Breaking records and rolling to better health...

33 miles.

A new milestone for my wife in her self-proclaimed quest to build a fitter geek.

Our ride took us along quiet country roads with farmland as far as the eye could see. The sound of silence during water breaks was inspiring. It would have been easy to find a fence post to lean the bikes against and sit down to enjoy the silence and that big blue sky above.

At the halfway point, in Castroville, TX

Instead, we hopped back on our bikes and listened to the wind in our ears and enjoyed the cool breeze on our faces.

Quite an awesome experience, I must say.

Kudos, Shannon! Congrats on the mileage milestone - you did a superb job!

Trek Valencia Review : Ride #10 - In Conclusion...

Trek Valencia Experience : Ride #10 (of 10)
Ride Type: Moderate commute
Distance: 8.6 miles

This will be my last, formal, "ride experience" review of the Trek Valencia. That said, if you're in the market for this bicycle have no fear as I'll continue to include insight on the bike on a regular basis.

Last Monday, I awoke to wet streets and some light drizzle but decided on a "GO" for the commute with the commitment to take my time, ride with caution and keep speeds way down. That worked very well until I was cruising down a hill, doing about 18mph, and made the mistake of moving over to the right in my lane to be give some cars behind me "a little more room". A raised section of uneven pavement knocked the wheels from under me and sent me and the Valencia flying through the air before crashing into the pavement.

Flying through the air?

Yep.

The bike has absolutely no scratches on the right side that made contact with the ground. It did not scrape along the pavement - it was airborne - and landed on the right pedal (which was broken).

But enough about the crash...let's look at some final insights on the Valencia:

• Pedals: The Valencia's "weakest link". It's described as an "alloy pedal" but the center of the pedal is made of plastic while the ends (where the reflectors are attached) are aluminum. The folks at Bike World replaced the pedals with a set of all aluminum pedals that may be slightly heavier but have already noticeably improved my ride - my feet are staying put and I feel like I'm getting more power with each stroke.
  

• Ride Position: Love it! Nimble enough for fast downhills and flat cruising but upright enough to let you look straight down the road without torquing your upper back or neck.

• Brakes & Wheels: Wet weather handling is quite good between the disc brakes and the wider, 700x32 tires. I've been caught on smooth pavement at the beginning of a light rain before on my road bike with 700x23 tires where my every move felt like I was sliding. The choice of the beefier x32 width improves the Valencia's ability to handle inclement weather.

In conclusion, it's my opinion that the Valencia delivers a lot of commuter-friendly features at a competitive price point. If you're in the market for a bike to commute to work, run errands and even go on a cycling tour, I'd give the Valencia a hard look.

Be sure to review my previous entries on the Valencia for more information.

Crash on the commute this morning...

My guardian angel has been working some serious overtime today.

About 57 minutes into my bike ride to work this morning I became one with the pavement. I was coming down a steep hill but due to wet roads had been doing some periodic braking to keep the speed manageable. Fortunately, this meant I crashed doing about 17mph versus a normal max speed on this descent around 25mph (or more).

What happened?

In a nutshell, I screwed up.

I was slightly right of the middle of the lane when I noticed some cars approaching. In an effort to be courteous, I eased right and struck uneven pavement that knocked me down. The fall was so quick that I didn't realize what had happened until it was after the fact. My hands remained on the handlebars so the bike frame (and after closer inspection, the right pedal) absorbed a good portion of the impact.

That is not to say my own body didn't do its share of absorbing the energy as well as these photos attest.

The fact that this crash could have been much worse does not escape me. I fell away from traffic, the wet conditions resulted in less skin to pavement friction and my bike - after some wonderful assistance from the helpful mechs at BikeWorld 1604 - appears to have sustained almost no damage except for $23 to replace the pedals.

The big lesson learned here for me is to put more thought into the decision to relinquish my lane position since moving too far to the right leaves so little room for avoiding road hazards and begs drivers to squeeze into the lane with you.

Thanks to my parents for providing transportation all over creation today and my wife/daughter for all their support (and everyone else out there that expressed your concern about my well-being).

Trek Valencia Review : Ride #9 - Dog Sitting by Bike

Trek Valencia Experience : Ride #9 (of 10)
Ride Type: Moderately difficult ride with some big hills
Distance: 10.70 miles
Ride Map and Details: Garmin Connect

My sister and her family were out of town this weekend so they asked me to stop by during their absence to feed and play with Hershey, their beagle. Google Maps identified a distance of just over four miles, one-way.

Instead of reaching for the car keys, I decided to take the Valencia...and why not? Cars create most of their pollution in the first few miles of a drive when the catalytic converter is still warming up. Time to burn some calories instead of gasoline! After pedaling out of the driveway it didn't take long to realize that I'd embarked on a hill climbing adventure...

• Drive Train: There was a huge, winding hill on this ride on a road called Wilderness Oak (just east of the intersection with Blanco Road). It was time to do some spinning in the smallest crank. I spent most of the climb in "1-2" leaving the "granny gear" a click away in case I needed it. I didn't. Whew! The 24-speed drive train on the Valencia has convinced me that the bike is ready to assist you in climbing the big hills the road may throw your way. I haven't encountered a hill the Valencia couldn't handle.
  

• Shifting: Changing gears is usually a very snappy affair with the Shimano M50 shifters. I noticed a few shifts that were hesitant or jumpy during this ride and determined that I wasn't doing the transmission any favors by allowing the chain to get pretty grungy. Time to give the Valencia a little TLC.
  

• Disc Brakes: This is my first bike with disc brakes so I'm still learning. I recently took the Valencia in for its first "check up" and one of the items they addressed was some slight rubbing of the rear disc brake. I've also read that some very light rubbing is to be expected as the "newness" wears off of the brake pads and rotors.

The bike ride to my sister's house proved to be a great workout. I decided to go home a different way and stopped by Guero's Taco Diner to grab some breakfast for the family on the way home.

Yum!

Wundermap for that pre-ride weather brief...

I've used the Weather Underground web site for many years. One of their more recent features is called the WunderMap and I've found that it can be quite useful as a "pre-ride" weather source when you're wondering just how many layers you may be piling on in order to stay warm. In addition to superimposing weather radar over neighborhood level maps, it displays detailed weather information from multiple weather reporting points.

I'm making an assumption here, of course, that most bicycle commuters - like pilots - check the weather before they head out from a safety and preparedness standpoint.

If that's true and you haven't used the WunderMap, give it a shot on the morning of your next commute.

A few weeks ago I woke up with an expectation for riding to work with temps in the mid-30's. When I accessed the WunderMap it showed that the forecasters had blown it. A map full of 50 degree temps was staring back at me. Sounds good to me!

Wait a second.

What's that one station reporting along my route? 36 degrees?

HA!

"Poor guy's temperature gauge must be toast." I muttered.

Sure enough when I headed out the door I was greeted by 50 degree temperatures and could feel beads of sweat on my forehead during some of the initial climbs on my route.

Then, all of a sudden, it happened.

WHAM!

I rode into an ICEBOX. A wall of very cold air. The huge temperature difference and my light sweating combined to make my teeth chatter.

For about 2 miles I rode in a block of air that truly WAS 36 degrees.

Then it was back to temps in the 50's.

So...when the WunderMap shows a temp out there along your route that just doesn't seem right. Well...BELIEVE IT.

Texas "Safe Passing" Bill

Texas Senate Bill (SB488) and House Bill (HB827) aims to, among other things, require that motorists pass "vulnerable road users" by more than three feet. Cyclists, pedestrians and motorcycle riders meet the definition for a "vulnerable road user". The bill also creates penalties for things like throwing objects at these road users, making "right hook" turns directly in front of them, etc.

I just sent the following e-mail to my Texas state senator and representative. If you are a Texas resident, I strongly urge you to do the same.

I use my bicycle to make the 22-mile roundtrip commute to work three days a week. This is a contribution to my health, to the environment and to my fellow citizen (in the way of reduced traffic congestion).

SB 488 filed by Senator Ellis & Representative Harper-Brown is known as the "Safe Passing Bill" and would require more than three feet passing distance when a motorist passes a vulnerable road user. A cyclist is one of a handful of vulnerable road users identified in the bill.

I strongly urge you to support this bill to help ensure that motorists do their part in sharing the road with other travelers. This bill is more than symbolism. It creates real and needed penalties for aggressive behavior like throwing projectiles at cyclists/pedestrians, etc.

Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss my thoughts on this bill in more detail.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Each year more than 50 cyclists, 400 pedestrians and 500 motorcyclists die on Texas roads. It's time to help ensure that the "Share the Road" concept is more than just a hollow slogan but a true operational statement. Use the find my representative link to get contact information for your elected official.