Toe Numbness

This weekend I took a ride along my usual route of the south shore lake trail. In order to adequately describe the situation, I have to back up to earlier that morning. My aunt and uncle were in town for a concert the night before and I had met them at Cafe Du Monde for some coffee and beignets (fried squares of dough, think french donut covered in a pound of powdered sugar). This was what constituted the entirety of my breakfast that day. Let me just say this as clearly as possible, beignets are not the breakfast of champions...

I started my ride with a warm up to the trail. Once on the trail, I picked up the pace and maintained a cruising speed of about 15 mph. For the first 6 miles of the ride, I regretted my decision to have beignets. The powered sugar and grease had formed some sort of unholy alliance in my stomach and made me feel as though I was carrying a 20 pound baby made of bricks. As the miles wore on, my speed steadily decreased.

Luckily, about 4.5 miles into the ride, I was passed by two guys riding at a pace I hoped to maintain (one on a Scott and the other on a Schwinn Le Tour). I snuck in behind them and resolved to stay with them no matter what. For the next two miles, my mind was distracted by the desire not to drop off my new unofficial pack. At 6.5 miles, we came to the end of the trail and the pair road off. I, however, was not done. I turned around and began the journey to the other end of the trail.

I had only ridden another two miles when I experienced something I had never felt before while riding. As I neared the 9 mile mark, my toes on both feet went completely numb. I adjusted the straps on my shoes hoping the increased blood flow would resolve the issue but the problem persisted. Around this same time, my chain started to jump between gears with every shift. Every downshift would provide one full revolution of the crank in the proper gear then the chain would begin to slip between the higher gear selected and the lower gear I had just left. I continued on for a quarter of a mile to diagnose exactly what was wrong, figuring that I must have knocked something out of alignment when I services my chain before the ride.

I was forced to stop and adjust the rear derailleur. Luckily this solved two problems: First, the derailleur was fixed and I could continue the ride with smooth pedal strokes. Second, my toe numbness went away. I was only off the bike for two or three minutes but the feeling in my toes had returned and the problem never returned throughout the rest of the ride.

I continued to the opposite end of the trail and then rode back to my entry point and ultimately home. In just over 30 miles of riding, I had experienced more nuisances than I ever had before in an entire week of riding. That said, I still got to spend some quality time on my bike, with my thoughts, and enjoying what the day had to offer me.

One last note in regards to this report: The Bontrager Fusion Gel gloves that I have been using will soon find that they have been replaced. I have made every adjustment possible to my hand position and the contact point of my hands on the bike. There is simply no way to make these gloves comfortable. I may soon find myself reverting back to Pearl Izumi Gels or Specialized BG gloves but Bontrager gloves will no longer be a part of my cycling equipment. Ultimately, the shotty quality and padding design cannot be overcome. These gloves have the least effective padding of any gloves I have ever tried. Those who know me or are regular readers of this blog know that I love my Bontrager Privateer and therefore want to give the benefit of the doubt to anything with that name (yes, I know it is now a marketing tool only but a little willful disbelief never hurt anyone). That said, there is no excuse for these gloves...

New Orleans to Build a Rails-to-Trails Project in Urban Center

Recently, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling regarding the ownership of the land used for some of the existing Rails-to-Trails projects. While that dealt a fearful blow to those of us that enjoy biking on those trails, it was not a death blow by any means.

New Orleans, not a city typically known for forward thinking, is about to begin construction on a greenway through its urban center. Within the next week, crews will begin construction on a 12 foot wide, 2.6 mile long mixed use trail leading from the French Quarter to New Orleans City Park. The project, named the Lafitte Greenway Corridor, will use an abandoned railway corridor.

The city plans to make this pathway a destination of its own. Lining the path will be over 500 new trees as well as multi sport grass fields. The area through which the trail will lead should expect a dramatic increase in visitors.

Essentially, the trail is shaping up to be a long narrow park between New Orleans two largest playgrounds, the French Quarter and City Park. City Park, for those of you not familiar with New Orleans, is the largest urban park in the country. Larger in acreage than even Central Park in New York.

After the damage caused to the park by Hurricane Katrina, the city invested a great deal of resources into cleaning up the park and creating a new infrastructure within the park to provide better services. New trails were established and new services as well. One invasive species, feral pigs, was removed from the park but another, the Rio Grande Cichlid has continued to flourish. Visitors to New Orleans now have a designated path from their hotels in the French Quarter directly to the park to help combat this destructive species.

The path will also run by Bayou St. John which has been incorporated into the City Park structure. The bayou has recently undergone its own transformation with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers removing the flood wall separating it from Lake Pontchartrain. In doing so, the water has become more hospitable to aquatic life and the fish population has boomed. Bayou St. John is frequent favorite area for paddle sports and fishing. There are also several festivals that take place on its banks annually. This new pathway should serve to increase the attendance at those events.

If you get hungry riding the path, stop by the Parkway Tavern and Bakery for the best damn Po-Boy sandwich you will ever have. Seriously, try the shrimp. It is amazing!

It May Be Time For A New Cockpit

Lately I have been toying with the idea of swapping out the handlebar and stem on my Bontrager. The original bar, Bontrager Race, is 560mm wide with a 5 degree bend. It is a flat bar with no rise whatsoever. Although it has served me well over the past 18 years, I am becoming increasingly sensitive to pain and numbness in my hands.

The stem is a relatively new Soma Shotwell in 100mm. There is also an additional issue of a growing awareness of the amount of weight over the front wheel. This has become much more pronounced since switching to a rigid fork. This will likely necessitate a swap to a shorter stem to move some of my body weight back.

When I purchased the Bontrager in '96, 25.4mm was the industry standard for clamp diameter on handlebars and stems. Since that time, the standard has changed to 31.8mm. Because of this, I feel it would be easier to simply swap both which would allow for a greater choice in which bar and which stem instead of restricting me to the antiquated 25.4mm clamp size.

Now comes the task of choosing a new cockpit. Handlebars come in flat, low rise, medium rise, and high rise, all of which are available with varying degrees of upsweep and backsweep. Alternative bars are also available with bend configurations that seem initially more stylish than functional. Lengths are typically longer than my admittedly narrow 560mm, ranging upwards of 700mm and longer. While aluminum is still the material of choice, carbon fiber handlebars have entered into the realm of affordability.

My initial thoughts are an 80mm stem with 6 degrees of rise paired with a 650mm low rise handlebar. This combination seems like it would bring the bar up and back, thereby relieving some of the pressure on my hands while not drastically altering the handling of the bike. I still have no idea whether I will go with aluminum or carbon.

This is going to be a process of trial and error. I suspect it may be a while until I am able to settle on a combination that fits my needs. Until that time, I will keep you informed of my progress as long as you agree to make some suggestions along the way (I do not want to get lost in a sea of choices).

Riding with Friends

I am used to riding solo. I ride alone most of the time. I do this partly because I do not want to get into a competition. I used to race, but that was a long time ago. At this point in my life, I have no desire to go back (well maybe just a little after seeing all the pictures from Rouge-Roubaix).

I like to ride alone. It allows me time to think, or better yet, not to think depending on my mood. I can let my mind wander or focus on a specific issue or whatever may be bothering me. Riding, for me, has always been therapeutic. 

Last week, I was invited for a ride with a friend. Jeff was a mountain biker in college but hadn't ridden in a while when I talked him into taking on road biking after law school. Since then, Jeff has been much more dedicated than I. Initially, I was apprehensive. Jeff has recently taken up cycling with a group. They ride frequently, train often, and sometimes even race. After some assurance from Jeff that this would be a casual ride as he eased back into the season, I agreed to meet him up. Getting my gear together, I borrowed my wife's car so I could throw my bike in the back and drive to meet up with Jeff on the other side of the city. 

When we meet up at the trailhead, we are both surprised by how many cars are in the parking lot. It didn't take long to get our things together and we were off. We decided that we would ride the river levee until we got tired. We kept our pace respectable but were able to maintain a conversation for almost the entire ride. Having been so long since I had ridden with a friend, I had completely forgotten how nice it could be to have someone to talk to. 

The conversation was not out of the ordinary for us. We covered most of the topics we normally discuss. There were no life altering epiphanies. What did happen was that the ride went by much faster. It was a distraction from muscle aches, sit bone pain, and other things that distract from the pure beauty of riding. It was an opportunity to experience the social aspects of cycling that I have neglected. 

While I still like to ride alone, I need to remind myself that riding with other can be a great experience. As I aim to ride longer distances, more rural routes, and more challenging routes, it will be great to have someone riding with me. Hell, I may even go on a group ride complete with pace lines and everything...

I Think The Wind is Trying to Kill Me

Today, the weather had warmed and the rain had finally stopped falling. I was looking at a blue sky and 70 degree temps for the first time in what seemed like ages. Having recently finished rewrapping my handlebars, I was anxious to get on my bike and see how the new tape performed. I got my gear and told my wife I was going out and was going to ride until I was tired.

The ride started great. I rode from my house to the lake trail on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain.  In order for me to get to the lake, I have to ride on some busy streets. This is never my idea of fun, especially since there is no shoulder to the road. For some reason, everyone was in a good mood today. I rode as traffic, maintaining a presence that took up the entire lane. No one tailgated, no one honked, all was good in the world.

On the way to the lake, I swung by my in-law's house and checked in on my wife's project. She had left before me to go to her parent's house to work on a project she had her mind set on (repainting some furniture). 

From there, I went straight to the lake. The ride is an out-and-back. Starting in Metairie, I ride to the edge of Kenner and then back (sometimes making multiple trips). This gives me a base of about 25km per ride and is something I know I can do if I only have an hour to spare. As I crossed the levee, I could feel the wind starting to pick up. Lucky for me, I had recently repositioned my handlebars so that I was once again able to make full use of the drops. Hunkering down into a slightly more aero position, I shifted my focus into just keeping my legs churning. The wind was not a head wind, but a strong cross wind. The gusts were only marginally stronger than the sustained winds, but the sustained winds were over 32 kph. 

As I pedaled, I had to lean at just the right angle to keep from being knocked over by the wind but not so steep as to risk falling if the wind suddenly lessened. This continued for about the first 10 km of the ride. It slowed me a little but was still not to the point where the ride was unpleasant.

When I crossed the levee again, where Kenner meet the Bonnet Carrie Spillway, I turned left and rode towards the interstate. This put me directly in conflict with the wind. I spent the next 4 km riding as low as I could, straight into a 32 kph headwind. I struggled to maintain a meager 16 kph but I took solace in the knowledge that, if this wind kept up, the return trip would be something special!

After a while, I could smell the rotten smell of the sewerage treatment plant. For the first time in my life this made me smile. It came with it the knowledge that I was close to the end of the road and would soon be turning around and reaping the benefits of my struggle with the wind.

I am not a power rider, never have been. When I check Strava's list of segments, I am consistently around 100th. As I rode the return trip, I began to feel much stronger than I have even felt. I was riding in a higher gear that I ever had on flat terrain. I was having the time of my life! The return trip was 4 km with a heavenly tailwind. Later, when I checked Strava, I learned I was now in the top ten for that segment.

I crossed the levee and turned right, heading back to the lake side and continued on the path. The wind had shifted for the first time that day and was now more of a headwind than a cross wind. The return trip had turned into 14 km of more pain and struggle. I was hoping to get in more mileage but the wind was killing me and I knew that the return 14 km would be the end of the ride for me.

I made it back to my in-laws right as they were getting ready to sit down to lunch. Unfortunately, the efforts of the day had left me a little ripe. I borrowed my wife's car, threw the bike in the back and headed home for a shower and fresh clothes. After a quick freshening up, I returned to my in-law's ate some delicious food and marveled at my wife's excellent work with her project.

Overall, it was 35 km of challenge but it was well worth it. Each day I feel stronger and suffer less. My goal in the coming months is to continue to build my strength to the point where rides like this are nothing more than an inconvenience in a larger ride instead of an entire ride of struggle. I will keep you updated with my progress.

Review - Specialized S-Wrap Roubaix Bar Tape

I bought my Bianchi back in 2003. Since that time, it has been ridden many miles but I have yet to change the bar tape. Today, I decided to give to a bike that has given me so much. After a discussion with Josh at The Bicycle Shop in Baton Rouge, I chose to use the Specialized S-Wrap Roubaix tape to redress my ride. I have never changed bar tape before so I solicited as much advice from Josh as possible.

 As you can see from the photos below, the tape had gotten more than a little grimy. The dirt never really bothered me but recently, the tape has lost a lot of cushioning and had begun to tear during rides.

Peeling back the brifter hoods revealed just how nasty the tape had become. The hoods will have to be peeled back like below to allow you to remove and reinstall the tape properly.

To begin, the old tape must first be removed. Start with removing the bar end cap.

Once the cap is removed, peel off the finishing tape and any other adhesive tape securing the bar tape.

Next, unravel the old bar tape.

If your old tape was adhesively backed, there will be some cleaning before you apply the new tape. I used isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel. It worked well at getting the old glue off. Below are before and after shots of the left over glue.

After you have cleaned the bar, the first step in applying the new tape is to cover the brifter clamp. Specialized provided a precut strap of tape with the package.

 Although "precut," the amount was generous and still needed to be trimmed to prevent sloppy overlap.

It was finally time to focus on wrapping the bar. Begin near the bar end, where the plug will fit in. In order to have a tidy end product, begin with leaving about 1/3 to half of the tape hanging over the edge (this will fold in when the plug is installed and leave a professional look to the finished product).

Make almost a complete revolution before progressing up the bar. Remember to keep constant tension while wrapping. A little tension will help the tape stay in place under stress (such as sprinting). Too much tension and you risk ripping the tape.

Progress up the bar overlapping the tape by roughly 1/3 with each revolution. Proceed to the brifter clamp and ensure you cover the area surrounding the first strap of tape that was placed.

When wrapping around the brifter clamp, rely on the first strap of tape to fill in the gap. Do not attempt to criss-cross the tape to make it pretty; it will only make things worse. Merely wrap PAST the clamp and continue to the top portion of the bar.

Continue to wrap around the top of the bar until you reach the bulge in the middle. Pay close attention while wrapping to how you ride, if you ride more on the hoods or in the drops. Wrapping with more overlap in those areas will provide you with more cushion where you need it most. Just remember not to overlap too much or you may run out of tape.

As you approach the center bulge, make sure to have your scissors at the ready. At the center bulge, use the scissors to cut the tape as it will lay to make a nice, even end in appearance.

Using the supplied finishing tape (although my local shop prefers electrical tape), secure the end of the roll in place.

The photo below shows the nearly finished product. The left side is completely wrapped and the end plug has been fitted. Notice how the right side has overhanging tape at the bar end. This is the excess that will be fitted into the plug.

Using both hands, stuff as much of the excess tape into the bar end and secure it using the plug.

The finished product!

The last piece of advice I have is this: Save the trimming! You will undoubtedly end up with some extra tape at the end of the process. Save this tape. The next time you wrap your handle bars, remember where your hands need extra comfort and lay these strips over the bar in those areas. Wrapping over these strips will provide you with additional cushion right where you need it!

The increase in comfort was immediate and much appreciated! The tape has a suede-like surface that provides a secure level of grip. I have ridden with the new tape but have not taken it out on a wet ride yet. I suspect the wet grip will be drastically better than the original cork tape. Over-all I am extremely pleased with the quality of the bar tape and I suspect it will be my go to next time I need to rewrap my bars.