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Off-topic in one way and on-topic in another, since part of a writer’s life includes keeping the writer’s body capable of functioning. (Much as writers live in their heads, all that creativity requires a live, breathing, heart-beating body to sustain it.) I know that, but circumstances in the family have put the focus elsewhere for the past (mumble) years and I realized this year I’d stretched the elastic limits of this body’s ability to keep up without maintenance.
So–long story short and leaving out all the excuses I made for not starting earlier, for ever letting things get this far, etc.–Grace-the-Bike came to live at our house and I started trying to recover. This was, in three weeks of hindsight, like deciding ( after years of not riding a horse and letting myself get fat and flabby) to climb on a big energetic hunter jumper and galumph around a field and over a few jumps “just to get in shape.” Yeah. Auntie Grace is not a nice calm school horse who will walk awhile, trot awhile, stop when asked. No, she’s the bicycle equivalent of the hunter, the event horse, the horse that has a lot of GO and relatively little tolerance for old, fat, flabby riders.
However, this old fat flabby rider has reconditioned before (on horses, with a local pool in which to swim laps, and a Nordic Track) and things are, in fact, moving along. Not as fast as they did 17 years ago, but they’re moving. Getting the bike trainer thing so I could do my minutes on the bike even when it was too wet to ride in the horse lot worked out as I’d hoped–no loss in the days of wet & mud. Getting the new exercise heart rate monitor worked out like I’d hoped (in combination with the bike trainer thing, and also for walking.) Riding on the trainer let me learn to change gears (and which direction was which), an additional advantage.
But this afternoon, after a brisk walk this morning when I checked on ground conditions on the proposed route, I got back on the bike to ride it for real. In fact–across the top of the north horse lot, out the gate, and across the near meadow on the mowed (and compacted by the lawn tractor my husband rides) path. Stopped at the ditch crossing (a rock crossing with little-bitty-rocks on top–pretty smooth) and straddle-walked the bike across that and up the path on the other side to the first terrace berm. Turned it around, waited for HR to drop to about 75% theoretical max, then started back. Downslope to the crossing, zipping across the gravel, up the other side, across the near meadow (over half upslope to the horse lot gate, which is open) through that gate and back to where I started.
Grace the bike did very well. In face, riding on compacted grass track was easier than riding in the mixed dirt/grass clumps/ etc. of the north horse lot (though farther from the house if I had taken a dive.) Comparing my dismal introduction to today, though I’m still not sure Grace is the bike I want to ride for the rest of my life, I know we’re going to have some happy times. And the conditioning is working (though slower than I like) because three weeks ago I couldn’t have done that. After awhile, you’ll have a healthier author who will last longer.
Thank you for listening.
Comment by Gareth — August 24, 2012 @ 4:27 am
Sounds great. I’m now cycling to work most days when the weather isn’t too bad. Aim to keep it up until the clocks change (don’t like cycling in the dark with the amount of traffic on the roads round here).
I find exercise helps me concentrate afterwards – getting the circulation going seems to get the mind going as well. Hope it does for you.
Keep it up!
Comment by Daniel Glover — August 24, 2012 @ 6:19 am
As they say at the Ren Fest in these parts, “Huzzah!”
Comment by Karen — August 24, 2012 @ 7:12 am
I don’t have any dirt or grass to fall onto (if I did, I might give in to my own urge to take up bike riding after a thirty-year gap more readily), but your account is making my wallet itch. There are a lot of places I could go that are just out of walking distance where I live — and a bike would get me there faster than public transport and more cheaply than a car.
Not to mention (since you were so much more eloquent), that biking has health benefits.
Comment by Jenn — August 24, 2012 @ 7:26 am
What is that old adage about riding a bike? 🙂
Comment by JohnMc — August 24, 2012 @ 2:02 pm
@Jenn I think it reads,the only thing you forget is the ammount of times you fell off.
Comment by elizabeth — August 24, 2012 @ 2:17 pm
Jenn: Incomplete, that’s what it is. “You never forget how to ride a bike…exactly like the bike you rode before.”
JohnMc: No, I remember the times I fell off. For one of them, I can point to the scar.
Comment by elizabeth — August 24, 2012 @ 2:18 pm
Karen: Not that I’m urging you (really, I’m not! Promise!) but if you do decide to go back to biking, choose a bike that rides like the one you used to ride. Try it out (wearing long pants, tough shirt, helmet, all that stuff) before you buy it.
Comment by elizabeth — August 24, 2012 @ 10:44 pm
I think my theoretical max heart-rate is wrong, because I hit it today and didn’t fall over. (Did have to stop and pant for awhile.) Turns out there are multiple ways of calculating it, and two of them give me a higher max rate based on age than what I’d seen most places.
Made it halfway to Cloud (the third rain-barn) before exhaustion hit. It was in the low-90s in the evening, clear sky, sunny, but a breeze that made it better.
Tonight is requiring ibuprofen for the various aches and pains, or I won’t sleep even though tired.
Comment by Karen — August 25, 2012 @ 12:21 am
Unfortunately my beautiful red Schwinn isn’t made anymore (it was a girl’s 10-speed — so that I could ride it while wearing skirts — with a light-weight frame that was perfect for city streets).
But you’re absolutely right. In my mind, she’s the bike I dream of replacing whenever my wallet gets itchy.
Comment by elizabeth — August 25, 2012 @ 7:49 am
For permanent use (and carrying more stuff than Grace is designed to handle) I’m eyeing the “cruiser” type of bike…also known now as a “mixte” or “step-through.” Could be ridden wearing skirts, but also serves the older gentlemen who can no longer swing a leg over a typical man’s bike without difficulty and the lady in slacks who’d rather not. Some of these are multi-speed; frame weight varies, as does suitability for off-road use. And price.
I would like to be able to carry stuff when riding on the land–the tools I might need (the compact lopping shears, folding pruning saw, machete (great for pruning back cactus), and other things seasonally, plus camera gear, binoculars, water, lunch) and also when riding to town, so I can pick up some groceries. Front basket and panniers would be needed and Grace simply can’t do that. (I could also ride with the big backpack on, but that’s a balance problem…safer to have the stuff lower down, on the bike itself.)
Not that I’m trying to enable your bike purchase or anything like that.
Comment by Kathy_S — August 25, 2012 @ 4:59 pm
Could you give Grace the kind of back rack that holds panniers? They seem to be available for many bikes. From mine hang a pair of panniers designed to hold a large brown grocery sack each, since that’s their usual job — also often a sack of potatoes or something bungee-corded between the bags. I haven’t succumbed to a front basket, probably due to childhood memories of things bouncing out and hitting riders in the face. Logically, of course, things should have been tied down, but I don’t remember anyone doing it. Anyhow, I’m not sure I could deal with much more weight, given that I already get off and push when going uphill with groceries….
Comment by elizabeth — August 25, 2012 @ 6:19 pm
Kathy_S. No, because it has back suspension as well as front suspension…it’s a full suspension mountain bike. You can’t attach anything to the seat post and the rear axle because they don’t stay the same distance apart.
Comment by Karen — August 25, 2012 @ 6:36 pm
Kathy S,
That’s my fear in trying to replace my beautiful Schwinn — that most bikes today seem to put a premium on “sturdiness” over lightness of weight.
My pretty red Schwinn wasn’t marketed as a racing bike, but it was almost as light (but still amazingly sturdy yet flexible). I had a basket in front that was somehow built backwards from the one I had on my first bike (a one-speed Schwinn built for a kid who’s just tall enough to out-grow a tricycle) so that it was larger at the bottom than it was at the top, which discouraged anything from flying out.
On the back, my dad insisted that I have a flat surface installed directly above the rear tire that had springs that overlapped from both ends so that I would never wear my backpack while riding it (I did anyway, but wouldn’t now). I have no idea what it was called, but I suspect that it would have easily accommodated paniers (Dad’s backpacked most of the Muir trail, climbed most non-external oxygen level approaches to Mt. Whitney with our church group, and used to deliberately scare me as a toddler by weaving back and forth on his own bike, which had a child’s seat over the back tire, so he tends to get excited over discussions of how to distribute weight for maximal stability — which means I should probably ask him for advice, except for the fact that I know he’d give it ;=/).
And, no, gracious hostess, I would never accuse you of pushing me towards such a purchase. The problem is that, as my own memories come flooding back, it feels like a mere nudge could tip the scales.
If only I could have another one like my pretty red Schwinn… but a quick glance at the website for the company that bought the Schwinn name reveals that 1) they don’t do real girl’s bikes anymore, 2) I have no idea what the difference is between an “urban” bike and a “road” bike, and 3) they don’t understand how pretty a red bicycle can be (they’ve got various shades of what I’d call grunge instead).
Ugh.
Comment by Iphinome — August 25, 2012 @ 6:51 pm
Your Ladyship, have you taken the time to find and print out maps of the Chicago pedway in advance of your trip to #Chicon7 ?
*tour guide mode*
_As you know_ while at the con at some point when you will be in search of food. Someone will point you down some connecting hallway or tunnel to other nearby buildings. That will put you into the confusing, even for locals, passages of the pedway.
Begun in 1951 the pedway system of underground, ground level and above-ground passages connects locations thought the loop. At pedway-level you will find many chain and local eateries, along with shop and profession building entrances. People who work in the area find it a convenient way to travel in bad weather.
If you are too pressed for time I would be happy to print out maps and deliver them to your first scheduled panel.
Comment by Karen — August 25, 2012 @ 7:26 pm
Iphinome,
I’m green with envy. I hope that your Windy City hospitality will make our gracious lady feel right at home.
Gracious Hostess,
I just remembered e-Bay, and would have plunked down a frightening amount for a near-mint blue version of my pretty red bicycle, if the shipping hadn’t been so horrendous.
Oh, dear. I think I’m in trouble now!
Comment by elizabeth — August 25, 2012 @ 7:51 pm
Karen, I agree that new bike colors are generally uglier than the bike colors of the ’50s. Grunge just doesn’t appeal. Neither do the various shades of burnt-orange/rust/etc. or the lime greens or the wimpy pastels. If I had my druthers, my bike would be a good rich blue with white trim, or a good rich (candy-apple) red with white trim. But there’s always spray paint. My college bike came to me in some color I’ve mercifully forgotten and I sprayed it a rich red and then painted imaginary animals on it in pink (it was never stolen…not only was it distinctive, but I suspect most bike thieves went blind when they looked at it!) I do know (since I was researching it) a little about the diff. between urban and road bikes, and off-road bikes. Urban bikes are intended to carry stuff as well as people (not all road bikes are) and often have fewer gears–7, for instance, instead of bazillion. They often have a wider, more comfortable saddle, and offer a more upright riding position for better visibility in urban conditions and more comfort. They often have the advantage of the old “girl’s bike” in that you can step through them rather than having to swing your leg over the saddle and all. They may have wider tires, too. Road bikes are for serious riders who may be training to race, and have the “dropped” handlebars, many-many gears, narrow tires, narrow seats. They impose a racing-rider’s position on the bike. Off-road bikes have wider tires with aggressive tread, and if intended for serious hills and rough trails, have duel suspension like mine. They impose a more horizontal riding position, but don’t have the dropped handlebars. The horizontal riding position can lead to nerve damage in the hands from bearing so much weight on them.
Comment by elizabeth — August 25, 2012 @ 7:54 pm
Iphinome: Thank you! I would very much appreciate that, if you have time. My first panel is on Friday morning now, 10:30 to 12, “Who Are You?” Columbus AB Gold East (whatever the heck THAT means!) and it’s a joint panel with DragonCon which ought be very interesting. Right after it, I have lunch with New Editor.
Comment by Iphinome — August 25, 2012 @ 7:57 pm
@Karen I don’t think I can pull that off. She’s not particularly fond of the city’s tendency to use earth tones. *sniff* No respect for the proud Jedi who founded our fair city.
Comment by Iphinome — August 25, 2012 @ 8:17 pm
Oh a reply appeared while I was typing.
It means across the wide hall from the grand ballroom kitty corner from the bathrooms. I expect us all to get hotel maps in our registration packets.
I intended to attend that panel with pedway system maps in hand.
Comment by Karen — August 25, 2012 @ 8:28 pm
Gracious Hostess,
Since I was just looking — still just looking :-D, I’m tempted to actually buy my old bike, if I can find one in reasonable condition close enough to not pay more in shipping than for the bike.
It was a “Schwinn Varsity” model (and please, gentle lurkers, don’t out-bid me if I find one just because of my rave reviews). It had the step-through design you described as an urban bike (which is really nice if you discover that the easiest way to stop is to hop off the bike!), but the upper post was actually lower than most models I’ve ever seen because it had a convex curve as it neared the seat-post. This not only made it easier to mount and dismount, but the introduction of the curve is what gave it the flexibility I loved so much.
I know it wouldn’t fit your needs riding over grass and rough terrain, because the tires were too narrow, but it used to take me 5-10 miles at a time on frequently mountainous city streets with the ability to shift up or down without taking my hand off the brakes.
It had a sort of hybrid handlebar design. It was like a pair of rams horns, in that you had the ability to grip the handlebar and the brakes at the top, just like a coaster, as well as the ability to lean that bit further down (which would be a bit of a stretch now, but I might get more flexible if I tried) and reduce wind resistance in what I would describe as more of a racing position.
I don’t know where I would get the basket I had, but apparently the rear rack I had was called… a rear rack (I haven’t seen one with springs yet, but my wallet just started itching.
In theory, I think the most important parts of an old bike are probably the wheels (they must not be warped!), the gears, and the brakes. Almost anything else, I seem to remember I used to be able to fix….
And yes, spray paint could fix a multitude of sins!
Comment by Karen — August 25, 2012 @ 8:35 pm
Jenn,
I think I just discovered that I may or may not be able to prove out the old adage about riding a bike — but I definitely surprised myself with the wealth of detail I had stored in the deep, dark recesses of my mind about every single aspect of my old bike!
Comment by Karen — August 25, 2012 @ 8:46 pm
Iphinome,
I was so busy drooling over bicycles that I missed the reply to your post.
My mind is now truly filled with envy. Please do your best to make sure our hostess has a wonderful time for all our sakes!
Comment by Linda — August 26, 2012 @ 1:00 pm
I collapsed and sent for the 6 Day Samson on Tuesday, it appeared on Thurs. thanks to Fed-Ex, and is now at the local high end bike shop (the one which provides maps of safe routes in So. East VT) for assembly… I had talked that over with the very nice woman who answers the phone and had decided I’d rather have the pros do it than struggle with it myself. She read over the directions for assembly while I was looking for a parking place and assured me that having them assemble it was a very good idea.
I was relieved, as I didn’t want to think I’d wimped out on something anybody who can assemble Ikea furniture can do.
So, barring what may be a family emergency, I hope by the end of the week I’ll report on the learning curve. I was amazed at how light is is, even the super size was easy to lift.
Good luck in Chicago. I won an Anne McCaffrey book there many years ago at an ALA luncheon (1984 I think) and that lead directly to reading yours. I consider it a lucky sort of place …
Comment by Mollie Marshall — August 26, 2012 @ 2:01 pm
If we’re into bike talk, might I ask for advice? My husband’s bike has been sitting in the garage for 18 months now and I’m not sure whether to pass it on to someone/anyone or to try and transform it into a bike I could use myself.
It is a road bike – thin tyres, narrow (i.e. man-type) saddle, drop handlebars – but with panniers. I prefer to sit on a comfortable saddle and to look where I’m going rather than down at the road.
It would undoubtedly be healthier and more economical to get out of the car and on to a bike but, seriously, would this happen even with a transformed bike? It’s hard to break the habit of driving.
Any comments or advice welcomed!
Comment by Richard — August 26, 2012 @ 3:21 pm
Mollie,
After my office moved from being a 45-minute to a 25-minute walk from home, I progressively gave up cycling from dislike of:
– wearing waterproofs over office clothes (a sweaty combination) when it was raining
– narrow tyres getting punctured every two or three years (for which I blame the small potholes that don’t get mended soon enough in heavily-trafficed town main roads)
– 3-speed gear-change chain collecting dirt and gunge from the road (despite being well oiled), corroding, stiffening up and eventually snapping
– when all I could get for my last bike was a 5-speed, the difficulty with even such a basic “de-railer” of getting the rear wheel truly aligned, after changing its punctured tyre (the weight of the gear pulls the axle off-square in the forks while one is tightening the nuts; easy enough to counter provided one has 3 hands!)
==========
My aunt kept – and rode – the same bike for over sixty years before conceding it wasn’t going to come out of the garage again. A girl’s bike, late 1930s design, sturdy frame, plain black, no gears, handle-bar handles working the brakes (I believe) not by cable but by rods and levers.
Comment by Kathy_S — August 26, 2012 @ 4:41 pm
Very educational.:) I now know I have an “urban bike.” Who would have thought it? The salesperson called her a “granny bike.” She replaced my beloved titanium model, whose frame actually fell apart one day (yes, going uphill, with groceries) after only twenty-something years of service. (Surely titanium should last longer?) However, though I’d never have managed with her in the days when I carried a bicycle up and down 4 flights of stairs daily, I must admit Granny fits my current lifestyle better: fewer punctures and no more nagging from arthritis doctor to switch to a model with less pressure on wrists/shoulders.
Comment by elizabeth — August 26, 2012 @ 4:44 pm
Mollie: Unless you have a need for a road bike, I would suggest turning it in on a bike of the kind you used to like to ride. But first–if you live anywhere that you can rent a bike for an hour, I would suggest trying that before doing anything with his bike. The rental bikes I’ve seen have been of the “urban cruiser” type: step-through (more like a girl’s bike), more comfortable wider saddle, more upright biking position. (I haven’t ridden them, but I’ve seen them.) Or visit bike shops and try out different bikes. It doesn’t have to feel perfect right away, but it shouldn’t be as alien as Grace has been to me, unless there’s a real reason for it. If one bike shop seems to disrespect your need for a comfortable bike, go somewhere else…there are bike shops not dedicated to racing, mountain biking, and fit young guys.
Also consider where you’re thinking of riding it. Some roads and streets are extremely dangerous for bicyclists. Does your town have bike paths or bike lanes between where you are and where you want to go? Will you ride it to the post office, to the grocery store, to the bank? Or for exercise and fun primarily, at off hours on back streets? I have no intention of riding in city traffic–even on a bike that fits me better–because I have a stiff neck and cannot easily turn my head to one side to check for traffic, and peripheral vision is only moderate since my glasses aren’t wraparound.
I do, however, plan to bike to the convenience store a few blocks away, when I have a bike with cargo-capacity, and probably also to the grocery store, post office, and bank (though I’ll be walking it across the four-lane highway that pretends to be a street for the eight or so blocks through town.) Our other streets are narrow but then traffic is heavy only at certain times of day.
At any rate–try riding a little before you make a decision, enough to get your balance back, and decide then if you want to do it at all. That’s my advice.
Comment by pjm — August 26, 2012 @ 10:02 pm
Try before you buy – always excellent advice.
Another piece of advice I was given years ago and agree with is that you are more comfortable in the long run (ride?) with a range of good positions than with only one excellent position.
The dropped handlebars on my old road bike gave me about 4 useful positions, 2 of which were almost upright.
Peter
Comment by Genko — August 27, 2012 @ 11:33 am
Oh, okay, so I have sort of an urban bike. Which fits, as I ride it in the city. It’s 25 years old, basic black, a 3-speed (!), with rusted handlebars (which were replaced with stainless steel at some point from the original aluminum alloy, which bent in a fall) (but they rusted anyway), and steel spokes (replaced the aluminum ones that kept breaking), and just keeps going. I have collapsible baskets on the back.
You might say that one good motivation for riding it is that I sold my car some years back. I ride the bus sometimes, especially in January and February when the weather here gets icky (and when I broke my wrist last New Year’s Eve). But one place I do bike regularly is to the gym twice a week where I work out. I consider riding the bike a good warm-up, and part of the workout. It’s getting easier. And I’m gradually getting stronger.
Add to that the fact that I just got a blood test result that puts me into the pre-diabetic range, and I realize that I have to get serious about cutting out sugar and cutting down on portions of food. I’ve been kind of shrugging it off for the past several years, and it’s pretty clear that the time for shrugging is past, and the time to make permanent changes in my diet is now. Maybe I’ll actually get healthy in my old age.
Not that I’ve been unhealthy, exactly. I’ve also been blessed with a good constitution, and have done physical activity and healthful eating in my past, and have been kind of coasting on that. But as I age, it seems that the body needs a bit more present attention in order to keep going for a little while longer.
As you say, it tends to feel like a grind at first, but gets easier over time. What I find is that I have to have the will to do it, make up my mind, and then I can be very stubborn about it, or as I sometimes prefer to call it, persistent.
Comment by Ginny W. — August 28, 2012 @ 2:33 pm
I am fortunate in that my (urban and university) neighborhood has a “bike shop” for local kids to learn bicycle safety and maintenance. They periodically have (very) used bikes for sale – much cheaper than retail and an abundance of out-of-date bikes that look more like what I used to ride.
Karen: I don’t know where you live, but if you can find someone who handles used bikes, you find a close approximation to your bike. Good luck!
Comment by Elizabeth D. — August 28, 2012 @ 7:21 pm
I know that there will be Chicon before anybody gets back to this, but my husband has a friend who loves to bike, but who had a neck injury some years ago caused by somebody turning left straight into him. He had biked and hiked a lot before that. So, he and his wife bought recumbant bikes, the kind you lay back and peddle in a forward direction with a back support. It takes some getting used to for balance, but they swear by their bikes. They take long trips on those bikes: across Ohio, around the entire Lake Erie, etc. Those kinds of bikes don’t put the shoulders or neck in a bad position. I haven’t tried such a bike myself.
As a child, I would bike everywhere, but it was always tiring for me. It allowed some independence if I wanted to visit a friend in another town, although that gave my mother somewhat of a scare. I have a beautiful scar on my right knee that still has the little bit of soot that a teacher didn’t manage to wash out. Kids played outside all the time; we were made of cartilage because of all the exercise.
Comment by Elizabeth D. — August 28, 2012 @ 7:34 pm
P.S.: A bike to me is a basic girl’s bike, fairly thick tires, without gears. Low gear means one has to stand up on the pedals for a few strokes; the one gear is basically high gear. The brake is a pedal kick brake, because to me the hand brakes don’t work. The first bike I had with hand brakes and gears was in college, with lots of hills, and I simply stopped riding even though it would have been much faster to get to classes. With both hands squeezed as hard as I could, I couldn’t get that bike to slow down on a hill. With my old bike it would have been no problem at all. I could ride my old bike no hands over curbs, kick the brakes and come to a stop in front of the bike shed.
Comment by ellen — August 29, 2012 @ 2:39 am
I’m with you, Elizabeth D! I’m still kicking myself for chucking out my old dutch “grandma” bike, they don’t make them like that anymore. It had a rack over the back wheel, with elastic straps, and bags that hooked onto that, and it was so comfortable to ride, I never got the hang of handbrakes either…
Comment by Maureen — September 3, 2012 @ 10:10 pm
I bought myself a Huffy cruiser bike this spring, and rode it plenty in the nice weather. I probably could/should have bought a lighter bike, but I’ve put on a lot of weight and the other bikes just seemed so flimsy. I’d never had a back rack before, and that was unexpectedly awesome.