To go along with my last post about buying a helmet that was going to start off how this one is before I started ranting about buying just a helmet, I wanted to talk about making sure you have all the gear you need to properly care for your bike yourself. One of the biggest reasons I see people bringing their bikes into the shop for repair/maintenance isn't for something being broken from too much riding or too hard of riding, it's just straight up neglect. This goes for most things. You neglect to care for something, it will break down or become less useful.
You don't know whey your chain is rusting? Ask. Most likely your bike isn't being ridden, you're not cleaning it and lubing it. How do you fix that? Clean your chain, buy some lube and drop it on the chain. It's just like oil for your car. Only way less expensive, less intrusive and much much easier. A simple 3 minute job to clean and lube it and it will be running like new. So grab a chain cleaner, some cleaner/degreaser and some lube and care for it.
Another fun one is, I just pumped my tires up yesterday, and today they seem to be a little more flat. Really? I wonder why? How much pressure did you put in it? Oh, just until it felt hard? Well that could mean a lot of things. That could be 20-30lbs under where it should be, or 20-30lbs of pressure above. Both running their own risks. The former being more pinch flats and the latter of blowouts. Don't just use your air compressor or the local gas station pump. Pick up a legitmate floor pump and use it. Every time before you ride. EVERY TIME! Keep your tires properly inflated as it is specified on each tire. Get to know your bike and the things about it. You don't need to be a pro at it, but a little know how and maintenance knowledge can go a long way, and also save you money from labor shop fees. Although, we like charging $10 to put in a new tube for you, you could just as well check out a youtube video and spend 10 minutes learning how to do it yourself with the right tools and never have to bring your bike in for a flat fix ever again.
So let's see what things you should have to take minor care for you bike. The basics I would recommend:
• Floor pump • Hand pump/CO2 (for when out riding) • Spare tubes • Tire levers • Patch kit • Chain lube • Cleaner/Degreaser • Chain cleaner
Beyond things like this, you may have most of the tools to get you through most simple bike repairs like on your brakes or shifting. Just a quick video lesson and you can fix your brakes if they're rubbing and your gears if they are shifting improperly.
It's been coming to my attention more and more as I work at a bike show, just how unequipped an ill-informed so many people are today about bikes and what they need to properly use and maintain a bike. Now, I'm not saying it's their fault in their ignorance, there's a lot of things to get and be aware of. But what does start to bother me is hearing and seeing people who just straight up ignore the information given in front of them.
We get a mixed bag of customers coming in. Some are very well-to-do and have a vast amount of money to spend. Such as a customer I recently sold a Madone 5.2 to. But even for this man, he chose to do all of his test riding without a helmet. Not because he didn't wear a helmet when he goes out riding, but simply because "I'm just taking it for a spin around the parking lot". I tried to persuade him by telling him how fast people do drive through the lot sometimes, but that suggestion was shoved off.
Another thing I see is the "country folk". These people tend to believe that since they are riding out in the country, where there are no cars (please), that they don't need helmets. I usually try to persuade them that helmets aren't just for being around cars. It's for any situation. A tire could pop causing to to fall down, possibly into a ditch with rocks. An animal could run in front of you, making you swerve and fall down. The thing I always tell them, helmets only have to work ONCE! That's it, one time. If it saves your life one time, or even a minor head injury one time, don't you think it's worth the investment? Some people like to think not.
I was dealing with a customer who came in and had wrecked his bike by being hit by a car a couple weeks ago. The bike was done for. He had some good scrapes and bruises, as well as some stitches on his head. He flat out told me if it weren't for his helmet, he would either have had a massive head injury, or not be here today to talk about it.
Another customer had his deraileur hanger break, chain catch and he went down hard, passed out from such a hard hit, but was just treated for a concussion rather than massive head injuries again. He wasn't sure how long he was out, but he also said if it weren't for his helmet, he was sure he'd still be in the hospital or dead.
Buy a damn helmet people. I don't care if your hair will get messed up, you think they look funny or you think they're too expensive. Not buying a helmet is one of the most selfish things you can do. Think about the people who care about you. It only takes one small fall, slip or spill and not only can your life change, but theirs as well.
There's enough other ways to hurt yourself out there. Don't let not owning a helmet because you don't think they look cool or aren't worth the investment be the reason you end up in the hospital or worse.
The week leading up to race day is always a little annoying in my mind. Especially the first race of the season and when it's a short sprint race. I can never fully wrap my head around how much I should rest and take it easy to be properly prepared to race, but also not lose any fitness in the days leading up. So for this race I just toned down my intensity leading up to it, but not really changing any of the distances or frequency at which I was training.
Race morning came up rather quick. A little frantic packing the night before and some last minute grabs of 80mm tube for my new whels and some Power Gel for pre and during race. I was up around 4:30 making coffee and eating some breakfast. The race was only about 30 minutes away, so it was a nice easy drive. Along the way I saw dozens of other racers driving along I-94 with their aero bikes all packed up. Little did we know we were racing before the race even began for the closest parking places and spots in transition.
I pulled in, headed to transition to get my packet and noticed the direction of the wind. North. Great. I walked down towards the water after securing a spot in transition and saw something most people hate seeing on race morning. White caps. On such a small lake, it was kind of rare to see. However, you could see the faces of newer triathletes turn white when they saw the waves and remembered it was only 50 degrees out. What a great way to start the tri season!
I stayed in transition for quite a while with my wetsuit on and jacket over the top to stay warm. A few minutes before they closed it, I walked down and decided to give a short warmup swim a try. Honestly, the water was quite warm for the air temps being what they were. So that was nice. And the waves weren't too bad. Since they were coming in to shore, only the out section of the 400m swim was going to be tough in my opinion. I can breathe either side so I would breate into shore on the cross section and ride the waves in. Simple enough.
However, after the two elite waves went out, things really slowed down. The novice and relay waves were sent, and it started getting nasty. Lots of swimmers just bobbing up and down in the waves, not actually swimming. A good portion of them turned around and headed back.
After about 20 minutes of nothing happening, no more waves being sent out, the race director announced we could forgo the swim if we chose to. My age group wave looked around and we all decided we were too macho to do so, so we stood our ground waiting to get our chance to swim. Especially being the next wave up, we were ancy to get in. Another 20 minutes passed and they finally cancelled the swim. A bit of a disappointment since I was mentally prepared to face the water and was standing around for so long to get going. But it was on to the bike doing a time trial start of first come first serve.
I got dressed quickly and into the line as fast as I could so I could avoid the heavy traffic load if I were closer to the back. I ended up behind a guy who I had just met in the shop a few days earlier so we talked about the race and such as we waited for our turn to hop on the bike.
After about 5 minutes in line, I was off! A little cold and a little stiff. I hate starting off cold on the bike. I feel it takes so much longer to get going and warmed up on the bike than for running or swimming. Especially on a cold morning like this. I didn't bring a jacket, but I did have my bright green brooks arm warmers which came in handy.
It was a bit of a struggle getting going, but once I got about a mile in, I was feeling pretty comfortable. The wind was noticeable, but not too bad at first. It was slightly behind and across, so I was able to get my speed up pretty quick and legs turning over quick too, so I could warm them up.
A few miles in, the course was wide open and the wind started to take on a heavier effect. With my larger frame and some depth to my wheels I felt the wind pushing me a bit so I struggled a little to stay in a perfect line. Something that hurt me in the end I believe.
Finally I got a stretch where I had the wind to my back and was able to cruise a bit. But it ducked behind some trees and the effect was nullified. Back to the cross and headwinds for the rest of the course. Oh well. We were all in the same boat, with the same conditions, so I really couldn't complain.
The rest of the course went well. A few big bumps to avoid and some rather slow people to pass, but nobody was too obnoxious. I was able to knock off a few riders in my age group as well as some other towards the bike finish and came in hot, ready to run.
Bike split: 43:41 ~ 22mph average. Not bad for a windy day.
Once I was off the bike and onto the run course, I noticed something I hadn't really ever come across before. My feet were numb. Dang! This was weird. I hadn't ever raced in a cold race where I should have thought about toe covers or booties to keep my feet warm. At least it was a pretty flat course without a lot of on and off sidewalks. It took about a half mile for the feeling in my toes to return, and when they did I checked my pace. Right around 6:10/mi. Pretty good for me. I wasn't sure what to expect, but knew this was possible for me to hold onto.
The run course was an out and back along a limestone trail. Super flat and nothing to it. Just picking off one runner after another as I went along. I got passed once, but nearly caught him towards the end. I hit the one mile to go mark and tried to to kick it in. I didn't have much more to give, but there was a tad more to finish strong.
Run Split: 5k, 18:49, 6:04min/mi
Overall I was happy. Especially with my run. I was really hoping to get a swim in and see how I felt, but with those conditions, I think the director made the right choice. It just took much too long to get there. The rest of the race was run very smoothly and the volunteers were great as well as the atmosphere of spectators and local citizens.
This was a great race to start the season, especially with a pretty packed field. Minus the fact that guys like Black Becker and Will Smith, weren't racing, guys like Mark Hering, Patrick Brady, Andrew Porn, and others were there to keep the race fast. Even my age group had some fast athletes as well. I was happy to come away 3rd in my age group and 24th overall.
USA Biathlon Team - Tim Burke 2006 Olympian and a ProLine Sponsored Athlete……Tim fulfilled his life-long dream by making the Olympic Team while winning the Pursuit Format and placing second in two other competitions at the TD Banknorth Festival at Fort Kent.
Recent Comments