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For half a century, Tamia Nelson has been ranging far and wide by bike, boat, and on foot. A geologist by training, an artist since she could hold a pencil, a photographer since her uncle gave her a twin-lens reflex camera when she was 10, she's made her living as a writer and novelist for two decades. Avocationally her interests span natural history, social history, cooking, art, and self-powered outdoor pursuits, and she has broad experience in mountaineering, canoeing, kayaking, cycling, snowshoeing and skiing.

Swapping Tires and Changing Tubes Made Easy (Well, Easier, Anyway)

Fixing flats isn’t entirely straightforward. Neither is changing tires. So I made a checklist to help me avoid some of the more obvious pitfalls.
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by Tamia Nelson | September 30, 2014

I don’t get many flats, so about the only time I have to change tubes is when I swap my utility bike’s Conti Town & Country rubber for my Innova Tundra Wolf studded tires. And because I get so little practice, I neglect two fundamental steps in the process almost every time I do the job: (1) I forget to deflate the front tire before starting work, and (2) I fail to release the cable on the linear brake. The result? I can’t get the wheel off. It doesn’t take me long to put things right, of course, but I reached a point where I didn’t want to continue repeating these two blunders. So I made a checklist to guide me in future. Here it is:

Size Matters  All inner tube are not created equal, and I recently discoverd that, although I’d been carrying a correctly … Continue reading »

A Leg to Stand On: Installing a One-Legged Kickstand

Are you planning on mounting a one-legged kickstand on your bike? Then read this first.
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by Tamia Nelson | August 19, 2014

I like my bikes to have kickstands, and when it comes to choosing a bike support, my preference is for basic Greenfield one-legged stands. I tried the Pletscher two-legged stand for a year, but just could not love it. So I swapped it out for a basic model:

Happy on One Leg

Most cyclists will be familiar with this simple accessory. The clamp consists of a knobby bottom plate and a level, smooth top plate, and a bolt which squeezes the two plates together over the chainstays.

Greenfield Clamp

It isn’t elegant, but this clamp grips the LHT’s stays securely (better than the Pletscher’s beveled clamp).

Greenfield Clamp

To mount the stand on the bike, I wrapped old inner tube around the stays and secured them with strips of electrical tape, then aligned the folded leg with the stay so that it wouldn’t rub against the wheel or be struck by the pedal.

Lined Up Nicely

The Greenfield’s leg was too long to allow my … Continue reading »

The Other Side of the Mountain: Chris Boardman’s Six Fundamental Rules for Descending by Tamia Nelson

Some cyclists like to go downhill hell for leather. Others would rather walk. Farwell falls into the latter category. He’s in his element when climbing, but he often finds himself wishing he could deploy a drag chute when the road slopes downward. He’s not alone. Even professional bike racers get spooked by fast descents. FDJ’s Thibaut Pinot abandoned the 2013 Tour de France in tears because he feared descending. “Some people are afraid of spiders or snakes,” he explained. “I’m afraid of speed. It’s a phobia.” But Thibaut has now mastered his fear, and he’ll most likely be standing on the podium on Sunday — this after many grueling mountain stages with plenty of technical, high-speed descents.

Of course, Thibaut’s fears were well-founded. Descending is dangerous, and it’s no less so for everyday cyclists whose bikes are heavily loaded, whether the load is camping gear or groceries. Which is why I touched on the topic in another article titled Going Downhill and Liking It. I wasn’t foolish enough to think I’d written the last word on … Continue reading »

TNO Southern Hemisphere Correspondent Marcos Netto Makes the Case for Bicycles

You don’t often hear the phrase “Renaissance man” these days, but it’s a pretty fair description of Marcos Netto, TNO‘s Southern Hemisphere Correspondent. His is an enviable CV: corporate executive — he’s a director of Itati, a Brazilian mineral water company — linguist, professional photographer, and Rotarian. But Marcos is also an avid cyclist who regularly saddles up to commute to work. In fact, he’s become a sort of evangelist for cycling, never missing a chance to draw attention to the bicycle’s role in reducing urban pollution, easing traffic congestion, and promoting public health.

Here’s an example: Not long ago, Marcos was asked to take part in a television program on cycling. I could try to summarize what he had to say, but it’s Marcos’ story, so why not let him tell it in his own words?

I was invited by TV Unisinos for a live interview on the Conexão Unisinos 12 O’Clock News to discuss the topic “Bicycling for a Less Polluted World.” The other guest was Professor Felipe Brum de Brito Sousa. Both of us are “regular people”

… Continue reading »