to helmet or not to helmet and other pet peeves

Biggest pet peeve

for me, seeing a family of mother, sometimes father and kids on the road biking and parents have no helmet and kids' helmets are so far back on their heads that they might as well not be wearing them. Don't people have ANY common sense anymore? The helmet has to worn correctly or you might as well not wear it. Here is a good checklist for helmet fit. There are lots of You Tube videos if you want to spend some time, Remember, 3 minutes watching a video may save you or your child's life.

http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/bicycle-helmet.html

Second pet peeve

for me,  cyclists passing another cyclist not in their group. I often ride solo and I go slow. Often times large groups of Lance wannabes pass me at break neck pace and way too close. When you bike slow, especially up a hill, maintaining a perfectly straight line is hard to do plus I have to  look at passing cyclists making my journey not so safe.  The passing cyclists often do not announce that the are coming, particularly true of a lone fast cyclist. They just buzz by scaring me. Not sure why cyclists whine and complain when a car buzzes them but have no idea that a cyclist can buzz another cyclist. Hey slow down Mr Speedy, so  you lose 10 seconds off of  your ride, where are you going anyhow that your time and speed actually matters? Sometimes I feel I need an engine when getting passed.

Third pet peeve

for me is when a car passes me. What can possibly be going through the motorist's head when he or she passes me when I am going up a hill and there is a huge curve in the road. Ya'd think the car might slow down and wait. No the cars blast past, I know I will witness a head on crash someday.

Today a car squeezed by me when oncoming cars were actually passing opposite me. I could not believe it. I don't get the need for speed when most of the motorists passing me probably waste hours a day checking email and Facebook. But losing 10 seconds behind me is an impossibilty.

pay attention

Biking, just like driving a car, requires attention. Attention to the cars coming and going, attention to potholes and road debris, and attention to pedestrians and joggers are just a few things that can cause a cyclist to lose control of the bike.

I hear from so many people who say they are afraid to bike. Biking is safe if you are constantly paying attention. If you want to daydream while biking, then use the many bike trails available to cyclists.

I use a rear view mirror to help me monitor the roads.




This mirror attaches to your eyeglasses. Once you get used to using the rear view mirror, you will never bike again without one. You can easily see cars coming up behind you and cyclists passing you.

let's go biking

my bike

About this time of the year, I hear from women looking to do some bike rides. Invariably it goes like this. "Hi, I am new to biking and just dug out my old mountain bike from the basement and was wondering if you bike on roads with hills? I am really interested in biking."

If you were really interested you would never have wasted the money on the mountain bike and instead saved your dough for a decent road bike. Biking in Chester County requires a road bike. You must be able to shift gears and I highly recommend a bike with the triple crank. This gives you what I call the "granny gear". A gear low enough to make climbing hills very doable even for the beginner.

Biking is one of the best activities for women especially as you age into retirement. Not only is it easy on the knees but you can do it while sitting on a seat. You do not have to go fast and you can still get a good workout.

Now if all you want to do is bike on a bike trail or the boardwalk at the beach, your mountain bike will do fine. But not in Chester County. While I consider it the most scenic biking area, it does require a good bike to make the riding fun.

Before you head out the door to bike in Chester County, get prepared. Get a good bike bag and equip it with 2 tubes and an inflation system such as CO2. Make sure you can use your system and know how to change a tire. Carry ROAD ID, cell phone and 2 bottles of liquid preferably some type of Gatorade.

Most women head out the door thinking, I will just take some water and get a good workout and lose 10 lbs. I won't eat on the ride so that I burn even more calories.

Good luck with that. First of all, you will do fine on one ride of about 25 miles or less. But when you head out again in a few days doing the same thing, most likely you will hit the proverbial wall. If you want to bike regularly and do it well, hydrate well and carry 2 times what you think you need to eat.

Bananas, cookies, fig bar, Rice Krispy Squares....anything with sugar is good. Avoid stuff like nuts and fruit, as the nuts takes hrs to get into your system and fruit does not have enough calories. Some bike rides I am out for over 4 hours. Thinking you can starve yourself during a ride of this duration is wishful thinking.

Starve yourself on your own time, not when out with a group of cyclists. Your fellow riders will thank you for not bonking on the ride. I have bonked, so I know it can happen.

Below is picture of my bike bag and followed by a picture of the stuff I can fit into my bike bag.







CO2 inflator and spare cartridge, bike tools, tire lever, two tubes I keep in plastic and some extra screws and washers for my bike shoes. I have had these screws come loose and fall off. I also carry an insurance card and my ROAD ID has emergency contacts.

Carry money and make sure your cell phone is charged. If riding with a friend or husband, you both need the identical equipment. Do not rely on someone to carry your stuff. I have passed stranded females whose significant others have left them behind. The stranded person has no cell phone or tire changing equipment. SO PREPARE.

See you on the road. Me and my bike.

be aggressive but talented too

Biking is never going to become an acceptable means of travel and recreation until folks doing it learn to think about the other folks on the roads and become talented and skilled riders. I see large groups of fast cyclists riding together and basically taking up the entire lane. Often times, they are 4 abreast and unaware of any cars behind them or even the scare of death they give to a slower cyclist that they might pass on the road.

This just happened to me last weekend. I got passed by a large group of cyclists and they wizzed by very close and not one person in the group announced "passing on the left." It was unnerving to say the least and very poor form. I saw others speeding over large gravel piles and taking no precautions for safety. I see cyclists make sudden turns or stops. I had a female cyclist miss hitting me by inches going downhill. She did not think about the rain and her brakes.

Biking is a fabulous activity and lots of fun. I have discovered the joys of solo cycling this year and find it the most relaxing activity. But I have also learned how to be a better cyclist. I spent a lot of time riding with my 26 year old son. He is now commuting 60 miles a day to center city Philadelphia so he is doing some serious riding. Getting into the city from an outlying suburb takes some serious skills on the bike and tons of experience biking on highways and busy streets.

But what I have learned from my son is how to bike and be in charge on the road. He stays way over on the side, never dominates the car lane and follows all the rules of the road. But he also is in charge of himself in relationship to the cars. At intersections he gets right out in front of a car if he needs to take a lane to make a left turn. He is dominant on the road but not to the point of being stupid. This is a fine line and I have learned from watching him bike that he can be aggressive but at the same time show talent and confidence on his bike. The cars KNOW exactly what he is going to do next.

His model of cycling has helped me immensely on the roads. I feel more confident and more skilled on the road. But like my son, I never take this for granted. I constantly think about what I am doing on the road. I constantly use my rear view mirror. I constantly look for gravel or pot holes. Cycling is fun but it also demands vigilance on the road.

So be aggressive but be skilled at the same time. Take care and you will not find yourself hitting gravel and flying over your handlebars.

what to bring for a bike ride

Biker Chicks ride leader, Libby, would like to remind riders in her group, please come with the following:

1. ID bracelet or something similar, drivers license or insurance card

2. cell phone with contact name ICE (in case of emergency)

3. any special medical information that the ride leader would need if you were to be in an accident, have this information on a card in your bike bag

4. ICE contact being someone who will answer the phone and be able to come get you, that means that they need a map or such if they are unfamiliar with the roads in chester county, i dont want have to give directions to person on phone other than the location of where we are or take the time to teach contact how to use google maps

5. BRING CUE and make sure you know where we are going and let your contact know where you are going as well

i do all of the above for every ride i go on, most do not, but if riding with me, make an effort to do the above, thanks and appreciation is given beforehand

fabo ride tonight

We had one fine ride tonight, weather was perfect, cool and dry, and then I get home and sit down in front of the TV and BOOM, skies open up and it starts pouring rain.

We were lucky to have such a picture perfect ride. But when I got home, I ran a battery check on my bike lights and put fresh batteries in my lights.

Even if lights are still working, they get dim over time unless you keep fresh batteries in them. So go out into the garage and change the batteries in your bike lights.

how to be safe on the road

Someone emailed me about what to do when an angry motorist harasses you on the road?

I am not sure there is much we can do about jerks on the road but there are some things you can do as a cyclist.

1. You must be constantly aware of where you are on the road, you MUST use a rear view mirror so you can monitor what is coming up behind you. Don't talk so much with friends that you forgot that you are just like a motorist on the road and need to BE alert.

2. Never stop in the middle of an intersection, stay to the right and if turning left, carefully take the lane when no cars are coming.

3. Bike straight, bike predictably on the road, use hand signals ALL the time when turning.

4. If biking with friends, YOU must ride single file when cars are coming.

5. Be aware if you are riding on a curvy road and you have a long line of cars behind you, consider pulling off and letting them pass, BE COURTEOUS and someone might be courteous back to you.

6. OBEY all traffic signs, signals and I mean, STOP at lights and wait for green. Don't talk on the cell phone or make sudden stops.

7. If you are still harassed by a motorist, IGNORE them if possible. If they are abusive, and you can think fast enough to get your cell phone out and snap a pic of their car and license, you can make a police report.

8. My strongest advice to all female riders is to ride in pairs and to never interact with a motorist. If riding alone, stick to well traveled roads. Lots of cars are actually sometimes safer than no cars.

riding safe and NOT PIGGING the road

We had a great ride on Saturday but I allowed some bad mistakes on the ride.

1. Bunching up at intersections - this has to be a NO NO, cars get mad, don't blame them, we should know better

2. Not getting single file fast enough - again, we know better, we have to be aware of the cars on the road

3. when we stop for rest stops, we MUST get off of the road, again, these mistakes are the mistakes of the ride leader which is ME

so let's all help me by trying to remember the above issues, a very problematic road is Powell Road when we are climbing it and heading onto rt 162, next time I have a group on this road, we will go up in smaller groups and have a plan, this past Saturday we were pigging the entire road

Bad Form, so let's pitch in and help in these matters, thanks

how to prevent dropping your chain

We have all dropped our chain while riding, it happens. One way to help avoid this problem is to plan your gear changes more carefully. Let's assume you are in the FLAT TERRAIN gear. If you see a hill approaching, take your right hand and click your derailleur so that your chain moves down the chain rings in back if it is not already there.

Imagine this chain moving away from the bike. This puts your chain on the small rings in back. Not the smallest but the next from the bottom.

As you approach the hill, continue pedaling until it is apparent you need to drop the front chain to a smaller ring. DO this FIRST before moving the back chain.

As the hill gets steeper, you can now easily move your back chain up the rings to the biggest ring for the easiest gear.

This keeps the strain on your chain to a minimum and keeps that front chain from falling off the rings.

If you move the back chain all the way up through the rings first, and then try and drop the front chain, this is when the chain drops.

Avoid this by THINKING before shifting. I know this sounds complicated but it is not.

Try it in your neighborhood, practice downshifting the back chain, then dropping the front chain then raising the back chain all the way up through the rings.

DO this several times so it becomes automatic.

shifting gears

We have had two great newbie rides so far this season. Lots of new faces and chicks on brand new bikes. But we do have ONE problem that I want to address.

Shifting Gears 101

1. Before coming on a ride, YOU MUST take your bike out in your neighbor and practice shifting gears.

2. Most women's bikes have 3 chain rings up front. Don't panic if your bike only has two.

3. Front chain rings are controlled with LEFT HAND. The biggger the ring up front, the harder it is to pedal

4. The back chain rings range from 7-10 rings. Really not sure.



5. TO move chain on back chain rings use RIGHT HAND.

Hill climbing gear is small ring up front and large ring in the back.

Flat terrain gear is large ring up front and middle or lower chain ring in back.

PLEASE go out and practice using ALL of your gears, as it is very hard for me to try and tell you how to shift on busy roads.

To move the chain up to the big ring up front takes a GOOD push on the lever. DO IT. And practice doing it.

When Chicks ride, we use the flat terrain gear a lot and in order to not fall behind, you must get comfortable with riding in the flat terrain gear.

how to put your wheels on and off