Accidents Happen, but so does Stupidity

Accidents are bound to happen.  Most of the time they are just plain accidents.  No one's fault, and hopefully no harm done.  Sometimes, however, it can be chalked up to stupidity.  Today's incident might fall somewhere in between - I'll let you be the judge.

My son was going to a birthday party today.  The location was about 8 miles away, so it made for a nice bike ride for the two of us.  I rode with him there, rode back home, and then rode back to pick him up so that we could ride back home together.  We were able to take the San Gabriel River Bike Path for about half of the trip, which is always nice.

The only slight "hang-up" is that there are two detours to maneuver while workers finish constructing a new tunnel and resurfacing a section of the path.  Some cyclists try to make their own detours to avoid extra time and inconvenience.  I myself have found the detours to be annoying, but am looking forward to a wider, much safer, tunnel; and a smoother surface in the future.

As I was riding back home I saw a pack of cyclists riding below the bike path, in the concrete river bed, next to where the water flows.  I immediately understood their strategy.  Instead of taking the recommended detour (on surface streets) around the tunnel construction, they took one of the ramps down to the river bed (that service vehicles use) to go around the construction.  They would likely find another place to ride or walk their bikes up to the path later and continue on the bike path.

Their plan went awry, however, when I saw two of the bicycles slip from underneath their riders.  There was a wet spot on the concrete where mud and moss had formed a very slick area that caused their tires to slip, throwing the cyclists to the hard concrete.  I quickly stopped and walked down the concrete slope to where the riders had gone down.  As I helped them to safety I was amazed at how slick the patch was (a strip about 15 feet wide).  It was every bit as slick as sheer ice.

One of the riders in the pack was disgusted that there was not some sort of warning for that area.  I could understand his reaction, but could not agree with him.  He was trying to put the blame on someone else when it belonged squarely on their own shoulders.  His group had chosen to ride in an unsafe place.  A detour was provided - as inconvenient as it may have been - but his group thought they knew better.  I felt sympathy for their bumps and bruises, but they had to face the fact that they were the ones to blame. 

Thankfully they were able to keep riding.  The two cyclists that fell were hoping to get home before their bumps/bruises caused too much stiffness or pain.  I have no doubt they'll be feeling it in the morning.  I am not sure that their accident was caused by stupidity.  Naivety was likely the cause.  But the fact that it could have been avoided by taking the recommended detour makes stupidity a valid explanation.  It was a good reminder for me.  I need to quit trying to find my own detours around the construction and trust those who provide the real one.  Yes, mine might work from time to time, but I need to be a good example to my son so that I don't show him how to learn the hard way.  Let's save the bumps and bruises for an honest accident - not stupidity.

Cycling: the Fountain of Youth?

Unless you believe the cosmetic commercials or plan to devote the rest of your financial resources to plastic surgery, you have probably realized that we are destined to look older with age. There are ways to prolong the inevitable, but eventually our age starts to show. We often see the physical limitations of age as well. The older we get, the slower we move - and the faster the world around us appears to pass us by.

From my observations, however, it seems that successful cycling does not depend on age.  Many people continue riding their bikes long after their jogging counterparts go in for knee replacement surgery. I have observed several "Senior Cyclists" (I don't know how else to put it - it is meant to be a term of kindness) putting in long and steady rides that make the young guys' knees buckle. Could cycling be a sort of Fountain of Youth?

My theory was put to the test this past weekend.  One of my neighbors, 70 years young, enjoys riding about 60 miles per week.  He rides his hybrid with a friend, or two, several times a week.  As it turns out, his biking pals were a little under the weather, so he asked me if my son and I would like to join him for a ride this past Saturday.  We were eager to oblige and asked him what sort of ride he had in mind.

"Oh, I don't know," he said, "Maybe we could head up to the Santa Fe Dam?"

It sounded like a great idea, but I knew the trip was a total of 45 miles and I didn't want to push him too hard.  He suggested we monitor how we felt along the way, and if needed we could turn back before reaching our goal.  Agreed!

It was a beautiful sunny day and the mountains to the NE were capped with snow - making for a great view for the first half of our ride.  My neighbor enjoyed riding/seeing some new terrain and the challenge of the longest ride he'd ever taken.  He easily kept pace the whole way!

(The only wrinkle in his cycling is that he doesn't like to change gears.  When the hill gets to be more than his gear will handle, he simply gets off his bike and walks.  I gently reminded him that he was riding a 21 speed bike.  A smile and an, "I know," is all I got out of him).

Truth be told, I think my son and I were more worn out than he was when we got back home.  I don't know if cycling is the Fountain of Youth, but I do know it doesn't exclude the more experienced generation of our society.  Here's to all the Senior Cyclists out there - roll on!

Ontario Overnighter

Do you find yourself riding your bike less during the Winter months?  When it comes to day-to-day riding, I ride just as much in the Winter as other seasons of the year.  (Not that we have any excuse in Southern California like subzero temperatures or snow & ice covered ground).  But I must admit that it has been a while since I really worked up a sweat...      ...until this weekend. :)

A friend suggested we do an over night trip with our sons and one of their friends.  It sounded like a great idea.  My only fears were (a) how cold it might be if we were camping out doors and (b) how my body would react without having ridden much the past month.  After brain storming and researching a route we settled on a way to avoid a cold night outside.  His father and mother-in-law live in Ontario, giving us a 45 mile ride and a floor to sleep on indoors.  Not only that, we got to enjoy a hot shower, dinner, movie rental, and breakfast.  This trip was going to make us soft.

We decided to leave between 10:30 and 11:00am so that we wouldn't be rushed getting ready.  It was a clear sunny day with temperatures in the mid to upper 60's.  The first 15 miles were pretty flat, making an easy warm-up.  The next 15 miles were up and down (mostly up), but we took a break in the middle to have lunch and take some time off the bike seat.

Lunch and rest at a nice park.

Middle School Boys?

Spinning Plungers!

 After lunch we continued with the hills until we leveled off for the last stretch.  It is fun riding through some of the less populated areas of LA's metropolitan area.  I realize there are far greater views to behold, but when compared with hundreds of cars, power lines, buildings, and concrete, we enjoyed winding through the hills.  (The video takes a while to play, but if you click on play, do all of your shopping, and have dinner, it will almost be ready to start playing).

 We arrived in Ontario as the sun was setting.  How nice that we could unload our bikes, take off our shoes, wash up, and enjoy a good meal!  I can still taste the peach pie (sigh...).  Soon after that we watched Spiderman.  Just think what he could have done on a bike!

Click here to view the route we took from Bellflower to Ontario

The next morning began with a wonderful breakfast, packing our bags, and heading back home.  We chose a slightly different route home that ended up being a few miles shorter.  I was especially curious how my legs would feel on the second day (see fear "b" above).  My back was stiff, but my legs felt pretty good for not being in prime shape.  My bike seat felt a little harder than normal, but perhaps it was my own seat that was to blame.

Click here to view the route we took from Ontario to Bellflower

We joked with the boys about whether we should stop for lunch or just catch a snack before getting home.  They were starving, of course, so they salivated and groaned every time we passed a restaraunt.  Finally we stopped (precisely at 12 noon) at one of our favorites.

Mmmm... In & Out

After a great lunch the guys flew through the last 10 miles of our trip.  We were thankful to arrive safely without any flats or any other break downs for that matter.  Quality Winter riding! 

A Cannondale for Christmas

My family and I were out riding about a month ago - just a leisurely four mile ride to the park and back.  Our middle child (age nine) was doing her best to keep up on her single speed.  Her knees were just about hitting her elbows as the pedals whirled around in a blur.  I was afraid she was going to lose her chain.  My wife readily agreed that a bigger bike was in order.

The problem, however, is deciding whether to buy something new or used, a 24 or 26 inch wheel size, color, brand, etc... .  It can be maddening.  I suggested we look on Craiglist first.  Surely there is someone in Los Angeles or Orange county ready to get rid of their gently used, high quality, and affordably priced bike.  (good luck!)

There are lots of beginner bikes, department store bikes, junky old bikes, but not much else.  Our local bike shop had a number of great new bikes, but I was hoping to avoid spending $350 for a bike that she might grow out of in 3-4 years.  Hmmm....  what to do.  I decided to wait and keep looking around.  Actually, to be honest, my wonderful wife did most of the looking.

A few of the bikes listed on Craigslist were getting close.  One looked great but turned out to be too small.  Another looked promising, but was quite a distance away from us.  Finally we spotted one that looked like a winner.  It was priced at $200, but it was a Cannondale and it looked like it was nearly brand new.  We decided to check it out.

One of my buddies and I went to look things over to see if it was the real deal.  The gentleman who showed us the bike explained that he'd bought it for his wife a number of years ago, but she managed to ride it about five times before it started collecting dust in the garage.  The tires were flat and the chain was a bit rusted, but the brakes, cables, headset, frame, and seat looked great.  The size of the bike was on the money as well - 26 inch tires and a medium sized frame.  We ran through all the gears and were amazed to see and hear each gear click into place flawlessly.

I tried to act unimpressed, of course, and asked if he would consider taking anything less than $200.  He shook his head.  I smiled and counted out ten twenty dollar bills.  Mission accomplished.

After bringing it home I considered changing the tubes out for new ones and changing the presta valves for schraders to save the hassle of using an adapter on my bike pump.  I soon realized, however, that the rim was designed for the presta valves and the hole was too narrow for the thicker valve stems.  Rather than drill a larger hole for the schrader valve stem I opted to go with tubes with the presta valves.

Once the chain was lubed and the bike was dusted off it was ready to... wrap and put under the tree?  Hmm... maybe not.  We decided to try a different approach.  My wife picked out a nice bike bell, wrapped it, and placed it under the tree.

Our daughter was delighted when she opened the present and asked if we could put it on her (old) bike right then and there.  We told her we thought it was an excellent idea.  We all followed her out to the garage to take in her reaction when she saw the "new" bike in the place where her older one should have been.

"Wow, a new bike!" she squealed.

It was pretty awesome.  The other cool part is that she has already ridden it more than the previous owner!