Terry Peloton

Category: From Georgena

  • SPRING ADVICE FROM GEORGENA TERRY.

     

    S6GEORGENA

    When Spring arrives and the heady scent of thawing earth and emerging blooms is in the air, the lure of a bicycle ride is overwhelming. Best to make sure you and your bike are ready for the enjoyable hours of riding to come.

    Human bodies and bicycle bodies aren’t really all that different when it comes to preparation. Analogies abound. Consider suppleness: are your muscles supple and ready for action? After a long winter, your bicycle’s tires better be supple, too. If they’re dried out and inflexible, they will prone to punctures. Not only that, the feel of the bike will suffer since stiff tires don’t flex. They bounce around rather than deflecting and absorbing imperfections in road surfaces.

    I replace my tires and tubes annually, regardless of how many miles they have on them. Time and mileage both take their toll on rubber. Buy the best tires and tubes you can afford. It’s money well spent.

    How’s your core strength? It’s the springboard for efficient pedaling. Your bicycle has a core, too: its frame and fork. Time spent cleaning the bike’s core not only makes the bike look good, it can reveal problems before they become disasters. While light scratches in the paint aren’t necessarily a problem, cracks are — especially in aluminum or carbon fiber. If you find a crack, have your local shop check it out.

    Steel and aluminum bikes can be waxed and then kept shiny with periodic applications of Lemon Pledge®. The appropriate cleansing and polishing of carbon fiber varies from brand to brand, so ask your dealer about the best way to care for the finish.

    Just as stretching keeps the human body from creaking, lubrication helps the bike do the same. What to lubricate? The chain and the pivot points on both derailleurs are the easiest. Chain lubes abound — wax-based products are the cleanest, but may not be robust enough for frequent wet weather rides. A light oil will suffice for the derailleurs.

    Finally, make sure everything works! When you squeeze the brake levers, does the bike stop? Do the gears shift properly? Is your saddle ready for another big season? If not, a visit to the bike shop is in order!

    Warmer days are coming, so tune up your body and your bike now so you’ll both be ready to take advantage of them!

    For more advice and information from Georgena, click here: Georgenaterry.com

    Women’s cycling pioneer and founder of Terry Bicycles, Georgena Terry is still actively engaged in her custom “Heart of Steel” bicycle business and is a voice for female cyclists. She continues to ride thousands of miles a year and pursues her passion for the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge with the Wild Goose Chase bike ride/fundraiser along Maryland’s Eastern Shore. We thank her for continued efforts and the contribution of her columns.

  • GEORGENA’S CHECKLIST

    BEGINNING OF SEASON BIKE MAINTENANCE CHECKLIST

    checklist 2

    Georgena’s been very busy with her new hand-built bike enterprise georgenaterry.com. In addition to offering a fabulous line of custom bicycles, she also continues her efforts to make cycling a more enjoyable experience through her blog. Those who know her, know that her bicycles are always in perfect running condition no matter what season it is. She has wonderful shortcuts, tips and decades of advice all built into her latest piece on bike maintenance which we are linking to here with her kind permission.

     

  • Georgena Terry, the video

    In the early days of Terry, I can remember spending hours with a photographer who wanted an edgy photo of me surrounded by bicycle wheels. I have so little patience for sitting, smiling, raising my chin a bit, turning my head this way then that way and waiting for lighting and backgrounds to be adjusted. It would be so much more fun to be out on a bike ride, wouldn’t it?

    So I surprised myself when I agreed to be the subject of a short video. I know from the videos I make for YouTube that many minutes of film have to be shot to create something substantially shorter. This proposed five minute video could mean hours of taping.

    But after exchanging a few emails and trading links to “cool” videos, I felt it was well worth my time to invite Amanda Zackem, the producer/director of the video, into my personal world of bicycling. Amanda was completing her master’s degree at the S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University.

    The whole experience turned out to be thoroughly enjoyable, from beginning to end. Amanda is incredibly creative, yet down to earth and fantastically good-natured and generous. It’s exciting to work with someone on the verge of a great future.

    The video was shot in western New York and Waterford Cycles in Wisconsin. Waterford builds our Valkyrie, Isis and Fast Woman bicycles.

    So, without further ado, here’s the video:

  • A Perfect September Ride

    Leaving my house, I turn out of my neighborhood and onto a lightly traveled, recently chip-sealed suburban road which makes me really appreciate the comfort of wider tires and a compliant frame. Within a mile, it’s decision time. Continue straight on a flat-ish route or turn right up a small hill. Wondering whether a recent week of riding on pan flat roads in Maryland has made me an even worse climber than usual, I decide to take the chance. With a flick of the handlebars, right it is. If I’m lucky, I’ll hear Paul Sherwen’s voice in my head, “digging into her suitcase of pain.” Without luck, I’ll hear something along the lines of “no power in the engine room.” But today I’m lucky! Up and over.

    From there, I pick up a convenient four-way stop at a usually busy road which will lead me out into a more rural setting. But since today is Sunday, there are very few cars and I feel as though I have the road to myself. A few more miles of pedaling and I’m surrounded by corn and soybean fields. And let’s not forget the flora. What better time than fall to enjoy the muted colors of hawkweed and aster — New York and New England.

    My halfway stop is a small park. This time of year, it’s the home base for school football games, but today it’s deserted. Just me and a handful of American crows. They put up with my poor imitation of their near cousin, the fish crow. Overhead, a line of Canada geese chime in just for good measure. Perfect entertainment while I enjoy some snacks.

    By now, the sun is high and my wind vest and long sleeve base layer are no longer necessary. Since it’s just me and the crows, I have no inhibitions about shedding the base layer while exposing a little flesh. Ah, that feels better. The wind vest folds neatly into my jersey pocket and the base layer just makes it into a very tiny handlebar bag.

    The second half of the ride rolls a bit more. For a seemingly long north to south slog, I’m on yet another chip-sealed road. I don’t know why, but there’s always a nagging head wind on this road. Always. That, combined with the roll and the rough surface, gives it a heavy feel. I can never seem to find a rhythm that suits me.

    But it soon ends, and I turn onto a delightful road that runs along a ridge, winding past old farms and houses. Eventually, it flows downhill over a small emerald green stream and leads me to the finishing stretch. Another uphill, but this one very, very gradual with unfolding panoramic views of verdant farm fields. Open space at its best.

    If every ride can’t end with a tailwind, then I’ll take a downhill, and so it is with this ride. There’s no feeling quite like swooshing onto my street, thoroughly exhilarated, hungry and ready for a mellow afternoon catching up on cycling news. What would have happened in the Vuelta if Sky had decided to support Froome instead of Wiggins? Today, that’s about as complicated as life is going to get. Long live the bike!

  • Chip Seal: A Sign of Summer

    No matter what you call it, “chip seal”, “oil and stone”, “tar and feather” or “aargh, not my favorite road”, it affects all cyclists. When faced with a freshly chip sealed road, I try to be as pragmatic as possible. The more I know about chip seal, the more I’ll appreciate it.  Maybe.  I’m sharing this so your ride on chip seal will be better, too!

     

     

    Chip sealing is an inexpensive, quick way to maintain a road surface. How often have you thought to yourself, “Wow, I can’t believe they destroyed this entire road in just an hour….”

    Chip seals do not improve ride quality. No kidding — it’s not just the bumping along, it’s all those loose chips on the road. And the crazy drivers who bomb down the road, oblivious to all the flying chips they’re creating (technically known as “whip-off”). These losses are usually 5% on the low volume roads we ride.

    But those drivers are a critical player in making all the little chips embed themselves in the sticky binder.  Unfortunately, our bicycles just can’t do it. The goal is to embed 80% of the road volume, leaving a 20% void space.

    So what determines how many chips should be put down? Surely, like me, you’ve noticed that some road crews are absolutely miserly about the amount of chips they use.  But other crews must have an incredible budget based on the drifts of chips they spread. Luckily, for those who are inclined to use it, there is a formula to optimize the “aggregate application rate”:

     

    C= (1 – 0.4V) × H × G × E

    where:

    C = Cover Aggregate (kg/m2)

    V = Voids in Loose Aggregate (%)

    H = Average Least Dimension (mm)

    G = Bulk Specific Gravity

    E = Wastage Factor (%)

     

    Brooming can generally be done within 2 to 4 hours after sealing. Hot applied chip seals can be swept within 30 minutes while conventional chip seals can be swept in 2 to 4 hours. And here’s the big question: why does it take so long to sweep the road??? What is this, seal on Friday, sweep next week routine?  There are obviously no cyclists in these crews. I’ve often thought that our local highway department thinks it’s the job of the snow plow to sweep the chips. Given the safety issues for cyclists, motorcyclists and even cars, one would think the sealing would be done in the morning and the sweeping in the afternoon.  Grumble.

     

    My thanks to the California Department of Transportation for educating me:

    www.dot.ca.gov/hq/maint/mtag/ch5_chip_seals.pdf

     

     

     

     

  • Amy Petty’s Inspiring Story

    Those of you who follow Terry know we recently instituted “Ride It Forward”, an opportunity to reward a woman who encourages other women to ride through her own inspiring story.  Our very first, and very deserving winner of a Terry Symmetry bicycle is Amy Petty.  She was nominated by her friend, Laura Holt.  I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to Amy and I can’t say enough great things about her. Read Laura’s story about Amy and you’ll understand why:

    This is someone I am very lucky to call a friend, Amy Petty. I met her last year on a group bike ride in Oklahoma City. I fell in behind her and immediately could tell that she once had considerable weight, judging from the excess skin on her legs and arms. I didn’t know her name yet, but I was curious. I ended up speaking to another woman that night, who is one of Amy’s coworkers. I found out she is a survivor of the Oklahoma City Bombing.

    I was even more curious after that, thinking perhaps she had gained weight after the fact from depression or being bedridden from an injury. The next week during the group ride I made some small talk, which didn’t last long, before we hit 5 miles she was trying to convince me to do a charity ride the next weekend and join her for her first triathlon… in 3 weeks. “I can’t swim either, I just started lessons this week.” She said. By the end of the month, I learned she was 350 pounds when she was buried for over 6 hours, her leg pinned beneath 10 feet of rubble. The remarkable scar on her leg makes it unbelievable she has no permanent injury. She speaks publicly every month, many times, about being a survivor.

    This last month her hour-long speech was delivered from a stationary bike. An idea she was so excited about she couldn’t contain herself. I found myself joining spin classes in December for her prep. It was all she talked about, she would speak about taking on life challenges like a hill climb and she hoped people would be inspired by her love of the bike. While over all nutrition and fitness has made a difference in her physical appearance. The bike has given her such joy. It has been a great source of happiness for her and she strives to share that gift with others. She recently invited an overweight woman to join a group ride.

    Amy’s joy was contagious; I’ve seen this new woman on two more group rides grinning ear to ear. Amy has an awesome story. She biked across the state, she completed two sprint triathlons, a half marathon, and she bikes to work daily during the spring, summer and fall. She advocates for cyclists, having a close relationship some state government officials, most recently involving a very important bike route bridge that is being resurfaced. If there was ever a woman worthy of recognition for her efforts in cycling, you couldn’t find a better candidate than Amy Petty.

    Congratulations, Amy, from all of us at Terry!

    Tailwinds,

    Georgena

  • Off to Headquarters!

    Most people think I reside in Burlington since that’s where our corporate headquarters have been for the last  year.  No, I still live in western New York and work remotely from my home office.  There are three of us in that situation.  We make the trip to Burlington several times a year to see familiar faces and get caught up in a whirlwind of meetings. Such was the case this week when Phil, our marketing analytics guru, and I jumped into a Jeep rented from Enterprise and hit the road. Kelly, our marketing communications manager, is a brand new mom, so she’s not taking any road trips right away! We left under sunny skies and were soon on our way on the NYS Thruway.

    Lots of snow everywhere but on the road.  And, yes, that very light cloud cover is our definition of a bright sunny day here in New York….

    Six hours later, we pulled into the parking lot at 47 Maple Street.

    Being Prez has its benefits!

    47 Maple is the home of JDK, our brand managers, Terry Precision Cycling and several other businesses. It’s a converted warehouse with tons of ambiance. The floors dip, dive and creak under foot. The exposed brick and massive steel beams are a reminder of the strength of the building and the wonderful times it has seen. (You know how I feel about steel!)

    Branding is everything.  Even the door into our office hasn’t escaped it!

    Yeah, baby!

    The first office you see when you walk in is that of our CEO, Liz Robert. That beauty of a bike is her new Fast Woman — a titanium version designed by me and specially built for us by Lynskey Performance.  (Gotta love anyone who works out of a glass office in full sight of the front door.  No hiding from or by this woman!)

    It’s all about the bike.

    Hugs all around for all the Terry employees who have been plugging away for the last year in Burlington and handshakes for the new faces we’ve only known as a voice over the phone. Winners, all of them! Later, we’ll relax and talk about things. Right now, it’s upstairs to “the roof”, where we’ll meet with our JDK brand managers to talk about progress so far.

    This is the view from JDK’s “roof” conference room.
    No time to enjoy the view. We have work to do. That’s Liz at the head of the table. Next to her is Michael Jager, one of the brainiest brand guys you’d ever want to meet.

    That’s how our whirlwind tour went — a series of meetings. Time flies when you’re with neat people and you can see the fruits of your labor.   But when evening comes and the building empties out, it’s time to relax with friends at one of Burlington’s great eateries. There are so many, it’s tough to choose one. Sigh — I wish we had that problem where I live!

     

    No explanation necessary.

    On the third day, we headed home, but not before a stop at our warehouse which is a few miles away from HQ.  This is where the rubber hits the road. Your orders are filled here by people who want to make sure you’re a happy customer. Theirs is a tough life and they do an amazing job for us.

    I’ll take the UPS orders; you take the USPS orders!

    Outside, snow was falling and the weather prediction was for a whole lot more, so we hit the road while there was still time to get out of Dodge. Sure glad that Jeep had four wheel drive!

    Slow going, but beautiful nonetheless.

    We arrived home safely and are looking forward to the next trip to Vermont under warmer conditions!

  • Born in the Bathtub

    Where have I been? I didn’t realize it was trendy to be born in a bathtub. I just figured it was the safest place in the house for a prototype Terry frame and fork built for me by Waterford. The cats can’t knock them over if they’re in the bathtub. And the bathroom doubles as my workshop. So this blog is about my bike, which was born in the bathtub.

    “My next bike” is always going to be my last bike. It will be perfect and there will be no need for another one. Thank goodness this is never true! Such is the life of a bicycle designer. We’re always trying to achieve perfection.
    I’ve been riding a beautiful Valkyrie Tour for the last year and enjoying it immensely. I’ve also been devouring Bicycle Quarterly back issues and enjoying them immensely as well. There’s a recurring theme that runs through this magazine: the idea that a well-designed bicycle is about more than just a good fit. It’s about harmonizing with the rider and playing the road like a bow plays a fine violin.
    How does this happen? Well, a lot of things come together in a very synergetic way. This bicycle doesn’t understand the word “stiff”. But it does understand that bumpy roads will beat you up and rob you of power. (And in the real world, every road is bumpy — just look at one closely in the late afternoon sun…). This bicycle believes it’s okay to “give back”, meaning a little frame deflection is a good thing. (Way too much to explain here, but see this site for a full explanation).
    I want this bike. I want to ride the rippling roads in my favorite haunt and feel them disappear beneath me. I want to stop reaching for a lower gear just because the road tips upward a bit. I want to get off the bike after six hours in the saddle and feel totally refreshed. Valkyrie is a wonderful bike, but its raison d’être is touring. It’s made for that rider who might load it up with 60 pounds of gear and hit the road for weeks at a time. It’s just a little too much bike for me, the 100 pound cyclist who’s no powerhouse, but who can go all day. It’s still a great ride…but it’s just not perfect.
    So, armed with ideas from Bicycle Quarterly, I called Marc Muller, the chief designer at Waterford, and together we came up with this magical bike. The frame geometry is quite similar to the Valkyrie Tour. But there’s some subtle stuff going on with respect to the tubing in the bicycle. My choice of components is part of the solution as well, with the tires being one of the most important. I also opted for the Nitto Randonneur handlebar on this bike. I was a little skeptical about the drops of the bar, which tend to flare outward a bit, but it feels great and works with the natural position of my hands. 

    I rode this bike for about 300 miles a few months ago and couldn’t wait to get on my rippled roads. Magic! I felt like I was floating over them, yet I was still firmly connected to the road (no bouncing around) and getting a good return on my energy investment. Riding into the wind, I was definitely working hard, but the push back was solely from the wind, not from the bike. There was also a day of riding when I was feeling a little out of sorts from a flu bug. The bike was reassuring even then — adapting well to my occasional sloppy riding, not chastising me for it. 

    And is this bike coming soon to a store near you? Well, I can’t guarantee that a particular store will carry it, but by early 2011, you’ll see it on our website, where you can purchase it directly from us. The name of this model? Precision. In tribute to the very first hand built Terry bicycle that launched The Original Women’s Bicycling Company!
    Tailwinds,

  • Lunch with Cy

    Monday, the day after the Wild Goose Chase, was a perfect kind of wind down day. Sunny and calm. The perfect day to ride with my friend Cy on some of the sweeter roads in the area and talk about what a great weekend it was and how much more we can do next year.

    It was hard to come home this time. It always is — that’s just the effect Blackwater has on me. How lucky I am to know that emotion. I think this visit was so special because of all the neat people who came back into my life after a long absence. You know how you can just pick up with old friends you haven’t seen in years? It’s like all those years just blew by. The familiarity hasn’t been lost at all.

    I met Cy many years ago when Terry first started doing one week bike tours in Vermont. Cy was a leader on one of those trips. If you had the good fortune to meet Cy at the Goose, you know what I mean when I say she’s just one of those really cool people you run across in life. A true free spirit. Our paths finally crossed again this August when Cy led our Terry Tour in Vermont for Sojourn Tours. I casually mentioned to her that she should hang out at the Goose on her way back south after the bike tour season ended. So, imagine my surprise when I was out riding Friday before the Goose and the cyclist approaching me turned out to be Cy! Ah, such is the nature of a free spirit.

    Then there’s my college roommate, Barb. So long, see ya after college graduation. Out of sight, but never out of mind. An email out of the blue a couple of years ago and the next thing you know, Barb volunteered to run registration at the Goose. Just picking up where we left off. Telling people about our incredible dorm room, Chips Ahoy in the middle of the night and way too much Gallo on the weekends. Hey, with a room like ours, it was the party room!

    Ride over, it was time for a very late lunch. Apples from New York and Vermont. Gu from….Gu. One of our super sponsors. And we didn’t forget the Raw Revolution energy bars. Many thanks to those guys, too. I wouldn’t trade cycling and old friends for anything. Life’s perfect combination.

    Tailwinds,

    Georgena
    georgena@terrybicycles.com
    www.terrybicycles.com

  • Baggage

    I can’t believe how much “stuff” I take on vacation. Just the electronics alone: 2 iPods™ (need a back up — no fun driving 9 hours each way with no tunes), an iPad™, an iPhone™, a MacBook Pro™, a digital camera, a Flip® video camera and all the necessary battery rechargers and AC/DC converters…oh, and a mouse because the trackpad makes me nuts after a while. Binoculars and field guides. 60 packets of Gu®, containers of Heed™ and Perpetuem™ and Recoverite™. Supplements, since it’s tough to eat right on the road and I need all the nutrition I can get for 10 days of riding. Oh yeah — clothes. Street clothes, bike clothes. And tools — in case I need to repair something. A spare wheelset. Helmet.

    And let’s not forget: the raison d’etre: THE BIKE!

    You know what? If I forgot everything except the bike, I’d still be happy!

    Tailwinds,

    Georgena
    georgena@terrybicycles.com
    www.terrybicycles.com