Long Burn

Scrape your sole

I have two bikes, one to get to the train station in Lund, and the other to get to work from the station in Copenhagen. Nothing fancy-- for me a bike should be reliable, and you have to go into the deal realizing that every once in a while you're going to have your bike stolen. One is a 3-speed sealed hub and the other a 4-speed sealed hub, coaster + hand break, fenders, package holder over the back wheel. I read a cycling tip that has helped me a lot. I always want more power when I bike-- to go against the wind, or catch my train, or make it to the next intersection before the light goes red. Usually you think stand up and push with all your weight, but the problem is that you can't keep that up for very long. I've found that a much better way is to use the full circle of the pedal. When the crank is at the top, press forward with your foot. When the crank is at the bottom, pull backward with your foot. Don't bother thinking about pushing down, you'll do that automatically. Just think forward back, forward back, like there was something stuck on the sole of your shoe that you are scraping off. It is tremendously effective and doesn't tire you out. Both legs are contributing at the same time since when one is pushing forward the other is pushing back, and vice versa.

My pet peeve in Sweden is that even though Lund is a university town and they have good bike paths that lots of people use, NOBODY SIGNALS! Drives me barking mad. My pet peeve in Denmark is people who bike slowly in the passing lane. Not so different from commuting by car I guess.

posted by Matt_J @ 2:39 PM