Cadence Sensor

My Garmin Edge 130 is paired to a cadence and a speed sensor. While the cadence sensor is mounted on the

crank arm of the Merida, the speed sensor is installed on the training wheel. This morning I wanted to check my cadence and realised the sensor was not working. I was a little worried that it might have either conked off or the battery was down.

After coming home I promptly replaced the battery (I have a whole box full of these 2032 batteries) and to my great relief it was found to be working just fine. As is my wont, I had to once again learn the entire process almost from scratch. First you take the damn sensor off the crank arm. It is secured with a robust rubber band. Next you find out how the battery chamber is opened. That was pretty intuitive. But what stopped me for a long time is the question - how do you take the actual battery out of the slot? Turned out one has to press any of the sides of the battery down, the other side comes up. Otherwise there is no notch where you can slip your nail and jack it up. This is the ultimate in precision engineering. Not a micro millimetre is wasted.

The biggest challenge was taking the new Duracell battery out of its packing. I had to cut it open using a pair of sharp scissors !!!! 

But the great relief was when I saw the two tiny light dots signalling it was fine. I checked it out by turning on the Edge 130 and they connected almost instantly.

I wrote down the entire process here lest I forget again. I am not sure how the health of the speed sensor's battery is. I suppose it should also be changed. But then taking off the hub of the wheel is such a tricky thing to do.

I have decided to do cadence based fartleks at least once a week. That is you go for 30 seconds on high cadence and then cool off for another 30 seconds. Gradually you increase this 30 seconds to perhaps a minute. This exercise really helps. I learnt it while training on Zwift before the Darjeeling ride of 2019. 

Meanwhile, today is 3rd November and the cadence sensor is working fine. Here is today's reading.

Changing Brake Pads on Roadie

Day before yesterday I changed the brake pads (I am not sure if they are to be called brake pads or shoes but I changed the entire housing and rubber) of my Red Roadie. I changed only the rear ones in the first go and will change the front ones tonight. The Roadie's odo says 4262 Km (after the 10 Km trial run last night). It had the original factory fitted brake pads from Merida which had worn off, to put it very mildly. In fact after my August 21 accident I had entirely taken off the rear pads  and installed the bike on my Elite (on a trainer you are not supposed to use the brakes) for rehab at home, complete with the training wheel. The training wheel being slightly wider than the Merida regular wheel, it made sense to the brake pads off.

Now I have decided to do a 58 Km ride on my birthday this year. That would be better with the roadie. So it is imperative that I instal the new pads. I had bought these Kool Stop in February 2021 off Happy Earth. You can read the post about it here . The two pairs for the front and rear had cost me Rs 3000. They are super premium by Indian standards. The oridnary ones cost Rs 250 or so. Incidentally, now I find they cost Rs 2000 each pair. Of course the exchange rate of dollar has also gone up.

Before I get into the nitty gritties of how I changed, I must say the test ride last night was super smooth in terms of rear braking performance. I never realised what I was missing with those hideous Merida OE brakes. I will need to tighten the brake levers just a bit. Right now I am reading up on the subject of how to do that.

There is nothing hi-fi about changing a brake pad. In fact I had changed them in my Surly before my Darjeeling trip (from Tektro to Kool Stop). The main challenge is to know what type of brake you have and then buy the correct ones accordingly. After that it's a matter of just using the allen keys properly. Remember to fit them in the correct direction. An arrow is shown on the rubber.

But my case was slightly complicated. I had to increase the gap between the brake caliper and the rim marginally. Otherwise the pads wouldn't fit. After much brain racking I decided to slacken the brake cable a bit. Possibly it got slackened a wee bit too much.

These brake shoes have two washers and a spacer. I kept the spacer and one of the washers on the other side of the caliper. On this side I have just one washer. It's working fine. 

Before signing off, I must once again state that the new brake shoes or pads are simply excellent. Kool Stop really makes your bike stop very cool.

Tubus Duo Low Rider Front Rack

Today I accomplished what sometime ago seemed like a very daunting task, if not an impossible one. I installed the Tubus Duo low rider front rack on my Surly LHT's front rack. I had bought it a few years ago. On my first attempt it seemed completely impossible that the rack would fit my bike. For the life of me I could not see how it could be done. There are three holes where the bolts have to be tightened to secure the rack against the frame. And it seemed impossible that the three bolts could be properly aligned. 

But then the Tubus Duo is fairly well known in the touring circuit and so is the Surly LHT. Therefore surely it could be installed but I wasn't sure how. I even got a special skewer brought in from Happy Earth that does not have a key so that it wouldn't foul with the rack. I thought I would use it when necessary. In fact they are still kept safely in the cycling cupboard.

I couldn't find any youtube video on Tubus Duo. The Tubus Tara seemed more famous as a front rack.

Finally on a facebook forum for LHTs I saw someone's rig with a pair of Tubus Duos. His rig gave me the confidence that it could be done. In fact with this confidence I even bought a pair of Ortlieb front panniers from Stay Tuned. 

I thought I would try installing the racks with the mudguards removed. And after mentally postponing the installation several times in the past few months today I thought I'd try my luck.

So I first undid the front mudguard's two screws on the two sides. Next I started fiddling with the rack. Not much luck. I was beginning to get worried. Next I opened the instruction manual. The diagram clearly shows placing a spacer with the bottom bolt. I did that and bingo the damn thing went in without fouling with the skewer key. Next were the two bolts on the top horizontal tubes. They also went in without much drama. And I was finally done. Later, I removed the spacer and placed the mudguard's anchor point which acted as a spacer and it worked too.

I even removed the front wheel with the rack on. There was no problem whatsoever. Of course you cannot turn or rotate the key with the rack on but then you can unscrew the skewer from the other end holding the keyed side steady, which is what I did and the wheel comes off nice and easy. 

So here are the instructions for myself or anyone else who might have similar problems as me. For myself because I might soon quite forget what I did. Therefore it is prudent to write things down.

Shimano Gloves

Yesterday I got for myself a pair of Shimano gloves in size XL and colour red. The sub brand is Airway Glove. From Stay Tuned for Rs 1470. It is a thin pair without any gel. My Rockbros gloves have done 4K plus kilometers and may not last me for too long. That's why I got these. The gloves feel rather ordinary. 

There is nothing except the brand logo that can justify the price. Let me see how long they last. That can be the only justification for the more than double the price of a pair of Rockbros. 

The gloves do not have any closure around the wrist. Just a triangular piece of elastic. In fact the stitch had come off a bit on one of them. Got Monisha to stitch it.  

The one good thing about the gloves is that it is very very light. It hardly has any weight of its own. That's the in thing in the world of road biking. Some road bikers even shave their hair to reduce weight. They are known as weight winnies.

I normally require a pair of gloves to ride my bicycles (or even motorcycles) for two reasons. A. my palms sweat a lot and it becomes very uncomfortable, if not risky, to ride with such sweaty and clammy palms. B. it's safer to be wearing gloves while riding in case there is a fall. It protects the palms from bruises and cuts. Our natural tendency in a fall is to protect the body by smothering the fall with our outstretched hands. A pair of gloves can protect the palms in such a case. 

These half finger gloves are for my regular riding. For cold climes (if and when it happens) I will need a pair of full finger gloves. But that I will buy when I go somewhere really cold. Otherwise it will be a waste of money. Let me see what this winter and the next summer holds for me.

Cat Eye AMPP 400

 

Got this Cat Eye AMPP 400 from Bike Zone (or whatever the name is of the Salt Lake store) just before New Year when we went to Dibhai's house in Salt Lake. It's an excellent piece of Japanese workmanship. Quite bright at its highest and a little lower mode is also available to run it for longer hours. There are two blinker modes. But I realised it's a distraction to the rider. I tried riding with the full blast on. The button turned red after an hour and a half. I shall see when it goes completely dark. And then I shall use the less powerful mode.

They have given a very small USB cable to charge it with. The full charging time will need to be observed too. Right now I am down with Covid. Once I am up and running shall do all these tests. But now that I have two lights I am a lot more confident. Won't run out of light in a hurry.

I have nothing new to say about Cat Eye. They make excellent cycling products that are all made in Japan. This is my fourth Cat Eye product. I have had two Velo's (8 and 9) and one back light. All perform as expected. No drama. This light feels robust too despite being very handy and light. I think it is metallic. Not plastic.

In comparison to my 350 lumen Night Rider this 400 is a lot more bright. Possibly the reflector is of better quality. Looks slick and smart too. 

The unit attaches to the strap that one can install first on the handlebar and then clip the unit on to it. For charging or for taking it away in your pocket from a parked place it is possible to just slide it out of the strap. There is a small clip that you push and slide back. 

The NR comes with a rubber band kind of strap, which is also fine. 

Endura GV 500

It's been a long time ambition for me to go cycling in the Himalayas after retirement and I am well aware that I will need warm garments to do that. So when my favourite nephew asked me what to bring from England I told him to get for myself an Endura GV 500 insulated jacket. It's a bit pricey at 150 pounds but I never expected that he would refuse to take money for it. Incidentally, in case you are worried about the impact of this on his bank balance, his second car is a Porsche Taycan Turbo (yet to be delivered though). The first is of course a BMW.

Keeping the price part and who paid for it aside, this is easily the finest and the most comfortable piece of garment I have ever worn. It's soft, warm and very nicely packable in its own pocket into a small size. The fill is not down, which is one of the reasons I bought it. There is a new synthetic material called Primaloft which is a very premium replacement material for down that is increasingly being used in the adventure and active wear market. 

I have a down jacket for hiking in the high altitudes. It's a Marmot. Very warm and tested at -30 degree celsius in Chadar in winter. 

The disadvantage of down, apart from the whole ethical question, is it is much larger when packed and becomes a mess if it gets wet and in the mountains it always rains. Primaloft continues to work even if it is wet. Or so they claim.

I tried the jacket out one evening here in Calcutta in what was possibly 20 degree. I started sweating in less than 10 km. The only issue is that once I packed it in its own pocket and kept it in the side bag, crease marks came up on the fabric. I have kept it hanging in a hanger at home. Waiting for my next trip to the mountains. 

It has subtle but hopefully effective reflectors on the shoulder and two zippered side pockets. The chains are superbly smooth. They are not YKK but some other brand. A unique feature of the chain is you can unzip it from both upper and lower end keeping only the middle (or any other part) fixed. It is somewhat like a buttoned shirt where you open the top two and bottom two buttons open. This will be nice when you are feeling hot due to cycling but may need to pull it up soon.

I think it will make for a great jacket for around town too except that it has a cycle jacket's cut where the back side is longer than the front.

Endura is a Scottish company that makes top quality clothings and other accessories for cyclists. It has made quite a name for itself in this niche area. I hope this one lives up to the expectations. It is meant for gravel riding, which is what most Indian roads are in any case. I do not really know how a jacket is supposed to behave differently on gravel or on road. This is taking segmentation to its ultimate level. 

In any case, I hope the fabric is tough enough, being meant especially for gravel. It feels very soft and is extremely comfortable to the touch. Unfortunately it is an overkill for Calcutta. One sweats after riding with it for 10 km in the most biting winter evenings of Calcutta :-) So, I cannot really ride in it every evening during the short winter spell of our city.

However, in terms of keeping one warm in really sub zero temperature, it is not a match if compared to the Marmot that I have. One will have to layer adequately for using this in the high mountains. And I have to keep the Marmot handy too because even if the Endura is adequate while cycling, in really cold weather (Khardungla or Sela for example) one will need something warmer than this once the riding stops. 

Pubic Ramus #

About twenty days before my 57th birthday I broke my pubic bone. Sunday, 29th August, 2021 to be precise. It was a cycling accident. Chenka and I were riding happily in the evening. We went to Rajarhat and then turned back from a big jam near Rajarhat crossing meaning to return home along the same route. On the way near Wipro gate Chenka suddenly pulled the brake hard because some old man on a cycle was trying to cross the road and I was close to him. So I crashed into him and fell hard on my bottom on the road. It was very painful. I had to stay on the road for some time. Luckily it was a service road without any vehicular traffic. I had also seen the man. I did not expect Chenka to pull the brake. We could have comfortably crossed the place without a collision and he didn't need to pull the brake. But an accident is an accident. I am blaming him, if you ask, but I don't have any grudge against him. 

 

When I finally got up somehow - after about five minutes - I realised there was no strength in my left leg. It was wobbly. I sat on the side of the road for about half an hour drinking whatever little water was left. The people nearby, there were very few there at that time of the night (around 8.30 pm), were very helpful. Someone picked up the phone which had fallen out of my back pocket (I was wearing the orange cycling jersey). I checked the pocket for the GoPro. It was intact. The cycle was also intact except that its chain had come off the chainring. 

Chenka did a basic check on my back and said there was no fracture. His logic was if there was one I couldn't have stood up. Later in hindsight I understood that that kind of superficial check would show a fracture only if the bone had broken into two or into several pieces. When there is a fall and a sharp pain there is always the possibility of a small hairline fracture. Depending on where it has happened we might be able to do some work (like I cycled 14 km with it) but it is best not to and aggravate the situation.

On the way to Rajarhat. Crashed later

We discussed that the worst case scenario was to call Partha with his Duster and go home in the vehicle with the bike disassembled and kept in the boot. But I took a chance with riding the bike and realised that I could. The small potholes or undulations were hurting. But I could manage. 

I rode very slowly. I was a little worried about crossing the No. 4 Bridge in Park Circus. But even that got negotiated just fine. I reached home and collapsed on the bed. I later realised that I had cycled 14 Kms with a fracture !!! In Ladakh I had walked the Chadar with a broken wrist for three days. You might think one does not need the wrist to walk but trying balancing on a frozen river with a broken hand. You will realise where the challenges are.

On the way back, I realised I was feeling giddy when I looked down and then pulled the head up. I remember not hitting the head on the road very sharply. While falling I remember telling myself make sure you don't hit the head. Hold the head high up. It still touched the road but not with a bang. There is no mark on the helmet. This giddiness was there next morning also but in a very mild form. Finally it went away, I don't know when.

Next morning I realised the pain had just not subsided. I could hardly turn. I told Partha about the accident. He is my doctor friend who does anasthesia for Dr Indrajit Sardar, an extremely reputed orthopedic surgeon who also knows me quite well through Partha. Last night we had thought of calling him if cycling was impossible. 

He said go and get yourself X-rayed and immediately go to Indra-da. He will be free by 12.30. You should not have cycled home for 14 Kms and called me. If there was a small injury you possibly aggravated it. Fracture in the groin region is very common from such falls.

I called for Ranjanda to be my driver. He kindly agreed to do it. Monisha accompanied us. We went to Nightingale. Got myself X-rayed. Mousumi, Partha's wife and a doctor of physical medicine had advised me on what X-ray to do. 

Indrada saw me outside his OT. He was very worried that I had possibly broken the neck of the femur. After seeing the plate he said no, there was no injury on the neck of the femur but he suspected that there possibly was a fine fracture in the ramus - the pubic bone. He made me lie down. Asked me to do a few movements of the leg. He was happy with my response. Finally he started pressing on the pubic bone. It wasn't hurting. Finally at one point it did and he said - there. You have the fracture there. Take bed rest for four weeks. 

So the entire month of September looks like is gone. Today is 9th. I got some strength a couple of days back. Today I did some yoga and feeling better on the butt. 

I shall give a better status report on the various pains tomorrow.   

Thursday 16th September, 2021

I started active recovery in right earnest after last Sunday. Started with stretches of the glute and some very mild stretches of the hamstrings. I was sitting on the floor with the legs outstretched and then tried touching the toes with my fingers, keeping the spine straight. After some effort I could touch my toes. This gave some relief to the butt. 

Having suffered for two years with my left wrist fracture I now know the value of rehabilitation exercise. The fracture had healed in a month but the range of motions and strength of the wrist - these are purely muscular issues - came back after more than two years. I was never told what sort of exercise to do after the fracture had healed. 

I started doing a lot of pelvic floor exercises (that is where I fell originally and sneezing was causing a pain there) and also clenching the thighs and other small exercises for the legs. Things started improving in a day or two. On Tuesday I was being able to take very small baby steps alone and without the stick support. From Wednesday this improved to a slightly longer steps. But I still have to hold the body straight while walking. 

As of now range of motion has improved dramatically - relatively speaking. Yesterday I even did Vajrasan for five minutes. Vajrasan causes no pressure or weight in the groin. But internal rotation of the femur is still a pain. 

Last evening I went down to start the motorcycle and the car. I checked the clutch and whether it causes any pain to depress the clutch. There was none. I think I can quite go for a drive to HSBC but I don't want to. I will go out on Sunday and see if I can go and see Maa.

Last night Monisha brought a small plastic inflatable ball. I used it for pressing between the knees and also between the feet. The later is a lot more difficult. 

From today sneezing is completely pain free. 

One funny part about looking for pelvic floor exercise, Google has started suggesting various sites that deal with Erectile Dysfunction. Normally one looks for pelvic floor exercise as a remedy for ED.

Friday October 1, 2021 

Haven't written in a while. I completed my 4-weeks last Sunday. Started walking from Saturday night. On day 1 I walked for a kilometer at around 18 minutes with considerable pain. On Sunday also it was the same. It had started paining from around 200 meters. But at 800 meters when I changed my posture a little and made the body more straight the pain subsided a bit. But on both the subsequent mornings I was totally pain free. Sunday morning I drove to Nightingale and got myself X-rayed. 

So being pain-free on Monday morning I went to office for the first time in almost a month. I soon realised that sitting on the chair for extended hours was proving to be painful. I walked from Bishop Lefroy's parking lot to the office with Monisha carrying my bag. But I went back to the car in the evening all alone with the bag strapped to my shoulder. It was not a problem.

That evening I set up my Merida on the trainer. First I changed the rear wheel and installed the training wheel. I had to uninstall the rear brake pads as they were fouling with the rim. This is a new rim. Possibly it's fatter by a mm. After that I set the bike up on the trainer which took a while. 

I climbed the bike and pedalled for a minute. I wasn't feeling comfortable. Of course I was in my slippers. I just wanted to have a feel and it was not okay.

Next morning I found there was some pain. So I worked from home. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were rest days with the last two days seeing moderate exercise.

Today I went to work again. I drove Monisha to Dalhousie and came back alone to Bishop Lefroy. Sitting beyond an hour makes it painful. I was constantly standing up and clenching my butts. Came home alone at around 4 pm. 

This evening I did a lot of exercise and felt rather strong in the leg. Monisha and I went for a bike ride. Basically to inflate the tyres. The driveway has become extremely slippery due to monsoon. My feet were slipping as I was trying to pull the bike out while sitting astride. Monisha had to pull it a bit. 

The driveway needs to be cleaned before I venture out again with the bike. It is dangerous. 

I had once before all this driven down to see Maa. I think that was on the third Sunday. I even climbed the stairs in Didi's house. Possibly I shouldn't have. I had also gone for a short motorcycle ride prior to that. 

I spoke to Indra-da over phone on Wednesday. After a look at the X-ray (organised by Partha) he asked me not to walk too much now but to restrict them within the house. He said after six weeks I should be fine. These fractures take six weeks to completely heal. He also advised against cycling any time soon but was okay with stretches. 

I think cycling would be a wonderful exercise for the thighs without any weight. Indrada possibly doesn't know how to cycle or has forgotten how it works. Cycling or swimming, as opposed to walking or running, is not a weight bearing exercise. 

My exercises

I routinely do butt clenching exercise every now and then. Forty times on each leg. At least 3/4 times a day with the first one being right in the morning after waking up. In the evenings I also do a lot of stretches. I recently bought some rubber exercise bands. I also got a rubber ball for strengthening the inner thighs. You hold the ball between the legs and press them hard. It is good and hurts a bit, particularly if I had the ball between my feet. With the ball between my thighs or the knees it doesn't hurt. 

With the rubber band I walk sideways while it stays in a loop around my legs. I also wear it for clam shells. 

October 5, 2021

Contrary to how most people react, I feel very charged up in the evenings on a working day when I come back home. I don't know what will happen after retirement but right now that is how it is. On the holidays I feel very lazy the whole day. 

Anyway, yesterday I did a lot of exercise in the evening. Started with butt clenching, followed by squats 10x3 > stretches for the lower body (glutes, hamstrings, quads etc) > banded side steps > clam shells > squeezing rubber ball > push ups and Trikonasana. It is the best for inner thigh stretching. I have made remarkable improvement in this asana compared to what it was a few months ago. 

October 6, 2021

 

Started indoor cycling from this morning. Did about 5 Km. The first ride was without distance measurement. That would be around 2 Km. For the next ride I added the speed sensor on the rear wheel. That told me I rode for 3 Kms. 

To activate the indoor mode on the Edge 130 you click ride settings and then choose indoor. Every time you do you have to reset it. The unit resets itself to GPS mode. 

I still don't have Zwift. I think I will activate the account once I start riding in right earnest. Perhaps in a couple of weeks. Today's ride was just the first tentative step. My doctor is dead against cycling at this stage. I didn't argue with him that cycling is not a weight bearing exercise for the legs. Actually yesterday I saw an Instagram post from the Liverpool footballer Harvey Elliott. He had a fracture in his ankle and was operated upon. This was much after my accident. Now he is posting photographs of him riding indoor trainers !!! 

Zwift is excellent for the training rides. Must do that also this winter to supplement my road rides. Just road riding every evening is of no use in terms of building long term endurance. I must do at least 3/4 training rides on Zwift every week. 

I have said it before and I must say it again. Without indoor training I couldn't have done Darjeeling.

Monday, October 25, 2021

Yesterday marked my eight weeks of the accident. I am doing exercises in right earnest. There is just one exercise that causes some pain after the exercise. That is - single leg squats or Bulgarian squats. The pain does not linger for too long. But it is pain nevertheless. Proper and normal squats don't hurt though.

Another activity causes pain. That is, if I sit for too long. It starts hurting after about an hour. 

I have bought a foam roller for myofascial release. It is an excellent thing for stiff muscles. But one needs some physical fitness to use it, particularly on glutes and hamstrings or quads etc. I bought it off Amazon for around Rs 600. Good value for money.

Masseur on call

 

My exercise regime is a bit haphazard. But I try to do most of the thigh strengthening exercises. I stopped indoor cycling for a few days because it was causing some pain. Possibly I was riding too fast. Will try at a lower cadence tonight and report.

Saturday, November 27, 2021

Ready for the first road ride. November 11. Should've tucked it in

It's been exactly three months since I had the accident. I can say that I am almost 99 per cent normal now. Last night I went for my second consecutive day of cycling. There is no pain. I cycled 20 Kms on Thursday including crossing the LG flyover from both sides. I repeated the same on Friday. I am quite pain free now. I can say that I am back to feeling normal on the bike again. 

It took me a while to come out of the road fear. The motorcyclists are so extremely irresponsible now that using the road - whether as a pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist or car driver - has become extremely dangerous. 

I am using the Surly for these evening rides. But that is more for the Brooks saddle that is obviously a lot more comfortable. I also use my padded cycling shorts. 

I say 99 per cent because there is that very little stiffness in the groin region that reminds me about the accident. Otherwise I am fine.

 

In this last one month or so I had been cycling on and off. But every time I would feel some pain either immediately after my return or the next morning. I was using the heat pad to get some relief. I was even bringing the pad to work.

   

In November so far I have cycled only 82 Kms. May be it will be 100 by the end of the month. I hope to get back to normal cycling now and clock at least 500 Kms in December. Of course, December is a special month when there always is some sort of engagement in the evenings. That might affect my mileage. But I will try.

Monday, 29th November, 2021

On Saturday evening I tried to test the resilience of my groin muscles. I did Bulgarian Squats. Ten on each leg. There was some pain later. Something similar to a 15 Km bike ride few weeks ago. I applied the heat pad. Sunday night I repeated the squats. It pained a little. Heat pad again. I have to go through these pains and get rid of them once and for all. I checked with the pressing of the ball between the feet. I can do them quite fine. 

Bulgarian squats really test the inner muscles of the hamstring near the groin. These are squats on one leg while the other leg rests on a stool behind. There is an element of balance also in this exercise. This squat is ideal if you want a pair of tear drop shaped thighs. 

This week will be difficult in terms of cycling as I have some engagement or the other almost every evening for 4/5 days. Will carry on with the squats and push ups at home.