--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 150 BIKE NET Ref: E4B00000 Date: 04/04/97 From: BARRY AUSTERN Time: 09:07pm \/To: RICHARD GLAZER (Read 3 times) Subj: Winter Rides RG> It is always better to try to ride on flats in the early season, I prefer my tires full of air myself :-) --- * Freddie 1.2.5 * PETA - People for Eating Tasty Animals * Origin: Access! Information Services (1:108/155) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 150 BIKE NET Ref: E4B00001 Date: 04/05/97 From: DEWEY THIESSEN Time: 08:22am \/To: STEVEN MCFARLANE (Read 4 times) Subj: HYBRIDS SM> I keep looking and dreaming about a new bike. The thing is SM> that there is nothing really wrong with the one I have for SM> the kind of riding I like to do. Maybe next year. I think a lot of us have that problem. I drop by the local bike store and drool over the latest and greatest technology (I'm a roadie, but that doesn't make any difference) all the while knowing full well that the bike at home is just fine. This makes it impossible to rationalize it to myself, let alone to my non riding spouse. I've set a goal of 10,000 miles on my existing bike. When I hit that mark, I've =earned= a new bike. SM> My biggest problem with dropped handlebars is that I wear SM> glasses (prescription type) when I ride. I owned dropped SM> bar bikes in my youth and always found it difficult to be SM> on the drops because the top of the frames bisected my SM> field of view and it was dangerous. With Japan's narrow SM> roads, concrete walls and high traffic, that could be a SM> deadly combination. When I get some time, I will head SM> downtown and talk to my Bike Shop Guy and see if I can SM> quickly test-ride something with dropped bars to find out SM> how it looks now or if I am remembering it incorrectly. SM> He's really nice - he'll probably let me. You have to get used to drop bars. A single sit or ride won't tell you what you want to know. Developing the back and neck muscles to use drop bars effectively takes a while. After you are used to them, the many different positions available are what make the drop bars comfortable on long rides. BTW, I wear glasses too. I know what you're talking about. Dewey --- timEd-B11 * Origin: The Dew Line, Flower Mound TX, Metro 972-724-0938 (1:130/24) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 150 BIKE NET Ref: E4B00002 Date: 04/06/97 From: DAVE WALLACE Time: 10:48am \/To: ALL (Read 4 times) Subj: Cycling article Hi folks, I recently wrote the following two-part article on cycling for the RIVER BENDER newspaper. River Bend is an incorporated boating/golf community close to New Bern, NC. Better than half of the residents are retired senior citizens. ------------------------------------------------------------------ CYCLING FOR FUN AND FITNESS Part 1 -- Getting Started And Setting Objectives By Dave Wallace 110 Portside Lane Almost everybody enjoys riding a bicycle. It's fun and it's healthy. I started riding years ago when I retired and set an objective of 100 miles per month. Now, 12 years later, I have ridden 14,500 miles with a long term average of 126 miles per month. Since becoming interested in bike racing I train by riding several hundred miles per month. I am 67 years old. If your interest is only in casual bike riding, this article is not for you. I am going to discuss serious cycling -- the kind that really keeps you fit and benefits your heart. Not that I am against the casual bike rider, but the secret to serious cycling is consistency. You must ride on a regular basis to reach a point where it feels good to ride at a good pace. Only then do you not tire easily, your leg muscles do not get sore and your heart benefits by eventually reaching a slower at-rest pulse rate. To start riding seriously, I suggest a 4-mile loop around River Bend every day. If this is too long, reduce the trip to what is a comfortable distance but be consistent. If you have not been riding much, your thighs and calves will probably be sore. This is expected, but will go away with consistent cycling as your muscles become conditioned. Naturally if you have or suspect a heart condition, your doctor should advise you on how much bike riding you should be doing. How fast should you ride? Regardless of the type of bike, here are some tips from the experts: Ride at a speed that causes your heart to beat at 65-85% of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum rate is found by subtracting your age from 220. I am 67 so my maximum heart rate per minute is 220 minus 67 or 153. My target rate while biking should be 65-85% of 153 or 99-130 beats per minute for the heart and muscles to benefit. In practice I ride closer to 140. This is referred to as the aerobic range where most of your energy is produced by oxygen. When one reaches his maximum heart rate by riding too hard, the anaerobic threshold is reached where strange things begin to happen. Oxygen in the bloodstream becomes less, causing lactic acid to build up in the muscles. The muscles then become less efficient and suddenly you become very tired and start slowing down. Worse yet, it takes time to recover and get back up to speed. What does riding in the aerobic range do for you? It develops heart muscles that allow the heart to work more efficiently. In time, your at-rest pulse becomes lower since the heart does not have to work as hard. My at-rest pulse generally runs in the 50s but drops as low as 45 at night. Another benefit of aerobic exercise is that it burns calories and helps reduce cholesterol. How do you measure your heart beat? A fast way is to take one hand and place it on the other wrist while watching the second hand of a watch. Count your pulse in 6-seconds and add zero and you have a pretty good estimate. For example, if I count 14 beats in 6 seconds, my pulse is 140. I do this while riding but if you cannot ride your bike with no-hands, stop and quickly measure your pulse. We certainly do not need any crashes. How do you keep track of your mileage? Purchase a bicycle computer that shows speed, trip mileage, accumulated mileage, elapsed time and other things depending on the price. Call BIKE NASHBAR at 1-800-NASHBAR and ask for their catalog. A serious cyclist cannot be without a bike computer. Stay tuned for Part 2 next month. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------- CYCLING FOR FUN AND FITNESS Part 2 -- Bicycles and Racing By Dave Wallace 110 Portside Lane Let's talk about bicycles. As mentioned earlier, any bicycle will help one become fit if ridden consistently. For those interested in riding fast or racing - perhaps in the Senior Games held annually, the only kind of bike that you will need is a racing bike, or what is commonly called a road bike. This bike can not be purchased at ordinary department stores. To my knowledge no bike dealer in New Bern carries road bikes except on special order. To see and ride one you will have to go to Havelock, Jacksonville or Greenville. What make a road bike different from other bikes? I used to think they were overpriced and the advantages were a lot of hype until I entered the Senior Games riding my old 34-pound French Motobecane with 27" tires. Exhausted, I managed to place third but it became obvious that I was not in the same class as the guys with the lightweight bikes and skinny tires. After the race a friend loaned me his racing bike to see the difference and I became a believer overnight. Now I ride a 19-pound aluminum bike and find myself going 3-4 mph faster with the same pedaling effort as before. Why the difference? I am not sure but I suspect that the very narrow tires are probably the biggest contributor of speed because they reduce road friction. Pump up the tires of any bike to the maximum and you will notice how easier it is to pedal. Secondly, road bike gearing is different by having a range of smaller cogs on the rear wheel. A mountain bike, for example, has larger cogs on the rear wheel and cannot possibly compete speed-wise with a road bike on ordinary roads. Thirdly, the wheel bearings of a good road bike may be superior since I find myself coasting much farther than I did with my old bike but that also may be due to less road friction. Lastly, all racing bikes have drop handlebars that allow one to crouch and reduce body wind resistance that causes 70% of cycling drag. All good road bikes are relatively light which definitely allows one to accelerate very fast. However, I am not convinced that a bike that weighs a few pounds one way or the other will make a great deal of difference in speed since riders weights vary far more. If you are not interested in riding fast nor racing, then most any type of bike will be suitable provided you ride it with some consistency and at a pace to get your heart beating at the rate mentioned. And now for a few racing comments. I can only speak for the Senior Games held annually in New Bern in May and the NC State Finals held in Raleigh in October. Three races are held at each location: One mile, 5km (3.1 mile) and 6km (6.2 mile). Men and women compete separately in age groups of 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, etc. By winning 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in the local contest one become qualified to enter the State Finals in Raleigh and from there to the Nationals that are held every two years. This year they are being held in Tucson, Arizona. Racing in the Senior Games is great fun. Everyone compares notes by looking over the bikes and physiques of the competitors and one ends up being surprised how fast some seniors ride and how slow others are. By contacting the New Bern Recreation and Parks Administration (636-4061) you can probably find out what the winning times were in your age group in the last races held. This will give you some insight of what the competition will be like. In my age group, 65-69, you will probably have to ride at 18-20 mph or better to win any sort of medal. Does that sound fast? The young fellows in the Tour DuPont race generally average over 24 mph on daily segments of over 100 miles. ... Catch the Blue Wave! ~~~ Blue Wave v2.12 [NR] --- Squish v1.11 * Origin: None (1:3629/101) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 150 BIKE NET Ref: E4C00000 Date: 04/07/97 From: ROBERT BUMP Time: 11:47pm \/To: ALL (Read 3 times) Subj: Louisiana Legislation Do you live or vacation in Louisiana? Here's something I received from an email list I'm on: > Louisiana Representative Naomi Farve > http://www.house.state.la.us/reps/members/farve.htm > of New Orleans (Hayne Boulevard area in New Orleans East) has > submitted House Bill 1341 (HB1341) > which has been referred to the House Committee on Transportation, > Highways and Public Works. This bill contains the following language: > > "To amend R.S. 32:193, 194, and 196 are hereby amended and reenacted > as follows: > "193. Operation of bicycles; prohibitions; general provision > "A. Bicycle riding shall be prohibited on city streets with traffic > lights, on state highways, and on interstate highways." > > If passed, this bill would essentially prohibit bicycle riding within > every metropolitan area of the state... This is lunacy! What could possible be in Rep. Farve's mind? * SLMR 2.1a * - Robert Bump ------------------- Albany/Schenectady NY --- ProBoard v2.10 [Reg] * Origin: * The CoFFee Clutch * Grinding Daily! * (1:267/162) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 150 BIKE NET Ref: E4D00000 Date: 04/04/97 From: GARY HENDERSON Time: 03:30pm \/To: ALL (Read 3 times) Subj: First Rides Hey All, Just got my first 2 rides of the season in on Thursday and Friday, April 3 and 4. 16 miles and 22 miles, in beautiful weather over in Central New Jersey.. Anyone else out there riding in this area? GH * WCE 2.1G1/2251 * garyh@superlink.net --- WILDMAIL!/WC v4.12 * Origin: Fresh Start BBS * Edison NJ * (908) 248-1678 * (1:107/310.0) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 150 BIKE NET Ref: E4D00001 Date: 04/04/97 From: CARL BROWN Time: 07:39pm \/To: GARY HENDERSON (Read 3 times) Subj: FIRST RIDES > Just got my first 2 rides of the season in on Thursday and Friday, > April 3 > and 4. 16 miles and 22 miles, in beautiful weather over in Central > New > Jersey.. Anyone else out there riding in this area? Hi Gary, Wow! 16 & 22 miles! That's alot of riding. My wife and I went out Sunday afternoon. It was great weather, but we were lucky if we made it 2 miles. e plan on going out more often once daylight savings time kicks in. -={Carl}=- --- FLAME v1.1 * Origin: The Republic 908-679-2680 Old Bridge, N.J. (1:107/612)