Most difficult commute

-- or --
The Swobo Baxter only "kind of enjoys" this stuff.

Yesterday, I took the bus that drops me off at The Maul. Kind of a misake: Quivira was trashed. There was one and a half usable lanes, and cars were still treating it like two whole ones, even with me on the road. That meant I was getting buzzed. A LOT. And even taking what remained of the outside lane, people were still cutting too close for my comfort if it was dry out, much less with snow still adorning the roadway. I wasn't going to risk that again. The sidewalks were unusable, as well. Quivira's a no-go.

So I was betting on 87th street to at least have sidewalks that'd been smoothed over and trampled down by people. The sidewalks on 87th are generally ridable after a good snow-storm. The street itself was NOT going to be ridden on with the fresh snow we got today. Vehicular Psychlists and you Followers of Forrester: just shut up right freaking now, unless you tried riding 87th Street over I-35 today. Usually, I agree with you guys on the VC thing. Not today.

Having set my mind on 85th/87th, I decided to take the Antioch bus to get closer to home today. It was running a bit behind schedule, so I took some pics.






The reflective sidewalls still get me every time. I love that feature.


The bus ended up getting me to my usual stop at 85th about an hour behind schedule. That's okay. I have lights. 85th was fine. Snowpacked, but okay. So was Goddard. Then, I got to 87th. Packed with cars honking at one another, my decision to stay off the road itself was quickly reinforced. That's when the Baxter decided to not move. And who could blame it. The snow was knee deep in places, hip-deep in others, and right there at the BP Gas Station, it was almost enough to bury half the wheel.


So, I hiked. It was 2 miles of walking through all kinds of snow, plow boulders, and crap. All while hauling my backpack and pushing a bike through the stuff. When I got to the 87th street and I-35 overpass, I took a quick break. Just to catch my breath. Okay, maybe it was just a photo-op. But I laid there for a minute or two anyways, allowing my heart rate to settle down a bit.


When I got to the bank parking lot at 87th and Quivira, I was finally home free, on plowed residential thoroughfares and parking lots.


All told, my commute home took three hours, but a good chunk of that 3 hours was spent waiting for and riding on the bus. The last 3 miles (one on the bike, two on foot) took a little under an hour.

This was by far the most tedious commute to date, but I was mostly dressed for the occasion, and I got a good workout from the whole ordeal.

It is interesting that in 2 miles spent hiking through the snow along 87th street, there was not one single passerby who paid me any attention at all. No honks. No "are you alright?" No anything. Not that I needed or wanted any help (I could've summoned help easily had I felt life or limb to be in danger) but I really thought that mankind was just a bit more decent than that.

The Swobo Baxter likes this stuff

Family Bicycles Groupon: $29 Tune-Up

It's a play on words. A group coupon. Get it?

Family Bicycles is a great little commuter/utility-bicycling friendly shop in the heart of Waldo, and they're offering a tune-up for $29.

My friend Andy just tipped me off to this. Looks like there's about 16 hours left to get in on it. I don't know how Groupon works*, but $29 for an off-season tune-up (parts extra) is a heck of a deal, and Family Bicycles is one of my favorite shops in town. I just wish I lived closer!  Supposedly the deal was only offered if 10 people or more signed on for it, but there's already 23 people, so you should be good to go.

If you're not mechanically inclined, this could be the break you need. Even if you don't plan on riding in the snow this winter, you can rest assured that your bike will be clean and running smooth by the time spring gets here.

* I'd honestly never heard of Groupon before, but it seems like a legitimate deal. Call Family Bikes at 816-268-1757 if you have any questions.

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.

Wintery Links

Well it's Friday, and vacation's almost over.

Doug compares monstrous 3.7" Surly Endomorph snow tires to more traditional 35mm studded ice tires.

cDude fabricates a cargo rack mounting solution for his winter beater.

Evan covers "underbiking" -- An unfamiliar term for something I love: Off-roading my road bike.

jwz gets his bicycle stolen. again. If I lived in SF, I'd consider buying a sixpack of huffies for errands and commuting.

Merry Christmas!

I'm still biking and bussing all over town. As of noon today, I punched out of the office for the rest of the decade. I head back to work on January 4th, so I've got a much-needed 10-day weekend. I've been a little scarce because I've been slammed at work, and on the home front I've been busy building Christmas presents and working on my not-so-bikey hobbies. In the coming days, I'll show you the things I made. They're all geeky, and not terribly impressive. We're going small this Christmas.

On the way home from the bus stop this afternoon, all my clothes froze. It was 28*F and raining with a headwind gusting to 20 MPH. I had a shell of ice on my shoes and helmet, and frozen beads of rain stuck to my jacket, gloves and pants. Fortunately, the ground was warm enough to keep the pavement from freezing. I got the old "You aren't actually going to ride your bike in this, are you?" as I left the office. I responded with my typical "You aren't actually going to DRIVE in this, are you?" remark. Honestly, today is as bad as it gets, save for had the pavement been frozen. And it really isn't that bad if you're used to outdoor winter sports.

Anyhow, we're hunkered down, enduring a record-breaking Christmas snow storm, drinking hot cocoa by the fire with our kitties. It's been a rough year, but a good one in many ways.



Merry Christmas, all, and keep the shiny side up.
--Noah

The strangest display of human powered transportation you'll see this week

Pizza delivery by skateboard, at about 11:30 AM, right down the middle of Main Street.

G'Morning!

It's officially dark when I get to the office, and getting dark by the time I get home in the evening.



I spotted Gray again this morning a little after 5:30, hammering away. I continue to see bicycles on suburban buses downtown, cyclists here and there, and bikes locked up to things. Two winters ago, it was rare to see another bike anywhere once it got below freezing.

There's also a pretty hardcore BMW Motorcycle rider in my building, who pulled in about the same time I did. His is the only motorcycle I see in the designated parking area next to the bike rack at work this time of year. I'm not certain, but I'd bet it's a lot harder to stay warm on a motorcycle than a bicycle, given the higher speeds and relative lethargy. Kudos to that guy, too!

Random Tunage:
Nine Inch Nails - Only
Orgy - Fiction (Dreams In Digital)

Mmmmm Tank 7.

More details on KC Beer Blog. I SO, SO love Gomers in Lenexa. I don't even need to ride on a real street to get there. It's all parking lots between home and Gomers. The Baxter is the perfect machine for beer runs.

Nippy Nine

9°F this morning. I can't express enough how much I love having a log of winter riding clothes.

Some time ago, it was 8°F and I had my clothing pretty much nailed. I did have a note to myself that my legs got a bit chilly with just long johns and cargo pants. I just added a layer to my legs and otherwise kept the same setup. It was a perfect, relaxing ride this morning. No sweating. No chills. Moderate effort, a reasonable pace, a warm core with a little breathe to the clothing to let just the right amount of cool air in and warm, humid air out.

This is one of those mornings where I can mark a "1 - Perfect" in my clothing log. This is one for the memory banks and should do great for the range of 5-10°F. The coldest I've ever ridden in and been able to say I had the "perfect" setup was at 19°F until this morning. I've got a lot of "2 - Good!" entries for much colder temperatures, but there's always something wrong. Feet too hot, ears too cold, eyelashes frozen together or stuff like that; where things were REALLY close, but could use a bit of improvement.

I always know I've got the perfect setup when I can actually feel a little bit of the biting cold come in -- not in one place, but diffused. If some air gets in through a zipper of a fairly loose jacket but passes through a few thin layers and distributes itself evenly, that's a good thing. All the good wicking wool and technical synthetic layers in the world won't help at all if there's not a little air flow to carry the moisture off. Soaked fabric can cause hypothermia, but I can say that wool shines here, and even soaking wet retains a lot more insulation than other fabrics.

Similarly, you don't want to allow the layers to get too cold. A cold core will start reducing circulation to the limbs. That's when frostbite or worse happens. So it's a fine balancing act, finding your groove in the cold.

At any rate, I hope those of you who are still out there in the are staying safe and comfortable, whether it's riding, skiing, snowboarding or jogging and whether you're getting around for work and errands or just getting some miles in.

Random Tunage:
Mittelstandskinder Ohne Strom - Live Tropical Fish
Chicane - Saltwater

Balmy

Well, it started out that way: mid-40s upon departure. The forecast (which I'd dutifully checked last night like a good commuter) said that it would drop down to 18°F by the time I'd be getting out of work. I loaded a pannier up with extra warms for the ride home. I took the Baxter this morning and rode to the bus stop in my work clothes, leaving a bit early so that I could savor the relatively warm weather, and avoid sweating on the way to the bus. The Swobo Baxter BEGS to be ridden and enjoyed; It's hard to ride it without a goofy grin on your face. It certainly doesn't lend itself well to speed, but makes up for it with the fun factor.

At around 8:00 this morning, I was hunkered down over my computer monitor, chipping away at the epic pile of Monday workload. Prodigy - Breathe was setting the pace for my day, being pipelined into my skull through a hefty set of noise-cancelling DJ cans, like a rush of heroin coursing through an addicts veins directly to the deepest reaches of the brain. Tunage gets me through the day. It muffles out the din of gossiping peers, the shuffle and clatter of clumsy co-workers who insist on smacking and dragging their hands on my cubicle wall as they make their way to the coffee machine, the shitter or the copy room. Then I saw the blip. A tiny distraction on my screen. cDude alerted me to the fact that it was, in fact, 19°F already. In just two hours or so, temps had plunged nearly 25 degrees. It looked like this:



I'd dragged enough warmth downtown with me to sustain a 15°F commute home, again, including my work clothes as a functional part of the getup. After all, it's only a few miles when I bridge the trans-urban gap with mass transit. My mind went into graph extrapolation mode, and I had fears of getting out of the office to single digit temperatures. A few miles wouldn't kill me, but it would suck. Plus, I had to hit the post office on the way home.

Fortunately, the final temperature for the end of the work day was spot on. The graph above leveled out and stayed at 18°F most of the day. As I write this, though, the mercury is dropping further, and single-digits are likely for the morning.

At any rate, this is a reminder for you to make sure you look at the whole day's forecast. This time of year, it's not unheard of to have a colder evening commute than your morning commute was. This event was a close call that even has me thinking about leaving one extra layer of warm clothing at the office, just in case evening weather turns out to be more brutal than originally predicted. I already keep a full change of biz-casual at the office (just in case) as well as a towel (Ford Prefect would be proud!) but maybe a set of sweats and a pair of wooly socks left in the filing cabinet drawer or something would be wise.

Tricks Of The Trade: Warmness

Elizabeth and I have been cranking out some tips for winter commuting over at BikeCommuters.com:

Toes Froze?

Cold Hands?

Snow Biking: Is that even safe?!

Protection from the elements

On keeping a cold-weather clothing log

I tend to put most of my helpful hints over there these days. My guess is you'll start seeing a lot more cold-weather tips.

Swobo Baxter: Day Two

Bike + Bus today.


I could get used to these pizza-cutters. They stop really well, but it's not overbearing.


I had a little different route today, with plenty of loose snow that hadn't been messed with.


In loose snow, these Vittorias work quite well. Very well.




I really want to put a set of these tires on my Trek 1200. I checked (by putting the Baxter's front wheel on my road bike to see how the tire fits) and the 32mm's will fit just fine.

Swobo Baxter: Day One

See more photos of the build and more info on BikeCommuters.com.

I'd actually considered riding the Baxter all the way downtown this morning. At 3 degrees, it'd be the third coldest bike-only commute I've done, but I am dealing with these temperatures quite well. I have records of clothing that works in most conditions we get here in KC, so I nailed my clothing spot-on.

The only thing really stopping me was the fact that I hadn't ridden the bike in earnest. I just assembled it, adjusted fitment, and took a bunch of pictures. In hindsight, I'm very, very glad I didn't ride all the way to work on it this morning.

The 32mm Vittoria Randonneur tires surpassed my expectations of traction on the snow and slush, but the bike still got squirrely on me. It gives you a very upright seating position and coupled with the already raised center-of-gravity due to my backpack (versus panniers) it felt like any moment I was rolling on snow could mean a wipeout.

The bike itself feels a bit like a fast cruiser bike. The 8-speed alfine is very widely geared. First is good for climbing, but it's nowhere near as low as the lowest gears on my road bike or mountain bike (both with triple cranks). The highest gear (97 gear inches) is plenty higher than my mountain bike (84 gear inches), but doesn't hold a candle to my road bike's massive 52x12 top gear (114 gear inches). The Baxter should do about 29 MPH at 100 RPM cadence in its top gear, but given the wind resistance of sitting bolt upright, that seems terribly generous unless you have a great tailwind or a long downhill journey.

This evening, I rode the bike all the way home, and let's just say I won't be doing that again. While it rolls more efficiently than my wife's Townie, the experience was roughly similar. So far, this bike's strengths seem many (and I'll save my thoughts for my final review) but comfort for longer distances is not among them. Perhaps a rack and panniers would have made the experience a bit more pleasurable, but this evening had me thinking twice about my decision. All the extra weight in my backpack (layers I didn't need on the much warmer homeward commute) could have been a major culprit here. And the Baxter is sufficiently equipped with eyelets for a rear rack and a set of fenders.

I'll probably continue using the Baxter for bike/bus commuting, though. It is an absolute blast to ride, but I can't do the upright thing for 15 miles in one sitting.

Test Mule Zero

It's from Swobo, and it (for some reason or another) came in a box labeled "Novak." But it's not a Novak. It was also delivered by a hamfisted UPS guy who (as you can see) left it wrong-side up. Somewhere along the line, the box got clobbered, too. Totally lame.

I've never actually built a bike up before. I've taken them apart plenty, and fixed quite a few of them. I've just never taken delivery of a box and turned its contents into a ridable steed. It was pretty easy, though.

More pics tomorrow. I think you'll like it.

That's more like it.

40 MPH winds, -10°F wind chill. Ice, snow and slush everywhere.

Okay, I could have done without the wind, but it was a great morning for a ride.


I answer the question "Is that even safe?!" (as was asked by several cow-orkers) on BikeCommuters.com

Yeah. About those games.

"The Games" as I so irreverently christened them last evening, ended up being a 100% chance of rain at 33°F. FML.

Let the games begin.

100% chance of snow. I'm looking forward to it.

Random Tunage:
Check out some of my favorite songs released in 2009 (and late '08)

Bad news, good news.

The bad news: Remember that I said The Goat needed quite a bit of work? Well, I got it working and have been riding it daily, but never really fixed all the things that need fixing. Friday, things got pretty bad, making the bike a complete pain to ride. It's about time for a major overhaul including a new rear rim/spokes (heck, new wheel?) two new tires, a full set of brake pads, a chain, cassette, and saddle. The chain, cassette and brakes have been replaced several times since I got this bike, but the other stuff has been the same since I bought it more than 3 years ago.

I think I've got it kludged well enough to last me a week or so.

The good news: The Goat doesn't need to last much longer, then I can fix it up over the next 2 months. On behalf of BikeCommuters.com I'm reviewing a pair of slick bikes that should appeal to the urban commuter. The first one will show up this week sometime. I'll test it for about six weeks, send it back, and take on another foster bike for about a month. That should get me through until mid-February or so. Since they're factory demo units, I won't be keeping either of these bikes, and I won't be getting paid to write a review. I'm okay with that, though. I love bike stuff.

Also, my cold-weather ways are probably nothing new for you guys, but check out the post (and the great comments) on my latest article at Bike Commuters for a dose of cold-weather riding tips: You know it's winter when...

Rubble

One of several strip malls adjacent to my apartment has been mostly abandoned for the past two years. Eventually, there were no tenants left, however I'm guessing the last of them were forced to leave due to pending re-development. Over the course of the last week, I've watched as the area is reduced to a pile of rubble. You have probably noticed by now that I kind of have this thing about demolition scenes. As of last night, not a single wall stands. Here's hoping there's something interesting and useful being built, not just mid-rise offices or some warehouse.



This morning, I saw the city venting the fire hydrant pipes. jwz would call it a series of tubes.



Random Tunage:
Plumb - Cut
Cher & Peter Cetera - After All

30-degree swing

... or close to it. Yesterday, it was 20-something in the morning, 50-something in the afternoon. Mother Nature keeps pushing that "One Last Beautiful Afternoon For Riding" and today looks to be more of the same, but it was warmer this morning.

Last night: a quick stop by Electronics Supply Co. after work. Riding in shorts at the end of November in KC is not normal.



Also, I recently re-shot the front panel of my Sun Ultra 5 because I somehow lost the high resolution version. I think I like this one as a wallpaper better than the last one (highest resolution available).

Click for big.

Patching

Last night, I had to apply some patches for OpenBSD, which some of you may know is my favorite operating system. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, it's software like Windows or Ubuntu, or Mac OS X. Except more secure and not very easy for people who aren't nerds to use.

My least favorite part of patching any system is the part where you have to reboot, and the computer is not in front of you, but 15 miles away or even further. If something didn't go right, I'd have to mess with a bunch of stuff to fix it.


Today: Patching a pinch flat.


Also, taking advantage of this awesome sunny weather to recharge my radio. I haven't yet had to use the crank to charge it up. I know from past experience that cranking for power sucks, but on just solar power alone, it lasts many hours at a reasonable volume with mixed flashlight use. It finally died on me this week. I usually leave it in the window to charge.

Consumer Zombies

Bus stop at the Maul.


While I love frobs and gizmos just as much as the next geek, the whole Black Friday Blitz thing is not my style at all. I'm going to attempt to get excited make things for Christmas. I can bake. I have hand tools. I am deft with the soldering iron. I'll figure something out.

Lectures

I am convinced that bananas are probably the ultimate on-the-go breakfast for bicycle commuters. This morning, I placed the nutrient-rich peel at the base of some bushes at the bus stop and was promptly read the littering riot act by a fellow rider. I picked the peel up and placed it 'where it belongs:' in a plastic trash bag on the bus where it'll still bio-degrade, but its benefits will be trapped in a plastic barrier, isolated in a landfill somewhere. Go Green(tm)! Don't litter.

This passive-aggressive moment has been fueled by Chiquita Bananas and The Roasterie coffee.

This never gets old.

FlashBak safety light

I've been using this since about the beginning of November. It can clip to a jersey, backpack, pannier or whatever.


Here's a video. Yeah. It's kind of bright.


Check out my full review on BikeCommuters.com.

Another November WTF

I took this a week ago, and didn't run into it until tonight.

First Snow!

Camera phone. I know.

Ripple Glass

RippleGlass bins are showing up all over the greater Kansas City area. Since the city itself doesn't have an easy-to-use glass recycling protocol, some local companies rallied together to make it a lot more convenient to recycle glass. While I have my reservations about the whole "green" thing, the benefits of easy glass recycling are many, and reach beyond saving the Earth. Namely: I'm hoping it helps reduce the amount of broken glass we cyclists must subject our tires to.

I was also happy to see my company's logo on them. This one showed up in the far corner of the parking lot northwest of the 11th and Wyandotte intersection, right near my office. This is cool, because even suburban commuters can throw a bag of bottles into their vehicles and easily drop them off on their way to work instead of how things used to work: Make a dedicated glass drop-off trip to some part of town you probably wouldn't otherwise visit.

Pretty nifty, if you ask me.

Cargo.

I had to snag something from CCCKC for a friend on my way home. Hey, I got some extra room on the road today. It was a whopping 2.5 pounds. I know, because I had to ship it. Heck, I'd almost be willing to lug this thing around all year long. I didn't even notice it, and had to look back a few times to make sure it was still back there.


I'm pretty sure the UPS guy who passed me was thinking "Jeez, FedEx is really cutting back!"


I could have done without this, though. I was okay, but this kind of glare makes it hard to see cyclists on the road.


I'm still awestruck that we're in the middle of November and we continue to have this kind of weather.

Random Tunage:
808 State - Olympic
Orbital - The Moebius

Repeat Weekend

Another spring-like November morning.


The wind out of the south was a fight, adding almost 20 minutes to my trip to church this morning. Well, and I was hauling a pannier full of canned goods and other stuff for a local food drive.

Of course, after jettisoning the ballast and getting a lot of help from the great tailwind:


I averaged about 19 MPH on the way home, and saw a brand new Nissan GT-R (R35) near Johnson County Air Center. That's a slick machine. About $90,000 worth.

Links

One for Warren, who has a thing about squirrels. Okay, so do I. Click the image for a full-on video of different angles. Via jwz.


A nifty automated high-density bike parking solution in Japan

Another overkill snow vehicle that's not a bicycle. Looks fun, no?

More Do-it-Yourself bicycle lighting

Eric uses the Tilt-Shift photo generator to shrink KC

A bicycle made of kegs. Yes, *those* kegs.

Dave mulls over attire and accessories for winter bike commuting in KC

How Colorado became "Bike Friendly"

That's all for today. Have a great weekend!

Tattoo. Kind of.

This is what happens when you have full panniers and take both hands off the bike at a stop. It falls over and rolls forward. When you lean into it to catch it, you get gouged.

It looks a lot less intense (and not nearly as cool) now that it's all cleaned off.

Random Tunage:
Junkie XL - Mushroom
Jerry Ropero - The Storm (Inpetto Remix)

Thought / rant: punctuality

Of all the ways to be inconsiderate to others, I find tardiness to be the most selfish. Unabashedly demanding your peers wait patiently on your behalf expresses the utmost of disrespect for their time, and a narcissistic exaltation of whatever it is that happens to hold you up. Isolated incidents are easy to forgive, but when this kind of behavior occurs repeatedly, I can't help but feel personally slighted.

To all of you constant late-runners out there: Pack the night before. Go to bed a bit earlier if you struggle with the snooze button. Keep some breakfast bars on hand and skip the Starbuck's and McDonald's. Put off your TV-, Internet-, or whatever-addiction for a few hours.

You might expect this rant to be related to my personal life or my office environment; It's not. Most of the people in my personal and professional life are both prompt and meticulous. This one has to do with transit, as one of "the regulars" has taken to showing up to the bus stop several minutes late -- almost daily -- while expecting the bus driver to stall. This morning, it was to the point of asking a friend that was already on the bus to see if the driver could hang out a few minutes longer than usual. I find this action particularly repulsive because one person's brazen conceit directly affected the punctuality of dozens of others. Many transit devotees have transfers to catch downtown, or expect to be in their offices at a specific time.

Fortunately, the bus eventually left without the person on board, but it was still 5 minutes later than usual. Yes, I could have spoken up and rattled the bus driver's cage. Instead, I'm going to be curmudgeonly passive-aggressive about it. I can only hope that one of the late-runner's friends has a chat about punctuality and manners sometime soon. I'm growing quite weary of untenable tardiness.

Turning this around, I did meet another occasional bike commuter on the bus this morning. John works for a local bank, and has a nice road bike that he's planning on riding all the way home this evening. John, if you see this, contact me. I have the perfect route to get you back home, using some roads that for some reason or another aren't on Google Maps yet.

November, huh?

Last night was chilly, as I was walking around my friend Don's neighborhood with his youngest kids while they went door-to-door trick-or-treating. It felt like a typical late October night, and there was a great harvest moon to match... not quite full, but close. Imagine my surprise this morning: I had to go outside to grab something, and the temperature had probably climbed 10 degrees overnight. I had to be at church around 10:00 this morning, and I couldn't bring myself to drive. I saddled up a little after 9:00 and took a modest pace for the 11-mile jaunt to church, thinking of a post on repurposed by Joey Haney. I haven't ridden to church in quite a while.



After church, I had to go to my parents' place in Stilwell, which is about 12 miles from church. Most of the ride to church and to my parents place was into wind about 10-15 MPH. My aunt and uncle were in town from Seattle, so we had a nice family meal with my sister and grandmother as well. Then it was time to come home. I pulled over next to Johnson County Executive Airport's VOR Ground Station (a type of directional radio broadcast that helps pilots navigate) to snap this one:


It figures that just as I put my camera away, a plane would take off almost right over the top of my bike. I missed that shot. I saw a total of five cyclists on the road today. I dropped one roadie northbound on Metcalf, got left in the dust behind two others on 159th, and saw two more cyclists going the other direction. It was about 73 degrees when I got home, and I had a great tailwind for most of the return trip. I couldn't even believe it. What a gorgeous day for some errands by bike!

Distance: 43.5mi
Rolling Time: 3h04m
Avg. Speed: 14.2 mph
Top Speed: 33.4 mph

Random Tunage:
The Postal Service - Brand New Colony
Way Out West - Call Me