Kicking slower and watching for snow on the turkey carcass.
Adding flower power to my kick
I ordered handlebars from amazon recently and they sent a basket instead. I mentioned that briefly to them in an email. They apologized and then sent the handlebars even though I already had the basket. I’m thinking about ordering a basket next time and seeing what they send me.
To more directly answer a recent question from Pete Hummers–yes, there is such a thing as scooter drafting. There’s a lot more to it of course.
For those who don’t know, drafting is following another person really close like in bike riding or racing. It allows the following person to do less work because they are in the wind slipstream of the lead person. The sheltering is most effective the closer the following person gets to lead’s rear wheel. It’s sometimes referred to “sitting on a wheel” (to draft) or even “wheel-sucking” in a more derogatory term, if the person behind never shares some of the harder effort at the front.
I wasn’t sure there was much benefit to drafting either until I kicked for the first time with another person.
Bob Dymond and I first kicked together at the Pedal-with-Pete charity bike ride in Columbus, Ohio in 2005. It was also the first time either of us had seen another adult on a scooter. We had about a 96° day with about 10-12 mph of wind and the drafting we tried out still helped when we went upwind. So basically there’s even a little bit of help from it when you’re going touring speeds, especially if there’s some headwind. The faster the road speed though, the more benefit there is.
Drafting a scooter is more difficult than drafting on bikes. There are three main reasons: 1.) The rearward kick of the person in front and the obvious consequence of the follower being kicked 2.) The surging road speed of the footbike, because the kicks are intermittently applied power 3.) There just isn’t as much slipstream produced by a scooter.
During the races, drafting varies widely. Sometimes the packs are kind of mob-like and unorganized and sometimes they function similar to a team time trial, again like in bike racing. Usually there is some collaboration and camaraderie among kickers even on different teams, to maintain speed and sometimes just to help finish the race. Still occasionally there’s a difficult situation. One racer may sit on a wheel for a whole marathon, declining to do any work at the front, and then at the end of the race, try to sprint past the people who had done all the work. It’s very tactical at times.
Another interesting factor is the kicking back motion, unique to footbikes. One would think that there would only be danger for the kicker who is drafting behind. Although there is a danger of a front wheel or body part being kicked, there is also a danger of the following person to ride up on the foot of the lead person. The latter situation is very likely to cause a foot injury to the person in front, depending on how the front wheel hits the foot. It’s considered an accidental incident, although unfortunately I suppose it could be used tactically.
As Bob and I later did the 8k and 5-mile record attempts in Max, Indiana together, I would try to get in step with the kicks to match Bob. This is similar to what cross country skiers and speedskaters (ice or inlines) do. It was cool because I could get within about 12 inches of Bob’s rear wheel to get maximum drafting benefits. Unfortunately, it didn’t really last more than a few seconds at a time though because I would soon get out of step with him. It’s very difficult to match up—due to experience, leg length, fitness, and kick style differences.
As for drafting a bike on a scooter, go for it! (It’s best to have the cyclist’s agreement, if you’re really being polite.) It’s a tremendous feeling because the bike plus the rider punch a comparatively large hole in the wind and the speed is generally smoother and more consistent, compared to another scooter ahead. Personally, I enjoy chasing bikes–it’s entertaining fun and it’s good training.
I hope that starts to explain drafting as applied to footbikes but if anyone has additional questions, please ask.
Thanks for asking, thanks for reading, and thank you for drafting.
I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. I’m very thankful that it was a good one here this year, with no illnesses or injuries. After all that, I’m curious as to how many people might have stirred in some kicking with their mashed potatoes and turkey?
Of course it can be great chance to work in a little bit of scootersizing before, during, or after the big meal IF the relatives are understanding or even willing participants.
Don't even mention the tryptophan.
I don’t exactly know when it started in my life but at some point, I desperately needed to push away from the Turkey table (and probably some of my relatives) and just move around a little. Generally, my relatives didn’t understand the need for anyone to move greater distances than absolutely required on any holiday. They were hard physical workers the rest of the time (farmers, etc.) so obviously they weren’t going to pass up an infrequent whole day of eating and lounging. They were sure that I was nuts for wanting to go outside. Maybe it had something to do with me either not working hard enough the other days or never fully getting the “playing like a kid at recess” thing worked out.
Most recently for me, recess from the holidays has been a choice of: walking, cycling, or footbiking. Or some combination of two. Almost anything helps but the most entertaining activity for all seems to be the footbiking. There are often some other escapees with me who want to roll up and down the street for a test spin, even though initially there are some grumbles from associated spouses or parents from inside the house. “We’ll be right back!”, is sometimes our only defense. Footbike-testing always seems to add to the festive mood, is what I observe.
As all of us know by now, just this one day of eating and the talking about what you are going to/did already eat, adds a minimum of 44 pounds (20 kilos) of turkey and associated fats to our body weights. This is also well-documented in the statistics of the U.S. Federal Fowl Association. We’re not even going to mention the leftover stuffing, cranberry sauce, and homemade pies with ice cream, which will be consumed later–but not that much later.
As much as this temporarily immobilizes us, there is something to be said about this extra poundage providing extra force to every scooter kick after. It’s a dilemma: add weight which adds extra force to each kick vs. having to support the extra weight with the standing leg on the footboard. Luckily we switch legs, unlike what some not-yet-scootering people think at first. But still for anyone who kicks a scooter, how does extra body weight or a reduction of body weight effect performance? Is there a physiological adaptation, affecting the style of the kick motion?
My observations so far leads me to think that the relationship could be this: the heavier body weight of the kicker, then the fewer and more explosive the style becomes (like a sprinter on foot or bicycle, or football player). The force would be created with weight and explosive, high-output strength. The lighter the body weight of the kicker, then the more the they depend on aerobic capacity with more frequent kick cycles, and lower absolute strength.
Then there is also the area in between these two opposites, including combinations or alternating between styles in order to adapt to various power production needs (sprint, surge, hill-climb, headwinds). As in speedskating and cycling, varying muscle use even slightly during an activity will lengthen the time to fatigue.
That’s one of the interesting aspects of the footbiking sport–it seems that almost any body type will work fine as long as you maximize your efficiency.
What’s your experience with this?
Gerard Wessels, of Stepteam Selles Kamperzeedijk, Kampen, Netherlands and me at the closing ceremonies.
There was a kicker coming at me on Oude Straat, Kampen. Probably just like everyone else who’s reading this, I could tell from quite a distance that it was a kicker, not a cyclist. For me though, it was in spite of my condition of travel-induced daze and disorientation.
I was excited just to finally be there. Consequently I couldn’t rest at all, so I was looking around Kampen to find something to eat. Somehow, I was rolling down the main old street with the last of the sunlight at my back. Ahead of me, Gerard could see that I was a kicker, too and he was smiling as we approached. Even though it was the first time we had ever met, we were instantly friends and we stumbled through some introductions – stumbling due to my part, not his.
Kampen, near where I stayed
We kicked around for a short time that evening because it was getting close to dusk. The floating feeling on the Footbike I think was more pronounced that evening than at any other time I’ve ever experienced. It was especially dream-like, considering this: take someone from the middle of the U.S., put them on a long plane flight, subtract a large number of hours of sleep, pretty much by-pass Amsterdam and instead put them in a somewhat small Dutch town without having eaten for quite a few hours, coast down one of their oldest cobbled streets on scooter, and also realize that fairly soon that there would be scooter racing on the same type of surface.
Room in Kampen
Gerard helped bring me back into a make-do reality through his friendliness. He was the accidental Dutch welcoming committee! I was honored to have such a warm welcome by such a truly nice person. After he made sure that I knew where things generally were in town, then I said goodbye for the evening and went off to sleep at the small room I where I was staying.
As busy as Gerard was during the 3-day Championships where he was both volunteering AND racing, he and I would briefly touch base to see how things were going. The racing was organized very thoroughly and Gerard and all of the Dutch teammates were very busy making things run smoothly.
Near the end of my trip, I was also a guest at Gerard and his wife’s house. I was treated to entertaining stories about Kampen, their family, and of course having some more typical Dutch food. I found that I adapt pretty well to eating cheese and chocolate, as significant parts of my diet. That was some yum.
When it was time to leave the next day, Gerard escorted me to the train station. This severely understates what he was doing while riding his bike across town: he was balancing and supporting my heavy main luggage case on the rear rack with one arm behind him for about two kilometers, while negotiating a route that took us on bike paths, up and down what essentially were driveway aprons, threading between short, traffic-blocking posts, onto cobbled alleyways that had 90 degree turns midway through the block, turning along the busier, main, modern street that follows the River Ijssel, then crossing the beautiful 250 meter bridge to the train station, just on the other side of the span. Oh, and it was raining slightly to give the road a little more visual reflection as well as some slickness.
It was a generous performance of kindness and trick riding. We made it with time to spare and no dropped luggage. It was a fine Dutch Day.
Thank you again Gerard and the Wessels family.
Today I wrote a reply for some information about scooting. It reminded me that even as we become experienced kickers, it’s always good to remember some of the basic things. It keeps us from overdoing or even ignoring things to the point where we are becoming less efficient and fluid on the footboard.
It’s always good to keep a few things in mind when kicking – I know that when I loose track of the basics, I struggle. Any sport has even experienced athletes who have to go back and do the drills–tennis, baseball, football, basketball, cycling, you name it.
Here are a few fundamentals:
Of course start slowly by going out for short, easy distances. Allow your body and coordination adapt to the movements over a period of a month or so. Do leg lunges and yoga away from the scooter to prepare your muscles, your balance, and to develop flexibility. Keeping yourself in good overall condition to be able to scoot efficiently allows you to enjoy the sport even more. The scooting motion itself will then train you even further without any forced effort!
Use the lowest setting on the rear forks of your scooter as practical but so that it does not allow the frame of the scooter to bottom out and scrape the road surface over bumps. This lessens the stress on the quadriceps muscles (especially up hills) and makes foot-switching easier.
Practice mastering the foot switch (pivot foot switch at first and then the more advanced flying foot switch later on) by doing many repeats of the movement. These drills can be done at the beginning of a session and then again at the end, so that it trains your neurological systems.
Very important: when you feel comfortable doing so, find others to scoot with. Join a scooter gang!
Main sources for footbike information in the U.S.:
http://kickitmarketing.blogspot.com/
http://www.santacruzmarketingco.com/
http://scootersport.wordpress.com/
http://www.kickbikeamerica.com/
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/kickbikeUSA
(If I have missed any please let me know.)
I hope everyone was able to enjoy some nice late fall weather this past weekend.
After I was kicking recently, I decided to change out the Titec H-bars. Even with the Ergon grips, the H-bars didn’t really do much for me. The sweep back was interesting but since the bars were so wide, it still felt awkward. The basic design of the H-bars prevents any further chopping (already 1.25″ gone), so it it ends there for now. The sister (similar design) J-bars are working well on my bike though, where not ironically is really where they’re supposed to excel. The bar width and swept back hand position is very effective when working up a hill on a single speed.
Back on the Footbike, I went back to the carbon fiber (generic brand, heavy weight) flat MTB bar with bar ends at the end of the bars instead of moved inside of the position of the handgrips like I had last year. No big insights this time other than I like narrowed (cut down) flat bars with the reassuring Ergon grips the most.
The low-ish footboard is getting used to me. It seems to be asking me to go up on my toes to kick, on almost every kick. I forgot what it was like to do the toe dance almost all the time. On the higher footboard last year, I just didn’t do it that much unless I was desperately accelerating. Flying foot switches are a lot smoother now and again I’m trying to channel my inner Hannu*. Or Alpo. Or Kai.
I sure don’t feel any faster but maybe my endurance will be better and the hill-climbing will be more efficient.
*Referring to Hannu’s silky style which is coached into virtually every Finish kick racer. The videos of these guys are always poetry and dance.
For those who haven’t seen this example of Dutch scooter humor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGZo7_rT-nk
Thanks to my good friend and teammate, Erik de Groot from Stepteam Green-White Feet, Groningen, Netherlands for introducing me to classic Dutch humor in popular culture. It was a great example of how ingrained the scooter was into the lives of the general population.
The main joke for me was that later on while I was on a one day bike tour with a large group of Dutch cyclists who were mostly of retirement age, they almost ALL sung this to me as I passed by. I was lucky to have been schooled ahead of time by Erik, otherwise I would have been completely confused as to why everyone was singing. It was a cherished memory of those who sung it and then they passed it on to me. It was really nice of them.
Featuring: actor and comedian Wim Sonneveld
Op de step
Op de step, op de step (On my step, on my step
Ik ben zo blij dat ik hem heb I'm so happy that I have him...)
(and continued for many verses...)
One thing I’ve noticed is that there isn’t a lot of artwork to be seen featuring kick scooters. Peter Hummers is starting to make up for that with his fine nostalgic and fantasy art currently on display at his gallery: http://scootersport.wordpress.com/category/fantasy-footbikes/
Peter’s drawing in Frank Patterson’s style triggered nostalgia for me. (Not that I’m THAT old, though.) A dear old cycling friend and mentor of mine, Clair Duckham from Dayton, Ohio, died last year at the age of two weeks shy of 104 years. He gave me a Patterson book many years ago and I’ve always treasured it. Duck(ham) would have liked all this scooter activity that we’re into. He was also a race walker, interested in overall fitness, and living a balanced life (figuratively and literally). I think Duck would have also enjoyed seeing Peter’s fantasy rendition of the 1947 Alex Singer City Scooter, too. In fact, Duck probably would have wanted to somehow add a real one to his fine antique bicycle collection.
I think for some of us older age kickers, like Peter, Bob Dymond, John Varrill, me, and others who have had long term connections with cycling culture, we probably see the scooter sport sometimes as a slower, pull-off-the-side-of-the-road-and-relax (to watch the clouds blow by – to paraphrase Bob) kind of activity. It’s like having a Patterson Moment.
This is all great stuff for us enthusiasts and like any good art or music, it adds to the culture of our sport and enriches it. We can all enjoy that. Thanks again, Peter.
And in that spirit, I hope to contribute at some point too.
Heel height.
Sorry, but I was just going to add another comment to my previous post (about footboard height for sprint distances) and then I couldn’t seem to stop writing about whatever this is about:
So… well here’s what else I’ve been thinking – maybe it’s been obvious to many of the other racers but I still had to think it through anyway:
Higher footboard = higher (bigger) gear on a bicycle
– Just like in road or track racing, using a higher gear does not always insure maximum speed. It’s partly a question of how well your muscles can turn the big gear or in the case of footbike racing, how well your standing leg can withstand the deep knee bend at angles approaching 90°, in addition to frequency of the kicking.
So then for non-cyclists, here’s the old bike racing physics formula: force x frequency = power
or: muscle strength x rpm = power
or for scooter racing: muscle strength x foot speed = power
Otherwise, the power it takes to go racing speeds is developed a little more by frequency of kicking (facilitated by lower footboards) rather than as much by force. There obviously is still plenty of force being developed by the top kickers of course, but for the most part they can’t maintain an extended body position with their deepest knee bend for longer than a very fast start, the occasional attack or covering of an attack, or the finishing sprint. Or if they do, it’s likely because of the small bits of recovery that they get throughout the race, with both feet standing on the footboard at the same time, even for mere seconds or parts of seconds.
– Another analogy to this would be with speedskating and knee angles. It’s the classic loading of the quadricep muscles as the knee angle reaches 90°. Distance skaters skate much higher and with shorter strokes because of less knee angle than the sprinters. The sprinters aim for deep knee angle as well as high stroke frequency. As demonstrated by the athletes, they can not maintain the deep position and super high frequency. Instead they skate in a less knee angle position in proportion to the length of the event.
It would be interesting to see if anyone else tests a higher footboard to see the effect on their sprint, especially their top speed on a flat road.
And then there’s also more we could add about the racing technique of being able to gain effective body height during a race by consistently going up on the ball of the foot of the standing leg before crashing down with another kick. More on that later, I’m thinking.
Until next time, we’ll kick some more.
