Bicycle Training Indianapolis

(Continued) To understand the third option, visualize a small CamelBak which is mounted on your waist, not your back, and you have the CamelBak FlashFlo.  Being an avid fan of CamelBak’s for my riding, I was instantly sold on this waist mounted option for running.  Water remains ice cold for the duration of your run.  The drinking tube is unusually long, and hooks to the waist strap.  When thirsty, you just unhook it, take your sip, then rehook it to your pack.  I do find that I need to cinch the pack up quite tightly, in order to minimize pack bounce.  

So, here's what it looked like at oh-dark-thirty on Saturday morning…

What to do when you are a couple who wants to bike together, but one of you is so much stronger than the other?  We have seen this scenario play out so many times.  The stronger spouse is holding back, putting the brakes on their speed and fun.  And the slower spouse is busting a gut – struggling to hold a pace that is much too fast.  The ride is frustrating and not much fun for either person.  After a few more attempts, the slower spouse usually gives up, leaving only the faster one to continue with the sport of bicycling.  This is where a tandem bicycle comes in handy.  A tandem is the great equalizer – allowing couples with greatly varying abilities to ride together seamlessly. 

My husband Jay and I are the perfect example.  Being a triathlete, my training miles are spread between three different sports.  As a die-hard cyclist, Jay’s miles are focused entirely on the bike, and therefore he is a much stronger cyclist.  Yet we can come together on the tandem and BOTH have a fantastic ride.

The other benefit of tandeming is the ease of talking which it provides. A couple on two single bikes can have quite the disjointed conversation what with moving back and forth to accommodate passing cars and road hazards.  With a tandem you are always together and the talking flows so much easier. From the female perspective, definitely a big plus.  But from the male perspective, I wonder, ……do you consider this a positive or a negative?????? 

Tandems have come a long way from the single speed resort bikes you rode as a kid.  The Cannondale Road 3 feature a light weight aluminum frame, has a 30-speed Shimano drive train, front and rear disc brakes, and is ready for fun for couples and families of all abilities.  It  is just one of the performance Cannondale Bikes Indianapolis, available at both Bicycle Garage Indy North and Bicycle Garage Indy South in Greenwood.

I bought this frame about 2 years ago and built it up with great help & advice from Bicycle Garage Indy's South's own Mark Degunya. Specs: Frame-1998 Cannondale Super V Raven 4000 Fork-Lefty Carbon Max Drive Train-all Shimano XTR Wheels (built by Mark Degunya)-Sun Rhyno Lyte, Shimano hubs, Michelin DH-15 tires(BGI) Pedals-Shimano PD-M545(BGI) Saddle-Serfas Hybrid Rx (BGI) Grips-Ergon w/integrated bar ends (BGI) Seat Post-Cannondale carbon fiber-wrapped. I also wear Shimano SH-MT52 cycling shoes (BGI). This baby is a real hill climber w/Shimano 14-36 rear cassette! Thanks to Mark & the entire team @ Bicycle Garage Indy South for helping make this dream bike a reality. I love My Dream Raven!

Name: Steve Kirts
Bicycle: Cannondale Raven(1998)
City: Franklin
State: IN

Steve:  Thanks from everyone at BGI for Your Bicycle story.  While the Cannondale Raven is no longer in production, BGI is still happy to offer a full line of off-road Cannondale Bikes Indianapolis.

In 2007, I had been practicing law for over 25 years and needed a getaway. I read a story about the (Adventure Cycling Association) National Bicycle Route System and decided I would gear up and ride the Underground Railroad from Indy to Mobile, Alabama. I started to train, educated myself, bought a Trek 520 touring bike from Bicycle Garage Indy. Had it fitted by Frank, bought the touring bags and set out, on my own, the day after the Memorial Day weekend. I had never ridden such a distance before and had never ridden a bike with 50 pounds of gear on it. To make a long story short, 1100 miles, one flat tire and two weeks later, I rolled into Mobile. I promptly rented a car and drove to my brother's house in Panama City, Florida. I discovered myself and discovered that there are a lot of friendly people on the road. There are also a lot of dry counties in Kentucky, Tennesse, Mississippi and Alabama. It was a great trip and a great way to get away. Ride America!

Name: Alan Ladd
Bicycle: Trek 520
City: Indianapolis
State: IN

Alan:  Thanks from everyone at Bicycle Garage Indy for Your Bicycle Story.  

I bought this bike from a small shop run by two Indonesian brothers in a strip mall in Carbondale, Ill., in 1982. I was attending graduate school at Southern Illinois University at the time. I wanted to by a heavy, 3-speed Schwinn Varsity, but the co-owner sold me on a black Panasonic Training Track Bike with deep drop bars and a fixed wheel in back. It was drilled for brakes and brakes were installed. Plus, he cut the price to $229, which still seemed like a lot of money to me then. I still have the bike, though now I have a flip-flop hub in back and ride a 17T cog in back most of the time to go with the 48T in front. The drop bars are long gone. I've commuted on this bike to work in Champaign, Ill., St. Louis and here in Indianapolis on many occasions over the years, including on the Monon from Carmel to Downtown. The only major repair was to replace the bottom bracket from wear. But I use a Schwinn 564 aluminum bike made in Greenville, Miss., in 1989 or 1990, with early Shimano index shifting and a 14-speed, more often.

Name: Abe Aamidor
Bicycle: Panasonic Training Track Bike
City: Carmel
State: IN

Abe: Thanks from everyone at Bicycle Garage Indy for Your Bicycle Story.  

What should be in a seat bag is a question we hear a lot.  And the basics needs are quite simple; fix a flat or tighten or adjust anything on your bike.  A seat bag can also be the place for things that might go in a clothing pocket; Snacks, ID, Keys, Cell phone and money.  The list below takes care of the needs for most day riders. 

Bicycle Garage Indy was involved with getting Andy Clarke, president of League of American Bicyclists, to Indianapolis for a celebration/photo op with Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard to celebrate Indianapolis' designation as a Bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community.  BGI was also recognized at the celebration on Thursday, April 22, 2010 as a Gold level Bicycle Friendly Business.

After the celebration, I took Andy Clarke on a tour of Indianapolis, highlighting what's been accomplished and what we hope to acheive in the near future. He was duly impressed. Andy had been sent the feedback Indianapolis has been given last fall when we received the Bronze designation and as he listened to Mayor Ballard tout the most recent accomplishments, he realized we has already accomplished much on the "to-do" list we had been given.

The next morning Andy led the bike train for St. Thomas Aquinas Walk/Bike to School with Your Grandparent event. I participated in the bike ride and got the opportunity to meet Rep. Andre Carson, Mayor Ballard, and USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood. It was a whirlwind 24 hours.

Here are some links of media coverage of the event:

LAB's blog about the 4/22 event
http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/04/indianapolis-bicycling-and-ray-lahood/

LAB's blog on the Bike to School event:
http://www.bikeleague.org/blog/2010/04/big-names-at-indianapolis-safe-routes-to-school-event/

USDOT Sec. LaHood's blog
http://fastlane.dot.gov/2010/04/grandparents-day-safe-routes-to-school-mash-up.html

NUVO item
http://www.nuvo.net/NewsBlog/archives/2010/04/23/indianapolis-a-bicycle-friendly-city

Courier-Journal - Louisville, KY
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100423/NEWS02/4240304/-1/EXTRAS05/Obama+official+walks+kids+to+Indianapolis+school

IndyStar
http://www.indystar.com/article/20100423/NEWS04/4230374/Obama-official-walks-kids-to-Northside-school

USDOT policy article/backlash
http://www.theindychannel.com/automotive/23144733/detail.html

St. Thomas Aquinas website - photos
http://www.staindy.org/school/section.php?page=3-84

another Indy website coverage
http://www.indy.com/posts/obama-official-walks-kids-to-northside-school

And in our own blogs:
http://blog.bgindy.com/blog/bicycle-garage-indy/0/0/bicycle-friendly-city-event-in-downtown-indianapolis

Connie Szabo Schmucker
Advocacy Director
Bicycle Garage Indy / BGI Fitness
Indianapolis & Greenwood, IN
cschmucker@bgindy.com
www.bgindy.com

So here's the new bike (or "whip" as my younger, cooler friends liked to say in 2002.  I have no idea what they're saying these days):


It's a Cannondale CAAD9.  I bought just the frameset, since I had an old Campagnolo kit lying around. 

So how does this compare to last year's Trek Madone 6.5 Pro?  The Madone weighed just under 16 pounds; the CAAD9 is about 18.  That can be attributed to the lighter carbon frame and the top-of-the-line Shimano Dura-Ace kit.  The Campy kit works just great, but it's a couple of steps down from their tip-top, lightest-available stuff. 

The Trek handled and accelerated beautifully, as does the Cannondale.  The Trek was somewhat smoother over a long, rough ride, but I can't say it's prevented me from having a blast riding the Cannondale.  I've done three races on it so far (more on that later) without a single hiccup.

A couple of component highlights: 
-the Prologo saddle, which is a new brand for me, is pretty good!  It comes stock on many of the 2010 Cannondale road bikes, such as the CAAD9 5. 
-I love my Speedplay pedals.  This is the sixth bike that I've installed this same pair on, and they're still going strong.
-Fizik bar tape:  the best.

The Madone was a better bike but carries a commensurate cost.  The CAAD9 is probably the best value you can get in a racing bike.  I'm stoked to be riding one.

Next time:  the early race season, and how I've been training for it.

(Complete Cannondale CAAD9 bicycles are among the performance Cannondale bikes Indianapolis available from Bicycle Garage Indy North, in Indianapolis, and Bicycle Garage Indy South, in Greenwood - the BGi Blog Ed.)

Trek Project 1 lets you customize your Trek Madone with a wide variety of paint and finish options, allowing you to create a unique bike.  But since Bicycle Garage Indy wants you to be able to test ride a Madone before you buy, we let our staff select a few samples.  This WSD (Women Specific Dimensions) Madone 5.5 was spec'd by Abby at BGi North.



The Trek Madone 5.5 is equipped with SRAM Force 5.5, here with a 20 speed compact drive train.  Bontrager Race Lite wheels finish the package, with pink highlights to match the frame finish.  

While Project 1 allows thousands of combinations, we have an idea that Abby's bike will inspire a few copies.

This Project One Trek Madone is just one of the performance Trek Bikes Indianapolis, available at both Bicycle Garage Indy-North and Bicycle Garage Indy-South in Greenwood.

My sister is training for the Team in Training Steelhead Triathlon coming up this summer, so we stopped by BGI this Sat. for a bento box. She ended up finding so much stuff she liked, she walked away with 3 new riding outfits. Somehow I got roped into buying the bento box for her, but everything was 15% off (plus we received lots of friendly smiles from the staff) so it was worth it! Thanks BGI for the great service and deals!

Name: Ali Sales Roach
Bicycle:
City: Indianapolis
State: IN

(Ali:  We are glad you found all the Bicycle Clothing Indianapolis your sister was looking!  The BGi Staff)

BGI put on an awesome bicycle sale in Indianapolis this weekend. I came to buy a bike and was drawn in by the show that was happening in the parking lot outside of the main tent. The show I caught featured a pro who was jumping (on his bike) across a 5 ft. wide area on his bike. This picture doesn't do it justice but it awesome in person. Make sure you have the right training and right bike gear before trying this at home! 

Name: Kelly Simon
City: Indianapolis
State: IN

 (Thanks Kelly, we are glad you enjoyed the Jeff Lenosky/Chris Clark Trials Stunt Ride, sponsored by BGi and Giant Bicycle Indianapolis)

Sometimes a product comes along that is very difficult to describe, or explain in words how to use or why you need it.  When I first saw the XDK Slug, A Hydration Pack Tool I knew I had to have one.  

Now I am a rarity, a road rider who uses a CamelBak. I know a CamelBak on road bike just yells FRED, but hear me out. I was first introduced to them while riding in Washington State.  Off-road riders are constantly in mud, so CamelBaks were used for both for hands-free drinking, and reasonable clean access to water.  A lot of the off-road riders would train on the road, so they kept the CamelBak habit.  I am on a tandem a lot, so hands free is nice for that.  Finally, our kids were tandeming with at a very early age, and a strapped on pack let them drink without playing the "drop-the-water-bottle" game.  So our work-out storage includes hooks for four hydration packs and extra's.

Now the Omegaport lid is a great improvement over the original CamelBak.  You can easily add ice (especially nice at quick shop ice machines!), and clean and dry the bladder.  But for some, it can be very difficult to open.  In our household, I am the official CamelBak "opener". (Along with bike mechanic, roof rack bike loader, tire inflation specialist, etc.) With the Slug, which inspired the video below, I have 1 less official job at home.  Now if someone will just invent a PowerBar opener. . . .



CamelBak and XDK are just two of the hundreds of brands of Bike Accessories Indianapolis, in-stock now at Bicycle Garage Indy North, in Indianapolis, and Bicycle Garage Indy South in Greenwood.

I am completely at home taking care of the different types of bicycle brakes I have used over the years; side pulls, center pulls, cantilevers and linear-pull/V-brakes.   I have had them on the bikes I have owned, assembled and maintained.  But disc brakes are a completely new animal for me.  I don’t own a disc-equipped bike (yet, of course!), and they only came into wide-spread use after my days as a full-time mechanic.  However, I had a unique opportunity to learn more about Hydraulic Disc brakes when Josh Prater, one of the service leads for Bicycle Garage Indy, scheduled a training session for BGI’s Service Department to share what he learned at a recent Park Tool Tech Summit, I jumped at the chance, and it turned out to be a very interesting couple of hours!

We have our first Shimano Dura Ace Di2 Treks Bike Indianapolis!  We have a Trek Project 1 Madone with a complete Dura Ace Di2 drive train assembled and on display.  Better yet, we have have it on CycleOps Jet Fluid Trainer, so you can try it yourself at BGI - North.

 Shimano's SEIS (Shimano Electronic Intelligent Shifting) is a remarkable riding experiencing. On of the most fascinating features is the self-triming front derailleur, with it's two-step shifting between rings.  The the Di2's lithium battery pack mounts in-line with and below a water bottle cage, and  is designed for 1,000 miles of riding between charges.  You can find a complete set of pictures on Flickr, and video at BicycleGarageIndy on YouTube.

This Project One Trek Madone is just one of the performance Trek Bikes Indianapolis, available at both Bicycle Garage Indy-North and Bicycle Garage Indy-South in Greenwood.

Over 25 people attended Phil Campbell's Sprint 8 session over separate evenings at BGI South and North.  Included in each 1 hour presentation was a 20 minute, Sprint 8 workout, which is programmed into many models of Vision Fitness Treadmills, Vision Fitness Recumbent Cycles and Vision Fitness Ellipticals.  Vision Fitness equipment is one of the many lines carried by BGI Fitness and Bicycle Garage Indy at our Indianapolis and Greenwood locations.  Each attendee received a copy of Phil's fitness and training guide, "Ready, Set, Go!"

We tell our customers every year, but it bears repeating.  When spring arrives and you are ready to start riding is not the time for your Bike Maintenance, Indianapolis!.  Right now our full time winter staff of trained bicycle mechanics is ready to tune up or overhaul you bike, and return it to you ready to go.   And bring your bike in now for savings of 40% off labor.   Our Winter service offer runs through January 31.  Don't loose those first spring weekends on problems you already know need to be fixed, like rusted cables, worn tires, or wheels that are out of true.

And while you are in,  check out the latest in 2010 Bicycle Clothing in Indianapolis, arriving daily and hitting the shelves at both our locations.