Boomers on Bicycles

On The Coast

Road Bikes

The area around the central coast of California is a stunningly beautiful place.  Cambria, Cayucos, Morro Bay, San Simeon, San Luis Obispo are great places to visit.  It is Memorial Day weekend, and as we’ve been driving about there have been quite a few road bikes out on the roads and highways.  California Highway 1 runs right along the coast and there’s room for bikes and cars.  The bikes are out in force.  We were driving from Cambria to San Luis Obispo on Hwy1 and the skinny tire riders were on both sides of the highway, lots of them, looking pretty good.  I’m pretty sure there was an organized ride of some sort–there were just too many of them out there.  We also saw riders on Hwy 46, which connects the Hwy 101 side (the valley) to the Hwy 1 side (the ocean).  It is quite hilly with some pretty good climbs on it.  At the top are some very nice views.  Hwy 46 is scenic all by itself, but does afford  views to the ocean from a few spots at the top.

Walking

In addition to all the riding, there were an equal number of people on foot.  They were not on the highway though.  There is a great part of the coast that is in the public trust.  It is the West Fiscalini Ranch Preserve.  There are multi-use trails here.  The ranch runs right to the ocean, and the cliffs that one of  the trails is on just drop straight down to the sea.  The hills behind the cliffs are rolling and extensive.  The walkers were out in force here, as I suspect they are most of the time.  There was a mountain bike here and there on the trail, but it really was more of a walking experience. It was a completely wonderful time, even if I was on foot the entire time.  We were down there for a wedding, and it wasn’t possible to get the bikes down there with us, and to carve out a time to ride them.  Just goes to show that one can have a good time off the bike as well.  Take a look at bugs, bikes and bones–there is fun off the bike!

Memorial Day

While we were enjoying all there was to enjoy, I did take a few moments to remember the reason for Memorial Day.  We pay homage on this day to all the men and women of our military who died defending our right to do exactly what I was doing: enjoying our freedom.  I hope you took some time to remember also.

Time for Sunscreen!

Check, Check, Check

Every time you climb on your bike you need to do a few things.  Check tires, make sure they have enough air in them, otherwise your steering will feel like it’s make of donuts, or you’ll be fixing something on the road.  Make sure your seat is still at the height that’s right for you.  Do a quick check for anything that is loose, or in the wrong spot.  If you clip into your pedals, unclip to make sure you can.  Check your helmet fit.  It should be snug, and worn correctly.  A helmet sitting on the back of your head is basically no helmet at all.  If you have shoes with shoelaces, make certain that you have tucked the laces in.  It doesn’t matter where on your shoe,  just make sure that they are tucked in.  Having a shoelace get wound up in your front chain ring can ruin a perfectly good day, and cause you to go through a few bandages.  Are your glasses clean?  It’s good to be able to see where you’re going.  Last, but not least by any means, did you put on sunscreen?  It’s pretty important stuff,  and you should always use it when riding.

The Big C

You’ve been around for enough years for the sun to have done some damage to your skin.  The worst damage that can be done is cancer.  There are quite a few skin cancers out there, and avoiding the risk is common sense.  You can’t go back and undo whatever damage has already been done, but you certainly can lessen the chances of adding to the risk.  It doesn’t matter if you have dark skin or light skin.   Skin cancer can show up in places where the sun doesn’t get to, and can take many forms.  Sunscreen is a must, as most bike riding is, oddly enough, done outside.  Whenever you can, ride in the shade.  If that’s impossible, use spf 50 sunscreen, and jerseys and shorts that have a spf rating.  I generally ride with long sport pants of some kind.  I’d love to find a source of affordable, and not skin tight, riding pants that are spf rated.  If you know of a source, leave a note here.  I’ll pass it on.   The long and short of it is this: cancer sucks.  Use your sunscreen, always.

Flowers and Bikes, May is Bike Month

A few days late, but here it is: May is Bike Month! Connect to May is Bike Month, jump to your region, and log in. Figure out about how many miles you’ll ride this month, register (no cost, but lots of fun) and join the challenge. I did this last year and it was great to follow all the miles posted. In my area, you can also win a prize or two. There are calorie burn calculators, links to area and regional rides, and the opportunity to see if you can actually ride the miles you that you put up. Be careful, though. You might end up buying a new bike, or really find your stride on a bike. Ride, ride, ride!!

Could Be The Winner Here

Most sports have a fairly defined season. Check the TV listings in your area and you’ll find what sport is in season just now. You probably won’t find much on bikes, but bike season is upon us. The somewhat official start is the Paris-Roubaix race. Unless you regularly log into Versus and link to the bike section, or Velonews, you might not even know anyone is riding a bicycle anywhere. Amazing, but true. Bob Roll maintains a blog on Versus, and other writers can be read on these sites as well. It’s amazing to me that I can count on viewing only the Tour de France and the Amgen Tour of California on the tube here in Northern California. Cycling is a multi-million dollar business, with an enormous fan base and scads of ad dollars, and yet, no coverage here in the US. Rats. I ride a bike because I like to. I don’t race, but do like to ride with someone now and again. I do like to follow the pros though. I don’t play football but I like football , especially the college version, so I follow it, which isn’t a problem on the TV, is it?

Different Types

There are different types of bike races, with the Grand Tours being the ones you hear about the most. There are mountain bike races and they range from out and backs to pretty strenuous courses and circuits. The also have downhill races, which can be pretty exciting. These consist of riders, wearing a bit of body armor, starting at the top of a mountain somewhere, and launching downhill over a course strewn with tight turns and the occasional rock or root, seeing who can get to the bottom first. Mostly these are done one rider at a time. It’s pretty amazing to see. There are cyclocross races, where riders are on what appear to be road bikes with straight handle bars, and a bit wider and beefier tires than normal, slogging cross country through all kinds of bumps, bends, water and mud. Some stretches of these races are so rugged that the riders have to carry their bikes through sections of the course. Then there are the road bike races. These are the ones you hear the most about. The Amgen Tour of California, Paris-Robaix, the Tour de France, are races for  road bikes. Some of these are one day affairs, some are mulitple days, spanning hundreds of miles and several mountains. Some rides are for charity, benefiting cancer research and treatment, leukemia, ALS, and diabetes. Some are just for bragging rights. The Death Ride in Northern California is one of those. The point here is that there are certainly multiple opportunities for the TV industry to tap into a robust sport much more often than it does.

Racing/Not Racing

Now, I have no illusions about my ability to race, amateur, semi or pro, anything. I just like to ride, and ride well. I like watching the pros because I learn something each time I do. I enjoy the strategies, the pagentry, colors, and the sight of the peleton appearing behind the front breakaway group and riding them down, after an all day ride. Especially I like Phil Sherwen, Paul Leggett, and Bob Roll when they are commenting on any race. It’s educational and a real hoot to listen to them. Ted MacRae has a pretty robust blog that you may want to check out too. Cycling Diary Different region, different races and what not. What is your favorite race? Leave a comment, no matter what kind of bike you ride or race you like. It would be interesting to see how many different races, tours, and fun rides are out there. Ride, ride, ride!