Crazy Commuting Cyclist

The Long Ride

2011-07-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

It wasn’t the longest ride I have done but for this year so far it was. I rode out and hit the CVN trail to C Street SW. Took that to 76 which went to Kirkwood Blvd. A quick ride on Wright Brothers and over to Club where I sailed down to Shueyville. Rode to 965 and headed to North Liberty then rode the same route back. I got a total of 46.6 miles in 2hr 54min while holding a 16mph average. On the way down I had the chain up on the big 55 which was not bad. Some of the hills were tough but I still managed them. Because I don’t have a derailleur for the front I had to move it do to the smaller gear for the trip back. I wanted to run more of the gears driving my RPM up. The videos I have embedded are shot on my IPOD so they’re the not the best quality. I also had a hard time working the camera and riding at the same time. I should get better. Maybe I will shoot a video of my commute. It takes 20min to get to work so I will just shoot the highlights.

Are Bike Lanes the Answer?

2011-06-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

Are Bicycling Advocacy groups pushing the cycling agenda in the right direction when it comes to bicycling lanes? Are these painted paths on the roadways the answer to the bicycling utopia that we all crave for? Or are we painting ourselves into a corner of the street of unintended consequences? Advocacy groups as well as cyclist believe that what works in some European countries should work in this country. But will it?

Promoting bike lanes, cyclist as well as advocacy groups believe that they are creating a bike safe and friendly city. The lanes are a boundary for where cyclist can be and where motorist are not . Each lane is generally on the right hand side of the road a few inches from the curb or next to the place you park your car. Pinning you between traffic and a door prize. Bike lanes tend to collect trash that either blow into it or deposited by motorist or pedestrians passing by. Despite these obvious issues city leaders, advocates and cyclist pin these lanes on their preverbal lapel like the latest cause of the year . They believe they are showing their support for alternative transportation as well as bicyclist that use these lanes. But are they?

The idea behind bike lanes is to give a safe zone where cyclist can ride and not disrupt traffic flow. And on the surface bike lanes would look like it would accomplish just that, but in addition of my earlier point the bike lane doesn’t educate the cyclist about riding. That is what is missing in the equation of some cities that are trying to be bike friendly. The lack of efforts to educate the cyclist as well as the motorist about their interaction as well as responsibilities around each other is why bike lanes are springing up. Bike lanes are easy to put up, the education of people is difficult. I believe it comes down to two things, attitude towards the bike and who’s responsibility it falls on.

When you talk to the average person and ask them whether they class the bike as a viable transportation option or is it a toy. Most of them would say the bike is a toy. If you don’t believe me, you can just ask them. Or better yet watch the bicycle section in some big discount store and see how many people buy them. There is no one to advise them in their choice or to fit them properly on their bikes. Why? Because they think they are picking out toys. In fact most bikes in discount stores can be found with the toy section. I had a conversation with someone who wanted to find a bike they could ride with their kids. They wanted something cheap under $100 dollars. It was outrageous to pay anything more for a bike. I tried to explained that a bike is like a car, you have to make an investment on it in order to get the best out of it. My advice was ignored.

The other way to see peoples attitude about bikes is how they ride them in traffic. Most of them either ride them on the sidewalk or against traffic. They don’t know better because they believe that the rules of the road do not apply to them. “It’s a toy so why would traffic laws apply to it?” That lack of understanding brings me to the second point, education and who is responsible to deliver it.

Back in the day when I was a kid, elementary school P.E dedicated a week or so to bike safety on the road. The cops explained how the rules of the road did not only apply to us but could keep us safe while we rode the bike. They also gave us strategies on how to chose our routes and stay safe in many riding situations. And remember we did not have helmets like we do today. Today I have not see our public schools teach our kids how to ride. I have seen one charter school take Fridays to ride as a class on our trails. I am not sure if they take the time to go over riding skills on the streets.

So the schools are not teaching our kids, so why don’t the parents? You would think my generation would take up the mantle and ride with it. Well most of us have failed. I would have to venture our love affair with the car at 16 years old, ruined our relationship with the bike. Gas was cheap and the car meant freedom and a possible privacy for a sexual encounter in the back seat. Can’t do that on the back of a bike. And because our love affair was so long and economically viable we failed to pass on our first love, the bicycle.

This brings me to the phrase “Share the Road” that is commonly espoused by advocates and cyclist alike. We want to share the road and blend in with traffic. So how do you do this with bike lanes? You can’t! You either blend in with traffic or you are separate in you lanes. There is no in between. Besides, bike lanes do no go everywhere you want to go and when they end what do you do? Stop? No you have to blend in with traffic. And the ones who can blend in with traffic are safer and more mobile verses those who opt for the sidewalk.

Ultimately blending in with traffic is what we, cyclist and advocates, all have been wanting. So how does bike lanes fit in our ideal world? It doesn’t. Education of cyclist and motorist on our responsibilities to the law and each other will do more to further the bike friendly city than some paint job that cost more. So when someone starts on a long diatribe about how bike lanes will make our city bike friendly, just ask them this; “How will you continue on riding when your bike lane ends?” If they say they will blend in to traffic then ask them “So why do you need painted lanes to do that?”

Here is a video that makes it's own point.

Reality Shows Suck!

2011-06-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

Well maybe not all reality T.V. I do like Ice Road Truckers, Deadliest Catch and Whale Wars. And Why? Because it is about everyday people busting their ass doing what they do to either get the load to it’s destination, bring in the big haul, or stand up for what they believe in. None of these people are rich, spoiled or prima donnas. Oh sure some of them have their foibles but nothing like some of the other shows I have had the displeasure in seeing.

Here is the big question; who’s reality is some of these shows based on anyway? I watched one today that had a woman talking about what she wanted for her birthday to her guy friend. It was a watch that was from some expensive bouquet. Her guy friend was to put a bug in the ear of her husband so that she would get what she wanted. Ok maybe not a bad idea since us guys don’t always take note on what our wives want. I know sometimes I could use a little help. In the next clip the husband took her to a pricey restaurant were belly dancers perform. After the main course the husband pulls out a gift of naughty underwear for her. For the most part she kept a stiff upper lip about it but you could tell she was disappointed. And I do have to say, Naughty Underwear is maybe not the best gift for a birthday. But her masked disillusionment soon vanished when another gift came out with the dessert and it was the watch she wanted. Now that was not the part that discussed me..Wait for it…It was the fact that the watch was 53k ! That about made me Shit myself. Her life just would not be complete unless she had the watch. Hell, 53k would take out most of my wife’s college bill. 53k would but a serious hurt on what I owe on this house. For God sakes! Really? This is reality to one person’s life. Fuckn’ Shallow if you ask me.

Hey I got a reality show that would fit most of everyone reality. How about a show that is has a family group of 3 where the Mom and Dad have to juggle each paycheck so that they can pay the bills and have food on the table. Or one that maybe Mom works, Dad is unemployed for a long time and they are looking at a possibility of losing the house they worked so hard to get. Of course this is not the reality that TV producers want to put on the air. No they want some rich Bitch(s) that they can in situations were they have to do mundane tasks and see how bad they fuck it up. Or a bunch of kid living in a loft not paying rent or have jobs and see how much they get on each others nerves.

The sad part of all this is that there are people out there who must feel like their lives are so meaningless that they have to watch these shows to escape their problems. Best advice I can give to them; Put down the fuckn’ remote and fix your problems. It will not be easy but you will be more fulfilled when you accomplish it. And because you stop watching the trashy reality shows, the ratings will go down and we will not have to hear about the spoiled brats of so called want Abe actors on TV or on the internet. WHO CARES IF SNOOKY GET BUSTED FOR BEING DRUNK? Is this the type of person we hold above all others giving them fame and riches? If so why not empty out the drunk tank at the local police station and give each person their own reality show.

Thank God I have Netflix so I don’t have cast my T.V vote for some floozy or Dork on some reality show. If I want reality on my T.V I watch a documentary and learn something or one of the shows listed earlier. Best yet I just turn off the TV and hang out with my family. It has drama, laughs, struggles, and successes. Most of all we are not actors, we truly love each other.

Oh I forgot to meantion the word bike in this rant. So Bike and bike often. There you go.

Bike Lock Woes

2011-06-13T16:46:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year I had lost my last key to a bike lock I have been using for the best part of two years. In a desperate move I checked out the bike lock manufacture to see if there is anyway I could get a replacement key to the lock. My efforts were futile and resulted in that lock being a permanent fixture to my employers bike rack. My guess is it will most likely be there long after I retire and pass from this earth. So I continued to surf the web looking for a bike lock system that would fit my needs as well as offer the ability to reproduce keys if I loose them.

What I found is that Kryptonite just has such a service. Not only do they have the toughest lock on the planet, the New York Chain, but you can register your keys of the lock you have bought on the website. This is great, I can register my keys with kryptonite and when I inevitably lose my keys or on my last key, I can order new ones. So I headed out and picked up a U lock and cable came home , got on line and registered my keys. While on the Kryptonite site I noticed that the “My Account” was still in the works but I figured that by the time I get ready to order the keys the “My Account” will be working.

Well time passed, keys disappeared and I had to buy new keys. No problem I created an account with the key numbers on the Kryptonite site. I logged on to the site and looked for a “My Account” and come to find that it was still “Coming Soon.” Crap! Still! After 5 months, still “Coming Soon?” So what now. I mean I did not write the numbers down. Why should I? If I did most likely I would lose the paper, right? Besides I have the key numbers registered with the company and it should be safe and accessible from there. It maybe accessible but not to me. I eventually sent an email through the companies site asking for help to get another set of keys.

I waited 24 hours and got no response. I then composed this letter to them asking again to help in getting new keys. The letter is as follows;

Good day

5 months ago I purchased your 2 ATB lock bicycle lock. In the ligature enclosed I had learned that you offer a key registration so in the event you loose your keys, you can get replacements. I logged on to your website and filled out the registration information for the keys. At that time “My Account” was still under construction.
Now I am in need of new keys for my lock. I logged on to your website on 5-26-11 and found that “My Account” is still in process of being created . So I explored your website to see if I can find any way to draw up my information or contact you. I found the contact page and sent an email inquiring on how to order new keys with the information I had entered 5 months ago. It has been 24 hours and I have not heard back as of 5-27-11.
I am making a formal request; I have lost my keys and would like to replace them. You have the information and I would like to use it to purchase new keys. To help in your search his is what I entered minus the key numbers.

David Glandon

I sent it on Friday and by Tuesday 5-31 I got this letter;

David,

I located your registration and your key number is #######. Please verify the mailing address, if different than what you registered, and I can have 2 ordered for you at no charge under our Key Safe Program.

Regards,
Donna
Customer Service Representative
Kryptonite
Ingersoll Rand
Residential Solutions
437 Turnpike St
Canton, MA 02021
Tel: (800) 729-5625
Fax: (781) 821-0780
www.kryptonitelock.com

So I sent them the information and today June 12th I received 2 keys to my bike lock. Thank You Kryptonite. Now I am back in business.

After I opened the package I could not help myself and went to the site to see if they have “My Account” up and running. Much to my dismay “My Account” is still coming soon. 6 months and counting which means I will be writing the numbers down so I can order the keys when I need them.

Kryptonite has a great thing going here. Not only do they have the top locks but for people like me, a way to get new keys to their locks. But what I am disappointed in is that the service is not complete. By not having the “My Account” part of the website active they miss completing the full circle of customer service. And in this day and age companies can either excel, stay the same or fold all on their customer service.

Despite Kryptonite not finishing their website and having to take a few extra steps in getting new keys, I am still pleased with both the lock and the personal service I have received. So if you are like myself, looses keys often, and in the market for a new lock then check out Kryptonite locks. Just make sure if you register your keys, write down the numbers and keep it in a safe place. I know I will.

May Ramblings

2011-05-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

The month of May has gone by and looking at my blog I hadn’t written too much at all. It is not that I wasn’t cycling, I did, I guess I was busy. The censes at work has been up and down, the weather had been fluctuating between beautiful and what the hell, and a lot of other stuff. Not a great excuse but one that I am putting out there for now.

So what happened this month for me. With May being bike month I rode to work every day. As the days got nicer I was happy to see more bikes parked in the bike locker. I would like to say it was because of the work I did for bike to work week but I am not sure that claim is accurate. Although I presented the story idea to our inter hospital news group, The Image, the story was not that interesting to grace it’s page. We did get a little help from our Wellness group. At least they put up flyers in the cafeteria, the week of bike to work week. I guess I am glad I did not totally rely on them and put flyers out to the individual department.

Nikki and I had some conversation about next year and how we should start working on a presentation that we could give to respective corporations about the benefits of supporting cycling to commute. We are planning to get started right after the mayor’s ride. I think this summer I should get some photos of me or people I know in riding situations. That way I don’t have to search desperately on the internet for royal free images.

I still think an Ally Cat type of race would be cool to do around the end of the summer or into fall. The entry fee could benefit some cause like Safe Routs or incentive programs design to get kids riding to school. The only issue I have with Ally Cat Races is that they tend to encourage breaking road rules and that is not the image I want. I think still it has potential.

I lost my key to the lock I bought just this week. I have a habit of doing that so I bought a lock from Kryptonite. If you go on to their website you can register your keys with them so in the event you loose them, you can order new ones. Now it has been 5 months since I had registered them with Kryptonite and I had to put them to the test. We I got on the website and could not find anywhere I could log in and draw up the information I had given them. No problem, I will just e-mail them and explain the situation and see if they can help. I did not hear from them in 24 hours so I wrote another formal e-mail. This email explained my situation and my expectations in a friendly and professional way. I told them I expect to hear back from them in about a week whether they are able to help or not. So I expect to hear back from them on or before June 3rd. Keep you posted.

I think that the idea of registering keys so you can have them made is a great idea. I am always loosing my keys to my locks. In fact I have to cut one off the bike rack at work that I can’t get keys for. When I saw that you can register your keys with Kryptonite, and that they build a great lock, I was sold. The problem I have now is the fact I feel abandoned. I made the effort to give them all the information to them but they have not followed through, yet. They still have time and I would believe they will come through with some answer whether it is what I want to hear or not. Keep you posted on this.

Looking forward. I am going to start riding after work 20 miles or so at least 2 times a week. I need to ride more so the size of my shadow will grow smaller, and I can achieve the 3000 mile mark. I plan to mix it between the road and mountain bike. That way I can keep it fun and not a chore. With other projects I want to achieve I am looking to a busy summer.

Ride of Silence 2011

2011-05-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

May 18th 2011

Last night cyclist gathered at Green Square Park for the 3rd Annual Ride of Silence that memorializes those who died while cycling. Although the weather had been cool for part of the week, Wednesday evening was warm for the ride. As the riders gathered, talk of people lost not only of last year but in past had moved around the cyclist. Linda Kulish and Gina Boebel dawned shirts with Matt’s name on it. He had died several year ago after being hit by a semi truck. Others sported black bands for those who died or red bands if they were involved in a traffic accident with a motorist.

The route started up third avenue to 19th street then down second avenue, navigating the detour successfully. Most of the motorist were gracious to the line of cyclist with only one group in a car heckling the riders. The police escort on bikes, provided by the city, swiftly handled the motorist and then rejoined the ride. The ride ended at Parlor City, the cyclist favorite stopping place, to continue the conversations of .loved ones and rides to come through out the year.

Like last year, this year I was impressed by the number of cyclist that showed up for the event. Moving through the course the group was silent except for the clicking of shoes clipping in and out of peddles as they stopped and started at traffic lights. Bystanders watched quietly with a random person calling out , “Why are there so many people on bikes riding down the street?” A few, including me answering back “It is the Ride of Silence.”

On paper we had 30 people sign up but when you did a quick count I found there were as many cyclist, 70, as we had last year. Cedar Rapids was one of many cities that hosted the ride across the nation. For Cedar Rapids the ride started in 2009 but the original ride was created in early 2000 in Texas which grew nation wide from there. Last nights ride happened simultaneously in Iowa City, Des Moines, Mason City and Sioux City all riding in memory of a lost loved one making it collectively the largest ride for one cause.

As the days temperatures along with gas move up, there will be more and more cyclist out on the road. As a motorist please be aware of them and give cyclist plenty of room when passing. Bicycles are fun to ride and a great way to move around the city or trails while enjoy your surroundings. But cyclist also have the same responsibility to follow the rules of the road. To both motorist and cyclist, share the road, watch out for each other and maybe next year we will not have so many cyclist lost in traffic accidents.

Ride often, ride safe.

12 Reasons to Bicycle

2011-04-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

Bike to work week (BTWW) is coming up and I found this list on a blog called Mother Nature Network. I would have to admit this is not my typical blog I would read, but I found this list and wanted to pass this on to you. The 12 reasons to bike is a good tool to help start the conversation to build interest for this event. So read it, print it, and use it in any conversation that pertains to commuting by cycle. I am thinking of sending this to our inter company publication to be printed on the first part of May.

1) It's easier to finance a new bicycle than a new car. Thanks to the recession, auto loans are hard to find these days — even if you have good credit. But for the price of a single car payment, you can buy a well-made bicycle that should outlast most cars. Add a few hundred dollars more for rain gear, lights and accessories, and you have all-weather, anytime transportation.

2) A bicycle has a tiny manufacturing footprint when compared to a car. All manufactured goods have environmental impact, but bicycles can be produced for a fraction of the materials, energy and shipping costs of a car.

3) Bicycles produce no meaningful pollution when in operation. Bikes don't have tailpipes belching poisonous fumes into the atmosphere. They also eliminate the oil, fuel and hydraulic fluids dripped by automobiles onto the road surface — which means less toxic runoff into local waterways.

4) Bikes save taxpayers money by reducing road wear. A 20-pound bicycle is a lot less rough on the pavement than a two-ton sedan. Every bicycle on the road amounts to money saved patching potholes and resurfacing city streets.

5) Bicycles are an effective alternative to a second car. Perhaps you're not in a position to adopt a bicycle as primary transportation. But bikes make great second vehicles. You can literally save thousands of dollars a year using a bicycle for workday commuting and weekend errands in households which might otherwise be forced to maintain two cars.

6) Using a bike for transportation can help you lose weight and improve your overall health. The health benefits of regular aerobic exercise are well-known. Depending on your riding style and local road conditions, you could easily burn 600 calories an hour through brisk cycling. Most bike commuters report losing 15 to 20 pounds during their first year in the saddle without changing their eating habits.

7) You can store a dozen bicycles in a single automobile-sized parking place. Parking lots have enormous environmental and financial impact, particularly in urbanized areas. The more bikes you can get on the road, the fewer parking spaces you need to build.

8) Bicycles don't burn gasoline. Fuel is cheap compared to last year, and the economic downturn is likely to keep a lid on petroleum demand for a while. But we're not producing any more oil today than we were when it was more than $100 a barrel. A healthy bike culture will help ease pressure on supply once demand returns.

9) Bicycling may be faster and more efficient than taking a car. We're not talking about the crazy — and illegal — antics of New York bicycle messengers. But bikes are often faster than cars in urban areas, especially when city designers have set aside proper bike lanes. There's nothing more satisfying as a bicycle commuter than breezing past a long line of gridlocked traffic.

10) Bikes cost much less to maintain and operate than automobiles. You'll never throw a rod on a bicycle, and dropping a transmission on a bike usually means replacing a bent derailleur hanger or worn-out chain. Bicycles do require service, but you can learn to perform most of it yourself. Even if you have a shop do things for you, costs will be trivial compared to a car.

11) Bicycles provide mobility for those who may not qualify or afford to drive. Not everyone can get a driver's license (or wants one), and the cost of purchasing, insuring and maintaining a car is out of reach for a lot of people. Almost everyone can afford some sort of bike. Other than walking, bicycles are the most cost-effective transportation on the planet.

12) Studies show that bicycle commuters are healthier, more productive, and require less time off at work. This is why most enlightened employers are eager to accommodate commuting cyclists. Healthy workers are better workers — and that's good for the bottom line. Bikes are smart business.
So there are 12 reasons to dust-off that bicycle in your garage in time for Bike to Work Day (the third Friday in May). Can you think of others? Leave a comment below

Copyright Lighter Footstep 2009

Quick Post

2011-04-06T17:38:00.000-07:00

Hey if you have not had a chance to read what John Burke, CEO of Trek Bicycling Company said to the Congressional Transportation and Infrastructure Committee then please follow the link and read it. http://agreatride.typepad.com/a-great-ride/2011/03/a-trip-to-congress.html

New Headlight

2011-04-02T08:01:00.000-07:00

For Christmas I got some new toys for the bike. To be more specific new pair of Pearl Izumi boot covers and a gift card to my LBS. The boots I will talk about later but it is what I got with my card that I am going to cover in today’s blog. What I got was a new and improved headlamp for my bike to replace my old Bell head light. I was attached to my old headlamp but after two years and many crashes to the pavement it broke completely. For the next light I knew I needed a bright light with a strong housing to endure my clumsiness or spills I will take.

In looking over all my options I decided to forgo the cheap and pay the extra money and pick up the Serfs HL-1.1 for $39.95. Not knowing a lot about it I thought I would take the gamble. But a safe gamble because of the construction and the features of the light. The Hl-1.1 is constructed of CNC Alloy for the punishment that I gave it. In the past 3 months I have dropped it at least 5 times without a scratch. The body is made up of three sections. The first section houses the rubber coated inset button. One feature of this button is that once you turn on the light slightly press the button down and the light changes from low to high. Press again and you have the flash mode then press until it clicks and you shut off the light.

The lens housing covers the 1 watt Luxeon High Output LED light which produces 100 lumens. The light has 3 settings, low, high, and flash mode. With the combination of the fisheye lens and an adjustable head you can focus your light to give the coverage you need on your ride. A tight beam can illuminate 150 yards ahead on a dark trail where the wider beam will cover half the distance. When it comes to the street it is not the yardage that is lit up, it the fact that you are seen from a half mile away.

The light bracket that holds the light is unique in the fact that is swivels left and right. So depending where you place the bracket you can adjust the light so it always points in the middle. Because I have a few other items on my handlebar I still can place my light anywhere on the bar and still have the it pointing in the middle.

After 3 months I felt that the Serfas HL-1preformed well over all. The life of the battery I got from the light was above my expectations. On the low setting you can get up to 15 hours of illumination, 10 hours on the high and a whopping 30 hours in flash mode. Now I have a 25 minute commute to work that I do in the pre-dawn hours. Rounding it to 30 min a day that is 2.5 hours a week, 10 hours a month. So in one month my batteries would need a recharge, right? But I did find that because I am not running it for a straight 10 hours I did not need to recharge my batteries at the end of the month. In fact if I had not purposely run down the batteries I would still be running on my original charge.

I was slightly disappointed with the lack of Illumination intensity on the street. That is slightly. Because the street lights are brighter and more are placed around the street the headlight doesn’t light your path that well. But on the street where traffic is greater, illumination of your path is not entirely it’s job. The job of the headlight in traffic is to be seen and that I can say with confidence, I was seen.

The only other disappoint I had with this headlight is that it began to raddled and eventually suffer performance problems. Problems like changing light modes as you hit bumps on the road. This became annoying and concerning to me. I tried to expand the spring found on the light to increase the tension on the batteries, but this did not solve the problem. This is were I discovered that the light and what it is housed in came unscrewed from the body. Not only does the light housing that holds the lens and cover the light, screws on and off to adjust the beam, but the light and the case it is in, screws down and is held on the main body of the headlight. Over a period of time of riding and adjustments the light, it will unscrew itself and will need to be tighten every once in awhile. Now that I know this I can be proactive and avoid the problem all together.

Over all I would have to say I am happy with the headlight and would recommend it to anyone looking to buy a new headlight. The construction of the case, lens and the button holds up to the beating I gave it with little to no performance problems. It has gotten wet and suffered bitter cold through the three months and had no performance problems. The adjustable light beam is something I had not seen before and found that feature enhanced the ability to see and be seen in most riding conditions.

The $40 retail price may sound a little high for some but considering I had a plastic headlight with half the features at half the price last 2 years, I am betting this light will last at least 3 times as long. For a cyclist that rides in the wee hours of the morning or late at night being seen is the main key of picking up a headlight. If most cyclist are like me I want a headlight that is split’s the night like the landing lights of a 747. I want to be seen by everyone blocks ahead of where I am. If I could I would like motorist think that ET has landed and was coming there way. But in order to even come an eighth of that request I would have to spend a few hundred dollars and have light that need to be charged every few hours. No for $40 this has been a solid purchase that I am happy I made.

To see this and other products that Serfas makes go to their website at http://www.serfas.com/index.asp.

Monday Is Day One

2011-03-20T15:44:00.000-07:00

Monday is day one of our non-process food diet. That is right anything that is processed or has ingredients that you can’t pronounce are out. So that means that my diet coke is out but instead I can drink coffee as long as it doesn’t have creamer in it. I can have cream but no creamer. If I want any carbonated beverage then it will have to be water. I did get some frozen fruit that I can stick in the water to give it flavor, so that is a plus.

In the meantime, I am finishing off my last diet coke and having a pizza with my son. Tomorrow I plan to get up, weigh myself and have bacon and eggs with coffee for breakfast. I am not planning to loose weight nor would I expect to with a one week diet. I just want to see if it is possible to live without carbs and all the process goop we eat day to day. If I keep my sanity after a week then I will continue another week, and so on. My fear with this diet is that variety will suffer and with my inability to create editable dishes I could fall back to old habits. What I hope with this diet is that I will surprise myself and find enough variety that I can live on this diet for the rest of my days.

Shopping today was kind of weird. I hit the dairy, meat, fruit and veggie sections of the store while skipping almost 7 isles of stuff that I would have normally picked up. Stuff like cereal, chips, pastas, breads and soups all skipped. The only processed stuff I picked up was the cat and dog food.

Because I have never shopped like this before I picked up what I thought I would need but not entirely sure if I got a week or more worth of food. I am assuming that I will be picking up odds and ends as we need them through out the next two weeks.

Here it to the best foot forward and the hopes that our family (oh yes the whole family is trying this) can do this and become healthier and happier.

So Who is Right?

2011-03-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

Ever see the movie “Super Size Me”? If not here it the movie in a nutshell. Morgan Spurlock goes on a McDonalds diet for 30 days to show how bad their food is for people. His main argument is that McDonalds food is making people fat. Before he started his McD’s Diet he had a physical where he weighed in at 195lb and LDH of 163 (if I remember right). By the end of the diet he was up to 206 with an LDH over 230. Out of this diet he got high cholesterol, a fatty liver and more weight placed on his frame. He also Freaked out his doctors and left them perplexed and frightened for Morgan’s health. Morgan did make a compelling case on how bad the food is for you…Well that is until I saw Fat Head.

Tom Naughton set out to really see how much of Morgan’s movie was bull or not. He also started a diet of Fast food but with a twist. He watched his carb intake for the day. As far as the rest, he just ate a normal meal everyday, 3 times a day for a month. At the end of the month he lost weight, and his LDH did not climb over his original number of 231. Besides taking on Morgan’s premise of his movie, Tom took on the conventional wisdom of the government’s idea of the food pyramid. The problem he had with it was all the grains the government pushes. And what do you get with grains? Carbs and that is what in the end makes us fat amount causing other problems.

Both Tom and Morgan make compelling arguments by presenting good data to support their position. But by he end of watching both movies I was left a little confused about who was and what was the best way to eat. I am sure that eating McD’s every day is not the best way to go. But not all that bad for you if you watch what, how much and often you eat there. So between the two movies there in lye’s the truth.

So this is what I am going to do. In 6 days my wife, son and I are going to start a meat, fruit, and vegetable diet. There will be no little to no carbs, no processed food or anything containing High Fruit toast Corn Syrup. So no Diet Coke, creamer for my coffee, or bread among other things. We are going to try it for a week to see how we feel, how our energy level is, and if we loose any weight. My hypothesis that we will loose weight, feel better, and increase our energy level.

So in the next 6 days we are going to plan our meals and I am going to document my progress. My guess on the meat of choice will be fish and chicken with very little red meat. I will have more on what we are going to eat for the week as it gets closer.

If you have not checked out the two movies please do so and see if it leaves you a bit confused as well.

(Super Size Me and Fat Head. They are both on Netflix Watch Now list.)

Move Over "Share The Road"

2011-03-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

Has the “Share the Road” advocacy run it course and is no longer an effective mantra in the fight for equal space and treatment of cyclist on the roadways? Has the time come to rethink our strategy on gaining our ability to be treated with respect as a legitimate user of the roadway across America? Does “Share the Road” really express our need for space on the road or does it leave motorist confused about the message? For me, I believe that “Share the Road” , pledge signing, and other sixties generation feel good methods have run it course. It is time to establish our rights as cyclist on the road and in the courts by means more aggressive than we have been willing to yet to try.

I have not arrived to this conviction lightly . Instead, a long road of thought and experience has driven me to this place that question the effectiveness of our methods. I have seen the lack of public outcry when a cyclist is killed by a motorist. I have heard the expletives shouted at me over the blaring sound of a car horn passing quickly just a foot away. I have read the court stories of cyclist who are victims of careless motorist who’s only punishment is a slap on the wrist for the most egregious acts against the law. I have had my fill from this empty pledge and believe it is time to try something new.

As a group, cyclist are minute compared to the size of the auto industry. The infrastructure is not only biases to the automobile but has 90 years of ingrained theory and practice had never intended to included the bicycle. Transportation went from accommodating the horse and buggy to the acceptance and eventually the dominance of the automobile. And why not? We were a growing country and we needed to move more people to fill the factories from anywhere they could. After WWII you can see as the population of people move away from the cities. The need for road system that could bring them to work had to be built. The interstate and express ways were built to meet that need.

As the automobile companies developed the car over the years, they understood the way to survive was to make it more comfortable to ride in. The accommodations of heat for the cold months and air-conditioning to combat the summer’s heat were added. Today you can listen to satellite radio, play a DVD and use GPS to find your way to any destination . The car can park for you, warn you about dangers in the road and soon, drive for you. The ability to stay fresh after you commute, ready to walk in your office and work is a time saver in our already busy day. Not to mention the safety of the car, the shell that protects you from the elements and accident. As the automobile improved so did the likelihood that you will walks away from most accidents. Can we say this for the bicycle?

Bicycles have made their improvements; drive belts instead of chains, electric motor assists, more models of cycles to fit the cyclist needs. Despite the improvements to the bike comparatively they are still not as convenient as a car. To commute to work you must dress for the weather. In the summer I just throw on my cycling jersey and shorts, put my work cloths in my banjo brothers bag and head to work. In the summer I get up early enough to ride a 5 mile course so I get my exercise in. During the winter I dress in layers which takes me 10 to 15 minutes to put on. Because of the cold and snow I tend to ride directly to work which is 2 miles. The winter commute is all about getting to work and not about exercise. Spring and Fall are in itself has a number of variables that make the commute harder to do. Things like carrying a second set of riding gear for the warmer temps during the day. Having rain gear in the bag for the storms that pop up in the afternoon. If you drive a car, you will not have to deal with any of these situation. You just dress for the office regardless of the weather conditions. When you look compare the planning and execution of commuting by car or bike, it is obvious which one is the easiest?

So in spite of our best spin on how good commuting by cycling is for you it is still hard to convince the average person to give up comfort and safety of the car to take on the hardship of the bike. Who would? To endure the hardships of bike commuting take a certain kind of person that is not of everyday stock. In a way we must either thrive on the misery of the ride or revel in the simple beauty during our travels.

I have not even talked about the treatment of cyclist on the road. To be fair, most of the motorist I encounter have been respectful. They have given me room when passing, let me have my place in line at intersections, and let me go ahead of them at stop signs. But like some cyclist it take only one driver to give the rest a bad name.

One such case of a motorist hitting a cyclist and then did what he could to hide the crime, happened in Vail Colorado. While driving his brand new Mercedes out of Vail Co, Martin Erzingler lost control of his car and hit Dr Steven Milo a cyclist on the road. Instead of stopping and rendering aide to the victim he drove to an abandon Pizza Hut here he attempted to conceal the crime. Once caught it looked like an open and shut case of hit and run, but it was a hole different story when it hit the court of law. A plea deal was made and charges went from a felony to a misdemeanor. A slap on a pinky for him, meanwhile the Dr Steven Milo retains his pain and numbness that he had suffered from the accident. (To hear a take on the case argued in court follow this link)

There are countless stories where motorist had hit cyclist in anger and got no more than a slap from the court. Meanwhile the cyclist have suffered life altering injuries or are dead. It doesn’t seem fair. The problem is a law that was passed in 1970’s that made it more difficult to bring drivers like Martin to real justice.

For anyone, like me, who remembers the oil embargo and the long gas lines at the pumps also remembers that bicycle sales and use when up. People started to commute to work because they were tired of waiting in line to pay, what was in that day, a high price for fuel. With a larger cycling population came a high accident and death rate of cyclist hit by motorist. One year it had topped over a thousand deaths of cyclist. The courts were inundated with cases of cyclist vs. motorist accident and deaths that they eventually rewrote the law. In order to ease the burden of the case logs of the courts the legislators added words like “Gross Negligence” to be the bench mark of bringing a cyclist vs. motorist case to the criminal court. This means the driver must be drunk, inept or on a murdering spree in order to get the incident into court. This virtually wiped out most of the cases pending in court and stopped any other case that could be heard in a court of law.

Although this law ended our chance in criminal court it did not stop any one from going to civil court. But lets face it, the cost of a lawyer and the time it takes for the case to get heard, most cases would not see a their day of judgment.

So now that I have painted such a bleak but real picture of the situation, what are we do? How can we pry the average motorist out of the car and put them on a bike? How can we get our fair shake on the road and in the courts? We have written laws that favor cyclist’s rights on the road but they don’t help. Most of the laws are redundant to ones on the books. And does the 3 foot policy really give us enough space when a car passes? Think about it. If a car passes another car on the road going in the same direction, doesn’t the passing car have to be in the left lane to do so? So why isn’t that rule followed when passing a cyclist?

In order to change the situation we face as cyclist we must be a thorn in the side of motorist in a legal way. First as cyclist we must follow the law, the same law of the road just as a motorist does. If we are going to take a stand we must do it on a level playing field. Second, we must give up the fact we are going to change a large number of motorist habits to cycling. Most motorist are entrenched and will not give up the comfort of their car for the seat of a bike. We should still reach out to motorist to reduce or give up their car when the opportunity arises, but let us not put all our energy into it.

We must focus on the next generation of cyclist. We must put our time and effort into Safe Route programs. We must teach our young children that cycling done right can be a fun and safe way to get where you want to go. At the same time we must appeal to motorist to slow down and watch out for young cyclist on the road. Through drivers education and public service announcements we can create a factual and emotional plea for drivers to be aware of cyclist on the road and their rights to that road. Once country had public service announcements that told drivers to stop murdering the children on bikes. They told drivers by speeding and carelessly driving they would potentially murder a child on a bike. Powerful reminder to motorist of their responsibilities on the road.

We must give up the idea of bike lanes. The bike lane separates cyclist from motorist on the road. This sounds good but as we are seeing in the UK cyclist being hit in intersections by left or right turning truck. Why? I believe it is because cyclist stay in that lane and don’t take their spot behind and middle of a vehicle at intersections. Separating the cyclist on the road will limit the possible avenues where a cyclist can go. It also gives the motorist one more reason to ignore cyclist and cyclist the chance to correctly drive in traffic. As a motorist why would you have to worry about cyclist? As long as they stay in their lane I don’t have to pay attention to them, right?

Cyclist also need to have a Friday Night Critical Mass ride. Most Critical Mass rides intend to tie up traffic by taking up both lanes of the road as well as running red lights. Instead of being a group that breaks the law why not form a group that follows the law. Have a Critical Mass ride that takes up one lane of traffic on a major street, stop at every red light or stop sign while riding it the length of the city. Yes you will still piss off a few people but on a 4 lane street there still will be one lane open for cars to pass. If we do this each Friday Night for most of the riding season then we should get our point across that we are here to be seen and respected. As we respect the rules of the road and motorist alike.

As individual cyclist we must adhere to the law an be example to the younger generation of what it is to cycle correctly. We must push the idea that bikes are not toys but viable form of transportation much as a car is. Until that utopia has been achieved, we should consider attaching video cameras on our helmets and seat posts to tape offending drivers. For if we tape the offending motorist in the act we can use these videos in the court of law and in court of public opinion and educate the next generation of motorist as well as cyclist of what will not be tolerated..

“Share the Road” started the discussion on how motorist and cyclist interact on the road but it is time to step it up a notch or two. By preaching the good news of cycling to the next generation of bicyclist, to slow down motorist and make them aware we have the rights, to catch through video of offending motorist for the courts of law and public, and to make our presents on the road really felt then we can move our cause farther than it is currently going. It is our road, be willing to fight for our right to use it. Be a part of changing 90 years of ingrained transportation dogma and make your voice heard and your presents known.

One Year Older…Almost

2011-02-19T17:35:00.000-08:00

I am rapidly approaching another year to add on to my semi-long life. Because I have to work my birthday weekend my son and wife decided to give me my birthday presents early. I got some pajamas, Evil Dead Hail to the King, and a set of 3 Hokey Spokes. I put on the Hokey Spokes this afternoon and watched for at least 10 minutes…Ok more than 10 minutes.

When putting them on you must be very careful in making sure you have the screws tight and the flat plates are in the right place. I got everything put together and turned them on. Oh they communicate with each other by inferred sensors. I started to peddle bring up the speed faster and faster until one broke loose..Ouch! The unit hit the brake pad and stopped the wheel almost instantly. I surveyed the damage and found that one of the unit’s tabs broken. So I reattached the unit once again to the spoke and in place of the broken tab I put a plastic draw tie on it. I then spent the next hour adjusting the unit and running the wheel up to very high speeds to make sure it wouldn’t fly apart. It would suck to have this unit take out my wheel.

A few things I noticed while playing with it. First the battery lid can unscrew itself after a while so it would be a good idea to check it before each ride. Second, the placement of the unit is vital to how it communicates with each other. I noticed that if the angle of the broken one was off then it would loose shut down or do its own thing throwing off the pattern. Third, must tighten screws often or the units could fly off. If I remember right the manufacture states this often in the brochure.

Once I got it set and working right I spent another 10 minutes or so just watching it. Now not only am I visible for my morning ride, I may just attract groupies that follow me to work just to watch my wheels. Here is a video I made of my new wheels. As time goes on and I ride with the Hokey Spokes I will right more about how they perform.

Cyclist Vs Motorist Debate on BBC

2011-02-07T07:13:00.000-08:00

Here is an interesting debate on the BBC about cyclist and their rights vs. motorist and their rights when it comes to the road. It seems that the UK has moved forward and brought this discussion out to the public forum. Here in the US we are talking about cycling and motorist relationship on the road but it seems to be not quite out in mainstream public yet.

There has been talk here in the US about license plates for bike to help identify cyclist in much of the same manner you would for a car. Or how about insurance or tax on a bike? If a motorist must have insurance or pay taxes on their cars, then why not the cyclist?

First; we have answered this charge many times before but incase you have missed it. As a cyclist and as much as I ride my bike, I still own a car. So I pay road taxes on the car when I register my plates, go to get gas, and pay insurance on it each month. So if I had to do the same for my bike I would be double taxed. The government might like it but I wouldn’t . Second; we are looking to get more people on bikes and by requiring a road tax, licensing fee and insurance on each bike, it would drive more people away from cycling. It would drive an economic wedge between owning and operating a car and a bike.

Each year I pay about $100 in registration for both car’s. That is cheap only because I have older cars but when they were newer, it was more like $250. Each month I pay $70 for insurance. Again it is cheap because of we just have the minim required by law on the cars. As far as gas, my wife is now filling up every two weeks. When she had two jobs and went to school she filled the tank every weekend. At $40 a week it got expensive. For me I would go two or three weeks between fill ups. So each time we filled up on gas a portion of the tax we pay at the pump goes towards roads, just as the registration on the car does. Oh I did the math. Just in gas, registration and insurance I pay 3500 each year when it was at the highest price. Now add maintenance and replacement of parts and it is possible to spend close to 10 grand on a car.

So how do we do that for the bike? Well we don’t use gas so what pay a road tax fee on miles or just a yearly tax on the bike? Then you would have to pay for registration for the bike which would also go to the road use fee. So added to your car fees you would see how owning a car and bike would be expensive. A big part of why I ride is because I am saving money and spending it on things I need.

I admit I am part of the working poor. I just make ends meet each paycheck as it is. By adding a tax you would be putting people like me in a financial tail spin. I would have to choose, my car or my bike. The bike would save them money in the long run but a bike is hard to lug kids and groceries around. Inevitably I would have to chose to drive a car for the convenience of overall transportation. Funny how the cheapest form of transportation would suffer the greatest expense. The more complex and expensive we make biking the more we will end cycling here in the US. Cycling will end up a luxury item for the rich instead of a viable transportation tool for anyone.

Here is the 5 minute debate. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12149696

January's End

2011-01-29T06:36:00.000-08:00

The end of January and for the first month of the year I have 100 miles racked up. Not much but considering that the current weather pattern is more conducive to driving rather than biking, I feel ok with the total. Yesterday it was warm enough to spark a longing to hop on the Paramount and ride 25 to 30 miles.

With a few cold days still on the horizon I ponder in thought of what interesting and exciting events are on the way. I have the Ride of Silence that I will be planning for. The Bike To Work Week is coming up. I would like to see if St Luke’s would like to get involved this year. They are one of the few places of employment that has a bike locker I think they maybe receptive to some ideas. Pretty much that all takes place in May leaving the rest of the spring summer open for additional events.

In my pursuit of idea for possible events I came across this video.

Alleycat from Pale Blue Pictures on Vimeo.

Alleycat races to my understanding are scavenger hunts where the products retrieved go to charity. The concept is simple but what to do? I’ll come up with an idea, I have a few months to plan.

Nutrition

2011-01-23T10:07:00.000-08:00

As some know I work in a hospital drawing blood for the lab. I draw patients who are in the main hospital and the ER. In the ER some of the patients that I draw are giving information to the nurse on all the meds they take on a daily basis. Now you would think that the majority of people would be just on a few meds day right? Well you would be wrong. It seems more and more people are walking pharmacies Every drug they take is one that helps one’s organ or helps counter act a side effect of a drug Now how many people are in this situation or if there is truly a large segment of the population like thisI can’t say. But I can say whether it is a large segment or small one thing is certain, it is disturbing to me when you hear a long list of meds that some one takes everyday. It almost dashes any hope of a normal life beyond the retirement age.

So in the past few months I have watched and listen to programs that deal with nutrition and how much that impacts our life. There are many documentaries out there to watch and Netflix has most of what I have seen. The information that some of these documentaries have given really make you think hard about what you eat.

I just got done listing to part of a podcast interview with Dr Gabe Mirkin who has a
website dedicated to nutrition and all it’s aspects. Some of the information that he talks about I had heard before and some of what he had said blew me away It is definitely making me think more about what I am eating now and how I can eat better for my cycling and all around health.

Rather than tell you the highlights of what got my attention, listen to it for yourself. I would like you to hear what is being said and decide for yourself if it makes since to you I believe that if you listen to what is being said, you will look at what you eat differently than you had before.

Click here and listen

Record Broken

2011-01-23T05:53:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I rode to work on the coldest day of the year which was 8 below with a 22 below wind chill factor My feet and hands got cold despite the extra layers I put on for the ride I did not think that I would ever break that record until last week With the cold snap that grips most of the Midwest the opportunity to break that record come up this Friday. The forecast called for 10 below air temps with a wind chill factor of 20 to 30 below. So what was the final temp?

I got up Friday morning to be greeted with bone chilling temps at 14 below and wind chills at 31 below. So At those temps it is more important ride straight to work rather than taking the long scenic route. I pulled my bike out of the basement to the cold air and immediately my facial hair started to build a layer of frost. I covered my face and made my way to work. For the most part the ride was uneventful, as long as I kept moving I was able to fend off the frosting of my glasses That is until I reached the last quarter mile and then it was just a matter of making it there before I became frost blind.

As far as the rest of my body; my hands were cold after I got down the hill and most likely would have been really cold if I rode longer than 2 miles My feet, head and body core remained warm enough through out the ride. I guess it is time to invest in better gloves.

I got to work and took off my frosted glasses and grabbed the key for the lock. Lately I have left my lock secured to the bike rack to save time and the hassle of digging around in my bag. The lock still function well but the cable was very hard to manipulate around the front wheel. After I locked up the bike I grabbed the head light and headed into work.

Normally by the time I reach my locker which is deep in the build of St Luke’s Hospital my head light, made of metal, has warmed up. But Friday the metal casing retain the chill of an ice cube even as I reached my locker and the frost on the glasses, just had cleared leaving a watery film behind.

As the work day ended the temps had reached the single digits with wind chills just below freezing making the ride home almost balmy. As far as the following week to come it looks like temps will not reach the cold temps we say Friday and that is ok with me. It is time to take the longer way to work for awhile.

Bike Culture

2011-01-17T06:50:00.000-08:00

I have quite an extensive bike blogs book marked in my favorites list that is continuing to grow larger each month. I found a new blog called “Take Over LA” via Prolly is not Probably. Like Prolly, Take Over LA exposes the Fix Gear bike culture that is the grunge of cycling, and I don’t mean grunge in a bad way. This aspect of the culture seemed to grow directly from the courier bike group you would find in the big city. The fixed gear group, or fixies, mixes street attitude of the city with the skater need for outrageous stunts. Often the videos I see are riders pulling rail grinds, wheelies and wall hopping on bikes that look like everyday ten speed bikes.

Like the skateboarding culture , the fixed gear group has a style of dress as well as a line of cycling performance gear they covets. Most of the blog entries that I have seen uses video of themselves pulling some way mad stunts or riding around town other countries exploring and experiencing bike their bike cultures. Unlike some bike groups their mica is not Copenhagen but the bike and the whole riding experience it brings. It is a religion that by riding the bike is a kin to proclaiming the gospel. In a way I think that all members of the cycling culture does but the fixed gear group does it louder and with a raw street style.

On of the videos caught my attention. It was about a group of guys that took a tour ride from Tokyo to Osaka. This tour is not our parents over seas tour, no it is a lot of hard riding with time to mix with the culture of the country. This is a tour that I would love to try someday especially talking to the bike builders of that country.

TOKYO TO OSAKA from Nic Hill on Vimeo.

Light Snow

2011-01-11T14:35:00.000-08:00

Last night we received a snow that covered the drab landscape that made for fun and a slippery bike ride. The rest of the day was filled with a steady light snow flurry that on the face of it, did not seem to amount to much. As you can see it put at least another inch on the ground and on my bike. Pretty, isn’t? I almost hated to brush it off before I got on to ride.
If you noted I shot this at work where we have a bike locker area. With combination door lock this bike locker is, for the most part, a nice place to park. The only complaint I could give is that your bike is still open to the elements. But then again if you are riding in adverse weather, what is a little more weather going to hurt. Besides if you are keeping up on your bike maintenance then all should be well.
I did shoot some video of the bike locker but because I don’t have the Pro version of Quick time I could not put the two videos together to make one video. I plan to take photo of it later for a project I am working on. I will post the photos of the locker then.

Street Films

2011-01-09T08:16:00.000-08:00

I always find these short films informational and full of ideas that could be applied to our city. This January the Bike Ambassadors are going to meet and discuss the invents of the new year. This year like in the years past, I will be organizing the Ride of Silence which occurs during bike to work week. I hope this year to get the more press before and during event and more riders.

This year I hope we can organize some pre-bike to work week events to help boost the numbers of riders for the actual week. I am working on a Power Point that covers commuting by bicycling. My goal is to bring it to our HR as a class for those who would be interested in taking up cycling as a way to commute to work. I believe if we can show how easy it is to bike to work and with the talk of $4 a gallon gas prices there would be more people that would commute. The more people commuting by cycling the more demand there will be for infrastructure that supports cycling. That of course cut down on traffic, people would be healthier and in a better mood.

I like watching these films because each city has some new and different approach to encourage and support cyclist. I especially like the refurbished cargo holds that now hold bikes. Or some cities have end of destination places where you can lock up bikes and have a shower too. There are a lot of great ideas that could be employed in our city. Just need the interest and the funds.

Enjoy the clip and if you want to see more check out their website. Oh and Bike to Work Week is May 15th to 21st this year.

Fat and Dead

2011-01-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

You know that if a person is fat, I mean FAT, alive then they will be fat dead. Right? Because obesity has doubled in the past 20 years many industries have had to change how they do business. The clothing industry offer larger sizes, furniture and bedding industry, not to mention the health industry all have to offer larger items for their customers. Hospitals to paramedics and the equipment they use must be able to handle the very heavy individuals that use their services. So it is no surprise what the living fat people need the dead fat people also need.

The funeral industry not only have larger coffins but must have a lift that can move 1,000 pounds up or down into a grave. Mortuary Lift Company, a Cedar Rapids based company told KCRG that their business grew 20 percent a year. “We went from selling 3 lifts a year to 100 a year.” Besides the coffins getting larger the crypts are also needed to be enlarged. And when you add all that up your price of the average funerals will go up 15% to 20%

Look we were born to hunt and gather our food. As humans, we spent a lot of our energy making sure we had food. But now all we have to do is run down to the local store fill our cart with food only to stuff our faces with it while we sit in front our T.V. Just by walking, biking or whatever moves you to get off the couch we can not only save money on healthcare but in our funeral bill as well

New Years Resolutions?

2010-12-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

I am making a New Years Resolution to Not make a New Years Resolution. I tend to set a resolution and either forget about it or abandon it all together. The only thing that I resolve to do is read more, put more videos and photo on my blog, and ride more.

Now if these goals do not inspire you to set new and higher goals ( your either lazier than me or my goals are just not inspiring enough) then listen to these 4 adventure seekers.

Adventurers by fonuallain

Other Interests

2010-12-27T14:22:00.000-08:00

Besides cycling I also take photos. But most of people know this already. Today we had a fog that left the trees flocked with frost. My favorite place to go when this occurs is down the street at Brucemore’s because the place is full of trees. I also happened upon some Robins eating some berries off a tree. Here are some of the few photos I took this morning. Enjoy.

Todays Ride

2010-12-26T16:30:00.000-08:00

Over the holiday Cedar Rapids got around 5 inches of new powder for me to ride through. And because it was the holidays some of the trails did not get cleared off . The trail that I took home today had some tracks that were made by a 4 runner as well as a few joggers and one cyclist…Not my bike. So I guess I am not the only crazy cyclist. The trail was rough and semi-challenging as far as keeping my ass on the seat but a great cardio workout. I had to keep the bike in lower gears so I could keep moving forward so although I was not traveling at light speed, I was peddling as if I was. I don’t know what it is about riding on fresh powder but it is a lot more fun than a 50 mile ride with the wind at your back. Here is a little video of the trail conditions. I recorded it on my Ipod nano so it is not the highest quality. Not to mention that my fingers end up in the frame a couple of time so no critiques. I am a phlebotomist and not a film maker. So click and watch and enjoy. And if you can’t tell, yes that is snow in my cassette and around the breaks. Not to mention that it was also packed around the front cogs and derailleur. Oh if you noticed on my feet I have new covers for my shoes. They are toasty but more on that later.

December's Bike Lane

2010-12-22T13:11:00.000-08:00

Here is the December's Bike Lane Enjoy'

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