Bike journal #1
Just went downstairs to give my new bike a spin. Writing ten things here so that I won't forget them the moment I drop off to sleep.
1. posture.
2. don't look down. Look in front.
3. Confidence good.
4. Prudence better. (i.e. Carelessness bad. Nearly careened into partition and nearly sent flying into the longkang)
5. Trust the bum.
6. If absolutely vital to fiddle with bike parts, fiddle carefully.
7. Ring bell
8. Know limits
9. Take drink in basket next time
10. More practice
The ticking sound my bike makes only happens when I'm pushing it, not riding it. I am told that this is normal. But it is still very annoying.
My bum hurts. My balance went off because I wasn't seated comfortably at one point. A combination of that and inattentiveness (I, like a silly wank, was wondering how claymores were balanced when I went sideways) nearly flipped me into the adjoining canal.
Saddle, even with cushion, is unforgiving. Seat will train bum muscles until they are as hard as rock. Soon I will be able to kill someone by cudgeling them with my impeccable bottom. Cycling very good, feet don't hurt -- one of the main reasons why I hate running. The sense of speed, the wind in my hair, my height from the road, all of these are amazing. They took my breath away. (Literally. I'm still slightly breathless, and I want orange juice!)
There is the very real joy of having a machine beneath you to regulate your rythem. I find that when I jog this is a real problem. I get bored so easily that I attempt to run faster, only to find that it is unsustainable. And since I'm naturally lopsided one foot receives more weight than the other, which is clearly bad. Not a problem on a bicycle. On a bicycle, you are told very concisely the moment you go off balance i.e. you fall over. Once you have a vested interest in keeping balance, you pay very close attention to the rythems of your blood. It gives me a high, it does. Except when I'm about to run into freefall if I miss a step or... drop into the canal.
More practice needed. I have trouble navigating corners or doing u-turns in a space less than three metres wide.
I feel a little nauseous during and after my ride. I begin by blaming my flabby abs, and then the relatively new circumstances of going beyond walking speed at night. (because sometimes I get travel sickness sitting in the front seat of the car at night also.) If the former is true I should be cured of it very quickly as I intend to cycle often, but if this continues a week after daily cycling I might get into trouble.
I look forward to when I can graduate from the track beneath my window to the track at pasir ris, and then the whole of the park connector linkway. And, blasphemously, (because my parents have explicitly forbidden it,) when I finally decide that I am competent enough to cyclocommute.
I love my bike.
1. posture.
2. don't look down. Look in front.
3. Confidence good.
4. Prudence better. (i.e. Carelessness bad. Nearly careened into partition and nearly sent flying into the longkang)
5. Trust the bum.
6. If absolutely vital to fiddle with bike parts, fiddle carefully.
7. Ring bell
8. Know limits
9. Take drink in basket next time
10. More practice
The ticking sound my bike makes only happens when I'm pushing it, not riding it. I am told that this is normal. But it is still very annoying.
My bum hurts. My balance went off because I wasn't seated comfortably at one point. A combination of that and inattentiveness (I, like a silly wank, was wondering how claymores were balanced when I went sideways) nearly flipped me into the adjoining canal.
Saddle, even with cushion, is unforgiving. Seat will train bum muscles until they are as hard as rock. Soon I will be able to kill someone by cudgeling them with my impeccable bottom. Cycling very good, feet don't hurt -- one of the main reasons why I hate running. The sense of speed, the wind in my hair, my height from the road, all of these are amazing. They took my breath away. (Literally. I'm still slightly breathless, and I want orange juice!)
There is the very real joy of having a machine beneath you to regulate your rythem. I find that when I jog this is a real problem. I get bored so easily that I attempt to run faster, only to find that it is unsustainable. And since I'm naturally lopsided one foot receives more weight than the other, which is clearly bad. Not a problem on a bicycle. On a bicycle, you are told very concisely the moment you go off balance i.e. you fall over. Once you have a vested interest in keeping balance, you pay very close attention to the rythems of your blood. It gives me a high, it does. Except when I'm about to run into freefall if I miss a step or... drop into the canal.
More practice needed. I have trouble navigating corners or doing u-turns in a space less than three metres wide.
I feel a little nauseous during and after my ride. I begin by blaming my flabby abs, and then the relatively new circumstances of going beyond walking speed at night. (because sometimes I get travel sickness sitting in the front seat of the car at night also.) If the former is true I should be cured of it very quickly as I intend to cycle often, but if this continues a week after daily cycling I might get into trouble.
I look forward to when I can graduate from the track beneath my window to the track at pasir ris, and then the whole of the park connector linkway. And, blasphemously, (because my parents have explicitly forbidden it,) when I finally decide that I am competent enough to cyclocommute.
I love my bike.
posted by the zen thing at 10:12 pm
1 Comments:
Saddles might be more uncomfortable with cushions, especially on longer rides. There are two bones called the sit-bones, these are what should be supporting your weight on the saddle. If you have a heavily cushioned saddle, your bum sinks in and it is your nerves, not your sit bones, holding you up on the seat post, which you can imagine is not a good thing.
You won't fall into the canal, I know this because I just crashed into the rail next to the park connector.
Funny - I made little notes like that the first time I went riding on my new bike (including the one about the drink). Now, with the regularity of my riding (i.e. twice a day) they have become unnecessary - your CV system, sense of balance, and your bike will tell you more than your brain can remember.
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