A Day of small Firsts for me

[mimitabby]

sounds like a great ride, Lisa! and tomorrow you might be a little stiff at first
when you start your ride but in no time at all your muscles will relax
and you will have another great ride.

[teigyr]

really? I didn't know how that worked, I just assumed it was total time divided by total miles.

hmmmm.

ok, my brain hurts again. I do know that I can feel like I'm riding well and my average is up then I slow down for about 10 feet and it drops WAY down. At least that's how it seems

[KnottedYet]

Do you love that Brooks B68?

I'm really thinking about one (though I shouldn't yet).

Sounds like you fit it well, such a long ride on a new Brooks! And congratulations on the flat and the speed. With big hills and all!

You got you some "Buns of Steel on Steel!"

[suzieqtwa]

Good job Lisa...............I had my first flat 3 days ago ,and I had to walk home 3 miles (lucky I was close). I had no idea what to do. It was my back tire also. Its something I really need to learn ,and the only way Im going to learn is take my tire off.

[ShubieGA]

Congrats on so many Firsts! I can't imagine flying downhill at 38 mph - I get nervous at 25-27! Good for you! Enjoy your ride tomorrow - it will be a breeze!

[Fredwina]

faster is funner! Trust me

[Bikingmomof3]

I know I am behind, but....


CONGRATULATIONS on all your milestones.

[Kitsune06]

I had my first flat relatively recently, too. Well, first flat on the ROAD BIKE. MTBs are different. I just load those w/ slime, when I get a puncture, I hop off, inflate, let it re-seal, then go. Wouldn't work the same on the road bike. So in one go, I got to learn how to operate those scary Prestas, take off my FREAKIN' TIGHT tires, pull out my patch kit (first time for that, too. No idea how it's taken me so long to need to use that...) and realize how woefully inadequate the tire levers on my multi tool are.

So I decide to go up on the sidewalk to avoid the bus that's stopping every 100 yards (or less) because the rush hour traffic up Hall had been *quite* prohibitive in going *around* said bus. All of a sudden I hear "Pop!" like running over a sizeable bit of gravel on a mtb or something. I think nothing of it until the bike starts going squirrelly and I start 'feeling' the bumps a little too much. Oh, yes. I was flat.

I patched the one hole (easily located by the chunk of glass protruding thru the tire) and sat pumping, pumping, pumping. It was only as I was telling the immensely kind recumbent cyclist who stopped to help that I couldn't pump it up, that it occurred to me that I might have more than one hole. Off came the tire (as I curse myself for not having a spare tube on hand, just my patch kit "It should be good enough!") and a 1x2" area was all chewed up, multiple holes etc. Eff. in addition to another hole further up. Recumbent Man (here RM) had a touring patch kit including a very large patch that just fit the area. I felt like that damsel in distress type, so typically saying "THANK YOU, Recumbent Man!"

but the tube was repaired- a learning experience- then I went to the bike shop w/ X and got a couple new tubes, new tires and a tube for my bag. Problem solved.

[Jolt]

Good job Lisa...............I had my first flat 3 days ago ,and I had to walk home 3 miles (lucky I was close). I had no idea what to do. It was my back tire also. Its something I really need to learn ,and the only way Im going to learn is take my tire off.

Bummer! Does your local shop offer any kind of fix-a-flat class? Some shops do, and it would be worth looking into--you definitely do need to know how to fix a flat. I learned how to fix a flat at the local bike co-op that has open shop hours, and a few weeks ago was glad I did--had my first flat on the way to the grocery store (flatted just as I was getting to the parking lot), and was able to patch it myself. And of course, it was the rear. I think that's Murphy's law of flat tires!

[RoadRaven]

really? I didn't know how that worked, I just assumed it was total time divided by total miles.

hmmmm.

You got it right teigyr, that's exactly how it works... but the longer you go slowly in places, the slower your average will be.

If you travel for 20mins and cover 10kms your average will be 30kph...

However, if you travel 5km on the flat at 30kph, but then hit a hill and have to slow down for the next 5km, your average will be reduced.


LISA!!! Way to go... alot of good firsts to do, to celebrate and be proud of.
Well done on the tyre change too.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Thanks all you guys for your kind words!

Darcy- you're right- I don't usually go quite THAT fast when there are cars around....but in the country here we often get onto descents with no car anywhere in sight. That's when I just let er rip.
I am a BIG one to "take the lane" whenever I feel it is to my advantage safety wise. Not afraid to do that or to leave plenty of leeway on my right for added safety. I agree with you.
Also- my bike computer can be set either way- to keep recording while I am stopped, or to stop recording data while I am stopped. The latter setting is called "automatic" and that's where I have mine set. Everything automatically stops while I've stopped drinking water, etc, then resumes as soon as I start rolling again. It shows an "AT" on the screen when set to automatic. Don't you have the pamphlet/directions for your computer?- it would detail this there.

I got my first practice changing tires in my living room when I changed to thinner tires on my bike. It wasn't changing a flat on the road, but mostly of the same procedure. Being in th ecomfort of your living room with the bike on a stand and tools on the coffee table (along with a cup of coffee) sure makes it easier to learn the ropes! It might be good to practice just once at home taking off your back wheel and tube and then putting it back on again. I might even suggest one do this so you'll feel more confident when you get an actual flat on the road.

[Crankin]

Lisa,
You do not have to turn the bike upside down. I have seen many people do this and it only damages your bike! I am a mechanical dunce and I haven't had to change a flat on the road in 6 years. But, I have practiced the rear wheel thing recently. Before you take the wheel off, put your chain ring in the biggest ring. Then put the cogs on the one closest to the outside. When you put the wheel back on, you can easily line the chain up on the right cog this way. Then just pull back the derailleur and it falls right in. It's hard to explain in writing, but maybe you could have someone at a shop show you.
This was scarier to me than the actual tire changing part, so I have tried to make sure that i can remember it all....

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa,
You do not have to turn the bike upside down. I have seen many people do this and it only damages your bike! I am a mechanical dunce and I haven't had to change a flat on the road in 6 years. But, I have practiced the rear wheel thing recently. Before you take the wheel off, put your chain ring in the biggest ring. Then put the cogs on the one closest to the outside. When you put the wheel back on, you can easily line the chain up on the right cog this way. Then just pull back the derailleur and it falls right in. It's hard to explain in writing, but maybe you could have someone at a shop show you.
This was scarier to me than the actual tire changing part, so I have tried to make sure that i can remember it all....

Robyn,
Actually, I didn't turn my bike upside down, but I wanted to. But.. why would it damage my bike?
I do know about the putting into the smallest gear thing and about the pulling back the deraileur part- i did all that yesterday. It just was real awkward trying to do this and fighting gravity holding the wheel up and jockying it around at the same time. Felt like I needed a third hand. I got it in though after a bunch of fumbling.

[IFjane]

Lisa - congratulations!!!!! Wow, I'm impressed - especially about the tire change. I HATE getting flats & I am really really really slow at changing my tire. And....I can't being to do it with just my bare hands. You are awesome!

You hills sounds like our hills - and your opinion of them is about the same as mine!

[DarcyInOregon]

Also- my bike computer can be set either way- to keep recording while I am stopped, or to stop recording data while I am stopped. The latter setting is called "automatic" and that's where I have mine set. Everything automatically stops while I've stopped drinking water, etc, then resumes as soon as I start rolling again. It shows an "AT" on the screen when set to automatic. Don't you have the pamphlet/directions for your computer?- it would detail this there.

Nope. My LBS swapped out my computer when I purchased the road bike last year because I asked for a computer with cadence (and I never look at cadence but think maybe in the future). I never got the instruction papers, so I will need to ask them.

The numbers really don't matter that much to me. I like having the temperature on there; indeed for me it is the most important number. I like having the speed, trip time, clock and odometer. I assume someday cadence might be important for me, but for now it is not.

Regarding the average, I always assumed the bike computer stopped calculating when the bike was stopped. And maybe it does. Or maybe not. I will ask the LBS.

I get low averages because I am cautious with my slow-downs, and I am attentive to doing some hills on every ride; by low average I mean an average that is much lower than the speed I cycle for most of the ride. I am happy with my speed and I have no desire to have a higher speed.

I am one of the cyclists who doesn't like to focus on numbers when I ride. I turned the beeper on my HRM off so I don't have to hear it. It is sufficient for me to know how many calories I burned on my ride when the ride is over, and what my high and average heart rate was, without knowing what the heart rate is every single second. I keep my bike computer set to trip miles and speed, and that is it. I look at trip time when the ride is over, more to compare against calories burned than for any other relevance. My goals are to have fun, burn calories, get fitter, and increase my distance so I can do some centuries this summer. I am hoping to do my first century next month.

Darcy