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 Missouri: Wow! I’m glad it’s coming back!

 

Today’s ride: RIDE SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG STICK. In spite of Greene County’s new dog control law for the “Urban Service Area,” you must always be on the lookout. Today 2 junkyard-type dogs made their presence known when they were immediately to my left. Houston, we have a problem. I pulled out my Fido repellent, but this did not intimidate either canine.  I applied discipline to one pursuer and it broke off the chase. However, Fang (I name obnoxious dogs) kept up the pursuit for a much greater distance than is typical for the species, and it kept threatening to dart in front of me. I waved “discipline” at it a few times, yelled, and kept pedaling. Unfortunately Fang never quite got within range, and finally it broke off pursuit. This covered at least a quarter of a mile.


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 Springfield for the finish and got a lot more good photos. We intend to post many of these on WalMart’s photo website and post the link here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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: Springfield area drivers are much less attentive to bikes in the morning when they are rushing off to work. As my friend Jim said, operate under the assumption that the drivers are trying to kill you!

 


 

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 Springfield streets when no one is on the roads!  I met up with the group at the church in Elwood, and rode with them until I decided to go my own way for a few miles.  While they went S of I-44, I kept riding straight west, thinking I would avoid some hills. Ha! Try again!  Since this way was still shorter than the group, I was the first to the convenience store in Halltown. This made it look like I was fast. However, since everyone who soon arrived was much faster than me I was passed by a multitude when we went north on Z.

 

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 Springfield to Strafford, Marshfield, Fair Grove, Ebenezer, and back.

 

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 Marshfield and Fair Grove on E there is a stretch which is roller-coaster like, and you keep a lot of momentum from the downhills when you go uphill.

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!)