Cast into darkness

Spring Forward, Fall Back. Seriously, this relic of tradition seems like one of the most futile things to hold onto. The fact that congress moved to bump DST for 2007 and forward didn't help matters any. Regardless, my evening commute (and likely the commute of many others) just got cast into darkness. Swiftly, instead of gradually. Not that it matters anyway. Soon enough, my morning commute will also be dark.

At any rate, this is your friendly reminder to make sure you bring adequate lighting and reflective gear with you for your evening ride home, and to be mindful of the sun's new position in the sky while you're on the road. Ride defensively and safely. This is especially for those of you who have to ride into the sun while it's low on the horizon.

Speaking of lighting, my review of the L&M Vis 360º is up at BikeCommuters.com.

By the numbers

By the numbers, originally uploaded by KC-Bike.

In the US, there's a 68% chance you're charging that "green" plug-in electric/hybrid with fire and smoke. Dumbasses. Source.

Randy pointed out to me that 100% of traditional vehicles are petroleum-powered.

Of course, some traditional vehicles with small, efficient engines use less fuel than certain hybrids do. As always, gas-powered vehicles can be used frugally by combining trips, choosing closer destinations, car-pooling and walking or bicycling for trips when feasible. Cars themselves aren't the enemy. Sprawl, gluttony and excess are.

Corinna West wants your help

I enjoy writing narratives, but I'm certainly not a poet, nor am I skilled in visual arts. I do, however, believe wholeheartedly in what our friend and fellow cyclist Corinna West is doing, though. I'm re-publishing an email I just got from her. If you or someone you know might be interested in helping out, contact her using the info at the end of her e-mail. I re-hosted the attached documents she speaks of on Google Documents, and linked them at the bottom of this post.

Hi Poetry Friends and Bicycle Friends,

In case you haven't heard, I got a really big federal grant to share the idea that people can get better from mental illnesses by using wellness tools such as poetry, exercise, mindfulness, spirituality, advocacy, and community building. The grant is targeted toward young adults aged 18 - 25.

We will be doing 10 health fairs at First Fridays where we are doing bicycle based peer support using a movable display attached to our bicycles. We'll be talking to people about mental health and recording people who want to try freestyling (making up poetry on the spot). We'll be selling art, so this is a great fit for you if you ride a bike, make artwork, and have some personal experiences with mental health issues. If you know someone like this, please forward the application to them.

The other thing we are doing is 10 open mic contests at universities throughout Missouri. Attached is the call for artists for feature poets for this. I am looking for people who can share poems about overcoming adversity, especially positive mental health related poems. Any poems about struggles in your life and using poetry as a resource might be considered for this feature. Many of you have poems that fit for this project.

The application instructions for both are included. I will pick the first people by October 21, so try to have your CV/artist resume, sample poems if you're a poet, and cover letter to me by then.

Please forward this on to anyone else who may be interested.
--
Corinna West, MS, CPS
Creative Director, Human Hand Wordworks

PO Box 172351, Kansas City, KS 66117
816-392-6074
http://corinnawest.com/

PPP Call For Artists

PPP Bicycle Peer Support Opening

Just take the lane.

A few things combined prompted this.

1. Dave Moulton had a nice rant.
2. St. Charles county wants to ban bicycles on certain roads.
3. People want to debate about bikes on roads and where they should ride.
4. I posted about "Gutter Bunnies" on BikeCommuters.com
   
5. Someone in Johnson County got injured badly by riding into an under-construction gutter seam.
6. Eric points out this awesome animation about the perils of a shy, cowardly curb-hugger vs. a savvy, confident cyclist.

Click the links. I don't have a lot to add here, other than to say that I generally ride my bike about where a car's right wheel normally sits in the lane, or 18-24" out from the gutter seam or fog line most of the time. I rarely have any problems riding here, and in the past few years of riding like this, I can count on one hand the number of times it's actually resulting in someone honking at me from behind in anger.

Behold, the watt.

"In terms of Classical mechanics, one watt is the rate at which work is done when an object's velocity is held constant at one meter per second against constant opposing force of one newton."

Blah, blah, blah. What the hell is a newton anyway?

Just kidding. I'm a nerd. I know what all of this means. Basically, a watt is a way to express the rate at which work is being done. When you're dealing with electricity, volts x amperes = watts. I actually think that transposes to mechanics easier than the crazy jibberish above.

The weight you apply to the pedals is like Volts. The speed you're cranking on them is like amperes. The combined work being done can, in fact, be expressed in watts.

I mentioned this a few days ago: fixed gear doesn't seem to have slowed me down at all. When I first hopped on the Wabi Special, I gave myself twice the time to get to work, just in case. I figured that I'd have a hard time climbing hills. I also figured I'd have to take it slow going downhill. To me, this whole thing sounded like a recipe for a slower commute. I got to work as fast as usual. Maybe faster. I didn't have a cyclometer, but total elapsed time with stops was 25 minutes, which is par for the course. This has been puzzling me for a few days. I keep leaving a little early. I keep thinking maybe I'm just hammering it harder than usual to make up for the time. I keep getting to work in 25 minutes. The return trip home is also about the same. What's going on?

When I'm riding on my own, I tend to fall into this pace. It's not particularly fast, but it's not very slow, either. I always thought this had something to do with my pedaling cadence. I'd adjust my gearing to keep my cadence somewhat stable.

Riding fixed gear, though, I've found out that I have settled into roughly the same pace, even though my cadence is all over the place. I'm now starting to understand how this all works. It's not about cadence, it's about watts. Without being able to trade-off effort for crank revolutions with dozens of gearing combinations, I still exert roughly the same amount of energy per minute regardless which bike I'm on. I just push harder on the uphills than I normally would, and spin faster than usual on flat land. The same amount of energy exerted moves the bike roughly the same speed on average.

Bonus: the fixed-gear drivetrain is actually more efficient and feels more connected to the road. You'd have to try it to know what I mean. The end-result is a remarkably simple, efficient and fun way to get around, so long as you don't have many steep hills around.

Mystery solved.

Johnson County cyclists: suggestions wanted

Below: a rectangle that contains some of the gnarliest highway interchanges in our community.


To me, these represent serious barriers to alternative transportation use. There are five "islands" in that diminutive 12 square mile chunk represented above. Getting from one island to another is often a daunting task. There are only a few roads that cut through without forcing cyclists and pedestrians to "share the road" with a 3 or 4 lane interchange riddled with on-ramps and off-ramps and often no sidewalks, wide lanes, or even shoulders to work with.

This is my neighborhood, folks. I don't live in this rectangle, but I'm just north of it and I do a good chunk of my riding in this area. My job is in this rectangle. I may be participating in a focus group for the Johnson County Gateway Corridor project. While I certainly have my own opinions and thoughts on what could be done to improve the accessibility of this area, I wouldn't mind some opinions from my peers. I see a lot of people riding these streets. Speak up!

What are your suggestions for making things better for alternative transportation, if you had to focus your effort on this little slice of our community?

Bicycle Swap Meet: April 10th/11th

Mark Rainey alerted me to this one:

With the previous "big" bike swap meet venue closing up shop last year, it looks like Bike America picked up the slack. Looks like a perfect opportunity to offload some of your extra stuff or score some sweet deals.

Bicycle Swap Meet

Saturday, April 10th from 7:00 a.m. to 5: p.m.
Sunday, April 11th from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Free to the Public

Buy! Trade! Sell!

Bike America of Overland Park, KS has leased space adjacent to our 95th & Nall location for this 2 day event. Bring your merchandise, bring your tables, bring your cash. This will be a bike bargain hunter's paradise. With 20 years worth of accumulated bikes and bike parts, merchandise from half a dozen stores that closed their doors! Expect great deals on new and used bike-related goods, from complete bikes to small parts. You never know exactly what vendors will bring to sell and what treasures you will find. Don't miss this two-day-only sale!

BIKE AMERICA
9514 Nall Avenue, Overland Park, KS
(913) 381-5431

Bike America merchandise is cash & carry, all sales final, no returns, no exchanges

Google: Bike There

I know the entire blogosphere is abuzz about Google Bicycle Directions, but let's put it to the test.

I've ridden many, many places a bicycle can legally go in Johnson County over the past 3 years. From the busiest, unfriendliest roadways to the rarely-seen unmarked shortcuts, aqueducts, and un-intentional paths. I know how to get around. I won't claim to know all the routes, but I can usually find a cozy course to nearby destinations. I believe this makes me qualified to judge a proposed route.

Let's start with a route I drew up a few weeks ago. Normally, one would hop straight onto the Interstate. I used Veloroutes to draw the route I had in mind. I later rode it, and I'm very pleased with it, even during rush hour.


Let's see what Google Maps did. A bonus is that all the bike routes, bike lanes and paths appear to be highlighted in "Bike mode," at least for here in Greater Kansas City.


I see kind of what Google was trying to do. They exploit some diagonal route choices to cut a little distance from the ride: about .3 mile worth. Here is an overlay merging the two to see the differences:


They also offered an alternative route that looked almost identical to my route from the point where they join just west of Antioch. The diagonal section east of 69 highway actually does make some sense from a distance and traffic perspective, but it's less than a quarter mile shorter with the disadvantage of technical navigation. The proposed stretch on 103rd street to get across Metcalf is a disaster. The optional route that crosses Metcalf at 99th Terrace is much safer.

I mapped some other destinations as well. My old commute, for example. Here, I noticed that Google Maps seems to give extremely high priority to multi-use paths, roads with bike lanes, and city-designated bicycle routes, sometimes even when they don't make much sense to those who know the area. Case and point in the second map above: Quivira Road is a "Bike route" - yeah, right. At rush hour, you'd be best to take Pflumm (a mile west) or very carefully stick to the sidewalks while preparing to be hooked by inattentive motorists. The outer lane is not wide enough to share with cars, and construction detours in the area have Quivira even more overloaded than usual. This has less to do with Google, and is more of a problem with the cities misrepresenting Quivira as a bicycle-friendly road, even without using it as a detour for highway-bound traffic.

All in all, though, I'm satisfied with the route choices that it comes up with. As a programmer, I'd like to see their algorithm. Pro-tip: you can drag the route to comply with your personal whims. Using the "My Maps" feature, you can save, print, and share your refined routes easily.

And, as always, you can feel free to ask me for input on getting from point-A to point-B in greater KC, using bikes and buses, although my experience really is best around downtown and JoCo. There's also the KC Bike Commuters list.

Banquet

My wife and I had a great time at the JCBC Banquet last night. The food was good, the company was excellent, and it was cool to catch up with so many cyclists I've met over the last 3+ years. Voting in new officers, recollection of the past year of events and bloopers, and some raffle winnage. My wife landed us a gift card for a local restaurant and I won a random bottle of wine that happened to have a bicycle on its label. Not unlike the labels of these tasty New Belgium Fat Tires. Photo snipe: the 'Dude in his natural habitat.


Even though it was snowing lightly, I decided I'd be clever and ride my bike to and from the banquet. After all, cDude and I were going to be talking about year-round riding for transportation. It'd only be right. Never mind the fact that even WITH my choice to take the long, back way to the banquet, I only rode a grand total of 6 miles in the snow yesterday round trip.



Thanks to everyone who showed up, didn't fall asleep during our talk, and brought interesting questions for us to answer! It was good to see you all! Maybe I'll make it out to more recreation rides in 2010.

Also: Last night, Tim, c'Dude and myself were talking about doing another S24O Bike Camping adventure at Hillsdale this spring. I think we'll probably do two group S240's this year. We lucked out doing one in August. I'm thinking May/June and September.

Random Tunage:
Dynamix II - Machine Language
Fischer Spooner - Emerge

Nice commute with Grey, Hen House Update

... and I hope that's how he spells his name.

Anyhow, I got out a little early this morning, and saw a cyclist carrying a good pace up ahead of me. Being 5:30ish in the morning, I figured it had to be Grey. If that's the case, I probably wasn't going to catch up with him, but it didn't keep me from trying.

Sure enough, though, as I was pulling up to Johnson Drive on Merriam, I saw him bombing down the hill and turning in front of me. I'd closed in on him, but only because I took the easier route. I think he takes Quivira to 75th, then Nieman to Johnson Drive, whereas I take 67th east to get on Merriam Lane.

He was racing cyclocross yesterday, so was taking it easy this morning. Grey's version of "taking it easy" is somewhere toward the upper end of the speed I can maintain for the distance of my commute. Still, it was nice to run into him. I only see him a few times per year, and it's usually not for very long. In fact, this might be the only time I've actually commuted WITH him versus just seeing him in passing along the way. I bid him farewell as we turned onto Main, mostly because I just couldn't keep up the pace anymore. I took it easy up the hill into Downtown KCMO and used it as a bit of cool-down time.

Hen House Bike Parking
I've been in communication with a few different people from the company that runs the Hen House Market stores, and they've been a real pleasure to work with, asking for suggestions on where and how to mount their new bike rack. My suggestions were:

• Under the overhang, near the building
  
• Perpendicular to the wall so bikes can park on both sides of the rack
• Spaced far enough from the wall to make the closest spot usable.
  

After hearing from the director for that specific store, I checked the rack out last night (sorry, no camera) and I don't think I could have placed it better myself. It should be bolted down soon. Again, I find it exciting when local businesses that I patronize take a few steps to accommodate cyclists. With so much residential space nearby, it makes sense that people will show up by bike.

Matt from Hen House also wanted me to let you know that they're now on Twitter, where they advertise some of their specials.

Random Tunage:
Sarah Mclachlan - Into The Fire
Chicane vs. Natasha Bedingfield - Bruised Water

We'll see what the weather does...

Tonight is supposed to be the August 2009 Dark Side Ride. I've ridden in a lot of rain this month. While I'm not vehemently opposed to riding in it, I'm pretty sure I only know two other guys crazy enough to join me for this ride if it's pouring down. I'll probably still be out there at spring hill high school rain or... uhh... no rain. Feel free to join us, just bring lights, reflective gear, a helmet, and maybe a poncho.

This morning, mist and drizzle met us. It was actually refreshing, and not enough to make the roads wet. John C, myself and Lorin (whose bikes are pictured below in that order) converged on Starbucks to caff up and talk about random stuff.



The new phone (an LG Env3) has a panorama feature that automatically stitches things together. I really don't think the photo quality is much better than my last phone. It just takes higher resolution photos. Oh well. It's everything I need in a phone, and it was almost free.

"Only" two miles

I had to stop somewhere after work on the way home, and I'm testing some new stuff out on my mountain bike this week. Actually, just today. I think I found out what I needed to know after one day of use.

On my way out, a guy was on break, standing next to my bike. We talked for a bit while I unlocked it and got things situated. He asked how far I have to ride to get home. I said "Not too far, only 2 miles."

He repeated: "HAH! 'Only' two miles."

I think a lot of people have this recollection of "Running the mile" in gym class more than a decade ago on their high-school 400-meter ovals. When it comes to cycling, they fail to comprehend how oddly efficient it is -- likely because many people haven't ridden a bicycle nor walked very far in quite some time.

I haven't ever sat down to do the math, but I've heard experts say you can travel 4 times faster, 4 times further in the same amount of time given equal effort between cycling and non-mechanized transportation. I didn't break out into Wikipedia mode on this poor fellow, but I did explain that it's faster and easier than walking the two miles before I bid him farewell.

I think this kind of confusion is one of the biggest barriers to getting people out of their cars and onto bikes for short errands.

Tricks of the Trade: Hidden Paths

Earlier this week, Fritz posted a nod to a fascinating post on 5000 entitled "Bicycle Wayfinding in the Early 21st Century"

Interstitial spaces are those un-mapped, informal nooks, crannies, and shortcuts. Traveling off the grid. Cyclists who ride in urban areas are probably very familiar with these dark alleyways, parking garages, little paved paths or dirt alleys between urban homes and the like. If you don't, you should start keeping your eyes open for them.


I use interstitial paths almost every single day, and their ubiquity isn't limited to dense, urban streetscapes. Closer to home in suburbia, I cut through business parks...


... industrial complexes ...


... grassy public areas (even when it pisses Chris off)...


... and even church parking lots, parks, little paths between cul-de-sacs and the like. What do they have in common? You won't see any of them on any map. Even the paths that look like roads show up only on aerial view, but they're highly unofficial dead-ends on street maps.

Here in KC, Mark Thomas has shown me several really nifty shortcuts, including access paths under high-voltage suburban power lines, dried stream beds, aqueducts, drainage tunnels and a host of other un-seen infrastructure ready for use by people who don't feel the need to stay between the painted lines. That was two years ago, and he continues to show me more of them, but I quickly learned to look for them on my own.


Brian's post is long, but worth the read. It links to resources, makes statements and shows photos that I can't possibly rival here without flat-out plagiarizing the original work. I agree with almost all of it.

Knowing the ins and outs of these off-the-map routes is actually pretty important if you plan on getting around town efficiently without the use of a car. I'd argue it's just as important as knowing the "goldmine" lesser-traveled and safer through streets and maybe more important than understanding the transit infrastructure in your area.

Staying on the lookout for new paths you didn't know about is key. Dropping what you're doing for a few minutes and exploring a new potential shortcut is the best way to get started. Since bicycles blur the line between vehicle and pedestrian, use it to your advantage, within reason! That is to say tear-assing through granny's flower garden or bubba's back yard isn't recommended. As for the "Private Drive" stuff? I usually see people on their smoke breaks as I pass through. They're friendly and wave. After years of this, I've never caught any flack for it. The second I'm told to knock it off, I'll find a detour.

Brian got me thinking about cataloging some of these little byways. Maybe I will get around to that some day.

Un-Lenexa Midnight Ride is a GO! (Sign up!)

I've been told that the ride shouldn't present a problem, I just need to get a head count on who will be attending. So, go ahead and sign up! If you don't sign up, you won't get a map of the route, and I won't be accounting for you. Please sign up once for each person that will be riding their own bicycle.

We will depart just after midnight on July 12, 2009 from Merriam Marketplace, so get there early enough to have your bike ready to roll. The total route is 15 miles or so, but there are some hills you'll have to be ready to climb or walk up. We'll re-group, and this will be a NO DROP ride.

A few administrative things you really need to know:

• I'm not a helmet zealot, but helmets are required for this ride.
• A rear blinkie and something resembling a headlight are required. I'd appreciate it if you could make sure they will last for an hour or two.
• Everyone is responsible for their own safety (and guardians of their minors)
• We will obey the traffic laws.
• I recommend wearing light-colored and/or reflective clothing and accessories.
• Part of this route goes through a CAVE. That means that there may be condensation, mud, or other slick surfaces along the route, especially in the cave. Please be careful.
• If you plan on bringing your kids, make sure that they also have lights, and can ride 15 miles or more without a problem.
  

With that... start chomping at the bit! There's only about a month left!

Transit Update: Johnson County

TheJO changed things up a bit. The first thing riders will notice is a fare increase [pdf link] coming next week. Also, some routes were adjusted [another PDF] and several of the popular express routes have additional runs.

For example, the L bus that I can catch at Oak Park Mall now has an earlier morning stop 30 minutes ahead of the previous early bus that will get riders downtown before 6:15, a later morning stop and similar earlier/later stops in the evening. The expanded service accommodates overtime schedules quite nicely now. Check it out!

New Bike News podcast!

The former local bicycle commuter known as Limited Warren T has a new site up with daily quick bicycle news updates. He's using a sweeper/intro that I made for a tech podcast that never got off the ground. Give it a listen!

Midnight Ride Status

I've been in talks with the real estate company that owns the caves. I'll probably hear a final "go" or "no go" from them on Wednesday. To assuage the owner's concerns if we get approved, I had to promise that the group size would be reasonable (Let's call it a maximum of 25 spots for this ride), that we would all stick together through the caves, and that we would be open to signing a waiver of liability if they need it.

It's fascinating working through the red tape. The people I talk to think it's a neat idea and understand the cool factor (and I mean cool in more than the just constant 58°F sense) but none of them are empowered to grant us permission directly. With that, I have to wait for the bureaucracy machine to grind its little gears.

It doesn't sound like it'll be THAT much of a problem, but there's a chance that there may be limited slots for cave-riding. I'll keep you posted.

For the time being, I plan on leading the ride regardless of cave access, weather permitting. Expect to gather at Merriam Marketplace at 11:45PM July 11th, 2009. We will roll out at midnight sharp.

This will be a no-drop ride. I'll lead and I'll have someone take up the back. We'll definitely have to stick together. This is a secure storage and office facility, so we'll need each rider to be accounted for upon entrance and exit so that they know no one is lurking or partying it up down in the caves. You know. Because we're all a bunch of punk kids on stunt bikes.

Why it's important to sign up for the Car-Free Challenge

I got this note from Laurie Chipman this morning, and I thought I'd share. She makes some valid points for signing up if you ride your bike, car pool, use transit, or walk to get around the greater KC area -- Even if it's part of your daily routine and you aren't changing a thing during Bike Week!

Hi all, I just want to point up something that even I had hardly thought about.

We may just think the Car-free Challenge is just a pleasant diversion for those who participate but it can have serious beneficial consequences for those of us who want a better walking, biking and transit environment.

http://kcbike.info/bikeweek/

We can use these numbers to justify asking for biking, walking/running and transit improvement funding.

Here are the statistics as of today, Wednesday.

* Total Miles: 9,738

* People Registered: 554

* People who have logged trips: 354

* Teams: 50

* Solo Commuters: 69

* First-timers: 21

* Carbon Dioxide saved: 9,231 pounds

* Gasoline saved: 541 gallons, $1,028

The numbers are down from last year but we know there are more people walking, bicycling and using transit. Please join a team and login your miles so we can prove to officials that we are out there and need to be counted!

http://kcbike.info/bikeweek/

Laurie Chipman

Let's Go KC, Alliance for Transportation Choice, representing 26,500 people

Kansas City Bicycle Club Advocate

I have a plan...

The Lenexa Midnight Bike Ride: it's one of my favorite events of the year. Some people look forward to Spring Classic. Others to the first bike commute of the year, or perhaps the start of the Brevet Series. Not me. I wait with bated breath for the one tiny glimmer in the midst of the banal phase of the cycling calendar that is the month of July: The Midnight Bike Ride

The reason? It's a fun ride that I can drag my friends along to. But mostly, it's the stretch of subterranean street known as the Meritex compound. After slogging up two decent grades on Prairie Star Parkway, you earn the right to descend into the chilly, humid caves. It's somewhat surreal and loads of fun; worth the price of entry on its own.

This year, The Lenexa Midnight Bike Ride isn't going to go through the caves. It won't even start at Old Town Lenexa. It won't even take place on public roadways. The organizers are holding it at Shawnee Mission Park, where families can do laps around a 4-mile loop to their heart's content (or until they finally shut things down). This, to me, is a Pretty Big Deal for several reasons:

1. No cave action
2. A 4 mile loop is going to feel like a criterium
3. A loop with kids is going to feel like an elementary school bike rodeo
4. The hills around Shawnee Mission Park will force people some to walk the bike

Basically, this could be a good time for some people, but not for me.

I may still donate to the Optimist club and get the T-shirt, but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be attending. Instead, I think I'm going to arrange my own ride, in conjunction with the Dark Side Ride group. It will likely be held the same night as the Lenexa Midnight Bike Ride (meet around 11:45PM July 11th, kick off at midnight), but it will probably be a shorter route than most of the other Dark Side Rides (because it'll start at midnight, not 9:00PM). I'm going to talk to some folks tomorrow and see if I can't get access to some caves to ride through.

I kind of have a route already planned, but I need to make sure I can use the caves that are along the way. If so, the start location would be just off the highway in Merriam, the ride itself would be less than 20 miles, and the out-and-back route would land us tastily close to a 24-Hour Denny's that we can hijack afterwards.

Interested? Leave a comment or e-mail me ( noah at kc-bike dot net )

So, you're thinking about bicycle commuting?

Although it was near freezing this morning when I left, it was also the first time in months that I've seen a sliver of the sun above the horizon as I left home. That means that "bicycle season" is upon us, and I won't seem so crazy anymore.

With the looming economic woes, many folks are looking at ways to cut back the budget, either to make ends meet or to increase the size of their nest-egg. Now is a great time to break out that bike and take it for a spin to work. It's the fun, healthy, and cheap way to travel relatively short distances!

The Facts

• The average person will be about 4 times faster on a bicycle than they would be on foot for a given amount of effort. People who walk at 2-3 MPH can comfortably cruise along at about 10 MPH.
• Almost anyone can ride a mile or two on a bicycle. It just takes some getting used to.
• About 40% of urban travel in the US is within 2 miles. Again, most people can ride that far.
• There are many proven benefits to getting 30 minutes of cardio workout per day.
• You can get 30 minutes of cardio out of 4-6 miles of bicycle riding.
• With a proper diet, you won't likely need to eat more food than usual for these distances.
  

Bikes
It's all about comfort, but almost any bicycle will work fine for commuting a few miles each direction. Upright cruiser bicycles with fenders and chain guards are a popular choice for the urban bicycle commuter. Mountain bikes are cheap and plentiful, but don't do too well for longer distances. Road bikes, touring bikes and cyclocross bikes are popular for those who are used to weekend group rides, those who prefer a faster pace, or those who have longer commutes. A reputable bike shop should be able to help you decide on the right kind of bike.

If you've already got a bicycle that's gathering dust, why not have a bicycling friend or a bike shop look at it? If you're in the Kansas City area, I'd be happy to tune your bike up for you, and show you how to do routine maintenance checks. Just send me an email via the form on the right side of my website.

Accessories
Accessories are a personal preference thing. Feel free to eschew any of these if you don't think they're for you. Take helmets for example. After crashing WITH a helmet (and imagining how bad it could be without one), I usually opt to wear mine. Then again, I ride daily, sometimes as much as 29 miles round trip. I usually don't wear one when I ride to get groceries. That's a 2.5 mile round trip ridden mostly through parking lots and residential roads. The decisions are yours.

Lighting
In general, you will want some kind of lighting on your commuter bike. This will help grab the attention of the motorists, both oncoming and overtaking. The Planet Bike Superflash is a relatively inexpensive (and very bright) option for a tail light. It's what I use daily.

Headlights are a different thing entirely. They can basically be divided into two groups: "to see with" and "to be seen". The former group of lights are typically more expensive (yikes!) You really only need "to see with" lights if you intentionally ride in the early morning or late evening when ambient and/or overhead street lighting isn't enough to safely ride by. You can still find some relatively inexpensive lights to fit the bill here. Look for LED lights offering more than 140 Lumens (200+ is better) or Halogens offering more than 10 Watts (15 and up is better).

"To be seen" lights are usually flashing LED headlights. Many can be purchased for $25-$30. They are good to use in fog, rain, or toward sunrise and sunset. For this, I use an older 2.4 Watt halogen predecessor to the CatEye EL220.

If I'm recommending things to people who are just getting started, I recommend a "to be seen" headlight and tail light set. I wouldn't commute without them. Best of all, these less expensive lights are easy to find at almost any sporting goods store, or even the "bicycle shaped toy" aisle at big retail shops.

Reflectivity
Being seen, if you can't tell, is a bonus. Reflective vests, proper reflectors on your bicycle (front, rear, pedal reflectors and spoke reflectors) and other reflective items (Shoes with reflective material, reflective tape on your bicycle, etc) help you to be seen. Bicycling isn't about looking cool, so don't pretend. Be seen. This is more important for those who commute near dusk and dawn.

Cargo
This ties in with the next section, Logistics. Most commuters will have to carry stuff to and from work. Backpacks, panniers, cargo racks, trunk bags, messenger bags and handlebar bags are all viable solutions. You will have to choose what fits your needs and wants. It helps if your bicycle is compatible with the method you choose. Not all bikes are designed for cargo racks, for example; and wearing a backpack can be tricky whilst riding a recumbent.

Creature Comforts
Fenders can keep puddles from ruining your day and when it's raining lightly, they keep road grime from giving you the Butt Stripe Of Doom. Water bottles or hydration backpacks help on longer commutes or in hot climates. A seat wedge with flat-tire repair stuff is nice to have, but only if you're comfortable fixing your flat tires. Sometimes, it's just easier to carry a mobile phone so you can have a friend rescue you from those situations.

Logistics
At work, you may need specialized clothing that may or may not be conducive to cycling. You may also need to take lunch, a briefcase, or other bulky items along. Take these into account when figuring out how you are going to make sure you get to work with everything you need intact.

Clothes
When the weather is nice, you can get away with riding a bicycle in business casual or even more formal clothes, if you only have a mile or two worth of riding. Use an ankle strap or roll the pant leg up to keep it from getting stained or caught by the chain. Alternatively, use a bicycle with a chain guard. A T-shirt beneath the work clothes you'd normally wear will keep you from pitting-out that office shirt so easily.

If you've got a little further to ride, you might encounter puddles or rain, or you'd just rather not risk putting wear and tear on your work clothes, you can opt to do a number of things:

• Keep work clothes and shoes in your office
• Carry some of all of your work clothes with you on the bike every day
• Occasionally haul a few days of clean clothes to the office (by bike or by car)

Those are just a few examples. Depending on what else you need to carry with you, you can determine the appropriate cargo solution as mentioned above.

Multi-Mode
When the weather isn't too great or I don't feel too well, I ride my bike to the bus stop. Many metropolitan areas facilitate bicycles on their trains and buses. The full 29-mile round trip is definitelty longer than most people would consider a reasonable bike ride. When I include the bus, I ride about 5-6 miles per day. This combination of bicycling with transit provides a great deal of flexibility. I no longer need to worry about taking the bus to the same place my car is parked. I have a bicycle with me downtown to get around with, and parking is free wherever I go.

More questions?
Feel free to ask in the comments!