Hey Group Riders. Let’s give it up one more time for Italian cyclist Sonny Colbrelli for winning the 2021 Paris-Roubaix. Talk about a nail-biter. It still blows me away that after all of that slipping and sliding, the six-hour race came down to the final second.
As I was returning from a ride the other night, an incredible storm blew in from the east. Lightning raced across dark clouds and down to the ground, at times striking so close that the claps of thunder set off car alarms beside me. Zoinks!
I made it home moments before the skies opened to a torrent of rainfall, but the question of whether my bike made me more or less susceptible to electrocution lingered. Did the metal components on my bike make me a veritable lightning rod? Or was I actually safer riding in the saddle than walking on my own two feet because of the insulation from my rubber tires?
While the odds of being struck by lightning are quite low – about one in 3,000 over the course of your lifetime – cyclists can and do get struck by lightning. While rubber is a good electrical insulator, there isn’t enough rubber in bike tires to keep you protected. Yes, even on the fattest of fat bikes. According to the National Weather Service, “the average lightning bolt carries about 30,000 amps of charge, has 100 million volts of electric potential, and is about 50,000°F.” Translation: You and your measly bike tires are no match for Zeus’s wrath.
Aside from avoiding lightning storms in the first place, what can you do to protect yourself? Here are a few tips: 1) For starters, put down those golf clubs and step away from that bottle of lighter fluid. 2) Get low – descend from mountaintops and find shelter, if possible. 3) If you start to feel tingly (like your hair is standing up), crouch down on the balls of your feet and make yourself the smallest target possible. Don’t lay flat – you want to minimize contact with the ground. 4) Watch out for flash floods, and use caution when riding in cold and wet conditions. While electrocution is no fun, hypothermia ain't a picnic either.
Lightning can be beautiful, folks, but it’s best enjoyed from a safe distance. Be careful out there.
Crank It
Listening to the Landscape
Photo credit: Tim Foster
My friend Jarret is the most knowledgeable human I know when it comes to the outdoors. I recently had the opportunity to review his CV, which reflects an impressive career dedicated to making the region around Boulder, Colorado, a paradise for hikers, bikers, and nature enthusiasts.
Seeing his remarkable experience made me realize how little I know about what’s involved in building and maintaining the trails I ride on a weekly basis. To curb my embarrassment, the universe sent me two related articles this week. “Water Always Wins” is the story of how Kristian Jackson spent a winter constructing his first MTB trail without any training. Proud of all he’d accomplished, he showed his handiwork to a trail-building expert who delicately pointed out that he had completely botched the whole project – erosion would soon undo the majority of Kristian's efforts. D'oh!
The second story, “As mountain biking booms, so does demand for trail builders”, opened my eyes to the sheer quantity of time, money, and labor that goes into the creation of a single mile of properly built trail. Expert trail builders can spend weeks or even months at a time in the backcountry, carefully erecting rock walls, hammering boardwalks, grading soil, etc., so that cyclists like me can fly down the paths without destroying the environment – or ourselves.
Do you know your way around a shovel? Have you been seeking opportunities to give back to a sport you love (mountain biking)? Good news: There's arguably no better time to support a trail-building association near you.
Coffee Stop
You Affogato Be Kidding Me
Photo credit: Ross Parmly
If you haven’t burned out on pumpkin everything, I’ve got a dessert that’s gonna light you up like a jack-o'-lantern.
We recently acquired the Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Ice Cream, which is excellent all on its own and even more spectacular as the foundation of an affogato. The affogato is traditionally an Italian dessert of vanilla ice cream over which espresso has been poured, but our modification uses the pumpkin ice cream and pour-over coffee in place of espresso. The result is a sweet and creamy concoction that can power a long bike ride or act as a decadent reward for hard miles well ridden. Justin and Justin give it two enthusiastic thumbs up.
Jaunt Back
Spray and Pray
Photo credit: Patrick Hendry
Recently, I’ve been using a pair of needle-nose pliers to extract well-established weeds from our yard. While gardening the other day, my wife found the pliers completely rusted and no longer usable. Apparently, I’d left them out in the rain and, in a matter of only a couple days, they were toast. RIP, pliers.
That was my main source of fear as I very hesitantly hosed down my mountain bike last weekend. The whole bike was filthy, with dust and grime in every nook and cranny, from top to bottom. Normally, I don’t mind the dirt, but my bike had also started making a very unsettling grinding sound, which the highly unqualified mechanic in me diagnosed with an audible “uh-oh.”
Washing a bike is one of those things that sounds like an idiot-proof task, but turns out to be surprisingly easy to screw up. Don’t use too much water pressure. Don’t use the wrong kind of brush on your frame. Don’t use a high-pressure spray on the components with sealed bearings. Don’t forget to deeply clean your chain and cassette. Don’t wait long to dry and re-lubricate your drivetrain. Beware rust!!!
Ultimately, I found the most help from this video tutorial from GMBN. However, I ended up taking a lazier (but still effective) approach, opting for fewer cleaning products and spending less time scrubbing. The final result was a bike that was squeaky clean, rid of its grinding noise, and ready for its next coating of dirt.
Cool Down
Snap Review: NiteRider Lumina 1000 Boost
NiteRider
These days, the sun sets in San Diego at about 6:15 p.m., so I’ve once again taken to riding my bike with a handlebar-mounted headlight, the NightRider 1000 Boost. This torch brightly illuminates the road ahead, inspiring confidence even on those eerie, moonless nights.
The 1000 is a reference to the number of lumens the Lumina emits in its "Boost" setting. For context, a car or motorcycle’s low-beam headlight is about 700 lumens; high beams are generally about 1,200 lumens. At full power, the Lumina splits the difference, sending a strong, focused ray of 1,000 lumens down the trail.
Most of the time, I find that 1,000 lumens is overkill. I typically ride with the light on its lowest setting (200 lumens), particularly while cruising the city streets or riding in a group. I increase the power to the medium (375) or high setting (750) when I’m on backroads or riding solo. There are also flashing settings intended for daytime use, but I can honestly say I’ve never bothered with them – My Lumos helmet and a brightly colored jersey work well for staying visible.
At 172 grams, the Lumina 1000 packs a lot of punch. Depending on which brightness level you select, claimed battery life is anywhere from one to six hours, and much longer if you choose a flashing light vs. a steady beam. I can comfortably get a two-hour, 30-mile ride in on a single charge and still have a little juice to spare. Not bad for a $100 headlight.
That said, Past Justin wished he’d slapped down an extra $10 for the more powerful Lumina 1200 because each setting is a tad brighter, yet the unit itself is identical in size and weight to the Lumina 1000. Just one other minor annoyance with the 1000: the angle of the light begins to dip down when riding on bumpy roads, no matter how tightly I cinch the attachment to the handlebar. (It reminds me of my grandfather nodding off for a quick nap.) I keep telling it, “Chin up, Lumina,” but it doesn’t always listen.
All in all, the Lumina 1000 won’t vaporize any vampires this spooky season, but it’s a solid choice for cyclists wanting to illuminate their escape route from werewolves, witches, and other creatures of the night.
With that announcement, the scramble for creative costume ideas is now officially on. With the recent conclusion of Ted Lasso Season 2, I predict there are going to be a lot of mustachioed AFC Richmond coaches out there. Think I could pull off a convincing Coach Beard?
Till next time, Group Riders!
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Group Ride is a newsletter for the social cyclist. I curate content from bike manufacturers, shops and media sources to bring you information and inspiration to ride more confidently and comfortably.
