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Bike Noob

  • Be Seen, Be Safe

    Number of comments: 8
    The clock has been set back, the leaves have fallen and it’s dark and cold mornings in many places. I ride for fitness so I ride my bike instead of walking on a treadmill or using an elliptical trainer in at a health club. I’m fortunate that the part of Northern [...]
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    Posted: December 03, 2009, 8:44pm EST
    by rainycamp

  • What’s Your Tire Pressure?

    Number of comments: 6
    From time to time, I’ve fiddled with tire pressure settings on my bike, but have settled in at a psi that I think works for me. The 23 mm tires that came with the bike listed a max pressure of 115 pounds. I used to pump them to 105, for no [...]
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    Posted: December 01, 2009, 10:40pm EST
    by rainycamp

  • Banning Bikes

    Number of comments: 4
    Sometimes, cities try to deal with real or imagined bike problems by taking drastic measures. The Austin American-Statesman reported last week on an ordinance passed in Manor, Texas, that bans bikes from a stretch of road in the small city. Manor is just east of Austin. The road in question is [...]
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    Posted: November 29, 2009, 4:35pm EST
    by rainycamp

  • Wrapping Up the Bike Fine Saga

    Way back in August, I wrote about an incident involving some members of my club’s B ride who were ticketed for not stopping at a red light before making a right turn. We were stunned to find that the fine for such a violation is $217. That struck most of us [...]
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    Posted: November 27, 2009, 6:11pm EST
    by rainycamp

  • Some Reading Over Thanksgiving Break

    Number of comments: 2
    We’re gearing up for a busy five days around our house. We’ll have relatives in for Thanksgiving. The holiday is not until Thursday, but they’ll come in Wednesday and stay until Sunday. My wife has some kind of activities planned every day for her sister, our son and his girlfriend, [...]
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    Posted: November 24, 2009, 7:35pm EST
    by rainycamp

  • Garmin, Shmarmin

    Number of comments: 7
    Guest poster Don Blount finds that sometimes, it’s better to just ride. This was to be an early morning ride. And because of my schedule, I had to be back home no later than 7:30 a.m. I don’t like these early wake up calls when it is dark and cold. According to [...]
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    Posted: November 22, 2009, 8:39pm EST
    by rainycamp

  • Minor crash statistics (Are there any?)

    Number of comments: 4
    After recent posts about my crash in the rain and its resultant slow-healing road rash, one Bike Noob reader sent me this email: There are few good statistics on simple-minor crashes. Crashes that involve a simple fall or losing control of your bicycle. The majority of bicycle crashes are in this catagory. I [...]
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    Posted: November 20, 2009, 12:06am EST
    by rainycamp

  • Road Rash

    Number of comments: 1
    After my crash a week and a half ago, I noticed that the road rash on my hip was taking awhile to heal. The abrasion took off just the very surface of the skin, but it was slow in scabbing over. The fact that I treated it like a “guy” [...]
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    Posted: November 17, 2009, 11:46pm EST
    by rainycamp

  • Goats and Ghost Bikes

    Number of comments: 2
    I decided to ride with the B’s this morning, even though I’m not fully recovered from last Sunday’s crash. But I felt pretty good on a 15-mile jaunt with my wife yesterday, and we were scheduled to ride one of my favorite routes today. I headed out to Dripping Springs, a [...]
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    Posted: November 15, 2009, 10:24pm EST
    by rainycamp

  • New Jerseys – the State of Our Kit

    Number of comments: 1
    Attended a meeting of my bike club tonight. The main item of business on the agenda was to figure out what to do about our club kit. Last year, the design of the club jersey was modified radically — a complete departure from earlier designs. The idea was to create something [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2009, 12:03am EST
    by rainycamp

  • CO2 or a pump? — It never ends

    Number of comments: 10
    I was chatting with a friend the other day who’s just getting into biking. He was telling me of his experience with his first flat. No pump, no CO2. He had a patch kit in his seatbag, but realized it was worthless unless he could fill his tire with air, [...]
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    Posted: November 10, 2009, 6:59pm EST
    by rainycamp

  • Lesson #11: Turn slowly in the wet

    Number of comments: 7
    Just adding here to the Top Ten Lessons enumerated in the previous post. Our B ride took a 38-mile route today in nice autumn weather, but the weather deteriorated as the ride progressed. We started in fog and temps in the low 60s (17°C). A little more than halfway through the [...]
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    Posted: November 08, 2009, 8:50pm EST
    by rainycamp

  • Top 10 Lessons Learned About Biking

    One of the mainstays of my club is Joe Ferguson, who leads our Sunday morning “A” rides. Earlier this year he got clipped by a pickup’s side view mirror while on one of those rides. He wound up at the hospital, but thankfully, his injuries weren’t too serious. Joe [...]
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    Posted: November 05, 2009, 9:15pm EST
    by rainycamp

  • Give a Little Bit…

    Number of comments: 8
    A few weeks ago, I signed on for my very first charity ride. Okay, it’s not really the first first, but it’s the first at which riders were encouraged to not only enter for the cause, but to do a little fundraising as well. It looked like a fun ride, [...]
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    Posted: November 03, 2009, 8:48pm EST
    by rainycamp

  • To get better — ride more

    Number of comments: 3
    I joined the club for its Sunday morning ride today. The B’s did a 30-mile round trip over rolling hills out in the country. It’s the fifth time this year I’ve done the ride, and I noticed one thing above all else: it’s getting easier. That’s not to say it’s an [...]
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    Posted: November 02, 2009, 12:34am EST
    by rainycamp

  • The San Marco Ponza revisited

    When I check my Bike Noob stats, one post keeps popping up among the most viewed of a given day — sometimes THE most viewed, even though it originally appeared way back in May. It’s the review I did of my saddle: the Selle San Marco Ponza. I’m pleased that [...]
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    Posted: October 30, 2009, 8:42pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • What kind of biker are you?

    Number of comments: 10
    As the cooler weather approaches, I’ve been contemplating the upcoming change in my cycling habits. Here in Texas, we can pretty much ride all year.  But experience tells me that I will be cutting back on the amount of saddle time in the weeks to come. But some of my friends [...]
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    Posted: October 28, 2009, 8:30pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Vertigo — Part 2

    Number of comments: 1
    Guest poster Don Blount continues the story of his recent crash — and its unexpected side effect. I awoke early Saturday, I think it was about 4 a.m., feeling woozy. The bedroom was dark, except for the glow of a smoke detector indicator light on the ceiling. The only problem was [...]
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    Posted: October 26, 2009, 8:47pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Vertigo — Part 1

    Number of comments: 1
    Our new guest poster, Don Blount, is getting over a nasty crash. Not only did he crack a helmet — and a wrist — but he had to deal with an unexpected side effect. I nearly always thought of vertigo as an Alfred Hitchcock movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak. [...]
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    Posted: October 25, 2009, 5:27pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Online bike videos

    Number of comments: 4
    In this age of easily accessible online videos, we bikers can take advantage of a wide selection of videos to cover nearly all of our biking interests. Sometimes, reading about something isn’t enough. We have to see it to learn from it. A simple search for bike videos will connect you [...]
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    Posted: October 22, 2009, 9:00pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Another writer joins the Bike Noob fold

    Number of comments: 4
    It’s a pleasure for me to introduce a new guest poster to Bike Noob readers. Don Blount has been reading this blog for well over a year now, and has contributed a number of ideas for posts (You may remember the occasional reference to “Don, of California”). Now Don, who [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 9:22pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Cool weather gear, or, the wuss factor

    Number of comments: 8
    It’s that time of the year again — fall. When days are warm, almost, and nights are cool — or downright chilly. For cyclists, it’s time to dig into the jersey drawer to see what new stuff we need, and reacquaint ourselves with our old standbys from last year. Friday evening, [...]
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    Posted: October 18, 2009, 9:08pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • A Few Things You Always Wanted To Know About Saddle Sores…But Were Afraid To Ask

    Number of comments: 2
    So there I was, stripped naked, one foot up on the tub, mirror in hand, contorting myself into positions that would make an adult film star proud… all the while hoping no one walked in and said something like “Uh, honey, that’s interesting,” or, “Dad, what exactly are you doing?” What [...]
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    Posted: October 15, 2009, 8:12pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Bike fit

    Now that I’ve had my bike about a year and a half, I’m trying to figure out how to tweak it a little bit more to get a little bit more out of it. One of the things I’ve been thinking about is bike fit. Like most of us, I had [...]
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    Posted: October 14, 2009, 12:46am EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Prepare at least a little bit for your long ride

    Number of comments: 5
    On Saturday, my wife Pat and I were out in rural Texas, volunteering at the first Mamma Jamma ride for breast cancer research. The ride featured routes of 10, 27, 46, 70 and 100 miles. I was part of the route safety crew for the 46-mile route. I teamed up [...]
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    Posted: October 11, 2009, 7:10pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Reviewing the bike review sites

    Number of comments: 3
    A new web site came to my attention this week. It’s a bike review site, called, appropriately, Bike Reviews.com. This site takes its place next to an older, established site, Roadbike Review.com. Each site has its strengths and weaknesses, and I thought it would be worthwhile to review the review sites. Bike Reviews.com Apparently [...]
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    Posted: October 08, 2009, 9:37pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Numb toe update — the new shoes worked

    Number of comments: 1
    Long-time readers will remember about a year ago I used to regularly carp about a problem with my feet. Specifically, my left foot. More specifically, the little toe on my left foot. It would go numb after riding much more than an hour, and bother me for the rest of [...]
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    Posted: October 06, 2009, 11:38pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Bike shop advice

    Number of comments: 7
    Just coming off a depressing weekend, bike-wise. I’ve had a nagging virus of some kind for several days, which has left me very congested. So, to give my meds a chance to work, I decided to take the weekend off from riding. However, that meant I could give the bike some [...]
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    Posted: October 04, 2009, 7:37pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • What saddle do you ride? — The results

    Number of comments: 2
    They say that the saddle is the most personal item of equipment on a bike, because every rider has different needs. This idea resurfaced during the “What saddle do you ride?” poll. There is no clear-cut winner. The results are notable mainly because of the wide variety of saddles that [...]
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    Posted: October 01, 2009, 9:43pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • It must be the wheel

    Number of comments: 5
    A couple of weeks ago, after I groused about my warped tire, my friend David suggested I come over and borrow one of his spare wheels. He recently bought them for his five-year-old Fuji, but then he decided to upgrade and got a new Giant Defy. So the Fuji and [...]
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    Posted: September 30, 2009, 12:19am EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Fitting in

    Number of comments: 3
    Jeff Hemmel is back again, telling of his recent attempt to ride with the big boys. Meanwhile, I’m still taking responses to the question, “What saddle do you ride?” Drop me an email. I’ll have a report sometime this week. Lately I’ve been feeling a lot like that little dude Hermey, [...]
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    Posted: September 27, 2009, 4:10pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • What saddle do you ride?

    Number of comments: 10
    Here’s a post on a subjective topic: saddles. We’ve discussed them in the past, and it always seems to be a topic of interest. This time around, I want to know what kind of saddle you’re riding, and what you think of it. This idea was suggested by our regular guest [...]
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    Posted: September 24, 2009, 8:07pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Computer pop-off

    Number of comments: 9
    This past Sunday morning, our club ride was making the transition from city streets to rural roads. The road got rougher as the scenery improved. It’s a road we ride often, so we didn’t think much about it — we just pumped away, and soon reached a Walgreens drug store [...]
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    Posted: September 22, 2009, 11:45pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Help a fellow Noob reader out

    Number of comments: 3
    This comment just showed up on a post from April of 2008. Since I don’t think most of you spend a lot of time reading my archives, I thought I’d move it up here. If you can help out, leave a comment. I just bought a used Ascent Delta 9 from [...]
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    Posted: September 21, 2009, 5:58pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • The Bike Fest

    Number of comments: 3
    This morning I decided to forego my usual Saturday morning ride to volunteer for the Kiker Bike Fest. This is the second year in a row that my club, the Circle C Ranch Cycling Club, sponsored the bike fest at Kiker Elementary School in southwest Austin. It’s a chance for [...]
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    Posted: September 19, 2009, 4:22pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Warped tires — what?

    Number of comments: 10
    A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I had a warped rear tire that may have been responsible for my broken front derailleur. At least, the tire — because of its bent shape — rubbed against the derailleur. The derailleur was fixed, and the tire replaced. But now, here’s what the [...]
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    Posted: September 18, 2009, 12:06am EDT
    by rainycamp

  • The Road Less Traveled

    Number of comments: 4
    Sometimes it’s good to get away. A lot of times, that’s exactly what cycling provides, an escape, be it from work, stress, boredom, whatever. Every so often, however, I think we need an escape from our own everyday ride. That’s why this summer, just before leaving for vacation, I put [...]
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    Posted: September 15, 2009, 8:28pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Riding in the rain

    Number of comments: 10
    I carefully checked the weather forecast Saturday night, because it looked like we would be rained on again on Sunday morning. After a record hot summer, Central Texas has been drenched in rain over the last four days. And if it was raining Sunday, I wouldn’t be riding. I sent out [...]
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    Posted: September 13, 2009, 8:12pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Time — how do you find it?

    Number of comments: 10
    College classes have started for another semester. I’m not a student, I’m a professor, and now that we’re back in full swing, I face the same kind of challenges many riders face — how do you find the time to ride? Contrary to popular belief, most college professors put in at [...]
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    Posted: September 10, 2009, 10:18pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • A minor milestone

    Number of comments: 7
    If you’ve been reading this blog for more than a few months, you’ll recall that I took a stab at a bi-weekly time trial run in my neighborhood. That was back in May, and at the time, I figured I wouldn’t bother with it again until September, when I would [...]
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    Posted: September 08, 2009, 11:07pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Tire poll results

    Number of comments: 5
    The other day I asked Bike Noob readers to send their tire recommendations. This, after dealing with a couple of flats myself, and getting an email from a reader who has had a rash of flats. The question was, What tire do you recommend for puncture resistance? While I was pleased [...]
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    Posted: September 06, 2009, 6:27pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Tune-ups — how often?

    Number of comments: 7
    After last weekend’s incident with the broken derailleur, I got to wondering. It’s been awhile since my bike has been in the shop for any kind of maintenance, and about 11 months since its last tune-up. While I do minor routine maintenance, it still needs the attentions of a pro every [...]
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    Posted: September 03, 2009, 11:24pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Flats — get different tires or ride it out?

    Number of comments: 10
    After my experience with a flat two weeks ago, and a warped tire last week, this e-mail from Don in California hit home: Flats have been bugging me for what seems to be the past month. I had a double blowout with old tires. I put on new tires and am [...]
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    Posted: September 01, 2009, 9:26pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Sometimes it’s not what it seems

    Number of comments: 7
    I showed up for the Sunday morning B ride feeling somewhat apprehensive. The rear tire on my bike had a noticeable warp. It wasn’t really a bulge, but the main tread of the tire got off center at one spot. I was worried it might fail during the ride. I put [...]
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    Posted: August 30, 2009, 11:38pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Patched tubes vs. new ones

    Number of comments: 10
    Last weekend, I flatted on my Saturday morning ride. I was only two miles from home, and was too worn out to change the flat then and there, so I called my wife and had her perform sag duties. That evening, in the cool of my kitchen, I pulled out the [...]
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    Posted: August 27, 2009, 8:44pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Dealing with biking tickets — not so easy

    Number of comments: 4
    Ever since the bicycle ticket incident, the four hapless riders have been trying to decide how to deal with their citations. Pippa (“I shall go to court because I’m British and like a good argument” – gotta love her) filled in a form stating that she wished to contest the fine [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 11:39pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • A confusing hand signal

    Number of comments: 10
    I see that hand signals continue to be a topic of interest on some biking blogs.  We all know the basic signals (As in the diagrams on the linked page, I signal a right turn by pointing my right arm straight out — I think there’s less chance of confusion). But [...]
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    Posted: August 25, 2009, 12:12am EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Random (Noob) Tips

    Number of comments: 1
    Jeff Hemmel diverts us from talk of stop lights and tickets with a sampling of tips for noob riders. As noobs, we have a lot to learn. I originally found this blog when I was trying to find out how to align my cleats. Chances are, many of you have also [...]
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    Posted: August 22, 2009, 2:40am EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Some states are enlightened on red lights

    Just spotted this link on the Springfield Cyclist site. Thanks, Tracy! http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/1380008.html Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: stoplights [...]
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    Posted: August 21, 2009, 12:35am EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Police crackdown

    Number of comments: 10
    I missed our Sunday ride two weekends in a row while on vacation, and it turned out that the first weekend  was much more eventful than usual. The B ride took a loop route that included some moderately challenging hills. Everything was going well, until the group reached an intersection just [...]
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    Posted: August 20, 2009, 1:14am EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Kevin Underhill

    Number of comments: 5
    One of the unexpected rewards of writing a blog is coming into contact with people I would never otherwise get to know. One of these was Kevin Underhill. I was stunned upon returning from Hawaii yesterday to learn that Kevin died Sunday of injuries sustained in a crash during the [...]
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    Posted: August 18, 2009, 4:39pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Heresy

    Number of comments: 3
    It’s heresy, I tell you. Away for a whole week in Hawaii (Maui, to be specific) and not one day of bicycling! The view from our hotel room. Yep, another lousy day on Maui. It’s not that we didn’t plan it. We were looking into bike rentals before we left for the [...]
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    Posted: August 17, 2009, 5:54pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Hiatus time

    Number of comments: 3
    I’m going off on vacation for a week. Some golf, some biking, some lolling about. So don’t look for anything on this site until Monday, August 17th. I won’t be taking a laptop along, I won’t be tweeting, I don’t send text messages anyway. It’ll be nice to disconnect. But please [...]
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    Posted: August 08, 2009, 8:40pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Maybe it’s the shorts

    Number of comments: 6
    Went out for a nice training ride this morning. Did 20 miles with a mixture of easy riding on the Veloway, some semi-strenuous hill climbing, and some almost-time trial speeds on the Mopac loop. It was a good ride, and I finished it at an average speed slightly higher than [...]
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    Posted: August 06, 2009, 9:29pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Getting better at climbing

    Number of comments: 10
    When we did our city tour two weekends ago, one of the highlights was Mt. Bonnell. I’d never climbed it before, and I was looking forward to it, for some reason. I guess I had an unrealistic idea of my climbing ability. Going through neighborhoods on the way there, we came [...]
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    Posted: August 05, 2009, 7:38pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Using a Heart Rate Monitor

    Number of comments: 7
    A couple of months ago, I was riding with some friends when one asked me, “Do you use a heart rate monitor?” “No,” I said. “I’m afraid if I saw the numbers, they’d scare me to death.” My wife got a heart rate monitor a year ago, and used it when she [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 8:24pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Ever forget how to shift?

    Number of comments: 8
    The other day, I was out for an easy morning ride with Pat. This is the one where we get to the Veloway, and I speed away from her to complete three laps, while she does two. So I’m on the backside of the track, approaching the pesky little hill that [...]
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    Posted: August 01, 2009, 6:00pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Bike Noob is on Twitter!

    Number of comments: 1
    If you are so inclined, you can follow me @bikenoob. Posted in Uncategorized [...]
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    Posted: July 31, 2009, 3:11pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Bike-Chasing Dogs…And Dog-Chasing Bikes

    Number of comments: 9
    By Jeff Hemmel — Let me say first, I love dogs. Truth be told I’m not so big on cats, but dogs are my kind of pet. Just not when they’re chasing me on my bike. Most of the time, that’s not an issue. Leash laws and traffic combine to make [...]
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    Posted: July 31, 2009, 10:43am EDT
    by rainycamp

  • The RunFar Time Trial

    Number of comments: 4
    Every other Tuesday from April – September, a company called RunFar puts on a time trial in Austin. It’s an 8.12-mile course along the Mopac loop that I ride so often. But this, as they say, is the “Ride of Truth.” Riders are welcome to come out and see how [...]
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    Posted: July 29, 2009, 7:17pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Thinking of Fat Cyclist and Susan

    Number of comments: 4
    Since I’ve begun blogging, one of my inspirations has been the Fat Cyclist. Despite the funny name, he’s been engaged in serious business — caring for his wife Susan, who is terminally ill with cancer. While trying to look after her needs, along with those of their four children, Fatty (Elden [...]
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    Posted: July 27, 2009, 9:14pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Biting off more than we can chew

    Number of comments: 7
    I bonked today. But so did four of the six who started our Sunday morning “B” ride. It started out routinely enough. We were going to do a well-known biking route, the “Tour de Austin.” As the name implies, it’s a ride through the city, hitting local landmarks like Lake Austin, [...]
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    Posted: July 26, 2009, 9:11pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Review: Retül 3-D Bike Fitting System

    Number of comments: 1
    I remember the “bike fitting” I got when I bought my bike. The salesperson put the bike in a trainer, I put on my bike shoes, climbed on, and pedaled a little bit. Then she measured the angle of my knee when the pedal was at the bottom, made an [...]
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    Posted: July 25, 2009, 8:26pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Riding in pacelines

    Number of comments: 8
    A paceline in nice, cool weather A couple of weeks ago, the B ride from my club started 45 minutes ahead of the A group. Since we rode the same route, we had a chance to watch them pass by us while they were heading out to the turnaround. The first six [...]
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    Posted: July 23, 2009, 10:16pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • I don’t think I could handle this

    Number of comments: 10
    If you’re an addicted Tour de France watcher, as I am, you’ve probably seen Jens Voigt eat the pavement on the downhill run from Petit St. Bernard during Stage 16 in the 2009 Tour de France. If not, here it is. He broke a cheekbone and had a concussion, but his injuries [...]
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    Posted: July 22, 2009, 12:50am EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Le Burrito ride

    Number of comments: 5
    Our usual Sunday morning club ride had a twist today. Instead of meeting at our neighborhood Starbucks and heading out from there, we went into Austin just south of downtown to Bicycle Sport Shop, one of the bigger bike shops in town. BSS has a club of its own called [...]
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    Posted: July 19, 2009, 8:43pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Mixing it up

    Number of comments: 6
    As I’ve mentioned before, I used to be a runner. Actually, I was never fast enough to be called a runner — I think 10-minute miles are more in the realm of jogging. Anyway, I gave it up a couple of years ago because my knees just couldn’t take the pounding [...]
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    Posted: July 18, 2009, 4:36pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Rollin’ With the Bobke

    Number of comments: 5
    Jeff Hemmel was lucky enough to go on a ride recently with Tour de France commentator Bob Roll.  While we’re all in Tour mode, I thought it would be apropos (Mon Dieu, Noob!) if he told us all about it. So anyway, the other day I was out for a ride [...]
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    Posted: July 16, 2009, 8:50pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Helmets — not as safe as they’re cracked up to be?

    Number of comments: 10
    The most interesting comment to come in after the “Most Common Noob Mistakes” post was one by Dr. Richard Keatinge, a general practitioner from Wales, in the United Kingdom. Although failing to wear a helmet was fourth on our little informal list, Dr. Keatinge says helmets don’t do the job [...]
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    Posted: July 14, 2009, 12:18pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Most common noob mistakes

    Number of comments: 9
    A couple of weeks ago, I spotted a woman starting her bike ride who was making an obvious mistake. That got me wondering — what are the most common mistakes we see new bikers make, time after time? I asked, and Bike Noob readers responded. The results are in! I guess [...]
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    Posted: July 12, 2009, 2:29pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • The Bontrager Inform saddle (review)

    Number of comments: 4
    The new Bontrager Inform saddle has been getting a lot of attention in the cycling press lately.  Guest poster Jeff Hemmel has been riding one  for awhile now, and provides this look. I’m somewhat obsessive about fit and comfort, so it was no surprise that I was ready to ditch the [...]
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    Posted: July 09, 2009, 11:22pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Storing my “kit”

    Number of comments: 4
    That Halo headband I mentioned in the last post is just the latest in my collection of biking accoutrements (I’m trying to stay with the spirit of the Tour, you know). But as such, it’s contributing to a problem that’s been building for some time: I’m running out of space [...]
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    Posted: July 07, 2009, 7:11pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Sweat control

    Number of comments: 10
    Keeping sweat out of my eyes has always been a problem. I’ve dealt with it a number of ways: I first used an old bandana tied as a sweatband around my head. Then I moved on to more elaborate methods. I got one of those doo-rag lookalikes from the LBS. [...]
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    Posted: July 05, 2009, 6:39pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Those bike team names (2009 version) Part II

    Number of comments: 1
    A look at the second ten teams in the 2009 Tour de France. The first ten were featured in yesterday’s post. Garmin-Slipstream — United States — Garmin, the GPS company, is the sole main commercial sponsor this year. Chipotle is no longer a name sponsor. Slipstream is the sports marketing and [...]
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    Posted: July 02, 2009, 11:21pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Those bike team names – 2009 version

    Number of comments: 6
    The Tour de France is just around the corner, and it’s time to revive the post about bike team names. This year, some new teams have come on the scene, and some old ones have dropped out of pro cycling. So let’s find who’s behind those continental-sounding corporate names, and [...]
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    Posted: July 01, 2009, 11:26pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • What’s the most common newbie mistake?

    Number of comments: 1
    I was at the Veloway the other morning. Lots of casual bikers use the Veloway, because they don’t have to contend with traffic. As I was taking a breather on a hot, hot morning, I noticed a woman get her two sons on their bikes and moving, then she set [...]
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    Posted: June 29, 2009, 11:28pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • What to eat during a ride?

    Number of comments: 10
    This might be the week that the B ride at our club hit its tipping point. We had eight riders out for the Sunday ride, double what we’ve been getting lately. We kept the ride deliberately short because of our ridiculously hot temperatures. It wound up at 30 miles round trip [...]
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    Posted: June 28, 2009, 4:32pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Are you a century fanatic?

    Number of comments: 8
    This heat wave won’t last forever. I’m looking ahead to more reasonable weather, with lots of long rides. In fact, I’m toying with the idea of riding another century. It seems that many cyclists set riding a century (100 miles) as a long-term goal. They put in the hours and the [...]
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    Posted: June 25, 2009, 9:18pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Beating the heat

    Number of comments: 5
    We had a bunch of errands to run this morning, then the grass needed cutting. I can stay home some weekdays, so today was a day to attend to those chores. By the time I was done and starting to think about taking the bike out, it was 98F (37C). [...]
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    Posted: June 23, 2009, 3:18pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Why bike computers suck

    Number of comments: 9
    Guest writer Jeff Hemmel checks in with another view on the average speed debate we’ve been kicking around here. I love my bike computer. It keeps me informed, letting me know how fast, how far, and how long I’m riding. It even gives me the time and temp, although to be [...]
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    Posted: June 21, 2009, 10:57pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Speed

    Number of comments: 10
    The weekend approaches, and with it, the promise of longer rides than I get in during the week. Some hills will be involved, especially on Sunday’s ride, and that will probably bring my average speed below my average. (?) I’ve always considered myself a 15-mile-per-hour rider, which is why I ride [...]
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    Posted: June 19, 2009, 1:30pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Magnificent Obsession

    Number of comments: 10
    Bike Noob is pleased to introduce our readers to Jeff Hemmel. Jeff started biking on a hybrid, and like many of us, recently made the switch to a road bike. Also like many of us, he’s now wrapped up in our sport. Jeff is a magazine writer by [...]
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    Posted: June 17, 2009, 5:13pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Our Tuesday morning ride

    Number of comments: 5
    During the school year, I’m off early enough on Tuesdays that I can get home, jump into my bike clothes, and take off for three laps around the Veloway. It’s a nice 15-mile ride, and I use it to work on technique. But during the Texas summers, temperatures in late afternoon [...]
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    Posted: June 16, 2009, 3:52pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Looking back — and trying not to swerve

    Number of comments: 8
    We were on the way back from our club ride this morning (just two of us were in the B group today) when talk turned to the difficulty of checking over your shoulder for traffic. The discussion was prompted by what I consider the toughest left turn on all of our [...]
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    Posted: June 14, 2009, 3:52pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Team kit?

    Number of comments: 7
    With the Giro d’Italia just ended, and the Tour de France looming over the horizon, we bikers (or this biker, anyway) start to pay more attention to the pro teams. I like to see whether their team kit, to use the veddy British expression, has changed at all since last season. [...]
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    Posted: June 11, 2009, 9:20pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Passages: A biking saga (guest post)

    Number of comments: 8
    After entering my first time trial last month, something I never thought I would do, I considered my progress since starting biking almost two years ago. Apparently, others go through the same type of progression. On Bike Forums last week, Robert Foster of California posted an item that neatly sums [...]
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    Posted: June 09, 2009, 9:14pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • But sometimes the rabbit is you!

    Number of comments: 2
    Just a day after gloating about beating some poor guy who didn’t even know he was racing, I was brought back to reality. Out again on Mopac for an easy ride with Pat, I thought I would spin up the hills and wait for her at the top. It was [...]
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    Posted: June 07, 2009, 1:23pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Sometimes you chase rabbits…

    Number of comments: 6
    Got out to ride in the morning today, while the weather was still reasonable. It’s been getting really hot around here lately, and riding in the afternoon is not pleasant. But today’s run, along the Mopac time trial route, was great. I have to pass a school to get to [...]
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    Posted: June 05, 2009, 8:58pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • A “Top 50″ blog?

    Number of comments: 5
    Excuse me if I puff out my chest a bit, but I just got some fantastic news. Andreas, who writes the “London Cyclist” blog, put together a list of the Top 50 biking blogs in the world — and Bike Noob is number 50! The rankings are based on Google Pagerank, [...]
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    Posted: June 04, 2009, 4:00pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Cramps!

    Number of comments: 10
    I’ve had one severe bout with cramps since starting biking, and it was no fun. Since then, I’ve always made sure I’ve had enough to eat and drink before starting a ride, and even though I’m still bad at drinking as often as I should when I’m in saddle, I [...]
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    Posted: June 02, 2009, 6:06pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • I was a ride volunteer

    Number of comments: 3
    Since I started biking, I’ve ridden in about six organized rides. I’ve been impressed with the organization of each one, even though some are inevitably going to be better done than others. A lot of work goes into putting on a ride, and it wouldn’t get done without the help [...]
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    Posted: May 30, 2009, 6:18pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • The Selle San Marco Ponza

    Number of comments: 4
    After my MS ride last month, I was sore. I wondered whether my bottom problems we the result of my saddle. I ride the Specialized Alias saddle — 143 mm size — and I’ve read and heard a lot of nice things about it. Last year, I even wrote about [...]
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    Posted: May 28, 2009, 10:21pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • The Time Trialist

    Number of comments: 10
    Well, I went and did it. I entered the bi-weekly time trial run on the Mopac loop I so often ride. This is part of my effort to inject a little more fun into my cycling. Several members of my club, and other friends, have been urging me to do [...]
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    Posted: May 27, 2009, 12:43am EDT
    by rainycamp

  • An early thousand and a good ride

    Number of comments: 3
    Funny how what used to be major biking milestones now pass almost unnoticed.  I completely missed it, but back on May 13th, I hit 1,000 miles for the year.  Last year, I didn’t hit that magic mark until June 13th. Now I’m wondering what kind of mileage I’ll wind up [...]
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    Posted: May 24, 2009, 3:01pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • The dreaded chainring tattoo

    Number of comments: 10
    First of all, thank you to all who rightly threw my whining back in my face and told me to get out and ride some different routes to break out of my pity party. Today, I did. Temperature in the high 70sF, no wind to speak of, and bright sunshine [...]
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    Posted: May 21, 2009, 10:49pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Riding without goals

    Number of comments: 9
    Got out this evening for a nice hour-plus ride with David. I’m trying to ride every day this week, now that I have some time on my hands, so this was a good one. Temperatures are relatively mild — have to enjoy them while they last — and we’re not [...]
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    Posted: May 19, 2009, 11:49pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Now, back to rebuilding

    Number of comments: 9
    Just put my son and his girlfriend on the plane to head back to Minnesota. They were here for four days, which is why the posts have ground to a halt. We were pretty much going non-stop during that time, because the young lady had never been to Texas, and [...]
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    Posted: May 17, 2009, 10:21pm EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Bibs & shorts – what to look for

    Number of comments: 10
    Hot summer weather has returned to central Texas. My ride yesterday was in 93F heat, with a stiff southerly wind and a burning sun. After 18 miles, I was done in, and slept for an hour and a half after supper. I don’t know if this had anything to do with [...]
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    Posted: May 14, 2009, 11:03am EDT
    by rainycamp

  • Stop signs

    Number of comments: 9
    I think we can all agree that it’s bad to run stop lights. I will always stop for a light, and will sit at an intersection waiting for it to change even if there is no cross traffic. For one thing, that’s a good opportunity for me to grab a [...]
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    Posted: May 13, 2009, 12:00am EDT
    by rainycamp

  • More thoughts about bike clubs

    Number of comments: 2
    The bike club post drew more comments than most posts have recently. Obviously, riders would like to exploit the social aspects of cycling. The problem is, are most bike clubs set up to help them do that? From the comments here and elsewhere, it appears that most bike clubs are dominated [...]
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    Posted: May 10, 2009, 8:02pm EDT
    by rainycamp
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