Boy! And I thought I was motivated by my bike computer!
Mel Olsen, 83, of Moses Lake, WA, rode 17,088 miles last year. And apparently his main motivation was trying to stay near the top of of the list on a mileage-tracking website - bikejournal.com.
17,088 miles! That's averaging 46.5 miles per day! I don't know that I could do that, even if it was the only thing I had to do!
Obviously the guy loves riding - and his wife does too. That's awesome!
The Korean War veteran got started bicycling when a doctor advised him to take it up to help with his blood circulation in his legs. Obviously it "took."
Story HERE.
Tireless advocate for the most efficient form of
human transportation ever devised - bicycles!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Let there be light.
In these parts, the sun is almost peeking over the horizon at ride-to-work time. And there's plenty of sunshine still, in the afternoon. So, the days of daily headlight usage are almost over for another season. (Bob T recommends year-round light usage for visibility... so far I've contented myself with "passive visibility" in the form of bright clothes, during the day.)
I had good enough luck with an effective and cheap lighting solution that I feel good about recommending it.
Over the winter I used a light and bracket purchased from DealExtreme.
The light is called a "TrustFire S-A2," DX SKU number 36358. $12.60 delivered. (NOTE: The stuff gets delivered from China, so expect delivery to take at least a couple weeks. I always get anxious... but it always eventually arrives.)
I've had mixed results with other lights I've ordered from these guys - always with the switch. (It's unnerving when riding at night, and you go over a bump and your light goes off... or switches from bright to "S-O-S" mode!) But this one has served me faithfully without problems, for the better part of a year. It has 3 modes - high, low, and high/strobe. I normally use the strobe on my commute route, for maximum visibility. It's rated at 230 lumens... I don't know about that, but I can see it lighting up reflective signs 1/2 mile up the road, and I've had motorists flash their bright lights at me from time to time. And that's with 1 AA-size battery! (I started using rechargeable NiMH batteries - either Eneloop or Sony, because they supposedly have a longer "charged-up shelf life" than most. A charged-up battery has typically been good for a couple weeks of commuting trips.)
A bonus feature of this light, for me, is that it also makes a bright and handy pocket-size flashlight, off the bike.
I've mounted it on the bike with a DX Universal Adjustable Mount, DX SKU number 31871, $2.39. (Bringing the total to about 15 bucks.)
It's the model of simplicity - a rubber bracket that keeps everything in place, with a velcro strap to wrap around the handlebar, and another around the light.
Clancy has had good luck with bigger DX lights that use a more specialized battery... and they're handy because they're so bright you can peel paint with 'em, too! (grin) But I like the universal-battery feature. During the dark season, I typically carry spare batteries for headlight and taillight in my seat bag, just in case. (All year round I carry an AAA-size flashlight in the bag, and keep the taillight mounted... ya never know when you might get delayed on a trip, and end up needing a light for added night safety, even in the summer.)
I had good enough luck with an effective and cheap lighting solution that I feel good about recommending it.
Over the winter I used a light and bracket purchased from DealExtreme.
The light is called a "TrustFire S-A2," DX SKU number 36358. $12.60 delivered. (NOTE: The stuff gets delivered from China, so expect delivery to take at least a couple weeks. I always get anxious... but it always eventually arrives.)I've had mixed results with other lights I've ordered from these guys - always with the switch. (It's unnerving when riding at night, and you go over a bump and your light goes off... or switches from bright to "S-O-S" mode!) But this one has served me faithfully without problems, for the better part of a year. It has 3 modes - high, low, and high/strobe. I normally use the strobe on my commute route, for maximum visibility. It's rated at 230 lumens... I don't know about that, but I can see it lighting up reflective signs 1/2 mile up the road, and I've had motorists flash their bright lights at me from time to time. And that's with 1 AA-size battery! (I started using rechargeable NiMH batteries - either Eneloop or Sony, because they supposedly have a longer "charged-up shelf life" than most. A charged-up battery has typically been good for a couple weeks of commuting trips.)
A bonus feature of this light, for me, is that it also makes a bright and handy pocket-size flashlight, off the bike.
I've mounted it on the bike with a DX Universal Adjustable Mount, DX SKU number 31871, $2.39. (Bringing the total to about 15 bucks.)
It's the model of simplicity - a rubber bracket that keeps everything in place, with a velcro strap to wrap around the handlebar, and another around the light.
Clancy has had good luck with bigger DX lights that use a more specialized battery... and they're handy because they're so bright you can peel paint with 'em, too! (grin) But I like the universal-battery feature. During the dark season, I typically carry spare batteries for headlight and taillight in my seat bag, just in case. (All year round I carry an AAA-size flashlight in the bag, and keep the taillight mounted... ya never know when you might get delayed on a trip, and end up needing a light for added night safety, even in the summer.)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
'12 - off to a great start!
We were blessed with a mild and dry January. However, it's nice that in one four-day span our mountain snowpack went from about 50% of normal to 95%. Sweeeet! Despite that, there was only one day - the first of those four - on which I was dissuaded from bicycling to work... I took the bus. (That evening I braved the streets on my beater mountain bike and rode over to the library for awhile.)
Bus commuting - it was breathtakingly expensive! A dollar each way - imagine! But then I considered... lots of car commuter pay well over $2 for a parking space for the day. And at 60 cents per mile - a middle-of-the-road estimate of the total cost of operating a car - I'd be spending between $4 and $5, if I only drove between home and the office. Riding a bicycle really distorts one's perception of reality.
It's Leap Year - 29 days next month. Which begs the question... why does the 29th belong to my employer, rather than me? Seems to me that "Leap Day" should be a paid holiday. But I digress.
Happy and safe riding.
Bus commuting - it was breathtakingly expensive! A dollar each way - imagine! But then I considered... lots of car commuter pay well over $2 for a parking space for the day. And at 60 cents per mile - a middle-of-the-road estimate of the total cost of operating a car - I'd be spending between $4 and $5, if I only drove between home and the office. Riding a bicycle really distorts one's perception of reality.
It's Leap Year - 29 days next month. Which begs the question... why does the 29th belong to my employer, rather than me? Seems to me that "Leap Day" should be a paid holiday. But I digress.
Happy and safe riding.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Daredevil freeway cyclist in Seattle
Seattle has a renegade bike rider who illegally operates on I-5, but disappears before he can be busted.
Story (and photo and video) HERE.
According to the story, bicycling on the freeway is a "jailable offense" up that way. And based on the video of this yokel, he'd be getting off lucky if all he got was some jail time! He's operating in a very narrow stretch of pavement, on the far left side of the traffic flow! It's amazing that somebody hasn't pasted him.
The Seattle area has become notorious for its rush-hour traffic jams. But even if the freeway is only going 11mph, it's still a dangerous place if your operational space and sight distance are compromised.
Many people don't know this, but it's legal to operate a bicycle on any freeway in Idaho.
Legal... but safe?
I've ridden on the Interstate around Boise. Eastbound out of town (toward Mountain Home) it's not too bad. I've ridden out to the Blacks Creek exit on several occasions. You can see for miles up the road, and the shoulder is as wide as a traffic lane. (The debris and junk is HUGE out there! Ya gotta watch out not to run into a chunk of tire tread or boulder or abandoned Geo Metro.) But I'd never dare to ride "the connecter" during rush hour... the equivalent to what this Bozo has been doing (and getting away with, at least so far).
On the other hand... it's unlikely he'll end up killing anybody but himself, and motorists are out there killing other people every day with their irresponsible and inattentive behavior.
Story (and photo and video) HERE.
According to the story, bicycling on the freeway is a "jailable offense" up that way. And based on the video of this yokel, he'd be getting off lucky if all he got was some jail time! He's operating in a very narrow stretch of pavement, on the far left side of the traffic flow! It's amazing that somebody hasn't pasted him.
The Seattle area has become notorious for its rush-hour traffic jams. But even if the freeway is only going 11mph, it's still a dangerous place if your operational space and sight distance are compromised.
Many people don't know this, but it's legal to operate a bicycle on any freeway in Idaho.
Legal... but safe?
I've ridden on the Interstate around Boise. Eastbound out of town (toward Mountain Home) it's not too bad. I've ridden out to the Blacks Creek exit on several occasions. You can see for miles up the road, and the shoulder is as wide as a traffic lane. (The debris and junk is HUGE out there! Ya gotta watch out not to run into a chunk of tire tread or boulder or abandoned Geo Metro.) But I'd never dare to ride "the connecter" during rush hour... the equivalent to what this Bozo has been doing (and getting away with, at least so far).
On the other hand... it's unlikely he'll end up killing anybody but himself, and motorists are out there killing other people every day with their irresponsible and inattentive behavior.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Lessons from great cycling cities
Christine Grant of Seattle has written an interesting article after observing some of the world's most bicycle-friendly cities. These are the lessons she learned, about what many of them share in common:
1. It's the infrastructure, stupid!
If the available roadways and pathways aren't perceived as safe, they'll never enjoy widespread use by casual cyclists.
2. Bike Share! Bike Share!
This is probably most applicable in large urban places...citizens are more likely to ride, if they don't have to commit to ownership (and maintenance, storage, etc.) of a bicycle.
3. It's safer than a soda.
Citizens need to buy into the health aspects of regular transportation cycling. (An education issue?)
4. Say "thank you."
Rather than viewing bicycle infrastructure as a huge financial burden, some cities "thank" transportation cyclists in a very public way. (After all, cycling is much cheaper than motor transportation, both for the cyclist and for those who furnish the infrastructure.)
5. Forget speed bumps... turn streets into backyards.
Motorists tend to ignore signs and traffic calming devices... it's harder to ignore benches, planters, and even a ping-pong table. (I had to "steal" this photo from the article. Who wouldn't love to live on a street like this?!!)
6. Let prices tell the truth.
There's no such thing as "free parking," for example. That huge parking lot surrounding your favorite mall? You pay for it when you spend money at the mall.
7. You don't need "bike clothes."
Yeah, you can ride a bike while wearing a necktie or suit, or a dress and high heels.
8. Electrify it.
In hilly places or for people with compromised health, motorized assistance can supplement pedal power. (But not those noisy little 2-stroke chainsaw engines, please!!!)
9. Admit it - it's emotional.
People who sit in traffic every day can't appreciate how satisfying the bike-transportation alternative is. Grant: "I spoke with dozens of urban cyclists who talked about the curious happiness derived from activating your senses and connecting with your city on a bicycle. One Amsterdam father’s voice actually cracked with emotion as he reflected on his morning and afternoon rides with his son. His toddler sat in a front-mounted childseat. The father talked about how nice it was to smell his son’s head during the commute to day care."
10. It's a virtuous circle - or cycle.
"Better infrastructure recruits more people onto bikes, which creates more advocates for better infrastructure, which recruits more people onto bikes, and so on."
(Photo snapped by Christine Grant)
1. It's the infrastructure, stupid!
If the available roadways and pathways aren't perceived as safe, they'll never enjoy widespread use by casual cyclists.
2. Bike Share! Bike Share!
This is probably most applicable in large urban places...citizens are more likely to ride, if they don't have to commit to ownership (and maintenance, storage, etc.) of a bicycle.
3. It's safer than a soda.
Citizens need to buy into the health aspects of regular transportation cycling. (An education issue?)
4. Say "thank you."
Rather than viewing bicycle infrastructure as a huge financial burden, some cities "thank" transportation cyclists in a very public way. (After all, cycling is much cheaper than motor transportation, both for the cyclist and for those who furnish the infrastructure.)
5. Forget speed bumps... turn streets into backyards.
Motorists tend to ignore signs and traffic calming devices... it's harder to ignore benches, planters, and even a ping-pong table. (I had to "steal" this photo from the article. Who wouldn't love to live on a street like this?!!)
6. Let prices tell the truth.
There's no such thing as "free parking," for example. That huge parking lot surrounding your favorite mall? You pay for it when you spend money at the mall.
7. You don't need "bike clothes."
Yeah, you can ride a bike while wearing a necktie or suit, or a dress and high heels.
8. Electrify it.
In hilly places or for people with compromised health, motorized assistance can supplement pedal power. (But not those noisy little 2-stroke chainsaw engines, please!!!)
9. Admit it - it's emotional.
People who sit in traffic every day can't appreciate how satisfying the bike-transportation alternative is. Grant: "I spoke with dozens of urban cyclists who talked about the curious happiness derived from activating your senses and connecting with your city on a bicycle. One Amsterdam father’s voice actually cracked with emotion as he reflected on his morning and afternoon rides with his son. His toddler sat in a front-mounted childseat. The father talked about how nice it was to smell his son’s head during the commute to day care."
10. It's a virtuous circle - or cycle.
"Better infrastructure recruits more people onto bikes, which creates more advocates for better infrastructure, which recruits more people onto bikes, and so on."
(Photo snapped by Christine Grant)
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Book: It's All About the Bike
"The pursuit of happiness on two wheels"
The title grabbed me; I grabbed the book.
Journalist and cyclist Robert Penn set out to acquire the ultimate bicycle, piece by piece. He started at Brian Rourke Cycles in Stoke-on-Trent, England. (Coincidentally,
my great-great grandfather emigrated from Stoke-on-Trent to the USA, 150-odd years ago.) Mr. Rourke builds custom frames, and he built one just for Mr. Penn. From there he traveled the world... to Oregon for the ultimate hubs, to Italy to pick up his gruppo, to Germany for his tires, to the Bay Area to have his wheels handbuilt, back to England for his Brooks saddle.
Wherever he is allowed, he watches his stuff being manufactured. (Campagnolo wouldn't let him in... they have a strict policy against journalist tours. They're apparently afraid of competitors stealing their innovations that are still on the drawing board.)
The story of the bike-being-built is interspersed with observations about bicycling, history, etc. (On not-so-custom bikes, Penn has ridden pretty much around the world.)
A snippet from the book:
"The one dramatic blow-out I had that still gives me flashbacks was in the Fergana Mountains in Kyrgyzstan. I was coming down from a pass on a gravel road, on a loaded touring bike. When the hairpins finished, and the road opened out before me, I let the brakes go. At full tilt, the front tyre - a cheap Chinese-made tyre I'd bought in the market in Kashgar - blew. The bike slid briefly, then the handlebar jack-knifed and I was off. Somehow, the bike was propelled into the air. As it came down on top of me, the teeth of the chainrings scalped the side of my head.
"A few hours later, I reached a farm on the road - the first settlement I'd seen all day. Blood congealed with dust covered the side of my face. My shirt was shredded. Looking like a cross between a cage-fighter and a Sadhu, I leant my bike against the gate and walked up the path. Children and women scattered, shrieking. The farmer, a barrel-chested Kyrgyz man with taut, mongoloid features, appeared from the shadows with a pistol at the end of his stiff arm. I tried a few words of Russian. No reply. Then his eyes flicked past me to the gate, and my bicycle. The pistol arm fell limp. The leathery brown skin on his face was re-set to a broad grin. Ten minutes later I was eating kebabs and yoghurt as his wife sponged blood from my head. I had the bicycle to thank for my salvation: it was the last time I would ever grace it with a cheap tyre."
Penn's final thought, as he takes his first ride: "At Gospel Pass, we [he and his bicycle?] slipped through the notch in the rock and the landscape fell away. We began freewheeling slowly downhill. The views into mid-Wales were magnificent. The world lay beyond the handlebars. I was in the best seat in the house: a seat that had cost over $5,000. That's a lot of money for a bicycle, I thought. Then again, it's not a lot of money for the loveliest thing I've ever owned."
(The title of the book is a light-hearted response to a book by Lance Armstrong: It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life.) It's a quick read, at less than 200 pages. I'd recommend it to anybody who regularly feels "happiness on two wheels."
The title grabbed me; I grabbed the book.
Journalist and cyclist Robert Penn set out to acquire the ultimate bicycle, piece by piece. He started at Brian Rourke Cycles in Stoke-on-Trent, England. (Coincidentally,
my great-great grandfather emigrated from Stoke-on-Trent to the USA, 150-odd years ago.) Mr. Rourke builds custom frames, and he built one just for Mr. Penn. From there he traveled the world... to Oregon for the ultimate hubs, to Italy to pick up his gruppo, to Germany for his tires, to the Bay Area to have his wheels handbuilt, back to England for his Brooks saddle.Wherever he is allowed, he watches his stuff being manufactured. (Campagnolo wouldn't let him in... they have a strict policy against journalist tours. They're apparently afraid of competitors stealing their innovations that are still on the drawing board.)
The story of the bike-being-built is interspersed with observations about bicycling, history, etc. (On not-so-custom bikes, Penn has ridden pretty much around the world.)
A snippet from the book:
"The one dramatic blow-out I had that still gives me flashbacks was in the Fergana Mountains in Kyrgyzstan. I was coming down from a pass on a gravel road, on a loaded touring bike. When the hairpins finished, and the road opened out before me, I let the brakes go. At full tilt, the front tyre - a cheap Chinese-made tyre I'd bought in the market in Kashgar - blew. The bike slid briefly, then the handlebar jack-knifed and I was off. Somehow, the bike was propelled into the air. As it came down on top of me, the teeth of the chainrings scalped the side of my head.
"A few hours later, I reached a farm on the road - the first settlement I'd seen all day. Blood congealed with dust covered the side of my face. My shirt was shredded. Looking like a cross between a cage-fighter and a Sadhu, I leant my bike against the gate and walked up the path. Children and women scattered, shrieking. The farmer, a barrel-chested Kyrgyz man with taut, mongoloid features, appeared from the shadows with a pistol at the end of his stiff arm. I tried a few words of Russian. No reply. Then his eyes flicked past me to the gate, and my bicycle. The pistol arm fell limp. The leathery brown skin on his face was re-set to a broad grin. Ten minutes later I was eating kebabs and yoghurt as his wife sponged blood from my head. I had the bicycle to thank for my salvation: it was the last time I would ever grace it with a cheap tyre."
Penn's final thought, as he takes his first ride: "At Gospel Pass, we [he and his bicycle?] slipped through the notch in the rock and the landscape fell away. We began freewheeling slowly downhill. The views into mid-Wales were magnificent. The world lay beyond the handlebars. I was in the best seat in the house: a seat that had cost over $5,000. That's a lot of money for a bicycle, I thought. Then again, it's not a lot of money for the loveliest thing I've ever owned."
(The title of the book is a light-hearted response to a book by Lance Armstrong: It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life.) It's a quick read, at less than 200 pages. I'd recommend it to anybody who regularly feels "happiness on two wheels."
More death by distraction
(Sorry to keep beating this dead horse... it's only because cyclists are particularly vulnerable in a traffic accident. We totally depend on other roadway users being responsible.)
A sad update on a tragic story...
A few nights ago, an 18-year-old college freshman, Taylor Sauer, was killed in a collision on the Interstate an hour or so southeast of Boise. It happened at night, and the evidence suggested she plowed into the back of a slow-moving truck on an upgrade... and then was subsequently hit by another truck. Very weird. When I read about it, I assumed either she was drowsy (which happens out there on the superslab), or somebody wasn't paying attention.
A story on the Deseret News website sheds additional light.
"The one-time high school salutatorian apparently passed the time on the long drive by communicating with others on Facebook."
Moments before the fatal accident, she posted this message: "I can't discuss this matter now. Driving and facebooking is not safe! Haha."
A life wasted. Several other individuals with damaged property and horrible memories to last a lifetime. Thank goodness nobody else was (apparently) injured or killed!!
A sad update on a tragic story...
A few nights ago, an 18-year-old college freshman, Taylor Sauer, was killed in a collision on the Interstate an hour or so southeast of Boise. It happened at night, and the evidence suggested she plowed into the back of a slow-moving truck on an upgrade... and then was subsequently hit by another truck. Very weird. When I read about it, I assumed either she was drowsy (which happens out there on the superslab), or somebody wasn't paying attention.
A story on the Deseret News website sheds additional light.
"The one-time high school salutatorian apparently passed the time on the long drive by communicating with others on Facebook."
Moments before the fatal accident, she posted this message: "I can't discuss this matter now. Driving and facebooking is not safe! Haha."
A life wasted. Several other individuals with damaged property and horrible memories to last a lifetime. Thank goodness nobody else was (apparently) injured or killed!!
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