HELP CATCH A CROOK!

My friend got his Green Bike bicycle (which he earned by switching from a drive-alone commute to taking train trips) swiped from the Sumner Sounder Train Station on 10/26/2010. Let's help get it back!

It looked like my old Green Bike below. His was also a medium size frame, he thinks. It was pretty much stock condition.



Notices posted to BIKEWISE, craigslist, and the Cascade Bicycle Club message boards.

me and my bike

Me and my Novara Transfer "Green Bike" 1 of 200 made.


The only modification I made in the past few months was adding a couple more lights and a set of Shimano SPD pedals. This has made a significant improvement on my uphill return commutes.

Green Bike status report

Since September, I've been commuting by bicycle about 64% of the time. This includes commutes since mid-November, when the program paused until mid-February.

Since it is in the 20s today and snow fell yesterday, I dropped the bike off at REI for their "warranty tune-up" to check things over, make adjustments, etc. About the only thing going on, and is completely normal, was the brakes need adjustment. The cables tend to stretch when new and I've backed out the barrel adjusters to almost their full extension.

Also, I'm having the REI techs look at how my bike computer is set-up. Since last weekend, when I took a 5.5 mile ride around the neighborhood and vicinity, the computer isn't functioning normally. It might have a bad pick-up lead or the magnet on the spokes isn't properly aligned so the computer fails to register movement. The GPS type cycling computers, though expensive, are probably a worthwhile investment. I believe most also record/chart out your path for later download to your computer; a nice feature if one does a lot of backwoods trail riding.

bike commuting in the rain

I've biked to work for about 15 and a half of the past 20 work days, so that's about a month's worth of cycling. I rode the bus to work one day and carpooled home another... and drove alone for only three days since starting the Green Bike Project. I guess that's about 75% bicycle commuting - the program expects participants to ride 60% of their commutes.

The bike has held up well. The rear rack is very handy and sturdy. The lights perform well though with fall and winter close at hand, darkness swallows up the lights pretty easily. I suspect some spendy hi-po head lights are in order shortly, as are better rain gear (that breathes!) and long tights. Only mechanical issue so far has been a flat front tire due to a pin hole sized puncture... possibly from one of the many dried-out blackberry vines strewn across the shoulder I typically ride on.

I have found two reasons riding in the rain is not so bad: 1) you can certainly hear the cars approaching from behind a lot easier and 2) I seem to overheat on the ride home pretty quickly (all uphill ride home) and the cooler weather and rain seems to feel better than it being 70+ and sunny. I still dislike gusts of wind, especially in your face!

Gear I've purchased (sorry if this is a repeat) includes a LED lit reflective lightweight vest (I'm irritated that the $40 vest already had an attachment clip get broken - I may repair it with some sort of buttons or snaps), a pair of Columbia brand rain-proof pants (they make me sweat awfully since they don't breathe at all), and a special "beanie" by Underarmor that fits snuggly under the helmet and helps keep ears warmer and also blocks some of the wind rushing through the helmet.

At this point, I'm going to try to keep going through the year as long as feasible.

Green Bike Project: 2009 Novara Transfer (REI)

Program overview
In cooperation with REI and the Cascade Bicycle Club, and funded by a grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation, King County (specifically, KC Metro) has rolled out a new program this fall called the "Green Bike Project".



A new REI Novara commuter bicycle is provided to new bicycle commuters (they must have identified themselves as being a "drive alone" commuter prior to the program as the grant conditions stipulate it is being used to buy drivers out of the single-occupant vehicles). The model is the Transfer, an award-winning commuter bike. I've heard the MSRP is about $650, though the GBP got a deal from REI but we don't know what the reduced price was. The special green color is a limited edition with only 200 made.

I got into this program because despite my love for fooling around with bikes and experience as a team leader during bike to work month (May each year) in 2007 and 2008, 99% of the time, I was commuting as a solo driver. It's been 25 years or so since I last rode a new bicycle and had one that was fitted to me.



The sponsors' logos on the chainstay (the other side would have made more sense where it is less likely to get slapped around and marred by the chain).



The project has a web site that the participants must log-in their trips during the duration of the program.



Bike features
The bike has a number of cool features that make it great out-of-the-box for commuters. This includes puncture-resistent tires with reflective sidewalls and full fenders, for example. Some other of the features are shown in the photos below.

A bell is integrated into the brake lever housing.



The rear flashing light is triggered on automatically by movement and also low light conditions. It goes off automatically after 3 minutes if you've stopped and parked the bike.



The matching rear rack is robust and takes pannier bags or in this case, makes for a place to strap things down with bungee cords.



The front light is driven by a dynamo (generator) encased in the hub of the front wheel. It comes on whenever you're moving forward or backing up. Since it stops when you're stopped, I added an additional battery-powered headlight that's mounted to the handlebar (not pictured).



Shifting and adjustments are easy (I hope) compared to a regular multi-speed bike with derailleurs. This is strictly a 7-speed with a single front chain ring. Shifting is handled by a Shimano Nexus hub with 7-speeds. I am told the high and lows are the same as a mountain bike but there are fewer ranges between gears than you'd find in a 18, 21, 24, etc. speed bicycles. I've found it does seem like the gear you'd want for flat out on flat paved surfaces requires more effort and you don't get a lot of speed. For now, I think it is my own physical abilities that are the limiting factor, so we'll see how that changes in the months ahead. Most of my riding is either all downhill or all uphill, so for me, the quality of the brakes (rim brakes), tires (26 x 1.75), and uphill gearing ratio are of more importance to me.

With the rear hub being a internal geared style, the rear axle is nutted, which means it needs the rider to carry a 15mm wrench to take the wheel off in the event of a flat. This produced a bit of a problem when the project first started out and some riders, somebeing not-so-mechanically minded, had difficulties when they had a flat tire for the first time.



I'll update how my rides have been going and what I've discovered about the bike over the next couple months.