AG: Aunt Granny's Advice, or How to become an elderly cyclist:

On Tue, 05 Sep 2017 11:40:44 +0000, Ivan Shmakov
wrote:

John B writes:
On Sat, 12 Aug 2017 23:48:38 -0300, Joy Beeson wrote:

What I say:

Take the first sip of water as you are rolling out the driveway.
It sets the proper rhythm, and lets you know you forgot to clean
your bottle while you can still go back and do something about it.

What I do:

Last Saturday I was well beyond the bridge before I learned that I
had to go back and swap half a bottle of very sour tea for a full
bottle of chilled water. (I drank the tea -- diluted with plain tea
-- on Thursday.)

I ain't abuyin' no more opaque water bottles.

[...]

What I do is the night before a ride I mix my drinks, in this weather
two 1/2 litre bottles, in the hot season, four, and put one in the
fridge and one in the freezer, in the hot season on in the in the
fridge and three in the freezer. Which gives me "coldish" drink over
about a four or five hour ride.

It isn't a perfect solution as the bottles do warm up a bit but is
better then nothing. In really hot weather I stop at 7-11 stores -
there is one at nearly every gas station - and buy bottles of cold
water and mix them with any leftover drink that I happen to have.

In a tropical climate I find that some sort of "sports drink"
containing at least salt is pretty well mandatory. Or, at least my
experience drinking bottled water on a 50 km ride in 95 - 100 degree
weather was very debilitating compared with the same ride using a
sports drink.

Interesting. I typically take two 1.5 liter bottles of mineral
water (a specific local brand) for a 5 to 9 hours ride. This
summer, I had to buy one more along the way once, but with about
80 km covered (or so is my estimate), that was probably my
lengthiest trip so far.

My usual "Sunday Ride" will be between 50 and 70 km and I often weigh
myself before and after riding and have assumed that a 1 - 2% loss in
weight is normal for me. Whether it is, in fact, I can't comment but
on the occasional days when it is more then, say 2%, I feel more tired
then on days when it is less.


I saw no need to cool my drinks, even though the temperature
here in summer does reach 80-100 F. (One trip this summer,
the water felt almost hot. Never thought of it as an issue.)

It isn't an issue but it does seem much nicer to be drinking something
cold in warm weather and something warm in cold weather. Although I've
seen little cold weather in the past 40 years :-)

Also, as caffeine narrows blood vessels, I'm unsure if I'd like
to try mixing tea and pretty much any serious physical activity.

In spring or fall, one bottle is usually enough, but I still
take another just in case. (And for winter walks, I take one
0.5 liter bottle instead, as it's what fits nicely in the inner
pocket of my winter jacket.)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On 09/04/2017 02:22 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/4/2017 12:33 PM, NFN Smith wrote:
Frank Krygowski wrote:

Zoning out is relaxing, but it works only in ideal conditions.


To this end, I will *never*, under any conditions, ride with earbuds, no matter how
bored my brain might get. I'm far too dependent on hearing what's going on around me.

I tried it maybe twice. Once was on a remote empty road in North Dakota. And North
Dakota has some _really_ empty roads! But I still didn't like it. I can't imagine
doing it in a place where I had to pay any attention to other traffic.

I'm not so sure hearing is especially critical in bike riding [on roads] as one might
think.

Certainly it would be good to hear the sound of rubber crossing edge of road rumble
strips not too far behind you, but I actually rely more on my bike rear view mirrors
than I do sound. My hearing isn't great anyways and when mixed with traffic
background noise it lacks much in discriminating power (what's coming close behind me).

I rarely ride using earphones (ear buds don't stay in place for me), but I did try to
learn some Italian riding to and from work one summer before a late fall trip to that
country and I can't say it was especially precarious for me.


SMH

On 9/5/2017 1:41 PM, Stephen Harding wrote:
On 09/04/2017 02:22 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/4/2017 12:33 PM, NFN Smith wrote:
Frank Krygowski wrote:

Zoning out is relaxing, but it works only in ideal conditions.


To this end, I will *never*, under any conditions, ride with earbuds,
no matter how bored my brain might get.Â* I'm far too dependent on
hearing what's going on around me.

I tried it maybe twice. Once was on a remote empty road in North
Dakota. And North Dakota has some _really_ empty roads!Â* But I still
didn't like it. I can't imagine doing it in a place where I had to pay
any attention to other traffic.

I'm not so sure hearing is especially critical in bike riding [on roads]
as one might think.

Certainly it would be good to hear the sound of rubber crossing edge of
road rumble strips not too far behind you, but I actually rely more on
my bike rear view mirrors than I do sound.Â* My hearing isn't great
anyways and when mixed with traffic background noise it lacks much in
discriminating power (what's coming close behind me).

I rarely ride using earphones (ear buds don't stay in place for me), but
I did try to learn some Italian riding to and from work one summer
before a late fall trip to that country and I can't say it was
especially precarious for me.

I understand your point. My position may seem weirdly mixed: Personally,
I don't think riding with earbuds or earphones should be illegal, any
more than I think bicycling should be illegal for deaf people. But I
don't anticipate ever riding with earbuds.

Here's an interesting article about the issue:
http://www.bikexprt.com/bicycle/hearing.htm


--
- Frank Krygowski

On Tue, 05 Sep 2017 11:40:44 +0000, Ivan Shmakov
wrote:

Also, as caffeine narrows blood vessels, I'm unsure if I'd like
to try mixing tea and pretty much any serious physical activity.

To take any ride longer than to the grocery and back, I have to skip
my after-lunch nap. A bottle of tea about lunch time is a safety
measure.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

On Tue, 5 Sep 2017 21:50:02 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 9/5/2017 1:41 PM, Stephen Harding wrote:
On 09/04/2017 02:22 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/4/2017 12:33 PM, NFN Smith wrote:
Frank Krygowski wrote:

Zoning out is relaxing, but it works only in ideal conditions.


To this end, I will *never*, under any conditions, ride with earbuds,
no matter how bored my brain might get.* I'm far too dependent on
hearing what's going on around me.

I tried it maybe twice. Once was on a remote empty road in North
Dakota. And North Dakota has some _really_ empty roads!* But I still
didn't like it. I can't imagine doing it in a place where I had to pay
any attention to other traffic.

I'm not so sure hearing is especially critical in bike riding [on roads]
as one might think.

Certainly it would be good to hear the sound of rubber crossing edge of
road rumble strips not too far behind you, but I actually rely more on
my bike rear view mirrors than I do sound.* My hearing isn't great
anyways and when mixed with traffic background noise it lacks much in
discriminating power (what's coming close behind me).

I rarely ride using earphones (ear buds don't stay in place for me), but
I did try to learn some Italian riding to and from work one summer
before a late fall trip to that country and I can't say it was
especially precarious for me.

I understand your point. My position may seem weirdly mixed: Personally,
I don't think riding with earbuds or earphones should be illegal, any
more than I think bicycling should be illegal for deaf people. But I
don't anticipate ever riding with earbuds.

Here's an interesting article about the issue:
http://www.bikexprt.com/bicycle/hearing.htm

I had one of those "hi-bred" cars pass me a while back. It was fairly
wide road and not especially heavy traffic and he just sort of ghosted
by. I first saw him then his front fender maybe even with my shoulder
- scared me. As he went by and disappeared into the distance he was
totally quiet.

This is the only time that I can remember anything like this happening
and I blame it on car being so quiet.

--
Cheers,

John B.

On Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at 4:19:49 AM UTC-4, John B. wrote:

I had one of those "hi-bred" cars pass me a while back. It was fairly
wide road and not especially heavy traffic and he just sort of ghosted
by. I first saw him then his front fender maybe even with my shoulder
- scared me. As he went by and disappeared into the distance he was
totally quiet.

This is the only time that I can remember anything like this happening
and I blame it on car being so quiet.

That has happened to me a few times, but I can usually hear noise of their tires. What has unnerved me is electric scooters overtaking me on multi-use paths; they do not have particularly aggressive tread patterns and so make little noise that can be heard over traffic.
--
Andrew Chaplin

On Wed, 6 Sep 2017 07:55:20 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at 4:19:49 AM UTC-4, John B. wrote:

I had one of those "hi-bred" cars pass me a while back. It was fairly
wide road and not especially heavy traffic and he just sort of ghosted
by. I first saw him then his front fender maybe even with my shoulder
- scared me. As he went by and disappeared into the distance he was
totally quiet.

This is the only time that I can remember anything like this happening
and I blame it on car being so quiet.

That has happened to me a few times, but I can usually hear noise of their tires. What has unnerved me is electric scooters overtaking me on multi-use paths; they do not have particularly aggressive tread patterns and so make little noise that can be heard over traffic.

Yet another argument against MUP's I suppose :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

John B writes:
On Tue, 05 Sep 2017 11:40:44 +0000, Ivan Shmakov wrote:

[...]

I typically take two 1.5 liter bottles of mineral water (a specific
local brand) for a 5 to 9 hours ride. This summer, I had to buy one
more along the way once, but with about 80 km covered (or so is my
estimate), that was probably my lengthiest trip so far.

My usual "Sunday Ride" will be between 50 and 70 km and I often weigh
myself before and after riding and have assumed that a 1 - 2% loss in
weight is normal for me. Whether it is, in fact, I can't comment but
on the occasional days when it is more then, say 2%, I feel more
tired then on days when it is less.

I often take 500 g of rye bread with me, too; especially when I
have to skip breakfast so that I can take a morning train to
some remote location, from where I can meander my way back home.
I suppose that would mean no noticeable weight loss for me.

I saw no need to cool my drinks, even though the temperature here in
summer does reach 80-100 F. (One trip this summer, the water felt
almost hot. Never thought of it as an issue.)

It isn't an issue but it does seem much nicer to be drinking
something cold in warm weather and something warm in cold weather.
Although I've seen little cold weather in the past 40 years :-)

There was a talk on the annual students and young scientists
conference this April that went like this: "we've compared the
snow cover data for the past decade with this year [...] hence,
it will snow on 1st of May."

The talk was awarded first place for the section, IIRC.

It did.

[...]

--
FSF associate member #7257 np. Betrayal/Forgiveness -- Apocalyptica 230E 334A

On 9/6/2017 10:55 AM, wrote:
On Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at 4:19:49 AM UTC-4, John B. wrote:

I had one of those "hi-bred" cars pass me a while back. It was fairly
wide road and not especially heavy traffic and he just sort of ghosted
by. I first saw him then his front fender maybe even with my shoulder
- scared me. As he went by and disappeared into the distance he was
totally quiet.

This is the only time that I can remember anything like this happening
and I blame it on car being so quiet.

That has happened to me a few times, but I can usually hear noise of their tires. What has unnerved me is electric scooters overtaking me on multi-use paths; they do not have particularly aggressive tread patterns and so make little noise that can be heard over traffic.

That happened to me several times during my years of commuting to work.
I think it was a combination of noise in my ears from a headwind, plus
maybe some other traffic noise.

I trained myself to do a visual check before any lateral move, rather
than relying on sound.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Thu, 7 Sep 2017 22:19:12 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 9/6/2017 10:55 AM, wrote:
On Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at 4:19:49 AM UTC-4, John B. wrote:

I had one of those "hi-bred" cars pass me a while back. It was fairly
wide road and not especially heavy traffic and he just sort of ghosted
by. I first saw him then his front fender maybe even with my shoulder
- scared me. As he went by and disappeared into the distance he was
totally quiet.

This is the only time that I can remember anything like this happening
and I blame it on car being so quiet.

That has happened to me a few times, but I can usually hear noise of their tires. What has unnerved me is electric scooters overtaking me on multi-use paths; they do not have particularly aggressive tread patterns and so make little noise that can be heard over traffic.

That happened to me several times during my years of commuting to work.
I think it was a combination of noise in my ears from a headwind, plus
maybe some other traffic noise.

I trained myself to do a visual check before any lateral move, rather
than relying on sound.

In my case it wasn't a lateral move. I was just pedaling along toward
the outer edge of the outside lane minding my own business and this
black fender appeared. As the guy went by he wasn't unusually close
but that sudden appearance certainly surprised me.

As "normal" city traffic, here, will likely be traveling two to three
times "bicycle speed" it certainly is a wise idea to look before you
leap, as it were :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.