A Day of small Firsts for me

[DarcyInOregon]

Oh, and having a helmet mirror really was essential for me at high speed. At those speeds I really don't want to turn my head and take my eyes off the road, and glancing at my mirror every few seconds tells me there is no one behind us for a LONG ways so I can then safely stay slightly to the left of the righthand white line, on the good pavement -instead of flying along on the risky shoulder of the road, with it's cracks, crumbles, glass, roadkill, etc.- I would not want to do that.

Lisa, your "firsts" are not small, but gigantic. Good for you.

Also, when going fast on a descent, I put my bike out into the road where the cars can see me for certain, quite a bit to the left of the white line. Of course, it depends upon the road and the circumstances, but I think you are a rural cyclist like I am and so there isn't too much traffic. My reasoning is that by putting myself out into the traffic lane, vehicles will need to give me a real wide clearance to go around me, or wait until I reach the bottom of the descent, which makes my fast ride down the hill that much safer. I learned this trick from the guys at the LBS, and some older riders I've encountered say to do the same thing.

Regarding the average, Susan (the administrator of this forum) told me in another thread that many bike computers calculate the sit time into the average, even though the trip time is at a halt. I mean for the times we stop to eat, drink, look at the view, get our sit bones off the saddle, and so on, when the bike is just sitting there and not moving, yet the ride isn't over yet - and so, there goes the average. The next time my bike is in the LBS I am going to ask about it because I am a cyclist who stops to drink and munch, since I am not racing or anything, so I figure I should enjoy myself, and I stop at all the rest stops on the event rides. And as my distances increase this summer, I imagine the number of stops will increase, and thus the number of minutes devoted to no movement at all will increase. I will ask the LBS if my bike computer is configured that way.

Darcy

[lauraelmore1033]

At those speeds I really don't want to turn my head and take my eyes off the road, and glancing at my mirror every few seconds tells me there is no one behind us for a LONG ways so I can then safely stay slightly to the left of the righthand white line, on the good pavement -instead of flying along on the risky shoulder of the road, with it's cracks, crumbles, glass, roadkill, etc.- I would not want to do that.

That's a good idea to stay off the shoulder when you're going that fast. My husband has pointed out that when you're tearing down a hill like that, it is likely that you are at or above the speed limit and might as well take the lane. I think my top speed down hill was 34 mph (even with a death grip on my brakes) and it was terrifying because I knew that I couldn't stop if a car passed me and did something squirrely like make a sudden turn in front of me. Since the speed limit was 35, I could have taken the lane and prevented any of the above.

An impressive list of firsts, nonetheless!

I think I'm about to have my first tire change as well; I've got a bump about the size of a lentil above the rim of my rear tire. I think I'll be sticking close to home until she blows, though....

[margo49]

Well done, Lisa!

[oxysback]

Impressive list, Lisa. Good job!!

I think I'm about to have my first tire change as well; I've got a bump about the size of a lentil above the rim of my rear tire. I think I'll be sticking close to home until she blows, though....

Lauraelmore, why not fix it now so you don't have to worry about it later?

[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.

[Blueberry]

The amazing thing is that my sitbones are not that sore, despite my brand new Brooks saddle not being broken in yet. I'm lucky there, as this was not the case with my first Brooks saddle 10 months ago.

Congrats on the ride and changing the tire!!

Did I miss a new bike? Why the saddle change?? Inquiring minds are curious

[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!

[lauraelmore1033]

Impressive list, Lisa. Good job!!




Lauraelmore, why not fix it now so you don't have to worry about it later?

now that would be the smart thing to do wouldn't it?

[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

[Aggie_Ama]

Lisa- Congrats. Hills are hard and flats on a back tire stinks. You will really improve from those challenges! I still have a lot of trouble getting the back wheel on.

Darcy- What type of computer do you have? I have a Cateye Astrale 8 and you can download the instructions from their website. Mine has the function to stop when the wheels stop or keep going until you stop it. I have it set to stop when I stop.

[Crankin]

Hi Lisa,

Yes, it does feel like you need a third hand, but i found that if i stand sort of behind the bike, lift it by the seat and reach down to pull back the derailleur with my right hand, it works. It took a little practice and still feels awkward, but not like it first did.
If you turn your bike over, you can mess up your bars, brakes, and/or shifters. Seat, too. Plus, to me, everything is then in a different place and I can't figure out what to do!

Robyn

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I am one of the cyclists who doesn't like to focus on numbers when I ride....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

Yep, those are my goals too. (except for the centuries part!) My distance goal is to do several days of 60 miles each in a row this summer on a 4-5 day tour.

IFJane- I am s-l-o-w too when changing a tire! Happily, we didn't have any pressing appointments that day!

CA in NC- No new bike, just a wider Brooks saddle than the one I had. I posted about it in the "Gear & Accessories" forum under Favorite Saddles/"B68 & B68S" thread.