fixed impressions

This makes me miss the old crew more than anything.  Handmade bike show in PDX, this fall.

wade, kratsch, eugene

Well, one good week of the flu or whatever I had week before last killed my 2 a week commuting plan. It’s not like I have a sponsor to let-down or left prize money on the table, the point was to make the commitment to ride the bike and leave the car. In that respect I’m really off to a good start. I think I will make it 2 days per week on bike ‘average’ to allow for illness, driving out of necessity, ice storms and the like.

December sort of has five weeks of commuting, so I’ll plan for 10 days on the bike. As I sit and nibble my coffee, I’m pondering my studded Nokians. I bought them back in about 2002 I think and they have maybe 10 rides on them. I haven’t had them on any wheelset for a few years and am planning for the best way to use them. I only have on fixed rear wheel at the moment, so I either have to change tires on demand or put the studded tires on one bike and just live with it.

After losing a custom Vulture cross bike to the corrosion of winter riding already, I’m hesitant to expose more than bikes to the crud than I actually need to. I guess I just don’t want to wear out the [expensive] studded tires when in my experience you only need them a few times a month. Hmm, well that was Bend, OR and I probably will regret my commuting life this winter just for writing that.

Oh, here is cuJ0’s picture of the Vulture himself at the NW Handmade Bike Show in PDX last month:

Wade the Vulture in late fall plumage

Very happy to report that I got an early Burning Man ticket and cuJ0 did too!  Kippered Martini Camp!  Wade will either be with us or we will make a life size carboard version.  Vulture!

Happy Thanksgiving, if it means anything to you.

G

Well, nothing like the flu to put a wrench in your commuting routine. I’ve missed Monday and Tuesday and though I’m going back to work today, I’m hardly ready to ride in at 24 degrees. I think I might make it Friday, but not sure about tomorrow. I won’t be too disappointed to get knocked off plan in the third week…but it is a bummer. We’ll see how I feel tonite.

I rode home last nite with just a bit of a chill, but thankful that my renewed effort at bike commuting has been met with decent weather and relatively few incidents. My latest minor irritation is that the beginning of the route home, now everyday in full darkness, is downhill, which does little to generate body heat. I’m pondering the notion of doing a few jumping jacks or sun salutations to get the chi moving before I get out there on the road.

It is nice to feel the legs come back to life a bit. Mine surely have thousands and thousands of miles of muscle memory, but at my age, they seem a bit forgetful, eh? But they are starting to come around. I expect now that it’s dark so early, I’ll be back in the gym fairly soon as well. That will give me a chance to put some real work in on core and legs for skiing [and boarding.]

Pondering the ride today…it’s colder than other days so far and I already have ridden everyday this week….hmm? I can’t even come close to finding a rationale for driving, so fixed’muter it is!

Looking forward to the weekend too, lots of fun things to do this weekend including a bonfire and 40th b-day as well as the Spielpalast Fundraiser.

Cheers

Over and Out

G

My hero of fixed cross Mad Nat:

G

I got in three commutes this week.  Yesterday I had big trash drop off before work which got me a petrol-pass.  Then today I had to go out to a client.  I am getting used to the ride and really missed it yesterday.  Today was super chilly and I didn’t mind having the excuse to drive.  Is that lame?

Starting to look forward to the snow, not so much for commuting, but for days where I can ski to work.  On a good six inch day, I can get almost the whole way on the bike path, which they do plow, but well after the roads.  I skied to work twice last winter and this year I’d like to get in 6 or more.  Its a really cool feeling to ski in and out of work.  In fact I always wanted to do it when I lived in 97701, but there the snow is thin and doesn’t last long in town.  Here in VT it is much easier.  Here’s to a great ski-to-work winter!

G

After falling back early Sunday morn, I’m now assured of commuting home in the dark every day.  Last week there was a possibility of some light, now there is none.  Seems like it is almost less of a bother when you know it will be dark. I have a solid quiver of lights, blinkers, reflectors, etc,…so it isn’t really that difficult to get prepared.   I pretty much got my system set up over the last two years when I lived almost too close to work to bother riding.  And don’t let the map fool you, I could just walk up those railroad tracks…maybe 500-550 yards.  Now I have a solid 2.5 miler.  Anyway, really enjoyed the ride home tonite, with the typical weird headlamp effect on the darkest parts of the bike path.  The bike path runs an old railroad grade on the waterfront that adds a whopping 0.4 miles to the one way trip, but keeps you away from cars for 2/3 of the trip.

I really like the quiet of the bike path now that summer is past.  There are plenty of bike commuters, but the runners and walkers and galkers are pretty much gone.  Speed is easy to maintain.

Day one.  Check.

G