A Beautiful (and Safe) Mother’s Day On The Tandem With My Wife
Mother’s Day cycling is a little tricky for my wife… she’s been in two Mother’s Day crashes. One was on a wet quad train track that hits the road at such an acute angle, you have to use four lanes (it’s not a four-lane road, the road just opens up at that point by design… the speed limit is 25-mph). It was damp after a rain the night before and the boards between the tracks were a little wet… several of us went down, including my wife. Thankfully, nobody was hurt seriously.
The next one, just a few years ago, was bad. Just my wife. Her foot cover kept her from properly clipping in at a stop and she went for a sprint a few miles up the road. Halfway into a massive push, her foot slipped off the pedal and she went down hard. She was probably a little concussed and still has a scar for her misfortune.
So we were rolling out under that cloud. I knew my job, and I made sure I didn’t get cocky all ride long. I actually had to check my motives a couple of times and remember to be safe on Mother’s day. Still, we topped 32-mph a few times on nice downhill runs.
We had a glorious ride. Not a cloud in the sky and it warmed up enough we were shedding clothes at our first stop just twelve miles in.
And we didn’t even come close to a mishap on the ride. We got to the driveway with an 18-mph average for just under 40-miles and smiles on our faces for the Sunday Funday effort.
With our daughters home and my wife’s mom and stepdad over for dinner, we did our best to make it a special day for my wife. Including not crashing on the morning ride!
A Note To Beyoncé; A Tandem Captain’s Warmest, Sincerest THANK YOU! Alternatively, I Thought I Knew What Fun On A Bicycle Was… Till We Bought A Tandem And Found True Happiness (After A LOT Of Work).
My wife and I went on a cruise with a couple of friends, yesterday. It was damp and chilly and we’d planned on waiting another hour or two, but Mike called and said he was already on the road, so we had to make a decision; ride alone or ride with friends. We decided to quickly dress and I got the tandem ready to roll. We made it outside before Mike, who’d collected Diane, had a half-mile left to the house. They slow-rolled it. We could see them coming down the road as we threw our legs over the top tube.
Off we went, on the damp, but not wet enough for a rooster tail, roads. I was pretty quiet throughout the headwind part of the ride. Two things I don’t like for riding are cold and damp. Still, even cold and damp beats lazy by a lot. And headwind? Hey, it’s Michigan. Nothing you can do about it.
We hit all of the headwind in the first half of the ride. It was a bit of a slog, but not too bad… it was a 13-mph (21 kph) crossing headwind from the south-southwest and the temps were well above freezing, but well below room temperature. With a light long-sleeved jersey and a thermal vest on, I was just the right mix of cool so I wasn’t dripping all over the top tube. My wife and I handled all but a few of the headwind miles up front before turning toward home for the big push.
It was good times all of a sudden.
About eight miles from home, my wife tapped me on the butt and quietly said in my ear, “Beyoncé” and I chuckled. I know what time it is when Beyoncé plays in her right earbud (she leaves the left out to remain aware of traffic). I shouted, “Beyooooncé!”. My wife laughed and said, “We’re going to play.” I could feel the pedals lighten as my wife put the power to hers. Our pace jumped from the low 20s to the upper 20s. Mike and Diane slipped off the back as we passed 28-mph (45-kph). They were quite a way back when we got to the next intersection. We sat up and soft pedaled to wait for them to catch up. The next three miles were crossing tailwind, heading north. Then, three more with tailwind and we were home, with just a touch over 29-miles. So, thank you, Beyoncé.
We had an impressive collection of dried, departed worms stuck to our frame when we finished. We talked with Mike for a minute before heading inside to get out of the cold. I spent a little time cleaning de-worming the bike, we cleaned up and ate some lunch… and took a marvelous nap as the rain began again in earnest.
Almost from the minute we walked through the door, I was thinking about how much more fun I have on the tandem that I do the single bikes. It’s not even close.
A photo from warmer, sunnier, Kentucky days… but with two Mikes in our draft.
Beware Where You Buy Your Bike From! HAHA!
I saw this flipping through YouTube and I couldn’t help but laugh. It’s not just that the handlebars are turned around. No, the stem’s backwards, the handlebars are backwards, and the brakes and shifters are on right.
It’s literally like the person putting the bike together had no clue how a bike cockpit… works… but was just dangerous enough to know how most of the parts go.
Anyway, it’s worth a laugh.
Now That’s The Mötley Crüe I Remembered!
Mötley Crüe has been one of my all-time favorite bands since I was just a young lad (going on 40-years, now). The only band I’ve seen live more often is Metallica, and they’re only in the lead by one show.
I had all of Mötley Crüe’s cassette tapes, then all of their CDs… up until Generation Swine. I just couldn’t get into that one. I tried a couple of their albums after that one but found myself not swayed. I was a big fan of Vince Neil’s solo work, even. That had its limits, though. Until just the other day. Fair warning, the video is a little out there…
Out of the blue, I got a notification from Apple Music that the Crüe has a new song out. Now, if there’s one thing I know about Mötley Crüe, it’s that Vince Neil can’t keep up live. He’s just too washed up to carry the high notes, so he ends up sounding like he’s constantly out of breath, hitting two or three lyrics out of five… and that he looks like Ron Jeremy’s brother doesn’t help.
Anyway, I clicked on the song, just to check it out… and it was AWESOME! Vince took it down a notch (or an octave) for this song, so I get the sense he’ll be able to perform it live. Which is double awesome.
If you’re a Crüe fan at all, give this one a listen. It’s pretty freaking good!
Commuting By Bicycle To Work Is A Little Harder Than I Expected…
I’d been fantasizing about riding to work for so long, I didn’t put much thought into what would really go into it. Now that I can commute by bike, and actually have to go the long way home to make the ride an enjoyable length. This has come with a learning curve, though, and some trouble spots have been quite funny.
- No matter how hard I’ve tried not to, I still break a sweat on the way to work. I think part of the issue is that I’ve always ridden hard. I’m not used to just chilling out. It’ll be weird fighting the urge to push on the pedals with my usual verve.
- I ride race bikes for my commute. Wise or not, I love my 5200 and Venge and that’s what I’m going to ride. There’s no fitting a pannier, so I’m riding with a backpack that weighs well over 20-pounds (10kg). That gets a little heavy after eight miles or so.
- It takes three times longer to get to the office. Well, 2-1/2, or 15 minutes. I have to leave early to make it on time and that messes with my wife and my normal routine for getting ready in the morning.
- Showing up in cycling shorts to the office is a little weird. In the future, to avoid this, I’m going to throw on a pair of regular shorts over the Lycra. Figuring this one out came with a little… well, awkwardness.
In the end, I think I’ll end up picking and choosing which days I ride to work and which I simply ride with my wife after work. It’s not set in stone, of course. It was just a little more work than I anticipated.
What a Weekend!
I wrote about Saturday’s ride. Sunday started out beautifully with a diminishing chance of precipitation. Apparently the weather didn’t get the memo.
What should have been partly cloudy skies opened up to a gentle sprinkle, then a full-on light rain. Halfway through our 39-mile ride we were soaked.
We rode through it, though. Nothing else we could do!
It was a slog, and if we got behind a wheel, well, we didn’t have to worry about drinking out of a water bottle.
We had some laughs over that throughout the day.
After a bunch of yard work, we were off to bowling. Our last night of the season.
We rocked it. 5 of 7 points and I went 224 – 217 – 236 for a cool 225 average on the night.
On top of the fun stuff, we got our daughter’s room cleared out so she could get a new laminate floor, burned our brush pile down (without getting the FD called on us, which was a small miracle – I thought for a minute NASA would call), and I got the yard cut and trimmed.
What a weekend! Thank God for recovery.
Tapping the big miles again – oh, how sweet it is!
We started breaking into the big miles yesterday. My wife and I have been in the teens and just breaking into the 20s on the tandem, but we started kicking it up yesterday. We had just under a 40-miler with crosswind the whole way. When the wind blows from the east, the only thing we can do is head north or south.
One thing notably different on the tandem is my wife making sure I’m eating enough… we were just over halfway into the ride and she tapped me on the butt and asked if I wanted a gel… probably a little early, but not a bad idea, I thought. It helped me stay strong through the rest of the ride – in fact, I really felt good.
Today is another big one, in the 40-mile range. We were kicking around 57 but figured that was just too much of a jump…
Yesterday’s ride was simply amazing. We had great weather and a nice six-person group. It was smiles and laughs and good times for the whole ride. It’s really nice to be back at it! Thank God for spring!
Zero Percent AI
I just wanted to make sure to point out, as cute as “AI” seems, it’s a horrible writer.
All one needs to prove this simple point is to listen to YouTube shorts or Tik-Toks that use the AI voiceover.
The mistakes are too numerous to count and you can always pick out the AI generated clips. Well, writing isn’t much different, at least yet. It’s like the computer just can’t quite grasp how to put a thought onto paper (or to ether as the case is). It just doesn’t quite get the language.
Anyway, to the Title. I am zero percent AI (which is probably, ironically, ascertainable from my occasional typo).
Cycling and the Great Quandary; Aluminum or Carbon Fiber Handlebars?
I’ve got both. I’ve got a beautiful, aero $300 Specialized S-Works handlebar on my Venge.
I’ve got a gorgeous Bontrager aero alloy handlebar on my Trek 5200.
I’ve got more than 20,000 miles on the Venge with that handlebar and at least as much with the 5200 & Bontrager bar… and after all of those miles, other than feeling the smoothness of the carbon next to the shot peened finish of the alloy bars, I can’t tell the damn difference. I was expecting a bit less vibration from the road out of the carbon bars, but it’s not enough to write home about after the shiny wore off the S-Works bar.
Now, had the 5200’s frame been alloy? Well, that would be an entirely different post – especially being an old-school “can’t take anything more than a 24mm tire” bike. That isn’t the case, though.
The real difference is in price; $300 against $150.
And looks? Well, the S-Works bar is vastly prettier – I’d say each bar fits on the bike it’s on, though. Knowing what I know now, I don’t think I’d bother to trade up for a carbon bar on the Trek. With the hydroforming of the alloy bar, it’s got everything the carbon bar has in aero… and that’s all that’s left because the “feel” difference is nominal.
I thought there was going to be a fair to significant difference in “feel” when I bought the carbon bar. Nope. At this point, it just looks cool. And that’s awesome. I just don’t know if it’s double-the-price awesome.
Cycling and Caffeine, Does Caffeine Really Help? Does It Make You Faster?
I’m going to come at this from a different angle than does GCN, because if you didn’t see the Placebo Effect coming from about 100km away, we need to talk.
First, there are two different reasons and times to take in caffeine, maybe even three. Where I’ll make this interesting is I’ll say of the three I’m going to list, the morning start coffee is at best the middle in the most important. Hear me out.
- Before the start of a ride, early in the morning to wake up.
- The mid-ride maintenance coffee.
- The last 15-miles of a 100k on the tandem (or 15 of a 100-miler on a single) “I need something to get me across the finish line” coffee (or, as may be the case, “Coca-Cola”).
Starting with the early morning wakeup coffee (two cup minimum), I wouldn’t say caffeine makes me faster as much as I would say it makes speed more likely, or even a little more enjoyable or even attainable. Without my morning wakeup, it’ll take longer to get into the groove, but I will definitely get into the groove once the pedals start turning and the pace kicks up. That’s why I’d put this at second on the list of importance.
Then we have the mid-ride maintenance coffee. This cup, or two, comes at the middle of the ride. It can be pretty important in getting me across the finish line without needing the most important caffeine of the day.
Now, the for the most important caffeine of the day, when my wife and I hit the wall on the tandem, the best relief is a Coke and a Payday. That combination takes care of all of our needs to get us across the finish line. The sugar gives a boost that allows the caffeine its 15-minutes to kick in, then you’ve got the peanuts in the Payday for the longer energy so we can push all the way to the finish. Now, anyone who’s hit a wall and had a Starbuck’s Tripleshot will tell you it’s more than a gamechanger. I’ve gone from tail dragging, don’t even want to walk into the store, to “let’s roll” in fifteen minutes with a Tripleshot Vanilla or a Coke and a Payday. It’s happened too many times to recount, so I know it works. I’ve seen the same thing in my wife, and when you’re on a tandem, you can literally feel the difference!
So, does caffeine make you faster? That can be debated endlessly. I don’t believe there’s any doubt, though, it makes me a better cyclist.
DALMAC - 2016 The Wall
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