However, be forewarned that if you're the kind of rider that frets over grams of additional weight, wouldn't be caught dead riding platform pedals and toe straps or frequently monitors how your performance measures up on Strava or Garmin segments, you will likely not enjoy Just Ride as much as I did.
Grant Peterson is the founder of Rivendell Bicycle Works in Walnut Creek, California. Grant designed the frame I now ride, the Soma San Marcos, in collaboration with Soma Fabrications. I found that reading Just Ride was a little like reading the brochure on the San Marcos. I pretty much bought the San Marcos from that brochure alone without even so much as a test ride. Everything I read there suggested whoever designed that bike, which at the time I didn't realize was Grant Peterson, had a kind of mind share with me. They thought about bikes and cycling the way I did.
So, it was quite a welcome surprise to discover this gem of a book Grant wrote back in 2012. One overriding sense I had from reading it is that I no longer feel so much alone in the way "mainstream" cycling often appears completely absurd to me. Yet I fully participate in that absurdity.
Take my last ride for example. From the time I decided I wanted to ride to the time I was actually on my bike pedaling was about a 20-30 min ordeal. First, I have to take off all my (street) clothes and put on my HR strap; then, my cycling shorts, cycling jersey and cycling sox. Its all tight fitting lycra because we've all been told "cotton is rotten." Then, I have to fill my jersey pockets; left with id, health insurance card, credit card, cash, keys to house and cell phone, middle with clear lens glasses (because I will be out past dusk) and spare batteries for lights, right with gel packs, stinger wafers and ecaps Then, sun screen on my head, ears and face and arms. Then, I have to unplug my rechargeable lights and bike computer and put them on my bike. Then, I have to fill 2-4 water bottles and pump up the tires to 100 psi.
About this time through the process, if I happen to be wearing overall shorts, I invariably wind up realizing just then that I need to use the restroom; most likely a #2. Because my jersey doesn't unzip all the way down, I have to work it over my head without spilling the contents of my pockets and having it all fall into the toilet.
Finally, I am ready to put on my shoes. They are the most expensive shoes I own but I can't really walk in them. I can't use them for anything else but riding. And, shortly after I bought them, I had to drill holes in the bottom to move the cleat far enough back that my toes would stop going numb. Lastly, I put on my helmet and gloves and finally, after about 30 minutes of prep, I am ready to ride.
And, when I get back from my ride, I have to rush to the frig and down a protein shake because the first 30 minutes after completing a workout is when your body maximizes its protein uptake and that is important to re-build muscle (from all the damage you did during the ride).
It is these absurdities and many others that Grant Peterson raises our awareness of and offers more sensible alternatives to in Just Ride. Don't get me wrong. I like to challenge myself with difficult rides. I like to train myself up for them and I like to improve my "mastery" of cycling. But, Just Ride helps to remind all of us that we can wind up too often taking things a bit too far.
Except for two chapters of Just Ride, one on helmets and the other on target fixation, I either agreed wholeheartedly with Grant's perspectives or at least have found myself asking some of the same questions. So, using Grant's terminology, I guess as I have aged I have become a bit of an Unracer at heart.
But, it hasn't always been that way. Worse, I don't honestly know if I am an Unracer today because of a conscious choice (a dawning of wisdom with age maybe) to be that way or because I am really a wanna-be Racer who just doesn't have the legs ;)
I was surprised one topic Grant did not cover in Just Ride; sun protection. Having had 2 basal carcinomas removed before I was 50, I take sun protection very seriously now. Regardless of how hot it is, I typically wear long sleeve shirts designed specifically for sun protection as well as a sort of bonette underneath my helmet that completely covers my head and neck.
Helmets
Grant makes some good points regarding bike helmets. They really do not provide as much protection as we wish or might like to believe. Also, testing protocols don't faithfully represent real-world usage.But, I disagree with Grant that the simple act of just dawning a helmet causes a rider to think s/he is that much safer for it and, in turn, will take more risks because the helmet is the for added safety. Honestly, I think most riders like to avoid any situation where they would actually need a helmet.
And, I cannot agree with Grant at all that its conceivable to be safer to ride without a helmet and simply pay more attention or adjust your riding behavior in other ways that reduce risk to compensate. About the only way I think that could be true is if you simply do not get on the bike to begin with. In that case, then yes, I'd agree you probably don't need the helmet either.
Rear Blinkers
Another point Grant makes in Just Ride is a blinking taillight can cause approaching (impaired) motorists to fixate on the dazzling light. Its called Target Fixation. Instead of warning them off, a blinking light draws them right to you and they crash into you. So goes the target fixation theory. In Just Ride, Grant writes that the phenomenon of target fixation is a good reason to use a steady light instead of a blinking one.
Now, if you believe the target fixation arguments and the only reason you use a blinking light is to save battery power, then why take the risk for the sake of some additional batteries? This is Grant's point and I agree -- that is if you believe the target fixation argument.
I myself am still not convinced that target fixation (the kind where a blinking light draws a motorist to crash into you) is a real or significant risk. There is really no evidence other than anecdotal.
I believe more visibility for a cyclist is always better. And, I believe a blinking light is more visible to motorists than a steady one. I also believe there is no such thing as a bike taillight that is too bright. I use a taillight in daylight riding as well.
So, I think you have to weigh the risks of reduced visibility (e.g. going with a steady light instead of a blinking one) against the risks of a motorist becoming fixated on your light. I think reduced visibility is the bigger risk. Nonetheless, I'd really like to see some more research on this issue. Maybe that's a good topic for a future blog post.
Biking is supposed to be Fun
I enjoyed reading Just Ride and found myself laughing with Grant through many of his comical observations of the influence of racing on the rest of us. At times, some of his commentary comes across a bit on the preachy side. Nonetheless, more often than not, I found myself nodding and wishing most of my riding friends shared the same opinions. In fact, I plan on giving this book to a few of my Racer oriented friends.
A final comment to leave you with is that if you've ever found yourself feeling burned out from cycling, Just Ride might have the cure. Its a friendly reminder that biking is supposed to be fun. With often comical descriptions, Just Ride helps us come to our senses about all things cycling.
A final comment to leave you with is that if you've ever found yourself feeling burned out from cycling, Just Ride might have the cure. Its a friendly reminder that biking is supposed to be fun. With often comical descriptions, Just Ride helps us come to our senses about all things cycling.
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