View Bike Trip – July 21 2009 Morning in a larger map
It’s been a long time of procrastinating, but after watching the film ‘One Week’, I was inspired to hit the road with the bicycle. What a trip it was!
First time biking to work from Orleans. All in all, I am impressed with the trek and it can only get better after I iron out details like “Hey, where does this path go?” and “Wow, I need a lot more energy around the 10km mark!”
So in the end, starting from the Mall parking lot and with a few wrong turns, it was a trip of 21.75kms and it look me 70 minutes. I am pretty sure I can shave an easy 10 minutes off the time due to wrong turns.
For example, as soon as I left the parking lot, I appeared on a street I didn’t know. I then saw a high school with some bike paths so I decided that one of them must take me somewhere…and it took me to the back of the schoolyard and ended there! Woops!
At the Rockliff Sailing Club there is supposedly an area where I can cut across Rockliff and go through some suburbs instead of staying en route. But it’s quite hard to cross the traffic to get to it so I’m not sure if I will take the time to do so, or just suck it up each day and drive on a James Bond like road up in the mountains with traffic.
Mental Notes:
– Do NOT take the Alexandria Bridge! Those wooden slats are ridiculous! Try that bridge over near Sussex.
– Remember to bring some small travel sized shampoos for the shower next time.
– Remember that the combination for the shower is on the door, not the keypad next to the door.
– There seems to be a path on the left hand side of the road around Rockliff. Investigate this further on your way home.
– Remember to eat something before leaving work! Get some energy! At the 10km mark (around the Aviation Museum) I definitely lost my steam and it was hard going for the rest of the trek. Uncle Gerry, if you’re reading this, let me know if there is something I can do to give myself more sustained energy…bigger meal in the morning? I had a bowl of oatmeal. More water? I didn’t drink all that much along the way.
3 replies on “B(ike)log: July 21, 2009 – First Trip to Work”
Ryan:
Way to go!
I can give some quick pointers on the Rockcliffe (at least up to Blair Road. There is no trail on the south side of the road that is worth taking; there’s a trail on the south side that runs for about 500 metres from Kaymar Drive to Rebecca Road, but that’s it. Perhaps as you go further west there is a trail, but I don’t know that area. Also, be weary of construction up to Aviation (which I am sure you found out.) Bikes are not allowed on Rockcliffe during construction; although you may be able to get by. The alternative is to go down to the river and bypass part of the construction.
Some of the stuff that have helped me over the years is to leave my shampoo and soap at work. Of course I have the opportunity to get to my office before I head down to the showers since they are pretty close.
There is a couple of things you can do for energy.
First and foremost, make sure your bike is still sized for maximum efficiency for pedaling. I remember you did this some time ago, but you should check your bike at least once a season.
Second, set your cadence, not your speed. Pedaling faster at a lower gear is actually more efficient than powering through at a high gear.
This article gives a simple explanation of what cadence is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadence_(cycling)
And this article gives more complicated explanation of why it is important in terms of energy.
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=433
Third, get the gear! The single most helpful piece of gear I got for my bike was the pedal clip and shoes. Instead of only pushing on the pedals, I now use a full circular motion to propel myself forward. Granted it took some time to get used to it, and I did fall over a couple of times at the beginning because I had forgotten to unclip the shoe. When you push down on your pedal, you use one set of muscle, if you pull up, you use a different set of muscles. Spread the work to different muscles to increase stamina. Here’s a page that goes a little further in the details.
http://www.myra-simon.com/bike/clipless.html
Although you see yourself as more of a casual commuter, the tips that professional riders and racers give can give you a great advantage in riding. Before you know it (about one year), you’ll be doing 20k in 40-45 minutes!
Eric seems to know his stuff, so not much to add. But on the energy thing, I’d say an afternoon snack is in order. Eat something an hour before you leave and you should be good. Emergency energy for the ride back is also not a bad idea. Do what the pros do and stuff a couple of energy gels in your pack. These things take about 10 minutes to kick in and will get you home with plenty to spare, I’d say.
I agree, energy bars are good to have for your trip.
It’s been awhile since I have had a trek that long, I used to bring at least two water bottles, and I would drink most if not all the water on my trek.
I like my clip ins, they add about 1/4-1/3 more power.
When I wanted a break from pedaling I would switch and try to only pull up on the pedals for awhile.
Have not gone on any trek’s like that for a few years tho.
The only thing I would add is clothing, if you find your getting too hot on your ride, look at getting a dry-fit under shirt, and a sports type T-shirt (ie. not cotton).
The dry-fit shirt will pull out the sweat, and it will evaporate much faster (and cool you down).
I have been using an undershirt for ultimate games this year, and wow, what a difference.
Oh, one other thing popped into my head, early on when I started biking, I had one trip where I got tired en-route and stopped for a break, that was a mistake, my body did not want to get back on and start again. It was very difficult to get back on and into the groove again.
if you need a break I recommend dialing down to the lowest gear, and moving along slowly.
M