Editorial: Ride Start Times

By Allan Edmonds

It's time to firm up our policy on the time that regularly scheduled club rides actually start. I suggest that the club's regular Saturday rides should start with announcements by the ride leader at the scheduled time, currently 10 am, with a mass start no later that five minutes after that. Try to arrive a little early, by the announced start time for sure. Catch the announcements. Make any desired special arrangements with your ride buddies. Then let's be off.

Somehow the actual start times have been gradually slipping. Why bother getting there by 10 if you know the ride won't actually leave before 10:10 or maybe even 10:15?

Of course this doesn't apply to informal rides where participants have to decide the route and other details.

The OWLS are taking this a step further. Currently our announced start time is 5:45 pm. We are trying to have routes announced in advance on the calendar, with a designated ride leader. Our goal then is to be riding across the start line at the designated time or as soon as possible after that.

It is a courtesy to everyone to show up on time. Let's get the show on the road!

Breaking Away Ride

By Jim Schroeder

What has been voted the 8th most inspirational movie of all time?

What has been voted the 8th best sports movie of all time?

What has made Indiana University's Spring Week the most popular college week in the nation?

What DVD is on sale for $9.99 at that big blue/yellow appliance store by Bloomington's only 24 hr pharmacy?

It's Breaking Away.

I was into that movie long before I moved down here 4 years ago, and for some reason my realtor led me to a house on S Lincoln St and I swear that one of the opening scenes was filmed from my front porch!

I have researched this movie backwards and forwards which could be called "reverse cinematography", and I've come up with a 40 mile route in and around Bloomington to remind you of all the landmarks of Bloomington that once were or currently still are.

The ride is scheduled for 12 noon, Sunday, April 19 starting and finishing at Bryan Park with a convenience store food stop at 22mi.

This is a great ride for all you newbies of Bloomington, and will guide you locals down memory lane!

A highlight will be riding the Little 500 track.

For better impact make sure to watch the movie the night before the ride!

Ciao!

Around the Lake and Then Some

By Allan Edmonds

Over thirty riders did one or another route around the Lake on Saturday, April 11. Bob DeGroff got the group organized and distributed club maps to those who needed them. Meanwhile Klaus Rothe was observed taking photos that he hopes to use on our soon-to-be-released revamped web site.


About half the group planned to do the standard Hoosier Hills 60K route, south on 446 to Chapel Hill, south of Lake Monroe, then climbing the "Alps" up to the dam, Strain Ridge, Ramp Creek, and home. The other half split off at Chapel Hill, intending to do the 100K route, with possible additions for those aiming to get in a full 100 miles before they finished.



The weather was cool but pleasant and overall everyone following the 60K route (essentially 40 miles) had a good time, splitting up into two or three smaller groups.

OWLs Expand Vocabulary, Leadership

by Shelley Bradfield and Kathy Cummins

After "connoiterring" before 5:45 and discussing the possibility of rain (predicted by some who would avoid hills!) the OWLs set off on a ride with two good hills and a fast pace (or was that just me feeling the push?)! Two slightly late riders joined us to finalize our group at 14, and we negotiated busy Snoddy and then it was smooth sailing out to the waterworks. Although two groups developed on Harrell, with a comfortable cushion in between, we all "reconnoitered" at the waterworks to discuss a possible route alteration due to the impending wet stuff. With some avoiding the Sailing Club hill and others taking the Shady Side route, no one was inclined to head home. Although some of us had to heave up the hillside, Stan joined our group and fast-pedaled it twice up the mountain - go Stan! The Shady Side group wasn't far behind the puffing hill climbers and we set off for our second steep climb Moores Creek. Although Nathan and Tammy had debated about a less steep route on their tandem, they ground it up Moores Creek and some singing is rumored to have occurred at the top J. Around 7:40 pm, riders found their own ways home and in spite of Tom's cynicism, no one got wet! What a great way to spend a spring evening.

This ride marked the debut of two new ride leaders, Shelley and Kathy. Allan and CE encourage everyone to step up and lead a ride this season. Take some friends and fellow riders on your favorite route!

OWLS to Shawnee Bluffs

By Allan Edmonds

On a pleasant but cool April 7th afternoon the OWLS group took a 20 mile ride down 446 into the Shawnee Bluffs area, just short of the Lake Monroe Causeway. We had a total of nine riders. As usual we had a couple of new folks and several regulars. CE Taylor has really taken the lead this year, planning routes in advance and posting them to the club calendar. We're trying maintain a moderate pace that averages out somewhere in the 14 mph range. CE is also making a good effort to involve a range of people in planning and leading these training rides. Keep an eye on the calendar for routes, as well as any changes in meeting times or meeting places.

The group includes Rob, Allan, Tom, Shelley, Ken, and Kathy. Photo by CE.

Hendricksville Ride to Rosie's

By Allan Edmonds

It was a cool morning, in the low 40's, and some people were asking why we are leaving on rides so early in the morning so early in the spring. Most--but not all--were wearing jackets and tights. In fact it was pretty nice, though.

Ten of us, including our intrepid leader, Jennifer Miers, did the standard 30 mile loop on the club map, out Vernal Pike to Whitehall, then to Hendricksville, back in on Gardner Road to Kirby to Bunger, etc., by the airport and then in on That Road. The slowest rider (not naming names) averaged 14.2 mph home to home. It was good to see Joe Anderson after a long absence. The Andersons arrived back in town Friday from their winter travels, and he only decided at the very last second to come on the ride.

Altogether it was a pleasant and uneventful ride. Considering that the weather forecast is pretty lousy for the next few days, it was a good time to be out.

Another 10 or so headed out from Rosie's in Hendricksville on a longer option and were never seen again.

OWLS Ride in the Rain

By Allan Edmonds and CE Taylor


OWLS were anxious to get the new riding season going. CE Taylor had mapped out a twenty mile loop starting at our usual gathering place in the parking lot of Sherwood Oaks Church on Rogers Road. The only problem was a weather forecast calling for probable rain. Despite the forecast nine eager riders showed up, including several new to club rides. The best OWLS rides have a mix of experienced riders and newcomers. CE took a quick picture on his cell phone and we were off about 5:50. The last of the nine riders was Dave, who showed up just as we were rolling out, too late for the group photo. Those in the photo are Mary, Manuel, Ken, Kathy, Allan, Shelley, and John.

We were still on Harrell when Dave got a flat. He waved the group on, but Shelley stayed back with him while he changed it.

Meanwhile the rest of us made it to Ramp Creek. (In retrospect we would have been a lot happier skipping Ramp Creek and just head out and back to Waterworks, as you'll see as you read on.) But soon we were sailing down the hill to lake level and then making the long climb back up to Fairfax Road. Allan and Kathy were talking the whole way up the hill and hardly noticed it. We were going pretty slowly, but still it seemed just about the easiest we had ever made that climb.



We all reconnoitered at the church on Fairfax. We were starting to hear thunder, but Shelley was counting seconds "One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, ..." and assured us the storm was still nine miles out. Dave and Kathy caught up and we set out east toward Fluck Mill.

We tended to get a bit separated. But CE made a careful point of being sure no one got left behind.

By the time we crossed New 37 the thunder and lightning seemed closer. Naturally we were almost exactly at the farthest point from home. So we opted just to keep going. Soon it started sprinkling, and then turned to light rain. About half of us opted to move more quickly toward home while some held back to be sure everyone made it back safely.

It gradually started raining harder and got darker. The lead group got back to the area of the start by about 7:30, but we all split up to head home our separate ways.

The following group rolled in a little later, all well-soaked. John, who actually lives along the return route on Schacht Rd kindly gave a couple of others who lived further away a ride home, while the rest took whatever short cuts they could think of.

We were all pretty soaked. Fortunately it wasn't too cold. We all made it safe and sound. And we'll all be ready to do this same ride again some day later in the season.

We did learn a few lessons: By 7:30 it felt pretty unsafe out on the roads.

• On evening rides be sure to wear light colored clothing. (A couple of riders were wearing dark jerseys.)


• Remember to carry a flashing taillight. (Only two of us had lights.)

Even later in the summer when sunset is closer to 9 pm than 8 pm, it only takes a minor mechanical problem to delay a ride and leave people riding in fading light as they make their way home.

A Geeky Look at Wind Resistance

By Sam Hill

My friends and I spend a lot of time talking about things like aerobars vs. drops.

If anyone else is interested in the topic, here is some data. The photo, originally from Rolf Garthus's Hostel Shoppe in Stevens Point, WI, is a picture of  the same rider in five standard positions: sitting up, hoods, drops, aerobars, and recumbent.  



By imposing a grid on the pictures we estimated the frontal area the rider displays in each position. For example, assuming the rider is 6 feet tall in the upright position, this rider exposes 831 sq inches of frontal area when sitting up, 802 sq inches in the hoods, 763 sq inches on the drops, 607 sq inches on the aerobars, and 575 sq inches on the recumbent.  In lieu of a full spreadsheet we just give a chart that summarizes the relative frontal areas:




Bar 100%

Hoods 96%

Drops 92%

Aero 73%

Recum. 69%





A rider in aerobars would experience 27% less wind resistance to go the same speed as a rider sitting. The difference would be most noticeable at higher speeds.

Aerodynamics is really complicated stuff. They use wind tunnels because the equations are very nasty and still not very accurate. The only way to get real drag and  power output numbers  is to measure effects in a wind tunnel. But frontal area is a simple way to explain why it matters so much.

For anyone interested the actual spreadsheet with all the calculations is available for download at http://bloomingtonbicycleclub.org/private/blog/blogarchives/Rolf.xls

Stolen bike stories, continued

By Dave Abel (BBC member now in Flagstaff, AZ)

In 1996, my 1993 Trek 970 mountain bike was stolen when my apartment in Davis, CA was burglarized. (They didn't touch my commuter, a 1990 Fuji Saratoga touring bike (called "Conestoga" by my friends who had newer bikes)). Everything of value was taken, so the police came by, took fingerprints and serial numbers, and so I had a proper police report in case anything was ever recovered. I couldn't find my receipt for the bike, so I had no record of the Trek serial number.

I was upset by the experience, and I asked around at the many local shops, everyone said they had never heard of anyone ever recovering a stolen bike, and usually added something like: "your bike was probably out of town two hours after it was stolen".

That bike was a very small frame size and had a distinctive rake to the top tube. Even though I knew it was hopeless, I still glanced at every bike rack I passed. In Davis, that is a lot of bike racks. Long after I'd given up any realistic hope of seeing the bike again, about two years later, I was walking along the street on my way to a potluck, actually carrying a pot of food, and across the street and down the block, in the failing light, I looked up and saw an interesting bike with a distinctive rake to the top tube. My understanding girlfriend was used to my taking slight detours to check out promising sightings. With my pot in my hands, I crossed the street to look at yet another bike that wasn't mine. I still remember clearly the moment I recognized my old Trek. It was locked to the rack, and obviously had been sitting there for some time. I ran home, got my lock, and locked it up in case the "owner" returned for it.

I called the police who came to look at the bike with me. The serial number wasn't on the police report, so they couldn't give me the bike. Their procedure was to place a note on the bike and to leave it there for 30 days, and maybe if it weren't claimed by that time, and I found my receipt, they would revisit the problem. It didn't seem hopeful.

I managed to get a friend who owned a shop in Indianapolis to forge me a receipt with the serial number on it, in case it was the only way to get the bike back, but I'm a rule-follower, and never showed it to the police. I just waited for the 30 days to see what would happen. I even considered re-stealing it, but I'm too timid for that. Before the 30 days was up, the indulgent police agreed to meet me at the bike rack, so I could prove the bike was mine. I showed them the custom pannier's I had made, and how the hardware on the panniers had scratched the paint off the rack in just the right places. I can't remember everything I demonstrated that day, but I had a list of what I thought was compelling evidence. Nothing doing. The officer was a rule- follower, too. I had to wait for the 30 days, and then maybe something could be done, but they didn't say I'd get the bike back without a receipt.

When the day arrived, I met an officer at the bike, who turned out to be the same one to whom I'd shown all my proof of ownership. As he got out the electric grinder and a found a place to plug it in, he told me he KNEW it was my bike the first time we'd met, that it was obvious, but he just couldn't give it to me, though it made him feel bad. He told me it was so rare that anyone recovers a bike that he had wished he could have just given it to me on the spot.

File this under "Who cares" if you want, but I enjoyed thinking about this again. Thanks. I still ride the bike every day, it now has an XtraCycle on it, which I use for commuting, shopping, and taking the kids to school. Now it's too old to steal, but I still lock it up.