you're killin' me, CBC!

I am so eager to start entering my miles (about 40 this week) for the Bike to Work Month Commute Challenge - but it is frustrating, as this first week of the contest, the computer system at CBC has been non-functioning!

[5-12-2010 EDIT: the web site is now back up and running. Log-in NOW to participate if it is not too late!]

1st commute wipe-out

I'm still a bit PO'd about this. Basically, in a nutshell, I wiped out this morning on the Transfer while en route to work. I'm OK physically (we'll see tomorrow AM if I have any muscle soreness - I expect there will be), and the bike is OK (just minor scrapes on the pedal end and end of handlebar). So I guess that's the good news.

There is a major construction zone along my preferred route to work - the others being either more-heavily traveled or considerably steeper and a lengthier route door-to-door. Going to work is mostly flat or downhill, coming home of course, is flattish and uphill.

The construction zone is for a project to build an interstate highway interchange - so this isn't a small project by any means. To protect pedestrians and bicyclists, or at least keep them away from construction crews, the construction crews have made a separated, shared path* along one side of the road, segregated from traffic by jersey barricades and a chain link fence.

As I was traveling in this protected area this morning at about 15 mph or less, I saw ahead what appeared to be plywood laid down in the path. It wasn't. It was 1" tall steel plate that was wet and covered with a bit of sand and dirt. Between choices of hopping the plate (likely 6 to 8 feet wide, not a great option) or trying to stop (also not a good option - not enough distance to stop) I chose the latter. The front wheel struck the plate and dumped the bike over to the left. I hopped off the bike (PO'd that the bike was dumped - I was more concerned about getting it scraped up) and landed on my feet, running a few steps but staying on my feet.

A construction worker asked if I was OK. I said I was PO'd and explained I could not see the plate. He said he had cones (three of them - pushed to one side) but he didn't want them to obstruct the path (????). I got back on my bike and rode away, as I was a block or two from my employer's.

Ironic that my focus lately has been on making me more visible to others and my attention has been directed towards watching out for other moving objects (like cars) and that my wipe-out has nothing to do with that. I think my next investment will be for an ultra bright light - I cannot rely upon others to provide adequate illumination or to keep paths clear - even those designated for pedestrians and bicyclists.

*Since using this shared facility, I am becoming less and less thrilled with them. Since it is only on one side of the road, I hate riding against traffic on the opposite side of the road than I am accustomed to. Barrier there or not, it just feels weird. The reason I have not continued to stay in traffic is on the opposite side of the road they have barricades there and no shoulder, so if you get a flat or what-have-you, you're pretty much stuck in an "automotive gauntlet" for nearly three-quarters of a mile. I'll try to post pictures of this - or maybe try to make a video.

I've still been bicycling!

I realize it has been forever since I last updated this blog. I cannot recall if I even posted any updates about this past bike to work month. I think it's because bicycling has wrapped itself into a daily or weekly routine for me so I don't really change much of my behavior like I used to when May rolled around.

I just wanted to let everyone who might be interested know that I've still been biking - mostly for commuting (2-3x a week) and sometimes 3-5 mile rides for fitness and recreation, usually with my kids (youngest just started riding without training wheels this week!)

Me with a bunch of kids (ours and friends children) riding around the cabins at Cama Beach on Camano Island, WA. This was in July 2009.


Also from July (might be early August) me with a 1990s Specialized Allez I "rescued" from a free pile in our neighborhood. It's all low-end Campy equipped (Veloce) and I just needed to replace the left crank arm (I replaced both crank L and R plus chain rings with a NOS Veloce crankset I found on e-Bay for $40) added Shimano SPD road pedals and swapped out the weathered but hardly-used stock Specialized brand tires for Serfas Seca II tires.


I'm still using a REI Novara brand commuter bike (Transfer) for my daily commutes though for fun (and practicality) I will sometimes ride in a older Schwinn cross bike or Giant hardtail MT bike as both are equipped with platform pedals. This is especially for when there are farmers' market Tuesdays where I'll ride from work to the market and not want to roam around in crowds while wearing shoes with cleats.

My health has improved - I dropped 22 pounds from a doctor visit in fall of 2008 to a check-up in the spring. I continue to drop weight and improve my commute times home.

Happy and safe riding everyone!

first bike commute for 2008

My first bike commute for this year was uneventful.

I left home for work between 6:00 and 6:10 this morning and I was at work before 6:30... probably by 6:20 or 6:25. Being downhill on the way to work, it goes fast, but I keep it pretty sane. No wild speed or risky moves. My normal schedule doesn't have me start until at least 7:00 in the morning. (I have to be in Seattle tomorrow very early for an awards presentation so I will be driving to work and into Seattle).

In the early morning today, I was photographed with my bicycle at our transit center with my boss in a vanpool van for a local business newspaper article about employees' commute options in our county.

I got off work around 4:30 and headed home (uphill ride and some walking... OK, about a third of the trip was walking). I got home just after 5:00 to the cheers of the kids and my wife, Christie, who were waiting for me in our driveway.

Today I did also try out my homespun version of a "bike bucket" I made last weekend. It's shown in the photo below mounted to the bike rack.


Here's a look at what the hooks and mounting look like. Pretty simple and easy to find parts if you know your way around a hardware store and can use simple tools. I think I did this in 30 minutes or less.


The item in the lower portion of the bucket side is a bungee cord used to keep the bucket on the bike when empty/nearly empty. If I were to modify this trial version, I would likely add another bungee or elastic straps to connect the sides of the bucket to the rack and prevent forward-back sliding. Perhaps if the hanging hooks were dipped/painted in plasticote type rubberized material this too could prevent the sliding that can occur on a hill due to the lack of friction between metal-to-metal.

year 2

Tomorrow, I plan on doing my first bike commute for 2008. It's Bike to Work month again and I'm a team captain again. Our team is the Cedar River Riders (CR2).

We have two teams of ten riders already established and hopefully, we might develop at least one more team of at least 4 riders to participate.

Winter hung on into spring for us, so it has been cold (snow a few weeks ago with hail storms the following week!) I'm eager to get out of hibernation.

commuter bike modifications

This month I added a few items to make my bicycle a more practical commuter bicycle.

The basic bicycle is a Schwinn High Plains from the early 1990s. Not shown in this photo are lights, a "tank bag" and a mini tire pump. You'll notice the rear rack and milk crate (something I had laying around the garage I zip tied to the bike rack for carrying bulky items not easily stowed in my backpack or other bike bags. There is also a mountain bike style rear fender under the rack to keep down spray and mud. I'd also a while back put on some comfortable grips.


The knobby mountain bike offroad knobby tires were causing a lot of vibration on the roads and sidewalks I was riding on. I found these tires, with new tubes, for about $50. They feature a kevlar lining to reduce chances for flats by a significant amount -- I've heard 65-90% less blown tires. This tire is a bit narrower than the off-road tires that were on the bike previously. This also helps make the bike roll better with less resistence.


I am experimenting with a homemade splash guard I made from a smoothie drink plastic bottle and a couple zip ties. I think I need a 2 liter size plastic bottle to get the coverage I need to block water kicked up by the front tire. Mainly this will keep ankles and shoes and socks drier.


I am also adding bar ends to provide another riding position for placing my hands.



I just bought a special seat designed to relieve pressure on an artery between the legs. Normally this retails for $89, I got it online for $30.

different kind of bike

I wanted to mention that one of the bikes to come by the bike commuter station on Friday morning was a semi-recumbent style TANDEM(!) bike. It looked like the one I found online for sale. The people I spoke to said these can go for up to $6,000 but the one I found in these photos is only $1,000 OBO.

Renton Bike to Work Day 5/18/2007

We had 175 bicycle commuters come by the bike station between 6-9 a.m. today.

I'm the one in the long sleeve white t-shirt and orange hat.

today's brown bag

I rode my bike to work today and participated with three others in our first ever bicycling brown bag lunch (which included a mini tech session and ride). Despite a small turn out (only 4 of us) I think we all had fun. The weather was overcast, but not too warm or cold and it didn't rain!

Our group included the leader, Mike, an experienced bike mechanic and bicycle commuter (he rides 42 miles one-way!) Fred is just getting back onto a bike since he was a teenager (he's in his 50s now.) Fred already routinely logs in 20+ miles a day and he only got back into riding within the last month. James brought his "hybrid" pedal + electric assist bicycle. I rode my bike and it was the first long period of riding I've done with the smoother street type tires.

Advice I/we learned was about lane positioning, hand signals, and basic tool kit suggestions. I learned one of my shifters is a bit out of whack and my seat should be moved a bit forward and needs to be adjusted flatter... it currently tilts downward a bit.

As far as our teams go (sorry if I am being a bit repetitive) after the first two weeks of this month's contest, we collectively (15 riders) racked up over 546 miles of bicycle commutes. Using the AAA's 56 cents a mile operating expense estimate for automobile ownership, we've collectively saved $300 in commuting expenditures. As a bonus, we burnt over 18,000 calories!

Reminder: Bike to Work Day is Friday, May 18th!

bike to work #2

Have you ever noticed that when you're out of breath, any pair of dogs looks like killer attack dobermans?



I did bike commute (including some walking on the steep uphill portions) on Friday the 11th. Towards the last steep leg, while I was walking with the bike, two Weimaraners and their owner came walking up behind me about 10 yards away.



As I was walking pretty slowly by that point, they were closing the distance pretty quickly. I was watching cautiously over my shoulder and I saw them streak off into the bushes -- so I thought I was in the clear. As I turned to face forward, I startled them (as they did me) as they actually popped out of the bushes ahead of me, with me between the dogs and their owner. I paused, positioned my bike between myself and the dogs as they approached to sniff me out. I said "hey, pups" with a neutral reaction from the dogs. As the owner got closer he said "they're good girls" or something to that effect and "they look similar to an aggressive breed, but they're sweethearts who'd lick you to death". Sure enough, they were nice and benign, but I'm always cautious with dogs I don't know.

The other things I noticed during my commute: gloves would be helpful, as would a better front splash guard; riding into a light wind is still riding into the wind; car fumes really stink when you're starved for oxygen, diesel is even worse! I also experienced how irritating it is when a property owner doesn't maintain the vegetation nearest the street and it grows into the shoulder of the street where you'd like to walk or ride.

This next week features the Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 18th and I intend to bike several times this week, including Wednesday and Friday.

The teams are racking up miles and I am very happy to hear from several who are new to bicycle commuting who are already racking up 20 or more miles per day!

week of May 7th in review

Good news! As of today, we have two teams registered for the Commuter Challenge month with 14 riders! Many are first time bicycle commuters and some are putting on lots of daily miles. The teams are called rotelle di velocita I and II. I've also still hear rumors there's a team of firefighters out there too.

I'm going to ride to work tomorrow, unfortunately I've only logged one other so far. I expected this, as I had more opportunities to ride in later in the month.

Next week I've scheduled a brown bag lunch ride with a tech session (Weds, May 16th) and of course, Friday, May 18th is Bike to Work Day. On BTW Day, I am going to head to the bike commuter station to see what's going on and also distribute snacks, energy bars, etc.

During the last week of this month, there's a public open house planned (I believe for the evening of May 30th from 6-8 p.m.) to discuss our city's trail and bicycle facility plans. More on that later.

I'm just glad that despite a slow first week, we're really beginning to take off. Now I've just got to get it in gear too.

This is my friend and former co-worker at the UW, Lisa...



She was (and still is) an avid cyclist but now lives in SLO, CA. She still does the same kind of work that I do, trying to educate commuter of their non-drive-alone options. She really leads by example and here she was pictured in a past Bike to Work Day.