KC Bike Commuting

Thinking of bike commuting? Win free bikes!

2008-07-18T09:47:00.004-05:00

In April, Trek Bicycle Stores of KC, Omaha and St. Louis picked winners for the 2008 Go By Bike Challenge. Here, applicants signed up to win one of two bikes in each of the three cities. Two champions from the KC Metro area stepped up to the plate. I know a lot of people entered.

Now, we're at it again with two brand new opportunities!

For Kansas City Area residents only:
KCMO and Localcycling.com have partnered choose2bike.com with several bike shops in the area and are offering a similar challenge. The catch? You only have until July 25th, 2008 to check out the rules and get registered! Four bikes are up for grabs to KC Area residents (this includes Johnson County, the Northland, even Belton). I know for certain there's a Gary Fisher and a Breezer in the mix, as well as the basic essentials for commuting: A lock, helmet, lights and personal assistance choosing routes around town.

Anywhere in the US (possibly Continental US only?)
Hot on the heels of that news, I also see that Trek, via 1 World 2 Wheels, is launching a different (NATION WIDE!) variation of it's Go By Bike Challenge where they're giving away a mind-blowing FORTY SIX Brand new Trek 7.2FX bikes, one a day between July 17th and August 31st. Check out the rules.

As far as I know, even those who are currently using their bikes for transportation are allowed in both contests. I would hope that established bike commuters would leave the odds to those who really need it. If you're just starting, though, and riding a bike that's in a state of disrepair or would just like to pledge miles and/or apply for either of these contests, I can't see why anyone would shun you.

Likewise, If you're on the fence about bike commuting, these are great opportunities to get right into bike commuting without the significant initial investment. I know with the price of fuel right now, two months of daily commuting in my Explorer would consume enough fuel to have purchased one of those Trek FX bikes. Take advantage of these two opportunities while you can. Hopefully, I'll see you on the road in KC soon on your shiny, new bike!

Shakedown Commute

2008-07-18T07:58:00.003-05:00

I saw this breath-taking view of the Moon and Venus last night.

Testing out digital zoom and manual exposure. This is the only shot I took that I was happy with.

Got caught up by a train this morning. This happens EVERY TIME I leave late. I love how you can see all three of the stop lights on carter through the ghostly gap between the engine and the last car of the train.

This kinetic sculpture is bolted to the parking garage next to the historic TWA Building

Oops. I'm such a troublemaker.

New tires roll great. I was happy to ditch the crappy rear tire I was limping around on. Chain doesn't like 1st gear now and the low adjustment screw is all the way out. I may try using a cassette spacer to see if that helps.

Random Tunage:
Ian Van Dahl - Will I (Lange Remix)
Hybrid - True To Form

Parts!

2008-07-17T22:15:00.002-05:00

My Hooptie

2008-07-17T07:41:00.003-05:00

My hooptie rollin', brakes are draggin'
Spokes keep breakin' and tires are saggin'
Ninety-Eight Outlook, bike keeps rollin'
Wheels outta round from goin' pot-holin'
...

I couldn't resist. I love me beater commuter but she nickles and dimes me a lot. My parts still aren't in, and I'm really chomping at the bit to get this thing tuned up.

Yesterday, I went and had lunch at YJ's with an old co-worker from the startup I worked at back in 2006. He's working at a local marketing company now, and seems to be doing pretty well.

YJ's is a delightful, quaint, and eclectic snack bar in the Crossroads district. It's cramped inside, but full of character. The menu was hand-written on a sheet of freezer wrap.

When I worked downtown back in 2000 and 2001, I was just a few blocks away from YJ's. We'd often walk over here from the office to get "Evil Coffee". They stamp all of their coffee cups with random rubber stamps. Our favorite was the coveted Jolly Roger stamped cup. Yesterday, my cup was stamped with a full-blown skeleton. Hell yes. Evil Coffee.

Not much to say about the homeward commute other than my sun-exposed thermometer read 102-104 the whole way home. Heat radiating off the road seemed to cook me from below more than the unrelenting sun. I had some more wheel problems, and spent a good chunk of time re-tensioning and truing my rear wheel when I got home.

I took this last night, but my co-worker Doug gave these cool yellow schrader caps to me before the midnight ride. A little bit of bling for my hooptie.

It was a bus day for me this morning. I rode the 2.5 miles or so this morning in my work clothes and got some interesting looks from the bus riders. I've mentioned it before, but there's actually a "chase" bus that follows the main one. Almost a dozen people boarded that one today when the main bus was filled to maximum capacity. This route is far beyond standing room at this point. Something's gotta give.

Random Tunage:
Timmy T - One More Try
Tri Bowl Nuts - Trapped

A killer walks free

2008-07-16T17:34:00.003-05:00

This is a tragic update of the Larry and Sierra Gaunt saga. Monday, jury selection began for the trial of William Johnson in the deaths of the Grandfather-Granddaughter cycling duo as they trained for last year's MS-150 fund raiser.

The trial went quite a bit quicker than I'd expected, and the decision went to jury early today as the prosecutor rested its case. After five hours of deliberation, William Johnson was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

This whole case sickens me. The way the law treats gross criminal negligence of motorists sickens me.

It's one thing to give the motorist nothing but a slap on the wrist when the cyclist was riding erratically, breaking laws, after dark without any lights or reflectors. This was in broad daylight on a wide, open road. Simply living with the knowledge that you killed two people should not count as a just punishment.

Folks, there are concealed-carry laws in both Kansas and Missouri. Perhaps it's time to start riding in flocks and packing some heat. I have zero faith in our officials and legal system to protect us as cyclists in this city.

Wakey, Wakey!

2008-07-16T07:57:00.002-05:00

Photo: Left turn at Quivira and 79th

I still got to bed a bit later than I'd wished, but all in all, I felt a bit better this morning. I really hope my goodies from Performance Bike get here sooner rather than later. My chain's slipping in higher gears and I'm really tired (pun intended) of the crappy low-pressure Kenda ATB I have on the rear wheel.

I didn't intentionally take this. I accidentally hit the shutter a few times while riding with my camera in hand and resting on the handlebars. This was one of the stray photos that were taken without my knowledge. I like it.

Sunrise as I coast down 67th Street

Cranes working downtown.

Random Tunage:
The Killers - Smile Like You Mean It
Orbital - One Perfect Sunrise

Links for 2008-07-15 [del.icio.us]

2008-07-16T00:00:00-05:00

MAKE: Blog: DIY: Simple Tandem Bike
Do want! This is a cool way to turn two bikes into one tandem -- apparently without welding or ruining either of the two bikes.

Bus and errands

2008-07-15T21:22:00.003-05:00

I wanted to get home as early as possible. I've said it before, but the one shining gem in Johnson County Transit's anemic schedule is the very first southbound Antioch Bus. Sure. There was a headwind. My new, high-pressure Forte Slick City ST's aren't in yet. The heat and humidity gave us a heat index closing in on 95 degrees. Really, I just wanted to get home quickly.

A while later, I had to run some errands. I love twilight and long exposure times. Here are some photos.

Evil Squids

2008-07-15T07:55:00.003-05:00

No, I'm not talking about Bruce Schneier's oddly humorous fascination with squids that seems to manifest itself every Friday...

Among the new bikes that I'm seeing on the road are the motorized variety. No, not two-stroke mountain bike conversions. I'm talking motorcycles. With these new motorcycles and scooters come "squids", that is, newbies without any motorcycle handling skills whatsoever. Technically a portmanteau of "squirrely kids", squids kill their engines when taking off from a stop light. They rev their engines to redline while stopped for no reason. The do wheelies on public roads. They can't ride a straight line. They're dangerous. I saw plenty of them this morning, and had to swerve to avoid one that killed the engine right in front of me.

Aside from being in sheer awe that I've found some of my two-wheeled cousins are actually dumber than the wrong way bike ninjas, this morning was relatively calm. I still haven't gotten caught up on my lost sleep from Sunday-Into-Monday.

How about something more pleasant? I was greeted with a striking sunrise this morning.

Also, I've been getting out on the road later than usual, by about five minutes. I keep running into trains on my way to work this week, causing my five-minute delayed departure to become a ten-minute delayed arrival. I need to get my indolent posterior out the door on time tomorrow. I suppose that also means I need to actually go to bed at a reasonable hour this evening.

Random Tunage:
Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky
Laurent Wolf - Happy TV

What if...

2008-07-14T23:42:00.003-05:00

I get a lot of "what if" questions. If you think fielding the occasional radio program or television interview is a bit of work, you haven't seen what it's like being the so-called "expert" of all thinks bike and transit among more than a hundred co-workers.

There are the occasional "how do [you/I]..." questions, but by far, the vast majority of my co-workers quandaries are of the "what if..." variety. I'm assuming this is mostly so that they can come up with vivid hypothetical scenarios for which to stump me or at the very least tell them that there are, in fact, situations where I'd opt to use an automobile. Most of these questions are due to weather. "What if it rains?" "What if there's a tornado?" "What if it's below freezing outside?" "What if it's 105°F in the shade?"

Honestly though, I rarely find myself asking those questions. One that keeps popping up again and again is at the intersection of 79th Street and Switzer. It's here that I make my rogue journey through forbidden territory. "No Thru Traffic", displayed in bold-face white and red font. This business park joins Switzer and Nieman quite nicely, though. It's a perfect shortcut. "What if I kept going straight through?" I've asked. In fact, Karen has on occasion completely spaced off the turn onto 79th and kept going straight through. Never once have I actually gone through there until this evening. Now I'm kicking myself.

Switzer turns into Marshall, which is part of the route I used to ride when I lived in Olathe. I'd turn off of Marshall onto Nieman back then, but had I kept on going, I'd end up on Switzer. Marshall also has ramps to 87th Street, just a few blocks from my home. This might actually get me home quicker in the evening than taking the two business parks. I'll have to time it.

Fun with the BBC - and another flat tire fixed!

2008-07-14T18:04:00.006-05:00

In my June Recap, I mentioned that some folks from BBC Radio were going to come out for a chat with me. They're covering a few different things while they're here in the States. As Will mentioned, it's kind of expensive to send a crew out here just for one episode of one radio show.

They talked to me today about bicycle commuting in Kansas City. Why Kansas City? Well, because Portland is just too easy and if that's the case, you might as well shoot for the opposite end of the spectrum. KC has top honors among the 50 largest cities as the absolute WORST city for cycling. How about that for a challenge?

And what a challenge it was. You see, yesterday they ran around the deserted Sunday streets of Kansas City with KCBC. Sunday afternoon and Monday at rush hour, however, are two completely different animals.

This is Will Grant, host of One Planet, a BBC radio show about "...environmental, development and agriculture stories, dealing with the impact of humankind on the natural world."

Guess what happened to Will's reporter buddy (I believe his name is Richard) on the way to the Transit Hub I met him at? Yep. Richard got a flat. It's also entirely possible that I've got these two characters' names reversed, and Richard's name could be something else such as Robert. I hate having a photographic memory without any brain film.

Will sets up the levels for recording as Richard glances around at all the interesting transit hub denizens. No, really. There are actually people nearby who are stranger than I am, and that's frightening.

Richard explains the horrid journey that they had on their bicycles just getting to the transit hub, some five miles north of the hotel they're staying at. This includes the awkward bus racks that the KCATA operator didn't know how to use and the woes of getting a flat tire not more than a mile after setting off on their ride.

After getting Richard's bike situated (in four minutes, forty-five seconds!) we rode down the street a ways to Union Station.

There, the recording gear came out again.

Karen was waiting for us, and they interviewed us both in kind of an impromptu panel discussion about the good and bad of bike commuting in Kansas City. What does the city need to do? What do businesses need to do? All that wonderful stuff.

We chatted a while off the record and off topic for a while before parting ways. I gave the BBC chaps the directions they needed to return the loaner bikes.

The rest of the commute home was interesting as well. Not to bother with too many details, I had to take a pretty major detour and found out what Antioch is like when you have to ride it in rush hour. (Spoiler: It's not fun. Captain obvious strikes again.)

I didn't make it to the Monday Recovery Ride, either. Too much going on this evening to even consider it.

Random Tunage:
Fluke - Kitten Moon
Lisa Loeb - I Do

The Serendipitous Convoy

2008-07-14T08:21:00.002-05:00

I had a pretty rough night without much sleep. As expected, no one was waiting for me at the convoy meet-up point by the gas station. Karen was just pulling out onto Quivira as I passed 79th. Then, we just pedaled along at about a 17 MPH pace average. We hovered around 27 on the downhills, 20 on the flats, and pretty slow on the uphills. I'm definitely not a hill climber.

Passing through Rosedale, I saw a cyclist far up ahead, past the railroad tracks next to I-35. The cyclist turned into a parking lot and I lost sight of him. As we approached the tracks, the arms started to come down just as we passed through. There the cyclist was, airing up his rear tire.

Meet Tim. We've never seen him before. The bike's pretty nice, but the shifters and brakes need some love. Well, okay. Everything aside from the frame needs some love. But it's a decent frame.

Karen and I stopped to help (obviously, as you saw our bikes in the photo). His inner tube was patched with old tractor inner tube patches and they weren't holding air. The valve stem was hosed. Karen provided him her spare tube, and we got his tire aired back up. I noticed he was running his front tire at about 30 PSI as well. Karen and I schooled him in the art of 100-PSI goodness and sent him on his way with firm, skinny tires while we packed up our flat kits.

Meanwhile, yet another unrecognized guy passed the scene on bike.

Tim actually took off on the wrong side of the road at first, but saw the error of his ways after seeing both the guy who passed us, Karen and I all on the other side of the road. He fell in place behind us.

Karen and I caught up to and overtook the other guy without a lot of effort. Eventually, the both of them fell off the back. Both of us were in a bit more of a hurry than usual after having burned about 10 minutes helping Tim. We didn't maliciously "drop" any of them, but we moved on through after exchanging brief greetings with the other new guy.

Our Bike Commuter Karma banks are filling up a little today.

Photos from the Lenexa Midnight Bike Ride

2008-07-13T21:16:00.002-05:00

I'll start with people I know who I got photos that were at least usable. This event shocked me a little bit, as it's kind of crazy how many cyclists I actually know. I probably saw 50 people or more who I have either ridden with before or met off the bike at one time or another.

This is my co-worker, known here as Benneplex. He recently got back into bicycling after a long break. He was concerned whether or not he'd be able to do the whole 12.5 mile long loop as he's only been riding a few weeks. He didn't have any problems, though, aside from a little trouble with his shifting. I stuck with him the whole ride to make sure he could do it.

Benneplex, as we call him, actually lives too far out to commute by bike, but he car pools with another popular Kansas City geek (Techmonkey from The AlternaGeek Podcast, who also is getting back into bicycling)

Amber and a guy whose name escapes me, both come to the Monday Night rides.

ThatGuy from DDRKC and his girlfriend. I know TG from KC PHP User's Group.

Lorin (one of my morning bike commuting coffee buddies) and his daughter, Bailey.

Eric, also from KC PHP User's Group. His dad's off to the left (sorry I didn't capture all of him. I was holding the camera above my head). The woman off to the right (whose name also escapes me) also shows up to the Monday night rides almost every week.

The Man. The Myth. The c'Dude.

A little abstract high-contrast stuff.

Long exposure of a train and two bicyclists passing. You can't see the cyclists but their flashing tail lights left a cool pattern.

Ye-olde-school Trek road bike.

c'Dude's Sweet ground effects.

Nearly 1,300 cyclists are chomping at the bit to get rolling. It's almost time.

... AND We're off!

Some long exposures from the straightaway after the second big downhill.

This guy had my favorite rig out of anyone there.

In the Meritex Caves.

Some of the KCPUG guys met Benneplex and I over at Denny's.

A lot of SUV's were pulling up with bikes on the back, but this family knew how to roll. Denny's was less than 2 miles from the end point of the ride.

It was almost 3:00AM by the time I got done at Denny's. I saw this baby robin on my way home.

It was either really tired, really tame or very stupid. It didn't mind an up-close and personal macro shot with flash.

Getting ready for the Midnight Ride!

2008-07-12T13:53:00.002-05:00

The wind and humidity made both Karen and I cave, we took the A bus home. Near the bus stop, I saw this relatively large tire. I'm assuming it's from a tractor. My access badge (slightly larger than a credit card) is there for scale. I can has West Nile?!

I had to go to Sports Authority to pick up the Lenexa Midnight Ride stuff for c'Dude and I. Another bike commuter was there on a BikesDirect Windsor Tourist. He was looking for a steel roadie with integrated levers and braze-ons for a rack. He's been pretty happy with it. I always wondered how those BikesDirect bikes held up, but most of them probably all roll off the same assembly line that big-name bikes do.

Midnight Ride! Two XL shirts, two bib numbers, and a pile of coupons. Awesome!

I decided to time-shift my sleep schedule and rode my bike to Daily Dose Bar & Coffee for my usual Friday Night Geek-Out. On the way home, I took this closed-off road (which I've posted many photos of before). Without any street lights, you can really get a feel for how bright the DiNotte 200L is. I still love this light. I used it on its lowest setting all night but flipped it to high for this photo. Unless you're scorching along at 20 MPH or faster, there's not much need for this kind of illumination.

I got done at Daily Dose around 1:00 AM. I continued on my way and swung by to wish my wife's friend happy b-day. My wife was still partying it up over there.

Along the way, I saw something humorous. This is Apria Healthcare.

... and I am trying to figure out if the burned-out flourescent letters on their building are intentional or just very fortunate:

The signs were already up for the Lenexa Midnight ride. What you don't see is that this sign alternates to say "Saturday 8:00PM".

If you're in the area, I hope to maybe run into you (not literally) at the Midnight Ride tonight. I'll be eschewing the Chris Cakes and heading to Denny's instead. Also, I have a freshly re-indoctrinated co-worker who will be there on his bike. He's back into mountain biking after a long break. I know quite a few others who will be there as well.

Random Tunage:
Nine Inch Nails - Discipline
The Cure - Prayers For Rain

Kinda busy

2008-07-11T10:32:00.000-05:00

Between work, family life, and other hobbies, I've been kind of busy lately. I don't have time to write as much or take as many photos as I'd like.

I got this funny fortune with my lunch yesterday:

I found a pair of crushed wiper blades on my way home, which is strange, because I was actually in NEED of a few old wiper blades and had planned on rummaging through some trashcans at car parts stores to find them. Don't ask.

Today, we had Lorin, Bob, JR and I at coffee again.

I had the WarCycle setup going, too. It's always fun to look for wireless networks when you're going somewhere.

Random Tunage:
Corona - Baby Baby
Gorillaz - Feel Good, Inc.

Freedom To Travel

2008-07-10T07:56:00.003-05:00

Last night, I had to stick around downtown for a geeky nerd meeting at the library. I watched as all of the Johnson County-bound buses filtered through Kansas City, and eventually disappeared entirely.

Once 6:00PM comes, TheJO pretty much leaves Johnson County residents stranded downtown. When I first started using the bus, before I got my bike, getting stuck downtown was a pretty major concern of mine. It's still a concern for others as well. As I seem to be the go-to guy around the office for all those who are considering transit, I try to alleviate fears by mentioning MARC's Guaranteed Ride Home program. I've never had to use it myself, and won't likely use it in the future, but I am signed up.

Commerce Bank Building:

Instead, I relish in the fact that I can get pretty much anywhere in the greater KC area I would possibly need to be in 90 minutes or less from anywhere else in the greater KC area without spending one red cent on gasoline. All the while, I'm enjoying the breeze on my skin, the smell of freshly cut grass, and the ability to exchange greetings with other cyclists and pedestrians -- a constituent of people that's becoming seemingly larger with each passing day.

Homeward bound on Main Street. Two Tallbike riders are present down the road a ways.

I've zoomed in on them. Notice their feet are not much lower than the roofline of nearby cars. Looks like fun.

This black car was parked (yes, parked!) two feet from the curb and 30 feet from the liquor store. I'm just taking a wild guess, but the driver's probably already had more than plenty to drink.

I had to run some other errands on my way home, too. This took me on a delightful stretch of Blackfish Parkway just as the sun was setting. This is where 75th Street "ends" and gets all curvy and hilly.

I also had to slog up and down the hills on Pflumm between Blackfish and 95th Street. That just killed my legs. I know Dave was using these hills occasionally for training. Wish him luck on the Triple Bypass!

I strolled through old town Lenexa. The Lenexa Midnight Bike Ride is this weekend, and it starts right here. If you're in the area, be sure to sign up! Be sure to check out my review of last year's ride, and look at the photo album.

Lots and lots of Lenexa and Shawnee cops out along Quivira today. Looked like they were on a manhunt. This long exposure shows yet another wrong-way bike ninja and a car approaching the police cruiser. The lady driving this cruiser gawked at me like I had just killed someone as she turned onto 79th, then pulled over with the rollers going. She sat there for a good two minutes while I waited for Karen. Look, if I was trying to hide from the cops, I wouldn't be on a bicycle with lots of reflective stuff and flashing lights.

Sunrise on 67th street:

This semi tractor was blackstacking and choking us, going all of five miles per hour on Merriam Drive. We all got around it quickly.

Random Tunage:
Sarah McLachlan - Possession
Vertical Horizon - When You Cry

Pea Soup

2008-07-09T08:12:00.003-05:00

It was really foggy this morning. Knowing full well I would encounter my daily wrong-way bike ninja, I broke out the camera in video mode. Sorry the video starts sideways, I had my eyes on the road and started recording earlier than I'd intended.

The fog wasn't too bad in Johnson County. Karen and I saw a few more newbies on bikes. Bicycle commuting is getting quite popular. Furthermore, one guy who we've seen sidewalkin' it for the past few days finally got a headlight. Too bad he hasn't learned that riding on Nieman at 6:00AM won't kill him.

By the time we were getting ready to cross into Missouri, the fog was pea soup. It was so dense that it was condensing on my bike, my mirror, and leaving droplets on the hairs of my arms and eyebrows. Visibility had dropped considerably.

I had a decent breakfast before leaving home this morning, so I renounced my mocha addiction for the day, opting for a piping hot cup o' joe instead.

Oh yeah, I had some geeky security nerd fun last night. Read about it on HiR Information Report if you're into that kind of thing.

Random Tunage:
Orbital - Pants
Chumbawamba - Mary Mary

Ray is probably shaking his head...

2008-07-08T16:50:00.002-05:00

Ray probably thinks I'm some kind of self-righteous hypocrite right now. As I zipped past Lenexa Road in the crosswalk on 87th Street, I called to him. All this talk about commuters on the sidewalk, and here I am. Putzing down the sidewalk like a pseudo-pedestrian on 87th.

Photo: This is what happens when all the bike rack slots are full on the front of the bus.

There's a catch, though -- I'd like to think there are things separating me from quite a few of the sidewalk cyclists I'm whining about this week:

I completely shift my riding style on the sidewalk. I am a pedestrian, sacrificing my equal rights to the road. I don't enter intersections just because I have the right of way, and I trust no motorist without making eye contact.
I use the sidewalk as a tool when I feel it's needed. That's not too often, but 87th street in the rain during rush hour, in my opinion, calls for it. Getting around a traffic jam is another time I'll hop up there.
If another sidewalk user is present, I surrender to them, slowing or stopping, moving as far out of the way as needed, even if it means stopping on the grass. I do not have dominion of the sidewalk, and just as an SUV needs to be mindful of smaller vehicles such as Smart cars and bicycles, a bicycle on the sidewalk must be mindful of slower, more vulnerable users as well.

This is in stark contrast to those who bomb down the sidewalk with reckless abandon, expecting walkers to clear the way, motorists to stop on a dime, and all the while using the three-foot concrete thoroughfare as their preferred lane of travel. Those are the ones who piss me off.

Photo: Zipping down 85th street.

It's for this reason that I think sidewalk use should be discouraged but not outlawed. You just can't be a freaking moron about it. So, bring on the LCI crowd and hard-liner VC zealots; I've got my Nomex chamois on. You can't burn these buns, baby!

A little background: 87th street can be avoided entirely when I take the Antioch bus (which I took due to storms and winds gusting to almost 30 MPH). When it's raining, it's pretty easy to see why I'd opt for half a mile of riding with a "pedestrian mindset" over adding a mile and a half to my trip just so I can stay on a bike-friendly route.

As for Ray... Well, I'll be frank with you in saying I think he's got some Big Ones. He tackles 87th daily. I personally can't do it that time of day. I'll do it any other time of day, but not in morning or evening rush hour.

Photo: Goddard from the fender's perspective.

Nice to see ya on the road, Ray. Like I said, you were probably shaking your head in disbelief.

So muggy!

2008-07-08T07:59:00.003-05:00

A quick sunrise photo.

It was so humid that clouds started forming and sprinkling on me for the ride in.

It's BOB! He works graveyards, I think. On Tuesdays, he goes on a recreational ride in the morning, then joins Lorin, JR and I for coffee.

I'm already hating the one Kenda ATB tire I'm running. I can't wait for those brand new Forte Slick City ST tires to show up.

Random Tunage:
Madonna - The Power Of Goodbye
Niyaz - Dilruba (Junkie XL Remix)

Man Vs. Machine: The Constant Struggle

2008-07-07T23:17:00.004-05:00

I picked up something on the way home.

Sorry for the crappy focus. It's a self-tapping pan-head screw. It self-tapped a snakebite into my tire. I noticed it (and a seriously out of true wheel) as Karen and I approached Chatlain park. My tire was down to 30 PSI. I hit it with a blast of CO2 and it got me home.

Cory passed us on his IRO. I think it's in SS mode but he never really lets up after he passes us. I swear I saw him coast right before hopping a curb a few weeks ago.

Did I mention it's hot? 104&deg was an "exposed to the sun" temperature on my bike's thermometer. Actual Heat Index of 97°F and hellacious headwind meant I didn't actually notice too much sweating, but it was so humid that my sweating wasn't doing much good.

The rear tire is trashed. It's worn down to cords in three spots and I noticed a bunch of tiny holes in the innertube where stuff's come through the tire. These have been great tires, lasting me since October 2006. At $7 each, the Forte Slick City STs seem like a sure deal. I'll be ordering a fresh pair soon. For now, it's back to the crappy ATB tire on the back of 'Zilla for the next few days.

Revenge of the Wrong Way Riders

2008-07-07T08:33:00.002-05:00

Good grief. The riders were out in droves today.

I'm seeing people I've never seen before, and at the beginning of July 2007, I started ditching the bus full-time. I've been riding as many round trips by bike as I can possibly handle for just over a year now. The people I'm seeing are almost certainly neophytes to bike commuting. They're distinctly a different breed from your typical crowd that's just out for some pre-work exercise. Almost all of them are in plain clothes wearing backpacks, carrying things from their handlebars in plastic sacks or have items bungeed to their racks. This is not your average roadie/fitness freak crowd.

This morning, most of them were on the sidewalk and/or riding against traffic. This one was riding in the oncoming gutter even though there was a sidewalk. Not more than 50 feet in front of him is an oncoming right-turner, directly in his path. He cut right in front of that car to ride in the right-side gutter, almost getting creamed in the process. After the car had passed, he wove back across into the oncoming gutter. Sigh.

I know why this is. It's because as kids, many of us were taught to ride against traffic to see cars. You see, we also didn't have helmets when we were kids. Those were for racers only. I don't think you could even buy "commodity" helmets in child sizes when I was learning how to ride. Of course, when I was growing up, riding in the back of a pickup truck on the way to baseball practice was a fun summer treat, and we could stray as far away from home as we desired, provided we were home in time for dinner -- both of which will get you labeled as a "child endanger-er" these days. Also, runners often jog against traffic. I don't mind this too much as long as they get out of the way when vehicles are on approach. Bicycles, however, are less maneuverable when it comes to hopping up onto the sidewalk from just anywhere.

Someone is going to get hurt or killed if these guys don't get schooled. Sidewalks are okay tools to use in certain situations. If you want to get around a wreck or a traffic jam without the risk of filtering, riding against traffic in the passing lane or lane splitting, the sidewalk is a great option, if not the safest.

A good number of them were out in the road against traffic, running red lights, cutting off cars and just being stupid, like this guy. Other cars were crossing legally, and he just passed right on through without a care in the world. The sidewalk end a block up the road and he'll ride against traffic on Quivira. I see him occasionally and have often said "it's safer if you ride on the other side of the road with southbound traffic" but he doesn't care.

While all of this unfolded (the above two offenders were merely 30 second apart), I waited for Karen at 79th. It's hard to see, but it was a balmy 76°F with 84% Relative Humidity. Some forecasters are calling for highs in the mid-90s this afternoon! Ye guads.

Stuck waiting for the train.

This wrong-way rider passes in front of the Office of the Mexican Consulate (Mexican Embassy?) on Baltimore. I suppose he gets bonus points for riding through the parking spaces along the road?

Tree Carnage! Not sure when this happened, but we've had some pretty powerful storms the past few weeks.

Other than yelling "the other side is safer!" and leading change by example, I'm really not sure what else to do. I did pass one wrong-way rider last week who was going the same was as me, and then changed lanes to get behind me. I suppose that's score one for the good guys?

Random Tunage:
Steve Winwood - Finer Things
Crystal Method - Busy Child

God Bless America. And Explosives.

2008-07-04T16:56:00.002-05:00

Well, there was one single person showing human power at the Weatherby Lake 4th Of July Parade.

As for me? I'm helping put on an epic professional display. I hope I can get good pics of this, because I won't actually be doing any of the setting off. I'm not licensed for it... yet!

Oh yes. Explosive, indeed.

Random Tunage:
Hooverphonic - Battersea
Underworld - Pearl's Girl

Wanna Race?

2008-07-03T20:04:00.004-05:00

Earlier today on BikeForums I posted a reply to someone who commented about racing on the bike commute. Those of us who've been riding at least one season know the drill. It's an unwritten law, but a law all the same. It's universal across language barriers, and as such is more of a concept than a law with hard and fast rules. I interpret it, translated into English thustly:

...if two cyclists are going the same direction and they aren't part of the same group, they are racing.

I further gave three examples to emphasize my point, given experiences I've had with my convoy and various other times I've been among a cadre of cyclists:

Me [riding] with my commuting buddies... Not Racing. [... usually ;) ]

My group stumbles across someone and passes them? They ALWAYS chase us.

Someone passes me or my group? Chase time.

Indeed. It's universal. It cannot be avoided. It's built into our DNA.

No sooner did I post that and it was nearing time to head home. I was then taught the harsh lesson of racing on the commute. I was first passed by a pair of trash-truck-drafting lycra superhero roadies piloting their full carbon, deep-v-equipped precision racing contraptions. Despondent but not ready to get spit out the back of their peloton without a gross display of cadence and cajones, I hammered it up to 37 miles per hour and I stayed there.

For like 8 seconds. Then I started wheesing and needed to slow down.

Bad idea. I hadn't even eaten lunch. This was a recipe for The Bonk Of Despair. No, thanks.

I was feeling pretty good, making alright time. Then I hit the MUP where I found a water fountain. I needed a refill. After that, I take off again, and I'm just cruising along. I don't even know how fast (and by fast, I mean slow) I was traveling. Probably 12-14 MPH. And then... THEN!!!

That's right, I got passed by an oldster on a flat-bar comfort hybrid of some sort... and he was even wearing a FANNY PACK of all things. Boy, I failed at the commuter racing today.

I've been seeing a whole lot of twisted metal lately. More than usual. 75th street was all kinds of backed up. I had to go check it out. Cars-R-Coffins?

Looks like the front of that car got run over by the tractor/trailer rig up the road from the blockage. Whoops.

On a nerdy note, I'll wrap this up with a picture I took of a few geeky things adorning my cubicle. The Paper Enigma Machine actually works, by the way, although it only functionally represents the simplest of Enigmas ever made, the three-wheel, no-plugboard type without an automated rotor stepper. Hey, it's just paper! Mad props (and geeky bragging rights) if you can answer ALL of these quandaries about the photo (high res version here):

What does that "nohup" banner mean?
What website did the stick-figure comic come from?
What kind of exploit has the mother effectively leveraged by giving her son that bizarre name?

Random Tunage:
De Nuit - All That Mattered
Hardfloor - Acperience

Bussing it some more

2008-07-03T08:53:00.002-05:00

tI took the bus home last night, as I had to work a little later than usual. Then, with the storms, I drove my wife to work and picked her up this morning. There's no good parking right now, and she didn't feel safe walking 1/4 mile in a lightning and hail storm. I don't blame her.

Without a lot of sleep, I just decided to ride to the bus this morning. It's a half day for us in the Wall Street business, as the stock market is closing early. Obviously, I'll be riding all the way home. The bus is pretty boring, not a lot of photo ops the past few days. I'll see if I can change that on the way home.

Random Tunage:
Radiohead - Idioteque
Paul Van Dyk - We Are Alive (Vandit Remix)

Lunch

2008-07-02T13:15:00.002-05:00

This bike belongs to one of the Downtown patrol workers. He eschews the crappy bike the city provides and patrols on his Fisher Fast City. My kinda guy.

I ate at Red Dragon House for lunch.

This evil little fortune cookie has NO FREAKING IDEA what I'm going through.