Bill’s Bike Blog
Welcome to Bill’s Bike Blog!
From time to time I will post my reflections, good and bizarre hints,
and whatever else I want to say about bicycling. If you want to write me for any reason, do so
at
. Yeah, I put
in a graphic to try to fool those robot scavengers who want my email address so
they can send me the latest spam.
Links:
Here are some of my favorite bike hints. Many of my cycling buddies
like to kid me about these.
http://www.drbill.net/bike/BikeProblemsAndSolutions.htm
I have a cycling page on my Evangel website (which needs
serious updating), and you can find it at
http://www.drbill.net/eu_website/BICYCLE/BIKE.HTM
Unfortunately the Springfield NewsLeader no longer posts the
article they did about the biking my wife and I do. I have not been able to
find a cached version on Google either. Sorry.
How can you tell it has been a long time since someone has
been on a road bike? http://www.drbill.net/bike/roadbikehumor.htm
THE BLOG
December 26, 2007
I have been sidelined to my trainer because of a health
issue (BUMMER!), and so I think my total REAL miles on a bike will stop at
4,516. I also have 1,600 virtual miles on my trainer. A few years ago I estimated
trainer distance by comparing my heart rate over time to a 25 mile bike ride, hooked
up the bike computer’s sensor to the back wheel, and adjusted the so-called
wheel size to reflect my calculation. Thus I am at 6,016 exercise miles for the
year, although only those on a real road count!
To avoid extreme boredom while on my trainer I usually put
on a DVD. If you have a trainer then you know that these things tend to be
noisy. I tend to wear over-the-ear full headphones, thus blocking out some of
the noise. However, one of my sons just gave me some noise-cancelling
headphones, which should make the situation even better! I got put them on
yesterday and made some noise on my trainer, and they cancelled out most of the
racket.
November 28, 2007
Well, once again it has been too long since I wrote on this
blog. So what has happened?
Question: what is the worst time to learn that the bolt
holding your seat on your bike has given in to metal fatigue?
Answer: when you are riding no hands. There’s nothing like
the helpless feeling of falling BACKWARDS off one’s bike. I knew what happened
before I hit the ground, but there was absolutely nothing I could do. The first
point of impact was my upper back. Then my hands slapped the pavement (I
probably broke my right hand but they did not x-ray it), and then I slid and
got the proverbial road rash. Fortunately the x-rays they did take showed that
my back, right shoulder, and right arm were not broken. However, they are still
sore.
I went out to a local auto parts store and got a bunch of
these bolts, except these are tested at 176,000 psi (which is probably stronger
than the bolt on the seat!). This is the third seat bolt I have broken in the
last decade, but the first time I was riding no hands. (Note: I still ride no hands from time to
time. I have just decided to replace my seat bolts annually.)
On a different note, a couple of weeks ago I spotted canine
trouble ahead. It seemed prudent to grab a handful of gravel. ‘Nuff said.
September 16, 2007
Tour of
Today’s ride: RIDE SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG STICK.
In spite of
September 14, 2007
Whoa, I didn’t realize it was this long since I last wrote
an entry!
The Tour of Missouri is here. On Wednesday I watched them go
by just a little bit south of Willard on Hwy AB. Because of user interface
error I did not get many good photos.
However, here is one of the breakaway.
My wife Terry (also known as Tia) was downtown
Tia & I went down to Branson for the Time trial
Thursday. I think I more than made up for my poor photographic performance on
Wednesday. We were at the start at Branson Landing. Between the two of us we got about 1,900
photos. Here are some of mine (the last 2 are by my wife):
August 22, 2007
Here’s a link to the 2007 Tour of Missouri. This has lots of
info, including maps.
http://www.steephill.tv/2007/tour-of-missouri/
Well, today is the last day before I go back on duty at EU.
I got 41 miles in, and was not at all energetic.
My experience has been this:
August 18, 2007
It’s been too long since I wrote on this.
Today I joined a training ride for the MS 150. I rode from
home, leaving at 6am. It’s nice to ride through
Boy, did it get hot! Frankly I’m tired of this heat. I met
up with another Bill near Ash Grove and rode with him until we returned to
Elwood. I was given some offers of a ride home from there, but I chose to use
pedal power. (I had 55 miles at that time.) I think I should have taken them up
on the offer. In spite of my best efforts, I think the heat got to me on the
last stretch.
August 11, 2007
Hot enough for you? I’ve been leaving at 7am (or
earlier). I went riding with a friend and we went a little N of Cave
Springs (N of Willard). There’s a church there from the early 1830s, along
with a very old cemetery.
Mileage so far this year: 2,938 miles. I’m about 300 miles
behind where I want to be right now.
August 2, 2007
You meet the nicest people out in the country here in the
Ozarks. Today I went out riding and it was hot! I stopped to sit in the shade
of a tree, and within a few minutes a woman
from across the road brought me out a glass of ice water. God bless her!
July 31, 2007
It was hot today! My intention was to ride a century, but 73
miles was enough.
A little over 4 miles into the ride someone pulled out of
“The Greens” (golf course/apartment complex) and almost hit me. I used my father’s
voice and yelled, “Hey, hey!” real loud and he heard me. Something happened
which has never happened before: he pulled alongside me about a hundred yards
down the road and apologized. The next
judgment challenged person who ran a light after I had already legally entered
the intersection just yelled back at me. And people gripe about bikes running
lights!
All in all it was a good ride. I rode from
You south-siders who only know the route to Rogersville
don’t know what you’re missing. First of all, I did not see one bike until 70.3
miles into the ride, which tells you that many are missing out on this
territory. Second, there’s a lot of beautiful country around here, especially N
of I-44. Third, some of the riding is downright fun. For instance, between
A couple of years ago I did a century from Springfield to
Marshfield, Fair Grove, Walnut Grove, home, and then a few more local miles to
turn 92 into a hundred. The problem was this: the route from Fair Grove to
Walnut Grove (CC becoming BB) is up/down/up/down (w/o momentum keeping hills)
and high traffic. Frankly I find the route terrifying. Well, if you want to go
between those cities, try dropping SE from Fair Grove to WW, and then snake
your way across to Walnut Grove. Email me and I’ll give you some specific route
suggestions.
July 27, 2007
Nice people and
oases (pl. of oasis). From time to time you should
stop and talk to people who are out there where you are riding. You’d be amazed
at how many nice people you’ll meet. For
instance, today I gave a dog a friendly greeting (yes, it’s true), and the man
who lived there invited me to come get some REAL COLD water from his 300ft deep
well. I tell you, on a hot day it was great to pour
some over my head, drink some more, and replenish my supply. We also had a good conversation. In fact, it was the well which sold him on
the property—cold and tasty. He told me about buying the land and about his
experience during the January ice storm. (He was without power for 3 weeks.) He told me that I could get water
there anytime I wanted to. This leads me to my 2nd topic: know (or
find) thy oases! Churches are great because they often have faucets
outside. Just hope that they did not
remove the handles. But stopping and talking to people from time to time can
also supply you with sources of H2O. I’m
not beyond knocking on someone’s door and asking for water, but it is nice to
know that you can get it in certain places.
Roadkill. One advantage of road cycling is
that we go by the roadkill at a much slower pace. Thus we get to experience it
in a different way than when we are driving 50 mph. We get a much better view,
and sometimes it even stimulates the olfactory glands.
Loose dogs. Today the winner of the TDF stage
was also brought to the pavement by a dog who wandered in his path. My wife and
I have both been brought to the pavement by dogs who made a bee-line for our
front wheels. (In my case I was given a veiled threat by the owner. In my
wife’s case the owner was helpful, gave my wife a ride home, and bought
her a new helmet.) Of course, all three of these cases could have been avoided
if the owners had been responsible and kept their creatures under control. Even small mutts, such as this one (I took
this photo today) pose a threat to cycling stability.
July 26, 2007
We rode past Ebenezer today, and on the way
back I noticed a ladder leaning up over a window against a house, and I said,
“Looks like someone eloped.”
TDF: I’ve changed my mind about Rasmussen. He violated his
team’s rules.
July 25, 2007
TDF: I realize that something fishy went on with Michael
Rasmussen in June, but I wish his TDF team hadn’t fired him and kicked him out
of the TDF without a positive drug test.
I’ll still watch the race.
July 24, 2007
Today I rode my 2nd metric century in 4 days
(100k=62.1mi), and I took it easy. The temperature was tolerable (mid-80’s F).
At one point I slowed down because a man, his grandson (?),
Sharkbait (a tiny dog), and Rover (a big black dog) were crossing the road (I
thought people were supposed to look before crossing the street). Well, I came
to a stop, and the big black dog began lunging at me. The owners did nothing to
try to stop the mutt, and just said something like, “Oh, he likes to protect
his territory.” Of course, everyone’s Fido is the nicest creature on earth, and
people always say, “Oh, he won’t bite.” Last summer one of those “he won’t
bite” dogs grabbed hold of my calf, and last week my wife was bitten by a
basset hound as she was doing a climb. Fortunately Rover stayed far enough away
this time.
On the positive side, there were butterflies everywhere. I saw this hay truck a few times. I rode
through Bois D’Arc on my way to Ash Grove.
On the way back I saw this woman’s flower garden which is absolutely gorgeous.
July 23, 2007.
I have been thinking about writing a cycling blog for a
while. In this first post I tell you that I am now posting stuff!
Today I did not ride. Instead, I watched Le Tour de France
and fixed 4 tubes which had holes in them (2 with multiple holes from
yesterday).
Yesterday was an annoying day. These new Panaracer tires are
quite smooth to ride on, but they
fit so tight that it is EXTREMELY difficult to
put them on without pinching a tube. That accounted for more holes than I care
to count. Maybe I’m just a klutz.
Earlier July, 2007
50 miles per hour on a bike around
here? You must
be joking! No, it is possible--DOWNHILL AND PEDALING--on Farm Road 223, about 1-1/2 mile north of
Highway C near Strafford, riding north. (I do NOT ride 50mph on the flats!)