Stepping up

Wednesday:

I had already chickened out of riding to Open Air Nursery and was
climbing the courthouse steps to make up for it when I saw the burger
truck on Center Street, but buying hot food made a good excuse for
riding straight home as fast as I could.

I climbed each flight three times, and there were fourteen steps in
each flight. How much of the extra mile did I make up for?

Two steps equal one rotation of the cranks. Seven times nine is
sixty-three. Round off to seventy-five because there were four extra
steps on the west side.

The development of a 27" wheel, my handy-dandy solar calculator tells
me, is 85".

Thursday:

Counting the teeth on sprockets and cogs is much harder than one would
think. Determining, with some difficulty, the number of legs in each
spider (five front and six back) and counting teeth between legs, I
come up with thirty-five teeth on my inner chainwheel and thirty-three
on my largest cog.

This can't be right. I'll just say that each turn of the pedals
equals two turns of the back wheel.

75 steps x 85" x 2/step x 1 feet/12" = 75 x 85" x 1/6 feet=
25 x 85 x 1/2 feet = 1062.5 feet.

About one fifth of the distance from the courthouse to Open Air.

I did come down the steps, but I have to come back from Open Air also.

The bisonburger was still warm when I got home. Lots of insulation in
the pannier helped.

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

On 11/13/2020 1:49 AM, Joy Beeson wrote:
Wednesday:

I had already chickened out of riding to Open Air Nursery and was
climbing the courthouse steps to make up for it when I saw the burger
truck on Center Street, but buying hot food made a good excuse for
riding straight home as fast as I could.

I climbed each flight three times, and there were fourteen steps in
each flight. How much of the extra mile did I make up for?

Two steps equal one rotation of the cranks. Seven times nine is
sixty-three. Round off to seventy-five because there were four extra
steps on the west side.

The development of a 27" wheel, my handy-dandy solar calculator tells
me, is 85".

Thursday:

Counting the teeth on sprockets and cogs is much harder than one would
think. Determining, with some difficulty, the number of legs in each
spider (five front and six back) and counting teeth between legs, I
come up with thirty-five teeth on my inner chainwheel and thirty-three
on my largest cog.

This can't be right. I'll just say that each turn of the pedals
equals two turns of the back wheel.

75 steps x 85" x 2/step x 1 feet/12" = 75 x 85" x 1/6 feet=
25 x 85 x 1/2 feet = 1062.5 feet.

About one fifth of the distance from the courthouse to Open Air.

I did come down the steps, but I have to come back from Open Air also.

The bisonburger was still warm when I got home. Lots of insulation in
the pannier helped.

Two comments: When counting cog or sprocket teeth, it helps to have a
uniform procedure. I put a chalk mark on one tooth, then start counting
clockwise, with the _next_ tooth counted "One" - same as the face of a
clock. The tooth with chalk is the last one counted.

And I think going up stairs is much more strenuous per step, or per
revolution, than riding a bike. On stairs, during each step you take
your leg supports your entire body weight. On a bike the force on your
leg is normally much less.

BTW, I think that's one of the reasons cycling tends to be easy on the
joints. Not only are the motions constrained (so there's almost no
chance of twisting an ankle, etc.) but the forces are relatively small.
Yet there is motion to provide circulation or stirring of synovial fluid
within the joint. A physical therapist friend tells me that has great
benefit.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Fri, 13 Nov 2020 12:49:35 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

Two comments: When counting cog or sprocket teeth, it helps to have a
uniform procedure. I put a chalk mark on one tooth, then start counting
clockwise, with the _next_ tooth counted "One" - same as the face of a
clock. The tooth with chalk is the last one counted.

My problem was that there are assorted things between me and the teeth
-- enough things that I had difficulty counting the legs in the
spiders.

I don't recall ever knowing how many teeth were on the gears. I just
bought the smallest chainwheel and the largest cog that would fit. All
I remember was that I said "I suppose I'll have you put it back the
way it was when I build up some muscle" and the mechanic answered "No,
you'll climb steeper hills."

Ah, I've just remembered the name of the shop: The Down Tube on
Central Avenue in Albany, New York. I'd be much surprised if it is
still there.

I wonder what the name was of the shop that I used to patronize on the
Troy side of the river? All I remember is how steep and long the
Hoosik Street hill was. And the bridge that was very much not
designed for bicycles. Google Maps The Hoosik-Street bridge is
even more hair-raising than I remember it, but there is now another
bridge just south of it. DuckDuckGo says it has been there since
1981.

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

Joy Beeson wrote:
On Fri, 13 Nov 2020 12:49:35 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

Two comments: When counting cog or sprocket teeth, it helps to have a
uniform procedure. I put a chalk mark on one tooth, then start counting
clockwise, with the _next_ tooth counted "One" - same as the face of a
clock. The tooth with chalk is the last one counted.

My problem was that there are assorted things between me and the teeth
-- enough things that I had difficulty counting the legs in the
spiders.

I don't recall ever knowing how many teeth were on the gears. I just
bought the smallest chainwheel and the largest cog that would fit. All
I remember was that I said "I suppose I'll have you put it back the
way it was when I build up some muscle" and the mechanic answered "No,
you'll climb steeper hills."

Ah, I've just remembered the name of the shop: The Down Tube on
Central Avenue in Albany, New York. I'd be much surprised if it is
still there.

I wonder what the name was of the shop that I used to patronize on the
Troy side of the river? All I remember is how steep and long the
Hoosik Street hill was. And the bridge that was very much not
designed for bicycles. Google Maps The Hoosik-Street bridge is
even more hair-raising than I remember it, but there is now another
bridge just south of it. DuckDuckGo says it has been there since
1981.


I bought my Bianchi Volpe from the Down Tube in 1990 or 91. But I think
it was on Madison. Not far from the tulips.

Duane wrote:
Joy Beeson wrote:
On Fri, 13 Nov 2020 12:49:35 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

Two comments: When counting cog or sprocket teeth, it helps to have a
uniform procedure. I put a chalk mark on one tooth, then start counting
clockwise, with the _next_ tooth counted "One" - same as the face of a
clock. The tooth with chalk is the last one counted.

My problem was that there are assorted things between me and the teeth
-- enough things that I had difficulty counting the legs in the
spiders.

I don't recall ever knowing how many teeth were on the gears. I just
bought the smallest chainwheel and the largest cog that would fit. All
I remember was that I said "I suppose I'll have you put it back the
way it was when I build up some muscle" and the mechanic answered "No,
you'll climb steeper hills."

Ah, I've just remembered the name of the shop: The Down Tube on
Central Avenue in Albany, New York. I'd be much surprised if it is
still there.

I wonder what the name was of the shop that I used to patronize on the
Troy side of the river? All I remember is how steep and long the
Hoosik Street hill was. And the bridge that was very much not
designed for bicycles. Google Maps The Hoosik-Street bridge is
even more hair-raising than I remember it, but there is now another
bridge just south of it. DuckDuckGo says it has been there since
1981.


I bought my Bianchi Volpe from the Down Tube in 1990 or 91. But I think
it was on Madison. Not far from the tulips.


http://downtubebicycleworks.com


Looks like they’re still there.

On Sat, 14 Nov 2020 14:20:45 -0000 (UTC), Duane
wrote:


http://downtubebicycleworks.com


Looks like they’re still there.

Cool! I doubt that it's the same mechanic, though -- he's at least as
old as I am, and I've been retired for twenty years.

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

On Sat, 14 Nov 2020 14:18:53 -0000 (UTC), Duane
wrote:

I bought my Bianchi Volpe from the Down Tube in 1990 or 91. But I think
it was on Madison. Not far from the tulips.

Madison sounds more right than Central Avenue.

(Took me years to learn to say "Center Street" after we retired here.)

Google Maps agrees. Way cool: there's a "Kim's Asian Market" about
where I think "Kim's Oriental Grocery" was. That was where I first
met rice cakes. "I want a snack, hey rice is *perfect* %#+&! --
there's no *food* in this!"

I miss buying ramen labeled in four or five languages, none of which
use the latin alphabet. But spouse is no longer allowed to eat
noodles, and a packet is too much for one.

It amused me to buy hot sesame oil on the same trip that I bought 12%
vinegar -- what a *zingy* salad I could have made! I pickled garlic
by simply dropping bulbils into a bottle.

When I can go into stores again, I must ask whether Warsaw Health
Foods can order full-strength vinegar.

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

On Fri, 13 Nov 2020 12:49:35 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

And I think going up stairs is much more strenuous per step, or per
revolution, than riding a bike. On stairs, during each step you take
your leg supports your entire body weight. On a bike the force on your
leg is normally much less.

One year I came back from the September Century saying someting like
"I can't believe I finished when I never had time to ride more than
fifty miles in practice."

My spouse pointed out that we lived in a house with three levels: the
kitchen was on the ground floor and the food was in the basement. We
kept our clothes and linens two flights above the washing machine --
and I had to run down and up the cellar steps every time the spin
cycle ran, because the plumbing was below the sewer line and automatic
pump switches were not reliable.

Once I ran down one fewer steps than there were, and I was still lame
when we took a bus tour to see The Phantom of the Opera.

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

Joy Beeson wrote:
On Sat, 14 Nov 2020 14:18:53 -0000 (UTC), Duane
wrote:

I bought my Bianchi Volpe from the Down Tube in 1990 or 91. But I think
it was on Madison. Not far from the tulips.

Madison sounds more right than Central Avenue.

(Took me years to learn to say "Center Street" after we retired here.)

Google Maps agrees. Way cool: there's a "Kim's Asian Market" about
where I think "Kim's Oriental Grocery" was. That was where I first
met rice cakes. "I want a snack, hey rice is *perfect* %#+&! --
there's no *food* in this!"

I miss buying ramen labeled in four or five languages, none of which
use the latin alphabet. But spouse is no longer allowed to eat
noodles, and a packet is too much for one.

It amused me to buy hot sesame oil on the same trip that I bought 12%
vinegar -- what a *zingy* salad I could have made! I pickled garlic
by simply dropping bulbils into a bottle.

When I can go into stores again, I must ask whether Warsaw Health
Foods can order full-strength vinegar.


I lived off Central on Austain. Not far from SUNY. Albany was an
interesting city but they rolled up the streets early.

On 11/15/2020 11:46 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:
On Fri, 13 Nov 2020 12:49:35 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

And I think going up stairs is much more strenuous per step, or per
revolution, than riding a bike. On stairs, during each step you take
your leg supports your entire body weight. On a bike the force on your
leg is normally much less.

One year I came back from the September Century saying someting like
"I can't believe I finished when I never had time to ride more than
fifty miles in practice."

My spouse pointed out that we lived in a house with three levels: the
kitchen was on the ground floor and the food was in the basement. We
kept our clothes and linens two flights above the washing machine --

That's exactly what we're doing today.

Similarly, I can remember doing repairs in top floor bathroom in this
house as well as another house. I remember the most fatiguing part of
the job was carrying some one-pound tool or another, PLUS my body
weight, up two flights of stairs. It got tough when the job demanded
more and more tools. I was wishing for a teenage "gopher."

You know - "Gopher the pipe wrench." "Gopher the propane torch," etc.


--
- Frank Krygowski