Hamming it up

I've been interested in Amateur Radio since I was 8 years old. Back then, you had to know Morse code well enough to encode and decode a few words per minute.  Try as I might, that part gave me the most trouble. By the time I graduated high school, the FCC had ditched the Morse Code requirement. Then, the cost of equipment had me in sticker shock. All my life, I've been friends with various amateur radio operators.

A few weeks back, I got a good deal on a pair of handheld transceivers from a friend in California, a Yaesu VX-2R and Yaesu VX-7R. This turned a "pie in the sky" thing into a tangible, attainable hobby.


The VX-7R is beefy and heavy. It's got an alloy case, and it's submersible to 3 feet for 30 minutes, and can withstand hours upon hours in the rain. The VX-2R fits in the palm of my hand. It's light and packed with features. I don't really know how well either of them transmit just yet.

Few things motivate you to get licensed like having new hardware and being unable to legally use it to its fullest potential. I've been cramming these past few weeks, and a group of Volunteer Examiners was hosting a testing session tonight. I went in knowing I'd do really well on the entry-level Technician test. The group let me take the next-level General exam as well, but I missed one question too many to get that license. I hadn't even studied for general, and I guessed at more than half of the answers. I'll go back and take that test sometime later.

Anyhow, looky looky!


That VX-2R is definitely going on my S24O adventures, and there's actually a lot of entertaining banter on some of the nearby repeaters.

More bikey adventures coming soon!

New Personal Record

I woke up to see this:


Definitely time for a ride. The main roads have been clear enough to ride on for the past few days, but over-eager drivers combined with shoulders made of 3-foot (or deeper) plow banks means that my usual rush-hour bike commute is still kind of on hold. An early morning ride a little longer than my usual commute was definitely in order. Partially to shake down Frank in real snow, testing out the new cyclometer (which read -5.2°F by the time I got back home) and partially just to say I've ridden in colder than -5. My previous cold record was about 2 and a half miles at -4.



As for snow handling, these 2.25" tires handle amazingly well, but they still don't have the floating capacity to handle the un-plowed church parking lot down the road from me. In fact, powering into the un-plowed mass grabbed my front tire with enough oomph to throw me into what had to be a comically slow-mo endo. As usual, I love playing in the snow.

On a lighter note...

I spent most of the weekend at KU Medical Center with my wife.


On Friday, my sister-in-law and I had a nice lunch with Eric while my wife was getting this behemoth shoved into her brachiocephalic vein.


Forget those wimpy IV lines you may have seen in the past. This is called a "Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter" (pronounced: "ouch") The skinny end of this beast was hanging out in the right atrium of my wife's heart! She said she could feel the end flopping around when she was laying on one side. I'm not sure if that's possible or not, but either way, the mere thought freaks me out just a little bit.

I spent a lot of time in mechanical awe as I watched a tower crane get assembled from the ground up over the weekend. I guess KU Medical Center is adding a few floors to the heart center. After a few vertical sections were in place by a Link Belt 348 crawler crane, the crew started assembling the tower crane's cab.


It didn't take long for the whole thing to go up after that.


The view from my wife's room was interesting, in that I got to look out over the cooling towers and chimneys and across State Line into Midtown.


And as we were preparing to leave the hospital, I got to watch hard-hat-wearing acrobats set up pulleys for the main cable.


As for my wife, the procedure got us some good news and some bad news. The initial problem the doctors were trying to diagnose isn't as big of a deal as originally expected. That means something else is wrong. There's a lot to be thankful for, but a lot of unanswered questions.

Parking Rage

Lead Sled parking rage, originally uploaded by KC-Bike.

Figures. Right after my wife finally gets out of the hospital and it looks like I might have a clear shot at picking up the bike again, we have today's icepocalypse followed by tomorrow's snowgasm. Us midwesterners certainly love our wintry neologisms.

I'm generally pretty tame whilst driving, but I kind of screamed in a fit of rage when I saw that my neighbor (we shall call her "Negative Jenn" per her snazzy license plates) has started to make a habit of increasing her double-parking overlap by about an inch each day. As I'm parked, she still has enough room to wiggle into the driver's side door of her 4,000 pound 3.8L supercharged lead sled. I must admit, however, that I miss being able to nonchalantly park my battered 1989 Ford Aerostar perfectly 2" away from the driver's side of offending vehicles without the fear of cosmetic repercussions.

I really should have just ridden today.

Say it again, folks: "Take The Lane."

That new critically-acclaimed bike lane is buried. Now what?

Wide outer lanes are a good start, especially on bridges. As long as they're wide enough to accommodate plowcrap. Really, though, this is the primary recurring problem with grant-funded bicycle/pedestrian specific infrastructure. It's no one's job to make sure it's maintained. A few weeks ago, it was littered with street sweeper debris and broken glass. Today, it's buried in plowcrap (a delightful blend of ice, sand, salt, glass, cans, cigarette butts and fast food packaging) and in a few years it'll be a blighted craterscape that no one would want to ride a bike on. Just like all of the other bike lanes.

Adventures in bicycle repair

Bar tape, originally uploaded by KC-Bike.

Most of the work has been done on The Twelve. Here's a sneak peek of its new handlebar tape, but you can see the new brake hoods, cables, and cable housings as well.

Believe it or not, I've never had the levers off of a road bike before, nor have I had the (ahem) pleasure of running new cable housings for STI brakes or shifters. While the bike was under warranty, I had the cables (but not the housings) replaced and I watched while it was done. I'm also pretty good at grokking mechanical things without referencing manuals.

Still, this was an interesting and fun project. The hoods were totally trashed, and it took an experienced bike wrench a few weeks to find the right parts to replace them. They were kind of a pain in the butt to replace. The housings, bar tape, cables and all of that can be replaced without tearing the levers off the handlebars, but not the brake hoods. They're also a pretty tight fit, but they are indeed the correct ones. They look and feel AWESOME.

This bike came with black tape from the factory. When I replaced that a few years ago, I went with black and white zebra stripes. This time, I'm going black-on-red. It still matches the theme of The Twelve's Black, White, Red and Brushed Aluminum motif.

Also up are well-past-due replacements of the chain and cassette. The new brake pads went on last month.

Aside from headset bearings and a new bottom bracket, this seems like a total overhaul. And when I need a new BB, I think commuterDude has me convinced to drink the square taper kool-aid and get a new crankset to go with it.

I also picked up a really cheapo wireless cyclometer for Frank. Aside from lacking a cadence sensor, It's got more functions than the $80 wired Trek Incite 11i that got stolen with Hybridzilla back in '08, including a backlight and thermometer, both of which are pretty handy for those cold, dark winter rides.

Doomed, I say.

Mall security camera footage.

I'd bet some personal records fall this morning.

Ah, the "Personal Record"

When you're a bike commuter in most parts of the US, you usually don't have anyone to compare yourself to. If you do run across another cyclist, they might be going the other way, they may already be 10 miles into their commute, or more often than not, they're recreational cyclists without much cargo. Most of us just try to best our own records when we feel some kind of competitive streak. Fastest time to work, most consecutive days, or this time of year the cold-weather record. I've ridden 2 miles to a bus stop at -4°F and the entire 14.5 mile length of my old work commute at -1°F. As of 4:00 this morning, the temperatures were as low as -5 in the suburbs and -12 out west a few dozen miles. I always say it's not cold if it's above zero (Fahrenheit)

I have been seeing a lot of long-time "fair weather" bike commuters stay on the bike this winter. More than usual. I'm almost certain some of them will be on the road this morning just so they can have a really good below-zero personal record.

Of course, I also usually say "If I'm too sick to ride my bike, I'm too sick to go to work." and that's generally true, but I've spent all week with a sinus infection-turned-bronchitis and I frankly don't have the time saved up to blow a whole week of work. Last weekend, I finally got my car back up and running for the most part, with new tires, a battery and some oddball repair work. This was mostly so I have a way to promptly get around town when my wife isn't feeling well, but this week it's getting me hither to yonder while I'm on the mend. And I have to be honest. I'm a car guy at heart, and I absolutely love my little Focus. It's more than a decade old, it's paid off, it gets decent fuel economy (can't match the bicycle) and it's an absolute blast to drive, even in the snow. Especially in the snow.

And speaking of snow, Monday's 6" of accumulation was enough to make bicycle commuting impossible along my route. The roads I use are rarely plowed, have no shoulder and become very narrow and hazardous once the snow starts building up. Without a homeward-bound bus to use, there will be days I have to drive or at least car-pool, and paying a bus driver $2 each way to effectively travel 6.2 miles is bit crazy. I could almost hire a taxi to haul me around for those prices.

The good news is that I also scored a bunch of parts to do a complete overhaul of The Twelve, although I'm waiting on the specific handlebar tape I want before I dive too much further into it. I replaced the brake pads a few weeks ago, but now I have brand new cables and housings, chain, cassette and lever hoods ready to go.

So, who of you have set new cold-weather records for yourselves so far this winter?

A Secret That Can Change The World.

via Andy Beals

The hard facts.

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


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

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


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

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

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

Frank

This bike, as far as I can tell, is a 1995 Schwinn Moab-S frame with a dizzying pile of upgrade equipment bolted to it. Here's a sampling:

The OEM fork was a cheapo RST from the mid-1990s. That got upgraded to a Marzocchi Bomber Z2. It's an older fork but fully adjustable. I wish it had lockout, but it doesn't.

The OEM rolling stock was a pair of reasonable 1.95" Kenda tires mounted to some crappy off-brand rims and entry-level Shimano hubs. This got upgraded to a pair of Bontrager Corvair rims with asymmetric drilling on the rear wrapped in 2.2" Bontrager JonesXR tires.

Brakes: Upgraded all around, with Shimano Servo-Wave levers going to some really nice V-Brakes.

Crankset and drivetrain seems to be stock entry-level Shimano Acera stuff from the factory, but with different chainrings and cassette gearing.

And then there's my added flair: Lights and a rack. Now all I need is a nice pair of fenders. Despite the massive tires, there's plenty of clearance.

Over the past few weeks, this bike has revealed itself to me. It's a well-mannered Frankenstein bike. It's big. It's slow. But it gets through all kinds of stuff. With its insane 22x30 gear combo on the low end, I wonder if it could pull tree stumps out of the ground or be used to tow an SUV. The high gear leaves a lot to be desired, but it's not about getting around quickly. It's just about getting around.

Anyhow, meet Frank, my winter bike. I didn't actually ride this bike today. I opted for The Twelve instead, since the roads were clear.

My favorite photos from 2010

I didn't take nearly as many photos last year as I have previous years. I spent 1/3 of the year unemployed and a lot less time on the bike total. I also got a better camera built into my phone. It's nowhere near as good as my trusty Canon point and shoot, but I think I generally took "worse" pictures this year than in years past because I didn't always have the Canon on me. Here are my top picks from 2010, in no particular order.

Coming home from a family reunion in Nebraska while I was laid off, I snapped this and desaturated the background.


My wife and I saw this Garden Spider on a fishing trip at a nearby lake. If you haven't figured it out yet, I kind of like spiders.


Snapped during The Crystal Method DJ set that I went to with commuterDude a few months ago, I hit this guy with a quick, medium-powered flash on a long exposure in a very dark part of the club, capturing something like 2-3 seconds worth of tracer from the multi-colored LED he had on a string.


I tested bikes for 3 different manufacturers in 2010: The Swobo Baxter, the KMI Urbana and this one, the Wabi Special fixed gear. While I don't have any one that's more favorite than the others, I can say this one was the most transformative for me.


And while we're at it, I really did like the way the Urbana tackled anything in its way while having that European utility bike look with big, industrial welds and massive, blight-be-damned tires. I can't think of one picture that captured its essence better than this one.


Rowdy was a really old guy. Half Golden Retriever and half Chow, he started having hip problems a few years ago as both those breeds often do. He put us through a scare in February with an infection in his leg, and then had to be put to sleep a few months ago. He was 60 pounds of muscle and fur with the bark of a ferocious beast, the disposition and playfulness of a little puppy and a giant heart of gold.


I took this a few days ago with my wife's old phone (with yet a better camera than the LG Env3 I've been using most of the year) and I like it. This phone takes better macro shots than my old phone did. I really need to learn to carry my Canon around more often, though.


Taken at the beginning of one of the longest days I've had at work in a while, it's hard not to love the colors of autumn.


One of the first things I had to do at my new job was reprogram a bunch of barcode scanners for our warehouse.


Chris moved to the Philipines last year. Before he moved, we took off one an impromptu Dark-Side Ride through Mill Creek Streamway Park. This was taken in a corrugated steel tunnel that goes under the railroad tracks near 91st and Woodland Road, illuminated only by our rear blinkies. I miss hangin' with ya, pare!

The capstone commute of 2010

The headwind this morning was insane, but the late spring temperature, oh the temperature! I don't know that I've ever had a December morning commute in the high 50s. Of course, that headwind stayed around all day long, so I had an evening commute with temperatures in the 60s and a wicked push all the way home. I got out early enough to watch the sun set behind me in the mirror, drop off some mail on the way home and run across a few other cyclists enjoying the weather.

I have tomorrow off, and it'll be a busy weekend. That makes today my last commute of the year and probably the last ride as well. It was a capstone commute in every sense. I couldn't think of a better way to wrap up 2010.

I have only a vague idea how many miles I rode this year (probably somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000) and it's been a whopper of a year, packed with changes that were almost exclusively for the better.

Everyone have a safe New Year's Eve, and here's to an awesome year to come!

Don't text and drive.

[via Engadget]

Edited to include:
Kansas ban on texting/emailing/messaging/whatever and driving starts Saturday.
[via The Grouch formerly known as Mark Rainey]

Frosty Morning

Cold temperatures and high humidity made for a very Norman Rockwell-esque post-Christmas morning commute.

First snowy ride of the season

It snowed Friday night into Saturday morning, and we got about an inch near my home. The wind scattered it around and cleared the snow from some spots while forming deeper drifts in others. No photos, sadly. This morning greeted us with 6°F and wind from the Northwest -- a crosswind for most of my trip.

I'm still trying to think of a name for my Schwinn. It took the patches of snow and ice in stride, but it's really slow.  I think I need to start leaving earlier. My clothing log let me down today, too. By the time I was a mile into my ride, I was way too hot. I was adequately layered up, so it was easy to fix.  For those who wonder what I ended up rocking today:

Head: Seirus Thermax Headliner balaclava. This one is really thin, and it spent about half of its time covering my mouth and nose, on and off. It's pretty much my favorite balaclava ever.

Torso: Cheap "Champion" brand base layer shirt plus the thin windproof outer shell of my skiing coat.

Legs: Chamois, base layer pants, flannel and cargo pants. I could have ditched the flannels, but it wasn't too hot.

Hands: Cheap "Thinsulate" mittens

Feet: 2 layers of smartwool socks, work boots

Except for my eyes, I stayed warm. I didn't want to mess with the ski goggles. Again, though... everyone is different. Your body type, fitness level, metabolism, effort and dozens of other variables make it hard to tell people what to wear when it gets cold outside.

New (used) winter bike

I am hoping to have a set of fenders and double-sided SPD/platforms on it sometime soon. One more winter cycling tip I accidentally came across this morning: don't use a strong minty mouthwash right before heading out into sub-freezing weather without a scarf.

(It feels like) winter is on!

I think this morning was the first ride of the season where the temperature was in the teens. Most of you know how I handle the cold-weather season by now. I know what works, clothing-wise because I've kept track of it since my first winter. I'm seeing the usual cadre of local cold-weather bike commuters as they ramp up for the chilly season, but I'm also seeing a bunch of my other cycling friends take a stab at it this winter. That's cool, literally!

As usual, I'm interested in all the different ways my fellow cyclists solve their problems. It sounds like some of them are opting to give pogies (or bar mitts) a try. I don't think they'd work well for me, since I have to leave my bike out in the cold.

Since this is my first winter at the new job, people are already in full-on quiz mode. The truth is that I might revert to the car a few times this coming winter. At my last job, I had the option to take any of four different bus routes when the going got tough. These buses would drop me off anywhere from 300 yards to 3 miles from my place. Now, there's no way to get home by bus, and the roads I have to take to get to and from work are likely going to be treacherous at least a few times over the winter. I'm definitely not shooting for the "more hardcore than you" badge.  I'll leave that to folks like Doug, who was and continues to be an inspiration for my winter cycling habits.

Of course, I plan on riding when ever possible. I'll probably be picking up The Mesa next week, and I'll start outfitting it for winter commuting.  I'll need a few things to round it out (see the Wish List, which contains other stuff I've been saving up for, too) but as far as I'm concerned, winter is on! Who's with me?

The JO needs your help!

From Johnson County Transit:

JCT is seeking letters of support from our loyal riders.  The L/N is partially grant funded due to the fact that we travel to/from Gardner, Kansas (considered a rural area).  Any Gardner residents that would like to submit a letter of support would be much appreciated.  Attached is a form letter - if you could sign and send to me we can include this with our grant application.  Thank you for all your support!  Email letters of support to cris.lowe@jocogov.org or fax to 913-715-2475.

Link to the form letter

I'm not from Gardner, but I know a few of you out there who are. If you support alternative transportation, I urge you to contact JCT.

The Warcycling Gauntlet Has Been Thrown.

I've been war-driving since 2000, and war-biking almost since I first started riding. I do this only occasionally. There are very few variations I can make to my current work commute that don't involve riding on roads that are unwise to use in rush-hour. It makes little sense to scan that route on a daily basis.

I don't scan for wireless networks in order to find ones that are easy to break into. They're all easy, in some way or another. And I don't have any need nor desire to break into other peoples' networks. I can tether with my phone from anywhere I can get a signal, and many places offer free wireless Internet to patrons. I'm not in the habit of poking around on networks I'm not supposed to be poking around on. I like my freedom, thank you very much.

When my friend Lorin started riding his bike to his new job, it was a massive increase in bicycle riding distance, and he started scanning for wireless networks on the way to and from work. Some time in the last 24 hours or so, Lorin threw down the gauntlet.

One thing I didn't mention last night is that I went ahead and brought my warbiking rig along for the ride. I think CommuterDude was the only one that knew what I was up to. It made lots of sense, because the route went through many small residential byways that many normal war-drivers would completely miss. The two 19dBi omnidirectional antennae were mounted very surreptitiously to my panniers. In case anyone's wondering, I saw 423 wireless networks along the route, with more than 300 of those being brand new to the WiGLE database that Lorin and I are using to track this stuff. Of course, I have a 7-year-long head start on Lorin. We'll see if he can catch up. And I suppose this means I'll be canvassing wireless everywhere I go a lot more often.

November 2010 Dark Side Ride

That's right. We know no season. With our ride kicking off at 9:00 PM, a light headwind out of the East and temperatures in the mid-40s, five riders departed. Usually, the DSR crew heads off to rural territory, where only light traffic is seen, but this route was designed by DB, who decided to mix things up with some urban flair. We started in northern Overland Park and passed through almost all of the little suburbs in Northeastern Johnson County. Then, it was across State Line, where attractions included The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The Plaza, Loose Park, Brookside (where we saw a spectacular chimney fire being put out and rode our bikes past a huge trailer full of aromatic Christmas trees waiting to be set up for sale), Waldo, and back to the starting point. The route had dozens and dozens of turns as we avoided most of the major thoroughfares in preference of smaller residential streets, but we had a few fun, high-speed runs on big-name roads like Cleaver II Blvd and JCN Parkway.

It was a blast, as always, but I forgot my camera. All I got were these crappy phone camera shots.

Beautiful fall morning!

Lenexa, originally uploaded by KC-Bike.

34°F. Calm. Overcast with a 100% chance of colorful leaves falling from the sky.

Long day.

7:50 AM:


8:40 PM:

Cast into darkness

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

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

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

October Recap

Man, what a month! Pretty much the usual commute thing, not much other riding. A little bit of driving to take care of some bizarre errands here and there that just couldn't be accomplished any other way.

Today, we turned the keys in for our old apartment. It seems like I've spent the last 3 weeks doing nothing but busting my ass at work, only to come home and bust my ass packing things into boxes, cleaning the old place up, moving boxes between apartments, unpacking those same boxes, organizing things and deciding what's going to remain boxed up for now. I'm a bit of a packrat. I gave away or discarded literally half a ton of random kipple that's been crowding my closets during the process of moving this time.

A lot of what's left had no rhyme or reason to how it was stored, with half a dozen large plastic bins all full of random computer, photography and bike stuff. Most of last week was spent finding a place for every thing, or a thing for every place, but I'm finally satisfied with how stuff is organized. Audio/Visual cables and hardware is finally stored in one thing. Networking stuff in another. Wall Warts and Power Bricks together. Bike parts together. I even have a 5 gallon pail completely full of ethernet patch cables. At least now I have a bunch of small messes of related items rather than one big mess sprawled across many different containers. I can't help but think I need to jettison some more of it, but you never know when you'll need an AUI to UTP transceiver balun or a NuBus Ethernet Card. Oh, wait. I needed one of each last week. Yes, really.

My plan for completing the 100 Pushups program fell completely apart as I encountered nights where I averaged 4 hours of sleep after an eight hour day working and an equal amount of time spent on moving tasks. The balance of my day was taken up by everyday boring stuff and a bike commute to keep me sane.

I'd imagine I have another week or so of getting settled in.

Putting additional stress on things, I barely listened to any music in October. Music gets me through things, and there just wasn't time to put the headphones on and get into the zone at work. And at home... you already know.

At any rate, I'm stoked for what November will bring. Stresses at work and at home are settling down. The temperature's falling, and we're going into one of my favorite times of the year to ride.

New (to me) winter commuter on layaway

The Goat has served me well over the last 4 years, but it will cost more to fix it up this season than a solid used bike. This Schwinn Moab 3 should fit the bill nicely. I have nothing but good things to say about used bikes from Bike America. This one belonged to an employee (or Owner?) and it has been completely tuned up with fresh tires, brakes, cables and shifters. I put a deposit down this afternoon, so she will be mine in a few weeks! I will put the frameset from The Goat away for another time.

In Today's News

Stocking caps are making headlines.


I had to be in to work really early today, and temperatures dropped into the mid-30s overnight. That means it's time to start breaking out the real winter commuting gear. I was still dressed pretty lightly, but this is the first time this season I've needed a stocking cap.

The early commute also gave me the perfect opportunity to do a totally dark ride with the Light & Motion Vis 360 (shown left) that I'm testing out for BikeCommuters.com. At an advertized 115 Lumens, I was figuring that this light would end up being most useful as a "to be seen" light, but it actually casts a really good beam that's totally suitable for night-time riding at speeds of 15 MPH or so. The fact that it's helmet-mounted makes it good for Pothole Patrol. The side markers are brilliant and eye-catching, and the rear light is suitably luminous as well. I expect a full review to be done in the next week or so.

To test it, I took it out with a few other headlights I own, and took pictures of beam patterns. Its competition:

• A Bell Orion I found on the roadside back in early 2009, loaded with a pair of fresh CR2032 batteries. This embodies the ubiquitous cheapo front headlight from discount stores. It's usually helmet mounted. I made a handlebar mount for it when I found it (missing the helmet mount)
  
• Blackburn Flea
  
• NiteRider Evolution Halogen (15W Bulb)

I'll save the beam comparisons for the full review, but here are some teaser images.







And the beam shot from the Vis 360. This was the darkest spot I could find at my apartment complex this morning, far from the best place to do this sort of thing, but gives you a good idea of the beam pattern. I can say it's not nearly as bright as my halogen, but it knocks the socks off of my Blackburn Flea. It had better, for the price!


And off topic, we're finally getting settled in at our new apartment. We had a lot of help moving, but the tedious process of organizing and unpacking has seemingly only just begun. Oh, and the Brown Recluse spider infestation that we were dealing with at our old place won't likely be a problem for much longer, even if some of them did move with us. I found this friendly guy on our first day at the new apartment. It's a Wolf Spider (Hogna carolinensis, specifically) sitting atop a 50-cent piece (Diameter: roughly 1.2")


I really like large spiders such as Silk Spiders, Orb Weavers, Wolf Spiders, Tarantulas and Nursery Web Spiders. They are typically very gentle, but eat most smaller spiders and any other bugs nearby. I'm pretty sure the days are numbered for any Recluses that happened to stow away in our belongings.

Moving Again

No, I'm not switching jobs, nor am I leaving the area. I'm not even leaving the neighborhood. This weekend, my wife and I are moving around the corner from where we live now. As such, there's a lot going on, and I've had a lot of errands to run during the day. Today, I drove, but on my way to one of my errands over lunch, I saw something that's hopefully good news. The worst railroad crossing on my workbound commute is getting patched up:



I'll be back into the usual swing of things shortly.

By the numbers

By the numbers, originally uploaded by KC-Bike.

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

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

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

Hal grades your bicycle locking skills

Elizabeth from BikeCommuters.com posted this to Facebook today. Hal is a wrench at a popular Manhattan bike shop. He takes to the mean steets and criticizes bad bicycle locking jobs.



In short, he's looking for 3 things:

1. Use a really sturdy chain and lock (not a cable) to secure your frame to a large, immovable object.
2. Make sure both wheels are secured to the frame or to the immovable object with more than just the axle nuts or QR skewers.
3. Make sure the seat is properly secured (again, with something more than the seatpost collar)

I usually don't worry about my seat when I park at work. I have a thick towing chain that I pass through both wheels and the rear triangle, then around the bike rack. If I'll only be in and out (like the grocery store) I'll often use a cable lock, but I'll pass it through both wheels, the frame and the seat rails before attaching it to the rack. In higher risk areas (such as when I was riding to a not-so-great part of downtown Kansas City, MO for my monthly check-in at the unemployment office), I use both techniques at the same time.

Hal's comment on quiet streets generally being safer is generally spot-on, but you could be asking for trouble if your lock-up spot is too secluded and you frequently lock up there for long periods of time. He also discusses the fact that locks only buy you time. As a security guy, I would say that it's more complicated than that, but not by much.

• If someone really wants YOUR bike (because it's the most expensive one they came across, because they hate you, or because it's the only bike around), then locks only buy you time.
• If someone just wants something easy to steal (including individual bike wheels, seats, etc) and yours is locked up better than the others in the area, thieves will usually choose the easier target.

It's not as big of a problem in Kansas City as it is in larger metro areas, but bicycles are generally a commodity on the street. A working bicycle can be traded for about $25-$50 in goods or services unilaterally on the black market. It doesn't matter if it's a discount-store Bike-Shaped-Object or a carbon fiber track bike. Generally speaking, though, thieves are willing to put a little more work (and risk) into making extra money out of nice bikes by parting them out and fencing them or by trying to sell them as if they're the owner, either in person or on sites like Craigslist.

I'd still like to know where Hybridzilla ended up. I checked all the pawn shops, all the online places and the local newspaper want ads. I like to think it found its way to someone that appreciates and rides it much as I did. It was purpose-built for getting around reliably.

Random Tunage:
Derek Howell - Frozen
Cascade - Escape

Time to consult the clothing log

My breaking point for shorts is 50 degrees Fahrenheit. As the fall has moved in and morning temperatures dropped into the low 60s and 50s, I think this is the first year that I trusted myself to believe that I'd regret throwing layers on. This week, however, has greeted me with low 40s. Psychologically, my brain processes this as "just a little above freezing," and the temptation to break out the balaclava, wool socks and ski coat becomes very real.

This time of year, I'm really glad that I kept track of years past and what kinds of clothing worked particularly well at given temperatures below 50 degrees. This morning, I rode in my work pants, a synthetic shirt, some light gloves and a hoodie. Truth told, it was still a little warm. I opened the zipper on the hoodie and kept my speed down to compensate. I used the hood under my helmet for ear coverage, but I think a headband and a light windbreaker would have been a better call. Duly noted in the log.

Utility cycling is all about finding your own groove.

Random Tunage:
The Crystal Method: Busy Child
64-Bit - The Arrival

Corinna West wants your help

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

Hi Poetry Friends and Bicycle Friends,

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

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

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

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

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

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

PPP Call For Artists

PPP Bicycle Peer Support Opening

Wearing Thin

I finally got around to throwing a new set of SPD cleats onto my shoes. I got these shoes (and my SPD pedals) on May 1st, 2007 when I bought The Twelve, and these were the cleats that came with the pedals, some 15,000 miles ago. The cleats don't wear thin like this from riding, though. They wear thin from walking on them. It's not like I did any epic hikes in these MTB shoes. I just walked a few hundred yards in them, 5 days a week, every week, in all weather conditions. I don't usually wear these shoes for anything other than riding my bike and walking from my bike parking spot up to my cubicle.



The nose of the old cleat is thinner than a butter knife, but it was still holding up okay, without complaining or breaking. I did notice that the new cleats have a lot less play in them. I had a heck of a time removing the old cleats, because the heads had become deformed enough that inserting the 4mm Allen wrench wasn't quite as straight-forward an affair as it should have been.

Oh, yeah. I'm finally back on the 100 Pushups program again for the third time, and I'm tracking my progress with a friend, so we can nag each other and make sure we both stay motivated. Maybe this time I won't booger my shoulder up like I did the last two times I tried this. My left shoulder is still on the mend from the Deer Crash, but pushups seem to be helping it.

I'm on my second week (or is it the second weak?) and I'm already noticing more positive changes in my upper body and core. My initial assessment was higher than it was the previous two times I tried starting this program. I hope to keep pushups a part of my weekly routine once I am done with the six-week program.

Random Tunage:
Rob Dougan - Clubbed To Death 2
B-Movie - Nowhere Girl (Adam Freeland Remix)

Commuting by streetlight

Mornings like this make me miss parts of my old early morning commute.


Baz (non-bikey chaos):
It's been a busy few weeks. Last week, I took a few days off work to participate in Cyber-RAID and Security B-Sides Kansas City. Yes, I know, "cyber-" stopped being a cool prefix way back in the nineteen hundreds.

Cyber-RAID was a digital warfare exercise where four teams of eight people were tasked with defending their lab networks from thirty hackers, penetration testers and information security researchers. I was on the winning defensive team, which included Eric, another information security-savvy bicycle commuter. The people on my team were top-notch. I've never played a "game" quite like this before. While it was immensely stressful, it was also the most fun I've had in years.

Security B-Sides KC was an information security conference held alongside Cyber-RAID, and included several speakers giving presentations on a wide variety of information security topics. Among them was a presentation I gave on how broken the current state of WiFi is, with a harrowing live demonstration of the types of things you open yourself up to by using it. Of course, I also had talking points on defending yourself, your home network and your enterprise wireless installation from these sorts of attacks. I spoke with an interactive audience of around 70 people, literally an order of magnitude larger than any group I've addressed before.

Random Tunage:
Schodt feat. Aida Fenhel - White Tiger (Mango Remix)
Mike Foyle - Shipwrecked(John OCallaghan vs Mike Foyle Club)

Randy's Off-Road ride report (and more photos)

You can see more fun stuff from Randy's perspective of the crazy off-road-fest here.

Not much more I can add. You can see Keith and I play hike-a-bike with clogged wheels in a few spots, though.