Nutmeg Creation Tour Notes

The Nutmeg Creation Tour has returned from a one-week spin around Connecticut.

We covered a lot of territory, though it has to be measured against more than mileage. The breakdown (from my cyclometer) looks like this:

• Prologue: Sharon Mudge Pond Loop — 7 miles
• Day 1: Sharon to Goshen — 17 miles
• Day 2: Goshen to Simsbury — 26 miles
• Day 3: Simsbury to Cheshire (incl. bike paths) — 31 miles
• Day 4: Cheshire to Roxbury — 28 miles
• Day 5: Roxbury to Sharon — 37 miles

The total distance is 146 miles.

But, remember I said it has to be measured against more than mileage. It happens that our tour went through the “bumpiest” part of our fair Nutmeg State. (I guess that was good for our Constitutions!)

Keeping that in mind, the effort that went into climbing several mountains and lesser hills along the way would be equivalent to covering, say, 200 miles on level ground.

Advanced touring cyclists could cover that in about three days — although I remember my bike mechanic telling me about a buddy of his who did the entire Florida-to-Maine coastal run in about ten days flat. Never mind him!

Our group, with fourteen on the road of varying abilities, did it in five days, and I’m proud of each and every one of you.

I’ll be posting more information to this site — including photos — as soon as we get all of our gear unpacked. The transfer cable for the camera figures highly in this plan! But please comment, and please feel free to begin posting your own articles here.

Matt

From the July 3 American Bicyclist e-letter:

Florida Joins the “3ft Passing Law” States

Florida recently passed legislation (H.B. 7079) saying that “the driver of a vehicle overtaking a bicycle or other nonmotorized vehicle must pass the bicycle or other nonmotorized vehicle at a safe distance of not less than 3 feet between the vehicle and the bicycle or other nonmotorized vehicle.” Arizona, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wisconsin also have similar laws on their books.

by MattThis is from the June 19, 2006, issue of American Bicyclist Update.

Top 10 Worst Cities for Bicycle TheftKryptonite, the bicycle lock company, has announced its Top 10 Worst Cities for Bike Theft in 2006. Kryptonite uses its own data to create the list. This is the eighth time the company has published the list, which is compiled by theft data that Kryptonite has accumulated over three decades.With the latest FBI Uniform Crime Report (2004) showing a property crime every 3.1 seconds, Kryptonite warns cyclists everywhere to always lock their bicycle when not in use especially in the following areas:

Read the rest of this entry �

by Matt

This came to my email Wednesday, and I thought: Future?

There’s always some way to get around!

The April 2006 issue of ConnTact, the Connecticut Conference newspaper, carried a short article about an experience we had on the 2005 Nutmeg Creation Tour.

You can read it here.

Before they could open their mouths, the woman smiled, and said, “Welcome!”

(There’s an intriguing teaser…I hope! )

by Matt
Here is a link to my Platial.com site, where I have posted a map of the route. (Click only on the “Nutmeg Creation Tour 2006″ link; that will get you the site in a new window. The other links will give you the whole site in the same small window.

Your Co-Deans are quite happy about the route as it is shaping up…the best part is the nice, steady cycling day for Wednesday, which will be an improvement over last year’s route.

You can also see maps that show our destinations for other years at the Platial.com site. Look for maps by me, “bikerbudmatt” at that site.

by Matt
I will post the details soon, but wanted you to know that the most important part of our route—where we are staying—is now complete.

Our stayovers are:

• Goshen
• Simsbury
• Cheshire
• Roxbury

I will be posting maps and more details about each site.

We are looking forward to great stopovers!

by Matt
From the June 5 e-issue of American Bicyclist Update:

Bicycle Jobs Open in Missouri, Montana

Three jobs in bicycle advocacy have opened in recent weeks. They include Tours Manager and Membership and Marketing Associate at the Adventure Cycling Association in Missoula, Mont. and Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator for Columbia, Mo. Good luck, potential bicycling advocates.

There has always been plenty of work for good bike mechanics, and a few salespeople. But bike advocates work to make sure that we can get from place to place on the road; that laws take us into consideration; and that other users of the highway are aware that a bicycle and its operator are legitimately present on that road.

League of American Bicyclists (not to be confused with other kinds of organized sports leagues ).

by Matt
A couple of days ago I wrote a Training article about getting acclimated to long hours on the bike. In that post I promised to talk more about seats.

They’re actually called “saddles” on a bicycle—most likely because early bicyclists had a lot in common with horse riders. And, there are countless variations on the saddle. Some of them look hideously uncomfortable, while others appear to be merely a tad inconvenient.

Yet the saddle is a relatively efficient way for a bicyclist to be mounted. It aids balance, keeps leg power from being absorbed by the buttocks, and can be quite comfortable with some acclimation.

The key to saddle comfort, at least in my humble opinion, is keeping one’s body from sitting on delicate tissues (especially the blood vessels and nerves that abound Where You Sit). In that regard, there is at least one misconception, and several positive developments.

The Misconception
It would make good common sense that the whole problem of shielding nerves and blood vessels can be accomplished by using a good, wide, cushy seat — the more padding the better.

Wrong!

Your riding will suffer (and presumably so will you), because your legs will be forced out of the ideal line for pedaling. Over two or three miles you might not notice it. But over tens of miles a day, you will begin to feel discomfort at your hip and knee joints.

The padding will also absorb some of the energy you are trying to put into pedaling. You will end up working harder to go the same distance, especially up hills.

A semi-cushy, efficient seat
A much better option is a seat with a so-called “cutout” — it actually has a wedge cut out of the middle of the seat. They are built differently for women and for men, because in addition to the obvious anatomical differences, our pelvic bones are configured a little differently as well.

This kind of seat puts no pressure on the delicate nerves and blood vessels. It supports your upper body weight on the so-called “sit bones” of the pelvis rather than up near the nose of the saddle. It can be padded with a gel cushion, or can be like the more traditional hard racing saddle, but it’s not cushy.

The results: an efficient and pain-free line for your legs, a comfortable sitting position, and no numbness in your lower extremities after a long ride.

How to get this
Seats of this type cost between $25 and $75. You don’t have to spend a lot fot a good-quality seat. They are relatively easy to install, and if you purchase one at a bike shop, you can ask for it to be installed as part of the purchase.

Adjusting it is an ongoing process. Ask for guidance from a mechanic.

by Matt
I found this in a fortune cookie today. (No, really I did. A real, random fortune cookie.)

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go where there is no path…and leave a trail.

It might mean something for our tour, or not. What do you think?

PS: The Lucky Numbers were 12, 20, 37, 44, 36, 8, and the Chinese word for “Medical Doctor” is Hai-zi

What’s your favorite fortune? Leave a comment…