the offroad less traveled

My friends at The Spin Cycle are replacing the bottom bracket and truing the wheels on the Trek 2100. I hope to have it back for the weekend. In the meantime I've been riding my wife's antediluvian Nishiki Backroads mountain bike for which, outrageously, there is no image available. It's treated me well for the 10 miles per day I've been riding it. I pick shorter, flatter routes to get to work and around town than on the 2100. Though I make elaborate plans to avoid hills, I'm impressed by how quickly it spins up the inclines I can't avoid. To say nothing of its stability. Riding on giant tires is a lot like riding on tank treads.

No longer alone

There's another bicycle commuter at work. He promised before he left for his wedding that he would start riding after he got back from his honeymoon. To his immeasurable credit, he's pedalled in the last two days since his return. He may not do it every day, much less to meet every work obligation, but it's a thrill to see more rather than fewer riders. I'm also impressed that he comes in on a GT Palomar, a model I also own, though his is several years newer. You rock, colleague.

A long way to pedal

I picked up this link from Harrison, my transportation planner buddy. My second year as a commuter may have started this morning but some roads go on forever. Thoughts of cycling in the Northwest often leave me drooling and whoozy, but the article clarifies that we ignorant Americans have miles to ride before we're truly cycling friendly.

My red badge

I was surprised to end up with a red arm band at the Ride of Silence tonight. When I arrived at the sign-in table, the woman asked if I'd ever been hurt on a bike. I'm pretty sure I responded with a mumbled "gurf?"

She asked again, "have you ever been hit by a car?"

"Yeah, but I was 12. It was more than 30 years ago."

"You get a red arm band," she said as she tied it around my left biceps.

I noticed that nearly every one else had a black one.

I pulled my bike to the back of the line. The people next to me told me riders with red bands were supposed to go to the front. I said I was happy where I was.

My justification, which I summarized for them even more briefly, was that it was an accident caused by me exercising the judgment of a harried, distracted 12-year-old. I was late for school and I almost avoided being perpendicular to the car. He clipped the back wheel. The driver stopped and I popped up and apologized. I hope he still doesn't have nightmares. My bike was slightly bent but I still rode to school. When I got home I'm pretty sure I stashed the 10-speed in the basement. Since I rode some days and walked others I don't think loyalty to walking was noticed from that time forward. And when you're 12 and late for school and you know that you dashed out in front of the car, that you got hit is the sort of thing you might neglect mentioning to your mom, especially when you can pedal away.

The ride tonight was good. I never ride that slowly — in places 7 mph — but it felt nice to be in a low, low gear spinning behind the other 86 riders. The five miles took about 35 or 40 minutes. Befitting its name, the ride through Research Triangle Park and east Durham was very quiet.

The ride home was in some ways better. I pulled Patrick, who was riding a folding bike, south along Davis Drive from RTP to Morrisville. What impressed me was that on a folding bike he could stay close enough that there was pulling to be done. One of the things I got from Patrick was perspective about red bands. He asked about my red band and then told me about his. He got whacked by a car probably about 20 years ago and landed on his head but everyone was able to walk away. He didn't realize until later he had a separated shoulder. But that's not why he was on the ride. He told me he rode because of a guy named Al Johnson, who made the ride with us tonight. Al damn near died after a bike wreck in Virginia some time ago that included weeks in ICU and, not suprisingly, months off the bike. Even though I never, ever want anyone to clip my back wheel again — or to cause it — I think it's understandable that I'm glad not to be Al. And I don't ever want to be. Let's just hope I can size up a situation better at 44 than at 12.

Six months of cycledork — and a year of commuting

Tomorrow will be six months since cycledork generated the first message about socks on fire.

More memorable for the 'dork is that today marks one year of bicycle commuting. What a great fuckin' year, all +/- 4,000 miles of it. I've missed two days cycling to work: May 19, 2006 because of a flat tire and June 14, 2006 because of inadequate preparation for Tropical Storm Alberto. I'm now prepared for either of those situations not to mention many, many more. Here's to all the miles in front of me — and you. See you on the road.

Ride of Silence

occurs every year during Bike to Work Week to remember cyclists killed or injured while riding. The Triangle ride is tomorrow, May 16 at 7 p.m. in RTP. Even though I find the concept a little melodramatic — trust me, I am aware every day that cyclists die or are hurt on the road — I plan on being there. Another purpose of the ride is to remind all of us that we share the road. I'm happy to add to the strength in numbers to underscore that reminder. A few more miles will be good for me anyway.

It's bike to work week

Not just for me but for everybody. All week, May 14 through May 18. So go put some air in your tires and get pedalling. This means you.

Black coffee on bike

Nothing comes between me and my coffee in the morning. And don't try. The black gold is essential to my precommute ritual. The good news, at least in this case, is that you can take it with you. bicyclecoffeesystems specializes in helping cyclists keep the coffee flowing out of the kitchen and during the ride. Even more heartening is learning that some people take their coffee even more seriously than I do.

Welcome friend

My buddy who runs Peripheral Vision probably knows about as much about cycling as I do about photography. On the other hand, Cycledork can say much more certainly that I know much less about cycling than Peripheral Vision knows about photography. I am equally as confident the gap will not close any time soon. If you want to learn about pictures and how the pros take them check out this site, which is included in "Where the 'dork pedals" on the right side of the screen. If we're lucky maybe we'll see some bike shots on the site.

Not just more mapping software

Yeah, veloroutes looks like googlemaps adapted for cycling. That is what it is — and so much easier to use. It is truly point-and-click software. For instance, check out this map for how I get started every day. It probably took me five minutes, if that long. There's probably a lot it can do with it that I haven't figured out, as well as a lot it can't do that I don't realize yet. For now I'm convinced it's the real deal.

Cycledork is impressed

Even if this is complete bullshit. And that aroma may not be what I think it is if this guy has done the Race Across America eight times. Thanks to the Gears 4 Beersnewsgroup for keeping me posted. My guess is I'm closing in on 1 percent of the amount Danny claims.

Drum beats …

for Bike to Work Week are already audible. The annual big event for cycle commuters is May 14 through May 18. If you live in western Wake County, one of The Cary News reporters is planning a victory ride (victory over what I'm not sure) and inviting anyone who wants to join him to go. I'll be going since the long route looks good. Maybe I can find out about the victory too.

All cycling roads start in Davis

Every person in this country who rides a bicycle should pray — or at least generate a positive thought — toward Davis, Calif. five times a day. When it comes to cycling, this university town of about 65,000 is in its own universe. A lot of what is still considered progressive or radical cycling facilitywise in many places has been part of the landscape in Davis for decades. It introduced the bike lane to America while Lyndon Johnson was president. More than one-sixth of all trips in Davis are made by bike. There are no school buses in Davis because kids ride bikes to school. Davis is the only city in the United States to be named a platinum-level Bicycle Friendly City. But Davis sees challenges to and opportunities for its cycling supremacy, as this article points out. Thanks to Harrison Marshall, transportation planner and planning news aggregator extraordinaire, for the link.