Hazards of Weight Loss #2,943
Geezer Neck!
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Low-end product review of the month - Camelbak Hydrobak
I got a gift card from Dick’s Sporting Goods for my 60th birthday and this is what I got.
Dick’s lists it for $29.99 and manufacturer’s MSRP is $30 so not much of a deal although I think I might have paid $24.95. Can’t remember.
This unit is the smallest capacity they make at 50 oz except for the kid’s models. Great entry level hydration pack for a beginner like me! 
Overall I am completely satisfied with the Hydrobak. It works great and looks great. The mouthpiece is easy to drink from.
The capacity is good for a 1 to 1-1/2 hour ride depending on the person, intensity and temperature of course.
Now that my rides are running 2-7 hours I find that carrying an extra 20 oz on my bike and maybe stashing a bottle of G2 in my fanny pack is a good workaround until I get to a store.
The only storage on the unit is a zipper pocket on one side maybe big enough for a set of keys or a cell phone.
The black handle around the reservoir cap makes refilling the reservoir easy.
The only negative I found with the unit’s design is the reservoir cap itself. It can get very tight and therefore very difficult to remove. I have pretty strong hands and it can take me a lot of exertion with both hands to remove it. I can’t imagine what a person with weaker hands would have to do. I find that you don’t have to tighten it all the way to have a water proof seal and that helps with removal.
The other thing was that the cap is fastened to the handle by a thin strip of plastic. I assumed it was more durable than it actually was and didn’t pay much attention to keeping twists out of it. It eventually broke on me. The main purpose of it, I suppose, is to avoiding losing the cap when it is removed for drying the reservoir. I find that if I stuff the detached cap in the zipper pocket, that serves the purpose pretty well. So be careful with the cap. Don’t let the plastic strip twist and it should last.
Okay, I’ve saved my biggest gripe for last. And that is, as it frequently is with me, with the documentation or lack thereof. Especially since this is marketed as an entry level/beginner’s product you would think they would be especially concerned with instructions. In a day when even a can of soup has instructions (open can, pour into pan, heat) I think this is inexcusable. It was a source of a lot of frustration for me initially. First of all I didn’t know whether or not you were supposed to remove the reservoir from the pack to fill it. You don’t. This may seem obvious to more seasoned cyclists but it certainly wasn’t to me and I didn’t have anyone more experienced to ask about it. Then, the first time I used it on a ride, it stopped flowing on me. It was in the winter but the temperature was just at 32 degrees so I really didn’t expect it to freeze up. I kept fooling with it and sometimes it would work a little and then quit. I eventually gave up very frustrated. Later, I figured out what that little yellow plastic thing is near the mouthpiece. It’s a shutoff valve! Apparently with me fiddling with the mouthpiece it had got partly shut off and sometimes it worked and sometimes by handling it, it got turned on again. How is a rank beginner supposed to know about this? They don’t even list it as a feature on the packaging! Incomprehensible!
Having got that out of the way, I love this thing. It’s a great buy and the quality is great. If you’re just starting out and are going to doing rides under 2 hours and/or you’re short on cash, I can’t recommend the Hydrobak highly enough. If you’re sure you’re going to be riding longer and you have the bucks, get one of the 70 or 100 oz capacity ones.
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29 miles - up the “dread” Orchard Hill to Albany Country Club
“Dread” with tongue in cheek. That hill is not so “dread” anymore! 
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 06/20/2008
- Time: 09:00:00
- Total Time: 2:09:37.00
- Average Heart rate: 123
- Max Heart rate: 162
- Calories: 1004
- Distance: 29.22 miles
- Average Speed: 13.53 mph
- Max Speed: 34.2 mph
- Average Cadence: 75
- Max Cadence: 120
Filed under: Cycle, General Cardio
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recovery ride - cross town “flat”
as flat as you can get around here. You can’t go 2 miles in any direction before encountering some kind of hill. I assume flat out west means table-top flat. Uh-uh. Not here. Not that I don’t like hills but when trying to do a recovery ride I’m supposed to be good and try to keep it in Zone 2.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 06/18/2008
- Time: 08:00:00
- Total Time: 1:30:44.00
- Average Heart rate: 114
- Calories: 574
- Distance: 21.03 miles
- Average Speed: 13.9 mph
- Max Speed: 33.7 mph
- Average Cadence: 80
- Max Cadence: 108
Filed under: Cycle, General Cardio
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The “Dread” Orchard Hill! Fabulous!
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 06/17/2008
- Time: 07:00:00
- Total Time: 1:40:40.00
- Average Heart rate: 130
- Max Heart rate: 166
- Calories: 766
- Distance: 23.83 miles
- Average Speed: 14.2 mph
- Max Speed: 32.7 mph
- Ascent: 320 ft
- Descent: 308 ft
- Average Cadence: 81
Here’s the route!
Filed under: Cycle, General Cardio
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recovery ride - new scotland s. road
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 06/16/2008
- Time: 07:00:00
- Total Time: 1:20:50.00
- Average Heart rate: 116
- Calories: 529
- Distance: 18.39 miles
- Average Speed: 13.65 mph
- Max Speed: 31.7 mph
- Average Cadence: 74
Raining, 66 degrees.
Filed under: Cycle, General Cardio
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70 mile ride
Yesterday I did my “long” ride. I usually do it on the weekend but I thought Friday would be preferable since we are going to the in-laws for father’s day on Sunday and Saturday we have a church picnic at about 4 and I didn’t want to be hurried on the ride to have to get back for anything. It turned out to be the better day weatherwise as the temperature and humidity were reasonable. Today is more humid and there are thunderstorms going through.
I found this route on mapmyride.com and was apparently developed by the Mohawk-Hudson Cycling Club here in the area. It starts in my town just to the west of Albany and travels through all of what we call the “hill towns” in the Helderbergs, a hilly plateau just to the west. I don’t think there is anything called a mountain there. This route avoids the Helderberg escarpment which contains the really leg busting hills. There is about 1600 feet of climbing.
I started out with my 50 oz Camelbak full and one bottle of water. I finished the bottle by Altamont, the last town I would be going through for many miles and bought a Gatorade G2 and an energy bar at a convenience store. Most of the climbing started after this point as I went up into the hills.
My biggest concern on this ride was running out of fluids as it was my first time on this particular route and I didn’t know when I would be passing any stores past Altamont, if at all.
I was determined to have more fun on this ride than last Sunday’s at the Tour de Cure by taking more frequent stops as needed. As it worked out, I stopped quite frequently just to check out my cue sheet plus I actually stopped and sat down for lunch and to call my wife to let her know I was OK. That’s why I wanted to have plenty of time with no commitment to get back for. It worked out pretty well. I forgot to bring a camera as usual and it was too bad. There was lots of gorgeous scenery, views of the Catskills, Schoharie valley, etc.
As to fluids, I finally came to a town that had a deli and got a Snickers and another 2 bottles of G2 so I was set for the rest of the ride.
I did pretty well on this ride physically. I felt my knees a little bit from time to time but nothing that I couldn’t manage by changing position or pedaling style. Just a passing tweak. As to the excruciating pain in my toes that I experienced on last week’s 100K, I didn’t get that until the last 10 miles probably because I stopped so often to check the cue sheet. It didn’t get as bad as last week so I just kept going till the end anyway.
So the distance doesn’t bother me but I am concerned about the heat. In 2 weeks I am scheduled to ride 75 miles in the Ride4Love. If it is really hot and humid I am contemplating backing off to the 50 or maybe even the 30. I don’t know how well supported this ride is going to be as it is a first time effort for them. I’m the kind of person who hates to back off from a commitment but I don’t want to blow up as I am 60 and currently have no medical insurance. Something I’ve been thinking about.
Anyhoo, here are the stats: Total riding time about 5-1/2 hours. Add 1 hr 15 min off the bike. Average HR 125 bpm that’s about 72%MHR for me. Calories burned 2,898.
Here’s the route:
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Long ride of the week - Helderberg 70 miles
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 06/13/2008
- Time: 09:00:00
- Total Time: 5:33:43.00
- Average Heart rate: 125
- Calories: 2898
- Distance: 70.78 miles
- Average Speed: 12.73 mph
- Max Speed: 40.3 mph
- Ascent: 1,570 ft
- Descent: 1,639 ft
- Average Cadence: 70
Filed under: Cycle, General Cardio
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fun & recovery ride
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 06/12/2008
- Time: 14:00:00
- Total Time: 1:10:23.00
- Distance: 10.1 miles
- Average Speed: 8.61 mph
- Max Speed: 14.5 mph
Filed under: Cycle, General Cardio
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Luck o’ the Irish … except, I’m not Irish
But my wife is. I’ll take that, I guess. In my last post I mentioned buying a new rear wheel to replace the one with the broken spokes. When I took the old wheel off the bike I noticed that the tube was bulging out of a hole in the sidewall of the tire! Now, mind you, I haven’t ridden the bike since the 100K on Sunday so this was waiting to happen but it didn’t on my ride or at least I didn’t get a flat or blowout from it. How cool is that! That tire is shot!
Yesterday I went down to the bike shop and had Matt spin the cogs off with his lock ring tool and sell me a new tire and tube. I should have let the air out of the tube when I saw the bubble but I didn’t think of it and now it has a hole in it. I patched the tube but I thought it best to use a new one. I’ll keep the patched tube as a second spare.
I rode the Ross MTB again yesterday morning. It was beautiful, around 68 degrees. Perfect for some intervals. I went up to Meads Lane which is a flat, 2 mile stretch of road with a couple of farms on it and little traffic. I did my intervals there. 3 sets of 10 minutes @ 60-70%MHR, 5 minutes @ 70-80% and 5 minutes @ 80-90%. It’s interesting riding the Ross with it’s lower gearing. I’m able to keep my HR very low on the warm-up and cool-down portions of the ride. In fact, starting out on the warm-up, I was below Zone 1. Shocking!
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