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September 13, 2006
my little triumphs 
A couple of days ago, I got together for beers with the Texiles. Sweetie had loaned his bicycle to them while another Texan was in town. The Texiles had gone for a bike ride to Mount Tabor (which, is really a dormant volcano and very very small by mountain standards, if you could even call it a mountain at all).
One of them had ridden Sweetie's bike.
Sweetie: Isn't the townie great to ride?
Texile: Oh yeah, definitely. Though hills, any sort of hills, are a bitch.
Sweetie: Yeah. That's a drawback.
...
Anyways, I was thinking about this conversation when I was riding my townie home yesterday. Though I should begin this with: I had great triumphs, hurrah!
I had a hair appointment in the evening, and a tight window of time to get ready for it. So as I'm coming out of the building garage, I'm looking at the bike computer and thinking, can I really make it home in 30 minutes?
I hit the road. The waterfront is crowded with people strolling, running, other bicycles, and homeless people. I am practically ringing my bell non-stop. At several points, I have to come to a stop because people are oblivious and there is nowhere for me to go.
The sprinklers are running in the park, so even though it's in the 80s, people are all crowding into the dry half of the concrete. I slow way down, and then swing into the sprinkler zone, and have to swerve to miss more humans, and as I lean into the curve to head back to the extreme right of the pathway, I slip. First time on the bike. I corrected right away, but it was one of those gulp moments.
....
There are 4 hills on the way home. Some of them are steep, some of them less so, but they're still all hills, and they're still a test for me. They include
- The ramp from the Esplanade to the bluff above.
- From the ramp to the stoplight
- The Holladay-Weidler hill
- The Knott-Graham hill (aka, Matt Dishman's revenge)
I'm neither feeling strong nor cocky, so imagine my shock when I rode right up the Esplanade ramp. I mean, I am a long ways away from having to stop on the ramp, but usually it's a big struggle. Last night, for whatever reason, it wasn't.
Getting to the stoplight was still a struggle. As was the Holladay hill.
By the time I get to Dishman's revenge, I stop at the stop sign and try to recollect myself. Just this last hill. There's even a chance I might make it home under 30 minutes.
As i'm ready to get started, a guy blows past me, grunting, "damn hills, damn hills". I figure he's saying this as encouragement as he looks young and thin and fit and no one to be complaining about Dishman's revenge. But he struggles, rising from the saddle, hammering the peddles, leaning the bike right and left.
I follow, and to my suprise, without trying, I'm in his draft, almost effortlessly being pulled up the hill by his momentum. And the rest of the way home, he's blowing through stop signs while I'm stopping for them. And I'm keeping up. Dude, I'm keeping up!
I did get home in 27 minutes. On my townie 3speed. Admittedly, I was out of breath for quite awhile afterwards, but totally manic too.
Posted at September 13, 2006
Comments
Hey, that's great! Congratulations!
I've been reading about drafting but haven't tried it yet. I'm curious to see what it feels like.
Posted by: cheesepuppet at September 13, 2006 9:59 AM
Woo hoo! What a great feeling it is to accomplish a purely physical goal. yay you! :-)
Posted by: neca at September 13, 2006 11:00 AM
Congratulations! I've read your blog quite a bit and you've got me wanting a Townie! I tried one out last week and loved it. Much smoother than my Schwinn. You seem to have a handle on the hills. Are they much harder on the Townie as opposed to another style bike, such as a hybrid?
Posted by: SunnyHazel at September 13, 2006 11:54 AM
Hey Cheesepuppet - drafting feels the same as regular cycling, unf. I just notice that it's a little easier or I'm going a little faster. Have you noticed how you ride faster on a group ride? That's the power of the draft. I expect the closer you ride to the person ahead of you, the more power you save. I draft cars all the time.
Neca - Thank you! I was all, go Vicki, go Vicki, it's your birthday...
Sunny Hazel - I love my Townie, but gosh, hills are difficult. If you've ever ridden a recumbent, it's similar. I naturally want to lean forward, and stand on the pedals, neither of which help you on the Townie; for the Townie to ride smoothly, you have to be upright or even lean back a little (or have loaded panniers). And you *can* stand on the pedals, but because of the way it's designed, it doesn't feel as stable as standing on the pedals on a normal style bike.
So, it depends on where and how you'll be riding. It's not fast (it's a little heavy, and the wide tires are just slow), but if you have sufficient gearing, hills are easier. And compared to lots of places, my hills are small. But, they're still a real effort.
The other issue to be concerned with with a Townie is that they don't fit on standard bus bike racks. They're just a smidge too long. I've made mine fit, but I've also had times where others have been "helpful" and decided that my bike doesn't fit. Also, lifting the bike is like lifting a sack of puppies. It's lighter than a lot of older bikes, but if you have looked at other new bikes, others are a ton less unwieldly. So if I ride my Townie somewhere, I have to plan on riding it back home again. That's generally not a big deal, but the public transportation in Portland is really good and sometimes it's tempting to just take the bus or train home.
I love my Townie, especially for running errands around the neighborhood. It's fun to ride, it's cute, and I have mine all decked out with chrome fenders and lights and a decorated basket. Riding to work, which is predominently downhill, is great. But I'm still hoping to find a thinner-tired commuter bike.
Hope this helps!
Posted by: vj at September 13, 2006 12:24 PM
Dear Brave Athena,
I'm wondering if I should get a townie for commuting. My commute is only 4 miles, but it's straight down a hill, and straight up a hill. They look pretty comfortable. I like the whole idea of being able to stop and wait with my foot flat on the ground, and not having a tiny seat wedged up my behind. I think I'd commute more often if I had one. My tri-geek friends say it might ruin my training. What do you think?
Posted by: Misty at September 17, 2006 2:02 PM
Hey Vicki..
Where are you? Everything OK?
We always get a little nervous/deprived when
you go so long between posts.
Call us needy,
Marci
Posted by: Marci at October 6, 2006 7:51 AM