The March Hare: Fall '00
Issue 26

A rich harvest * Help Us! * What's for supper? * Basic needs at Dancing Rabbit * Photo * Bike Rant * Autobiography of a Resident: Don [on a separate page]

by Cecil Scheib

When I lived in the city I didn't have a car and used to bike around everywhere. I'd bike from town to town or throw my bike on public transit and I thought I was a pretty cool studly biker.

Then I moved out here to the country. I still liked biking, and there are a couple of easy bike rides that were no problem once I got used to riding on gravel. The nearest store is 2 miles away, my job is 3 miles away. These were easy. But I realized I had a big fear of biking to, say, the nearest movie theater (12 miles) or the nearest coffeehouse (36 miles).

I wanted to overcome these fears. I mean, when Tony lived in town his round trip commute was 24 miles--and he biked that five days a week! Golly moses. So soon after I moved here I had a couple of opportunities to bike longer distances with other people going into town, and I took the chance to get over my fear of long bike rides.

The experience was miserable. Both times I was biking with stronger cyclists than myself, and, in the process of trying to keep up, severely hurt myself (basically, my knee blew out). So I wore a knee brace when I rode my little short rides, bummed out that I couldn't do those longer rides. I felt hobbled since I wanted to be a cool cyclist who bikes all over but felt like my knee was holding me back.

After a couple despondent years, I got my nerve up again. Getting a new bike helped that a lot--I realized my old Bianchi touring bike was too small for me; I couldn't raise the seat up to proper height which probably had a lot to do with my knee problems. My new Cannondale mountain bike (thanks for the perfect birthday gift, mom and dad!) would be better in this respect. So, last year on my birthday I decided to go see a movie...by bike. I took a scenic route which meant about a 75 or 80 miles round trip. I left myself plenty of time (the whole day) to do it. I tried to go slow although once again I found myself trying to keep up with a stronger rider on the way home. When I got home, my knee hurt like hell...but I had made it under my own power. I was elated. When the pain went away in a couple of days I dreamed about seeing a sports medicine specialist and maybe getting my knee fixed so I could ride like I wanted. I hated the thought of the surgery and the cost, but maybe it was worth it? I dithered and dithered, wondering.

Then I discovered something pretty wonderful: stretching. Did you know that stretching before exercise can greatly reduce the chances of getting a sports injury? Well, news to me. I'd been wanting to do that 75 mile ride again but needed an excuse. For a while this spring I dated someone in town and had the excuse. I started by getting a ride into town with someone going there, throwing the bike in the truck, and then biking back (36 miles or so). And, now that I stretch, my knee hasn't had so much as a twinge. I don't even wear the dang knee brace anymore. I'm not even tired when I get home. I take about three hours to do the ride; those hills are something else.

So here's my big discoveries about liberating myself from knee pain: first, get a bike that fits; two, don't push myself to bike faster than I'm physically capable; and three, stretch before riding. This makes me more or less a bloody genius in my book.

Maybe someday I'll move up to the studly level of Jacob, who bikes to our nearby depot towns (that have a train or bus station), a distance of 60-70 miles. In my dreams.

And by the way, if you're thinking being a strong biker is somehow more likely if a person is male than female, forget. These people I hurt my knee trying to keep up with have been female, not male.

People ask me a lot of questions about biking out here in the hinterlands. Here's some typical questions and some smartass answers.

Mud

Q. Do you ever have problems with mud?
A. I have had lots of problems with mud. There are several places around here where it's possible to take a "shortcut" that saves some distance at the expense of riding on a dirt or poorly gravelled road instead of pavement or road with good gravel. It's so tempting to take the shortcut...but I find that the 30 seconds, 5 minutes, or half hour of biking I might save is blown away by the risk of getting mudded up and spending 10 minutes, an hour, or all afternoon cleaning up a bike and getting mud, sand, and grit out of the chain and bearings so I don't ruin my bike. Once it was so bad, I had to get picked up by the phone company truck (I was biking to a doctor's appointment and was way late). They dropped me at the car wash and I power washed my bike. Then I took apart and regreased all the wheelbearings and replaced the bottom bracket. So, I've discovered that if there's been any rain (even just a sprinkle), it's not worth the risk.

Q. So what exactly are you saying?
A. If there's been any precipitation at all, DON'T TAKE THE SHORTCUT. DON'T TAKE THE SHORTCUT. DON'T TAKE THE SHORTCUT.

Q. It rained just a tiny bit last night, can I still take the shortcut?
A. You are an idiot.

Temperature Extremes

Q. How do you deal with hot weather (or cold weather) on the bike? Don't you get hot (or cold)?
A. I've found bikes to have built in air conditioning, as follows: if you're too cold, bike faster, and the exercise will warm you up. If you're too hot, bike faster, and the breeze will cool you down. This has worked surprisingly well for me, although not for everybody.

Other than that, the secret (of course) is layers. And, my torso never really gets too cold--it's always hands and feet that are the problem. In the coldest weather, I'll wear cotton long johns, jeans, and a couple sweatshirts. If it gets really cold (below zero degrees Fahrenheit, minus fifteen Celsius) I'll put on a jacket. But when I do that I tend to overheat; not a problem for short rides when you aren't on the bike so long that your sweat can chill you.

Cold hands and feet were a big problem for me the first winter here. Then I learned two tricks. First, in cold weather I wear two pairs of gloves, one inside the other. I have a thin pair of officer's gloves that fit inside my ski gloves. Works great because the ski gloves are good for blocking out wind. The other trick for my feet is moonboots. They are cheap (in terms of price and construction) but they have made my feet by the warmest instead of the coldest part of my body in winter.

Wind

Q. Is it windy there? Does that affect your bike riding?
A. You can futz with fancy equipment, clothing, training, gearing, whatever you want, but here's how I see it: no matter what or how I'm riding, if the wind's with me it's an easy ride. If the wind's against me, it's a solid pain in the ass. I'm slowly learning to be patient and deal with it, but it's not easy. Hills I can push myself and motor up and then they're done and I've got some flat ground or a downhill stretch to relax/recuperate on. The wind never lets up

Hills

Q. What about hills? It's flat in Missouri, so I guess you don't have to deal with that.
A. You've never visited Dancing Rabbit. When god made Scotland County co used a pretzel for a straightedge, so it's up and down all the way to wherever you're going. I see it this way: if the hills are at the start of the ride, I'm fresh, so it's no big deal. If they're at the end of the ride, I'm almost there so I can cope. If they're in the middle of the ride, then I'm in my groove, warmed up, and if I'm just patient they'll go away.

Helmets

Q. Do you wear a helmet? They make me look like a geek.
A. They make me look like a geek too. But, when I biked in the city I wore a helmet religiously. I don't mean I had a ceremony or anything every time I put it on, I just mean I always wore it when I rode.

Now that I've gotten out of an environment where people routinely barrel around in four thousand pounds of glass and steel in every direction, paying no heed to pedestrians or cyclists, I have to admit that I usually don't wear my helmet. Would you rather have your head protected by 3/8" of cheap styrofoam, or a thick mat of dense curly hair? Well, no matter what you answered, you should probably wear a helmet.

Since I'm pretty committed to the eco side of biking instead of driving, I figure whatever helps get me on the bike is a good thing (even if it theoretically decreases my own health and safety). Some day I'll get old and start wearing my helmet again. Maybe when I go bald.

How to Be a Successful Biker

Q. What's the best advice you've ever gotten about cycling?
A. OK, this sounds so facetious that I'm embarrassed to write it. But the fact is, it's the best advice I've ever gotten on bike riding and I think about it constantly on a long ride. The secret to be a successful biker is: keep pedaling.