Posts Tagged ‘eric swartzendruber’

I’m getting old.  I’m only 34 years old, but there are times I feel really old.  Those times often come after a nice long ride.  I’ve been putting in a lot of miles lately and my legs are not the only body part that has been affected.  My lower back gets quite achy…especially with a well laden Camelback.

I tried to alleviate my back issues with additional core exercises at the gym and integrating more stretching into my long rides.  These actions have helped somewhat, but not completely. 

One of my friends who regularly completes multi-day bikepacking trips introduced me to the Wingnut hydration pack.  The concept is simple.  The pack sits much lower on your back to reduce the weight that your lower back must support.  In fact, it sits so low that much of the weight is supported by your hips which are directly supported by your saddle.

It took me a little while to finally decide to make the purchase.  The pack is not exactly cheap at $105 directly from their website.  Additionally, this price does not include a bladder.  My nagging back pain forced me to finally take the plunge and order the Hyper 2.5. 

Wingnut does have dealers located across the US.  Unfortunately, the closest LBS that carries them is about 4 hours away, so I had no option but to order online.  (As a side note, I have since learned that my favorite LBS, Hammerhead Bikes, will soon become a Wingnut dealer.) 

The online ordering system is not ideal.  Like I said, I placed my order on 1/1/09.  On 1/21/09, I received an email that my order had shipped.  The online ordering for Wingnut is handled through Google checkout.  I have no idea if the delay in shipping my pack was due to a delay in Wingnut receiving the order or if it just took Wingnut a long time to ship my order.  Either way, a 3 week lag time from ordering to shipment seems excessive.

After receiving the pack, I took some time to inspect it.  First, the material and constructions seems to be very high quality.  It appears to be very durable and the zippers are waterproof and operate smoothly. 

The main part of the pack consists of two large, square pockets.  The pocket that comes in contact with your back is meant for your bladder.  It has a hole on either side for the bladder tube to come out of.  The other pocket is meant for ’stuff’ and is very large.  There is plenty of room for multiple layers of clothing.  I was able to stuff a windbreaker, tights, a thick long sleeve jersey, a thin long sleeve jersey, two smallish light batteries, and a medium sized tupperware container with no problem.  It did not bulge awkwardly against my back or sit unevenly while riding.

In addition to the two large pockets, the Wingnut has spacious ’side wing’ pockets.  On each side of the pack, there is a zippered pocket and a mesh pocket with a drawstring.  This is one of the best features of the Wingnut.  These pockets are easily accessible while the pack remains firmly attached to your body.  It is quite easy to reach back and adjust an iPod or pull out a Cliffbar without stopping and taking off the pack.  The mesh pockets are a great place to stuff empty Gu/Cliffbar wrappers.  They are also a convenient place to stick arm warmers or gloves if you pull them off while riding.

The downside to these pockets is there are no sub-pockets, meaning there are not pockets within the pockets.  Everything in the pocket is just left to float around.  To some very organized folks, I am sure this is a big deal.  To me, it is a minor annoyance. 

Over the past month, I have been able to use this pack numerous times on some relatively long rides as well as my regular commute.

The pack does what it is designed to do very well.  It took a couple of rides to get the pack adjusted correctly, but once I did, I can confidently say that it has significantly helped my back pain.  I used to ride with as little equipment in my Camelback as possible.  With the Wingnut, the weight is so unnoticeable that I stick whatever I *might* need into my pack.  I’ve done many rides with a bladder full of water, my usual trailside repair equipment, and a pack full of layers in case it cooled off suddenly (which it often does in the evenings around here).  No problem whatsoever.  It does not seem to matter if I have an empty pack versus a full pack, it feels nice and comfortable on my back.

The pack is also very secure.  It does not move around much while riding.  While going down steep ledges with my Camelback, it used to slide up and bonk my in the back of my head.  Not so with the Wingnut.  It barely moves while venturing over very rough and blunt terrain.  It would, however, benefit from some loops to to hold excess straps down.

While I rave about how comfortable the pack is, there are several downsides other than the sub-pockets mentioned previously.

The biggest problem is the lack of bladder that adequately fits the square opening.  Every bladder I can find online is long and tubular.  The ideal bladder for the Wingnut would be square.  I currently use my Camelback 100 oz bladder filled about 3/4 full with the top folded over.  This works alright, but it does not fully utilize the space provided for water.  During summer when our Texas heat is hitting triple digits, I’m really going to want to be able to use all of that space for water. 

I contacted Wingnut via email about this problem and received a response very quickly.  They stated that their bladder supplier recently went out of business and they are currently looking for solutions.  One of the solutions that they are looking at is to produce bladders themselves, however, they will not be available soon.

One idea that has piqued my curiosity is using two 50 oz bladders side-by-side.  With this remedy, I could have one bladder of water and one bladder of gatorade easily available while riding.  I may test this out when it gets warmer.

Another problem is that I like cold water…even in the middle of winter.  The problem is that there is very little insulation between your back and the bladder.  This can make for a cold ride if you put ice in your water.  I imagine when summer rolls around, my ice will melt very quickly and leave me with warm water. 

The side wings take a little getting use to.  Occasionally while on the trail, I’ll catch a wing on a tree while going around a switchback.  I don’t think this happens any more often than when I used to catch my Camelback while going under a low branch.  Besides, the convenience of the side pockets more than make up for this issue in my opinion.

Overall, I think this product is a great idea.  Implementation could stand to improve though.  If a square bladder becomes available, I’d have no problem recommending this pack to anyone.  The lack of sub-pockets and bladder insulation are easily negated by the comfort and convenience.

Oh yeah…one more potentially bad observation…my wife says that the pack makes my butt look big.

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If you have read any of my other entries, you know that I entered the commuting world via recreational cycling. I have no special “commuter” bike. I have a mountain bike and I have a road bike.

Neither is perfectly ideal for commuting and I switch between them frequently.

My road bike is a Masi Gran Corsa. I guess you’d call it a race bike although I have never raced it. I bought it used and built it up with a decent set of components. It is nice and light and fast (at least for this engine).

When I ride my Masi, it compels me to ride fast. It is so light and quick that before I know it, I’m hammering up the hills, chasing down other commuters/riders, and doing intervals between stoplights. It’s just the type of bike that is meant to be ridden hard so that is what I do.

There are some downsides to riding a racing style road bike for my everyday commute. First, it does not stand up particularly well to road debris. At first, I had A LOT of flats. Then, I wised up. I bought some kevlar tire strips and some more durable tires. Now, I don’t get flats very frequently (of course, I just jinxed myself by saying that).

Second, the Masi can be a bit harsh. In the name of safety, I take a several back roads to get to work. Some of these are not paved particularly well and my hands sure feel it by the time I hit the smooth roads.

It is not suitable for all conditions. I don’t ride it at all if it is wet out. I’m nervous (probably overly nervous) about the tires slipping out. It also is not very well suited for any non-paved surface.

Lastly, it is not entirely comfortable constantly being in an aggressive race position. It is not a bike that you just “cruise” on.

My mountain bike is a Ventana El Rey full suspension 29er. I love this bike. I’ve gone through my fair share of mountain bikes and I tend to be pretty hard on them. I have broken just about every frame (and more parts than I can remember) I’ve had over the past 7 years and several of them twice so I have gravitated towards a high end bike. I also have come to appreciate the quality of a nice frame outfitted with nice components. Alright…enough justification, I’ll just come out and say it…when it comes to mountain bike, I’m a bike snob. Not that I judge other people by what they ride, but when choosing my bike, I’m willing to lay down some coin.

When it comes to commuting, the mountain bike is definitely not the ideal vehicle. The big knobby tires make it like riding through peanut butter compared to the road bike. It is also considerably heftier than the road bike. The suspension is not 100% efficient so there is some power lost. That being said, if I had to choose only one bike, this is it.

The best thing about it is the versatility. I can ride it any where, any time.

When I ride my road bike, I have to stick to pavement which means that I have to go about 5 miles out of my way to stay on safe roads. On my mountain bike, I can just ride off road. In one of my routes, I will cut through the subdivision across the road before taking a hike-and-bike trail through the park. The problem is that the entrance to the subdivision is about a quarter mile away down a very busy road that has a small shoulder and a 65 mph speed limit. Needless to say, I don’t feel very comfortable riding on this road. I don’t even attempt this route on my road bike. On my mountain bike, it is no problem. I either ride behind a guard rail or I ride about 20 feet off the road in the dirt.

Debris, wet roads, glass are all no problems on my mountain bike. Having a tubeless tire set-up almost avoids all flats and the big knobbies prevent traction issues.

One other thought merits discussion. My mountain bike is expensive. Silly expensive. Embarrassingly expensive. This makes me just a little bit protective of it. I do not leave it unattended without a heavy duty lock. Even then, I will only do it in trusted areas or for short periods of time. When I arrive at work, it comes up to my office with me (so does the road bike).

Basically, I ride my mountain bike on my commute if:
1. I plan to hit trail after work
2. The pavement is wet
3. I just feel like cruising
4. I have no stops to make that require locking it up.

I ride the road bike to work otherwise.

The bottom line is that you can make any bike work for your commute. You don’t need anything special.

As they say…”Run what you brung”.

Let me be clear. I find commuting via bike superior for a multitude of reasons. There’s health, economics, environmental, political, …etc. That said, I still drive my car regularly.

I have a couple different routes to work. The shortest is about 16 miles each way. I will only do this route on my mountain bike since it involves a little off-road action. On my road bike, the shortest ’safe’ route is ~20 miles each way.

So…why do I live so far from work? Simple, when I bought my house 9 years ago, it was not a concern. Since that time, my priorities have changed.

Most days, I don’t mind having such a long commute. It gives me plenty of time to get the heart rate up and the blood moving. Besides, it is almost a matter of pride when people say “you commute how far!?!?”.

The downside is that riding is not always practical.

Here’s a good example. The other day, my wife (Cortney) needed to take the baby (Clara) to the doctor for shots. Since she knew she would have her hands full with the baby, so she wanted me to watch Ella (our 4 yo) while she went. The appointment was at 10am on a Wednesday. If I were to ride my bike to work, I would not be able to make it to work until noon at the earliest. Not exactly ideal.

Sometimes, the weather *keeps* me from riding. I can handle cold. I can handle rain. I can handle wind. Put them all together for 40 miles…not so much. Fortunately, living in Texas, I don’t have to worry about weather too much. Wind is regular, rain is occasional, and cold is unusual.

I guess you could call me a ‘casual’ commuter. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion.

Here’s my typical schedule:
Monday: Normal commute via road bike. (~40 miles total)
Tuesday: Normal commute via mountain bike. I usually hit up some local trails on the way home. (~50-60 miles total)
Wednesday: Car day. I take in a fresh set of clothes for the next week and bring home the dirties. I also stop at the grocery store on the way in and get some food to keep at work. Additionally, Wednesday night is my wife’s ‘night out’. I try to be home as early as possible so that she can get some relax time.
Thursday: Normal commute via mountain bike. I usually hit up some local trails on the way home. (~50-60 miles total)
Friday: Normal commute via road bike. (~40 miles total)

Rinse, Lather, Repeat.

This schedule amounts to 180-200 miles/week. That is some good exercise. Additionally, that is about 120 miles that I do not spend in my car. (Note: 120 != 180-200 because of additional miles for mountain biking & safe routes.)

This is what I plan, but rarely does it actually happen. This week is a prime example. The weather was crappy on Tuesday. Wednesday, I had a late meeting a work so Cortney couldn’t have her free night. We traded and I rode to/from work on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. I really try to make sure I ride at least 3 days a week.

Why do I bring this up? Just to point out that you don’t have to fully commit for it to make a difference in your life. Start out simple.

Here’s how you do it.
1. Start off by driving your proposed route(s). Figure out what is the safest way to get to/from your work place.
2. On a Saturday/Sunday/non-workday, get on your bike and ride your route.
3. At the beginning of the week, check the weather and pick a day for your inaugural ride.
4. The day before your ride, take a set of clothes to work along with any toiletries that you will need.
5. Ride to work.
6. Pat yourself on the back.

If all goes well, try to increase your frequency.

Two years ago, I was the only person in my office that ever commuted. In the past year, I’ve helped 4 other people (in a 30 person office) make their first commute. 3 of them still do it on a regular basis.

If you continue to ride, you will soon find your mid-section smaller and your wallet thicker (well…unless you really get into it and start getting fancy bike stuff…) all while reducing pollution and dependency on foreign oil. Even if you don’t go for all that hippie environmental stuff, riding home after a hard day at work is a great stress reliever.

It’s a heartbreaking story of pain and anguish full of love lost and found again. Not really. The short answer is I wanted to ride more without spending more time away from my family.

About 8 years ago, I was fat. I had gone from a relatively tone 180 lbs high school swimmer to a flabby 208 lbs recently married college grad. Most of the weight had come in the one year since I had gotten married and graduated. The combination of being stuck in a cubicle all day and the realization that we now were making enough money to be able to eat out on a regular basis led to an unhealthy lifestyle. At the time, my office was about half a mile from my apartment, yet I still drove to work every morning.

I decided something needed to change.

While on internships in college, I had started mountain biking. It was an activity that I enjoyed doing, but the terrain at Purdue (Northern Indiana) did not exactly inspire awe. I decided to see what Austin had to offer.

Needless to say, I got hooked. Really, I became obsessed.

Within about a year, I had lost all of the weight I had gained and then some. I was mountain biking nearly every day on local trails (of which, we have a surprising amount). My obsession did not fade with the years. It only got stronger. I even tried out the local race scene.

At this point, I still was not riding to work. We had moved to suburbia and honestly, the thought hadn’t really crossed my mind.

Then, on a glorious day in February of 2004, my wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl (Ella).

While I obviously wanted to spend as much time as possible with Cortney and Ella, I still wanted to be able to ride my bike for fun and fitness. With mountain biking, not only do you spend hours on the trail, but you also spend time getting ready and driving to/from the trails. I thought maybe doing some road riding would be a more efficient way to get some exercise while keeping in bike shape.

I bought a cheap, used road bike from a friend. I did my first road ride while Ella was napping about 1 week after she was born. It was cold, rainy, and windy. I rode by myself and honestly did not have much fun. I didn’t really ride on the road much after that.

Actually, I wasn’t riding much at all for a while.

This was also about the time that gas started to creep up. It was still under $2/gallon, but it was quickly rising. At the time, I was driving a ‘mid-size’ truck which was true in name only. It was really a V-8 power Dodge Dakota. It was a very nice truck and hauled my mountain bike very nicely. It was, however, costing me ~$50/week in gas.

It was almost a revelation. I could save time and money by commuting.

Now, you’re saying “wait…how could you save time by commuting?” Here’s how. I was spending about 1 hour/day in the car getting to/from work and 1 hour/day at the gym. Instead of only getting a 1 hour workout, I could get a nice 2 hour workout on the bike (way better than the gym any day) while getting to/from work. I call that a net win.

I first tried my commute on a Saturday. I wanted time to try out my route without being too late to work.

It went smoothly and I started to occasionally commute by bike almost immediately. I had a healthy 20 mile each way commute on relatively safe roads.

I was also blessed with a very bike friendly work place. The bike racks were located inside the parking garage with a locked fence around them. We had showers available and management did not mind me sticking a drying rack in an empty closet. Furthermore, my hours were flexible so that I could time my commute to remain during daylight hours so that purchasing lights was not immediately necessary.

Since my first commute, I have refined my routes, my equipment, my frequency, and my methods.

I even learned how to enjoy riding my bike on the road.

INTRODUCTION:

Ever have those days where you wake up and you just don’t feel like doing anything hard? I do. I had it this morning. I stood in my closet for a solid 5 minutes with my bike shorts in my hand thinking “I really don’t feel like doing this today”. It would be so much easier to just drive. I could be to work in 25 minutes instead of my usual 1+ hour ride.

In the end, I put on my bike gear and threw my leg over the bike. The funny thing is that I very rarely regret riding, but every time I drive I wish I hadn’t. I’ll see somebody else cruising along the road on their bike and I think to myself “That should have been me”.

Why then so I still struggle in the morning?

I do not know the answer to that question. Maybe I’ll figure it out as a write more about my cycling experiences. I’ve never had a blog or even a diary before. Hopefully I’ll learn something about myself while providing some information and hopefully some entertainment to others. Who knows? Maybe blogging will be like commuting. It seems like a lot of work and relatively unrewarding when looking at a small slice of time, but cumulatively, it could have a net benefit. Who knows.

I guess I should take some time to introduce myself. My name is Eric Swartzendruber and I am a husband, a father, a Christian, an engineer, and cycling enthusiast. For the past (almost) 10 years, I have lived in Round Rock, TX and worked in Austin, TX.

Since these meanderings are meant to be primarily cycling focused, I will indeed write mostly about my cycling experiences. While I love all things bike related, it is not the only thing (or even the most important thing) in my life. I am sure plenty of non-bike related material will permeate my musings.

In case you didn’t notice above, my primary occupation is an engineer. In case you don’t know many engineers…we are not exactly known for our superb communication skills. Please accept my apologies in advance. Since my last foray into any sort of creative writing came 15 years ago while a student of Joel Robbins (Mason’s Dad) in AP English, I feel like a can accurately say that my meager skills are substantially rusty.

Feel free to comment at eswartzendruber_AT_gmail.com. If you are going to grade my grammar and semantics, don’t bother (unless your Mr. Robbins, in which case I’ll read your input and then probably ignore it since I’m not getting graded).