Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Shifting, gueuze and Waterloo

The more I ride in this heat, the more I realize that I NEVER understood shifting a bike. I want to shift going through the back sprocket and then shift the front. Much like I do with my car. I also want to get into third so that I can CRUISE. Now, I think that was very wrong headed. For the past week, I have been riding directly into the wind. The object was always to find a rear gear to compliment being in third. If I had to, I would shift into second and IF I really had to I would shift into first. I was wearing myself out. The past two days, more so today than yesterday, I stayed in first and tried to keep it in a high gear. On the flat or going downhill, I would shift into second. I have increased my average speed by a half a mile an hour using this new/better technique.

I found that Cantillon is made in a museum in Brussels. http://www.cantillon.be/br/3_2 They have tours so can't miss this. Cantillon's website has a link to b&b's around Brussels. They seem to range from 40 Euro to 80 Euro. Mostly these b&b's are in homes. Might be nice to see how Belgians live first hand.

I have talked a lot about beer here so far, but Waterloo has become a point of interest. No, not the place in Iowa. The battle was not in Waterloo but rather the battle was in Braine-I'Alleud about 5 km south of Waterloo. Wellington's headquarters was in Waterloo so that is how the battle got its name. I will have to do some more research, but from my first look, I am not sure if I am interested in going. Other than saying I was there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo
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3 comments:

  1. JonathanJune 16, 2010 at 3:07 PM

    i think you're also supposed to avoid too much twist across the drive train by never using the leftmost ring on the front cassette and the rightmost on the rear or vice versa.

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  2. JonathanJune 16, 2010 at 3:10 PM

    i should have said not to use the leftmost on the front WITH the rightmost on the rear. which is to say, before you end up on the smallest ring on the rear you should have shifted to the middle ring on the front, otherwise your chain is at a steep angle to the rings and that causes excessive wear.

    could be hogwash, though. just something i heard.

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  3. Old_AirmanJune 16, 2010 at 6:53 PM

    Jonathan, that makes sense. That angle would seeming put a lot of stress on the chain and torque on the cassettes.

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