Bike Dandies

I have been amused and a little disgusted by the debate taking place
on the Velo Orange Blog this week concerning, among other things,
fork shape and logos.

It's a special kind of man to fuss incessantly about what his bike
looks like. Most recently, someone has been grumping about the
presence of logos (and we're talking pale, barely noticeable etched
logos on handlebars), saying he prefers it when he can polish the
logos off his bike components. What kind of anal fussbudget is
willing to spend time polishing a logo off a pair of handlebars?
What, exactly is the point? Is he creating a work of art? Is he going
to hang it in a gallery?

The Velo-Orange guy (who is doing very nice things for artisanal bike
goods) is very concerned about the bend of the forks on the new bikes
his company is developing. That's legitimate; they're his creation,
and he should make them as nice as he wants, particularly if they
sell better when they're beautiful. OK, I'm good with fork bend, so
far. But for the bike dandies in the peanut gallery to start weighing
in is pathetic. What do they care what the fork bend looks like? All
they're doing is buying a bike to ride (supposedly, although I have
my doubts).

I'm about to put a second basket on my touring Trek. It looks silly,
and it makes the bike a bit heavier, but it's really handy. I picked
up packages at the post office today, and I was just barely able to
get them to fit under the cargo net in the back basket. A front basket
would have been nice. But it certainly wouldn't draw too many
admiring looks from the dandies who drool over bikes in Flickr.

And the fork! It's rusty and it doesn't match the frame! The bike
must be unrideable!

Actually, it rides fine. I couldn't ride for five miles no-handed
(OK, it's a bit shimmy-ish--I can hardly ride 100 feet no-handed),
but it works well for commuting and touring.

Enough.

On The First (And Probably Only) Century of the Season

Now that I have finished my mid-April 100 mile day, I can look back on the recent "companions wanted" posting in Adventure Cycling magazine, in which someone was looking for a companion on a trans-am ride, and laugh. He didn't have a lot of touring experience, he said, but he figured he could average 100 miles a day.

Ouch. I hope he doesn't have a job he needs to be back at after 40 days. Even though brevet riders go 180 or even 240 (how?) miles in one pop, let me just say that for this reasonably fit regular biker, 100 miles is a long way. The first 80 miles were OK. The last 20 were pretty bad. Not awful, but pretty bad.

I averaged 15.2 mph, which is pretty good. There were a few stretches of hilly country and headwind.

The good news is the equipment worked well. The Avocet plastic woman's touring saddle was quite comfortable the whole time. No bad butt boils. The handlebars were high enough and close enough. The fact that they were untaped was not a problem. In fact, I liked it. And, of course, the absences of click-in or toe-clipped pedals was not a problem. On the contrary; being able to move my feet around on the pedal is good for my knees, methinks.

I know I'll forget how unpleasant the final 20 miles were, and I'll probably want to do it again. It was fun covering a lot of ground today, from the Lansing area down to Stockbridge, over to Unadilla, down to Chelsea, over to Waterloo, up to Munith, down to Pleasant Lake, and finally up Meridian Rd to my home turf. Very pretty rides through the Pinkney and Waterloo recreation areas.

I only got honked at once (by a rich pig in a BMW, of course) and given the finger once (by a redneck in a Corvette). Mostly, the traffic was well behaved.

I didn't wear my penny loafers, but I bet they would have been more comfortable than the New Balance running shoes. Not horrible, but not great.

Aside from very sore buns, I am fully recovered, two hours after ending the ride.

Biking Penny Loafers

I have discovered the perfect biking shoe. I recently had my Rockport penny loafers resoled with nice rubbery Rockport soles, and to my delight I discovered that these newly renovated shoes are quite lovely for biking. The sole is stiffish but not too stiff; the rubbery sole grips the pedals nicely; the loafer design keeps my feet loose and comfy. And they're stylish.

I don't suppose I'd have the nerve to do real non-commuting biking in them. (They'd be hilarious as touring shoes; maybe I'd wear a bow tie, too.) But for commuting, they're lovely.

Hand Made Tires?

Velo Orange has started selling hand-made tires. At $65 each, these must be special tires.

So, why would someone spend $130 on a pair of tires just because they're hand made? I guess that's the answer. Just because they're hand made, they must be better. Anything for our precious bikes.

They say they roll so much smoother. Right. I'm sorry, but if these people actually rode their bikes, they'd stop noticing the smoother rolling after about five miles.

My $15 Kendas continue to satisfy me.

Toe Clips

For two years now, I have ridden without toe clips (or step-in pedals). I rode on a 700 mile loaded tour without toe clips last summer. It was fine.

At the time I gave them up, I was having knee pain. I have had none since. Cause and effect? Maybe.

In any case, I've had two strapless, unclipped years (six thousand miles, or so). My one complaint is that sometimes my foot slips on the pedal. Not a big deal, but for the sake of tinkering I decided to put the old strapless (plastic) toe clips on the commuting Trek. I figured, strapless clips, ugly though they may be, are a compromise. They keep the feet from sloshing around, but they don't lock them into any set position.

So here's what I've noticed in the week of semi-clipped in riding: It's ok. I think my pedal stroke is smoother, and I can pedal in a lower gear without fear of my feet flying off. Perhaps if I can remember to do that, I can avoid knee pain. There's no way that toe clips give a lot of power from pulling up on the up stroke. But the smoother spinning may make a difference. And it's nice to be able to adjust the pedals when stopped at a light.

So I'll leave them on for now. I may take them off later, particularly if my knees start hurting again.

UPDATE:
I was not liking the "toe clips" today, so I rode without them. I liked it better. My feet, legs, and knees are more relaxed, and I don't think the spinning is any worse. The only thing I don't like is not being able to adjust the pedals while standing at a stop light. Not a big problem. So I guess I'll take the "toe clips" off.

I do this once a season. Deep in my psyche is the conviction that a bike needs toe clips. I grew up with that idea. I've tried to convince many biking novices about the necessity of toe clips. So I put the clips (or the Power Grips) on, ride for a while, then get over it. They just aren't necessary.