KT Tape

I often experience shoulder pain caused by arthritis, recently I aggravated this further, straining the joint by lifting a heavy box. Immediately after the injury the shoulder was so sore it was difficult to raise my arm to any extent, and even shaving and brushing my teeth was quite painful. 

I decided to try something different and use some kinesiology tape. I had seen this used in cycling and other sports. The brand I used was KT Tape. It came in handy pre-cut pieces, 2 inches wide and 10 inches long. (5cm. x 25.5 cm.)

I applied it as shown in the video above. The tape is elastic and adhesive, the idea is to apply two inches of the tape to the skin, unstretched. Stretch the center portion by the recommended amount, then apply the last two inches again unstretched.

This not only applies light pressure to the injured area, but it allows the wearer to continue with normal activities. Unlike a sling or bandage that simply immobilizes the joint. I do know that applying pressure to an injured area will help to ease the pain, even simple hand pressure. 

After applying the KT Tape, I took a couple of Aleve and applied ice twice a day. I tried not to aggravate the injury but lifting anything heavy or doing anything too strenuous. Apart from that I went about my usual daily activities.

I left the tape on three days and it withstood a daily shower, and probably could have stayed on longer, but I decided to replace it with a fresh dressing. The tape did allow normal movement and eased the pain a little.

After reading other articles, and comments from readers, some are skeptical that kinesiology tape does anything. As I see it, left alone a body will heal its own injuries, but why not apply ice to help it along, and why not use something like KT Tape to make the injury more comfortable as it mends? It is working for me.

KT Tape website.

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Are Socks the New Necktie?

It used to be men wore suits and neckties, the tie was the way a man expressed his individuality, often his personality. Men had large collections of ties and would choose a different one each day, often his choice would reflect his mood that day.

If there was an important business meeting, job interview, or promotion in the offing, the choice of tie for that day was extremely important. Men would seek tie choice advice from wives, friends and colleagues.

Today, apart from certain businesses and formal wear, men wear suits less often. Some men don’t even own a suit.

If you see a man in a suit at McDonalds’ or riding a bus, he is probably on his way to court.

It used to be if a man wore a brown suit, it would be worn with brown shoes and socks.

The whole ensemble would match and blend in. Today it's okay to wear brown shoes with a dark blue or grey suit.

On occasions it seems men will wear a formal suit and tie and wear a pair if bright multi-color socks.

One doesn’t see the socks until the wearer sits down. They are a surprise item. 

I always think, ‘Wow, that man has balls. He is either the boss, very good at what he does, and therefore indispensable, or he’s a celebrity.’

With more and more people abandoning the suit and tie altogether, and opting for casual wear, it occurred to me that without the necktie to express individuality, a person can do so by his choice of socks.

This thought came to me when I was contacted by Ozone Socks who asked if I would review their socks on my blog.

They offered to send me a free pair, and although it is nice to get free stuff, I opted to buy a pair of my own choice. If I am to wear socks that express my personality, then I need to choose them.

The socks I chose are mid-calf, I was impressed that they stay up but are not at all tight, they were light and extremely comfortable.

Check out the large selection of men’s and women’s socks at Ozone, the art of socks.

By the way, I took a selfie of my own socks, (See top picture.) not easy without a selfie stick. Just goes to show for an old guy, I’m still pretty flexible.

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Widras Bike Cover

Most bike enthusiasts I know own more than one bike, and most have a favorite one to ride, and the rest often spend their days gathering dust. This might be the answer to your storage problems for a surprisingly small amount of money.

A young enterprising neighbor of mine, who has a company called Widras, has a Bike Cover that is large enough to cover a motor cycle, it is waterproof and tear resistant, strong enough for outdoor use. Wind and rain, and all that.

Not that the bicycle enthusiasts I know store their bikes outside, but at a price one would expect to pay for a cheap cotton dust cover, you can hardly pass this up.

The Widras cover is just $14.97, from Amazon or $19.99 from Wall-Mart. Yes less than twenty bucks and free shipping. Plus it comes with a nice combination cable lock that is approximately 46 Inches long, (116 cm.) included in the price.

As this cover is big enough for a motorcycle, I figured it would cover three bicycles, so I lined up three of my own bikes, and the cover fitted perfectly. (See all the pictures above.)

My bikes are on the small side, but most bicycles are about the same length, (Wheelbase.) within an inch or two. Larger frames will be taller of course. But the cover has elastic at the bottom, plus straps with quick-release buckles to keep the bottom edge in place.

(Above.) The cover has two large metal eyelets at the front. The idea being to park your motorcycle near a fence post. Slip the cover over, then use the cable lock to go through the eyelets, through the front wheel, and around the fence post. Thereby, not only locking the bike to the post, but securing the cover also.

Of course locking a bicycle this way is not all that secure as one can easily remove the front wheel and steal the rest of the bike, leaving the sorry owner with a cover and a front wheel.

So in the unlikely event you are storing your bicycles outside, some extra locks around the frame would be a good idea. This cover would be great for people touring with a tent, as one cover would serve for two or three bicycles.

Get a Widras cover from Wal-Mart, here. Or from Amazon. Or go to Widras own website here. Check out their other products including a cell phone handlebar mount that can be used on a bicycle or motorcycle.

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Muc Off: Bike clean and lube products

I love riding my bike, but hate cleaning it.

It wasn’t always like that, I remember in my teens and twenties, Saturdays would be spent tearing my bike apart, cleaning every little individual part, then re-assembling, using fresh oil and grease.

This was a weekly ritual done in preparation for Sunday’s race, because everyone knows a clean bike goes faster. 

I still know that to be true. A clean bike is more efficient, and there is less wear and tear, especially on the drive train. Sand and oil mix to form a grinding paste that wears down moving parts. I should clean my bike more often, but it is a chore I hate. After all I’m retired, who has the time?

So imagine my delight when a company called Muc Off contacted me asking if I would like to try out their line of specialist bike cleaning products. I’d heard about Muc Off, team Sky uses their products to clean and lubricate their bikes.

An English company, founded in 1994. I love the name, but wondered, will all Americans get it? I can just see some pronouncing the “U” as “You,” as in Mucus. It is Muck Off, without the “k.”

The dictionary definition of Muck is “Wet animal manure.” But the Brits use the word where Americans would say “Crud.” In fact my initial thoughts were, the name should be Crud Off for the American market. But no, Muc Off is telling the nasty crud in no uncertain terms, to leave my bike.

By the time the product arrived there was plenty of nasty crud or muck on my bike to give it a real test. In the past I’ve always cleaned my bike with a little car wash detergent in a bucket of warm water.

What I immediately liked about these Muc Off products is, they are biodegradable, it is safe to lay the bike on my lawn to rinse off. I followed my usual procedure and removed both wheels to wash them separately.

Supplied was a Fast Action Bike Cleaner, and a separate Drivetrain Cleaner. Both cleaners come in a handy trigger pump bottle. My drivetrain was particularly disgusting, covered in a thick, black, oily sludge that was caked on solid in some places.

I laid the bike down on my driveway, (Minus the wheels.) and sprayed the chain, chainwheels, and front and rear derailleurs with the drivetrain cleaner. The chain came clean right away, but after waiting a few minutes and rinsing off with water at a low pressure from my garden hose, it became obvious this caked on crud would need a second go round.

The rear wheel cassette too was pretty much filled in between the sprockets with black, dried-on sludge. This too got a second spray with the drivetrain cleaner, and I used a brush to get between the cogs.

Above is a before and after picture, I was impressed. I decided to remove the rear derailleur pulleys and clean them separately, as the crud was really caked on and was not really accessible with the brush.

Here’s a tip, either break the chain and disassemble the rear derailleur, or if you are limited on time as I was, remove, clean and replace one pulley at a time. The bike either needs to be in a workstand, or simply turn the bike upside down.

By removing one pulley at a time, the second pulley holds the derailleur back plate, and chain in place. Each pulley consists of, a plastic pulley, a bronze bush and two little side washers.

After cleaning these separate parts, fresh grease will provide lasting lubrication, and hold the center bush and help keep the side washers in place. As it is, you will need a steady hand to keep these little side washers in place as you replace the pulley on the correct side of the chain, and insert the tiny socket screw.

After cleaning my drivetrain, I cleaned the rest of the bike and wheels, (Still separate.) with the Muc Off fast action bike cleaner. Pink in color, and in a trigger pump bottle, I liked the fact that it covered my bike in foam, so I could see if I missed a spot. Once over and a rinse was enough for the most part with a little touch up, just on the tough spots.

I used Muc Off dry lube on my chain after cleaning. It came in a handy squeeze bottle. The lubricant was a milky consistency which was good as I could see where I had been as I applied it link by link. I turned the crank a few times to work the lube in, then wiped off the surplus.

MO-94 is a multi-use, aerosol spray with a plastic tube to direct it where it is needed. It lubricates, expels water, and prevents dirt adhesion. This would be good to use between cleaning, especially if riding in wet conditions.

Finally the kit came with Bike Protect, an aerosol spray on treatment that assists in repelling dirt and water. I will have to save this for a future project, as it called for the masking of all braking surfaces, and time does not permit me to do that at the moment.

I could remove the wheels and brake shoes and apply the protectant to the rest of the bike. Also worth remembering, if this prevents dirt and crud from sticking, it will also prevent paint from sticking. So if your bike is in need of paint touch up or has engraving that needs to be detailed, do that first.

However, I do have a white Catlike Whisper helmet that shows dirt. It has a matt white finish, which would not have been my first choice but was all that was available at the time.

I cleaned the helmet with the pink bike cleaner, then sprayed it with the protectant. I will have to wait to report results.

One small suggestion, the printed instructions on the product is tiny, and difficult to read even with a magnifying glass. A separate printed copy would be nice.

To sum up, I was impressed. Muc Off did its job of cleaning under extreme conditions, my bike was pretty filthy. Bike cleaning will still be a chore for me, but hopefully now I have proper stuff to use it will be less of a chore, and who knows, I may clean it a little more often. I know I should.

For more info in the U S go to: https://us.muc-off.com/

Worldwide distributer list:  https://muc-off.com/pages/distributors

Or just Google Muc Off

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Night or Day, these lights could save your life.

I first bought lights for my bike some years ago because I was setting out on my morning ride before 6:00 am and in the winter months it was still dark. My first lights were the cheap kind that run on replaceable AAA batteries. I soon grew tired of replacing batteries and they were unreliable as the batteries would vibrate loose, and the light would go out.

I soon invested in a set of the rechargeable kind. 700 lumens of light, the equivalent of a 60 watt bulb, it projected a beam of light up the road some 50 or 60 feet ahead. I could actually see where I was going. The other thing I noticed, people didn’t pull out in front of me. They would stop and wait for me to pass, even though they were some distance away, and had time to pull out.

Although the headlight is only about 3/4 inch (2 cm.) diameter, in complete darkness the light is so intense, it appears to be much bigger.

Drivers I’m sure mistake me for a moped or scooter, and assume I am traveling at a greater speed that I actually am.

The other thing I noticed, drivers gave me more room in passing.

I seldom ride in the dark any more but as I already have the lights, I use them in daylight too. Imagine yourself in this scenario. You are riding in the city, or some country road, and a car comes barreling across a parking lot or a along a driveway. You can tell by his speed he probably does not intend to stop. Most likely he hasn’t even seen you, you might be hidden behind trees or bushes. All he sees is a gap in traffic and he is going for it.

When this happens to me I go into defensive mode, and slow getting ready to stop. But at the last moment the driver sees my flashing head light and slams on the brakes. If I had no such light, I know this driver would not have stopped, even if he saw me. I would not register as a danger or threat to him.

I cannot think how many times this actual scenario has played out over the years, which is why I label these lights a “Life Saver.” I would not usually make such statements, unless I truly believed it. Other times there have been a line of cars coming towards me, and someone has pulled out to overtake. They the spot the flashing head light, reconsider and pull back in line. How mant cyclists are killed in such head-on colisions?

My under the saddle tool bag (Below right.) is actually a padded camera case I picked up for $5 at Wal-Mart. It is strapped under the saddle with a couple of nylon toe straps. I poked two holes in the zippered rear flap and threaded a black plastic zip-tie through to make a loop to hold the lamp. The rear light comes with a seat post clamp, but I figured it would be more visible in this position

Both the front and rear lights in flashing mode, can be seen a mile away. Especially if you are riding in the shadow of trees, the lights show up even more.

I can’t count the number of times drivers will actually slow as they pass, to comment about the light. “Those are the best lights I’ve seen,” is pretty typical. One time I was taking a roadside break when a car stopped. The driver said, “I could see that flashing red light a mile away, I thought it was a cop car.”

With so many distracted drivers on the road, it is good that they see a flashing light and think it is a cop, or some other emergency vehicle. At least you have their attention. With having advanced warning there is a cyclist ahead, they have time to adjust their speed to accommodate road conditions and other traffic. I generally find that most drivers will go clear over to the opposing lane to pass, and if they can’t do that they at least slow and pass with caution.

I have had good luck with the Nite Rider brand of lights. I have had them several years now. One of them stopped charging and I sent it back to the maker. They fixed it under warrantee, and sent it back. Apart from that I’ve never had a problem. They are spendy, around $80 for the head light, and $50 for the tail light. But shop around and you can find the same brand for less.

(Left.) They plug into your PC with a USB cord to rechage in a couple of hours. Or you can use a phone charger.

They are now available in over 1000 lumens. I advise you use a steady beam in the dark, as the flashing mode is distracting to both the rider and other road users.

In day light the flashing mode uses less current, and actually draws more attention that a steady light.

I am surprised when out riding, I see more cyclists without day time lights, than with them. How much is your life worth? Anything you can do to make yourself more visible is a plus. Personally, the added peace of mind these lights give me makes it money well spent. Getting drivers to stop and not pull out in front of me, or turn in front of me, because of these lights, just makes my ride safer and more pleasurable.  

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