Monday, March 4, 2024
Gear shifting - electronic or not?
Friday, February 23, 2024
Indoor trainers or outdoor rides?
It's winter time so some of you are likely still in hibernation mode, which means parking your bike in the garage until it gets warmer again to ride. Others, myself included, will keep riding as long as it's reasonably dry outside (i.e. it's not pouring heavily at the moment). Then, there is a third group that will not ride outside, but use an indoor trainer instead.
I don't like indoor trainers and find them pointless, but I think I understand why they may be an attractive option for some cyclists. I'm guessing that there are at least 3 main technical reasons why someone would use an indoor trainer:
- Bad weather. This one is most obvious. Some people don't like riding when it's cold, icy, snowy, rainy, etc.
- No "winter bike". Some people only have 1 bike (impossible!) and they don't want to expose their nice, expensive bike to road salt, mud, etc.
- No place to properly clean a bike. Some people live in apartments or tighter spaces that lack facilities to clean the bike after a ride. Knowing that I can simply use a garden hose to wash my bike right after, makes me want to ride it more in winter time.
But then there is another, important, philosophical reason why some prefer indoor trainers, while others would never use them. It's the answer to a question - why we ride?
It's basically a difference between racing or more competitive riding and touring or "romantic cycling". You simply need to ask yourself - what's the goal of my riding? If the goal is the destination and you want to get there as fast as you can, then you are racing and in this case your body output and power will be important to you. An indoor trainer will help you stay fit, well-trained and maintain peak performance through those gloomy winter months.
The other answer is - my goal is the journey, the ride itself. The destination is not only secondary, it's actually something unwanted because it ends my ride. I want to travel, see places, take pictures, spend time in nature. In that case an indoor trainer is as useless as two chopsticks to eat a soup. A trainer won't take you to places. You will be stuck in your room, spinning cranks and staring at a wall.
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Liberating Limitations
We live in interesting times - the times of many opportunities. We have a chance to go to more places than our grandparents ever could. We can do more things, as they are generally more accessible to us. We have more options to buy and own various stuff than before.
And yet, sometimes it feels that this variety, this accessibility, these opportunities are overwhelming. Not that I would like someone to make decisions for myself, but I do get a feeling that less is more and limitations can be... liberating.
Take cameras, for example. I always take one on every bike ride. If I want something small, it's my Ricoh GRIII. If I have space for something larger, it's my Fuji with a 35mm lens. That's it. No multiple choices. No zooms. Small and simple. One focal length to do it all. At first, this looks like a severe limitation. You may think that you need to be able to take ultrawide angle pictures of landscapes and close ups of distant wildlife, all on the same 50 mile trip. No, you don't. It actually better to limit yourself to one focal length and learn how to see the world through just one lens. You won't take all pictures, but you will take some good ones.
Back to bicycles - single-speed bikes are liberating in some sense. Not having to think about gear shifting keeps it simple. You can focus on your ride and surroundings only. Just push on pedals and go. If you can't go - walk your bike uphill. It's not a race and you are not in rush.
If that's too much for you and you really want to keep your gearing, that's fine. It's useful in most situations. However, I found out that those modern, multi-speed systems are not needed to day-to-day riding. Unless you race, there really is no need for a 12-speed cassette and top of the line shifters. In fact, my adventure bike has a simple 2x9 speed setup with friction shifting. That sounds ancient and is not something that most cyclists would be willing to try, but again, it's liberating. It works with any derailleur, from any brand, is cross-compatible with most mechanical components, and is so simple that there is basically no way to break it. I mean, a friction shifter is built of 3 main parts that pretty much can't fail in normal conditions. May not feel or look fancy, but it is in fact a true zombie-apocalypse-ready gearing.
Sometimes it's just not necessary to overcomplicate things!
Thursday, August 24, 2023
Around Green Mountain NF - in a very wet Vermont
Moist - possibly the most hated word in English language
Murphy's Law says that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. In my case it was the perfect alignment between the time I planned my PTO for, booked a couple of places in Vermont, a series of thunderstorms and heavy rain in the area. Let's just say that this was my wettest bike tour to date.
At very least once per year I try to go somewhere by bike. And I don't mean a local grocery store, but more like the neighboring state. This year it was Vermont (again). I only visited Green Mountain NF once so far and I felt like repeating it. Last week Wednesday the bike was packed, I was ready, just the forecast looked... uninspiring. This entire summer, starting in early June, has been pretty terrible - sort of like a mini monsoon season. Very, very humid, hot and heavy rain just about every other day or so. Sure, everything is green and there is no risk of wildfires but it's just difficult to enjoy this kind of weather.
Day 1 - Springfield to Grout Pond (104km/65mi)
On Thursday morning I left my house around 7am and drove to Springfield, VT. Left the car on a Park&Ride lot and by 9:20am I was in the saddle. The morning was very cloudy and humid. At least it didn't rain. Yet. The first climb on Meany Rd wasn't the hardest of the day, but not that much fun either given a very high humidity. At least the downhill ride was great and rewarding.
I reached Bellows Falls, although I had to sort of go around as the footbridge connecting the island with Rt12 on the east side was closed to all traffic. The town has a nice vibe and revolves around all things trains, which I actually liked a lot. Basically, Bellows Falls is trains, train yards, hydroelectric power plant and a small center square that should definitely be pedestrianized.
I continued along the Saxtons River and somewhere past Athens I found two guys on Crust bikes finishing the "Brattleboro Loop" around the mountains. Their bikes were well covered in dirt and mud - a signs of things to come. We biked together for some time until I had to take a turn towards West River. At that point the sky opened and poured for at least 2 hours. Grassy Brook Rd we were on is actually a very nice gravel road to bike - wide and flat with some views. It's also probably more enjoyable when dry.
This forced me to adjust my setup a bit - place a trash bag over the handlebar bag and put my Cleverhood poncho on. Little I knew this would be my default setup for the next 2 days.
The good thing was the as I was climbing up West Jamaica Rd the sun started peeking out between the clouds around 3:30pm. I made it to my reserved campsite at Grout Pond around 5pm and given the partially blue sky, no rain and few bugs, I could actually enjoy the evening, especially a visit from an unexpected guest. As I was sitting at the edge of the lake I heard a buzzing sound behind me, which turned out to be a hummingbird eating from the nearby flowers.
Then I noticed one minor setback - packed the wrong cable for my phone to connect to a portable battery. This means I was carrying the battery for nothing - without the cable it couldn't be used to charge my phone so I had to rely on finding wall outlets somewhere for the rest of my trip.
I like Grout Pond for its remoteness, waterfront campsites, peace and solitude, and decent infrastructure (which basically means just a flat spot to pitch your tent and a porta potty nearby). It's a popular place though, hence reservations are recommended in season. What I don't like about it is... its remoteness. You really need to bring everything in and out with you. No place nearby to go for an evening dinner or booze, I suppose.
When sun came down I slipped into the sleeping bag to get some sleep. I planned on getting up early next day to pack up my camp, as rain was forecasted for 7am.
Day 2 - Grout Pond to Frog Hollow Farm (121km/75mi)
The next day I got up at 6:20am, which turned out to be too late. That's because when I had about 90% of my stuff packed, it started pouring. I quickly jammed the remaining things in the bags, covered them with plastic and left the campground to find some roof. Fortunately, there was a maintenance building nearby that had a small roofed section. I could repack my bags and make a quick oatmeal for breakfast.
By 7:30am I was on road. Rain didn't pause for a moment and I could hear a distant thunderstorm. The next 15km (9mi) were all downhill, which in regular circumstances would be lots of fun, but doing that in a heavy downpour hits somewhat differently.
When I reached Arlington on the other side of the mountain I was actually a bit chilled. The morning air temperature was low, it was cloudy, rainy and I had wet clothes on. All this meant that I could really use something to warm up. I found a country store in the village and stopped for a cup of hot tea and a hot egg + bacon + cheddar sandwich, both of which really improved my overall mood.
Then it got even better because once I was done with my sandwich the rain stopped. When I was leaving Arlington and by the time I reached NY state border the sun was out and I could see some clear sky for the first time that day. The sun was most welcome as it would finally dry up the trails and my wet clothes. Or so I hoped, at least. Unfortunately, all it did was to turn everything into a sauna. I rode up the Tate Hill Rd, deep in the forest and with humidity this high everything felt like being coated with a film of water. My gloves, hat and the shirt on my back did not want to dry out at all, even in direct sunlight. The downhill towards Rupert brought a brief relief. There, I hopped on the Delaware And Hudson Rail Trail, which meant no climbing, at least for a while.
The trail is actually really nice - hardpacked gravel, well maintained, with great views, and flat. I rolled to Granville, NY, where I did no stop, as I planned to take a longer break in Poultney. On the way I discovered one major problem - due to high heat and humidity, the camera I had in my bag started fogging up from heavy condensation. I had no other choice but to take it out of the bag and strap it on top of the handlebar bag with a bungee cord. This allowed the sun and airflow to keep it dry.
The good weather ended too soon. I was about a mile away from Poultney when the sky opened and it started pouring heavily. The only good thing about these heavy showers is that they don't last long so by the time I arrived at Analog Cycles in Poultney, the rain stopped.
At this point I decided I needed a break and I treated myself to a burger and beer at Poultney Pub, where I also had a chance to charge my phone (remember the wrong battery cable?). The weather forecast looked surprisingly good for the rest of the day, but I learned already not to trust it at all.
I was moving north when somewhere on the way to Half Moon State Park I got caught in yet another heavy downpour - the last one of that day. I finally reached Frog Hollow Farm in Hubbardton at around 5:30pm. I booked this place through hipcamp.com as an alternative to staying at the state park. The Half Moon State Park had a silly requirement to book 2 nights minimum, which did not make sense to me, hence my decision to try the farm instead.
The campsites at the farm are all located at the top of the hill, which is good because you don't share your tent with farm animals, and it's bad because you have to carry all your stuff up a steep hill. On the other hand though, views from the campsite were awesome and my hosts provided me with a delicious focaccia/pizza for dinner.
Day 3 - Frog Hollow Farm to Springfield (102km/64mi)
The day didn't start well, all because it started raining at night and a heavy rain woke me up around 4am, I think. Fortunately, the rain was much lighter at 7am and I could pack my wet tent and keep going. The rain continued until 8:30am and as such I made a decision to skip going off-road, over the mountain tops, as this would mean climbing hills just for the sake of it - something I certainly didn't feel like doing in a wet and humid weather. I opted to stay on the main road - Rt103, especially that it had a decent, wide shoulder. After the last climb on the Old Turnpike Rd it was all downhill all the way to Ludlow, where I arrived earlier than expected, at 11:45am. Some of the severe damage from heavy floods in mid-July was still noticeable in the area. This part of Vermont was hit hard by heavy rains and local rivers and streams flooded towns and cities, leaving many roads damaged and houses ruined.
I stayed in Ludlow for a about half an hour having a panini lunch at Johnny's Kitchen, then I continued to Proctorsville. I didn't take any major stops on the way until Springfield, finally enjoying decent weather - mostly sunny with noticeably lower humidity and around 75F (24C). In Springfield I briefly stopped at the Food Co-Op to get a few snacks and I was back at the car at 2:15pm.
Overall, this was for sure the rainiest, wettest, and most humid bike trip I have ever done and I certainly don't feel like trying it again. It's just not enjoyable in such conditions, but unfortunately this summer didn't create many better opportunities. There were good moments though and a some miles of nice weather and great roads or trails to explore. I'm trying to think where I would like to go next...
Monday, August 15, 2022
Townsend S24O
Day 1, 97km (60mi)
Given my busy schedule, at least once per year I try to travel somewhere by bike and stay overnight. This year is different. First of all, we sold our car, which makes planning for any bike tour more difficult in my area. Usually, I would just put the bike in the car, drive somewhere far away from home, leave the car overnight and continue by bike. Thanks to a system of free Park&Ride lots nearly anywhere in New England, this approach worked very well for me in the past years.
Without a car it's just more complicated to get to some farther locations. Buses won't work and the only train that may help is the Amtrak Downeaster between Boston and Portland/Brunswick, ME. To keep things simple, I decided to simply start a tour from my front door. You would think that that's the most obvious solution, but it's also the least attractive one. It's because I just know my neighborhood too well already and it's just much more exciting to ride through the unknown.
First, I planned to reach Erving State Forest in Erving, MA. It's a good starting point to visit Green River, Greenfield, Deerfield, and even Southern Vermont or New Hampshire. Then, three days before the planned vacation my luck ran out. In the middle of this hot, dry summer we got a major thunderstorm in the west, which damaged many trees in the area. As such, shortly before my departure I got an email that the Erving State Forest campground would be closed for the remainder of the season. This news sort of broke my spirit and I had to change my plans in the last minute.
I decided to keep things simple, especially that weather was just not great and didn't inspire me to travel far. We were in the middle of a long heatwave, with temperatures reaching 36C (97F). I figured this was not a time when I would want to spend many hours on the bike climbing steep grades. Instead, I figured I would stay local and limit the number of kilometers/miles I would ride in one day. After a brief research, I picked Pearl Hill State Park in Townsend, MA as my overnight destination. Sure, stealth camping can be fun, but it's somewhat difficult to execute in more populated New England areas. Plus, for just $17 a night I got access to a very decent campground, hot showers and facilities.
Because it was only a quick trip I didn't have to pack much. I still took the full tent with me but almost no extra clothes, no cooking equipment and only some food. On the other hand, I packed a book to read later at the campground. You don't need much in the middle of summer for such short distance rides.
Another advantage of traveling not to far away is that I didn't have to wake up at dawn and start could delay my start until 8am. The day was hot. After the weeks-long heatwave I noticed many bogs and ponds to be completely dry. Despite the temperature I was making a decent progress, probably by taking an advantage of shade in the forested areas. I arrived at campground at around 3pm, stopping for a longer break at Parker Maple House on the NH side of the border.
Air was hot and heavy. Lack of breeze in the forest was especially problematic, as many people at the campground decided to start grilling and smoke was just sort of suspended in large clouds between trees, not finding its way up or being blown away by wind. I only wished I had 2 things with me: a hammock and cold beer. Unfortunately (or fortunately) alcoholic beverages were not allowed on the campground.
Before setting up a tent, it's important to check if ground is sufficiently level.
Day 2, 78km (48mi)
There was some rain at 4:30am and when I woke up at 6:15 air was noticeably cooler. I had an option to take a longer route home, going south through Fitchburg and Leominster, but decided against it. It sort of didn't make much sense. I already know visited this area before and would be just adding distance to my trip only for the sake of it. I decided to head back and by 7:15am I was back on road.
I took Old City Rd through forest, which was barely a road at all. More like a rough path between the trees. It was workable but tough and if weather was only more wet, the road would certainly be quite muddy in places.
I stopped briefly in Groton to resupply in water and some snacks. At this point the morning cool but humid air was mostly gone, and by 9-10am hot weather was back. I continued east and took Indian Hill Rd through forest. It's a nice double track and I will probably revisit it later in fall.
It didn't take me long to get back home and I arrived early afternoon. Now I'm thinking that next time I need to try maybe something a bit different. It would be fun to take my upright commuter bike for an summer bike tour, ride a flatter route to a B&B (no camping) and spend evenings in a hammock with a book and beer.
Monday, October 4, 2021
Exploring Vermont Rail Trails - Day 4 (of 4)
Day 4 (Waterbury - St Johnsbury, 105km or 65mi)
I got up early and started packing. It was a cool night indeed but I was warm, maybe because I decided to wear most of my clothes to bed (which was not much - I didn't take a single long sleeve shirt and had no socks). At 6:50am when I left air temperature was only 11C/52F. A bit too cold for sandals. Pretty soon my toes felt a bit numb, especially on fast downhill.
I put the rain jacket on, which help blocking all the wind chill, but had nothing to protect toes and fingers with. It would've been nice to buy socks, but there were no appropriate stores open anywhere at 7am. I kept going, sticking to Cross Vermont Trail.
Exploring Vermont Rail Trails - Day 3 (of 4)
Day 3 (Lake Champlain - Waterbury, 130km or 81mi)
I was lying in my tent trying to fall asleep, thinking about coming rain. Since I hate packing wet stuff in the morning, I figured I could probably avoid this by bending the rules a bit. Deep at night I decided to move my tent (freestanding tents are easy to move) and bike inside the "breakout room" at the campground. It was nothing more than an old shed with some pool tables and arcade machines inside, but I figured that nobody will play there at 2am. I was lucky. Soon after I managed to hide inside, it started to rain. Heavily.
I woke up at 6:15am ready to start the day. Unfortunately, it was still pouring outside. I started packing up my stuff and wrapping everything in plastic bags. By 7:25am I was ready to go, if only weather was a bit more cooperative. The forecast said it would stop raining by 11am but there was no way I could wait for that. I zipped up my jacket and rolled on.
As expected, pretty soon I was all wet. That didn't really bother me that much. It was that kind of weather with steady rain yet warm and even when wet I wasn't cold and felt surprisingly comfortable. I did discovered a couple of issues with my setup though. One was that I had my camera in a hip bag, which was getting wet and muddy from the splash coming from the rear tire. I slid the hip bag over to the front, placing it on my belly which took care of that problem, but then I thought it would be really good to have a simple plastic, lightweight fender" attached to the bottom of saddle bag, protecting my butt and lower back.
The best decision of the trip was to take sandals instead of regular shoes. Sandals are absolutely the best as long as temperature allows it. No need to worry about soaked shoes and wet socks.
Once I got back to Swanton I simply continued on Lamoille Valley Rail Trail - the second one of rail trails planned for this trip. The section from Swanton to Sheldon Junction is still not officially open I think, but it's very usable, being nicely graded and finished with red crushed fine stone.