Bike to Work Week - Day 5 Wrap-Up

I got persuaded into riding back into Olathe with Chris this afternoon. I left at about 3:30. We swung by the Trek store on the way back into town so he could pick up a spare inner tube. It was a long, slow ride, and Chris is definitely faster than I am, at least in my current weakened state.

It was cool having another cyclist in sight, and a little discussion is always welcome. I just wish I had a little more hammer juice in the shriveled pillars of mangled meat that used to be my legs. I was pushing as hard as I could, and just couldn't get any momentum behind me, even on the slightest of inclines or going against the faintest of headwinds.

It was a fun and enjoyable ride, all the same. I feel like yesterday's homeward commute-by-bus has been avenged.

Again, if anyone wants to join me for a really easy-going spin on Indian Creek Trail tomorrow morning, show up at the Quivira Park entrance before 9:00. I'll be there. Don't expect a fast ride. I'll be unwinding.

Is this selfish?

I started commuting by bike back in September. In November, they installed this bike rack. I was commuting by bike twice a week, then thrice as time allowed, then 4 days per week, and now I pretty much use my bike daily. Today's the last day of bike to work week, yet in all the months I've parked on this rack, I've never, ever seen another bicycle locked up to it.

Today, I decided I'd park it like this from now on. I think it's a little selfish, but it's a little more stable and secure as well. Am I a bastard? Does this make me evil?

Upcoming product reviews

This past week, I've put quite a few miles on my bike. I've also tested the limits of myself and my gear.

I don't get free stuff for my bike. I shop around, get stuff that looks like it'll meet my needs, and run with it. After I've used some stuff for a while, I get to form an opinion about it.

Anyhow, in the coming days and weeks, I'll work on some product reviews:

* Trek 1200 Bicycle.

* Blackburn CrossRack

* Genuine Innovations Ultraflate CO2 tire inflater

* Banjo Brothers Saddlebag Panniers

They all have some good and some bad aspects, but I put all of these things to the test this past week.

Day 5: WOW! Commuters!

I rode the 3-mile hammerfest to the bus this morning. A nice, smooth ride, with some hard pushing, my old familiar hill climbs, and a newfound road confidence. It was even colder than it was yesterday morning, but I used the same level of warmth. 3 miles of hammering keeps you pretty warm compared to 20+ miles of intentionally-paced riding.

When I got to the bus, there was already a white Specialized Allez Sport strapped in. I've seen it once before, but it's been a few weeks. When I got on the bus, I started talking to the rider. It turns out it's Chris, an EarthRiders member who's been consistently high on the KC Commuter challenge points ranking, and who I'd been talking with on a regional bike commuter mailing list. It was nice to put a face to the name. It's also the guy who I thought was a mile ahead of me yesterday, but that wasn't him.

As I sit here at Starbucks, I've seen 4 or 5 other cyclists riding by. There are 3 bikes locked up outside (one of them is mine) and I've seen a few strapped down to the bike racks on buses. There are a LOT of bike commuters out today! Look...another bike on a bus just as I typed that last sentence!

While I'm here giving a play-by-play of reality while it's unfolding, I just saw a guy staring at my bike as he walked by... almost like he was checking out a nice looking woman. That's kind of a weird look to be giving a bike. He was a heavy-set business-type guy, probably not going to steal my bike. Maybe his bike lust will get the better of him; he looks like he could use a little bit of bike riding. Okay, now I'm the pot calling the kettle black. My bike does look really good though. ;)

I'll probably run into Chris on Monday. There's a new bike commuter that wants to get from Shawnee to Downtown. Chris and I both ride the same way once we get to Shawnee, so we're both going to guide the cyclist downtown. Kind of like an impromptu BIKE ESCORT. It should be fun, and helping a new bike commuter to gain confidence and understanding of the route is a worthy cause.

Look! Another bike on a bus!

Bike To Work Weak - Day 4 wrap-up

Thanks, Warren. I couldn't resist.

I wussied out and took the bus to JCCC this evening. I had some stuff to do once I got back into Johnson county, so I'll still get some miles. You know how some people thought I was taking Bike To Work Week a little too literally? Well, it's Bike *TO WORK* Week. Not Bike To Home Week or Bike From Work Week. LOL! While I'm at it, I'll participate in "Bike is the ticket to ride" event tomorrow. In other words, I'm tapped. Seriously.

Let's do a recap of my week so far. I've had about 12 hours of sleep and put about 150 miles on my bike since Monday. Put mildly, my current lifestyle is not conducive to this kind of commuting yet. Part of this is family related. I have to wake up at 5:00 to make it out by 5:30, which is basically the latest I can leave. To get enough sleep, I'd really need to be in bed by 10, maybe 10:30.

As it stands right now, my wife gets home around 10:30, and that's the only time I see her. She's asleep when I leave in the morning. If I was asleep when she got home, that would really, really suck. I wouldn't want to simply NOT see her, ever.

There are a few positives to this, though:

First off, I can do the full round trip on occasion, I just can't do it on a daily basis. I've proven to myself that I have what it takes to ride the whole trip. This is a huge mental breakthrough.

Next off, my wife has been accepted for another position in her department that will result in hours that will help me get some more sleep. It sounds like she might even get converted to full time.

Finally, we're moving a few miles closer to both of our jobs at the end of June. I'm not sure what the new route would look like for a full bicycle-only commute, but I'll hash out those details in the coming weeks. This would probably result in about a 15-20 minute difference in my commute time, meaning that I might be able to get to my office in an hour or less once we move.

I've already said that I'm calling this Bike To Work Week a success. This week has been a great growth experience. I've had a several great rides to and from work, a fun group ride with my dad and some friends, and met a few fellow commuters -- even if only to exchange a wave of the hand. Leading up to this week, I had the honor of showing up to a few city council meetings to show my support for cycling. I'll take away a slightly more passionate zeal for cycling from these events.

Riding to the bus in the morning is usually a pretty rushed ride, and I know tomorrow probably won't be any different. It'll be a major change of pace from what I've been doing in the morning lately. I'm usually slow and steady, conserving my energy to get me all the way downtown. I won't have that luxury tomorrow, and I'm going to be doing it on sore legs to boot. Saturday, I'm hosting a slow ride on Indian Creek Trail. I'm going to need a longish recovery ride that's low-stress, low-speed and high on fun factor. If you want to join me in stretching out the legs, and winding down from the Bike To Work Week festivities, let me know, or heck, just show up. Details are in the announcement at the top of my blog.

By The Way...

Although I'm not cycling to impress anyone other than myself, I thought I'd take some time out of my day to brag a little. I didn't realize it until late last night, but on Monday, I passed 1,000 cycling miles since I made my commitment to use the car as little as possible on January 1st.

While I know some people get 10,000 miles or more on their bikes every year, I thought 1,000 miles was a good number to celebrate over.

Some of my cow-orkers will probably never ride 1,000 miles on a bicycle over the course of their entire lives. Others do participate in weekend group rides, and fund-raisers like the MS-150. For all I know, they ride more than I do, but choose to leave the "toy" at home. It's amazing how people who ride bikes can't grasp the concept of using it for transportation.

Also, I'm poised to leave the clydesdale club soon. For those not in-the-know, cyclists that weigh over 200 pounds are jokingly known as clydesdales. Among fellow clydes, it's a semi-serious name of respect and acknowledgement. While it looks like I won't be a clydesdale for much longer, I will always support those who use cycling to promote a healthier lifestyle. Being active at 200 pounds, I feel better than when I was lethargic and ballooning up past 180 pounds. I can only imagine how great I'll feel when I get down to 180 pounds and being active.

Oh yeah, and my bike-to-drive ratio is back up over 3.0 again. I'd like it a lot if it never goes below 3.0 for the rest of the year. We'll see.

Bike To Work Week Day Four: Round Three

No photos this morning, just riding. Relentless, constant riding.

I left at 5:00 sharp, and I knew it would be a bit slower than usual. My legs didn't recover from last night, and they were not quite as responsive as they were yesterday morning. I wasn't that slow, but I was slower.

It was a bit colder this morning than yesterday, but I learned my lesson. I wore long thermals under my bike shorts (and over the liner) to keep my knees warm, and a hoodie to keep my core warm. Full-finger gloves kept my hands comfortable.

My front derailleur was still off a bit, but now I was dropping the chain off the hammer ring instead. I took a bit of a different route, catching 67th street to Turkey Creek Trail. When the trail crossed Merriam Lane, I hopped off the bike to do some derailleur tuning and some stretches. After I got it dialed in, I had no more problems.

As I approached Antioch and Merriam Lane, I saw another commuter again. It wasn't Caroline this time. I tried, yet again, to reel the cyclist in, but I ended up running dead even this time, never gaining ground. I lost visual contact where Southwest Boulevard does a chicane through some residential stuff. A few minutes later, I passed Jeff again, on the unmistakable green fixie.

Up the boulevard, into the heart of KCMO, and in for some quick carbs. It's not over yet, but I'm calling this year's bike to work week a success. My goal was to make it at least one day round trip via bike. Monday was about the same number of miles as a round trip, but it wasn't. Yesterday was a full round trip and then some. I plan on finishing today with another round trip, and tomorrow, we'll just have to see how I feel.

Day 3 wrap-up: Bike officers, red bull, and loads of fun

Today, I set off on my journey at about 4:30PM. It's AMAZING the difference a half-hour in departure time makes. Instead of doing the usual cyclist thing of finding little back alley shortcuts, I sat there, in traffic, biding my time like everyone else. It kinda sucked. But it's okay.

I experimented a bit on the way home, and I felt pretty strong the whole way. I kept well-hydrated and maintained good speed and road position. I really felt like everything was coming together. Having this much seat time today (almost 4 hours worth, if you count times I wasn't moving) I really started to feel at one with my steed. I no longer feel like I'm controlling it. I feel like it's going where I want to go. It sounds cheesy, but it's the only way I can describe it. I just got in from putting 27 more miles on my bike, and I'm not really all that worn out. It was a great ride.

Photo: I stopped to talk with Ed (left) and Doug (right) at JCCC. This week, there are several graduation ceremonies happening at the college, for various schools and college degree programs. Doug and Ed patrol on bike. As I worked for JCCC for almost 9 years and my wife currently works in their department, I know both of these guys pretty well. We sat around, talked about bikes, commuting, and all that jazz.
Then the Red Bull street team showed up, offering us free Red Bull. So I continued chatting it up with the officers while I polished off my carbonated, caffeinated nectar from the gods above.

Then it was off to the bike shop to figure out why I kept dropping my chain off the granny ring. I think they fixed the problem (I could have but if they will do it for free...)

Anyhow. I'm home, relaxing, and planning on another day of wonderful riding.

B2WW Day 3: Chilly!

Photo: Starbucks might be known around the nation for their coffee, but they also make some pretty good kickstands :)

So yeah, it was 50 degrees when I left this morning. 50. That doesn't sound bad at all, does it? That sounds like a good time to throw on my MTB shorts and maybe a long sleeve t-shirt for my trip to the bus. I wore a long t-shirt (grey) and a white t-shirt over that for a little extra warmth and visibility, and my lime reflective vest over that.

Note to self, 20+ miles is a bit of a haul when you're cold! I should have worn my windbreaker and my full-finger gloves. My legs weren't too bad in shorts, surprisingly.


Anyhow, it was a pleasant ride. I left a bit later than I did on Monday, to get down town closer to 6:45 than to 6:20. As I approached the intersection of Merriam Lane and Johnson Drive, I saw something ahead. Blinking lights and a bright yellow jacket... Another commuter? The bike was pretty far ahead but seemed to have a single pannier on the drive side.

I picked up the pace a bit to reel in the cyclist, if for nothing more than to exchange greetings and salutations, and caught up around Antioch. As it turns out, it was an older woman named Karen who's been commuting by bike for longer than I've been alive. She lives in JoCo somewhere and works at the IRS. I guess there are a few other bicycle commuters that use the same route as well, including her husband on occasion. It was kind of cool to actually run into someone... ANYONE else that commutes by bike. Monday, with the exception of exchanging a wave with Jeff who was going the other direction, I was the only cyclist in sight. Caroline and I parted ways around Boulevard Brewery, and I continued onward.

Initial reaction to the panniers? AWESOME! Having the weight balanced and lower-slung than being strapped down to my rack is great. The bike's handling feels a bit sluggish compared to when the weight is on my back, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Even with all the extra weight, the Trek 1200's handling isn't any worse than my unencumbered Diamondback Outlook hybrid.

Anyhow, I'm going to try to warm up for a bit before riding the last few blocks to the office. Tonight's ride should be more pleasant, in the low 70's. I'll get out of town a little later than I wanted to, since I have a performance review with my boss today starting at 4:00, which is when I usually try to hit the road.

Saddlebags

Photo: My bike locked up with the kegs at Buffalo Wild Wings.

If you can't tell, I got reflective panniers! I got a check in for some consulting work I did, and I quickly went and blew some of it on a set of panniers. They're not the most expensive or the cheapest, but they appeared to be a good bang-for-the-buck, and I don't have any heel-strike problems with them like some of the bigger touring bags or grocery panniers I looked at.

Despite not driving to work, I still had plenty to keep me busy. As you can tell, I went to Buffalo Wild Wings. Some of my friends meet up there on Tuesdays for wing night. It's not much further than the bus stop, so I hammered on it and made pretty good time. Then, it was off to see my buddy's new house. I went to the pharmacy, then finally to the grocery store. These are all things that I had to do, or that I would normally do. Last year around this time, I would have just driven around everywhere, even though it was just about 10 miles even. All of this in-town driving with lots of turning the car on and off, driving a mile here, 3 miles there, and so on, would have probably burned a gallon of gas. Instead, I got to burn off some chicken wings and beer that were tasty and delicious, without feeling too guilty about eating and drinking all of it.


...There's no way I burned off all those wings, though...

Oh yeah, panniers can only mean one thing, I have to do another round trip via bike. I might as well make it tomorrow. And maybe Thursday too. :)

Zealous, not stupid.

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

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

Bike To Work Week - Day 1 wrap-up

These kids made me jealous. While I was pushing pedals through a headwind full of dry, almost-90-degree heat, these twerps were cooling off in Turkey Creek. I felt like riding right into the stream, but better judgment took over. The cool water looked so refreshing!

Then there's the group ride, and oh what a group ride it was! We were off to a kind of slow start. My dad joined us, and Tim O was there, as well as a bunch of other new faces. We departed a little later than usual, but Mark Thomas had to herd the cats cyclists, so that was part of it. This group ride got a lot of attention, as it was a sanctioned event for Bridging the Gap's Bike To Work Week. I think it was a stunning success!

Riders watch and listen as Mark Thomas gives some helpful hints on finding your way around suburbia, navigating neighborhoods, and finding new ways to get to your destinations via cycling. The focus of our ride this evening was to show people some popular shopping center destinations. To demonstrate, Mark used a messenger bag during our whole ride to simulate running errands on a bicycle. A Chrome brand messenger bag like the one shown will be given away at next week's Monday night ride. All you have to do to enter the drawing is sign up and write a post on Choose2Bike.com.

We took a detour to Old Town Shawnee, a park with some original downtown Shawnee buildings. Volunteers from Bridging The Gap and City of Shawnee, Kansas put together some give-away schwag such as reflective ankle straps, ice cream bars, trail maps, and whatnot. Those without kickstands or a buddy to lean bikes together with just laid their bikes out in the grass. It looked like a battlefield of exhausted bicycles. Probably not too far off. Hahah. Deb Ridgeway was there to answer questions and thank people for participating, then she met us again at the Trek Store...

Where products, tickets, and dining gift certificates are given away while we celebrate with some wonderful homebrew Brown Ale, brewed by one of the Trek Store technicians. I won a multi-tool and my dad won a Trek DiscoTech blinkie.

I didn't finish riding all the way home. I socialized with my dad and we rode together in his car back to my place. This was his first organized group ride, and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last.

Here's a short video clip I took of some riders flying by:

Sweet success... for the first half!

Photo: Cheesy temperature photo-op by the Commerce Bank at Neiman and Shawnee Mission Parkway. The time was about 5:40, and I was little more than half way to work...

But NOW, I'm kickin' it at Starbucks. I got here in about 1H22M which is pretty darn quick compared to the amount of time the trip takes on my hybrid going the other direction. The morning air was balmy but comfortable. I was right last night though, It never did get below 70.

The ride in was without incident, almost to the point of being a little boring for some of the way. What few motorists I encountered gave me plenty of room. As I rode up Baltimore from Southwest Boulevard, a gentleman mistook me for a bicycle cop. Must have been the lime reflective vest and das blinkenlichten on the back of my bike. He asked me for directions, as all the construction downtown had rendered his printed dot-com driving directions useless. I obliged.

I don't think I could have asked for a nicer morning to put 20+ miles on a bicycle. Tuesday or Wednesday (depending on who you listen to) is supposed to bring storms with it. I'm definitely not riding the whole way in inclement weather. If storms crop up, I will proudly and happily ride to the bus stop.

Anyhow, I'm off to the salt mine. The next time I hope on my bike, I'll be facing temps nearing 90 degrees. I'm not sure if you can see it in the photo or not, but with those kinds of temperatures, I figured it would be wise to carry a little more water. I put a second water bottle cage on the Trek last night. It will probably come off after Bike To Work Week because I took it off my Outlook, and if I plan on doing any more long distance riding, I'll likely suck it up and buy a Camelbak.

Gearing up!

I'm ready to rock!

After messing with my bike all weekend (and not riding it afterwards) I knew I'd need to shake out some bugs. My brakes were in dire need of tightening up, and my rear derailleur has been getting a little, tiny bit sloppy. Considering I barely have 100 miles on the bike, I'm chalking it up to cable relaxation and settling into the cable housing a bit.

It took about 10 minutes of tinkering to get the brakes and RD dialed in the way I like them. Then, it was off to the grocery store to give it a proper test, and get some nourishment for the long ride tomorrow morning.

I'm abandoning the backpack for now. I'm strapping stuff down to the rack for this week of long riding. The sun's been down for about an hour now and it's still really warm and humid. It's my guess it won't drop much below 70 tonight. The last thing I need is a sweaty backpack. I can't wait to get a proper set of panniers on this thing.

Anyhow, I'll try to sneak some pics tomorrow. I should be leaving at about 5:00AM. I don't plan on averaging 10 MPH all the way there, but I'd rather get into town a half hour ahead of schedule than a half hour late. For every minute after 7:00AM, my presence on surface roads will become less and less welcome.

Finally, the weekend... or not?

Photo: Clean, shiny road bike (sans racked handlebar pannier thing)

I'm still feeling pretty crappy, and today's commute by bike was, for all intents and purposes, completely uncalled for. I hit my 3.00 bike commute / drive ratio yesterday and I didn't feel like setting myself back. So, I was a nincompoop today and rode the bike, despite the onset of bronchitis. I found out that on my road bike, I can still average 13 MPH with hills for 3 miles without breathing through my mouth at all. I took an intentionally slow pace to avoid any further stress on my throat and lungs.

I still felt like crap at work, and I should have just stayed home. Even now, I'm coughing up a storm. When I got home, I took the Trek apart and gave it a proper cleaning, including prying out all the little bits of whatever that had embedded themselves into my brake pads. It wasn't really that much stuff, but I cleaned them out anyways. I cleaned the wheels off in the bath tub (with a rag, not in 2-foot-deep water) and gave the frame a wipe down and fresh coat of wax. Once re-assembled, I lubed it up and checked all the cables. Fresh, clean bikey!

It sucks that I feel so crappy today. Sunny skies and temps in the mid 80's are going to be calling my name tomorrow, but I probably won't be able to ride. We'll see.

I get to telecommute Sunday early morning for server maintenance. So much for having a real weekend.

Today's events

I took off for work quite a bit later than usual this morning, fully intending to catch the last bus out of town. I succeeded at that, but ran into dense, thick fog. Needless to say, I had blinkies going full-force and was cautious about cars coming up behind me and while traveling through intersections. The humidity was so prevalent that when I arrived at the bus stop, every exposed hair on my body (arms, legs, eyebrows) was forming dew droplets, not sweat. I almost thought about swimming to work instead of cycling. It was that humid.

Flying my advocacy flag high, I visited KCMO city hall with a handful of other cyclists to show support for KCMO to adopt the month of May as Bicycle Month, and this coming week as Kansas City's official Bike To Work Week. In attendance were guests of honor Eric Rogers (wearing the black helmet) of kcbike.info and Deb Ridgeway (wearing the green helmet) of Bridging The Gap as KCMO Mayor Mark Funkhouser presents them to the council. After the motion passes, Deb and Eric present Mayor Funkhouser with a brand new cycling helmet. There are rumors that Mayor Funkhouser may participate in Bike To Work Week. This is a significant difference from Olathe's city council meeting on Tuesday, where Mayor Copeland said that gasoline would have to go higher than $30 per gallon before we'd see him on a bicycle.

Finally, there were a few bicycles parked on the sorry excuse for a bicycle rack that city hall provided. Absolutely no one, myself included, used the rack as it was designed to be used. I parked on the outside end of the rack, as you can see. Also on the rack was a unique art-bike turned three-speed ridden by one of the Acme ladies. Notice I also got a real water bottle for my bike thanks to Bridging The Gap! They were handing out bottles to all council members and other interested attendees (not just cyclists).

I returned to work for a while after going to KCMO city hall. Now I'm on my way home. I'm still kind of recovering from my sickness.

Olathe cyclists have allies

I attended an Olathe City Council meeting on Tuesday. It was a stark contrast to the 127th street meeting I went to back in March. The main reason I was there was because of one single item that was up for discussion: The Olathe Bicycle Transportation Plan.

There was a lot of structure. There was also a lot of animosity towards cyclists that began to rear its head. One council member exclaimed that cyclists don't pay taxes to use Olathe's roadways, and that they are slow, and obstruct traffic "like a farm tractor on a highway."

Quickly, to counter these points, it was mentioned by several people in attendance that almost all cyclists own cars and use them (thus paying taxes for Olathe roads), as well as stating that bicycles don't cause damage to roads the way large motor vehicles do. Also, it's no secret that bicycle lanes would keep cyclists out of the way of motorists, and motorists out of the damage path of cyclists in most situations.

To the rescue were two other council members: Marge Vogt and Larry Campbell. It so happens that Marge is a co-chair for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advocacy Committee for Mid America Regional Council. It should come as no surprise that she openly embraced the discussion of the bicycling plan, asking questions to ensure that the planners had a clear vision of what the project would entail. Larry is the former mayor of Olathe, and prioritizes quality of life for Olathe residents. While more soft-spoken on the topic of cycling, it was evident that he can see that cycling is beneficial to our city.

Three other fellow cyclists spoke to the council -- an Olathe resident, Lenexa resident and a De Soto resident -- all somewhat close to Olathe. They brought up valid points and spoke on behalf of the many who would benefit from safer cycling amenities in Olathe.

Let's not forget Keith Bredehoeft, Traffic Division Manager of Olathe, who presented the master plan to the council. He seems to have a very strong interest in the plan for both transportation and recreational cycling and its many benefits such as less motor vehicles on the road, healthier lifestyles, and environmental impact. He also pointed out that whenever new cycling facilities are implemented in the area, usage of the facilities is higher than calculated. He stayed cool under pressure from council member John Bacon, who often criticized aspects of the master plan but in the end moved to proceed with the planning phase of the project.

Dale Crawford is a Park Project Coordinator for Olathe, as well as the Advocacy Chair for Johnson County Bicycle Club. Dale keeps a lot of Johnson Countians in the loop with opportunities to be heard and/or seen. While he remained somewhat quiet at this council meeting, he did come out to thank and talk with cyclists that made an appearance after the portion of the council meeting regarding the bicycle transportation plan had concluded.

Regardless what I've said about Olathe and some of its more vocal anti-cycling residents -- especially in my rant on the 127th street improvement project -- I must say that Olathe is still pretty far ahead of other cities in greater KC area as far as cycling is concerned. It's because of the few vocal people like these that the thousands of cyclists in our area have what we've got, and continue to remain visible when issues like this one come up.

Clean Commute - Inspiration for bike to work week

If the weather co-operates with me next week, I am going to try to get at least one round-trip bicycle commute day in, without using the bus or any other motorized transportation. If I can keep it up, I will try to go all week without using the bus. That said, I'd love to see some other people -- who think they live too far from work to bicycle all the way -- to ride their bicycles to the bus for bike to work week!

Really, though, our existing mass transit system offers many benefits. These benefits will be similar for every major metro area that has buses or trains for commuters to use. You'll see why I have been and will continue to use Johnson County Transit's system.

Fossil Fuels
Using fossil fuels presents many, many problems. For those concerned with the environment, cars use a lot of gasoline and produce a lot of pollution. This damage is two-fold, both reducing our supply of natural resources as well as damaging our atmosphere. For those concerned with the source of our oil, cars increase our dependence on foreign oil from abroad, including the middle east. Some people believe oil sales in the U.S. directly bankroll terrorism. Finally some are concerned about the ballooning oil industry. Despite record prices for crude oil, petroleum companies are making record profits to match. Oil tycoons don't feel threatened; Cars are here to stay, and higher costs for raw materials just means that their already exorbitant mark-up nets them even more cash. They laugh all the way to the bank when they see oil prices on the rise.

So, ignore all those "gasoline boycott" e-mails you've been getting. Don't shift what day you pay the piper. Reduce your gasoline usage!

According to numbers I got from Cris at Johnson County Transit (a.k.a. The JO), the Olathe, KS express bus route carries an average of 35 people per trip over 6 trips. Some trips are longer than others, but my guess is the average round-trip route (including the trip back to the bus barn) is around 45-50 miles. It looks like 3.5 miles per gallon is about average for non-hybrid buses that burn diesel. In this case, each bus will burn about 12.8 gallons of fuel in order to deliver those 35 commuters to their ultimate destination. How does that stack up against using a car? Well, each person's share is about 1/3 gallon per trip, or 2/3 gallon per day. My 24 MPG car (actual consumption when used only for getting to and from work) would use about 2 gallons of fuel per day.

To use less, you'd need a car that actually gets 67 MPG or you could car pool with a co-worker in a car that actually gets 34 MPG. I'm not talking about EPA ratings. Very few cars actually get 34 MPG in rush-hour traffic. More realistically, you could car pool with two other co-workers while getting 22 MPG.

Reducing the amount of fuel used is the only way to "stick it to the man" or reduce consumption and pollution. Using car pools, mass transit, walking or riding a bike are all viable ways of making it happen.

Congestion and Traffic
Buses are pretty big, but when you consider the fact that sometimes one bus is keeping more than 30 cars off the road and out of the already crowded parking lots downtown, they don't seem so big any more. Using the Olathe bus route as an example, all the trips combined are keeping about 200 cars back here in Olathe instead of on the road and in parking spaces.

Saving Money
Let me do some math for you, using my commute as an example. It's about 22 miles from the bus stop to my office, and at $3.50 per day ($1.75 per trip), it's equivalent to the cost about 1.2 gallons of gasoline. Just to break even on fuel costs alone, you'd have to own a car that actually gets 36 miles per gallon (again, not EPA Rated, but 36 MPG in traffic). Once you count the costs of parking downtown and the wear on your car from about 900 miles driven each month, it's easy to see that there are tangible financial benefits to leaving your car at home or at a park and ride location, or better yet, riding your bike or walking to the bus if it's close enough!

Looking back at April, I saved almost $200 by riding my bicycle and bus to get to work. I also rode 250 miles more than the bare minimum to get to and from work, which works out to about $30 in gasoline. Many of those miles came from combining errands and shopping trips with my commute home. I would ultimately get off of the bus further from home, but it would position me to easily make 3 or 4 stops on my way home, so I wouldn't need to use my car.

Other Benefits to mass transit
There are many other benefits to using mass transit. In the early morning, you can usually catch a half-hour cat nap on your way to work. You could also review those reports one last time before getting dragged into that meeting first thing in the morning. If you'd rather check out the sports page or latest stock prices, you can. Feel like touching up your eye liner? Go for it. Instead of being stressed out in your car, you can relax, play sudoku, listen to your morning radio show, or whatever else you feel like doing. The time is yours, and it's liberating.

While waiting around for a bus doesn't seem like the most convenient thing in the world, it really isn't that bad. The more popular bus routes have pick-ups every 15-30 minutes. It can take a little bit of adjustment, but it works really well. If your work schedule doesn't often demand late nights, the bus will probably work great for you!


Riding your bicycle
(or, you are not too fat, old, out-of-shape, or clumsy to ride a bicycle)

The percentage of people who simply cannot -- for physical reasons -- ride a bicycle at least one mile is nearly infinitesimal. For those with mobility and/or balance problems, there are recumbent bicycles, adult tricycles, recumbent adult tricycles and even so-called "tadpoles" with two wheels in front (for steering) and one in the rear (for power). These solutions allow the rider to sit on a more comfortable seat, as opposed to a saddle. The three-wheeled cycles don't fall over as easily, and all of them allow the rider to comfortably rest their feet on the ground when stopped. The downside is that most trikes, and certain kinds of recumbent bicycles won't fit on the bicycle racks supplied on the bus.

Enough with the bizarre bicycles. Most people reading this could probably ride a comfortable hybrid bike. High-quality hybrid and commuter bikes can be purchased for under $400 at any bicycle shop. Hybrids offer more road comfort than a racing-style road bicycle with curvy handlebars, but they offer better efficiency and less rolling resistance than mountain bikes. This makes them good for most tasks involving a bicycle. A genuine bicycle shop (that is, one whose primary business is bicycles, not a sporting goods store or heaven forbid a store with a toy aisle) will be able to find the right bicycle for you. Not just one that you can stand over and ride, but one that fits both your budget and your body. They'll also make sure it's assembled properly, and adjusted for the best possible riding position. $400 might sound like a lot of money to drop on a bicycle when there are bike-shaped toys at discount stores that can be purchased for under $100 but you really do get what you pay for.

If you can ride one mile, then the battle has been won. The first week or two are the hardest, because your body has to get used to riding. Bicycle saddles are not like the seat in your car or office and they require some getting used to. Once your body has built up some muscle around your "sit bones" where you rub on the saddle, you will find that most bikes are not that uncomfortable to ride. In fact, it's easy to get hooked!

If you live within 5 miles of your job or a bus stop, then you should just trust me when I say that you can probably ride a bicycle 5 miles once you've gotten used to it. Your legs are fully capable of it. Back in September, I bought a bike that was just about the most inefficient thing I could buy. It had cheap front and rear suspension which made it difficult to pedal and It had wide, low-pressure knobby tires with a lot of rolling resistance. The engine -- my own body -- hadn't gotten a genuine work out in over ten years. I was 100 pounds heavier than I was when I graduated high school. I had bad knees, sore feet and ankles every morning when I woke up. As heavy and out of shape as I was, and as horribly inefficient as the bike was, I was still able to ride it 5 miles in a single sitting. If you don't believe me that all you have to do is start riding, check out the inspiring story of The Amazing Shrinking Man as he went from 581 pounds to 241 pounds in a little over a year with the help of a bicycle and other lifestyle changes.

Challenges to cycling or walking
Sure, riding your bike or walking to work does present its own set of challenges. What if your hair gets messed up? What if you get sweaty? How are you going to carry your briefcase to work? How will you get home if it starts storming in the middle of the day?

I'm not saying that a bike can replace a car all the time, and my family still owns two motor vehicles: a fuel-efficient compact car and a modest-sized SUV with a flexible-fuel V6 engine that can accept a blend of Ethanol and Gasoline up to E85.

Here are some hurdles I had to conquer.

Getting Sweaty
My first few days of commuting by bike, I got really, really sweaty. Fortunately, I had a half hour to cool down on the bus before getting to work, but I still had damp work clothes on. I solved the problem by riding in shorts (or jeans if it's cool enough) and a t-shirt, while gently rolling my dress clothes and placing them in a backpack. I may switch to using panniers (saddle bags that hang next to the rear wheel on either side) as the summer gets closer and my back gets sweatier from carrying a backpack. Now that I'm in better shape, I pace myself as well so that I don't sweat much while I ride in the morning.

Carrying stuff
Not only do I usually carry my business casual attire to work, but I also carry a laptop, occasionally carry my lunch, and sometimes use my bicycle for other errands such as light grocery shopping. Both of my commuting bicycles (a hybrid and a road bike) have racks on the back, with bungees to hold things down to them as needed.

Being Prepared
I'm not the type to worry excessively about bad things, but I like to be prepared. On both of my commuting bikes, I carry at least one spare inner tube, some tire patches, and a way to inflate the tire. For my hybrid, I just use a hand-held miniature air pump that fits easily in my bookbag. The tubes and tire changing tools sit inside a little pack under the seats. For my road bike, I use an inflater that takes cheap CO2 containers (for pellet guns) which fits nicely inside the under-seat pack with the inner tubes.

Cleaning up a bit at the office
When I get to the office, I still might be a little sweaty, so while I change clothes, I slap on another layer of deoderant, sometimes use a bit of foot powder, and/or use a refreshing wipe (like the Old Spice Cool Contact wipes) on my brow, arms and legs. This cools me off a bit and wipes off any road dust or grime. I usually run a comb through my hair as well; My helmet usually gives my hair an interesting look.

Sick Today :(

For the record, I'm sick today. I started feeling like crap yesterday but wrote it off as lack of sleep. Then I remember how soaking wet I was on Monday and how there were several people coughing and sneezing on the bus. I am running a pretty good fever but I hope to break it soon.

Product Review: Nite Rider Evolution headlight

I finally got the chance to put my new headlight to the test last night. On my way home from Daily Dose, my usual route is through a lot of residential and some lightly developed parts of town. Most of these places lack street lights, and with the overcast haze, last night provided the perfect opportunity to really see how well my Nite Rider Evolution does.

I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised. While my old Blackburn Quadrant LED light would cast a bright reflection off of reflective street signs, and throw enough light onto the ground to see potholes in time to avoid them at speeds around 10 MPH, I knew I was going to need more lighting for my faster road bike.

I'd describe the Nite Rider's beam as a rounder pattern and about half the brightness as a single motorcycle headlight. For speeds up to about 25 miles per hour, it provides more than ample see-ahead distance on pavement. It brilliantly illuminates road signs, and from far away, is much more eye-grabbing than my LED headlight.

I would have had to spend a significant amount more to get the "Smart" version with electronic voltage regulator, variable brightness and flashing mode. The pay-off wasn't worth it for my application. Between last night and the past few dark morning commutes, I've noticed that cars which would normally pull out in front of me from side streets are now stopping to let me pass.

I still have some more testing to do, as I haven't gotten the chance to see how it does on a dark or dim bike path yet. It's likely that in the coming weeks, I'll find myself on one of Indian Creek, Mill Creek, or Turkey Creek streamway trails near twilight. None of these are lit after dark, as technically no one should be on them. They "close" at dusk and open at dawn but there's no way to enforce it, or if there is, they choose not to.

Update 1: On August 12, the NiteRider's bulb burned out right after I'd charged the battery and was testing it in my apartment. It turned on with only a blink. Diagnosis: the bulb is burned. I'm a little disappointed that it didn't last longer, but NiteRider is sending me a free replacement bulb, so I'm not terribly concerned. They said that a burnout this quickly is highly unusual. From a use standpoint, this light is nothing short of amazing. I've taken it out on morning commutes, midnight rides, off road, through tunnels, and anywhere else you can imagine needing light. It is good to see with, and more than bright enough to make you easy to see for traffic.

I'd recommend this light for anyone who is commuting, enjoys riding until the sun goes down, or may often find themselves out on the bike before or after dark. It doesn't last long enough for long night rides. When I went on a nearly 40-mile after-dark trip with some friends, I had to conserve my NiteRider's battery and rely on LED lighting for times when we were in the suburbs and under the street lights. The NiteRider proved itself very well once we got out into the pitch black rural farm areas.

See Also:

• More KC Bike Commuting product reviews
• KC Bike Commuting tricks of the trade