I spent a few hours exploring the back roads of Huntsville on my bike today. I've been away for almost two weeks, and I felt I needed to get reacquainted. 32.4 miles later, I'd love to take a nap, but I figured it would be better to put my thoughts first.
I haven't had Wanderer (my bike) for very long, and I definitely haven't had the opportunity to ride it as much as I'd like. Thus, every time I take it out it is a learning experience. Wanderer is a long wheel base recumbent bicycle, that means it handles differently than a traditional diamond frame bike.
Namely, the bike is right around 6 ft long, and because the wheel is way out in front, the steering is very sensitive. The slightest touch can create a foot of travel, and this creates a unique challenge at slow speeds, particularly when climbing hills. Because you're in a reclined position on a recumbent, you can't stand up in the pedals when climbing, or throw your body about to keep the bike on track. Instead, you're just supposed to drop into a lower gear and spin the pedals. Now Wanderer has a great low gear, I can climb a 10 percent grade with little effort, but my speed drops drastically.
What happens when you're vigorously pedaling a recumbent with sensitive steering up a hill at a crawl? If you're not skilled at steering, you wander up the hill like a drunken buffalo. Today, on two of the hills (they call them mountains here, but I've lived in Cali and I'm not going to insult the Sierra Nevada range) I traveled six feet into the lane before I could correct myself. That made life interesting with traffic (and it undoubtedly made me very popular). Luckily, it was Sunday morning, so traffic was light, and I pulled off to the side when the cars bunched up behind me. And, even though I was on a steep hill, thanks to my low gear, I was able to hop right back on and easily start pedaling again to continue my wobbling ascent.
Now, I know I've said some disparaging things about my recumbent, and I still have my concerns, but it has a lot of great aspects too. Once I crested the hills and hit high gear coming down, my eyes were watering from the speed, and I let out numerous "WAHOOOO!"s as I banked into curves. And, I spent 32 miles on the bike and nothing is rubbed raw or aches (well besides my weak legs, but they'll learn soon enough). I've put a lot of miles on my mountain bike and I've always had a problem with numb hands, shoulder and back aches, and most importantly sore areas that are very personal to me.
Take my account/review with a dash of salt - I have only put ~ 200 miles on my bicycle, but it is just the beginning. I strive to learn and improve, and down the road, I expect to have more to say about riding a recumbent. I just wish I had a trike to compare it too as well!
My new bike arrived last night! I had a lot of fun putting it together in my living room because it was pouring outside. I have pictures to share, but those will have to wait for when I have a little more time to tell the tale.
My life is crammed full right now. I'm working overtime at the 6:30 to 5:30, and once I get home I'm back to the grindstone thanks to Project Epic. Plus I have Project Errant demanding my attention.
Do I need more? Apparently so, because I'm slated to go to Boston, Los Angeles, and Connecticut in the next two weeks.
From high enough up, an anvil looks like a raindrop.
I ordered a new bicycle, and after ~5 weeks it finally arrived on Tuesday! I took a few hours off of work to play bike mechanic.
What did I get? Well scroll on...
Those are some big boxes for a bicycle.
It was buried under a lot of cardboard and paper packing material, but Wanderer, my new bike, waited patiently.
Some assembly may be required...
The few tools that would accomplish the job.
Shortly after I took the last two pictures I sat on the floor with the front fork in my hands staring at the instructions without really comprehending. I told myself more than once "not to panic," and "just look at it logically - it's a puzzle." I knew the engineer was within me somewhere. I just had to find him hidden amongst the cabinets full of account books and towering piles of administrivia. But find him I did.
Wow, that's a long frame...
Don't mind the improvised bike stand and please ignore the mess. Yes, that is my mountain bike in the background. It was a good subject for comparison, and it never got jealous.
Two hours after I started, the rain had cleared and I finished assembling Wanderer - it was fortuitous. Without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to my new ride to work and traveling companion.
Wanderer is a Long Wheel Base (LWB) recumbent bicycle. At over 5 feet long and 35 pounds, it isn't dainty, but you should feel how plush the ride is!
I've been riding my bicycle more - shocking, I know - but the majority of my miles haven't been back and forth to work. I ride for exercise and just for fun, to get out of the apartment. I'm racking up a lot of experience, but like being sandwiched in between a passing semi on one side and an SUV on the other, not all of it is enjoyable.
I was riding one of my favorite routes last Sunday morning. There's a short greenway that follows a creek for two miles that isn't far from my apartment, and I usually work it into a 4 mile circuit that I ride 3, 4, or 5 times depending on how spunky I'm feeling. The greenway is two miles of flat, smooth pavement, and you can really get cruising on a bike, even a mountain bike in dire need of a tune up rolling on fat tires.
The path has a designated split for bikes and pedestrians, which should come in handy for bike riding speed junkies. Unfortunately 80% of the pedestrians ignore the demarcation. Conversely, I have yet to see a fellow cyclist "breaking the rules" and riding on the wrong side of the line. Such is life. Usually, the greenway is lightly populated, and when I need to pass someone, I use proper etiquette: "'On your left', or 'on your right.'"
Well, Sunday morning I went out for a short "wake up" ride (refer to my previous post). Apparently others had a similar idea because the path was busier than normal. I spent a lot of tune slowing down and weaving to get around groups of people. Then, just before I was going to exit the greenway, I hit a "clot." A couple with a stroller was walking down the very middle of the trail, while another couple was heading towards me on the pedestrian side.
Now, while a cyclist on a road bike might slow and wait, that thought didn't cross my mind - I have a mountain bike! I was on the right, and I planned to go around on the right in the grass. Then, for some bizarre reason, I called out: "Behind you!" I still wonder why I said that instead of the proper: "On your right."
What did the couple with the stroller do? Bless them, lefty just stopped dead and half turned to stare at me, while righty proceeded to cross the rest of the path directly into my turn, pushing the stroller in front of them. Words failed me as I careened towards the stroller. I know I must be descend from an ape: instead of shouting a warning, howls and gibberish more befitting a chimpanzee issued from my lips. I guess that got righty's attention though because they finally stopped dead in their tracks as I passed around the stroller, which was now on the grass, with inches to spare. I remember the blond haired, blue eyed toddler smiling up at me as I pulled my leg away to make sure I didn't kick her.
I pedaled away as fast as I could, fiercely griping the handle bars to stop from shaking.
Should I have stopped and apologized? I knew then that if I did stop, I wouldn't have had anything nice to say, so I pushed harder. Was I in the wrong? I'm not sure.
I'm lucky - I know it. I hope I've grown from the experience. I will now always say "on your left or right," and when passage is in question I will slow down and wait. I ride to enjoy life, not send little Becky Sue, or myself, to the hospital.
"RAGBRAI, The Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is an annual seven-day bicycle ride across the state. RAGBRAI is the longest, largest, and oldest touring bicycle ride in the world." (ragbrai.org)
Spending 7 days riding 472 miles across the open, flat roads of Iowa in the summer, and camping out for six nights with ~10,000 of your closest friends; what about that doesn't sound fun? If I only would have made my revelation about biking a few weeks earlier, I would be there right now.
Technically that's not true - I don't use any gas on my bike, but the end result is the same. Tomorrow is my last day of work for the week (I work an alternate schedule), and it will be the first week that I haven't spent a drop of gas driving to work. I feel inspired to extol the virtues of riding a bike to work.
The most obvious benefit of riding a bike to work is that you will save money. I only have a 6 mi round trip, and I have a fuel efficient car (~35 mpg), but with $4 gas prices I save ~$0.70 per trip, or ~$3.40 every week. However, if saving a few dollars doesn't interest you, I have discovered numerous other bike riding perks:
No need for that morning cup of coffee. Whether it is the cool morning air, physical activity, adrenaline rush from being in traffic, cold shower at work, or a mix of all 4 factors, I am wide awake when I sit down at my desk in the morning.
Conversation starter. Walking a bike through the building and having it propped up in my cube has been an easy way to start conversations and make new acquaintances. They have either thought that I'm crazy or smart as a fox, but the bike makes a great first impression.
Exercise tool. I've got an automatic cardio routine built into my day. It gets the metabolism kicking early in the morning, and saves time on the days when I would normally do cardio.
Feel good machine. There's nothing like the feeling of cresting a hill, kicking the bike into its highest gear, and giving it all I've got. Cruising down a hill under my own power with the wind in my face always causes me to smile. Plus, every time I step off of my bike at work or at home, I feel like I've accomplished something.
Do you need to save money, quit caffeine, make new friends, loose weight, or cure a mild case of depression? Don't try any of those wonder drugs or tinctures of modern snake oil! Simply hop on your bike and commute to work, it is the cure for what ails you!
Fiery Gizzard is actually the name of a trail I went hiking on recently - sometimes I don't have to work very hard for eye catching blog titles.
This weekend I drove up to central Tennessee to get my hiking fix. Specifically the destination was Grundy Forest, a 212 acre tract, adjacent to Monteagle, TN. The Forest is actually part of the much larger (16000 acre) South Cumberland State Park. The Forest features some amazing geologic formations common to the Cumberland Plateau region including an extensive gorge and numerous waterfalls with inviting pools.
The Fiery Gizzard is a 17-mile one-way trail, and one of its termini is at Grundy Forest. We didn't hike the entirety of the trail, but that would be a fun and easy weekend endeavor - there are 4 primitive camp sites along the trail.
We hiked the FG along the riverbed through an extensive Hemlock forest that reminded me a lot more of the Northwest than the South. There were numerous rocky landslides that we had to traverse, so any hikers will need to watch their footing. The trail then did some impressive twists up the ridge line before leveling out. We took a slight detour (~.4 mi) to have lunch at Raven's Point, a very scenic promontory. After lunch we diverged from the FG and took the Dog Line trail to head back towards our cars. The piece of the Gizzard plus the Dog Line added up to a respectable ~10 mile day hike.
Since I wasn't rock hopping or splashing through the river this time I brought along a better camera. The pictures just hint at beauty of the region.
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