Yesterday I did what I sought to do for the past 3 semesters: Ride to school on my bicycle.
It helped that throughout the December holidays, I've been riding regularly in the morning and re-adjusted my body clock (I'm proud that it is unlike a typical university student's sleeping pattern)
I've got plenty of help from E, Vic, Vince and Teck too.
I recalled that WJ, Vince, Vic and I went about our saturday morning rides after sending Matt off on his school trip. Around June last year? So it's been half a year and I slacked off riding abit when the basketball tournaments came up. Recently, after deciding to stop playing basketball, I found more time and energy to ride.
Previously, I was riding a cheap singlespeed road bike that I dug up from the remnants of a bike shop. It was all I ever wanted at that time. The rides were great and I'm just glad to be up and about when most others are sound asleep. We went to East Coast and enjoyed the great morning sea breeze, at the same time furiously pedalling along the dreaded coastal route.
My bike's been through alot of changes and I think I'd document that another day. The title for today reflects a lesson I learnt from riding a singlespeed bike (SS).
My only reason for getting the SS bike was to slowly pave the way to a fixed gear. A fixed gear bicycle ensures that the rider has to pedal at all time in order to keep the bicycle moving (YES and that includes going downhill) I naively believed that once I got a fixed gear, my pedalling strokes will become smoother and more disciplined.
I do not think that was a bad decision, the bad decision was to choose a gearing that most beginners will not even try. I went on 52x16.
The ratio means that my pedals will go 1 round (1 revolution) and the rear wheel will go (52 divided by 16) rounds. Much more rounds. The downside of course is that you'd require more strength to even pedal that 1 round first.
I wrecked my knees. BAD. My already bad knees.
I must admit that being able to climb slopes up much faster than others provided some sort of strength training and ego boosting. Now I realized my folly and my knees are paying for my foolishness.
Basically, cadence is really important. Cadence is a term reflecting how many revolutions per minute a cyclist makes on his pedals. My cadence on my SS will naturally be very low but I'm able to overcome it because I go further per revolution. A healthy cadence, for both the knees and also to effectively train stamina ranges from 80-100 rpms. It makes for a better cardiovascular workout and allows a rider to go further and longer.
---
For 3 semesters I've been on a singlespeed track in my academic pursuits. The result is disastrous.
I hope that cycling to school and the actual act of being in school itself will allow me to get more out of my education.
The race doesnt end May 2010. It goes beyond that.
---
Hope you've all learnt something today. Ride safe.
It helped that throughout the December holidays, I've been riding regularly in the morning and re-adjusted my body clock (I'm proud that it is unlike a typical university student's sleeping pattern)
I've got plenty of help from E, Vic, Vince and Teck too.
I recalled that WJ, Vince, Vic and I went about our saturday morning rides after sending Matt off on his school trip. Around June last year? So it's been half a year and I slacked off riding abit when the basketball tournaments came up. Recently, after deciding to stop playing basketball, I found more time and energy to ride.
Previously, I was riding a cheap singlespeed road bike that I dug up from the remnants of a bike shop. It was all I ever wanted at that time. The rides were great and I'm just glad to be up and about when most others are sound asleep. We went to East Coast and enjoyed the great morning sea breeze, at the same time furiously pedalling along the dreaded coastal route.
My bike's been through alot of changes and I think I'd document that another day. The title for today reflects a lesson I learnt from riding a singlespeed bike (SS).
My only reason for getting the SS bike was to slowly pave the way to a fixed gear. A fixed gear bicycle ensures that the rider has to pedal at all time in order to keep the bicycle moving (YES and that includes going downhill) I naively believed that once I got a fixed gear, my pedalling strokes will become smoother and more disciplined.
I do not think that was a bad decision, the bad decision was to choose a gearing that most beginners will not even try. I went on 52x16.
The ratio means that my pedals will go 1 round (1 revolution) and the rear wheel will go (52 divided by 16) rounds. Much more rounds. The downside of course is that you'd require more strength to even pedal that 1 round first.
I wrecked my knees. BAD. My already bad knees.
I must admit that being able to climb slopes up much faster than others provided some sort of strength training and ego boosting. Now I realized my folly and my knees are paying for my foolishness.
Basically, cadence is really important. Cadence is a term reflecting how many revolutions per minute a cyclist makes on his pedals. My cadence on my SS will naturally be very low but I'm able to overcome it because I go further per revolution. A healthy cadence, for both the knees and also to effectively train stamina ranges from 80-100 rpms. It makes for a better cardiovascular workout and allows a rider to go further and longer.
---
For 3 semesters I've been on a singlespeed track in my academic pursuits. The result is disastrous.
I hope that cycling to school and the actual act of being in school itself will allow me to get more out of my education.
The race doesnt end May 2010. It goes beyond that.
---
Hope you've all learnt something today. Ride safe.
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