Kent's Bike Blog

Shifting Gears: When, Where, How & Why

2012-05-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

If you are already totally comfortable shifting the gears on your bicycle, please feel free to skip this article -- it's not written for you. But if you're unsure of what those levers that change gears on your bike actually do and when you might want to use one lever over the other, read on. I was prompted to write these words by the dozens of very smart, intelligent people I've met over the years who have been baffled by bicycle shifting.

First off, let's talk about numbers. Numbers can be very useful in discussing things on a bicycle, but they can also be confusing because numbers in conversation are actually words and words have different meanings in different contexts. When I was a kid, when we talked about a "ten-speed bike", we were talking about a bike with ten different gear combinations. The bike had two gears up front, five in the back and front and rear derailleurs that were used to select the combination. Two times five is ten, so that's how the term "ten-speed" came about. Since then, the industrious folks in the bike industry have added more and more gears in the back and today when we speak of a "ten-speed drive-train" we are actually talking about ten gears in the back of a bicycle that may have two or three rings up front. I'm not sure that this is progress and I wrote a rant on the subject a few years ago. It still is very common for a customer to ask me how many gears a bike has and the response I give most often is to say "a bunch." I then go on to explain the old and new "ten-speed" terminology and that while the bike they are looking at may have X different combinations of gears, it is most productive to look not at the sheer number of gear combinations, but at the range of the gears. Basically, as a rider you want your bike to have a low enough gear to get you up the hills without too much effort, a high enough gear to let you go fast without feeling "spun out" and a reasonable selection of gears in between. I sometimes add "for some people, that's all one gear!"

While some people can do fine with a single gear, most folks like to have some choices. One way to get that choice is to use a bike with an internally geared hub and a good discussion of hub gears can be found at:

http://hubstripping.wordpress.com/geared-hubs-vs-derailleur/

While hub gears and single speed bicycles have various advantages, derailleur gearing continues to be a versatile system for providing the rider with a wide range of light-weight, efficient gears. A good, geeky discussion of gear ranges can be found at:

http://web.archive.org/web/20090303203321/http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Port/2945/Gears/Gears.html

The downside of all these gear combinations and math discussions is that people tend to get overwhelmed by numbers and worry that they're in the "wrong" gear. Over years of discussing gearing with anxious riders, I've found the following explanation of gearing to be helpful.

I'll use my own bike as an example, but any bike with a front and rear shifter will do. I begin by putting the nervous rider at ease by saying "just because you have a bunch of gears doesn't mean that you have to use them." And then I show them a bit of technique and give them one way to think about the gears. I've had many customers come back later and thank me because nobody ever took the time to explain gearing to them before. As bike geeks, it's hard sometimes to remember just how weird derailleur shifting really is.

In explaining the mechanics of shifting I say "bikes don't have clutches. You shift while pedaling, but it's best to shift with very little load on the chain. So you shouldn't be stomping the pedals but instead it should feel like the bike is going faster than you are. Mostly this means scanning the terrain ahead and downshifting before the big hill. If the terrain gets too steep, too suddenly, push hard in your 'too hard gear' to build up a bit of speed, then ease up on the effort and downshift. If you can't do that, get off and walk. Soon you'll learn to anticipate the shift."

Here's how I explain the front shifter:

"You have either two or three chain rings up front. If you have two, think of them as low and high. If you have three, think of them as low, medium and high. Low is for going up hills and easy pedaling. High is for going fast or when you're feeling strong. If you have a middle gear, it's probably the one you'll be in the most. If your shifter has numbers on it, smaller numbers indicate the easier gears. I mainly use my front shifter based on terrain. If I'm going up, I'm using the little ring up front, the one numbered one. If I'm going down, I'm probably on the big ring, the one numbered three. If I'm just cruising around, I'm probably in my middle ring."

In talking about the gears in the back, my explanation goes like this:

"While I pick the gears up front based on terrain, I tend to pick the gear on the back based on how I feel. If things seem to easy, I pick a harder gear. On my shifter the gear is labeled with a higher number, indicating it's harder. If things seem a bit too hard, I move to a lower number, indicating an easier gear. Again, shift while pedaling but without much of a load. Pedal fast and hard for a few seconds, ease up (while still spinning) and shift. By the way, on the back the gears with fewer teeth are the harder ones, while up front it's opposite. You may have noticed that the front and rear shifters work the opposite on your bike. Yes, this is weird. On my bike I select my easy gear up front with my thumb and my easy gear in the back with my finger. I've done this basically forever (and bikes have been made this way damn near forever) and I've gotten used to it, but that doesn't make it less weird. You are not weird if this seems stupid to you."

Bikes are not as efficient if the chain is at an extreme angle and that is what happens if you are in the biggest ring up front and the biggest ring in the back or the smallest ring up front and the smallest ring in the back. It's often a gear combination like that people are talking about when they say you are in the "wrong" gear. It is wrong in the sense that you are sending mixed messages to the bike. On the one hand you are saying "I want to be in an easy gear" and literally on the other hand you are saying "I want to be in a hard gear". If your left shifter is displaying it's lowest number and your right shifter is displaying it's highest number (or vice versa) your chain may be rubbing and your bike may be complaining. With practice, you'll naturally learn to avoid these inefficient gear combinations and you'll almost instinctively select the right gear for where you are riding and how you are feeling.

The bicycle is a wonderful machine and the human mind and body are a wonderfully adaptive. With a bit of understanding and practice selecting the right gear becomes easy. What can be confusing at the start becomes simple with time. As easy as riding a bike.

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

The Bicycle and the Bush by Jim Fitzpatrick: A Review

2012-05-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

In an earlier time, I doubt I would have run across a copy of Jim Fitzpatrick's wonderful book The Bicycle and the Bush: Man and Machine in Rural Australia. I doubt that a publisher would print a large number of copies of a book in so special a niche so I count myself thankful for today's digital age where the World Wide Web, Twitter and Amazon have made searching into clicking and this book into bytes. Those technologies have conspired to deliver Fitzpatrick's careful study to my eager eyes and this book is a treat.

Fitzpatrick spent years researching this book, which looks at the bicycle's use in Australia from about 1890 through 1920. While the book focuses mainly on rural Australia, Fitzpatrick puts the bicycle in its global context and I found myself learning much about bicycling in England and America as well. This is fundamentally a book about technology and how it shapes, alters and integrates into people's lives. Sheep shearers, gold miners, fence runners, clergy and others are all profiled, as are some of the famous racers of the day. Conflicts that we still see to this day, things like bike vs. horse use on the trails and debates of what constitutes proper riding position and attire are traced to their early roots.

I found myself highlighting nearly a hundred passages in this virtual book, subjecting my Twitter followers to a stream of "hey did you know?" updates from my Kindle at odd hours while I stayed up devouring this fascinating document. And the pictures that Fitzpatrick found in old magazines and journals are terrific. I've included some cameraphone shots taken from my Kindle screen below to give you a sense of the book. And my notes and highlights can be read here.

Fitzpatrick's book isn't perfect. At one point he breaks out of the time period of the bulk of the book to discuss a modern day human powered strawberry picker. I actually found this bit of the book fascinating, but it did seem out of place.

Grant Petersen, whose book I reviewed last week, would love chatting with Jim Fitzpatrick. Near the close of his book Fitzpatrick laments that many modern bikes have lost the versatility (thing like wide tyres and comfortable upright riding positions) that made the bicycle such a valuable tool in harsh conditions. I think Fitzpatrick would be encouraged by the current existence of companies like Rivendell and things like the rediscovery of the usefulness of frame bags by the current generation of bikepackers.

In The Bicycle and the Bush: Man and Machine in Rural Australia Jim Fitzpatrick has done more than write a great book. He's basically built a time machine to transport the reader back to an earlier age. And that is something nearly as wonderful as the bicycle itself.

Just Ride by Grant Petersen: A Review

2012-05-15T20:59:00.002-07:00

Grant Petersen is one of the great souls in the world of bicycles. He's been called a retro-grouch but I've never actually found him to be grouchy. The retro label fits better but in an industry obsessed with faster, better, lighter and newer, a considered consideration of the notion that some old values might still have value is a welcome perspective. For years, at Bridgestone and more recently at Rivendell, Grant Petersen has provided that consideration and put products out into the world that he finds to be "simple, practical and proven."

I've mentioned Grant's book, Just Ride, a couple of times earlier on this blog and last night the Kindle version of the book went live on Amazon. These days I prefer getting my books in electronic form, so I'd been waiting for the digital release. One feature of the Kindle is the ability for a reader to highlight and Tweet out links to passages in a book and last night and this morning my Twitter followers found their streams filled with snippets from Grant's book as I quickly and delightedly clicked my way through the virtual pages of Just Ride, highlighting as I went.

I've seen this book in the real world and it's a slim volume but it is packed full of interesting thoughts about bicycles and riding. While I certainly don't agree with everything Grant has to say (I think he conveniently ignores the folks who have fun racing, for example), his perspective is well worth reading. I found myself highlighting many passages.

Folks familiar with Grant's work won't be surprised by the kind words he uses to describe steel as a material for bicycles but may be surprised to find he has this to say about titanium:

"Price aside, it is the ideal material for winter commuting on salted roads. Titanium frames were most popular in the pre-carbon years of about 1990 to around 2003. It’s still a terrific frame material, but it’s more labor-intensive than factory-built carbon frames. Titanium may be the only frame material in common use that doesn’t have either a real or perceived drawback. I’m not saying it’s the best material, and it isn’t my favorite, just that no matter how big a fan you are of steel, aluminum, carbon, or bamboo, you’ve got to like the all-around wonderfulness of titanium."

He's much more cautious of carbon, however:

"Carbon is... the least defect-tolerant fork material. Defect tolerance is a material’s ability to maintain its toughness—and safety—when there’s a defect. Defects may be contamination between layers of carbon fiber, or a gap, or the weave of carbon not being optimized for the directional stresses). Or the defect may be a wound caused by an accident. In any case, because carbon fails so suddenly, a defect in a carbon fork can be disastrous."

Grant espouses a certain aesthetic that not everyone shares. For example, he writes:

"Most panniers come in pairs but can be used singly, and you often see students or commuters riding around with only one. Whatever works is fine, but it’s an irritating sight, kind of like somebody walking around, perfectly content and all, in a long-sleeved shirt with one of the sleeves rolled up all the way."

I can understand his irritation, I feel the same way whenever I see shellacked handlebar tape. I think that's one of the goofiest things ever.

A book that only contains words you agree with is not nearly as useful as one that makes you think and that you learn things from, and Grant has written such a book. He questions things, like helmets and blinkie lights, and comes down firmly in favor of things like sturdy tires. I won't argue with him on that one, his sentiments echo mine:

"It’s easy to buy tires with an extra layer of rubber, nylon, kevlar, or something else between the casing and tread to stop thorns. Every extra bit of protection adds weight that will always scare off racers and others under the spell, but for all-purpose Unracing rides, I like extra flat protection. Why not? I’ve fixed at least five hundred flats in my life, I’m really good at it, and I still hate it. Beef up my tires, thank you."

Grant questions lots of authority in this book, including his own. He's designed many bike frames but he knows there are things he doesn't know:

"Drop is the one area of bike geometry I feel fuzzy about. I have suspicions about it, but no convictions. I’m suspicious of anybody who is as declarative about it as I used to be."

I could go on for longer than the book about this section or that with which I agree or differ but I am not Grant and you are not me so my message here is simple: Read Grant's book. It's good and it's useful. I liked it and I think you will as well.

Here's a final bit from the book that I liked:

"Be saintlike on the bike path. You are the predator, so ride slowly and defer to everyone. Signal your approach with a bell or a “hi.” Pass with at least two feet of clearance and ride at or below the speed limit (usually 15 miles per hour), at least when people are in sight. Keep both hands on the handlebars, because one- or no-handed riding makes nervous riders even more nervous. Stay to the right, pass on the left. If you’re a guy, don’t chitchat with solo women you meet—give them their space. Always use lights at night, because bike paths aren’t lit up, and reflectors won’t work..."

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

Lots of nice bikes came to see Grant Petersen in Seattle

2012-05-13T07:51:00.001-07:00

On Friday, May 12th 2012 Grant Petersen visited Seattle to talk about his book Just Ride and to just ride with a few folks. An overflow crowd more than filled Free Range Cycles and Seattle did its best to dispel the "it rains all the time" myth. I can't tell you what Grant had to say because I figured it'd be best to let the less claustrophobic and more hard core fans pack into the shop for the talk, but we all had a nice ride afterwards and I took a few pictures of some really nice bikes.

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah, WA USA

Biking the Denali Park Road

2012-05-10T13:56:00.001-07:00

My scientist son Peter lives and works in Fairbanks, Alaska. This past weekend, he took his Hummer out for a spin with some of his friends. Here's Peter's quick note:

Some friends and I biked the Denali Park road this weekend. They let bikes on while they are still working on plowing it for the tourist buses. It's a much nicer ride when you don't have to deal with bus traffic. It was a good year for wild life. I saw a golden eagle, sheep, caribou and grizzly bears. Very cool! My friend sent me some pictures off her camera, including some good shots of one of the bears we saw (In a steep canyon below the road, close enough for good photos but still safe). The other bears we saw were moving along a ridge line very far away. Thankfully, we did not run into the one that had been hanging out on top of one of the mountain passes near the road.

Thanks to Peter's friend Vanessa Stevens for her kind permission to share some of her pictures here.

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

Inkling

2012-05-09T07:00:00.001-07:00

Last November Christine and I adopted a black kitten we named Inkling. Inkling is a very mellow, friendly little guy and he's made himself right at home with us. When Christine's bike is parked, Inkling figures the basket is a good place to settle in for a rest.

Grant Petersen in Seattle on May 11th

2012-05-06T08:45:00.001-07:00

Grant Petersen, the bicycle riding founder of Rivendell Bicycle Works will be in Seattle this Friday to talk about his book, Just Ride: A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike. Details of his Seattle appearance can be found at Brian Hanson's blog One Cycle Seattle. Basically, the schedule looks like this:

Grant will do a brief talk about his book from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM at Free Range Cycles followed by a half-hour Question and Answer Session. A bike ride along the ship canal & out to Golden Gardens will follow starting at 6:00 PM. The proposed route can be seen by following a link on Brian's Blog.

Brian asked me to help spread the word about Grant's talk and the ride, something that I'm happy to do. Brian tells me that he "hopes they have a good turnout." I know how big Free Range Cycles is (it's a great shop, but it's tiny!) and I know how popular Grant is in bike-crazed Seattle, so I don't think the problem will be that too few people show up for this event. It's a good thing the forecast is for good weather because I don't think everybody is going to fit inside Free Range Cycles. But don't let that keep you from going. Grant's an interesting, thoughtful guy and Friday night looks like it'll be a good time.

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

How To Be Slow

2012-05-03T09:46:00.001-07:00

The great Sheldon Brown once asked, "If you are in a hurry, why are you on a bicycle?" While bicycles can be incredibly efficient machines and often in urban settings they may in fact be the fastest, most logical vehicle to convey a person between two points, we do ourselves and our devices a disservice if we measure our lives and land only by the speed of our travels.

While racing bicycles is certainly a legitimate and fun activity, many more people ride than race. Yet much of the literature of cycling and vast sections of our bicycle shops are devoted to haste. This situation, of course, is not confined to bicycles. From many corners of our society, we are urged onward, encouraged to hasten somewhere, anywhere but where we are right now, because, over the next horizon surely, the grass must be greener. Never mind the color of the grass right here, beneath your feet, who has time for such things?

Perhaps you do.

Last month I wandered, mostly around my little town. I wandered somewhere every day. Not far most days and seldom was I speedy. Somehow it added up to something that seemed to me to be worth doing. I don't know what my heart rate was, but I know my heart was in the effort. That was enough.

Christine recently found a book she shared with me, one I'd like to share with you. It will do nothing to make you fast, but it is a lovely look at being slow. It was written by a woman who can barely move and it is about snails. And it's very, very, good. It's called The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating.

The author, Elisabeth Tova Bailey, writes:

"I wrote to one of my doctors: I could never have guessed what would get me through this past year—a woodland snail and its offspring; I honestly don’t think I would have made it otherwise. Watching another creature go about its life . . . somehow gave me, the watcher, purpose too. If life mattered to the snail and the snail mattered to me, it meant something in my life mattered, so I kept on . . . Snails may seem like tiny, even insignificant things compared to the wars going on around the world or a million other human problems, but they may well outlive our own species."

Ms. Bailey finds commonalities in snail and human existence without forcing either one to be the other:

"My snail went about its life, moment to moment, much as I did, making decisions—or being indecisive—about food and shelter and sleep. If a snail can learn and remember, then it thinks, at least on some level; I was convinced of this. And until someone (preferably a snail) can prove otherwise, I will hold on to this belief. The life of a snail is as full of tasty food, comfortable beds of sorts, and a mix of pleasant and not-so-pleasant adventures as that of anyone I know."

I found this bit of Ms. Bailey's writing to be both funny and wise:

"With only thirty-two adult teeth, which had to last the rest of my life, I found myself experiencing tooth envy toward my gastropod companion. It seemed far more sensible to belong to a species that had evolved natural tooth replacement than to belong to one that had developed the dental profession."

While there can be great joy found in going fast, some pleasures are only found when one slows enough to find them. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a great small, pleasure, one that I'm glad I didn't race past.

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Zoo Hill

2012-04-30T08:39:00.001-07:00

Today is the final day of the #30DaysofBiking and the Blogging From A to Z Challenge. It's a damp, misty morning here in Issaquah but I rode up Zoo Hill, a 1000 foot climb up Cougar Mountain.

Bicycleclimbs.com describes Zoo Hill thusly:

Zoo Hill - named after the small zoo at the bottom - is arguably the toughest climb in the Seattle area. Ascending 1200 feet over 2.5 miles, it has an average grade of about 10%, with common gradients in 15% and some sections approaching 20%. This is not a climb to be approached lightly.

Or, as one rider noted, "Zoo Hill is the puke-inducing lactate-producing gasp-fest that I avoid unless taunted"

I didn't do the top stub of the climb that goes up to the old Nike Missile Site so I "only" got 1000 feet of climbing in before I looped back for home via Lakemont Boulevard. BTW, I neither gasped, puked or walked. I did spend a lot of time spinning the lowest gear on my Allant, however.

13 miles this morning. The total miles for the month is 310 miles.

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Grocery Ride

2012-04-29T10:34:00.002-07:00

It's another "free" day in the Blogging From A to Z Challenge but it's another day of riding for the #30DaysofBiking. Nothing fancy today, just a four mile loop to Trader Joe's for some groceries.

I carry a tiny nylon grocery bag with me. It stuffs down really small and folds out to something big enough to hold a loaf of bread, other stuff for sandwiches, granola bars, coffee, a couple of tins of smoked trout and one of those dark chocolate with sea salt & caramel bars that I seem to buy every time I go to Trader Joe's. I can loop the bag over my shoulder like a messenger bag or tie it to my bike rack like a mini pannier.

4 miles today.

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Yellow Submarine Yard Art

2012-04-28T08:37:00.002-07:00

Today's letter is "Y" so I rode south on the Issaquah-Hobart road to get a couple of pictures of one of the more distinctive bits of yard art around these parts, a rusting Yellow Submarine.

I took a couple of pictures of other examples of yard art while I was out and about.

21 miles this morning.

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: XXX Date with my Sweetie

2012-04-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

Some folks who stumbled on this blog via a Google search may be bitterly disappointed to find out that the XXX in the title of this blog post refers to wonderful old XXX Drive In here in Issaquah. Of course, Christine and I don't drive anywhere, it's not our style. We bike. So tonight we biked over to the XXX for cheeseburgers and onion rings. Christine had a chocolate shake and I had a chocolate malt. And while the food at the XXX might not be good for you, it sure is good.

1 mile of riding today.

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Wetlands, Waterfowl and a Wonderful Wind Map

2012-04-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

For today's #30DaysofBiking, I visited the wetland areas in the State Park at the south end of Lake Sammamish. This is lovely bit of damp green land is home to a wide range of creatures and while I saw a bald eagle, the geese and the ducks were the creatures who stayed still long enough to put up with my attempts at photography.

Today is the "W" day in my alphablogging and even though today isn't particularly windy here, I want to direct your attention to the wonderful wind map at:

http://hint.fm/wind/

Click the link, it's worth it. It's real time map of the US, showing the current wind flow. Click anywhere on the map to zoom in, click and drag to move it. Pretty cool, eh?

I stopped for groceries on my way home from the wetlands.

6 miles for the day.

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Venti, Not Vashon

2012-04-25T17:37:00.000-07:00

I had great, virtuous plans for the "V" day of #30DaysofBiking. I would rise early, meet up with friends, ride to Vashon Island and check on the bike tree. But alas, all the friends I asked had jobs they had to go to or other commitments for the day, so that plan was thwarted. I could go alone, but when the day dawns very wet, the idea of venturing out early loses a lot of its appeal.

My wise wife points out that I've been working very hard lately. The nice weather has made it very busy at the bike shop and between working, riding, writing and blogging, I've really not had a good day of doing not much in a while. The good weather has decided to be elsewhere today, which is Wednesday to most people but with my work every weekend schedule it's like a Saturday to me.

"Rainy days," Christine notes, "are for taking it easy, maybe going to the coffee shop." I married a very smart woman.

"Maybe you need a very big cup of coffee," she said, "V is for Venti."

So we ride to Starbucks.

It is clearing up by the time we venture out on our velocipedes and the sun is shining as we ride back home.

3 miles for the day.

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Undercrossings

2012-04-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

The letter for today is "U" and I chose Undercrossings for the theme of this morning's ride. Some of the big multi-lane roads in Issaquah, like I-90 and Highlands Drive, have nice undercrossings for cyclists and pedestrians.

This one, which goes under NW Sammamish Road, is underwater for part of the year.

This isn't an undercrossing, but I haven't mentioned it before. It's the big Bike-Ped bridge over I-90 at the west edge of town.

6 miles this morning.

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Train Tracks & Trails

2012-04-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

It's another beautiful spring morning here in Issaquah. I had a few minutes to get in a quick ride before breakfast. The train used to run through Issaquah but now the old 42 mile rail line around the north end of Lake Washington is mostly a series of bike trails. A small section of rail still exists in downtown Issaquah and a trolley car is being refurbished to run from the Depot Museum to Gilman Boulevard as a tourist attraction.

The old caboose on Gilman Boulevard marks the southernmost tip of the Lake Sammamish Trail. Like much of the past, it's been re-purposed and now does business as a barber shop.

This section of the trail will be paved this year.

As I rolled towards home, I got a picture of this little guy.

3 miles this morning.

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Snoqualmie Falls

2012-04-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

It's another day off in the Blogging From A to Z Challenge, but it's still one of the #30DaysofBiking as well as being a beautiful Sunday here in the Pacific Northwest and I don't have to be at work until noon. I rode up and over the Plateau on the Issaquah-Fall City Road and then followed Fish Hatchery Road and 202 up to the Falls.

It was still pretty misty by the river. On clear days, the Falls are quite spectacular.

30 miles for the day.

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah, WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Signs of Spring

2012-04-21T18:55:00.002-07:00

The days are getting longer and warmer. Weekends are super busy at the bike shop now, but I squeezed in a quick ride this morning before work. I rode over to the Pickering Barn to check out the first farmer's market of the season.

4 miles for the day.

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Riding in the Rain

2012-04-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

There is a saying that "There is no bad weather, only bad clothing." This is, of course, wrong. Both bad weather and bad clothing exist and the combination is certainly miserable. Good clothing can make bad weather a far less miserable experience, but all the wool and waterproofs won't make a cold rainy day as pleasant as a warm ride in the sunshine.

But I am not made of sugar or beautiful wickedness like a certain western witch, so I gather up my rain jacket, rain pants and bicycle with fenders and venture forth.

If it was sunnier I'd go farther but it's damp so I don't. As I've explained to my lovely wife, rain is Nature's way of prompting you to stop for coffee.

That seems like a wise course of action for the day.

After coffee by the fire, I roll back toward home. 4 more miles for the month.

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: The Quarry in the 'Quah

2012-04-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

Some letters in the Blogging From A to Z Challenge are harder than others. I didn't have any great ideas for today's letter, Q, until I woke up this morning. "The Quarry!" I exclaimed, "there's a quarry here in 'Quah!" Christine, who'd also just woken up, said "you're quite pleased about that, aren't you?" Indeed I was. Indeed I am.

And so, armed with my trusty bike and my trusty camera, I rode over to the north side of the freeway, at the base of the Plateau, where the quarry is. It's hard to get a good picture from ground level, so I rode up the Issaquah-Fall City Road and across on Black Nugget Road to the Highlands where I could get a better view.

While I was up on the Plateau, I took a few more pictures of some of the more recent developments in this part of town. They are building more homes up here. In another couple of years, the quarry may be replaced by more homes and businesses.

The new Swedish Hospital is up on the Plateau as well and the grounds feature some nice hiking & biking trails.

A pedestrian bridge is being installed across Highlands Drive.

6 miles for the day.

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: The Path and the Plateau

2012-04-18T16:44:00.004-07:00

We have a lot of paths here in Issaquah and soon the path that is the best way under the freeway will be closed for paving. Last year they paved the northern part of this trail in Redmond and this year the Issaquah end is getting a layer of asphalt. So far, the section of the trail that is in Sammamish, along the lake shore, remains fine gravel.

Today I turned east at SE 43rd and rode up the Plateau. While many of the mountains here have names (Tiger, Squak, Cougar, etc.) the Plateau has always been just called the Plateau for as long as I've been here. As a youth my first exposure to the word "Plateau" came from Arthur Conan Doyle's book "The Lost World" To this day I expect the upper reaches of plateaus to be populated by dinosaurs. I tend to be disappointed by what I actually find on the plateaus.

OK, the sign promising "Monster Yards" got my hopes up, but all the yards I saw just had grass. A few had swing sets. None had monsters.

I rolled down from the plateau and returned to the path by the lake.

One of the smaller yards is trying to grow their own dinosaur.

The people who got stuck with this crummy, non-level lot built a little shack on it.

They do have a nice view of the water. The view from the bike path is almost as good.

11 miles for the day.

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson

Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Oxymoron

2012-04-17T08:15:00.002-07:00

This morning's ride is brief, six miles from home to take a picture of a sign. Because I favor the kinds of roads the poet assures us make all the difference, the roads less traveled by, and because I travel slowly, I have the time to note items of interest. Perhaps it is a bird on a branch or a snake lying in the sun. Or perhaps a stupid sign.

Signs like this one amuse me, a warning to expect no warnings. It's the kind of logic I recall Captain Kirk using to reign in malevolent machines run amok. We can be too logical, too cautious, too efficient at times. Perhaps our clever signs are here to remind us of our own stupidity.

12 miles today, for no good reason. And perhaps that's one of the best reasons to ride.

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson

Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Nocturnal

2012-04-16T05:06:00.003-07:00

It was a dark and stormy night. Not really, it's actually morning, very early morning but it's dark and dank and drizzly. After a weekend of lovely weather, the rain has returned to Issaquah. The letter theme in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge today is "N", so I chose to be Nocturnal and join my wife on her early morning commute. She starts work at 5:00 AM, and her early commute is in the dark for most of the year. At this very early hour there is practically no traffic and the town is very quiet. Sometimes, she will cross paths with raccoons who are finishing up their night foraging.

I swing by the post office on my way home to drop off the taxes ("good thing you didn't leave that 'til the last minute," my son commented last night. "No point paying the man any sooner than I have to," I replied. It's a holiday in D.C. today, so I'm actually a day ahead.)

It's a full day of work at the shop and it looks like day will continue to be damp. So three miles for the day. Three nocturnal miles in the #30DaysofBiking.

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson

Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Sunday Morning Ride

2012-04-15T10:28:00.002-07:00

This is another day off in Blogging From A to Z Challenge but it is another day in the #30DaysofBiking, so I spent a couple of pleasant hours this morning on some of the quiet roads and trails that run near the rivers and creeks that wind their way through the mountains just east of town. Nineteen miles for the day.

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson

Issaquah WA USA

#30DaysofBiking: Meeting Matt

2012-04-14T19:34:00.003-07:00

Matt suggested the theme for today: Meeting Matt. I've known Matt through the internet and his great blog Front Door Adventures for a while but we never actually met in real life until today. Matt rode over to Issaquah from Seattle and met me at the shop shortly before closing. We then walked the four blocks to my home where I grabbed the Octocog and we rode a quick loop up the Issaquah-Preston Trail to Highpoint, under I-90, back west along the northern edge of Tradition Lake, along the trail under the powerline and then back past the high school to my place. Matt's a very cool guy, adventurous and philosophical and not nearly as blurry in real life as he appears in the pictures I hastily snapped. We're already plotting future adventures together.

7 miles for the day. Matt wound up with a lot more, he rode back to Seattle.

Keep 'em rolling,

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson

Issaquah WA USA