For the past month I've been cycling about 120 miles per week, not counting transportation. And as someone who is completely new to the concept of "training" (i.e. cycling with the goal to become faster, better uphill, and so on) I've been struggling with how to structure my rides. Last year the very notion of structure would have seemed completely ridiculous: I would simply go off on my bike whenever I had the time. But last year I never cycled the way I do now, never exerted myself to such an extent repeatedly. Now everything is different, and I feel completely lost in this new territory.One thing I've realised, is that if I do strenuous rides for more than two days in a row, on the third day my performance starts to get worse rather than better. Even if I don't think that I feel tired, it's as if my legs stop working properly. If you're an athlete, you are probably thinking "well, duh!" but to me this was a novel discovery. The idea of needing to rest and recover in order to improve did not have meaning until I physically experienced it.
What I am trying to figure out now is, what exactly does resting and recovering entail? Some advise that on days off, you absolutely must do "recovery rides" - 15-20 mile rides at an easy pace on fairly flat terrain - and that not doing them will result in stiff muscles and make it even more difficult to ride the next day. Others advise that on days off, you need to stay off the bicycle completely and just basically lounge around and eat so that your system can fully recover. Unless I am misinterpreting (which is entirely possible), these two points of view seem at odds with one another. So which is applicable under which circumstances?
Having tried both methods, I am still not sure which works better. I am also not sure whether transportation cycling (on an upright bike) is considered a type of recovery ride, or whether it's considered not cycling at all. Given that it activates a different set of muscles I suspect the latter, but I could be wrong. None of this stuff is intuitive for me, which makes it both frustrating and fascinating.
"Biker Chick". This t-shirt is sage green and features a drawing of a Mennonite(?) woman in a bonnet and apron, riding a step-through bicycle with a basket and baby chicks on the rear rack. (Take that, WSJ!) The size is marked "M", but I would say it is an XS-S - suitable either for ladies size 0-4, a child, or a very scrawny man. It is longish in the torso. 100% cotton.
"Go Gitcher Bike, Let's Roll!" This t-shirt is bright turquoise and features a drawing of a mischievous boy, about to take off on his 1950s banana seat cruiser. The size is marked "L", and I would say it is a ladies' L / men's M. In the picture I am cinching it at the waist, but in actuality it is loose throughout. 100% cotton.
Lakeview Cemetery, Larwill, Whitley County, Indiana
PERRY M WISEMAN
At the New England Bicycle Expoa couple of weekends ago, I had the pleasure of meeting legendary New England framebuilder Christopher Igleheart and briefly test riding one of his bicycles - an upright commuter model called the Yoyodyne. One cool thing about this bike - aside from it being an Igleheart - was the3-speed Sturmey Archer S3X hub - aka "the sex hub." Several people I know have set up their bikes with this hub and their feedback has been intriguing, so I wanted to try for myself. And what better way than on an Igleheart bike?
Located just North of Boston, Mr. Igleheart - like many local builders - traces his professional beginnings to the legacy of Fat City Cycles, where he started as an apprentice welder in the 1980s. By 1994 he had established Igleheart Custom Frames as an independent operation, spcialising in TIG-welded steel. In the chaotic environment of the Bicycle Expo, a sense of calm presided over the crowded Igleheart booth. The man is very comfortable with his work and discusses it in a way that communicates his experience and versatility. Road bikes, mountain bikes, transportation bikes and even randonneuring bikes - he knows them all, executing them in his distinct aesthetic.
Unfortunately, I somewhat dropped the ball on photographing this beautiful bicycle. The high noon light was unflattering from every angle, the background I chose was too busy, and people kept coming up to ask about the bike and distracting me. The results are washed out and entirely unworthy of the Yoyodyne, so I did what I usually do with ruined pictures: upped the contrast and at least tried to make them atmospherically interesting. 
The Yoyodyne is designed as a fun and comfortable city bike. This particular one has a green frame and an orange fork, which is an unexpectedly pleasing colour combination.
ColumbusZona is a comfortable all-around tubing that contributes to a plush ride quality. The welds are very cleanly done. The segmented fork is one of my favourite fork designs and I never tire of its various iterations from different New England framebuilders.
Components cater to urban commuting, combining good quality and budget considerations: single crankset,Soma stem and Oxford swept-back handlebars, cork grips, simple city brake lever, brass bell, and a front rack. [edited to add: I just learned that the price for this complete bicycle is $1900 - good deal!]
Cardiff leather saddle with copper rivets. You can't see this very well here, but the seat post has a special feature that allows the top of it to be easily detached and reattached, without having to re-adjust saddle position.
And of course, the exciting 3-speed fixed gear hub. A testament to just how distracted I was, I even failed to capture the "S3X" label. It's on the other side.
Sturmey Archerhas a new gear shifter for 3 and 5-speed hubs that is versatile in that it can be used both on upright and drop handlebars. I found it a little difficult to budge in comparison to the traditional trigger shifter, but perhaps that can be adjusted.
It's difficult to properly test ride a bicycle at a crowded Bike Expo, but I made a half dozen laps on it around the large parking lot in the back of the building, as well as cycled up and down the long driveway a few times. With a constant stream of cars coming and going it was like a slower version of actual urban cycling.
The ride with the S3X hub felt interesting, but I would say not entirely like a fixed gear bike. When I ride a single speed fixed gear, there is more to the sensation than merely not coasting. I feel like I have a direct connection to the drivetrain, and for me that is part of what makes riding fixed gear bikes enjoyable. This aspect is gone with the S3X: It basically feels like a nice 3-speed hub that does not allow you to coast. Shifting is easy and the gear spacing is just about perfect, but no matter what gear it is in, the feeling is not quite the same as single speed fixed gear.
On an overcast day, the Vienna Citibikes really stand out! But are they too bright to ride? I admit that I have avoided renting these, because I don't fancy riding around looking like an enormous advert for a bank.
Here are the tamer blue versions on the left, but they too are covered with enormous adverts. What do you think? More bout Vienna Citibikes here.
What luck I have. Beset by medical and dental problems simultaneously, the past few days have left me drained. We went for a super slow ride on Saturday, but even that was difficult to manage in my drugged up, diminished lung capacity state. But when we passed Cambridge Bicycle I knew there was one thing that could make me feel better. A basket. Of course. What better cure for life's woes?
I have been eying this particular basket for months, and finally she is mine! It is made by the Peterboro Basket Companyin New Hampshire, out of locally harvested White Ash. I think the model is this one. This basket is small, boxy, with a rectangular footprint, and it does not taper from top to bottom - which was exactly the style I wanted for this bicycle.
I refer to this as Basket 2.0, because I did not get along that well with the large wicker basket on my formerly-owned Pashley, and eventually removed it. This time around I looked for attributes that I hope will work for me.
For one thing, the Peterboro basket is fairly small, with a low profile and sides that don't stick out too far.It is also feather-light, made of such thin slivers of Ash that it almost feels like Balsa wood. Finally, we attached it directly to a front rack and not to handlebars, which minimises its impact on steering. Though the basket came with leather straps and metal buckles, we removed these and fastened it to the rack with zip ties. The straps and buckles were heavier than the basket itself, so doing this really made it weightless, as well as eliminated any potential jiggling. Cambridge Bicycle were nice enough to give us a handful of zip ties and some wire cutters, and we installed the basket right outside the shop in a matter of minutes.
When the basket is empty, I cannot feel it on the bike at all. It does not cause the wheel to flop to the side when the bike is parked.
It also leaves the frontmost tip of the tire unobscured, so that I can still see it while cycling. When a huge basket obscures the entire front wheel, I have a harder time feeling connected to the steering, but this is not an issue here.
When the basket is full, the weight feels well distributed and does not interfere with either steering or balance.With dimensions of 10.25" x 7" x 7" it is not meant to carry large objects; I have a rear rack and panniers for that. But the squat, boxy shape allows it to accommodate more stuff than you might think. As pictured above, the basket contains a huge portion of smoked salmon, a bucket of cream cheese, an economy pack of cheese sticks, a blueberry encrusted "goat cheese log," and a flower bouquet. There is room for more.
Since I am now using the mixte predominantly as a transportation bike, I wanted to maximise its utility as such. This basket provides a useful space for a jacket, camera, small handbag, or even a quick grocery store purchase, without impacting handling or (to my eye at least) marring the looks of the bike. The Co-Habitant wasn't too crazy about the look at first, but it grew on him. What do you think? What front-mounted basket systems have you used on your bikes, and have they ultimately worked for you? The difference between this set-up and the large, handlebar-mounted basket I used to have on the Pashley Princess is like night and day.
