Snow bike, revisited

Now that it seems to be no longer snowing...

As the primary ordering person for the shop, I ordered a Crosstrail Disc for display, thinking that if nothing else it would end up as my icy-roads bike. I really wanted to look the bike over closely, as there were some details I could not ascertain by looking at it online, and I didn't really know what questions to ask the tech folks at Specialized. I do like the Crosstrail--it's a versatile bike, a bit more street-friendly than the closely-related Hardrock 29 Disc with which it shares the component group and price point. However, as I examined it in person, I found little details that made it a bit more challenging to outfit as my icy-roads bike. To wit: the suspension fork on the lower-price model lacks a lockout function, AND lacks fender eyelets. The chainstay has a brake cable routed along its length, complicating (although not preventing) connection of one of my trailers (and the disc brake prevents using the other trailer--more on that in a moment).

An email from a potential customer got me looking at the Globe line (sort of like Saturn's line from GM--Globe is part of Specialized) in a bit more detail. I had already found a 2010 Globe Live 3 Mixte bike as a potential bike to resolve some of Jenn's questions, as noted recently. I looked a bit further down the page, and noticed that the Vienna from 2010 was still in stock in several variants, including (dant dant dah!) the Vienna 3 Disc!

We had gotten a Vienna in our initial order of bikes from Specialized in October of 2009. It finally sold a couple months ago. I liked the bike in several ways--the rigid fork made it lighter than its Carmel stablemates, for one thing, but the color on the one we had in the store just wasn't right for me. I was disappointed that it didn't sell well for us. I hadn't realized until today (or had forgotten) that there was a disc-brake model (even though I had noted disc brake tabs on the frame of the one we had at the store... DUH!). In short, this bike "fixes" the things that kept me from being sold on getting that Crosstrail--it has a rigid fork (I don't really feel a need for a "boingy" front end on a bike) that has fender tabs at the ends (no fabricating fender stays to meet the oddly-placed threaded holes two inches above the axle on the suspension fork on the Crosstrail), and it's a tiny bit cheaper to buy, due to its being a 2010 bike instead of a 2011. It even has slightly nicer drivetrain components, AND better brake calipers (Avid BB5!).

The color is not a reason for excitement--it's a sort of brown/gray that approximates oily mud--but that's okay. This is not going to be a show bike. It's going to get dirty in its use patterns. However, it will accept fenders, racks (both rear AND front, should I decide to install a front rack on it), any of three types of kickstand (center mount, center-mount double (Esge), or rear-mount proprietary from Specialized), and all manner of lights, bells and whistles to make it comparable to my Raleigh in night-time utility. The one slight downside is that trailer hitch thing I mentioned earlier. The cable for the rear brake is routed in a way that I have to be careful how I attach the Safety 1st trailer. The Burley trailer won't connect to the bike as it is configured (I may be able to find a work-around on this, but it's hard to say), due to the Burley hitch that connects to the chain stay AND the seat stay near the frame dropout and the placement of the disc brake caliper trying to occupy the same location. Once upon a time, BikeE offered a hitch conversion that allowed one to use a Burley trailer with the BikeE frames, and there was once an example of this little kit in a bike shop in town, but I haven't been in that shop in a couple years and don't know if it's still there. I may have to go look some time soon, and if it's not to be had, I'll have another reason to keep the Raleigh around.

Oh, and I can have this new bike in time to say an early, "Happy Birthday to me!"

Knickers

So, Why Ride a Bicycle? I found this article at the Bicycle Fixation web site, which also happens to have other cool stuff about bicycling (go figure).I happened on it during a search for knickers other than Lycra.

As I am getting nearer to my fiftieth birthday, I have been pondering the style I've seen on some friends who cycle for utility. I've long admired Joe Ward's ability to wear cycling knickers of tweed or corduroy, and never felt "cool enough" to do so myself. A web search on the topic led to these, these, and these, any of which would serve well as I ride the Raleigh (or, perhaps, the bike my Raleigh admires, Kirk's Pashley), not to mention these others that could work for some folks, those that are trying a bit too hard, and that pair that just are not for me. Even Chrome, known perhaps more for their messenger bags, has a couple options, like their Loop Pro and Telegraph models (which I must admit look like they would better serve bike messengers than me). I do like that the Loop Pro has a special loop that allows one to pocket a u-lock while riding--something I reckon would be very useful for a bike messenger. I also found some knickers from SWRVE, but while they have some interesting features, are probably better-suited for the younger guys without the "lunch muscle development" I have.

An earlier search on "wool knickers" led to many golf wear sites, as apparently golfers still wear things like "plus twos" and "plus fours." The thought of wearing argyle-pattern knickers is a bit more than I can stand, though, despite that I would probably wear a wool kilt whilst riding at times (and have often worn one or another of my Utilikilts on the Raleigh).

Yeah, well, I do tend to go my own way, don't I?

Is Jenn getting a new bike?

I got to ride to work four times over the last week wearing short sleeve jerseys. This morning was a bit different--I awoke to outdoor temperature in the 35F range. It's probably 50F outside as I type this. By the time I get on my way home (after store hours and Tool School), I'll still have the right combination of layers to get home comfortably.

On a slightly different front, Jenn and I talked for a while about her employer's lack of bike-friendly facilities. When she rides to work, she goes in by a back/side building entry, ducks into a restroom off the cafeteria, and changes clothes/does her hair, etc. The building dress code is "business professional," meaning that jeans are a no-no (save for special events having to do with United Way programs), shoes must meet a standard, and so on. Bike clothing is not approved. At all. There is no locker room, nor can she keep clothes at her work station and change closer to that site in the building. She lugs her panniers upstairs after changing, then lugs them back down when she gets ready to go home. It gets aggravating, and makes it a drag to ride some times.

As much as Jenn likes to ride her Vanguard to work, it's a hassle to deal with the lack of facilities at the work end of the route.

It's always a fine line between being avant garde on green transportation and looking like a weirdo to a careful company like hers. As much as they talk about careful husbandry of resources, saving money by not using a car as much is not encouraged actively.

To that end, we talked about her bike a bit. She wants some flexibility that her Vanguard doesn't really support, like the ability to ride to work wearing a skirt, or ability to deal with snow on the roads. Desirable features include a step-through frame and disc brakes. Being that I work for a Specialized dealer, I found this:

It's a Globe Live 3 Mixte. Yes, that's a Gates belt drive, pulling a Shimano Alfine 8-speed internal-gear-hub. Those are hydraulic disc brakes, too. The integrated front rack has a 25kg weight capacity. The double-leg Pletscher kickstand comes with the bike. I suspect that it would have mounting points for the euro-style rear wheel lock. Too cool!

800 miles

By the time I arrived at work this morning, I had logged a bit more than eight hundred miles of bicycle use for the year to date. To compare to last year's numbers, by the end of March of 2010, my total bicycle miles were 800.7. When I got home tonight, I logged my commute and have 814.7 miles. It's two-thirds of the way through February or so, and I'm five or six weeks ahead of last year's mileages.

It's starting to sound like I'm aiming for some record here. I want to be about more than a single goal--whether that goal is how many miles I can ride in the course of doing my thing this year, or some other manifestation of that concept. There is more to me than how many miles I ride instead of drive.

At least I hope so...

It's getting warmer

I've been able to ride to work twice this week wearing short sleeves instead of a jacket. Spring isn't far off!

This morning's ride also featured pulling the Safety 1st trailer, so that I could haul a repair stand with me. I have a Tool School class starting tonight, and wanted to have both of my stands at the store. The next decision is whether to leave the trailer at the store for a week and a few days, and use it to haul both of my stands and my tools home after the class is over--the alternative being pull it home empty tonight so that it's not in the way at the store.

The trailer always gets some funny looks from motorists--especially this time of year. People think I'm insane for pulling a kid in traffic, or something--one motorist actually took the time to pull over and yell at me for putting a kid in dire peril, as his wife had been hit by a car on that road (Frankfort Avenue). I didn't have time to ask them whether she was riding as a vehicular cyclist or as a bike ninja, since he only wanted to yell at me rather than discuss anything.

I've often said I want to get an infant-sized or toddler-sized manikin and toss it in the trailer--with no clothing, of course--so that I can enjoy the reactions of the occasional attentive motorist.

Not that I'm one to play head games or anything...

February miles to date

Here it is, the seventh of February, and even before I log today's commutes to work and back, I've logged more miles this month than in all of January of last year.

over-technical geek gear woes

Sometimes, technology gets in the way of people's acceptance of technology. Witness the 3G/4G Hotspot we got last summer.

When we moved to the new-to-us house last summer, we took our time dealing with moving the land-line, eventually simply dropping it altogether. By the time we had made that decision, however, Jenn had been sold on using the aforementioned hotspot for our home internet connection. I was skeptical, and said so, but went along. And have never really felt that I was right to go along. The thing gave me roughly 67% dependability--two out of three times I went to go online, I would have to reboot the device and/or disconnect it from the desktop computer I prefer to use (which does not have a wireless card--the hotspot plugs into a USB port, which also serves as the power supply for the little black box) and/or also reboot the computer. The ONLY thing reliable about this device is that it would piss me off--often.

After my numerous and increasingly heartfelt threats to toss the thing across the road from the house (escalating to "at the next locomotive that I see"), she finally got the idea that since she had wanted the darned thing so much, SHE was going to have to get it fixed. She took it to the Sprint store, and they waved their magic screwdriver over it or something and declared it working. It came home, and never worked any better than it had. Jenn eventually got a USB2 card for me to add to the computer, figuring that was a factor, and WOW!! an actual improvement! While online, I got dropped far less often (I would be in the middle of, say, typing a blog entry and find myself disconnected from the 'net). I still would have to restart the Hotspot two out of three times I went to get online, but, well...

I had more troubles with this thing in a given month than I had had in several years of having a DSL connection. "State of the art," indeed.

The "reliability" index went up to four out of five times about a month ago, and on every reboot I would see a message that an update was available for the hotspot. A several of failed attempts at downloading the update later, Jenn took it to the Sprint store again, where they force-fed it the updates and told her that it should work better now.

Sure enough, the reliability index went to over 95%. Almost every single time I wanted to get online, I found it necessary to reboot the hotspot. Over the two-week period after the "fix" was made at the store, I got online one time without having to first turn off the hotspot and restart it. I made some time to work with Sprint on Friday evening, figuring I'd be spending at least half an hour just getting to the point I would be speaking to a live person that could imitate a sentient being. Since getting to that point required that I be shunted from person to person to person, I was having a horrible time hearing what the tech was trying to say, so she called me directly (reluctant as I was to release a line, given the trouble I'd had connecting to her in the first place). I need to talk to the Sprint people about changing some protocols on my phone, too--in the middle of all this I received a text message which fouled things further--I want to switch it so that incoming text messages do NOT override everything else happening at the moment.

Long story short (I know--too late for that), Sprint is sending me a replacement Hotspot. I figure it will arrive Tuesday or Wednesday, and while I'm getting it working I will be insisting that we deserve at least three months' credit for having to deal with this piece of garbage. I'll settle for a two months' worth, I suppose.

We'll see how it goes.

It's that time of the month again!

It's time again for Car Free Happy Hour!

Even cooler is that I get to be there this time! Come discuss getting places without gasoline over a micro-brew or some other celebratory beverage!

January numbers

I finished January with a half-commute. I rode to work, but since Jenn was in Middletown with the truck and it was raining and below 40F, I opted out of riding home.

That's okay, though. I still had more miles in January of 2011 (473.2) than in five (!!) months of 2010. As mentioned, I also beat out my January and February 2010 miles combined. I fell short of besting my March or October 2010 miles by seventy-five or so, and was only forty miles shy of my November 2010 mileage.

Okay, so beating my June 2010 miles wasn't such a big deal--I spent almost two weeks out of town working RAAM that month, plus we moved at the end of that month. We spent much of May preparing to move, so I wasn't on the bike much then, either. I spent a week in December driving to work due to icy roads, and was off a few days over the holly-daze, so I didn't ride as much then as I might have otherwise. Besting my January/February 2010 miles has largely been a function of lowering my temperature threshold, although I recall there being a fair number of days those two months in 2010 that saw icy roadways as well.

On to February! I drove on the first--again, due to rainy weather. I rode this morning feeling that if I'd had a bit more of a sail to deploy I could have not pedaled at all. I was glad to be going downwind, and concerned that I'd be fighting that same wind intensity going home. The wind speed lessened a bit--from low- to mid-twenties to about fifteen knots by the time I was homeward-bound--and I chose my route to take advantage of some known windbreaks (rows of trees) instead of fighting the headwind all the way along Westport Road.

Jenn was out walking the dog when I got home. She came inside, fixed dinner, we ate dinner, and now we are both winding down before heading to bed.

Another "Change of address is a moving experience" experience

Not my own address, but Andy Dyson's.

Andy is the Executive Director of Bicycling for Louisville, the local not-for-profit agency that advises and advocates at the local and state level for continuation of bicycle access to roadways, bicycling education and more. He and his wife, Moira, recently moved to Louisville when she accepted a job teaching at Bellarmine University.

They started off renting a house near Shelby Park, but found and bought a house in the Schnitzelburg area of Louisville. The buzz among the utility cycling crowd built around plans to move all their stuff by bicycle. In January. Just to prove it could be done.

Of course, the weather cooperated nicely. It was cool to cold in the morning, with temperature in the low- or mid-thirties when folks started gathering. It got pretty warm, though--up to fifty or sixty degrees, depending on which thermometer one believed.

Jenn and I rode to Andy's old house, pulling our two trailers. Since the Burley trailer won't connect to my Vanguard, I wound up riding my Raleigh. It would have been fun to have both Vanguards involved, but I'm okay with how things turned out.

There were something like twenty folks involved, most with some form of trailer and/or large panniers or baskets. Those who didn't have lots of hauling capacity did a lot of moving boxes into or out of the new or old houses, as appropriate, then hauled what they could in the last couple of rounds.

It would have been fun to see an overview of all those bikes moving up and down Shelby Street, carrying stuff southbound and dead-heading back to the Shelby Park area for another load. I had occasion to do a little hardware store shopping (Jenn's bike lost some seat attachment hardware somehow), and the staff at the store was marveling at the number of bikes they were seeing hauling all manner of stuff. There were a couple people using video cameras, so maybe some good videos will be online soon. There is a group pool of images on flickr already, with possibility for more shots added as folks have time.

The party part of the move was just getting underway when Jenn and I had to leave. Her nephew was having a birthday party, and we were supposed to be there. We were only half an hour late.

Total bike miles for the day was 35, over the course of about three hours of riding.

Miles and miles

A look at my mileage stats, just for giggles:

So far in 2011, I've logged 368.6 miles. By the time I get home from work tonight, I will have logged over 390 miles. I am helping Andy Dyson move tomorrow, so I'll get in a few miles that way, and I hopefully will ride to work Monday, which will get me over 425 miles for the month.

I logged 425 miles in May 2010. The five lowest mileage months for 2010, from worst to best, were January (65), February (187), June (271), December (382) and May (425). Humorous side note: May, the fifth month of the year, was my fifth-lowest mileage month for 2010--in part due to home-buying stuff that was happening at the time. June was very low due to the two week hiatus from personal cycling called RAAM. February and January of last year were a time when my temperature threshold hadn't gotten down below 30 and we had a LOT of ice on the roads. December had a week or more of icy, fouled roads plus the "holly-daze" mess.

Going from my worst cycling month of 2010 to the same month of 2011 having more miles than four or five months of 2010 is kind of a kick. Makes me wonder what I'm capable of doing the rest of the year. 6000 miles should not be a big problem to accomplish for 2011. Jenn and I intend to get in a fair number of club miles on the tandem, which should yield an annual total closer to 7000.

Beats heck out of driving...

A few weeks ago, I made a lot of noise about being on the Ergon Commuter Team. I found out that I will be waiting until some time in March before I see my box of gear. That's okay, I suppose, as it is coming to me free of charge, but I was hoping to put some time on the stuff on a snow bike. Of course, the budget has kept me from getting a snow bike, so I have even less reason to complain.

Yet another odds and ends post

Last Thursday's mini-blizzard was severe enough that we put the final meeting of our January Tool School on hold. We finish it tonight. I've been thinking about when to do another class in February, and need to finalize the dates this week (since, of course, it's almost February).

As is usually the case, this Tool School group is made up of good folks. Maybe there is some self-selecting mechanism at work--I rarely get any one person in these classes that is problematic (if pressed, I could come up with one person who wasn't as attentive as I would prefer), and have not had a troublesome group.

I've now had two days of driving to work instead of riding bike. We had some snow yesterday morning--an inch or so--plus a meeting scheduled far enough away that riding wasn't going to work in the time I had to get there. The roads were not quite clear enough for me yet this morning. Hopefully things are warming enough that I can ride tomorrow. Even so, I don't know that I'll best too many of last year's monthly totals this month. My next, um, er, milestone is the December 2010 mileage (382 miles), which I may outdo tomorrow if I get to ride to work. Next one after that is May 2010 at 425 miles or so, and if I get to ride to work Monday, I just might beat that. I've already beat January, February, both of them combined, and June of 2010 with my January 2011 miles. Not a bad start for the year.

I keep thinking about that ice-day bike...I even got a bike of the model I'm considering for the store's inventory, just so I can check it out first-hand. It looks good, and seems like it would work well enough. I have mixed emotions about some details at the left rear triangle area--it doesn't look like it will accept my Burley trailer, for example, but it will probably do okay with the Safety 1st one. If Jenn and I find it useful to haul stuff in both trailers at once, I'd have to ride the Raleigh, as it's the only one of the fleet at this point that will pull the Burley as configured. It's mildly surprising that the inexpensive (when new) Safety 1st trailer fits more of my fleet than the Burley, a fairly expensive line of trailers.

Speaking of trailers, both of mine will be in use this weekend, along with a slew of others. Andy Dyson, Executive Director of Bicycling for Louisville, is moving this weekend. I caught wind of the details on Facebook, oddly enough, but if you would like to help and don't "do" facebook, drop me a line (since facebook likes for you to have an account before you can see stuff on it).

"It's Soup Yet!"

A couple months ago, our friend Ian was hit by a car as he waited for his turn to proceed through a traffic light. The woman took off without waiting for a police report to be filed.

Long story short, her insurance company provided Ian with enough money to get a new bike. Being the kind of guy Ian is, he decided to give Bluegrass Bicycle a chance to help him out with replacing the bike.

Sadly, when we first discussed it, Surly was out of Big Dummy bikes! They had some on the way, but it was going to be late December or some time in January before they could ship the bike to us. When they were getting close to being able to ship, I learned that there were over forty folks watching for the bikes to be available. They released fifteen or twenty bikes, so I made sure I ordered one as soon as I learned they were available.

It arrived at the store today.

That's a lot of bike. The box is 73" long, and weighed about fifty pounds with the bike inside. It's not a complicated assembly, though it does take a while to get all the stuff on there. I got to test-ride it briefly, to be sure Ian would have brakes and accurate shifting, and it's a great ride. The picture shows some details that still needed to be handled before Ian could take it home, but it's road-worthy for being the Soup Express!

Tuesday is soup-cooking day for Ian. Wednesday is his biggest delivery day. He wanted to ride his old bike out to the store and have me move stuff over to the new bike (and, I suppose, take the old one home on the trailer), but it wasn't to be. Still, I had the pleasure of seeing one happy Souper Man!

Now I want one. I don't have any place to keep one, but I want one. *sigh*  I don't know what I'd DO with it--I don't have the cargo to haul that I need one, but...maybe one day.

The truth is out!

Commuting by car crushes your soul!

The Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M recently released its annual Urban Mobility Report. In it, they discuss why and how traffic has gotten worse over the last two decades. Also discussed are topics like travel times, and the difference between travel time index and planning time index.

I did see a couple comments suggesting that modal changes would reduce congestion--using public transit, car-pooling, or bicycles as opposed to personal motor vehicles.

The entire Report takes a while to read--longer than I have at the moment. I will be reading more of it in the coming days and sharing some thoughts here, I hope. If you take some time to read it, please comment on what you find.

Ah, the hassles of winter...

I had planned to take the morning off, then attend a meeting downtown with Bike Louisville's Education sub-committee. However, Wednesday evening, we found that our furnace was not working well at all--it was often blowing cold air rather than hot air.

Thursday morning, I called the HVAC folks who had installed the unit, as they are usually a pretty good outfit. I made arrangements for their tech to come by this morning.

He found a switch that had somehow been turned off. It seemed a simple enough cause for the symptoms, so he charged me for the service call and went on his way. However, about an hour after he left, I noted that, again, the furnace was blowing cold air. I called the tech, who told me he would call the office. I hadn't heard anything by about noon, so I called the office myself. He had called, but they hadn't gotten down their list as far as my name yet.

Anyway, the second tech arrived a bit after two. He poked around inside the furnace, finding a dirty flame sensor, a wire connection that had somehow gotten unplugged, showed me some diagrams and how to read them, waited for the machine to prove that it was going to work right, and then went on his way.

About an hour later, I found that, again, the furnace was blowing cold air. I called the HVAC outfit again, and they told me they'd fine another tech to send my way.

He arrived about 5:00 or 5:30. Since he was primed to look for intermittent problem-causing failures, he almost immediately noted some discoloration on the PC board that controls the furnace. He pulled it to inspect its reverse side, and saw damning evidence that it had gotten hot and that the resistors had failed. He also found indications that this was not the original circuit board.

$320 more later, I supposedly have a furnace that will be reliable for a while longer.

A couple years ago, I was working in a program that tried to find money to fix furnaces for low-income elderly folks. Having experienced that, I know how fortunate I am. I have a fairly well-insulated house--certainly compared to the houses of some of those folks I tried to help. While it's a burden in the short-term, we can afford to fix this out of our own pockets. We can afford to pay the gas bill to keep this furnace running for a while longer.

It's good to have heat when the low temperature for the night will be around 10F.

Of course, I missed the meeting, having to be around waiting for the HVAC techs to arrive. I also missed getting to ride a bicycle today. I had intended to ride to Feeder's Supply to get cat food, or to ValuMarket, since one potential mission was going to be a trip to Lowe's to return some furnace filters for ones that are not so restrictive and the two are close together. Having to wait for the technicians to arrive put the kibosh on those plans, too.

Snow forecast

Our community is all atwitter (does that have something to do with a large number of twits?) over the weather forecast for Thursday. Something like three to five inches of snow--maybe six, depending on forecaster--expected to fall some time Thursday.

Bah!

Aside from not having a snow bike, meaning that Jenn and I would have to coordinate our commuting using the one car, I find this worry over a few inches of snow baffling. We get snow every year. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I know folks who are happy to have *only* six inches of snow on their yards this time of year (meaning: a lot has melted off since the last foot of snow fell a week ago).

It could be far worse: This is not Atlanta, after all. My sister spent a few years in Atlanta in the early 1980s, as a student at Emory. I recall her glee that she was getting friends around with relative ease when there was an inch or so of snow on their roads one time, just because she had driven in snow here under our mother's tutelage, and knew to be smooth in applying control efforts and to think ahead planning for less traction than she had.

Still, that this town gets so worked up over half a foot of snow is really bewildering to me.

In the interest of disclosure, I will have to say: I used to drive a wrecker. I did a LOT of pulling cars out of ditches on "snow days." I was able and wiling to put my truck in places that many of my coworkers avoided, simply because I knew how to make use of the traction I had. I also knew when to stay out of potential trouble--most of the time. Sure, I got stuck a time or two, and learned from those experiences. I also learned to drive in snow during the aftermath of one of Louisville's bigger snowstorms--the 1977/8 winter had at least one two-foot snow dump on us. My car at the time had bias ply tires--not even snow tires--yet I got where I needed to go, learning about traction and "slideways" driving as I went. I learned about using the throttle to steer when the steering wheel doesn't do all it should--something front wheel drive cars don't seem to do as well, although they don't seem to have the same frequency of the problem, either.

In the mean time, I'm always surprised that the weather forecasts don't start with, "This weather forecast brought to you by Kroger, since we have an over-stock of milk and bread we need you to buy so that we are not stuck with it." It seems that would be a bit more honest...

Mid-month Sunday stuff

I am now set to begin my third term as Louisville Bicycle Club VP Education. The Club's annual banquet was last night, and part of the club business on such occasions is election of officers. Nobody stepped up to run against me, meaning that either a) I'm doing a good enough job that nobody figures they can do better or more likely b) I'm doing it well enough and nobody else wants to do it.

It isn't like it's a power trip or anything.

The cycling year is getting off to a good start, as I mentioned yesterday. I now have 231 miles for the year, compared to 252 that I had by the end of February last year. Jenn and I rode the tandem to Baptist East/Milestone Fitness Center for the 2:00 club ride, rode the ride, and rode home from the ride. Both of us were a bit chilled by the time we got home--we had both under-dressed just slightly. I was actually pretty warm around my shoulders most of the ride--as shown by the fact that my shirt was sweaty in that area, but that sweat was cooling off a bit faster than I like on the three-mile ride home.

Since I live outside Ian's delivery zones, I hadn't taken opportunity to try any of his soups. I had some stuff to drop by his house the other day, and procured a sample of his peanut soup to share with Jenn. We planned to enjoy it after the ride today, and boy, was it good.

Tim mentioned on his blog the other day, and I had linked to Facebook a few days before that, that Ian got some good press on the Surly Bikes blog a bit more than a week ago. I don't know how Surly got wind of all this--other than the fact that I've been in contact with them on a weekly basis getting updates on when we can get Ian a new bike to pull the soup cart. After the hit-and-run just before Turkey Day, Ian had been off the bike for a few weeks. Now, he's riding what's left of the bent Big Dummy, hoping it holds together until the new one arrives, hopefully later this month. Surly is awaiting some parts from Xtracycle before they ship bikes to dealers, so don't go fussing at Surly. No real need to squawk at Xtracycle, either, at this point--I'm given to understand that the parts are in transit to them already, and it's only a matter of time before things get delivered and we get to have Ian on his new rig.

I got to ride to work today!

Not quite halfway through January, and I've bested my mileage for February of last year. If the weather doesn't dump more snow on us between now and then, I'll best the total for January AND February 2010 by the end of next week. I only need to ride to work twice and do a trip to the grocery store.

Mileage for 2011 to date: 200

January 2010 miles: 65
February 2010 miles: 187
March 2010 miles: 548.76
First quarter 2010 miles: 800.76


If things REALLY go well, I'll best the first-quarter 2010 miles by the end of February. 801 miles is possible. Not particularly likely this time of year, but possible. I'm a quarter of the way there, two weeks into the year.

I've not been one to set goals like this in the past, but I think I'll shoot for six thousand miles this year. It shouldn't be too hard to do. I might even try for seven thousand.

Second quarter miles will be a bit tougher to beat. I did not drive to work even once in April of last year (Jenn picked me up twice--once for house-hunting, the other time for really bad weather). I drove some in May. We'll ride more in June this year than we did in 2010 simply because we are not working RAAM this year. We might do a bike tour that month--no decision yet, but we'll need to make one soon.

Second quarter 2010 miles: 1309.06
First half 2010 miles: 2109.82

Put in those terms, I should be able to best last years first-half record with a margin.

Of course, all this record-setting will make it harder to break my personal record next year.

Heh.

Denver to Louisville

As you know, I'm on Ergon's Commuter Team for 2011. I haven't gotten my goodies yet, but am eagerly anticipating the arrival.

I have been keeping an eye on Ergon's blog, too, and the folks at Ergon posted today about a Mayoral candidate in Denver who had a fund-raiser at Great Divide Brewery recently. Candidate Chris Romer is in favor of extending the scope of Denver's bike infrastructure.

The reason I find this noteworthy is that several years ago, our own then-Mayor Jerry Abramson cited Denver's fairly extensive bike path network when he asked that the first Bike Summit happen in 2004 or 2005. That a candidate wants to improve on an inspiring system is great. That the existing system inspires leaders in cities like ours is even better. It shows that we can do it, with the right focus of political will power. Help me encourage our new Mayor to focus some of that will power, won't you?

Snow bike thoughts, part whatever

Since I don't have enough money to buy a snow bike this week (or month, probably), yet am still thinking too much about it, I decided to look at my log for January and February of 2010. As it turns out, I've logged 174 miles since the first of the year. In February of 2010, I logged 187 miles. In January, only 65 miles.

Those numbers were estimates, based on reading my own entries in this blog, as I didn't start logging daily miles until March. Those numbers may have been on the low side, since my cyclometer was miscalibrated. Still, I'm not as worried about monthly mileage now as I was. My riding weather threshold has lowered a bit since then, so I'm more likely to ride this month than I was last January.

I still want a snow bike, but I'm not as focused on buying one right now.

I don't have a bike with snow tires...

...so I drove to work. Again. For the second time this week, and what will likely be the second of a string of times, as the temperatures are not high enough that the roads are clearing off effectively. There remains a small ice floe at the south end of my street. I can get around it by using other streets, but those streets have some of that annoying fake brick that jars the bike's lights into far more pieces than they were designed to have.

I keep wanting a snow and ice bike. We don't have the money for me to buy one this week, or month, so I get to spend money on gas instead.

If my commute was more urban, I might be able to make do with the bikes I have--I've ridden the Raleigh on packed snow, and it did reasonably well. All the clothing layers I would be wearing would serve as padding if I fell--a little bit of padding, anyway.

Last night was the first night of our seventh Tool School class. I normally limit the class to seven students, but wound up with nine this time for some reason. It's a good group of folks, so I think we'll be okay. Having nine students will get pretty busy for me the last two nights--good thing Bob will be there to help me with the hands-on stuff we'll be doing.

Mikael has made a couple recent posts concerning bike infrastructure in cities other than Copenhagen. In one such post, he mentions that it's tiring to hear "it's just Copenhagen," or "It's Copenhagen and the Netherlands, but nowhere else," as if those are the only places that "get it" when it comes to the desirability of bike-specific urban infrastructure.

He makes a good point--many other cities are beginning to get the idea, and make the investments. I want very much to see Louisville "get it," in ways that our No-Longer-Mayor Abramson started to see.

It takes a LOT of political will power--usually more than can be utilized in one term of office. There are many "anti-cyclists" in the local community, and much of the infrastructure discussion is focused on the Ohio River Bridges Boondoggle instead of surface-level projects that would cost less to do, cost less to maintain, and serve more people--in part by taking traffic OFF the existing Interstates and thus reducing pressure to build Interstate bridges.

That lowly little old me can see this but lofty politicians cannot says something, but I don't know what it is. Despite letters written to various people who are at least titular leaders in the community, I feel like I'm standing in front of a steamroller with a cap pistol. Or one of those gag guns seen in the clown shows that spits out a flag with the word BANG on it. The powers that be want big bridges, they want to spend a ton of money before creating big bridges, and they seem to want to drag out the pre-construction BS long after it's due to be done.

I suppose the delay could be okay with me if it really gave me the feeling that we could impress upon the powers that be that the idea of having two more Interstate-level bridges is more a 1950s-era solution than a 2011-and-beyond solution. Gas will likely never be as cheap as $2/gallon again, as it was when the two-bridge thing started really gathering steam. It seems more reasonable that we could build several bridges on order of the Clark Memorial Bridge for about the same money, connecting neighborhoods instead of interstates, and improve traffic flow to a far greater degree compared to two Interstate bridges. It also seems that if one such bridge is taken out of service due to some unforeseen event like a barge getting loose and hitting the supports, the traffic diversion would foul up more bridges by less rather than REALLY fouling up one bridge (this is about what happened to the Sherman Minton bridge in 2009--inspectors cleared the bridge for use shortly after the event, but that morning's drive time was BRUTAL for a lot of people).

Such smaller bridges would allow for more bicycle-friendly travel across the river, as well.

But what do I know? I am one of those crazy folks who rode his bike to work this morning, into the teeth of a headwind the whole way, thinking that if the wind continues until I go home I'll have a SWEET tailwind and a fast trip home!

A recent post on Copenhagenize discusses how that city prioritizes cycle-ways in its snow cleanup efforts, and briefly touches on why. Citizen cyclists, as Mikael calls them, are so large a factor that not clearing the cycle infrastructure first would mean that tens of thousands of folks would suddenly descend on the public transit system or get in cars, causing a much larger traffic problem for all involved.

Would that we had such a situation in Louisville Kentucky.

Mikael also observes that few folks in Copenhagen use snow-specific tires--in part because the cycle ways are cleared so well and so often.

I thought about that a moment, given my recent post pondering whether to buy a snow-specific bike (which would have studded snow tires). I observed in his comments section that much of Copenhagen is relatively urban--even in residential areas. My own commute is mostly suburban in nature, with a fair bit of rural thrown in for good measure. Even the suburban areas have greater elevation changes than I ever seem to see in Mikael's photos of Copenhagen. I've not looked at a topographical map of that city, so I don't know how varied the terrain really is. He may have streets like those in Seattle that figured prominently in some youtube videos recently seen--cars and trucks sliding down a hill on icy pavement and stacking into one another with noises that only a body-shop owner could love.


I don't have anything quite so daunting in my commute--the steepest climbs in my normal route are on Houston Lane and Rollington Road between Pewee Valley and Westport Road by Forest Springs North subdivision, and traffic through there is usually pretty light. I expect that if the road was impassable, I could use grass berms and ditches on either side, if I get a snow-day bike as I'm considering doing.

One thing that has occurred to me is that the snow-day bike I'm pondering could eventually replace my old Raleigh three-speed. I don't know whether this would happen, only that it's a possibility. I've surprised myself by how fond I am of that old bike, after all the years I spoke disparagingly about "wedgie bikes." Of course, some tempering of my attitudes came as part of working in the bike business, so I'm not as vocal about recumbent bikes being superior as I once was. I've had to recognize that the "different horses for different courses" analogy fits well when it comes to bicycles. I also have found that the correct number of bicycles in the garage is n+1, where n is the current number of bicycles in inventory and n+2 is the most the garage can hold. At the moment, however, I need to get some boxes out of my garage so that I can get to the n bikes we currently have.

Snow vehicle choices

As I mentioned the other day, Jenn and I are considering replacing my aging pickup truck, or adding a gas-powered something, or otherwise augmenting my ability to get to work when it snows. As also mentioned, I'm considering just buying a bike that I can outfit with studded snow tires for days when there is ice on the roadways.

One bike I'm contemplating is a Specialized Crosstrail Disc. I like that it has the 700c wheels and will accept wider tires like the 40mm Schwalbe Marathon Winter. I can get off the side of the road if traffic gets really stupid. It doesn't have the fanciest brakes or fork, but I don't figure it makes sense to buy a more expensive rig for the little bit of mileage I'm likely to put on a winter bike. The rear drive is seven-speed, rather than the higher-end nine- or ten-speed drivetrains I maintain for customers, but I also ride a '74 three-speed, for cryin' out loud!

A very similar bike that is also in the running is the Specialized Hardrock 29 Disc. Aside from some minor differences in geometry, these seem similar enough that the choice comes down to color. Since the Crosstrail's wheelbase is longer, it would probably serve me better on the road (the primary use for this bike being transportation).

In either case, I can use the Ergon goodies I'm scheduled to receive soon as part of my being on the Ergon Commuter Team on either bike. 

Part of my interest in Specialized bikes at this point is that I work for a Specialized dealer, and can get better pricing on their products as a result. As it happens, if one is going to get a wedgie bike, as I sometimes refer to non-recumbent bicycles, Specialized makes a wide variety of very good ones, suitable for many applications.

First post for me this year

The Holly-daze is more or less over, now, and it's back to work! And, of course, I rode to work this morning.

Discussions over the weekend included whether to buy a different gas-powered vehicle, given the realities of our commuting and other wants/needs. My truck now has something like 225,000 miles on it, and will not last forever. The other car has been out of service since April. We've done reasonably well on one car and a bunch of bikes, but we haven't tried it in winter. Yet. At least, not a full winter.

One alternative idea was that I could get a bike better suited for winter roads, so that I could ride to the store from the end of TARC service lines if things are icy (using yards beside the roads if need be...). I have a set of grips and pedals coming from Ergon in the next few weeks, and this would be a great way to put them to use--enabling me to wear footwear that would be warmer than my usual cycling shoes or sandals, even WITH the Planet Bike shoe covers I recently purchased (more on those in a bit). I could get a really nice mountain bike with larger wheels and disc brakes, and that has room for some manner of fenders and ways to attach cargo racks (or use that Ergon backpack I'm about to receive), for well under a thousand dollars. And that's buying high-end new stuff. If I look around for something used, I could do for less money still. A car would cost several thousand dollars the first year of ownership. I'm kind of attached to the idea of not adding a monthly car payment to the outgoing budget lines!

Oh, those Planet Bike Blitzen shoe covers: NICE! They are warmer than the ones they replaced, AND more comfortable. I'm glad I got them. They are easier to put on over my big shoes than the old ones, too. I haven't tried them with my sandals yet, but will soon (a favorite way to deal with cold weather being to wear two pairs of warm socks with Gore-Tex socks in my sandals, to avoid constricting blood flow in my feet, then put shoe covers over all that for additional warmth). The sandal outsole is wider than that on my mountain bike shoes (Lake MX250 Wides, circa 2002).

Last post of the year in this blog

A couple of final blog thoughts for the year, in no particular order:

I am now listed on Ergon's blog as being part of the 2011 Ergon Commuter Team! I'm looking forward to seeing the new gear I'm getting, and testing it so that I can tell folks about it.

My final total for bicycle miles logged for 2010 is 5744. I could go out and ride another six miles to round it up, or I could change correct a few log entries from before we moved, or I could leave it as is.

It is now 12:3-something somewhere in the world. It will soon be midnight somewhere else in the world.

See you next year!

End of year thoughts

A few random thoughts:

I've logged a bit over 5700 miles for the year. If I went back and corrected my log entries from the time I was at the rental house, I'd probably get over 5900, if not 6000. However, I decided a couple months ago that it wasn't worth the effort. I'll just shoot for the 6K for 2011 by riding a bit more. Jenn and I will probably do some more club riding on the tandem this year, as well.

My 5700 miles is short of the mileages that some folks I know are putting down. Some of my friends and others I know are showing 8000, 8500 and 9000 miles for the year. Wow. Maybe when I grow up and don't have to work for a living (ha!) I can log miles like that. On the other hand, riding that much would take time away from other stuff I really like to do.

Gas prices are a hot topic in the news these days. The current price per gallon for regular as I type this is somewhere in the $3.15 range in Jefferson County. There have been predictions that we'll see $5/gallon prices in another year or so. I hate to see it, since so many people feel compelled to drive EVERYWHERE they go and it will have an effect on their budgets (and on the overall economy). However, high gas prices get a few more folks thinking about human-powered transportation, and once folks find ways to meet their transportation needs with bicycles (or by walking, or using public transit...), some will keep with it. Hopefully, some of those folks will come to classes presented by the Louisville Bicycle Club or by Bicycling for Louisville, so that they will know how to ride according to the rules of the road (and know when the rules may not apply to a situation).

Of course, some folks ask why I ride, implying that gas prices are a primary reason. Gas prices--or, more accurately, reduction in budgetary outflow buying gasoline--is one factor, of course. I've enjoyed riding to work for many years, though, even when gas was relatively much cheaper, so it is not just about saving money on gas. Saving money on car insurance is a smaller factor, but it's there. Same for making my car last longer by not using it as much (and thus not having to replace brake pads or other wear items as often).

I also save money on things like gym memberships by not needing a gym for aerobic exercise. Cycling doesn't give me much in the way of weight training exercise, but I lift stuff around quite a bit at work, and in the course of doing work around the house. I will probably add some weight work this year to maintain some muscle tone and mass this year.

Another thing I'm thinking about incorporating into my goals for the coming year is rock climbing. I used to climb a fair bit at Rocksport, but got out of the habit after a back injury some years ago. I enjoy the challenge rock climbing presents--I often refer to it as three-dimensional and not only in the x- y- and z-axes sense. It is a mental challenge--figuring out how to use the holds that are there. It's a physical challenge, of course. It's also an emotional challenge--"Do I trust myself and my gear?" Climbing in a gym is a great way to exercise, so that may be a big part of my workout routine in the coming year. It's not difficult for me to get to Rocksport from work by bike, so we'll see how that goes.

Gym climbing prepares a person for climbing on real rock--at least physically. It doesn't teach as much about how real rock challenges the climber mentally, though. On real rock, the holds are not bolted to a plywood wall, so they are not as obvious. Sometimes, real rock holds are inside cracks in the rock--something not many gyms replicate a lot. The last time I climbed on real rock (many refer to gym climbing as "climbing on plastic"), I was with a now-former girlfriend who had a VERY hard time with the transition from plastic to sandstone. I don't know how I could have done a better job of preparing her for the change, or that it mattered in the long run. I want to spend more time on real rock this year, if I can manage it. It would be good to have more time on the "sharp end of the rope," as the expression goes, as it would build my confidence a bit.

Jenn, her daughters and I are going to Rocksport this afternoon to play on the wall a while. We'll see how the experience goes, and see if it will be a part of our schedule going forward.

New shoe covers

On yesterday's ride to work, I noticed that my left shoe cover was coming apart. Actually, I had noticed that the fabric under the toe was failing some days ago, but there were some strands holding it together until yesterday morning. They gave up in the cold, such as it was.

Figuring that there is more sub-freezing weather to be dealt with between now and spring, I ordered a replacement pair of shoe covers yesterday. I had thought about getting some from Pearl Izumi, since my newest tights came from them and are quite good. No luck--their XL won't fit on my shoes, and the two cold-weather models that will be available in XXL won't be available for another month or more (what's the point of stocking them in February, gang?). Few of our suppliers have Craft shoe covers in stock at the moment, surprisingly. However, both QBP and J&B Importers stock Planet Bike's shoe covers, and J&B ships next day via UPS Ground sort!

I wound up buying a pair of Planet Bike Blitzen shoe covers instead of their Comet model, as they seem to have better wind resistance and insulation. I ordered the XXL size, which they indicate fits US shoe sizes from 11 1/2 up (but not far up...I don't think these would fit size 14 shoes, for example, but they might).

Ian Ritchie, aka The Soup Guy was by the store yesterday, and I mentioned to him that I had ordered these. He'll be interested in my eventual review of their suitability (or is that soupability?) for temps in the <20F range.

They arrived a while ago, and I'm pleased to say that they fit over my shoes with ease! I'm looking forward to seeing how they do in colder riding weather (I didn't really need them today, since the low this morning was over 30F).

Weather problems for folks "up east"

Boy, am I glad I haven't been caught up in the snow problems being "enjoyed" by folks east and north of us! Flights canceled or delayed by days, roads blocked, hotels full to over-flowing, and such cannot be any fun for the folks affected.

Of course, there are folks who really don't understand weather, climate or what causes weather to change or dump feet of snow on us. Pat Robertson is one such person. The link goes to a Huffington Post article that details Robertson's contention that the blizzard is his god's way of delaying "gay" activities (by punishing millions of people?).

I'm trying to find some way to rationalize his viewpoint. He wants people to believe that he believes it, and I presume he wants gay people to eschew their true selves and "be straight."

A couple months ago, I enjoyed reading Darrel W. Ray's The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture. The book begins with a chapter on how viruses work, to show why the analogy of describing religions in viral terms works so well. In later chapters, Dr. Ray discusses how religions (not specifically christianity, but also Islam and others) and the people who lead them (pastors, priests and other vectors, in consistency with the metaphor) use sexuality, guilt and fear to control religious people (hosts, to carry the metaphor).

Pat Robertson is one serious viral vector. Those who wish to not take him seriously fail to see the damage he can do to society with his heartfelt idiocy.

Holly-Dazed, and a new team membership for me

It's the week between christmas and New Year's Day. It's sunny today, but kind of cold (upper teens when I left the house this morning). One of my neoprene shoe covers failed on the way to work today, so that foot was a bit colder than the other when I arrived at the store. I've had Jenn fix them before, but there doesn't appear to be enough fabric left for another repair. Given that these were $45 (retail) covers some eight years ago, and that I paid wholesale for them, I figure they have served their useful life span. I've ordered a replacement pair, and should have them tomorrow. My rides home tonight and to work tomorrow will be marked with cold toes, but I'll survive.

I know folks who use flat pedals and warm shoes for riding this time of year. I'm fond of using shoes with SPD cleats for the 12.8-mile ride each way, and haven't tried using boots other than my mountain bike shoes or sandals with good socks as it typical for me. Soon, however, I will have some almost-flat pedals to test.

Several weeks ago, I learned of a contest for blog writers who cycle-commute sponsored by the folks at Ergon-USA. I made mention of it in a post to the local utility-bike list server, in case any other locals wanted to enter. I also entered, just to see what happened. The other day, I got email informing me that I've been chosen to be on the Ergon Commuter Team for 2011!

For being on this team, I get to talk about the goodies I get from Ergon. I get to put their logo here and on my Facebook profile. I get to (shamelessly) see how many times I can link to their web site in the text of a blog post.

And, of course, to type about their products, I get to have some samples of their products to enjoy! I get a pair of grips (I've chosen their BioKork), a pair of their gloves, and one of their cool backpacks to use for hauling stuff. I even get a pair of their new pedals to try out on my Raleigh! I'm looking forward to seeing how this stuff works for me, and sharing my opinions with all three or four of the folks who read my rabbiting-on-about-stuff here.

The backpack thing will be a different deal for me. I'm not usually one to use backpacks, mostly because I've been a recumbent guy for so long (nineteen years this coming March!). Since I wear a reflective jacket most of the time I'm riding in cold weather, I'm concerned that a backpack would block the view of it from overtaking road users' perspective. A friend asked me about backpack-vs.-on the bike bags, and my opinion is that the bike is hauling the weight regardless, so why should the weight also be on me?

That said, I see the value in having a backpack for many folks, some of whom lack the ability to park their bikes inside while at work (I work in a bike shop--my riding to work is part of my public image). A backpack makes it easy to ride up to an anchor, lock one's bike to said anchor, and walk away without having to remove panniers from the bike's racks. I have a couple of small packs that I've not used for utility cycling, so having a cycling-focused one should be interesting.

I'll be typing more about these goodies once I have them "in hand" and in use. Keep your eyes peeled--all however many there are of you!

5600!!

I took another look at my page on mycyclinglog.com the other day, to see whether it would make sense to change my mind on correcting the mileages on my commutes from the rental house. I had been listing that commute round trip at twenty-four miles, instead of whatever it really is (I've not measured it since correcting the calibration on the Vanguard). It's bound to be more than the 25.7 miles I usually log from the new house, and the correction could put me over 5700 miles for the year.

As it stands, my ride to work this morning tipped me to the 5600 mark, or would if I was tracking the ride to work and the ride home as separate trips. I'll log it when I'm home, and be satisfied with that.

I may change to logging each side of the work commute for next year, as the Louisville Bicycle Club is adding a commuting program for 2011, and counting trips as well as miles. The program is in its infancy, so we are not sure what we'll do with the data we gather. I doubt I'll win any jerseys through that program, as I don't ride as much as some others who are already likely to participate.

I do want to track use of all the bikes in the garage this year, plus keep track of how much we use any car or cars. Again, I'm not sure what if anything I will do with the knowledge I gain from doing so, but I am curious enough that I want to see what we find. I'm fairly sure I've ridden more than I've driven this year--certainly have made more trips by bike than by car--but it would be nice to know for sure.

Back to riding

The weekend weather was warm enough to get the last of the ice that was keeping me from riding to melt away. I got to ride to work today!

Of course, one of the roads I usually use was blocked for tree work, so I had to reroute a bit. Oddly enough, it was the one road that was still icy enough that I figured I would be walking a few yards here and there. The reroute had me riding on KY22 for a mile or so, but since only fifteen cars passed me in that mile (about the same number as used to pass me going across the Clark Bridge in the mornings), it wasn't horrible at all.

Indeed, I've ridden KY22 from Hurstbourne Parkway out a couple times, and despite that 22 is not my favorite road, it is not as horrible as it might be. It helps that I'm going the opposite direction compared to most of the traffic that time of day, of course. I see no reason to make a habit of going that way instead of my regular route, but once in a while it's not bad.

GAA!

The Commonwealth of Kentucky, in its infinite lack of wisdom, has chosen to offer the upper plate as an option--at no additional charge--to theocrats and other viral victims who want to flout their religion to the rest of us. Never mind that my tax dollars are going to support this nonsense, and in so doing, lend some credence to the hypochristians who think their god rules all.

The First Amendment to the US Constitution holds that the Country shall not establish a religion, or favor any one religion above any others. Kentucky's Constitution is even more strongly worded. But Governor Beshear seems to not care about this, as long as he can pander to the reactionary religionistas (some call them the Tealiban, as so many of the more vocal among them are also part of the tea party movement that is sweeping up so much enthusiasm among the lower-minded).

At least they are not desecrating my license plate option. Speaking of which, I've learned that I can get a Share the Road plate personalized! The link I cited shows you how yours would look if you personalized it.

At least I can think of a positive way to end a blog post--I can order a personalized STR plate!

That was the week that was...icy

I've driven to work all week. I missed the Car-Free Happy Hour last night, mostly because I didn't feel up to riding on what I expected would be hard-to-see ice spots on my way home, with the inevitable motorist right behind me following too close to avoid running right over top of me should I lose lateral traction and fall.

I've driven over a good portion of my usual cycling route (and looked at some I've chosen not to drive, since I don't have tire chains or studded tires on my truck), and found that at least a mile of it remains ice-covered. I don't have a bike with ice studs in the tires.

The temperatures haven't been that bad for riding--mostly above my last-season threshold of 20F--but I've chosen to not risk riding on ice. I only need two more round trips to work and back to break that 5600-mile mark, anyway. Maybe I can get those rides in next week if things melt off some over the weekend.

To soothe my psyche, Jenn and I ate at Taj Palace on Goose Creek Road last night. YUM. We had a chance to talk over some family stuff, and that was good.

The icy roads in our neighborhood have prompted me to wonder whether I could find YakTrax to fit the dog. I bought a pair for Jenn and a pair for myself a few years ago, and find them indispensable at times like these, when the precipitation melts and refreezes, leaving a nice, smooth layer of glare ice on top of whatever is already on streets, driveways, sidewalks and such. The poor dog couldn't walk on some of the driveways we normally encounter on our walks. This morning, his sense that he could walk on snow got challenged as the ice layer was strong enough that he wasn't crunching through easily. I would really prefer that he NOT hurt himself trying to walk on ice. The UltraPaws Traction boots we got him earlier in the week are not much good on glare ice.

A fellow whose name I like so well I let other folks call me by it came in this morning and ordered three bikes for his daughters. That also helps my day!

Yeah, I drove

It doesn't take but so much for me to rationalize driving to work: In today's case, a sheet of ice on the street in front of my house, roughly a quarter-inch thick, did the trick. I don't have any bicycles equipped with ice-savvy treads.

I think my friend David has studded tires on his LHT, and I'm going to watch his blog to see whether he rode today and how other traffic managed around him.

Given the condition of my own street *, I figured that Rollington Road and Houston Lane would be dicey for two-wheel travel. I drove Jenn to work, then traveled LaGrange Road to Crestwood, so I haven't seen Westport Road today. Considering the condition of LaGrange Road in and near Anchorage, I would have had to allow an extra half-hour for dealing with slick spots.

*The City of Lyndon, to whom I pay property taxes as a homeowner, saw fit to send a snowplow of some sort down our street (even though it's a dead-end), judging from the "footy prints" and plow spoor I saw beside the roadway. If the snow had been deeper, I would have been okay with this. As it is, I think doing so only exposed the sheet of ice that had developed as the road surface cooled to below-freezing temperatures after the rain we had before it got cold enough to snow. When I walked the dog this morning, I was skating around quite a bit (so was the dog, which was a form of entertainment for both of us judging from his activity level). When Jenn and I left the house, we saw a car in a ditch a block or so away, at the outside of a curve in the road. It looked as if the driver had misjudged his ability to manage his car on the slick road. I would have stopped to help him--I even have a towing strap in my truck--but I knew I wouldn't have enough traction to pull his car out of the ditch.

Whew! An assortment of mile markers!

Yesterday's ride to work nudged me over the 5500 mile mark for the year! Since I rode the Raleigh to work a couple days this week, the YTD mileage on that bike is now over 1000. By the time I get home tonight, the Vanguard will have over 3300 miles on it for the year. I got over the 3500 mark for riding to and from work last week some time. Based on the tags I use in mycyclinglog.com's system, I have used bicycles instead of cars for over 4000 miles this year.

Wowsers! That's pretty cool. I'm not car-free, but I've sure had a good time riding instead of driving!

All this has led me to think about how much driving the typical American does in a year. For a couple years in the 1990s, I was driving over twenty-five thousand miles a year, mostly getting to and from two or three jobs a week in far-flung areas (I lived in Old Louisville, worked as a ramp-rat at UPS at night and doing construction work in Oldham County, eastern Jefferson County and parts of Shelby County during the day, plus odd-jobs here and there all over town). In those days, I probably put two or three thousand miles a year on whatever car I had in out-of-town travels (vacations and such), so twenty-two thousand local miles a year--a LOT of miles.

Many folks drive because they have far-flung activities they need to manage--either their own or of their kids. Or, perhaps, they have far-flung activities because they drive to them, instead of choosing to create activities closer to home (say, within cycling distance). Many homes are in subdivisions with one exit (or maybe two, depending on zoning issues). Some of these subdivisions are way outside the Watterson Expressway, and the residents work downtown, and get to "enjoy" clogging the Interstates every morning and afternoon, losing more time to each other than any of them do to me in months of passing me out on the roads I ride. People drive to work, drive home, then drive to a restaurant, or to shop, or to a movie, or whatever. They seem to think nothing of driving.

I wonder whether that's part of their problem with me as a cyclist. They just don't really think about cycling as an alternative to their habitual driving everywhere for everything. They see bikes (or more accurately, bicycle-shaped objects) sold in stores like Mal-Wart's toy section, and think of bikes as toys or at best fitness gear like a home gym (and think bikes should be used in narrowly-defined places, OUT OF THE WAY of their own travels). They don't think of what the authors of blogs like Copenhagenize call "citizen cyclists," those who ride because it's quicker, easier, safer and more enjoyable than motoring within a given radius, and who don't dress just for riding, but ride in whatever clothes they are wearing for work, shopping, socializing and such.

It is all about one's choices.

Part of my choice in where I bought a house was "can I ride to what I want to do, and can we ride to our jobs readily from here?" Part of my choice in my line of work is that I can use my job as a bully pulpit to encourage others to ride instead of driving. Part of choosing where I shop for groceries is how easy it is to get there from home by bike.

I am pretty sure we will track truck miles, but I haven't decided how I'm going to track the miles we put on the truck this coming year. I'm thinking that it would be interesting to have that information, and then figure out what to do with it, and how it compares to the bike mileages. I may see about getting Jenn to track her miles, too, just to see where that goes.

Car Free Happy Hour this coming Thursday!

It's that time again!

Smoketown, USA has decent barbecue, although there are some who prefer the meat be basted with sauce during the smoking process. At least this way, one gets to choose which sauce gets more attention. All the sides are vegetarian, so folks who don't eat meat can still find edible food there! Smoketown often has a good assortment of brewed adult beverages, as well.

I get to go this time, too, so I look forward to seeing you there!

Almost there

I almost feel like going out and riding another five miles just for the heck of it. My ride home from work tonight got me within three miles of logging 5500 miles for the year. It also got me over the 1000 mile mark for miles recorded on my Raleigh for the year.

The heck of it is that if I corrected the mileages for April, May and June to reflect the cyclometer calibration problem I had a few months ago, I'd probably be closer to 5600 miles already. Be that as it may, I'm going to leave those numbers alone. I corrected the numbers for trips from the house we own, and I've decided that any shortage of miles logged from the rental house will be offset by the occasional mistake in logging miles on the Raleigh--I don't have a computer on that bike, and estimate miles on it based on miles recorded on similar trips on the Vanguard. It's just a number, anyway. My legs are not calibrated in miles.

Who knew that I would record almost a fifth of my annual mileage on a wedgie bike?

New temperature threshold

I don't know why I had been such a wimp on temperatures the last few years. I really don't. When I was a teenager, I all but didn't GET cold--the band director my freshman year in high school nicknamed me "Old Anti-Freeze" after I showed up for school in a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled above my elbows, and no coat anywhere in sight. I had ridden the bus to school, which involved waiting for said bus at the stop down the street from the house.

It was something like 6F that morning.

Of course, part of what was fueling my ability to stay warm in sub-freezing temperatures was that I was a teenager. I was known for my appetite among friends who were also teens and who also had large appetites, since they were teens. Even into my late thirties, I could eat more than some fairly active teenagers.

Maybe that's why I've always been a stocky person. I've not been reed-thin. Ever. Oh, I was thinner--in my mid-twenties, I wore pants with size 32 waist. Most of the jeans I have now are size 36, although I can sometimes get into a size 34 pair. I have some "insulation" to spare.

Since I turned thirty, though, I had noticed a steady upward trend to my low threshold. I started getting cold sooner and sooner in a same-length period outing in sub-freezing temperatures. I started finding coats useful.

In my cycling, I had determined some years ago that my low threshold was 30F. This was mostly a function of two factors--gloves and footwear--although I also found that I didn't like wearing enough layers of clothing to ride in colder weather.

Two winters ago, I was riding to work from St Matthews to N'Awb'ny, and struggled a bit with the few 30F mornings I rode. My blog entries from that period discuss some of my reluctance to ride in weather below that threshold (have I REALLY been keeping a blog that long?). Toward the end of that season, I found some good gloves, and that helped a LOT. My feet were still cold enough often enough that I was still not quite "there," though.

I've found that keeping my legs warmer helps keep my feet warmer, so last season I bought some warmer tights. I don't like having lots of layers on, but multiple thin layers usually work better for me than one thick layer. Even so, this pair of tights was of such better quality than the tights I had been using that my temperature threshold dropped ten degrees right away. I've been saying for almost a year that 20F was my new low threshold for commuting by bike.

I'm still not but so interested in riding for pleasure at such temps, but will on occasion.

Then came this morning. I was getting out of bed to feed cats and dress for walking the dog when Jenn mentioned that the outside temperature was fifteen degrees. Oh, and she will be taking the truck because she has an assortment of errands in several parts of town today. Did I want her to take me to work?

I figured that I was doing well enough with twenty degrees that I would try fifteen. All I should need is one more thin layer, right?

I changed my base layer to a thermal jersey I've owned for a few years, and added one wind shell (for a total of two). I added one very thin base layer under the jersey at the last minute.

My hands and feet were cooler than I like within a third of my trip, but never got cold enough that they were painful. My face had some cold spots where I couldn't cover skin with my balaclava, but it was tolerable. My mustache iced up, of course, but thawed out almost instantly once I got inside.

I will have a headwind on the way home, though. And the temperature won't be appreciably warmer.

Should be fun.

Mileage update

Some days ago, I mentioned that I expect to top 5500 miles for the year 2010. That will probably happen in the coming week, as my YTD mileage is now at 5438. Of the five bikes I'm tracking in my log, the most mileage is on my Vanguard, at 3250. Second-highest is my Raleigh, at 976, third is the tandem, at 720 or so (actually, this reflects miles ridden on two tandems, but since the one we own is the same model as the one we had been borrowing, it seemed a reasonable short-cut in bookkeeping). My "fast bike," the Bacchetta Strada, has less than 350 miles on it for the year, and I've put a bit less than 150 on Jenn's Giro 26 (we keep it out at the shop to allow for recumbent demonstrations, and I'll ride it on the shop club ride if Jenn doesn't bring the tandem out, as it's a sight faster than my Vanguard on that route).

So, less than five hundred miles on fast bikes in the stable for the year. According to the Louisville Bicycle Club's stats page, I have a bit less than 1500 club miles for the year. Given that about 275 of those club miles related to the New Rider Clinics, I've ridden FAR more transportation miles than "fast" miles--roughly twenty-two percent of my riding has been performance-oriented, and even less if I consider that I was ride captain a few times and wasn't riding as hard as I could have on those days.

It might be interesting to track the mileage on my truck next year--we didn't do so this year. I know I've ridden more than I've driven in terms of days and trips. I probably have put more miles on bikes than I have on the truck, as well, but I've also driven the truck over a thousand miles this month in my recent trip to Virginia. I've not tracked Jenn's riding vs. driving, so I don't know what her ratio is.

The return home and an assortment of random thoughts

After figuring I'd accept a ride home from work Saturday, I  rode the bike home instead. The roads were merely wet. It was still precipitating--that "winter mix" we so enjoy--but there had been enough traffic on the roads that their surfaces were warm enough (and perhaps salted/brined enough) that there was less ice and slush buildup than I dealt with in the morning. Aside from that I've never been over-fond of riding in rain, and especially not wet weather combined with near-freezing temperatures, it was not a bad ride. I even got to see four or five deer rushing through the woods beside Rollington Road (I apparently surprised one, and her departure startled a few more...).

One passenger in a passing SUV yelled something at me, and it sounded like he was asking whether it was too cold to ride. Of course, the SUV was going fast enough that there was no opportunity for anything like a dialog.

Motorists don't seem to WANT any dialog. They mostly want to be on their way, I suppose, just as I do. Few seem to wish me personal harm, although there are a few who would rather I be out of their way and who are quite vocal about it.

Those seem to feel an inflated sense of self-importance, especially compared to some lonely figure pedaling a bike on a snowy afternoon. I have news for them. I'm just as important as they are. My time is just as important to me as theirs is to them. By riding a bike, I get to multi-task with a different set of tasks than theirs. I get to exercise while getting where I'm going. I get to save money on transportation so that I can use that money on something I'd rather buy--like nicer food, or more appropriate clothing for me, or a more comfortable house than I might have had if I was strapped into a monthly car payment that is half my take-home pay.

I could be as smug about riding instead of driving as many anti-bicycle folks accuse me of being. Sometimes I probably am, just as they are ridiculously smug about their inflated self-importance enough to assume that because they are willing to pay exorbitant amounts of money for the privilege of operating a motor vehicle they should have priority over me when it comes to road lane allocation.

I prefer to ride my bike instead of driving for many reasons. Not just that it's cheaper. Not just that it has become part of my persona. Not just that I'm getting exercise by doing so. Not just that I'm setting an example by showing it can be done. Not just these reasons alone or in combination.

On my way home yesterday afternoon, I stopped by The Trail Store to see what was happening there. I really like this store for several reasons: It's close--less than a mile and a half from my house, it's locally-owned, the staff are great folks who are encouraged by the store owners to be up to date on their gear knowledge, they carry Vibram Five Fingers shoes in a wide assortment of styles and colors, and so on. When I walked in, I was greeted by another reason I like the store, their current CCO (Chief Canine Officer), Murphy.

Murphy is a year-old Great Dane, and his coloring is a striking blue brindle (or perhaps merle with no white). Murphy is not yet full-grown, and only weighs about 120#. His head is larger than several Great Dane heads I've seen over the years, and is high enough from the floor at normal posture than I can pet him with my elbow at a ninety-degree angle. I suspect that Murphy will fill out to between 150 and160 pounds at some point. He clearly likes coming to work with his person, as he gets lots of attention and pets from customers. Despite his puppy-ish energy levels, he seems to get that he's inside and he doesn't romp around tearing down clothing displays.

Sloppy commute

I don't live in Copenhagen. I am thus not as ready to ride when it's snowing.

Of course, as my commute is a bit more rural than urban, the roads I ride are also not as clear as urban roads in Copenhagen (I've read that they have equipment dedicated to clearing the bike ways AND that they typically do those first--BEFORE clearing roads used by cars!).

Still in all, when I awoke this morning to the sight of snow on the neighbor's roof, I knew I was in for a sloppy ride. When I walked the dog (third on my to-do list on getting out of bed, right after feeding the cats), I was glad to see that the temperature was warm enough that the roads wouldn't be horribly slick--I could ride to work! Jenn has some stuff going today and will need the truck, so getting to work on my own made her morning a bit easier.

The only real problems I had, other than a bit of "pucker factor" changing tire tracks on Westport Road (through a ridge of slush) and a brief moment of "do I really want to ride down the slope on Rollington Road?" was at the rail crossing going from Mt Mercy Drive in Pewee Valley to LaGrange Road. That rail was SLICK! So was the stuff alongside it that makes it a smoother transition for wheels crossing the track! I kept it upright, though, and got onto LaGrange Road just fine.

A few motorists started to act impatient, but it was easy to imagine them thinking, "That guy is CRAZY! I'm giving him some room--he might act even crazier if I don't!" A couple passed me close enough that their tires were spraying the slush ridge at me, so my left leg got a bit damp, but overall things went well enough.

The trip home looks to be a different challenge. I may accept a ride from someone instead of cycling it.

Lazer Urbanize helmet--an update

I have a couple of these helmets now. I started with a white one that has red stripes, and added one like this picture a month or so ago. Jenn has a brown one.

I started to worry about future availability of this one when I saw size/color combinations  being discontinued by QBP, one of the wholesalers we use at the shop. I felt better when I saw the 2011 colors introduced. I've not found a way to show the catalog on here, but I'll keep looking. In the mean time, if you are interested in an Urbanize helmet, drop me a line and we'll talk color/size availability. The helmet is $100, or $80 without the $30 light set. I may be able to get a deal on a close-out size/color combination as well.

I really like the fit of this helmet. The RollSys is a neat method for adjusting the internal shape and size of the retention system, and the helmet breathes well at fairly low speeds. While the integrated lights (front and rear) are dim compared to things like the Planet Bike SuperFlash and the DiNotte taillights some friends have, they are far less likely to get knocked off the helmet in the course of regular handling. They are powered by coin batteries (CR2032 size), but they do make a difference. I was riding with Jenn one night several weeks ago, and let her get well ahead of me to get a sense of how visible she is to other road users (and since her light/reflector/clothing plan is similar to my own, I figure I can also get a sense of how visible I am). I could see the light in the back of her helmet, and how it helps other road users figure out what that UFO-looking thing up the road really is.

For winter wear (and one reason I now have two of this helmet), Lazer has introduced a $20 liner for this helmet.

To install this liner, one removes the existing padding (held in place with Velcro), and places the pads sewn into this liner in their places. The ear flaps have elastic bands affixed through which go the main helmet straps.

I finally got a chance to test this liner a few times last week. I like it, overall: It's comfy, and it keeps my forehead and ears warm on a fairly cool commute (low 30s F). I was pleasantly surprised to find that I did NOT need my usual silk balaclava to be tolerant of, if not completely comfortable at, that temperature. I'll be looking forward to seeing how this liner feels at my current temperature minimum of 20F for the hour or so commute.

The ear flaps have a curious feature that is apparently intended to allow sound through without the severe noise attenuation that would impede noticing traffic cues. My largest complaint with the liner is that it increases the wind noise ALL the time. It's not horrible, but it is noticeable.

To my knowledge, the only US distributor for Lazer Helmets is QBP. However, MANY bike shops buy from QBP, so it's easy enough to find a local bike shop that can order this for you. As may seem obvious, the shop where I work buys from QBP, and I can get you this helmet and liner if you like.

I'm back!

I consider myself a very lucky man. How many folks in my age group can go visit a living grandparent? How many of my high-school classmates knew any of their great-grandparents?

I've known three of my biological grandparents fairly well. My mother's father died when I was a youngster--I was probably five at the time--and had had health problems for over ten years before that, so I really didn't get to know him at all. I only remember having seen him once or twice. On the other hand, my paternal grandmother's mother (my great-grandmother) lived until I was eight, and I got to spend a lot of time with her.

My mother's mother passed away ten years ago, and had been dealing with some form of dementia for a few years before that. She knew who I was the last times I saw her, but it always surprised her that I was an adult--she remembered me as a child, never mind having seen me as an adult before her dementia took over.

My father's father died early in 2006, a few months before what would have been his ninety-fifth birthday. He and my grandmother had been married a few months over seventy-two YEARS. Shortly after he died, I posted a brief reflection on but one facet of him to the kycyclist list server.

Anyway, my surviving grandmother recently had some heart problems. She now has a pacemaker, and her doctors have been fine-tuning her medications so that she can enjoy a few more months (or years--who knows?) with us. Things were a bit "sketchy" for a week or two, but she has rebounded in fine form. She is in good spirits, enjoys a laugh or three an hour, and although her hearing and vision are not what they once were, she still figures out what's happening in her world and enjoys being with folks.

Jenn and I got to go visit her for a few days.


We took the tandem, figuring on getting out on it a bit. We rode it a total of about nine miles. It just seemed more productive to spend the time we could visiting. My grandmother had been one to take a few naps a day, but she has been more alert the last few days, enjoying the world again now that her heart is pumping more as it should. It was a great visit. I'm very glad we went.