I have 2 words for you: Chamois Butt'r
Week one was a good learning experience. I began to dial in my “system” to try to be sure I knew where all my stuff was, bike was ready to go, podcasts loaded, headphones charged, etc. Total commute mileage for the week was 122.48 over 3 days. I did not make my 4th day due to high school graduation ceremonies. Although I am on a bike a few times a week, I learned my body was not ready for this big jump in mileage. My back and hamstrings stiffened up, I was more tired than expected even with an e-bike, and man, did my ass hurt. Chamois Butt’r is now mandatory. Maybe someday I will develop some callouses where the sun don’t shine, but today, it ‘taint there.
I took a different route for all 6 rides, hunting for the fastest route, the best route for bike lanes, and the most fun. The shortest route was 18.3 miles, and luckily, it was the best route with bike lanes. Unfortunately it is almost entirely on busy roads. It took me awhile to get used to cars 2 to 3 feet off my handlebars, but that came relatively quickly. Note to street planners: the concrete islands being installed around the cities to give someplace for pedestrians to stand safely while trying to cross the street actually force traffic closer to, or into, the bike lanes. Good for pedestrians, bad for cyclists.
Courtesy note:
If you are a cyclist on a 4 lane road and come up to a major intersection where traffic in the far right lane will turn right, move onto the lane divider. It will cause you a lot less stress when the light turns green because traffic will not be turning in front of you, it reduces the stress of the cars behind you unsure if they can pull up alongside and turn right while the light is red, and as an added benefit, they don’t get pissed off at you for slowing down their access to the intersection. It took me a few horns to figure this out. Diagram to the left. If you are uncomfortable with this, hang back a few car lengths from the intersection until the light turns green, but beware of cars turning right when you enter the intersection.
Gear:
Let’s talk about my bike choice. I am riding a Specialized Creo SL drop bar bike (road or gravel) with electric pedal assist. I chose a drop bar platform over other commuter bikes mainly due to speed. I have commuted on a road bike, gravel bike, and commuter bike with electric pedal assist. The commuter bike is more upright with a flat handlebar, and may be more comfortable for some. I can sustain a few additional miles per hour average on a drop bar bike, and since time is important to me on my commute, I went drop bar. As I said earlier, I went with he electric pedal assist to speed up the commute and help me overcome the tired/lazy obstacle. I am not sure I would have made day 3 of the commute without the electric pedal assist. The Creo is a class 3 electric pedal assist bike, which means the motor will continue to assist me up to 28 mph. I can do a 18.3 mile ride in 53 minutes and still feel like I get great exercise. I ride the bike in full power, or “Turbo” mode, because why wouldn’t I? Makes me feel like a bike rockstar. Since I ride full “Turbo”, the bike consumes about 70% of the battery on each leg, which means I have to charge it on each end. Instead of hauling the charger, I bought a second one I keep at the office.
The bike I chose came equipped with gravel tires, Specialized Pathfinders. These are a bit wider than traditional road tires and have some tread on them for additional traction. Knowing I will be riding in all weather conditions, I wanted the tread. Because these tires are wider at 38mm versus a standard road tire between 21mm and 28mm) I can run them at a lower pressure which helps with small bump absorption and vibration in my hands and butt. I have been running them at 80 psi. The bike also came equipped with Specialized’s Future Shock 2, which is a 20mm suspension system in the headset. It really helps with small bumps and vibration.
I am running clipless pedals, Crank Brothers Eggbeater 2’s. I would like to tell you this is due to a ton of research, but the fact is, someone from the bike shop I now own convinced me to try them years ago, and I have just stuck with the Crank Brothers platform.
Quick update on my goals:
Scale said 228, so down 3 lbs! I don’t think 3 days will have changed my base cycling capability much, so we will have to wait on goal 2. As for mental health, I had some great conversations in my head about Black Lives Matter, the status of racism in our country, my middle child’s graduation from high school, and what life might look like after my youngest leaves the nest (hopefully) in 2 years. I did manage to order a bunch of new stuff for the bike, but I will introduce those items when they show up.
Next Update I will get into my clothing/layering and some of the bike bling. Surprisingly, no real assholes to report this week. Don't forget to follow my journey on Strava and give us your input on our Facebook Page!
Until next time...
Other Tidbits
I did not drive 150 miles this week. My truck gets 27 miles to the gallon, and uses diesel, so lets say $2.30 per gallon. That is $12.78 in gas saved. I probably spent 10 times that on the new bling I ordered, so..If you want to use the IRS guess at how much it costs to drive a car at $.575 per mile, I saved $86.25.
On the way to work, I am listening to “The Daily” by the New York Times, “What’s News” by The Wall Street Journal, and various podcasts by The Economist Radio. On the way home, it is tune out time, mostly Alt Nation on SiriusXM.