Big 3

Hey, college students. I'm glad you're back, this town is quiet without you. I'm also glad you've decided to use your bike for transportation. It really is the best way to get around the city. You need some stuff to go with that bike, though.


1. Helmet
Please, just get one. I know you're good at riding your bike, but there are a lot of obstacles out there- drivers, cabs, buses, feral pedestrians, cabs, potholes, other cyclists, cabs. It's like Frogger, without the extra lives. Your friends and family would be heartbroken if something happened to your noggin. If that's not enough to convince you- how much are you spending on school? You will only get a return on that investment if you keep your brain intact. Think about it, your brain is getting expensive.

I can keep going... There are 100,00 good reasons to wear a helmet.


2. Lock
You can't buy a new bike for $40, but you can buy a U lock and keep the bike you already have. I know the cable locks are tempting (they are light and cheap), but don't do it (because they're light and cheap). No one can claim that a lock is "theft-proof". You can't promise something like that. But I can say that I had a heart to heart with a guy yesterday about his stolen bike. He had been using a cable lock, and now his bike is gone. He wanted me to be sure and tell everyone to use a u lock. True story.


3. Lights
If you're going to ride at night (or dusk, or dawn), you need to get some. It's the right thing to do. Nobody likes a bike ninja. Without lights people don't know where you are, and if they don't know where you are they have a harder time not running you over, or walking out in front of you. Reflectors aren't enough because pedestrians don't have headlights. You have to watch out for all types of travelers.

There are definitely other objects out there that could make your bike traveling life easier (pump, rack, fenders, rain pants, xtracycle, gloves, clipless pedals... I can keep going...), but start with these three to keep you riding, and safe.

Tubular Technique -or- Why do I have a raging headache?

To start I need to give credit where credit is due. I first learned about techniques for gluing tubular tires from Eddie at Cycle Mania. His method involved something about taking one shoe off to use your foot to hold the valve in place. Or something like that. It was a long time ago. I learned the method I currently use from Molly Cameron, Pro 'crosser, and Pro vegan (although that has nothing to do with this). As far as I know Molly learned from other Pros and added a healthy dose of trial-and-error. So it's time-tested and all that...

Reasons for using tubies vs. clinchers aisde, today we're just talking about sticking a tubie to the rim. This method requires lots of time, lots of glue, and lots of ventilation. I like a nice thin glue- Panaracer Pana Cement to be exact.

Here are the steps (more or less):

1. Stretch out the tire by mounting it on the rim DRY and inflating it to the recommended max. Let it hang out like this for a while. Don't skip this, you'll thank yourself later.

2. Cut off a finger from a nitrile glove and put it on your finger. Use this protected finger to begin spreading on thin layers of glue on the tire's base tape and on the rim- 4-6 layers on each. You could use a brush, I suppose, but I think it's messier. Just use your finger. It helps to inflate the tire so it holds some shape. Wait for each layer to fully dry before applying the next layer (this is where the lots of time comes in), so that the solvent from the glue can fully evaporate (this is where the lots of ventilation come in). Take time with this- you don't want to start with a mess. The glue should only be on the base tape and in the 'trough' of the rim.

2a. Did I mention that you should be in a well ventilated area? Do it for your brain.

You can use your index finger. I cut mine with a pair of IKEA scissors a couple of years ago, and it hasn't been the same since...

3. When your tire and rim are both fully layered but dry you want to do one last wet layer on the rim. It should be slightly thicker than the other layers. Keep this layer nice and neat, too.

Spread the glue around the spoke holes, try not to get glue inside the holes.

4. All of this next step needs to be done while that last layer of rim glue is still wet. Let the air out of the tire. Put the rim on the ground and support it on both sides with your feet. You should so this with shoes you don't mind getting glue on. Start by inserting the valve, and applying pressure equally with both hands, stick the base tape to the goopy rim. As you get to the opposite side it'll get tight. This is where you benefit from stretching the tire and keeping the glue job neat. Keep pushing the base tape up and over into the glue on the rim, without dragging the tire sidewall through the glue.

Those are the very same rain boots I use to wade around in the shop basement.

5. When the base tape is fully stuck to the rim, inflate the tire to not quite the max, and stick it in a truing stand to see that the tread is on straight. The base tape and tread might not line up exactly, especially if the tire is old. That slightly thicker layer of glue should still pretty wet so you can push the tire around on the rim with your hands to get the tread straight.


6. Now here's a cool little trick- after the tread is straight, deflate the tire and roll it on a broom handle. Why? This helps to push the base tape down into the lowest point in the 'trough' of the rim. If you don't do this, you'll find that sometimes the tire hasn't made contact with the center part of the rim, and you've wasted all of that glue you very carefully applied.



7. Inflate it back up and let it sit. Seriously, for 24 hours, or more, in a well ventilated place. That allows all of those nasty solvents to evaporate.

I know there's more than one way to glue up tubies. Some people like using a thicker glue, some people like tape, but this how I do it and it's served me well. If you want to know more about it, I'd be happy to geek out... er, answer questions for you.

CX

It's almost 'cross season. If you're unfamiliar with cyclo-cross (or 'cross, or CX, or CCX, or cyclocross), you're not alone. It's a tiny, crazy, sometimes muddy, wicked fun niche in the world of competitive cycling. If you want to learn a little more before we continue, you can read the wiki article or check out Cyclocross Mag.

Ready? Ok. I love 'cross. It's fast, difficult, there are tons of variables (weather, the course, the crowd of spectators) that keep it interesting. I started racing just a few years ago out in Eugene, OR. I started out on a single speed mountain bike (which drew uncreative, but accurate, taunts of "Mountain biiiiiike!" from spectator/hecklers). Here's a pic from my very first race. Look at how fast it looks like I'm going.



Since that first season I've gotten a real deal 'cross bike. It's the one I rode to Maine. It's been stripped down to it's single speed race weight now. I've even acquired a set of used tubies (more about tubular tires in a future post. Stay tuned.).

I completely missed out on last year's season because A) I just moved and hadn't fully unpacked my bike stuff by 'cross season... and B) I hadn't ridden my bike very much last summer so I felt pretty out of shape. I mean, if you're going to compete, you should do some training, right? Excuses, excuses.

This year: A) All of my stuff is unpacked, and B) I probably have ridden my bike less than I did last year, but... No excuses this time. During the time I've spent NOT riding, I've been mentally preparing to not attach any ego to my race results. And it's still early. There's time to fit some riding in. Right? Right. It'll be kind of an experiment- can I be totally out of shape for racing and still have fun? I think so. But there's only one way to tell for sure. Let the experiment begin!

Six months

If Hub were a baby, she would be rolling over and able to sit in a high chair.

It's been busy here. There's been a nice variety of bikes- from a couple of high performance full carbon TT bikes to hi-ten steel "I found this bike in the basement of my building" bikes.



I like fixing them all. Every bike presents a problem solving challenge that keeps my brain happily occupied. I've also really enjoyed talking with all of those various bikes' owners. Good people ride bikes. (I'm sure good people drive and take the T, too, but I don't talk to them while I'm working...) I'm very grateful to be doing the work I'm doing. So if you've brought your bike in, Thank You! for a great first 6 months. And if you haven't yet there's still time- maybe by the time you bring it in Hub will be crawling and eating Cheerios.

Mind over matter

Portland, ME is one of my favorite spots on the planet (so far). At 115-120ish miles from Cambridge/Somerville, it seemed doable in a day by bicycle. The thing is with how much time I've been putting in at the shop I haven't had much time for riding/training. I usually get in at least 50 miles a week commuting, so there's that, but as far as actually blocking out time to get in shape, I've got nothin. In fact, the longest ride I'd done in 2010 was 32 miles (Tour de Cure! Check back next week for more about bikes and diabetes...). Details, details. Plus this was kind of an impulsive idea, so I didn't have weeks to prepare. This is where mind over matter comes in. I figured if I got on my bike and kept pedaling eventually I would get there. And to be fair, I do commute by bicycle, and it's not like I sit in a cube all day, so I'm probably more active than the average American-Canadian. So that was the plan: 1) Get on bike. 2) Pedal. 3) Don't worry about it.

I packed up the ol' cross bike with the one pannier I have. I can now say with confidence two would be much better for balance, but you gotta do what you gotta do.


I fueled up for/ on the trip with a highly effective cocktail of fruit snacks, peanut butter M&Ms and mate. Pretty much the food of the gods. I had a full set of travel tools, but no mechanicals (natch). Although I did get to help a guy with a flat in Ogunquit. One thing I forgot was sunscreen. I'm pretty sure the burn on my shoulders goes down to the muscle. I printed out directions from Google, but I scrapped them right away. The directions were pretty easy- get to 1A, take 1A to 1, arrive in the Greater Portland Area.

A few highlights:

-I saw a squirrel eating/smoking a cigarette. Stay classy, Medford.

-Speaking of smoking, I totally smoked this lady:

But I think it was the flag in her jersey pocket that was holding her back. Patriotism is not good for aerodynamics. (She caught back up with me during a re-fueling stop.)

-New Hampshire is very serious about their state motto.



-I talked to a couple of motorcyclists at stop lights on Route 1. Super friendly. Much more friendly than the drivers in Ipswich.

-Based on my field observations, the only vehicle available in Quebec is the Dodge Minivan. One such minivan pulled over to ask me directions to Old Orchard Beach. Way to play into the stereotype, lady.

11 hours and 123.4 miles after leaving my front door I arrived at my final destination. Not bad, I think. Another nice thing about traveling to Portland is taking the train back into Boston. Other than the sunburn and a couple of detours (why is it so hard to leave the Greater Boston Area by bicycle?), it was a (relatively) easy and wicked fun trip.

July July

Despite the fact that July is not a fall month, it happens to be one of my favorites.

This July I'm going to be closing up the shop for a couple of weekends to take care of some bikey stuff. For example:

Hub will be closed July 3, 4 and 5. I will be celebrating the birth of this nation by riding my bike to Portland ME. I'm going to shoot for getting there in one day. I'll let you know how that goes...

Hub will be closed at 5pm on Friday July 9, and closed on July 10. I'm going to go lend a wrench to the New England Classic. Super epic.

Independence

My first memory of feeling truly independent came courtesy of a bicycle. I was sent out to pick up some lunch while hanging out at my dad's office for the day (i.e.- get out of his hair so he could get some work done...). I was probably 10, and while I was cruising the mean streets (or, sidewalks) of Pinardville, NH it occurred to me that 'I don't need anybody to go get lunch'. I DON'T NEED ANYBODY! I'M GETTING MY OWN LUNCH! I CAN GO ANYWHERE! A very cool realization to have. I rode my bike a bunch as a kid, mostly for fun, but when I lived close enough I'd ride it to school. There was always something extra awesome about biking with a purpose- getting lunch, going to school or the post office- it made me aware of my status as an independent human being exercising her freewill (or at least as much freewill as you can exercise as a kid).

So fast forward to last weekend. I had a few bike parts to bring from home to the shop, and a quick stop at the farmer's market. As I was carting parts and groceries on my bike I thought I DON'T NEED ANYBODY! I'M RIDING MY BIKE TO WORK! I CAN GO ANYWHERE! I'm legitimately an adult so, I really can go anywhere. I even have a motor vehicle that I could drive to work or the farmer's market or any number of places. But I never feel like an independent human being when I do that- I just feel like an adult running errands.