Do You Know What You Are Doing?

I had the good fortune recently to acquire a student. I taught my first class in the art of making glass beads. I have been making glass in a torch for nearly ten years now and I have gotten pretty good at it. I can even make marbles for those of you who may need replacements. The challenge was to take a good look at what I do and then tell someone else how to do it. This may sound easy but try it sometime, you may not know what you are doing even while you are doing it.

This was not my first time teaching but it was the first time I had to teach subtle physical skills tied in with a nearly alchemic science. So of course I thought about cycling and since this blog is about cycling we will head that way.

Today I went out with Sponge Bob. I did a 3 hour pull while he told me how well I was doing. Ya gotta love him. I told him I was ruminating about things we do without knowing about them and he agreed. A pair of semi’s passed us going opposite directions and we avoided the perfect storm shear of synchronized vacuum and gale, keeping us both in Texas and not whirling off to Kansas or someplace odd like Oz or DC.

Did it cross your mind that I tightened my grip on my handlebars, leaned forward to put more weight on the front wheel and kept the rear loose to compensate for balance shift? It skipped my mind too until I thought about it later. If I had had to think about it I would be on the way to Kansas. Last year I was bombing down a hill up by Fredricksburg. I hit 45 mph and a gust of wind came under me and lifted me completely off the pavement. I didn’t think about that at the time either, I was little busy negotiating a landing. I stayed tucked, did not over react, and came down on the pavement in nearly the same position as I left it. I was a bit farther down the hill but still vertical.

Think about it for a bit. Could you tell a new rider what to do if no one calls a 2 x4 and you have to run over it at 25 mph? How do you not wind up schmear if you blow out a front tire (130 psi Tubby) coming down a hill at 30 mph? What are all of the little adjustments you make to your body position to keep you comfortable over the distance of a hundred miles?

The other side of the equation is just as important. Are you really tracking in a nice straight line or all you all over the road? Are you aware of where you are in relation to the others in your group? Why are you so tired? Are you exhausted and all over the road? We have all been there some of us just never knew it.

So do you know what you are doing? Can you teach others to do what you do instinctively? Can you teach yourself to improve? It may sound simple but ask any educator and as soon as they quit laughing, they will be glad to help you experience the joy of learning. After all, that is what teaching is all about.

Is That One Word or Two?

There are times when you just have to take advantage of an opportunity. Sometimes you just might even learn something. I certainly did.

Sunday fast rides are a rare bird. It is a mixed crowd, there are usually a couple of veterans, some hammerheads and everyone who thinks they are, or wants to be, a racer. I have been all of the above at one time or another and will continue to defy categorization as long as I can.

The ride starts out passive, everyone more or less behaving, until we get some room. Then a couple of vets or hammerheads pick up the pace a little and things begin to get interesting. Somewhere along the way a couple of youngsters will try to break away and usually get chased down. There are days when the big dogs decide to break things open and leave a trail of destruction, blown legs and shattered egos in their wake. Worse is when the vets are in good form and decide to play.

Sunday last was like that. The old guys came out to play. One little guy in red took off after a breakaway and sort of busted everything up. The wannabe riders started falling off the back and the pace picked up. The other two vets were not about to be left out and joined in the play. Every newbie with a Cat5 tattoo was chased down and not allowed to rest. You had to be prepared to jump to grab a passing wheel when you came off the front. The line you were leaving might not be the one heading to the front.

Towards the end of the run things started splitting up. The three old guys were heading home early, making a right turn and the rest of the group was breaking up into a wild mass sprint. The pace was somewhere in the high 20’s and spirited. I looked over my right shoulder and saw someone coming up on the wrong side. This rider, I will call him ”Paco” to protect the innocent, has a habit of not working on the way out and then jumping whoever has been doing the work. His MO also includes coming up on the wrong side. I saw a little more than a bike length of space in front of him and moved over and blocked Paco’s lane.

This is where all the learning started. Paco learned not everything is fair and I learned a lot of new Spanish words. It was a good tactical maneuver and fairly well executed if I say so myself. I am not sure what Paco said to me, it was the longest and loudest he has ever spoken to me, but I am pretty sure “Pinchegringo” is two words.

Saturday Cool Down

Funny things go through your mind in the last five miles of a Saturday ride. This is the cool down time or the limp home beaten like a stray dog time. Invariably there is a little headwind and and enough chip seal to remind you that your saddle may be many things but soft is not one of them. Those of you who don't ride should know that the Saturday ride is the leave it all on the road ride, the weekly test of whether you have "IT" or not.

Today I marveled at the adhesive quality of SPF 50. The entomology lab would love to have the bug collection held tight to my body. They would have to sort the bugs from the grit but then, that is their job. after this little wonder of life lost it’s charm I started thinking of things I had seen in the last few days of riding.

Pickup trucks. Yes, I see a few down here in way south Texas. Last Thursday evening I was in the bike lane waiting for the light to change. Some yahoo in a big ass 4x4 couldn’t wait to turn right and put two wheels on the sidewalk to turn right on red. Today, out in the boonies two pickups passed us. This was nothing out of the ordinary
except for the little bit of excessive speed. We figure they were going a little over 100 mph.

Red light racers. Thursday evening once again. I stopped for a red light at the freeway underpass on Shary Road. Some cat in a Guatemala Nation Jersey (for real!) came up to me at the light, looked both ways and ran the light. I waited for the light while he went under the highway and ran the red light on the other side. He got a good jump on me and a mile or so down the road he added to his lead by running yet another red light. Boy he whipped my butt good...

Lastly, one of the guys answered a call on his cell phone this morning. Sometimes this is just a real uncool thing to do but it is watermelon season and the watermelon man has to squeeze in an hour before work. Sometimes work can’t be ignored and he did pull out of the paceline before answering the phone. It seems a buddy of his was headed north on 281 (A four lane divided highway connecting the valley to San Antonio) and wondered who were the fools taking up a traffic lane with their bikes and a van. It wasn’t us we assured him.