riding | Beyond 1200

Pedaling for Greatest Efficiency

“Just hop on and enjoy the ride” – a mantra I can appreciate.

Throw all concerns to the wind, just get on with it, cut to the heart of a great ride.

But…

If you want to go that little bit further, save that little bit more energy and make your long efforts feel that much easier, then a slight change in riding style is probably called for.

The reality is that any ride is directly affected by how effectively you pedal. When going for distance or going for speed, or anything beyond a quick spin around the block, how fast you pedal has a direct effect on your overall energy usage and power output.

Usually…

People will hop on a bike and start to pedal at a pace that feels comfortable. And surely being comfortable is a major concern, right?

Or course.

But what we find comfortable is actually more accurately described as “what you’re used to”. Pedaling in the same way as you always have is just falling back on your experience, and chances are that your experience has probably taught you some bad habits.

To break those bad habits you’ll need to bring a bit of science and timing into your pedaling action. So here’s the background information.

What is Cadence?

Cadence is how fast your pedals are turning around while you’re pedaling.

Thanks to the invention of gears you end up turning your legs around at about the same cadence all the time. You adjust the gears to be easier when you are climbing a hill and you adjust them to be harder when you are descending or on a flat.

Low cadences require you to put more pressure on the pedals to maintain the same speed. This puts stress on your muscles for hard strength. Spinning as low as 60 puts most of the strain on these parts of your muscles.

Higher cadences require you to put downward pressure on your muscles but require you legs to turn over very quickly. Racers will typically keep their cadence over 90, while spin at up to 120 during time trials and such speed events.

What Is The Best Cadence?

This article on Cycling Performance suggests that the perfect cadence is somewhere from 85-100 RPM.

It varies depending on the terrain, but a smooth, fast cadence will increase your overall efficiency.

How do you work out your cadence?

Many bike computers/speedometers and fancy bike gadgets work this out for you. They will have a sensor mounted by the crank.

But if you don’t have one you can get a general idea of how fast you are pedaling.

You’ll need:

An easily visible timer (preferably on the handlebar, a watch can be wrapped around the handlebar for this purpose too, if necessary)
A clear road (because your focus will not be entirely on the road for up to 15 seconds)
You math hat

Counting cadence:

1 revolution = right side pedal movement from bottom position (6 o’clock), all the way around, past 12 o’clock, and back to the 6 o’clock position

Timing (best shown by example):

6 seconds = every stroke from the moment the clock shows :00 to the last moment it shows :05 (stop counting once the clock shows :06)
12 seconds = every stroke from the moment the clock shows :00 to the last moment it shows :11 (stop counting once the clock shows :12)

The process:

Start riding
Settle into a single gear at a constant speed
Start counting pedal strokes when the timer hits :00 (first stroke is the second time the right pedal is at the bottom)
Stop counting as soon as the timer hits :06 (or :12)
Multiply the result by 10 (or 5) to get your cadence

Because you’re multiplying by 10, it’s important to start and stop counting at the right time.

If your cadence is too low, change to an easier gear (bigger cog at the rear or small chainring at the front). If it’s too high, change to a bigger chainring at the front or a smaller cog at the back.

How Will This Help Anything?

There is a useful test you can do which is outlined at the link above.

The test goes like this:

Thorough warm-up (20 minutes, with a few fast efforts)
Rest for 5 minutes
Pick your usual gears with slower cadence
Go flat out for 15 minutes and time it
15 minutes rest
Change to an easier gear
do 15 minutes hard again

Try the same two days later, with the higher cadence part first and you will be able to feel the difference.

Panda Portraits – You, Your Bike and Your Camera

Panda shot

If you ride a bike much you’ve probably taken a picture like this. Raw, on the go, just you, just for fun.

Well, sometimes you just wander into things that you don’t know and don’t expect.

For some reason I was on Flickr and I wondered into a picture in the same style as the one above, either captioned or titled as “Panda”. Now to set the obvious aside, there were no big black and white animals in the shot.

So, dutifully following the rabbit trail of digital knowledge I discovered the Panda Portrait Flickr group.

As it turns out, the panda portrait is a very specific kind of cycling photo.

It’s a photo taken of yourself, by yourself, on your bike, while moving. The only exception to these rules is shooting the aftermath if you crash while doing it.

Here are a few tips (from a non-photographer who uses his cellphone to take pictures most of the time):

Set the camera to take the picture faster (set the ISO to 400 or higher, higher is faster, compensates for wobbly arms)
Try a few first to get an idea of where to aim (or just forget it and see what happens, just as fun)
If you really want a decent shot, check the image after taking (take again if your head is half cut off etc.)
Watch the road! Quieter roads without too many cars are better. You’ve been warned!
Capture yourself, bike and… something else. Getting a friend in the shot, or something interesting in the background adds a little something to the basic panda.

In the end, just have fun. Be aware that although you probably won’t get fined for using a cellphone on your bicycle, that you still need to pay attention to the road and where you’re going.

Here are some interesting ones for your viewing pleasure. Big, happy smiles were my main criteria when picking. (Photos that are not mine are linked to their pages on Flickr)

Ride Like Warren Buffett – How The World’s Best Investor Can Prevent Your Next Accident

Warren Buffett, a legend in his own time. Ever since I first heard of him I have been amazed at how he works. By simply picking stocks and buying companies in a sensible manner he has managed to get over 13% growth per year on average for the last 40 years.

The average investment advice basically assumes that the market is absolutely efficient, so you can’t really do anything to beat it. The best approach is just to buy a spread and ride the same waves the market rides. Basically everyone ends up with the same odds.

But Buffett proves this assumption is wrong.

By preparing, staying informed, making sensible choices, avoiding duds and understanding the companies he invests in, Warren Buffet has been able to beat the market. It is true that he doesn’t let on to the complete details of his investment strategies, but he proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can beat the odds.

You can beat the odds of having an accident too.

When you’re out on the road cycling, your odds of being in an accident are related to your riding skills, your awareness while riding, your riding position, choice of approach and ability to avoid dangerous situations.

A lot of this has been adapted from Bicycling Safe as I thought it did a great job at explaining things clearly.

Avoid accidents

The ultimate goal for cycling safety is to not have accidents in the first place.

No accident = no injury or death… simple.

Helmets are promoted as the way to cheat death while riding.

Lies, all lies.

Your bowl of polystyrene is very unlikely to put up much of a fight against an 18-wheeler.

Most likely result: big truck 1, little cyclist 0

Ride like you’re invisible

Huh?

The trick here is to be as visible as possible, but to ride in such a way that even if you were invisible, you still wouldn’t get hit by any cars. Basically avoid every single possible situation where a car or other traffic vehicle would have to react or alter their course for you not to get hit. Easier said than done, but worth the effort.

Relying on the other drivers not to hit you is a guaranteed shortcut to the emergency room or worse. Your safety is entirely your own responsibility. Whatever crappy roads or driving get thrown your way, you have to deal with it to ensure you arrive home safe for your loved ones.

Pick safe routes

Better than trusting your skills to save you is to not have to use your skills.

Choose the safest route possible. Choose quieter roads, choose roads with a wide shoulder, choose bike paths, take the longer, less traveled path.

Ride further into the lane

Ride far enough into the lane that you will not slam into a car door if it is opened in front of you. When there are no parked cars you can ride closer to the side.

This position also makes you more visible to cars at intersections in front of you. Don’t hold this position all the time as it can be quite annoying for drivers behind you, but be aware of your safety before their annoyance.

Avoid crosswalks and riding on the wrong side

You are most visible when you are going with the flow of traffic.

Cars are looking for other traffic and that is their primary concern. Pedestrians or bicycles crossing from the right when the car is turning right are not seen. The car is looking for traffic from the left. Best to wait and cross when there are no cars or ride on the correct side of the road.

Don’t stop or ride in the blind spot

The blind spot is the position directly next to the car stretching about as far back as the rear bumper.

Do not stop in this position as the driver cannot see you in the rear view mirror and might turn into you. This also applies while moving, stay out of this position. Drop slightly back to where the car behind can see you but you won’t get clipped by the turning vehicle.

Lights, lights, lights

In Taiwan this is particularly bad. Very many people don’t use lights at night, and the places where there are less street lights, there seem to be even less bicycle lights.

Cars cannot see you. Really.

Cars have the oncoming lights in their eyes, which detracts from their ability to see you. Those same lights cast you into shadow. Use big reflectors if necessary, the bigger, more garish and uglier, the better.

Nighttime kit includes:

front lights
rear lights
front reflectors
rear reflectors
side refelectors
reflective jacket (construction site style)
anything else reflective or bright

And when it comes to the ugly reflective jackets, the phrase “I wouldn’t be seen dead in that,” rings true. If you’re wearing the reflective stuff your chances of an accident are less.

Be Safe

Remember that in the end you want to get home safe and sound. Being overly worried about safety is not helpful, but being aware enough to take the relevant steps to improve your safety is key.

The two guides below are highly recommended and put into text many things which have become second nature after years in the saddle.

Conquer the Rain: The F Word

They beat me to the ground, kicked me aside and called me a “wuss”, but inside I was warm and smiling.

As far back as I can remember there has been a stigma against certain bike parts. Bits of bicycle artillery that through poor development, genetic disposition, social stigma or just plain bad luck, have permanently slipped away from the realm of “real” cyclists. Bicycle indicator lights, rear view mirrors, bells, horns, even full panniers are seldom seen on bikes ridden by “serious” cyclists. To install such things would lose friends and possibly end if physical harm for offending those higher up the coolness ladder.

But are those things really so uncool?

Being stuck inside on rollers because of the rain is not fun and it’s been like that for a few weeks now. It’s been at least a few weeks since I managed a long ride and it’s depressing. But how can I get out in the rain?

Traditional Wisdom

Traditional answers to riding in the rain have proved lacking.

Just get wet is the first choice. You’re hard, just stick it out, be tough. Uh, sorry but suffering for nothing doesn’t make sense. Works fine if it’s balmy 30C outside, but not when it’s getting to the low teens. Staying dry is also helps keep warm.

So keep dry. A whole slew of waterproof gear is available, but with high-tech materials like GoreTex, you’re pushing big budgets for a full set of gear. But you’re still getting really wet, and simply holding the enemy at bay.

On the cheaper end, a 7-11 disposable raincoat actually does a pretty damn good job at keeping the upper body dry. Underneath that plastic bag almost any combination of layers of clothing will warm you up enough. But what about the legs?

Legs just aren’t designed for being wrapped in bags. Feet can handle bags, but they will wear through in less than an hour or two or solid riding in the wet and rain. Once the water seeps in, all is lost. They will not dry, even if you ride them in the glorious light of the warm sun for the rest of the day. And legs will get drenched, the splash from the front wheel spraying up covers the legs and deposits most of itself on your shoes. Same goes for the spray from the back wheel that will strike the seat tube and join forces with the evil front spray to thwart even your boldest efforts at keeping dry.

But what if you could keep the rain from reaching you in first place? What if instead of hand to hand combat against the foe, you could simply lift the drawbridge and leave him shouting at you in your safe haven? What if all our current schemes have been fatally flawed from the start?

The Hero

The hero of our story arrives. In gleaming armor he steps up to claim his honor.

But he needs some introduction, because he has been neglected and put aside for quite a while now. Now, bikes in Taiwan are used much more as commuting machines than back in South Africa, flat roads and close proximity to the places you need to go make it very easy to do a short ride instead of a long walk. They’re also very cheap and practical, keeping them well clear of the fads that sweep the world of fancy bikes.

Bells are cool, flat pedals are cool, single gears are cool, low prices are cool, racks are cool, front baskets are cool, upright riding positions are cool and so are… fenders.

And as it turns out, the fender is the long-lost hero and the key hours of unadulterated pleasure in the rain. This unsung hero will stop almost all the water before it even gets to you. Clean little raindrops are an easy force to deal with when the onslaught of streams of muddy grime don’t even make their way into the picture.

So that is my next accessory. I’m gonna geekify my ride, add long mud flaps and just kit my beast out with the most killer rain-stopping accessories known to mankind. They’re still in the works, but when they’re done I’ll have a full report back. I’m looking forward to some seriously geeky fun.

I might never be cool again, but that’s okay, ’cause it will be a “happily ever after”.

[Here’s a nice link about fenders http://www.sheldonbrown.com/fenders.html. And a design for mudflaps linked to from there http://phred.org/~alex/bikes/fendermudflap.html ]

First image credit, Second image credit

Peace in the Dark

There’s something wonderfully refreshing about the dark.

I’m not talking that semi-dark in the city, where the distant glow of street lights are always visible, and the glaring stare of an LED is always close at hand.

Pitch black. Just you and the glow of the moon.

That’s how my ride on Tuesday morning was. It was dark, cold, wet, and fantastic.

Headed out just before midnight in a soft drizzle that would later turn into fully-fledged, taking a shower sized rain. I half-expected the rain to go away, that stupid hope that makes no sense and is simply used as a way of lying to myself when I don’t want to face facts. Surprise, surprise when it came pelting down and soaked through all my clothing. The only difference between the ride and going swimming being that faint warmth of stored up sweat soaking into my clothing, feebly trying to ward off the cold as the rain continually tried to push in the cold from the outside.

After an hour and a half of riding the remnants of the city started to fade away. Cars became fewer and those still on the road were clearly out with a purpose, because what other reason would there be for being out there. Street lights were spread further and further apart, their faint glow providing the guiding light to the next faint glow until, finally, the light from one was not even enough to light my way until the next.

And finally, no more.

Just me and the faint glow of my bike light. The bike light that is intended to alert other drivers to my presence, but not to cast a significant beam onto the road. In this case it was just enough to light up cateyes in the middle of the road and the warning beacons at the side for up to five meters ahead.

At first I was nervous and a little scared not having the usual lights to govern my way and warn me of anything coming up. It was like riding by touch, and although I didn’t want to touch anything my movements were governed by the proximity of those few indicators of going completely off track. Half the time was spent almost in the middle of the road, where the threat of running into a cateye beat the threat of running off the road.

The small beam of light was a tunnel trying weakly to break through the darkness ahead. And failing miserably. But it was enough and I adapted. Keeping straight with precious few visual queues, and using the little light available managed to guide myself and my bike along windy roads, long straights and finally over to the top of the mountain where the glow of the lights below were there to provide that sense of safety I’m so accustomed to.

Light.