Winter is coming, but that's no excuse to kick back on the couch and binge watch Netflix. CRW is throwing down the gauntlet (or cycling glove)! How many miles can you ride over the next four months. (Dec. 1st to March 31st)? The goal is 1700 miles, the distance from the Mighty Squirrel brewery to Key West, FL. Along the way we've picked some sunny, sandy milestones to measure your progress against:

      Surf City, NJ: 310 miles

      Virginia Beach, Virginia: 580 miles

      Myrtle beach, SC: 870 miles

     Daytona Beach, FL: 1260 miles

Members Only

This is a "members only" event. Mileage can be accumulated starting December 1st by riding indoors or outdoors, and will be recorded by accepting the Strava challenge.

To join the challenge, register HERE and follow “Martin Hayes (CRW)” on Strava.

If you are not on Strava you may enter your mileage by manually typing it in HERE 

Honor System

Note that this contest is on the honor system so please be truthful about actual miles ridden. Finally, on Saturday April 1st (no fooling!) join us for a beach party at the Mighty Squirrel.  Those who make it all the way to Key West are entered in a raffle to win a CRW cycling cap!

So stock up on the sports drinks, you have a lot of pedaling to do!

This is the story of “dazed and confused” meets “seduced and abandoned” => “confused and abandoned.”

There are several splinter groups that have formed within CRW. Somewhat less complimentary would be to say they are barnacles on the good ship CRW. One such group is one that I am especially fond of in my retirement, since they are retirees, self-employed, and other ne’er-do-wells who manage to sneak out for a ride at 10AM on weekdays. One of their more endearing features is the “no drop” policy (more on that later). The leader maps out a very pleasant ride, prepares a GPS route that everyone downloads, and away we go. There is also a lunch stop, somewhat more civilized than many of my other riding groups where lunch consists of scarfing down an energy bar when you had to stop to pee anyway. But I digress.

So I was on one such group ride, and things were going fine. We had a group of nine, we all stayed together chatting, life was good. I should mention that I had recently mastered my GPS after several years of ownership, so as long as I could follow the little purple line, I had a reasonable chance of returning home. The first warning sign was when our leader led us off the purple line. Turns out I had downloaded the wrong route. I suspected the reason was there was a different lunch stop than usual and this was to go there. But I had strayed from my purple line and felt somewhat adrift. But as long as I could keep the leader in sight, all would be well.

We had lunch then set out. The leader started out, I followed, then somehow got in front. Looking back there were several riders following me, then several riders turning around and I realized I had gone astray. My first thought was I could continue on and go around the set of buildings which seemed to be where they were headed. But I realized this wasn’t a Sure Thing, so I figured I better turn around like everyone else. This moment of hesitation was enough for the entire crew to vanish. I wandered around the strip mall some more figuring I’d run into them, but it was not to be. You have to realize that I have no sense of direction. Once I was off the GPS route, I could have been in darkest Africa in terms of finding my way home. In fact, there is an urban legend, that I will neither confirm nor deny, that I once rode past my house. My navigation skills are very akin to a rat in a maze. Putting it mathematically, if there are N possible directions to head in, I will try N–1 before finding the correct one. The accompanying picture illustrates the point.

My first reaction was surprise, I kept expecting to see the group around every wrong turn I made. I knew it was a “no drop” ride but I didn’t realize it was a “point Jack in the wrong direction, then slip away” ride. I assumed someone would eventually realize I was missing. I imagined the ensuing conversation. I suspect someone proposed the theory that Jack, like Fleetwood Mac, went his own way. Anyone who knew me well, and that consisted of most of the riders, would realize that this was impossible, since I had no idea of any way never mind my own. I can only imagine someone suggesting I had been abducted by aliens, and the group deciding to go with that instead of wasting time looking for me.

So here I was in a strip mall in darkest Africa with no idea where I was. I couldn’t follow the purple lines since we had long since left them. Fortunately my GPS has a bread crumb feature, i.e., it shows you where you have been in a light blue line. So, I could use that to backtrack until I got back to the route. Of course, my GPS being a cheap one, the track has no indication of which direction you’re going. Didn’t really matter, either direction would get me back home. So I managed to get back to the route, and against all odds, followed it in the correct direction. Of course, by this time everyone else was long gone, but I did eventually find my way home.

This article originally appeared in WheelPeople in August 2014. The image of assembled riders was added.

If you have an extensive route library, Ride With GPS now offers a Map View of your library.

Your entire route catalog is now available in detailed and interactive Map View. There is now a "show map" button on your route/ride page. After clicking on the interactive map, you can search by keywords or start locations to visually access your entire lineup of routes.The map-forward interface provides immediate reference for your entire catalog. You can identify any planned route or subset of routes by panning and zooming within the map. Also filter by distance, elevation, date range, archival status.

Explore your routes in Map View by toggling the "Show Map" button on your routes page. Numbered clusters representing groups of routes, which are expandable by clicking the icons, displaying the routes contained within, and eliminating the need to hunt for specific route variations. Hover over the green Start icons or specific routes within the result cards to highlight the corresponding route on the map.

By Coach John Hughes

“It is estimated that 15% to 20% of adults have back pain during a single year and 50% to 80% experience at least one episode of back pain during a lifetime.” National Library of Medicine

Athletes aren’t immune.  Researchers compared groups of elite athletes and moderately active people and were surprised to find half of each group had low back pain (LBP) and that the causes were similar.  Those with LBP all had stiff backs and lacked control over the movements of their spines. Frontiers of Neuroscience

Regular exercise, increasing your core strength, improving specific muscular control and increasing your flexibility will help you avoid to LBP.

1. Regular exercise

A meta-analysis examined 25 different studies of the effectiveness of different prevention strategies to reduce the incidence of low back pain.  The meta-analysis found “moderate-quality evidence that an exercise program can prevent future LBP intensity.” British Journal of Sports Medicine

2. Core strength

Wearing a back brace can help to prevent or deal with LBP. Your core muscles surround your spine to stabilize your torso and they work the same way as an external back brace. However, if you just wear a back brace then your core muscles get weaker.

We tend to think of our core muscles as our abdominals and that developing six-pack abs will prevent LBP. The core muscles are underneath your outer abs and back muscles. Your transverse abdominis is a deep muscle that wraps around your midsection like a corset. Your multifidus is a muscle that lines your spine. It has a series of extensions that wrap each individual vertebra, similar to the way your bicycle chain wraps a cog. Improving the strength of your transverse abdominis and your multifidus is key to avoiding LBP. I wrote this column on:

• Anti-Aging: Core Strength in 1 Hour a Week

3. Muscle control

In addition to a strong core you need fine motor control of the muscles that move your spine. You want the muscles to move your spine and to move your body around your spine the right amount; moving too far or too little may cause pain. Dynamic balance exercises train your body to control your muscles to move correctly. Static balance is standing on one leg. Dynamic balance is slowly lifting one leg, slowly moving the leg away from the body, slowly lowering that leg to the floor, shifting your weight and slowly lifting the other leg. Tai chi and Pilates both provide isometric exercise to strengthen your core. They also use slow movements to improve your dynamic balance. I describe different balancing exercises in this column:

• Anti-Aging: Why Practicing Balance Is Important

4. Unanticipated instability

Even if you develop a strong core and work on your dynamic balance, you still risk of LBP.

Unanticipated changes in direction / load can cause back pain. Your core provides the stable platform for your other muscles to work correctly. Anticipating you’re about to walk down a flight of stairs, you instinctively tighten your core muscles to stabilize your spine and anchor your hip and leg muscles. But what if you aren’t paying attention and unexpectedly step off a curb. Or someone jostles you. These can result in LBP

A 2017 study tested the effectiveness of random functional perturbation exercises on LBP. The exercises included reacting to variable and unpredictable disturbances. The group which did this type of therapy reduced LBP by 35% compared to the control group, increased muscle strength by 15-22% and reduced trunk stiffness by 13%.

Mountain biking on single track, hiking on a rough surface, playing pickleball and similar activities cause you to react to something you can’t completely anticipate. Over time these improve your muscular coordination and control.

5. Flexibility

A stiff trunk is one of the contributing factors to LBP.  As you get older you naturally get stiffer unless you work on your flexibility. I wrote this column on:

• Anti-Aging: Flexibility in 30 Minutes a Week

In addition to these five factors, bike fit, cycling technique, other things can also contribute to LBP as I explain in this column on:

• Lower Back Pain / Discomfort

Coach John Hughes earned coaching certifications from USA Cycling and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. John’s cycling career includes course records in the Boston-Montreal-Boston 1200-km randonnée and the Furnace Creek 508, a Race Across AMerica (RAAM) qualifier. He has ridden solo RAAM twice and is a 5-time finisher of the 1200-km Paris-Brest-Paris.

He has written nearly 40 eBooks and eArticles on cycling training and nutrition, available in RBR’s eBookstore at Coach John Hughes. Click to read John’s full bio.  

My eBook Anti-Aging: 12 Ways You Can Slow the Aging Process includes chapters on how to meet the American College of Sports Medicine’s recommendations on aerobic, high intensity aerobic, strength training, weight-bearing exercises, balance and flexibility. I include sample weeks and months for different types and amounts of exercise. I give you plans to build up to 100 km and 100 mile rides. I include a plan to increase over two years your annual riding from around 4,000 miles (6,500 km) to over 5,000 miles (8,000 km) per year. You can easily modify the plans for different annual amounts of riding. I discuss the importance of recovery and how to gauge if you are getting enough recovery. I combine the different kinds of training into programs that balance training and recovery. The 106-page eBook is available here Anti-Aging: 12 Ways You Can Slow the Aging Process 

The traffic law makes very clear and unambiguous statements, but the letter of the law can’t cover every possible situation. There are also situations it does cover, but might cover better. In these cases, the spirit of the law has to rule. Let’s look at a few examples.

A stop sign requires two actions: stopping – before the crosswalk if there is one, and then yielding right of way. But a building, vegetation, parked car, etc., may block the view of the cross street, so it is necessary to stop again in the crosswalk to check.

A pedestrian who would like to cross may appear while a driver – it could be you on your bicycle – is blocking the crosswalk. There is another vehicle behind. You can’t back up.. So the pedestrian has to yield.

A driver is backing out of an angle parking spot. The adjacent parking spot to the right is occupied, so the driver can’t see whether traffic is approaching. The approaching  traffic could be you on your bicycle. The driver in the parking spot is required to yield. But that driver’s only workable option is to back out very slowly so you can yield.

In these two situations, among others, the applicable law simply doesn’t work. The problem is deeply rooted in the nature of reality: people don’t have x-ray vision.

Now for a couple of less deeply rooted but still very real situations:

Traffic law in the USA usually permits bicyclists to ride on the left side of a one-way street if it is two or more lanes wide. New York City, notably, has placed bike lanes on the left side of multi-lane one-way avenues where buses travel on the right side. This avoids bicyclists’ and buses’ “leapfrogging” one another.  But what about one-lane, one-way streets?

Part of my favorite route into downtown Waltham from my home is on a one-lane, one-way street with parallel parking along the right side. Riding a few feet from the left curb, I can safely allow motorists to overtake. I also have a good view ahead at intersections and driveways, without parked cars blocking my view. Other options would be to ride on the right side in the door zone of parked cars – not a choice I’ll make – or to ride nearer the middle, and then motorists’s can’t overtake. I’ll control the travel lane when necessary, but in this case it isn’t.

Another situation: a narrow road has a double yellow line down the middle and the motorists have to merge into the next lane to overtake slow vehicles, including bicycles.  Almost all motorists learn with experience to treat this law with a grain of salt. Several states including nearby Maine have amended their laws to allow motorists to cross the double yellow to pass bicyclists, recognizing that passing distances are much shorter when passing slow vehicles.

These two problems – one-lane, one-way streets, and crossing the double yellow – reflect problems where the law itself is unnecessarily rigid. Reasonable people have bent the law in the interest of safety, courtesy and convenience.

But all of the problems I have described have one thing very much in common: Only caution and courtesy resolve them.

Interacting with other road users is like a dance, and the rules of the road are the rules of the dance. If you make a mistake in ballroom dancing, you might step on your partner’s toes (or vice versa). You might have to take special care if your partner is inexperienced. Out on the road, the consequences can be much more serious.  

There’s a fine line though between exercising your right to use the road and rudeness to other road users.  Where this line stands is commonly misunderstood as it applies to bicyclists. Example: with the double yellow line, you often have to exercise your legal option to ride away from the right edge to discourage motorists from making unsafe passes. Your safety is more important than a motorists' convenience.

And also, at least here in Massachusetts, hardly anybody, bicyclist or motorist, comes to a full stop before the crosswalk unless yielding right of way is necessary. For you as a bicyclist, it is less convenient to stop. It is important though to make it clear that you will yield by at least slowing to a crawl. But only do this if you haven't reached the stop line yet. Yielding maintains respect for bicyclists, which is already in short supply.

So, please don’t get carried away with the observation that the law can’t cover every situation. Only depart from the letter of the law when actually necessary!

Stop sign image: by Bidgee - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5062671

 

Town Ride collections - The Town collections are available for you www.crw.org/route-collection-panel-page

 

Amazon Smile If you have an Amazon Prime account please look into making CRW your charity. Details here https://www.crw.org/content/amazon-smile

 

Bike as Art  We previously reported on bikes used as art in various places in the northeast section of the country. We are updating that list with bike art closer to home. In Milford, MA there is a parking lot with an entrance to the bike path consisting of a stunning gate decorated with fabricated bikes. The gate design was serendipitous rather than outright planned. The trail planner told us he asked the contractor to make a gate with no other direction, and this resulted in a delight for all who visit and park there.

 

 

Winter Riding We wanted to remind you that CRW is open for business all year, and we have an active winter ride program.