[maverick]

@baiskeli 63430 wrote:

Delicate items might not bounce as much in a backpack.

Thanks! I try using panniers rather than a backpack on my bike because it causes less fatigue and keeps me cooler, but I will try that!

[maverick]

this is very sad.

[maverick]

so, my choice to sell the car has had some influence on my wife.

no, she isn’t going to be commuting by bike to work. but she wants to get rid of the minivan and get a prius!

it means that i lose a very convenient way of transporting my bike, but the prius will be far more fuel economical and have less of an impact on the environment.

we’re trying to decide between the plugin prius and the regular prius. i think the plugin is the way to go. at least on her commute to work, she should be able to travel purely on the electrical (without using any gas). there isn’t a place to plug in (yet) when she gets to work, so she’ll be operating in hybrid mode on the way back. the chevy volt would allow her to avoid using any gas on most days, but it’s more than we can spend right now.

actually, i thought my selling the subaru was to pay down the home mortgage. it turns out that it was more so to help fund the replacement for her minivan! ha!

[maverick]

okay, i can’t believe i haven’t eaten at this place! that’s going to change this weekend!

[maverick]

@OneEighth 27207 wrote:

Same here, but our resident smokers are doing their level best to mask the dumpsters.

oh, that’s awful! i guess take a deep breath as you approach and try not to breathe in the smoke as you hold your breath and make your way quickly into the building!

[maverick]

lol! yes, i get to smell the dumpster as i arrive at work and as i leave – i can bring my bike into my office, but i’m required to bring it in via the loading dock, which is where the dumpster is. and the smell is less than pleasant! but you get past it and forget about it.

[maverick]

@ShawnoftheDread 26539 wrote:

The $80 bars do the same thing: lift the front wheel off the ground and turn any kid’s bike into a trailer bike. This high-priced fancy version probably rides better (and lets you still use a child seat), but not $300 better.

that’s very helpful – thanks!

[maverick]

@FFX_Hinterlands 26535 wrote:

This is what you’re looking for:

http://clevercycles.com/blog/products/accessories/child-seats/followme-tandem-coupling/

It allows the bike to be detached and ridden around. Unfortunately it costs as much as a bike.

ouch! thanks!

[maverick]

i’m looking forward to getting to where i can ride for hours, maybe even do a century!

[maverick]

@dasgeh 26449 wrote:

Depending on what system you have, and how you normally ride, you might consider upping the assist when you add miles, so you’re not adding much more work. (Not that I’m discouraging working up to more fitness, or any of the other great suggestions, it’s just a short term solution).

i have a bionx pedal assist system, and i love it. generally, i ride harder on my way home, and the bionx does less – because i can get home and take a shower. also, the bionx only helps you up to 20mph, so again what the bionx does is limited.

on my way in to work in the morning, i let the bionx do more so that i don’t arrive too sweaty. so far, i’ve managed to get by with rinsing my head and face, re-applying deodorant, face cream, and changing my shirt when i get into the office. i also change my sandals, but that’s because i’d rather be wearing birkenstocks than anything else!

for my normal commute to work (25 miles round trip), i get by on one charge of the 48v bionx battery, with 3 bars on the battery left.

@dasgeh 26449 wrote:

Also, can I just say my pregnant belly misses the days when feeling exhausted on a particular day can be tied to something specific I’ve done. Aside from getting knocked up, that is.

ha! i love it!

[maverick]

@KLizotte 26431 wrote:

It was probably the humidity. If you had done the ride today you’d probably feel better. The body has to work twice as hard to keep itself cool when it is hot out. Yesterday was also pretty dreary and coma inducing if you ask me.

today’s my work from home day, and i haven’t even stepped out of the house! okay, just stepped out – it is indeed really nice out there! i will get out for a ride in the evening, but just visiting some folks nearby.

[maverick]

@jrenaut 26444 wrote:

Do you already have a bike for your son? If not, I’ve always thought the Weehoo was cool, and even stopped at a light to chat with a woman riding with her son in one to ask her about it. They were out for their first ride, so she couldn’t tell me much, except that so far it was working great.

thanks! he does have a bike with training wheels, and i like the idea that we could detach his bike from mine and he could ride it separately. but i’ll check this out.

[maverick]

@GuyContinental 26439 wrote:

I found this (but it’s a bit different):

http://www.biking.com/buy-bike-accessories/tow-bar.html

If you figure out what it actually is, please post!

thanks – this looks interesting, but different than what she was using. it’s different in that the front wheel of the child’s bike isn’t making contact with the ground.

[maverick]

@PotomacCyclist 26443 wrote:

More training and good nutrition will help as mentioned. I would just add that post-ride nutrition can be important for long rides, especially when you have pushed significantly farther than you’ve ridden before. It also depends on how intense you were riding.

Assuming that you rode for a long duration at a moderately hard intensity, you will burn through a good amount of your stored glycogen (energy supplies stored in your muscles and liver). The best time to replenish those energy stores is during the immediate post-workout phase, perhaps within 20-30 minutes after finishing your workout. This is one time when it can be good to take in some extra sugar. Your body will use that sugar to restore glycogen supplies. (At other times, any sugar that isn’t burned immediately will tend to stimulate an insulin response in the body, which results in the sugar getting converted to body fat.)

For short rides and easy rides, you don’t have to worry too much about glycogen replenishment. Those rides don’t burn that much glycogen. A regular, healthy diet will take care of glycogen replenishment in those cases.

Some recommend that post-workout nutrition include a carb-protein ratio of 3:1 (3 times as much carbohydrate as protein). You probably don’t need to be that precise, but a small amount of protein can help with carb absorption as well as with muscle repair. (Every tough workout results in microdamage to the muscles, which is a good thing as long as you don’t overdo it and you let your body recover. That recovery process results in a slightly greater fitness level.)

When you push into longer and harder workouts, you’ll probably get more hungry than usual, at first.

If you’ve ridden for a really long time (probably farther than 40 miles), then you’ll also want to have a regular meal within a couple hours after that initial post-workout recovery meal.

For regular meals, I try to include protein, fiber and complex carbs.

wow – thanks PotomacCyclist!!

[maverick]

just came across this article and loved reading it! it is very inspiring to read!

i used to pull my son in a trailer, but it was an occasional outing, and the furthest we ever went was about 6 miles from home.

we tried a tandem attachment twice, but he felt scared. he’s older now (6 and a half) – i’d like to try the attachment she used to attach her daughter’s bike behind hers.

does someone recognize what that is?

thanks!

[Author]

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