The Sky Mounti

Well it's another beautiful day in the neighborhood. And the neighborhood is about as far as I'm going until it gets quite a bit warmer. I hope you're not getting the idea that I'm some sort of macho all weather rider. Actually I've tried unsuccessfully to get myself to ride through the winter for years. I've bought lights, booties (2 or maybe 3 years ago, still unopened), gloves, ... , but until now I've seldom made it out the door when the temperature dips much below 50. But for now I'm enjoying the challenge of trying to ride the bike everyday.

Getting myself out the door and up the neighborhood hills everyday this year, I've already come up with a few thoughts about hill climbing on recumbents, but I wanted to get an objective idea of the steepness of the various streets I'm riding since that has a big impact on what techniques seem most useful. I have a Sky Mounti inclinometer on my Burley Canto, so headed out on that today.

I've got to warn you that the Sky Mounti is pretty low tech. It is just a fancy bubble level that uses clever markings and the wheelbase of your bike to give what seems to me to be a pretty good reading of the percent grade for any spot on a hill. I got mine from Wallingford Bicycle Parts, a great shop. Check out their selection of Brooks, Caradice, and Gilles Berthoud products, the nice stainless steel King bottle cages (a bargain), and even Velo Vision magazine.

One handy thing about the Sky Mounti is that for only $25 you get a convenient excuse to take a breather on a hill--it definitely works best when you're stopped. I was a bit surprised at the readings, but rechecked them later while heading back down. Doing it both directions verifies that the inclinometer is leveled properly on the bar. Jefferson Street showed 14 to 16 percent over several blocks.My legs (and lungs) had already told me that Theresa Drive was the steepest and it showed 20 percent.

Tomorrow I'll tell you the few things I've found that are helping on these hills. Of course steep hills are a very minor part of normal riding, but this is a handy thing to explore during the cold weather. It keeps you warm anyway.