Why did the bear cross the road?
Sep. 7th, 2008 10:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pbrayTo make Patricia stop, while pedaling up hill. Yes, one of the highlights of my trip was spotting a black bear. At first I didn't know what I was seeing as he climbed over a low stone wall, and then as he stretched I thought "Bear!"
Per bicycling protocol I stopped my bike to avoid getting any closer and watched as he crossed the road, disappearing into the woods on the other side. He didn't pay me any attention, but I still waited a couple of minutes to make sure that he didn't have any friends around. When Stacey caught up and saw I was stopped on a steep climb (always a bad sign) she asked "Is anything wrong?"
"Bear!" I informed her. Then I stood on the pedals and managed to get my bike moving again, so we were together as we passed the spot where I had seen him, but there were no further bear sightings.
This year's bike trip was in the Shenandoah valley of Virginia, where we started off biking in horse country and then climbed into the mountains, including biking Skyline Drive. We had a great time--out of all the bike tour companies that we've traveled with, Carolina Tailwinds is our favorite. Greg and Anne think of everything. The routes are well-planned, we stay at great places, and there's an abundant supply of great food (including two lunches on a strenuous travel day). Greg and Anne are both the tour guides and owners of the company, and their dedication to making sure their guests have a good time shows through.
Stacey and I both have hybrid bikes at home, and for all of our past bike trips we've rented hybrid bikes. But as we moved from casual rides to strenuous trips we observed that most of our fellow cyclists were on the lighter road bikes, so after years of being urged to make the switch we decided to rent road bikes this year.
Monday was the start of the tour, so bright and early Stacey and I were fitted to our road bikes, and did a few test loops of the hotel parking lot. We did not get off to a promising start--the drop handlebars weren't comfortable, and the shifters were integrated into the brake levers which felt unnatural. I could tell that Greg was worried that we weren't going to be happy with the bikes, but assured him that we'd figure it out by the time we'd ridden the forty miles to the next inn.
By lunchtime on Monday I could shift without too much thought, but still wasn't comfortable on the bike. Stacey was less happy--she was having a harder time with the shifters and simply powered through the up hills instead of using the low gears. Every time we saw our guides at a rest stop they'd offered tips and encouragement, while we kept assuring them that we were fine. And, indeed, Stacey had figured things out by the end of the day. Still, while the lighter road bike meant we went faster up hill, we were slower on the downhills because weren't as stable as we were used to. And the thinner tires and stiff frame meant that there was significantly more vibration so our wrists and arms were sore whenever we were on uneven roads.
By the end of the week we were comparing pros and cons. The lighter weight did make a difference up hill, and this was the first trip in years that Stacey's knees didn't bother her at the end of each day's ride. The riding position was about equivalent, since the drop handlebars offered multiple grip positions. But neither of us was a fan of the integrated shifters, and while the aluminum frame makes sense for rental bikes, for our own bikes we'd want a more shock-friendly (and expensive) steel or carbon frame.
All in all it was a good test. Both of us are thinking about buying new bikes within the next year, so this gave us something to think about. Last time when I bought a bike I simply went to the bike shop, looked at the available hybrids and picked out one that fit (and happened to be purple.) I lucked out, but this time I'm going to do research to make sure that it's a bike I'll be happy with for many years.
Now, I'm back home with piles of laundry to do and a busy week at work ahead of me. Fun!
Per bicycling protocol I stopped my bike to avoid getting any closer and watched as he crossed the road, disappearing into the woods on the other side. He didn't pay me any attention, but I still waited a couple of minutes to make sure that he didn't have any friends around. When Stacey caught up and saw I was stopped on a steep climb (always a bad sign) she asked "Is anything wrong?"
"Bear!" I informed her. Then I stood on the pedals and managed to get my bike moving again, so we were together as we passed the spot where I had seen him, but there were no further bear sightings.
This year's bike trip was in the Shenandoah valley of Virginia, where we started off biking in horse country and then climbed into the mountains, including biking Skyline Drive. We had a great time--out of all the bike tour companies that we've traveled with, Carolina Tailwinds is our favorite. Greg and Anne think of everything. The routes are well-planned, we stay at great places, and there's an abundant supply of great food (including two lunches on a strenuous travel day). Greg and Anne are both the tour guides and owners of the company, and their dedication to making sure their guests have a good time shows through.
Stacey and I both have hybrid bikes at home, and for all of our past bike trips we've rented hybrid bikes. But as we moved from casual rides to strenuous trips we observed that most of our fellow cyclists were on the lighter road bikes, so after years of being urged to make the switch we decided to rent road bikes this year.
Monday was the start of the tour, so bright and early Stacey and I were fitted to our road bikes, and did a few test loops of the hotel parking lot. We did not get off to a promising start--the drop handlebars weren't comfortable, and the shifters were integrated into the brake levers which felt unnatural. I could tell that Greg was worried that we weren't going to be happy with the bikes, but assured him that we'd figure it out by the time we'd ridden the forty miles to the next inn.
By lunchtime on Monday I could shift without too much thought, but still wasn't comfortable on the bike. Stacey was less happy--she was having a harder time with the shifters and simply powered through the up hills instead of using the low gears. Every time we saw our guides at a rest stop they'd offered tips and encouragement, while we kept assuring them that we were fine. And, indeed, Stacey had figured things out by the end of the day. Still, while the lighter road bike meant we went faster up hill, we were slower on the downhills because weren't as stable as we were used to. And the thinner tires and stiff frame meant that there was significantly more vibration so our wrists and arms were sore whenever we were on uneven roads.
By the end of the week we were comparing pros and cons. The lighter weight did make a difference up hill, and this was the first trip in years that Stacey's knees didn't bother her at the end of each day's ride. The riding position was about equivalent, since the drop handlebars offered multiple grip positions. But neither of us was a fan of the integrated shifters, and while the aluminum frame makes sense for rental bikes, for our own bikes we'd want a more shock-friendly (and expensive) steel or carbon frame.
All in all it was a good test. Both of us are thinking about buying new bikes within the next year, so this gave us something to think about. Last time when I bought a bike I simply went to the bike shop, looked at the available hybrids and picked out one that fit (and happened to be purple.) I lucked out, but this time I'm going to do research to make sure that it's a bike I'll be happy with for many years.
Now, I'm back home with piles of laundry to do and a busy week at work ahead of me. Fun!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-07 04:46 pm (UTC)I think the combined system is primarily designed to make it too difficult for you to do basic repairs yourself. They work OK once you get used to them, but I prefer bar-end, which give good access when you're going up hills and are simpler to use.
I like light bikes with fairly narrow tires (1 1/8" / 28mm) because they're less work to ride. But YMMV. And of course I tend to load them with heavy stuff (library books, groceries) going around the city...
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-07 11:04 pm (UTC)