Jay's Bike Tales

7/3 - 7/12 Ride Report

2009-07-12T13:18:00.000-07:00

7/3 - Blanco, TX
7/5 - New Berlin, TX
7/7 - Mission Trail
7/8 - Schertz, TX
7/9 - Mission Trail
7/11 - Government Canyon State Natural Area
7/12 - Freiheit, TX

The Blanco ride (7/3) was really nice. I'd never been down the section of FM 3351 from Kendalia to Edge Falls Rd. I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable riding there during the day. I did, however, locate the intersection on Edge Falls Rd. where Acker Rd. comes in from Spring Branch Rd. I need to drive that road sometime soon to see if it's suitable to ride from Spring Branch Rd. to Edge Falls Rd. That would be a great connector and allow a trip to Kendalia without having to go on FM 3351 at all. That would be a big win.

The Mission Trail ride in the morning from the house (7/7 and 7/9) is a good way to start the day. I can't wait until later in the year when I'll be able to ride later than 6:30 am. I have to start that early to beat the heat right now and it kills me to wake-up so early.

I finished getting all the GPS data I wanted for Government Canyon (7/11) and I took a few pictures. I'm now ready to do that map. I normally ride the perimeter trails, but this week I rode on the inner trails. Little Windmill and Twin Oaks were both smoother than I remember. Also, I rode up Wildcat Canyon instead of down it. I remembered it as being a lot more rocky and technical than it was. I really like it going uphill.

I've never done the Freiheit ride before (7/12). It's out near New Braunfels, which is farther than I usually go out I-35 for rides. I like the roads, but I wonder how busy they are during the week. They may only be good for early weekend rides. When I get ready to do those maps I'll drive it during the week to get a feel for what to expect.

I'm getting a better feel for the area around New Berlin (7/5). There's a whole quadrant Southeast of San Antonio (south of I-35) that I've not ridden much over the years, mostly because it's flatter than I usually like. With the traffic getting so heavy on the North side of town, I'm spending more time out in that area. I'm finding some really great roads out there, though unfortunately the street signs are few and far between, making navigation a challenge. I've got some good ideas for maps out in the area that I'm going to refine over the next month or two until I'm ready to do the maps.

The ride from Schertz (7/8) was also in the Southeast quadrant and gave me more of an appreciation for how the roads flow between I-35 and I-10. Slowly but surely I'm learning how the roads work over there. Eventually my mental map of that area will allow me to navigate around there without getting lost. I hope.

7/1/09 Mission Trail

2009-07-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

It almost wasn't scorching hot this evening. Almost.

6/30/09 New Berlin

2009-07-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

I really like the area around New Berlin for riding. It's mostly back roads with light traffic, and the few busy roads are easily avoided. There aren't any hills to speak of, which is actually nice for a change (though I do enjoy hilly terrain). I really want to get to know that area much better.

6/29/09 Government Canyon

2009-07-02T12:58:00.001-07:00

I tried out new riser handlebars on my mountain bike today. After renting the 29er and enjoying its more upright seating position, I decided to change my position on my current bike. I ordered a bmx/downhiller handlebar that has three inches of rise. It was great! My back still hurt a bit, but it was MUCH better than it has been. The only downside to the bar is that it's too wide. It's 28 inches wide, while my last one was 23 inches wide. That's not hard to fix with a hacksaw, though. I'll take off two inches to start and try that out. If that doesn't do the trick, I'll continue to take it off in one inch increments until I'm comfortable with the position.

6/28/09 Bullis Park

2009-07-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

Hot blah blah blah, dry blah blah blah.

6/27/09 Rebecca Creek

2009-07-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

The Guadalupe River is pretty darn dry right now. At the bridge on Spring Branch Road there weren't any really dry spots, but at the bridge on FM 311 there were lots of rocks showing in between the water. The bridge on Rebecca Creek Rd. was totally dry. There were pools of water to each side of it, but not that much. I'm not sure if that's part of the Guadalupe as well, but it feeds it at least. We could sure use some rain.

6/25/09 Loop 410 East

2009-06-25T20:00:00.000-07:00

It's amazing to me that the access road for Loop 410 on the southeast side of town has such little traffic on it. I wonder how long that will last?

6/23/09 Mission Trail

2009-06-24T11:10:00.001-07:00

We rode the Mission Trail at 7:00 am this morning. It's actually pleasant at that time of day, before the heat hits.

6/22/09 McAllister Park

2009-06-24T11:00:00.001-07:00

In my continuing quest to conquer my back problems, I tried out a different bike today. I rented a large 29" Specialized from Ride Away Bikes. I wanted to see if a different bike had any effect on how my back does during a mountain bike ride. I learned some things.

First, I learned that I really like the 29" wheels. They rolled over everything and really smoothed out the trail. They aren't so awesome that I'm going to rush out and buy a new bike tomorrow, but when it comes time to replace my current bike the new one will have 29" wheels. Definitely.

Second, I learned that I really like SRAM's trigger shifters. They just feel very intuitive. I've been riding Shimano XTR shifters for over 10 years, and it only took me about fifteen minutes to get used to the SRAM shifters. Fifteen minutes after that I was in love with them. They just worked great. The ones on the bike were the X-7 model, so I figure that the top-of-the-line X-0 models probably work even better. I'm definitely using SRAM on my next mountain bike.

The big takeaway from the day, though, was a change to my seating position. Since the bike was a large, which is bigger than I usually ride, by the time I got the seat height adjusted the bars were slightly above the seat. My current bike has the bars about two inches below the seat (or more). Bars below the seat is the standard position for mountain bikes (and road bikes, for that matter). I found that the bars being seat height made a huge difference. My back wasn't perfectly pain free, but the difference was very noticeable. I immediately ordered a new high-rise handlebar when I got home. I have high hopes for it.

So, renting the bike turned out to be well worth it. It's always nice to learn new things.

6/21/09 Flat Rock Ranch

2009-06-21T20:13:00.001-07:00

The creek on Flat Rock Ranch is bone dry this year. I've seen it deep enough in the past that it was difficult to wade across. This really is a dry year.

6/19/09 Mission Trail

2009-06-21T20:11:00.000-07:00

I'm really amazed at how many other people are out on the Mission Trail riding whenever I'm there. I see all levels of riders, from the serious folks in full gear to the families in their t-shirts and shorts. This place is really good for San Antonio.

6/18/09 McAllister Park

2009-06-18T20:30:00.001-07:00

I tried out a new (for me) stem this evening. I've been battling with back aches for years, and for the past few months I've been trying to get them worked out. Exercise has gotten the road riding taken care of, but I still get aches while riding my mountain bike. I changed to a non-offset seatpost to move my seat forward, and the stem I tried today is shorter. This should bring me more upright and make me less bent over. Unfortunately, it didn't really make any difference. I still hurt by the middle of the ride.

I measured my mountain bike and compared it to my road bike. Seat height is about the same on both of them, and with the new stem the distance from seat to handlebars, and the height of the seat above the handlebars, are both about the same. I'm running out of differences between the bikes to blame it on.

I know that it's possible that riding off-road just beats my back into submission, but I'm not ready to draw that conclusion yet. If I keep investigating possible causes, the worst thing that will happen is that I find nothing and I just learn to live with the pain. Anything I discover in the process can only help. Therefore, there's no reason to stop trying new things until I've really exhausted all options.

The last real differences I see between the bikes is that the moutain bike handlebars are much wider, and the mountain bike cranks are a bit longer (172.5 vs. 175). Also, I ride with bar ends on the mountain bike.

Things left to try:

shorter cranks
ride without the bar ends
narrower bars
vary the ride (I always do the same course) and see if the aches happen at the same places, or just at the same times in the ride. This way maybe I could isolate what type of riding does it and work from there.
see if the physical therapist has any other exercise suggestions
try another bike and see if that makes a difference. Several of the local shops rent bikes, so it wouldn't be that hard to do.

6/17/09 Mission Trail

2009-06-18T20:18:00.001-07:00

It was windy tonight. I'm not used to this in the summer time. I guess I need to check the weather closer to see why it's still blowing.

6/15/09 McAllister Park

2009-06-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

There's not nearly so much activity in the park in the afternoons now that summer has arrived. When I got there at 5:30 pm, the parking lot was only about 1/3 full. By the time we finished there were more cars, but it still wasn't full. There weren't many kids on the playgrounds, either. I can't blame everyone for staying in now that the heat has arrived.

6/14/09 Gruene

2009-06-16T13:43:00.001-07:00

We rode the Tour de Gruene time trail loop today. I had forgotten how much I dislike FM 306. It's OK from FM 2673 up to Purgatory road, because it has a nice shoulder. After that, the shoulder narrows to one bike wide, and there's a ton of traffic. That road's not high on my list of places to ride.

6/13/09 Comfort MTB

2009-06-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

It looks like they're running some power transmission lines through Flat Rock Ranch. They've got huge poles laying on the ground, and have cut new roads to get the poles in. I wonder if they're going to use a helicopter to run the wires? I wonder if Jimmy is happy to have the roads, or is bummed about having the lines run through his place?

6/10/09 Mission Trail

2009-06-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

This was the first time I rode the Mission Trail on the actual trail. Usually we do most of the ride on the roads that parallel the trail, only dipping onto the trail for key sections. It turns out the trail is good enough to send people down. It's also hot enough that they probably won't want to until fall.

6/9/09 New Tuesday Nighter

2009-06-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

It has finally gotten hot. It's not the pavement blistering August kind of hot, but we're way past the spring pleasantness. I drank 5 bottles on the ride and was still dehydrated by the time I finished. I also hadn't eaten anything since lunch, so I was dragging late in the ride. I need to remember to bring food with me for evening rides in addition to the extra water bottle.

6/7/09 Gruene

2009-06-10T08:43:00.001-07:00

When I was growing up my family always went to the lake or the coast when we wanted to play in the water. I can't recall ever getting in an inner-tube and floating down a river. So, I'm always surprised when we ride down River Road in the summer time and it's packed wall-to-wall with motor homes and people in tents, though I shouldn't be.

The interesting part is doing it at 7:30 am, before everyone has woken up. It's actually calm and peaceful. The problem part is riding back down River Road at around 10:00 am, when everyone has gotten up and is heading back home. Then it looks like ants streaming out of the colony, especially since there's only one road in and out. And the ants aren't at all happy to have to drive slowly behind you as you ride out of the valley. Honking, cursing, and shooting the finger make for good times! The fact that they're all hung-over probably doesn't help a bit.

6/6/09 Bullis County Park

2009-06-06T15:36:00.001-07:00

I'm still finishing rides with lots of water left. This can't last for much longer. Summer's bound to arrive in full force any minute now.

6/4/09 Po-Po's

2009-06-04T14:53:00.001-07:00

I shouldn't have commented yesterday on my friend's flat problems. The first thing that happened to me this morning was that the stem broke off the valve on my rear tube when I was topping it off. I had to change the tube before I could ride. Karma's not always nice.

6/3/09 Mission Trail

2009-06-03T21:46:00.001-07:00

My friend Will is 2 for 2 on flats lately. He got one on Sunday and he got one this evening when we rode. It's amazing how you can go for years without a flat, then you get a whole bunch in a row.

6/2/09 Comfort

2009-06-03T21:43:00.001-07:00

It was a day for the wildlife. I saw axis deer, white tail deer, turkey, buzzards, and lots of dead things. It pays to look out for cars if you're a wild animal.

5/31/09 Gruene

2009-06-01T20:12:00.001-07:00

We managed to get lost today scouting a new course. Well, we weren't really lost, but we took a wrong turn and didn't do the route we originally planned. It's been a while since I got lost, and it was actually nice because we rode a bunch of roads I've never ridden before. I got several ideas for new routes. All in all, a great day.

5/30/09 Real Ale Ride

2009-06-01T20:10:00.001-07:00

I have a friend. I don't want to embarass him, so we'll just identify him as rider 'J'.

Rider 'J' had an eventful day at the Real Ale Ride. He started off the morning by snapping his rear deraileur cable on the first real hill we came to. We jury-rigged it to stay in one gear, then went on our way. Luckily, the first rest stop we came to had a bike mechanic who fixed him up. Which is a good thing, because 'J's legs weren't up for a ride of this magnitude, especially with only one gear. He's one of the strongest riders I know, and can ride away from me at will on any terrain, but he hasn't been getting many miles of late. About 15 miles from the end in Blanco, his legs went into full cramp. He managed to get them worked out, but was truly suffering for the rest of the ride. I gave him what food I had, and we got him some water, but that really doesn't help much once the cramps have set it. He swears that he's going to ride more and get in better shape, but I'll believe that when I see it. 'J' has a tendency to push himself to the limits of endurance in life, and there just aren't the hours in the day for him to ride more and keep up with his workload.