Day 2 of 30 Days of Biking: Sunset Ride, Sort of

"Sunset" at Volunteer Park.

I am still quite under the weather so despite the amazingly beautiful day in Seattle (sunny, 62 degrees with a light wind) I decided to save my ride until sunset.  Unlike Teela Brown in Larry Niven's Ringworld, however, I was not breed for luck.  The cloud bank obscured the sun quite early this evening.  I love the sunset ritual that takes up in Volunteer Park across from the Asian Art Museum at the "Doughnut" sculpture so I was glad to pay a visit.  The picnickers were just finishing up and groups of runners and others were standing around enjoying each other's company.  As the sun begins to set, the people quiet and the air seems to feel heavier.  The bird song seems to intensify and then the sun is below the horizon.  Sounds pretty lucky to me.

You may have seen the NY Times article about the new Yale study that tried to determine if there are specific factors that influence soreness and numbness for female bicycle riders. This part caught my eye:

The researchers found that the lower the handlebars in relation to the saddle, the more a woman has to lean forward, forcing her to put a greater percentage of her body weight on the perineum. This problem is particularly likely to occur when a rider leans forward, flattens her back and puts her hands on the “drop bars” of a road or track bicycle for a more aerodynamic position.

Ever since the very clever Kym Belden first fit my bike, I've had my handlebars quite high for touring.  This has worked wonders, particularly on longer rides.  It also helps with hand numbness as well. 

My T700 by cannonade in front of Black Sun by Isamu Noguchi across from  the Seattle Asian Art Museum.

Let's roll!
Donna
Seattle, WA