The Tube.

This post is mostly about car stuff. Feel free to ignore it.

When bicyclists think of having to replace a tube, they most likely think of the inner tube of a tire. Old school electronics junkies might think of an electron tube.

A while ago, my car's temperature gauge pegged the "hot" mark. I popped the hood and the cool, night air was instantly filled with fog. I grabbed a flashlight to determine the source of the coolant leak, only to find that every square inch under the hood was soaked in the sticky, steaming liquid.

The next afternoon, I surveyed the damage by daylight. I couldn't see anything obvious until I filled the coolant system back up a bit and started the car. Then, the source of the leak became obvious: An oddball part made of cheap fiberglass had cracked on a seam. I couldn't find this part in any of my service manuals, and two local parts stores had no clue, either.

I finally called the dealership. The conversation went like this:

Me: "I have a 2000 [Ford Focus] ZX3 with a nasty coolant leak. I found the leak, but I can't find the part in the service manual."

Ford: "Is it the tube that sits on top of the radiator?"

Me: "It is."

Ford: "We have them in stock. Let me look up the price. [Long pause] $32.70"

Me: "Well, that's not too bad, I suppose. Do you mind if I ask what that part is called?"

Ford: "It's 'The Tube.'"

Me: "The Tube?"

Ford: "Yep. We always keep a few around."

The Tube. Seriously. It's kind of a pointless part for what it needs to do. A small "Y" splitter would have made much more sense. It's held in with a pair of plastic rivets and three hose clamps. A trained monkey could swap it out in 10 minutes or less. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but it's almost like this thing was designed to break somewhere after 100,000 miles and prompt a $250 trip to the shop.

I have been blowing it off for the past few weeks, since there's not that much rush to fix it. This morning, I finally got around to paying the stealership a visit. For giggles, I simply asked for "The Tube for a 2000 ZX3" to see if they'd actually know what I was asking for. "That sits on top of the radiator?" the parts guy queried. "The same."

The hard facts.

With my wife's medical issues, I really need to get my old Ford Focus back up and running. We've essentially been a one-car family by virtue of one of our vehicles simply being out of commission. Last winter killed the battery, which was last replaced in the summer of 2004 - it's long past due. I could probably throw a battery into it and it would run. But it needs new tires for winter. The ones on it wouldn't handle snow. Once it warms up there's an entire litany of things that I really should get around to replacing. It's more than a decade old, now, with a little under 120,000 miles on the clock, which means I've driven it less than 1,000 miles since this time last year.


My wife went to a doctor's appointment today, only to be admitted to the hospital. Not just any hospital, but one of the furthest away from my office. I had to swing by the apartment first to pick up a few things my wife needed, and I'm no stranger to loading lots of stuff onto the bike. I loaded up and rolled out along my old commute route from 2007-2008. Man, I miss this route!

Visiting hours are over at 8:00 PM, and it's going to be a close call as it is, so I'm hammering away as fast as I can given the sub-freezing weather. At the bottom of the last and most arduous climb to get to the hospital, my right STI shift lever goes totally limp, followed by a ratcheting noise from my rear derailleur and a massive increase in resistance.


Yep. The shifter cable snapped clean off, and it ghost-shifted all the way to high-gear right as I was trying to make a climb. With all the cargo on The Twelve, I couldn't make it up the hill. Not even cross-chaining the triple crank, not even standing up. It was 8:00. I was at the bottom of Rainbow Boulevard, and I was going to perform... THE WALK OF SHAME.

Of course, I was basically turned away after handing over my wife's belongings. I got to see her for a few minutes, but only out in a lobby. I felt like I had failed her in the most basic way one human can fail another: by not being there for her when she needed me. Had the Focus been road-worthy, this wouldn't have been a big deal. Ride home, hop in the car, and drive to the hospital. Get there with an hour or more of visiting time. This is far from the first time that our single-car-ness has led to major inconveniences.

Sure, having my own functional vehicle may increase my temptation to drive on some days, and I will probably give in to that temptation once in a while. I'm not here to prove how hardcore I am. I just want people to know that if a fat computer nerd can bike commute in all four seasons, pretty much anyone can do it. That said, I think I see a little more driving in my immediate future. You know, as soon as I save up for a car battery and some cheap tires.

It's official:

Well, more than one thing is official.

The first thing is that the Vittoria Randonneur tires on the Swobo Baxter test mule are awesome. I played in the snow a few days after I took delivery of it, but today was the first true test of a commute on bad roads that had been preliminarily cleared a bit.

Saturday, I took the Baxter out to play in an abandoned parking lot, where snow was a good foot deep on average, and 18" in some spots. I thought it'd be cool to get some snowy action photos, but the Baxter would not move. I'll see if I can find some pics in the mess that show how bad it was. The tire would just spin.

I've had The Goat out in 8" deep snow before, and it worked alright, but I'm betting the really knobby tires and 1.95" width had something to do with it. Still, I don't know how well it would've fared in stuff twice as deep. If the tires sink to the ground (likely when it's powdery snow), the wheel is more than half buried, and one's feet will barely clear the snow AT THE TOP of the pedal stroke. That's when you probably would be better off on those 4-inch Surly Endomorphs.

So it's also official: This is the most snow I've ever seen come down without a melt cycle here in Kansas City, and I've lived here for 22 years and change now. The winter of '91-92 is the closest thing in memory, but I think this winter trumps even that one from nearly two decades past.

Lastly, it's official: It's freakin' COLD. 6*F this morning, but it dropped to -1 yesterday morning. I've ridden a short distance at -4F once, and the whole commute at 0F last winter. They're predicting -6 ambient later this week, and at least one local forecaster thinks that it could get into the double-digits below zero.

Therefore, this winter with its cold and snow reminds me of the good old days: growing up in rural Nebraska where 20-inch blizzards were not unheard-of and there were two snow plows for every 1,000 residents.

The morning commute
As I'd stated, the 28mm Vittoria Randonneur tires held up great this morning. On them, I encountered glare ice beneath packed snow, powder, slush, chemical-melted grime and all things in between. The ice required me to be seated in order to progress forward (it was also on an uphill) but the Randos held tough, much to my surprise. This winter does have me pondering the use of commercially available studded tires for my Mountain bike, but that will have to wait for a bit. Two fellow year-rounders I know of have made the jump to studs. I'm betting after FIVE crashes this winter, another friend of mine might be ready to do the same. Me? I'm doing alright with what I have, but this winter is one where I can see a real benefit to studded tires, unlike years past where it was mostly slush, and a really good melt-off happened every 2-3 days.

Christmas
The brunt of the snow happened almost two weeks ago, Christmas eve into Christmas day. We were to pick up my grandmother in Overland Park, then drive to Stilwell on Christmas morning for breakfast and Christmas festivities. The roads were horrible. 119th Street had barely been cleared, my grandmother's parking lot was untouched, with an average snow depth of 18-24" everywhere, thanks to the wind and the layout of the buildings. It was one of the first times I've ever had a genuine need for full-on 4x4 mode in our Explorer. My brother-in-law's RWD-only Explorer had all kinds of problems. I ended up delivering Christmas presents to them through the un-plowed streets of Olathe, KS.

Here are some of the simple things I did for Christmas this year.

In 1993 or so, I kind of home-schooled for a year. I say kind-of, because I had most of the facts and skills expected of kids older than me, so the reality is, I took a year off from school due to some medical things. I didn't do much traditional course work. I studied under my grandfather, who taught my vocational skills in hopes, I think, that I'd take over his business for him when I came of age. Unfortunately, he passed away before I could do that. That year, however, one of the things we worked on together was this ArcherKit thermometer thing that he'd packratted away in 1977, two whole years before I was even born. Some 16 years later, we worked on it, and got it almost fully functional, but then it got put away before we got to adjusting it and putting the finishing touches on. I found it recently, and finished this project that Grandpa and I had started 13 years ago, and gave it to my mother. Not only is it a RadioShack classic from a completely different era of do-it-yourselfers, but it's of immense sentimental value. I had no qualms leaving the $17.95 price tag sticker intact.







When I was learning to play bass guitar (okay, I'm probably still learning), Dad gave me his practice amplifier. He doesn't really have a practice amp anymore, and I thought I'd build one for him. This one is small enough to fit in a gig bag, and can run off a 9V battery or a power cord that I included. I soldered the circuit inside together myself, modifying some plans I saw online. It's all built into an old satellite speaker for a home theater system. It's not terribly loud, but it's a great little practice amp with a nice tone to it. I also added a headphone jack, which is nice for when you want to clearly hear what you're playing on an electric guitar without disturbing anyone else. Most of the parts for this were salvaged from piles of stuff I had laying around at home. Many of the components were removed from old, broken gadgets and soldered into place.








The device I tried to build for my sister didn't go too well, so I ended up buying a kit that you solder together yourself at the last minute. I decided that instead of soldering it together quickly (I could have pulled it off in about 3 minutes), that I'd give it to my sister in its original packaging, and teach her how to solder. She did great, and now she knows how to solder things.


I also got some cool stuff for Christmas as well, but none of it compares to the real meaning of Christmas, not to mention the gift of seeing my family smile.

One Year, Four Months and Two Days

That's the last time I had to drive to the office for my usual work shift. I don't suppose it's a bad run of things. I just wish the circumstances this morning (me forgetting to set my alarm) were a bit more noble. One morning on I-35 per year is more than enough to remind me why I don't like driving on a daily basis.

Bonus: I did find a parking spot not too far from the office that "only" costs $5 per day.

Insult to injury: I saw a bike commuter I've never seen before wheel into my office building as I walked in from the parking lot.

Random Tunage:
David May - Superstar
Tangerine Dream - Machine Language

The most asinine quarter mile in Johnson County

Not to dog on Dave's Turf but seriously, what the hell are people thinking? Welcome to Edgewood Boulevard.


I am riding illegally in the oncoming lane in this photo. It's a separated boulevard, with barely one lane of width on each side of the island, but it's actually a pair of two-way roads separated by... an island? Meh. Whatever.

Retrospect.


Rust and snow.


Transition.


Knobbz.


Jimmy John's.


Highway Abstractness.


Random Tunage
Lisa Loeb - I Do
Garbage - Stupid Girl

Of Cars and Nerds

I woke up to a light rain storm this morning. I was planning on it being a bus day because I've got some obligations to take care of today. It was just a bus day with a driving headwind and rain. And Coffee. Oh yes, I really needed the coffee this morning.

I put gas in my car for the first time since July over the weekend, and gave it its first car wash in over a year. I hung out with some of my car club buddies from days gone by. Although the places we went were within 5-6 miles of home, the whole point was to hang out and talk about our cars so it would have been somewhat pointless to ride my bicycle there. The club (which is more like a loosely-organized world-wide batch of Internet Forum Dwellers) is for Ford Focus owners. I still like mine quite a bit, and haven't seen some of these people in person ever, and some of them I haven't seen since 2005.



I know this is about bicycle-centric alternative transportation in Kansas City, but I still like my car. I've had it almost 9 years. I own it outright. I get cheap insurance because I rarely drive it. When I do drive it, it gets better than 35 MPG on the highway (thanks to some Engine Control Unit reprogramming by my friend Randy at FocusSport) and if I want to romp on it, the thing handles like it's on rails and it's pretty quick for a grocery-go-getter compact car. The ECU programming does things like disabling the alternator under certain circumstances to decrease drag on the engine as well as modifying the fuel and spark parameters for more efficiency. This means I have to put 91 or 92 octane in it, but as half a tank of gas lasts me more than a month, I'm not complaining much. I've actually ridden my bicycles more than I've driven my Focus this year.

There's also a ton of room if you fold the rear seats down. It's like a little mini-van. I actually write quite a few technical articles about Focus Tech Tips and Repair. Bet you didn't have me pinned as an automotive nut, did you? It's possible to really like your car, but to know when it's appropriate and necessary to use it. As it stands, this thing probably gets started about every other week when the weather is nice. You don't have to be car-free to be free from the Big Oil addiction. I use oil in moderation.

As for this evening, I'll find myself behind the wheel again, as I have to bring a bunch of video and sound equipment downtown for a membership and fund-raising drive for a local non-profit that I'm helping to get off the ground. Cowtown Computer Congress (CCCKC) is "a facility in Kansas City designed, built and maintained by technology enthusiasts of all backgrounds. Members represent all facets of technology ranging from digital art and design to robotics software development and information security. Incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in the state of Missouri, CCCKC will serve as a central meeting place for user group meetings, project collaboration and various networking opportunities for all those who share a passion for technology." It's inspired by facilities such as NYC Resistor and HacDC.

We'll be showing two documentary films (Hackers Are People Too and Graffiti Research Lab) at Harry's Country Club, then we'll go out and set up our own LASER Graffiti rig for people to try out. Bill from i-Hacked set this up at DefCon in August and I got to play with it in person. We'll have the same setup tonight. Weather permitting, it'll be outdoors in downtown Kansas City. If you're local and have even the slightest geeky inclination, you should come on out. Details in the link, bonus points for showing up on a bike.

Sorry I don't have much bikey goodness today. I do a lot more stuff than just ride my bike, and I write about things a lot more interesting than bicycles, if you know where to find me (hint: some of my writing is in print)

Reflections on Kansas City media coverage...

I've been somewhat mum on my reactions to the latest media coverage of bicycling in Kansas City. Apparently, my reaction isn't too far off from others' take, either.

I can't speak for everyone interviewed, but there are three recent pieces of media coverage that have me a little bit concerned: Up To Date's show on Bicycle Commuting, the One Planet: Cycling in Kansas City episode, and the recent NBC Action News spot: Bikes Vs. Cars.

The chaps from the BBC, when I first ran into them, were aghast as if they'd just experienced several near-death-experiences back to back. No, we don't have bike lanes everywhere. No, we don't have street sweepers running 24/7. The route they presumably could have used was Main Street. Several times this summer, I've ridden on Main Street and even Brookside Blvd to get around, even in rush hour. It's pretty easy riding, except for the hill near Liberty Memorial. Bicyclists use the bus lanes quite often, and KCATA doesn't have a problem with that. When I see a bus coming, I safely merge into traffic or get off the road and let the bus pass through.

They claimed that putting bikes on the bus is "what you're supposed to do" in KC. Take a stroll through Midtown any time during the day, and it becomes clear that bicycles are viable, respected vehicles on the road. In droves, cyclists travel between downtown and Westport. I'm not downplaying the reporters' opinions. The racks on the bus are good for covering longer distances or for cyclists who are not comfortable in rush hour. The rest of the terror that the reporters seemed to have could be due to anything, including riding on the opposite side of the road. I can appreciate that.

In Up To Date, I think too much focus was given to the dangers of bicycling, the challenges cyclists face, and the lack of infrastructure. That's not really any one person's fault, because the discussion was being steered by the entire panel and the callers as well.

If things were as bad as the media has portrayed lately when I started riding two years ago, I wouldn't be doing this. I would have given up! In the two short years I've been using my bike to get around, there have been a lot of improvements to boot.

Sometimes I wish I could change the name of this site to "KC Commuting" because that's what I'm doing. I'm getting around Kansas City. I don't always use my bike. I don't always use the bus. I don't always use my car. I don't always car-pool with friends. I don't always walk. I use whatever means seems like the right choice to me given the situation. Countless scooters, bicycles, buses, cars, pickups, vans and SUVs interact with one another in a civilized manner every single day in this town. Sometimes I have a bad day and whine about (or even belittle) a fellow road user because of a specific incident. Sometimes it's a motorist who honked at me. Sometimes it's a cyclist riding against traffic. Whatever the case may be, we're all out there. We're all trying to get where we're going, and we're all the same. Urban infrastructure in Kansas City isn't missing a whole lot. Miles upon miles of bicycle-safe routes exist already, and the city is in the process of bolstering and marking them as such.

It's a shame that our panel on Up To Date couldn't praise more of the many community benefits of cycling and walking for basic transportation. Environmental impact is the only community benefit that was mentioned. All the rest were selfish, personal benefits such as health and saving money.

I've been interviewed by NBC Action News twice now. The first time was during Bike Week in May, and I think that one went quite well. The most recent spot was entitled "Bikes Vs. Cars" or something similar. This just boggles my mind. No one actually pits bikes against cars or vise versa. The motorists interviewed were sympathetic, not angry for the few short seconds they were allowed to speak: "I'm afraid I'm going to hit them!"

We ride with cars. We are part of the traffic on the road. Likely, cyclists don't get honked or yelled at any more often than other motorists get honked or yelled at. We're just out in the open and can hear the shouts a little easier. The people who road rage aren't angry at cyclists. They're angry people looking for an excuse to vent. Very few of the incidents where a motorist and a cyclist have an altercation are due to malice and an us-versus-them mentality. Crashes happen because of inattention and scoffing laws in the interest of convenience. ALL road users are guilty on both counts, regardless of what kind of vehicle is in use.

"Bikes Vs. Cars" also seemed to dwell a lot on the injuries sustained by cyclists. Any uttrance of injury was picked up like it was blood in the water. No one writes about the countless injuries sustained by other road users.

Not to break out with the nerd factor too much, but I'd like to start wrapping up this rant with a quote from noted security expert Bruce Schneier. It's about terrorism in the news, but it applies equally as well to bicycling woes:

"... the very definition of news is something that hardly ever happens. [emphasis added] If an incident is in the news, we shouldn't worry about it. It's when something is so common that its no longer news - car crashes, domestic violence - that we should worry. But that's not the way people think."

In closing, I'd like to state that some excerpts of my interviews that made it into media coverage lately might have been taken a bit out of context. All of us get around this town just fine, regardless of what transportation method we choose. As the economy crunches us, we're all going to feel some growing pains. I don't think this is out of the ordinary.

I'll see you all out there on the road!

Sigh...

It's just not fair.


After finally finding I-35 northbound (it took me a while, I never drive this way) I'm still stuck at this God-forsaken stop light and the bike commuter I've never seen before is way ahead. He didn't run that red, by the way, he squeaked through yellow, but only just.


On top of all that, feeding a parking meter?!


And seeing a picture of the bike one of the sbux guys just got from JR, hanging among other things on the bulletin board...


Dude, where's my bike?!


And then these two...


I even slept in this morning, getting a bit more rest, but I feel like my ass is dragging this morning. People ask me if riding my bike 14-15 miles to work in the morning wears me out. No, it truthfully energizes me and kicks off the day nicely. I miss my bike already. I'm also not looking forward to shelling out a $10 bill for the privileges of lethargy and jealousy.

Random Tunage:
Third Eye Blind - Jumper
Kate Ryan - Only If I (Hiver & Hammer Remix)

Kate Ryan's stuff is typically dancefloor cheesiness, but she's an awesome vocalist and to top it of, she does this multi-track stuff where she pulls off spine-tingling harmonies. This track, in particular, is worth a listen if you like stuff with a bit of a thumpy drive to it.

I've been relatively quiet lately...

Not that I've heard any complaints. But now it's time to catch up. This will be wordy. Eeh.

I actually found two broken spokes on Hybridzilla last Thursday, but had managed to twist some spoke nipples around (that just sounds kinky!) to get it to roll somewhat true. I took the bus Friday morning due to more storms, then rode back home all the way. On 62 spokes instead of 64.

At the brewery, I ran into Karen and just ahead of her was a brand-new bike commuter who's riding from northern Johnson County to summer classes up on Independence Ave. I talked to him for a while, and Friday was his first day. It's a nice 18-mile round trip. Unlike most "new" bike commuters I've seen lately, this one seemed much more in his element on a bicycle than average, but also seemed to be a bit out of his element commuting, wearing what had to be 30 pounds or more worth of books and gear in a backpack, and having trouble going up steeper hills with the setup.




I don't think this guy is a racer, but he's probably an experienced weekend recreational rider that's giving bike commuting a try. He looked at my rack and panniers with an expression that was either "what the heck is that stuff?" or "I gotta get me some of those" but never being one to tell someone that they're doing it wrong (unless it's plain illegal, like riding against traffic!), I figured I would let him ask me if he wanted more info on my setup. He never did. He either knows where to get the stuff, or he doesn't care. He followed Karen and I to Merriam and Lamar, where he said he lives. Maybe we'll see him again soon.

Later down the road (or MUP as it were), I spotted this tree that had almost all of its bark blown off. There were signs of insect infestation under the bark, but I'm inclined to think this tree was struck by lightning, as we'd just had a batch of ferocious thunderstorms. Days before, the tree wasn't in this condition. No other trees around it had the bark blown off, either.



Saturday, I picked up some reading material that'll keep me busy for a while. I'm almost done reading Bruce Schneier's latest book (and almost 5 years old): Beyond Fear -- a book that my buddy Dave is also reading. How odd. It's a great book. No Tech Hacking is going to be epic. I've taken a peek already, but I won't actually read it until I'm done with Beyond Fear. And Make Magazine is always a blast.


At the grocery store, I spotted this bag. They're starting to become really popular. There are several problems. First off, someone at the factory was color-blind, because this bag is most certainly not the color green.


And furthermore, this bag was manufactured from petroleum byproducts, then sent halfway around the world on an elaborate network of gas-guzzling cargo ships, road-rutting semi-tractors and perhaps a railcar or two. The railcars are probably the closest thing to "Green" that these bags have known.


Meanwhile, I had to drive to my parents' place for Father's Day. I say it like it was a chore, when in fact it was not. I love kicking it with the parents. But my thirsty Focus takes 91 Octane, which set me back close to $50. On a positive note, gasoline prices fell about a dime lately, maybe a bit more in some places. This was my first fill up in over a month. Maybe two. I don't remember nor do I care, really. I use gasoline like I use beer: so infrequently that I can afford to really splurge when I want some.


I further contributed to the fuel dependency and carbon pollution problem by grilling up some kebobs for Father's Day. Nom nom nom.


The balance of yesterday's daylight was spent wrenching, wrenching, and wrenching some more. I took the rolling stock off of The Goat which includes the cheap but apparently decent double-wall XC wheels I bought from JR. I took the knobbies off and replaced them with the Kenda All-Terrain-Bike tires that came with the wheels originally (also provided by JR). When Kenda calls these "All-Terrain-Bike" tires, what they mean is "Stay on the pavement, but these tires will get you through gravel spots, maybe".


I also went ahead and did the fender thing. Hybridzilla's bottom bracket is still smooth as butter after all the rain and grime I rode in last weekend, so the hefty application of boat-trailer axle grease in the BB must have done the trick.


The shakedown run was a pretty big load of groceries. I usually don't need to strap stuff to the top. I got some strange looks. At this point, the new tires felt pretty good. The fenders worked well, as we'd gotten a few quick showers and the pavement was soaked.


I'm considering the new tires a downgrade compared to the Forte Slick City ST tires I was using. The beads of those tires are worn to heck and the wire is showing in some places. I essentially went from an 85-PSI, 1.25"-wide 100% slick tire to a 45-PSI, 1.75" tire with light tread and a smooth center. A so-called "hybrid" mountain bike tire if you will. They were slow as hell this morning. I don't know how much longer I'll keep them around, but Hybridzilla's my only really functional bike right now.

I saw a torn-open trash bag of confetti-shredded paper right before my uphill slog into Downtown KCMO. I laughed.


This Graffiti has been present for at least six months. I'm betting that the minimum-wage grunts who are paid to paint over graffiti are in no hurry to cover it up.


All geared up at Starbucks. Whee.


So there you have it. You're in the loop once again. Hopefully your brain doesn't hurt now the way mine does. Oh, wait. That's from getting 3 hours of sleep last night.

Random Tunage:
A-Ha - Take On Me
Fat Boy Slim - Rockafeller Skank

What a weekend...

My wife and I decided to take a little weekend vacation to hang out with some friends in Springfield, MO. Springfield's about 170 miles from home.

About 9 miles away from our destination, we saw a low-flying Canadian Goose cross the highway right in front of our car. It was an awesome sight to behold. What sucked was the fact that there was a goose following that one. Traveling at highway speeds, I couldn't avoid it.





Looks like no auto glass places are open today, either. So, I'm stranded in southwestern Missouri until tomorrow.

I still got into town and got to hang out with my friends. One thing I noticed was the pedicab service. There weren't many of them, but they were around.



We played video games at a retro-fantastic arcade, chowed down some sandwiches at Jimmy John's and knocked back a few beers while playing pool. We were just a few blocks from campus (where they are staying), but my hotel room was a mile away, so I didn't feel like making them drive. I snagged a pedicab!



Anyhow, I don't think I'll make the Commuter Convoy this Monday, either. We've all but given up on finding an auto glass place that's open today.

Long Easter weak-end recap

Daily, many people throw their bikes into or onto their vehicles, then drive off somewhere to go for a ride. This weekend, I saddled up to ride to my car so I could bring it home from the hospital. I'd left it there when I went to meet my wife at there (remember, pneumonia?) and I was getting scared thinking what woes might befall my poor little Focus should I leave it there one more night. I think it sat there at the hospital for three days. I've just been busy, and haven't needed my car. The parking is long term, so no one would care if it sat there for a week, but thieves of opportunity might see something they like.

Anyhow, my bike didn't mind the 35+ MPH flogging on Quivira in peak-traffic hours on Saturday. In fact, I almost suspect it enjoyed the spirited 3-mile jaunt. What The Twelve did NOT approve of was being crammed into the back of a Focus. Sure, maybe if the ride in the Focus was off to some smoothly-paved cycling utopia where upon I'd ride hundreds of miles in a sitting, Twelve could forgive me. Instead, I was using -- no, ABusing my bike to rescue some abandoned car. The mere thought!

A few other grocery and food runs this weekend. Not much to get excited about, but 32 miles for the long weekend isn't too bad considering the fact that I didn't have to ride to work.

The morning air is going to be pretty chilly (relatively speaking), and tomorrow afternoon is going to be a windfest. I'll be doing the bike/bus thing, but time permititng I should be at the Recovery Ride.

Have I mentioned that I loathe driving?

Let me clarify that. I loathe driving on highways during rush hour. Right outside the Park on my way home, there was a gnarly wreck. It looked pretty terrifying, and had traffic blocked and backed up on Raytown Road pretty good. What a mess.

Once I managed to get past that, it was smooth sailing up highway 50 until I got to I-435. Sure, a few SUVs bullied me around and muscled for domination of the road, but considerably more than a decade of experience behind the wheel has taught me that's how stuff happens on the highway. No sooner do I merge onto I-435 and I'm greeted with a glowing orange message on the relatively new overhead signs. "TRAFFIC ACCIDENT PAST ANTIOCH LEFT 2 LANES CLOSED"

Aww, jeez.

I keep moving with the flow of traffic. Antioch is more than 5 miles up the road, so we aren't seeing the effects yet. In case you wondered, traffic flow was about 80 MPH in the center lane of a 65 zone. It appeared to be closer to 90 in the fast lane. Oh, the joys of driving. As I pass Nall, it's brakes, brakes, brakes! I-435 is a parking lot. At this point, Antioch is 2 miles away. It took me about 40 minutes to go those 2 miles. I exited ON antioch instead of trudging past it and through the wreck area.

Traffic on surface arterials wasn't much better. Fortunately I know some residential back-roads to navigate Overland Park and Olathe, thanks to my bike.

I headed to Bike America and picked up the stuff I needed to finish rebuilding my Sorrento for winter commuter duty. They were kind of busy, so Richard let me use his tools to swap a bunch of drivetrain parts around between wheels. I'm putting the hybrid's cassette back on the hybrid, and using my newly purchased wheel for my Sorrento and tossing the old wheel that came with the Sorrento since it keeps breaking spokes and needs new bearings anyways.

So, the Sorrento is almost ready to go. The Outlook finally is running with the cassette that I bought for it, and won't be limited to the lower gear ratio I was using for my mountain bike.

It's been almost 3 months since I've driven to work. As far as I'm concerned, it can be 3 more months before I have to do it again, or even longer.

I hate traffic

I found the best way to remind myself why I hate driving to work.

I drove to work.

I woke up at around 8:00 this morning -- 45 minutes after the last bus departs, and late enough that riding all the way to work would not only get me in way-past-late, but I'd probably be squished in the process. I sucked it up, grabbed the keys, and drove.

Now, I love my car. I love driving my car. I just hate driving my car on northbound Interstate 35 into Kansas City, MO at 8:00 in the morning on a Friday. Since this is Memorial Day weekend, I'd bet traffic was actually pretty mild today, comparatively speaking. I know there are certainly a few faces missing at work today, as several people have taken today off to give themselves a nice 4-day weekend.

Rest assured, many people who are traveling today weren't on the road by 8:00.

So there you have it. You can now chastise me for being "one of those guys" who drives 50 miles alone to get to and from work. Maybe I'll see if one of my bus-riding neighbors (Mike, a former co-worker at JCCC that now works for a bank a few blocks away from my office) wants to get home a little quicker by riding home with me.

As for me, I'm taking a 10-day weekend. I'm off work until Tuesday, June 5th. I'll be at home packing and preparing to move, but I'm sure I'll put some miles on. If my postings are a little sparse for the next week or so, you know why.

Lastly, I updated the format of my Bicycling Log. Instead of tracking To/From miles separately I combined them into a "Commute Miles" field. Then I added a "Transport/Recreation Miles Ratio" field.

Why'd I do it? Well, I've long known that I ride my bike more for basic transportation (where most people would use a car) than for recreation. I should kind of re-iterate that. My bicycle is a recreational activity all the time, but I count "recreational" miles as any time I go out on my bike and come back without stopping to do anything. This is useful for me, as I can get a clear picture of how I'm using my bike.

Zealous, not stupid.

I still have a cough. Yesterday didn't seem to make it any worse, but it didn't make it any better, either. I woke up in time to leave at 5:00 again, but a quick check of the radar revealed a storm brewing not too far off... close enough to sneak up on me while en route to the office. Averaging 16 MPH going northeast, I could never win a race against a storm moving due east at 35 MPH.

I decided to lay back down a bit and see what it looked like when I woke up. When I woke up, there was a deluge coming from the sky. I know my limits. I drove to the bus stop. There would be nothing to gain from riding my bike in this stuff. Once again, my C/D Ratio falls below 3.0, but tomorrow's ride should bring it back up.

Gah! Woke up late!

30.6 miles yesterday should not have kicked my butt the way it did. Oh wait, maybe it was staying up until almost 1:30AM waiting for my clothes to get finished in the dryer.

I woke up a little after 7:00, far too late to catch the bus - even by car. I was reminded this morning why I absolutely hate traffic. It's the first time I've had to drive all the way to work since my face has healed.

I continue to get barraged with ridiculous, insulting offers of trades for my car. I think part of this is because a great many craigslist car hunters think that anything over $100 is a really, really nice bicycle whereas those of us who have seen the light know that $350-$400 is pretty much the "ground floor" for brand new adult bicycles. Old, good bikes can be found for $100 and up, but I'm pretty sure if I did find the bike I was looking for, even used, it would probably be going for $500 or more.

I went ahead and put a cash price on my car's posting. I'd actually accept less than what I'm asking, but I want people to see I'm serious on this, and I'm not looking to trade my car for a bike-shaped toy or a beater bike I could buy from Salvation Army for $35.

224 miles for March! woot!

Yesterday, I was planning today's miles to wrap up my goal of 200 for March. I decided on riding around for a few miles on-road. Perhaps after dropping my wife off, ride to Daily Dose, hang out there for a few hours and ride back before my wife got off work. There were some mega storms so my usual paths would be far too muddy, as they all run next to various streamways.

Well around 10:00 last night, my buddy Tim e-mails me, wondering if I'm going to ride today. I told him to call me around 7:00AM to discuss plans. As it turns out, he had a route in mind that would take us from JCCC out to Olathe Lake and back for a total of over 20 miles.

It was a great time, and I still got to kick it at the Dose for a little bit before it was time to take my wife home. Click the image to go to my gallery of photos from today. There's only six or so.

Woke up late - drove in

Well, it finally caught up to me. I've been averaging less than four hours of sleep per night over the last week. I went to bed as early as possible last night (about midnight) and it still wasn't enough. My sleep deficit chose this morning to cash in. My alarm went off, and I hit snooze a few times. Eventually I managed to sit up, shut it all the way off, then passed out again right after that. The next time my eyes opened, it was 7:17am, precisely two minutes after the last bus leaves for downtown.

Anyhow, I'm probably still going to ride once I get home.

For those of you who are wondering how on earth MIDNIGHT is the earliest possible bed time I can muster up, my wife usually gets home at about 10:30pm. By the time we've made something light to eat, spent a little splinter of time together, and I've gotten ready for sleep, it's about midnight. She stays up until 4:00 or 5:00am before coming to bed, and I try to wake up between 5:30 and 6:00 to leave for work.

Ratio back down below 2.0

I have been avoiding updating my Commute Log spreadsheet, because I knew what would happen.

This week, I fell down below 2.0: that is, I've ridden my bike less than twice as many days as I've driven my car. 31 bike commute work days and 16 work days in the car. The earliest I see myself commuting again is MAYBE Monday March 19th. That will mark two weeks from my accident. It also depends a lot on what my Ear/Nose/Throat doctor says on the 14th after he checks my sinuses out. If I get back on the bike again on the 19th, I'll be working my commute:drive ratio from less than 1.5. Gone are my dreams of getting above 3.0 by the end of March. I'll be lucky to get there by the end of May. My target miles for March (I was hoping for 170-200) are also shot.

I just might (if my Diamondback Outlook is fixed and I find a helmet) do the Recovery Ride on Monday the 12th. In a group ride setting, I'm very unlikely to get hit or fall over, and I really am aching to get back on the bike.

Gah. Driving.

Menacing skies, really high winds and the chance of a wintry mix were enough reasons to drive today. My Sorrento wasn't ready to run this morning as I'd taken it apart to give it a much needed cleaning, and I didn't feel like braving any kind of snow on my slicks. I might have been able to swap wheelsets, but that would not help me with the wind.

Anyhow, I drove to the bus stop and just missed my 6:30 bus, so now I'm waiting for the next one to come along. With the 2600 meeting tomorrow, I'll probably be forced to drive downtown unless my wife can commit to meeting my group for supper after the meeting so she can take me home. We'll see how that pans out.

Kicking myself

When I woke up this morning, there were a few really convincing reasons not to ride my bike to the bus stop. I drove to the bus stop instead of driving downtown, but still...

First, rain was in the forecast. A look outside verified that it had not in fact rained, but the sky was somewhat ominous.

Next, my wife really wanted me to go straight to the movie theater after I got off work. This isn't a big deal, it's less than half a mile from the bus stop, but I didn't feel like showing up to the movies in sopping wet clothes.

Well, it was really nice and clear out today. Not so much as a sprinkle on my way to work. If it rained while I was working, I totally missed it and it must have dried up before I got out. This would have been an awesome day to be on my bike. To top it off, the movie that my wife wanted to check out doesn't actually come out this weekend, so I didn't go to the theater. I went straight home.

This is lame, and I'm pretty sad that I missed out on a really nice ride.