End of this blog

This blog has fulfilled its purpose. I wrote about preparing to cycle in Gap, France, in 2006. I did indeed bicycle there. Unfortunately, as I see it, I did not complete the mission I set out to in riding the E'tape du Tour in 2006.

Anyway, perhaps I'll try again one day and can finish the ride.

Warnings, shoes

Certainly the Lord gives us warnings when we might stray into dangerous territory.

Some warnings one might not attribute to the Lord, because they derive from and relate to such earthly or common situations.

For example, the heat of a flame that warns us not to draw too near. Is this a warning of the Lord? He did design our minds and bodies to function this way. But, in a common, earthly, physical matter as this, animals are also designed and "warned."

Okay, here's another one more complex. Related to my bicycle pedals and cleats and possibly my recent two bicycle crashes.

About a year ago, I purchased a new pair of pedals for my bicycle. Shimano Ultegra level. These were rather nice pedals. As I was buying the pedals, I remember considering whether or not the pedals or the pedal/shoe cleat system would offer me the feature of tightening and loosening the attachment of my shoe to the pedal. (For those of you who don't know about "new" cycling pedals, I will say that about 15 years ago, manufacturers began making a different sort of pedal for road-type bicycles especially. These pedals were designed with a snap-in feature, and shoes were fitted with a sort of clip which snaps into the pedal and sticks there tightly. Guess what, now when I pull up on the pedal, my shoe is snapped in so well that the pedal sticks to it. This more secure connection between shoe and pedal results in more security and reliability especially for racers who at times pedal so furiously that weaker connections allow some inefficiency of power transfer.)

Over the years the pedal makers provided different systems for adjusting the tightness of the snap. At purchase time for my pedals, I now vaguely remember that the feature was important to me. But, to make a long story short, I never took the time to examine the pedal/shoe system to learn it and to make any adjustment. And this, even thought I disliked how difficult it was for me to unsnap my shoe from the pedals. I said to myself and probably others more than once, "I need to do something about how difficult it is to unsnap out of my pedals." Day to day, this comes into play when I arrive at a stop sign or stop light or other situation when I have to stop and dismount my bicycle or stop and put a foot to the ground for balance. I want to and should be able to do this quickly, for safety's sake.

I can say I did examine the clip on my shoe to loosen it if I could. (I used to have a pedal/cleat system in which the loosening was effected via the shoe cleat - basically a changing of the type of cleat.) But I did not find any way to loosen the cleat. But, even though I remembered from the time of purchase that I should have a means to loosen the connection, I never investigated thoroughly into how to do this.

My own knowledge and my own sense of safety was advising me that I needed to investigate and amend the system. But I never did.

Wreck no. 1 in early May. It was a slow wreck. I thought I almost was able to stay up. In retrospect, I remember my legs being somewhat immobilized as I was entering the crash zone and then falling. Did I think through that enough to think that my tight shoe/pedal connection might have been a part of the problem? No, not enough to investigate how to loosen the connection.

"Robert, your shoes snap in too tightly to the pedal. This is a problem. You know that. And, shazam, now you fall and have a thumb in cast that is maybe a warning that this is a problem. You need to investigate this and do something about it."

Did I? No.

Fast forward 8 weeks. The Etape begins. The start is at 7 am. My brother and I are way in the back. We inch forward for 23 minutes until the start line. Sometimes we can put our shoes in the pedals and pedal ever so slowly. Sometimes - for me most of the time - we we have one foot snapped into one pedal and the other foot walking, skateboard fashion, the bicycle forward. As I moved forward slowly in this way, I noticed a big man just in front of me who kept his feet in/on his pedals at slow speed. Real slow, like walking speed. I marvelled that he was so brave - at such a slow speed he could barely keep the bicycle balanced, yet there his shoes were clipped in. He's on the verge of falling. In that situation, were I to totter and begin to fall, I could not get my shoes out of the pedal fast enough. I'd go down. How can he be so confident of his ability to stay balanced, I thought. Well, now I can conclude that it was not his great ability to balance - I myself can ride a unicycle - rather it was that he could so quickly pull his shoe off the pedal. It did not matter if he started to fall, he could unsnap the foot and plant it on the ground and not fall over. But at the time, I just wondered at his confidence to balance.

Fast forward 33 miles and you know what happened. I crashed. This accident happened quickly. If I had been able to get my shoes out in a flash, I don't know that it would have made a difference. But, I can aver that when I saw this fall coming, I did not even try to extract my pedals. I basically curled up and braced for the fall. And, as it turned out, I think my body took the fall in several places, thus spreading out the impact of the fall. I took tumbling classes about 35 years ago - I disliked the class. I was not good at it and for whatever other reason did not like to go. But, one lesson was on how to fall. Maybe that helped in this fall in 2006. Thank you Lord.

Still, did I learn about the pedals? Maybe. But, as it happened, I myself did not actually investigate the pedals. When I returned to US, I took my bicycle into shop to repair, from the crash. In that process, I asked about the tightly snapped pedals. The sharp mechanic showed me how my pedals have a screw in the back that adjusts the tightness of holding the shoe on the pedal. He adjusted it to the loosest, noting that mine was set on tightest and that really only racers need or want the tight setting. What a difference this has made. I can even ride more slowly now, confident that I can get my shoe out if I begin to fall.

By the way, when I was pedaling in Lyon, I used my street shoes, not my cycling shoes and so enjoyed being able to slide my shoes off the pedal at the slightest thought. That's how kids ride bicycles all the time. Their pedals are plain and flat. There's not a connection to the pedal. That's real good for safety and for almost all riding except for racing and maybe long rides where one is on long segments of road and will pedal steadily for 30 minutes, an hour, hours.

I might be able to talk about other warnings. Look at the Scripture. God gives us clear warnings on all sorts of matters of life. The Proverbs are full of instructions and advice and warnings. The prophets of the history of the nation of Israel broadcast the sinful transgressions of Israel, Judah, and sometimes the gentile nations, warning them that God will bring punishment and sometimes the prophets could offer mercy if the people would turn. Usually they did not.

Oops, I was wrong about a Tennessee law on motorist distraction that I previously had in this blog entry - I have here now erased it. Idea is that it is against the driving laws to engage in distracting behavior - cell phone in hand; pet management in a moving car; etc. - while driving. Keeping both hands on the wheel is sort of the idea. The law is under consideration or not yet become effective.

Anyway, the laws of the land are essentially warnings or directions of God to us - he is the minister of God to thee for good. So, I have now purchased a head-mic for my cell phone, and may even upgrade to a Bluetooth wireless. This lets me keep both hands on the wheel if I "must" talk while driving.

Okay, that's it for now.


Link here to more photos

Cycling in the Gap

Cycling in France 2

Finishing previous post and I hope getting to the point.

So I rode my bicycle to the bicycle shop.

The city - and this is the 3rd largest city in France I hear - is very bicycle friendly.  Bicycle lanes on the  roads here and there and in some places on sidewalks.  It was even comfortable to meander from road to sidewalk, in and out of traffic.

On my way to the shop, I saw a man who was riding a flat-bar bike on a major road.  He was coming my way.  I slowed to allow him to catch me.  Then, I asked if he could tell me where a certain street was.  He proceeded to lead me there.

He rode with almost no regard for automobile traffic flow lanes.  He ran red lights.  He rode at one time against traffic.  I don't do any of that in America.  Except for running stop signs, slowly, I follow all  traffic rules.  He probably was not the best example of cycling in France, but I could tell, he rode his bicycle a lot.

All to get to the point, real cycling in France is about its pleasure and its usefulness for transportation.  Clothing  is what you wear that day anyway.

Let's see if I can get a photo of me riding to  the  Etape Village on Sunday, and a photo or two of a woman who picked up her bicycle from the shop after a repair.  She did not  pick it up though but rode it away.  In a dress.  As I rode to Etape village, there were cyclists around me wearing bright ad-laden, tight fitting clothing.  It looked so out of place in the pastoral surroundings.  I began to think - hey, when in France, cycle as the French do.  And, these  thoughts continued and were fulfilled somewhat a couple of days later in Lyon.


In the cycling shop, I saw a bicycle with "Country" on it.  As in, a country bicycle.  Grant P. of Rivendell recently wrote about calling his bicycles country bikes.  They are very comfortable and user-friendly and useful.  Practical.  Did he get this idea and other of his bicycle and bicycling preferences from France, I wondered.  No, most likely not. 

So, can I enjoy cycling in France without popping Gu, Hammer Gel, electrolyte tablets, without wearing tights?  Sure.  In fact, cycling in France is not about that and speed.





Link here to more photos
Cycling in the Gap

Cycling in France

About cycling in France.

I was not successful to complete the Etape.  Probably if had been, I'd be bragging about it on this web site and pointing out how well I did for how little I trained or how I could have done much better if this or that.  I'd like to think that without a crash I would have completed the ride.  But I don't know.  Okay.

The day after the ride, my brother and I travelled to the city Lyon.  And, unhappy that my bicycle had a broken spoke, I wanted to get it fixed - one reason was that I might spend some time riding it in the day or so free in Lyon.

So, on Tuesday, day after the Etape, we arrived mid-afternoon in Lyon.  The hotel secretary/concierge assisted me to find a cycle shop, called them - they stay open to 7 pm, a usual closing time apparently for French shops - and helped me decide that the best way to get my bicycle to the shop was to ride it there - rather than take a taxi or carry it onto the bus or tram or subway.  This meant I'd have to unbox it, put it together.  I dislike doing that and would rather a professional do it.  (I have been broken of that tendency by the way - from now on I'll do my best to take apart and pack and unpack my own bicycle.)

So, the concierge directed me to a small pavilion across the street, in front of an old theatre (1850s, actually not so old by comparison with other structures in this city - our hotel was built in the "18th century") where to put my bike together because there was not much room in the office or hall or my room.  We kept our bicycles in the hotel office because there really was not the space in our room.

Okay, so I took my bicycle box to the outdoor pavilion and began to put my bicycle together.  There I saw two or three children riding bicycles around the square.  One rode around several times.  And, as I was a bit  self-conscious about putting my bicycle together  - with big cardboard box and tools and all - I would look up and note the folks going by as if my enjoying the surroundings and the people was as important as getting my machinery put together.  I could not help but notice the delight the child had in riding her bicycle around the pavilion - no doubt playing and practicing simple skills of turning and slowing and balancing around the  water pools, on the lines between the marble blocks, meanwhile observing passers-by and the odd bicycle mechanic from America.  Basically enjoying cycling for the motion, the testing of riding and balance, the sun, the cool breeze, the speed - as much the slowness as the speed, the freedom to manage the use of the vehicle, and the anticipation of one day being able to ride around the City - to school, to the shops - as the grown-ups do.  A child with a bicycle in France.  This is contrast to my own bicycling, sort of.  Here I have paid a lot of money to ride on a stage of the  Tour de France, in an effort somewhat to imitate and compare myself on a route of the  Tour de France, in which professionals, who train 6-8 hours per day, riding bicycles of 15 pounds or so, wearing high-tech clothing designed specifically for long, race-type riding, that has on it advertisements of car companies, sports drinks, food, bicycle manufacturers, ride at 25 miles per hour, showing the world how well they have trained.   Nothing wrong with that, and that can be done in all honesty and integrity, and I love to watch it all.

Now I get on my bicycle and ride to the bicycle shop.

Okay, it's late, gotta go.  To finish this later.  But where I'm heading with this is, what is it to ride a bicycle in France.  I hope I can get a photo or two posted as well that will help show.

cycling in France - photos, enjoying bicycling, Rivendell
accident-prone or adept at falling
affection on things above
Celestins, hotel architecture
night-time in Lyon
stormwater
cost of bottled tea
Lyon's maisons
bicycle shop in Lyon
Mondays on Alpe d'Huez
the Canadian couple cyclists
the Irish Catherine and Willie
what I lost - was this planned
patisserie in Gap and directions to Internet cafe
the crowd on the airplane, before and after Haagen Daas
in retirement perhaps

Link here to more photos

An enjoyable trip to France, without a successful Etape though

Yes, I went to France. Of six days there, five went as planned. The Etape day did not go as planned. At about kilometer 55 or mile 33, I went down to the asphalt in a two-person fall. Sounds familiar. Indeed it was. Damage to my bicycle included a broken spoke in the rear wheel, a slightly bent front brake, and a twisted front brake lever.

By the time my bike was repaired - the Mavic mechanic cut the spoke out, trued the wheel and straightened the front brake well enough - I had been passed by the event's sweeper car, and got tagged for the bus when I pedaled up the road a couple of hundred meters to their blockade.

They were a beautiful 33 miles for sure.

I just looked on the Etape's web page and read that about 7500 riders started, and about 5400 finished. The first over the line finished in right at six hours, the last official finisher in about 11 hours. Congratulations to 21 year old Blaise SONNERY who finished in six hours, zero minutes and 33 seconds.

I think I have learned much on the trip - about the Etape - and some about myself, the Word of God, God and my relationship with Him.

I won't now write about the trip and the events of the Etape itself. Below is a list of incidents or topics I could and may still write about, not in any particular order.


cycling in France - photos, enjoying bicycling, Rivendell
accident-prone or adept at falling
affection on things above
Celestins, hotel architecture
night-time in Lyon
stormwater
cost of bottled tea
Lyon's maisons
bicycle shop in Lyon
Mondays on Alpe d'Huez
the Canadian couple cyclists
the Irish Catherine and Willie
what I lost - was this planned
patisserie in Gap and directions to Internet cafe
the crowd on the airplane, before and after Haagen Daas
in retirement perhaps



More photos

Time trial, 9 mile loop

Tuesday drove to park and began a ride about 7 pm or so.

First I rode the 5.6 mile loop, at a warmup pace.

Then did my best to post a good time on the 9 mile loop - approximate 9 miles.

My time disappointed me a little.  I did the loop in about 31 minutes.  Years ago I would do the loop in about 28 minutes.

No exercise Wed., Thurs.  Still at work Thurs. late pm.  Look forward to Friday pm.

Rec'd call from bicycle shop - they think the new compact chainring will work on my bicycle with its existing front derailleur.  But, I was surprised, the shop does not have a Phil Wood bottom bracket tool.  Phil Wood bottom brackets are about the best there are.  I have two tools and will be taking them by the shop Friday pm I plan.

Have ordered a bunch of stuff from Rivendell Bicycles, some of which is for the E'tape.

Three mile hill...!

First time in about six weeks I've ridden the Percy Warner Park loop and three mile hill.

A short ride tonight, about 18-20 miles.

Also, today, I took my Masi to Gran Fondos to have a compact double chainring put on.  They're not sure it will work, however, because this 1990 frame has a braze-on to the seat tube to which the front derailleur is attached.  The potential problem is that this braze on is too high on the seat tube for the derailleur to function with the smaller chainring.  I think and hope it'll work because I now have a 49 tooth big chainring that I put on years ago.  It works.

I also am trying to arrange for a wider spread set of rear cogs, that'll let me go to 28 or 30 teeth on the "biggest."  That may require another rear derailleur.  I have one marked and expect to order it tomorrow.

Doctor's appt. on July 3rd to check the thumb.  If he says, "no go," then I guess I'll go and take photos of my brother, and eat.