The Bike Whisperer

(right, Josh is the Bike Whisperer. He listens to bikes and diagnoses their owners.)

Josh smiled at me, “Did you get my message?” I had just walked into the service area at Conte’s Norfolk.

“No, I have not checked my home phone messages. Did you leave it there?”

“I left it on the number I have on file. Liz, there are issues.”

“Oh yeah, well, what else is wrong?” I had dropped off my Fuji cross bike for fresh stem and handlebars to be installed. I am pretty good about not going long with the same stem and bars after seeing what can happen to overused ones. I also had new brake pads installed.

“Are you the type of person who lets things pile up?” He looked at me a bit sideways.

The mail pile, coffee cups in the car pile, clothes pile on the bed pile rushed my senses and I was sure he could see them all in my eyes. “Why, yes I am, Josh.”

He was standing, so I felt I should sit. I lowered myself awkwardly onto a rolling ParkTool stool as he spread glue on a sew-up tire. I love to watch mechanics work.

“It’s not that the bike is in bad shape, it’s that it could be so much better,” is how he started. I recognized the sentence structure as ones that counselors use. “Those brake pads were down to nothing, rear wheel is out of true, the cables need replacement, blau, blau, . . .” I could do nothing but nod my head and agree that the bike needed more TLC as he put it.

“Did you even notice that you could barely shift into the big ring?” he asked, exasperated.

The shifting indeed had been nagging in the back of my mind. “That’s one of those frogs in the boiling water things, Josh,” is the best I could come up with. I was happy that he didn’t get what I meant so then I could at least tell him something he didn’t already know. The other mechanic in the shop chimed in and we explained how when heat is applied gradually to a frog in water, that it does not sense the danger until it’s too late. He feigned amusement for my sake.

“How often do you clean the chain?”

I knew I could score points here. “About every three rides.” It was the truth. I knew better than to fib. He was satisfied with that. We chatted a bit about chain lube and he didn’t even criticize my choice lube (White Lightening) as others have.

“So what’s the next step?” he asked as I got up from the stool. I recognized that he was not telling me what to do, but helping me figure it out for myself. Great guy.

“I am going to order a chain, cassette, pulleys and cables.”

“No, not pulleys yet. Let’s wait to see if you need them with the new chain.” He isn’t into wasteful spending. Perfect mechanic.

It’s a cliché to cite “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” but here it goes. The speaker tells about how he and his wife maintain their motorcycles whereas another couple does not. Their differing views about maintenance cause friction because they reach on a deeper level to their attitudes about life in general. I put the book down after 70 pages of a 350+ read, but this maintenance thing has always stuck with me since I identified with the 2 who were less engaged in the maintenance process. I remember paying much better attention to my car and motorcycle after reading those 70 pages many years ago.

I started to think of those who ride bikes that I most admire, and, surprise, they all have extremely clean and well-maintained bikes all the time. I also realized that Josh had pointed out an aspect of my personality that I have had a hard time putting a name to. I am not exactly a procrastinator. I know I am not lazy.

He had said, “Are you the type of person who lets things pile up?” I am a PILE-UP-ER!! I somehow “like” to allow and even watch things, tasks and even wrong thinking pile up. It’s never far from my mind what needs to be done, but there is big part of me that likes to see how far things can go before they implode. It’s exciting somehow. I sure need to better balance that urge. Let me go sift through those phone messages. . . .

(left, Conte's Norfolk is complete with an outdoor shower in a private courtyard.)

Parties in Norfolk, VA

(left, The sun is setting fast on the Monday night Norfolk road ride from ECB. It's back to mountain and cross bikes for evening safety.)

Norfolk winter rides begin next week!

Wednesdays: Major party on wheels.

Time: roll 6:00 pm, begins Sept 19

Place: Norfolk Conte's, 21st Street in Ghent

Required: Mountain or cross bike only. Knobbies, no slicks. Front lights and rear blinky. Experienced riders only. A pace.

Route: 40 min road ride through Ghent, downtown, Berkely, Ford suburbs, Indian River to Ipswitch trail in Chesapeake. 30 min singletrack ride on a route marked with reflectors. 40 min return to Conte's. Perfect 2 hour ride.

Note: We need another ride leader to help. A fast singletracker who can lead the first group through Ipswitch as I lead the second group. Someone who can be there most every week.

Mondays: Urban Assault through Norfolk neighborhoods: Larchmont, ODU, Meadowbrook, Navy Housing, Talbott Park, Riverfront, Colonial Place, Park Place, Ghent, Downtown, Berkley, West Ghent

Time: roll 6:00 pm, begins Sept 17

Place: East Coast Bikes in Ghent, Colley Ave.

Required: Mountain or cross bike only. Slicks are ok on 650 c wheels but stick with knobbies on 700 c wheels. Front lights and rear blinky. Experienced riders only. A pace.

Route: Wes has published a map of the route. 30 mile loop. There are no dirt sections, but we do cut onto sidewalks and bike paths in sections to connect the neighborhoods.

History: I don't think either one of us remember exactly how long we've been leading this Monday ride, or even how it all came about. I just remember being tired of driving to VB or Chesapeake for winter group rides and figured someone needed to get something going in this town. I think (?) we used to run it on Wednesdays, and I know that every year we forget the exact route we used the previous year. But it has been a standing winter ride for at least 5 years and it's great fun and training.

The Wednesday winter ride started in Sept 2006 when Wes wanted to get some dirt training in prior to Tidewater Mountain Bike Challenge. It ran through March. Wes is not able to make Wednesdays this year, and I plan to run it through February assuming I can get some help in the singletrack when the group splits in two.

Another Note: If you are new to pacelining or singletrack but still want to do these rides, it's best if you and I (just us two:) get together in the day time to practice. I am willing to meet with anyone who wants to learn some basics before getting into a nighttime group situation. Just email me and please pass this along to anyone interested.

Mountain Monologues--Final

(left, The arrow marks the location of Martha's grave on the Shenandoah Mt. 100 course.)

(left, Martha paid with her life on a Shen Mt. 100 climb.)

Lots of talk about Landis and Eatough at Shenandoah, but the real story is Sue Haywood. She won the women’s race against a very stout field of 40 (50 minutes faster than 2nd woman) and was 12th OVERALL with a 8:12 time. She shattered the course record (hers) by 27 minutes and apparently was waving to spectators and being all cool like she does the whole way. Legendary.

I figure women like Martha Moats Baker who attempted to conquer Brushy Mt. one winter paved the way for all of us who try to get up that thing without dying.

A work colleague asked what one thinks about for 13 hours on a mountain bike. I told her that it takes me back to a pre-language state, when thought is formed with pictures and rudimentary sentence fragments. Transported back to when food, feeling comfortable in the diaper area, and anticipating the next nap (aka downhills) are the capacity of logic. Meditating on trail ahead, glancing around a bit, projecting myself to the top of the next climb or imagining myself at the next aid station, handing off my Camelback for a refill, reaching for a PBJ and maybe a banana. Looking hard into the eyes of baby head rock climbs and never reflecting on ground already covered--what a waste of energy that would be. Repeating chunks of lyrics, “I don’t have digital, I don’t have diddly squat, it’s not having what you want, it’s wanting what you’ve got” and loving disk brakes, Specialized saddles but hating Cannondale’s HeadShok. I paid tribute to Martha at least once an hour.

Those are the sum of my thoughts, the same ones turned over and over with little variation because anything more sophisticated would have expended too much energy. It was a major goal for me to finish after I vowed never to attempt it again 4 years ago. I set a 14- hour goal and finished in 13:27. Doing so among so many pro and elite athletes was such a rush.

Congratulations to my comrades Jerry, Wes, Kevin, Kay Lynn, Bill, Tim, Mark and Fireman John who all finished.

(right, Kay Lynn and I pose at the finish line. We both abandoned the race in 2003 and finally returned this year for revenge. Photo by Mike McMahon.)

See article by Sue George.

Harden up

(left, My colleague and designated runner, Spinella, saved me from a few more complaints.)

I am a positive person. So let me get out all my complaints before this race so I can get back to being positive. The top 4:

4--I went back to work this week. Nuff said.

3--My left crank arm is very stuck. Made it impossible to tighten bottom bracket which has been creaking. Josh said that BB does appear to be tight though.

2--I determined that the primary constant creak that will drive me mad on a long ride must have been coming from lack of grease on the seat bolt. I took care of that all by myself but not until after dropping things and cussing a bit since non-mechanics need 3 hands for that job.

1--My “good” leg is tweaked. I have come to depend heavily on my left leg since I have a lame right let. I managed to get the left one sore from lateral movements in a softball game of all things. I knew playing was not a good idea before a big event, but how could I resist? The history department challenged the English department and I picked up a glove and reached for balls for the first time in over 20 years. I am so grateful to Sharon who suggested that if I was going to play a few days before the event to at least get a designated runner when I bat. I took her advice and am so glad I did because a few sprints to first base would have done me in.

Sharon gave me another piece of advice: As I am riding, remember HTFU. So true.

(left, Sharon is on the line at Amphib Assault with that HTFU look. Photo by JB.)