May Recap

Primary goals for May:
* Bike commute an average of more than 4 times per work week
Status: Complete. Between taking my vacation (and by vacation I mean packing my belongings into boxes) and taking a sick day, there were 18 work days for me this month, and I only drove twice.

* Make Bike To Work Week a 5-day bike commute week
Status: FAIL. There was no way I was risking my already shaky health situation so I could sit in a 40-degree refrigerated bus while I was soaking wet. There was also no way I was going to ride 22 miles in torrential downpour.

* Have fun
Status: Complete. Need I say more? Bicycling is fun! My road bike, despite being entry level, is one of the most efficient and elegant machines I've ever observed in action. I purchased it right at the beginning of May, and it's carried me most of the miles I've ridden this month. Several people warned me that road bikes aren't very forgiving. I found this out early on, but it hasn't kept me from having fun! My idea of "fun on a bicycle" changes when I'm on my Trek, though. High-speed sprints in the drops and carving corners is fun, but it's no more nor less fun than tackling a flight of stairs or ice boulders on my mountain bike, or even hopping curbs, doing track-stands, and popping wheelies on my hybrid. I re-iterate: Bicycling is fun!

Secondary goals for May:
* Make at least one whole round trip by bike for Bike To Work Week
Status: Complete. Wednesday, May 16, I rode my bike all the way to work, and all the way home. On top of that, I completed three other one-way trips Monday morning, Thursday morning, and Friday evening.

* Exceed 400 miles for the month of May
Status: Complete. Barely. I had to run some errands on my bike that netted me less than six miles. I then hit Indian Creek Trail to rack up about 13 more, giving me a total of almost 404 miles for May.

Other miscellany:
I actually got the scale to read 199.8 pounds for a brief, fleeting moment this week, but I think I was dehydrated. Right now I'm currently at 201. I'll consider myself under 200 pounds, when I can actually reliably weigh myself and have it be under 200 pounds. I don't pay a lot of attention to my weight, as I'm too busy bicycling and working to give it much thought. I know I'm on the right course, so there's no sense weighing myself twice a day or even twice a week.

Also, riding a little less often has allowed me to really up my intensity. I can feel the difference in acceleration and speed that I have today and I'm going to attribute it to actually taking a day off. In the mornings, as I sprint to the bus, that's a different kind of riding. I can usually do that pretty fast unless I didn't sleep well. Today, I actually felt fastest on the last 3-4 miles of my ride, and it was kind of a gradual "warming up" feeling.

Oh yah, and my road rash is almost gone. Sheesh.

So, what does June hold? Moving, for one thing! I am taking off June 19th, which is when we can officially move in to our new place. We'll have our current apartment until june 29th, though. Life is going to be pretty challenging this coming month, so I'm not really making any promises. I'd like to see my C/D ratio keep climbing, so I really do have to average 4 or more bike commutes per week this month.

I'm confident that I'll have plenty of fun on my bike, and that I'll be able to say I'm staying below 200 pounds by the end of June. Those aren't even questions in my mind.

No bike today, but I made yummy soup!

It stormed all day with only a few breaks here and there. I was planning on going to the Wednesday night ride again, but there wasn't a break in the weather, and no one showed up. I'll ride in pretty much anything, as you all know. Everyone else wimped out.

Anyhow, on with my awesome soup! I experimented yesterday with some stuff, and made a pretty good soup, but decided to one-up it tonight, since my wife thought it was good enough for a repeat.

It's chicken broth, imitation crab meat (I'm not rich!), shrimp that I cooked and peeled before putting in the soup, chunks of chicken breast that I browned before putting in the soup, cubes of firm tofu, cauliflower florets, baby corn, and pieces of cabbage. And just a little bit of thai chili oil.

The end result needed just a little bit of soy sauce and a touch more chili oil than I'd originally used. It's a hearty soup with a thin base. Some spring rolls and the soup combined for a complete late-night supper.

Now I really need to ride tomorrow. I'm hoping the weather clears up in time for the Brookside ride tomorrow. Maybe I'll hit that one. Just 15 miles away from 400. I'll take my hybrid out in the rain and run a lap around Olathe if it comes to that.

Errands on bike

Yet another fun-filled day of preparing to move, but not without a few excuses to ride. My usual post-work meal routine with my wife isn't changing this week, so I decided to make the 6-mile voyage on bike.

The air outside was tepid and gluey. The sun was shining and wind was coming out of the south. It was a seemingly effortless ride to get supper, and a little more work riding the last half mile into the wind to get to the college. When I arrived on campus, the whole place was operating on a skeleton crew. Graduations are finally done, and they're between semesters. I entered the college, unaware of the carnage being propelled by that northbound breeze.

As my wife and I ate, we saw the college's lobby light up like someone was taking pictures. We thought nothing of it until several seconds had passed. Then, the ominous crescendo of atmospheric detonation roamed through the desolate corridors of the institution. Baffled, I went outside to analyze the situation. I was greeted with the faint aroma of lightning's ozone and a spontaneous deluge that had seemingly materialized out of nowhere! Mere minutes before, I was riding my bike in steamy sunlight.

I tarried until the storm passed. It only lasted half an hour or so, but to my relief, the temperature had dropped quite a bit. Once I got back out onto the main thoroughfares, the sun began to cook through the clouds. As fast as the storm had arrived, it departed. Blazing luminescence danced from the puddles below. Little droplets of water flew off my tires. Some of them sprayed onto my legs and face while others glimmered before me, hurdling through the beam of my headlight.

I made a deviation from my route to visit the bike shop on my way home. I've been encountering some oddities in my brakes, and I wanted their head mechanic to check it out and possibly give me a little advice. My best guess is that the brake pads that came on my Trek are of mediocre quality and should be replaced with something akin to Kool Stop Salmon pads, but I'll let the pro tell me that. I'll have to visit tomorrow when Kevin's in the shop.

Finally, I arrived home. I was irriguous -- partially by the shower from my fenderless wheels, and partially by my own perspiration. While my trip wasn't precisely a pleasant one, it was far from bad. One thing is for certain, though: There's no way I would have been blessed with the sensory experience I got today had I chosen to drive.

By the way, I recently added a few new blogs to the list on the right, and ditched a few blogs that haven't had any activity in a long time. Check out Urbana-Champaign Bicycle Commute, Dan on Bike, and MN Bicycle Commuter. I've enjoyed reading them as of late.

Monday night ride!

Photo: The cockpit of my Sorrento.

Tonight's recovery ride provided some much-needed recovery -- not from a weekend of criteriums and time trials but from packing things into boxes, heavy lifting, and what have you. I decided to spice it up a bit and did the group ride on my knobby-tired heavy-ass, bouncy, fun mountain bike. I've spent far too much time riding the road bike lately and just wanted to have some fun. I knew I'd have no problem keeping up with the Monday night crowd on anything I own. Wednesday? That'll be a different story!

Photo: A pic I snapped over my shoulder. A little sparse for a Monday ride but the lane hoggers are still in full force. I can tell you this: the Wednesday night ride doesn't feel as close and friendly, but people actually listen when you tell them there's a car coming up behind them and to drop in to single file.

Anyhow, it was a fun ride, but I couldn't find my helmet. We swung by Mark's place right after we started riding and he lent me one of his spares. I did a little more off-roading than most of the riders, but there was a guy on a hybrid that seemed to like the grass and dirt a bit, too. While waiting for everyone to arrive, I warmed up not by doing laps, but by hopping curbs and obstacles, and perfecting the art of the track stand on platform pedals.

Solo Mini-Tour of Southeastern Johnson County, KS

Photo: My bike leans against a reflective post as I prepare to leave suburbia. There are heavy earth-movers on the farmland, which probably means yet another shopping center or subdivision is on the way. Click the image to be taken to a photo set of my journey. If you don't want to read my whole post, the photo descriptions tell the story in a terse and chronological fashion.

Here are some highlights, though.

After dropping my wife off at work, I got the bike ready for the journey. The panniers were there mostly because I wanted to have my laptop with me while I ate breakfast. You can't ride around on an empty stomach! I swung by Daily Dose (about 3 and a half miles from JCCC) for a nice hot cinnamon roll and some black coffee to chase it down with while catching up on email and news with my laptop. Then I was off.

I departed south on Quivira and decided to take it until it went no further. I found a bungee, and decided to take the photo above, since I was stopped. The vast farmland caught my eye as a beautiful depiction of southeastern Johnson County. Then I saw the bulldozers. That's a pretty good depiction of the rest of Johnson County.

As I proceeded, I rode through ye olde village of Morse, KS -- one of the many settlements along the Independence route (Santa Fe, Oregon and California Trails). I snapped some pics while in Morse. You should check them out with all the other pics I took.

I ended up hitting a mile-long stretch of gravel on the southern-most section of Quivira. I was happy I didn't upgrade to 20mm tires on my road bike. 25mm tires were dicey enough, but I really wished I was riding my DB Outlook through there instead of the Trek 1200. I took it to 175th street, which curves around and joins 179th street, a really nice 2-lane road (one either direction) with big, wide, well-kept shoulders that rival most bike lanes in Johnson County.

I made the death-slog granny climb to Metcalf Ave. as I pulled into Stilwell, KS. I continued south on Metcalf to 191st and rode a mile east to Nall. I wanted to snap some photos of ye olde downtown Stilwell, but I didn't feel like tackling another gravel road, and time was wearing thin. I had to return to the college before 12:00 and if I turned around now, I'd give myself about 20 minutes longer than it took me to get this far. With some buffer for a "just in case" mechanical or flat, I turned around and made my way back to the college, using a different route to avoid gravel at the expense of riding on some fairly major arterials.

All in all it was a blast! I put on 31 miles with an average speed of a little over 14 MPH (using my 2H 11M rolling time, which didn't keep ticking as I stopped for photos) and topped off at about 35 MPH on one of the nice downhills. I wasn't pushing it too hard, though.

I'll definitely try to do some more riding like this in the future. I love being out and away from the hustle, bustle, and buildings of the suburbs.

Oh yeah, I rolled past 363 miles today, therefore I have again exceeded the previous months' miles. Although that wasn't a goal of mine, it is an achievement that I'm pleased about. I shot for 300 miles in April but blew it away. Since I've gotten my C/D ratio above 3.0 and I did at least one round-trip for bike to work week, I have already made my May goals a reality. Maybe I'll shoot for 400 miles on the bike this month. I have a lot of work to do to prepare for moving, but if I hit the Monday night ride and Wednesday as well, I could probably pull it off.

I hate traffic

I found the best way to remind myself why I hate driving to work.

I drove to work.

I woke up at around 8:00 this morning -- 45 minutes after the last bus departs, and late enough that riding all the way to work would not only get me in way-past-late, but I'd probably be squished in the process. I sucked it up, grabbed the keys, and drove.

Now, I love my car. I love driving my car. I just hate driving my car on northbound Interstate 35 into Kansas City, MO at 8:00 in the morning on a Friday. Since this is Memorial Day weekend, I'd bet traffic was actually pretty mild today, comparatively speaking. I know there are certainly a few faces missing at work today, as several people have taken today off to give themselves a nice 4-day weekend.

Rest assured, many people who are traveling today weren't on the road by 8:00.

So there you have it. You can now chastise me for being "one of those guys" who drives 50 miles alone to get to and from work. Maybe I'll see if one of my bus-riding neighbors (Mike, a former co-worker at JCCC that now works for a bank a few blocks away from my office) wants to get home a little quicker by riding home with me.

As for me, I'm taking a 10-day weekend. I'm off work until Tuesday, June 5th. I'll be at home packing and preparing to move, but I'm sure I'll put some miles on. If my postings are a little sparse for the next week or so, you know why.

Lastly, I updated the format of my Bicycling Log. Instead of tracking To/From miles separately I combined them into a "Commute Miles" field. Then I added a "Transport/Recreation Miles Ratio" field.

Why'd I do it? Well, I've long known that I ride my bike more for basic transportation (where most people would use a car) than for recreation. I should kind of re-iterate that. My bicycle is a recreational activity all the time, but I count "recreational" miles as any time I go out on my bike and come back without stopping to do anything. This is useful for me, as I can get a clear picture of how I'm using my bike.

Nice evening for grocery shopping

Photo: A nice grocery store run with the panniers. Large items went in the panniers, letting me carry a lot lighter load than usual on my back.

Have I mentioned that I love my panniers? I take them off for recreational rides, but for running errands and going to work, the extra space is really a welcome addition.

It did sprinkle a bit today, but aside from the wind, it was really nice out while I was riding. The sprinkles and cloud cover cooled it off a bit as the evening wore on. I saw plenty of commuter bikes at the bus transfer station on my way home, enjoying the nice weather as well! This evening, after supper with my wife at the college, I zipped down to the bike shop to look at potential bikes for my wife, and to check on the status of a taco'd wheel that they were truing up for my dad's Bianchi. I found a few bikes my wife might enjoy. Some of them with 3-speed Nexus drivetrains, others with more conventional setups. We're planning on taking a few out for a spin on Saturday.

After the bike shop, I came home for a while, then went back out and got some groceries as shown above. When I asked the kid to put the large stuff in the basket without sacking it, and to put the rest in my duffel, he inquired "save a... uhmmm?" as if he was expecting me to know what gets killed to produce a plastic grocery sack. I responded with "save a landfill." It's the best I could muster up.

While I enjoy the idea of conservation and don't like wasteful things, I think sometimes I must come off as a die-hard environmentalist crusader. After all, what other valid reasons are there for using such a quaint machine for transportation?

It's really going to rain! Promise!

It's been trying to rain for days, and I keep saying it's going to rain. It looks like it's going to do it for real*!

It was not only warm and muggy this morning, but I was faced with 20MPH winds that gusted to twice that easily. Once I got downtown it was even worse. Tall buildings create this venturi effect on the street level, where wind velocity increases rapidly once confined to narrow roadway corridors. I almost was knocked off my bike by a ferocious side wind.

On a slight tangent related to Bernoulli's Principle and the Venturi Effect, an image from one of my websites (a photo taken by a friend of mine hosted on my website as part of an instructional article) was published in two textbooks: one on Thermal Fluid Sciences and another on Thermodynamics last year. My friend and I each got complimentary copies of both books, and they're actually quite interesting to read. I'm not sure if I'm ready to become a physicist, though. I think I'll stick to topics I know, while getting published (on several different occasions) in magazines like 2600.

* Honestly, I'm just re-iterating it, hoping that if I talk about it enough, it just won't rain.

This is SPARTAAAAAAAA!!!!

Okay, so this is actually Olathaaaaaaaaa! But I did slink past 300 miles for May today. After grabbing some supper, I looked at the time and it was a little after 6:00. Since I missed Monday's usual ride, I decided to see what kind of offerings were on the table for Wednesday as far as group rides go. I found one that's supposed to be a "leisurely 10-17 mile Welcome Ride - (leader stays with the slowest rider)" That's their words, not mine. It starts not too far from the college, so I hit the road in the Explorer, with the bike strapped to it. It wasn't THAT close!

I pulled up just as everyone was starting to shove off. Yes, I was that guy. As I hopped out to unload my bike, I saw my familiar riding buddy, Tim. Well, at least I wasn't among total strangers. I had no idea he'd be there, so this was just by chance that I bumped into him here.

What followed was not a leisurely welcome ride. It was a 17-MPH average hillfest into headwind where the strong riders drop the wimps like me in the first 3 miles. I kept what I thought was a reasonable pace, although I turn into a spinmonkey on the climbs. We eventually got broken up into three groups. 8 or so riders in the lead peloton, myself and another newbie to this ride with nothing but a hand-drawn map to lead us, followed by some people that got hung up behind me at a stop light, who actually knew where they were going. My group was the blind leading the blind.

We eventually happened upon one of the fast riders who'd totally dropped her chain and had it tangled up every which way. I got the bike working again, just as the tail group was catching up to us. The lady was riding a bike with a double crank, and I have no idea how that bike got up the hills we were riding on. Oh, wait, yes I do - I'm a wimp that needs a granny ring on my triple crank! It was mere minutes before she told us how to get to the destination point, then darted off to catch the lead group.

At the destination, we re-grouped. People inquired about my road rash, we talked about oozing gooey bike injury drainage and treatment methods, then after that we pretty much stuck together. It helped that we had tailwinds on our way back.

All in all, a nice ride. Very hilly and faster than I'd probably choose to ride alone. It was marketed as a friendly welcome ride, but I think it would have killed my interest in group rides had it been my first ever group ride. That said, I'll go there again sometime soon. I like challenges, and the people were nice, even if they wait for no one.

Storms are brewing

The skies are getting darker. It never did rain last night, but it seems inevitable today. While I was getting my morning mocha, I watched as a Metro clean-up truck hosed out the bus stop shelter with a power washer. He then proceeded to blast away at the Metro bus sign/schedule, and in the process, power-washed my road bike, panniers and all.

It kind of cheesed me off, but I tossed a fresh layer of Finish Line wax lube on my drive train last night so the chain should be okay. When I got back to my bike, I was expecting to see some moisture inside the panniers but they stood up to a few seconds of high-pressure water while remaining dry inside.

So, even if it rains on my way home, my panniers will probably keep the contents from getting soaked. I've used them in light rain before, but I wasn't expecting them to withstand a pressure washer.

I'm not looking forward to my rainy commute this evening. Hopefully it clears up by the time I get off work.

Product Review: Banjo Brothers Saddlebag Panniers

I put a bit more thought and research into panniers than I did with the rack they sit on. Panniers come in all kinds of different kinds, shapes, sizes, and purposes. In general, most rear racks designed to carry panniers all have very similar dimensions. The panniers themselves, though? That's a different story! With many models to choose from, I had to look at dozens of different models, and narrow my choices down to about 3 models before purchasing anything.

I needed a set of panniers that would be able to carry my laptop bag, cable lock, work clothes, rain jacket, cell phone, and other gadgets. I also needed the panniers to be easy to remove and install, because I planned on taking them off the bike when I get to work. Furthermore, and most importantly, I needed them to not get in my way. Big panniers can hold a lot of stuff, but it doesn't do any good if your foot hits the bag with every pedal rotation.

Those were all "musts" on my list of features. I wanted something with reflective material (not hard to find, almost all the models I considered had this) as well as good water resistance. I don't need waterproof panniers, but they shouldn't turn into buckets of water when it rains. I also wanted something under the $60 price-point but was willing to pay more if the right deal came along.

As you can see, I definitelty found something with reflective material. :)



These saddlebag panniers attach to the "hooks" on the rack with a metal loop. The loop is attached to a nylon strap that goes up to the top of the bag, across the rack, and down the other side. There are pieces of elastic band that give the panniers' hook loop some stretch to make installation and/or removal a bit easier, while staying firmly on the rack. You can cinch these straps down with the adjuster on the top of the rack.

The inside (wheel facing) part of the saddlebags are lined with a hard plastic piece. The whole inner surface of the bag is lined with a rubbery water-resistant covering, and the zippers are covered when closed properly. Banjo Brothers says these saddlebags are water resistant but not waterproof. They've been through a few light rains and nothing has gotten damp inside yet.

The only gripe I have about these bags, is that if the load shifts inside the bag, it has a tendency to "poof" outward a bit. This is unsightly, inefficient and annoying. I have considered cutting out a chunk of corrugated plastic to make the outer wall just as sturdy as the wheel-facing inner wall. I think this would not only improve their aesthetics when carrying a bunch of stuff, but would also make it easier to "layer" things to stay more organized inside. It might reduce storage capacity just a little, though.

Overall, at about $50, I don't think I could have done any better. I shopped around at a lot of stores and saw a bunch of really nifty options for panniers. For my purposes, these fit the bill perfectly.

Update: I've had to get the seams re-stitched on the top part that joins the two bags together. This is almost certainly from carrying frequent loads that are probably heavier than these were designed to hold. If you're packing light stuff like clothes or a lunch, loading them full isn't much of a problem. When you pack denser items, you probably shouldn't fill them all the way up.

Pros:
* Competitively priced
* Durable
* Compact enough to stay out of the way
* Big enough to carry quite a load
* Water resistant
* Reflective!

Cons:
* Might be a little too big for some peoples' comfort or needs
* Cheaper options are out there
* Have a tendency to deform when loaded with a lot of stuff
* If heavily loaded too often, the seams get weak and need re-stitching

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

Product Review: Blackburn Cross Rack

When I purchased my Trek 1200, I knew right off the bat that I'd need a cargo rack to carry my gear. There were a few brands and models to choose from, but I'll admit that I got this strictly based on price compared to competing products. I actually had this rack installed before I even bought my bike. The bike shop did manage to twist the head off of one of the hex bolts that came with the kit, and it wasn't due to cross-threading. Installation was apparently a breeze, but the rack's frame required cold setting (read: "needed to be bent outward") in order to attach to the braze-on points on my rear dropouts.

There were two models that looked identical from Blackburn. The Cross Rack and the Mountain Rack. The mountain version had a black piece of sheetmetal forming the rack's ledge, and the cross version had a shiny silver piece of sheetmetal instead. Since my bike is black and silver, I chose the black and silver one, plain and simple.

The features I was looking for were braze-on mounting, tie-downs, and hooks at the bottom for attaching panniers or bungees. As it turns out, none of the racks I saw at the local bike shops had all three of these features. The seat-post mounted racks had tie downs but they lacked the frame or hooks to attach panniers to. The braze-on attachment racks all had hooks for panniers, but no built-in elastic tie-towns or bungees. Such is life.

I dealt with the rack (and some small bungees) for a few weeks without panniers. Overall, this rack carries a heavy load very well. I've loaded it down with groceries, all of my work gear, and plenty of other stuff. It seems to be able to support at least 30 pounds without any problems. My guess is that it could handle even more.

You can see I wrapped the frame with reflective black tape and placed a standard DOT reflector on the back of the rack. This is mostly just for some extra reflection when I don't have panniers on.

Pros:
* Affordable
* Carries plenty of weight
* Attaches firmly to frame (if you have braze-on holes on your frame)
* Has built-in hooks to attach panniers or bungees for carrying even more stuff
* Drilled-out mounting bracket for rear reflector or blinking light (with some creative mounting)

Cons:
* Not exactly a work of art
* May ship with mediocre bolts and fasteners
* No built-in tie downs, bring your own bungees!
* Requires some bending to make it fit standard rear drop-out braze-on points

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

Slumming with the BSOs

Photo: Even if I can't find any bike commuters downtown, the college campus never fails to provide some company for my bike. Even if it's a Road Master and a Huffy. Bike Shaped Objects. How Quaint.

Not much to say about this evening's ride. I'm not done yet, as I'm still at the college where my wife works. I'm relaxing a bit before heading out to get supper. The clouds are rolling in, the air is cooling off, and it looks like we might be in for some rain soon.

I finally got around to charting routes TO WORK and FROM WORK for after my wife and I move in June. Click the links to see them. It should work pretty well, and if I can keep my speed up, I should be able to make it in under an hour.

Muggy morning

Photo: My bike locked up down off the terrace. Alone. Background: a KCMO Metro bus whizzes by. There are few bike commuters to be seen today. I don't know if it's the impending thunderstorm, or just the usual sloth factor.

This morning started off really humid in the high 60's. I got out the door early, and showed up early. I raised the seat on my bike before I left because I've felt that it could stand to be a bit higher. I only moved it about 3/4" but I overshot my mark. I don't have any hip sway, but my legs felt pretty powerless this morning, which probably means I'm over-extending them. I'll lower it down about halfway between where it was and where it is now before I make my homeward journey.

It seems that some of the other blogs I read and comment on frequently are going through this kind of "mission statement" phase. Not surprisingly, my reason for blogging about alternative transportation isn't much different than many others' reasons. Primarily, it's because I hope that other people will read about my silly adventures in multi-modal transportation and give me pointers and advice in the comments, get ideas from me, get inspired to try bike commuting, or simply get a chuckle from my random, goofy stories.

Reading other peoples' bike commuter blogs reassures me that I'm not the only one pounding the pedals when the time comes to go to work or to run errands. Even though I might go weeks or months without seeing another bike commuter on the road, the blogosphere is here, and I have friends and peers around the world who are doing the same thing I do.

On top of that, I like to write, I enjoy taking pictures of random stuff and I love riding my bikes. Blogging about it allows me to combine three things that I like doing. I might not be that good at any of them, but I'm having fun.

The minions are angry...

In the past week or two, it's been building. I'm talking about the incessant whining and complaining about fuel prices. Today, the tension seems like it's about to the breaking point. People are really, really angry today. I noticed this in the coffee shop this morning, and now that I've been here at work for a few hours, I've heard non-stop belly-aching about the cost of a gallon of 87-octane gasoline.

I'm seeing it online too. In peoples' blogs, in their forum postings, and even in e-mails. It's not just one place, it seems to be everywhere. People are talking about how many hours they need to work in order to buy fuel to get to and from work every day. People are thinking of asking employers for a raise to cover fuel costs. People are demanding to be allowed one day of telecommuting per week, or flex schedules with four 10-hour days per week.

What are people NOT doing?

Well, for one, I haven't noticed a severe increase in bus ridership in the morning. My bus is usually pretty crowded, but it's a pretty consistent group of people. I don't see many new faces, no matter which of the buses I take.

I don't notice a lot of car-pooling going on, either. The parking lot is just as crowded this week as it was 2 months ago. I can say that motorcycle use has increased a lot, but it's about the same now as it was when I started working here back in July. When the weather is nice, two-wheeled transportation sees a boom. I'm sure motorcycle use won't be much higher this year. It's hard to justify spending thousands of dollars all at once and pay higher insurance to save a few cents per mile when the weather is nice.

Anyways, it seems that there's a lot of complaining going on for nothing. Even if people are driving big pick-ups and SUVs, car-pooling with one other person, and trading off which days they drive will result in about 50% fuel savings. It's like moving halfway closer to work. Adding a third person to the pool will net even more savings. How many people drive vehicles that won't seat 3 adults comfortably? Sure, I see the occasional Miata, Corvette, or Boxster in the parking garage. More than those, I see plenty of Corollas, Accords, Fusions, and other mid-size sedans, then there are the crew-cab pickups and SUVs.

Anyhow, I'm pretty tired of listening to all this pissing and moaning about fuel prices. As long as the demand for fuel is on the rise, the prices will be on the rise. I wouldn't be surprised if bus fares climb an additional 25 cents per trip, either.

People need to learn that actions speak louder than words. 200 years ago, we banded together and fought a ruthless force. We stood our ground in the name of independence. Today, our country is seemingly occupied by a bunch of wussies that only know how to cry in the corner while helplessly surrendering.

The situation is not helpless. You don't need to "shut up and drive." You can do something about it. You won't change oil prices or demand in a week or even in a month by reducing your personal usage. You can reduce the effects of oil prices impacting your bottom line, though. If enough people do it, demand may fall to the point where a gallon of gasoline simply isn't worth $3 to the average person. As it stands, gas could climb to $5 per gallon and the majority of our society would continue to drive, complaining all the way to the pump.

The big 0x1C...

... 0x1C is 28 in the base 16 "hexadecimal" numbering system.

#!/usr/bin/newlisp
(while (and(> (date-value) 1179723600) (< (date-value) 1179809999))
(print "happy birthday\n")
)
(exit)

Anyhow, enough with the geek stuff. Today's my birthday. Normally, I'd head to the Monday night recovery ride, but not today. My wife and I are going to try out this new Asian restaurant that just popped up in the new shopping center a few miles from home. This morning's ride was nice and easy. It's about 60 degrees outside, and it's nice and clear.

I have my leg wrapped up in a sport bandage with antibiotic ointment and gauze underneath. On the main road rash part, I have a new "second skin" type of covering that keeps the area moist and clean. We'll see how it works. Everything feels like it's healing up nicely, though.

So begins another week... I've promised a new bike commuter that I'd ride into downtown with him once my leg heals up. I've said I'm not going to make a habit of riding between home and downtown, but it's a pretty fun ride. Once I move, I'll probably be willing to do it more often.

Bike To Work Week: Ride to your place of worship

On Bridging The Gap's Bike To Work Week calendar of events, today is the last official day. I wasn't able to make the wrap-up party, but I did get to ride to church. Usually, my church meets in the practice auditorium of Olathe East high school. That's about a 3.5 mile ride. Every year, over summer, there are times when there's remodeling or construction going on around the school district. When that happens, we can't meet in the auditorium.

Last year, we met in park shelters at Heritage Park and Cedar Lake Park. This year, however, my church has some property that we're developing into a community center. We decided to raise a tent on the property and hold service outdoors under the tent. The weather was awesome! It was a bit on the windy side, but overall, it was a good time. The property is about 7 miles from home, so I had no problems riding there. I left early enough that I could turn it into a leisurely stroll once I got away from traffic.

If you look at the photo, you can kind of see my bike leaning against a support post. I got there really early. Our praise team was warming up and practicing, and a few people were setting up refreshments and praying. I just sat down and meditated for a while. It was a nice change of pace, as usually I have to set up and run sound, video and/or lights. None of that out here under the tent!

Product Review: Genuine Innovations Ultraflate CO2 Inflator

After trashing 2 valve stems with my mountain bike hand pump, I decided it was time to suck it up and go CO2. My hand pump isn't made to inflate high-pressure tires, and I didn't feel like buying another one, at least without a hose (such as a Road Morph). In the end, as I searched for roadside tire inflation options, I picked out the Genuine Innovations Ultraflate. I've used it three times already. Twice to air up a replacement inner tube after getting a puncture, and the third time to "top off" my tires, as I'd forgotten to air them up in the morning before departing on my commute. It's shown above with a 12 gram CO2 cartridge and a Schrader-to-Presta adapter. The Ultraflate does not ship with the adapter. I'll get to that in a moment.

The thing I liked about the Ultraflate was that it would accept inexpensive 12gr. CO2 cartridges, or larger capacity threaded cartridges. You can see that the valve tap is threaded. To use threadless cartridges, you insert the cartridge into the yellow body, and swiftly screw the body onto the valve, puncturing the cartridge and preparing it for use. To use threaded cartridges, simply thread the valve tap onto the cartridge, and set the yellow body aside.

As with all CO2 inflators, it's recommended that you do not puncture the cartridge until you need to inflate a tire. The Ultraflate has a dual-mode head. You screw it onto Schrader tire valves, or press it firmly onto a Presta tire valve. This is where one of my gripes comes into play. The Ultraflate seems to hang on the presta lock screw when you're done inflating the tire. On two occasions, I found that I had to fidget with the inflater to get it to "let go" of my tire valve. I didn't lose any pressure in my tires, nor did I damage the valve or stem, however I think it would be easy to have any of these problems. I started using the Schrader-to-Presta adapter, and I've had a lot better luck. Screw the adapter into the Inflater, then screw the inflater and adapter onto your presta valve after opening the lock screw. The end result is a more positive engagement, and graceful removal of the inflater and your presta valve.

The Ultraflate is surprisingly compact. In my run-of-the-mill Serfas-brand seat bag, I am able to fit two 700c x 25mm inner tubes, three CO2 Cartridges (one inside the yellow body of the Ultraflate), the Ultraflate itself, and my Patch kit.

A single 12gr. cartridge inflates one of my 700c x 25mm tires to about 105 PSI from being totally flat. The trigger valve on the Ultraflate allows the operator to easily control how much and how fast the CO2 goes into the tires. Overall, this is a good value at about $15. Bike shops sell CO2 cartridges for several dollars each. This is a rip-off. Go to a sporting goods store and buy CO2 cartridges made for pellet guns. In bulk, I bought a 15-pack of 12 gram cartridges for the bike shop price of 2 "name brand" 12 gram cartridges.

Overall, nothing beats a high-quality floor pump. For emergencies, though, this is one of the more compact and affordable ways to ensure you have a way to get your tires inflated.

Pros:
* Affordable
* Flexible options for CO2 cartridges
* Works as designed for Schrader or Presta
* Easy to use and control the flow of CO2

Cons:
* Larger and heavier than some competing systems
* Doesn't have a "hybrid" hand-pumping option... Once you're out of CO2, you're out
* Awkward to use on Presta valves
* Doesn't hold a CO2 cartridge while assembled without puncturing it

Tips:
* Use a Schrader-to-Presta adapter when filling tires with Presta valves
* Buy CO2 in bulk packages at sporting goods stores
* Always carry one or two more cartridges than you think you'll need
* Drill a 1/4" hole in the butt end of the yellow body so that a 12gr. cartridge can be inserted backwards for storage while the inflater is fully assembled.

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

Saturday ride

I took a nice, slow ride with Tim O on the Indian Creek Trail today. On the way back, the path turns into a really narrow sidewalk to go over a bridge. The barrier between the bike path and the road is just a concrete wall. I scraped my leg pretty good on it. Blah. It's just skin, right?

I got about 17 miles in. My legs feel a lot more loose and relaxed tonight. A nice slow ride is just what I needed.

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.