Consecutive bicycle work commute number 2152:

My wife's car had a tire with a slow leak, so I dropped it off at the shop this morning. Pulled my road bike out of the back, left the car and took the long way to the client's office. Then I'll do the process in reverse at the end of the day. The little bit of driving I did reminded me of how much better cycle commuting is. Too much stress behind the wheel.

It was a glorious morning. 68°F with a very light breeze. Rode a couple miles to the MUP, and took that downtown. It turned a 2 mile direct ride into 7 miles, but was worth it. Apparently everyone else knew what kind of morning it was too, as the MUP was packed with walkers, joggers and other cyclists.

I drove yesterday, because over lunch I went to pick up my road bike, which was at the shop having a new cable installed. I admit I don't know how to do it with brifters, and didn't feel like I had time.

Today, I took the eBike and was planning to go un-powered for the commute, then most likely use some power to go to the bike club board meeting after work tonight. As soon as I started heading east, I got hit by a headwind. Then when I turned north, it got worse; 13 gusting to 20.
Nope. Warp Drive: ENGAGE. My legs are still not 100% after the 94 mile Saturday and 36 mile Monday, both at high effort, so I'm babying them since yesterday.

So, 2 mile commute to work, then 5.5 miles to the grocery store for the meeting, then 6 miles home, all on the eBike.

Had a bit more energy this morning compared to Tuesday, but that might have been the tailwind. The nice north breeze made for some cooler temps too.

101 and a bit smoky. Teenagers all around the lake to jump in it. Good idea. I wouldn’t normally ride when it’s this hot but I also don’t normally ride this late in the afternoon and it caught me out. I already had a weak and achy feeling day, I’m not sure why. On the way home up the hill approaching the house I actually had to stop and take a little break.

Yet another mostly uneventful commute day on the main commuter...and that's okay. I took the lighter, minimal bag but threw in the rain gear. That's my rain cape/poncho, and a plastic bag for the backpack. The small bag and rubber band for the phone stays in the pocket of the phone holster I wear when riding.

Lots of thunder in the afternoon but no rain, in fact, hot and sunny for the ride home.

I took a street route which has less traffic than the trails in the summer. Crossing the last "busy" street on the way home a speeding car made me stop half way on the narrow median. I used to be able to stop in the left turn lane, but I think Google is routing traffic to it more these days.

I have a new commute. That is to say I have a new workplace, if you can call it that. I'm in a fellowship which is really an internship. Teaching in the mornings and taking a graduate level course in the afternoon, both in the same location. Except that administrative snags have delayed our teaching assignments so we have not taught yet. So we have our course in the morning and we go home at lunch time.

It's only two miles each way. Tuesday and Wednesday I took Citi Bike because all the trouble of preparing my bike and clothing before riding and locking it up are not worth the trouble. There is a Citi Bike station across the street from my home and another across the street from the school. Easy.

But. these bikes are so uncomfortable for me. Yesterday (Thursday), I took my own bike. The difference in comfort is noticeable. The spot I chose to lock my bike is probably safe enough, right in front of the school. There is a ton of foot traffic there. When I ride this bike to this site, I could take a leisurely ride home if I choose, and maybe I will one day. When I take Citi Bike there, I might choose to walk home. I've come to like walking as well as cycling, and two miles is a nice, substantial distance though not insanely long.

One really nice thing about the location is that it's in Chinatown! It's a neighborhood I've always loved. I feel lucky that I now live close to it, and it's crazy that I'm not there more often.

I was a bit bummed to see the weather forecast this morning calling for rain in the afternoon. High chance I would ride home in the rain.
On the way out, I realized I could come home and join my wife for lunch, and swap the bike for the car at that point, so that's what I did. Just a simple 4 mile commute then.

We wound up spending lunch running an errand together. My car is a CR-V hybrid though, and it reported 71 mpg for that errand, so at least I didn't burn much gas.

Rain all evening, so I'll probably abandon my ticket to the local baseball game. :-( Nothing to do during a rainy baseball game but drink and I quit drinking 3 months ago.

It's been a few years since I've been to China Town in NYC...I don't remember it being particularly bike-friendly (or car friendly for that matter). I just looked on Google Maps and didn't see a lot of bike lanes, maybe I'm wrong.

...but what an exciting place to be!

I grew up in the City. We don't need no stinkin' bike friendliness.

The streets are so narrow that I just ride in the center. I think the City is considering getting rid of cars on some small streets. It would be an improvement. They're making lots of improvements, doing mostly the right things but at the wrong pace.

I wish I could use a video camera when I ride. Long story, but I just can't. You might be amazed at the stuff that happens. Today I rode from my home to the big Port Authority Bus Terminal so I could escape the City. 8th Ave in the afternoon is insane. Hours later, the "reel" is still playing in my mind as I sit here in the woods in High Falls, NY.

It has worked swimmingly for Paris!

Here's one of the sources: https://toolsofchange.com/en/case-st...el%20in%202022.

Nice ride in this morning. I wanted to take the scooter to save my legs a bit for tonight's group ride, but there are two cars in the driveway. My stepdaughter's car is home awaiting a brake job, so our two cars are in the driveway.

I can get a bike out, but not the scooter. I took it as a sign and rode the Priority Apollo 11 gravel bike to work today. Yesterday, I rode the little folder. The Priority is MUCH faster. It felt like cheating, by comparison. I'm glad I did take a muggle bike today; the little bit of cardio really energized me.

I do need to make sure I don't let the gas in the scooter go bad, though...

Tomorrow night, I don't get to join the easy club ride, as my stepdaughter and I are going to the Killer Queen concert in Milwaukee. (Queen tribute band) We'll see if their singer can hit those highs like Ol' Freddy...

A car-watching first for me today - a noisy Tesla, an older S. Don't know if it was gear noise or tires rubbing but it was a steady note.

Lots of litter on the bike trail. The weekend traffic surely left it all behind. The old guys who pick up trash on their walk, and the homeless who pick up bottles for the return value, had not been out yet. It will likely all be gone by lunch time when I ride back. But there was also some socks, which I can't explain.

My oldest kid recently moved from Cub to Boy scouts. Their biggest annual fund raiser is cleanup each day at the Folsom Pro Rodeo. The rodeo is July 3,4,5 and the cleanups are each morning after. We only made it on the 6th due to a camping trip. I was completely appalled by the mess left by my fellow citizens. We filled up, must have been fifty 96-gal rolly bins. Next year I am going to set up a gopro or my phone to do a time lapse. We had some unfortunate people going through the line of bins looking for larger containers (CRV 10c over 24 oz, 5c under), then coming back to get as many water bottles as they could carry before the trash truck came. I don't know who set the tone but I was glad we politely ignored them, which seemed like the right thing to do in the circumstance. The whole thing didn't make me feel that great about volunteering. The mess left by the crowd was so antithetical to the ethics promoted by Scouting

14C/57F with a damp chill in the air. Got honked at in the last stretch before the office (I was doing nothing wrong, and he had plenty of space to get around me, so ???), and I ended up following the honker into the parking lot at work. I didn't confront him though.

Replaced the spoke on the rear of the "DropHopper" and re-trued the wheel. It sure felt faster...coulda just been the beautiful morning:

Broke the chain on the Baconator, halfway home, at the top of the climb eastbound to China Wall. Karma for all the fresh hubris discovering I had not-Lyotard pedals. I found the empty side plate but not the other side with the pins. I thought I had a chain tool in this bag but the only remaining bike tool I found was the pump. Meanwhile in the seat bag there was only flat tire stuff.

A little old lady on a tadpole saw it happen and asked if I was ok. A few minutes later she reappeared and said, nice scooter. She was doing laps between the Iron Point train station entrance and China Wall. Saw her one more time and she just laughed at me.

I walked from here. If it had to happen I’m glad it happened at lunch when it was 90 and not 4pm when it’ll be 100.





Misapprehended hello- honk?

I carry a chain tool in my "everything" commute bag, but more and more I've been taking the lighter minimalist bag even when I'm riding the bikes with back racks. But how often does a chain break? For me, I think in 33 years of commuting and weekend rides maybe 3 times....so I guess I'm due. I always feel a little unprepared when taking the light bag...now I'll feel just a little more uneasy.

Yes I follow the news of these changes in many cities. I was in Paris in 2019 when it was already underway but recent videos show many more changes. Building a car-dependent society seemed like a good idea at the time, and the evidence is back from the lab, and it's not good. I've been a transportation advocate since I was in high school, for what it's worth. That includes cycling, mass transit, and everything else.

It's a tough call. It would have been silly to carry a chain tool years ago, but chains have become weaker and finickier as we've added speeds. I found a very small and lightweight tool, and I'm pretty sure it's in my kit.

oh get lost it was a 5 speed chain this time. If there were a quick link I'd have been ok in moments with no tools as I would on any 11 speed bike. I think this is just my year for chain problems

Oh jeez, that's weird!

After a stellar ride to work yesterday, the ride home was a little less so. Two underpasses from the office (not the ones in yesterday's video) a man had ignited a fire in the weedy/grassy area by the river with no grill and no containment. I called 911 because a few years ago on the old commute route I watched a similar fire grow from the size of a kitchen table to half and acre in 5 minutes (or less). As with other incidents reported on the MUPS, emergency services has trouble locating them due to their street-based system and they had to call back for help. I hadn't stuck around.

A few miles later the homeless man who lies under Nevada Avenue on the MUP was back after a week's hiatus. It's very dangerous for him and anyone who may hit him. So far there have been no reports of injuries, but the authorities including councilmembers have been flooded with reports of this man's endangering himself (and others). The response is always "he can't be helped if he doesn't want to be helped". I'm sure if he was repeatedly laying ON Nevada Avenue and not on a MUP he'd be institutionalized by now.

But overall, the ride home was uplifting. I had ridden the Drop-Hopper, despite being my heaviest bike, felt lighter, faster and more responsive than it should.

This morning I had to take my 2021 Ford Escape in for a door hinge recall. I bought it one year ago and haven't had it to the dealership yet. Google says it's exactly one mile from the dealer to my office, and I walked it last winter when I took my wife's van to the Kia dealership next door. It took about 30 minutes due to a hill and some snow, but I wanted to walk it anyway. (We don't go there anymore. The better Kia Dealer is 12 miles north of the office which makes for a thrilling downhill bombing run, with a dealer-supplied ride back up north.)

I took the 2007 20" Dahon Boardwalk folder which fits behind the back seat of the SUV with just folding it in half so I don't have to lower and fold the steering mast, (although I do have to lower the seat 2-inches to clear the brake levers). The Boardwalk is such a normal biking experience compared to my smaller, yellow 1980 Dahon Getaway project bodge. The car should be ready mid-afternoon, but if it had to stay longer I could ride home. There's a bus that stops right in front of the office, and fares are free through the summer, but the hourly schedule and circuitous route system and necessary transfer with its 20-minute wait makes a 6-mile trip last 75 minutes, versus 35 riding and 20-25 driving.

The bike's odometer said .7 miles and 5.5 minutes riding, but its wireless and I've had issues with it failing to register in the past, although I think it may have been accurate this time.

It's bike lanes all the way which is nice.

Refreshing this morning. Temps in the low 80s. Headwind, 5-10mph. Got extra exercise..

Another chilly morning (for July) at about 12C/54F. I wore long sleeves! My news feed is full of headlines about Europe being hot enough to melt lead, and just above me, locolobo13 is calling 80'sF "refreshing", but here in Edmonton, we've had about 3 days so far this year that I would consider "hot". I'm not complaining. This summer has been lovely weather-wise. And it's not over... we still could be in for a good, old-fashioned heat wave.

BobbyG , it looks like you have a lovely commute. Your video might only show the best bits (and maybe some of the worst) but it looks like your city has decent cycling infrastructure.

I've been bike commuting in Colorado Springs since moving here in Sept 1992. The cycling infrastructure has really blossomed in the last 15 years! Got more commute and ride vids here:
https://www.youtube.com/@bgvideo62/playlists

City Nerd, who presents various topics on Urbanism and Transportation, had some wonderful words for Colorado Springs. That was in a video I watched yesterday.* Now I'm starting to get the idea. I've been to Denver and was not impressed there, but of course Colorado Springs is a different place. I'd love to see it as well as Boulder.

* I can't find the link to the video. Maybe it was a preview that will be published soon.