ride.
pictures Bicycling gif pictures.
prof.sched Roland Stahl's (st...@ipi.uni-hannover.de) list of
scheduled professional races in many countries.
pwm.regulator Willie Hunt's (wil...@cs.indiana.edu) design notes
on a pulse width modulated voltage regulator. Originally
designed for caving, this design is adaptable to bike
lighting. The author has parts available in kit form.
ride.index Chris Hull's/Bill Bushnell's (bush...@lmsc.lockheed.com)
explanation of a way to "index" rides and compare the
difficulty of different rides.
ridelg22.* Found on AOL by Gary Thurman (thu...@csos.orst.edu), a
ride diary program. The .exe file a self-extracting archive
for PCs.
spike.bike Bob Fishell's (sp...@cbnewsd.att.com) Spike Bike series.
They are numbered in the order that Bob posted them to
rec.bicycles. All the Spike Bike stories are
"Copyright 1989 by Robert Fishell, all rights reserved."
spokelen11.bas Roger Marquis' (mar...@roble.com) spoke length
calculator, written in Microsoft Quickbasic.
spokelen.c Andy Tucker's (tuc...@Neon.Stanford.EDU) port of
Roger Marquis' spokelen11.bas to C.
spokelen.hqx Eric Topp's to...@roses.stanford.edu's Hypercard stack that
computes spoke lengths.
studded.tires (Name removed by request) compilation
of messages on studded tires, including how to make your
own.
tandem.boxes Arnie Berger's (arnie....@amd.com) notes on how
he built a box to transport his tandem to Europe and
back. It's taken from a longer travelogue on his trip - if
you want more information, contact him at the above
address.
tech.supp.phone Joshua Putnam's (jo...@Happy-Man.com) list of technical
support numbers for various manufacturers. This list
used to be in the FAQ but now is too long to include there.
trailers A summary posting of messages about bike trailers. Good
stuff if you're thinking of buying a trailer.
wheelbuild.txt Sheldon Brown's (Capt...@sheldonbrown.com) instructions on
how to build a wheel.
wheels.*.hqx R. Scott Truesdell's (true...@ics.uci.edu) Hypercard
stack to calculate spoke lengths. See wheels.readme
for more info.
wintertips Pete Hickey's (pe...@panda1.uottawa.ca) notes about
how to cycle in the winter.
wintertips.pam Pamela Blalock's (pam...@keps.com) winter cycling tips.
Files available via anonymous ftp from ugle.unit.no (129.241.1.97) in the
directory local/biking. This directory is maintained by Joern Dahl-Stamnes
(da...@fysel.unit.no).
Last updated: July 3rd, 1994.
File What
READ.ME Information about the other files in the directory.
bm106a.zip The latest version of Bike Manager. Bike Manager is a
shareware program that help you keep a log of your training
activities. It can report summary reports, weekly reports,
monthly reports and yearly reports. Features to analyze your
activities against your goals. And more...
brake.doc About how to make your own brake booster.
gtos91.doc A story from The Great Trial of Strength 1991.
gtos92.doc Same, but for the 1992 trial.
gtos93.doc For the 1993 trial.
toj93.doc The Tour of Jotunheimen 1993 report.
faq.* Answers to Rec.Bicycles' Frequently Asked Questions and
Interesting Information (ASCII text format).
velo.txt Description about Velocipede (TM) for Windows.
velo*.zip Velocipede (TM) for Windows. Velocipede is a window based
training log program based on the ideas in Bike Manager.
Compared to Bike Manager, Velocipede offers a better user
interface, graphic presentation and more. For more details,
see file velo.txt.
Velocipede is a shareware program.
------------------------------
Subject: 3.4 Posting Guidelines
The rec.bicycles subgroups are described below - please try to post your
article to the appropriate group. The newsgroups were designed to minimize
cross posting, so please take the time to think about the most appropriate
newsgroup and post your article there. Most postings to rec.bicycles should
not be cross-posted to groups outside of rec.*.
Steve Ciccarelli has archives of the last 6 months of the rec.bicycles
newsgroups available at http://blueridge.infomkt.ibm.com/bikes/News/.
rec.bicycles: DO NOT USE THIS NEWSGROUP - it should have been dropped
from news servers, having been replaced by rec.bicycles.misc.
rec.bicycles.marketplace: Bicycles, components, ancillary equipment and
services wanted or for sale, reviews of such things, places to buy
them, and evaluations of these sources. Not for discussion of general
engineering, maintenance, or repair -- see rec.bicycles.tech.
rec.bicycles.tech: Techniques of engineering, construction, maintenance
and repair of bicycles and ancillary equipment. Not for products or
services offered or wanted -- see rec.bicycles.marketplace.
rec.bicycles.rides: Discussions of tours and training or commuting routes.
Not for disussion of general riding techniques -- see rec.bicycles.misc.
rec.bicycles.soc: Social issues, cycling transportation advocacy, laws,
conduct of riders and drivers; road hazards such as potholes, dogs, and
sociopaths.
rec.bicycles.racing: Race results, racing techniques, rules, and
organizations. Not racing equipment -- see rec.bicycles.marketplace
or rec.bicycles.tech.
rec.bicycles.misc: General riding techniques, rider physiology,
injuries and treatment, diets, and other cycling topics.
rec.bicycles.off-road: Discussion of riding on unimproved roads, gravel, dirt,
grass, sand, single track or 4x4 roads. Also discussion of environmental
issues, trail issues, backcountry travel, how to handle conditions
(technically and evo-sensitively), off-road magazines and other media.
------------------------------
Subject: 3.5 Electronic Mailing lists
tan...@hobbes.ucsd.edu A mailing list for tandem bicycle enthusiasts.
Suitable topics include questions and answers related to tandem
componentry, riding technique, brands and equipment selection,
prices, clubs, rides and other activities, cooperating on a section
on tandems for the rec.bicycles.* FAQ, etc. For more information
send mail to "list...@hobbes.ucsd.edu" with the body of the
message having the line "info tandem", or point your WWW client at
<http://www-acs.ucsd.edu/home-pages/wade/tandem.html>, or
finger tan...@hobbes.ucsd.edu.
BOB is the Bridgestone Owner's Bunch, and this is the internet
edition of it. This is a mailing list, not a newsletter, and has no
connection with the real Bridgestone-sponsored BOB except in name and
in spirit. Get more information by sending mail to
bob-r...@cs.washington.edu.
HPV list The HPV list is for the discussion of issues related to the
design, construction, and operation of human powered vehicles
and closely related kin. (Hybrid human/electric, for example.)
For further information, send a mail message containing the
following single line in the message, to majo...@ihpva.org:
info hpv
BICYCLE on LIST...@LISTPROC.NET
The BICYCLE list was formed to provide a forum for cyclists to
discuss all topics related to bicycles, mtn. biking, and cycling in
general. This is NOT the place to discuss issues related to
motorcycling.
To subscribe to BICYCLE send the following command to LIST...@LISTPROC.NET
in the BODY of e-mail:
SUBSCRIBE BICYCLE real name
For example: SUBSCRIBE BICYCLE John Doe
Owner: Chris Tanski cta...@quest.arc.nasa.gov
BikeMidwest
A new regional internet discussion group has been started to discuss bicycle
advocacy issues in the midwest area. BikeMidwest was started to connect
cyclists in L.A.W. Regions 6, 7, 8 and 9. That is, the states of Ohio,
Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Iowa and Missouri. Of course, people from outside this area are welcome
to join.
Subscriptions to the list are handled by a computer program called
Majordomo. To subscribe, send a message with the following command in the
body of the message to Majo...@fuji.physics.indiana.edu:
subscribe BikeMidwest
Bicycle BBS
BicycleBBS offers free access to cyclists. The # is 619-720-1830.
The BBS is run by Neil Goren, Ne...@BicycleBBS.Org.
BicycleBBS also has a mailing list. Anyone can join by sending e-mail to:
ARMBRC-...@BicycleBBS.Org and put "JOIN" in the text body anywhere.
VeloNet has a list of some 200 cycling-related mailing lists,
all run under standard majordomo protocols, with both live and
digest formats. Subscribe/unsubscribe requests should go to
majo...@cycling.org
Here are the "international/general" lists:
* bikecurrent - Discussions regarding Bicycle Electronics
* bikeham - Cycling and Amateur Radio Operation
* bikemedic - Cycling and Emergency Medical Services
* bikepeople - General/International list for Bicycle Advocacy
* bike-station - Bike commuter centers at transit stations
* bikes-n-transit - Taking your bicycle on public transit
* bmx - General BMX Discussion List
* coaching - Coaching discussions for racers
* commute-logistics - Discussions regarding bicycle commuting logistics
* facilities-n-planning - Transportation infrastructure affecting cycling
* iccc - International Christian Cycling Club
* icebike - Winter cycling
* ifcmc - International Federation of Cycle Messengers and Companies
* imba - International Mountain Bicycling Association
* marketplace - Discussions regarding buying a bicycle or components
* messengers - Bicycle Messengers and Couriers
* mtb - General Discussions about Mountain Biking
* mtb-trials - Mountain Bike Trials Riding
* moulton - The Moulton Bicycle Club Mailing list
* patrol - Discussions regarding Mountain Bike Patrols
* power-assist - Power-assisted HPVs
* promoters - Race promotion
* race-results - International, Cat A & USPRO Race Results
* randon - Randoneering (touring and non-competitive ultradistance)
* safety-n-education - Discussions of Bicycle Safety and Education
(formerly ca-bike-safety)
* team-internet - International Team Internet Racing Team
* touring - Bicycle Touring
* ultra - Dicussions regarding ultra marathon cycling events
* velonet-admin - Discussions regarding the operation of VeloNet
------------------------------
Subject: 3.6 Posting Guidelines for rec.bicycles.marketplace
From: "E. Paul Stanley" <psta...@usa.net>
Date: Sun, 09 Mar 1997 19:14:59 -0500
All subject lines in rec.bicycles.marketplace should stick to the
following codes.
[CODE]:<Size><Item><Price>
Where <CODE> = FS (for sale), WTB (wanted to buy), WTT (wanted to
trade).
<Size> would, of course, be omitted for some items.
Commercial vendors could use the following:
COM:<spam>
Where <spam> would be the crap enticement to go to the web site, email,
etc.
There is no space between the Code, the colon, and the size of the item
to conserve space and make sure the complete subject comes out.
Following this nomenclature would permit newsreaders to see similar
items grouped together and would highlight spam which would not follow
the nomenclature.
The argument that "I have a buch of stuff to sell/buy so it would
require bunches of posts" is without merit. First, "Regular" people
don't have bunches of stuff so it would be a "COM:" post. Second, if a
regular person does have a buch of stuff, simply post the same message
with the proper subject lines for each item. Several posts, but only
one copy and paste from your word processor.
------------------------------
Subject: 4 Rides
------------------------------
Subject: 4.1 Maps
From: Jim Carson <car...@rice.edu>
Updated-From: Joel Spolsky <spo...@panix.com>
Adventure Cycling Association maps are not free, but you can get them
without joining. To order stuff with Mastercard or Visa, you can call
+1 (406) 721-1776 (24 hr). Maps are currently (Feb 1995) $8.95 each to
"non-members," $5.95 each to "members." There are also small discounts for
sets of maps and members in the continental US don't have to pay for
surface shipping and handling.
Scale of the maps is generally 1" = 4mi/6.4km. Certain areas are more
detailed when necessary. I like the maps because they have lots of
interesting features labeled (campgrounds, grocery stores, major
changes in elevation, historical info about the region,...), they're
printed on a water-resistant paper, and they fit nicely into a handlebar
bag map case.
As of Feb '95, there are three transcontinental (W-E) routes an east coast
(N-S) route, a west coast route (N-S), and a middle route and numerous
routes among the various parks in the western U.S. and Canada.
Membership is $25 individual; $35 family; $19 for students/seniors.
Lifetime is $475; $650 for couples.
Members get copies of Adventure Cycling Association's magazine, Adventure
Cyclist, published 9 times annually, a list of tours run by Adventure
Cycling Association, and the annual _The Cyclists' Yellow Pages_. _The
Cyclists' Yellow Pages_ provides *LOTS* of interesting information on
touring and points of contact for more information about cycling and
touring all over the world. (For example, they have an arrangement with
The Netherlands Service Center for Tourism whereby you can purchase
full-color, 21" x 38", 1:100k scale, Dutch-language maps.)
Adventure Cycling Association's address and phone:
Adventure Cycling Association
(406) 721-1776, fax (406) 721-8754
PO Box 8308
Missoula, MT 59807-8308
------------------------------
Subject: 4.2 Touring supplies
From: Scott "gaspo" Gasparian <gas...@inf.ethz.ch>
Recently, I asked the group: what do you bring with you on medium
trips? (medium being more than one nite, and less than a week). I
received some excellent replies, a few great stories, and lots of things
that I never would have thought of. (at least not until I needed that
spare spoke that is).
Ok, for all of you who don't know what to bring with you on that
next medium trip...
FOOD:
Here, just whatever you normally consume. If you plan on
staying in a hotel/B&B, then obviously 1 day's worth is enough.
Standard things like power-bars and drink mixes should do the trick.
Since I'm not going to BFE, I have no idea what to pack for a real
"camp-out" type tour. This subject is enough for a discussion in
itself, but I just eat what I want.
CLOTHING:
Almost everybody suggested something different, rangin from hi-
tech bodysuits to cutoffs and T-shirts. However, everybody agreed on the
indispensibleness (tm) of rain gear. Specifically, light waterproof
pants and jacket are not only good for staying dry, but have a very high
warmth/weight ratio.
A spare change of skivies, and a pair of dry socks were also
highly recomended. A pair of jeans or a "smushable outfit" can come in
handy, but I usually smell so bad after a day of riding that anybody who is
talking to me doesn't care what I wear. If it might be non-warm, a
watch-cap or other non-helmet type hat can help.
FIRST-AID:
Outside of the standard band-aids/antiseptic-goop bit, sunscreen
and bug-away topped the lists. Asprin or Ibuprofen and rolaids were
mentioned, but I guess thats a personal thing, just like...
TOILETRIES:
I stick with: soap, toothbrush/paste, deodorant. That covers
all I need, but everybody has different needs, and I'm not even gonna
touch the "personal hygeine" stuff. A razor is handy too, it can help
keep that road-rash dressing from ripping all your remaining hair out.
MISC:
I'll put the tent/pit stuff into this category. Robyn Stewart
gave an excellent testamony to the uses of rope and tarps. A piece of
rope stretched between two trees can keep the food above the
critter-level, and can also provide a rudimentary tent with the aid of
an old shower-curtain. Again, there is a whole area of discussion here
on the pits and mattresses, but if it keeps you warm and dry, it works.
TOOLS:
Basically, this could be split into two different classes, with
things like tire-kit being in the "fix it yourself" category, and other
stuff like a chain remover tool is in the "how far will I be from
civilization" range. This was what I really wanted to know about when I
posted my request, so a little more info than the first groups.
Most of this depends upon how much work _YOU_ do to your velo. If
replacing spokes is trivial to you, then you already know what tools to
bring. Also, wrenches and screwdrivers are very velo dependent: handy
sizes for a MTB might be useless for a nice racer, and vice-versa. Tools
that tune more than repair are also an individual call. I always carry
a hex-wrench that fits my brake-shoe adjustment bolt, but never the larger
one that actually removes the entire caliper.
pump
pressure gauge
flat kit
wrenches (sizes and type for your velo)
hex(allen)-wrenches (sizes and type for your velo)
chain tool
chain links
tire levers (plastic)
spoke wrench
safety wire
duct tape
zip ties
SPARES:
Again, these fall into "distance from civilization" categories.
For example, that nut that connects your front mudguard to the forks
is essential, but could be fixed with the safety wire until you find a
velo-shop/store that might have a replacement. Then again, one little
nut is easy on space/weight, and it may be hard to get a replacement if
your velos measurements are non-standard. If you have a hard-time
finding a replacement for that random part at your local store, bring
one with you.
inner tubes
tire-boots
brake shoes
light bulbs
spokes (labeled if different, tied to the frame)
nuts and bolts for rack/fenders/etc.
tire (if you're _really_ out there)
toe-clip strap
shoe-laces
cable (especially if yours are longer than normal).
cable housing (for the shimano special shifter ones)
NIFTY IDEAS:
Here are some of the better inside tips that I found both
humorous and usefull....
mjoh...@shearson.com (Mike Johnston)
A sock (to keep tools inside and for keeping grease off my hands
during rear wheel flats)
s_k...@dante.lbl.gov (Steve Kromer)
The most important article to take along on a long ride
seems to be faith.
ch...@wg.estec.esa.nl (chris rouch)
15cm of old tyre
Robyn Stewart <sla...@unixg.ubc.ca>
Enough money to get Greyhound home if something goes terribly wrong.
sar...@Cadence.COM
bungie cords - you never know when you might want to get that
set of six beer mugs as a souvenir and transport it on the
back of your bike.
cat...@is.rice.edu (Catherine Anne Foulston)
ZAP Sport Towel. I think it is really useful because you can
get it wet and it still dries you.
------------------------------
Subject: 4.3 Taking a bike on Amtrak
From: Carlos Martin <mar...@morticia.Princeton.EDU>
The following article relates my own experience in taking a bike
as luggage on the Amtrak in the summer of 1992. It is intended to
offer advice to those who might choose to do the same, and is not
intended to reflect the views or policies of Amtrak. For reference,
I traveled from Trenton to Pittsburgh at the start of a tour.
Traveling with a bike on Amtrak can be problem-free if you take a few
precautions. Amtrak handles bikes at stations that check in baggage.
(Smaller stations and some trains don't check baggage at all.)
There is a $5 baggage fee for bikes, and it includes a box. Call
the station several days before your trip and notify them that you
will need a bicycle box.
The box they provided was big enough to accomodate my relatively
long-framed touring bike (Specialized Expedition) without taking off
either wheel, and with room to spare lengthwise. You will, however,
have to remove the pedals (even clipless ones) and turn the handlebars
to fit the bike in the box. Plan on putting only the bike in the box -
no helmet or panniers. (You may want to check with Amtrak on this point -
they may not cover damages to the bike if you packed other stuff
in the box.)
Before leaving home for the station, loosen your pedals and stem
enough to make sure you won't need heavy-duty tools at the station.
Plan to arrive at the station one and a half hours before departure
time - Amtrak wants all checked baggage at least a half hour before
departure (they may tell you one hour). Don't forget to keep your
tools handy.
At the station, go to the baggage room, get your box and some tape
from the attendant, remove the pedals, and loosen the stem bolt and
the bolt that holds the handlebars in the stem. Hold the front
wheel between your feet as you turn the handlebars parallel to the
top tube. Roll the bike into the box and seal the ends.
If everything goes smoothly, you can do the above packing in
ten minutes. Now go have lunch before you get on the train
unless you want to take your chances with train food.
BTW, the trains are very roomy and comfortable, particularly if
you are accustomed to traveling in airline cattle coaches.
I would travel by Amtrak again in a similar situation.
(The usual disclaimer applies: I have no connection to Amtrak,
other than being a taxpaying subsidizer and occasional user
of the rail system.)
------------------------------
Subject: 4.4 Travel with bicycles - Air/Rail/Other
From: George Farnsworth <geo...@nicom.com>
I checked the FAQ for information about taking bikes on common carriers
and riding in and out of airports some time ago.
At that time there was little information so I initiated a mini survey on
these subject on rec.bicycles.rides, etc.
Now I have collected information on cycling in and out of about 100
airports around the world and using trains in the US and Europe.
This information is at http://nicom.com/~georgef/access. Although the web
may have eclipsed the FAQ for certain purposes, it might still be possible
to provide a pointer to this data, almost all of which was contributed by
readers of r.b.r (who's email addresses appear in the listings).
------------------------------
Subject: 4.5 Warm Showers List Revival
From: Roger Gravel <w...@intercime.qc.ca>
Here's what you've been waiting for....
The Warm Showers List is a list of Internet and off-Internet
persons who have offered their hospitality towards touring
cyclists. The extent of the hospitality depends on the host and
may range from simply a spot to pitch a tent to meals, a warm
(hot!) shower, and a bed.
This list works on the reciprocity formula. What this BIG word
means is simply this: if you want to receive the list you have to
submit your home as a host. The Warm Shower List is Free.
The actual Warm Showers list of E-mail addresses may be POSTED
sometimes in the future since it will not contain any personal
information (addresses, phone numbers, etc.)
If you wish to be included on the Internet Warm Showers list,
please fill the application form (included below) and return
through one of these manners:
By E-mail, to: <w...@intercime.qc.ca> (Roger Gravel)
By S-mail, to: Warm Showers List
C. P. 2921 succ Terminus
Quebec (QUEBEC)
Canada G1K 8H4
You can also apply through the bicycles related Internet
page: http://blueridge.infomkt.ibm.com/bikes/WarmShowers.html
The FREE list can be obtained thru the same means.
Keep in mind that if you want a hard copy of the list you will
have to pay for the postage stamps. I will contact you for the
best way to implement this.
If you were on the old list (maintained by Terry Zmrhal since 1994),
and I did not personnaly contact you yet, you will need to
submit a new form.
On behalf of the touring cyclists I thank you for your generosity.
Roger 'velo-hospitalite' Gravel
rgr...@intercime.qc.ca
velo....@intercime.qc.ca
w...@intercime.qc.ca
"...The visible is just ripples on the surface of the invisible.
That's physics - and that's metaphysics. And right now, the two
want to get married. And have a child - reverent science - to
begin solving all of the irreverent problems we've invoked."
- Caroline Casey
=================================================================
It is as easy as 1 2 3 and it is FREE
=================================================================
PARTICIPATION FORM
=================================================================
Name: (Who are you?)
Organization: (name of organization)
Email Address: (For pre-trip communication.)
Non-Email Contact: Address (line one)
Address (line two)
Address (line three)
Phone and/or Work Phone)
(non mandatory but the work phone
can be helpful)
Nearest largest city (>50,000 people): (It's much easier to find
a large city on a map than a small one, and some small ones
aren't even on some maps!)
Direction and Distance from above city:
(Some cities are very large and getting through or around a city
can be very difficult.)
Will provide: Lawnspace (for tent or sleeping bag)?
Floorspace (for sleeping bag)?
Bed (Wow!)?
(Cyclists' gotta sleep.)
Food? (or distance to nearest grocery store or
restaurant - if known)
(Cyclists' gotta eat.)
(You can provide as much,
or as little, as you want.)
Shower? (or distance to nearest motel - if known)
(It can be a real boost to know shower is waiting
at the end of the day?)
Laundry facilities?
Local advice/help? (If you don't have room
but could still help a cyclist)
Availability: (If only available some months,
please indicate this, otherwise 'year-round'.)
Cost to Cyclist: (Do you wish any money for your hospitality?
if any: How much?) (please, no more than $5-$10)
Preferred Notice: (Do you require advance notice?
If so, how many days (weeks) notice?)
Maximum Number of Cyclists:
(You don't want a major tour coming through :-)
Storage: (Is there a safe place to store bikes?
If so, storage for how many bikes?)
Nearest Motel: (Distance, Cost - if known)
(In case a host is not home,
for an emergency, etc.)
Nearest Bike Shop: (Name, Phone, Distance, Reputation - if known)
(In case bike repairs are needed -
good to know where good shops are.)
Any additional comments you would like each interested person to
know before contacting you?
=================================================================
Roger 'velo-hospitalite' Gravel
------------------------------
Subject: 5 Racing
------------------------------
Subject: 5.1 Tour de France Jerseys
From: Chris Murphy <mur...@bionette.CGRB.ORST.EDU>
Chauner and Halstead (1990) in "The Tour de France Complete Book of Cycling"
explain:
YELLOW Jersey -- Overall leader, first awarded during the 1919 race (TdF
started in 1903); yellow to match the paper used to print L'Auto
(Automobile Cyclisme), a French newspaper about bike racing.
POLKADOT Jersey (White w/red dots) -- Best climber, determined by points
scored by the first 3 to 15 riders finishing selected mountain
stages (number of riders awarded points varies with the
difficulty of the stage). First awarded 1933.
GREEN Jersey -- Points jersey, usually won by sprinter-types, with points
given to the first 25 riders to finish each stage. First awarded 1953.
YELLOW Hats -- First place team, determined by combined elapsed times of the
the team's top 3 riders.
In the event of a rider leading the race and also deserving one of the other
jerseys, the race leader wears yellow, and the 2nd place in the category wears
the category jersey.
------------------------------
Subject: 5.2 Major Tour Winners 1947-1990
From: Tim Smith <tsm...@gryphon.CTS.COM>
[Ed note: I'm hoping Tim won't be too upset if I add to the list he posted.
I need some help filling in the last few years.]
Winners of the Big Three National Tours -- Since 1947:
Tour de France Giro d'Italia Vuelta d'Espana
*----------------------------------------------------------------------
1947 Jean Robic (F) Fausto Coppi (I) E. van Dyck (B)
1948 Gino Bartali (I) F. Magni (I) B. Ruiz (E)
1949 Fausto Coppi (I) F. Coppi (not held)
1950 Ferdi Kubler (CH) Hugo Koblet (CH) E. Rodriguez (E)
1951 Hugo Koblet (CH) F. Magni (nh)
1952 Fausto Coppi F. Coppi (nh)
1953 Louison Bobet (F) F. Coppi (nh)
1954 Louison Bobet C. Clerici (CH) (nh)
1955 Louison Bobet F. Magni J. Dotto (F)
1956 Roger Walkowiak (F) Charly Gaul (L) A. Conterno (I)
1957 Jacques Anquetil (F) Gastone Nencini (I) J. Lorono (E)
1958 Charly Gaul (L) E. Baldini (I) Jean Stablinski (F)
1959 Federico Bahamontes (E) Charly Gaul A. Suarez (E)
1960 Gastone Nencini (I) Jacques Anquetil (F) F. de Mulder (B)
1961 Jacques Anquetil A. Pambianco (I) A. Soler (E)
1962 Jacques Anquetil F. Balmamion (I) Rudy Altig (D)
1963 Jacques Anquetil F. Balmamion J. Anquetil (F)
1964 Jacques Anquetil Jacques Anquetil Raymond Poulidor (F)
1965 Felice Gimondi (I) V. Adorni (I) R. Wolfshohl (D)
1966 Lucien Aimar (F) Gianni Motta (I) F. Gabica (E)
1967 Roger Pingeon (F) Felice Gimondi (I) J. Janssen (NDL)
1968 Jan Janssen (NDL) Eddy Merckx (B) Felice Gimondi (I)
1969 Eddy Merckx (B) Felice Gimondi Roger Pingeon (F)
1970 Eddy Merckx Eddy Merckx Luis Ocana (E)
1971 Eddy Merckx Gosta Petersson (S) F. Bracke (B)
1972 Eddy Merckx Eddy Merckx J-M Fuente (E)
1973 Luis Ocana (E) Eddy Merckx Eddy Merckx (B)
1974 Eddy Merckx Eddy Merckx J-M Fuente
1975 Bernard Thevenet (F) F. Bertoglio (I) Tamames (E)
1976 Lucien van Impe (B) Felice Gimondi J. Pesarrodona (E)
1977 Bernard Thevenet Michel Pollentier (B) Freddy Maertens (B)
1978 Bernard Hinault (F) J. de Muynck (B) Bernard Hinault (F)
1979 Bernard Hinault Giuseppe Saronni (I) Joop Zoetemelk (NDL)
1980 Joop Zoetemelk (NDL) Bernard Hinault (F) F. Ruperez (E)
1981 Bernard Hinault Giovanni Battaglin (I) Giovanni Battaglin (I)
1982 Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault Marino Lejarreta (E)
1983 Laurent Fignon (F) Giuseppe Saronni (I) Bernard Hinault (F)
1984 Laurent Fignon Francesco Moser (I) Eric Caritoux (F)
1985 Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault Pedro Delgado (E)
1986 Greg Lemond (USA) Roberto Visentini (I) Alvaro Pino (E)
1987 Stephen Roche (EIR) Stephen Roche (EIR) Luis Herrera (Col.)
1988 Pedro Delgado (E) Andy Hampsten (USA) Sean Kelly (EIR)
1989 Greg Lemond (USA) Laurent Fignon (F) Pedro Delgado (E)
1990 Greg Lemond (USA) Guanni Bugno (I) Marco Giovanetti (I)
1991 Miguel Indurain (E) Franco Chioccioli (I) Melchior Mauri (E)
1992 Miguel Indurain (E) Miguel Indurain (E) Toni Rominger (CH)
1993 Miguel Indurain (E) Miguel Indurain (E) Toni Rominger (CH)
1994 Miguel Indurain (E) Eugeni Berzin (RUS) Toni Rominger(CH)
1995 Miguel Indurain (E) Toni Rominger (CH) Laurent Jalabert (FR)
1996 Bjarne Rijs (DK) Pavel Tonkov (RUS) Alex Zulle (CH)
The Tour started in 1903, and was not held 1915-1918 and 1940-1946.
The Giro started in 1909, and was not held 1915-1918 and 1941-1945.
Source: 1947-1982: "La Fabuleuse Histoire du Cyclisme" by Pierre Chany.
1982-1988: my fallible memory. Would someone complete 1983 and
1984, and correct any mistakes? Thanks.
One interesting observation: almost all the winners of the Tour were
big names in their time (yes, even Charly Gaul and Jean Robic.)
There were no same-year winners of the Tour and the Giro before 1949.
In fact, the first year a non-Italian won the Giro was 1950.
------------------------------
Subject: 5.3 Rating the Tour de France Climbs
From: Bruce Hildenbrand <bruce.hi...@eng.sun.com>
One of the most frequently asked questions is how do the organizers
determine the ratings for the climbs in the Tour de France(TIOOYK).
The Tour organizers use two criteria 1) the length and steepness of
the climb and 2) the position of the climb in the stage. A third,
and much lesser criteria, is the quality of the road surface.
It is important to note several things before this discussion begins.
First, the organizers of the Tour have been very erratic in their
classifications of climbs. The north side of the Col de la Madeleine
has flip-flopped between a 1st Category to an Hors Category climb,
even though it seems to be in the same position of a stage every
year.
Secondly, rating inflation, so rampant in other sports has raised
its ugly head here. Climbs that used to be a 2nd Category are now a
1st Category, even though, like the Madeleine, they occupy the same
position in a stage year after year.
Let's talk about the ratings. I will give you my impressions
on what I think the criteria are for rating the climbs based on
having ridden over 100 of the rated climbs in the major European
tours.
Note that gradual climbs do not receive grades. It has been my
observation that about a 4% grade is necessary for a climb to get
rated. Also, a climb must gain at least 100m for it to be rated.
The organizers of the Tour de France also claim that the quality of
the road surface can influence the rating of a climb. If the surface
is very poor, like some of the more obscure climbs in the Pyrenees,
then the rating may be bumped up.
4th Category - the lowest category, climbs of 300-1000 feet(100-300m).
3rd Category - climbs of 1000-2000 feet(300-600m).
2nd Category - climbs of 2000-3500 ft.(600-1100m)
1st Category - climbs of 3500-5000ft(1100-1500m)
Hors Category - the hardest, climbs of 5000ft+(1500m+)
Points awarded for the climbs ranges are as follows (from the 1990
race bible):
4th Category: 3 places: 5, 3, 1
3rd Category: 5 places: 10, 7, 5, 3, 1
2nd Category: 10 places: 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1
1st Category: 12 places: 30, 26, 22, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1
Hors Category: 15 places: 40, 35, 30, 26, 22, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1
Steepness also plays a factor in the rating. Most of the big climbs
in the Alps average 7-8% where the big climbs in the Pyrenees average
8-9%.
Please remember that I am giving very, very rough guidelines and
that there are exceptions to every rule. For example, L'Alpe D'Huez
climbs 3700ft(1200m), but is an Hors Category climb. This is because
it usually comes at the end of a very tough stage and the climb itself
is unusually steep(~9%) by Alpine standards.
More confusing is the Col de Borderes, a mere 1000ft(300m) climb outside
of Arrens in the Pyrenees mountains. I have seen it rated anywhere from
a 3rd Category to a 1st Category !!! This is most likely due again, to its
placement on the stage. The 3rd Category rating came when it was near the
beginning of a stage where its 1st Category rating came when it was near
the end.
Flat or downhill sections can also affect a climb's rating. Such sections
offer a rest to the weary and can reduce the difficulty of the climb
considerably. This may be one of the reasons that the aforementioned
Col de la Madeleine, which has a 1 mile downhill/flat section at mid-height,
flip-flops in its rating.
I am often asked how climbs in the United States compare to those in
Europe. Most of the US climbs are either steep enough by European
standards(6-8% grade), but are short(5-10km) so they fall into the
3rd Category or 2nd possibly; or the climbs gain enough altitude, but
are too long(they average <5%) so again they would fail to break
the 1st Category barrier and end up most likely a 2nd or 3rd Category.
Fear not, there are exceptions. Most notable to Californians is
the south side of Palomar Mountain which from Pauma Valley climbs
4200' in 11 miles, a potential 1st Category ascent, though it may
fall prey to downgrading because of the flat section at mile four.
The east side of Towne Pass in Death Valley is definitely a 1st
Category climb!
A popular Northern California climb, Mount Hamilton, is similar to
Palomar Mountain but, fails to be a 1st Category climb because of two
offending downhill section on the ascent and an overall gradient of 5%.
For Coloradoans, you can thank the ski industry for creating long,
but relatively gradual climbs that rarely exceed 5% for any substantial
length(5+ miles). I never had to use anything bigger than a 42x23
on any climb in Colorado, regardless of altitude. Gear ratios of
39x24 or 26 are commonplace in the Alps and Pyrenees and give a very
telling indication as to the difficulty of European climbs.
One potential 1st Category climb for Coloradoans may be the 4000 ft.
climb in about 15 miles from Ouray to the top of Red Mountain Pass.
Also, remember we are rating only paved(i.e. asphalt) roads. Dirt roads
vary considerably in their layout, condition and maintenance because there
really are no guidelines for their construction. This makes it difficult
to compare these climbs and inappropriate to lump them with paved roads.
Also, it should be noted that there is not a single uniform rating scheme
for all the races on the UCI calendar. What one race might call a 1st
Category climb, may be called a 2nd Category climb, even though the stages
of the two races are almost identical.
One last note. I think it is inappropriate to compare the ascents of
climbs by the European pros with the efforts of us mere mortals.
I have said this time and time again and I will repeat it now. It
is very, very hard for the average person to comprehend just how
fast the pros climb the big passes. Pace makes all the difference.
Riding a climb is very different than racing it.
Bruce Hildenbrand
bruce.hi...@eng.sun.com
------------------------------
Subject: 5.4 How to follow the Tour de France
From: Tom James <tomj...@chem1.usc.edu>
A question was recently posted to r.b.r concerning ways to follow the
Tour de France. Here are a few comments about my own trips to France over
the last five years, which may be of relevance to people who want to
watch the race and have access to either a bike or a car.
I've seen the Tour every year since 1991, always in the Alps or the
Pyrenees. In addition, I've watched the Paris Stage in 1993/5, and the
British stages in 1994, so all in all, I've a fair amount of experience.
In 1991 and 1992 I watched as part of longer cycle tours in the Alps,
stopping off to watch in the course of a ride from one place to another
(in 1991 in the Arly Gorge, and in 1992 on the Galibier). On both
occasions, the combination of my own abilities (only averaging ca. 60
miles/day) and the Tour's itinery meant that seeing the race more than
once was not really feasible.
In 1993, 93 and 95 we (myself + 3 friends) organised things differently.
Basically, we took a car with the bikes on the roof and camped in the
vicinity of the tour. It was then normally possible to see two days of
racing (ie, somewhere near the end one day and near the beginning the
next) before moving on to a new campsite perhaps 100 or 150 miles away
to get another couple of days in. For example, in 1994, in addition to
the Brighton and Portsmouth stages, we also saw the tour on l'Alpe
d'Huez; on the Col de la Colombiere; on the Col de Joux Vert (2km from
the finish of the Avoriaz time trial) and at the stage start in Morzine.
Now some general notes. If you elect to see the Tour as we did by car and
bike, be prepared for some long days with a lot of climbing. Bear in mind
also that after the voiture balai has passed, it can still sometimes take
almost as long to descend a mountain as to get up, due to the large
number of pedestrians, cars, other cyclists etc also trying to get down.
This problem is compounded at mountain top finishes, because firstly the
field is spread over a long time (maybe 3/4hr from first to last rider)
and secondly because after the stage, all the Tour vehicles and riders
generally also come back down to the valley. For example, when we watched
on Alpe d'Huez, it was nearly 5.00pm before we got down to Bourg d'Oisans
and we then had a 40 mile ride with 1300m of climbing back over the
Lautaret to get to where we were camping in Briancon
Secondly, aim to get to the foot of any mountain you want to watch on at
least 2 hours in advance. Even then, you might find some policemen want
you to get off and walk. The attentiveness of policemen to this detail
varies widely. For example, in Bourg d'Oisans, one policemen wanted us to
walk, even though we were 2km from the foot of Alpe d'Huez; then 100m
further on a second gendarme told us more or less to stop mucking around,
if we had bikes then why weren't we riding them! Similarly, one Gendarme
in 1995 gave an absolute flat refusal to let us even start on the climb
of the Madeleine (admittedly we were quite late, and the first 8km are
very very narrow) whereas on the Colombiere, I rode up in the middle of
the caravane publicitaire. (NB this latter trick has oodles of street
cred as a) about 50 million people cheer your every pedal stroke, b) the
caravan showers you with freebies and c) you can beg chocolate from the
Poulain van and pretend you're a domestique sent back to the team car to
pick up extra food - and let's face it, being even a domestique is way
above what 99.9% of the readers of rbr can aspire too!) If you travel by
car and then hope to walk up, the roads get blocked even before they are
completely closed - for example, in 1995 we ran into a terrible traffic
jam south of Grenoble on the day of the Alpe d'Huez stage whilst we were
heading south, though fortunately we avoided it by going via Sisteron
rather than Gap, as had been the initial plan.
Thirdly, come prepared for all weathers and with plenty of food and
water. Both TT's I've been to (outskirts of Paris in 1993, and Avoriaz in
1994) took over 5 hours to pass, and even a run of the mill mountain
stage may take 2 hours from first vehicle in the publicity caravan to the
"Fin de Course" vehicle. The weather can change markedly - for example,
at Avoriaz, we started the day in hot sunshine with girls sunbathing in
bikinis, and finished in freezing rain. So make sure you have some warm
clothing, even on an apparently hot day; plenty of water and plenty of
food. Remember, once in place , you can't easily nip off to the local shop!
All of the above was written from the point of view of watching in the
mountains. I guess flat stages are easier as there are more small roads
around, and the crowds are not so concentrated at certain key points. For
Paris, it's best to travel into the centre by RER/RATP and then walk; you
may need to wait several hours if you want a place on the barriers on the
Champs Elysees, but at the Jardin des Tuileries end of the circuit, the
pressure is not so bad.
Finally, is it worth it? Yes! OK, you only get a fleeting glimpse of the
riders, but it is all the incidentals that make it fun - spinning yarns
with Thierry on the Galibier; riding up the Colombiere in the publicity
caravan; being at the exact point on l'Alpe d'Huez where Roberto Conti
made his winning attack (and hence being on Television); seeing Zulle
ride effortlessly near the top of the Colombiere, 5 minutes up on
everyone else; getting a grin from "Stevo" on l'Alpe d'Huez when a bunch
of Ockers I was with shouted "hello Aussie!" as he rode past; and many
many more in similar vein. Go! - you'll have a lot of fun!
------------------------------
Subject: 5.5 Tour de France Time Limits
From: Bruce Hildenbrand <bruce.hi...@eng.sun.com>
Below is an explanation of the time limits that are imposed on the riders
for each stage of the Tour de France. If a rider does not finish within
the prescribed time limit, then, barring extraordinary circumstances, they
are not allowed to start the next day's stage and are eliminated from the
Tour de France(TIOOYK). There is no time limit on for the prologue. This
information comes from the 1990 edition of the racer's bible, it may
be a bit out of date, but you get the general idea.
Each stage of the Tour falls into one of six categories:
1) flat stage
2) rolling stage
3) mountain stage
4) individual time trial
5) team time trial
6) short stage
The "short stage" category is used for stages that are short on distance
by Tour standards(<80 miles) and usually flat or rolling hills.
The important thing to note is that faster the overall average speed
of the winner, the greater the percentage of the winning time.
For flat stages the scale goes from:
5% for less than a 34km/h average
6% for a 34-35km/h average
7% for a 36-37km/h average
8% for a 38-39km/h average
9% for a 40-41km/h average
10% for a 42-43km/h average
11% for a 44-45km/h average
12% for a 46km/h average or greater
For rolling stages the scale goes from:
6% for less than a 31km/h average
7% for a 31km/h average
8% for a 32km/h average
9% for a 33km/h average
10% for a 34km/h average
11% for a 35km/h average
12% for a 36km/h average
13% for a 37km/h average or greater
For mountain stages the scale goes from:
6% for less than a 26km/h average
7% for a 26km/h average
8% for a 27km/h average
9% for a 28km/h average
10% for a 29km/h average
11% for a 30km/h average
12% for a 31km/h average
13% for a 32km/h average
14% for a 33km/h average
15% for a 34km/h average
16% for a 35km/h average or greater
The individual time trial 4 has a single cut-off and that is 25% of the
winner's time.
For the team time trial the scale goes from:
13% for less than a 42km/h average
14% for a 42km/h average
15% for a 43km/h average
16% for a 44km/h average
17% for a 45km/h average
18% for a 46km/h average
19% for a 47km/h average
20% for a 48km/h average or greater
For short stages the scale goes from:
10% for less than a 34km/h average
11% for a 34-35km/h average
12% for a 36-37km/h average
13% for a 38-39km/h average
14% for a 40-41km/h average
15% for a 42-43km/h average
16% for a 44-45km/h average
17% for a 46km/h average or greater
Bruce Hildenbrand
bruce.hi...@eng.sun.com
------------------------------
Subject: 5.6 Tour de France Points Jersey Competition
From: Bruce Hildenbrand <bruce.hi...@eng.sun.com>
The green ("points") jersey is awarded from points accumulated from
finishing places and intermediate sprints. Riders receive points for
all stage finishes based on the type of stage.
Each stage of the Tour falls into one of four categories:
1) flat stage
2) rolling stage
3) mountain stage
4) individual time trial or prologue
From the 1990 racer's bible:
Flat stages: 25 places: 35, 30, 26, 24, 22, 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13,
12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Rolling stages: 20 places: 25, 22, 20, 18, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8,
7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Mountain stages: 15 places: 20, 17, 15, 13, 12, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Individual Time Trial and Prologue: 10 places: 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Intermediate Sprints: 3 places: 6, 4, 2
Bruce Hildenbrand
bruce.hi...@eng.sun.com
------------------------------
Subject: 5.7 Bicycle Racing Movies
From: Michael Frank <mfr...@geedunk.com>
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 1997 22:12:33 -0500
THE OBVIOUS ONES
BREAKING AWAY
Local cyclist in a small town (townie's aka 'cutters), lives, eats, and
breathes cycling and everything else Italian, comes of age in a race
against college kids. Based on Dave Blaze, and his experiences at Indiana
University and the Little 500. Lots of trivia in this one, look for a
current USCF board member, a current regional USCF coach, some former
Olympians,
One story I had heard was that one of the plot inspirations for the race
scene in Breaking Away was Wayne Stetina. Wayne made the 1972 Olympic team
at the age of 18. According to the story, after riding in Montreal he
enrolled at IU, joined a frat, entered the Little 500 as part of his frat's
team, rode the entire race himself and won. Just like the Cutter's plan for
Dave Stohler in the movie.
I think the term "Cutters" referred to the principle industry of the
community, which was large (building) stone quarying, or "cutting". The
race was sponsored by a local university and there was a strong "us against
them" mind set between the University team and the non university or cutter
team. The whole movie was loosely based on fact. The race does in fact
still occur. It's still the cutters against the college crowd, and I saw
it on TV about a year ago on ESPN2. Can't for the life of me remember the
name of the university.
Does anybody if this actually happened?
I've heard basically the same story, and I do know that Wayne (and also
Dale, I believe) went to IU and was on a frat team that won the Little 500.
However, whether he did it singly-handedly I don't know.
I *can* tell you for a fact that if you were a decent cyclist and were
interested in attending IU, fraternities were willing to pay for your room,
board, and tuition. After the Stetina's domination, however, the rules of
the Little 500 were changed to limit it to only Cat 3 riders (there were no
Cat 4 or Cat 5 categories back then). A friendly rival of mine (Bill
Brissman) from Indy moved from Junior to Cat 3 (instead of Junior to Cat 2
like I did) just so he could pick up this "scholarship". He had to be
careful about when and where he raced, so that he didn't draw too much
attention and get bumped up to Cat 2 against his wishes. As soon as he
graduated, he moved up to Cat 2.
The IU alum and USCF racer who did the riding "stunts" for Dennis
Christopher (the actor who played the protagonist) is now a woman. No need
to mention his/her name.
AMERICAN FLYER
2 brothers, one, a former National caliber rider (Kevin Costner), and his
enthusiastic 'newbee' brother, take an adventure to the 'Hell of the West'
(aka Coors Classic) stage race. Lots of good 'Coors Classic' footage in
this one, even Eddy Merckx makes an appearance.
QUICKSILVER
Trials and tribulations in the tough world of bicycle messengers in New
York City. Stars Kevin Bacon, and Nelson Vails.
THE LESS OBVIOUS ONES
LITTLE MISS MARKER
A depression era bookie (Walter Matthau) gets stuck with a little girl,
left as an IOU (marker). Only about 5 minutes of 6-day racing in this one.
The track is a portable one, built by the same builder as the portable
Atlanta Olympic Velodrome.
JOEY BROWN, 6 DAY RACER
A 1940's Bike messenger wins the Big 6-day race. A hard to find BW film
from the 40's. Lots of 6-day footage, starring era comedian, Joey Brown.
THE BICYCLE THIEF
A family in Post war Italy struggle to make a living, taking their life
savings to buy the Husband/Father a bicycle for work, only to have the bike
stolen. Often shown at art festivals, or 'Study of film' classes. This
film is by one of those famous 'Fellini' -types . No racing, but lots of
old bikes, and definitely a different lifestyle, where the bike is King.
Italian with Subtitles.
EVEN LESS OBVIOUS ONES
HUGO'S MAGIC PUMP
Hugo is the winningest 6 day racer in Italy, beating everyone, incuding the
Mafia's 'Fixed' riders. To stop losing gambling monies, the Mafia decides
to wear Hugo down by throwing beautiful women at him, hoping to reduce his
endurance and stamina. This Adult movie from the late 70's was 'Competive
Cycling' magazines choice for best cycling footage in the era before
'Breaking Away'... Dubbed.
THE YELLOW JERSEY
A PBS Documentary from the Early 70's, showing the trials of the American
team at a stage race in Canada.
BREAKING AWAY, the TV Series Shawn Cassady plays the role of Dave Stoller,
bike racer, in the TV series, based on the movie of the same name. This
one is tough to find, as it only lasted one season in the early 80's.
Don't forget "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" whose opening scene is Pee Wee
Herman dreaming about winning the Tour de France.
Wasn't there a movie (french) called the Maillot Jaune? I do remember some
talk a few years past and even some speculation about a remake starring
Dustin Hoffman
Another movie filmed in New York City in the 80s was Called "Key Exchange"
with Dany Aeillo and one of the actors from "Breaking Away"
UN AFFAIRE D'HOMMES (F)
(there seems to be no dubbed version of this one - you could translate the
title to "a men's affair", maybe?)
Starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Claude Brasseur
Story
JL-T is an architect and joins a bicycle racing group where also a
detective (C.B) is member. he uses this friendship to cover, that he
mudered his wife. Film includes several scenes of the group's weekly race
(which also plays a part in the murderers alibi), and even the final
confrontation is not done using guns, but bikes.
On a far tangent anyone ever see the Euro 'Vanished' (I think there was a
poor attempt at an American version with Jeff Bridges)? There was a
reference in the bizarre dialogue about Joop Zotemelk (sp?) and bicycle
racing. Never figured out what it had to do with the rest of this
disturbing film.
Neither do I, except maybe that the Dutch couple in the French/Dutch movie
"The Vanishing" was on bicycle vaccation in France when the wife was
abducted?
THE YELLOW JERSEY
A PBS Documentary from the Early 70's, showing the trials of the American
team at a stage race in Canada.
BREAKING AWAY, the TV Series Shawn Cassady plays the role of Dave Stoller,
bike racer, in the TV series, based on the movie of the same name. This
one is tough to find, as it only lasted one season in the early 80's.
One great movie to watch is "A Sunday In Hell 1976 Paris-Roubaix" available
from World Cycling Productions. Not one of their regular videos, but a
real movie about pro racing.
Yeah.. great flick, but if I remember correctly, isn't that the one with
the endless "PAREY RABO.. PAREY RABO..." chant in the background that goes
on forever?
Of course this one is slightly disappointing after you hear all of the
build up. Another one, Stars and Water Carriers is a better movie with much
better scenes of Eddy (The Cannibal) Merckx and how he won so much.The film
shows the strain on Eddy's face and clearly shows how much effort he put
into his racing. This is a Danish documentary with added english sound
track so it sounds a bit funny, but it takes my vote for best cycling video
to date.
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote
There was also "Key Exchange," though it might be better termed "mid-80s".
I was in it ;-)
So was Nelson "The Chettah" Vails, (a.k.a., the fastest cat in the jungle).
He races the cabbie in the opening scene.
Nope ... that scene is from Quicksilver ... Kevin Bacon is the passenger in
cab... and the star of the movie.
>From what I understand, he did a lot of his own stunts ... the boy could
ride.
My favorite scene was when KB was racing one of the other messengers, and
COASTED down one of the major S.F. hills on his fixed gear without brakes
... that and the freewheeling noises whenever he was riding his fixie.
That and when Nelson shifts *from* a 14 *to* a 28 to race the cab.
Speaking of.... Doesn't Dave Stoller drop into his little ring to motorpace
the semi at the beginning of Breaking Away?
------------------------------
Subject: 6 Social
------------------------------
Subject: 6.1 Bicycling in America
From: Jobst Brandt <jbr...@hpl.hp.com>
(or How to survive on a bicycle)
In America, bicycling appears to be an unacceptable activity for
adults. It is viewed as a pastime reserved for children (people who
are not old enough to drive cars). Adults who sense that they are
violating this stricture, excuse their bicycling by representing it as
the pursuit of physical fitness. They refer to their bicycling as
training rides. Rarely do you hear a cyclist say "we were bicycling"
but rather "we were on a training ride". Certainly most of these
people never race although one might assume, by implication, that
their other rides are races. Some also refer to themselves as serious
cyclists, a term used to describe those who, typically, keep track of
pedaling cadence and other bicycling statistics, thereby giving proof
that they are not engaged in child's play.
In contrast, Europeans seem able to accept bicycling as a proper
activity for all ages. That is to say, motorists do not treat
bicyclists with apartheid and bicyclists do not feel the need to
justify their pursuit as anything other than bicycling, for whatever
reason. In Europe cadence on speedometers is an un-marketable
function for unexplained reasons, however, one could imagine that for
the average cyclist it is a useless statistic, except for those on
"training rides".
With this perception of bicycling in America, non cyclists and some
occasional cyclists are offended by others who bicycle on public roads
in the presence of automobile traffic. "Get the f#%k off the road!"
and similar epithets are heard from drivers, some of whose cars are
equipped with bike racks. It is similar to gay bashing; by expressing
public outrage they demonstrate abhorrence of unacceptable behavior.
The same is true of bicyclists who deride others in public for not
wearing a helmet. Aggressive self righteousness is probably a fitting
description.
Another motive behind such behavior may be a sense of dissatisfaction
with ones life. Anyone who is perceived as having fun, or at least
more fun than the subject, needs to be brought down a notch.
Psychologists who have interviewed youths that go "wilding" have
gotten responses to the effect that "my life is terrible and I can't
stand people who are having fun". So these youths attack others and
beat them bloody. In a manner that may not make sense to others, they
bring their victims down a notch to achieve parity.
There is little doubt that bicycling has its hazards. You can fall by
running into a pothole or an obstacle, by riding into a grating, or
falling on loose gravel or a slick manhole cover. There are enough
hazards without the threat of being run down by a car. However, the
whole sport loses its appeal when motorists, who believe that adult
bicycling is offensive, actively engage in making it a deadly
endeavor.
The scenario:
In a typical encounter a driver says to his passenger "You see that
guy on the bicycle? That's a dangerous place to ride." while slicing
within inches of the cyclist. The passenger is truly impressed with
the danger of bicycling, especially in the presence of this driver.
I don't understand how drivers justify such behavior but I think I
know what is going on.
Examples:
o The buzz and swerve routine:
A driver slices dangerously close even though there is no opposing
traffic. Then he drifts to the edge of the pavement to make clear how
far he went out of his way for the cyclist. The desired path was even
nearer the road shoulder than at the passing point. The buzz and
swerve is executed equally well consciously and subconsciously.
o Center court, extra point:
The car, on a visibly empty stretch of road, travels perfectly
centered between the median and edge stripes, even when this requires
passing within inches of a cyclist. It appears that the driver is
awarding himself points for not flinching when passing cyclists and
extra points for proximity. In the event of a collision it is, of
course, the cyclist who swerved unexpectedly. The precision with
which the driver executes this maneuver, in spite of the danger, makes
the center court game conspicuous. People generally don't drive
exactly centered in a lane, especially when there is an obstacle.
o Honk and slice:
The buzz and swerve or center court routine can be enhanced by honking
a single one second blast. This is usually done at a far greater
distance than a sincere warning toot; about 200 yards works best.
This is a great crutch for the driver who subsequently collides with
the cyclist. "But I warned him!"
o The trajectory intercept:
A car is traveling on a road that crosses the cyclists path at right
angles. The car and bike are equally distant from the intersection
but at different speeds. With skill, the driver of the car can slow
down at a rate that lets him arrive at the intersection at precisely
the same time as the cyclist. The bicyclist who has a stop sign may
now come to a complete stop and wait for the driver who is only
looking out for the cyclist's safety. If the cyclist doesn't stop,
the driver honks and yells something about breaking the law.
Extra points are gained by offering the right of way to the cyclist,
in spite of moving traffic in the adjacent lanes.
o The contrived hindrance:
A driver refuses to pass a cyclist on a two lane road until the
passenger asks how much longer they must follow this bicyclist, or
until the following cars begin to honk. Then, regardless of
visibility or oncoming traffic, an inopportune pass is executed after
which each of following drivers makes it clear when passing that it
was the cyclist who was responsible for the near collision.
o The rear-ender:
While riding down a mountain road, the cyclist catches up with a car
that notices his rapid approach. If an oncoming car approaches the
driver slows down, obviously for safety sake, and then suddenly slams
on the brakes when there is no place for the cyclist to go. Bicycles
cannot stop as fast as cars since cars can safely skid the front
wheels but bicycles can't. This game is the more dangerous variation
of speeding up every time the cyclist tries to pass but to drive as
slowly as possible everywhere else.
One explanation for these maneuvers is that the driver recalls that
riding in the mountains was always too hard and riding down hill was
scary. This cyclist can't do what I couldn't do and I'll show him a
thing or two. Thus the driver proves to himself that not riding in
the hills was for safety's sake, it had nothing to do with physical
ability. It fits into the " I'll teach that smartass a lesson. There
is little risk for the car because in a rear-end collision the vehicle
behind is, with few exceptions, found at fault.
So why does all this go on and on?
It is not as though they are all hostile drivers; some are just
frustrated drivers. They may still be getting even for some bicycle
accident they had in their youth and don't want others to get off any
easier. Some are angry at having to spend the time behind the wheel
while other "irresponsible adults" are playing on their bicycles. I
believe the meanest ones are insecure people who don't feel as though
they are accomplishing what they expect of themselves and don't like
to see others have it any better. Many drivers believe that the only
part of the road to which a bicyclist is entitled is the road
shoulder, unless it occurs to the driver to use that part too.
A bike rack on a car may lead you to believe that the driver has a pro
bicycle attitude. Some people use bike racks to transport family
bicycles to a park where they can be ridden safely without venturing
onto dangerous roads; roads that are meant for cars. Among these
people are some of the strongest opponents of general bicycling. They
take refuge in the belief that, if they should run you down while
playing center court, it would prove that you should bicycle as they
do, and not get in the way of cars.
What to do? Don't fuel the flames. Don't return the rudeness that is
dished out. Take legal action where appropriate (and possible).
Don't posture in traffic drawing attention to some undefined
superiority to people who sit in cars. Don't balance on your bike or
ride in circles in front of cars waiting at a red light. Don't make
moves in traffic that are either discourteous, or at best, awkward but
legal. If you hear loud knobby tires coming, believe it! That guy in
the extra tall pickup truck with the all terrain tires, dual roll bars
and multiple searchlights is not a friend of yours coming close to say
hello. Give him room.
------------------------------
Subject: 6.2 League of American Bicyclists
From: Erin O'Brien <bikel...@aol.com>
The League of American Bicyclists, (founded as the League of American
Wheelmen) has been working to improve the quality of bicycling in America
almost as long as there have been bicycles.
In the 1870s the forefathers of bicycling banded together to lobby the
government for more paved roads and to put a stop to antagonistic acts from
other road-users. United in 1880 as the League of American Bicyclists, their
mission has carried on throughout the history of bicycling.
Fashioned after "The Good Roads Movement" of the 1880's, our current agenda
is embodied by the L.A.W. Safe Roads Movement, a comprehensive program that
aims to reduce the number of injuries and deaths to cyclists. Highlights
of this 10-pointaction plan include educating bicyclists and other road
users about thei rights and responsibilities to safely share the road, and
promoting the improvement of road design and maintenance to better
accommodate bicycles.
The League's Effective Cycling program is making great strides to advance
this agenda. Taught by certified instructors, it is the only national
bicycling education program that combines the technical training needed to
safely negotiate any traffic situation, with the principles of safe,
responsible riding.
L.A.W. sponsors National Bike Month (May), which serves to promote the
various aspects of bicycling. In 1992, L.A.W. founded The International
Police Mountain Bike Association (IPMBA) to address the growing need for
information, assistance, and training to start-up bicycle-mounted police
patrols.
L.A.W. played an instrumental role in the passage of the Intermodal Surface
Transportation Equity Act of 1991 (ISTEA), federal legislation allowing
both for increased spending on bicycling improvements and for bicyclists to
participate in local transportation planning. L.A.W. also publishes the
bi-monthly Bicyclist Advocacy Bulletin, which provides the most
comprehensive, bicycle advocacy and planning information and advice
available in the nation.
In between advocacy and education efforts, L.A.W. manages to find time to
enjoy bicycling. L.A.W.'s national and regional rallies bring together
members from all over the U.S.A. and Canada for great riding and
entertainment, daily workshops include, advocacy, safety, club leadership,
cycling techniques, and more.
Pedal for Power, another division of L.A.W., hosts Across America and
North-Southa rides that raise money for bicycling and various charities of
the rider's choice.
Eight issues per year of Bicycle USA magazine to keep members up to date on
League activities. Regular features include effective cycling tips,
Government Relations and Education columns, cycle news, and an event
calendar. Special issues include an annual Almanac and Tourfinder. L.A.W.
offers national touring services to members including Ride Information
Contacts in every state. While touring, members can also stay in the homes
of more than 600 fellow members, free of charge, through the Hospitality
Homes network.
League members can fly their bikes for free on TWA, America West, USAir,
Continental, and Northwest airlines when they make their travel
arrangements through the Sports National Reservation Center.
L.A.W. is a 501c-3 non-profit organization with membership of more than
24,000 bicyclists and 500 affiliated clubs and coalitions nationwide.
Individual membership costs $25/year or $30 for families. Advocacy
membership, which includes the bi-monthly Bicyclist Advocacy Bulletin costs
an additional $10/year.
To join the League of American Bicyclists send your membership contribution
to 190 W. Ostend St., Suite 120, Baltimore, MD 21230-3755, or call (410)
539-3399. For membership by phone call 1-800-288-BIKE. For a membership
form to pay by credit card see the "How to Join League" file.
------------------------------
Subject: 6.3 Rules for trail riding
From: Roland L. Behunin <beh...@oodis01.hill.af.mil>
The Salt Lake Ranger District of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest has
some guidelines for trail riding in their district. Here they are:
1. Yield the right of way to other non-motorized recreationists.
People judge all cyclists by your actions. Move off the trail to
allow horse to pass and stop to allow hikers adequate room to share
the trail.
2. Slow down and use caution when approaching another and make your
presence known well in advance. Simply yelling bicycle is not
acceptable.
3. Maintain control of your speed at all times and approach turns
anticipation of someone around the bend. Be able to stop safely within
the distance you can see down the trail.
4. Stay on designated trails to avoid trampling native vegetation, and
minimize potential erosion by not using wet or muddy trails or
shortcutting switchbacks. Avoid wheel lockup. If a trail is steep
enough to require locking wheels and skidding, dismount and walk your
bike. Locking brakes contributes to needless trail damage. Do not
ride cross-country. Water bars are placed across to direct water off
the trail and prevent erosion. Ride directly over the top, or
dismount and walk your bike.
5. Do not disturb wildlife or livestock.
6. Do not litter. Pack out what you pack in and carry out more than
your share whenever possible.
7. Respect public and private property, including trail use signs, no
trespassing signs, and leave gates as you found them. If your route
crosses private property, it is your responsibility to obtain
permission from the landowner. Bicycles are excluded from designated
Wilderness Areas.
8. Always be self sufficient. Your destination and travel speed will
be determined by your ability, your equipment, the terrain, and the
present and potential weather conditions.
9. Do not travel solo in remote areas. Leave word of your destination
and when you plan to return.
10. Observe the practice of minimum impact bicycling. "Take only
pictures and leave only waffle prints."
11. Always wear a helmet.
12. If you abuse it-you lose it!. Since mountain bikers are
newcomers to the forests, they must prove to be responsible trail
users.
From personal experience, you may also want to add the following
information:
13. In National Parks and National Monuments bicycles are considered
vehicles and restricted to roads.
14. On BLM land - ride only on roadways, trails, and slickrock. The
desert crust (microbiotic crust) is fragile and takes up to 50 years
to recover from footprints, waffle tracks, etc.
15. When camping out of improved campsites camp at least 500 feet
off the road or trail. Try to leave no trace of your campsite.
16. Toilets in unimproved areas - move off trail, and dig a 1 foot
deep pit, cover after use.
------------------------------
Subject: 6.4 Commuting - Is it possible for me to commute by bike?
From: ro...@ug.eds.com (Royce Myers)
Not everyone can commute to work on a bicycle. Some people can't cycle to
work in a reasonable time because of their fitness or because they live
too far away. Other people need their cars for their jobs, or take
children to school. Some employers frown on bicycle commuting, and don't
provide any facilities. All these obstacles can be surmounted.
If you want to commute by bike, you will find a way to do it.
A few facilities at your workplace can make commuting easier.
Minimally there should be racks in a well trafficked area. Some business
will let you park them in your cube, and others might provide a closet or
unused room to store them. My company provides enclosed lockers. If
theft is a significant danger, consider buying a second, inexpensive bike
to be used only for commuting.
If your commute is short, and the dress code where you work is relaxed,
you won't need to change or clean up after getting to work. The rest of
us need to prepare for work.
Every workplace has a bathroom where a sponge bath and change is
possible. If you're lucky (like me) there's showers and lockers. If your
ride makes you sweat a lot, and there is no way to take a shower at work,
look around for a nearby gym. Sometimes you can arrange to change and
shower there, then walk or ride slowly to work. If you want to get a
workout, but there's nowhere to clean up at work, try getting your workout
on the way home, making little or no effort on the way to work.
If your ride is too long for a round trip, and there's no place to park,
put your bike in your car and drive to work on Monday. Monday night, ride
home. Tuesday morning ride to work and put your bike in the car. If
you're tired Tuesday night, drive home. If there is a vanpool to work,
get the vanpool driver to mount racks. Then you can take the vanpool in
the morning and ride home in the afternoon.
Some people reduce the length of their commute by driving to a "park and
ride" area, then riding in from there. Another way to solve a long
commute is to find out about bicycle accommodation on buses or other
public transportation. Many people use a combination of bikes and buses,
subways, or trains to make a long commute possible.
Racks, bags and panniers: Some people drive in clothes once a week and buy
lunch at work so they don't need to carry much on their bikes. Others
need something to carry paperwork, lunch and clothes. A lot of commuters
use knapsacks rather than putting racks on a bike, but this raises their
center of gravity and increases wind resistance. Racks can be put on any
bike, and they come in handy for running errands, touring and unsupported
rides. If you're looking for a commuting bike, get one with rack eyelets
on the frame for convenience. Another alternative are touring saddle
bags, which are hard to find but are very handy on bikes without racks.
Get your bike in shape. Replace tires which have cracked sidewalls, or
worn casing. Carry a flat kit, a spare tube and enough tools to fix a
flat. If you're not mechanically inclined, have a bike shop tune up your
bike. Check every part of the drivetrain for lubrication and wear. Make
sure your wheels are true, and that the hubs are lubricated and adjusted
properly.
Contributors:
[I did not retain the mail address of contributors who posted to the group
without a sig; also, I may have missed some posts that weren't emailed to
me]
drob...@mendel.une.edu.au
il...@niwot.scd.ucar.EDU
bur...@bcu.ubc.ca
jlb...@presto.eecs.umich.edu
jo...@greg.cs.usu.edu
ban...@netcom.com
cu...@cynic.portal.ca
do...@netcom.com
"td"
"Robert"
ae...@yfn.ysu.edu
cs46...@coral.cs.unm.edu
t...@dfw.net
tim...@netcom.com
------------------------------
Subject: 6.5 Commuting - How do I choose a route?
From: ro...@ug.eds.com (Royce Myers)
According to the U.S. Uniform Vehicle Code, drivers of bicycles have the
same rights, and the same responsibilities, as drivers of other vehicles.
This means that commuters may use any road, street or highway they want,
and that they must obey traffic laws. Some states vary from the UVC, and
of course, some countries treat bicycles diffently than the US does.
John Forester, in his book Effective Cycling, suggests that all cyclists
use the following traffic principles:
"1. Ride on the right-hand side of the road, not on the left and
never on the sidewalk.
[Note: this is specific to those countries which drive on the right hand
side of the road, like the US. In countries like the UK, you should ride
on the left side of the road.]
2. When approaching a road that is larger than the one you are on, or
has more or faster traffic, you must yield to traffic on that road.
Yielding means looking and waiting until you see that no traffic is
coming.
3. When preparing to move laterally on a roadway, you must yield to
traffic in that line of travel. Yielding means looking forward and
backward to see that no traffic is in that line of travel.
4. When approaching an intersection, you must choose your position
according to your destination. Right-turning drivers are at the curb, left
turning drivers are at the center, while straight-through drivers are
between them.
5. Between intersections, you choose your position according to your
speed relative to other traffic. Parked ones are at the curb, medium-speed
drivers are next to them, while fastest drivers are near the center of the
road."
Transportational cyclists want to maximize safety and minimize time.
Usually the most direct route between the cyclist and work will be the
best choice, but other factors may come into play.
Facilities: Multi-use paths (trails shared with bicycles, pedestrians,
skaters and sometimes horses) are less safe than the road, according to a
recent study published in the Institute for Transportation Engineers
journal; this kind of facility is more likely to send cyclists to the
hospital than comparable streets. Pedestrians, pets and skaters are
unpredictable and require more skill to pass safely. Sidepath
intersections are very dangerous because motorists don't expect vehicular
cross traffic.
Roads with wide curb lanes are safer than narrow roads, but narrow roads
may be ridden safely by using an entire lane. Bike lanes may be as safe
as the same width roads without lanes as long as the rider is competent to
avoid their dangers (e.g., they direct cyclists into right turn lanes,
when the cyclist should normally ride to the left of the right turn
lane). In California, cyclists traveling at less than the speed of
traffic must remain in the bike lane unless preparing for a left turn or
avoiding a hazard, like parked cars, a slower cyclist, rough pavement or
debris.
Traffic: even though arterials usually faster and more convenient than
side streets, riding on side streets may be more enjoyable due to lower
traffic noise and better scenery. Some cyclists are willing to ride the
Huntington Beach multi-use path during the summer even though the fastest
safe speed is 5mph. The view is very nice.
The compromise among pleasure, safety and time is yours.
Once you set your priorities, scout a few routes. Get the best street map
you can find and highlight streets that you like. US Geological Survey
maps (1:24000 scale) also show the hills, which is handy. They're
beautiful maps, too. They look nice on a wall.
Contributors:
[I did not retain the mail address of contributors who posted to the group
without a sig; also, I may have missed some posts that weren't emailed to
me]
drob...@mendel.une.edu.au
il...@niwot.scd.ucar.EDU
bur...@bcu.ubc.ca
jlb...@presto.eecs.umich.edu
jo...@greg.cs.usu.edu
ban...@netcom.com
cu...@cynic.portal.ca
do...@netcom.com
"td"
"Robert"
ae...@yfn.ysu.edu
cs46...@coral.cs.unm.edu
t...@dfw.net
tim...@netcom.com
Mike Iglesias
Archive-name: bicycles-faq/part5
[Note: The complete FAQ is available via anonymous ftp from
draco.acs.uci.edu (128.200.34.12), in pub/rec.bicycles.]
------------------------------
Subject: 9.12 Studded Tires
From: Name removed by request
[A summary on studded tires compiled by Nancy. A complete copy of
the responses she received, including some that give directions for
making your own studded tires, is in the archive.]
Studded tires do help, especially on packed snow and ice. On fresh snow
and on water mixed with snow (i.e. slush) they're not significantly different
from unstudded knobbies.
On dry pavement they are noisy and heavy, but can be used; watch out for
cornering, which is degraded compared to unstudded tires.
Several people recommend a Mr. Tuffy or equivalent with them; one
respondent says he gets more flats with a liner than without.
In the U.S. the IRC Blizzard tires are commercially available. They
can also be made.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.13 Cycling Myths
Following are various myths about cycling and why they are/aren't true.
Myth: Wearing a helmet makes your head hotter than if you didn't wear one.
Actual measurements under hard riding conditions with ANSI standard
helmets show no consistent temperature difference from helmetless
riders. Part of the reason is that helmets provide insulated
protection from the sun as well as some airflow around the head.
(Les Earnest L...@cs.Stanford.edu)
Myth: You need to let the air out of your tires before shipping your bike
on an airplane - if you don't, the tires will explode.
Assume your tire at sea level, pumped to 100 psi. Air pressure at sea
level is (about) 15psi. Therefore, the highest pressure which can be
reached in the tire is 100+15=115psi. Ergo: There is no need to
deflate bicycle tires prior to flight to avoid explosions.
(Giles Morris gil...@bird.uucp)
Addendum: The cargo hold is pressurized to the same pressure as the
passenger compartment.
(Tom ? t...@math.ufl.edu)
Myth: You can break a bike lock with liquid nitrogen or other liquified gases
Freon cannot cool the lock sufficiently to do any good. Steel
conducts heat into the cooling zone faster than it can be removed by a
freeze bomb at the temperatures of interest. Liquid nitrogen or other
gasses are so cumbersome to handle that a lock on a bike cannot be
immersed as it must be to be effective. The most common and
inconspicuous way to break these locks is by using a 4 inch long 1
inch diameter commercial hydraulic jack attached to a hose and pump
unit.
(Jobst Brandt jobst_brandt%0...@hp1900.desk.hp.com)
[More myths welcome!]
------------------------------
Subject: 9.14 Descending I
From: Roger Marquis <mar...@roble.com>
[More up to date copies of Roger's articles can be found at
http://www.roble.com/marquis/]
Descending ability, like any other skill, is best improved
with practice. The more time you can spend on technical descents
the more confidence and speed you will be able to develop. A few
local hot shots I know practice on their motorcycles before races
with strategic descents. While frequent group rides are the only
way to develop real bike handling skills descending with others
will not necessarily help you descend faster alone.
The most important aspect of fast descending is relaxation.
Too much anxiety can narrow your concentration and you will miss
important aspects of the road surface ahead. Pushing the speed to
the point of fear will not help develop descending skills. Work
on relaxation and smoothness (no sudden movements, braking or
turning) and the speed will follow.
A fast descender will set up well in advance of the corner
on the outside, do whatever braking needs to be done before
beginning to turn, hit the apex at the inside edge of the road,
finally exiting again on the outside (always leaving some room
for error or unforeseen road hazard). The key is to _gradually_
get into position and _smoothly_ follow your line through the
corner. If you find yourself making _any_ quick, jerky movements
take them as a sign that you need to slow down and devote a
little more attention further up the road.
Use your brakes only up to the beginning of a corner, NEVER
USE THE BRAKES IN A CORNER. At that point any traction used for
braking significantly reduces the traction available for
cornering. If you do have to brake after entering the curve
straighten out your line before applying the brakes. If the road
surface is good use primarily the front brake. If traction is
poor switch to the rear brake and begin breaking earlier. In auto
racing circles there are two schools of thought on braking
technique. One advocates gradually releasing the brakes upon
entering the corner, the other advises hard braking right up to
the beginning of the curve and abruptly releasing the brakes just
before entering the curve. A cyclists would probably combine the
techniques depending on the road surface, rim trueness, brake pad
hardness and the proximity of other riders.
Motorcyclists and bicyclists lean their bikes very
differently in a corner. When riding fast motorcyclists keep
their bikes as upright as possible to avoid scraping the bike.
Bicyclists on the other hand lean their bikes into the corner and
keep the body upright. Both motorcyclists and bicyclists extend
the inside knee down to lower the center of gravity. To _pedal_
through the corners make like a motorcyclists and lean the bike
up when the inside pedal is down.
One of the most difficult things about descending in a group
is passing. It is not always possible to begin the descent ahead
of anyone who may be descending slower. If you find yourself
behind someone taking it easy either hang out a safe distance
behind or pass very carefully. Passing on a descent is always
difficult and dangerous. By the same token, if you find yourself
ahead of someone who obviously wants to pass, let them by at the
earliest safe moment. It's never appropriate to impede someone's
progress on a training ride whether they are on a bicycle or in a
car. Always make plenty of room for anyone trying to pass no
matter what the speed limit may be. Be courteous and considerate
and you'll be forever happy.
Remember that downhill racing is not what bicycle racing is
all about. There is no need to keep up with the Jones'. This is
what causes many a crash. Compete against yourself on the
descents. Belgians are notoriously slow descenders due to the
consistently rainy conditions there. Yet some of the best
cyclists in the world train on those rainy roads. Don't get
caught pushing it on some wet or unfamiliar descent. Be prepared
for a car or a patch of dirt or oil in the middle of your path
around _every_ blind corner no matter how many times you've been
on a particular road. Take it easy, relax, exercise your powers
of concentration and hammer again when you can turn the pedals.
If you're interested in exploring this further the best book
on bike handling I've read is "Twist of The Wrist" by motorcycle
racer Keith Code.
Roger Marquis (mar...@roble.com)
------------------------------
Subject: 9.15 Descending II
From: Jobst Brandt <jbr...@hpl.hp.com>
Descending or Cornering Fast
Descending on a bicycle requires a combination of skills that are more
commonly used in motorcycling. It is primarily when descending that a
bicycle has some of the power and speed that the motorcycle encounters
regularly, not to say that criterium racing doesn't also challenge
these skills. It requires a combination of lean angle and braking
while selecting an appropriate line through curves. Unlike motorcycle
tires, bicycle tires have little margin so that even a small slip on
pavement is usually unrecoverable. Understanding the forces involved
and how to control them is more natural to some than others. For some
these skills may have atrophied from disuse at an early age and need
to be regenerated.
Drifting a Road Bicycle on Pavement
It has been suggested that there are riders who can slide wheels on
dry pavement to achieve greater speed in a curve. Beyond this, the
term drift means to slide both wheels, which is even more challenging.
I believe this is pure wishful thinking and may come from observing
motorcycles that can apply power when banked over at their maximum
lean angle to partially break traction.
A bicycle cannot be pedaled even at angles less than the maximum lean
angle without grounding a pedal while the tires have no margin at the
critical angle as has been measured by lean-slip tests on roads and
testing machines. In these tests, the slipout angle (slightly more
than 45 degrees from the vertical) was found to be precipitous and
unrecoverable. Knobby tires begin to walk sideways at a substantially
more upright angle and have no sudden slipout. They can be drifted
around curves, but then they cannot approach the speed or angle of
smooth tires so there is no advantage to using them for this purpose.
How to Corner
Cornering is the skill of anticipating the appropriate lean angle with
respect to the ground before you get to the apex of the turn. The
angle to the road surface is what counts and it is limited by
traction. This means you must have an eye for traction. For most
pavement this is about 45 degrees in the absence of oil, water or
other smooth and slick spots. So if the curve is positively banked 10
degrees, you could lean to 55 degrees from the vertical. In contrast,
a crowned road with no banking, where the surface falls off about 10
degrees, would allow only 35 degrees (at the limit).
Estimating the required lean angle for a curve is derived from the
apparent traction and what your speed will be in the apex of the turn
at the current rate of braking. Anticipating the lean angle is
something humans, animals and birds do regularly in self propulsion.
When running you anticipate how fast and sharply you can turn on the
sidewalk, dirt track or lawn on which you run. You estimate the lean
for the conditions and you control your speed to not exceed that
angle. Although the consequences are more severe, the same is true
for the bicycle.
These are reflexes that are normal to most people in youth but some
have not exercised them in such a long time that they don't trust
their skills. A single fall strongly reinforces this doubt. For this
reason, it is best to improve and regenerate these abilities gradually
through practice.
Countersteer
Countersteer is a common subject of discussion for riders who
belatedly discover or rediscover how to balance, it is a contrived
subject. As mentioned in the previous section, this is how a bicycle
is balanced on the road or a broomstick on the hand. The support
point is moved beneath the mass to make it align with the combined
force of gravity and the cornering force. That this requires steering
skills should be self evident. It is so obvious that runners never
mention it, although you can see football and basketball players
conspicuously doing it. I'm sure nothing is made of countersteer in
the NHL either. I wish it were so in bicycling.
Braking
Once the nuts and bolts of getting around a corner are in place, the
big difference between being fast and being faster is another problem
entirely. How the brakes are used before and in curves makes the
difference between the average rider and the fast one. When traction
is good, the front brake can be used almost exclusively because, with
it, the bicycle can slow down so rapidly that the back wheel carries
almost no weight. When slowing down this hard with the front brake,
the rear brake is obviously useless. Once in the curve, more and more
traction is used by the lean angle but braking is still used to trim
speed. This is done with both brakes, because neither wheel no longer
has much traction to spare. To develop a feel for rear wheel
lift-off, practice hard front braking at a low and safe speed.
Why brake in the turn. If all braking is done before the turn you
will be going slower than necessary to early in the turn. Because it
is practically impossible to anticipate the exact maximum speed for
the apex of the turn, you should anticipate trimming speed all the way
to the apex of the turn. Fear of braking usually comes from an
incident caused by injudicious braking. The use of the front and
rear brake must be adapted to the conditions.
When riding straight ahead with good traction, you can safely allow
substantial transfer of weight from the rear to the front wheel
allowing strong use of the front brake. When traction is poor,
deceleration and weight transfer is small, so light braking with both
wheels is appropriate. If traction is miserable, you should use only
the rear brake because, although a rear skid is permissible, one in
the front is not, especially if traction is poor.
Take for example a rider cornering on good traction, leaning at 45
degrees. With this 1 G centrifugal acceleration, he can still apply
1/10 G braking and barely increase the load on the the tires. The
resulting traction force is given by the square root(1^2+0.1^2)=1.005
or an increase of 1/2%. In other words, you can brake substantially
near maximum cornering. The centrifugal acceleration changes as the
square of the speed so braking, rapidly reduces the required lean
angle and allows further increase in braking. Being aware of this
relationship should leave no doubt why racers are nearly always
applying brakes at the apex of max speed turns.
Suspension
Beyond lean and braking, suspension helps substantially in descending.
For bicycles without built-in suspension, this is furnished by the
legs. If the road has fine ripples you needn't stand up but merely
take the weight off your pelvic bones. For rougher roads, you should
rise high enough so the saddle does not carry any weight. The reason
for this is twofold. Your vision will become blurred if you don't
rise off the saddle, and traction will be compromised if the tires are
not kept in contact with the road while skimming over bumps. The
ideal is to keep the tire on the ground at uniform load.
Lean the Bicycle, the Rider, or Both
Some riders believe that sticking out their knee or leaning their body
away from the bike, improves cornering. Sticking out a knee is the
same thing that riders without cleats do when they stick out a foot in
dirt track motorcycle fashion. It is a useless but reassuring gesture
that, on uneven roads, actually works against you. Any body weight
that is not centered over the bicycle (leaning the bike or sticking
out a knee) puts a side load on the bicycle, and side loads cause
steering motions if the road is not smooth. Getting weight off the
saddle is also made more difficult by such maneuvers.
To verify this, ride down a straight but rough road standing on one
pedal with the bike slanted, and note how the bike follows an erratic
line. In contrast, if you ride centered on the bike you can ride
no-hands perfectly straight over rough road. When you lean off the
bike you cannot ride a smooth line over road irregularities,
especially in curves. For best control, stay centered over your bike.
Vision
Where you look is critical to effective descending. Your central
vision involves mostly the cones in the retina of your eye. These are
color receptive and images generally are more time consuming to
interpret than information received by the rods in the peripheral
vision. For this reason you should focus on the pavement where your
tire will track while looking for obstacles and possible oncoming
traffic in your peripheral vision that is fast and good at detecting
motion.
If you look at the place where an oncoming vehicle or obstacle might
appear, its appearance will bring data processing to a halt for a
substantial time. You needn't identify the color or model of car so
leave it to the peripheral vision in high speed black and white
because processing speed is essential when you are going fast.
The Line
Picking the broadest curve through a corner should be obvious by the
time the preceding skills are mastered but the line is both a matter
of safety and road surface. Sometimes it is better to hit a bump or a
"Bott's dot" than to alter the line, especially at high speed. In
that respect, your tire should be large enough to absorb the entire
height of a "Bott's dot" without pinching the tube. The crown of the
road sometimes is sufficient to make using the other side of the road
counterproductive because you can't lean enough there.
Mental Speed
Mental speed is demanded by all of these. However, being quick does
not guarantee success either because judgment is even more important.
Above all, it is important to not be daring but rather to ride with a
margin that leaves a comfortable feeling rather than one of high risk.
At the same time, do not be blinded by the age old presumption that
everyone who rides faster is crazy. It is one of the most common
descriptions used by the slower riders. "He descended like a madman!"
means merely that the speaker was slower, nothing more.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.16 Trackstands
From: Rick Smith <ri...@sdd.hp.com>
How to trackstand on a road bike.
With acknowledgments to my trackstanding mentor,
Neil Bankston.
Practice, Practice, Practice, Practice, ....
1. Wear tennis shoes.
2. Find an open area, like a parking lot that has a slight grade to it.
3. Put bike in a gear around a 42-18.
4. Ride around out of the saddle in a counter-clockwise circle, about
10 feet in diameter.
Label Notation for imaginary points on the circle:
'A' is the lowest elevation point on the circle.
'B' is the 90 degrees counterclockwise from 'A' .
'C' is the highest elevation point on the circle.
'D' is the 90 degrees counterclockwise from 'C' .
C
/ \
D B Aerial View
\ /
A
5. Start slowing down, feeling the different sensation as the bike
transitions between going uphill (B) and downhill (D).
6. Start trying to go real slowly through the A - B region of the circle.
This is the region you will use for trackstanding. Ride the rest of
the circle as you were in step 5.
The trackstanding position (aerial view again):
---| /
------| |----/
|--- /
The pedal are in a 3 o'clock - 9 o'clock arrangement (in other
words, parallel to the ground). Your left foot is forward, your
wheel is pointed left. You are standing and shifting you weight
to keep balance. The key to it all is this:
If you start to fall left, push on the left pedal to move the
bike forward a little and bring you back into balance.
If you start to fall right, let up on the pedal and let the
bike roll back a little and bring you back into balance.
7. Each time you roll through the A - B region, try to stop when
the left pedal is horizontal and forward. If you start to
lose your balance, just continue around the circle and try it
again.
8. Play with it. Try doing it in various regions in the circle,
with various foot position, and various amounts of turn in your
steering. Try it on different amounts of slope in the
pavement. Try different gears. What you are shooting for is
the feel that's involved, and it comes with practice.
The why's of trackstanding:
Why is road bike specified in the title?
A true trackstand on a track bike is done differently. A track
bike can be pedaled backwards, and doesn't need a hill to
accomplish the rollback affect. Track racing trackstands
are done opposite of what is described. They take place on the
C - D region of the circle, with gravity used for the roll
forward, and back pedaling used for the rollback. This is so
that a racer gets the assist from gravity to get going again
when the competition makes a move.
Why a gear around 42-18?
This is a reasonable middle between too small, where you would
reach the bottom of the stroke on the roll forward, and too big,
where you couldn't generate the roll forward force needed.
Why is the circle counter-clockwise?
Because I assume you are living in an area where travel is done
on the right side of the road. When doing trackstands on the road,
most likely it will be at traffic lights. Roads are crowned - higher
in the middle, lower on the shoulders - and you use this crown as
the uphill portion of the circle (region A-B). If you are in a
country where travel is done on the left side of the road,
please interpret the above aerial views as subterranial.
Why is this done out of the saddle?
It's easier!! It can be done in while seated, but you lose the
freedom to do weight adjustments with your hips.
Why is the left crank forward?
If your right crank was forward, you might bump the front wheel
with your toe. Remember the steering is turned so that the back
of the front wheel is on the right side of the bike. Some bikes
have overlap of the region where the wheel can go and your foot
is. Even if your current bike doesn't have overlap, it's better
to learn the technique as described in case you are demonstrating
your new skill on a bike that does have overlap.
Why the A - B region?
It's the easiest. If you wait till the bike is around 'B', then
you have to keep more force on the pedal to hold it still. If
you are around the 'A' point, there may not be enough slope to
allow the bike to roll back.
Questions:
What do I do if I want to stop on a downhill?
While there are techniques that can be employed to keep you in
the pedals, for safety sake I would suggest getting out of the
pedals and putting your foot down.
Other exercises that help:
Getting good balance. Work through this progression:
1. Stand on your right foot. Hold this until it feels stable.
2. Close your eyes. Hold this until it feels stable.
3. Go up on your toes. Hold this until it feels stable.
4. If you get to here, never mind, your balance is already wonderful,
else repeat with other foot.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.17 Front Brake Usage
From: John Forester <jfor...@cup.portal.com>
I have dealt for many years with the problem of explaining front
brake use, both to students and to courtrooms, and I have reached
some conclusions, both about the facts and about the superstitions.
The question was also asked about British law and front brakes.
I'll answer that first because it is easier. British law requires
brakes on both wheels, but it accepts that a fixed gear provides the
required braking action on the rear wheel. I think that the
requirement was based on reliability, not on deceleration. That is,
if the front brake fails, the fixed-gear cyclist can still come to a
stop.
In my house (in California) we have three track-racing bikes
converted to road use by adding brakes. Two have only front brakes
while the third has two brakes. We have had no trouble at all, and we
ride them over mild hills. The front-brake-only system won't meet the
normal U.S. state traffic law requirement of being able to skid one
wheel, because that was written for coaster-braked bikes, but it
actually provides twice the deceleration of a rear-wheel-braked bike
and nobody, so far as I know, has ever been prosecuted for using such
a setup.
The superstitions about front brake use are numerous. The most
prevalent appears to be that using the front brake without using the
rear brake, or failing to start using the rear brake before using the
front brake, will flip the cyclist. The other side of that
superstition is that using the rear brake will prevent flipping the
bicycle, regardless of how hard the front brake is applied.
The truth is that regardless of how hard the rear brake is
applied, or whether it is applied at all, the sole determinant (aside
from matters such as bicycle geometry, weight and weight distribution
of cyclist and load, that can't practically be changed while moving)
of whether the bicycle will be flipped is the strength of application
of the front brake. As the deceleration to produce flip is
approached, the weight on the rear wheel decreases to zero, so that
the rear wheel cannot produce any deceleration; with no application
of the rear brake it rolls freely, with any application at all it
skids at a force approaching zero. With typical bicycle geometry, a
brake application to attempt to produce a deceleration greater than
0.67 g will flip the bicycle. (Those who advocate the cyclist moving
his butt off and behind the saddle to change the weight distribution
achieve a very small increase in this.)
A typical story is that of a doctor who, now living in the higher-
priced hilly suburbs, purchased a new bicycle after having cycled to
med school on the flats for years. His first ride was from the bike
shop over some minor hills and then up the 15% grade to his house.
His second ride was down that 15% grade. Unfortunately, the rear
brake was adjusted so that it produced, with the lever to the
handlebar, a 0.15 g deceleration. The braking system would meet the
federal requirements of 0.5 g deceleration with less than 40 pounds
grip on the levers, because the front brake has to do the majority of
the work and at 0.5 g there is insufficient weight on the rear wheel
to allow much more rear brake force than would produce 0.1 g
deceleration. (The U.S. regulation allows bicycles with no gear
higher than 60 inches to have only a rear-wheel brake that provides
only 0.27 g deceleration.) I don't say that the rear brake adjustment
of the bicycle in the accident was correct, because if the front
brake fails then the rear brake alone should be able to skid the rear
wheel, which occurs at about 0.3 g deceleration. The doctor starts
down the hill, coasting to develop speed and then discovering that he
can't slow down to a stop using the rear brake alone. That is because
the maximum deceleration produced by the rear brake equalled, almost
exactly, the slope of the hill. He rolls down at constant speed with
the rear brake lever to the handlebar and the front brake not in use
at all. He is afraid to apply the front brake because he fears that
this will flip him, but he is coming closer and closer to a curve,
after which is a stop sign. At the curve he panics and applies the
front brake hard, generating a force greater than 0.67 g deceleration
and therefore flipping himself. Had he applied the front brake with
only a force to produce 0.1 g deceleration, even 100 feet before the
curve, he would have been safe, but in his panic he caused precisely
the type of accident that he feared. He thought that he had a good
case, sued everybody, and lost. This is the type of superstition that
interferes with the cycling of many people.
My standard instruction for people who fear using the front brake
is the same instruction for teaching any person to brake properly.
Tell them to apply both brakes simultaneously, but with the front
brake 3 times harder than the rear brake. Start by accelerating to
road speed and stopping with a gentle application. Then do it again
with a harder application, but keeping the same 3 to 1 ratio. Then
again, harder still, until they feel the rear wheel start to skid.
When the rear wheel skids with 1/4 of the total braking force applied
to it, that shows that the weight distribution has now progressed as
far to the front wheel as the average cyclist should go. By repeated
practice they learn how hard this is, and attain confidence in their
ability to stop as rapidly as is reasonable without any significant
risk.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.18 Slope Wind, the Invisible Enemy
From: Jobst Brandt <jbr...@hpl.hp.com>
Wind as well as relative wind caused by moving through still air
demands most of a bicyclists effort on level ground. Most riders
recognize when they are subjected to wind because it comes in gusts
and these gusts can be distinguished from the more uniform wind caused
by moving through still air. That's the catch. At the break of dawn
there is often no wind as such but cool air near the ground, being
colder and more dense than higher air slides downslope as a laminar
layer that has no turbulent gusts.
Wind in mountain valleys generally blows uphill during the heat of the
day and therefore pilots of light aircraft are warned to take off
uphill against the morning slope wind. Slope wind, although detectable,
is not readily noticed when standing or walking because it has
negligible effect and does not come in apparent gusts. The bicyclist,
in contrast, is hindered by it but cannot detect it because there is
always wind while riding.
Slope wind, as such, can be up to 10 mph before it starts to take on
the characteristics that we expect of wind. It is doubly deceptive
when it comes from behind because it gives an inflated speed that can
be mistakenly attributed to great fitness that suddenly vanishes when
changing course. If you live near aspen or poplars that tend to fan
their leaves in any breeze, you will not be fooled.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.19 Reflective Tape
From: Jobst Brandt <jbr...@hpl.hp.com>
Reflective tape is available in most better bike shops in various
forms, most of which is pre-cut to some preferred shape and designed
for application to some specific part of the bike or apparel. The most
effective use of such tape is on moving parts such as pedals, heel of
the shoe or on a place that is generally overlooked, the inside of the
rim.
First, it is appropriate to note that car headlights generally produce
white light and a white or, in fact, colorless reflector returns more
of this light to its source than ones with color filters or selective
reflection. Red, for instance, is not nearly as effective as white.
Placing reflective tape on the inside of the rims between the spokes
is a highly effective location for night riding because it is visible
equally to the front and rear while attracting attention through its
motion. It is most effective when applied to less than half the rim
in a solid block. Five inter-spoke sections does a good job. One can
argue that it isn't visible from the side (if the rim is not an aero
cross section) but the major hazard is from the front and rear.
Be seen on a bike! It's good for your health.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.20 Nutrition
From: Bruce Hildenbrand <bhi...@unix386.Convergent.COM>
Oh well, I have been promising to do this for a while and given the present
discussions on nutrition, it is about the right time. This article was
written in 1980 for Bicycling Magazine. It has been reprinted in over 30
publications, been the basis for a chapter in a book and cited numerous
other times. I guess somebody besides me thinks its OK. If you disagree
with any points, that's fine, I just don't want to see people take exception
based on their own personal experiences because everyone is different and
psychological factors play a big role(much bigger than you would think)
on how one perceives his/her own nutritional requirements. Remember that
good nutrition is a LONG TERM process that is not really affected by short
term events(drinking poison would be an exception). If it works for you
then do it!!! Don't preach!!!!
BASIC NUTRITION PRIMER
Nutrition in athletics is a very controversial topic. However, for
an athlete to have confidence that his/her diet is beneficial he/she
must understand the role each food component plays in the body's
overall makeup. Conversely, it is important to identify and understand
the nutritional demands on the physiological processes of the body
that occur as a result of racing and training so that these needs
can be satisfied in the athlete's diet.
For the above reasons, a basic nutrition primer should help the athlete
determine the right ingredients of his/her diet which fit training and
racing schedules and existing eating habits. The body requires three
basic components from foods: 1) water; 2) energy; and 3)nutrients.
WATER
Water is essential for life and without a doubt the most important
component in our diet. Proper hydrations not only allows the body to
maintain structural and biochemical integrity, but it also prevents
overheating, through sensible heat loss(perspiration). Many cyclists have
experienced the affects of acute fluid deficiency on a hot day, better
known as heat exhaustion. Dehydration can be a long term problem,
especially at altitude, but this does not seem to be a widespread
problem among cyclists and is only mentioned here as a reminder(but
an important one).
ENERGY
Energy is required for metabolic processes, growth and to support
physical activity. The Food and Nutrition Board of the National
Academy of Sciences has procrastinated in establishing a Recommended
Daily Allowance(RDA) for energy the reasoning being that such a daily
requirement could lead to overeating. A moderately active 70kg(155lb)
man burns about 2700 kcal/day and a moderately active 58kg(128lb) woman
burns about 2500 kcal/day.
It is estimated that cyclists burn 8-10 kcal/min or about 500-600
kcal/hr while riding(this is obviously dependent on the level of
exertion). Thus a three hour training ride can add up to 1800
kcals(the public knows these as calories) to the daily energy demand
of the cyclist. Nutritional studies indicate that there is no
significant increase in the vitamin requirement of the athlete as a
result of this energy expenditure.
In order to meet this extra demand, the cyclist must increase his/her
intake of food. This may come before, during or after a ride but most
likely it will be a combination of all of the above. If for some
reason extra nutrients are required because of this extra energy
demand, they will most likely be replenished through the increased
food intake. Carbohydrates and fats are the body's energy sources and
will be discussed shortly.
NUTRIENTS
This is a broad term and refers to vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates,
fats, fiber and a host of other substances. The body is a very complex product
of evolution. It can manufacture many of the resources it needs to survive.
However, vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids(the building blocks of
proteins) and fatty acids cannot be manufactured, hence they must be supplied
in our food to support proper health.
Vitamins and Minerals
No explanation needed here except that there are established RDA's for most
vitamins and minerals and that a well balanced diet, especially when
supplemented by a daily multivitamin and mineral tablet should meet all
the requirements of the cyclist.
Proper electrolyte replacement(sodium and potassium salts) should be
emphasized, especially during and after long, hot rides. Commercially
available preparations such as Exceed, Body Fuel and Isostar help
replenish electrolytes lost while riding.
Proteins
Food proteins are necessary for the synthesis of the body's skeletal(muscle,
skin, etc.) and biochemical(enzymes, hormones, etc.)proteins. Contrary
to popular belief, proteins are not a good source of energy in fact they
produce many toxic substances when they are converted to the simple sugars
needed for the body's energy demand.
Americans traditionally eat enough proteins to satisfy their body's
requirement. All indications are that increased levels of exercise do
not cause a significant increase in the body's daily protein
requirement which has been estimated to be 0.8gm protein/kg body
weight.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are divided into two groups, simple and complex, and serve
as one of the body's two main sources of energy.
Simple carbohydrates are better known as sugars, examples being fructose,
glucose(also called dextrose), sucrose(table sugar) and lactose(milk sugar).
The complex carbohydrates include starches and pectins which are multi-linked
chains of glucose. Breads and pastas are rich sources of complex
carbohydrates.
The brain requires glucose for proper functioning which necessitates a
carbohydrate source. The simple sugars are quite easily broken down to
help satisfy energy and brain demands and for this reason they are an ideal
food during racing and training. The complex sugars require a substantially
longer time for breakdown into their glucose sub units and are more suited
before and after riding to help meet the body's energy requirements.
Fats
Fats represent the body's other major energy source. Fats are twice as
dense in calories as carbohydrates(9 kcal/gm vs 4 kcal/gm) but they are
more slowly retrieved from their storage units(triglycerides) than
carbohydrates(glycogen). Recent studies indicate that caffeine may help
speed up the retrieval of fats which would be of benefit on long rides.
Fats are either saturated or unsaturated and most nutritional experts
agree that unsaturated, plant-based varieties are healthier. Animal
fats are saturated(and may contain cholesterol), while plant based fats
such as corn and soybean oils are unsaturated. Unsaturated fats are
necessary to supply essential fatty acids and should be included in the
diet to represent about 25% of the total caloric intake. Most of this
amount we don't really realize we ingest, so it is not necessary to heap
on the margarine as a balanced diet provides adequate amounts.
WHAT THE BODY NEEDS
Now that we have somewhat of an understanding of the role each food
component plays in the body's processes let's relate the nutritional
demands that occur during cycling in an attempt to develop
an adequate diet. Basically our bodies need to function in three
separate areas which require somewhat different nutritional considerations.
These areas are: 1) building; 2) recovery; and 3) performance.
Building
Building refers to increasing the body's ability to perform physiological
processes, one example being the gearing up of enzyme systems necessary
for protein synthesis, which results in an increase in muscle mass, oxygen
transport, etc. These systems require amino acids, the building blocks of
proteins. Hence, it is important to eat a diet that contains quality proteins
(expressed as a balance of the essential amino acid sub units present)fish,
red meat, milk and eggs being excellent sources.
As always, the RDA's for vitamins and minerals must also be met but, as with
the protein requirement, they are satisfied in a well balanced diet.
Recovery
This phase may overlap the building process and the nutritional requirements
are complimentary. Training and racing depletes the body of its energy
reserves as well as loss of electrolytes through sweat. Replacing the
energy reserves is accomplished through an increased intake of complex
carbohydrates(60-70% of total calories) and to a lesser extent fat(25%).
Replenishing lost electrolytes is easily accomplished through the use
of the commercial preparations already mentioned.
Performance
Because the performance phase(which includes both training rides and
racing)spans at most 5-7 hours whereas the building and recovery phases
are ongoing processes, its requirements are totally different from the
other two. Good nutrition is a long term proposition meaning the effects
of a vitamin or mineral deficiency take weeks to manifest themselves.
This is evidenced by the fact that it took many months for scurvy to
show in sailors on a vitamin C deficient diet. What this means is that
during the performance phase, the primary concern is energy replacement
(fighting off the dreaded "bonk") while the vitamin and mineral demands
can be overlooked.
Simple sugars such a sucrose, glucose and fructose are the quickest
sources of energy and in moderate quantities of about 100gm/hr(too much
can delay fluid absorption in the stomach) are helpful in providing fuel
for the body and the brain. Proteins and fats are not recommended because
of their slow and energy intensive digestion mechanism.
Short, one day rides or races of up to one hour in length usually require
no special nutritional considerations provided the body's short term energy
stores (glycogen) are not depleted which may be the case during multi-day
events.
Because psychological as well as physiological factors determine performance
most cyclists tend to eat and drink whatever makes them feel "good" during a
ride. This is all right as long as energy considerations are being met and
the stomach is not overloaded trying to digest any fatty or protein containing
foods. If the vitamin and mineral requirements are being satisfied during the
building and recovery phases no additional intake during the performance phase
is necessary.
IMPLICATIONS
Basically, what all this means is that good nutrition for the cyclist is
not hard to come by once we understand our body's nutrient and energy
requirements. If a balanced diet meets the RDA's for protein, vitamins
and minerals as well as carbohydrate and fat intake for energy then everything
should be OK nutritionally. It should be remembered that the problems
associated with nutrient deficiencies take a long time to occur. Because
of this it is not necessary to eat "right" at every meal which explains
why weekend racing junkets can be quite successful on a diet of tortilla
chips and soft drinks. However, bear in mind that over time, the body's
nutritional demands must be satisfied. To play it safe many cyclists
take a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement tablet which has no adverse
affects and something I personally recommend. Mega vitamin doses(levels
five times or more of the RDA) have not been proven to be beneficial and may
cause some toxicity problems.
GREY NUTRITION
"Good" nutrition is not black and white. As we have seen, the body's
requirements are different depending on the phase it is in. While the
building and recovery phases occur somewhat simultaneously the performance
phase stands by itself. For this reason, some foods are beneficial during
one phase but not during another. A good example is the much maligned
twinkie. In the performance phase it is a very quick source of energy
and quite helpful. However, during the building phase it is not necessary
and could be converted to unwanted fat stores. To complicate matters, the
twinkie may help replenish energy stores during the recovery phase however,
complex carbohydrates are probably more beneficial. So, "one man's meat
may be another man's poison."
NUTRIENT DENSITY
This term refers to the quantity of nutrients in a food for its accompanying
caloric(energy) value. A twinkie contains much energy but few vitamins and
minerals so has a low nutrient density. Liver, on the other hand, has a
moderate amount of calories but is rich in vitamins and minerals and is
considered a high nutrient density food.
Basically, one must meet his/her nutrient requirements within the
constraints of his/her energy demands. Persons with a low daily
activity level have a low energy demand and in order to maintain their
body weight must eat high nutrient density foods. As already
mentioned, a cyclist has an increased energy demand but no significant
increase in nutrient requirements. Because of this he/she can eat
foods with a lower nutrient density than the average person. This
means that a cyclist can be less choosy about the foods that are eaten
provided he/she realizes his/her specific nutrient and energy
requirements that must be met.
BALANCED DIET
Now, the definition of that nebulous phrase, "a balanced diet". Taking into
consideration all of the above, a diet emphasizing fruits and vegetables
(fresh if possible), whole grain breads, pasta, cereals, milk, eggs, fish and
red meat(if so desired) will satisfy long term nutritional demands.
These foods need to be combined in such a way that during the building and
recovery phase, about 60-70% of the total calories are coming from carbohydrate
sources, 25% from fats and the remainder(about 15%) from proteins.
It is not necessary to get 100% of the RDA for all vitamins and minerals
at every meal. It may be helpful to determine which nutritional
requirements you wish to satisfy at each meal. Personally, I use breakfast
to satisfy part of my energy requirement by eating toast and cereal. During
lunch I meet some of the energy, protein and to a lesser extent vitamin and
mineral requirements with such foods as yogurt, fruit, and peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches. Dinner is a big meal satisfying energy, protein,
vitamin and mineral requirements with salads, vegetables, pasta, meat and
milk. Between meal snacking is useful to help meet the body's energy
requirement.
CONCLUSION
All this jiberish may not seem to be telling you anything you couldn't
figure out for yourself. The point is that "good" nutrition is not
hard to achieve once one understands the reasons behind his/her dietary
habits. Such habits can easily be modified to accommodate the nutritional
demands of cycling without placing any strict demands on one's lifestyle.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.21 Nuclear Free Energy Bar Recipe
From: Phil Etheridge <ph...@massey.ac.nz>
Nuclear Free Energy Bars
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Comments and suggestions welcome.
They seem to work well for me. I eat bananas as well, in about equal quanities
to the Nuclear Free Energy Bars. I usually have two drink bottles, one with
water to wash down the food, the other with a carbo drink.
You will maybe note that there are no dairy products in my recipe -- that's
because I'm allergic to them. You could easily replace the soy milk powder
with the cow equivalent, but then you'd definitely have to include some
maltodextrin (my soy drink already has some in it). I plan to replace about
half the honey with maltodextrin when I find a local source. If you prefer
cocoa to carob, you can easily substitute.
C = 250 ml cup, T = 15 ml tablespoon
1 C Oat Bran
1/2 C Toasted Sunflower and/or Sesame seeds, ground (I use a food processor)
1/2 C Soy Milk Powder (the stuff I get has 37% maltodextrin, ~20% dextrose*)
1/2 C Raisins
2T Carob Powder
Mix well, then add to
1/2 C Brown Rice, Cooked and Minced (Using a food processor again)
1/2 C Peanut Butter (more or less, depending on consistency)
1/2 C Honey (I use clear, runny stuff, you may need to warm if it's thicker
and/or add a little water)
Stir and knead (I knead in more Oat Bran or Rolled Oats) until thoroughly
mixed. A cake mixer works well for this. The bars can be reasonably soft, as
a night in the fridge helps to bind it all together. Roll or press out about
1cm thick and cut. Makes about 16, the size I like them (approx 1cm x 1.5cm x
6cm).
* Can't remember exact name, dextrose something)
------------------------------
Subject: 9.22 Powerbars Recipe
From: John McClintic <jo...@hammer.TEK.COM>
Have you ever watched a hummingbird? Think about it! Hummingbirds
eat constantly to survive. We lumpish earthbound creatures are in
no position to imitate this. Simply, if we overeat we get fat.
There are exceptions: those who exercise very strenuously can
utilize - indeed, actually need - large amounts of carbohydrates.
For example, Marathon runners "load" carbohydrates by stuffing
themselves with pasta before a race. On the flip side Long-distance
cyclists maintain their energy level by "power snacking".
With reward to the cyclist and their need for "power snacking"
I submit the following "power bar" recipe which was originated
by a fellow named Bill Paterson. Bill is from Portland Oregon.
The odd ingredient in the bar, paraffin, is widely used in chocolate
manufacture to improve smoothness and flowability, raise the melting
point, and retard deterioration of texture and flavor. Butter can be
used instead, but a butter-chocolate mixture doesn't cover as thinly
or smoothly.
POWER BARS
----------
1 cup regular rolled oats
1/2 cup sesame seed
1 1/2 cups dried apricots, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 cup shredded unsweetened dry coconut
1 cup blanched almonds, chopped
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
2 teaspoons butter or margarine
1 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups chunk-style peanut butter
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 package (12 oz.) or 2 cups semisweet chocolate
baking chips
4 ounces paraffin or 3/4 cup (3/4 lb.) butter or
margarine
Spread oats in a 10- by 15-inch baking pan. Bake in a 300 degree
oven until oats are toasted, about 25 minutes. Stir frequently to
prevent scorching.
Meanwhile, place sesame seed in a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over
medium heat. Shake often or stir until seeds are golden, about 7 minutes.
Pour into a large bowl. Add apricots, raisins, coconut, almonds,
dry milk, and wheat germ; mix well. Mix hot oats into dried fruit
mixture.
Butter the hot backing pan; set aside.
In the frying pan, combine corn syrup and sugar; bring to a rolling
boil over medium high heat and quickly stir in the peanut butter,
orange extract, and orange peel.
At once, pour over the oatmeal mixture and mix well. Quickly spread
in buttered pan an press into an even layer. Then cover and chill
until firm, at least 4 hours or until next day.
Cut into bars about 1 1/4 by 2 1/2 inches.
Combine chocolate chips and paraffin in to top of a double boiler.
Place over simmering water until melted; stir often. Turn heat to low.
Using tongs, dip 1 bar at a time into chocolate, hold over pan until
it stops dripping (with paraffin, the coating firms very quickly), then
place on wire racks set above waxed paper.
When firm and cool (bars with butter in the chocolate coating may need
to be chilled), serve bars, or wrap individually in foil. Store in the
refrigerator up to 4 weeks; freeze to store longer. Makes about 4 dozen
bars, about 1 ounce each.
Per piece: 188 cal.; 4.4 g protein; 29 g carbo.; 9.8 g fat;
0.6 mg chol.; 40 mg sodium.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.23 Calories burned by cycling
From: Jeff Patterson <jp...@hpsad.sad.hp.com>
The following table appears in the '92 Schwinn ATB catalog which references
Bicycling, May 1989:
---------
Speed
(mph) 12 14 15 16 17 18 19
Rider
Weight Calories/Hr
110 293 348 404 448 509 586 662
120 315 375 437 484 550 634 718
130 338 402 469 521 592 683 773
140 360 430 502 557 633 731 828
150 383 457 534 593 675 779 883
160 405 485 567 629 717 828 938
170 427 512 599 666 758 876 993
180 450 540 632 702 800 925 1048
190 472 567 664 738 841 973 1104
200 495 595 697 774 883 1021 1159
(flat terrain, no wind, upright position)
------------------------------
Subject: 9.24 Road Rash Cures
From: E Shekita <she...@provolone.cs.wisc.edu>
[Ed note: This is a condensation of a summary of cures for road rash that
Gene posted.]
The July 1990 issue of Bicycle Guide has a decent article on road
rash. Several experienced trainers/doctors are quoted. They generally
recommended:
- cleaning the wound ASAP using an anti-bacterial soap such as Betadine.
Showering is recommended, as running water will help flush out dirt
and grit. If you can't get to a shower right away, at the very least
dab the wound with an anti-bacteria solution and cover the wound with
a non-stick telfa pad coated with bactrin or neosporin to prevent
infection and scabbing. The wound can then be showered clean when you
get home. It often helps to put an ice bag on the wound after it has
been covered to reduce swelling.
- after the wound has been showered clean, cover the wound with either
1) a non-stick telfa pad coated with bactrin or neosporin, or 2) one
of the Second Skin type products that are available. If you go the telfa
pad route, daily dressing changes will be required until a thin layer
of new skin has grown over the wound. If you go the Second Skin route,
follow the directions on the package.
The general consensus was that scabbing should be prevented and that the
Second Skin type products were the most convenient -- less dressing changes
and they hold up in a shower. (Silvadene was not mentioned, probably because
it requires a prescription.)
It was pointed out that if one of the above treatments is followed, then
you don't have to go crazy scrubbing out the last piece of grit or dirt
in the wound, as some people believe. This is because most of the grit
will "float" out of the wound on its own when a moist dressing is used.
There are now products that go by the names Bioclusive, Tegaderm,
DuoDerm, Op-Site, Vigilon, Spenco 2nd Skin, and others, that are like
miracle skin. This stuff can be expensive ($5 for 8 3x4 sheets), but
does not need to be changed. They are made of a 96% water substance
called hydrogel wrapped in thin porous plastic. Two non-porous plastic
sheets cover the hydrogel; One sheet is removed so that the hydrogel
contacts the wound and the other non-porous sheet protects the wound.
These products are a clear, second skin that goes over the cleaned
(ouch!) wound. They breathe, are quite resistant to showering, and
wounds heal in around 1 week. If it means anything, the Olympic
Training Center uses this stuff. You never get a scab with this, so you
can be out riding the same day, if you aren't too sore.
It is important when using this treatment, to thoroughly clean the
wound, and put the bandage on right away. It can be obtained at most
pharmacies. Another possible source is Spenco second skin, which is
sometimes carried by running stores and outdoor/cycling/ stores. If
this doesn't help, you might try a surgical supply or medical supply
place. They aren't as oriented toward retail, but may carry larger sizes
than is commonly available. Also, you might check with a doctor, or
university athletic department people.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.25 Knee problems
From: Roger Marquis <mar...@roble.com>
[More up to date copies of Roger's articles can be found at
http://www.roble.com/marquis/]
As the weather becomes more conducive to riding, the racing season gets
going, and average weekly training distances start to climb a few of us
will have some trouble with our knees. Usually knee problem are caused
by one of four things:
1) Riding too hard, too soon. Don't get impatient. It's going
to be a long season and there's plenty of time to get in the proper
progression of efforts. Successful cycling is a matter of listening to
your body. When you see cyclists burning out, hurting themselves and
just not progressing past a certain point you can be fairly certain
that it is because they are not paying enough attention to what their
bodies are saying.
2) Too many miles. The human body is not a machine. It cannot
take all the miles we sometimes feel compelled to ride without time to
grow and adapt. Keep this in mind whenever you feel like increasing
average weekly mileage by more than forty miles over two or three weeks
and you should have no problems.
3) Low, low rpms (also excessive crank length). Save those big
ring climbs and big gear sprints for later in the season. This is the
time of year to develop fast twitch muscle fibers. That means spin,
spin, spin. You don't have to spin all the time but the effort put
into small gear sprints and high rpm climbing now will pay off later in
the season.
4) Improper position on the bike. Unfortunately most bicycle
salespeople in this country have no idea how to properly set saddle
height. The most common error being to set it too low. This is very
conducive to developing knee problems because of excessive bend at the
knee when the pedal is at, and just past top dead center.
If you've avoided these 4 common mistakes, yet are still experiencing knee
problems first make sure your seat and cleats are adjusted properly (see
http://www.roble.com/marquis), then:
1) Check for leg length differences both below and above the
knee. If the difference is between 2 and 8 millimeters you can correct
it by putting spacers under one cleat. If one leg is shorter by more
than a centimeter or so you might experiment with a shorter crank arm
on the short leg side.
2) Use shorter cranks. For some riders this helps keep pedal
speed up and knee stress down. I'm over 6 ft. tall and use 170mm
cranks for much of the off season.
3) Try the Fit-Kit R.A.D. cleat alignment device and/or a rotating
type cleat/pedal system.
4) Cut way back on mileage and intensity (This is a last resort
for obvious reasons). Sometimes a prolonged rest is the only way to
regain full functionality and is usually required only after trying to
"train through" pain.
Roger Marquis (mar...@roble.com)
------------------------------
Subject: 9.26 Cycling Psychology
From: Roger Marquis <mar...@roble.com>
[More up to date copies of Roger's articles can be found at
http://www.roble.com/marquis/]
Motivation, the last frontier. With enough of it any ordinary
person can become a world class athlete. Without it the same person
could end up begging for change downtown. Even a tremendously talented
rider will go nowhere without motivation. How do some riders always
seem to be so motivated? What are the sources of their motivation?
This has been a central theme of sports psychology since its beginning
when Triplett studied the effects of audience and competition on
performance in the late nineteenth century. Though a great deal has
been written on motivation since Triplett it is still an individual
construct. As an athlete you need to identify what motivates you and
cultivate the sources of your motivation. Here are a few popular
methods.
GOALS. One of the best sources of motivation is setting goals.
Be specific and put them down on paper. Define your goals clearly and
make them attainable. Short term goals are more important than long
term goals and should be even more precisely defined. Set short term
goals for things like going on a good ride this afternoon, doing five
sprints, bettering your time on a known course, etc. Set long term
goals such as training at least five days a week, placing in specific
races, upgrading... DO NOT STRESS WINNING when defining your goals.
Instead stress enjoying the ride and doing your best in every ride and
race.
GROUP TRAINING. Training with friends, racing as a team, and all
the other social benefits of our sport are also great for motivation.
This is what clubs should be all about. With or without a club group
training is vastly more effective than individual training. The same
intensity that can make solo training a challenge comes naturally in a
good group. Ever notice how easy a smooth rotating paceline seems,
until you arrive home to find a surprising soreness in the quadriceps?
Why beat yourself over the head when a few phone calls (or emails) will
generally find plenty of like minded compatriots. Try to limit solo
training to between 10% and 50% of total miles.
RACING. The best European pros actually do very little training.
Need I say more? There simply is no better way to improve cycling
fitness. Whether racing to place or to train the savvy racer will do
all the racing his or her motivation allows.
REGULARITY. It's nice to be regular, in more ways than one ;-)
Regularity makes difficult tasks easy. If you make it a point to ride
every day, or at least five times a week (to be competitive), making
the daily ride will become automatic. Riding at the same time every
day can also be helpful but be careful not to become a slave to the
schedule.
AS WELL as cycling books and videos, new bike parts, new clothing,
new roads, nice weather, losing weight, seeing friends, getting out of
the city and breathing fresh air, riding hard and feeling good and
especially that great feeling of accomplishment and relaxation at the
end of every ride that makes life beautiful.
--------------
While high levels of excitation (motivational energy) are
generally better for shorter rides and track races, be careful not to
get over-excited before longer, harder races. Stay relaxed and
conserve precious energy for that crosswind section or sprint where
you'll need all the strength you've got. Learn how psyched you need to
be to do your best and be aware of when you are over or under aroused.
It's not uncommon, especially in early season races, to be so
nervous before the start that fatigue sets in early or even before the
race. Too much stress can make it difficult to ride safely and should
be recognized and controlled immediately. If you find yourself
becoming too stressed before a race try stretching, talking to friends,
finding a quiet place to warm-up, or a crowded place depending on your
inclination. Remember that this stress will disappear as soon as the
race starts. Racing takes too much concentration to spare any for
worrying.
Every athlete needs to be adept in stress management. One
technique used to reduce competitive anxiety is imagery, also known as
visualization. While mental practice has been credited with miraculous
improvements in fine motor skills (archery, tennis) its greatest value
in gross motor sports like cycling lies in stress reduction.
Actually winning a race can also help put an end to excessive
competitive anxiety. But if you have never won nervousness may be
keeping you from that most rewarding place on the podium.
--------------
If you find yourself getting overstressed when thinking about
winning, or even riding a race try this; Find a quiet, relaxing place
to sit and think about racing. Second; Picture yourself driving to the
race in a very relaxed and poised state of mind. Continue visualizing
the day progressing into the race and going well until you detect some
tension THEN STOP. Do not let yourself get excited at all. End the
visualization session and try it again the next day. Continue this
DAILY until you can picture yourself racing and winning without any
stress. If this seems like a lot of work evaluate just how much you
want to win a bike race.
Visualization is not meant to replace on the bike training but can
make that training pay off in a big way. Eastern European research has
found that athletes improve most quickly if visual training comprises
fifty to seventy-five percent of the total time spent training! Like
any training imagery will only pay off if you do it regularly and
frequently. My French club coach always used to tell us: believe it
and it will become true.
(C) 1989, Roger Marquis (mar...@roble.com)
See also Velo-News, 3-91
------------------------------
Subject: 9.27 Mirrors
From: Jobst Brandt <jbr...@hpl.hp.com>
> Mirrors are mandatory on virtually every other type of vehicle on
> the road. Competent drivers/riders learn the limitations of the
> information available from their mirrors and act accordingly.
I suppose the question is appropriate because no one seems to have
a good explanation for this. In such an event, when there is much
evidence that what would seem obvious is not what is practiced, I
assume there are other things at work. I for one don't wear glasses
to which to attach a mirror and putting it on a helmet seems a
fragile location when the helmet is placed anywhere but on the head.
These are not the real reasons though, because I have found that when
looking in a head mounted mirror, I cannot accurately tell anything
about the following vehicle's position except that it is behind me.
That is because I am looking into a mirror whose angular position
with respect to the road is unknown. The rear view mirror in a car
is fixed with respect to the direction of travel and objects seen in
it are seen with reference to ones own vehicle, be that the rear
window frame or side of the car. I find the image in a head mounted
mirror on a bicycle to be distracting and a source of paranoia if
I watch it enough. It does not tell me whether the upcoming car is,
or is not, going to slice me.
I additionally I find it difficult to focus on objects when my
eyeballs are distorted by turning them as much as 45 degrees to the
side of straight ahead. You can try this by reading these words with
your head turned 45 degrees from the text.
I believe these two effects are the prime reasons for the unpopularity
of such mirrors. They don't provide the function adequately and still
require the rider to look back. I do not doubt that it is possible to
rely on the mirror but it does not disprove my contention that the
information seen is by no means equivalent to motor vehicle rear view
mirrors to which these mirrors have been compared. It is not a valid
comparison.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.28 ==> Powerbars NO more ---> homemade -- YES!!!
From: eco...@teal.csn.org (Eric Conrad)
I don't know about any of you out there in cyber-mtbike-land, but I was
getting tired of buying Powerbars and other nutrition supplements to enhance
my riding. However, I do understand the benefit of having a quick, nutritious
snack that is full of energy on hand during a ride.
So I asked around and came up with a recipe for Powerbar-like bars that seem
to have a lot of what we need. I'll place the recipe here on the Usenet for
all to copy, distribute ... [but please don't market them, cause I'll only
kick myself for not doing it first ;-) ].
Please make them and enjoy them before you think about flaming me. Trust me,
you'll like them much more than Powerbars, and they're cheaper to make than to
buy their counterpart.
ALSO, PLEASE POST ANY OTHER RECIPES YOU HAVE FOUND THAT HELP BIKING
PERFORMANCE!!!
Eric
BARS OF IRON :-}
1 Cup dark raisins 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 Cup golden raisins 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 Cup butter or Margarine 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 egg 1/2 Cup liquid milk
1 1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour 1 Cup quick cooking oats
1/4 Cup toasted wheat germ 1 Cup sliced almonds (optional)
1/2 Cup golden molasses (dark is ok also)
1/2 Cup Nonfat dry milk
Chop raisins (in food processor if possible). Cream butter, sugar, molasses &
egg.
Combine flour, dry milk, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, salt and
ginger. Blend into creamed mixture with liquid milk. Stir in oats, raisins,
and half the almonds (if desired).
Pour into greased 13x9x2 inch pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with remaining
almonds (if desired).
Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 30 minutes. Cool in pan and cut into 1x4 inch
bars.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.29 Lower back pain
From: "David LaPorte (Biochem)" <dav...@lenti.med.umn.edu>
I'm not a medical expert, but I've had my share of low back pain and I've
learned a few things. When in doubt, go see a medical professional.
Low back pain is one of the most common problems afflicting humans. It's
been estimated that about 80% of these problems arise because of poor
posture. These posture problems occur when we stand but are even more
significant when we sit or ride a bike. We tend to round up our low
backs, stressing the ligaments and tendons which lie along the spine. It is
the irritation and inflammation of these ligaments and tendons which leads
to most low back problems.
It is important to remember that back pain results from the sum total of
ALL the stresses your back experiences. Even if you only experience pain
when you're riding, poor riding posture may not be your only problem.
For example, you may be sitting poorly at a desk all day or lifting boxes
poorly.
**Low Back Pain and Posture**
Since posture is the problem, it is also the solution. Those of us who
suffer from low back pain need to be constantly vigilant. We need to
maintain some arch in our backs as much as possible.
Sitting is a particular problem. Most chairs, coaches, car seats, etc
provide little low back support. You can buy low-back support pads at some
drug stores. Try them before you buy them because they are not all
comfortable. Alternatively, you can fold a towel and put it behind your
low back. The key is to maintain some arch without being uncomfortable.
Position on the bike is also important. Get your bike fit checked at a
shop that you trust. You should also work on maintaining a flat back
when riding. One way to achieve this is to push your belly button toward
the top tube.
***Stretching***
Stretching is an important way to achieve flexibility and improve your
posture. A very useful stretch is to place you hands on you butt and
push your hips forward while standing:
o
<\
/
you should feel this in the front of your hips. Tight hip flexors
prevent an upright posture. After a few seconds, arch your back and
slide your hands down the back of your thighs:
o
|)
/
This movement puts the arch in you low back. You can do this stretch
many times a day. It is particularly useful to do it periodically when
you have to sit or ride for an extended period of time.
A more potent stretch that can be done a couple of times a day starts
with you lying on your front. Using your arms, push your shoulders off
the floor. Don't lift with your back. Keep your low back as relaxed as
possible. Let your hips hang down, staying as close to the floor as
possible.
o
__/|
This is a powerful stretch and should be started gradually. Otherwise,
it can do more harm than good. However, done properly, it can be
enormously helpful. Over a period of weeks, you should gradually
increase the height you achieve and the time you hold the position. It
is also less stressful to do this stretch for short periods with a little
rest than for a long period (for example, 3 X 10 sec with 5 sec rest
rather than for 30 sec straight).
Once your back starts to heal, you will probably need to stretch it
deliberately. This is apparently because of the scar tissue that built
up during healing. Keep it gentle, especially at first. You could
easily reinjure your back. Here's a good one: lie on your back with your
legs straight. Pull your knees up, grasp your thighs by your hamstrings
and gently pull your knees to your chest.
Stretching the ham strings can also help relieve low back pain. Tight
ham strings tend to pull the pelvis out of line. This can stress your
low back. The problem with most ham string stretches is that they also
tend to stretch the low back by forcing it to round up. The most
appropriate stretch I know requires the use of a doorway. Lie in the
doorway with your butt near the wall. Gently slide your foot up the
wall until you feel the stretch.
doorway
|
|-
||
||
|___|____O
/
Two ways to make the stretch more gentle are (1) bend the lower leg,
keeping only your foot on the floor or (2) move your butt further away
from the wall. To make the stretch more intense, loop a cord or towel
over your raised foot and gently pull it away from the wall. As with all
stretches, this shouldn't hurt.
***Exercises***
Another key to preventing low back pain is to keep your abdominal muscles
strong. These muscles help support the back. Do abdominal crunchers,
not sit ups. Sit ups emphasize the hip flexors, not the abs, and can be
hard on the back. Crunchers are done by lying on your back with your
knees bent. Press your low back into the floor and curl your head and
shoulders off the floor. Hold for a couple of seconds, then lower back
to the floor. Repeat until you can't get your shoulder blades off the
floor. Abs can be worked every day.
Strengthening the low back muscles can also be helpful. To start, lie on
your front with your arms and legs extended in a straight line with your
body. Raise your right arm and left leg. Put them down and raise your
left arm and right leg. Put them down and continue. As your back
strength improves, try raising both arms and legs at the same time, arching
your back in a "reverse stomach crunch". There are, of course, more
powerful back exercises, but they are also more stressful and shouldn't
be considered until your back is 110%.
***Medication***
Antiinflamitory medication can be helpful. Ibuprofen, naproxin and
aspirin are all available without a prescription. Acetominophen (eg.
Tylanol) is NOT an antiinflamatory. These drugs are most effective if
they are taken early since inflamation is hard to get rid of once it's
become established.
A danger in antiinflamatory drugs is that they are also pain killers.
Pain is your body's way of telling you that your doing damage. If you
block the pain signals, you can easily aggravate your injury without
knowing it.
Muscle relaxants are sometime prescribed for back problems. These should
only be obtained from a physician.
***Ice, Heat and Massage***
Ice is a great way to reduce pain and inflamation. A good way to apply
ice is to freeze water in a paper cup. Peel the cup back to expose the
ice and then use the cup as a handle while gently rubbing the ice over
the effected area. Ice is particularly good for the first couple of
days. Some people find that it's useful to continue ice treatments
beyond that. Others find that the ice treatments make their backs tight
if they continue beyond a couple of days.
Heat, especially moist heat, can be useful. However, it should not be
used for a couple of days after injuring your back or after aggravating a
current injury. Regardless of the timing, if you feel worse during or
shortly after heat treatment, stop doing it.
In the later stages of a back problem, I find that my low back muscles
get tight. Gentle massage seems to help them relax, promoting the
healing process. I suspect that massage could make things worse in some
cases, such as when the injury is fresh.
***Book***
An excellent book on this subject is "Treat Your Own Back" by Robin
McKenzie, Spinal Publications Ltd., P.O. Box 93, Waikanae, New Zealand
ISBN 0-9597746-6-1. They use this book at the Low Back Center of the
University of Minnesota Hospital.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.30 Saddle Sores
From: gre...@umich.edu (Lee Green MD MPH)
> I think I'm developing a couple of saddle sores. I'm curious as to an
> effective treatment for them, and effective preventative measures I can
It recurs intermittently here. Lots of comments about keeping clean to
keep the bugs at bay, all to the good.
However, there is more to saddle sores than infection. Skin has several
defenses against bacterial invasion, all of which must fail before
infection occurs.
Abrasion breaks the physical barrier, and preventing it is the reason for
good bike shorts. Lubrication is sometimes helpful too. I recommend not
Vaseline but Desitin. Yup, the diaper rash stuff. Some advocate bag balm
(there seems to be a whole cult of folk medicine around bag balm,
actually) but I'd say best avoid it: it softens skin, which is just what
you don't want.
The point that most posters here seem to miss is probably the most
important though: tissue ischemia. That is, the skin and subcutaneous fat
between your bones and the saddle get compressed. Blood doesn't flow
through them much. Low blood flow is "ischemia", meaning not much oxygen,
nutrients, antibodies, white blood cells, and other good things delivered
to the area.
Ischemic tissue is highly susceptible to infection, heals poorly, and can
break down and form a sore just from ischemia, without any infection at
all. It's similar to the pressure sores that nursing home patients
suffer.
Keep clean, use lubricants if they seem to help, but especially wear good
bike shorts, *make sure your saddle fits properly*, and *get off the
saddle often to allow blood flow through the tissues.*
There is more to saddle sores if you're interested in a lot of technical
detail regarding oxygen tension, shear forces, etc but e-mail me if you
want the gory details.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.31 Group Riding Tips
From: Roger Marquis <mar...@roble.com>
[More up to date copies of Roger's articles can be found at
http://www.roble.com/marquis/]
There are some things that you just know are great the first time you
experience them. For many of us that first time riding in a tight
paceline was just such an enlightenement. Here are some ways
to make your group ride excellent.
* Pacelines, Pacelines, Pacelines. Single or double, rotating
quickly or slowly but always smooth, tight, and enjoyable. This is the
single overriding feature common to every good group ride.
* Wheelsitters are always welcome, but please stay at the back.
There's nothing more disruptive than someone who rotates to the front
only to slow down on hitting the wind. If you're feeling extended,
tired, or otherwise not inclined to pull through there's no problem
with sitting at the back, just let the riders who are rotating know
when they've reached the back of the rotating section.
* Accelerate slowly and with an eye to keeping the group together.
Attacks, jumps, short-hard pulls and other race-like riding may be fine
for certain smaller rides but have no place in a group oriented ride.
I'm often surprised that novice riders sometimes think this kind of
aggressive riding is better training than a good rotating paceline.
* Go hard on the hills (and elsewhere) but don't forget to regroup.
This doesn't mean waiting for every last straggler but always make a
reasonable effort to regroup after the harder sections.
* Don't open gaps and if you find yourself behind a gap close it
slowly. A skilled group will remain in a tight paceline through 95% of
an average ride including stops, corners, short climbs and descents,
and traffic.
* Don't point out every single pothole, oncoming car, or other
obstacle. Each rider has to take responsibility for themselves. This
means that everyone should be paying attention to the traffic and the
road, even from the back. The frontmost riders should point out
unusual hazards of course, and steer the group gradually around glass,
potholes, slower riders and such but don't give anyone the impression
that they can leave it up to other riders to watch the road ahead.
* The lead riders are most responsible for the group's behavior and
must take this into account at stop signs and lights. Don't accelerate
through a yellow light unless you know the back of the group can make
it too. If the group does get split ride slow until the rear group has
caught back on. If you're at the back please don't run the
intersection just to maintain contact unless it is clear that traffic
is waiting for the entire group to pass.
* Don't accommodate elitist attitudes. Perhaps the best thing about
good group rides, aside from the training, is the socializing. Team
affiliation, racing experience, helmet use, type of bicycle, etc. are
all matters of individual preference and should be left as such. As
long as the rider is safe and able to keep up they should be welcome.
* Experienced riders should point out mistakes. This must be done
diplomatically of course but it is important to make people aware of
unsafe riding, hard braking, cutting blind corners, unnecessarily
obstructing traffic, etc.
* It's also helpful to meet at a popular, central location. Cafes,
plazas, and bike shops are all good places to wait and talk before the
ride starts.
* See http://www.roble.com/marquis/clinic for more pointers on group
riding skills.
Roger Marquis
mar...@roble.com
------------------------------
Subject: 9.32 Riding in echelon
From: Kevin metcalfe <metc...@wheel.dcn.davis.ca.us>
Date: Fri, 13 Sep 1996 16:47:03 -0700 (PDT)
The "fan" you guys are talking about is called an echelon. It is
something that even a lot of good cat 1 and 2 riders can't do properly.
It looks something like this: (Each "|" is a rider.)
Wind from the left Wind from the right
|| ||
|| ||
|| ||
|| ||
|| ||
|| ||
| |
| |
| |
The single file guys at the bottom of the picture are "in the gutter".
Though they may be behind another rider they are getting almost no draft
and their days are numbered unless they can get into the echelon proper.
The riders in the echelon will rotate through from the sheltered side to
the front and then back in the windward side. i.e. With wind from the
left you rotate counter clockwise and you rotate clockwise when the wind
is from the right. If you are riding in a echelon and you want to keep
things smooth and together you will NEVER take a big long pull on the
front. You will always just rotate through. If you take a big pull at
the front, the previously pulling riders will continue to drift back.
Especially since the last guy to pull is still in the wind waiting for
you to swing over and give him a draft! What you'll end up with is a
single file echelon. This is bad because the number of riders that can
fit into an echelon is determined by the width of the road. If you go
single file, then only half as many can fit into the echelon and you've
got a lot of pissed off riders pushing the wind.
A strong team (like ONCE) can cause a lot of damage in a cross wind. By
putting the whole team on the front and making the echelon just wide
enough for the team, they can drive the pace up front hard enough to
shatter the field. Smart riders will start forming second and third
echelons behind the original. This is the best thing to do.
Unfortunately there are two problems. First, as soon as you get close,
some moron will try and jump across to the first echelon. This is
usually stupid because the reason you are in the second echelon is
because they're no room in the first one. So the offending moron will
often find himself stuck in the gutter unless he can muscle his way into
the echelon. (A lot like trying to knock Abdu off of his leadout man
with 300 meters to go.) The second problem is that most of the stronger
riders are probably already in the first echelon so you're at a
horsepower disadvantage.
Often, early in a race, the field might encounter a strong cross wind and
break into as many as eight or ten echelons. Each echelon will be within
50 to 100 meters of the next one. They will continue like this until the
course turns either into or with the wind and the group will reform.
Just because you aren't physically connected to the front group in this
situation IS NOT NECESSARILY A REASON TO PANIC. If there are only ten
miles to go however, feel free to panic. :)
There's nothing about an echelon that makes it faster than a regular pace
line. The reason it will break the field up is that only part of the
field will fit in an echelon.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.33 Mirrors II
From: Richard Moorman <rmoo...@rmii.com>
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 96 22:42 MDT
Helmet mirrors are very useful for nearsighted people with glasses. I use
my mirror to determine what's going to affect my travels in the next ten or
fifteen seconds. I don't worry about absolute accuracy, I just want the big
picture. If I want that information without a mirror, I have to twist my
body and head around so that I can look at the road behind me through my
glasses. To do this correctly I have to take my left hand off the bars,
disorient myself, and risk wobbling around a lot. It's dangerous. With the
mirror, it's just a glance up and to the left for a second or two. Mirrors
aren't for everyone, but for some of us they're wonderful. I use a mirror
despite the bad design that makes the plastic ones ridiculously breakable.
I hope that someone develops a flexible, springy mirror mount. It seems an
enormously obvious idea.
------------------------------
Subject: 9.34 Thorns aka Puncture Vine
From: Jobst Brandt <jbr...@hplabsz.hpl.hp.com>
Date: Wed, 30 Oct 1996 17:54:01 PST
Those who suffer from thorns become familiar with the plant before
spending much effort selecting tires that will survive thorns.
Recognition is a large step toward avoiding flats. The plant is not
mobile and does not propel its seed pods away from its tendrils. There
are riders who think nothing of pulling thorns from their tires and
throwing them in the path of other bicyclists. It seems to go with
not understanding the problem that by avoiding the plant thorn
punctures largely can be avoided. In my experience, most riders who
suffer from thorns, have no idea of the plants appearance or its
habitat. Most, think the yellow star thistle is puncture vine. It is
not and is also not capable of causing a flat.
Puncture vine, known as tribulus terrestris, grows mainly on barren
soil, typically on roadsides that have been sprayed with herbicides to
prevent cigarette initiated grass fires. It germinates in early
summer after the first hot days, and grows radiating with flesh
colored tendrils from a central root to a radius of about 30 cm,
having 1 x 3 cm filigree dark green leaves that follow the sun. It
has five petal yellow blossoms 1 cm in diameter that produce seed
clusters of five tetrahedral pods with a heavy base and two 3 mm
thorns, one of which preferably points upward when breaking from the
clusters that it produces throughout its annual growth.
------------------------------
Subject: 10 Off-Road
------------------------------
Subject: 10.1 Suspension Stems
From: Brian Lee <bria...@cc.chiron.com>
by Brian Lee & Rick Brusuelas, 1994
ABSTRACT: Discussion of the differences between suspension stems
and suspension forks, and a listing of the pros & cons of suspension
stems.
DESCRIPTION: The suspension stem discussed here is the
Allsop-type, which employs a linkage parallelogram and a spring
mechanism to effect shock-absorption. Two models on the market
using this mechanism are the Allsop Softride, and a version
produced by J.P. Morgen, a machinist based in San Francisco.
There is also a version put out by J.D Components of Taiwan
(advertised in Mountain Bike Action), however judging from
illustrations, this unit does not employ the parallelogram design
shared by Allsop & Morgen. Other Taiwanese models may also exist.
The Girvin-type stem, which uses a simpler hinge and bumper, will
not be directly addressed here, although some of the comments
may also apply.
The Allsop-type suspension stem (suspension stem) works on a
different principal than a telescopic shock fork. Instead of
only the front wheel moving to absorb shock, a stem allows the
entire front end of the bike to move with obstacles while the
rider's position does not change.
All suspension requires some form of "inertial backstop" to
operate. A theoretical suspension (stem or fork) loaded with
zero mass will not function regardless of the size of obstacle
encountered. This is because there is nothing to force the
compression of the spring mechanism. It is essentially locked
out.
In a fork system, the weight of the bike & rider both provide the
inertial backstop. In a stem system, the rider's weight on the
handlebars provides the backstop. Because of this, the two
systems "ride" differently.
Since most of the weight comes from the pressure of the rider's
hands, the stem system encourages a more weight-forward style of
riding. Or perhaps placing the stem on a frame with a shorter
top tube so the rider's weight is distributed more on the front
end. (Shortening the front end has also been applied by frame
builders on frames intended for use with suspension forks. Ex:
Bontrager.)
What does this mean to you and me? It means the suspension stem
requires a certain amount of the rider's weight to be on it at
all times in order to remain completely active. For the majority
of riding, it's just fine. The only difference is in extremely
steep descents, where you are forced to keep the weight back in
order to keep from going over the bars.
In this situation, much less weight is on the bars to activate
the stem. Further, if one were to encounter a largish rock on
such a descent, what does one do? The instinctive thing is to
pull back a bit to unweight the front and help the front wheel
over. This removes all the weight from the stem area, and you
are now riding a rigid bike again.
A fork system is also affected by weight shifts, but not quite to
the extent that a stem is affected, because of the weight of bike
& rider coming through the head tube to be distributed into the
fork. Even if you were to remove your hands from the bars on a
gnarly descent and hang with butt brushing the rear wheel, you
are still applying weight to the bike through the pedals.
All this, of course, is theoretical and YMMV. I, for one, am not
always able to react to obstacles coming at me and leave the
front end weighted. When that happens, I'm very glad I have
suspension.
Now enough theory stuff, here's a summary of the advantages &
disadvantages of suspension stems:
PROs
1) Lighter than a suspension fork. This depends on the existing
stem/fork combination. If the current stem and rigid fork are
heavy, then a suspension fork may be a better choice. For
example, I've chosen the following items for comparison, as they
represent the lightest and heaviest of commercially available
stems & forks (weights for all stems are for conventional types -
non-Aheadset):
Litespeed Titanium 211g
Ritchey Force Directional 375g
Allsop Stem 625g
Fat Chance Big One Inch 680g
Tange Big Fork 1176g
Manitou 3 1360g
Lawwill Leader 1588g
So say you have a Litespeed stem and a Fat Chance fork. The
combined weight would be 891 g. Switching to an Allsop would
change the combined weight to 1305 g, while a Manitou 3 would
bring it to 1571 g. The Allsop has a weight advantage of 266 g
(9.4 oz).
OTOH, if you have a Ritchey stem & Tange Big Fork, the original
weight would be 1551 g. Allsop stem => 1801 g. Manitou 3 => 1735
g. In this case, keeping the boat anchor of a fork and switching
to the Allsop would be a weight penalty of 66 g (2.3 oz.).
Of course, YMMV depending on your original equipment.
2) Does not affect frame geometry. A suspension fork
retrofitted to a frame, *not* designed for suspension, raises the
front end - sometimes as much as 1". This reduces the effective
head angle and slackens the steering, slowing it down. This is
especially true for smaller sized frames which, with their
shorter wheel base, are affected to a greater degree by the
raising of the head tube. A suspension stem provides suspension
while preserving the handling of the bike.
3) Torsionally rigid fork. Telescopic forks all have a certain
amount of flex to them, and the sliders are able to move up &
down independently. This aspect of front suspension forks has
spawned a new line of suspension enhancing products: stiffer
fork braces, and bigger, heavier suspension hubs. All to stiffen
up the fork. This is one reason suspension stems are favored by
some riders who ride lots of tight, twisting single track.
4) No stiction. Stiction, or static friction, is friction that
exists as the fork sliders rub against the stanchion tubes.
This friction is an extra force that must be overcome for a fork
system to activate. Not a problem on large hits. But more of a
problem on small- and medium-size impacts. Because the stem has
none, the stem responds better to small, high-frequency bumps
(washboard) than many air-oil forks.
5) More boing for the buck. The Allsop stem provides up to 3"
of stiction-free travel, at a cost of about $250, depending
where you go. The majority of forks in this price range only
offer 1" - 2" of travel, and are often heavy, flexy, and fraught
with stiction. The fork could be stiffened, but at the
additional cost of a stiffer fork brace or perhaps a suspension
hub and a rebuilt wheel (e.g. fork brace - $90; hub - $80;
rebuild - $100. Plus the original $350 for the fork. YMMV).
6) Better "feel". The stem allows you to have a rigid fork,
which transmits more "information" back to the rider. This is a
benefit when riding through creeks where you cannot see where
your wheel is.
7) Less exposed to the environment. The stem is higher, more
out of the way than suspension forks. Thus you can ride through
creeks and mud without having to worry about your fork seals, or
about contaminating the innards of the fork. Even if mud
splashes on a suspension stem, the pivots are less sensitive to
grit than sliders and stanchion tubes.
8) Ease of maintenance. There are no seals to replace or
service, no oil to replace, no air pressure to adjust, and no
bumpers to wear out. An occasional lube of the pivots is all
that is needed. An extension of this is the ease of initial set
up. For best results, you have to set suspension (fork or stem)
to react according to your weight and riding style. With air/oil
forks you may have to change oil, adjust pressure or change
damping settings (if the fork has them). With bumper forks you
may need to swap out bumper stacks and mix-n-match bumpers until
you get what works for you. With the stem, the only adjustment
is to increase or decrease the spring tension with an allen
wrench.
CONs
1) No damping. This is one of the main complaints from
proponents of suspension forks. The suspension stem will give
way to absorb shock, but the return is not controlled and cannot
be adjusted. JP Morgen currently makes a suspension stem which
employs oil-damping, but Allsop does not.
2) Requires adjustment to riding style. As mentioned above, the
stem requires weight to be applied to it to function. This is
also one of the complaints applied to the Softride rear
suspension beam. The flip-side to this, according to riders of
the Beam, is once the adjustment is made to "plant your butt on
the saddle" the ride is extremely comfortable and affords
excellent control by sticking the rear tire to the ground.
3) Stem "clunks" on rebound. The feeling is about the same as
suspension bottoming out, except it happens on the rebound. This
is not as much a problem on the Allsop as on the Morgen stem,
which uses a hard plastic top-out bumper. This is a subjective
complaint, as some riders claim not to notice it.
4) Stem not torsionally rigid. Another trade off. The stem is
not proof to twisting forces and may be noticeable in hard,
out-of-the-saddle efforts. Allsop has redesigned the top beam of
their aluminum stem for 1994 to address this problem. Instead
of the aluminum "dog bone" structure for the top linkage member,
they've substituted a machined aluminum beam, reminiscent of a
cantilever bridge.
SUMMARY: In my opinion, a suspension stem is an excellent choice
if one is retrofitting an existing bike, which has not been
designed around a suspension fork. A suspension stem is also a
very good choice if one's primary riding is twisty singletrack,
where you need the sharp, precise steering of a rigid fork.
There are undoubtedly situations for which a stem may not be
ideal, but stems should not be dismissed as a viable form of
suspension. The best thing to do is to try both types of
suspension if you can, and see what you like better.
------------------------------
Subject: 10.2 MTB FAQ available
From: Vince Cheng <vcc...@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca>
I have written a MTB FAQ. It's available from:
ftp://draco.acs.uci.edu/pub/rec.bicycles/mtb.faq
http://www.ualberta.ca/~vccheng/
or you can email me at the above address for a copy.
------------------------------
Subject: 10.3 Installing new rear derailleur spring
From: Alan C Fang <jsb...@uclink2.berkeley.edu>
Date: Tue, 3 Sep 1996 17:29:14 -0700 (PDT)
leave the derailler on the bike. taking out the old one shouldn't be too
hard- just yank on it. if you can't do it, use the reverse of what i'm
about to tell you for getting the new spring in
one end of the spring is open. that open end has to hook onto this bar.
to get it through, get a piece of brake or shifter cable and bend it in
half, putting a kink in it. thread both ends of the cable through the
derailler, where the bar is. make both ends go on the opposite side of the
bar from the open side of the hook of the derailler. put the spring
inside the derailler body, hook the kink in the cable around the open end
of the spring, and yank on the cable. that should pull the open end of
the spring past the bar. now you can stuff the tip of the hook over
the bar, thus hooking the derailler spring onto the bar. this method is
much better than trying to bend the spring, stuff the end through, and
bending it back.
the closed end of the spring is much easier to get in. what i use is a bb
tool, the kind with the pins for adjusting older style bb's. use one
of the pins to grab the closed end of the spring, and lift it up so that
it hooks onto that [other thing]. you are done. voila! or as a dyslexic
would say, viola!
------------------------------
Subject: 10.4 A Brief History of the Mountain Bike
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 16:19:29 PST
From: Jobst Brandt <jbr...@hpl.hp.com>
The first high quality fat-tire bicycle was built in Marin County,
California by Joe Breeze, who with others rode down the rocky trails
of nearby My Tamalpais. They used balloon-tire one-speed clunkers
from the 1930s and 1940s to descend these trails with coaster brakes.
In that pursuit, one of these trails got the name "Repack" because one
descent was enough to vaporize the brake's grease, requiring the hub
to be re-packed.
Joe Breeze, Otis Guy, and Gary Fisher, all still in the bike business
today, were top category USCF riders. Many of the Tamalpais riders
were members of road club Velo Club Tamalpais, wearing a blue and gold
jersey with the mountain logo. In October of 1977, Joe built a
fat-tire bike of lightweight tubing that was previously found only on
better road bikes. It had all new, high-quality parts and 26" x
2.125" Uniroyal "Knobby" tires on Schwinn S2 rims and Phil Wood hubs.
Joe built ten of these first Breezers by June 1978. Breezer #1 has
been on display at various places, including the Oakland Museum, where
it is on permanent display.
In January 1979, Joe and Otis, who were planning another
transcontinental tandem record attempt, visited Tom Ritchey, who was
building their tandem frame, and brought along Joe's Breezer mountain
bike. Peter Johnson, another noted frame builder who happened to be
at Tom's house, was immediately thrilled with its features, while Tom
seemed to sense the significance of the concept, being a veteran trail
rider whom I had introduced to many obscure trails in the Santa Cruz
mountains on road bikes. Gary Fisher got wind of Tom's interest in
fat tire bikes and asked Tom to build him one. Tom built one for
himself, one for Gary, and one for Gary to sell.
Tom built nine more later in 1979, but couldn't find people to buy
them in his Palo Alto area. He asked Fisher if he could sell them in
Marin. Fisher and friend Charlie Kelly pooled a few hundred dollars
and started "MountainBikes" which became today's Gary Fisher Bicycles.
It was the first business exclusively for mountain bikes. It was
Tom's bikes, and Fisher and Kelly's store that made the introduction
of the mountain bike take hold. There was an obvious gap in the
market, since most builders were focusing on road bikes, leaving this
an open field for innovation.
If anyone's name stands out as inventor, it is Joe Breeze, who today
still produces Breezers. The marketing push first came from Tom
Ritchey, Gary Fisher, and Charlie Kelly and the ball was rolling. At
first the USCF felt it below their dignity, as did the UCI, to include
these bicycles, but after NORBA racers began to outnumber USCF racers,
they relented and absorbed these upstarts, as they certainly would
recumbents if they had similar public appeal.
------------------------------