Thursday, March 28, 2013

Safer in the garage

It was great to be back out on the road today. Having not been out since February I have been going slightly crazy looking at the back of garage door if I'm on the turbo or at the gym walls if I decide to go and train there. The weather was just warm enough and with no snow since yesterday the roads were nicely dry thanks to the March sun.

I needed my long-sleeved thermal, long sleeved shirt and long-sleeved windproof on today with bib shorts, longs and full fingered gloves. I was only just cosy, only needing to un-zip the windproof a little on the biggest climb of the day.
An easterly breeze kept me honest down to Crail and provided help on the way across to Anstruther where a traffic jam made me change my route and head up to Arncroach. On this road I had the kind of excitement I can do well without.

Approaching a little chicane type feature in the road I was aware of car right on my back wheel. The second bend sits in a little dip with a rise beyond and it's just a little narrower there than before or afterwards. So I went right, left and made sure I was riding well out from the gutter to go up the rise. And as I came out of the second corner "BEEEP" from the car behind. He overtook after the rise on the clear straight but as he went passed he made it plain he was unhappy that he couldn't overtake in the dip. I tried to make it plain that I decide where I ride my bike on the road, not him. I don't enjoy the conflict but I refuse to be intimidated. I'm always keen to let people past, if I think it is safe; not otherwise.


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Would you overtake on the outside of this left hand bend?

The rest of the ride was uneventful and I thoroughly enjoyed working against the breeze using a higher gear than normal and a lower cadence. It seems my gym work over the winter has given my legs a little more deployable strength.

The Ride



Idiot Road User of the Day

No prizes for guessing who. See above.

Road User of the Day

As the absolute opposite of the driver above great praise goes to the tractor driver, trimming the hedgerow from the road, who stopped all activity to make it safer for me to overtake him. Two very different experiences all within a mile of each other. He restored my faith in humanity a little.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Wind and route planning

With the terrible weather we've been having recently I've been reading about cycling more than actually turning the pedals over. And one of my favourite subjects is training and ways of making sure it's correct. One tip I have seen many times is to plan your circular routes so that you ride into any wind in the beginning hoping that when you come to ride for home you get a little assistance.

On the whole I think this is a great idea. There are many benefits in terms of energy saving, temperature control and, most importantly I feel, the psychological advantage of an easier ride home. But it is exactly this dimension that should be challenged. Every now and again plan your ride the other way around. Ride with the wind on the way out and work against the elements on the way back.

If you do this, and make it home under your own steam, then you gain the mental preparation for cycling against the wind when tired. This will be a benefit when you have to do it because the elements are against you when you can't choose your route. It's similar to going out in the rain. Once you get over the fear or feeling of injustice it becomes easier to deal with. It might not be ideal but sometimes we don't get what we wish for.

Living in a place where one direction faces the sea makes you realise that finishing a ride into the wind can have its benefits. I'd like to have the choice though! If you are lucky enough to have the choice try this out and put the experience in the bank.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

The art of being injured

It's been quite on the cycling front recently. As much as anything that has to do with the weather but then, just short of two weeks ago, I got injured. Correctly speaking I injured myself which really is the height of stupidity. For me that stupidity was caused by attempting DIY. I really, really should know better. Hopefully, by committing this to the world out there, I will finally put that lesson into my brain.

The short story is that I was trying to repair a couple of areas in our kitchen with missing tiles. And I was cutting a tile to fit a particularly awkward space when the tile slipped and neatly sliced a relatively deep cut into my the back of my hand. I dressed it by slapping a plaster on it and walked round to our local minor injuries department. Having peered in and seen something white I wasn't taking any chances. The nurses concurred. By the time I got home it looked like this.

Not as bad as it looks.
Most of the dressing was there to stop me moving my fingers and doing more damage. And that's where the trouble really starts. Because, you see, I also wasn't allowed to get the dressing wet. Apparently the steri-strips wouldn't have liked that. And that would have been bad for the "laceration". Of course, getting it wet, also included getting it sweaty. And that meant time away from training. Any form of training! This did not make me happy. This condition lasted a week which resulted in missing the best weekend we've had this year for getting out. I was gutted!

However, I had learnt my lesson from the last time I was forced off the bike. And this time I kept my cool, rested up and waited. Three days after the injury was done it was redressed and, despite it being much better, the strips were to stay in place until they'd been there a week. Then they could come off naturally but I wasn't allowed to pull them.

I had also realised that although there was no pain from the cut, trying to use the hand wasn't so pain-free. Which isn't great as a left-hander. Writing is still sore and occasionally I pull up short and go "Ow!".
But he good thing is that it's been all right this week for turbo training. I'm not convinced about being out on the road but the weather has put paid to that anyway. We appear to have descended into winter.
For those interested the cut now looks like this.

Healing nicely
I was lucky to miss the knuckle, the nerves, the tendons and any veins. Phew!

So the art of being injured is definitely one of patience. I'm just glad I wasn't out of action for long. So was the Significant Other! Now I just have to remember to stay away from that deadly DIY.