Little Bike --> Big Bike

I got my granddaughter a 20-inch bike ($5 on the Craigslist, and a couple hours of TLC). It turned out pretty nice. I gave it to her for a 4th birthday present, earlier this month.



It seemed so tiny when I was working on it... but it seems huge when compared with her 12-inch bike, or when she's trying to get on board.

It's got the coaster brake, which she's used to, but also has a caliper hand-squeeze brake on the front wheel, so she can start getting a feeling for that.

It's still too big for her, even with the seat at its lowest. (Oh - I got the seat upgrade over at the Boise Bicycle Project; the old one was scuffed up and not pink enough.) She can ride it fine, but starts and stops are just a little too much. By the time warm weather is upon us, hopefully she'll have grown another inch or two. She is much faster and more steady on the 20-inch wheels, than on those little roller-skate 12-inchers.

I'm happy about her enthusiasm for cycling, and for the ability she has already started developing. I was six, maybe seven, before I ever rode a bike. She was riding without training wheels at 3 1/2 or so. (She suggested I put the training wheels on her "new" bike, but I explained she'd never be satisfied to ride a training-wheel bike again.)

Best (mileage) year ever!

Pardon me for a moment, while I wax braggadocious.

Way back in 1996, a younger and more energetic Bike Nazi rode 6589 miles, on a bicycle, in one year.

Ever since, that has been a lofty and distant mark - my Everest.

Well lo and behold... in 2010 I've surpassed that milestone... by 122 miles.

"Hey, wait a minute!" interrupts the modern-day Pharisee. "This ain't even 2010 anymore, dad-gum it!"

And right he is... but let me explain.

At the beginning of 2010, I was recuperating from surgery, and ordered off the bike. I was able to resume cycling last January 15, so I gave myself a little fudge factor. I've ridden 6711 miles in the last 365 days. (For the record, I rode on 355 of those days.)

If you reject my fudgin' ways, I rode 6485 miles in calendar 2010, making it my second-best year.

I was particularly motivated this year:
- desire to self-affirm my ongoing good health,
- shiny new bicycle to ride,
- 25th year of transportation cycling.

It worked out good.

Will I ever surpass 6711 miles?

Seems unlikely. But until I did it, breaking my 1996 record seemed unlikely. Once I don't have to spend 40+ hours a week toiling for pay, it will likely free up some time. So if my health holds up, I'll never say never.

I dedicate my 2010 record to a couple fellas who are largely responsible for my good health: Dr. William Jones who has monitored my condition for years, and Dr. Avery Seifert who performed the surgery and had me back on the bicycle 30 days later.

Keep on ridin'!

Safety football uniform

Are you a college football fan? If so, it was a historic and recently-ended season.

Once our beloved Broncos were out of the picture, I was cheering for the Oregon Ducks. And was disappointed when they lost the championship game. (But not by much... it was a good game, particularly if you like world-class defense.)

Of course, Oregon is famous (?) for their uniforms. They are at the opposite end of the spectrum from Penn State, with their "generic" look. If Oregon plays 13 games in a year, there are several uniforms they won't get to wear that year, if they wear a different one for each game. (That is largely because they're just down the road from Nike, and are "guinea pigs" of sorts.)

I seriously want some of those socks, like they were wearing in the championship game! They'd go nice with my hi-viz jacket and vest! And one of the beanies would be nice, too... in that same color, of course. I could wear it under my brain-bucket, just like the football players.

NIKE... are you listening? (-;

At last! A motorcycle bike rack!

You see a lot of automobiles in these parts with bike racks - either atop the roof, or attached to the trailer hitch receiver. Folks apparently like to take their bikes on car trips. (I've not had good luck with rooftop bike racks - I don't have the attention span. Twice I've driven underneath overhead barriers, much to the detriment of front forks. I gave it up many years ago, and pretty much just stick to the bicycle any more.)

But at long last, there's a bike rack for us motorcycle enthusiasts.

(That took awhile for me to process. Motorcycle bike rack? Yeah - it's a rack that attaches to your motorcycle, so you can take your bicycle with you on motorcycle trips.)

It's the brainchild of 2x2 Cycles founder Garrett Blake, who apparently loves both motorcycling and bicycling. (Hey - I like this guy!) Blake: "I didn’t want to drive my 15-mpg truck to far-away bike trails and charity rides, and miss out on some great road rides without the motorcycle. Nor did I want to ride my motorcycle somewhere and see all those great trails and have no bicycle to use. I knew this rack would truly open up a whole new world of adventure to motorcycle enthusiasts around the world."

I'd like one of these, but I don't think I'd use it often enough to justify the $300 selling price. (If the guy wants to send me one, I'll install it and give it a thorough workout over the course of 2011, and write my impressions, including how often it came in handy.)

The company also makes a gizmo that allows you to attach your golf bag out back, for golfing motorcycle riders.

Squank

Our area is having another "yellow alert" air quality day. To us common folk, that means the air isn't necessarily unhealthy to breathe quite yet. "... However, some sensitive people including children, the elderly, those with existing health conditions, and people who work, exercise or spend extensive time outdoors may want to take precaution."



It could be worse; at least we don't have Red Alert air, like those poor schmoes down along the Wasatch Front.

They like to call it "haze." Sounds prettier than "smog."

ZZ Top referred to it as "Squank."

Woman, grab your children, run and hide.
Don't let it catch up with you.
You gotta fight it to stay alive,
and if it gets you, man, you're through.

It smells so rotten and rank.
Well, everybody calls it the squank.

It's sick, depressin', gettin' bigger all the time.
Don't help it any way you can.
It's grey and brown and sometimes lime
and it's spreadin' all over the land.

And soon we'll be all breathin' out of tanks
if somethin' ain't done about the squank.

The meanest thing the world's ever bred
by me and you and kinfolk too.
A monster can't live unless it's fed,
and it's being fed by me and you.

And soon it's gonna leave the world blank,
and we'll all be erased by the squank.

(Golly! ZZ Top - the little ole band from Texas - Environmental Activists! Who knew?!!)

In these parts (probably 'most everywhere), three things combine to cause the squank: 1) geography, 2) atmospheric conditions, 3) pollutants.

We obviously have no control over the geography, since lots of people would complain if the mountains were flattened. (The mountains tend to "trap" bad air in the valley, under an inversion-type air pattern, which we deal with now and then. That's the "atmospheric condition.") Of course, humans and human activity are the biggest contributors of pollutants, unless there's a volcano or earthquake or prairie fire going on.

Burning is banned. Makes sense. (And honestly, the pollution is less of a problem now than when most houses were heated by coal or stove oil.)

But it always cracks me up that they advise people (obviously with a nudge and a wink) to limit car trips, combine driving errands, etc. Yeah, right! Like people are going to voluntarily inconvenience themselves over something as trivial as poison air! That ain't gonna happen.

Garden City Greenbelt Intrigue, part 2011A

(I apologize for those who aren't interested in our local political infighting, and uninterested in the Greenbelt bike path. But it's of interest to me and some local cyclists... so here goes.)

An article on the Idaho Statesman website declares, "Garden City plans to build new Greenbelt bridge."

The bridge is proposed to span the Boise River, between Glenwood Road and Eagle Road. This isn't news; GC has proposed that bridge for a number of years. Of course, they bring it up now as though it will be an acceptable "alternative" to opening up the bike path on the north side of the river, that is closed to cyclists behind the exclusive Riverside Village.

Ironically, they intend to ask the State of Idaho - which gave them the land behind Riverside Village contingent upon their maintaining a public bike path - for $900,000 to build the bridge. (The timing is bad; there's another article today, bemoaning Parks & Rec's ongoing budget woes. If they can't afford toilet paper for the state parks, how can they buy a bridge for Garden City?)

They are also hoping for private donations, to help with the financing.

I sent the following email to Nancy Merrill. Ms. Merrill is on the State Parks & Recreation Board; she is also an icon of Eagle politics, having served as mayor.

Dear Nancy Merrill:

For a number of years, Garden City has occasionally talked about building a pedestrian bridge on the Greenbelt, between Glenwood and Eagle Roads. According to an article on the Idaho Statesman website today, they intend to petition the State Parks and Recreation Department for funds. Because you are affiliated with that state agency, and because you are a long-time Eagle resident, you should be very interested. And that's why I'm writing to you.

I'm a lifelong Boise resident, and for the last 25 years I've been a dedicated transportation cyclist. I've very much enjoyed and appreciated the expansion of the Greenbelt over those years; it is truly a "crown jewel" of our metro area.

But alas, one section of the Greenbelt that should be open to cyclists is not. It's the part right behind Garden City's Riverside Village. Coincidentally, that stretch is on land that was deeded to Garden City by the State of Idaho, conditional upon their maintaining it as a bike path. (The "bike path" wording is part of the agreement.) Garden City has reneged on that agreement, as I'm sure you are aware. Not only is the pathway closed to cyclists, but Garden City has gone so far as to make it a misdemeanor for a cyclist to ride that stretch of path, and have issued citations for riders who had the nerve to ride their bicycles on the bike path.

As a 4th-generation citizen of the State of Idaho, I would favor state financial support for the proposed river crossing bridge... but only if that support is contingent upon Garden City's living up to the agreement they made to the citizens of the State of Idaho 30-odd years ago - by opening up the "Riverside Village" stretch of the Greenbelt to all non-motorized transportation. (Your fellow Eagle citizens would particularly appreciate not having to take a long and potentially-dangerous detour.)

Thanks for your attention.

It would be delicious if Garden City had to agree to finally open that stretch of bike path, in order to get funds to build the bridge that they myopically view as an "alternative" to opening the bike path! I'd call that "Catch-23"!!

**UPDATE**

- I got a nice response from Ms. Merrill. All she had to say about the Riverside Village Forbidden Path was, "I also enjoy riding on this jewel of the Treasure Valley. I am aware of the struggles through the years regarding Riverside Village pathway." Sounds pretty non-committal.

- Jacki corrected a misconception. It's an infraction if you violate the no-bikes law, not a misdemeanor. Heck, you might not even get tased over it, bro'!
(-;

New Look for '11

Happy new year!

Just to keep things from getting too boring, I decided to go with a different template for 2011.