Today's ride started at around 10:00AM. Rode North through St. Omer, Middletown, Waldron, St. Paul and Adams. This was my first bike trip ever into St. Omer, Middletown, Waldron and St. Paul and I believe this is my first time ever in St. Paul. I enjoy riding through small towns and often (as today) put in a few extra miles exploring; which slows down my average speed.
Trip map:
Waldron loop
Distance: 35.88 miles
Average speed:15.03 MPH
Bicycle computer:
Some of you may wonder how I get the trip miles and the average speed, this is gathered through the use of the bike computer. This is a device about the size of a wristwatch that is bought separate from the bike. It works by having a sensor on the frame next to the front wheel. This sensor then counts every time a magnet that is installed on the front wheel passes by the sensor; this equates to the wheel doing a complete rotation. The computer then calculates the distance traveled by taking the number of times the wheel spins and multiplying by the diameter of the wheel.
How does it know the diameter you ask? I measure it by placing a long piece of masking tape on our cement driveway. I then mark a spot on the tire and ride the bike down the piece of tape until that mark rotates next to the tape twice. I mark both times the mark crosses the tape and then measure the distance to the nearest millimeter. This measurement is then entered in the bike computer. This makes for a very accurate measure of distance and average speed, much more accurate then most car speedometers.
The computer can also measure how fast in revolutions per minute that my feet are spinning, I'm typically over 90 RPM. It also has a clock and trip time, distance and average speed. The trip parameters are only calculated when the bike is actually moving, that way it doesn't hurt my average speed when I stop at stop lights, stop signs or those rare rest breaks.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Thursday, July 5, 2007
July 5th ride
I was ready to start riding at around 6:30PM it had rained pretty hard earlier at around 5:00PM and it looked as if it could rain again. I decided to take a chance that it wouldn't rain again. Rain isn't that much of a hindrance on the bike anyway, headwinds are what you have to watch out for.
I decided to head North towards Waldron, the ride was going excellent when it started sprinkling a bit after 2 miles. I remember thinking this is nice, it will keep me cooled down, so I can go faster. It then started pouring. Two miles later it was still pouring, so I decided to only do the 8 mile loop instead of going to Waldron. Around 2 miles later it stopped raining I pulled over to wipe my glasses off with the towel I keep under my seat (reminder to self: put the next towel into a plastic bag). Glasses cleaned, pushing off with right foot when I noticed my front tire was flat, drats! I pull out my spare tube and tools out of the bike bag. I don't repair the busted tube since it's the wrong size anyway (long story) and I am soaked. I'm ready to roll now that the The tube is replaced and the tire aired up with my trusty pump. The rest of the ride is uneventful.
8 mile loop map
Ride length 9.44 miles
Average speed: 16.24 MPH
Eye protection:
This trip reminds me of how important it is to wear eye protection while riding. It would have been difficult to ride at 20 MPH in the rain. The rain was pelting my arms pretty hard.
I remember riding in a sponsored group ride years ago when I noticed a butterfly ahead of me. It was fluttering about a couple feet above the road. I'm watching it wondering if the spokes on my front wheel might hit it, that might be an interesting show. It continued fluttering about as if with no direction. I'm still watching anticipating the upcoming shredded butterfly show. When suddenly as if possessed, the directionless butterfly became a guided missile that headed directly at me and rammed its payload directly into my left eye. I then became the show instead of the audience for the other riders as I slammed on the breaks and jumped off my bike trying to clean the smashed remains from my now stinging eye.
"Are you Ok?" asked an unseen rider.
"Yes" I replied, "bug in the eye."
They then yelled "you should wear sunglasses when you ride!"
I have always worn sunglasses every since.
Again years ago on my first ever night trip, I had the bike ready with a headlight and I had twenty miles before I would be home (I rode the bike to work earlier). I only had sunglasses, which didn't work well at night so I rode without glasses. The ride was fine until around the 5 mile mark when I ran into a bug swarm, luckily none hit my eyes, I then hit more bug swarms and wasn't so lucky. I decided I would have to wear my sunglasses even in the dark (like the song). I can barely see that my headlight is on let alone the road! But I figure it was important to protect my eyes. After that ride I always made sure to bring clear goggles on my night trips. I also learned an important lesson about keeping my mouth closed. (bugs aren't tasty)
I decided to head North towards Waldron, the ride was going excellent when it started sprinkling a bit after 2 miles. I remember thinking this is nice, it will keep me cooled down, so I can go faster. It then started pouring. Two miles later it was still pouring, so I decided to only do the 8 mile loop instead of going to Waldron. Around 2 miles later it stopped raining I pulled over to wipe my glasses off with the towel I keep under my seat (reminder to self: put the next towel into a plastic bag). Glasses cleaned, pushing off with right foot when I noticed my front tire was flat, drats! I pull out my spare tube and tools out of the bike bag. I don't repair the busted tube since it's the wrong size anyway (long story) and I am soaked. I'm ready to roll now that the The tube is replaced and the tire aired up with my trusty pump. The rest of the ride is uneventful.
8 mile loop map
Ride length 9.44 miles
Average speed: 16.24 MPH
Eye protection:
This trip reminds me of how important it is to wear eye protection while riding. It would have been difficult to ride at 20 MPH in the rain. The rain was pelting my arms pretty hard.
I remember riding in a sponsored group ride years ago when I noticed a butterfly ahead of me. It was fluttering about a couple feet above the road. I'm watching it wondering if the spokes on my front wheel might hit it, that might be an interesting show. It continued fluttering about as if with no direction. I'm still watching anticipating the upcoming shredded butterfly show. When suddenly as if possessed, the directionless butterfly became a guided missile that headed directly at me and rammed its payload directly into my left eye. I then became the show instead of the audience for the other riders as I slammed on the breaks and jumped off my bike trying to clean the smashed remains from my now stinging eye.
"Are you Ok?" asked an unseen rider.
"Yes" I replied, "bug in the eye."
They then yelled "you should wear sunglasses when you ride!"
I have always worn sunglasses every since.
Again years ago on my first ever night trip, I had the bike ready with a headlight and I had twenty miles before I would be home (I rode the bike to work earlier). I only had sunglasses, which didn't work well at night so I rode without glasses. The ride was fine until around the 5 mile mark when I ran into a bug swarm, luckily none hit my eyes, I then hit more bug swarms and wasn't so lucky. I decided I would have to wear my sunglasses even in the dark (like the song). I can barely see that my headlight is on let alone the road! But I figure it was important to protect my eyes. After that ride I always made sure to bring clear goggles on my night trips. I also learned an important lesson about keeping my mouth closed. (bugs aren't tasty)
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
July 3rd group ride
I rode with the Greensburg group tonight; there were a total of 6 bikers. We are not a racing group so I won't keep track of times or average MPH. We did ride 20 miles, the actual trip map is in the right column. After the group ride I took a separate ride through Adams for a total trip of 36.87 miles.
Adams loop map
Adams loop map
Sunday, July 1, 2007
June 30th ride
June 30th trip map on Google Maps
Trip length: 85.71 miles
Average speed: 15.24 MPH
Weather conditions: Cool in the high 70's and mid 80's with a mild wind from the North East. Overcast clouds looked like it could rain any moment.
Notes:
Longest trip yet this year. Visited mom for a couple of hours. felt strong throughout trip, had plenty of strength left for final hills. Felt nauseated a couple hours afterwards perhaps from not eating enough.
Trip length: 85.71 miles
Average speed: 15.24 MPH
Weather conditions: Cool in the high 70's and mid 80's with a mild wind from the North East. Overcast clouds looked like it could rain any moment.
Notes:
Longest trip yet this year. Visited mom for a couple of hours. felt strong throughout trip, had plenty of strength left for final hills. Felt nauseated a couple hours afterwards perhaps from not eating enough.
My first entry
The purpose of this Blog: Initially this blog shall be used to keep track of my bike rides and to help motivate me to keep riding for my own personal fitness. I plan on tracking the bike rides in multiple ways including this blog, Google maps to detail the actual rides and Google documents (Excel) to have a quick reference of the trips. I also plan to add personal bike experiences as they happen and some that I remember from long ago. I'd also like to promote bicycling as a fun sport. Later I may add other non-biking features.
The person behind the blog: My name is Terry Duffy from Greensburg, Indiana and I work at MainSource Financial: http://www.mainsourcebankin.com/
The bike: I ride a Vision R40 recumbent bicycle that I had originally bought new in November of 1996 (or was it 1997?). It is in a short wheelbase (SWB) under seat steering (USS) configuration. The color is burgundy (it was the only color the shop had) most people call it purple.If you are interested in a recumbent, there are a lot of resources on the Web, here are a few:
- General recumbent information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recumbent_bicycle
- Valley Bikes of Indianapolis: http://www.valleybikes.com/main.html
- Recumbent Online catalog: http://www.hostelshoppe.com/recumbent_catalog.php
Why a recumbent? I had ridden a Cannondale road bike and various mountain bikes for years the biggest problem I had are neck pain and stiffness plus the constant pressure on my wrists and hands. I have less neck problems and have absolutely no wrist or hand problems. The recumbent is more aerodynamic then a road bike and besides that, it just looks awesome! The only disadvantage I see is climbing hills, since you cannot stand up to generate more power.
The upgrade: The bike was upgraded this year to have 27 gears which is much better for climbing hills. I have changed the tires to 1" 'Grand Prix' tires made by Continental. The bike was also overhauled which included repacking the bearings, new chain, cables and other items. The upgrades and overhaul were completed by the Bicycle Station in Columbus, Indiana they do excellent work with great pricing. Bicycle Station contact information: 812-379-9005; 1005 25th St. Columbus, IN 47201
Greensburg bicycle group: The Greensburg, Indiana bike group meet at 6:00PM Tuesdays and Thursdays at the courthouse pavilion. There are set 20 mile and 6 mile loops that end at the downtown courthouse.
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