Welcome

I use this site to post notes about cycling, (especially track cycling, and cycling education), technology, and other random topics.

It’s a ongoing work in progress and many notes may be rough or unfinished.

All Articles:

Many recreational cyclists are using tubeless tires without understanding how to maintain them, or their downsides.

Sealant must be replaced every few months, at least once a season.
Sealant does not always seal a hole, especially if the hole is larger than a few mm.
You need to carry either a spare tube (and a tool to remove the tubeless value) or tire plugs and a small tube of sealant
Having sealant spewing out can get really messy!
You can’t go about 75psi with tubeless tires, so tubeless and skinny tires don’t work together. Jay Heins of Hene Herse, who makes some of the world’s best tubeless tires says don’t go about 6-psi.
Valve core clogs
Tubeless tires are much more diufficult to install and remove. It can be difficult to get the bead to seal on the rim - often rapid inflation with a special “charger pump” or an air compressor is required.

The trouble with road tubeless - Rene Herse Nine things they don’t tell you about tuneless tires - road.cc

The article discusses the details of how Goldmark Markdown and Hugo handles images, along with how to add attributes such a positioning and sizing when using images in a Hugo Markdown file.

In cycling, “contact points” are critical: bum on saddle, hands on handlebars, feet on pedals. But the most important one of all is “where the rubber meets the road”. Tires may be the most important component on your bike. The right tire at the right pressure makes a huge difference to your safety - your “grip” on the road - as well as to your comfort, and efficiency.

Diving into detail on tires, with a focus on tire width, tire pressure, and tire quality, we will discover:

In this article we’ll discuss how to minimize injury if to do crash. Of course there are no guarantees, but there are techniques you can use to minimize injuries when you crash. There are 3 aspects to minimizing the seriousness of your injuries - Fitness, Technique and Training.

Many serious cycling injuries happen when cyclists are slowing and preparing to stop. There are techniques we can use to prevent low speed falls. While this may seem like a lot of effort, it’s much preferable to broken bones!

“Given the amount of time I spend on a bike, I recognize there is a significant probability that my cycling career, or even my life, could end as a result of a serious cycling accident”. As a cyclist, the risk of injury requiring hospital treatment (per km travelled) is significantly greater than when in a motor vehicle. The more you cycle, the greater the risk - You will crash!

There’s three options:

After a crash, the adrenaline will be pumping… an injured rider will not necessarily feel pain, and often will say “I’m OK” and want to get back on their bike. NO! Take it slow and do a thorough check - there’s a post-crash list to follow.

In the depths of winter, options for cycling become less appealing… Do I ride outdoors in the cold, wet, and wind? Or sweat it out indoors on a trainer, listening to music or a video to combat boredom?

There’s another option - Indoor velodromes! Living in Ottawa, there are now three excellent velodromes I can frequent:

This page gives you a detailed tour around velodromes, using the indoor velodromes in Ontario and Quebec as examples:

This page contains links to velodromes and organizations of interest to riders in Ontario

Welcome

All Articles:

Running Tubeless? Things you Need to Know!

Hugo Markdown Image Handling

Tires - Be Faster, Safer, More Comfortable

How to Crash

How not to Fall (at low speed)

Every Cyclist Crashes - Even You!

After You Crash & Your Helmet Saves Your Head!

The Joy of Recreational Track Cycling

Velodrome Basics

Ontario Track Cycling Resources