Stories to not "lose the north"

Series of stories to "not lose the north": Greetings 👋 Probably because I am one of those cyclists that we now call "old school", or maybe times just change 🎵 The Times They Are A-Changing (Bob Dylan, 1963)🎵 and things stop being what they were (sometimes for the better). The fact is that there were certain unwritten customs or codes in amateur cycling that seem to have been lost in time "like tears in the rain" 🎬. I am referring today to the greeting between cyclists. As cyclists we are a vulnerable group and mechanics, almost always our ally, can sometimes play tricks on us. No one is exempt from suffering a mishap, a simple fall, a simple puncture...

Obviously, not saying hello does not imply that you are not willing to help if necessary, "facts are love, not good reasons"... but it does make recognition among us as colleagues and belonging to this group that in some way visible. I was always inclusive and supportive.

In short, and regardless of the environment in which we find ourselves, the greeting is still a sign of respect and consideration towards others, and sends the message that we have noticed their presence and that we recognize them as a person. It is also a sign of courtesy and good education. 👋

Series of stories to "not lose the north": Chupa ruedas If something seems to be clear to us, it is that the air does not belong to anyone and it is a good that we all share: animals, plants... although it is also true that humans we have a certain tendency to believe that we own everything under the sun. The air I leave behind when I ride a bike 🌬 doesn't belong to me, so I don't mind if another "cyclist" 🧟 follows me. Yes, I know that neither that vortex nor that turbulence 🌀they were there before I passed, but I don't know to what extent I can exercise any right over them. In any case, it is an energy that I left behind and that will be diluted in a short time, what difference does it make if someone uses it! Yes, you can go to my wheel, I have no problem, I just ask you not to sprint just before the end of the lane or just before the crest. Go ahead if you can, my legs hurt too... it will be more fun.....

Series of stories to "not lose the north": Numerology Well, I confess that my mountain bike is "a 26"... 👍 why don't I ride a "29"? Well, really, simply because when I bought it that was the standard for mountain bike wheels and so far, I haven't needed to replace it. I ride with colleagues on both 29-inch and 26-inch bikes and I really notice more differences from the skill and fitness of the rider 🚵 than from the diameter of the wheels on his frame. Go ahead, I am only an amateur, I do not compete, nor do I have the intention of doing so, since riding a bike is only my hobby. I understand that competition is another world, but it is neither mine nor that of most of the cyclists I know. Yes, among them, there are some owners of 26-inch " cucumbers" 🚀 who are beginning to look at their loyal mounts with hangman's eyes and I fear that they are going to recycle them without further consideration for the simple fact that they are beginning to be a minority and that seems to dishonor them.

Today I want to express my solidarity with those poor "scorned" who were once queens and are now victims of the hazards of the "market" 😢 .

They say that "29ers" have great advantages: their larger diameter makes them better absorb stones, potholes, roots and other obstacles in the terrain (because of their lower angle of attack), and also that they improve traction by having a larger contact surface ( more open arc of circumference) and, as they have a larger diameter, they also have a greater moment of inertia, making it easier to maintain speed once reached. On the other hand, they are slower when accelerating, more difficult to stop and less manageable, and that is why the length of the handlebars has increased accordingly. You know, big ship, big rudder. On the other hand, they have also increased their overall size and therefore their weight (with the same construction materials).

Just for information, a 29-inch wheel does not refer to the rim size that would actually be 622mm (24.5") but to the "theoretical" outer diameter of the tire. It matches the most common size for road bike tires 700c (622 mm). Regarding the theoretical circumference, for a 29x2.3-inch wheel it is about 2,326 millimeters while for a 26x2.35-inch wheel it is 2,083 millimeters, which means that in each turn a 29-inch wheel travels about 243 millimeters more.

In my case, all these advantages and disadvantages do not justify the cost of replacement. I practice both road and mountain biking, I enjoy both equally, I like the feeling of being light on the road 🪶, fast, notice how the force I exert on the pedals is transformed almost entirely into km/h 💪 , draw the curves almost without moving the handlebars... I prefer well-maintained asphalt and I don't like potholes, above all I want to go fast and score kilometres. When it comes to mountain biking, I like to feel that the impossible path does not exist, to feel the stones, the roots and the holes, to avoid them, to find the best route, to jump over them if I can. I really do not seek to be a bulldozer crossing the road mercilessly, I like to be respectful of the natural environment. And above all, I don't care so much about being fast as about going the route. I want to face the challenge, improve my technique, be more skilled.

Always from my humble point of view, I find that both the 26-inch and 29-inch wheels perfectly meet my needs as a hobbyist. If you have a bike with 26-inch wheels and it works properly, please don't feel obligated to replace it just because "29" is "mainstream", do it when you can or if your current bike is truly over its lifespan. .

As far as I'm concerned, my "donkey" 🐎I have ridden her for many years and she has always responded, and still does, with loyalty and obedience. She still maintains her original painting, although with some scars that her path left her, which, far from making her ugly, give her an imprint that beautifies her 😍. I hope that she will stay with me for many years and that we will cover many tracks together at 26-inch turns (2,083 mm per lap).

As a curiosity, the number 26 is the only natural number found between a perfect square: 25 = 5 x 5 and a perfect cube: 27 = 3 x 3 x 3. It is the atomic number of iron (Fe) and it is not a prime number (has more divisors besides unity and itself).

29 is a prime number (it is only divisible by one and itself). It can be obtained by adding 2, 3 and 4 squared 2^2+3^2+4^2 = 29. 29 is the atomic number of copper (Cu).