Dec
21
2008
The photo of the I5 bridge shows the bike path on the right side. I wonder how slippery and how much snow and ice is on the path? Traveling on the downhill side would be interesting. If you lost control you would be lucky to hit a bridge girder, because the other option would be to go over the rail and into the Columbia River.
Today I started to go to the grocery store on my mountain bike. But yesterday’s snowfall was followed by freezing rain last night and after falling twice on a short ride up the street, I decided to walk the 1.1 miles to the store. Sadly this was the first time I saw so many people walking to the store. Its too bad it takes snow and ice covered roads to get people to give up their cars.
Tags: bike path, snow and ice
Dec
19
2008
The people in Vancouver and Portland just don’t do very well when is comes to handling a little snow and ice. The drivers are inept and the news people start to wear on my nerves after about a week of beating the weather story to death over an inch of snow and freezing temps. Residents of more wintry regions would get a laugh over the reaction or should I say the over reaction to a little snow.
Inclement weather conditions during the winter has never kept me from doing what I need to do or going where I need go. But finally after a week of snow, ice, rain, and wind, I have finally had enough. Not enough of the weather, but enough of needing to wear all those layers of clothing to ride my bike. Last night after I arrived home I took off my layers showered then put on some board shorts to relax. It was then I noticed how much more comfortable I was, in fact it was probably the most comfortable I have been all week. I guess if I had been cold I may have a different outlook on this, but thankfully my winter riding gear has worked well. And most importantly my hands and feet stayed warm and dry.
It has been a busy week trying to get Christmas shopping done, commuting to work, and getting around by bicycle at times has been challenging. Most of the stores have been pretty empty and the roads were not all that bad, but the icy spots and the gravel they put on the road for traction has been a major nuisance and at times a hazard. Not only did I need to watch for slippery spots due to ice or gravel on the pavement, but the cars, trucks, and buses have been slinging the bits of gravel like tiny projectiles. Riding has been interesting.
According to the forecast there will be some snow and freezing rain over the weekend followed by warming into the 40′s by Tuesday. I have been warm and dry during this bit of snow and ice, but I am looking forward to just rain and balmy temps in the 40′s.
Tags: bicycling, weather
Dec
11
2008
Hey I want some of the free money Washington is throwing giving away these days. I am environmentally, fiscally, and most importantly personally responsible for everything I do. Damn… I just ruined any hope of getting some easy money from the feds.
Last night I read in the Oregonian a special interest group is going after some of the Federal stimulus dollars, so they can build a new $4 billion bridge across the Columbia River joining Portland and Vancouver. This bridge will increase the lanes of traffic from 6 to 12, include light rail, but would not start at least until 2012. What is happening to the economic stimulus between now and then? Going into the special interest’s pockets?
If you live in the Portland/Vancouver area you know traffic on the I5 bridge can be a major pain. But if you ride a bike across the bridge during rush hour you know this traffic is brought on by single occupancy vehicles and spending $4 billion on a new bridge is not the answer. Oregon’s Governor Kulongoski put $50 million into the budget for this project, so obviously Oregon can not afford to support this.
I think the $50 million proposed by Governor Kulongoski would be better spent on bicycle infrastructure. This would create a safer bicycling environment, which in turn would encourage more people to use their bikes for utilitarian purposes as opposed to just recreational riding. The most frequent negative statement I hear about commuting to work is people don’t feel safe because of auto, truck, and bus traffic.
So let’s see… bicycling is environmentally friendly, saves money (gas and health care costs), and puts the power and responsibility of being green and saving money directly on the cyclist. Damn… I guess I just ruined any hope of getting easy money from the feds for bicycling infrastructure. Sorry!
Now that I have bummed myself out, I think I will go for a bike a ride and create some mental sunshine. 
Tags: bicycle infrastucture, daily bicycling
Dec
09
2008
My mother decided she wanted to purchase my dad a police scanner for Christmas. No big deal except she has no knowledge about the devices (neither did I), wanted me to research and purchase the scanner for her. Has anyone had experience with such a device? To make it truly useful and understandable I needed to reprogram it with local frequencies using my computer and in the process I tested it. This where I became somewhat interested in it.
On Sunday and Monday evenings while I was reprogramming and testing it I was listening to the Portland Police. What surprised me was how many bicyclist the Portland Police stop in a night. 
More surprising was the attitude I was hearing over the air from the police towards the bicyclists as they were being called in. One officer was obviously looking for something to ticket the cyclist for and called in to find out whether he could write a ticket for a cyclist not having a rear brake. He stated he observed a cyclist on a fixie without a rear brake, skid his rear wheel to stop. He stated the bike had a front brake but had no rear brake and wanted to know can he cite this cyclist? The dispatcher checked and reported a Sergent said the cyclist was legal as long as he had a front brake. The officer responded with an, “Affirmative, I guess I will have to let him go.” You could hear by the tone in the officer’s voice he was disappointed he could not ticket the cyclist.
This was one of many calls I heard regarding bicyclists during the course of the evening while I was reprogramming and testing my dad’s Christmas gift. I did not hear this type of conversations between dispatch and officers regarding automobiles. It left me wondering if Portland Police officers are aggressively enforcing laws regarding bicyclist? If so, why? Could one of the reasons be bicyclists are an outspoken voice in the Portland community? Does this stem from a large part of the community being auto centric?
I have never been stopped, but I have had Portland Police officers give me the once over look as I have ridden passed them on my ride home at night. Now I wonder if they were just doing their job or looking for something to hassle a bicyclist over?
If I screw up go ahead and cite me, but if it is about hassling me they will learn quickly I will file complaints, go to court, and be a major pain in the ass for them. It is not about the money with me, it is about the principal.
Tags: attitude, bicyclists, fixie, portland police officers
Dec
05
2008
I am not a big fan of wearing a backpack while cycling. I don’t like the high center of gravity feeling when the backpack has a load in it or how sweaty my back gets. But for this backpack’s functionality in the video and me being single, I may change my mind.
Hey… this what I want for Christmas.
Tags: bicycle humor
Dec
04
2008
What would Sheldon Brown do? Today a co-worker asked me to work on their bike. Because people know I ride a bike, work on my own bikes, and have been known to help others out, I get asked every now and then. So it was no surprise when I was asked today. When asked I sometimes will agree to take a look or do the work, but today I said no to the surprise of the person asking.
When I questioned the person asking they stated what the issues were and said they just didn’t want to spend the 50 to 70 dollars a bicycle shop would want. My response was,”So my time isn’t worth anything?” Of course that generated all kinds of excuses including, “The last time you worked on my bike it was better than the work the bike shop did.” This person knows trying to psychologically work on me is fruitless, so I guess he is being honest.
In the end I informed him I would help with his bike. He questioned the help I was offering, so I told him to bring his bike around to my place on Friday or Saturday. I would supply the bike stand, tools, and information he would need to repair his bike. Later today I will also send a link to Sheldon Brown’s Bicycle Technical Info web site with instructions to check the information and look to see if he can figure out what is wrong with his bike.
Nothing takes the place of hands on learning and the gratification you gain from learning how to be self reliant. Repairs become one less excuse not to ride.
Tags: bicycle repair, Sheldon Brown
Dec
01
2008
Some time ago someone anonymously subscribed me to Bicycling magazine. I don’t know if they did it as a favor or if they wanted to hear my comments on the publication. I do like some of the articles, but for the most part their magazine is not really geared for me. I would like to see a company like Rodale realize there is a market for a bicycle commuting magazine or at least feature more bicycle commuting relate material in their issues.
In the January/February 2009 issue of bicycling magazine they have a whole 1 inch column on page 41 “Find Your Comfort Zone” dedicated to commuters, while the rest of the magazine appears to be written for the enthusiast.
In the gear section they have an article titled, “KICK THE COLD AWAY” and in it they give a brief review of four winter shoes. Nothing was mentioned about shoes for people with wide feet, which means they did not mention Lake or Sidi. I own both brands in various models and can highly recommend them for riders with wide feet.
I use the Sidi’s when I ride my carbon bike and the Lakes on my commuter bike. Both brands are excellent. The Sidi Genius Mega feel so good I wish my regular shoes felt that comfortable and the Lake MX101 and MXZ302 fit just as well. The MX101 I use for daily commuting when the weather is dry and temps are reasonable, while the MXZ302′s I use in wet and cold conditions. Each of these shoes have performed excellently.
Having wide feet and looking for cycling shoes can be a nuisance and some cyclists with wide feet will sacrifice comfort. Proper fit and comfort are on the top of my list when I look for any shoes. The power you generate goes directly through your feet and if they are hurting, wet or cold you are going to have a miserable ride. Bicycling is too much fun to let poorly fitting or nonperforming shoes ruin your ride.
Tags: cycling shoes
