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Friday, 23 July 2010 10:42 |
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Joint us for the the next, and last CRBC Bike in movie on August 6th, at Tudek Park, starting around 8:15PM. The movie will be Back to the Future. This classic features a zany professor, rowdy youth, time travel, and the invention of the skate board. I suspect that most of you haven't seen this classic time travel flick in a while, and need to re-up. CRBC would like to thank and recognize CRPR, Freeze Thaw, Envinity, Videon and Keveau for putting together the Bike-In-Movie series. There have been a lot of folks showing up in cars (we like cars too), but need to see some more bikes. The Bike-in-movie event has grown organically into a really popular family oriented community event. We like that. You'll need to bring a blanket or some chairs. Snacks are a good thing to bring too. |
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Monday, 12 July 2010 21:06 |
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Our next meeting is at the State College Municipal Building, 2nd floor 7:00-8:30pm, Monday August 9th. Everyone is welcome. Please attend and help us with the following. 1) Meet & Greet - new faces & new ideas are always welcome! 2) Provide input on regional bike paths 3) Bring your article or idea for the CRBC website & learn to use the forum & classifieds 4) Reports from our Bicycle Friendly Community & Safe Routes to School committees 
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Monday, 12 July 2010 18:46 |
Hills suck! There's an old adage in cycling: If your legs hurt, you're in too high of a gear. If your lungs hurt, you're in too low of a gear. If both your legs and your lungs hurt, you're climbing a hill! No ifs, no ands, no buts, hills suck. It doesn't matter about your level of fitness, how long you've ridden, how fast you ride, hills will suck. Why? Because, the amount of energy it takes to get over a given hill at a given speed is a basically* a constant for your bike and your weight. If you and your road bike weigh 165 lbs together, you'll need to generate about 160 watts to get over Pine Grove Mountain at 5 mph. Using a mountain bike? The extra weight and higher rolling resistance of a big tire won't help you here and requires another 20 watts. Double your speed (a great feat, by the way) to 10 mph and you'll get up there twice as fast, but you'll need an extra 170 watts. OK, so with the fact that hills suck agreed to, how can you go about learning to love, or maybe achieve a fondness for, or at least not loathe the hill that's between you and your destination? Well, the quickest way to reduce the amount of work you need to get up a particular hill at a particular speed is to reduce the amount of weight you have to carry up. That reduction can be from your bike and it's components. Have a kickstand, but you park at a bike rack every day? Lose it. Have three water bottles attached for your 20 minute commute? Lose 2 (Water weighs 8lbs/gallon). Want to
invest in a lighter bike? Seriously consider it, or at least upgrading from steel to alloy wheels!
Losing 5 lbs from your bike from any of the methods described will save you 4 watts. Or, the weight reduction can be from you. Lighten up 10 lbs? The amount of work you have to do to get up your nemesis hill is reduced by another 10 watts and now you're down to 145 from 160. There are a host of other things you can do, and some of the simplest involve routine
bike maintenance that you want to be doing anyway. Pump up those tires to the maximum
pressure listed on the sidewall. Doing so reduces your rolling resistance and is an immediate
and completely free improvement (and if you ride on pavement 95% of the time, consider smoother, higher pressure tires). Lube your chain regularly and get a tune-up if you're having shifting issues. One of the biggest mistakes riders make when tackling hills is to go full power at the start of the slope. That's a great way to feel like you're king of the hill, but more often than not, your energy will peter out before you're even a 1/4 of the way up and everyone will be passing you and wishing you a nice day. Find a speed that's comfortable for you on the hardest part of the hill and make that your target average speed. It doesn't matter that it's 3,4, or 8 mph, but it should be a speed that you can consistently maintain going up the hill. Then, rather than attacking the hill at the bottom, start at or just slightly above your target average speed. You'll find that when the going gets tougher, you'll still have some reserves left to power through the really tough spots. Anticipating shifts can be a great help on hills, too. If you're halfway up the hill before you downshift, even the best derailleurs can strain under a full-power shift. A mis-shift in the middle of a climb usually leads to a great loss of momentum -- and it takes even more energy to get moving again. Get into a lower gear before you need to, and you'll find that you can keep that precious momentum and use it to your advantage. On the rollers you find on a lot of Central PA routes, don't be tempted to pedal fast going down in hopes that you'll get farther up the next hill. That works occasionally but only if the next hill is smaller than the one you're going down. If that next hill is the same height or bigger, all you'll accomplish is to waste energy that you'll need later. Save that energy! Let gravity pull you down the hill and shift to a medium gear that will not strain your legs and keep you at your target average speed as you climb. The best way to start liking those hills, though, is to train and increase your power-to-weight ratio. It hasn't been that long since I thought a 5 mile ride was a tremendous effort. As I ride around the area, I am constantly speeding up little hills that I remember absolutely hating when I first started to become an avid rider. What's the difference now? I've ridden on hills that are much higher than what are now to me little bumps in the road. I've increased the distances I can ride so it's not as much of a stretch to do my daily commute. How to start training? First off, don't just ride. You will need to challenge yourself, increasing your distances and speeds. Don't be scared off by that; you don't really have to stress yourself out too much. I have found that a few miles a week increase in your longest ride will slowly but surely build up your stamina. If you add a secondary goal to increase your speed by .2 mile/hr at the same time you're increasing your distances, you'll also slowly but surely decrease the amount of time/mile -- and eventually, you'll find you can be doing 20 miles when you used to do five. Want to improve even more? Throw in a few intervals -- 30 secs at your peak output (i.e., ride as fast as you can) followed by a 2 minute cool-down. Repeat 3-5 times on a ride. How does that help you on hills? Any increase in your distance/speed ability will be quickly felt as you tackle those hills. If you really want to increase your hill climbing, then you need to tackle more and higher hills. For that, you are in luck! You live in Central Pennsylvania! Pick a hill and try to do it once a week. Time yourself and try to shave 10-20 seconds off of your time each week. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it will add up. Loving hills? Well, maybe that was a stretch, but if you face them rather than avoiding them using some of the tips presented here, the rewards to your overall fitness will be great. You'll soon find yourself not even noticing smaller hills that you hate now. And you'll get to see what's over that mountain. * -- see the references below for a full explanation of the physics of riding and hill climbing. References: My favorite local hill climbing training routes:
To Where the Pavement Ends
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/state-college/306079469 To Where the Pavement Ends (Extended)
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/pa/-state-college/149127075166444281 http://bikecalculator.com/wattsUS.html http://www.cptips.com/energy.htm http://www.blog.ultracycle.net/2010/05/cycling-power-calculations |
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Tuesday, 15 June 2010 08:34 |
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Meeting Minutes from June 14th, 2010, 7PM, Room 202 Opening Comments June 24th there will be a meeting at Ferguson Township buidling on Whitehall Road Reports from the three Committees: Special Events, Bicyce Friendly Community, and Planning Special Events- Special Events is working with SCASD, PTO's, YMCA, CRPR, and other local organization to get the drop on Bike to Work Week/Month(?) 2011.
- There is a thought that CRBC should transform Bike to Work Week should be changed to Bike to Work Month
- CRBC will seek sponsors for bike to work month/week.
- Future event should feature special events taking place at bike shops and other bike related businesses.
Bicycle Friendly Communities
- Pittsburgh is now a Bronze BFC
- Pittsburgh has a dedicated bike/ped coordinator
- Coordination between all municipalities is critical in helping State College to become a BFC.
- Web site improvements would help to create more energy surrounding bicycling and pedestrian activity in the region.
- The CRBC group expressed interest in beginning to work with Center Region Planning on the application process
Planning - Recapped meeting minutes from May 8th, 2010 meeting that took place at the Corner Room.
- Recapped a phone conversation with the Chris Metka, PA's Safe Routes to School Coordination.
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Friday, 14 May 2010 14:01 |
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May, 7th, 2010 Meeting Minutes Pre Meeting Reviewed PennDOT maps for Whitehall improvements Bike to work week review · Friday- PSU office of Sustainability did a fantastic job staffing the table at the main gates, all day. · Bike Fair on Allen Street was tough, comments included: o “More people next time would be good” o “need to rethink Saturday’s activities on Allen” o “No critical mass, it seemed kinda empty” o “How about a bike swap?” o “change name to Bicycle Celebration Week” o “Bike racks from around the world” o “YMCA, Schools, and CRPR need to be involved” o “Odd time. Maybe we could do it after the Students left, instead of trying to fit them in?” · Comments for making next year better included o Make a postcard flyer that you mail to peoples’ place of employment. Read -> “bike to work week” o Team up with other organizations like YMCA, CRPR, and the Schools o Start Earlier Discussion shifted to Safe Routes to School · Mark Woodward examined roundabout installation on the Parkway near Easterly Parkway Elementary · The group discussed names of folks that would be good to include in the Safe Routes to School planning. Things to do in the future · Make a Facebook Page for CRBC · Make committee’s for people who want to collaborate on specific Cycle/Pedestrian issues, ideas, events, and initiatives o It was determined that it would be up to individuals to meet on their own, and then report back to CRBC members at the next meeting |
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Thursday, 06 May 2010 12:35 |
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Credit to Mike Shamalla who had this list on one of our Bike-To-Work-Week posters.
With gas prices at an all-time high, and likely to rise even more, you're probably already driving less and bicycling more. But, just in case you're having a hard time breaking the 4-wheel habit, we put our heads together and came up with our top 10 "other" reasons to ride rather than drive.
10: You get ultra-cool tan lines!We'll start with a fun one, and you can laugh if you want. We wear our cycling tans like a badge of honor, a sign of our healthy lifestyle choices, a tangible token of membership to an exclusive group. It says, "hey, I ride a bike," or "I grow turnips." Either way, or both, people are bound to be impressed at the beach.Enjoy the sights, sounds and smells! Just be sure to use sunblock so you don't overdo it!
9. You see your city like drivers can't!On two wheels and moving at a comfortable pace you can enjoy your environment and see, smell and hear things you never notice in a car. Which of your neighbors has the best-landscaped yard? What bakeries smell so good you just have to stop? How many different architectural styles can you spot? On a bicycle you can take the scenic route and explore and become a tourist in your own city. Every ride is an adventure.
8. All those we-miss-you cards from your doctor!Pedaling only 10mph, a 140-pound cyclist burns about 400 calories an hour. And studies prove that biking a few times a week reduces blood pressure and stress while increasing your energy and elevating your overall mood. Your doctor may have to wait a little longer to buy that yacht!
7. You never get stuck in traffic and always have a great parking spot!If you ride in a city and bike during commuting hours you'll love being able to cruise past long lines of vehicles held up at red lights (be sure to watch carefully for right-turning traffic who might not see you). While drivers breathe exhaust (studies have shown that cyclists breathe less exhaust), and honk at each other, you feel the breeze and enjoy the sights off the roadside. Not to mention that you always get a great parking spot and often even beat your coworkers who drive to work.
6. You have one less car payment!According to our very un-scientific study (read: quick Google search), the average car payment is $500 a month. On top of that, add the cost of insurance, gas, maintenance, etc. By eliminating that vehicle and using your bicycle instead, just think of all the bike gear you can buy!
5. You find cool free stuff on the side of the road!By observing the flotsam and jetsam along America's streets and highways, you never know what you may find. Loose change, designer sunglasses, cool tools, $20 bills — heck, maybe an entire bag of money? Of course, you'll have to come back to grab that awesome Naugahyde sofa with the "free" sign you spotted on someone's lawn.Cycling is great for you, not so much for your doctor.
4. You can cancel your gym membership!Riding outside sure beats the treadmill, elliptical machines and the three pieces of cardio equipment you still haven't figured out. No waiting in line for those machines, either. Best, you'll no longer have to spot for Rocko while he's bench-pressing weights equivalent to a small car.
3. You'll never be late for work again!Because you can avoid traffic and cruise faster than jammed vehicles, it's likely you'll commute faster on 2 wheels and never be late again. Plus, if you are late sometime, it'll probably be because you decided to take the scenic route in. We've done it, too. But tell your boss instead that you got a flat tire. We know you can fix a flat tire in a matter of minutes, but he doesn't. And, he should be impressed that you're making the effort to bike in, keeping yourself healthy in the process and saving a parking space for someone else.
2. Cyclists make better lovers!According to a study led by Dr. Romualdo Belardinelli, director of the Lancisi Heart Institute in Ancona, Italy, the results of aerobic exercise are comparable to those of Viagra, because both widen blood vessels. Hmmm... that's a little scary. Our point is that regular exercise like cycling, will make you feel better, increase your energy and even help you look better, too. All of which make you more interesting to and interested in the opposite sex.
1. Bicycling is a Fountain of Youth!It's an amazing thing. You feel younger and actually get more years out of your muscles, joints and organs simply by using your highly capable self to pedal around instead of sitting statue-like behind that steering wheel. In fact, cycling might just be the closest thing you can find to a genuine Fountain of Youth. Like few other sports it keeps you fit and young with very little risk of injury. For example, we know plenty of 55-year-old regular riders who look and move like they’re closer to age 35, and also 80-year olds who still love to ride — and can because they're been riding for years. |
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