My Fun Ride

I should have written this post last Friday but my free time has been very limited lately. One of the reasons for that is that I turned 50 on Tuesday, but I will talk about than soon.

I was lucky enough to not only get the Fourth of July off from work, but also the fifth. My wife had to work so I decided to take the bike out for a fun ride. I left pretty early, about 7:30 or so. My plan was to ride a little past Downtown Dunedin to Edgewater Park, which is a linear park along the intercostal Waterway. I often pass by in the car and I never think to bring my camera along, which is too bad, because on many mornings the water is like glass and there are some beautiful pictures to be had. This time I put my camera in my seat pack and headed down the Pinellas Trail. The weather was perfect and I was able to choose my destination for the first time in months.

Not far from home on the Pinellas Trail

A view from the Pinellas Trail

Another view from the Pinellas Trail

When we moved to Dunedin in June, it was the third time I moved back to the city after moving away for one reason or another. Something keeps pulling me back and riding down the trail on a lazy Friday morning it is easy to see what it is. It seems peaceful here with great views along the water and a town with a bit of “culture” that caters to cyclists, probably since the trail runs through the middle of downtown.

Dunedin Marina

Edgewater Linier Park in Dunedin

View from Edgewater Park in Dunedin

Old pier pilings

I rode through the downtown area, past the marina and to the point that I wanted to photograph. Unfortunately the water was not as smooth as I had hoped for but I was still able to take a few good pictures before my hunger pains intervened. I had not eaten anything that morning so I thought I would stop at The Boxcar before heading home.

The Boxcar Cafe – photo from yelp.com

The Boxcar is a little café and store inside an actual boxcar on the trail in Downtown Dunedin. The Pinellas Trail was created from abandoned railroad tracks so it seems fitting that it is located where it is. I thought I could stop for a while and get a bagel and a cup of coffee. It has been a while since I have been there but I was not expecting to see it closed. There was a sign on the window about some type of organic business coming soon but I don’t remember exactly what it said. I just remember being hungry and having no good option. I didn’t want to go to a restaurant so I just headed home.

View of Downtown Dunedin from the Pinellas Trail. The Boxcar is just past the stop sign.

I rode about eight miles that morning, less than one way to work, but I loved the fact that I had nowhere that I had to be and I could just ride for the fun of riding. Next time I will eat first so I won’t feel the need to go home as quickly.

Enjoy The Ride

I usually listen to my iPod while I am riding. Mostly I listen to podcasts or audiobooks. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy listening to music too, and it can be helpful if the beat is in time with the cadence you want to achieve. I just find listening to music to be a safety concern because it is hard to hear what is going on around you. When I listen to spoken audio, there is just a monotone voice with enough “gaps” to hear what you need to hear.

The reason I listen to these podcasts and audiobooks is because I have a bit of an obsession. I have a hard time just living in the moment. I always feel like I need to be doing something productive or learning something, and if I can do something and learn something at the same time then all the better. Perhaps that is why I like to commute to work on my bicycle. It allows me to get exercise and it gets me to work.

The other day I finished listening to everything on my iPod while riding to work and then felt like a drug addict looking for an audio fix for my ride home. I ended up plugging my headphones into my phone and I listened to the comedy channel on Pandora when I left work.

I didn’t get very far when I realized how stupid I was. I know how pleasurable it can be to just ride with no distractions but somehow I seemed to have forgotten that. I immediately put my headphones away and just enjoyed the scenery for the rest of the trip.

Of course, the scenery isn’t always worth looking at. Part of my ride is through an industrial park. I also ride through residential areas and down very congested streets. But there are a number of natural areas that are quite beautiful with plenty of wildlife. I find I notice way more on a bike than in a car and I notice even more yet when I have no added distractions.

On the way home today I watched an osprey fly by carrying a fish and as he flew over a tree that I was about to pass, a beautiful hawk flew out of the tree. I also passed a photographer who had his camera on a tripod and was photographing a stream from the top of a foot bridge. As I passed I noticed what a great picture that was.

I don’t suppose I will learn to completely suppress my desire to learn while I ride but I think I will split the difference and shut my iPod off when the traffic is heavy, for safety reasons, and when I am able to just enjoy the ride.

I’d like to know what you think. What do you listen to, if anything, and when do you listen to it?

Benefits Of Having Only One Car

I don’t know what sparked the idea of getting rid of one of our cars but I do know I was thinking about it around 2006 or so. I thought if I could ride my bike to work we wouldn’t need a second car and we could save money on gas, insurance and maintenance. At the time I was working seven or eight miles from home, too far to ride I thought. Actually, I knew it wasn’t too far but I also knew I was out of shape and I would have to work up to it.

The real problem was that most of the trip was along U.S. 19, the worst road in Florida, perhaps the universe. I put those thoughts out of my mind for a while and the next year we bought a condo and moved ten miles away, in the opposite direction from work. Eventually the thought of commuting by bicycle crept back into my mind and I started looking for a job closer to home. I never found one that would pay what I needed to make but in 2009 my wife’s company offered her a promotion which also came with a transfer to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

We didn’t want to leave Florida so she turned it down but when the manager they hired didn’t work out we finally agreed to move. Rose was going to be managing a 180 unit apartment complex and a free apartment was part of the deal. That meant we would be living on the property where she worked and thus would only need one car. I saw this as my opportunity to downsize and I gave my truck to Rose’s son. We then packed up the moving truck and towed our other car behind.

Once in Myrtle Beach, I eventually found a job about six or seven miles away. The first half of my plan was complete. Now I just needed to find a good route to work on my bike. There was none. That area is very unfriendly to cyclists and from where I was, I had to use Highway 501 to cross the Intercoastal Waterway and since part of the road was limited access, I didn’t dare try riding my bike on it. It didn’t matter, I was able to use our one car to get to work, and sixteen months later, my wife was promoted again and transferred back to Florida.

This time we did not live on the property but instead rented a condo in Dunedin, about seven miles from her work. Again, one car still suited our needs because I found a job four miles away and was able to ride my bike, which is what I wanted to do from the start.

Eventually, because my hours were cut, I started working in Tampa, about seventeen miles away. I was back to driving again but fortunately Rose’s work was on the way so I would drop her off and continue to work. After a few months of that, we moved to where she works and my trip was cut to nine miles (ten by bike). I wanted to ride to work again but It was farther than I was used to and I was worried about my back. My solution was buy a recumbent bike and ride to work without the concern of back pain.

You know the rest of the story as far as the bike is concerned but what I don’t mention is the occasional car problems and conflicts that arise. For example, last week we had an issue with the car on Thursday evening. My wife used that time to complain that we need two cars but on Friday morning I dropped it off at the repair shop across the street from our home and then rode to work. Problem solved.

Today Rose took the day off from work and needs the car. No problem, I can ride to work. But she wants me home early so we can do something together. That’s a problem so she will have to drive me to work and pick me up, but that is a problem of convenience, not necessity, and it is hardly worth the added cost of an extra vehicle.

So having one vehicle is not a good solution for everyone, and it can have it’s drawbacks, here is what I have found to be beneficial:

• You pay less on car insurance. We save even more because Rose is now the primary driver and women have a lower rate (unlike at the hair salon).
• Less maintenance cost. This can be significant, especially in older cars. Plus, you have one less car to clean.
• Less vehicle taxes and tag fees. In South Carolina, I had to pay property tax on my car.
• Save on gas. This mostly applies if you use a bike as alternative transportation.
• Incentive to exercise. There are some days when I don’t feel like riding to work but Rose needs the car for something so I take my bike. Later I am glad I did.
• One less car payment. I actually forgot to add the most obvious benefit and had to come back and put it in.

I don’t want to tell people they should only have one car, everyone’s circumstance is different, but if someone is thinking about it, I hope my story helps. Please let me know what you think.

Familiar Strangers

After two weeks on the sidelines I am finally able to ride again. It not only feels good to get exercise and be outside again, I also like seeing some of the people along the way that I have passed countless times.

There is a recumbent rider, possibly even older than me, who has a route almost exactly the same as mine but in the opposite direction. There is also the woman who works as a crossing guard near an elementary school that always says “hi” when I pass. At the other end of the school zone is a man who waves to everyone that goes by.

Then there are the people on the trail. One guy is overweight but working hard to slim down. When I pass he is walking while lifting hand weights. He always says hi to me, so do the two older women that are out for their morning walk. Then there is the women who is riding her bike with a mat rolled up on the front of it. I assume she is going to an exersize class. She never fails to say hi. There are several others too, but I don’t want to write a list.

Most people I see in the morning but there is a regular in the afternoon. He is an older man than walks very fast with a golf club in his had. He holds the club out and rotates it while he walks. He is the only person that avoids eye contact, but some people are just introverted, even in old age, and I certainly don’t think less of him for it.

It occurred to me that I almost feel a friendship toward these people even though I have never stopped and talked to any of them. It is just nice to hear that warm hello several times a day.

The other thing I noticed is that people are such creatures of habit. Many of the people on the trail, I assume, are walking for exercise. They walk the same trail, in the same direction, everyday. I don’t know what is normal but that would bore me to tears. I would want to mix it up and go one way one day and another the next.

It is true that I ride my bike the same way everyday, and I have tried to change it up a bit, but any other way to work is just not as safe. I suppose if I could find a safe second route, and then alternate between the two, I would double the friends that I don’t know.

Is it Bad to Ride While Sick?

In my last post, I was disappointed that I was unable to ride my bike for a full week. I finally got the parts I needed and repaired the problems and was ready to ride to work on Tuesday, almost two weeks ago. I woke up that morning with a bit of a sore throat and thought, “Great, any heavy breathing I do will make this worse.”

I got up, made coffee, took care of the cats and did my other morning chores and by the time I needed to leave, I felt ninety percent better. That is usually what happens when I start to get sick, it goes away before it gets bad. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember being sick in well over ten years.

It was a chilly morning so I dressed as warm as I could and headed to work. When I got there, I didn’t feel bad but I could tell I was not quite well either. The next morning the sore throat was back and I had developed a cough, congestion and sneezing to go with it. I was finally sick after all these years.  I don’t know if the bike ride helped push me over the edge but I think it is likely to be the case.

I drove the next day and seemed better as the day went on but the next morning I was worse again. I think lying down was bad for me but it just happens to be how I sleep.

That Thursday Rose and I took a two-day trip to the east coast of Florida, New Smyrna Beach, to celebrate her dad’s 80th birthday. I saw the pattern develop that I was sick in the morning and mostly better in the afternoon. That pattern continued all last week, with the worst day being Monday.

By Wednesday I was sick of driving and thought about getting back on the bike. My only fear was that doing so could cause this cold to last even longer. I don’t know it that would have happened. For all I know, the exercise might have done me some good. In the end I chose not to chance it and drove to work the rest of the week.

I now feel the cold breaking up and I am getting better. I am still coughing but if it continues to get better, or at least gets no worse, I should finally get back on two wheels tomorrow. Good thing too because I am one of the few people who puts on weight while sick.

 

Seven Days, No Bike

Lately I’ve been too busy to write but now I’m bored so I thought I would bore you with my problems. Just kidding, they are not problems, but rather, opportunities for improvement. Believe it or not, I actually welcome a minor issue with my bike every now and then, as long as it does not leave me hurt or stuck somewhere. This is because I need to learn how to repair and maintain my bicycle and if it is not broken, I will not be motivated to work on it.

Last Monday, the shifter knob for the rear gears broke and left me stuck in high gear. This was not a major issue, because Florida is pretty flat and most of my ride is in that gear anyway. One notable exception is a bridge I go over on the Upper Tampa Bay Trail.

Upper Tampa Bay Trail

It’s hard to tell from the angle of the above picture but the bridge gets somewhat steep and I usually shift to an easy gear while I go over the bridge. This time, I changed the front gear, which I usually leave on the center sprocket, and the chain fell off. This caused me to lose my balance and, since I have not fully adjusted to the clipless peddles, could not unclip my right foot in time and fell over. Another cyclist saw this happen and asked if I was okay. I told him I was more embarrassed than hurt. Fortunately the rest of the ride home went fine.

When I got home I was tired and did not feel like working on the bike so I decided to drive to work on Tuesday and fix it that evening. I picked a good day to drive because it was a rainy day.

I had a new shifter knob that I bought months ago as a set when the other one broke. I thought about changing them both at once but then got lazy. So after work on Tuesday I took the broken knob off and put the new one on. It came with a cable so I threw the old cable away and snaked the new cable through the old sheaths, or whatever the official name is for the cable covers.

When I got them all the way through I discovered the cable was too short. I suppose it was designed for a standard bicycle, which my recumbent bike is not. I ended up pulling the short wire out of the shifter knob and fished the old wire out of the trash. I thought I could just thread it back through the knob but I needed to take it apart. When I did a small plastic piece popped out. I wasn’t expecting that and had no Idea where it went back in.

It took awhile but I finally figured out how to get the wire in and put the two pieces back together, minus the little plastic piece. Leftover parts are common, right? I then had to thread the old wire back through the covers but the end was frayed so I had to cut the last inch off. This worked almost good enough except there was always one strand that stayed out while the others went in. I kept cutting the wire shorter and the same thing kept happening until finally I got it to work, except now it was also too short.

I was determined to ride my bike on Wednesday so I decided to make sure my front shifter was properly adjusted, which I did, but noticed another problem while I was doing that. The adjustment on my rear brake was broken and one pad was rubbing against the tire. It must have happened when I fell over. I thought it seemed a bit harder to pedal but I did not consider that I had another problem. I guess I wasn’t going to ride to work Wednesday after all.

I ordered the parts I needed from Amazon on Wednesday and since I have the Amazon Prime, I got free two-day shipping, so they arrived on Friday. I put them on Saturday with few problems and I am ready to ride to work on Monday. The only problem is that Monday morning is going to be around 40 degrees and since I am a cold wimp and since I have not yet bought good cold weather cycling clothes, I think I will wait until Tuesday.

It it Really Safer to Wear a Bike Helmet?

I read an article recently that said one of the arguments against wearing a helmet was that drivers are less cautious around cyclists who wear them. This reminded me of a Freakanomics podcast I once listened to where Steven D. Levit and Stephen J. Dubner argue that modern football helmets can be more dangerous, in some ways than the old leather helmets because (and I am going by memory here) the players will lead with their head in tackles thinking they are safe. They also argue that people wearing seat belts will drive more aggressively for the same reason.

This makes sense and I don’t dispute it but I also don’t think it applies to bicycle helmets. When I am riding my bike, I don’t take risks because I am wearing a helmet. Lets be honest, a helmet won’t make a bit of difference if a truck runs over you. But the real argument is weather drivers will take more risks around. I find that hard to believe. Drivers are basically good people and they don’t want to hit you weather you are wearing a helmet or not.

My real concern with drivers is that they don’t pay attention. That is why you, as a cyclist, must pay double the attention. This alone is worth more than a hundred helmets. I mentioned in my last post that I had four close calls on my way to work. The worst was when the Orkin Man ran me off the road while turning left onto the street I was riding on. None of those four people ever saw me. Monday morning, on the same street and in almost the same spot, a box truck turned left and ran me off the road. This time, even though the sun was up, I had my flashing headlamp on and he still didn’t see me.

The point is, none of these people were driving like idiots because I was wearing a helmet. They were driving like idiots because…well…that is how they drive, and while a helmet won’t save me from a major collision, it may be just enough when I are forced off the road and hit the ground hard.

With that in mind, I would say wear your helmet but remember that is secondary to caution and good riding skills.

 

 

Cycling Safety and Etiquette

On my way to work yesterday I was either forced to stop or move off the road by four different motorists who were not paying attention. In every case, I was watching the driver and expected them to see me after the incident and at least give me a wave as an apology. I was expecting too much. Not one driver ever knew I was there.

This brought to the forefront of my mind something I already knew. We cyclists are like ants on a sidewalk and if we are not careful we could get squashed.  We need to assume that our safety is one hundred percent our responsibility. I know there are laws protecting our rights on the roads, but as I mentioned my last post, The Ignorant Motorist, some people don’t know that.

There are two types of drivers that concern me most:

• The distracted driver – This is the most dangerous person on the road. These are people who have other things on their mind and do not look both ways as they come to an intersection. Some people will drive over a sidewalk and then look to see who is coming. Every driver is a potential threat. Never assume someone will see you or obey the traffic laws.
• The stressed-out driver – This person is wound very tight and the smallest thing will set them off. I recently  had someone lay on their horn because I caused them to slow one or two seconds early before their turn. Most of these people won’t try to run you down but they will try to squeeze past you when it is not safe to do so. This type of driver is more of a challenge.

My first suggestion is to carefully plan your route if you can. I use Google Maps or Google Earth. These programs can give you a street level view so you know what the roads are like. I try to keep my ride to trails, back roads and streets with bike lanes as much as possible.

My other suggestion is to consider the driver. Help them out as much as possible. If you are courteous to drivers, you not only keep them from snapping, you might even help other cyclists by giving that driver a more positive image of all cyclists.

If you are riding for time or trying to push your limits, you may not be able to do everything I suggest here, but do what you can. I always use hand signals when I ride so that drivers know what my intentions are. This helps both them and me. I also try to keep from slowing them down as much as possible. I have a mirror on my helmet so I can see when someone is behind me and I try to make it easy for them to pass. If they can’t pass because of traffic, I speed up. If they can pass, I might slow down so they can pass quicker. Sometimes if cars back up behind me, I will move to the sidewalk until the road is clear and then move back.

One word of caution. I sometimes tend to ride as far over as possible but have found this to be a bad idea for two reasons. When there is heavy traffic, drivers tend to try to squeeze past you without moving into the other lane, and there is a risk that you will hit the edge of the road and lose control just as a car is passing you.

I had a hard time finding specific data on how safe cycling was compared to driving but I did find this report  from the Department of Transportation. It reports that cyclists accounted for 1 percent of the traffic but 1.9 percent of fatalities were cyclists. This seems high but it also shows the District of Columbia as being the hardest hit. This indicates to me that urban cycling is much more dangerous.

This post is not ment to be pessimistic. I believe cycling can be very safe, even safer than driving, but only if you take responsibility and always pay attention to what is going on around you.

Change of Scenery

The other day I decided to take a different route to work. I was looking for a change of scenery and found a way to work that seemed safe and added a mile and a half to my ten-mile trip. Since I actually wanted to ride a little further this seemed like killing two birds with one stone.

The new route was easier. I got on the road near my home and stayed on it for at least half the trip. It was a busy road but it went through a newer part of town so it was well planned with bicycle lanes the entire trip. It was also good because it allowed me to keep a faster pace than usual. I actually spent part of the ride passing cars that were stuck in traffic. Since I didn’t have so many turns and stops, I made it to work in one hour and five minutes, just about my usual time on the shorter ride.

Unfortunately, it seems with every silver lining there is a dark cloud. I assume Florida is not home to every idiot driver in North America but it sure has more than its share. I talked about bicycle lanes in another post, Riding on Sidewalks. In that post I mentioned almost getting hit by the mirror of a passing truck. This time I had a car drift into the bike lane and barely miss me. That forced me over to the far right of the lane where a pickup truck,  two vehicles later, also drifted into the bike lane. I guess I was lucky the first car forced me over. It also seemed that every large vehicle, such as buses, would come uncomfortably close when passing me.

If anyone is curious, I recorded that trip and a few others using mapmyride.com. They have a nice feature that uses Google Earth to show a “Flyover” of the route. I tried to embed the video code directly into this page but for some reason it did not work. Some of my maps are private because they go directly to my home so if one does not work, try another. If you sign up, feel free to send me a friend request.

I decided to stick with my older route for now and rode home from work that way. If I want a change of pace I will have to go riding on the weekends, but that is time reserved for my wife. We bought her a bike a few months ago but it was too hot for her then. After that, her seat hurt so I bought her a comfy seat but then her wrists hurt from leaning forward on the ride. I few weeks ago I looked at another recumbent bike that I would really like to have but can’t afford it now. Rose said that perhaps after Christmas I could get a new recumbent and she could have my current one. Then she would ride with me. No comment!

In other news, on the way home on my ride mentioned above, my chain fell off while changing gears. It was dark at that time and even though the street I was on had lights, it was still difficult to see. I put the chain back on and then got back on the road but when I tried shifting to a higher front gear, the shifter broke apart and I was stuck in the lowest gear. I had to finish the last three or four miles of my trip in that gear.

I ordered a new shifter, that I think is correct, and it should arrive tomorrow or Wednesday. Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to install it. In the mean time it looks like I will be driving to work.

The Road to a Flat Tire is Paved With Good Intentions

When I bought my bike I wanted to be ready for possible problems on the road. I already had a patch kit so I put that in my bag and I planned on buying a bicycle tool kit and spare tubes to take with me but then reality set in. I had very limited space and my recumbent bike has two different size tires so I would have to carry two tubes with me and just couldn’t justify the room (I’ll bet NASA has the same problem). I did have room for a small tool kit but procrastination got the better part of me.

I noticed a few weeks ago that my tires were looking a bit worn so I planned on buying new tires and tubes and replacing them. This would not only cut the risk of a flat, it would also give me valuable experience if I needed to fix a flat on the road. It has been years since I fixed a flat and never on this particular bike.

I am very busy during the week so I decided to do this on the weekend. The weekend before last, my wife and I were away for our anniversary, and last weekend other circumstances prevented me from replacing my tires. I decided this coming weekend I would do it for sure.

When I got to work Wednesday I noticed my rear tire looked worse than ever. I thought to myself, “Just last one more day. I’ll drive to work on Friday and everything will be right with the world.”

It was not to be. I was two miles from work yesterday when the rear tire went flat. I put air in it but it would not hold it. I thought about patching it on the road but since I am somewhat of a novice on bike repair, I decided to walk the bike to work and fix it on my lunch break. I must say I felt a little silly walking with my bike but I made it to work only ten minutes late.

During lunch I pulled the tire off and put air in the tube. I am glad I did not stop to fix it on the road because I could not find the leak without putting it under water. I got out my patch kit and discovered the tube of rubber cement was empty. Can you tell yet that I was never a Boy Scout?

Fortunately there is an auto parts store near my work so I bought a patch kit there that had enough for about 50 patches. A bit overkill but beggars can’t be choosers.

I patched the tube and made it home with no problem, although I did have to carefully dodge a lot of road debris and I ran over a lug nut as I was racing to get through a green light. That made me nervous but caused no leak.

As we all know, the best way to learn is by making mistakes. If failure is a great teacher, than I am a great student. Tomorrow I am buying new tires, tubes, tools and whatever else I need and I will be better prepared the next time this happens.