Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cycle

Avoiding punctures on my cycle to work

fatfrank — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:50:47 -0800

What's your anti-puncture strategy? I've been cycling to work for about 5 weeks now and, in the last week, have had three punctures. One was my fault (I didn't check the tyre thoroughly enough after the first puncture), but the other two were accidents.

So, beyond pumping the tyres up to full pressure, what else can I do to help cut down on punctures? I've seen tape to stick on the inside of the tyres, puncture resistant tyres, puncture resistant tubes and tubes with goo in them. Which are nonsense and which do you use on a daily basis?

I'm riding a road bike (with gears) but I don't mind a little extra weight

Two Weeks Later...Not You Again!

fantine — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 11:05:07 -0800

Is there a way to lengthen my annoyingly short menstrual cycle? Discussion of menstruation and good times after the jump! OK, I'm a female college student, in good health, etc. Historically, my menstrual cycle is a solid 28 days, give or take (it's very predictable). However, whenever I come back to school, it drastically shortens to 19-21 days, which is hellaciously irritating. I don't have particularly awful periods, unlike some women I know, but it's a nuisance to have a 3-week instead of 4-week cycle.

Is there any way to regain a normal-length cycle? I have a good idea that it might be stress-related, but that might be just an inclination without medical merit. It's not just a beginning-of-the-semester thing where living on a hall with other women makes the hormones go nuts; this lasts for as long as I'm at school.

I'm not interested in taking birth control to artificially regulate it for a variety of reasons. But does anyone have other solutions or advice to go back to a 28-day cycle? My uterus will thank you.

Help me keep my kidneys warm this winter

penguinliz — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:20:23 -0800

Where I can buy a large women's cycle jacket? I would like to buy a women's windproof and waterproof (or at least water resistant) cycle jacket in a UK size 18/20, preferably for under £45. I've been looking on Wiggle and Evans, but nearly all of their jackets stop at a size 16 or less. There's few at size 18 which might be ok, but if I'm buying online I'd like to err on the side of caution and get a 20, then I can get layers underneath it.

So, does anyone know of a UK shop which sells larger cycle jackets than this? Online is fine, US-based online shops are probably out due to postage costs. Are there any brands whose sizing runs large, where an 18 might be fine?

What's the best alternative to bananas as fuel for a ~12 mile cycle commute?

primer_dimer — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:59:19 -0800

What's the best alternative to bananas as fuel for a ~12 mile cycle commute? So I've recently started commuting to work by bike again, only this time it's a bit further than I've done before - about 12 miles. I need to make sure I put some fuel in my tank before setting off. The standard advice on cycle forums seems to be a banana 20 mins before setting off. I hate bananas. What should I eat instead?

How do I keep my ironed shirts creaseless when traveling with a backpack?

complience — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:48:26 -0800

How do I keep my ironed shirts creaseless when traveling with a backpack? I cycle to work every day and take a pair of freshly ironed trousers and a shirt with me in my pack.

The pack is a not so big average size and so Im currently folding the shirt and trousers to get them in.

But this results in creases - annoying considering the effort put into ironing them.

Does anyone know of ways of folding a shirt that will limit the creases?

I've tried rolling but that seemed to be even worse, maybe i got the technique wrong.

Or is there somthing I could put the shirts into just for traveling, a sort of folder type thing?

any ideas welcome.

I need general advice about bicycle commuting and specific recommendations for Seattle.

GPF — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:11:27 -0800

I need general advice about bicycle commuting and specific recommendations for Seattle: where to live for commute to UW, bike shop recommendations, must have equipment, neighborhoods to avoid, good routes and trails, and the like. I'm planning a move to Seattle. Lots of good threads on the green about Seattle info and bicycling info. The Seattle department of transportation maps and guides seem fantastic -- any personal experience you could add to using them would be much appreciated.

I'm considering using a bicycle as my main commuting vehicle to the University of Washington. Obviously, closer is better but closer means higher rents and more undergrads -- right? In searching for places to live, I'm trying to gauge how far from UDub I can get and have a tolerable commute. I'm a pretty good judge of my fitness and stamina for it, but I don't have any idea which neighborhoods make for a convenient ride. As in, I'd prefer an hour long ride on an easy trail to a twenty minute ride on a hilly five-lane road. Are there any definitive architectural encumbrances (e.g. bad bridges, freeway crossings, etc.)?

Bonus for family friendly parks nearby and cheap rents. Double bonus for specific apartment or landlord recommendations.

I'd also love some recommendations for bike shops - especially ones that trade in used gear and cater to the commuter.

Rapha - worth the money?

fire&wings — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:59:47 -0800

Experiences with Rapha cyling gear? I've heard great things about Rapha stuff, and I've seen it well reviewed in magazines. I'm looking for opinions from anyone who has bought some of the clothing and used it regularly over time; dirtied it, washed it, stretched it, dried it, etc. I am happy to shell out if the quality is right, but I don't want to spend money on a label and a fitted cut if the materials and construction aren't up to scratch.

So.. it looks great, people say it's great, but how is the quality and durability of the Rapha stuff some way down the line? Worth the money?

Where to go outdoors in the Pacific Northwest?

j1950 — Wed, 06 May 2009 06:49:43 -0800

Where to hike, bike, or kayak between Yakima, WA and Portland, OR? A friend of mine and I will be traveling between Yakima and Portland on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. We'll be on a trip to the Northwest, and want to do something outdoors-y, we're New Yorkers and have heard a lot about how beautiful the area is. We're both in good shape and young, but aren't especially experienced at outdoors activities.

Any advice on where to go/what to do? We'd be willing to do more than one thing during the day, if it'll help break up the drive.

If anyone has any more recommendations on routes to take/stops to make along the route, or anywhere from Seattle to Yakima (we also like wineries), feel free to chip in.

I'm not talking about Stone Temple Pilots

Blazecock Pileon — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:55:37 -0800

How to prepare one's body, mind and bicycle for a 200 mi bike ride? If I can get ready for it, I'm interested in doing a 200 mi bike ride this summer (specifically the STP, or Seattle-to-Portland Bicycle Classic). Go big, or go home, right?

So I'd like to ask your advice on getting ready for such a ride. I commute between 5 and 12 miles a day, depending on which "office" I go to. The longest ride I've been on was an easy-peasy flat run of about 30 miles.

1. What are good, long and safe (low-traffic) bike rides that I can go on around the Seattle or neighboring areas, which are reasonably non-hilly? I've been on some of the Gilman-Burke, which has me dodging cars and walkers in the middle of the bike lane, which I'd like to avoid.

2. Are there "centuries" or other 50-100 mi rides being organized around the Seattle area before the STP, that might be good preparation?

3. I would be using my bike, a hybrid. I take pretty good care of it. Would that be usable for this kind of ride? How do people prepare their bikes, in general, and what do they bring with them?

I'm a complete noob, so if I'm out of my element and should take longer to prepare or not do it, I'd like to hear that honest advice, too, or any other tips. Thanks in advance.

Can protected sex change a menstrual cycle?

Anonymous — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 06:08:11 -0800

Can having protected sex change your menstrual cycle? (Possible TMI) I'm 30 years old. My period has been regular since I first got it at 11 years old. The only time it changed was two years ago when I had sex with a guy (I usually sleep with women). That time it was about 5 days late, and since the sex happened on vacation, I assumed it was a travel thing, and all ended fine.

On Nov. 21st I had sex -- with a condom. I was due for my period Decemer 11-13th. I have not gotten it yet. I have taken 3 different pregnancy tests, all negative.

I'm getting slight cramps, similar to what I feel when I'm ovulating, but still I'm almost 10 days late. This is only the 2nd guy I've slept with, and the third person. Is it possible that even protected sex can change a cycle like this?

My main concern is not whether I'm pregnant or not, really, it's just that it's the holiday season and drinks are happening. Like I said, I've taken 3 pregnancy tests, all negative, on the day before I knew I might be drinking. Since they've all come back negative, and I've had no other symptoms, I've gone ahead and had drinks.

I guess my ultimate questions is -- is it possible for sex to have this effect, or even being 9-10 days late the drug store tests aren't detecting the "normal hormone levels"?

PS -- I know stress can do this too. I'm not particularly stressed one way or the other though. I'm old enough, make good money, etc. that if I were pregnant...well..okay.

What can I do about a stuck dishwasher main soap dispenser lid?

criticman — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:44:43 -0800

What can I do about a stuck dishwasher main soap dispenser lid? The main soap dispenser that you fill with your dish washing detergent of preference and close the lid on is stuck closed. I can manually open it, but it fails to open during any of the various wash cycle options. I have instead just been filling it and leaving it open but I know this likely loses the soap in the pre-clean phase (which the un-enclosed dish is intended to be used for). My dishes, however, come out fairly clean.

I was wondering if anyone knows the likely cause OR if any of the pre-packaged dish washer detergent balls/cubes can just be tossed in at the start and successfully make it past the initial pre-clean phase all the way to the primary wash cycle. They all say to put them in the main dispenser and close lid (yet they all say "contain pre-wash cycle cleansers") so I am hoping someone can speak from experience.

It is a Kenmore dishwasher if that matters. If no one has any input, I will just have to call the home warranty company and shell out $65 for them to come fix it (not so worried about the money but arranging to be home from work is an issue).

Bicycle parking in EC2

Kiwi — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:51:46 -0800

Where to park a bicycle near the Barbican? Going to the Bicycle Film Festival tomorrow evening at the Barbican. Thinking of leaving my bike there during the day and picking it up after the movie. (For various complicated reasons.)

Is there anywhere you EC2 cyclists would leave a bike for the day and part of the night? Cheers.

Spotting makes me worry.

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 08:43:07 -0800

Spotting/cycle question. I looked at the other threads, but all of those women were on the pill so my situation might be slightly different. It's been 7 days since my last period ended, and my boyfriend and I had sex the day after, but not since.

Last night (about 6 days after) I had a very, very short bit of spotting-- the blood was light in color and was a tiny amount.

I realize I could have been pregnant and still had one last period, but chances of the are low (but not nonexistent, I know) because we were apart and had sex twice last month.

I am planning on waiting to see if I miss the next period, but that is a while off, and I am looking for any type of explanation / chance I could be pregnant. Help me please?

I (don't) want to ride my bicycle

freya_lamb — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:00:42 -0800

My cycle commute has halved in distance and quadrupled in frustration - how do I stay fit? I'm not a gym fan and my favourite way of keeping fit has been through cycling to work. However, I recently changed jobs and it's more than halved the distance I pedal each way. Instead of 8 miles of a mostly traffic-free, fairly hilly cycle route, I now crawl for 3.5 miles on the flat through very heavy, stop-start traffic in central London, fighting for road space with other cyclists and commuters and being thwarted by red lights at every turn. Also, as I am conditioned to the longer distance it feels physically frustrating to have to stop at the point where I was previously just getting going. Adding to the hassle is that I no longer have anywhere safe to leave my beloved bike once I'm at work and the lock's been mangled by a recent theft attempt.

The increasingly attractive alternative is to take the bus door-to-door instead and have a good read for forty minutes (yes, the traffic is that heavy!) - beneficial to my head but not really my bod and I can feel my fitness level dropping a lot. As part of the reason I took this job was to have a shorter commute I'm now feeling a bit jipped!

So I'm trying to figure out if the health benefits of cycling this route are worth dealing with the new stress. Or could I just embrace the bus and work out some new programme of daily excercise which would give me the workout of my former route? Any tips gratefully received!

Uphill, both ways, in Pittsburgh

that girl — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:29:16 -0800

How can I make it so that I can make it up the hills on my bicycle? I recently bought myself my first ever bicycle, figured out how to generally not fall over (I'm actually pretty good at the not falling over), and have discovered that I am gloriously excessively out of shape and cannot make it up even the modest hills. This is a problem. I live in Pittsburgh. It is all hills. I live halfway up a rather large hill. I'd like to be able to commute to work, but the last mile of my commute home is a 300' rise in less than a mile, which is way more than I am currently capable of. Everywhere I want to go involves going up a hill. There is a threat of a bus strike soon, so cycling and walking may soon be my only options for getting places. Whenever I cycle now, I end up walking my bike a good amount of the time.

What would be a good training regime for getting myself able to not collapse or pass out or fall over, and make it all the way up some rather big hills on my bicycle? What sort of training and practice can I do with a) a bicycle and b) no other equipment? How often do I need to do these exercises to get better? I am up for various exercises that do not involve cycling, as long as they don't require various gym equipment or any other exercise equipment, really. I don't particularly want to go out on my bicycle in the dark, and with the days getting shorter, the amount of light I have on weekdays is starting to get pretty small.

How can I shorten my period naturally?

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:11:47 -0800

Is there a way to shorten my period that does NOT involve birth control? I have a period that lasts seven to nine days, seven if I'm lucky. At least three to four of those days are quite heavy. It's a huge pain, for reasons detailed under the cut. Would weight loss work? Diet? Increased exercise? Ancient herbal secrets? Is there anything, anything at all? Has anything caused a permanent shortening of your cycle? The heavy seven-to-nine day period has been the norm since I hit puberty, minus the time I was on birth control. Three to four of that is extremely, change-a-heavy-flow-tampon-every-hour-or-two heavy. Another three to four is moderate flow. I get one or two light days on a good month. It is a pain--it's expensive as I go through pads and tampons like mad. The heaviness is a deterrent to my sex life, since neither of us are keen on doing it under an endometrial waterfall. It provides a week of constant worrying about leakage. And due to the length combined with the need for the pad-tampon duo, I don't get as aired out as I should and develop a monthly yeast infection at least halfway through.

My total cycle length is anywhere from 30-32 days. While on birth control, it shortened to 28 days, with a four-day period of light to moderate flow. I was very pleased, just not with all of the negative effects of it. I have tried multiple forms of hormonal birth control and all have caused problems, so I'm not looking for that answer right now.

I would like any suggestions, even wacky ones, of ways to shorten my cycle naturally. Weight loss, diet, herbal remedies, whatever. Please, I'm desperate!

Couch to 100k?

procrastination — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:17:35 -0800

Is there a good program to follow to build endurance and cardiovascular fitness on a road bike? I have read previous questions (this seeming the most relevant), but was hoping to find something that was highly structured like the couch to 5K program for runners. How do I do a couch to 100k? I have a nice new road bike and time over the summer.

Smallest folding bicycle folding trailer

krisjohn — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:32:12 -0800

I'm looking for a folding bicycle trailer. That's a trailer that folds up and connects to a bicycle (though it coincidentally will be connected to a folding bicycle, so I guess it's a folding bicycle folding trailer). Anyway, the main thing is that it needs to fold up really small. Please point me to the smallest, when folded, bicycle trailer you know about. Thanks.

Why did CPUs stop getting faster about 5 years ago?

sergeant sandwich — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 16:35:08 -0800

Why are CPUs not getting faster any more? This plot is some data I scraped from a few sources around the web. I know it's not exhaustive, but I'm looking to pick out long-term and general trends. It's clear to me that processor clock speed has plateau'ed around roughly 4 GHz. Why? I am aware of Moore's law, and the megahertz myth, and things like bus speeds and cache sizes and instruction sets and that comparing clock speeds across processors isn't especially meaningful. I know that Intel stopped pumping up the clock cycles, I know about pipelining and predictive branching and multiple cores and which bottlenecks are where in a computer.. I understand that despite the CPU speed flattening, actual computing power has continued to increase.

However, surely if a chip designer can run the core at a faster clock, they would. Why can't they?

My understanding was that this was essentially an issue of thermal management: faster switching + fixed settle time = more current = more resistive heating.

However, someone else pointed out to me recently that this might be an issue with the RC time constant of the interconnects on the chip.

Ideally i'd like to find an article about this phenomenon from an EE/physics point of view, preferably from someone in the industry. Most preferable would be in a journal or IEEE publication; a trade magazine would be good too. An article in something like Wired would be okay, but I need to cite a source and the popular press is notoriously bad when it comes to this sort of thing.

However, my googlefu is really failing me here, so any explanation or pointer to search terms, or really anything of help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Clipless pedals clip in?

bsdfish — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 18:27:21 -0800

Clipless pedals, biking shoes ... how do I make sense of it all? On a budget? I have been getting into biking, and the toy-nerd in me wants to buy cool new gear, while my cheap side is trying to keep down the costs. I have a road bike.

One thing I am fairly sure I want is clipless pedals and bike shoes to go with them. I think Shimano's M520 are a popular model that seems reasonably priced; they are MTB cleats but want the cleats to be recessed in the shoes so I could walk around in them when I need to. Does the hive-mind have an opinion, and furthermore, does anyone know if they include the cool 'cleat platforms' which are plastic thingees that clip into the cleat and make it usable with normal shoes?

Then, there is the issue of bike shoes. What are the big things I should look for in a budget shoe?

Is there a good resource where all this bike gear stuff is explained? What about a website which has reasonable prices and decent info/reviews (the newegg of bikes)? It seems that there are lots of random things I would like to procure (bike shorts, etc), but all the stores have vastly different selections and often, the prices seem exagerated, so I would like to find somewhere I could trust.

Alex

The logistics of using birth control to regulate menstrual cycles

Phire — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 19:46:32 -0800

Can birth control prevent ovulation a day or two before it occurs? I'm down for an appointment this Friday to get on birth control pills. My period tends to fluctuate between 30-40 day cycles, but calculated against a 28 day cycle, ovulation would be this weekend.

If I started the package on Friday, would I end up having my period in three weeks' time, or is it too late in the cycle to regulate this one?

Cycle fitness

ajp — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 12:24:14 -0800

How can my push-bike stay healthy if stored outdoors? About 6 months ago I spent UK£400 on a new city bike (mountain hybrid type pedal cycle). It's pretty spiffy, but already I've noticed some of the alan-key bolt heads have started rusting. I've also moved to a smaller flat, and will have to store the poor thing outdoors. Here in the UK that means rain and cold (with approximately 3 weeks of scorching sun toward the end of August, if we're lucky). I did recently buy one of those big plastic tarpaulin bags for it (called "bike pyjamas" I was delighted to find), but it's surprisingly ungainly and time-consuming to bag a bike. Plus it then makes locking the thing tricky, and anyway although it will keep off the worst of the rain the damp and cold will still get to the precious exposed metals.

So what to do? Are there greases or oils specifically for this task? I'll get it cleaned and greased, but that's only the moving parts. Is there a way of better weather-proofing the whole thing? It's a fairly standard beastie, with hub-brakes and triggre gear-shifts.

Mount Shasta or bust!

beerbajay — Thu, 03 May 2007 23:41:46 -0800

What is the best cycling route from the northern part of the central valley north/northeast-ward? Oh, and will I die? I am going on a self-supported cycling tour with a friend starting in a few days. We're planning to plan our exact routes as we go and our initial plan was to go east into the central valley from San Francisco and then head north. Eventually, we'll run into the Cascades (right?) and then we'll have to climb out of the valley... which way should we go? Is this route even a good idea? Will we freeze to death? etc?!

europe bike trek questions

pamccf — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 09:18:59 -0800

We're planning on biking across Europe. We're planning on doing it a year from now. What are we forgetting? What did you encounter in a similar trip that we might be unprepared for? Any general advice? The executive summary: We are two, living in the US. We currently bike to work (5-10 miles daily). We also make a longer trip (10+ miles) at least once a week, sometimes twice. Currently, this is a bit of a stretch. We are attempting to increase that upper limit gradually to where we can comfortably do 50 miles in a day by the time we leave. (We think we have time to do this without much strain.) We are experienced in hostel-travelling in Europe (moving inter-city by car, rail, and bus). (We have French, German and Russian.)

Our planned route goes from Amsterdam to Istanbul in a rough L-shape, the hinge being Warsaw. (Some details are fuzzy here - can you help?) Our bikes are these (should we ditch them?); we have no panniers yet, but we're looking at these (are there better?).

We are not bringing tents or camping gear. Should we worry about finding places to stay? We don't have maps of our route. Should we plan on getting these in-country? In Amsterdam?

We might take the plane. Have you turned your bike into a folding bike/have you gone for an extended ride with a foldie? We might take a boat. Have you taken a freighter cruise/are there other ocean alternatives?

Bonus question: We are planning to stay in Istanbul for an indeterminate time. Should we plan on being able to get around town by bike? Something tells me no. Can you tell me yes?

Need bike.

Kiwi — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 00:16:35 -0800

Good independant cycle shop in London please. My girlfriend is after a mountainbike, through the cycle to work scheme.

She would like decent advice, so that rules out the likes of Evans. Mosquito don't seem to do MTBs anymore, Condor never really did. A central London location would be a bonus.

Although I know a fair bit about MTBs, I've never bought one here.