I wasn't sure if I was going to fess up, but since I've already admitted to being off the bike for a while I might as well admit a few other things.
1) I've been eating bacon and I like it.
2) I went on a road ride and got a Justin Bieber song stuck in my head.
3) I've ridden a geared bike this year more than a singlespeed.
4) Stating the obvious, I've gained a few pounds.
5) I'm probably not soloing anything longer than 50 miles this year.
6) I went on a four hour mountain bike ride last week that consisted of 50 minutes of riding and 3 hours, 10 minutes of shooting the breeze about bikes, history and religion over a cup of foo-foo coffee and pie.
7) I woke up this morning, saw the temperature was 9 degrees with a windchill of -4 and decided not to run or ride until later.
8) I have not commuted anywhere by bike a single time this year.
It looks so much worse when its all listed together. I'm getting delicate. In the words of my buddy Gavin, "Don't judge me."
Saturday, January 12, 2013
I haven't
ridden my bike in three days! No indoor training, no crank spinning whatsoever. There are far worse ills in the world, but for me in my lucky little life, three days off the bike sucks. I think I'll squeeze in a freeze-fest today.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Trust Issues: Relations With Gears
Recently, I've been thinking about adding some bikes to the fleet even though I have no money or space to do so. Specifically, a hardtail, geared, 29er and a Yuba for commuting have been at the top of the list. Since neither of those bikes are in my bike shop bum budget, I've gone with a cheaper alternative. The Voodoo has gears again and my commuter has a borrowed B.O.B Trailer to haul behind it. This is where my revelation began.
My commuter's drivetrain is shot. How I didn't notice this before, I don't know. It shifts like ___________ (you fill in the blank). Easy fix, but it adds to my unfair contempt for gears. The drivetrain on the Voodoo is golden. It shifts great although the XTR rear derailleur was finicky initially. Despite perfect functionality, I've come to realized that I do not trust gears. Specifically in technical climbs or negotiating technical features, I expect them to let me down. Dare I say, I even fear gears.
My thought process on my ride yesterday went something like this:
On approach to a rock ledge climb, "Don't slip-don't slip-don't slip-phew".
On approach to a steeper rock ledge climb with a steep drop at the end, "If it slips I'm going to back-don't think about it-don't think about-if it slips I'm going to-back flop."
It went on like this for some time. I kept thinking. I don't think very much on my single speed. As Dukes puts it, "If its there, I take it." Its this lack of thinking that makes riding a single speed so much fun. I am going to stick with gears because they have benefits like being able to cover more ground in the flats faster on long rides. Learning to ride tech on gears is going to be a bit of a mental challenge though. I'll keep trying, but when my confidence starts to wane, I'll look to my oner for reaffirmation.
My commuter's drivetrain is shot. How I didn't notice this before, I don't know. It shifts like ___________ (you fill in the blank). Easy fix, but it adds to my unfair contempt for gears. The drivetrain on the Voodoo is golden. It shifts great although the XTR rear derailleur was finicky initially. Despite perfect functionality, I've come to realized that I do not trust gears. Specifically in technical climbs or negotiating technical features, I expect them to let me down. Dare I say, I even fear gears.
My thought process on my ride yesterday went something like this:
On approach to a rock ledge climb, "Don't slip-don't slip-don't slip-phew".
On approach to a steeper rock ledge climb with a steep drop at the end, "If it slips I'm going to back-don't think about it-don't think about-if it slips I'm going to-back flop."
It went on like this for some time. I kept thinking. I don't think very much on my single speed. As Dukes puts it, "If its there, I take it." Its this lack of thinking that makes riding a single speed so much fun. I am going to stick with gears because they have benefits like being able to cover more ground in the flats faster on long rides. Learning to ride tech on gears is going to be a bit of a mental challenge though. I'll keep trying, but when my confidence starts to wane, I'll look to my oner for reaffirmation.
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