Monthly Archives: February 2010

Bike Carson Photos of the Week

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Here are a couple of photos from Mike Garcia, a collector of old and rare bicycles. What caught my eye in this first photo was the “Chicago, USA” head tube badge. I sometimes forget that our country actually mass produced bicycles at one time.

bikes n shop 046
Chicago, USA

So what happened?  We were once able to cost effectively produce bicycles, and sell them at reasonable prices to the masses. Nowadays, getting a USA made bicycle means you are purchasing a high end, handmade frame from someone’s garage size specialty shop. Once built up, these bikes are well out of the price range that most people can afford or feel comfortable paying for a bicycle.

I often wonder just how much more I’d be paying for a mass produced bicycle that was manufactured here in the United States. Would it be just a couple hundred dollars more? Double the price? I just don’t know. I think most people would be willing to pay a bit more, and in fact take great pride in ownership, of a bike that was made just up the road. Maybe with the failing global economy, we’ll see more localization of production.

Old Schwinn Cruiser

These pictures were selected from the Bike Carson Flickr Pool. Instructions for adding your photos to the pool can be found HERE.

Stick to the Trail

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The worst of the winter is behind us, and we are now moving into spring conditions. The trails will be muddy, and there may be snow drifts or fallen branches blocking the trails. Should you ride through the mud and tear up the trail? Doesn’t it look easier to ride around the mud holes and other obstacles blocking the trail? What is the right thing to do?

Tom
Ride in the middle of the trail to avoid creating new trails and damaging trailside plants.

I once attended a Tahoe Rim Trail presentation, and the speaker made a statement that really made me think. He said, “Trails aren’t for people, they’re for the environment”. I had never really thought of it that way, but it makes sense. Today’s mountain bikes can pretty much ride over any type of terrain, the only limitations being rider skill and courage. Bikes don’t really need trails. If we all rode like this though, the land would severely damaged. This is why we ride on trails.

Here is some information on traveling on durable surfaces from the Leave No Trace website (http://www.lnt.org/programs/principles_2.php):

The goal of backcountry travel is to move through the backcountry while avoiding damage to the land. Understanding how travel causes impacts is necessary to accomplish this goal.

Travel damage occurs when surface vegetation or communities of organisms are trampled beyond recovery. The resulting barren area leads to soil erosion and the development of undesirable trails.

I also found some good information on the Leave No Trace blog:

There are a number of reasons why it is important to travel on durable surfaces and stick to the trail in areas where there is an established trail. You want to travel on the trail even when you come to a puddle in the middle of the trail. Here are some of these reasons why Leave No Trace recommends this practice:

  • Concentrating travel on trails reduces the likelihood that multiple routes will develop and scar the landscape.
  • It is better to have one well-designed route than many poorly chosen paths.
  • Trail use is recommended whenever possible. Encourage travelers to stay within the width of the trail and not short cut trail switchbacks (trail zigzags that climb hill sides).
  • In winter conditions, stay on deep snow cover whenever possible; in muddy spring conditions, stay on snow or walk in the middle of the trail to avoid creating new trails and damaging trailside plants.

More from the Leave No Trace blog here: http://leavenotracecommunity.blogspot.com/2009/12/stick-to-trail-even-when-its-muddy.html

Scott J
The goal of backcountry travel is to move through the backcountry while avoiding damage to the land.

From my observations, a properly designed trail largely heals itself after a muddy spell. If care is taken when riding through muddy sections not to displace large quantities of mud off the trail, mountain bike tires will pack down and smooth out the wheel ruts as the mud dries. Off trail short cuts and detours leave scars on the landscape that can last a long time. The ruts through the soft soil also channel water, further increasing erosion potential. While it can take weeks or months to revegetate the landscape, a trail can be repaired quite easily and quickly by comparison.

So get out there and start enjoying the trails! Just take the extra time to be careful navigating the muddy spots. If you encounter debris blocking the trail, take the extra time to clear it to discourage others from blazing new trails. A little patience goes a long way to land preservation.

Soulcycler Multimedia Presentation

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I just heard about this cycling movie that will be in Carson City tonight! I’ve never been to one of Rick Gunn’s presentation, but I hear they are wonderful. Go check it out if you have the time.

Title: Soulcycler Multimedia Presentation
When: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 7:00 – 9:00 (Nevada Appeal says 6:30 p.m)
Where: Galaxy Theater Fandango – Carson City
Category: Soulcycler Multimedia Events
Description: 90 minute Soulcycler Multimedia presentation: large screen format

More info: http://www.rickgunnphotography.com/index.php/upcoming-events/details/8-soulcycler-multimedia-presentation

Thanks for the tip, Brent!

Push Ups For Beginners

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Back in March of 2009, I wrote about the One Hundred Push Ups training program. While I found it to be a good program in that it gave quick results, it was hard to stick with in the long run due to the number of reps and sets I eventually built into. I took the experience and knowledge from it though, and have kept push ups in my daily routine to maintain upper body strength. I’ve found the additional upper body strength has really helped my riding. Mountain biking requires you to constantly muscle the bike over obstacles and take impacts from the trail. Road biking requires you to sit leaned over for long periods of time. Push ups help a lot in both of these areas.

Hundredpushups.com: Push ups are one of the basic and most common exercises for the human body. Push ups are not only great for your chest, but do a tremendous job of defining your abs, triceps, shoulders and torso.


Luke Wold demonstrates Push Ups for Beginners

Due to their difficulty, push ups can be very discouraging at first. Luke Wold of Carson City’s Wold Fitness (http://woldfitness.com/), recently posted this video that demonstrates beginning techniques to get you started with push-ups.

Luke says, “When you’re just beginning a fitness and fat loss program, the traditional gym class push up may be slightly too advanced. There are several quick and easy ways to build up to more advanced push ups, and these are some of my favorites!”

Add some push ups to your daily routine. Even doing a couple sets a few days a week really makes a difference. Break it up by doing a set in the morning and a set at night, and it doesn’t seem overwhelming. As long as you find time to add a set here and there throughout your daily routine, they will really add up by the end of the week.

Are there any tips you’d like to share? What helps you stick with exercise? Give push ups a try for a month, and let me know how it works for you! Check out the One Hundred Push Ups site for further recommendations. http://hundredpushups.com/index.html

2010 Northern Nevada / Tahoe Regional Bicycle Summit

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On February 3rd, 2010, Muscle Powered and Bike Carson attended the 2010 Northern Nevada / Tahoe Regional Bicycle Summit in Reno, hosted by the University of Nevada Reno Cycling Team and the Tour de Nez Outreach.  Over 40 cycling groups met in the UNR Student Union to give a brief presentation of who they were and what they were working on.  The groups represented just about all the facets of cycling that you can imagine, from racing, advocacy groups, trails organizations, city and state government, urban planning, law enforcement, on and off road cycling clubs, disabled groups, various causes, and more!

Bike Summit
Post Meeting Social: Mike Henderson, Colin Loretz, Nico Aguilera

Each group did around a 5 minute presentation, and by the end, I think everyone was pretty amazed at how many people are putting in their time to make cycling better in Northern Nevada. Rather than try to discuss all that was presented, I’ve compiled a list of attendees with links to their organizations. Some groups weren’t able to attend, and others showed up that aren’t on the list below, so let me know if your group is not represented or if the links are not accurate. I wasn’t able to find links for all the groups, but it’s nearly complete. Go explore these links and see what’s going on in Northern Nevada! It should keep you busy for a while…

A Special Thank You to Tim Healion, Executive Director of the Tour de Nez Outreach Organization. Thanks for getting us all together and directing the summit!

Attendees:

Bike Summit
2010 Northern Nevada / Tahoe Regional Bicycle Summit

Ash Canyon Trail Report

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The snow has been steadily melting all week, so on February 4th, I decided to see what kind of shape Ash Canyon was in. From below I could see that the northern slopes were still covered in snow, but that most of the southern exposures were mostly clear. It looked inviting, so I decided to see how far I could get.

Ash Canyon
Jackrabbit Trail

The Jackrabbit trail crosses back and forth across a sand wash several times, so as expected, there were numerous patches of snow to port the bike over. Once the trail climbs to the south and becomes the Postal Route Trail, it was completely covered in snow, and required me to walk until the trail headed west again up on top of the hill. It was nice riding for quite a ways after this, and I didn’t encounter snow again until the upper half of Deer Run.

The snow got a little heavier towards the top of Deer Run, but the Baldy Green trail and Four Day Trail appeared to be more of the same, i.e. partly rideable with a few portages. I turned around at this point and headed down the dirt road to save time and energy. I was able to ride all the way back down without stopping, veering north at the water towers to reconnect with the bike path. Even though I rode down the road easily enough, it was still full of mud and snow, and would be tough climbing.

Ash Canyon
Deer Run

With no large amounts of precipitation expected over the next several days, I expect that the Ash Canyon trails should be good riding early next week. If you don’t mind a little mud and some walking, go check them out now!

Bike Carson Photos of the Week

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It’s time for another installment of the Bike Carson Photos of the Week. This week we have a mixed collection of photos, ranging from the beauty of winter to the hope of the coming summer.

Amy Snowshoeing Baldy Green
Amy Snowshoeing the Baldy Green Trail by Jeff Potter

First up is a photo of Amy snowshoeing the Baldy Green Trail on January 23rd. This picture was taken just a week after we rode mountain bikes on this trail. We haven’t been getting much precipitation from the recent storms, so we should be riding this trail again real soon!

Winter Legs
Winter Legs by Brent Ruybalid

Here’s a photo from Brent, a pretty good image of how many have been getting their winter miles in. Cycling videos, tunes, wind machine, and a beer fridge nearly in reach.

Jon Flume 2
The Flume Trail by Jon Bakkedahl

Here’s a photo of a Flume Trail ride from Jon Bakkedahl. It looks pretty hazy, so there must have been some fires raging that day. The Sand Harbor peninsula can be seen jutting out below. Man, I can’t wait to get back up there!

1946 Bike Trip in Maine
1946 Bike Trip in Maine by Charlie Moser

These next two photos are a couple that my grandparents took back in 1946 while out on a bike ride in Maine. I actually got to see these two bikes before they sold them a few years ago. I bet they made some lucky collector pretty happy. Last summer they told me stories of the all day trips they liked to do in the Boston area, that included a return trip home on the train.

1946 Bike Trip in Maine
1946 Bike Trip in Maine by Evelyn Moser

These pictures were selected from the Bike Carson Flickr Pool. Instructions for adding your photos to the pool can be found HERE.