Air

The issue of how often to put air into a bicycle tire has come up on three different occasions in the last couple of hours, so I guess it's time to talk about it.

How often should you put air into your bike tires? There are many variables that effect the air pressure, but all of that aside if you ride regularly you should be putting air in your tires at least ONCE A WEEK. No joke. (I'm sure you can find nit-picky forum posters/comment section regulars all over this great world wide web who'd disagree with me, but I'm not talking to them. I'm talking to you, regular bicycle rider.) Bicycle tubes are slightly porous and will lose air over time.

How much air do you put in those tires? It depends on the tire. You should be able to find the pressure recommendations right on the sidewall of the tire. Like this:

Just find the number, find a pump (we keep one right outside the shop for you to use for free!), and pump it up. Once a week.

Labor Day Wknd

What a nice summer. The weather's been beautiful, and we've been busy. Real busy. The crew here has been working their tails off cranking out high-end work in record time.

So to celebrate the last gasp of summer (unofficially) Hub is going to be closed Sept 1st, 2nd and 3rd. What are we going to do with a full holiday weekend off? Well, I'm going to rip it up on the Carriage Roads, just like John D Rockefeller intended. Erich mumbled something about 'Allston Christmas' and then laughed maniacally. And Alma's back to her grind as a student. So there you go.

Watch out for moving trucks out there, and we'll see you on Tuesday, Sept. 4.

Christmas Ride

I like to go for bike rides on Christmas. My second favorite kind of ride (second to single track, of course) is neighborhood exploration riding.  I headed out for one of those rides in the afternoon. I don't get to ride south of the river much, so I wanted to take full advantage of the light traffic and go get lost in city for a while.  It had the potential to be one of the crappiest rides of the year, but I'm going to have to put it in the top 3 for 2011.

I lost a good pair of pants to this ride. Good pair, as in 'the pants I don't wear to the shop' kind of good. Exactly at the moment I thought "Oops. Forgot to roll up my pant leg..." passed through my brain, I heard a terrible ripping sound and my bike stopped dead in the middle of the road.

Then I noticed a gash in my monster truck tire. No flat, but a slice big enough to stick your thumb through (maybe not yours. I don't know how big your hands are). Not to worry- I had a pocket full of tire boots with me.

Later it started raining. 40 degrees, spitting rain, no fenders (I don't care what you say. I don't like fenders. And I keep my bike clean without them.), and I lost my rain pants 3 weeks ago. It could have been a recipe for a miserable ride home, but I couldn't seem to keep a big dumb smile off my face (it helped that my hands and feet stayed warm and dry). I even took the long way home. I shouted holiday greetings to the only other biker I passed, but he didn't seem to be enjoying himself as much as I was (understandable). It wasn't an epic day of riding. You won't find any videos posted about rides like this- slow, around town, without a single bar spin. If there was a video, I promise it would be too boring to watch. Still, it was fun. Really fun.

deCordova

I had my first totally unscheduled/unplanned Sunday of the summer. What to do with a full day off and nothing that I have to do? So I thought I'd do some exploring by bicycle. I'd heard some good things about the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. It turned out to be a mellow ride out there- lots of bike path. The route I took also cut through the Minuteman National Historical Park, which was also pretty neat.

Here's the first cool thing about this place- it's FREE for cyclists! What!?! It would be well worth the $12 admission, but my wallet was waved away at the admissions booth. A new policy for this summer, it made what was already shaping up to be a great day even greater. Also there is a well-placed bike rack, which is welcome change from having to hunt for a street sign to lock up to. It felt like a nice "Hey, you, thanks for riding your bike!"

The sculptures on the grounds of the museum are really very cool. As are the grounds themselves. What a beautiful spot. If I had know, I would have brought a picnic. Next time. I grabbed a few pictures, although they definitely don't do the place justice. You'll just have to take my word for how rad it really is.











The woman at the admission booth also tipped us off to the great view from the 6th floor roof terrace of the museum. I have to admit, the weather was so beautiful I didn't spend any time in the museum, which I'm sure is also very cool, but I did get up to the roof terrace. She wasn't joking.

100k

I'm registered for the Hampshire 100. I'm not so much going to race it as I am going to try and finish it. I've been thinking and threatening about it enough, it was time to just go ahead and do it.


So far my racing 'career' has only included 45-60 minute 'cross races. This is going to be a little different. So, I bought a book. About bike race training. I read it, and even made notes in it. But I haven't done a single thing it recommends. In addition to being time crunched, I lack a real competitive spirit. It's true- if you really like winning you should not be on my kickball team. Don't get me wrong- I enjoy a good win, but I'm not going to loose sleep (or put in 10-12 hill climb intervals at 90% max heart rate) over anything less than first place. One of these days I'll remember that fact before I throw down another $19.95 for a book that I will earnestly read and then promptly not follow its advice.

What I am doing, instead of keeping track of heart rates and watts and whatnot, is riding my bike as often as possible. So far I've managed a couple of fun rides a week, plus my commuting miles, so that's something. I just hope I can get out for a couple of long rides in the next two months, because DFL I can live with, but DNF would really bum me out.

Marathon

I can't seem to get away from marathon runners. Not that I'm actively trying to get away, but it seems like I always have a friend or acquaintance who's training for some long distance running. They're always talking about injuries, and long run distances, and negative splits and whatnot. These folks think I'm crazy for commuting in -10 degree weather. Sure, it's not fun but it lasts for 20-30 minutes. Tops. Who wants to run (also not fun) for 4-5 HOURS? That's crazy.

If you take the act of running out of the equation, I can see the draw to the sport. Unless you're Shalane Flanagan, you're not going to 'win'. Which means you get to define 'win' for yourself. It's an epic challenge, so for many a 'win' is simply finishing. It really is an accomplishment you can be proud of. Also- who wouldn't like a race where you get a medal, no matter where you place. I could get into that. Only without running.

So fast forward to yesterday, I was dialing in my full suspension ride for the season (it's the world's ugliest Blur XC, but it'll do), and got thinking about maybe doing some MTB racing. That said, I'm always thinking about doing some MTB racing, and so far I can count all of the races I've done on one finger. At some point I have to stop talking about it and actually do it (like now, would be good). Any type of race for me would be a personal challenge, not so much of a 'race to win' event, but I'm definitely intrigued by the idea of an epic event. Mountain biking is something that I could do for 4-5 hours, so why not some epic MTB marathoning? Like this or this? Not to mention I'm going to hit one of those 'milestone' birthdays in 2011, and it seems like that's a thing you do- try something hard/epic/new/crazy/noteworthy to prove you're not old yet.

Of course, that would mean some serious time on the bike. I have already taken the first step in achieving my goal of racing by writing about it here. So now it's time to stop thinking about and stating publicly, and start riding. I can put the time in while all my pals are out running 10:40s on their long runs.

Slow up.

I love fall. Not too warm, not too cold. The unpredictable weather makes the nice days seem that much nicer in comparison. Today is one of those nice days.

A lovely little three speed was dropped off early in the afternoon for some shift cable attention. Beautiful weather, nice upright handle bars, comfy seat- I was pretty excited for test ride time. As I got rolling down Willow St I realized I needed to make the most of being outside, so I rode my usual test ride route very slowly. Sunday drive style. I found it to be surprisingly enjoyable. Most of the riding I do is purpose driven. I don't ride fast, but I'm usually riding with a mission- to get from A to B. One reason I choose cycling for transportation is that it's faster than walking, so what would be the point of riding at a walking pace?

There was something very satisfying about riding deliberately slow. It gave me extra time to pay attention to the details of the bike, the road, and the neighborhood. It was like bike meditation. I think it really helped set the tone for the rest of my day.

While I was writing this post I looked up "slow bicycling" and found this. Although, it's not always possible to take a nice slow ride, I'm really looking forward to incorporating more slow rides into my life.