Time for some Exercise
Last summer I decided to try to get myself into shape since I just wasn’t enjoying my sorry attempt at running. Being in Mississippi, it was sweltering all the time, which acted as an extra deterrent in my quest to get in shape. Luckily, my aunt told me that she had an extra slot on her YMCA family membership that I could use, which I jumped at. Upon arriving at the Y, I surveyed what was available and decided that I would become friends with the exercise bike since I would not have to worry about the shocks associated with running. I spent most of the summer on that bike, slowly increasing resistance while attempting to hold myself to high RPMs. When I bid adieu to Mississippi in August to head off to grad school in Massachusetts, I stopped biking and started sitting for the next 10 months while I concentrated on school.
This summer saw me return to Mississippi for the same internship, but this time with the desire to not spend all of my time exercising staring at the same wall like I had the previous summer. My desire to lose weight was increased after putting on 10-15 pounds while in school, tipping the scales at over 200lbs for the first time in my life. Also, I’m getting married next June, and there’s no way I’m going to be fat for that day. I decided that I was going to take up cycling for real this time.
While back in Massachusetts, I had purchased a Mongoose XR-75 mountain/BMX bike from WalMart for about $100 to use for riding around with my girlfriend. It ended up being a huge waste of money. It was poorly assembled (I could hardly stop because the brakes were so loose, the handlebar was not tightly connected to the headset or to the stem, the derailers were improperly aligned, etc) and quickly developed problems, chief among them a scary knock from the bottom bracket. I wasn’t going to pay more than half the price of the bike just to get it fixed. Also, I quickly learned once I started putting some miles on the bike that the seat was extremely uncomfortable, causing pain and numbness in my groin area within 15 minutes of any serious ride. It was also geared way too low for me to use it on the road. I decided that I would take the leap and get a real road bike. And avoid WalMart for important purchases.
I had been researching bikes for a few months before I got to Mississippi as I was already unhappy with my WalMart special, so I was fairly well prepared to go shopping. After consulting with a cycling acquaintance, I visited a few bike shops in the Jackson area over the course of a few weekends to look at their lower-end models. I originally was looking at the lowest-end models of different manufacturers, such as the Trek 1.1 and the Jamis Ventura Sport. After talking with the people at the LBSs and my cycling friend, I decided to move up a price point when looking at bikes, which meant a jump from the $650-$750 range to the $850-$950 range. This resulted in me looking at the Trek 1.2 and the Specialized Allez Sport. After shopping around and getting to take a few test drives, I ended up settling on the Trek 1.2, which I bought from The Bike Rack. I ended up getting a 56cm frame since the guy at The Bike Rack said I looked too stretched out on a 58cm. I also opted for a compact dual crankset instead of a triple since I would get almost the same gear range with out the finicky shifting that seems to be inherent in triples. (I had plenty of mis-shifts on the triple on my Mongoose, so this sounded right to me.)
After I got the bike, I felt the need to “kit up” a bit so that I would be fit to ride this beast. I bought some 8-panel bike shorts and a Lazer X2M helmet while shopping for bikes since I was getting pain in my groin from the seat and just felt unsafe riding at speed without a helmet. Since I find myself motivated by trying to beat the clock, I decided to keep time while out riding. Unfortunately, all I had was my cell phone. This meant that I had to wear gym shorts over my bike shorts so that I could have a way to carry my cell phone with me on the road. Add to this a white Fruit of the Loom tshirt, and I didn’t look like I belonged on the bike. I looked next for a cycling jersey so that I could have back pockets plus a shirt that doesn’t get soaked and cling to my body. I ended up purchasing a red Craft jersey, which arrived in two weeks from the UK, which surprised me. I also bought two pairs of cycling gloves from WalMart (first the Bell Comfort Mesh gloves, then the Bell Pro-Gel gloves) to deal with the soreness I was getting in my hands from rubbing constantly on the handlebars. At the same time, I also picked up some sport sunglasses (FosterGrant Ironman) and a Schwinn bike pump (not the exact model I have).
After I got my jersey in the mail, I wanted to ditch the gym shorts and go out in normal biking regalia. This meant the cell phone went in the back pocket of the jersey. Unfortunately, this still left me with the problem of being completely unaware of my time during a ride, leaving it as a surprise at the end. I also felt a little strange not being able to watch my cadence all the time like I had been able to do on the exercise bike. I decided it was time for a bike computer. I ended up getting a Cateye Strada Cadence computer, which tracks both speed and pedal cadence. I got to enjoy installing it myself, which was kind of fun, though I wish the zip ties that hold the cables in place weren’t so visible.
The only problem that I have now is that my feet occasionally fly off the pedals if I have a rough shift or get too high of a cadence. To deal with this, I decided to get some cycling shoes, complete with cleats. This meant I needed to choose a pedal system since that could influence the shoe that I buy. I was originally considering the Shimano SPD system, which is designed for mountain bikes, but research showed that a road cleat would be more comfortable for long rides due to the larger contact surface it offers between the pedal and shoe. After reading this and talking with my cycling friend one again, I decided to go with the very different but similarly named Shimano SPD-SL pedal system, which is very similar to the Look system, but is cheaper, which is good. A little searching found a great deal for a pair of Shimano SH-R086 road shoes (with ratchet action) and SPD-SL pedals for only $125, which is at least $20 better than I could get buying the two separately. I can’t wait for them to come in the mail. After that, I’ll be cycling socks away from having a full road bike kit, with the possible exception of a second water bottle cage and water bottle.
