What a flippin' wonderful day for a ride

Photo: I'm sneaking up on a herd of deer that are blocking my path.

I left home at about 6:00, figuring I'd ride to the 127th street trailhead of Indian Creek Trail, and ride it as far as I could by 7:00, turn around, and ride home, hopefully getting home around 8:00 which is about the time the sun is down around here.

I ended up winding through Warren T's stomping grounds. I think I got lost right around 7:00. I recall the trail is supposed to go a few miles into Missouri but shortly after crossing Nall (2 miles from the MO state line) I ran into a soccer park, where the trail made a big loop and turned me right back around. It was almost time to turn back anyways, so I just went with the flow, flipped my GPS over to the "Tracks" screen so I could follow my breadcrumbs back home.

Some guy on a mountain bike dropped me on the trail. Rule one of dropping someone is to make sure if you are going to cop an attitude, ride next to someone, give them 'the look' and then try to power off into the distance, make sure you can actually stay ahead. I didn't go into attack mode. I was already 16 miles deep in a 26-mile journey. I just kept my pace (about 14 mph). This guy stopped gaining ground on me about 200 yards ahead. Another 1/4 mile and he was losing ground on me and really sucking wind but we were on a flat stretch! I eventually caught up with him, and casually sauntered by with the industry standard "on your left". How delightfully childish of him.

Then... THEN!! These bugs -- I don't know what they were, baby mosquitoes perhaps -- they were EVERYWHERE by the time 7:30 rolled around. I had to squint my eyes, breathe only through my nose, and frequently blow what one might call "snot rockets" except there was more insect mass than mucous. I foraged onward with my head facing slightly down. My arms became engulfed in these critters and they sounded like light rain on my helmet as I breezed through clouds of swarming, gnat-like organisms.

I finished my ride out back on 127th street, just as I'd come to the trailhead. Back over the viaduct that is the middle leg of my morning commute. Back up Ridgeview. Back home.

Aside from the bizarre creatures I encountered (including the 200 pound variety that attempts to prove his superiority in vain) it was a very pleasant ride. Oh yes, and the trail detour through corporate woods, while paved, might as well be made of boulders. What a disaster!

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.

I have beaten last month's miles!

This evening, I was feeling really tired at work. I worked over lunch and got in at 7:00, so I didn't feel too bad about leaving a little before 4:00. I decided to rush to the bus, so I went to my bike in my work clothes, only to be greeted by torrential downpour. Speaking of which, I need to re-wipe my drivetrain off again tonight. So where was I again?

Oh yah, So I hopped on the first possible bus back to JCCC, which got me to the college a lot earlier than normal. I went up and said hi to some old colleagues that I used to work with until about a year and a half ago. I got some grub for the wife and I, changed out of my work clothes into my shorts and t-shirt, topped off my water bottle, and started my journey homeward, GPS mounted and recording my route and stats.

I decided to ride PAST Daily Dose, but I didn't have the time nor the desire to stop for a drink. I had to get home before 8:00 and it was already nearing 7:30. Supper provided plenty of fuel for the ride home, so an extra punch of carbs wasn't in the plan this evening. I kept riding the route I'd ride as if I were going home from Daily Dose. After all, I was there, pretty much at Daily Dose, and I was, in fact, going home from that location.

All in all I packed on a little more than 10 miles from the time I left work to the time I got home. The only rainy part was the half mile or so from my office to the bus stop. I'm officially at 154.4 miles for the month, 3.9 more than last month, and I plan on riding plenty more this week. Friday will probably be the weak day for me, but I might see if my dad wants to hit Indian Creek trail on Saturday to help me wrap up my miles for the month. I'll have about a 3-hour window to ride in, weather permitting. Sneaking 25-30 more miles in on the last day of the month sounds perfectly viable to me. We'll just have to see if myself and maybe my dad are up to the task.

Doing the math, if I ride the same circuit I did today for tomorrow and Thursday's commutes and put in an embarrassing 6 miles on Friday, 200 miles is amazingly a reasonable goal. I know it sounds like I'm obsessing over this silly 200 mile thing, but I'm very goal-oriented, almost to a fault. I was focusing on my commute-to-driving ratio before this, and I can't change that number drastically over a short period of time. There are only so many work days in a month. I can, however, control how many miles I put on, within reason.

If I can go 200 miles with only 19 days in the saddle, I may need to shoot for 300 miles in April :)

On Starbucks and coffee

I never thought I'd say this, but I guess I've come to actually respect Starbucks just a little.

I mean, yes, it's a gigantic corporate chain. Yes, they use quick push-button machines that make the same mix every time, requiring less skill to operate than more traditional ways of making espresso-mixed drinks. No, their stuff isn't the BEST I've ever had. All of these are very good reasons to stay away from the place, especially if there's an independent coffee shop nearby that makes consistantly tastier drinks.

But, I'll give them this... Their employees are usually friendly, the place is always clean, they use Fair Trade certified products, and their drinks are (because of methods mentioned above) consistently the same, every time, unless the operator (whom I still kinda refuse to call a 'barista') isn't paying attention. And you know what? Their mocha is a wee bit on the bland side, but every time, it almost hits the spot. Starbucks' Sumatra is a very tasty brewed coffee. They're not all bad, but some blends of their brewed coffee are flat-out rancid. I feel the same way about some of the local roasters, though, so I can't complain too much.

In the end, I don't know why I had as much hostility against Starbucks as I did. I can tell you that I really, really miss working at JCCC and getting the most mind-bogglingly-tasty quad-shot venti Mocha in the western hemisphere when Sandy was on the clock. I can also tell you that I'd still rather kick it at The Daily Dose, or Broadway Cafe than Starbucks any time.

Oh yeah. This is a blog about bicycle commuting, too.
I woke up later than I wanted to. My alarm went off at 5:30 and I didn't snap out of my coma until close to 6:00. I was up way too late playing a rematch of Monopoly with my wife, who finally got her revenge against me.

I was weak as hell this morning, pulling off about 12 MPH average. I didn't put on that many miles yesterday, so it must have been the lack of sleep. As you can imagine, I went to Starbucks on my way to work this morning, where I was able to ponder my almost daily routine.

One last thing. Not that any of you noticed, but I had been getting pretty lazy about tagging and categorizing my blog posts lately. I went through and labeled all of my old posts. Last night's post was my 150th post! This darned blog is getting to be quite the bizarre autobiography.

The monday night flat tire

What the heck is going on?! I ended up with a goat-head thorn slow leak from some point in my trip today. I didn't notice it until I was unloading the bike when I got home and the rear tire didn't have as much spring as usual as I set it down.

This is really grating on me. Day in and day out for the last 6 months, I've had one flat with these tires until last Monday. 2 flats in two weeks. Grr!

I used my new Park Tool pre-glued patch kit that I got last week. It looks like it'll hold well. It's worth mentioning that this was a brand new tube. Instead of swapping it out like I would if I was on the road when I noticed it, I just patched it and put it all back together.

The grime on the wet roads was also going to take its toll on my drivetrain, so I took the opportunity to wipe everything down and re-lube the chain. I should be ready to face whatever tomorrow throws at me.

Wakey wakey!

So, I took two naps Sunday, one right after I got home around 4:00am until 8:00am when it was time to leave for church (I run any or all of video, slides, sound, and lights on any given Sunday morning). After that, I went to lunch with my parental units, then went home and took another nap for a while. I got to bed around 1:00am this morning, was awake off and on, and finally got out of bed at 5:30.

I tossed on my new bike shorts, loaded up the bike, and hit the road at about 5:50, landing me at the bus stop just in time to see the 6:00 bus heading on down the road. So then I stood around the bus stop for about 10 minutes waiting for it to show up. It's tradition for someone to bring goodies in on Monday for our staff meeting, so I'm bringing bagels to work for pretty much my entire floor. To facilitate this, I moved the rear rack off my mountain bike onto the Outlook, and loaded up the duffel sack I usually take with me for groceries, packed with bagels (in bags!), cream cheese, and plastic knives galore. The duffel is strapped down sideways to my rear rack. It's quite a sight, and must look a little odd, as I left it strapped securely to my bike as I loaded it onto the front of the bus.

Weather permitting, I plan on hitting the monday night recovery ride yet again. I doubt I'll be able to get 200 miles in this month, which was my semi-official goal for myself going into March before the wreck. But, I'm less than 30 miles away from beating February's miles, which I still thought wouldn't be possible. If I just pull off another 5-day commute week, I'll match last month's 150 miles. If I do the ride tonight, and ride a little more this week, I stand a good chance of getting close to 180 miles. Heck, maybe even 200 if I really push it.

I know 200 miles in a month is small potatoes to some people, but I'm trying to set realistic goals for myself.

Another fun weekend

I needed a haircut badly. I decided to burn some calories on my bike in this wonderful weather (72 Degrees, mostly sunny but very windy). I also needed to hose off my Outlook in the worst way. I rode it to the coin-op carwash and used the no-pressure setting to get it cleaned up, then off to get my mop chopped.

After I got my hair cut, I decided to swing by Dick's Sporting Goods to see if their cycling apparel section has gotten any better since spring is back. Lo and behold I find a lone pair of Cannondale mountain bike shorts with a padded liner in my size (Ginormous). I picked them up. I'm still not big on the "road cyclist" look, but I don't have any decent shorts for riding in, and with the weather warming up, it's about time I stop wearing jeans.

So, 5 miles of errands. Not bad. As I ride past Renner (a mile from home) though, something calls me northbound. I think it was the wind, as it was coming out of the southwest. Regardless, I veered north because I really wasn't ready to stop pedaling in one mile. So I rode, and rode, and rode some more. I got a new top speed record for the Outlook, too: 41.0 MPH! I kept going, up to 95th street, then west, into the blistering wind once again. Down a long hill, up another long hill, all the way to the new Falcon Ridge area, where I stopped at a convenience store on Woodland for a water refill.

Riding south on Woodland was such a pain in the butt. The wind was even stronger out of the south than from the west, and Woodland is basically stretches of 6-8% uphill separated by 2-3% downhill runs. With the wind, though, it was like riding a 3-mile solid stretch of 3-15% uphill.

My 5 mile errand run turned into almost 19 miles of pain and suffering, but it hurts so good!

More fun this weekend: I go in tonight at 11pm till 4am for server maintenance again. This is the 3rd weekend of this crap in a row, but at least I'm being compensated well for my job. Such is the life of an IT geek. Then, I get to go to church in the morning to run video and sound. I'm gonna be such a zombie on Monday.

Also, I'd like to welcome Sirrus Rider to the blogosphere, who's fighting the good fight, bicycle commuting and blogging out of Houston. Bicycle Commute Houston. It's cool to see the differences and similarities that my commute has to others across the USA (which is arguably one of the most cyclist-hostile of all developed, civilized nations).

Recap:
18.6 miles instead of 5.
Got my hair cut
New bike shorts (woot!)
New lard speed record (41.0 MPH)
Long work week, lots of stuff to do
A new friend in the blogosphere.

Mac Luv

Over lunch, I took some pictures and ended up liking how this one came out. I actually turned it into a MacBook-resolution (1200x800) wallpaper that you can download here:

MacBook Wallpaper

Well, I made it!

My first five-day bike commute week, probably ever, but at least for 2007.

As I suspected, the roads were moist and my wheels were flinging water on me most of the way. I made it in 11 minutes again, too, leaving shortly after 6 and making it in plenty of time for the 6:15 bus.

I have weekend server maintenance tomorrow from 11pm until 4am Sunday but I'm going to try to VPN it if my boss lets me. If not, I probably won't count it as a "drive" day because it's not my usual shift. Matter of fact, one of my neighbors might be working too, so I may see if he'd like to car pool. It's kind of odd, I live almost 30 miles away from work, but about 7% of the people that work on my floor live within a few miles of me. Their schedules are radically different, however, and aren't usually conducive to car pooling.

Fun evening!

I started by grabbing some Greek for my wife and I, then headed off to Daily Dose for some coffee, a game of scrabble with Bible Study friends, a nice dry martini and a cinnamon roll.

Total, about 8 miles tonight. Sprinkles kicked back up again, but no serious rain tonight either. Lightning is in the air, but the radar looks pretty much clear to the west. Hopefully I'll just have to deal with moist pavement in the morning.

No pics tonight, my camera's batteries are dead. Which reminds me, so are the batteries in one of my rear blinkies. Off to charge some cells, then off to bed! This could be my first 5-day bike commute week of the year. Hopefully, it's one of many to come.

Lime safety vest plus backpack. Impossible? NO!

The lime vest, or the backpack? It was, quite literally, an either-or deal for me.

Since I have as many as three blinking lights on the back of my bike at any given time, and loads of reflective material, I usually choose the backpack. It's got enough room for my laptop and all my work clothes. Otherwise, I have to plan strategically and take extra clothes to work ahead of time.

Well, this morning, the air was foggy and the rain was starting to come down. I wanted the versatility of a backpack even though I have a pair of "just in case" dress pants at work, next to the dress shoes I leave in my drawer, but I knew I needed the vest without question.

With two little velcro straps, I attached the shoulders of the vest to the carry strap on the "against the back" part of my backpack. I could have strapped it to the shoulder straps too, but this was a little more secure.

I'm happy to report that it worked flawlessly!

I made it to the bus stop this morning in about 11 minutes, which is basically a new record for me. I just about bonked because I was really hammering on it, even on the hills. The rain was gentle and nice. It had started sprinkling just as I left home, and was a gentle trickle by the time I got to the bus. I don't really like the rain, but this morning it wasn't bad at all.

I made a mistake today...

I rode a Trek 1200 and X0 today while waiting for Kevin at Bike America to re-assemble my Outlook. This just cemented my desire for a decent road or cyclocross bike. I'm so stupid. And hooked.

Anyhow, I need to put my new chain on my Outlook, because my original one is already toast. Most of the noise was from my chain, but they tossed some new bearings into my BB as well. I'll give it another shakedown run tonight after I swap chains. The Sorrento wasn't too bad this morning, I think all the miles I've been putting on are helping me a bit. Today I kind of wimped out on mileage, with too many things to do and no good way to transport two bikes around town. Tomorrow should be a bit better.

Old vs. New

Not that it makes me any less ugly, but here are the results from last night's dental work.









Anyhow, this morning, the sky is overcast with breaks of clear. It sounds like it's going to continue raining, but it was a really great morning for a ride. Almost 60 degrees, no fog or mist, just great riding weather. I'm kind of hoping the clear parts of the sky take over, because I had enough mud and rain yesterday to last me the week (even though it wasn't that much)

New teeth, MUP for travel, and mechanical failure...

So, a wreck on I-35 northbound set my bus back about half an hour. Actually, it set my bus back about an hour, but it delayed a bus that normally passes through before I'm off work long enough that I ended up waiting half an hour to catch that one. I was late (by minutes) to my dentist appointment but I had my wife call and let them know ahead of time.

I have teeth now. Not real ones. My two front teeth look almost the same as my original teeth, but they're thick and dull-shaped, and I still can't use them for biting off chunks of food like most normal people would. They look good, but they're still very sensitive to cold.

I decided to try something I've never done before. I hopped on the Indian Creek trail, which I've only ridden a few sections of, and used it for transportation, not recreation. I used it to get me from 135st street in Olathe, up to JCCC so I could show off my teeth for my wife. No more than a mile after I've been on the trail (about 3 miles away from the dentist), I notice some grinding going on. It's not gear or chain grinding, either. It's only when the crank is under a load, not when it's spinning slower than the bike is going.

I backed off a bit, but the noise kept getting worse and worse. I could feel it through my cleats, too. I limped the bike to JCCC (about 6 miles total after I noticed the damage) and took it to my bike shop. They think it's a bottom bracket. I think they're right. We'll see what they find tomorrow, I got my bike there just before closing time.

So, tomorrow I am back on the Sorrento. Did I mention I like spares? A spare bike is a great thing to have! I just hope they have my Outlook fixed up tomorrow. It's been spoiling me lately.

Muh teef!

Well, today's the day I got in to get work started on my teeth. I woke up pretty late, but still rode my bike and caught the 7:15 bus. On my south to east to north bike ride, I was mysteriously riding into the wind the entire time. Don't know how that happened, but it wasn't fun. Not much else this morning. My bus is almost downtown, so I've gotta keep it quick!

Group ride madness

Well, I went to the group ride tonight. A lot of people showed up, maybe 30 or so? Anyhow, I ended up getting a flat about a mile away from the end of the trip. Thanks to the LocalCycling/Trek Store jersey-wearing folks (whose names I still don't know) for stopping and lending me a hand.

Fortunately, I had everything with me that I needed to get back on the road. The guys just made it go faster, and made sure I knew my way back to the shop. Their help was really appreciated. We found a construction staple in my tire, cleared it, and I replaced the inner tube with my spare. When I got back to the shop, I patched my old inner tube, rolled it back up, and tossed it in my seat bag. I love having spares. I'll need to buy a new patch kit soon, though. I'm down to one patch left, and the glue's lid is cracked, so the glue might be hard to get out of the tube next time I need it.

10.4 miles total tonight. Not a bad trip.

Lunch errands

I had to deposit a check at my bank, then swung by the library to renew one of my books, and grabbed some of their wonderful pizza for lunch. The first pic was kind of crooked but I like how it turned out.

I've never seen the other bikes at the library before. Between all the housing less than a mile away at Quality Hill, and all the lofts that are going in around here, I'd put money on these bikes belonging to people that live pretty close. If I lived downtown, I'd probably never use my car unless I had to go to the suburbs. My bike has proven time and time again that it's as fast, if not faster than a car when it comes to navigating downtown.

Picking up speed

Photo: tooling up 11th street between coffee and work this morning. Sorry for the blurry shot, when it's dark, the exposure time is going to be long, and you can't keep a camera still on a moving bike.

Inset: GPS screenshot of my average speed to the bus.

It was a definite change of pace this morning. First off, it was almost 60 degrees and a bit muggy when I took off for work. I left at 6:00 sharp and made it to the bus with a considerably higher average speed than I had on Friday. I took the 6:15 bus, which I haven't ridden since back in early December, and that's only because it was very, very icy and I left a lot earlier than I needed to. This morning, I just left after I took my shower, and didn't really care which bus I got to.

It's supposed to be really rainy this week. This is my challenge to myself. I'm not going to let rain do me in. Enough being a pansy. I may take a few shortcuts (such as getting off the bus a mile from where my wife works, then riding home with her, for example) but I'm going to try to keep it up.

Depending on weather, etc, I still may hit the recovery ride tonight. I'm hurting for miles this month. Saturday helped get me back into the swing of things, but I could really use another 15-25 mile day this week to somewhat offset nearly two weeks out of the saddle.

Finally... I go in to get work started on my broken teeth tomorrow. I don't hate going to the dentist, per se, however, I have a feeling that this is going to HURT. :( On the bright side, the dentist's office is just a few miles from my place, so I plan on riding my bike there. If they drug me up, I'll just camp out for a while until I am good to go.

Streamway Park ride

I finally got a good solid block of miles in with my friend Tim. Oddly enough, I met Tim through a car club about 4 years ago. I've posted his picture before, and he's the one that got me into going to the Monday night recovery rides at the Trek store. We decided to go for a spin on the northern 3/4 of the Mill Creek Streamway Park.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Streamway Park, it's a long strip of land containing (among other things) a paved multi-use path that's probably about 15 miles from one end to the other. For the most part, it follows Mill Creek. The southern-most end is near my apartment but it's closed a mile or two up the way. The northern-most end of the trail is on an island out in the Kansas River. Along the way, there are a few other access points -- parking lots with picnic areas where one can start walking or riding either direction. It ties in with a few other smaller paths and trails along the way, as well, including some horse trails and Shawnee Mission Park.

We got on at the 95th street access point, and went north. I'd only ridden about a mile past the point where we got on, and that was with my dad back in November, shortly after I got my Sorrento. From our entrance point to the end of the trail was almost precisely 10 miles. The photo was taken at the very end of the path, out on the island.

About halfway between the entrance we used and the end of the path, there's a stretch, I'd say about a mile and a half worth, of relentless hills. Well, 3/4 mile uphill and 3/4 mile downhill, give or take. Either way, once I got to the apex of the course (both times, going out and coming back) I just about wished I was dead. I didn't bonk. I didn't even have to dismount and stop, but I did have to spin in "True Granny(tm)" mode for a good part of it. Bottom gear, small chainring, 2 miles per hour.

The wind was out of the south the whole time. As Streamway spends a lot of time winding through very mildly-hilled prarie land, the wind gets a chance to really get up to speed. By the time I got back to our starting point, I'd had just about enough of the wind.

All in all, it was a really fun ride that let me pack on some more miles this month, as well as getting my butt used to being back in the saddle. Total distance was 20.3 miles.

More information: Mill Creek Streamway Park

Mmmm Thai Food!

My wife is going to kill me, because Thai -- especially Thai from Lulu's -- gives me a severe case of the ol' halitosis. But it's sooooooooo tasty.

It's still darn near freezing outside, too. I can handle it, but I'd rather ride in nice 60-70 degree weather.

Slowness

Photo: Satellites don't lie (often). 11.2 MPH average this morning. Yuck.

No near fall-overs. About 14 minutes to get to the bus, and I almost missed my 6:30. The bus driver started driving off while I was riding up to it. I rode along side the bus for about 100 feet, trying to flag down the driver. Had he failed to stop, I would have just short-cut through the parking lot to the stoplight and got on there.

I'm digging the clipless pedals and my new kicks. One thing that's cheesing me off is the fact that it was right at freezing this morning (I knew it would be) but I couldn't find my balaclava last night or this morning. No clue where it went. I did something (kind of) bad and wore a thin stocking cap under my helmet to keep my ears warm, but my face suffered a bit. Why couldn't I have been riding earlier this week when it was 50-60 in the morning!?

Anyhow, it's official. I'm back on the bike. My Commute ratio has fallen from 2.8 or so, down to 1.55. Today will bring it up to 1.6. I'm going to stop worrying about the ratio for the time being, it'll just get me down. My spreadsheet will continue to track it, but I will sit here silently and watch while I try to get back back up to my goal of 3.0. My current goal will be to stay diligent through spring rain and storms to try to maintain no less than 4 bike days per week on a weekly basis (no riding 5 days one week, 3 the next.) The reason I post these goals and make my cycling log spreadsheet open to the public is so that I can be held accountable for it.

I don't care if you guys actually do hold me accountable, or even if you view my cycling log to check up on me. The fact that at any time someone COULD look at it is probably enough motivation to keep me on the straight and narrow.

It's good to be back! Now to get my legs used to moving again...

That was refreshing!

Photo: me kicking back with a nice room-temperature bottle of water after doing a shakedown run. Cold water still hurts my broken teeth.

As you can see, my hybrid acquired knobbies. Bike America STILL hasn't gotten my cassette in yet. Ready to try my new pedals, I just swapped the wheels off my Sorrento. I am planning on riding to the bus tomorrow.

New gear:
Shimano MT20 shoes. They're tasteful enough to not make me look out of place in a grocery store or coffee shop, plus the cleats are really, really recessed.

Bell Solar Helmet. Really feels like it wraps around my head. I tried several different helmets today at two different bike shops. I walked to river market cyclery over lunch (2-3 mile round trip) and tried on a bunch there, and swung by Bike America after I got home. I settled for this helmet because it looks like it will last quite a while and it's comfortable yet really snug (not tight) on my head once I got it all adjusted. The color doesn't match either of my bikes, but I'm not going for a fashion statement, and my other helmet didn't match anything either.

I'm still getting used to the whole clipless thing. I made sure I had lots of practice (and got my tension dialed in) before I even thought about going outside.

woot!

The doctor gave me the all clear. My paycheck's already been direct deposited as well, so it looks like tomorrow I go helmet n' shoe shopping.

They're Baaaaaaaaaaaack!

... Two- and Three-Season commuters, that is. With temps in the seventies here yesterday, I wasn't the least bit surprised to see a few cyclists out and about. The trend isn't just in KC, though. Bike commute blogs (such as A Midnight Rider in Mass.) are starting to come back to life with commuting stories as well.

I'm getting anxious about my doctor's appointment today. I'm kind of afraid that I already know how long the doc will tell me to stay off the bike, and it's probably somewhere in the mid-to-late part of April. I'm hoping it's a lot sooner than that. This nice weather is making me want to cry, literally.

My pedals came off!

... and my new Shimano PD-M505's went on! Too bad I have no shoes to mount the cleats on, no helmet to wear while riding, and no rear wheel on this bike!

This could be a pretty big week for me. Wednesday, I have my follow-up appointment with the Ear/Nose/Throat doc. He's going to go over my CT Scan imagery and probably examine my sinuses. I fully intend on asking when I can get back in the saddle.

The bike shop manager apologized for the delay on my cassette today, and said it will be ready to go by Thursday. Thursday is also pay day, which means if the doc gives me the all clear to ride, I'll probably pick up my cycling shoes and a new helmet at the same time as I pick up my rear wheel and brand spankin' new cassette. I already have a brand new chain to go with it, so the Outlook should be STYLIN' by Friday. Here's hoping my ol' noggin is up to the task. Only the doctor knows.

In other news, I was greeted with this wonderful sight Sunday afternoon when I finally awoke from my working-overnight coma. I must have run over something malevolent on my 4:00AM trip home from work after the daylight saving time thing. I had to spend about 30 minutes in the rain yesterday putting the crummy baby spare on my car so that I could at least get to the bus stop today. It will work for a while. There's a road bike on craigslist right now that would cost me about the same amount of money I'll spend replacing this damned tire. Arrgh.

Finally, it was so nice out when I got off work today. It had to be close to 70 degrees. I snapped this picture of the towers atop Bartle Hall while I was walking to my bus.

Yet another reson I'd like to work at the Googleplex

Full story via NYTimes

Google’s Buses Help Its Workers Beat the Rush

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — The perks of working at Google are the envy of Silicon Valley. Unlimited amounts of free chef-prepared food at all times of day. A climbing wall, a volleyball court and two lap pools. On-site car washes, oil changes and haircuts, not to mention free doctor checkups.

...

But the biggest perk may come with the morning commute.

The company now ferries about 1,200 employees to and from Google daily — nearly one-fourth of its local work force — aboard 32 shuttle buses equipped with comfortable leather seats and wireless Internet access. Bicycles are allowed on exterior racks, and dogs on forward seats, or on their owners’ laps if the buses run full.

Lucky bastids. I actually had an interview with them not long ago, but they were seeking someone with more programming experience than I have. Oh well. Maybe one of these days.

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.

Time for a new brain bucket

So, my last helmet was old and just a little tight on me. Now it's not only old and a little undersized, it's broken as well. I had been considering a new helmet for a while prior to my accident, but now I'm thinking more seriously about it.

Originally, I was thinking about a budget helmet like the Bell Influx or Giro Havoc, but now I'm really considering something with full-face protection.

A friend of mine pointed out the MET Parachute which appears to offer some chin and face protection without being big, heavy, and stuffy. Other, more traditional extreme-sport full-face helmets like the Specialized Deviant and Pro-tec ACE Fullface appear to be heavy, hot, and really uncomfortable, while sacrificing peripheral vision.

Right now, I'm confused. My wife wants me to get a really good helmet and she's hinted that something with full-face coverage would make her a lot more comfortable with my cycling habit. If mama ain't happy, I ain't happy.

All cyclists look like dweebs, with or without helmets, to most drivers. Is there a reason (besides fashion) that full-face helmets aren't more common? Has anyone used a good full-face helmet? Any product suggestions that are under $150? I could really use some help.

127th Street Widening - Meeting Tonight

I swear I'm not becoming one of those anti-car, bicycle activist zealots.

But this is really important. As you probably know, I ride my bike over the new 127th street bridge almost daily (or at least I did before I busted my face, and I will again once I heal up). Also, I usually take 127th home from the Daily Dose or JCCC, in which I have to navigate the stretch of road in question. 127th between Mur-Len and Pflumm is only one lane in each direction. The eastern half of this stretch of road is particularly treacherous because it's hilly and curvy which makes it hard to see far ahead. The road also has rough shoulders that are not suitable for walking or cycling on, and until right before you get to the Indian Creek MUP, there's no sidewalk either. At night, to top it off, it's poorly lit. This is a serious problem area. East of Pflumm (Overland Park city limits), 127th is very wide, well-lit, and friendly to cycle on, as well as having wide sidewalks on either side.

The first phase, between Mur-Len and Black Bob, isn't quite as scary to ride on, but it's less than ideal. With 127th street being one mile north and south of two busy roads, it's far enough out of the way to keep hurried highway-bound motorists away while still bridging a huge gap between western Olathe and Overland Park. The potential is so great, but the bottlenecks on 127th make it unattractive.

If you're in the area, I encourage you to show up tonight and voice your opinion. Eric from KCBike.Info said that there's a good chance that people who live near the stretch of road will likely show up to rally against the city widening the road near their homes. In that respect, no one likes construction noise, but growing pains are to be expected in suburbia; It comes with the turf. I'm all for keeping the speed limit at or below 35 MPH to reduce traffic noise, danger to pedestrians, children, and cyclists as well. I think this plan could really work well, but only if they have good input.

I plan on attending.

Public Meeting:
Thursday, November 7, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Indian Creek Library, 12990 Black Bob Road, Olathe, KS

Story on KCBike.Info

Improve127th.com - with maps and information on the project, its meetings, timeline and goals.

MO Bike Federation - Urgent! Advocates needed for Rt. 150

MO Bike Fed - Route 150 Advocacy. Mo Bike Fed needs your help, especially if you live or ride on the MO side of state line. I have family and friends that live along the Route 150 corridor, and this project interests me quite a bit. Make it count. We're encouraged to write something on our own, but they provide a default message that gets the point across. This was my submission:

To whom it may concern,

As a bicycle commuter that uses a mix of bicycles on public roads as well as mass transit while living in KS and working in MO, the current plans for Route 150 interest me a great deal. I was recently run off the road in a "bike friendly" city and can tell you that no amount of "share the road" signs would have saved me from breaking my face and teeth on the pavement yesterday. If the road doesn't directly accommodate non-motorized transportation, cyclists will be at risk.

This may be as simple as a combination of traffic calming, bicycle lanes, very wide outer lanes and lower speed limits. With the area in question growing as fast as it is, and with fuel prices remaining lofty, non-motorized transportation is here to stay. It's practical, healthy, and it should also be enjoyable.

While sidewalks and a sidepath are a good start, I urge the committee to explore options that facilitate vehicular cycling along Route 150 as a feasible, enjoyable and safe option.

If signs do go up conveying the fact that bicycles have the right to use the whole lane, then I would expect proper traffic enforcement to be provided, because signs like that are usually ignored by hurried motorists unless the consequences are visible and grave. I have the scar tissue to prove it.

-via KCBike.Info

HEY YOU GUYS!!!

I just thought this picture was relevant and tastelessly funny.

Oh yah, I made a new smily face too. Like it?

I'll probably drive to the bus stop in the morning. I thought I'd probably take the day off tomorrow, too, but I have too much stuff to do this week.

Run off the road this morning - I broke my face!

Photo: Yes, I realize I look a little dee duh dee in the picture. Stuff is swollen and I'm not feeling too great.

I was riding my bike to the bus stop as usual this morning, when a GMC pickup changed lanes into me and forced me off the road and into the curb. I lost control and flew off my bike, landing on my face.

Carnage:

Two facial fractures, one causing massive bleeding in my sinuses

big ol' scrape and goose egg on my chin

2 chipped teeth

2 broken-off teeth (stumps)

goose egg right above my right eye (helmet slipped upwards a bit)

No concussion, and the bike is just fine. I was RIGHT AT the bus stop when this happened. I didn't get the plate numbers and only one person stopped and asked if I needed an ambulance. I rode back home and had the wife take me to the E.R. since she was home.

I'm probably gonna be off the bike for a while.

Weekend Recap

Photo: The warcycle, armed to the teeth with high-tech gear for discovering and hijacking defenseless wireless networks along my route. Notice the two long-range, high-gain antennae. The "guts" of this rig (a Garmin eTrex yellow and an HP Jornada 720 computer with high-power 200mW 802.11B/G adapter) are in the handlebar bag. If this is all greek to you, I'm sure you can appreciate the 24-ounce can of ultra-caffeinated JOLT Cola sitting in the seat-tube bottle cage.

Friday, I rode to the 2600 meeting from the nearest bus stop. 2600 is an informal gathering of people that are typically very, very nerdy. The meetings themselves have evolved out of the telephone and computer hacking culture, but these days, it's mostly a chance to hang out and talk to fellow nerds.

I ended up car pooling around town with my friends afterwards, and came and got my bike when we were all done. I was surprised to find that someone had strapped a $10 mall gift card to my bike. I'm not sure if it was just someone who appreciates environmentally conscious transportation, or what.

Saturday, I would have liked to have partaken in CommuterDude's ride, but my Outlook still isn't fixed. There was another dusting of snow Saturday morning, too. I drove kind of backwards of CommuterDude's map and found them on Renner. I waved, but I doubt any of them know me, and I didn't get a chance to see if Tim was in the pack. He would have been the only one who could have recognized me. All of four were riding, brave souls they be...

I'm not sure when my Outlook will be ready, but I probably won't be able to pick up my wheel until at least Tuesday even if they get it fixed tomorrow. I'm still tentatively planning on making the Monday night recovery ride tomorrow, but I'll be on the mountain bike this time.

I did ride...

And I was quicker than I've been in a while, despite being on the Sorrento. I was really hammering on it for a good part of the trip. It was a smidge below freezing this morning and I woke up a lot later than I wanted to, leaving me less than half an hour to get ready and get TO the bus stop in time for the last bus, which could be one reason I was riding so hard today.

I tricked out the sorrento a bit, pics forthcoming this evening. I figured I'd do it up nerdy since it was going to make an appearance at 2600. It took me till almost 2:00AM to find all the pieces that I needed to make it work. That's probably why I slept so late. Oops.

The Outlook's in the shop...

Well, the Outlook's actually inverted in my kitchen, missing the rear wheel. I took the rear wheel in for a new cassette this evening but they have to special order the part. The Outlook is out of commission probably until Sunday or Monday at the earliest. I am PLANNING on riding my Sorrento tomorrow DESPITE the fact that it doesn't sound like my wife has any intention of meeting me anywhere or helping me get home. I'm kind of hoping she changes her mind, because otherwise I'm in for a heck of a ride - Not because it's 8 miles, but because I'll be riding a bike to 2 different locations to meet people who will be traveling via car. Then I'll get home really late.

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.

Option 5.

I did option 5. Oh, there weren't 5 options?

I rode my bike a mile through the HAIL! Then put it on the bike rack and drove to the coffee shop until my wife gets off work.

New Toy

I picked up an Omron heart rate monitor (with remote display on the watch) last night. I've seen the same get-up at sporting goods stores for $60 or so, and it was half that price in the pharmacy area of the grocery store.

With spring on the way, I am planning on riding a lot more and figured this would be a worthwhile investment. Plus, it's a gadget and I love gadgets.

This morning's ride was a little chilly. It was low 40's but I decided not to wear any ear cover. That was a bad idea. My core stayed plenty warm, though, through my half-unzipped windbreaker. My peak heart rate was about 170 (my MHR is 192) which I think is pretty high for the level of activity I was doing. I've always known my resting rate was pretty good. Last night after relaxing for about 5 minutes, my RHR stabilized at 51. It's my guess that it drops into the 40's while I'm asleep.

The forecast calls for rain, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do after work yet. I have to ride to JCCC after I get some supper, but from there, depending on weather, I have a few options:

Go to Daily Dose for some coffee, then back to JCCC about the same time my wife gets off work (then haul the bike home on the rack)

Go to Daily Dose for some coffee, then go home.

Ride straight home.

Put the bike on the rack and haul it home, then go back and pick up my wife a few hours later.

If it's really pouring, I'll probably wimp out and do the last option. I don't really feel like getting soaked, nor do I feel like ruining my MacBook if water gets in my backpack.

Thank you, drive through!

I ended up coming almost straight home from JCCC after partaking in some Greek food with my wife. One final task awaited me: The Pharmacy.

I decided to ride my bike through the drive-through. After all, the prescription was called in and waiting, I had my debit card ready to go, and why park my bike, walk all the way to the back of the store, all the way back around front, and hop back on my bike? Sure, this is the same logic that millions of lazy Americans use anywhere there's a drive-up window. I'll pretend I'm exempt from that because technically I just put six hilly miles on a bicycle just to get to that drive-up window.

I was kind of hoping for a reaction but I got nothing. Talk about a let-down! I've taken my bike through the bank drive-through as well, where I got some wierd looks but no questions asked. One of these days I'm kind of hoping to get challenged on the basis that most drive-through windows don't accept pedestrians just so that I can counter them with the fact that I'm piloting a street legal, road-going vehicle. Either that or I'd make vrooming and sputtering noises and ask if they like my "hog".

That's neither here nor there. I suppose I'll just remain content that I'm enjoying all the benefits (with the exception of speed) of driving a vehicle without actually wasting money on gasoline and expensive car parts that are prone to failure. I'd rather cough up $25 for a "transmission overhaul" (cassette replacement) for my bike than cough up $1,000 for a new transmission for my car.

Have any of you tried this? What have your results been?

By the way, when I filled out my commute log today, I realized that I've blown past my commute/drive ratio goal of 2.2 for the end of this month. I'm really wanting to hit 3.0 cumulative. If I don't drive to work again until March 8th, I will hit 3.0, but from that point on, one single day of driving will set me back a few days from my goal. Technically, my usual 4-day bike-commute week would be a 4.0 C/D ratio but I'm fighting against 11 days of driving to the bus stop (or to work) so far. It would take 11 weeks of 5-day bike commuting to get me to 4.0.

A nice slow ride to work

I left home about 10 minutes before my usual bus leaves. The fastest I've ever made it to the bus stop is 12 minutes. After putting on more than 25 miles yesterday, I didn't see making it to the bus in 10 minutes as a plausible goal. I also had to do some after-hours server maintenance last night, which got me to bed around 1:00 AM.

So, the next bus I could catch was 25 minutes out. I took it really easy on the way to the bus. It was a nice change of pace. Temps were in the high 20's, and I stayed plenty warm, with my hoodie on under my windbreaker. I'd usually just have a t-shirt and windbreaker for this stuff, but I was thankful for the extra warmth since I wasn't working as hard or getting as hot.

I'll probably take the bus to JCCC then ride to the Dose tonight before heading home.

Oh yeah, I also velorouted a potential route between work and home. I might have to drive it to make sure it's safe, but it looks like a winner from the satellite view.

That was a fun ride!

As you know, I rode about a mile to the Trek store (a little further once you count getting coffee and going back there). We wandered around all over the place on the Recovery Ride for about an hour, and it was a good time with more new (to me) faces. Finally, there was another cyclist that wasn't on a road bike, but I'm still the only newbie using platform pedals.

After the ride, some of the people helped me plan a route to get back to JCCC. I ended up taking Nieman to Marshall through some residential/industrial areas. As it turns out, that whole stretch is basically a low-traffic frontage road for Interstate 35. I took that to Pflumm and crossed under I-35 that way, down to College Blvd and east. It was a really easy-going trip. Nieman's a bit torn up through the industrial areas, but there was a lot of speed to be had, with some really fun curves. It's definitely a great way to get further south from the Shawnee Mission Parkway corridor.

In true Noah form, I Velorouted my adventure tonight:

Click here for map

Getting Coffee. Kind Of. Redux

I'm suspecting my cassette is going out on the Outlook. I'm experiencing a wierd slipping issue in my top gear out back and it's getting worse gradually. Remember, it's wearing the rolling stock that came on my Sorrento which definitely had quite a bit of (ab)use before I purchased it. The cassette was already kind of rusty and chewed up and as far as I can tell it's part of the Sorrento's original equipment.

So, my bus got me to within a mile of the bike shop and I swung by to price a cassette real quick. About $25 for the cassette and $10 for installation. I could make a chain whip myself and do it that way, but I'd bet Bike America will do the install for free, especially since I'm looking at buying another Sram powerlink chain and some other assorted goodies. Given the fact that it's warming up in Kansas City, though, I'd bet any shop I go to will have a few days worth of backlog as people are blowing the dust off their bikes, getting them lubed and tuned.

Fair-weather cycling. What a tragedy. :P

I'm currently sitting at Scooter's Coffee House drinking a not-quite-great Mocha to get some carbs and caffeine in before the 6:30 ride. Okay, I'm also here for the free WiFi that doesn't burn the batteries out on my cell phone.

On a "by the way" note, I am starting to see more bike commuters downtown. The guy on the Revive recumbent is back out in full force, and there's a guy I spot every once in a while that locks his bike up near Starbucks who I saw again this morning. The only commuter I know of who braved the entire winter with me was the gentleman that rides the Trek 820 to the Central Library. Whenever I rode past the library, I either saw him riding or saw his bike locked up. I'm not saying no other bike commuters braved downtown over the winter, but I didn't see anyone else regularly.

Still out of shape

I verified this morning that I'm still out of shape. I attempted twice to really hammer it, and I'm unable to sustain serious power output for more than maybe a minute at a time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not slow like a 5 year old that's going for a bike stroll, but I'm not fast at all. I really should break down and buy a pair of computers for my bikes.

The first time I really got on it was less than 1/4 mile into my ride. There's a pretty significant hill just south of where I live, and I always end up spinning slowly in the second or third gear of my middle chainring to get up it at a snail's pace. This time, I picked up the pace in my top gear on the downhill leading to it, kept my cadence up, dropped to the second ring (still top gear) and halfway up the hill my legs just started giving out. Down to 6th. Nope, 5th. How about 3rd? What the blazes?! Okay fine... Second gear, second ring, snail boy!

I decided to take it easy going up the 127th street viaduct. The grade isn't nearly as steep as the hill that had just schooled me in the ways of taking my time, but it definitely slows me down. As I clear the apex of the ominous structure, I see that there are already cars waiting in my left turn lane and the light is sure to change soon.

It's downhill, right? I can go really, really fast downhill. Okay, I can go faster than I can on flat land, but not really fast. I decide to hammer it again. I don't know how fast I was going but it was probably around 35 MPH which is quick for me. As the viaduct leveled out, I maintained cadence in the flats. The light turned green, cars were turning. Just as I enter the left turn lane, the light goes yellow and there's no way I'll clear the intersection, so I shut her down.

Standing there at the stop light, I was dizzy and almost confused. I took a small swig of water to see if that helped. It only made things worse. I was feeling sick to my stomach and even under my warm clothes I could feel the cold sweat coming on. This is how bonk starts.

I've explained bonk before, but it's been some months since I've experienced it. I've never had a full-on bonk (which results in passing out, vomiting or both) however this is about the closest encounter I've had in the time I've been riding. Bonk is cyclist (and runner?) slang for when your body is completely and totally exhausted to the point where it MAKES you stop.

The light turned green, I proceeded dizzily and slowly through the intersection, and down the road. Despite my slow pace, the sensation kept growing. I eventually pulled off onto the sidewalk and parked the bike for about a minute so that I could sit down and recover.

This can only mean one thing: MORE TRAINING!

If the temperature is satisfactory tonight, I plan on hitting the KC Trek Store Recovery Ride again tonight. The only thing that's going to keep this from happening again in the future is more seat time.

Kansas City's Penultimate Snow Storm

I don't know how it will affect the roads for Monday's commute, but I guess we're in for yet another "last snowstorm of the season." I have to laugh, because this is, by my count, the fifth last snow storm of the season. We'll see what happens. Pics coming tomorrow, assuming it actually snows. You shouldn't be surprised that I take forecasters' predictions with a bag grain of salt these days.

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.

Git-er-dun!

I was so close, and the traffic wasn't (seemingly) too bad, so I rode my bike to the new Bass Pro Shop that opened up about a mile from my apartment (a little further as the roads go). As I entered the parking lot, I saw a few things that were harbingers of things to come. "The official" Bass Pro sprint car and nascar were there for starters. The parking lot was so packed that they had to park cars across the street. What's really sad is that they had charter buses to get people across the street. I'm not talking like 8 football fields away. Maybe 1/4 mile. Buses for a 1/4 mile walk. Not golf carts pulling tram trailers or anything. Actual charter buses.

The parking lot revealed about one gun rack for every 5 vehicles or so. That's actually less than I was expecting. Once inside, it was practically one giant mullet towards the hunting and ATV areas. I can say that they have a decent selection of camping gadgets and the like. I'll have to see if the prices there are any better than Dick's Sporting Goods, but it's my guess that half the prices I saw were basically to get people in the door. It apparently worked. Yee-Haw!

I wasn't remotely tempted to buy anything. Overall, it's a neat store, but for all the fanfare they tried to work up, I was expecting more. After about 15 minutes in there, I came home and started working on more interesting stuff.

Got in a little early

Photo: Nothing special, just my bike in the rack this morning right after pulling in. I take the front wheel in with me, so no comments about how the front wheel isn't locked!

I took my shower last night, and woke up a little before 6:00 this morning. I was on the road by 6:10. Climbing hills SUCKS when you haven't had enough sleep and you skip breakfast. I find myself spinning and huffing to get up the hill on Ridgeview some mornings, and then there's the viaduct. Usually they're not too bad, but this week I haven't slept well and they just seem to bring me to a crawl.

I got to work at 7:00 sharp without stopping for anything sweet before work. I brought two small cans of pineapple slices with me for lunch (and some soup) but I think one of those cans is going to be my breakfast here in the office.

Wow!

Talk about a beautiful night for a ride! With the Bass Pro Shop grand opening going on here in Olathe tonight, I decided to stay very far away from any roads that people would be using to get there. All of my normal commute routes take me within half a mile or so of the new shop, so I took College Blvd across to Ridgeview tonight. For those of you who aren't from around here, that doesn't mean much. I also took a little trail and rode through a residential area just for giggles.

College Blvd at night is a bit scary, especially for about a mile where it's down to one lane either direction with no shoulders and lots of hills and no street lights. It was a little tense for a while. The additional hills and scenery were a welcome change to my usual grind, and it was deliciously cool out, around 50 degrees. Cool enough that I don't overheat, warm enough that just my t-shirt and backpack provided enough protection. If it stays above 45 (it probably won't) overnight, I won't even bother with a windbreaker.

Drinkage

So A Midnight Rider kind of poked at my coffee obsession in the comments of one of my recent posts. I got a chuckle out of it, then I had an epiphany. I really am a coffee nerd. Every day, I grind up some coffee beans to take to work (in a good conical burr grinder, not one of those $5 food-processor-wannabe grinders), I measure the grinds as I scoop them into my stainless steel press, add water that's darn near boiling, stir it, wait a few minutes, then press it, inhaling the dark aroma as I pour it into a ceramic chalice. Then, I imbibe the warm, strong, tasty goodness that is a proper cup of coffee. I even recycle my coffee grounds and give them to the lady who takes care of the plants around the office. They make a great soil additive for certain types of plants.

The other thing I love just as much as coffee is good, old-fashioned water. I'm not terribly picky where it comes from, and I usually drink cold tap water that's been poured into a mass-marketed bottled-water bottle. I found that the 24oz Dasani bottles actually have a perfect little ridge cut out on them to fit just right in most bike bottle cages. They last quite a while, too. So if you've wondered why many pictures of my bikes show a bottle or two of Dasani, I'm not hooked on spending more per gallon of water than most people spend on a gallon of Gasoline, I just like the bottles. This is an old picture, but it shows the shape of the bottle.
This morning's commute was just a little below freezing and I couldn't find my gloves. A t-shirt under my windbreaker was more than enough warmth, though. I'm ready for spring! As you can imagine from my early-morning post, I didn't get much sleep. No matter, though. Sleep is a weakling's substitute for coffee!

Hobbies and fun.

Photo: My desk featuring my new M-Audio Keystation.

When I got to JCCC tonight...err, it's almost 1:00 AM. So... When I got to JCCC last night, I decided to go pick up a keyboard. I have a great many hobbies, and music is one of them. I like producing, recording, mixing, and listening to music. Although, I usually suck at all of those except for listening.

Anyhow, I ended up scoring an M-Audio Keystation 49e and it works great with GarageBand on my Mac. I also play a little bit of bass guitar, but I also suck at that. Hopefully I'll eventually get good at something other than listening to music.

Finally, an extended break in the weather.

It was a seemingly balmy 35 degrees this morning upon my departure. Although it was near freezing, it felt like spring. The Outlook was such a welcome change of pace this morning. I adjusted it a bit right before last night's group ride, and finished tweaking it when I got home. The group ride was a perfect shakedown run to get my butt used to the narrower, firmer saddle. The saddle angle and brakes needed a little adjustment, and this morning's ride was smooth sailing. The only thing I can't figure out is that I'm having trouble shifting into the granny ring. I'm hoping it's something I can fix with the limit screws, but it doesn't look like it.

The extended forecast looks pretty much clear until the weekend. It's a shame that I didn't work yesterday, because this would have been a perfect five-day commute week. I put just as many miles on yesterday as I usually put in on a Monday, though. It doesn't count as a commute, but at least my weekly miles won't suffer.

Did a fun group ride tonight!

Photo: My friend Tim, who told me about the Monday night "Recovery Ride", chillaxing and geeking out with his digi-cam after the ride.

This was, in fact, my first-ever group ride. The last time I rode with more than one person, I was still in middle school so it doesn't count. I've known Tim for about 5 years or so, but our paths hadn't crossed in real life in almost two years. A few e-mails here or there, or some IM's on occasion. He told me about this ride that was usually a pretty easy-paced crowd and I decided to check it out tonight since the weather was so nice.

Also, it's been what seems like months since I've put any real miles on the Outlook. I miss my trigger shifters, but the Outlook ran so smooth tonight. I'm really glad I went. I was figuring I'd get a few jeers from the crowd for showing up in bluejeans and riding a mountain-biased hybrid in a pack of road bikes, but they were all really nice.

To top all that off, Mark, who I believe organizes the Monday night rides, also heads up localcycling.com. I knew Kansas City was one of their cities covered as I've had a link to their Kansas City page for a while now. I had no idea I'd run into the guy behind the site, though.

I saw a few people on the ride were using Redline Conquests. I had to refrain from drooling, but I hope to soon be able to build one up. It's kind of my dream commuter bike, capable of handling the less-than-ideal weather and road quality that I encounter, while still being a very capable and nimble road machine.

Bonus photo: Friday's fun snow adventure waiting for the bus.

Wow! Over 100 posts!

Sorry about going radio silent on Friday. For those of you that are in Kansas City or pay attention to weather, we got another "last snowstorm of the season" in the afternoon. This comes about a day and a half after the previous "last snowstorm of the season" which was a few weeks after the first "last snowstorm of the season."

I rode about half a mile in the snow and decided to do a nice sideways snow skid and show off for the people at the bus stop. I ended up laying it down and sliding on my side in the snow. It was certainly fun and didn't hurt, but it wasn't quite what I was going for. Haha!!!

The bus showed up about 25 minutes late. It should have arrived at about 4:35 PM but didn't show up until after 5:00. We finally pulled into the bus stop back home in Olathe at about 7:00 PM. There was maybe 2-3 inches of snow on the ground, but it seems one snowflake is enough to upset the entire balance of Kansas City traffic.

My wife had just gotten done running some errands and met me at the bus stop to bring me home. I could have ridden in this stuff, but with how late it was getting, I just wanted some food, sleep and warmth.

Yesterday, the roads cleared up a bit, and right now it's approaching 50 degrees. It's hard to believe just a day and a half ago I was riding in 3 degree weather. It feels like spring now, and I'm mopping up the mess of dried sludge, mud, sand and salt that my bike has left in my front hallway.

Tomorrow is the day that we honor and remember George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, two of the most influential presidents of the early years of the United States of America. While there is a lot of confusion and controversy over what "Presidents' Day" is supposed to be about (or even what it should officially be called) the result is the same. I work in the Financial industry. Banks and the US Stock Exchange are closed, so my employer also observes it as a federal holiday. I won't be bike commuting tomorrow, but if this weather keeps up, I doubt I'll be able to stay off my bike!

Kinda chilly, but not for long!

This was officially my second coldest bike commute. It was 3 Degrees Fahrenheit this morning when I left. As usual, I stayed plenty warm but I took it slow to keep from sweating too much. I made it to the bus stop in 18 minutes, which is a dead-on 10 MPH average.

I had to fight with the bike rack on the bus. The release lever wouldn't disengage at first, so I had to he-man it. Once the bike rack dropped, I put my bike in the rack then went to pull the arm that holds the front wheel down and it wouldn't pull out. I went to the other side and after a lot of tugging, got the other arm to pull out. Then, I had to take my bike out of the rack, turn it around the other way, put it in the other bike rack slot, and latch it in.

As much as this cold doesn't bother me, being encumbered in layers of clothing is getting a bit old, as is riding my sluggish mountain bike. Don't get me wrong, I love the Sorrento. I just don't love commuting on a heavy bike with ginormous, low-pressure knobby tires. In weather like this, the tire pressure drops even further. I keep them pumped up to 65 PSI in my apartment (that's their max pressure) after the bike has acclimated to room temperature. Out in the cold, though, the tire pressure quickly drops to as low as 30 PSI as the air density increases. Pumping up the tires in the cold would be a bad idea, as 50 PSI cold would probably climb to 90+ PSI once it got back to room temperature. This would certainly blow a tire out.

The forecast for early next week shows temps in the 50's. I'm pretty sure it's time to get the Outlook prepped for daily use again. It's been sitting dormant for more than a month now. It will be nice to get back out on it. While the Sorrento is more comfortable for me to ride, the Outlook is lighter, nimbler, and faster.

Kind of a crazy night

Photo: A pic I snapped on my way back to downtown. It's an accurate representation of my state of mind at the time, too.

I got to JCCC and then realized that I did not have my wallet. There were only a few places it could be, and "locked in my desk at work" was one of the top candidates. I stole the wife's Explorer and headed to the office.

Fortunately, it was there in my desk. I took the opportunity to swing by Liberty Memorial and shoot some photos. I swear it's not leaning, I just didn't get the camera level.

Wicked tired this morning

I'm completely and totally wiped out this morning. I woke up late, got out even later, missed three buses again (fortunately, I didn't miss the last one!) and I just feel weak.

I got to the bus via bike okay, but I feel completely and totally tapped. Must have been all that...ummm "bicycling" last night. *teehee*

Not much to say this morning. It's a little colder now than it was yesterday morning, and I have a meeting at the Daily Dose tonight. Looks like it'll be another pedal-pounding Thursday. It kind of depends on if I ride all the way home from the Dose, or if I just go back to JCCC to met my wife and go somewhere to eat.

Good news, but a tedious trip home

Good news: my belt clip came from Blackburn this week. No questions asked, they sent me a replacement part, so my Mars 3.0 blinky is back in business once again.

I started my journey this morning with temps in the single digits and some rather harsh wind chills. I was dressed accordingly so it wasn't much of a problem. Over lunch, I ran some errands in my dress slacks, and only a hoodie on over my dress shirt. Temps had climbed to 10 degrees. Whee. I was definitely a bit cold.

The return trip started with a grocery run, then a trip to JCCC for a while, and then homeward bound with a detour to pick up some more last-minute valentine's day goodies. Temps stayed in the low double digits and the wind chill was ferocious. From maybe an hour and a half of being outside, my face is windburned like I'd just spent the entire day on the slopes.

Despite all that, after a nice shower, I feel like a million bucks. I'm making a surprise crab leg dinner for my wife (who should be home any minute now) and I'll crack open a bit of the bubbley to go with it. :)

Now, go make some November babies (if you're married)

That's what I'm talkin' about!

The rain finally turned to snow Monday night, but I didn't get to ride on it until last night due to it being my wife's birthday. She had the day off and we both thought it best for me to get home as soon as I could. I drove my car to the bus stop instead of driving all the way downtown. With traffic backed up the way it was, I couldn't have gotten to or from work any faster than my bus did, and I didn't have to drive on the highway or pay for parking. Today, she's stuck at work on Valentine's day and I was happy to be able to hit the snow before it goes slushy.

It was a brisk 8 degrees F outside this morning and a really nice ride save for my first close encounter of the glare-ice kind. I did not fall over, but I did have to hop out of the saddle and put both feet on the ground when the back just kind of slipped out from under me. This snow was also a bit different than the other stuff I've seen. It's a lot stickier and denser, and clings to my tires the way mud does. This is probably due to the massive amount of standing water it had to absorb after all the rain we got right before the snow.

Anyhow, I woke up on time, made it to the bus on time, and when I get downtown, I'll probably grab a mediocre cup of some kind of coffee beverage.

Blaaaaaaaaaaaah

Yucky, disgusting road grime and weeks worth of sand, salt, and sludge suspended in a thin layer of water. That's what I get to ride through tonight. My wife's birthday is tomorrow and Valentine's Day right after that. I love riding in the snow and I don't mind riding in the heat, either. One thing I hate, though, is rain.

I think I'm going to go to JCCC, then put my bike on the truck, go shopping for the stuff I need, then come come that way. Yes, it's cheap. I will have ridden a mile in the rain though, and that's plenty messy for me, without having fenders to rescue me from all the crud my knobbies like to kick up onto me.

A good start

Photo: Motion shot of my dad rockin' out at the Daily Dose last night. The concert was good and the place was hoppin!

Strangely, it felt pretty nice this morning despite being 35 Degrees Fahrenheit. I intentionally slept a bit late this morning to recover from my marathon weekend. Supposedly we're getting a wintry mix today, but I managed to hit the road before it started to mist. I brought my breakfast and lunch with me (Malt-o-meal and leftover sloppy joes from last night) so I won't need to go out until I get off work. I'm hoping that the mist and/or rain stops or at least turns to light snow before 4:30.

My wife's making lasagna and taking it to work today, so I know where I'm going after I get out of here! I want to catch tonight's episode of 24, so I will probably go straight home after I swing by JCCC.

This month's Bicycling Magazine

I've been picking up Bicycling for the past 5 months or so. It usually has some cool articles and plenty of eye-catching ads for gadgets that can make a geek like me drool. This month's issue, though, has a lot more information that I think really applies to almost every cyclist, myself included. This includes a few quick exercises and some really good tips on maintenance, repairs, and cycling form in general. All in all, I think this is one of the best issues I've read since I started cycling again.

Even if you don't subscribe or pick it up every month, it's worth finding a copy on the newsstand and flipping through it. Even if you've been riding for years, you might just learn something.

This is the longest day of my life...

Okay, sorry for the campy "24" reference but this is going to be a marathon day!

I had to be at my office at 11:00PM Last night for server maintenance. I woke up at about 7:00PM, did some laundry, went and got some food, got a $20 parking ticket (cop went easy on me, I parked behind someone else in what neither of us knew was a fire lane. The cop knew, though.)

I left home at about 10:30 and drove downtown. Sorry, no bike riding in the middle of the night! Got there a bit before 11:00, finished up at about 3:30AM, got home and went to bed at 4:00AM.

Woke up at 7:00, and I'm about to head to church. I'm the A/V guy and today's a packed day at church. There's the normal lighting, sound, and slides deal, but my mom's also playing in a skit afterwards, and there are lots of things to do for that.

Then, my wife's birthday party is this afternoon. Her birthday is Tuesday, but we're celebrating it with my family today.

Finally, my dad and some friends of ours from church are playing live music at the Daily Dose from 6:00PM until 8:00PM. I can't miss that!

So yeah, I'm going to feel like death warmed over tomorrow.

And this isn't the longest day of my life. I once went more than a week without so much as a nap, back in high school.

Snow, close calls, and revenge

Well, I stepped outside and thought I saw a snowflake fall. I decided to grab the ski goggles just in case it was going to really start coming down, but didn't need them on the way to the bus. The snow was just a light dusting. Maybe it will continue a bit? I kind of like riding in the snow.

As I was coming up Strang Line Road for the last leg of my commute, I had a car come within inches of me. It took me by surprise, and made my heart skip a beat. The inside lane was wide open, so I don't know if I got buzzed intentionally "to teach me a lesson" or if it was just accidental. If it was accidental, the driver was merely inches from hurting me. It was a green 2004 Ford Mustang V6 and I got the plate numbers.

I didn't need them, though. Out of nowhere, I saw an Olathe Police cruiser next to me (going the speed limit in the inside lane.) It must have been less than a quarter mile behind me when the incident happened, but there were no other cars between him and the Mustang. I was hoping beyond hope that he saw what happened.

As he passed me, I saw him veer into the outside lane. I was sure he was going after the reckless Mustang driver. A few seconds later, the emergency lights kick into action. The mustang pulls over. This is all unfolding about a quarter of a mile up the road from me. A little while later, as I pass, I thank the officers who are talking to the driver. They wave to me.

I'm not sure if the motorist got a ticket or not, but I wouldn't be surprised. Even if the driver didn't get ticketed, I'm sure that being pulled over for failing to give a cyclist some room will change the way that person sees us. Hopefully the officers gave the driver a quick lesson on traffic laws regarding bicycles, too. I'd be happier if the motorist was cited with willful reckless endangerment or something that would cause the loss of driver's license. Then they can ride a bike, wouldn't that be poetic?

One officer seemed visibly angry and was standing on the sidewalk. Perhaps a fellow cyclist or motorcycle rider? At any rate, justice was served today.

Fire!

Not much to say about the big fire downtown other than "Wow. That sucks!"

I'm bypassing the college tonight, and heading straight home from the bus stop for a well-deserved nap.

Mmmmmph.

Photo: Another attempt at dark sky photography.

I got about 3 hours of sleep last night. My wife and my cats kept waking me up. I could barely shower, I kept dozing off while trying to get ready to go, and In the three sentences I've written so far, I've had to correct at least 30 misspelled words because my fingers won't work the way they should.

Now imagine how bad my legs were. In weeks past, this would be the day I decided to drive. I figured the worst that could happen is I miss a bus, or two. Despite my weakened condition, I made it to the bus in about the same amount of time as usual.

I'm only doing this because I really want to watch that Bike-to-Drive ratio crawl closer and closer to 3.0.

Another bike?! On MY bus?!

No pictures, because the guy got off a few stops after I boarded. For the first time since I started doing this back in September, I actually had to share the bike rack with another bike. This is fine, as the racks are built to accommodate two bicycles.

The other bike was a huffy rigid mountain bike that looks like it has seen better days, but a bike's a bike, and it's always neat to see that I'm not the only one doing it out here.

Blinky drama and guilty pleasures

While I was riding around getting lunch yesterday, my Blackburn Mars 3.0 blinky actually broke completely off my bike. The mounting bracket was okay, but the clip that holds it to the bracket snapped in half, leaving me without a source of light. You can see the broken piece (clip removed) in the upper left photo. If you keep an eye on my cycling blog, that's why I only rode a mile yesterday night. I wouldn't dare ride the streets at night without something that's blinking, annoying and attention-grabbing on the back of my bike.

I was Hoping to find another Mars 3.0 at my bike shop since it would be nice to have 2 mounting brackets, but I was not successful. I ended up with a Trek Disco Tech, which doesn't look as cool and is a little lacking in the side lighting department. The upper right and lower left photos show the new light mounted on my bike. I'll try to post a comparison between the two lights later today. The batteries were almost dead in my digital camera.

I'm going to call Blackburn today to see if they can send me a new clip. They say there's a lifetime warranty on everything. We'll see if Blackburn puts their money where their mouth is. It would still be nice to have more blink. You can never be lit up too much.

Finally, Guilty pleasures. I have this huge and unhealthy obsession with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (preferably Big Cup) and Red Bull. They're a match made in heaven. Fortunately, this is the first time this year I've partaken in the duo, as I've been trying to cut back on sweets.

Psyche!

Wow, I haven't said that word in nearly a decade, but that's exactly what mother nature's got in store for us. The skies are clearing from being overcast the last few days, but it doesn't mean we've got warm weather on the way. The best we can hope for is for the sun to heat up the bike paths and pavement enough to finally clear them of ice.

It was just shy of 20 degrees this morning, so I dressed lighter than I have been the past few days. It looks like all of my morning commutes this week will be below 20.

Top ten things...

I posted something similar on BikeForums a while back, but it seems my top ten always evolves. I'm still very new to utility cycling, so I'm certain that it'll take a good year or two before I really find my top ten groove.

10) The way my knobby tire tread looks like it's standing still or going backwards under Sodium streetlights. It's strangely hypnotic, and I have to tell myself to keep an eye on traffic instead of watching the pretty pattern when I'm riding my mountain bike.

9) The increased sharpness of all my senses.

8) Free parking pretty much anywhere!

7) In winter, being halfway to my destination before I could even have my windows scraped off, and never being cold waiting for my vehicle to warm up.

6) I can blow off steam on my way home. If I've had a bad day at work, I can just hammer it until I'm about ready to pass out. By the time I'm home, I'm far too tired and lazy to be pissed at much of anything.

5) The looks, questions, and awe of other people. Co-workers, people working at places I ride to, and drivers on the road always seem to be curious. Some of them assume I've lost my driver's license or I'm too poor to own a car. Others think I'm going to get myself killed, and some actually root for me. Once in a while, people talk to me and ask my why I'm doing it.

4) My health. I'm getting stronger and healthier. I haven't lost much weight yet, but my waist is shrinking, which can only mean I'm toning up. My heart and lungs are feeling better than they have in 8 years.

3) There's nothing that wakes me up faster than making that first big climb on my bike.

2) When I'm riding, all the distractions fade away. I have time to think about things on my way to work. I've actually solved problems and come up with some of my best ideas while I'm just sitting there pedaling away!

1) The zen of transportation under my own power

The commute this morning was peaceful and chilly. I got out a little later than I'd like, but at least I got to bed early last night and got a good night's sleep for a change.

Also, I added a few new Links to my blogroll. A Midnight Rider is a fellow bike commuter that comments frequently, and some other readers of mine post on Commute By Bike. They're definitely worth a read.

Caught an error...

Not that big of a deal, but every morning that I hit Starbucks instead of going straight to work (or if I go to the bank for some reason), I "lose" about seven-tenths of a mile. While that might not seem like a lot, it can add up pretty quickly.

I need to break down and buy a pair of cycling computers (or two sets of sensors and an interchangeable computer). Anyone have some good ideas? While the Garmin Edge 305 would rock, I am not made of money.

My daily cycling log

I made some enhancements to my daily cycling log. I'm not sure how I'm going to handle the whole year, as there seems to be a problem with Google Spreadsheets only allowing 23 columns and 103 rows. If they don't sort that out in the next 2 months, I'll be forced to start a new log for April. Not that big of a deal, I suppose.

I put on about 139 miles in January. I do not have a cycling computer, but between Veloroutes and my GPS, I am pretty sure I'm within 5% accurate.

Features I added:

Commute to Drive ratio: Number of days I rode my bike to work divided by number of times I drove (either driving to the bus stop or all the way in, I make no distinction). My goal to push this number above 2.2 by the end of February, and 2.8 by the end of March. I'm at 1.875 right now, which is a lot lower than I want it to be. I won't be satisfied until I hit 3.0. I can actually pull that off by the end of February if I bike commute every weekday for the rest of the month. I don't know that I'm up to the task, though. I'm almost always completely exhausted by Friday.

Total Drives: Counts the number of times I drove. Technically, counts times I drove TO work, plus times I drove FROM work, divided by two (this is also how I calculate number of bike commutes). If for some reason, I bike only one way, then it would show "half" a bike commute.

Daily bicycle mileage totals: Counts up all commuting, recreational and errand miles for that day. Shows blank on days that I did not use my bike.

Month-end mileage total: Counts up all daily totals from month-to-month. With any luck, this number should get bigger and bigger every month through spring and summer!

Ahhh... finally back home!

Tonight's commute consisted of getting some Greek food, taking it to my wife, riding down to The Dose, and riding home.

I got first tracks on a little stretch of sidewalk north of 119th street (woot!) and I saw a pickup that had head-on collided with a stoplight pole at what must have been a good 45 MPH given the carnage I observed. The driver had already been hauled off (didn't look fatal) and police were standing around BSing waiting for a wrecker to drag the pickup away. The roads were clear, so this guy was either asleep, drunk, an idiot, or a combination of the aforementioned conditions. I'm tuckered. I have pictures but I'm too tired and lazy to find my camera cable, import the photos, crop, adjust, upload and link to them right now. It's a miracle I'm even posting this.

The 2600 meeting is tomorrow, so I'll be driving.

Slushy commute

No pics of the morning carnage. It looks like Olathe Public Works decided it would be better to salt and sand the hell out of the roads instead of plowing them. The snowfall lasted only a handful of hours, with a total acumulation around two inches. The snow was powdery and fun to play in last night. This morning, it's a slushy mess. On my way to the bus, I thought I had a cracked lip because I kept tasting something salty. Turns out I flung some salty slush up onto my lip, as I had my balaclava exposing my whole face. Yuck.

Don't lecture me about fenders. I don't want them, at least on the Sorrento.

With the outer 3 feet of the road being a perfect disaster of six-inch-deep slush and road grime, I decided the best way to ride was to simply take the whole outside lane for myself. In general, cars respected me but I did have one car buzz me. I believe it was someone who was in the outer lane to begin with and the driver didn't get all the way in the other lane before passing me. Usually, a malicious buzz is preceded with copious amounts of honking, or followed by hard acceleration. Or both.

By the way, I did catch my normal bus this morning.