0 comment Wednesday, October 8, 2014 | admin
The wind seemed to be coming from all directions on my ride this morning. I think the wind was at my back for maybe half a block. It nearly knocked me off my bike several times, most notably when I was doing a track-stand at a stop light. Thankfully for my ego, I was able to unclip quickly enough and managed not to look like too much of a jackass.
Pedestrians also become much more hazardous in the wind. I crossed the 16th street mall twice, and both times I had to dodge people walking in front of me. This happens pretty much every time one rides across the mall, but when it is windy out, people tend to duck their heads down and have tunnel vision, meaning that they are even more oblivious of their surroundings than normal.
The only thing I enjoyed about the wind this morning was the tumbleweed I saw blowing down Colfax.
Pedestrians also become much more hazardous in the wind. I crossed the 16th street mall twice, and both times I had to dodge people walking in front of me. This happens pretty much every time one rides across the mall, but when it is windy out, people tend to duck their heads down and have tunnel vision, meaning that they are even more oblivious of their surroundings than normal.
The only thing I enjoyed about the wind this morning was the tumbleweed I saw blowing down Colfax.
Labels: Weather
0 comment Monday, September 29, 2014 | admin
A little cold and wet, but other than that, a really good ride home. Gotta love the way people look at you through their windshields on a day like this.
Snow and melting snow on the ride home today.
Snow crotch.
This guy had a ski helmet and goggles on. I think he took a page from Will's book.
Snow and melting snow on the ride home today.Snow crotch.This guy had a ski helmet and goggles on. I think he took a page from Will's book.Labels: Bike Commuting, Weather, Winter
0 comment Sunday, August 24, 2014 | admin
"Let's get the snow out of this alley and moved somewhere no one will get hurt. VROOOM!!!"
"There we go. This alley is nice and clear."
"What? There's a bike lane under there? Fuck it. I'm out of here."0 comment Wednesday, July 9, 2014 | admin
Yesterday was foggy.Weather.com (which I check compulsively, by the way) even had a Heavy Fog Advisory banner across the top of my page. Being from Idaho, and then from Arizona, fog is a new thing for me. Sure I've seen it before, but it never lasted long and it wasn't so thick (giggle). It was a ton of fun to wake up, look out my window and see absolutely nothing, and bike through fog dense enough that I couldn't wear my glasses or see past about four car lengths. Drivers were even more courteous than normal.
Anywho, lately I've been thinking about my morning routine. Which goes a little something like this:
4:00am - Alarm goes off, hit snooze
4:14am - Alarm goes off, hit snooze
4:35am - Alarm goes off, hit snooze
4:44am - Alarm goes off, check Weather.com
4:47am - Get out of bed
4:50am - Get dressed, pack up
4:55am - Say bye to the cuties in my apartment, enter elevator
4:58am - Watch bus pull up to bus stop from three blocks away
5:00am - Board bus just as it's ready to leave
5:10am - Exit bus, bike to work
5:40am - Change in restroom
6:00am - Work
I'm sure this is not the ideal morning for a cyclist, or anyone else for that matter. You'll notice the absence of eating, drinking, stretching, or personal hygiene. I simply don't get up in time to do any of those things. I set my alarm with them in mind, but my sleepy brain sacrifices them all in the name of a few minutes more sleep without a second thought.
So I need help. How do you guys motivate yourselves to get up and do all kinds of constructive, healthy-type things before heading out on your commute? Are you even able to? I should probably eat a little something and hydrate, and I definitely need to stretch. Any tips? I don't want to eat so much that I'm bogged down, but I should probably get something in my stomach before I exercise for 35 minutes, right? Any good stretches that I should be doing? Things to avoid?
What is your morning routine like? Inquiring, lazy cyclists want to know.
Labels: Bike Commuting, Weather
0 comment Thursday, June 12, 2014 | admin
It's that time of year again, when the weather gets nice, people start spending more time outside, and bike-bloggers everywhere start posts with "It's that time of year again..." and promptly proceed to complain/gush about all of the new riders out on the road.
I must confess that I haven't been Mr. Awesome McCommuter this past week. I took some time off work to get moved (Geographically, not emotionally. It takes way less than four days to move me emotionally.) and it drained my body and my mind. I even called out of work for an extra day to try and unpack boxes and rest up. I say this just in case my dream has finally come true and someone is stalking me and posts some kind of angry comment like, "You haven't even ridden to work all week!" I hate to say it, but I was just too damn tired.
That being said, I'm already getting annoyed at all the new people riding bikes in my area. Driving home yesterday along my normal route I saw no less than five people on bikes. I've been riding that same route at different times for about eight months now and have maybe seen four cyclists total. Which is pretty much how I like it. New riders mean potential new obstacles (like the guy who wanted to play chicken in the bike lane of a busy road), and a higher probability of someone riding on the wrong side of the street or some other mess and pissing off motorists even more than I do now. And then when the weather turns "bad" guess who's still out there with the drivers who have negative past experiences with annoying cyclists? That's right.
Also, I'm not welcoming the wave of trendy kids on fixed-gears who either won't know how to ride, won't have brakes, or won't use their noble machines for anything other than track stands and other bike-trickery. And being subjected to lycra-ed anatomy isn't much better.
On the way home I was talking to my lady on this very subject and she told me that I complain about every season. Which I guess is sorta true. But for the most part I don't really mean it. I'm like an crotchety old man, and biking is like my yard. I'm out front in one sock, dirty bathrobe in danger of falling open, brandishing a rolled up newspaper and yelling at people to get off my lawn, even though they're on the sidewalk. No one really pays attentions, besides shaking their heads and laughing good-naturedly at the crazy man.
I think what it boils down to is a sense of snobbery and superiority. Whenever I see a new commuter during the spring months my first thought is, "Hmph, where have you been all winter? This is my city cuz I'm out here every day! You got nothing on me!" Sure my arms and legs are just as pasty as theirs, but my smug self-satisfaction is already tanned to a nice deep bronze.
But at my core I'm a softy and a glass-half-full kinda guy, so really I'm looking forward to the warm days and sunny weather. It will be a big change to go for the least amount of layers instead of the most when I get ready in the morning, and more riders means bigger and funner Critical Masses and turnouts at our little races.
Plus, I was a beginner at one point, and I started during the summer, so I've been there. I just hope no hobos or college kids take me out on my way home.
I must confess that I haven't been Mr. Awesome McCommuter this past week. I took some time off work to get moved (Geographically, not emotionally. It takes way less than four days to move me emotionally.) and it drained my body and my mind. I even called out of work for an extra day to try and unpack boxes and rest up. I say this just in case my dream has finally come true and someone is stalking me and posts some kind of angry comment like, "You haven't even ridden to work all week!" I hate to say it, but I was just too damn tired.
That being said, I'm already getting annoyed at all the new people riding bikes in my area. Driving home yesterday along my normal route I saw no less than five people on bikes. I've been riding that same route at different times for about eight months now and have maybe seen four cyclists total. Which is pretty much how I like it. New riders mean potential new obstacles (like the guy who wanted to play chicken in the bike lane of a busy road), and a higher probability of someone riding on the wrong side of the street or some other mess and pissing off motorists even more than I do now. And then when the weather turns "bad" guess who's still out there with the drivers who have negative past experiences with annoying cyclists? That's right.
Also, I'm not welcoming the wave of trendy kids on fixed-gears who either won't know how to ride, won't have brakes, or won't use their noble machines for anything other than track stands and other bike-trickery. And being subjected to lycra-ed anatomy isn't much better.
On the way home I was talking to my lady on this very subject and she told me that I complain about every season. Which I guess is sorta true. But for the most part I don't really mean it. I'm like an crotchety old man, and biking is like my yard. I'm out front in one sock, dirty bathrobe in danger of falling open, brandishing a rolled up newspaper and yelling at people to get off my lawn, even though they're on the sidewalk. No one really pays attentions, besides shaking their heads and laughing good-naturedly at the crazy man.
I think what it boils down to is a sense of snobbery and superiority. Whenever I see a new commuter during the spring months my first thought is, "Hmph, where have you been all winter? This is my city cuz I'm out here every day! You got nothing on me!" Sure my arms and legs are just as pasty as theirs, but my smug self-satisfaction is already tanned to a nice deep bronze.
But at my core I'm a softy and a glass-half-full kinda guy, so really I'm looking forward to the warm days and sunny weather. It will be a big change to go for the least amount of layers instead of the most when I get ready in the morning, and more riders means bigger and funner Critical Masses and turnouts at our little races.
Plus, I was a beginner at one point, and I started during the summer, so I've been there. I just hope no hobos or college kids take me out on my way home.
Labels: Complaining, Moving, Weather