Pick on someone your own speed

For Manny's ride today we were joined by a refugee from the International Liars Club, the other group that rides out of Bicycle World. One big difference, though - they average well above 20 mph and usually go a lot further than our 30 miles. The ILC (as they call themselves) were doing a century ride (ie, 100 miles) and started at 6.15am. They obviously forgot to tell everyone because one of their guys showed up at 7.00am and had to ride with the weenies instead.

The Liar (didn't catch his name) set a hot pace through the Park but the rest of the Gang held back, as it's really not safe, with all the foot traffic. We regrouped at the Dam but he soon had a commanding lead once more. I had three other riders with me and tried to organize them into a pace-line, with everyone taking their turn at the front, but they didn't really get it.

After the break at the Cop Shop I found myself drafting behind the Liar and another pretty fast rider who was also new to the group. I hung with them but the pace was too much and I soon dropped back to join my buddies. This was the pattern for the rest of the ride but the time with the speedsters was taking its toll on my stamina. On the final stretch they dropped me about a mile out and I struggled in on an empty tank. It was also ferociously hot and I was getting dehydrated, which didn't help.

Back at Bicycle World, I sat inside and enjoyed the AC for a while, not something I do normally. Eventually I dragged myself home and promptly fell asleep on the sofa, feeling pretty crap. Susan made me a wonderful cheese omelet for lunch and I started to feel a bit better. Next time one of these Major Leaguers shows up to ride with the Triple-A group, I'm going to let them have their fun on their own, and hang back where I belong.

Old dogs, old tricks

We've recently been watching re-runs of the BBC TV Show "New Tricks". It's a Brit version of "Cold Case", in which detectives try to solve old cases when new evidence emerges. The twist is that the investigating team is composed of retired detectives, hence Old Dogs and New Tricks. The insider joke for us older Brits is that all three of the retirees are familiar TV faces from the 70's and 80's, including James Bolam ("Whatever happened to the Likely Lads?") and Denis Waterman ("The Sweeney", "Minder").

What's all this got to do with cycling, you may ask. Well, yesterday morning's group for the regular Bicycle World no-drop ride included dogs both old (me and a few others) and young (two high-school kids) in an unusually large peloton of 23 riders, and tricks both old and new were on display.

We got off to a pretty slow start, mainly due to the very large number of runners in the park. Registration for the 2011 Houston marathon is about to open and it seems that everyone wants to start their training early. Once clear of the park we got going at a better pace, with me heading the charge as usual. Two other riders kept with me, Keith (who owns and runs a restaurant in Copperfield) and a 17-year old High School student whose name I didn't catch. The pace clearly wasn't that hot because the group re-formed pretty quickly and we set out again through George Bush park.

I took the lead once more and we formed a pretty good pace-line at about 19-20 mph, which held together pretty much all the way to Fry road. On the final stretch Kevin took a great lead-out from me (entirely unintentional I have to say) and blew past, with the High Schooler hot on his trail. I let them go, feeling the need for a blow after pulling all the way.

Once again the group reassembled pretty quickly. Manny (the ride leader) gave a brief lecture on riding style and pedaling efficiency, then organised a group photo. We rolled out a few minutes later and once more I was up front pulling hard. Halfway up Barker-Clodine I decided to let someone else do the work for a while and gave the universal sign for the pace-line to pass me (tap the thigh, swing to the left). Unfortunately the number 2 rider didn't speak the universal language and stayed locked on to my back wheel, so I slowed down and gave an extravagant "after you, Claude" gesture, at which point he got it and blew past. Right behind him was a young woman in a Toyota jersey and I slotted in behind her.

A little further on I got my wind back and took up the lead, increasing the pace a notch as I went. This turned out to be too much for the other two and I dropped them pretty fast. When I eased back, though, I was quickly caught by Keith and the high-school kid and we cruised in to the Cop Shop together, with the rest of the pace-line pretty close behind.

A short break to regroup and then off for the final leg (usually called "Wind Alley"). A pace-line formed pretty quickly, with me at second wheel, when Toyota Girl blew past at a flat-out sprint. I jumped on her wheel and hung on grimly as she set a fierce pace. She eased back after about 5 minutes and was surprised when I blew past her. She came back strongly and passed me again but couldn't sustain the pace and I dropped her for good with about a mile to run.

Back in the Park and the pace drops to a spin and grin. Keith and I chat as we go, and I tell him about the Mules, and my plan to return to the fold when the weather cools off. At the final regrouping point Toyota Girl joins us and I tell her that I thought the gas pedal on the Toyota must have got stuck down when she sprinted past the line. She didn't seem to find that funny, perhaps not enjoying getting a lesson in riding from Grandpa. The high-school kid and Keith got the joke, though.

too hot to handle

I'm still hiding from the rampaging Mules, going out every Saturday morning with the Bicycle World no-drop group. Yesterday I took the fixie and did the full 30+ miles for the first time (my previous outing was cut short by flooding). Each week there's a group that rides a bit faster than the rest, and there were two of the speedsters at the start, so I knew I'd get a workout.

It was definitely a stretch for me but I kept the pace up all the way out. At one point a rider in the group who I hadn't seen before told me he'd never seen anyone go so fast on a fixie! He needs to get out more, I can hit 20, maybe a little more, but that's about it.

After the break at the turn, I held back and let the fast group start first. I pushed pretty hard all the way back to the Constable Station (where we regroup for the last time) and arrived a few minutes behind, blowing hard and feeling pretty much done for the day. But I had one last surge in my legs - we set out in a pace line and with about a mile to go I kicked and roared past, giving the leader a cowboy yell as I went. Denis had latched on to my wheel and once I cleared the line, he popped a cog and left me for dead. That must be how the pro sprinters feel when Cavendish drops them like a bad habit in the last 200m of a race.

After those heroics I was pretty much done for the day, but Denis (bless his cotton cycling socks) hung back at the bridge and paced me in. We made it back to Bicycle World in time to watch the Tour time trial - a foregone conclusion of course, but I think that history will treat Contador badly after his display of poor sportsmanship in the Pyrenees. Off home for lunch and a nap before heading to The Woodlands to see Robert Plant.

Fixin' to ride

Down here they have a very useful construction - "fixin'". It's shorthand for getting ready to do something, so if you're getting your junk together to go shopping (let's say), you're fixin' to go. I always wonder how you would say that you're preparing to fix something, but it never seems to occur. Anyway, this Independence Day morning I decided to pull up my big girl pants and take the fixie out for a longer run than the neighbourhood spins I've done so far - so I was fixin' to ride my fixie.

I opted to ride the route that the Saturday Morning group follows, mainly because there are no hills at all - I didn't fancy climbing in only one, fairly tough gear. So off I went, muttering "fixie, fixie" under my breath to remind myself that I wasn't on board a standard bike.

It was a fairly uneventful ride all the way out, although I had to force myself to keep pedaling a couple of times when my legs wanted to coast through some tight spots and turns. The Park trail ends at the Addicks Dam, and the Corps of Engineers was letting a lot of water out into Buffalo Bayou following all the rain we've had from Hurricane Alex - quite a sight. In fact the tunnel under Route 6 looked like it had been almost completely submerged at some point, with debris high on the structure.

Over the bridge and on to the Dam access road, where I stretched my legs a bit. I was told that riding a fixie is a great work-out, and they weren't lying, but I got a good cadence going and felt more comfortable. There was another rider on a standard bike ahead, so I tried to catch him and got pretty close before having to slow down for the gate by the Constable Station.

The next leg goes through the reservoir that's held back by the dam. It's normally dry but I had an inkling that today would be different, and sure enough, the trail was flooded out about 1/2 mile down. Time to turn around and crank her up again. The wind seemed to have picked up a bit and I found myself wishing I had a few gears to play with.

Back in the Park and then home before it got too hot. I managed 28 miles on the fixie and didn't fall off once. It's definitely a different way to ride and I think it's fun, but I'm not sure. Anyway it's certainly great exercise and promotes good pedaling, so I'll keep at it.

If it ain't fixed, it's broke

Every other bike we saw in Seattle was a fixie, and many of them didn't have brakes, quite amazing given the hilly terrain. I went into a bike shop and they had a whole rack of fixies, all singing a siren song to me.

So once back in Houston I took my lovely Italian roadster to my LBS and asked them to convert it from 12 gears to one (and no freewheel, thanks). They called me a few days later with bad news - they didn't want to do it because the bike wouldn't be safe (rear dropouts pointing forward and too much space between the chain stays). However, they would be happy to sell me a very nice Bianchi model for $700.

Enter Ebay, and a bike retailer offering a new Dawes fixie for $220 (MRP: $700). This seemed too good to be true, so I did a little research and found out about BikesDirect, a manufacturer of low-spec bikes sold exclusively on-line. The cheap fixie was undoubtedly one of their offerings. On-line opinion of the quality of BD products varied dramatically. Some people were very dismissive, others had better experiences. Since the failed Italian conversion would have cost me about $200, I didn't have much to lose and decided to take a chance on SportyMama (the Ebay e-tailer).

The bike arrived very promptly and I opted to assemble it myself (no gears, so no serious adjustments needed). It has been christened "The Gold Standard" for obvious reasons and I've taken it out for a few casual spins around the neighbourhood. Riding a fixie is definitely different! No more coasting through corners, or after standing on the pedals - the bike tells you quite firmly that this is not allowed. A bit more practice and I'll take it on one of the Saturday morning runs (see previous post), although I won't be leading the group.

Sadly, the acquisition of another bike means I have to dispose of the Italian job. I put it on Craig's List and got a lot of responses - perhaps the price was too low. Anyway, we'll see how serious they are.

Slowing the pace

Back home after two weeks on vacation, mostly out of town, and my buttocks didn't see a saddle for the whole time we were away. There was a nice trail in Victoria (The Galloping Goose!) but the weather wasn't very conducive to leisure riding.

I wanted to get back into the swing of riding and exercising, so I hit the gym yesterday (30 minutes stationary bike, 15 minutes rowing machine) and planned a ride today. The Mules were going out from Zube, but I'm sure they are all in very good shape right now (training for the Hotter-than-Hell) and I didn't fancy the punishment of trailing after them for 40 miles in the summer heat. Looking around the web, I saw that my local bike shop, Bicycle World and Fitness, does an easy-paced, no-drop ride every Saturday morning - just the ticket for a rider trying to get it back together. Also, it's barely 10 minutes ride from the house, so no need to load up the car.

So at 7.00am today I pulled up outside the shop and joined a smallish group (maybe 20), mostly older people, nobody looking like a very serious rider. We headed out for Terry Hershey at a fairly sedate pace, and kept it there all the way through to Route 6. Just as I began to wonder if I had set my sights too low, one or two riders broke from the pack and took off at a better pace. I jumped on and pretty soon there were just two of us, going pretty quick.

The ride leader wanted us to regroup at the Constable's station, and my buddy and I got there well ahead of the pack. We chatted for a while - he's a lot younger than me and training for a couple of triathlons later in the year. We regrouped and headed out - once again, the two of us broke clear pretty quickly. I took the lead halfway down Barker-Clodine and tried to keep the pace up for the other guy - but I made it too hot, and dropped him (totally unintentionally!). I eased off and he got back on. It turned out that he didn't really know how to draft, so was having to work too hard when he should have been taking it easy.

On into George Bush Park, riding together this time. We reached Fry road and waited for the pack, chatting some more. The group gathered and our leader, Manny from the bike shop, gave us an impromptu lecture on nutrition. Turns out he's the official nutritionist for a Pro team, Team Type-1, who are riding the RAAM (Race Across America, Anaheim CA to Annapolis MD) this month, so he has chops for sure. He passed on some very interesting info, mostly in complete contradiction to my own limited ideas about cycling nutrition. I may have to change up a few things.

Back on the road and once again Kenzie and I take the lead. Another stop at the Constable's station, then a pretty hot sprint back to Route 6 where I drop my new buddy again. Once in Terry Hershey we regroup and take it easy - too much foot and bike traffic to race anyway. Then it's back to the bike store for a chat with the mechanics about converting my old 12-speed into a fixed-gear bike. It's a short but sweaty ride home from there.

Swallows and Amazons

Swallows and Amazons was the first book in a series of children's novels written in the 30's by Arthur Ransome, about the adventures of a group of kids learning to sail in the Lake District. I was reminded of the stories and their setting while standing by Beaver Lake, in Victoria BC where we were just recently on holiday. It's very picturesque - the lake is beautiful, there are trees all around, lots of Canada geese (as James says, in Canada they are just called "geese") and mallards - and on the day we visited, there were rowing boats (coxless fours no less) out training, mostly apparently crewed by women. As there were also a number of swallows doing aerobatics just above the water, you can see why Ransome's tales came to mind. Wikipedia just reminded me that one of the crew of the Swallow was called "Titty", a source of amusement for generations of kids, and changed to "Kitty" for the movie version.