Stand Up For Your Right

Yesterday I got for myself a stand. A home made kind of stand albeit made by Kushu-da, our plumber. There was this DIY cycle stand design described here which I used as a basic guide. After this did a few improvisations of my own. The stand was made by Kushu-da but given the simple design I could also have made it. I showed him the video and being an ace plumber with a super sharp plumbing brain he got the idea and came to my house ready with the basic piping assembly yesterday morning.

Here he fixed a narrow plywood on top of a wider one with four screws. But the screws were just hammered in. Next he drilled holes for the flange. He inserted the bolts from the bottom of the wood. The bolts were long and were sticking out. He sawed them off. The heads of the bolts were on the bottom of the wood. He got six nylon buffers and fixed them on the bottom of the wood. Four in the corners and two more in the middle of the two longer sides.

The main improvisation and design modification happened in the clamp. He got a socket with internal threads on one side and welded a piece of three sides open iron box on the other end. This was attached to the extended arm. Here is an image of the improvised clamp. There are few good reasons for this particular improvisation. A. We did not want to spend so much time making such an elaborate clamp as the one shown in the video. We wanted something more simple and easier made. Also, the round T-pipe would suit only a bike with a round top tube. My top tube is flattish. Also it is not perfectly horizontal. Instead it is a little slanting towards the seat post. So I needed something that would be much wider than a pipe. Kushuda welded a small flat plate to the open side of an angle to make it a three side open box. Next this U shaped box was welded to the socket. He also sanded off the edges of the plates to give it a smooth finish that would not cut either a dent on the cycle or the fingers.

The size (width, to be precise) turned out to be perfect. I inserted a small piece of foam inside the clamp and it is now perfect. I haven't glued it. Deliberately. Incase it needs to be changed it will not be a neat job to take it off. The only undone thing about the clamp is it is unpainted. It doesn't really matter.

If I made another stand what would I change? Nothing really, except the height perhaps. I had told Kushuda to make it five feet tall. This is about as high as my chin. While working on the wheels and chain etc will be very easy, putting the bike up and taking it out is not going to be very easy. By the way, since the top tube sits very snug on the clamp, to pull the cycle out of it, I have to keep a foot on the base wood.

The full view with the wooden bottom stand

Minor Fit Adjustments

Yesterday I did a couple of adjustments to the seat of my Red Roadie. First I moved the saddle back a little. Just a little. Less than an inch. Perhaps half an inch. I also raised the seat post by half an inch. Just a tad. Let me see if this improves my position and removes the finger issues on my next ride.

I raised the seat because last Sunday after my 90 km ride I realised I had a small pain on the right knee. It went away in a couple of hours. But it's a small pain nevertheless, that cannot be ignored.

I pushed the seat back a little because I notice that after cycling for a while I am often trying to slide back a little. Now that could well be because of the angle of the seat and it is tilted a little up. But I found that I like it when I slide back a little and the angle to the pedal is more comfortable for pushing.

Two days ago I had adjusted the angle of the left hand brake lever. It was too far moved inside and pushing the gear was becoming difficult, what with my zero strength thumb and index finger. I have a feeling it happened after my small fall a couple of weeks ago. I pulled it more to the left to make it parallel to the dropped end of the handlebar.

My next target is to reduce the reach of the brake levers. But I cannot locate the correct bolt for doing the job. The youtube videos are failing me. I have a feeling it is a bolt on the rider/palm side of the handle. But rolling back the rubber hood is really really hard and it is quite difficult to reach that particular bolt. I will give it a good try tonight.

My Cycling Gear

Over the last couple of years since buying the Merida, I have been building a small collection of essential gear for biking. Time to list them down in a place.

Cycling Apparel & Wearable

Pearl Izumi cycling bib
Pearl Izumi hand gloves
Merida helmet

On Cycle Attachments

Cat Eye Velo 9 (for Merida Red Roadie)
Cat Eye Velo 7 (for Hero MTB)
Merida Bottle Cage - 2 (both on Merida)
Via Terra saddle bag
NiteRider back light - NR TL 5.0 SL (Rs 549)
NiteRider front light - NR Swift 350 (Rs 2299)

Tools & Spares

Park Tool - tyre lever set blue (3 in set)
Park Tool - mini pump
Crankbrothers multitool 19
Firefox floor standing pump
Maxxis tube - 700 - 18/25

Simulating A Flat At Home

Today my father would have been very proud of me and I really miss him for the umpteenth time. Today I managed to take off the front wheel, take the tube out and put it back on again after filling air etc. I remember, when we got Fulka's old bicycle for our house in Deoghar he had wanted me to learn to take off the wheel and repair punctures (in those days street side mechanics fixed a flat without taking off wheels). He gave me the money to buy a pump and rubber solution and the necessary wrenches. Because our house in Deoghar was about 2 miles from the nearest bike repair shop, if it was open at all, his logic was we should be self sufficient.

I never managed to learn it. The pump was so bad it was impossible to pump anything with it. In those days things used to be very difficult and tools were really really bad in our country. In short, nothing worked unless you knew some ingenuous fix for it. For example, to make a pump work we would need to place a small piece of cloth over the valve and then fix the pump nozzle for a snug fit. Those kind of things.

Today, at age 53 I finally simulated the entire process that I would need to do if I had a flat on the road. I meant to learn it for a long time and I felt immensely empowered by this apparently simple achievement. Of course putting the tyre back on over the rim wasn't easy. But I managed to do it. Of course I will need more practice to get it right without a fuss on the road but I will get there. There is no rocket science involved in it. I did struggle a bit to put the tyre back but I kept telling myself, "if the illiterate tyre repair guys can do it, I should also be able to do it." And in the end I succeeded, which is what matters.

The youtube videos all say you should mildly inflate the tube first, wrap it around the rim and then put the tyre on. It did not work for me. Period. It might work later. I will try it later. The first evening it did not work for me. I finally did what our street side mechanics do. I took all the air out of the tube, set it against the inner wall of the tyre and then set it against the rim after inserting the valve through the whole.

After this I inflated the tube with my Park Tool mini pump. I pumped in as hard as possible and then engaged the wheel back to the bike. I checked the pressure with the gauge of my floor standing pump. It read 30 PSI - dangerously low. If I ride with such low pressure on the road I would soon get a pinch puncture. I will have to work out a trick to pump in more air with the pump. It is supposed to be capable of pumping in 90 PSI air into any tyre. Let me see if this claim is true. I think I have to have the valve closer to the floor, which gives me better leverage to put more pressure.

To fix a flat you need two items really. A couple of tyre levers (well, I have three - again from Park Tool) and a pump. And of course a spare/new tube. Nothing else. If you want to repair the puncture you would need a patch. But I guess I would leave that for doing at home.

You first take the wheel out from the bike. I had already learnt it and with wheels with skewers/quick release it takes a few seconds. After this you use the levers to release the tyre from the wheel. Next you take out the tube after taking off the cap and the lock nut at the base of the valve.

The only thing that I did not do is not put the new Maxxis tube in. Incidentally, I found my wheel has a nice orange coloured liner to protect the tube from pinch flats.

The maiden highway ride

Yesterday I went as far as the Dankuni Toll Plaza. I went in through Bally Bridge (46 Km) and came back via 2nd Bridge (30 Km). A total of 76 km. Apart from being the longest ride so far, it is also the first time that I rode on the highway. To add one more first to this ride, it was my first group ride. The rest of the group went as far as the Singur CCD and I came back on my own after a daab and chhatu sarbat beyond the toll plaza with the group.

Incidentally, this is also the first time I peed when I was wearing the cycling bib. It's simple - you take the helmet, t-shirt and waist bag off. Pull the damn thing down and just do it. No one bothers to look at you. I did it by the side of the highway in a desolate place though.

Now back to the ride. First, the special learnings from the ride.

I think riding on the Kona Expressway was the most dangerous thing to do, particularly in the sections where the road is divided into three lanes. I was on the first lane which was being used by the aggressive buses. I had to go down on the side walk several times to let them pass. Finally I decided to take the middle lane, which I noticed was not being used by anyone. This felt a lot safer.

Another critically important thing, to ride on the highway is, your neck should be absolutely supple and flexible. You are on the extreme left of the road. Trucks are flying past you with very little gap when one is overtaking the other from the wrong side. Now a local three-wheeler is coming down the track in the wrong direction towards you. You realise that there is truck coming from behind but you aren't too sure how far behind. So you don't know if changing lane is a prudent thing to do. Turning your head, you find you can turn it a little more than 90 degrees (4 to 5 o'clock). You must be able to turn 180 degrees. Otherwise it can be dangerous. Turning your head 180 degrees while seated on the cycle is not easy, at my age and fitness level.  

In my case, I stopped. The three wheeler also stopped inches before hitting me. I turned my head back with my left toe on the ground. Saw the truck off and then proceeded. 

The places where roads merge are also pretty dangerous, particularly if the other road is merging from the left hand side. I started coming to a dead stop at such mergers and then would go to the far left when there was no traffic.

Now the ride.

As I said earlier, this was a group ride for me. I knew none of these people before Sunday morning 5 am. I had posted on DoW that I wanted to go as far as Dankuni Toll Plaza via Bally Bridge to come back via Kona EW and if anyone would be interested to come along. 

Sumanta Rana Sengupta, the guy in an orange jersey squatting in front, responded. But he wanted me to reach Ruby at 4.30, which was difficult for me because it would entail leaving home at 4 and waking up at 3 am. Not really feasible. Finally it was settled that I would try to make it to Science City at 5 and see where they were. 

Upon reaching the bend where the PC Connector turns towards ITC at around 5.10 am, I found a seniorish gentleman in blue helmet and black jersey (he is standing next to me in the pic and his name is Mr Sanjay Kumar Daga) waiting by the road side. I asked him if he was waiting for Rana and he said yes. I was so glad that I found the group in the darkness of the morning. We moved a little ahead and found Rana was already there along with a few other guys. I introduced myself and I must confess I cannot remember any of the other names now except for the guy in the extreme left who is Idris and the other senior gentleman with a goatee and an orange jersey - Mr Dipak Lal. 

Off we went. We cycled straight down the By-pass. Took the new Ultadanga flyover and stopped near the VIP-Jessore Road crossing where this photograph was taken. We moved on towards Belghoria EW and hit NH 19 (earlier NH 2) near Bally. On the way we stopped briefly for a quick photo session near a place where there was a bifurcation with one road going to Nivedita bridge and another going to Bally Bridge. We took the later. Our next stop was after the Dankuni toll plaza where I saw the odo had hit 46 Km for me. 

Here everyone had daab and chhatu sarbat. I also met Mr Arvindhan Ganesan (he has been my facebook friend for long) here who had come from Shyamnagar to this spot to ride with the group. Mr Daga refused to let me pay. It was time for me to say good bye to the group. They would go as far as Cafe Coffee Day near Singur. For me that would be too far. So despite them asking me to come along, I declined politely and started the return journey alone. 

According to my calculation it would be another 30 Km to home and that turned out to be perfect. Before starting the return journey I did another first. I peed. This demands special mention because I was wearing a cycling bib which makes things difficult. I took off the helmet, my T-shirt (I don't have a jersey) and my waist pouch. Pulled the straps off my shoulder and just went for it. No one quite bothered to see what I was doing on the side of the highway. And even if anyone did I couldn't care less. 

The return journey was uneventful except for the fact that it was my first solo ride along the highway. Never for a minute did I feel overawed or anything. I know this highway like the back of my palm. But then driving on a road in your car or SUV is one thing. And riding your road cycle alone is quite another. The only point worth noting on this trip is that 2nd Bridge is really tough. Very steep and for a very long stretch. 

Oh yes. I hit a lunatic person near Kadamtala Crossing. He just came out from behind a stationary truck, running, to cross the road. It was too late for me. I think I kind of nipped him on the heel. Neither of us had a fall. 

Back home I did a few stretches for my glutes and quads and hamstring and I am fine. But yes, while crossing the bridge before Salap I realised I hardly had any more strength left in my left hand. The wrist had become jellyish. I did not even have the strength to push the gear shifter for the front chain ring. The hand is still bad. I am finding it difficult to even blow the horn of my car with the left hand. 

The effect of the wrist fracture is obviously still there. I have to work on it. 

Why You Should Learn To Take Off Your Wheels

One of the first things I taught myself after deciding to go on longish trips with my car out of town, was how to replace a wheel. Those were the pre-tubeless days. A flat meant an immediate halt and replacement of the wheel. How to change the wheel is a critical thing to know if you are travelling on your own. This knowledge has come in pretty handy for me on several occasions. It's my good luck that I have never had a flat while travelling long distances in India. But I know if needed I can do it. 

While changing the wheel of a car is relatively easy, changing the wheel of a bike is not. Different bikes use different techniques to fix the wheels. Taking them off was never easy when we were young. You needed wrenches. You needed to take this off and that off etc etc. But it wasn't so critically important for us because a. we were not travelling long distance on our cycles. b. the road side mechanic could get the flat fixed without taking the wheel off. 

However, modern bikes come with a very simple quick release system that makes the job of replacing the wheel like a piece of cake. My Merida has such a system and today, well after owning the bike for more than a year, I mustered up enough courage to take the two wheels off. 

While taking off and putting the front wheel back on was really a piece of cake, the rear wheel wasn't so easy, particularly putting it back on. Finally it happened. But I couldn't quite understand how exactly it happened. I guess I will have to do it several times more to be able to do it confidently. There is no rocket science involved here. 

Now comes the questions why I want to learn this. 

A. It is a cool thing to do/know. If someone did this in my childhood in front of me, I would have been very envious of him and would have wanted to do it and would have made my father's life miserable asking him to get me a cycle with quick release mechanism. 

B. It makes cleaning the bike very easy and you can do a thorough job of it if you can take the wheels off. Not only can you clean the wheels nicely, you can also clean the insides of the fork, brakes, chain stays, seat stays, derailleurs, cassettes etc. These places gather a lot of dirt and it is a good thing to give the bike a thorough shampoo after a dirty run. 

In fact today's decision to take off the wheel was prompted by this morning's ride over a wet patch of road near Science City. The bike's frame was literally plastered with dirt - essentially sand particles. Terrible to look at and would have surely spoilt the bike's paint if I allowed them to sit there for long. 

I had to see the various youtube videos several times to gather the confidence but in the end I did it. Youtube videos make everything look very simple. Real life is not always so simple, but except for putting the rear wheel back on, there is nothing that requires any special ability or knowledge or experience. Any ten year old can also do these. 

C. You can confidently go anywhere with your bike, a spare tube, a couple of levers to take out your tyre and a handy pump. That's it. You can easily fix a flat. I have all these except the pump. It's on my Amazon wish list though. 

Essentially you are not fixing the flat (even that can be done) but on the road you are replacing your tube really. You do that on the desolate section of your road and then the moment you see a tyre repair shop (they are everywhere), get the punctured tube fixed. To fix a punctured tube you need the additional help of some water and of course the patches. 

D. No knowledge goes unused in life. However, trivial it might be.

My next target is to learn how to take the tube out and put it back on. 

  

The First Non-Stop 50K

Today I achieved two cycling firsts. As the title suggests, I cycled non-stop to cover a distance of 50+ km. In terms of time, it took me 2:26 min to cover a little over 51 km. Sitting constant on the saddle for close to two and a half hours without a break is not easy. But surprisingly I don't feel any soreness on the ass. In fact I noticed this last Thursday (Kalipujo holiday) also when I felt the bum was remarkably pain free after the 35 km ride. The Sunday before that - which is just last Sunday - I felt the pain on the ass for two days.

Actually after that Sunday pain, I did a lot of stretches for the glutes. I guess that helped. It's a remarkable thing really to not feel any pain after non-stop two and a half hours of sitting on a saddle.  Coming back to the other cycling first - I took off the front wheel of my bike and surprise surprise - I put it back on as well (after washing it nicely in the bathroom) !!! While it took about ten seconds to do the first job, it took about 20 seconds to put it back on. I have never owned a cycle with clip on type wheels. This is the first time I did this. It's a nice feeling :-) Like finally doing something that you always wanted to do as a child but were afraid to try.

My next ambition is to take off the rear wheel, which is slightly more complicated because the chain and derailleur come into play there. But I will do it. I would have done it today itself but I have to go out to attend to a lunch invitation party for a colleague's son's annaprashan. 

Next on my "to do" list is taking the tube out and putting it back on. If I can do this I can confidently go for long road trips. I will need a portable pump for that though.

Now back to the morning's ride. I had meant to do this yesterday with Chenku. But due to really bad weather we couldn't go out. So I went out alone today to do what I had intended to do earlier. I think I started off at around 5.15 am. I got a little delayed waiting for the Garmin to get a fix on the satellites. It took an inordinately long time. In fact I turned it off and turned it on again. This trick often works. The Forerunner can be totally unpredictable when it comes to getting a fix on satellites. 

The route had a few bad sections and we learn from our mistakes. Like I will never take the short cut to Bijan Setu through Kakulia. That section is full of bumps. The section in front of Science City on the Park Circus connector had water logging. This made riding difficult as only the central part of the road was dry and the small pick up trucks drive at break neck speed there. Riding here made the bike and my back very dirty. This is the reason why I took off the wheel. I gave the bike a thorough wash,  with the pipe jet downstairs. But I did it without any shampoo. I will get a foam and some shampoo for this soon.

I felt a little hungry when I hit the VIP Road. This is after around 30 km, I think. I had started the morning with 4 biscuits. I think I was feeling a little extra hungry today. I didn't feel thirsty at all. Towards the end perhaps yes but then I had to prove that I could ride non-stop. So I didn't stop for any water break. Since I use a normal water bottle I need to stop to drink from it.

I guess I am now going to go for 100 km quite seriously. I will go step by step. Next Sunday will be 60, followed by 70 and then 80 etc. No point hastening things up and invite an unnecessary injury.

I also need to learn to ride with both the hands off. When I was in class XI I could ride for hours on end with the hands off. Even in the dark (on familiar roads, of course). But on this bike riding with hands off will take some time to learn. All I need to do is practice a bit. But I was afraid, it would slow down my average time. So I kept on pushing.

A major advantage of being able to ride hands free is that you can give your back a little rest. Let me see.

5 PM: Sunday, 22nd October 2017

After writing this far, I went to Sankhadeep's son's annaprashan. After coming back home at around 3 I did the rear wheel with some help from Monisha. Now taking the rear wheel off is easy but putting it back in wasn't so. The wheel has to be perfectly aligned between the brake pads. Then you have to engage it on the chain. But while doing it the wheel has to be held in such a position that the rest of the things fall in place perfectly.
That wasn't happening smoothly. After some struggle, suddenly things got engaged properly. I am not sure exactly what I did right but it happened. This means I will have to take the wheel off several times and truly master it. Because what happened today was more by fluke. I must know how it works.
Initially I tried with the cycle upright. Monisha was holding it. Then I turned it upside down with the cycle sitting on the saddle. Anyway, managed to clean the wheel nicely when it was off the bike.

Stem Change

The OE 110 stem

Today I changed the stem of my Red Roadie. It initially came with a 110 mm stem. I thought the reach was too far. So, I got a new Merida stem in 90 mm size. Two centimetres can make a lot of difference to riding comfort. I am yet to ride with the new stem. Let me it check out.

I procured it from a guy in Bangalore called Venkatesh Shivarama. He owns a cycling store called Wheel Sports. It cost me Rs 1500. Extreme Adventures quoted me a price of Rs 3000. I am sure that material is different. Though they said it is not carbon but alloy only.

The decal on the new stem is a little different. Otherwise fitting size is same. There is no need to remove or add spacers.

I spoke to Someswar about the fitting. He explained it is nothing difficult and asked me to try and promised he would fix it if something went wrong. So I did, and something did indeed go wrong. The central bolt was tightened so strongly that everything inside came off when I unbolted it. It's somewhat similar to when you try to unscrew the cap of a fountain pen and it comes out with the nib still fitted inside.

The OE stem came off fine but I could not fit it back on.

Someswar, who had a delivery to make in Jadavpur for a new bike was coming to this side of the town in any case. He turned the bike upside down and out came several small bits and pieces. He reassembled the whole thing and fitted it back. I asked him not to tighten the bolts too much as I would like to fine tune the angle of the handle.

He checked the bike for wheel balance and found it was not true. He did some tightening of the spokes. The wheels are quite true now. This is an art you have to master from experience.

He also tightened the cable of the gear.

Few Adjustments

I did a few adjustments last night to the bike before my morning 20 km ride today. First I reduced the pressure on my tyre and next I tilted the handle a wee bit up. Both added to a more comfortable ride this morning.

First the tyre pressure. I was keeping the tyre pressure at 110 psi. That's the recommended and suggested number that you see everywhere on the internet. The ride always felt very hard on the small potholes or uneven surfaces. I reduced it down to 80 psi last night on the advice of one particular blog. My weight being between 60 and 65 kg, 110 psi was too tight for me.

The potholes became more bearable this morning. Of course, I didn't wear my cycling bib today, choosing to go with the general Slazenger running shorts that Chenku gave me, otherwise it would have been more comfortable for my bums.

Now the handlebar angle. My bike came with a 110 mm stem. That's the usual norm for a racing cycle, where you are supposed to lean forward on the handlebar to make your body more aerodynamic. But it made my reach a little too long and leaning forward on a long ride is not comfortable. I ride on the hoods. The hand grip on the hoods was angled down a little, making braking a little difficult and uncomfortable. I have the option to change the stem and go for something shorter like 90 mm, which I will probably do. But in the meanwhile I decided to tilt the handle up a bit so that I can grip the brifter (brake and shifter lever) more comfortably.

I loosened up the four allen bolts and tilted the bar up a bit. The guy who fitted my bike, Someswar Rao, kept it at a neutral position. I was a little hesitant to change it. But once I did, it made a lot of difference. 

A Quick Ride Together

After the ride near Laltu's house

Chenka and I cycled together today. Apparently after some 30 years. I started from home on my Merida at around 6.15 and reached Elgin Road-SP Mukherjee crossing. Chenka came from his house and joined me. He was on time, for a change. 

We turned left from Exide and again right from Rabindra Sadan. Turning left again from Planetarium, we went past the Victoria Memorial towards Fort William. Took Red Road and then took Council House Street. After crossing HSBC, GPO and Reserve Bank we turned towards Strand Road to come back. The section of Strand Road was pretty bad for a racing cycle here. Near Babu Ghat long distance bus stand the traffic situation was pretty bad even in the morning. But after that it was pretty clear. We went towards Prinsep Ghat and then towards the RCGC main gate. One needs to cross a small bridge here. After this it's a straight road upto Rabindra Sadan where we turned right into Harish Mukherjee Road. From Elgin we took the main SP Mukherjee Road and went upto Southern Avenue where we turned left towards the Lake. From Lansdowne crossing we turned right towards the Lake Gardens flyover and finally reached Laltu's house. This journey for me was 20 km. After this coming back home was another 3 km. 

I kept the Garmin Forerunner 15 on and here is the result from Strava.

At Laltu's we had a small adda session with tea from the road side stall below their house. Finally after about 20 minutes we parted our ways and came home. 

Chenku rode my refurbished Hero. I took the Merida. We swapped our bikes near Fort William but he soon returned it to me saying he was feeling uncomfortable and uneasy with the dropped handlebars. 

The last time he and I rode together was apparently in 1987 when the two of us went to our village Kuberpur near Madhyamgram for a day trip. That would have been a good 80 km ride. I am sure we can do it again. If he buys another bike we can go again this winter. I cannot go to Kuberpur with the Merida because the roads are really bad but with the Hero, I can. 

A Happy New Year Ride

Pic credit: Geetanjali Roy. Taken on 1st January 2017

Today is the first day of the new year 2017. I took out my Merida road bike after quite some time. I had planned to basically show it to Bobby. He had told me last week that I should get a road bike (when I went to his house with my Hero). Today's trip was principally meant to be an answer to that :-) I also wanted to ride for 50 kms at a stretch. My goal is to be able to do 100 kms at a stretch in the next 3/4 months. I guess I should get there sooner rather than later.

As things turned out, Bobby had left for US already and I didn't know this. At the end of the day I clocked some 43 kms in about 3 hours. This is my longest cycling trip so far. The average speed could have been better but for a few short walking stages.

So how did the body react to this stress? After about 12/15 kms the waist region on the back was aching a bit. But that is a question of fitness and practice. I guess once I start doing the waist stretches more regularly and ride more frequently it should get sorted. Some core strengthening exercise also have to be included. The pain was gone after I stopped and reached home. It is not a lingering pain, so to speak.

I also need to change my stance a bit and not ride so much on the drops. Necessity being the mother of invention, today I learnt to ride more on the hoods. But my ability to brake with the hands on the hoods is a little compromised. I need more practice obviously. If you are a novice and wondering what all this means here is a link to a good site on the subject

In my experience I realised that after 30 kms my body was wanting a short rest. This came in the form of a traffic light near Nicco Park and a stretch near Chingrihata where I had to walk as the road was all dug up there. I am sure this will go with practice.

I also felt very thirsty and had a bottle of water near Bobby's house, which is at around 18 km mark. I also took a short break near our school on the way back. One of the first things I did therefore, after coming back home, is to fix the bottle cage on the down tube. Next time I don't intend to buy drinking water. 

I did wear the Pearl Izumi bibs again today. Makes the journey a lot more comfortable than if I had nothing like that. But the roads of Calcutta are difficult for the road biker. The mastic asphalt stages are particularly difficult. Because they embed small stone chips on the road surface and they stay a little raised. In cars you don't realise it but on a road bike it's terrible. The worst stage was from Ruby to Park Circus. I don't think I am going to take that route any time soon. 

Today I took the Garmin Forerunner 15, rather than Strava because I wasn't sure if the phone's battery would be enough to last the entire journey with the Strava on. The Velo 9 kept the odo moving. I had forgotten to erase the trip meter. But that's fine. I am not training for the Olympics. The Garmin was capturing data in any case.

A Bottle Cage

A bottle cage is an important accessory one needs for anything beyond half an hour's cycling, particularly in this humid Calcutta. Today I went for a 43 km, 3-hr long ride on the road bike and I started feeling thirsty at around 12 km. At 18 I bought a small bottle of water and quenched my thirst. 

After coming back home, one of the first things I did is install the bottle cage that had come a few days ago from Merida. It has a hideous green colour that does not go too well with the red of the bike but then I have to do with it for now. 

Installation wasn't anything hi fi. New road bikes come with pre-punched and threaded holes. Those holes are covered by bolts with heads that need an Allen key. One needs to take those bolts off and fix the cage. The cage also came with its own bolts, which I am going to keep for any replacement need later. 

For precise understanding I used this video from youtube. I was a little foxed and after seeing this video realised that one needs to take off the bolts from the bike first :-)

For now, I think I am going to use a regular water bottle. I don't see any need to invest in a proper sports bottle. 

Incidentally, my other bike - the refurbished Hero - does not have any pre-punched holes. I think I shall get two rivnuts punched. This is a decent video on how to tighten a rivnut .

November 4, 2017

Tonight I installed the second bottle cage on my Merida. Tomorrow I am going to go on a 75 km practice ride. Intend to carry one bottle with plain water and another with electrolyte mixed water. This was my strategy during the Roopkund Trek.

These bottle cages from Merida are of decent quality. In a bad cage the bottle can come out if the road surface is bad or bumpy. It has not happened with me so far. And I have ridden on quite a few bad roads. I even had a mild, low speed fall where the bottle took the knock and had a significant scratch on it. However, the bottle never came out of the cage.

Having improved my cardiac and muscular efficiency through regular running and cycling, I feel less thirsty these days. The other day I completed 50 km without a stop and did not need to drink any water. Did not even stop to wipe my face clean. I sweat much less these days. I know it is bad not to drink water during such heavy exercises, particularly to keep electrolytic balance intact. But I took it as a challenge not to stop. Also, while wearing a bib I remain conscious that too much water might demand a pee break and with a cycling bib it might get embarrassingly difficult.