SmarterFitter Blog Less diet, more brain

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Thank you, Lifehacker, for introducing me to The Bicycle Tutor, a website that shows you how to fix just about any kind of bike problem.

Run by a photography enthusiast and serious bike geek, the site offers plain-English tutorials in both hi-res video and full text. The streaming videos are free to watch on the site, but you can buy QuickTime videos for a buck or two to load on your iPod and bring out to where the work is. It’s a good bookmark for everything from changing a flat to replacing your chain rings.

I so need to watch the How To Tune Up Your Bike video.

The Bicycle Tutor [via Lifehacker]

Best cycling tattoo ever: the classic chain ring smudge on the inner calf.*

The always useful tredz blog shares ten great tips for summer cycling. Most of the tips are great advice all year round, such as staying hydrated and carrying a quality bicycle lock, but they do point out one thing that I always manage to forget when the sun is out: SUNBLOCK! Very important stuff for keeping your skin happy and your tattoos bright.

Talking of sunburn, and I will be for the next three months being ‘strawberry blonde’, don’t forget to slap on plenty of sunblock. Cycling not only makes the rider vulnerable due to the typically long periods of exposure, but also the sweat on your skin will increase the effect of the sun. And of course you’ll look like a wally with the tan lines from your cycling gear.

My advice: keep a small container of sunblock with you. My sis gave me a stick of SPF 18 Hemp Tattoo Balm that I keep in my bag. It’s pretty good and the stick makes it easy to apply without getting my hands all nasty.

Top ten summer cycling tips [Tredzblog]

* This groovy tat belongs to my buddy, Michael. I was there when he had it done, using a picture of my real-life chain ring smudge as a template. I felt honored.

Last time I was in Paris, it seemed like everyone was getting around town on a shared bike. Velib, the program that runs the scheme, just released some spicy statistics that seem to support the popularity of bike sharing:

• Trips to date: 20 million
• Average trips/day: 70,000
• 190,000 annual pass holders
• 42% of users are female, 58% are male
• 94% of users like the service

This isn’t a surprise: bike commuting is the bomb. We all know it’s better for the planet and better for our bodies, but biking is also good for our health, and I’m not just talking about the fat-burning, booty-busting kind of health. Cycling is also good for the noggin’ (I’m guessing those 94% of satisfied Velib customers are as happy with the ride as they are with the service).

Case in point: Ali of The Office Diet had “one of those days” yesterday and one of the things that helped her get her stress under control was cycling home from work (despite the rain!):

Having an “active” commute, rather than taking the bus or train, really helps me to separate home and work. If I’ve had the sort of day that leaves my mind buzzing, a twenty-minute spin on the bike calms me down and helps me to relax before I get back to the flat. Even if you have to drive to work, try going for a quick walk when you get home – it’ll help you to banish any lingering work worries.

I know this doesn’t help the folks who rely on a car and a highway to get them to work, but surely more cities can take the clue from Paris: Happy cycling makes happy citizens! I know it’s made me and Ali a lot happier. How about you?

Rental bikes in brussels

Bike Share Love [Tredzblog]

You see it all the time: people cycling around town with the seat to short looking like their squatted over the toilet seat. Bicycle fit is complicated enough, but it’s even harder for women. Many women end up riding men’s bikes, which are designed for men’s wider shoulders and taller statures. Furthermore, seats can be especially uncomfortable for women who have comparatively wider pelvic areas (though now that I think about it, I hear more men complaining about their bike seats than women). Anyone riding a poorly fit bike will experience pains after cycling for a couple hours. And as Merry says on Cranky Fitness, this is the time of year when you want to go out for a long cycle ride:

If I sound preachy it’s because I think it’s really, really cool to go for a long bicycle ride out in the country where there aren’t a lot of cars but there is a lot of nature. You get to see things you never when you’re driving a car, plus it’s easy on your knees and you can get a workout while sitting down!

Amen sister.

In her post, Merry covers the often ignored subject of bicycle fit, making welcome mention of some chick-specific factoids we girlies should consider when sizing up our bicycles.

It’s true there’s a vas deferens between men and women. (That joke never gets old, at least not to me.) To quote the WOMBATS website (Women’s Mountainbike And Tea Society), women often have shorter torsos and longer legs than a man of the same height. Just because you and your boyfriend are the same height doesn’t mean you’ll be comfortable riding his bicycle.

Bicycling Sizing is COMPLICATED, at least for my feeble brain which relied on the very capable folks at Austin’s University Cyclery to size my bike. But if you’re more patient than I am, or you don’t have access to a bike shop with a kick-ass mechanic, then check out these excellent resources for bike fitting:

Bike Sizing For All

• Sheldon Brown’s Revisionist Theory of Bike Sizing
• Colorado Cyclist’s Article on Bicycle Fitting
• Edward Zimmerman’s Frame Fitting Site with Online Calculations

Bike Sizing For Girls

• Bike Fit a la WOMBAT
• Myra and Simon’s Bicycle Fitting for Small Women
• Women’s Saddles and Bicycle Fit by Pamela Blalock
• Myra & Simon’s Buying a bike that fits a woman

Since we’re talking about bike fitting, I have to make special mention of my Jamis Nova, pictured above. You might notice that that front tire is smaller than the rear tire. Why? It all boils down to my being vertically challenged. The bike has a really small frame, and as a result a bigger tire would result in my toe hitting the wheel wheel whenever I made a turn (this is called “toe overlap”). I think it’s cool that Jamis makes a small bike for shorties like me who like to tour, and I’m extra happy that I was able to meet a mechanic who was able to recommend it (a fellow female shorty at the aforementioned Cyclery - it was the last bike shop I visited when bike shopping in Austin, and by far the best and most capable). Terry, the “first and last name in women’s cycling”, uses the same technique. Myra & Simon get into this in more detail on their site.

And in case you can’t tell, I’m ga-ga for my Jamis Nova, who even carry a whole line of bikes designed for women. I’ve taken my Jamis across France and Wisconsin, up and down Texas‘ Hill Country, and a countless number of times through London and Austin. I’ve never experienced achy knees or a sore bum, just miles of good times and sunshine, with the odd goat and rain storm thrown in for good measure.

Who Says Size Doesn’t Matter? [Cranky Fitness]

This last year I’ve been swimming regularly and cycling every day. More recently, I began running. I’ve thought about doing a triathlon, but I’m a little worried. I should feel great from all this exercise, but often I feel sluggish and stiff. Am I not stretching enough? Sleeping enough? Eating enough? (Wouldn’t that be a wonderful problem to have?!) Sometimes I’ll have a great swim one day, and a lethargic run the next. Yesterday I took a brisk one-hour walk with Tim after swimming the day before - the walk totally conked me out. How embarrassing. I should be perfectly capable of walking!

It turns out that multi-sport training in tough, and it’s basically impossible to excel in more than one sport at a time. The New York Times explains that the body responds to different sports in different ways. Changes that help you be a kick-ass runner may screw your swimming. And if you think about musculature, it makes sense:

Swimmers need large muscles in their backs and shoulders. Runners and cyclists want small, light upper bodies. Cyclists need large quadriceps muscles. Runners don’t, and in fact they don’t want any extra muscle weight on their legs.

It’s just as well that I don’t hope to win any races; I just wanna have fun and be fit. In fact, training for a triathlon should be good for a recreational athlete like myself. Or so says the physiologists:

Cross training — cycling one day and swimming the next, for example — lets you maintain your energy and enthusiasm and avoid injuries that come from doing the same activity day after day. That’s also part of the appeal of being a triathlete, [triathlon coach Joe Friel] said.

“It’s fun to train,” said Kelly Couch, a 30-year-old triathlete from San Mateo, Calif. “Just being a runner, just being a cyclist, can get a little stagnant.”

Agreed: doing multiple sports is appealing, if only for the variety. But what about my energy? Are there any triathletes out there who’ve experienced this? I’m not even training for real, yet, and need a little reassurance that a triathlon won’t totally wear me out for all the other good things in life, like strolling in the park and throwing frisbees and playing pool.

For Peak Performance, 3 Is Not Better Than 1 [New York Times]

According to Martin, the bike’s creator:

I bought an exercise bike on Craigslist for $100. I rode it five times. It then became my footrest while I surfed the net, as it is next to my computer desk. Recently, I decided enough was enough, and I had to make it fit into my lifestyle. So, some hacking was in order.

Link

via Tredzblog

Fitness is just a happy side effect in Jes Schultz’ move across NYC. She and her friends did the whole thing by bike in less than four hours.

This film illustrates how with a little ingenuity, determination, and friends, it can be done without creating a huge impact on your environment.

But more than that, it also shows how fun life can be when you have less stuff and more friends.

Link (via Treehugger)

This might be old news for some of you, but I have to post an excerpt from one of JD’s posts on Get Fit Slowly. It’s a little bit on some cycling he did over the weekend…

On Saturday, I worked in the yard and didn’t get a chance to take a spin. Today, though, Kris asked me if I could go to Trader Joe’s to pick up some bread and some parmesan cheese. “Gladly,” I said.

This time I rode through Milwaukie, up toward Sellwood, over the three bridges path, and then up 39th to Trader Joe’s. I had to dismount once (climbing from the bike path to 38th — that’s a steep incline), but otherwise muscled through.

At Trader Joe’s I also picked up a Greek salad and some ginger limeade. On my ride home, I stopped at Sellwood park for lunch. I ate olives and feta cheese and onions and peppers and lettuce (no dressing — I don’t like dressing), rosemary bread, and limeade. Those who know me well understand that the fact that I chose to eat a salad is the most amazing part of this story. I never choose to eat salads.

As I was eating, the seagulls stood nearby and begged. They wanted my bread, but I didn’t share.

The ride home — in the glorious sun — was fantastic. Again I made it up the hill on River Road without dismounting.

JD doesn’t talk about “exercise” or calories. He talks about the simple joys that arise when you choose to get on a bike instead of into a car. It illustrates that

• You can learn to like physical activity (and salads!)
• You can incorporate exercise into your daily routine
• Exercise doesn’t have to be a chore

Huge congrats to JD on making such a huge step on his path to fitness.

Link to 20 Miles on the Road to Physical Fitness

My workmates look at me like I’m psycho when they find out I’ve been cycling to work all winter. Snow, wind, rain. It doesn’t matter - I ride anyway. The secret to my winter-riding success is awesome gear. As long as I’m warm and dry, there’s little stopping me. As a bonus, cycling is a great way to beat the flu season, whose main perpetrators are busses and tubes packed full of sniffly, feverish Londoners, paving a trail of mucus on their morning commute.

Matt Haughey’s got a great article on winter gear for cycling. He’s tried and tested the gamut of warm-weather gear and outlines the results according to the body parts were warmth is more needed: head, torso, legs, hands and feet.

• Head: Matt likes Gore’s skullcap and helmet cover; I’ve been getting away with a simple fleece headband
• Torso: Gotta be wind-proof and waterproof. Matt recommends a jacket by Gore, though I swear by my Endura Phoenix Jacket (plus a fleece base layer)
• Legs: Warm tights, like these Pearl Izumi Thermafleece tights
• Hands: Pearl Izumi Thermafleece Gloves
• Feet: I just wear Gore-Tex trailing running shoes and wool socks, but I see lots of people following Matt’s advice and wearing shoe covers.

Matt’s honest about the price: winter gear isn’t cheap, but good stuff will last for years and in the long run, you’ll save money on public transportation and cold medicine.

This winter, I’ve ridden several hundred miles in weather a lot of people don’t like to drive a car in. I’m fitter, healthier, and happier and when I have a couple hours set aside for a ride, with all this gear the weather really doesn’t matter anymore. It is expensive stuff and I’d guess it’ll cost you $500 and up to get fully outfitted but the difference is dramatic and these gear choices are the only thing making comfort possible in the freezing rain.

Link to Winter riding tips for your road bike (via Lifehacker)

Image courtesy of bunello