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Noodling |
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Written by Zach Magoon
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Wednesday, 20 June 2007 |
Noodling. I like the sound of that word. Big Al used it a couple weeks ago to describe riding slowly or warming up before or after a ride. I decided to noodle today after putting in a pretty hard weekend. I felt really nice not having to go up any big hills or put in any real effort for 20 miles this morning. I looked around, looked for birds (3 turkeys, house finch, bobolink, gold finch, tree swallow, flicker) and just noodled. Glorious.
I also found myself using arm signals a little more today. Most days I do, but maybe it was because I was on shorter stretches of road today that made it necessary to turn more. Anyhoo, I use both arms to signal--right for a right turn and left for a left. I know for motorcycles they teach riders to use the bent left arm for a right turn, but on a bike this just makes no sense. I don't have to control a throttle so the bent-arm method seems silly. I think it confuses drivers as well. So, I just point where I'm going. Try to make eye contact with drivers too--that way they at least have some idea of what you're doing. I find this is most important when in a track stance. It's tough to do a one arm stance so it's best to signal a few feet shy of where you need to stop, make eye contact and then turn.
Noodling days (as I will now refer to them) are also good for recruiting people from work if you tend to ride longer distances at higher speeds most days. These slower, more relaxed days are good for cruising along with folks who don't necessarily ride every day. I rode in a week or so ago with a co-worker and it was nice to have someone to chat with for the last part of my ride. He drove to a parking lot from his home about 20 miles away and rode the last 5 or so miles to work. It's a great way to get in a few miles and break up the humdrum of driving every day. So for all you commuters out there, try to recruit a couple of people from the office who drive every day. No matter how far they live away, there is usually somewhere they can park away from the office to get a few miles in. Wal-mart parking lots can always accommodate all day free parking without notice and are usually on the outskirts of towns within striking distance of most urban areas. SO just when you think nothing good can come of the big box stores, free parking comes along.
So go noodling for a change, or noodle with a friend (ok that's a little strange), but get out there, the weather is fine.
Zm |
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