hey, honey -- how was work?

A co-worker and I had a lot of fieldwork to do today and we decided to do it together on bikes, as a lot of the stuff we were doing would hav had us stopping every block or so to get out and snap some pics.

He was nice enough to take a few of me and my bike, the one I'd been commuting on in May.

Here's me and a large crack in an asphalt sidewalk.





Checking out some work for a DOT project.



Whoa! A snake! [In the lower right part of the photo -- it's about 10 inches long].



Back on the bike, this time pointing out a weird shallow gutter along a sidewalk. I'm riding the bike in the gutter. About a foot wide by two inches deep. Odd design that might prove daunting to pedestrians.

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.

rain, rain, go away

It rained all-day today, at least when I would have been riding a bike. Plus, I had a meeting where I had to look nice.

So, I decided it was better to keep the bike at home today. Plus, I saw gas prices at a local station slipped 4 cents per gallon since last week. Big oil is hurting for business. Demand has dropped. All because I rode my bike 4 times to work this month so far. [insert heavy sarcasm here]

It's better than what happened last week. On the way to work, gas was $3.39/gallon and I remarked to myself "hey -- it's been that price for at least a week". When I went by later that day it was $3.41/gallon.

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!