On The Importance Of Good Maintenance

You have to take care of your bike if you want it to take care of you. That means keeping up with your preventative maintenance. I was reminded of that on a recent ride on the Crabtree Valley trail. I started off from my house on a cool winter day. My brakes were worn and needed to be tightened, but I was cheating to squeeze in a few more rides (spoiler alert: you’ll hear that again). I was very familiar with the greenways near my house, so I could get away with it…until I decided to go on the Crabtree trail. It turns west from the Neuse trail at Anderson Point and runs parallel to the 264 bypass until it goes under the beltline and goes past Wake Med toward Crabtree Valley. It’s a good change of pace but has twists and turns and a few hills, along with detours through neighborhoods that make it harder to maintain good speed. At one point I topped a little rise and started coasting down the other side. I picked up some speed and went through an area with thick vegetation on both sides of the trail, right into a sharp left turn combined with a sharp descent. I squeezed my brakes, but it was too late. All I could do was lean way over into the turn and grit my teeth. Like my first encounter with a snake while riding, I yelled “shiiiiiiiiiiiiit,” as I went through the turn, certain that I would careen off the trail and crash into a tree. But somehow I made it. The trail straightened and the descent stopped, so I was able to get my speed under control. Needless to say, my bike was in the shop the next day.

The great views on the trails can be ruined by loud
clacking noises from your pedals and loose brakes.

There’s a simple to way to remember the basics of bike maintenance: ABC, which stands for air, brakes and chain. Air in the tires, check the brakes and take care of the chain.  There’s a little more to it than that, but it’s a good place to start. There are reputable bike shops around that can help you maintain your bike. I take mine to the Dicks in Knightdale. I bought the bike there and – in a departure from my usual practice – bought the extended service contract that included several “tune-ups.”  That contract came in handy the first time I blew a tire. It cost about $15 to get a new one put on the bike. I took it for it’s first tune-up about 15 months after buying it. I had not realized how much the pedals, brakes and other parts get worn from riding until I rode my bike after that first tune-up. If you buy a bike from Dick’s, I strongly recommend using their service department and getting the regular tune-ups.

There’s something else I recommend when it comes to maintenance and this is something I need to do myself. I need to set a schedule for maintenance and stick to it. I tend to push the bike to get in a few extra rides before taking it to the shop. I noticed this spring that my speed seemed to have dropped. I normally average 15-16 miles per hour but on most rides recently I was down to 13-14. I thought I had lost some strength in my legs over the winter. The trip to the beach proved me wrong. I was back up in the 15-16 mph range on the beach cruiser bike. When I got home and started riding my bike again, I noticed a few things. The pedals had loosened and would shift slightly side to side as I pedaled. The back tire was shifting slightly too. Finally, there were some metallic clicks coming from the pedals. I cheated (again!) and took a few more rides before those metallic clicks began getting louder. Finally I took it to the shop and described what was happening. The guy said he recognized what was probably going on and could fix it. He also said that the clicks could lead to the pedals literally breaking and falling off. That is definitely not something you want to happen when you’re 15-20 miles from home. So, I’ve developed a mid-year resolution: I’m going to mark my calendar for preventative maintenance checks.

The next chapter in the maintenance saga is for me to learn how to do more of my own maintenance. I have a tool I can use to tighten many of the parts and adjust the brakes. I also received a tire changing kit as a gift. I need to master that as well. It’s not uncommon to see someone changing a tire along the trail. It doesn’t seem to take them long and they complete the repairs with confidence and ease. For me that’s both a future goal and blog post.   

Biking At The Beach

We rent beach cruisers every year at the beach.

Every June we take a week-long trip to Holden Beach. It’s become a wonderful family tradition and we have a great time. We play on the beach, visit Sunset Slush (often), eat one night at Calabash and shop at Calahan’s. Sometimes we go to a movie in Shallotte. And I ride. In fact, as I described in my history post, this beach trip was where biking for me as an adult originated.  What makes it even more fun is that we ride together as a family.

The first stop when we arrive is at the bike rental shop. We rent four bikes (my son brings a friend these days) and three of us ride them to the beach house. In fact, to me that short ride signals the beginning of the vacation. Our rule of thumb is that we ride together whenever we go somewhere on the island. That means we ride to the Sunset Slush Italian ice shop, usually after lunch. We ride to the kite store to get beach or pool toys (one should never be too old to play at the beach, whether you’re 12 or 50) and ride to a swimwear store (sometimes we get a new bathing suit or t-shirt…sometimes we don’t). I ride each morning to get the Raleigh newspaper (several of us like to read the paper while we’re here). I usually do that ride solo, so I frequently go further once I’ve gotten the paper.

The bikes you rent are generally the beach cruiser variety, which means no gears. That doesn’t matter much because Holden Beach is pretty flat and only about 9 miles long. The first morning I rode to the store for the paper I rode to the end of the island and back. Traffic was light, but there were lots of other bikers and some runners and walkers. Some of the bikers are simply cruising at a leisurely pace. They usually stick to the sidewalk. There are a few serious bikers who ride really nice road bikes and who dress like fitness models. They stick to the road. The joggers maintain a moderate pace and some of them are pushing baby strollers. The cars go slow and make allowances for bikers, walkers and runners, and that makes it even more pleasant. It rained in Raleigh the week before we went to the beach, so I was ready to ride on that first morning.

I ride to the store every day for a newspaper.

After picking up the paper at the island’s only convenience store, I rode to the end of the beach. It’s early in the season, so many of the houses are occupied but Holden Beach is certainly not at capacity.  I took a few of the side roads to finish at 15 miles and ended up back at the beach house in just under an hour, averaging almost 16 miles per hour.

You can ride the length of the island fairly easily.

 

On other days the rides were variations on the same theme. After a stop at the store to get the paper, I headed up the beach. I took different combinations of side streets each time. I saw families headed to the beach pulling wagons stacked high with chairs, umbrellas, coolers and toys. There were workers at some of the homes doing renovations and maintenance. Yard workers were mowing grass and trimming bushes and trees. I did 15 miles every day, plus a few rides with the family to the Sunset Slush. It all made for a very peaceful week…a great start for summer, and a wonderful opportunity to get in some good rides in a different location.

Pelicans cruised up and down the beach,
no doubt following me on my rides.

Wildlife Encounters: Holden Beach is known to have deer, snakes, even bobcats. However, the only thing I saw were lots and lots of pelicans (called pecalins by my son when he was 3 or so). We saw them diving into the ocean for snacks, but mostly they cruised up and down the island in formation.  

Nutrition Note: I started most of my morning rides before breakfast, so I ate an energy gel or two, Honey Stinger Energy Chews, lime flavor. They give you a good quick jolt of energy when you start out.    

Shameless plug: Holden Beach is a terrific beach for families. When you cross the bridge to the island, it’s like you’re going back in time. There are lots of cottages and houses but none of the small mansions you see at lots of other beaches. There are no high-rise condo complexes or apartment buildings and only a few shops and restaurants. It’s mostly regular beach houses. There are more restaurants and shops on the mainland, along with a drug store and a Food Lion, so everything you need is right there. It’s a great place to depressurize and relax.

Holden Beach is a terrific place to start the summer.

 

Friendly Folks

As a regular on Triangle area roads during rush hour, I worry about the future of mankind. People cut each other off, tailgate, blast their horns at the slightest provocation  and generally behave badly toward each other (full disclosure: this description covers me more often than I’d like). If you need a change of pace, hit the greenways.

My bike took me for a ride among the friendly folks on the trail.

I started a ride recently on the Mingo Creek trail and almost immediately saw a fellow swim team parent (our sons have been on the neighborhood team for years). We smiled and waved. Shortly after I saw a walker who warned me that an unleashed pit bull was up ahead. I’ve given similar warnings about animals and I thanked him and turned back toward the Neuse trail. A few minutes later I passed some people on the boardwalk and announced I was coming through. They waved as I passed and I heard one of the adults say thanks for announcing myself. I waved back. After crossing Hodge Road I saw a woman relaxing on her deck as I passed the Princeton Manor subdivision. I waved to her and she waved back. People sure are friendly out on the trails.  And like the bad behavior on the highways, good behavior on the trail is contagious.

I’ve been lucky so far with my bike. I’ve only had one mishap with it, and that was my own fault. To discourage people from taking cars, four-wheelers and other types of vehicles on the trails, there are a number of metal barriers in the center of the trail that stick up. If a car drives over one of them, it will damage the underside. These are usually at entrances to the trails and by bridges, which I’m guessing cant’ support the weight of cars. I was not paying attention one day and ran into one of the those metal obstacles and popped my back tire. I had almost reached I-540, which meant I was almost 11 miles from home. I didn’t have any repair supplies at that time, so I started walking. Several people asked me if I needed help as I walked. I declined politely. I was thinking of getting to the Buffalo Road Park and calling for a ride or just hoofing it all the way. Before I got there, an older rider stopped and offered to help. He saw the tire and said he could patch it. He tried, but the damage was too great. So he pulled a new tube out of his supplies and put it in the tire, using an air cartridge to inflate it. I was profuse in my thanks and gave him $10 to cover part of the cost of the tire. He brushed it off, saying I should help someone else when I got the chance. The tube wasn’t the right kind for my tire, but it worked after a fashion and got me all the way back to the Mingo Creek trail before going flat. Walking home from there was easy. I’ve never forgotten his kindness.

I helped two riders who misread the map
on the Walnut Creek trail sign.

It was hot that day on the trail and I stopped at Anderson Point Park to drink some water before heading south. One person stopped and asked about the Milburnie Dam. I told him he was close and he rode on. I went south past Auburn Knightdale Road, turned back and took the Walnut Creek trail to the softball center. On the way back I stopped where the Walnut Creek trail joined up with the Neuse River trail. Two women were studying the map on the sign. They were talking quietly, then positioned their bikes to take the Walnut Creek trail. One of them asked me if they would reach Poole Road. I told them they were turning onto the Walnut Creek trail and it went west, not north toward Poole Road. They had mistaken the Walnut Creek trail for the Neuse. I showed them their mistake on the map and they were very appreciative. The rest of the ride was pleasant enough. I waved to everyone I passed and most of them waved back. It ended up being just another day with the nice, friendly folks on the trail.