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About

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.

It’s a Stretch! Or Is It? Measuring Chain Wear on the Cheap

Nothing lasts forever. A bike chain is no exception. And when its time is up, you want to be ready with a replacement. Here’s how to tell when that time has come.
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by Tamia Nelson | July 21, 2012

A bicycle chain looks simple, but it’s not. It’s a complex and highly engineered system, comprising plates, pins, rollers, and bushings—some 500-600 individual parts in all. And these parts wear. Pins chafe against bushings. Bushings fret against rollers. Regular cleaning and lubrication can delay the inevitable, but sooner or later every chain succumbs to the patient gnawing of steel against steel. In other words, bike chains “stretch.” The pin-to-pin distance increases over time, and in time the chain rides higher on the sprocket teeth, eventually deforming them.

The result? If neglected for too long, your chain starts to skip blithely over the sprockets without engaging the teeth, leaving you spinning your heels furiously while going nowhere—not a good thing to happen just as you’re accelerating to take advantage of a brief lull in oncoming traffic. And the … Continue reading »

In Solitude What Happiness? Tips for Cyclists With Stay-at-Home Partnersby Tamia Nelson

… In solitude
What happiness? Who can enjoy alone,
Or all enjoying, what contentment find?

    Milton, Paradise Lost

 

That was Adam’s view, anyway—though we all know how his story ended. Still, there’s no doubt that it’s fun if your partner shares your enthusiasms. And cyclists certainly aren’t condemned to a solitary life. But what if your life companion doesn’t show much interest in two-wheeled travel? What then?

Well, you can simply acquiesce and accept things as they are. And sometimes that’s the best course. After all, can two cycle together, except they be agreed? Not likely. But if you detect even a nascent spark of interest, it may be worth trying to coax it into a flame. And here are a few suggestions to help you kindle that fire:

Make Sure the Bike Fits  Let’s be honest. Riding a bike is something of an unnatural act. Rider and machine must work together, and it takes time for new riders to get the knack. But if the bike doesn’t fit the rider, the result is a … Continue reading »

Cyclists Welcome! Ride-and-Park in Schuylerville, New York by Tamia Nelson

The village of Schuylerville, New York, is often eclipsed by Saratoga Springs, its tonier neighbor to the west. Which is too bad, because Schuylerville is a pleasant hamlet, and much of the old-time, small-town atmosphere has survived more or less intact, despite the economic storms which have blighted so much of rural America in the last two decades. Schuylerville has history, too. One of the most important battles in the American War of Independence was fought just a short bike ride to the south of the village, on a height of land overlooking the Hudson River. Yet this famous American victory—often celebrated as the turning point in the Colonies’ struggle for independence—is today known as the Battle of Saratoga. Go figure.

But Schuylerville has shrugged off this and other, lesser slights. Moreover, it seems determined to remain a good place to live and work. A case in point: community bike racks. Schuylerville has ’em. A small thing, you say? Maybe so—if you’re accustomed to European cycling infrastructure. But many cyclists in the States quickly … Continue reading »

Slow Down, You Move Too Fast…by Tamia Nelson

Most of the miles I travel in a year are logged on my bikes’ cyclometers, not on a car odometer, but last week I covered several hundred miles in only two days, spending hours in the driver’s seat. It’s the longest car trip I’ve taken in quite a while. And while I don’t have any regrets, I found highway speeds more than a little disconcerting, particularly when measured against my “normal” traveling pace of 12-15 mph.

For one thing, at 65 mph—the speed limit on the interstate, though I think I was the only driver who observed it—the landscape is reduced to little more than a blur. I suppose regular car commuters take this as a given, but I’m accustomed to experiencing the country I pass through. I did catch tantalizing glimpses of a the wild world as I sped along—wooded hillsides sporting new spring raiment, wetlands nourished by snowmelt-swollen rivers—but these vanished from my sight almost before I became aware of their existence. And what of the spring chorus? It was lost in the … Continue reading »