Aerotech Designs Top Shelf Cycling Bibs Review

Back in September I was amping up for a How-Many-Miles-Can-You-Cover-In-12-Hours ride (I did 145 miles on my first go at it, by the way).  Leading up to the big event, I was noticing that the two pairs of bibs that I owned were becoming less and less comfortable.

My two bibs were a pair of Specialized RBX bibs and a pair of Twin Six standard bibs.  Both had served my admirably over the last 2 years but it was obvious the pad in each was starting to get worn out.

The Specialized shorts had never really provide the leg compression that I wanted and both shorts were more than $100 when you factored in shipping.  Now, $100 is really not that much money for a good pair of bib shorts.  You can spend $250 for a pair of Rapha bibs and I've heard that Assos has a pair of bibs that go for something like $450.  I don't want to say that the Rapha or Assos bibs are not fabulously comfortable but there is no way on this earth I can justify that kind of coin for bike clothing.  If you give me a pair, I'll give 'em a go but otherwise it just ain't gonna happen.

So what's a guy to do?  New bibs were needed but I wanted to spend as little money as possible.  Often in this world, you get what you pay for.  Maybe I should just spend the $100-$150 to get a decent pair.  It really doesn't sound that unreasonable.

But what if you could get a good pair for $60?  If you look in the back of most bike magazines, you will likely see an ad for Aerotech Designs.  They advertise low cost, high quality, made in the USA bike clothing.  There is a lot of good attributes there.

Not expensive?  Always good.  Made in the USA?  You gotta support that.  High quality?  That's what we all want (assuming their definition of "High Quality" matches your definition of "High Quality").

They have a pair of bib shorts they call their Top Shelf Bib Shorts.  It would be nice if you could give a pair of bibs a test ride before you bought them but that is impractical and kind of icky, if you think about it.

I ordered up the Top Shelf Bibs in all black in a size large (I'm 5' 10" and about 200-205 lbs).  They were definitely on the snug side but not too snug.  I might go with an XL if I get another pair.  The straps seem reasonably well placed to not cause any undue nipple chaffage (EWW!).  The pad felt a little bulky when standing in them but felt fine once I was on the saddle.  One thing you will notice from the website is that there is no fancy detailing to these bibs.  There is no weird, funky looking panels with oddly noticeable stitching.  They are very plain jane.  For $60, I can take plain jane.

A brief pause to highlight a few points for comparison:

• As I said above, I'm 5' 10" and about 200-205 lbs (not skinny!)
• I ride a decent steel-framed road bike on a classic Brooks B-17 saddle with 23mm tires
• My rides are all on roads, 95% paved.
• I don't ride in the drops much.  My hands are typically on the brake hoods, the ramps or near the stem

My first ride was a planned 6 hour training ride.  This was an entirely flat ride (no hills to spontaneously get me out of the saddle).  As I normally do, I used plenty of Chamois Butt'r on the undercarriage before putting the bibs on.

I managed to cover 81 miles in those 6 hours.  I had no issues with sore spots or chaffage of any kind.  Was my butt a little sore during the ride?  Well, yeah but not to any great degree and certainly no more than with my other pairs of bibs.  I thought it was a pretty good first go for these bibs.

My next ride was, I kid you not, a 12 hour fundraising ride that covered 145 miles.  Once again, I used Chamois Butt'r (on 2 occasions, instead of one).  As part of my planning for the ride, I brought along my other 2 pairs of bibs to change into if I needed them.  I never did.  The Top Shelf Cycling Bibs performed admirably consider the number of hours I was in the saddle and my not-exactly-svelte size.

There was a little chaffage that developed but it never stopped me or made me change the way I was riding.  It completely cleared up within 36 hours of finishing the ride.  If I had to do 12 hours today, I would definitely reach for these bibs again.

When you look at the reviews on the Aerotech Designs website, you will see several customers comment on the pad holding onto moisture during hot weather rides.  Unfortunately, I cannot comment on that.  All the riding I have done has been cool to cold weather riding where it wasn't really and issue.  Starting next summer, I'll be able to comment on that particular issue, if there is an issue.

So to summarize the important points...

• Comfort - they were at least as comfortable as the Specialized and Twin Six bibs
• Cost - you can't beat $60
• Quality - I could not spot any quality issues out of the box
• Durability - no issues yet, but I really haven't put that many miles on them
• Style - pretty plain, but for $60 who really cares?

Leelanau, oh Leelanau

Michelle and I just spent a weekend away as a celebration of our 10th anniversary.  We did what a lot of folks in our area do...we went up to the Leelanua penninsula to do some wine tasting and leaf peeping.  I know, how pretentious.  The Leelanau peninsula is a beautiful place, but it exudes pretentiousness from its every pore.

During our 48 hours of childless-freedom, we cruised around the peninsula, visited some wineries, stayed at a nice B&B, and did some shopping in little places mostly full of high-class junk.

Quite possibly my favorite part of the whole weekend was driving around some of the backroads of the peninsula in search of wineries.  It is fall and the colors were truly spectacular.  Most of thes roads amble up and then over the peninsula in a winding fashion that was just perfect for leisurely driving.

I was always a little distracted though.  I couldn't help thinking of biking.  Many of these roads would be fantastic for riding.

Long meandering climbs followed by fast winding descents the likes of which don't exist around western Michigan.  Around here the roads are pretty straight and the climbs are not very long.  In order to get a good workout, I often have to do hill repeats.  Find a decent hill, then ride up it and then ride back down.  Repeat until you are tired of it.

This would not be necessary up in Leelanau.  I think I could spend hours climbing up one road and then descending down another and then ride to the next lovely climb.  Most of the internal roads had little to no traffic.  The two main roads are M-22 and M-204.  Both would be good roads to ride on, but traffic would get a little bothersome.

Our next venture up that way will need to involve bikes or I might just go nuts!

What should the next Crazy Faith look like?

It has been several weeks since the first Crazy Faith.  All at once, it seems like it just happened and it was a long time ago.  Strange how that is.

Almost immediately, I started to think about next year.  Crazy Faith was successful enough that planning v2.0 seemed to be a no-brainer.  The questions then becomes:

What do we do?

Do we do the same thing again?  Will the congregation respond as well as they did this year?  Should I include others more prominently?

Before those questions can be answered, a few points need to be considered.  There were several reasons I feel Crazy Faith was successful.

• It was pretty crazy.  I mean 12 hours on a bike!?!?  C'mon!  Really?  Probably 98% of the congregation had no conception of what it might be like to be on a bike for that long.
• It was a new and fresh idea.  Crazy Faith caught the attention of the congregation.
• It took place at the beginning of the school year when education and Christian Education is on the forefront of people's minds.
• The congregation wasn't asked to do much of anything other than donate money.  Most of the effort came from me.  All they had to do was pledge and write a check.
• Not to toot my own horn, but it was marketed well.  There was information given multiple times through multiple different formats to let people know what was going on.  No one could say they didn't know about it.
• The money raised went towards a cause that the congregation already supports and has been supporting for quite some time.  They were not asked to support some brand new charitable cause.

If the above points are accurate, that tells me we would need to do something different (but still crazy), near the beginning of the church/school year, and do something that doesn't ask too much of the congregation as a whole.

Here are some of the random thoughts and ideas I, and others, have had:

Two Man Team Time Trials

So here's the idea...we would have 2, two man teams that would ride an approximate 25 mile route.  Team One would start and try to cover the route as quickly as they could.  As they pull into the church parking lot, Team Two would then take off and ride the same route, trying to finish as fast as possible.  If you repeated the process for say, I don't know, 12 hours, how many miles could we cover?

100 Miles to Nowhere

Imagine running a marathon...on a treadmill.  Take that basic idea and apply it to the bike.  What if I set up my indoor trainer in the Fellowship Hall and rode 100 miles without moving even an inch?  A century ride is hard.  A century ride without actually going anywhere might just qualify as torture.  This idea could also be adapted for a particular length of time, maybe 8-12 hours.

Duathalon Repeats

Along with cycling, I dabble in running.  Not nearly as much as cycling but enough to do a 5K every now and then.  What if I picked a cycling route and a running route and I switched back and forth from one to the other for a set amount of time?  Maybe something like 25 miles of cycling and a 5K run done over and over.  That, honestly, sounds pretty crazy.

100 Miles to Nowhere Duathalon

How about combining the duathalon idea with the not-actually-going-anywhere idea?  Maybe we could set up a treadmill and a trainer and go back and forth from one to the other until we got to 100 miles.  That sounds like a fun kind of self-flagellation.

The Obvious Plan

If you just rode your bike for 12 hours, the most obvious next step would be something like 13-16 hours.  "You rode 12 hours.  Thirteen hours isn't that much more!"

The Overnight

What if we repeated the 12 hour idea but it was from 7 pm to 7 am?  The danger quotient definitely goes up for an overnight ride.  That makes the overnight option not terribly likely.  There is crazy and there is stupid.  We're going to avoid stupid.

Other Ideas

Several other little ideas have been floated about.  These could be done in conjunction with one of the "bigger" ideas above.

• Have a fun ride for church members and there families.  Maybe around Millenium Park.
• Set up a kids race course in the church parking lot and see who can record the fastest lap.
• Have a raffle of donated bike goods.
• If we do a 100 Miles to Nowhere format, we could set up a trainer next to me and charge people $10 for 10 minutes.
• If the duathalon idea comes about, let others do the running portion with me, since more church members run then bike.

Recently, one of our Westside Christian friends was chatting with Michelle about Crazy Faith.  She seemed to like the idea and suggested that I go to other congregations and see if they wanted to participate.  There is a world of possibilities that could come from that idea.

Maybe have one person from each church come up with their own Crazy Faith idea and do it on the same day.  Or maybe do the same thing together.  Maybe, just maybe, make it into a friendly competition between churches.

"Our church can go farther than your church!  Na-na-na-na-na!"

We'll try to avoid the above sentiment.  Yeah, that would probably be a good idea.

At this time, I'm keeping my mind open.  The sky's the limit.  There are lots of good ideas out there and I'll be doing some fishing with others to see what comes up.

Do you have ideas?  Write me a comment.



Crazy Faith 2013 - Riding for 12 hours

On Saturday September 21st, I rolled out of my driveway at 7 am and kept on pedaling until 7 pm.  During the intevening 12 hours I covered 145 miles.  This effort raised approximately $5200 for the Westend CRC Christian Education Ministry.  It would not have been possible without the generosity of the Westend congregation, several cycling buddies, the incredible patience of my wife, and, of course, God's blessing, guidance and grace.

Now, a lot can happen while pedaling 13.4 inches circles over and over and over again for 12 hours.  Here's the story...

It was 6:58 am and I had just posted on Facebook that I was about to start.  I was staring intently at my bike computer so I could hit the start button exactly at 7:00 am.  It was now 6:59 am.

Wait a minute, where are my water bottles?

Quick into the house, grab the bottles, and back outside.

The official start to Crazy Faith was 7:00:10 am.  The 10 second goof fact bothered me for all of about a minute as I rolled out of the driveway and up the street.  Oh well.

The first big loop of the day was the Tour de Christian Schools.  It was a ride I had done back on Labor Day weekend as a trial run.  Basically, I rode to Grand Rapids Christian High School, then to Calvin Christian, over to Unity Christian High School, up and over to Allendale Christian and back east to Westside Christian School and Westend CRC.  The loop was about 52 miles total.

On Labor Day weekend, this had been an uneventful and thoroughly pleasant ride.  For Crazy Faith, there was more traffic and a mechanical snafu.

As a little back story, over the last several years I've had some issues with rear wheels.  To keep it brief, I seem to be good at destroying them.  Why is that?  No idea really.  Going into Crazy Faith, I knew my rear wheel was not completely right.  Fingers were crossed and prayers were said to just make it through the day.

By the time I had made it to Unity Christian, I realized that the rear brake was rubbing because of the wheel being out of true laterally.  Nothing like starting a 12 hour ride with some brake rub.  When I opened up the brake calipers to stop the brake rub, the tire started to rub the fender.

Sigh.

The tire rub didn't seem bad so I kept on riding up to ACS and back to Westend.  Once back to Westend, I took the fender off (with help from my lovely wife) and made sure the brake caliper was open nice and wide to avoid brake rub.  This made my rear brake non-functional but that is ok since I never use the rear brake anyway (I would be happy to explain why, if you are curious).  Michelle was there with the kiddos and my Mother-in-law, Barb.  It was really good to see them because it reminded me of why I was doing this in the first place.

What to do for the next loop?  My only planned route was the Tour de Christian Schools.  After that, my route was up for grabs.  One factor that I needed to take into account was the wind.  If you remember, Saturday the 21st was quite a nice day.  No rain, moderate temperatures, and occasional sun.  The 15 mph wind from NNW did change my plans, however.  Battling the wind for several hours did not seem to be the best idea on a day where I needed to ride for 12 hours.

With that in mind, my second loop went towards Millenium Park, Indian Mounds Dr, Butterworth and up the new connector trail that goes from Maynard & Obrien to Rememberance.  Not a bad loop, overall.

Little did I know that Pastor Jeremy had been at church and was ready to ride with me.  As many of you will know, Pastor Jeremy is not someone with a whole lot of free time on his hands.  Just the fact that he was there and ready to ride speaks volumes.  He didn't have to.  It's not a job requirement.

When I got back from my second loop, there was Pastor Jeremy, all geared up and ready to go.  After a brief rest break and some more food, we took off.

Oh wait, is that Scott DeKryger coming up the drive?  Yep, it is.

Scott had just returned from le Tour de Donut (which I highly recommend, by the way) and wanted to put in a little time.  After a brief delay, we were off.  Pastor Jeremy had about an hour, so we rode west on Leonard to Linden and then turned around and rode back to church.

Not surprisingly, this was the fastest loop of the day.  Scott and Jeremy cut the wind (not the cheese) for me and basically pulled me along.  It is truly amazing how much a little companionship can make such a huge difference.  I have often heard it said that God shows his presence and care by sending others into our lives.  You've got a firm believer in me!  Michelle's effect on my life has long been proof of this.

When the Scott/Jeremy loop was done, I had to decide what to do next.  No one was around to ride with me.  Do I brave the wind or brave some hills or find some boring, flat loop to do?

What to do?  What to do?

I should pause to say that, by now, I was starting to feel it.  I had been riding for something like seven hours.  That's a long time in the saddle.  My neck was sore.  My back was sore.  My legs were tired.  I knew all of this was going to happen.  None of it surprised me, but that does not necessarily make it better.

The next hour and a half was not a ton of fun.  Most of my thoughts were focused on how many different things hurt, how much they hurt, and how much more time I had to go.  It was, truthfully, the lowest part of the ride.  It was here that I questioned whether or not I would finish the 12 hours.

"You've already done 9 hours.  That's good enough.  No one will blame you.  You've already done enough."

 

And then I saw Dave!

 

"You had me at 'Wanna ride?'"

 

Dave VanderSchaaf was waiting at church ready to pull me along for a little while.  His company was most welcome.

 

For nearly 2 hours we rode out towards and then up the Musketawa Trail and then headed back to church.  We bike dorked out and talked about wheels, pedals, shoes, DALMAC, bike touring and every cyclists favorite topic...the next bike!  There is no topic quite as a juicy sweet as the next bike.

 

Was I still hurting?  Yeah, I was.  Did I notice it as much?  No, not nearly as much.

 

When Dave and I got back to church, my lovely wife was waiting for us to help me along for that last hour of riding.  As my Facebook post said, "Just 66 minutes to go.  Just 66 minutes to go".

 

 Michelle and I left church with almost exactly one hour to go.  Due to the whole having-a-infant-thing, she hadn't been on the bike too terribly much.  This was, realistically, a good thing.  After having ridden my bike for 11 hours, there wasn't much of an all out effort in me.

 

As we got back toward church, I realized there was still about 5 minutes left before 7 pm.  My thought process was:

 



"C'mon, go hard for the last 5 minutes!"

 

So, I stepped up the pace as I was going around the block a few times.  Not surprisingly, I couldn't "go hard" for more than about 30 seconds before I had to back off some and regroup.  After 12 hours, your red line is kinda low.

 

At 7pm on the dot, I hit stop on my bike computer and brought Gimli to a halt.  One-hundred and forty-five miles.  Not bad.

 

I rolled into the parking lot where Michelle was waiting for me.  We snapped a picture, loaded up the bikes and headed to McDonalds!  Extra large, salty fries?  Yes, please!

 

By the time I got home, I was basking in the warm glow of endorphins, serotonin and lactic acid.  That period after finishing a long ride is really a great one.  Everything seems to be right with the world.

 

One might think that a person who had just spent 12 hours on a bike would want nothing to do with said bike for a long time.  To be honest, that's not the case.  By that Tuesday, I wanted to ride to work.  The only reason I didn't is because the work day really didn't allow it.

 

By Thursday, my body felt pretty normal.  In fact, by the day after Crazy Faith, everything except my quads and hamstrings felt just dandy.  That's one of the wonderful things about cycling.  Once your body has adapted to being on the bike, cycling really doesn't beat you up the way other sports can.

 

Next year?  I think there will be a next year.  Will I do the same thing?  No.  Will I still do something crazy?  Yep.  What about involving others?  That seems like a great idea.

 

More later...



Twitchy

I'm less than 24 hours from the start of my first 12 hour ride.  Unfortunately, I have a slow day at work.  A busy day would have distracted me from all of the quick-fire thoughts running through my head.

"Gotta make sure the bikes are ready"

 

"Do I have enough food?"

 

"How often should I eat?"

 

"How much should I eat at at time?"

 

"How much water should I drink each hour?"

 

"How much caffeine is too much?"

 

"Make sure Michelle knows what to bring to Church for me"

 

"How often should I stretch?"

 

"Should I eat 1 or 2 candy pumpkins per hour?"

 

You know, the important questions.

 

Here's the goofy thing...once I get riding, most of my twitchy-ness will disappear.  I'll be on the bike.  I know what to do there.

 



Tabata intervals

The following post will be my impressions of using Tabata intervals to improve fitness.  I have to be up front that this is not going to be a formal, scientific review of the effectiveness of Tabata-style intervals vs other types of endurance training.  All it will be is my impressions reflecting back to previous years of cycling in comparison to this year.  There will be no "proof" given.

Just so ya know.

When I first got back into cycling in 2009, I saw a big jump in my fitness during that first season.  In the spring, a 15 mile ride was quite an accomplishment.  In October, I rode my first 100 mile ride.  That is substantial change in about 3-4 months.

This isn't all that surprising.  If anyone starts a new exercise program, they will always see a big boost in fitness in the early stages.

I think of it like climbing a mountain.  Climbing the first 1/3 of the mountain will seem pretty easy compared to climbing the last 1/3 of the mountain.  Building fitness is easy when you don't have much to begin with.  The more fit you get, the more work you have to put in to see further gains.

During the 2012 cycling season I spent most of my time on the bike just riding.  There was no particular speed I was aiming for.  There was no "structure" to my training.  Hop on the bike and go ride.  This attitude was undoubtedly influenced by my experiment with barefoot/minimalist running, which, admittedly, took up most of my mental energy.

Don't get me wrong.  I have absolutely nothing against a good ol' fashioned bike ride.  However, there did seem to be a downside to that strategy.

I lost speed.  Even when I would push myself a little harder, it didn't seem like I could go all that fast.  My average speed really dropped.  Most rides were in the 15 mph range compared to the mid 16 mph range.  Who wants that?

For this cycling season, I knew I had to do something different.  There were several reasons for this:

• Leah - with an infant and two older children, I didn't anticipate getting in a lot of long rides.  This has turned out to be true.  My current mileage totals for the year can attest to the fact that I haven't been on the bike much.
• Crazy Faith - when I decided to do the 12 hour charity ride for my church's Chrisitan Ed Ministry, I knew I needed to find a way to get as much out of each ride or run.  Quality over quanity.
• I don't like slow.  Simple enough.

What I needed was good quality workouts to make up for the lack of mileage.

In the past, I have heard about and done a few Tabata intervals.  You can find a description at this link.  The gist of it is this...go all out for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds and repeat 7 more times.  It comes out to 4 minutes total.  Four minutes doesn't seem like too much.  You can nudge that 4 minutes into lots of different workouts.

I started using the Tabata intervals probably back in May or June.  The goal has been to do them either running or cycling a little more than once per week, which I have been successful at.

Has it helped?  I would have to say yes.  When I do a more casual ride, my pace is typically along the lines of 16.5 mph vs something in the mid 15's.  I certainly feel stronger on the bike.  Hills are still hills but it seems like I'm getting up them a little faster.

On several occasions, I have done rides between 15-25 miles which I treated like a time trial.  Basically, my goal was to go all out and see how fast I could go.  Those rides have been between 17.9-18.1 average mph.  I really don't think I could have done that pace last year.

As I mentioned above, I don't have any firm data to prove that I'm more fit.  I don't own a power meter so that I can compare 1 minute, 5 minute and 20 minute power outputs.  As cool as that would be to have, it is quite unnecessary.

What have the workouts looked like?  It has varied considerably.  Below are some examples:

• Jog to a nearby trail, do the Tabata, and jog back.  I usually take a longer route back home than I did to get to the trail.
• On the commute to work - a few times I have had extra time on my ride to work, so I've thrown in a Tabata.
• Long rides - I did one 30+ mile ride where I threw in a Tabata at around the 30 mile mark.
• Ride to a high school track, do a running Tabata, and ride home.  Once again, I have often taken a longer and more vertically challenging route home compared to how I got to the track.

This year has been the Year of Opportunity.  What I mean by Year of Opportunity is this...with a full time job, a wife and three little ones at home, finding time for workouts is tough.  I have had to take my opportunities where I can find them.  That is where the Tabata intervals have fit in so nicely.  I can think of one run that was about 22 minutes total between the warm up, Tabata, and the cool down jog home.  Twenty-two minutes.  That's all.  Many of these have been done after the kiddos are in bed.  I might not even start until 9 o'clock at night.

If I was in the mindset of "I have to do a least an hour or it won't be worth it" then there would be no workout.  I would end up being a schlub sitting on the couch.

Twenty-two minutes.  Done.

Do I want every ride/run/workout to be high intensity?  No.  That will lead to physical and mental burnout.  Sometimes you need to go out and Just Run or Just Ride.

In fact, I think that's what I'll do this afternoon.

An Ode to Sam the Singlespeed

No, I'm not going to get all poetic on you.  Not really my thing.

When I ride to work, it is typically on Sam the Singlespeed.  Sam is an early 90's Raleigh touring bike that has been converted over to a singlespeed.  There is a rear rack from which I hang a kitty litter bucket pannier with work clothes, my lunch and other odds and ends.

Sam was originally a 12-speed and was my first real road bike.  I rode him for a little more than a year, including doing my first century ride (The Colorburst around the Lowell/Rockford/Ada area).

Once I got Gimli the Road Bike, I didn't really know what to do with Sam.  I liked Sam, probably for sentimental reasons.  The switch to a singlespeed seemed pretty obvious.  It cost something like $25-30 at the LBS.

Whenever I ride Sam, I am reminded of how annoying gear shifting is.  You are always aiming for the "Golden Gear".  You know, that perfect gear that will allow you to glide along with practically no effort and at a high speed.

In case you are perplexed, that gear doesn't really exist.  You get glimpses of it every now and then when wind, weather, mood, and terrain mix together in that elusive mix that leads to cycling perfection.  These glimpses are fleeting, to say the least.

Sam just goes.  We don't worry about gears.  Sometimes we pedaling harder.  Sometimes we pedal along smoothly.  Other times we are not pedaling at all, just gloriously coasting down the hill, Sam and I.

Sam is reliable.  Sam is always there.  Gimli has always been more finicky (must be all those gears).  While Gimli is off getting a pedi-mani, Sam says, "Wanna go for a ride?"

Sam is heavy and slow and cumbersome.  He makes a series of odd noises.  I don't know where most of them come from.  They are just there.

Sam is not pretty.  He is scratched and dinged and dirty.  He gets a nice wash every now and then, but not often.  Still, he is always there.

Once I rode from Midland MI to Grand Rapids MI (107 miles) on Sam because Gimli had something or the other wrong with him.  One-hundred and seven miles on a singlespeed bike.  Sam handled it well.  Didn't even flinch.

Thanks Sam.

My Daughter, the Rabbit

(Full disclosure - my daughter is not actually a rabbit)

Today was one of the first instances of me doing something with one of the kiddos and us both actually, truly, fully having a good time.  Up until today, all of the fun things that I like to do have been modified to fit the abilities of my kids.  This has been done in the patient expectation of "Maybe someday I'll be able to enjoy this too".

Hannah has been doing much better on her bike after a rocky 3 1/2 years.  The last two nights, she has taken a ride around the neighborhood with Michelle and really enjoyed the ride.  It wasn't FFF (forced family fun).

She doesn't yet ride very fast so I thought why not run along side of her?  I can get a good workout, she gets a good bike ride and we can do it together.  Where is the downside?  I cannot see one.

The first lap around the big block went pretty well.  I was definitely playing catch up towards the end.  Hannah was even doing a really good job of taking the sharp 90 degree corners of the sidewalk.  We stopped briefly after the first lap and decided to do a second.  Hannah took off with a giggle and I pursued with a smile.  This was cool!

We were both having fun doing something we really enjoy, at the same time, without the need for modification!  Fabulous!

By the end of the second lap, Hannah was a long ways ahead of me.  I turned the second to last corner and heard very familiar crying.

Hannah had biffed it as she crossed a street and skinned up her knee.  Poor Hannah Bear!  We got her cleaned up, band-aided up and hugged up and all was well.

I can only hope this is a glimpse of what is too come.  Hannah is the oldest.  David and Leah are growing older and bigger each day.

I eagerly await the day where I can say, "Wanna go for a ride?" and the response is, "Yeah sure old man but can you keep up?"

Crazy Faith - a Ride for Christian Education

Earlier this year I joined the Christian Education Ministry Committee at Westend Christian Reformed Church.  At the second meeting I attended, we discussed ideas for fundraisers for this upcoming school year (2013-2014).  We discussed which of the old standbys we would continue with and whether there was anything new and fresh we could try.  If you talk to my wife, Michelle, she will tell you that every now and then I come up with some pretty crazy ideas.  Most of these involve cycling.

Guess what?  I had a crazy idea!  Here is my idea...What if I did a bike ride where I asked the congregation to pledge money on a per mile basis?  What if I picked some crazy-long amount of time, like say 12 hours?  Would this work?  Would the congregation respond positively?  Can I even ride that long?

When an ideas like this gets floating around my head, I can’t really get settled until I go and do it.  So I’m going to do it!  Saturday September 21st will be the first Crazy Faith - A Ride for Christian Education.  The basics are:

• I will ride my bike from 7 am until 7 pm
• During that time, I will attempt to cover as many miles as I can
• A GPS bike computer will track and record my ride
• My mileage estimate is 130-150 miles total (I've never done this before so I don’t really know; honestly I’m just hoping to make it 12 hours)
• The day will start with a ride that visits all of the schools that the Christian Ed Ministry currently contributes to.
• Following the initial tour of Christian Schools, I will be doing ~25 mile loops that will begin and end at Westend.
• During August, you will find a pledge form in your mailboxes asking for a $/mile pledge.  Please fill out the form and put it in Mike & Michelle Terrell’s box
• You will have the option of a flat donation
• Michelle & I will be pledging $2/mile
• All the funds raised will go toward helping church families pay for a Christian education for their children
• I will heartily welcome others who want to join me for an hour or two (or three or four!).  Find me if you are interested.
• I will ride rain or shine (Hooray for fenders!)
• I've created a Facebook event and Facebook page where I will post updates during the day
• On Sunday the 22nd, I’ll give a brief review of the day
• Why Crazy Faith?  Because it’s pretty crazy and I will need faith in God to make it successful!
• Any questions should go to Mike Terrell (mikeptocs@gmail.com)

Can you pledge 50 cents/mile?  Maybe a $1/mile?  Go crazy and pledge $5/mile!  I have faith in you!

I should be riding right now

It's 7:30 on a Saturday morning.  I'm an hour and a half into the ride I had planned on doing this morning except for the fact that I'm not.

When you are getting ready for a how-many-miles-can-I-cover-in-12-hours ride, you're not supposed to skip good quality training rides.  You're supposed to wake up incredibly early on Saturday and go out and ride hard until you puke.  You know, for the training effect.

The fact that this post even exists tells you that I have utterly rebelled against that notion this morning.  My bed was too comfy.  The coffee was too tempting.  Watching cartoons with the kids was too lovely to pass up.

Better luck next Saturday.

Commuting gets easier the more you do it. Whoda Thunk?

Commuting to work by bike has become more common as of late.  It is likely a combination of good weather, an accomodating schedule and an understanding wife.

One thing I have noticed, and this really shouldn't come as a surprise, is that the process is getting easier.  The evening prior, I can usually get everything ready that I need for the next day in about 10 minutes or less.  That includes clothing, wallet, pen, pocketknife, phone, and the bike.  I know what I need and where it needs to go.

One worry I had had was that commuting by bike would take too much extra time and, therefore, take time away from my family.  That is a no-no for me.  I don't want to be "that guy".  Realistically, commuting by bike means I have to leave about 10-15 minutes earlier than I typically would and it probably adds about 15 minutes to my commute home.

In return, I get about 50 minutes of good quality exercise, I save on gas, save wear and tear on my car, send a positive message to patient's/co-workers/ the general public and I send a good message to my kids (that one is pretty important by the way).

The pros definitely seem to outweigh the cons.

Oh, by the way, it can be pretty fun too!  Most of my ride is through the city.  That means I can modify my route on the fly in any of a hundred different ways.  The focus required to ride safely and pick the optimum route makes the ride feel...adventurous.

On a ride home last Tuesday, I beat an Escalade from Michigan & Lafayette to Coit & Ann Street.  I had to laugh.

How I became a commuter

I've long enjoyed riding to work.  Typically, I only do it on Fridays because it doesn't work out well on other days of the week.  Maximize family time, ya know?

This week changed that.  Our minivan broke down on Tuesday, leaving us with just one vehicle.  In fact, I left work on Tuesday to rescue Michelle, David and Leah and then had to ride back to work.

By the end of the week, I will have commuted to work 3.5 times.  As you can imagine, I'm pretty pleased about that.  That will net me about 42-43 miles I probably wouldn't have rode otherwise.

This got me to thinking.  Gas prices are around $4.30/gallon right now.  If prices stay that way or go higher, riding to work more often kinda seems like a no-brainer.  It would probably save me about 3/4 to 1 gallon of gas per commute day.  That's somewhere between $3-5/commute day.  If I do that 2x/week over the next 12 weeks, we're looking at $72-120 in savings.  I could deal with that.  Money is tight everywhere.  Why not save a buck or two.

To Sam or not to Sam, that is the question!

As any cyclist will tell you, we are never satisfied with the bike/s we have.  There is always something "better".

We swap cranks, saddles, handlebars, pedals, deraillers, brakes, you-name-it in the eternal quest for "The Bike".  Once we've changed over everything possible, that's when get serious about which bike will be the next bike.  The next bike will, of course, will be "The Bike".  We're sure of it.

Actually, I should confess that the process is not nearly that linear.  Cyclists are always thinking about the next bike, no matter what they currently have, even if they just got back from the bike shop after picking up a new ride.  We were probably thinking about the next, next bike before we even laid our hands on the next bike.  It's kind of sick.

Why was I writing this post?

Oh yeah, to Sam or not to Sam?  Which bike will be the next bike?  The eternal, unanswerable question.

A couple months back, I upgraded several components on Gimli the Road Bike.  Handlbars were swapped, pedals were switched, shifters were changed and I even added a shiny new stem (just for kicks; it was totally unnecessary).  A nice set of fenders were also added during the upgrade process and that's where we ran into a problem.

With fenders, the frame will allow 23 mm tires.  Nothing wider.  Riding 28s had been my goal, but I would need to take off the fenders and, well, I really like the fenders.  Riding in the rain is kinda fun when you're not getting soaking wet and covered with road grit.

Ideally, I would like to have a bike that fits 32 mm tires at a minimum (35 or above would be ideal).  Gimli the Road Bike won't even come close.  I was hoping I might be able to squeeze 28s on but that was a no go.

What to do, what to do?

Ever since I first got back in to cycling, I have been mildly obsessed with Rivendell Bicycle Works, out of northern California.  They have a vibe, an aesthetic, a philosophy that really speaks to me.  They make bikes that are comfortable to ride, look very retro-cool, and are designed for the average joe (not racers).  Their bikes are designed to be useful in many different circumstances, from riding to the store to fetch a gallon of milk to doing a century ride.  These are not cheap bikes by any means but I have yet to hear anyone, anywhere say they are not high quality or they are uncomfortable.  They only complaint I have ever heard about them is that they are not as light as some other bikes.  The owner of Rivendell is very up front about the topic of weight and has a well thought opinion on the topic.  Read it here.  If you complain about the weight of the frame then you really didn't do your homework.

Several months back I had set my sights on purchasing a Sam Hillborne.  The cost for the frame alone is $1225!  My estimate for saving up that amount of cash was in the 5 year range (that might even be conservative).  But I was dedicated.  I will perservere.  I will buckle down and save every last penny I can find.  I will not give in to temptation.

Why is this so important?  I feel like a compromised when I purchased Gimli.  I went with something that was kinda in the ballpark of what I wanted but wasn't really all that close.  I rationalized (I'm pretty good at that, by the way).  Since I purchased Gimli back in 2011, I've upgraded essentially everything on the bike.  It's actually pretty cool now, but it's not quite what I want.  Had I saved all the money that has been put into Gimli, I might have a Sam Hillborne right now.

In my head, I hear the little voice saying, "Steady now, stay the course!"

But...what if I could find a different bike that would be cheaper but would still fulfull all of the objective requirements I have for the next bike?  What if?

What do I really want to do on the bike?  Typically, my head is in two different camps.

1. Ride a bike that is comfortable and solidly made with good quality components, even if it is a little slower than other peoples bikes.
2. Ride a bike that is still set up comfortably but might be a little lighter and a little faster.

The first bike would be much more of an all-arounder capable of hauling some stuff and doing fast rides by myself.  It is when I'm with others that I would be disappointed.

The second bike wouldn't be able to have much more than a handlebar bag for a load but would keep up with friends a little better.  Let's face it, fast is fun.

The Sam Hillborne is much more of the first kind of bike.  I seriously doubt I wouldn't be happy with it.  It's just that it will take so long to save the money!

Realistically, it will take at least another year before I have saved up enough money to do anything worth doing.  Basically, this is a debate that will rage in my mind for at least that long and I will change my mind more times than I can count.

In the end, it is pretty trivial.  I have two good bikes that I will continue to ride even if they aren't "The Bike".

Really, that's all I've done so far?

Just yesterday, I did the 65 mile route for the 100 Grand Bike Tour (which I highly recommend, by the hoo).  When I was done, I uploaded the data from my Garmin 500 to see how we did.

Overall, it was pretty good day.  I rode with Dave Vanderschaaf and Scott DeKryger, pacelineing it the whole way.  This was definitely new for me as I typically ride alone.

Just for kicks, I checked my mileage total for the year.  598.

What?

598.

Seriously, that's it?

Yep folks, it turns out having 3 kids, a lovely/beautiful/fantastic wife, and a full-time job will cut into your ride time.  Who-da-thunk?

At this pace, I'll be satisfied if I get 1800 miles for the year.  That would be 600 less than 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.  Oh well.  At least the kids are cute.

What's Next?

I'm such a dork.

Why?  Do you know how much I love talking about bike gear?  Do you really know?

This post will be dedicated to me writing about what bike gear I want to buy and why I want to buy it.  For the vast majority of the population, this will be as fun as stale bread.  If you smile when someone calls you a Bike Geek or if you get whiplash everytime you turn to see that bike that just passed by, you might actually enjoy this.

Gimli

Gimli is my main bike.  It is the bike I will do all of my Big Rides on for the near future.  Because of this, it does tend to get the most attention.  Recently, I realized I had replaced every component on the bike except for the handlebars, headset and brakes.  Everything else is different (the wheels have actually been replaced twice).

The big projects for this year involve fenders and a new set of handlebars/handlebar tape/stem/stem spacers.

• The more I ride, the more I see the value of good fenders.  Sam the Singlespeed has decent fenders and they really do a remarkable job of keeping water from spashing off the road and onto myself and the bike.  My desires are fluctuating between a pair of fenders from SKS (plastic with an aluminum core) and a pair of shiny, aluminum fenders from Velo Orange.  The SKS RaceBlade Fenders would certainly fit and appear to have good coverage.  The aluminum fenders from Velo Orange would look better and possibly be more durable.  There is some question as to whether they would fit on my bike.  I need to take some accurate measurements of the frame and brake calipers to know.  There is also the question of wheel size.  I want to be able to run the largest tire I can.  The RaceBlades might not allow more than a 23mm tire whereas the Velo Orange fenders might accomadate a 25-27mm tire.  Lots to think about.
• When it comes to the handlebars and stem, the question = Why Change?  The way things are set up right now, I feel fairly comfortable.  If anything, I would like a set-up that would bring the handlebars up and back just a little bit.  My current handlebars have a fairly short reach and my current stem is only 70mm long (stems don't come shorter than that; I've checked).  Any change would likely lengthen me out or lower me down.  Yuck.  Why change then?  Aesthetics, purely aesthetics.  Gimli has grey paint with black highlights.  The cranks, seatpost, and derailluers are all a nice and shiny, silvery chrome (or a decent replication of chrome).  Most of this was done purely by accident but I have come to like the idea.  What I would really love is a chrome stem, with chrome headset spacers and shiny aluminum handlebars with red or blue handlebar tape (red or blue just for that little "pop" of color).  Also, I would order a new stem cap from a company called Purely Custom.  You can get just about any color you want and have any message you want engraved on it.  I'm thinking of You Are The Motor.
• Oh, I almost forgot...brakes!!!  Why replace the brakes?  Why not?  Gimli's current brakes do work, but not great.  Plus, once again, I could replace them with nice, silvery/shiny aluminum ones to match the overall aesthetic.  The question becomes, which brakes and what size?  Brakes with a larger space between the calipers would make fitting fenders easier.  Would larger calipers work on Gimli?  I don't know.  This is something I would need help with.

Sam the Singlespeed

Sam has become my commuter bike.  Recently, I put the fenders back on (which was quite a process) and put a rear rack on.  Over the winter, my plan is to take some rectangular buckets and make DIY panniers.  The idea came from an article in Bicycle Times that used kitty litter buckets.  Long story short, you use some nuts, bolts, hooks and bungee straps to make what amounts to cheap, waterproof panniers for a rear rack.

As of now, I have one bucket that I got from our church.  I had tried to find someone with empty kitty litter buckets, without success.  One Wednesday morning, I was at my Bible study when I noticed that our church uses ice-melt salt that comes in a white, rectangular buckets (I'm guessing about 3.5 gallons, or so).  Perfect!  I asked if there were any extras and sure enough, there was!  I'm not sure when I will get to this, but it will be fun to work on it.

The only other thing I would seriously consider doing to Sam is new brakes.  Honestly, Sam can't break worth a crap.  The brake pads were recently replaced and it really didn't seem to help a whole lot.  There is one major problem with new brakes.  Sam has 27 x 1 1/4 wheels.  This is an older style that isn't used by anybody anymore, as far as I can tell.  Brakes meant for 26" wheels or 700c wheels likely won't work (the caliper arms would be the wrong length).  If I was to do this, I would have to get some help from one of the local bike shops.

That is all I can think of for right now.  There will be more in the future.  Maybe Sam could use a new saddle?

"I Am The Motor"

Last night was my first "ride" of the new year.  Ride is in parentheses because it was an indoor trainer ride, which barely counts as a ride.

Despite being a trainer ride, it was really hard.  I did 20 miles with breaks every 5 miles to do a set of chin-ups & push-ups.  The legs felt dead.  My heart was pumping hard just to keep a speed in the mid 16's.  Ugh.

What was I thinking about as I was sludging through?  I Am The Motor.

Michelle got me a t-shirt from a company called Stomach of Anger.  It is a simple shirt.  There is a picture of a heart, right where my heart should be with the words "I Am The Motor" across the top.

I asked for it because it really made sense to me.  This is one of the reasons I love cycling.  I Am The Motor.  My bike is simply a series of steel tubes with some aluminum, plastic and rubber bits thrown on.  It is incapable of motion until I hop on and push down on the pedals.

If the bike is moving fast it is because I am making it move fast.  If it is moving slowly, it is because I can't seem to make it move fast.  If the bike just topped 100 miles for the day, it is because I pedaled it for 100 miles that day.  I did it...I Am The Motor.

As a side note, people on motorcycles don't really impress me.  Sorry.  I Am The Motor...you are not.