To kick off the class, we covered changing a tire.  The instructor, Cat, demonstrated on a road bike tire, but assured us that the principles she was going to show us applied to several different types of tires including mountain bike and hybrid tires.  Though stressing that a better practice is to bring a spare, she proceeded to show us how to patch a hole in a tube.  This exercise was thorough and complete.  Here are some of the tips she shared with us:

• Identify where the hole in the damaged tube is, even if you are going to replace it, so that you locate the area on the tire for inspection.
• Ensure that the tube has a little air in it before trying to install it.  This will keep the tube from twisting and make it easier to manage.  A tube that is installed with a twist, once inflated, can rupture or have other problems.
• If possible, refit the bike tire using only your hands, as using tire levers to perform this task risks damage to the tube.
• Before fully inflating the tire, inspect the entire tire to insure that the tube will not get pinched between the tire and the rim.  This could either cause the tire to lose its bead, or the tube to get a pinch flat.
• Fill tire to proper pressure.  When on a trail, there are two basic ways of inflating your tire.  A hand pump or a CO2 cartridge.  It is tempting to put “just enough” pressure with a hand pump.  Be sure not to under inflate the tire.  Most tires have minimum and maximum tire pressures listed on the side wall.  Make sure you achieve a tire pressure that falls within that range.  A lot of tires max out at 120psi and CO2 cartridges dump about that pressure into the tire when fully engaged.  Be cognizant of this and check your pressure before you ride. 

Next we covered derailleurs.  A quick definition of derailleurs.  Most bicycles have multiple “gears” and the mechanism that changes these gears is the derailleur system.  The derailleur system consists of a front and rear derailleur.  Both consisting of a chain and several sprockets.  The front derailleur has a guide called a cage that is used to move the chain between sprockets derailing it.  The rear derailleur has what’s called a jockey pulley to control the derailing of the chain between the rear sprockets.  Both the front and rear derailleurs have adjustment screws that control the high and low gear limit stops.  The limit stop is the distance that the cage or jockey pulley allow the chain to go horizontally along the sprocket grouping.  A maladjusted limit stop can either allow to chain to go too far, causing it to fall off of the sprocket group, or not far enough, causing it to not shift into the highest (or lowest) gear.  When adjusting derailleurs, you should also consider the amount of tension the cables have.  Too loose or taught cables can also affect the shifting of gears.

I am by no means an expert in this area, so I will not attempt to explain how to adjust derailleurs.  In fact, some REI store locations offer a Derailleur Adjustment class.  In Atlanta, the Perimeter location is the only one that offers it ($30 for members/$50 for non-members).

Finally we covered basic maintenance.  How to care for your chain and other components.  Here are some of the talking points:

• All Allen Bolts on bicycles are metric.  It is very easy to mistakenly use a standard Allen Wrench on them, thus stripping them.  Only use metric Allen Wrenches.
• Keeping the components that have moving parts properly cleaned will extend the life of the component.
• Use a degreaser to clean the chain.  She recommended  Finish Line Speed Degreaser.  Ensure that you do not ride the bike after degreasing without first lubing the chain.
• Allow the degreaser to completely dry before applying lube to the chain.  She recommended Tri-Flow Superior Lubricant.
• When lubricating the bicycle, find all parts where metal touches metal and add lubricant to that area.  A single drop of lubricant is usually enough.
• Do not forget to add lubricant to the cables where they meet the housing.  These cables are called Bowden Cables and the plastic sheathed housing is lined with metal where it contacts the cable.  Be sure to place the cable on the smallest sprocket when applying the lubricant as the smallest sprocket causes the least amount of resistance on the cable, thus putting it in the most exposed position.  Then change the gears to the largest sprocket (progressing to the easiest gear for the rear derailleur and the hardest gear for the front derailleur).  This will increase the tension of the cable causing it to get pulled through the housing dragging the newly applied lubricant with it.

One quick note that was covered in the class was to be cognizant of chain wear.  The chain is the quickest thing to wear out on a bike and is often overlooked until it breaks.   She recommended the Park CC-2 Chain Checker though REI doesn’t carry it.

And there you have it.

Joe.

Before I dive into the details, let me explain what a bike fitting is and why they are a good idea.  Many people purchase bikes.  Road bikes, mountain bikes, time trial bikes, hybrids… all kinds.  The people who purchase them from mediocre bike shops should expect that the sales person will ask you your height and possibly the length of your pant inseam, if they ask you anything at all.  From this they will determine what size bike you should purchase.  Some places will even have you stand over the bike to determine the clearance between the top tube and your body.  Sounds good, right?  I thought so, too.  Fortunately, most good bike shops have competent employees that know at least the minimum measurements needed to purchase the correct size bike for a person.  But that is just getting the right sized bike…that doesn’t fit the bike.  A bike fitting is a series of measurements and observations that tell the bike fitter how to adjust both the bike components and you, the rider, to get a better, more comfortable fit on the bike.

The reason I felt I needed to get fitted was because my arms would fatigue far faster than my legs and my breathing.  Occasionally, my hands and my left foot would fall asleep during rides.  I stumbled upon someone else getting fitted at Atlanta Cycling and I watched for about 10 minutes.  I was sold.  I learned so much just watching someone else’s fitting that I knew I would greatly benefit from getting one of my own.

As instructed, I brought my bike, to the shop dressed in full riding gear.  After mounting my bike onto the bike trainer, Mike, the fitter, observed as I rode for about five minutes.  He asked me to make a few small adjustments to the way I was riding (i.e. hand placement) while he observed.  After he was satisfied that he saw enough, he explained that he was going to record me during some interval riding.  He started the recording and I rode for about 3 minutes.  He had captured my video into a program on his laptop.  Now he could do analysis of my riding posture in slow motion and using the program’s measurement utilities.  Once he established a baseline, he started to the first of the many changes.

Starting “from the ground, up”, he wanted to adjust the cleats on my shoes first.  He has me walk in a straight line, and the return to toe a line he made with masking tape.  Measuring off the natural position of my feet while standing with more tape, he used this information to adjust my cleats.  After he was done, I rode the bike again.  Using a tripod-mounted laser pointer, he pointed them at my knees.  We could both see that my knees now went smoothly up and down during each rotation.  Before the cleat adjustment, my knees made tiny loops at the top of the rotation.  This sounds like a small change, but I could tell a big difference.

Next he decided to work on getting my heel lower.  Apparently, I, like many people, “toe pedal”.  Toe pedaling is when you point your toes too much while pedaling.  After asking why this is bad he replied with an analogy.  Imagine that you were sitting on a balance beam with nothing to support you but a set of 2×4’s just close enough to touch with your toes.  This would be fine enough to take the pressure off of your perineal nerve until your toes and calves got tired.  Eventually, you would rotate back off of your toes and put most of your weight on your perineal nerve.  Not only does this cause discomfort, but could put a damper on future fatherhood, if one so desired.  Keeping the heel parallel to the ground for as much of the rotation as possible engages larger muscle groups in the leg and thus is more power and less fatigue.  He fixed the problem, mostly, with seat adjustment.  He raised my seat a total of about 2 inches.  Interestingly enough, the bike shop that sold me my bike said that I may have to lower my seat some more, but it would involve cutting the seat post since it was as low as it would go.  Initially, I could tell the difference of the seat adjustment, but it put more pressure on my arms.

Next he addressed the added pressure to my arms.  First he changed the stem of my handlebars.  It raised the handlebars significantly.  The pressure of on my arms disappeared, but I still wasn’t fully comfortable.  He measured my shoulder width and then my handlebars.  I didn’t realize there is a correlation, but my shoulders measured 44 inches and my handlebars measured 40 inches.  I wasn’t sitting natural on the bike because I was reaching inward two inches on each side of my body just to grab the handlebars.  Replacing the handlebars and the stem turned my Bianchi into a totally different bike. 

After a few more adjustments and measurements and a lot more observations, we were done.  I rode around the parking lot and couldn’t believe the difference that all the little adjustments made.  He then recorded me doing intervals again.  He overlaid the first, baseline, recording over the new recording.  You could see many differences.  One was my head placement.  My head was higher and it was more comfortable for me to look forward, so I did it more.  My heel position was lower to the ground and the angles were less aggressive.  I was able to sit up higher in the saddle.  One huge difference I saw was the raising and dropping of my hip during rotations.  Initially, they were so dramatic that you could see my biking being pulled from side to side as I strode.  Now it was minimized and the bike was stationary.

This was a great experience for me, and I would recommend it to anyone who is serious about riding.  I am sure that there are a lot of places that do this, but if you are in the Atlanta area, visit Atlanta Cycling’s Vinings store.  Ask for Mike, he’ll do a good job.

And there you have it.

Joe.

Before I get to my list, I think it is important that I clarify what I mean by stupid movie.  I don’t like movies that are just stupid and are based only on the merits of being stupid.  I like movies that are borderline slapstick, but not in a Mel Brooks kind of way.  One essential criteria a good stupid movie must have is that it must be quotable.  The plot can be half-retarded (because you never go full retard), the actors can be complete no-names, and the script can be atrocious as long as it has good quotable lines.

And now for my list:

10	9	8
7	6	5
4	3	2
1

And there you have it.

Joe.

When I actually got the energy/motivation/gumption to get out of bed, I watched The Incredible Hulk movie.  I actually liked it.  Mostly, I think, because I didn’t expect it to be any good at all. 

Ed Norton is good even in bad movies, so I had to watch it.  I got inspired to do something that I haven’t done in a very long time.  Draw.

And here is what I came up with.

Not too bad for a rusty hand and a set of five-year-old pencils.

It was relaxing at least.

At last, with his symptoms subsided, we figure he can go back to school and I can go back to work.

And Now…It’s My Turn.

I have a fever and ache all over.  My grasp on work slips further (or is it farther) into the distance.  I just have to hang my head and hope that tomorrow will prove to be a productive day.

*sigh*

And there you have it.

Joe.

But then I got an unexpected surprise.  My first cousin, Jimmy, got a job in Atlanta and will be moving near me from Florida.  His son and Daniel are the same age and, though they only met at a recent family reunion in New York, they seem to get along well.

I am very excited as I haven’t had a relative live in the same city as me since I was a kid, and never anyone from my Father’s side of the family.

I have wanted Daniel to play baseball for years, but he hasn’t really been that interested, so I didn’t push the issue.  At the family reunion, however, he played baseball with Dominic, who is very good at it. 

When I say Dominic is very good at baseball, I don’t mean he’s good at it for a five year old, I mean he’s very good at it for a seven or eight year old, despite the fact that he’s five.  This kid can switch hit standard sized baseballs pitched overhand.  It is no surprise that Dominic is good at baseball.  His father and his uncle, Michael, both excelled at the game.  Jimmy won a baseball scholarship.

Since playing with Dominic, Daniel has been very interested in baseball.  Now that they will be living in the Atlanta area, not only can they be playmates, but Daniel can learn some baseball from him.

And there you have it.

Joe.

The next day, we went to Daniel’s Aunt Jenny’s for a family birthday celebration.  Daniel was really excited to see his Grandmother.  They have a strong connection. 

After the party, Daniel and I took our bikes to the Silver Comet Trail.  I am trying to get him out riding with me as often as possible.  He is new to riding a bike and he really likes it.  Though he still has training wheels, he is really getting the hang of riding.  He has one critical bad habit.  He frequently hits the brakes unintentionally while pedaling.  This time out Daniel rode really well.  We rode for four miles!  That’s quite a ride for a five year old beginning bike rider. 

He was exhausted when we got home.  Uncharacteristically, he fell asleep immediately when I put him to bed.  It was a good weekend.

And there you have it.

I oft have bigger eyes than stomach, but I avoided this temptation and chose the 20 miler that is rated easy or moderate.  Without realizing it, I chose the moderate group which is significantly faster than the easy group. 

The ride initially seemed like it was going to be enjoyable without much challenge.  That is until I hit the first big hill.  I fell back, but was able to catch up during the straight away.  After assuring the  rest of the group that I was Ok to proceed, I was informed that the hill I had just topped was a beginner hill and only a warm up for the ride.  This, I found, was not an exaggeration, in fact it was quite accurate.  The hills were plentiful and the pace was a around 17mph.  It was quite a work out.

It is sometimes painful to realize that you are nearly as in shape as you once thought.  Experiences like this tend to motivate people or cause them to reconsider what they are doing.

I choose to be motivated.

Now the hunt is on for Atlanta-based speakers.  Architects who like to present to their peers about subjects that interest us all.  If you are an architect or know one, consider this blog entry a call for papers.  Interested parties should email their profile and abstract to atlantaitarc@iasahome.org. 

And there you have it.

Joe.