There is something uncanny
in the noiseless rush of
the cyclist, as he comes
in to view, passes by and
disappears.
- Popular Science, 1891

Bike Lane

Wow, as a commuter this looks great...

LightLane is a company designing a rear bike light that creates a laser-lit virtual bike lane that goes where you go.

There’s no timeline as to when the LightLane bike light will be available, but the company has a targeted retail price of between $80 and $100. www.lightlanebike.com

I plan to be one of the first people in line buy one!

Mechanicals

I had some issues riding to work this morning. I'm thinking the temperature had something to do with it. I left the house about 0530 and it was a balmy 14 degrees! After about the second stop I noticed my back tire was not riding smoothly, it felt like the brake was on.

When I arrived at work I found out that yes the brake was rubbing, the wheel would not spin very good. I made a few adjustments to the back brake and it seemed OK. While checking out the back brake I noticed I had a bad spoke. I did what I could to fix it.

I also noticed that my lights were pretty dim by the time I got to work. I'm thinking maybe the cold is having an affect on the batteries as well. I usually leave my bike in the breezeway where there is no heat. Tonight I'm bringing it in the house to work on it so I think I will just leave it inside for the night to see if that makes a difference on the lights. If so then I know I need to bring the lights in the house and not leave them on the bike.

After getting home I took a closer look at the back tire and was able to fix the spoke, I think it must have just worked it's way loose. I cleaned and lubed the brake cables and I'm hoping that will fix the sticking problem. I really need to clean and lube the chain too but I ran out of energy. I swear riding in the cold just sucks your energy.

So far the low temperatures have not been bad, I've had a couple mornings where I did not dress quite warm enough, I needed more protection on my face. Today I added long underwear, and a scarf to my ensemble, I also wore my mountain bike glasses, they keep the wind out of my eyes, and I had a nice hot cup of tea before I left the house. I didn't get cold at all. I think the key is the hot tea made of honey and cinnamon. It's my new favorite!

There's a big ass winter storm on it's way due to arrive tomorrow afternoon so I may get my first chance to ride in the snow. I sure hope I'm ready for it! The Weatherbug just went off again I think I'll go check the weather...

Cold Weather Riding

So far I've been pretty lucky the coldest day this Fall was this morning; a chilly 27 degrees when I left the house.

I have my routine down fairly good, this morning I even had time to make and eat a bowl of oatmeal before heading to work. As the weather gets colder I plan to shower before I go to bed so I can keep some of the oils on my skin as protection. Taking a shower in the morning helps with waking up but it takes all of the oil from your skin and leaves you exposed to the elements.

My routine goes a little something like this:
cell phone alarm starts playing the Mexican hat dance at 0415
I crawl out of bed and let the dogs outside.
Brush teeth, use toilet and find clothes for the day, not necessarily in that order.
Let dogs back into the house and feed them.
Jump into shower, get dressed.
Pack lunch and work bag.
Grab a bite to eat and something to drink, fill water bottle.
Put on riding gear; Techpant Overtrouser by Endura, super bright yellow windbreaker jacket from REI, and Sugoi vest, Spider gloves, Pearl Izumi liner, and Bell Ghisallo helmet. I wear my regular work clothes underneath.
Set alarm system, lock up the house and pedal off to work.

If the weather is over 40 I'll wear a headband instead of the liner and regular biking gloves instead of the Spider gloves. Once the weather gets really cold I'll add another layer under the jacket and possibly long underwear. As I said earlier now that it's getting cold I'll start showering before bed and also get my lunch ready and work bag packed the night before. This will save me some time in the morning. At this time of the year I have to dress for a 20 degree difference between the time I ride to work and the time I ride home. Example at 0530 this morning the temp was 27 degrees, at 1430 the temp was 50 degrees. The tech pants were packed in my work bag and the liner and Spider gloves were replaced with a headband and biking gloves.

I'm also looking at getting a new helmet, I really like the Nutcase helmets and hope to purchase one of those real soon. They have less ventilation which I hope will make it warmer and they come in some really fun designs. And while I'm looking at a new helmet I'll be checking out new gloves too. The pair I have work great for skiing but my hands don't move enough on the bike and my fingers were pretty cold this morning. I plan to check out those claw gloves. I had a great hand warming idea on my ride home today that if it works could be a great new invention for us bike commuters. I'm not saying anything at the moment but the idea has been formed in my mind now I just need to figure out how to bring it to life.

I've checked into studded tires and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get them to fit my rims. My tires are 700cX 28 and the smallest studded tires I've been able to find were 32's I don't know if they will work or not. The young gentleman at the bike shop thought they might. I guess I'll find out after the snow starts to fly. In the mean time the Armadillo Nimbus tires will have to do. If all else fails I can ride my mountain bike when it snows, I know I can get studded tires for that one.

Well, that's all for today...

Bicyling for Ladies

The Common Sense of Bicycling: Bicycling for Ladies by Marie E. Ward.

You can click here to read it online or download it from google books. Written in 1896. Things have changed a bit since then but not a lot. It's well worth the read.

A Case for Separated Bike Lanes

Winter Riding

This year was not one of my best years for riding. I've struggled with some injuries and been a little depressed about it. I did so much riding last year and I felt really good coming into winter. Here it is October and I'm feel sadly out of condition. I realize that I commute to work most days which I fail to count as riding. I always think it's only 6 miles and most of that is flat but seriously most people can't even ride 6 miles so I really need to start giving myself credit for it. But that's not what I'm here about tonight. I'm writing tonight because I've decided I'm going to work hard at commuting to work through the winter.

One of my long time dreams is to do a super long distance ride, something like the Underground Railroad or the Ride across America. In order for me to do that I need to spend time in the saddle and outfit myself with the proper gear. I also need to learn what to bring, how to survive out on the road and how to fix a broken bike. Well, I'm pretty handy, when I took the entrance exam to join the military they said I was "mechanically inclined" and tried hard to recruit me. If they had let me fly airplanes and blow things up I probably would have joined, but that's another story. Anyway, I've been reading a lot lately about commuting, touring and bikes.

I believe the bikes I have now will work fine for my immediate needs however I think I need a few more accessories for my bike. The first thing being a new headlight. My favorite headlight was on my mountain bike that was stolen this summer. I've been looking at a lot of lights and I think I would really like one of those lights with the generator, I mean it's gotta be more environmentally friendly than batteries, right?!? I remember when I was a kid, my big brother had one of those lights on his bike and I thought it was soooo cool. I need to get to the bike store and actually take a look at one before I decide. Checking products out on the Internet only goes so far, I'm a hands on kinda person. I need to open the box and look at what I'm buying.

The second thing I need is different pedals which is no big deal, I've taken the pedals off my Terry and will put them on my Specialized. However when I removed the pedals from the Terry I noticed that the rubber washer thingy needs to be replaced so I need to get to the bike store and buy one before I put those pedals on my Specialized. With these pedals I can either clip in or use regular street shoes and I'm thinking on a cold blustery Minnesota morning I'm not going to want to be wearing bike shoes. A big 'ole pair of mukluks will be nice.

As for clothing I think I'm going to have to learn as I go along. I know dressing in layers is going to be my best bet. I have a locker at work and I'm thinking it would be a good idea to keep a change of clothes in there, at least dry pants, a shirt and socks. Maybe I'll toss in a raincoat as well, you never know in Minnesota.

I'm also going to invest in new racks for my Specialized, I wasn't going to do it but I'm tired of carrying a bag on my back and I think having a rack in the back I can just strap my lunch bag to it and not have to worry about anything. I have fenders from my old Bianci hybrid and I'm going to see if they will fit on the Specialized as well; that should help limit the splash back and save me some discomfort.

Tires are another issue, I've started reading about what everyone else is doing but it seems it all depends on your personal preference and where you are riding. For now I'm going to see how well my Armadillo Nimbus 700c x 28's work. I'm sure I'm going to needs something a little knobbier but they should be OK for now. I will for sure get to the bike store and have something in the basement ready to go so that when the snow starts flying I'll be ready.

I'm also going to spend lots of time reading about touring bikes! And taking them for test rides. I already have several on my list to check out. Hmmm, sounds like a need a trip to the bike shop; what a perfect thing to do on a Monday night. Now I know what I'm doing tomorrow and with that I shall sign off.