Cyclesense
overcoming the phoner mentality when you’re bike touring. So if you are a phoner by nature, understand that all the how-to information in this magazine isn’t there to struggle against your nature — it’s there to relocate your nature, at least as far as bicycle touring goes. Some of us can’t sling a wrench, some can’t read a map, some can’t plan a touring diet, and others can’t feel a storm coming on. None of us is an expert in all of these areas, but anyone can be competent in them. Bike shops and clubs teach repair classes. Maps can be studied. Adventure Cyclist columnist Nancy Clark can be studied for nutrition advice. And so on. Back in 1993, I wrote in this magazine an article called “The Desperation Repairs Hall of Fame.” I described how one rider had fixed a broken frame with bailing wire and radiator hose clamps. Another rider fixed his last innertube, with its broken valve, by improvising
FIXER OR PHONER? There is great joy in the ability to ride independently by John Schubert
One essential joy I get from bicycle touring is knowing that my trip completion probability is very near 100 percent, without having to depend on people I meet en route to correct my little mistakes. Read
campgrounds provide entertaining stories, and, if I’m sufficiently charming, free beer in exchange for my own stories. When I’ve had difficulties, people have helped by providing rides in pickup trucks, minor medical care, shelter from the storm, directions when my map was just plain inaccurate, and so on. These services have been gladly received, and receiving them is part of bicycle touring. There are things a cyclist can’t do for himself. What I don’t want others to do is minor repairs and simple navigation I should do myself, or basic trip planning. And when I go on supported tours, I want to enjoy the riding, the sightseeing, and the companions. However nice the support staff are, bringing problems to them takes time away from the fun stuff. The old salts among you are wondering: so what’s the story here? Aren’t we all like that? And the answer is, increasingly, “no.” We’re a culture of compartmentalization and specialization. What this leads to is a cell-phone mentality, as in “if something goes wrong, I’ll call and get help.” By random chance, in the past few days I’ve received email stories about three cyclists whose first plan of attack was using their cell phone when it should’ve been their last.
One cyclist needed a “derailleur hanger tool.” I don’t know exactly why, but whether the purpose is to bend the hanger into correct position or to attach/ detach the derailleur, the tool of choice is a six-millimeter Allen wrench, a tool you should always have. The person who emailed me offered this sidelined rider a wrench (plus the skill to use it) and also suggested the time-honored broken derailleur trick: take out some chain links and run your bike as a one-speed. But the sidelined rider already had a ride coming, and refused help. Abandoning the ride and phoning for home was all that occurred to him to do. Another rider, who brought no tirerepair equipment, had a flat — and a
42 adventure cyclist february 200 9 adventurecycling .org
cell phone. She couldn’t fix the flat, and refused help from others. Instead, she called for a ride home. My email pen pal sniffed, “learned helplessness.” Even when the easy fix was offered, she instinctively went for the most disruptive possible solution to her problem: her ride was ended, another person was inconvenienced, and gasoline was needlessly burned. Yet another rider also had a flat with no repair tools, but in this case he was riding on the now-rare sew-up tires. Cripes, when I rode on sew-ups, everyone knew that other people wouldn’t have a spare handy, let alone the expertise to mount it, and so we always brought a spare and a patch kit. Not this guy: he brought his cell phone. So here’s my pronouncement: if you think you need your cell phone for minor problems, you need an attitude adjustment. Otherwise, you’ll find touring involves too much waiting and too many interruptions. This whole discussion goes to a question of your core mentality. Are you a fixer or phoner? There is no disgrace in being a phoner. Many of us were brought up that way. All of us are phoners for some part of life, whether it’s plumbing repairs, income-tax preparation, or tree removal. But there is a huge disadvantage in not
l
l
l
Mental preparation is the most important aspect of a successful long-distance ride,” writes David Rowe, author of The Ride of Your Life. Rowe knows that a day can unfold and leave no time for training, and that motivation does not come automatically. He decided that the world needed a book on this more than another book on actual training techniques. Rowe discusses how time-management systems can be used to help or hurt the
process of saving time for what really counts. He has numerous first-person accounts from people whose on-the-bike accomplishments make us mere mortals shiver in intimidation. You fill out worksheets, prioritize core values, learn about goal setting, evaluate your past performance, and systematically pick the right cycling events. You do a worksheet to make a plan to complete that event. You learn how one endurance rider’s fatally-flawed training program had enough miles in the wrong arrangement, so he melted on the big day. Above all else, you make your plan viable. Managing your time and motivation are specialized skills, and if you really want to achieve big goals instead of just dreaming about them, this is a valuable book. It’s sold as an e-book through roadbikerider.com for $19.95. Technical Editor John Schubert invites you to check out his website at Limeport.org.
AARON TEASDALE
that carefully. I said “to correct my little mistakes.” I didn’t say I don’t depend on people, or that I don’t make mistakes. Other people provide commercial services like food and a place to sleep. New friends in taverns and
a flap-valve inside the tube and then patching the surgical incision hole. I once fixed a bent crankarm with a hydraulic press (a tool found at every repair shop). I described using mere wrenches to fix badly bent chainwheels and using your hands and brains to fix a potato-chipped rim. We’re slipping from the time when all of us took pride in such inventiveness. Don’t be part of the slide. Save that cell phone for the truly remarkable problems.
P y g m y p r o d u c t s ...
P r o t e c t y o u r e ss e n t i a l s
Protects your drivetrain from the elements when transporting your bike Keeps grease off of car’s upholstery Keeps grease off of bike boxes when you’re shipping your bikes 1-800-281-0197 pygmy pack $69.95 +S&H
www.pygmypack.net
I-800-281-0197
www.pygmypack.com
PYGMY PACK 2: $89.95 +S&H
adventure cyclist february 200 9 adventurecycling.org
43