Packing for a little vacation-time.

Sometimes, being a cyclist – more specifically a roadie - means that packing for a trip is an adventure in itself.

The missus and I are going to St. George this weekend for a little “sans-kidlets” time.

4 days in a hotel. No big plans should mean easy packing – a few t-shirts, pair of pants, shorts, swimsuit etc… right?

At this point I should mention that I’m taking the bike.

All of a sudden what would fit into a single small bag now ballooned into 3 bags – not including the bicycle.

Along with the afore mentioned “normal” clothes, I’ll have to pack at least 2 each of bib shorts, jerseys, socks.(more if I don’t plan on washing them out in the sink after each ride). Also my jacket, arm warmers, knee warmers, (early morning rides may still be a little cold – better safe than sorry), helmet, shoes and gloves.

I’ll also need my pump and toolbox (just in case there’s a mechanical), water bottles, and on-bike fuel.

Don’t forget the running shoes and shorts, I plan on getting in a few runs as well.

Let’s hope I haven’t forgotten anything...

The first bike commute of the year

I have a great commute story this morning.


Last night, I looked at the weather forecast. It said that today was going to be in the 50’s with a 30% chance of rain – I took that to mean that there’s a 70% chance of it not raining, so I decided to ride to the bus stop this morning.

I’ve mentioned my commute before, but to recap, I have a 5 mile ride from my house to the bus stop. Roughly 75% of that commute is on a shared-use path that runs along the only road from my subdivision to the part of town where the bus picks us up. For about 3 miles of the commute, there is nothing. No houses, no street lights, no buildings of any sort. Just the road, path, and lots of tumbleweeds and fields. Nothing.

Nothing, except the antelope that I’m convinced are waiting out in the field, just out of the range of my lights. Waiting to attack!

I also should mention that at this time of year, my morning commute is in almost complete darkness. Only my tiny little light, and the lights of the passing cars – which are more of a curse than a blessing. The car’s passing lights throw up some interesting shadows in front of me, sometimes making me think that there’s something else there. AAAAHH, ANTELOPE!

Enough of my (very real, and not at all irrational) fears, back to the commute.

So, I’m about a mile into “no-man’s land” enjoying the first commute of the year. My tiny little light is seeming a bit dimmer than usual. Probably need to change the batteries I’m thinking to myself as I ride along. The occasional passing car is creating strange and unusual shadows across the path,

AAAAAAHHH!! (not for effect, I actually said this)

About 2 feet in front of my wheel, a runner appeared out of the blackness. No blinky or any other light, no reflective clothing, just some person getting in their morning run. It took me by such surprise that I did yell out loud, probably scaring them. If so, it would only be fair since they scared the hell out of me!

The remainder of the commute was without incident. Nothing else jumped out at me, but I was definitely on guard until I reached the safety of the street lights and houses.

I’m going over to my local bike shop to buy a better light today.

Zirbel is back!

On his blog yesterday, Tom Zirbel announced that he has been cleared to race 6 months early by the USADA:

"Um well...so I guess I have some good news. Turns out I can race this year due to a string of random events that played out starting last October. Remember when I lamented on this blog a few months back about Di Luca because he got a reduction in sanction for providing details of his doping practices? And then I said something to the effect of "if only I had actually doped or had knowledge of dopers, I too could get a reduction". Well, at some point after that rant I met with a person who had incriminating knowledge of a suspected doper and I eventually helped convince that person to approach USADA with that information. USADA found that information so useful that they decided to reduce my sanction because of it." Read the remainder of his post here.

Great news for Tom! A little back story, Tom was handed a 2 year ban, effective November 17, 2009 due to testing positive for exogenous DHEA. Tom maintains his innocence, and accepted his sanction due to not being able to afford to fight it.

He is currently without a team, but hopefully that will be quickly remedied and he will be back racing.

Fun Fact Tuesday

Here's a fun bicycle-related fact about the band The Frames, and lead singer Glen Hansard:

The name The Frames arose from Hansard's habit of fixing the bicycles of his friends. The large number of bicycle frames lying around his house led neighbours to dub it the "house with the frames". In a 2001 interview, Hansard said, "I worked in a bicycle shop for a little while, but the name came from ... my back garden was so full of frames, my house became known as The Frames house, much to my mother's distaste, she hated it. But my garden was full of frames, old bikes, I would make up bikes for my friends out of all the old bikes. So it sort of became known if anybody found a bike up on the hill on the way home they would throw it into my garden, a graveyard for old bikes."

I found this on the Wikipedia page for the Frames. Can't confirm or deny it since the link for the quote doesn't exist any longer. If it is true, pretty cool.

Finding the Time to Ride

Well, the ride I had planned with my friend this Saturday didn’t happen. I blame it on trying to pack too much into a 24 hour period.

Here’s how my Saturday went down…

First, I woke up nice and early, and realized that it was below freezing. I still don’t have all of the gear I need to make a cold-weather ride tolerable, so no early-morning ride.

Then, I needed to drive to SLC to pick up some tickets for that night’s Real Salt Lake v. LA Galaxy game. The line for tickets was crazy – glad I showed up early! It went around the ticket building and wrapped back on top of itself.

Back home to pick up the kidlets – who of course weren’t ready – and off to Spanish Fork for the Holi Festival of Colors at the Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple. We had never been, and therefore were not at all prepared for the level of insanity and crowds that we experienced! It was a blast, and a great experience. Will definitely go again next year.

Multiply the number of people in this picture by 10, and you're getting close to the actual number that was there.

Then, a quick 2 mile walk back to the car. (no joke! It was quicker to walk than to wait for the shuttle busses that were provided) and then drive back up to Salt Lake City just in time for the 7:00 kickoff. For those of you who didn’t see the score, Real crushed LA 4-1. Great game!

Finally back home around 10:00 pm for a much-needed shower. 175 miles put on the car.

This is not a typical Saturday schedule for me (thankfully!)

I’m using this as an example of what we sometimes need to deal with in order to squeeze in a ride. Sometimes things work out for us, and we can go out for that 3-4 hour ride. Other times, we’re struggling just to find the time to ride around the block.

Life unfortunately won’t wait, and it is sometimes unforgiving when it comes to activities that aren’t considered crucial.

What is a cyclist to do? We want (need) to get out on our bicycles, not only to maintain or increase our fitness level, but also as a mental break – a respite away from real life.

Some tips on how to fit cycling in to your day:

• Early morning rides – This one will probably require the purchase of some lights, unless you already have them. Benefit: the roads are usually fairly quiet and free of traffic.  
• After work – You’ll need to discuss this with your significant other, especially if you normally help make dinner. Maybe you can work out a schedule to have the kids help with dinner while you slip out for a quick hour ride. 
• Commute by bike – If you are able to, turn your commute into a training session. Pack some work clothes into a bag, or drive in one day with several changes of clothes. You have to make the trip from home to office anyway, might as well make it worthwhile. 
• Schedule your rides – Instead of trying to fit it in, make it part of your schedule. (“sorry, I can’t make it. I have an important meeting with a Mr. Specialized. Very important!”) If you have it written down in your schedule, you’re less likely to let it be pushed aside by other things.  

How do you fit cycling into your day?

Sunday Funnies

Caption This

Photo of the Day: How Not to Lock Your Bike

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Bicycle Benefits

We all know that there are benefits to cycling: higher fitness, better health, cleaner air, killer legs and awesome – if not strange – tan lines…

But, how about 10% off your next lunch or coffee?

Bicycle Benefits is a program designed to reward individuals for their riding their bicycles. The way the program works, is you purchase a sticker for $5 (available at any participating business) that you attach to your helmet, ride your bike, visit a participating business (you can find participating business by looking for the window decal, or checking out the list online), show them your sticker, and take advantage of the discount or benefit.

look for this sticker in the window of your favorite shop.

The goal of the Bicycle Benefits program is a commitment to cleaner air, personal health, and the use of pedaling energy in order to create a more sustainable community. The program's continual growth decreases parking demand, increases helmet use, and improves cyclists' safety and health by putting more people on bikes.

A little history: First came the Pedal Pass , a project done in Salt Lake City where people riding bicycles could obtain a card and upon presenting it at area businesses, they would receive deals. Add the helmet to the mix and a single sticker that is accepted and recognized in cities across the United States and you have Bicycle Benefits. The Saratoga Healthy Transportation Network saddled up the pilot program. Burlington , Vermont was next thanks to Dillon Klepetar, a college junior at the time. In summer 2007 , Salt Lake City became the first community west of the Mississippi to bring on Bicycle Benefits. Prince George , BC has just recently become the first city that participates and also uses "toonies". Boston , Massachusetts is becoming the first "most unfriendly bicycle city" to participate.

The program is currently in 19 states (and Washington DC) across the country.

To find out more information, or to see what businesses are participating in your area, go to http://www.bicyclebenefits.org/

Outdoor Retailer: Timbuk2

We're coming to the end of the posts from the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market show. 

My stop at this booth was without a doubt the best one of the entire show. Why will be made clear at the end of the post.

I am not ashamed of professing my love of Timbuk2 messenger bags, and I always make a point of stopping by their booth to see what new items they have. This time, I was contacted in advance and actually had an appointment to get the grand tour.

I was met at the booth by Jordan, who took some time, and did an excellent job of showing me what Timbuk2 was working on for 2011.  Here are some of my favorites.

I love messenger bags, and I love camera equipment. The Snoop Camera Messenger bag combines both. It comes with a removable padded insert to hold all of your camera gear.

Backpacks are becoming more poplular, with their ability to more effectively distribute the load. Newer backpack models have their trademarked Swing Around laptop access so you can retrieve your laptop without taking your pack off your back. Here Jordan is showing how easy it is to access your laptop.

I really liked this iPad case which doubles as a stand.

With Timbuk2's bag customization process, you can let your individuality show. They have some unique fabrics available (I like the zebra stripes), and you can go from mild to wild!

The backside of the Shift Pannier Messenger bag showing the mounting hardware. From the front, it looks like a standard messenger bag. The mounting hardware allows it to attach to any standard bike rack, like the picture below (from last year)

note: this picture is from the 2010 show, I include it because I didn't get a picture of the display from this year.

After Jordan showed me the bags, he asked if I would like to take the tall bike they display the panniers on for a spin.

What do you think my answer was?! 

We unloaded the bike and he rode it to the back aisle - where there wasn't any foot traffic, and gave me a few lessons in how to mount and ride a tall bike.

First, the glamour (whatev!) shot proped against the wall.

Time to ride!

This was my first time riding a tall bike. It's just like riding a regular bike, except the ground is farther away. I was a little nervous, and right after Justin took this picture, I fell and landed on my hip. He asked if I was done. I told him that I rarely learn from my mistakes, and I wanted another go. Jordan offered to let me take it out on the roads after the show, considering I fell after only 20 feet, I declined the most generous offer.

Like I said, this was my favorite booth to visit. I would like to thank Jordan and Timbuk2 for taking the time to show me around, and especially for letting me injure myself (just kidding, no permanent damage done, just bruised my hip).

You can see more of their bags and accessories at http://www.timbuk2.com/.

Photo of the Day

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Looking at Cycling through a New Pair of Eyes

Saturday, I went out for a ride with a friend who is just getting into the sport of cycling. It was one of those “intro to cycling” type of rides, where we just took it easy and talked. He would ask questions, and I would explain things such as gearing and shifting, and why it is bad to cross-chain.


It was fun to see a sport that I love, and have been doing for many years now through a new pair of eyes. To see the spark of understanding when he figured out how to shift, to hear the exhilaration and joy from a full-on, out-of-the-saddle sprint and the panic as he struggled to clip out before falling (he didn't fall). To see him now, and think back to when I was in the same place. Marking off those personal accomplishments such as the first ride out to the “steel eagle” and signing up for his first group ride brought back memories.

At one point in the ride, he apologized for going slow. I told him that it doesn’t matter how fast we are going, all that matters is that we’re out riding. I said that every ride doesn’t need to be a lung-busting interval session,

Sometimes that is exactly what we need. Thanks, Greg!

Video of the Day

I love this song, but this would be the most boring concert in the world to go to. Watching 4 guys play on their macs? Seriously?

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to my best friend. 

Hard to believe it's been 17 years since we stood in that church in front of our family and friends and said those two little words.

It hasn't always been easy, we've had our ups and downs, but we've made it through them, and I believe it's brought us closer together.

I Love You.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Have a Green Smoothie.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Since today is all about the green, I figured it would be a good day to talk about green smoothies. Green smoothies seem to be all the rage right now, a google search for it will give you somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000,000 results with everything from recipes to blogs to diet plans and so on…

I don’t have any diet plan, nor do I have any recipe for the ultimate green smoothie. I just think it’s a great way to get a large quantity of fruits and veggies into your body.

Now, I will be the first to say that it doesn’t look pretty. In fact, depending on what you put in it, it can look fairly disgusting. But, you’re not drinking it for the looks of it, are you?

What goes into it changes each time I make it, depending on what fruits and veggies I have on hand. But there are few things that tend to be common; spinach, celery, carrot, avocado and banana. One tip that a friend gave me – that I haven’t thought of doing before – was to freeze your bananas in a Ziploc bag as they start going brown instead of throwing them away.

I’ve determined through my own creating that the secret to making it palpable is to use a lot of fruit. I’ll throw apples, oranges, lemons, mangos, peaches, pears, coconut (not a fruit, I know) into my green smoothies before. I’ve also added oats and almond butter to my smoothies. If it doesn’t taste quite sweet enough, I’ll add a packet or two of stevia sweetener.

Bottom line, just experiment. There isn’t a right or a wrong way to do it.

One last word about smoothies. Yes, whatever blender you have already will work just fine. You don’t need to go spend money on a blender that will blend hockey pucks or glow sticks  - unless you are planning on adding hockey pucks or glow sticks to your smoothies.

Enjoy!

Bicycle Quotes

It's a gloomy, overcast Wednesday here in Utah. I thought that I'd brighten the day with some quotes about the bicycle. Enjoy.

It is curious that with the advent of the automobile and the airplane, the bicycle is still with us. Perhaps people like the world they can see from a bike, or the air they breathe when they're out on a bike. Or they like the bicycle's simplicity and the precision with which it is made. Or because they like the feeling of being able to hurtle through air one minute, and saunter through a park the next, without leaving behind clouds of choking exhaust, without leaving behind so much as a footstep. ~Gurdon S. Leete

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man's convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man's brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle. ~Elizabeth West, Hovel in the Hills

The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart. ~Iris Murdoch, The Red and the Green

Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling. ~James E. Starrs

It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle. ~Ernest Hemingway

I came out for exercise, gentle exercise, and to notice the scenery and to botanise. And no sooner do I get on that accursed machine than off I go hammer and tongs; I never look to right or left, never notice a flower, never see a view - get hot, juicy, red - like a grilled chop. Get me on that machine and I have to go. I go scorching along the road, and cursing aloud at myself for doing it. ~H.G. Wells, The Wheels of Chance

Bicycling is the nearest approximation I know to the flight of birds. The airplane simply carries a man on its back like an obedient Pegasus; it gives him no wings of his own. ~Louis J. Helle, Jr., Spring in Washington

Photo of the Day

Another "not-bike-related" post today.

Damn, I have cute kids! (They get it from their mom)

Android Bicycle Apps: Bike Shop Locator

When it comes to cycling apps, the iPhone has the lion’s share.

There are, however, a few apps of note for the Android system. One is the Bike Shop Locator.

It’s a simple app, letting you find the nearest bike shop, based either on your phone location, or by entering an address or zip code.

After you select a shop, it is shown on a google map and you are given the options to either call the shop, or get directions by google maps to the shop from your location (USA only).

Unfortunately, that’s all it does. It would be nice if it had links to the shop’s websites, and had an editable database so you could add notes to the listings for other users.

Doing a search for my area, it lists shops that I know are closed or have moved locations, and there is no way to either note or remove those shops from the list.

For the price (free) it can’t be beat. If you are in a new or unfamiliar area, I can see it being useful to find a nearby shop, but definitely call first to make sure that the shop listed still exists.

You can download it from the Android Market.

Sunday Funnies

http://www.gerberbrothers.net/

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Caption This - Video Edition

The Ride Sydney Experiment - Prelude from MC Cyclery on Vimeo.

Something's Missing

Bicycle Comics - Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery Something's Missing

It looks like Old Man Winter has finally given up, and spring is on it's way. Time to get out there, and see if the legs still exist.

#IRideaBikeBecause

For those of you who don’t use the Twitter, there are things called “hashtags” that are used to categorize tweets so people (twits?) can find all the tweets about a certain subject easily.

Okay, enough with the lesson time.

Today, while strolling through twitter, I came across a tweet with the hashtag “#IRideaBikeBecause”. Clicking on the hashtag gave me the list of all the tweets that included #IRideaBikeBecause.

Reading through the list, there were some great reasons people gave:

“it never gets easier, I just get faster”
“it doesn’t matter what time of day it is, the commute time is always the same”
“I get to feel smug around people stuck in cars in traffic”
“it’s free, it’s fun, and it keeps you in shape”
“it’s an awesome way to live”
“I enjoy it”
“it takes me away from the pressures of the modern world”

And so on…

To add my voice to the list, I would have to say #IRideaBikeBecause of the feeling of freedom. It’s the closest we can get to flying without leaving the ground.

Why do you ride a bike?

My Cycling Bucket List

We all have a "bucket list" of things we want to do before we die. Here is my cycling bucket list. It is far from complete, but here is what I have so far...

• See the Tour de France in person.
• Get a racing licence.
• LOTOJA
• Do an Ironman.
• Visit Italy
• Go on a bike tour
• Go bike camping
• Try cyclocross
• Ride a tandem with my wife
• Go to Interbike
• Bicycle in Hawaii
• Visit a custom framebuilder, and have them build a custom frame for me.
• learn how to weld, and make my own frame
• learn how to trakstand
• Climb the Alpe d'Huez
• Learn to ride a Unicycle
• Run a marathon.
• Race the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon
• STP
• Own a cargo bike (Madsen, Bakfiets, Xtracycle...)
• Live car-free (or at least car-lite)

Photo of the Day

Old Man Winter isn't giving up yet. He still has some fight left in him

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Pro Racing season has started

This is a screen capture of my desktop at work. Notice the window in the lower right hand corner?  Yep, that would be the live feed of Paris-Nice.

I promise I'm working.  Honest!

Sunday funnies

Caption This: Video edition

30 Days of Biking

I am of the belief that there are two main ways to commit to a plan: 1) Paying a significant sum for it, and 2) Public scrutiny. For example; If you pay the registration fee far in advance of a given race or ride, you are less likely to back out of it because you don’t want to waste the money (doubly so if your wife has any say in the matter – and she always does…).

Similarly, if you announce in a public forum (such as Twitter, Facebook, or on a blog) your intentions to follow a plan, you are far more likely to stick with it.

That is why I am taking this time to announce that I have registered for Round 3 of the 30 Days of Biking.

Hopefully, you are asking yourselves what the 30 Days of Biking is. If not, I hope you know already - and have signed up yourselves. If not, 30 Days of Biking is where you commit to ride your bike for 30 consecutive days - in this case from April 1st to April 30th. The only rule for 30 Days of Biking is that you bike every day for 30 days - around the block, 20 miles to work, in your basement. As long as your butt is on the saddle and you’re turning the pedals, it's all good.

Go to http://www.30daysofbiking.com/ to register. Once you start, you can share your adventures online, and read everyone else’s adventures too. If you are on the Twitter, you can also share your adventures using the hashtag #30daysofbiking.

What are you waiting for? It’s just like peer pressure. We’re all doing it, why don’t you too?

New flavors of Nuun

My favorite hydration supplement is Nuun. I have been using their tablets for more than a year, and have enjoyed the not-too-sweet flavors, and the mild effervescence on many a bike ride.

At the Outdoor Retailer Winter show, Nuun introduced five new flavors to their existing lineup of Lime, Tri-Berry, Orange (formerly known as Orange-Ginger), Kona Cola, Citrus Fruit and Banananuun:

Fruit Punch: a fruit medley with a Nuun twist. Subtle berry and fruit notes hydrate with that clean Nuun finish

Strawberry Lemonade: ideal for hydrating under that hot sun, this flavor finds the perfect balance between a sweet strawberry and an ice-cold lemonade - minus the sugary mess

Tropical: an orchestra of mango, pineapple and coconut flavors flirt with the palate while hydrating the body

Grape: the Nuun interpretation of grape - subtle and smooth. It's crisp like white grapes and packed with electrolytes

Lemon Tea: the satisfying palate of tea, mixed with the just right amount of lemon and sweet. A refreshing alternative to high calorie drinks, it’s chock full of balanced electrolytes and offers a nice little zing of caffeine

(descriptions courtesy of Nuun)

They had the new flavors available to sample, and my favorite out of the new flavors was the Grape, followed by Tropical and Strawberry Lemonade. I should mention that Lemon Tea is the first Nuun to include caffeine

Nuun is expecting to release the new flavors some time next month.

You can find their existing flavors at bike shops almost everywhere, or online at http://www.nuun.com/

photo courtesy of Nuun

Horrific Incident at Critical Mass in Brazil

This is absolutely horrific. At about 0:24 on the video, a car plows through the middle of the group of 100 or so riders. Thankfully and surprisingly, no one was killed, although several were critically injured.

The reports that I heard said that after he plowed through the group, the driver abandoned his car. I have also heard that the authorities have found the driver, and he is claiming - get this - that his actions were in self defense. WTH?!? Self defense? Apparently, according to the driver he and his teenage child were being attacked by the cyclists, so he acted in self defense.

The cyclists say that the driver started bumping the cyclists, so some of them knocked on his hood to tell them to give them space.

I don't care where you are from, using a car to run down a group of cyclists is NOT self-defense. It is outright attempted murder! I don't know what the laws in Brazil are, or what will happen in a situation like this, but I sincerely hope that this tool is punished for his actions.

Update: I understand from some news reports that the driver, Richard Neis, 47 is being investigated by the civil polie for attempted murder.

Photo of the Day

Wow! How styles have changed. A pair of Rudy Project sunglasses I bought almost 25 years ago, complete with the 1986 World Championships official sponsor carrying bag.

Retro is cool!

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