0 comment Wednesday, August 27, 2014 | admin
Today, I drove to Boulder for a meeting. That was my first sin.
Then, because my meeting ran just a tad late (I pack my schedule IN), I had to race to my next meeting in The Golden Triangle of Denver. I refuse to drive downtown so I had to return my car to 12th and Josephine, grab my bike and go. My usual route takes me through Cheesman and down 12th. I knew I didn't have time for such red-light shenanigans so I hit up 13th (my second sin). Sitting outside of Lik's I often (yes, I frequent the establishment) watch riders fly down 13th narrowly escaping death on virtually every block. Today, pumped up on adrenaline, I flew down like a helmet-less hipster on a fixie.
My third sin was not wearing bike shorts beneath my skirt today. Let's just say that it would have been possible to cause a wreck based on the amount of sunlight reflecting off my pale upper thighs as the wind had its way with my skirt.
At Pearl, I hit my first red. I stopped, put my foot down, looked both ways and ran the red (fourth sin).
I reigned myself in and obeyed the rules nearly all the way to work where I sped things up by riding 1 block on a sidewalk, instead of circling around the building (final sin). I then quickly flew up stairs, and took my seat just as my meeting was to begin.
My meeting ended early (thankfully) giving me time to post my sins for which I may be chastised. I never went to church growing up but I think I could have benefited from that whole confessional thing. Sure does make you feel all better.
Then, because my meeting ran just a tad late (I pack my schedule IN), I had to race to my next meeting in The Golden Triangle of Denver. I refuse to drive downtown so I had to return my car to 12th and Josephine, grab my bike and go. My usual route takes me through Cheesman and down 12th. I knew I didn't have time for such red-light shenanigans so I hit up 13th (my second sin). Sitting outside of Lik's I often (yes, I frequent the establishment) watch riders fly down 13th narrowly escaping death on virtually every block. Today, pumped up on adrenaline, I flew down like a helmet-less hipster on a fixie.
My third sin was not wearing bike shorts beneath my skirt today. Let's just say that it would have been possible to cause a wreck based on the amount of sunlight reflecting off my pale upper thighs as the wind had its way with my skirt.
At Pearl, I hit my first red. I stopped, put my foot down, looked both ways and ran the red (fourth sin).
I reigned myself in and obeyed the rules nearly all the way to work where I sped things up by riding 1 block on a sidewalk, instead of circling around the building (final sin). I then quickly flew up stairs, and took my seat just as my meeting was to begin.
My meeting ended early (thankfully) giving me time to post my sins for which I may be chastised. I never went to church growing up but I think I could have benefited from that whole confessional thing. Sure does make you feel all better.
Labels: Bike Commuter
0 comment Friday, July 25, 2014 | admin
Hi. My name is Eric Bunch (if I didn't say that you wouldn't know until the bottom of this post). Will invited me to contribute to the blog due to my new involvement with BikeDenver. I just moved to Denver about six months ago and find that the city is quite agreeable for bike riding. The flat terrain, 300 days of sunshine and endless bike trails (and by endless read: a few hundred miles) make it a bike commuter's heaven. Enough of that.
This is me being a total ham:
From Oscar Party...
More about me. That's what is important, no? Chronicling the nuances and tribulations in the lives of the average utility cyclist?
I moved here from Columbia, MO a college town in the heart of The Show Me State. Has anybody ever been to Columbia? Or Missouri for that matter? Well it doesn't really matter, I'll briefly describe it. Picture Fort Collins with more trees, fewer mountains and sans the awesome breweries. Throw in one of the largest public universities in the country, 90% humidity and the rolling hills of the northern Ozarks and you have Columbia. It's greener too. No not more environmentally friendly... just a lot more of the color green. On the whole, Columbia residents are pretty bike friendly and highly educated. Typical of liberal college towns.
The great thing about riding a bike to and from places in that town was Columbia's size. I lived five blocks from a supermarket and two miles from work. A mile-and-a-half from the rockin' bars ($1.00 cans of Stag for cryin' out loud!) and within easy biking distance of most of my friends' homes. Thus, parties often ensued. College towns are bad for twenty-something college grads.
My move to Denver has re-opened my eyes to the fact that cities can be larger and more involved than twenty square miles of drunken college students. I still live within biking distance of downtown, pubs, work and groceries. However, each of those rides is just a bit longer. I now commute eight miles to work, two miles to the grocery and three miles to downtown night-life. No biggie. I have a dedicated bike path for a lot of my commutes and I don't have to dry my bike shoes over the heat register every night. Soggy shoes and three months of winter cloudiness are two things I will not miss!
My longer commute is actually good because it dampens my wild hipster-like lifestyle I once led. No more nightly visits to local watering holes, midnight concerts or raging house parties. Moving into domesticity is a very good move for the long term. I actually really enjoy living with someone who doesn't smell like a critical mass after-party.
I digress. The reason for my move into a much calmer, more adult lifestyle is pictured below. My girlfriend, Kaitlyn, decided to go to grad school at DU. I hear it's a good school. So I followed.
From Oscar Party...
Kaitlyn likes riding bikes too! She's gonna hate me for posting pictures of her without approval.
Anyway, I haven't blogged about my commuting habits in well over a year. So this will be an interesting exercise in publicizing my lifestyle in a semi-regular manner. We'll see.
Email me with any questions. I probably won't have very good answers.
This is me being a total ham:
From Oscar Party...More about me. That's what is important, no? Chronicling the nuances and tribulations in the lives of the average utility cyclist?
I moved here from Columbia, MO a college town in the heart of The Show Me State. Has anybody ever been to Columbia? Or Missouri for that matter? Well it doesn't really matter, I'll briefly describe it. Picture Fort Collins with more trees, fewer mountains and sans the awesome breweries. Throw in one of the largest public universities in the country, 90% humidity and the rolling hills of the northern Ozarks and you have Columbia. It's greener too. No not more environmentally friendly... just a lot more of the color green. On the whole, Columbia residents are pretty bike friendly and highly educated. Typical of liberal college towns.
The great thing about riding a bike to and from places in that town was Columbia's size. I lived five blocks from a supermarket and two miles from work. A mile-and-a-half from the rockin' bars ($1.00 cans of Stag for cryin' out loud!) and within easy biking distance of most of my friends' homes. Thus, parties often ensued. College towns are bad for twenty-something college grads.
My move to Denver has re-opened my eyes to the fact that cities can be larger and more involved than twenty square miles of drunken college students. I still live within biking distance of downtown, pubs, work and groceries. However, each of those rides is just a bit longer. I now commute eight miles to work, two miles to the grocery and three miles to downtown night-life. No biggie. I have a dedicated bike path for a lot of my commutes and I don't have to dry my bike shoes over the heat register every night. Soggy shoes and three months of winter cloudiness are two things I will not miss!
My longer commute is actually good because it dampens my wild hipster-like lifestyle I once led. No more nightly visits to local watering holes, midnight concerts or raging house parties. Moving into domesticity is a very good move for the long term. I actually really enjoy living with someone who doesn't smell like a critical mass after-party.
I digress. The reason for my move into a much calmer, more adult lifestyle is pictured below. My girlfriend, Kaitlyn, decided to go to grad school at DU. I hear it's a good school. So I followed.
From Oscar Party...Kaitlyn likes riding bikes too! She's gonna hate me for posting pictures of her without approval.
Anyway, I haven't blogged about my commuting habits in well over a year. So this will be an interesting exercise in publicizing my lifestyle in a semi-regular manner. We'll see.
Email me with any questions. I probably won't have very good answers.
Labels: Bike Commuter, Denver, Healthy, Outlet
0 comment Monday, July 21, 2014 | admin
I was locking my bike up on the rack in front of that Thai restaurant next to St. Mark's this afternoon, and just turning to walk into the coffee shop when a 7- or 8-year-old kid rode by and stopped his BMX bike on the sidewalk next to me.
I glanced over and saw that his chain had fallen off, and just about walked away because he looked like he was going to flip it right back on. But the chain was sagging a little too much. So I said, "You need some help, man?"
"It keeps falling off," he said. "It's my cousin's bike." I figured "chain too long," and reached into my bag to see if I had my chain tool. I did. But the problem was just that his rear wheel was too far forward in the dropouts. The bike had a Vise Grips lashed onto it with a combination lock, and the kid and I decided if he could get the wrench pulled off the bike, we could get the wheel off.
Unscrew foot pegs, Vise Grips nuts off wheel, pull wheel back in dropouts. I held the wheel and had him tighten the nuts, and then I tightened them some more. We screwed the pegs back on, and I let him flip the bike back over.
"What's your name?"
"Noah."
"Noah, I'm Brendan," I said, and shook his hand. "Tell your cousin he owes you five bucks because you fixed his bike."
"Yeah," he laughed.
"Have a good ride, man," I said.
Man, that felt good.
I glanced over and saw that his chain had fallen off, and just about walked away because he looked like he was going to flip it right back on. But the chain was sagging a little too much. So I said, "You need some help, man?"
"It keeps falling off," he said. "It's my cousin's bike." I figured "chain too long," and reached into my bag to see if I had my chain tool. I did. But the problem was just that his rear wheel was too far forward in the dropouts. The bike had a Vise Grips lashed onto it with a combination lock, and the kid and I decided if he could get the wrench pulled off the bike, we could get the wheel off.
Unscrew foot pegs, Vise Grips nuts off wheel, pull wheel back in dropouts. I held the wheel and had him tighten the nuts, and then I tightened them some more. We screwed the pegs back on, and I let him flip the bike back over.
"What's your name?"
"Noah."
"Noah, I'm Brendan," I said, and shook his hand. "Tell your cousin he owes you five bucks because you fixed his bike."
"Yeah," he laughed.
"Have a good ride, man," I said.
Man, that felt good.
Labels: Bike Commuter, Story
0 comment Wednesday, June 18, 2014 | admin
Greetings.
So you may see this curious name on my posts. It's an homage to Bill Hartman's character on the television show Newsradio, and something I started using years ago when I was working at a newspaper and blogging on the side. I had to write with a pseudonym, since my "out there" name couldn't be reappearing on things critical of city officials, etc.
Thus Bill McNeal was born. My real name is Steve Davis, and I work with Will at Transportation For America, and might be stopping by to write from time to time about my own experiences commuting to work by bike.
Oh look, I'll start now.
----
I shrug off the term "bike commuter."
When I worked as a journalist in my previous career, or had any number of jobs growing up in Atlanta, I never thought of myself a "car commuter." I drove, yes, but the title wasn't something I thought about.
To be fair, each morning I am a commuter. And each morning I generally tend to ride my bike. If that makes me a "bike commuter," so be it. But I just think of myself as someone who happens to ride a bike each day to work. I do it for a number of reasons, most of which have nothing to do with being a "bike advocate."
I describe myself as an A to B cyclist. I bike to get places. I bike to get things. Like groceries, greeting cards, or other goodies. And I generally choose to bike � to work at least � because it is hands down the fastest and cheapest way to get to work. Bus is at best 20-25 minutes if I catch the 43 express from Mt. Pleasant. And $1.25 each way. Walking is about 40, but free. Driving, even if I did still own my truck, would be at least 20 minutes, with the hassle and expense of parking on the other end.
I'm also a notoriously late riser, squeezing every last possible moment of sleep out of the night before reluctantly getting out of bed. And even on days when I've been planning on bussing (like these days with a hurt wrist), I end up biking because time gets away and I know I can walk in the door of my office 12 minutes after walking out my front door.
But you better believe that I enjoy all the tangential benefits of biking. I love the exercise each day that I get without thinking about it. I love cruising through stopped traffic most of the way there. I like starting out my day with fresh air while seeing my neighborhood and city from a speed and vantage point that lets me take it all in. I like being slightly out of the mainstream. At the end of the day, sometimes a really fast, hard ride up the hill to get home is exactly what I need.
So a bike commuter? I'll reluctantly accept the title on a technicality. But I really should be called a selfish commuter. Because even though biking means I have no car taking up space on my street each day, it uses next to zero energy, emits no carbon, burns calories, and means more space in the street for drivers and buses, it's really just about me � getting where I need to go as fast as possible.
Nice to be here. Thanks for the invite, Will.
Oh and everyone be careful not to get electrocuted by a goose while biking home (and for you DC folks, the WashCycle should really be a daily read for you.)
So you may see this curious name on my posts. It's an homage to Bill Hartman's character on the television show Newsradio, and something I started using years ago when I was working at a newspaper and blogging on the side. I had to write with a pseudonym, since my "out there" name couldn't be reappearing on things critical of city officials, etc.
Thus Bill McNeal was born. My real name is Steve Davis, and I work with Will at Transportation For America, and might be stopping by to write from time to time about my own experiences commuting to work by bike.
Oh look, I'll start now.
----
I shrug off the term "bike commuter."
When I worked as a journalist in my previous career, or had any number of jobs growing up in Atlanta, I never thought of myself a "car commuter." I drove, yes, but the title wasn't something I thought about.
To be fair, each morning I am a commuter. And each morning I generally tend to ride my bike. If that makes me a "bike commuter," so be it. But I just think of myself as someone who happens to ride a bike each day to work. I do it for a number of reasons, most of which have nothing to do with being a "bike advocate."
I describe myself as an A to B cyclist. I bike to get places. I bike to get things. Like groceries, greeting cards, or other goodies. And I generally choose to bike � to work at least � because it is hands down the fastest and cheapest way to get to work. Bus is at best 20-25 minutes if I catch the 43 express from Mt. Pleasant. And $1.25 each way. Walking is about 40, but free. Driving, even if I did still own my truck, would be at least 20 minutes, with the hassle and expense of parking on the other end.
I'm also a notoriously late riser, squeezing every last possible moment of sleep out of the night before reluctantly getting out of bed. And even on days when I've been planning on bussing (like these days with a hurt wrist), I end up biking because time gets away and I know I can walk in the door of my office 12 minutes after walking out my front door.
But you better believe that I enjoy all the tangential benefits of biking. I love the exercise each day that I get without thinking about it. I love cruising through stopped traffic most of the way there. I like starting out my day with fresh air while seeing my neighborhood and city from a speed and vantage point that lets me take it all in. I like being slightly out of the mainstream. At the end of the day, sometimes a really fast, hard ride up the hill to get home is exactly what I need.
So a bike commuter? I'll reluctantly accept the title on a technicality. But I really should be called a selfish commuter. Because even though biking means I have no car taking up space on my street each day, it uses next to zero energy, emits no carbon, burns calories, and means more space in the street for drivers and buses, it's really just about me � getting where I need to go as fast as possible.
Nice to be here. Thanks for the invite, Will.
Oh and everyone be careful not to get electrocuted by a goose while biking home (and for you DC folks, the WashCycle should really be a daily read for you.)
Labels: Bike Commuter, Bill Mcneal
0 comment | admin
Although a more a more appropriate title might be "Commuter's Bike of the Day," I wanted to stick with the theme. Not only does this guy/gal rock a sick commuter bike, he or she also clearly represents for bikedenver. Nice work champ.
Labels: Bike Commuter
0 comment Saturday, June 14, 2014 | admin
I'm making the old Colfax U-Turn this morning, and right in the middle of Colfax, I took the u-turn a little too tight and dumped my bike. Landed on my left knee, ripped my jeans. Right on the yellow line. Thankfully, no cars were coming in the westbound lanes. Death cry this time? "Whoa!" Within about a half-second, I was up and on my bike again, rolling down Colfax, hoping the group of 40 high school-age kids in cowboy hats and boots didn't see me.
I was trying to decide if not having enough air in my tires made me wobble in the tight turn and fall, but then I decided I'm just an idiot. Splat.
I was talking with my colleague Eric about how the slower a bicycle crash happens, the more humiliating it is. This one was an 9. If I had landed on my face and come up with a bloody nose, it would have probably been a 10. Maybe we need to come up with a rating system.
(courtesy Google Maps)
I was trying to decide if not having enough air in my tires made me wobble in the tight turn and fall, but then I decided I'm just an idiot. Splat.
I was talking with my colleague Eric about how the slower a bicycle crash happens, the more humiliating it is. This one was an 9. If I had landed on my face and come up with a bloody nose, it would have probably been a 10. Maybe we need to come up with a rating system.
(courtesy Google Maps)Labels: Bike Commuter