AZ BluesCat

She is SO Right

2012-01-23T08:52:00.003-07:00

If I were in charge of an awards show for the online world, the Top Female Blogger prize would go to Karen Voyer-Caravona. Anyone who thinks bicycling for women is only for the hardcore female athlete should visit Karen's blog, She Rides a Bike, to see how stylishly feminine it can be.

Karen deserves the award for much more than simply creating a well written blog which breaks a female stereotype. In my opinion, her comments and posts on other sites elevate her far above others in the world of responsible, intelligent writers. Her comment in response to a post in my blog, Bikes are NOT Red, White and Blue, is so full of smart, gut-level correctness that it could be used as model for Internet debating. It got me thinking even more about some effective tactics for bike advocacy, and any writing which promotes thinking is the best sort of writing.

My original post had been in response to Tom Bowden's article in Commute by Bike wherein he suggests we promote bicycling as a patriotic, American activity: Bike Advocacy from the NRA Playbook. I said it wouldn't work, because the automobile is "American transportation" and the bicycle is "foreign, Third World transportation." Karen added yet another dimension to that thought when she mentioned that nationalistic arguments frighten her "almost as much as religiosity."

It scares me, too! I shudder whenever I see a news article about some politician or Radical Right organization trying to say "God is on OUR side." It reminds me of the fact that during World War II some soldiers of Nazi Germany revived the GOTT MIT UNS ("God With Us") belt buckle from the previous world war. If we try to paint the bicycle as AMERICAN we may well turn off some folks who are NOT red-necked, flag waving yo-yos.

However, Karen also freely admits that "sex sells," and although my post suggests a tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign using macho movie action heroes to portray bicycling as a tough, manly activity, she says she would follow the two actors I mentioned "anywhere"! Maybe such an eroticism-based PR line isn't so far fetched after all!

Think about it: hot rod magazines sell thousands of copies loaded with pictures of string-bikini-clad girls caressing the custom flames painted on cars their grandfathers drove! Is it so farfetched to believe than having Victoria Secret-class models draped all over Electra-style cruiser bikes would sell a LOT of bikes?

Bikes are NOT Red, White and Blue

2012-01-19T15:13:00.005-07:00

Commute by Bike’s own Refugee From the Radical Right, Tom Bowden, wrote a great article about adopting a strategy of Bike Advocacy from the NRA Playbook. His thought is that we might be more successful if we paint bicycling as a normal, flag-waving, patriotic AMERICAN activity rather than dwell on the logical, intelligent and environmental reasons Americans should start riding bikes.

Like most Republicans, Tom begins by accurately describing the nature of the situation, and then flies off on a tangent with ideas for solutions which simply do not reflect what would work in the REAL world of the average American.

Tom is right that the NRA has found a very visceral way of promoting gun rights. I, too, find myself tearing up as I open that eagle-and-flag filled snail-mail spam they send whenever they figure they need more money than just my yearly dues (that’s right folks: the BluesCat is a card-carrying member of the NRA; for reasons much too complicated to go into here). The Ol’ Patriotic Cat chokes up just before he tosses the stuff into the recycle bin.

Tom is also absolutely spot-on when he explains the incredible mixed message of those promoting bicycles: "You’re going to have a lot of fun, and get really healthy, BUT YOU ALSO MAY DIE when you’re run over by that big, AMERICAN SUV!"

Trying to use the NRA’s heartstring tugging method for bicycling will not work, and the reason is really simple: Bicycles are NOT AMERICAN TRANSPORTATION. Take a look at the League of American Bicyclists Trash Talk web site. That page is full of bad-mouthing by Republicans and right-wing media about how unimportant and Third World the bicycle is. Bicycles are just not considered serious, valid transportation for America. Heck, even some bike commuters of a more liberal bent than Tom have said they do not think we should be spending federal highway transportation money on bike and pedestrian infrastructure; even your own FEET aren’t considered a "serious mode of transportation!"

The pulse quickening, swashbuckling road tool that is The Automobile is what IS American Transportation. Take a look at any television commercial that advertises a full-sized pickup truck. It is a tour de force collection of images of trucks sloughing through mud as deep as the tops of the wheel wells, of trucks climbing near vertical rocky grades, and of trucks shrugging off elephantine quantities of stuff dropped into their beds by backhoes. Even CADILLAC commercials don’t present genteel women being escorted over to the passenger side, but show a CTS shrieking around a race track ahead of a Ferrari!

So, we need to take another tack to find a consistent, heart-attack inducing, macho, gut-grabbing PR campaign for bike riding. I suggest we get one of the current movie action heroes, like Jason Statham or Daniel Craig, to ride an exotic, pure-rolling-bike-porn like the Velokraft No-Com down a long hill with about an 18% grade. As the jittering image of the bike computer shows our hero topping 70 mph, in the background you’ll hear the gravelly voice of Sam Elliott (of Dodge truck commercial fame) order you to "Get real. Get your butt on a bike."

Review of the Ultra Motor A2B Metro

2011-12-28T08:30:00.001-07:00

The good folks at Commute by Bike sent an Ultra Motor A2B Metro e-bike down the hill from Flagstaff so I could ride it and review how it works for winter commuting in Phoenix.

You can check out my initial impression of the A2B here: A2B Metro Goes South for the Winter

Sleeping Beauty Redux

2011-10-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm asking ya, clearly I do NOT know how to get my grandkids as excited about bicycling as I am:

Anybody got some tips for me?

Grandpa's Sweetheart Passengers

2011-10-28T16:58:00.000-07:00

Took my two granddaughters for their first ride together in the Schwinn bike trailer. Keira is 2-years-old, Isabelle is 1-year-old.

They could hardly stand the excitement:

Maybe I should go faster than 8 miles per hour, eh?

Pedaling Fast & Furious

2011-09-20T13:35:00.005-07:00

Over on Commute by Bike, an online buddy of mine who runs the site, Ted Johnson, wrote a piece about a soon-to-be-released movie: Action Heroes on Bikes.

Now, Ted isn't sure he likes the premise of the movie; where the "hero" is one of those infuriating, scofflaw NY bike messengers who give urban bicyclists a bad name.

But I'm thinking this may be just what us avid bike commuters need: an ANTIHERO! Think of the Fast and Furious movie franchise. The "heroes" of those movies destroy hundreds of thousands of dollars in automobiles and transportation infrastructure, not to mention probably injuring or killing many innocent bystanders (although they don't show THAT in the flicks).

But every release of a new Fast and Furious movie results in a significant uptick in street racing, accidents and sales of high performance auto parts: Increased accident rates: Fast and Furious.

And people, especially young males, LIKE that!

So maybe we NEED a lawless bike hero for the movies! It'll make bicycles COOL. It may increase the urge to "live on the edge" for some folks. It'll increase the sales of bikes and accessories!

But we need a "better antihero" than a universally hated bike messenger, so here's MY idea.

PEDALING FAST & FURIOUS

It's a quiet, weekday morning in a middle-sized town in America. Say some place like Flagstaff, Arizona (where Ted is based). With the sun just peaking up behind the mountains to the east, two pretty gals meet up to bike commute to work. It's summer, so they're wearing light, translucent, strapless summer dresses and heels, sorta like this:

As they ride, the fitful winds around their bicycles cause their dresses to float up, revealing their shapely, toned legs. All smiles and light conversation, they do not notice the black SUV parked in the dark alleyway they pass.

The two girls are just a block away when the driver of the SUV starts the engine, switches on the headlights and pulls onto the road behind them. The truck catches up to the bikes, but instead of passing them it slows and follows. Every few seconds, the driver of the sinister truck stomps the accelerator, spinning the rear tires and lurching up to within inches of the rear wheels of the bikes. Each time the truck surges forward, it gets closer and closer to the now frightened women.

The SUV backs off for a final time, the two gals are sure it will run them down with the very next lunge, and out of nowhere a blue blur appears from a cross street on the left. As it passes between the truck and the bikes, the villains can see that the blue object is a sleek, recumbent bicycle ridden by a fellow of retirement age. With a primal cry, the impudent old geezer heaves a baseball sized rock into the truck's windshield, creating a star burst crack almost a foot in diameter.

The truck driver loses all interest in the women, squealing around to the right to pursue the blue 'bent as it rolls away. Even though it is a steep downhill road, and the low slung bicycle is speeding along at almost forty miles per hour, the powerful V8 of the SUV is allowing it to gain on the bike.

But the road curves quickly to left, and to the dismay of the villains they see that even though they will make the turn there is no way they can stop before they reach the end of the curve: the clever bicyclist has led them down a street which becomes a multi-use path. With the sharp, sickening sound of two metal garbage cans banging together, the SUV strikes the sturdy concrete posts which block motor vehicles from continuing; concrete posts which the recumbent bike has easily zoomed between just seconds before the truck.

Moments later, all three bicyclists rush up to the now quiet, smoking vehicle. Our mature hero wrenches open the driver's side door and the identities of the baddies are revealed:

Why, it's that dastardly pair --- the authors of that anti-bike, anti-pedestrian manifesto Out of Gas --- Senators John McCain and Tom Coburn!

The pretty female bicyclists fall upon our grizzled hero, knocking him down and raining kisses all over his prostrate form in appreciation of his brave deeds.

--- THE END ---

Okay, so Cote de Pablo --- one of the stars of television's NCIS and the gal in the picture above --- is perfect for one of our damsels in distress. Who should play the other girl?

Oh yeah, and who should play Our Hero? Hmmm. Gotta ride a blue 'bent, and be in his sixties, and be dashingly handsome. Dang. That's tough.

Sky Harbor Police Cruisers

2011-09-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

My wife and I took our oldest granddaughter to Sky Harbor, the airport in Phoenix. It's a fun, unique outing we enjoy every once in a while.

As many times as we've been there, this was the first time I've seen the unusual Police Cruisers they have:

Pretty neat.

I am so tempted to ride Bluetiful over there one day and and boom down the walkway on the passenger level. Do you think they have sirens on those machines, and will pursue me?

"You there! On the blue recumbent! PULL OVER!"

In a Park Today

2011-05-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

Took a break today, in a park we sometimes take the granddaughters to play. They have truly deluxe playground equipment. A feature on one of the sets of monkey bars consists of large plastic cylinders stacked on top of one another, with a pole running through a hole the middle of each of them. The cylinders spin very easily; on one side is a picture of a dinosaur, on the other side is the scientific name of the beast and the English name.

This one caught my eye:

And on the other side:

(chuckle)

Ankylosaurus - The Bent Lizard.

Isn't that a great name for a recumbent? 'Course, I could never name one of my bikes that, I can hardly say it!

Journalistic Ineptitude

2011-05-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

My gosh, we had another bicyclist killed yesterday afternoon:

Hit-and-run kills bicyclist in Avondale

Avondale is a town of about 85,000 just west of Phoenix. Quote from this news item:

"Avondale police received calls at about 1 p.m. after a man driving a green Ford Taurus on Van Buren Street near 107th Avenue struck a man on a bike and continued driving..."

Yeah, it figures, after all, it was only a bicyclist.

"The bicyclist was pronounced dead at the scene ... A witness followed the Taurus as it continued driving westbound on 107th Avenue ... Officers attempted to stop the auto near Van Buren and 123rd Avenue, but the man refused to yield, driving westbound into eastbound traffic on Van Buren and driving up onto curbs and sidewalks ... The car, apparently significantly damaged, began slowing, and two officers stopped the man by blocking his path with their patrol cars."

Uh oh, I bet I know WHY this guy tried to rabbit. Wait a minute, "Westbound on 107th Avenue"?? 107th Avenue goes north and south!

"The driver was taken to a hospital for injuries sustained during the incident and will be taken into custody upon his release ..."

So, anything else besides resisting arrest? Like maybe "defying the laws of physics by driving westbound on a road that goes north and south"?

"Police believe the man may have been impaired ..."

YEAH!? REALLY?!? "may have been impaired"? YA THINK???

Well, at least they didn't make me snort in anger by mentioning whether the bicyclist was wearing a helmet or not. Maybe that was because I think it's pretty obvious who's at fault here.

I'm wondering at the lack of interest of the writer of this article. Or maybe it is plain incompetence (sorta like not knowing which direction avenues go in the Phoenix metro area). I immediately thought of a few additional questions which could have been asked:

"When this driver is taken into custody, besides 'leaving the scene of a fatal accident,' are there any other charges which will be considered?"

"Did the driver say anything? Or offer any explanation?"

"Have there been any other bicycling fatalities in the area where this one occurred?"

I guess there are so many hot news items in Avondale that the death of a bicyclist just doesn't rate more than a few paragraphs.

People for Bikes Video

2011-05-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

My first post today was pretty much a downer; talking about the latest bicycle fatality in Phoenix.

How about something more uplifting and positive about bicycling?

Here's the latest video from People for Bikes:

Better, eh?

Bicyclist Causes Own Death

2011-05-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

Saw a news article on AZ Central about a bicyclist who was killed last night:

Phoenix bicyclist struck by cars, dies

It has been a while since I've seen a news report on a bicyclist killed in an accident.

"The bicyclist, 58, whose name was not released, was riding his mountain bike about 7:15 p.m. in a northeast direction across 7th Street from Purdue when he was struck by a 1991 Nissan Pathfinder driven by a 46-year-old woman, whose name was not released. The Nissan was headed north."

For those unfamiliar with Phoenix, 7th Street runs north and south, and Purdue Avenue comes from the west and T's into 7th Street. The bike rider was riding at an angle, in a northeast direction, crossing 7th Street and was hit from behind by the Nissan headed north in one of the three northbound lanes; or maybe the driver was coming up in the center, left-turn only lane.

"The victim landed in front of a 2005 Ford Escape, also traveling north, driven by a 33-year-old man, whose name was not released.

The bicyclist was dragged under the Ford until the driver stopped. The victim received fatal injuries."

Yeow, so I envision the bicyclist struck from behind, and because his wheels are headed northeast he is boosted, rolling, into the next lane over where he is run over and dragged.

"Police said neither driver was impaired and no citations were issued."

Huh. So neither driver was impaired, and they weren't doing anything wrong because neither of them were cited. And the cops didn't cite the dead bicyclist, either!

I wonder what caused this accident? (Scratching my head)

AHA! There it is! In the last sentence of the article! The REASON this bicyclist was killed:

"The bicycle rider was not wearing a helmet."

There you have it, Kids! Wear your helmet and YOU may be able to survive a pair of SUV's tag-teaming you on a busy street!

( Author's disclaimer: BluesCat is a BIG fan of bicycle helmets, for practical reasons --- he has rearview mirrors on all of his --- as well as safety reasons. He is NOT a big fan of "journalists" who include such information in their articles because he feels it redirects attention from the REAL issues of bicycle safety. )

New Commute Route: Through Hong Kong

2011-05-11T09:08:00.002-07:00

Okay, okay, so it isn't through Hong Kong, but by Hong Kong ... the New Hong Kong restaurant, that is:

(giggle) I crack myself up ... Actually, I'm easily amused by myself. (That sounds somehow just wrong, don't it?)

No, all seriousness aside, I like this new route because it combines the crossing of two major arterial streets into one intersection.

Although I have nothing to back it up except for anecdotal incidents, it seems to me that the vast majority of my hair-raising exchanges with motor vehicles have taken place when we are meeting at the confluence of a major arterial and a collector street or a local road.

If I am the one on the arterial, and the motorist is the one turning right in front of me from a local road, more often than not I am the victim of the Invisible Two-Wheeled Vehicle Syndrome. They will pull out as if I'm not even there.

If I am the one making a right onto an arterial from a local road, the second he sees my blinking taillight, the motorist coming up behind me takes it as a signal to floor his gas pedal.

And motorists seem to have fewer qualms about blowing through a yellow light (or even a RED light) if the traffic signal is on a mere collector street crossing their MUCH more important path on a major road.

At the meeting of two major streets, even motorists seem to be paying more attention, and actually driving more cautiously, than anywhere else. Maybe it is the presence of all of the other big vehicles which can ruin their day if they collide with them. Or maybe it is all the pedestrians and city buses which are causing them to be more attentive.

Anybody else think that these intersections are safer for cyclists? Or am I all wet?

Fashion Square Bicycles

2011-05-10T09:29:00.005-07:00

Last Saturday, I went over to Scottsdale Fashion Square to look for a Mother's Day present for Mrs. Cat. For those unfamiliar with Fashion Square, it is a very tony shopping mall near downtown Scottsdale, Arizona.

I don't remember ever seeing anything which has to do with bicycles in Fashion Square. Maybe, because of the price of oil or because of Bike to Work Month, we've finally hit some kind of tipping point for the well-heeled. I saw two bicycles on display there. One was probably the most exotic commuter-type bike I have ever seen:

The other was part of the display for a tourism company:

Granted, they were displays, but at least there were BICYCLES in the Land of Mercedes and BMW, and you could actually BUY that green bike!

It was a woman's shop, and it was filled with women, and I was in a hurry to get Momma Cat's present, so I didn't stop in to get any details.

Anybody know what kind of bike that is?

The New Speedzone

2011-03-27T12:14:00.003-07:00

Some of you will remember that after my old wireless Specialized Speedzone computer fell off Bluetiful --- and got run over by her rear wheel --- that I "upgraded" to a Trek Incite 9i.

You will also recall, from that blog post, that I really wasn't all that impressed with the Trek, for a lot of reasons. Well, I am now even less impressed with the Trek, because less than a year from when I purchased it, it has given up the ghost.

I visited my favorite LBS, and saw that Specialized has redesigned the Speedzone:

The nifty stem mount is no longer available, but the computer slides sideways into mount:

Some of you may remember that the old Speedzone slid into the handlebar clip from the bottom, and that was why it was knocked out of its mount and was destroyed: RIP, Speedzone.

The new Speedzone mounted quickly. The only issue is that the ape-hanger handlebars on Bluetiful provide a very narrow mounting space next to the stem, so in order to slide the computer out of the clip I need to rotate the mount slightly towards the rear of the bike in order for it to clear the pinch bolt on the stem as it slides to the right.

Setup was a breeze, thanks to the excellent manual provided by Specialized. (The Trek manual was absolutely horrible, in addition to being incorrect!)

In addition to having a new design, and a new type of mount, the new wireless Speedzone also has an autoactivation feature when the wheel starts turning, which means no more getting halfway through a ride and discovering the computer hasn't turned on!

I'm Baaaack!

2011-03-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

I know, I've been AWOL since the middle of December.

The reasons are many; from illness, to injury, to a spike in work duties...

But most of it is behind me now and I will soon be back at full throttle and posting again very regularly!

Stand by!

The Soleri Bridge

2010-12-12T12:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I rode Hardiboi over to Scottsdale to attend the dedication of the Paolo Soleri bridge. I took several photographs, but only one of the striking, primary pylons:

Nuts! It's the old thumb-in-the-lens trick!

As luck would have it, another Arizona bike rider (and a better photographer than me), John Romeo Alpha, was also there for the dedication and put up a spectacular post about it in his blog: Soleri Bridge Dedication in Scottsdale. In addition to the great photos and videos, JRA did a terrific job of outlining Soleri's philosophy.

JRA's blog, One Speed: Go!, is one of my favorite places on the web for an even more important reason than either his marvelous photos or his excellent writing. The way he approaches the Argument-for-Bicycling is much more effective than mine. I tend to skewer the bicycling opponents with facts and logic, and while this works great for winning the argument it isn't very good for convincing those non-riders who are on the fence about whether we should spend tax money on bicycling infrastructure.

JRA's style is typically one of gentle admonishment. If you come away from any of his on-line discussions about bicycling without believing we should devote much more money to bicycling infrastructure, well, you're a hard-hearted, illogical SOB who should be charged extra for every gallon of gasoline you buy!

Where Did YOU Go Today?

2010-11-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

This morning, I was sitting outside one of my favorite haunts: Starbucks ...

I was utilizing the Official BluesCat Communication System to surf the Web, visiting one of my favorite web sites: the Recumbent Riders Social Club. One of my buddies there, Rydabent, who lives up in Lincoln, NE, was bemoaning the fact that it was 28° up there and his Stratus recumbent was gathering dust. When I got back to the house, I couldn't help but rub it in when I replied:

"I feel your pain, Rydabent! When I read your post, it was a bone-numbing 63° F!

"After a couple cups of hot coffee and a hot Panini sandwich, I gutted it out and rode up to the bike shop ...

... "where I bought a pair of knee warmers in preparation for commuting at 5:30 AM during January and February.

"'Do you want to wear them ... now?' the gal asked, with a really strange, quizzical look on her face.

"I looked down at the thermometer on the bike computer of Bluetiful. It now read 68° F.

"'No,' I whimpered, 'I think I'm good.'

"(Sorry guy, the blast furnace that is a Phoenix summer does weird things to your head; I can't help but revel in the gorgeous fall and winter temps around here.)"

Keira's First Trailer Ride

2010-10-30T19:02:00.000-07:00

Took my 1-year-old granddaughter for her first REAL ride in the Schwinn Scout trailer. We've put her in it before, but she really didn't look comfortable, so we stuck to wheeling it around like a stroller.

Since she doesn't yet have a helmet, I kept the bike down around 5 mph and just went up and down the street while her mom waited nervously up on the porch.

This time she absolutely loved it, and was all smiles (Which served to calm her mom down). She waved to the crowd like a beauty queen in a Fourth of July parade:

I told her we'd go a lot faster once she got a helmet. In the meantime she'll stick with hamming it up by blowing kisses to the audience:

What a cutie, eh?

Pizza Delivery Bike

2010-10-30T15:06:00.001-07:00

Stopped off at California Pizza last night to pick up dinner. Saw this parked out front:

When I went in, I asked about where they made deliveries with the electric bike, and the hostess said they used it to take orders to a lot of the stores in the tony shopping mall and even to some of the multi-million dollar homes in the area adjacent to the mall.

I would ride that bike! Especially if it meant meeting a hot celebrity in the bargain!

Shocking Arizona Statistics

2010-09-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

Some folks on the BikeSpeak forum are still insisting that I'm advocating unsafe cycling practices. Some even have agreed with the non-biking "experts" that the "fact" that "3.8% of bicyclists hit from the rear" is a negligible statistic that we really can't do anything about.

I've alway been suspicious of the 3.8% "fact." It never seemed to track right with my personal, anecdotal experience driving and biking in Phoenix. So, I went to the AZ Bike Law Blog - 2009 NHTSA Statistics.

There were a total of 25 car/bicycle fatalities in Arizona in 2009. I confirmed that in 11 of those accidents the rider was hit from behind. There are 3 other accidents which are sort of sketchy about what actually happened because, of course, the bicyclist is dead and there are no other witnesses. In only one of those 11 accidents did I find that the bicyclist was at fault because he swerved into traffic (although the reason he swerved is unclear). In three of the those fatal accidents the bike rider was in a marked bike lane.

Okay, so if you discount those three accidents in which my brief research could not discover the accident particulars, and even take out that one where the bicyclist swerved and "was at fault," that STILL leaves 10 accidents out of 25 when the bicyclist was in the "right" --- even riding in the bike lane on three occasions --- and was hit from behind.

But no matter WHO was at fault, that statistic means 44% of the bicyclists killed in Arizona in 2009 were hit from behind.

Does ANYBODY STILL want to argue with my contention that sometimes yer just flat safer on the sidewalk?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Most traffic laws were created by people who drive, but don't bike; as a result those laws do not take into account the special vulnerability of bicyclists, pedestrians and even motorcyclists.

Hey! My fire extinguisher is still FULLY CHARGED!

Here Come Da Traffic Law Judge

2010-09-25T13:42:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I'm not a judge, but I am an opinionated old goat, and in this day and age that seems to count just as much. I was taken to task by someone on another forum (someone who's opinion I usually respect) about my belief that some traffic laws currently on the books just simply are not safe for bicyclists to follow. This person feels that bicyclists should obey ALL traffic laws ALL of the time, and that is something I simply cannot agree with.

Y'all already know my take on riding on the sidewalk as a result of my comment about The Solidly Safer Sidewalk. I will say, without hesitation, that even if it were illegal to ride on the sidewalk in Phoenix (as it is in other communities around the world) I would still ride on the sidewalk and risk a ticket: in order to be safe, sometimes you just have to break a law which shouldn't apply to your vehicle in the first place.

The web site Bicycle Safety has this to say about Collision Type #10: The Rear End:

"A car runs into you from behind. This is what many cyclists fear the most, but it's actually not very common, comprising only 3.8% of collisions. However, it's one of the hardest collisions to avoid, since you're not usually looking behind you."

Uh, gee whiz, "only 3.8%," eh? Gosh, considering that there are around 600 bicyclists killed every year on American roads, 3.8% means we might have saved "only" around 23 lives every year if those folks could ride on the sidewalk. Not bad, eh? Unless, of course, you're one of a group of about 23 "special" people!

Here's a suggestion from Bicycle Safety about avoiding Collision Type #10: The Rear End:

"The best way to avoid getting Rear-Ended is to ride on very wide roads or in bike lanes, or on roads where the traffic moves slowly, and to use lights when biking at night." (Emphasis is mine.)

Note that NONE of those suggestions work for the road pictured in The Solidly Safer Sidewalk.

Here're some other comments from Bicycle Safety about Collision Type #10: The Rear End:

"Avoid busy streets. One of the biggest mistakes that people make when they start biking is to take the exact same routes they used when they were driving. It's usually better to take different streets with fewer and slower cars. Sure, cyclists have a right to the road, but that's a small consolation when you're dead. Consider how far you can take this strategy: If you learn your routes well, you'll find that in many cities you can travel through neighborhoods to get to most places, only crossing the busiest streets rather than traveling on them." (Emphasis is, again, mine.)

I would LOVE to find a different way to the destination of the photo in The Solidly Safer Sidewalk, but, no, my destination is on the south-west corner of an intersection of the busy north-south road you see in the photo and another, just as busy and bike unfriendly east-west road north of this location.

And that apartment complex you see on the right? Where that driveway is? If you think you could ride into the parking lot and exit out the back into the adjoining neighborhood you can think again: every single business or apartment complex south on this road, for over a half mile, has a solid, six-foot block wall running the entire length of their property.

The soonest you can get off of this road, to head west, is at that traffic signal you see about a quarter of a mile down the road. It leads into a credit union parking lot and from there into a neighborhood road.

Another law which I find inapplicable to bicyclists, for safety reasons, has to do with the one which proscribes "California Stops" at stop signs and stop lights.

I make no bones about my opinion on this: If I'm rolling up to a stop sign or a red stop light, and there is NO cross traffic, I will slow down but I will NOT stop.

The reason is simple: Starting and stopping are the two most vulnerable times on a bike. If these maneuvers ain't necessary, I ain't gonna do 'em, ESPECIALLY if some motorist is pulling up behind me in the traffic lane, and ESPECIALLY if it is dark.

Rather than go into my OWN, lengthy dissertation on this, I'll refer everybody to the excellent, informative and entertaining video presented by Urban Velo at Bicycle Rolling Stop Animation – Idaho Stop Law. (The ONLY quibble I have with the Urban Velo presentation is a minor semantic difference: they feel "blowing through a stop sign" is something you do at high speed, whereas I feel it is something you do as a result of disobeying the law at ANY speed.)

Most traffic laws were created by people who drive, but don't bike. As a result those laws do not take into account the special vulnerability of bicyclists, pedestrians and even motorcyclists.

Bring on the flames! I got my fire extinguisher at the READY!

Dos Amigos

2010-09-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

Last Monday I rode The Roadley up to Starbucks for a nightcap.

When I came out with my Chai Latte, I noticed a young fellow with a long ponytail looking over my bike. I surmised, by the backpack with the bike light on it, that he was the owner of another Giant which was parked a few feet from mine:

I was right, his name is Jim and for the next half hour he and I chatted about bicycles and various things. That well-used Giant of his is a REAL working bike: he frequently uses it in downtown Phoenix as the engine for his pedicab business. From his description, I believe he has a "trishaw" sidecar add-on, where a couple of key points of the sidecar frame bolt to the bike frame.

He was really interested in the inverted tread tires on The Roadley, along with that comfortable Brooks seat of mine. I was really impressed that he would work an 8 hour day hauling around 300 to 400 pounds of people on a bike!

Tres Hermanos

2010-09-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

I rode Hardiboi up to Target. When I came back out THIS is what I found:

If the riders of these other two Specialized hardtails hadn't been right there locking 'em up, I woulda thought the Boi had had PUPPIES!

Right after I had unlocked my Specialized, and was preparing to go, an older fella rode up on a Schwinn, looked around and asked me if Target was selling Specialized bikes now!

The Solidly Safer Sidewalk

2010-09-12T17:54:00.001-07:00

Over on the BikeSpeak forum, we're having a conversation about whether its wise, or safe, to ride on the sidewalk. I'm of the school of thought which believes there are certain roads which demand that bicyclists ride on the sidewalk for their safety.

I got a late start this morning, and I was headed south on a road which I ride almost every day. There was much more traffic than I usually encounter on this road at around 5:15 a.m., and I decided to stop to see if I could take a picture which would illustrate why I believe this particular road falls into the category of having a Solidly Safer Sidewalk. With a single shot, I got results better than I could have paid for! Look closely at this photograph:

The speed limit on this road is 35 mph, but I can assure you that not one of the three cars in the photo were going that speed or below. The Jaguar in the left-hand lane, the blue compact SUV in the center lane and the gray full-sized SUV in the right-hand lane were all going faster than 40 mph.

It is important to note that I framed this photograph looking south, and then looked back over my left shoulder to the north (so I could time taking the photo to catch these cars in it), the big gray SUV was still behind the blue SUV in the center lane. When the gray SUV began his pass by switching lanes, he was parallel with my bike sitting on the sidewalk. If my bike and I were in that right-hand lane, rather than being safely on the sidewalk, I can almost guarantee you I would have been run down by the gray SUV.

And there is an element in this photograph which supports that contention. Look closely at the photograph again and tell me if you can see what it is.

Also look closely at that nice sidewalk ahead of my bike. The driveway just ahead of me has all of the landscaping set well back of the roadway, which allows me a clear view of automobiles pulling up to the road, and provides them a clear view of me approaching on my bike. The next driveway opening is far enough down the road that I can safely spin up to full speed and then have plenty of time to slow down when I reach it.

This is a textbook case of a road with a Solidly Safer Sidewalk.

Bluetiful Is A Good Girl

2010-08-21T17:00:00.001-07:00

This morning I rode Bluetiful to grab some coffee and breakfast. Then headed over to The Bike Barn to have them check on the handlebars; they seemed a little loose.

The tech there discovered that it wasn't the clamp, but the top nut on the head.

Rode home and parked her in her spot and ....

Fssssssssst!

The back tire went flat immediately! Now, how often does that happen? Your bike doesn't make you stop out on the road, in the heat, to change a flat, but waits until you are in the air-conditioned comfort of your great room to let you know she needs maintenance!

Looks like the old tube was just dried out. The hole in it was on the inside, next to the rim. The rim strip was in place and none of the spoke heads were sharp.

AWOL Because of WORK

2010-08-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, I know. I haven't posted anything new in quite a while. Well, I got an excuse: work has dominated almost every waking moment for the last month and a half.

On July 29th, I had to take all of the equipment, and the rack, from our present Goodyear, Arizona, office ...

... and move it about a mile down the road to our new office location. And I had to do it in about two hours! With only one guy helping me! And we had to dodge raindrops the whole time!

Only when we were finished did the clouds part and I had a gorgeous sunset as I boomed back to the Phoenix office ...

We are also upgrading our Internet speeds by putting in fiber optic cable at our new Goodyear office and our Phoenix office ...

If you look closely at the rack on the right in the above picture, about a third of the way down from the top of rack you'll see two bright blue lights, one above the other. These are my new Dell KACE KBOX management and deployment systems. In between the Goodyear move and Internet upgrades, I've had my office full of spare workstations ...

... You can't see them all in the above photo; there are a total of eleven workstations in all on the bench and on my desk to the right. I've been installing, testing, reconfiguring, etc., in the remaining free time that I've had during this last month.

Today, I finished. From now on, barring any physical hardware problem, I will have to visit each of our 150 workstations only once, and that will be to set up the systems so that they will boot from the network cards in them and Wake-On-LAN; a process which takes all of about a minute.

Then, I can upgrade the machines from Windows XP to Windows 7, install our Office suite software on them, install our two CAD software systems on them, install the GIS software, and install all of our utilities and any new programs on them ... from the comfort of a workstation in my office.

From that workstation in my office, I can boot the machines, shut them down, log into them ... literally do everything I can do from the keyboard, mouse and monitor which are attached to the machines.

Oh boy! I'll have more time for playing with my granddaughter, riding the bikes ... and posting to my blog!

WTF was THAT??

2010-07-14T12:58:00.002-07:00

I was taking my morning ride, just before the sun came up. It was bright enough out that even the 100 lumen NiteRider headlight was hardly visible as more than a faint oval on the pavement, so I had the Blackburn set to blinky-mode.

About three blocks ahead, I saw a shape on the neighborhood street I was riding. It looked like something was sitting in the regal position of an Egyptian cat god, but I was having trouble believing it was a cat and I couldn't put my finger on why that was so. I went another block before it hit me ...

This guy is BIG!

He turned and looked at me. He did indeed have the large, upright, pointy ears of a feline, and his eyes flickered blue-green in my flashing headlight. He did not let me get any closer, but got up and gamboled off to the right in a typical catlike, coiled-back run. He had to be at least three feet long from the tip of his nose to the end of his bushy tail.

I slowed as I approached where he had disappeared behind a low, decorative block wall. There he was, sitting on top of the wall about fifty feet away, watching me. He was in that same royal position, and I had the height of the blocks to use as a reference to estimate his size. He was about two feet high from the top of his head to his rump. His coat was gray, and had some stripes across his cheeks and along his back.

I slowed further, reaching into my handlebar bag for my camera, but that was just too much attention for him and he disappeared.

I thought I knew all the critters in Arizona, but THIS guy was something I've never seen before.

Oh yeah, and I didn't see the little Barking Rat this morning, or last night for that matter. Hmmmm.

A Canine Quandary

2010-07-12T08:05:00.001-07:00

Folks who know me know I have no love for dogs of the Barking Rat variety: pomeranians, toy poodles and --- especially --- chihuahuas.

For the last few days, on my morning ride, I have been chased for a couple of blocks by one of these noisy little abominations. I've been riding my 'bent, and that is the ONLY thing which has kept the little vermin from going to Doggie Heaven; if he were to chase me while I was on one of the mountain bikes, and I couldn't simply outrun him as I can on the much faster recumbent, I would slow down and the second he made a lunge at me I would squash his obnoxious little head onto the pavement. So, until now it has been just him and me; him yapping at me and fruitlessly chasing me, and me laughing at him and telling him the next time I pass I may have a couple of mousetraps which I'll use as caltrops to end his miserable little existence.

A couple of things have started to bother me. He seems to be widening his territory, so it now includes the route my wife takes when she is walking with our granddaughter in the stroller. If he were to start charging my wife, I would make sure he went to Doggie Hell. The other thing is I think the little twit has a collar, so he may be either lost or gets out of his yard by accident or on purpose.

My quandary centers around whether I should be a nice guy, and hoof it over to the area and see if he leads me back to his house and I can talk to his owner, or should I simply call Animal Control and be done with it.

You should all know that I tried the former strategy once before for another dog which got loose and charged my wife and me as we were walking our dog. That didn't turn out so well, as I almost got into a fistfight I would certainly have lost (the guy was a head taller than me and outweighed me by at least 100 pounds; plus his two sons were right behind him).

So, whatta y'all think?

Biking in the Arizona Heat

2010-07-10T12:03:00.001-07:00

(This was a post I made to the Bike Commuters site; some folks said it might be nice to see it here.)

The Arizona desert presents a unique set of challenges to the summer bike commuter.

For the vast majority of the year, unless your commute to work is very, very short, there is no way you can do it without having shower facilities. While other areas of the country face the challenges of high heat AND humidity, the desert has incredible heat but very little humidity. You WILL sweat as your body attempts to not only cool itself but also deliver moisture to the surface of your skin to protect it from drying out and dying. As that sweat dries quickly, and leaves behind a patina of dirt and body oils perfect for bacteria growth, you WILL stink and stink REALLY well. No amount of baby wipes are going to be able to deal with that, you need a genuine water stream which will get into every sweaty nook and cranny of your skin.

As far as riding attire goes, here again the desert is a very different environment which requires a very different set of clothing. Wearing wicking-type Lycra or other synthetics is out, for a couple of reasons. Number one is the fact that you WANT your clothing to hold the moisture close to your skin. That moisture is the only thing protecting you from heat exhaustion. There is NO way, short of an IV bag and tube, that you can take in enough water to replace the water wicked away by these efficient fabrics. Loose fitting cotton clothing is the rule of knowledgeable hikers, backpackers AND bike riders. Ignore this rule — and head out on a sunny, dry, 110° day for a 30 mile ride wearing your skintight Tour de France jersey and matching shorts — and the mortician at the end of your ride won’t have to put any embalming fluid into you: he’ll be able to simply pop you into the coffin because you’ll be as desiccated as an Egyptian mummy.

The second reason for not wearing bicycle synthetics has to do with that shower I was talking about earlier. Man-made fabrics stink … period … and they stink to high heaven when the brutal desert sun forces them to deal with the accelerated bodily processes which fill them with sweat and body oils. A word to the wise for any of you Arizona Lance Armstrong wannabes who ignore THIS rule: take TWO showers at the end of your commute, you NEED them because we WILL smell you.

When the weatherman says the thermometer is going to go up above 105°, I will usually pass on riding my bike to work unless I feel 100%, have begun the hydration process the night before and passed on the beer and steak and other foods which require more water to process them. And if he says it is going to to be 110° or better, I stay off the bike between 10 AM and 7 PM; if the temperature at the airport is 110° you can bet the temperature out on the pavement will be 115° or better.

More Zoo Biking

2010-07-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of the Phoenix Zoo. Not only is it a great place to see African desert and American desert animals, but when you buy a year's membership it is one one of the best entertainment values going.

As I mentioned a couple of months ago, they also have bicycles you can rent to tour the Zoo on two wheels ...

Or on four wheels if that is more to your liking ...

You can also bring your own bikes if you want ...

This time of year, you need to head over there pretty early in order to beat the heat and actually see some of the animals. With a Zoo membership you can get in one hour earlier than everybody else, at 6:00 AM.

My little granddaughter is almost old enough to ride in the Schwinn Scout trailer, I can hardly wait.

Crowded Parking

2010-06-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

So, I ride up to the grocery store and, just before I park Hardiboi and lock him up, I snap a picture of the bike rack:

I go in, jaw with the security guard for a bit (hint: so he KNOWS who that Hardrock belongs to and will keep an eye on it), do my shopping, come back out and ...

More bikes, different bikes ... my gosh! Doesn't look like it'll be too long before the rack is packed. And then ... what's next? Fist fights for the plum parking slots on the end of the rack? Nasty little notes wedged between your cables and your frame telling you how you're taking up more than your fair share of rack space?

This has gotta stop!! Gonna haveta figure out some way of discouraging other riders from taking their bikes on errands!

(Chuckle)

Poor Man's Front Panniers

2010-06-26T10:25:00.002-07:00

My wife picked up some of these black "green" recyclable grocery bags from Fry's Food and Drug. They're made out of polypropylene and have a aluminum foil inner liner which acts to insulate the contents somewhat. A plastic zipper serves to further protect the contents.

I needed to run an errand to pick up some Kleenex, paper towels and toilette tissue. This stuff was too bulky to all fit in my sling bag, so I popped a couple of these Fry's bags into the sling bag; figuring I could just fill them and hang them on the the Trekking handlebars of Hardiboi for the ride home. It worked out better than I had hoped:

By putting the loops of the Fry's bags closer to the handlebar stem, as you can see with the bag on the left, I could have the aft portion of the bag kick out farther away from the wheel. Moving the loops farther out, away from the stem as you see done with the bag on the right, moves the rear of the bag closer to the wheel.

Depending upon what the bag contains, and how it causes the bag to move in the wind coming by it as I ride, I can fine tune where I put the bag loops on the handlebars so there is no chance of the bag getting fouled in the wheel ahead or behind the front wheel fork.

Pretty neat, eh?

The Living Desert

2010-06-14T12:00:00.002-07:00

I remember, back in the 1960’s, when my folks got their first color television set (yes, children, the ‘Cat is OLD), one my family’s favorite programs was Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. Two of MY favorite episodes were the consecutive Sunday broadcasts of the 1953 full-length True-Life Adventures film The Living Desert.

The Living Desert has been both criticized and honored down through the years, but there is one thing about which both its detractors and fans agree: it showed that the deserts of the American southwest are teeming with life, not barren of it.

Growing up in Arizona, hiking and backpacking here since I was a kid, I have always been aware of the abundance of wildlife. I remember riding my English Racer to school one week and almost running over two different rattlesnakes on two different days. At our current house in central Phoenix, we have encountered all manner of critters: from snakes and scorpions to spiders and squirrels. About ten years ago, I discovered a Colorado River Toad making his home beneath a dripping hose bib on the side of the house.

The most populous desert denizens are the birds, and I was reminded of that last Friday morning as I took a Dawn Starbucks Patrol.

There’s all the chattering of the sparrows, finches and other nameless small birds; the multi-lingual voices of the mocking birds, who will dive bomb the neighborhood cats; the cooing of the Rock Doves (better known as Pigeons or, to me, Flying Rats). The best sound of all, though, is the plaintive cry of the Mourning Dove, which to me is the signature sound of the desert.

Saturday Afternoon Ride Was A Bust

2010-06-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

I wound up with some CAR errands to run, didn't get back to the house until evening, and was too pooped to pedal.

Today, had a great ride in the morning, temp was 84°F. Did an errand pulling the trailer behind Hardiboi in the late morning, temp was 93°F. I may do a Tour de Starbucks this evening, after the temperature sinks below the magic 105.

Temperature right now is 107°F.

Waiting for ... Godot?

2010-06-05T16:03:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I had a marvelous Saturday morning ride and the temperature didn't go over 81°F. It is now 105°F according to the Weather Service, 106°F according to the News and Weather applet on my Droid. I'd like to start an errand up to Target while the sun is still out, but my personal advice to myself has always been to stay out of the heat if the temp goes north of 105°F. Sooo ... I'm waiting ... waiting ...

Should be down below the magic number around 7:15 PM. Sunset is at 7:34 PM, so I have a chance!

Calling All Arizona Bicyclists

2010-06-04T13:10:00.001-07:00

ADOT is conducting a survey for the State Highway Bicycle Safety Action Plan. Go to the ADOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Program page and make sure you fill it out!

Keira Discovers Bicycles

2010-06-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

Here's what happens when your Mom and Dad are sitting on the couch about ten feet away, and you have learned to crawl on all-fours really fast, and Grandpa's recumbent bicycle --- with that nifty double-length chain --- is in the other room not five feet away:

Looks like she did a dandy job of making sure there was plenty of chain lube on it:

She was so happy, spread it around on the carpet, and on herself ... made her Grandpa so proud she's obviously really into bikes!

AH! A True Holiday Sunday

2010-05-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

Got up late, took a leisurely ride to Starbucks for a Caffè Mocha and a Fruit and Cheese Plate.

Puttered around the house, ran cleanups/defrags/malware checks on the computers.

Around 2:30 PM, hopped in the pool with granddaughter Keira and her mom and dad:

Hopped out of the pool, showered up, maybe take a trip back to Starbucks this evening.

That's MY Lane

2010-05-27T19:28:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned this on the BikeSpeak forum, but not here because I was originally kinda embarrassed about it. Now, the embarrassment has faded.

I was on my way home last Tuesday, approaching an intersection right at the point where the bike lane had just ended, and I was almost pinched into the curb by some guy in a newer Audi. He zoomed past me, straddling the white line between the right-hand lane I was in and the left-hand lane, and pulled into my lane so quickly that I didn't even have time to downshift.

I shouted "Hey!" as I got the bike slowed enough so that I didn't rear-end him. Didn't see him even glance back my way in his rear-view mirror. I saw just enough space between the side of his car and the curb to get my bike up beside his passenger side door, and noticed it was going to be a couple seconds --- the traffic light at the intersection hadn't changed and there were two cars ahead of him --- so I coasted up next to his right-hand rear-view mirror and shouted "Hey! That's MY lane!"

The guy acted he didn't even hear me or see me (which I find hard to believe, my wife says my booming voice would wake the dead from the last century); he kept his eyes fixed on the vehicle ahead of him.

So, then the Ol' Cat does something REALLY stupid, folks. I pulled ahead of his car, and put Bluetiful sideways directly between the front of his Audi and the bumper of the car in front of him. I looked over the hood of his car, directly into his eyes, pointed to the pavement in front of his grill and shouted "This is MY LANE!"

I KNOW he saw me then, because his jaw dropped into his lap. So did the jaws of the four occupants of the car right next to him.

About this time the light had changed and the cars in front of us had left. I gave the guy one last deeply-angry-glare, put my foot into the pedal ... and of course was reminded immediately that I was in the 7th cog on the rear cassette. I wobbled like a drunk forward, but finally got up enough speed to clear the intersection still on the green light and got into the bike lane. The guy passed me, and gave me a little wave that looked somewhat sheepish.

I berated myself all the rest of the way home for putting myself in an even MORE vulnerable position as a result of being pi$$ed off, but most of my buddies over on the BikeSpeak forum are of the opinion that I was in no real danger and I've come to agree with them. The late model Audi was white, and unless the guy was smoking crack I doubt he would have wanted to get my blood all over his car. The traffic light was red, he was stopped and had nowhere to go so I doubt if he would have struck me and dragged when things got going again.

I think next time that happens I'll just sneak up behind the the guy's car and hock a king-sized loogie on his back window.

He'll get the point, I'll laugh my butt off and I won't be in any danger.

A Better Computer Mount

2010-05-22T20:12:00.001-07:00

I've only got about ten miles on Hardiboi since I mounted the bargain Bell Platinum 15-Function Wireless bike computer I got at Target and described in One More Computer Story.

As I mentioned in that blog post, unless your line of sight is perpendicular to the surface of the computer you see ghost images of the other features available on the LCD, even if they are not "on" or "lit." That presents a major problem with the original mounting point on Hardiboi:

As you can see, open real estate is at a premium on the Trekking Handlebars, and even the open areas come with some mounting challenges as a result of the proximity of the shifters and brake levers. The only way the Bell could mount required the LCD to be parallel to the ground, which meant it was at exactly the wrong angle to be seen from the saddle.

With the Trekking Bars on The Roadley, I solved the problem by simply using the loop mount for the Specialized Speedzone computer:

I wondered if I could use a Specialized loop mount with the Bell, so when I was in the LBS getting a new tube last Thursday I asked the owner if she had one of those loop mounts left over. She searched her back room, and boxes of spare parts, and came up with a loop mount for a wired Speedzone:

I gave her five bucks for it (usually a full mounting kit for a Speedzone, including the loop mount and the handlebar mount, runs around sixteen dollars), took it home and cut off the wire. I strung two small Zip Ties through the mounting plate for the Bell:

I then carefully centered the Bell mount on top of the loop mount and strung the ties through the loop mount base:

Cinched everything up nice and snug:

Snipped off the extra lengths of Zip Tie, popped the handlebar stem cap off the bike, put the loop mount on the stem and fastened the stem cap down again:

A perfect custom mount which allows me to tilt the Bell computer to just the right angle in order to see the LCD clearly:

Over the Century Mark at Last

2010-05-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

The National Weather Service said we hit 101°F today in Phoenix.

About halfway home today the thermometer on the bike computer hit 100°F.

About a mile later, when I had just turned south, the temperature bounced up to 102°F.

It didn't go below the 100°F mark all the rest of the way home.

Summer is here at last!

Racing the ... Thermometer?

2010-05-20T21:27:00.001-07:00

At around 4:15 this afternoon I pulled Bluetiful out of Luxury Bike Parking in my office and headed for home.

The bike computer said the bike had been enjoying a nice, cool 70°F temperature.

About a mile from the office I headed down through The Rescue UnderPass:

Temperature had jumped up to 97°F.

About the time I hit the Six Mile Mark ...

... the bike computer read 99°F.

I turned south and the temperature dropped to 97°F again just before I pulled into the LBS.

When I came out of the store with my new tube, the temperature was down to 91°F.

It had crept back up to 97°F again by the time I reached the front door of the house.

Tomorrow, it's supposed to hit 100°F for the first time this year! Yeeee, haaaaah!

(Note: the above photos were taken at different times during this last year. I was too busy racing the ... thermometer ... today to stop and take pics!)

A Parked Flat

2010-05-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

Last night, I'd packed the panniers and topped off the tires on Bluetiful in preparation for this morning's commute.

I was back in the bedroom, prepping for bed, and I heard a loud noise like a big bag of BB's being emptied onto the tile floor.

It freaked the cats out.

My son, my daughter-in-law, my wife and I started scouring the front room, looking for the source of the noise. Finally, I checked the tires on the bikes. The 20" front tire on Bluetiful should have had 100 psi in it, but it was really spongy; couldn't have had more than 20 psi. I bent the valve stem from side to side and could hear air escaping.

I've always had problems with this tube, I could never get the valve stem to seat properly in the hole in the rim. It was always canted slightly forward, as if the tube were thicker on one side and was causing the stem to lean. Evidently, leaning against the side of the rim hole like that caused a groove to be carved in the side of the stem and it finally gave way.

My son commented that he guessed I wouldn't be riding to work in the morning. At which point I whipped the spare tube out of the seat bag on Bluetiful and asked him "Why not?"

One More Computer Story

2010-05-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

I was strolling through Target last week, and I stopped in the bike accessories section. They had a Bell Platinum Wireless 15-function bicycle computer there at a regular price of $19.99. I had a $20 Target gift certificate which I'd gotten for my birthday in April, and thought I might give it a try.

This is not the old circular Bell FreeFit 15-function wireless (which seems to be universally panned), but a new design in a more-or-less rectangular housing:

Followers of my blog will recall that I was satisfied with the Specialized Speedzone I had on both The Roadley and Bluetiful, until a stretch of rough road bounced the one on Bluetiful right out of the clip and underneath my rear wheel: RIP, Speedzone.

Y'all will also remember that I have been less than impressed with the replacement Trek Incite 9i: New Computer for Bluetiful.

Question: How does a 20-dollar bike computer, from Bell, stack up against a 45-dollar computer from Specialized and a 70-dollar computer from Trek?

Answer: Pretty darn good a week into testing it!

The Bell has more features than the Trek or the Specialized. It is much more sensitive than the Trek: I have the fork sensor attached to the right-hand fork of Hardiboi and the computer mounted on the left side of the handlebar stem and have had no problems with the computer failing to sense the wheel turning.

The Bell instructions are far superior to the instructions from Trek or Specialized. Here's a quote from the Bell instruction manual: "Make sure bracket tab is facing toward bike as shown in illustration." (Emphasis is mine.) There was almost no text at all in the Trek manual, but in the Bell manual it is as it should be; text backed up by illustrations.

Not only are the illustrations in the Bell manual very informative (one pair of drawings shows the correct AND incorrect way of mounting the sensor to the fork), but they are very well done. You can actually tell which way the zip-ties are supposed to go.

I have expressed my belief that there is a design flaw in the mounts of the Trek and the Specialized, in that the computer slides upward into the clip. That was, in fact, why the Speedzone popped out of the mount when I hit the bump: the stops are at the top of the clip, so there is nothing but a set of friction bumps to prevent the computer from sliding down out of the clip and off the bike. The Bell computer has it right, the computer slides downward from the top into the clip, and is retained by a little thumb tab. In order to fall off the bike, the computer would have to slide upward all the way past the rails. I can't imagine a bump severe enough to cause that to happen!

There is no Bell warranty on the product, but Target has a standard, 90-day return/refund policy.

I have only one complaint about the Bell. Unless you are directly over the LCD, and your line of sight is perpendicular to the surface of the display, you can make out ghost images of the other features. In the picture above, you can see an example of this as the "SCAN" feature (which was NOT on at the time) is visible in the upper left-hand corner. In bright sunlight, if you are viewing the display at an angle, you see almost all of the features as plain as the features which are "lit".

Bicycling Challenges

2010-05-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

The ride home yesterday was filled with challenges. Not only did I continue to have problems with the Trek bike computer on Bluetiful, but I was almost taken out by an airhead woman in a white Mercedes. I had started across the street, in a crosswalk, talking to an attractive young female pedestrian walking beside me, and this lame ... er ... person whipped around the corner and sped past me less that a foot in front of my front wheel.

I shouted out something appropriate, gave her the Universal Sign of Disgust (which I KNOW she saw because I could see her eyes in her right-hand rear view mirror and she tapped her brakes), and continued across.

The pretty pedestrian smiled ever so slightly and asked if I was okay. I said "Yeah, I just needed to vent."

Good news is that I didn't get hit ... even better news is I think I figured out the problem with the bike computer: the sensor had slid down the fork slightly so I believe the spoke magnet was too far away from it to trigger it.

The computer worked fine today, and nobody tried to run me over.

Didn't see that cute pedestrian, though.

Bike Computer Problems

2010-05-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

I'm having some issues with the New Computer for Bluetiful. Hopped on her this morning and got two blocks from the house before I noticed it hadn't turned on. All the rest of the ride in this morning I messed with the sensor on it.

It's a cheap looking little plastic shell clip-on magnet, rather than having a nice, metal screw clip housing. And, like I said on my blog, it ain't very sensitive so ya gotta have it just right on the spoke. If it gives me fits this afternoon on the way home I'm going to fire off a complaint to Trek.

BluesCat RV Test

2010-05-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

Hooked the Schwinn Scout trailer up to Hardiboi and took a trip up to PetCo. Bought a 44 pound bag of cat litter ("40 pounds and 4 pounds FREE!") and put it in:

The trailer seems cavernous!

Going home, on the uphills I hardly even noticed it back there. Most of the ride, however, is slightly downhill and that's a different story. Whenever I would squeeze the brakes, I could feel a slight push. As I went over the speed bumps, I would feel the Scout tug at the bike --- ever so lightly --- when the trailer wheels hit the bump, and then the trailer would give the bike a bump of its own when it came down off the hump.

Again, I never felt like the Scout was going to send me out of control, but then I kept my speed down around 12 miles per hour.

Since the Scout is built to tote two kids, it is pretty wide. Going through the entrance to PetCo was no problem, but as I entered the house through the front door I had to make sure I was perpendicular to the doorway: there is less than an inch of clearance on either side.

So far, I'm pretty happy with the Scout.

Bikes Unsafe in Drive-Thrus, Really?

2010-05-01T17:14:00.002-07:00

Last Monday, 4/26/2010, in the evening after work I rode over through the drive-thru at my nearby Walgreens on The Roadley and dropped off a prescription for my wife. Around 7:30 that same evening I rode back through the drive-thru again to pick it up and, well, here's the description of what happened as it appeared in the message I sent to Walgreens via their corporate web site:

For several years I have ridden my bicycle through the drive-thru at my local Walgreens. The most any of the pharmacists or clerks have ever said is "you be careful out there." Today, however, when I pedaled in to pick up a prescription I was told the next time I came to pick up a prescription on my bike I needed to park it and come into the store. (Nothing was said to me when I pedaled in to drop off the prescription just a half an hour before.) I was further informed it had to do with "safety and liability issues." I find this curious, because I don't know of a single instance of a bicycle/car accident in a drive-thru, much less a business being sued on account of it. There is no posting about "No Bicycles in the Drive-Thru Lane" at this Walgreens. I would think that your company would be at the forefront of promoting the healthy lifestyle of bicycling. Furthermore, in Arizona “a person riding a bicycle on a roadway or on a shoulder adjoining a roadway is granted all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle” (Arizona Revised Statutes Section 28-812). If I have all the rights of a vehicle out on the road, why would I not have those same rights in your drive-thru lane? I have not been prohibited from using my bike in the drive-thru lanes at six different businesses in my area, including my bank. Could you tell me what the corporate policy is regarding this issue?

On Thursday evening, 4/29/2010, I received a phone call from the manager of that Walgreens store. He said the note had been passed on to him by corporate. He said he did not see anything wrong with my riding my bike through their drive through lane, and he would inform the rest of his staff of that. He explained he thought it was a concern for my safety, but he added that I had made some good points in my message and maybe his staff was being overly concerned.

He added that he hoped I would take regular safety precautions such as having lights on my bike, and I assured him I always wear a helmet and have a taillight and two headlights on that particular bike.

He went on to say he had been unable get a reply from his corporate office concerning company policy of bicycles in drive-thru lanes, but said his understanding was a business could prohibit bikes from using drive-thrus just as they could prohibit pedestrians from using them.

I told him my understanding was an Arizona business could refuse service to anybody they chose, for no reason at all. I added that I didn't believe that would be very smart customer service, and I did not think they were exposed to any additional legal liability by the presence of my bicycle in their drive-thru. He agreed.

My wife thinks I'm a troublemaker, what do y'all think?

The BluesCat RV

2010-04-25T17:44:00.002-07:00

Well, it isn't a big Winnebago, but I decided to add an RV component to the bike stable:

See, the panniers and the rack pack are perfect for commuting, but I don't take either of my two commuting bikes to the grocery store because of all the other gear I'd have to strip off of them in order to keep them safe. And the only gear I have to carry stuff on Hardiboi is the sling bag, so REAL grocery shopping is out of the question.

Some other bike riders have talked about their trailers and how well they work, but I've always been put off by the price. My son mentioned he had seen these Schwinn Scout trailers in Target for $160. Not bad: standard 20" spoke wheels with Kenda tires, 100 pound capacity, converts to a stroller, two child capacity.

As I thought of my little 8-month-old granddaughter, the idea was especially inviting as a way for her and grandpa to share some bicycle time together once she got old enough to sit up and walk.

I went past the display in Target today and saw they had them on sale for $147, so the hook was set and I was pulled in. Attached the bike mount to Hardiboi:

I rode around with the trailer empty and did not even notice its 24 pounds hooked to the back wheel. I then put a cinder block in the seat of the trailer and rode around for a bit; I could feel the trailer "nudge" me when I applied the brakes, but there was never a control problem. Sometime this next week I'm going to put some more weight in it and try a longer ride.

Yee, haaah! I hear the theme to the Beverly Hillbillies playing in the background!

Curses! Weatherman Foiled Me AGAIN!

2010-04-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Was gonna hop on Bluetiful yesterday and ride to work on Bike to Work Day.

The Weatherman said thunderstorms were due in around 1:00 PM, and since I have NO desire to be sitting on an 85-1/2" lightning rod during a thunderstorm I opted to drive.

The whole day was cloudy, with a nice breeze; cool and hardly a drop of rain ... and not a single lightning bolt.

(Sigh)

Bike the Zoo?

2010-04-18T11:01:00.000-07:00

When my mother-in-law was here a couple of weeks ago, my wife and I went to the zoo with her and my son's family. They have bicycles you can rent, everything from single bikes to 6-passenger, four-wheel rigs: The Phoenix Zoo: Pedal Boats & Bikes.

They seemed pretty expensive ($12 an hour for a single bike) to me, but I did see a lot of people riding them.

Okay, Okay, I'll Be Fair With the New Computer

2010-04-14T19:49:00.002-07:00

I have noticed a few things I do like about the new Trek Incite 9i computer. Number one is the fact it appears to be very accurate. Checked it against a city traffic control radar station along my route home and it agreed perfectly, even at speeds as low as five miles per hour.

The second thing nice about it is that when the spoke magnet passes by the sensor, the computer automatically wakes up. The Specialized SpeedZone didn't do that and sometimes, in the early morning dark, I would be pedaling along for almost a mile before looking down and noticing the computer was still asleep.

The LCD contrast on the Incite 9i is much better than on the SpeedZone. I don't have any problem reading the information in the bright sunlight.

See? The Ol' Kat is actually very fair! ;)

New Computer for Bluetiful

2010-04-11T17:45:00.001-07:00

Friday (4/9/10) I bought a new computer for Bluetiful. It's a Trek Incite 9i:

It has the same features as the SpeedZone, with the addition of a thermometer. It cost fifteen dollars more than the SpeedZone. Just like the SpeedZone, it slides into the mount from the bottom, but the Incite 9i seems to clip in much more securely than the SpeedZone did, so I'm hoping hard bumps won't knock it loose.

The Incite 9i does not seem to be as sensitive as the SpeedZone, nor does it appear to have the same range. When Trek says "23 inch range," they mean exactly 23 inches! Also, I have to tilt the Incite 9i to just the proper angle in its mount on the handlebar or it doesn't seem to work as reliably as the SpeedZone.

The installation and operation manual for the Incite 9i leaves a lot to be desired. As is the case with a lot of the documentation for new consumer products, they give you drawings of how to install it, but hardly any text. And the drawings are horrible. Also, the instructions for how to zero out the trip features (average speed, maximum speed, time ridden and trip odometer) are flat out WRONG! You change the mode to the TME item, not the TRP option (as stated in the manual), in order to zero the trip numbers.

If it doesn't pop out and fall off, I'll consider the purchase a worthwhile one. If it does wind up on the pavement, I'll buy a new SpeedZone and keep it in place with a piece of electrician's tape on it, and write a scathing letter to Trek.

RIP, Speedzone

2010-04-09T08:24:00.001-07:00

Last Wednesday (4/7/10) I came smoking around a corner on Bluetiful and hit another series of new, teeth-rattling potholes which have sprung up on my route home from work. Once again they jarred my Specialized SpeedZone Wireless bike computer out of its mount on my handlebars. This time, however, it bounced off my knee, went down underneath the center of the bike and I ran over it with my rear tire. I retrieved it from where it lay face-down on the pavement, flipped it over and ...

The SpeedZone slides upward into the clip on the handlebars. I think this is a design flaw, because it means the stop is on the top, not on the bottom, and a hard bounce forces it down and releases it. When I go to get a new computer I'm going to look at something else. Luckily, I have all the information (odometer, tire size, etc.) written down so it should not be an issue setting up the new one.

Need a New Weatherman

2010-04-01T09:00:00.002-07:00

The weatherman was predicting rain here, snow in the high country and fierce winds. So I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to ride to work today.

...

Here's the picture from outside my office:

I would have pointed the camera more towards the sun, but as you can see its just too dang bright! The breeze is really light ... feels good ... Weatherman ... yer fired!

Wait! It's April 1st! You don't think ... Aw ... NUTS!

(BTW, the picture was taken with my New Communication System.)

Altercation With A Motorist

2010-03-28T16:10:00.002-07:00

If you have been following my blog, you will remember an altercation I had with a Phoenix police officer back in February: A Real Jaw Dropper. Originally, I was corresponding with an officer in the public relations department. She escalated the incident, turning it over to the precinct commander for my precinct.

He and I have been playing "telephone tag" ever since. He would call my home telephone number when I was not there, I would get the message and return his call when he was gone for the day. If only I could have given him my mobile number, but I was hesitant to do that because my three-year-old Motorola Q had started giving me problems. Finally, I acquired a brand New Communication System and was able to leave a voice message and an email with my cell phone number.

I didn't think anything about it for about a week, and then last Friday (March 26, 2010) my mobile phone rang and I saw “Private Number” as the source of the call. My own home phone number shows as “Private Number,” so I answered it fully expecting to hear my wife's voice. Luckily, I didn't answer it as a “Reverse Obscene Phone Call” (as I have been known to do) because the voice at the other end of the line was that precinct commander. He and I exchanged pleasantries and we both expressed how happy we were we could finally talk.

He continued by saying he hoped I would accept the apologies of the Phoenix Police Department, and his personal apology, for the actions of his officer that day. He explained that his research into the incident showed that I was correct about being in that lane, that was where I was supposed to be stopped in order to continue east across the street when the traffic cleared.

That answered my first question, which had been “Where was I supposed to be if not there?” My second question was “What training do Phoenix police officers get regarding the traffic laws pertaining to bicycles?” The answer to that question exposed the heart of the problem regarding the officer's mistaken instructions to me and his belief that I “didn't belong there.”

At the academy, police cadets get twenty hours of training regarding Title 28 – Transportation of the Arizona Revised Statutes. Title 28 covers ALL the laws regarding vehicles, licensing, traffic laws, truck transportation, fees, etc. It is a section of the ARS which takes up about 619 pages of the “condensed” version available at the local libraries. The academy emphasizes those sections which deal with the most important parts to policemen: DUI laws, rules governing traffic stops, search and seizure, licensing penalties, etc.

The precinct commander said when he got my email, he was almost embarrassed to admit he had to pull out Title 28 and review the portion of the ARS to which I had referred in my message. The fact that bicycles were historically such a small percentage of the traffic, and that these issues rarely came up, was what caused the incorrect actions on the part of the police officer I encountered.

I responded to the commander by saying I fully appreciated how important the other jobs were for the police, and when he asked if I wished to speak to the officer I assured him that my intent was certainly not to have him call some officer on the carpet about this; my concern was for my safety as a bicyclist and support by the police for my rights on the roadway as a bicyclist.

I then asked if he would like me to check around at the various area bike clubs, and with The League of American Bicyclists, for any training they could provide for the police. He replied he would be happy to champion my efforts with his department, would keep me informed about progress on the subject and looked forward to hearing from me.

I guess I have really stuck my foot into it now! LOL! I'll probably have to renew my membership in the League and track down one of their trainers in the area. Actually, I feel good about it.

Now THAT'S a Pothole!

2010-03-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

So, last Thursday (March 25, 2010) I'm riding Bluetiful to work. Minding my own business ... and ...

BLAM!

Jeez! I thought a tire had exploded! Whatever I hit knocked one of my taillights right off its connection on the back of the rack bag and rearranged my headlights so they were pointing down towards the front tire.

I stopped the bike, put down the kickstand and popped the Blackburn headlight off the handlebars to use as a flashlight. I picked up my taillight about ten yards behind the bike, and used my Blackburn flashlight to see what I had hit in the road. I couldn't believe what I saw, so returning home that afternoon I took a picture of it in the daylight:

Here's a closeup of the edge of the pavement that I hit:

I think that little "pond" of water is covering a hand-hole next to the manhole. The top edge of the "pond" is around an inch above the surface of the water, and the "pond" is over an inch deep.

Checking the bike over, I don't see any sign of damage. I got so busy on Friday that I forgot to call the City and report it. They're usually pretty good about fixing these things.

New Communication System

2010-03-28T08:52:00.002-07:00

I've had a Motorola Q smartphone for almost three years. It has been a dandy mobile phone, and if they still made them I wouldn't hesitate buying another one. I would have kept the one I have except for the fact that after three years I have dropped it enough times that it was starting to get cranky and unreliable.

I have been interested in the Motorola Droid ever since it came out in late 2009. I was always put off by the $300 price of it. Even though the final price at the Verizon store would be $150 after a $100 discount and an additional $50 discount for renewing my contact, I would only get those as mail-in coupons; I would still have to come up with three hundred bucks up front.

A buddy of mine and I were walking through Best Buy one day a couple of weeks ago, and we passed through their mobile phone department. They had the Verizon Motorola Droid for $99. There was no catch, I could simply renew my present Verizon contract, not have to mess with any silly mail-in coupons and save fifty bucks off the price at the Verizon store.

Here's my old phone and my new phone (on the left, you can see the scotch tape holding the face plate onto the front of my old Q):

And here's the new Motorola Droid with the slide keyboard opened:

I've always liked a genuine QWERTY keyboard over a virtual keyboard such as the one on the iPhone. I have to say, though, that when the Droid is in the sideways mode --- and the slide keyboard is closed --- the wide virtual keyboard which pops up is actually very good.

The screen on the Droid is fantastic. The applications available for it make it almost a computer workstation in your hand.

(Last thing: the wallpaper is Sarah Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades from the Blizzard game StarCraft.)

A Two Bike Trip

2010-03-06T15:52:00.002-07:00

So, I rode Bluetiful and Hardiboi over to the Starbucks around noon today.

The tall, pretty barista suggested I try the Grande Cinnamon Dolce Latte with White Mocha. So I did and I have to say it is a very good change of pace for a coffee fix.

Beautiful day to ride, it was room temperature out with scattered clouds and a light breeze.

On the way home, I zoomed through an intersection right across the bow of a fat indigent chick pushing two stolen shopping carts from a local mall --- along with having three or four snotty nosed kids in tow --- who called me an (expletive deleted).

Did I mention the unusual drink I got on my Tour de Starbucks was a nice change of pace?

Duplicate Sunday

2010-02-28T12:18:00.002-07:00

Today was a carbon copy of last Sunday, when I had fun putting up Sunday Rooster Tails. Rain starting Saturday night, tapering off towards the middle of the morning Sunday. And then coming back lightly as I went for a Tour de Starbucks. Only difference today was I rode Hardiboi rather than The Roadley.

And the puddle in the bank drive-thru lane wasn't nearly as deep. Was hardly worth the one spin through it. The knobby tires on Hardiboi still put up some decent rooster tails, though.

Fixed the Click

2010-02-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in a previous post that there was a clicking noise coming from the bottom bracket of Hardiboi.

I took him into The Bike Barn yesterday, and told the tech about the click with each rotation of the pedals. I also told him how you could hear it if you torqued the right crank left and right. He said "Well, it could be just loose," as he reached down and tried it for himself.

"Uh, oh," he said, and showed me how the whole crank would move as he twisted it. "It could be just loose, but it could be the bearing needs replacing."

"What's the price on the worst case scenario?" I asked.

"Around twenty-five bucks for the part and another twenty-five for the labor. It shouldn't be over fifty."

I told him to go ahead, but give me a call if he had to replace the parts. About an hour later he gave me a call and said, yes, the bottom bracket sealed bearing was bad and needed to be replaced. In the meantime, I had checked on-line for pricing on the TruVativ 113mm sealed bearing prices, and found it varied from $10 to $40 for the bearing. I felt it was a pretty good deal, so I told him to go ahead and about an hour after that he called and told me it was done.

When I picked up the bike, another tech who wrote up the bill told me I might want to get an 8mm Allen wrench to make sure those cranks stayed tight. I had wanted to check the tightness of the cranks on Hardiboi --- and Bluetiful and The Roadley --- but I didn't have a big enough Allen wrench. I picked up a Park Tools HR-8 crank wrench for five bucks.

No more clicking! I've read the section on cranks in my Parks Big Blue Book, and apparently the right-hand, Allen bolt is standard right-hand thread. Does anybody know if the left-hand crank Allen bolt is reverse thread?

Sunday Rooster Tails

2010-02-21T12:23:00.003-07:00

It drizzled for about six hours, starting late Saturday night and tapering off early this morning. I did some chores, and then hopped on The Roadley to make a Starbucks run. It started drizzling again just as I exited the store, so I parked the bike under one of their umbrellas and enjoyed my Cinnamon Dolce Latte.

It rained steadily for ten minutes or so, and then began to let up, so I started to head back home. Less than a block later, I passed by a bank drive-thru lane which had a wonderful puddle in it. I couldn't resist; I circled around the bank three times, sending up rooster tails from both wheels as I zipped through the puddle.

The rain returned as I rode the mile and a half home, rinsing the bike so thoroughly that I just needed a terrycloth car rag to wipe the spots dry. Even though I was pretty soaked, in the 53°F temperature I was perfectly comfortable.

It sure beat going to church.

A Real Jaw Dropper

2010-02-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

Last evening, at around 6:00 PM, I was riding The Roadley near my place in Phoenix. I was eastbound, in the right-hand lane, waiting at a stop sign for traffic to clear so I could cross a busy Street and continue east.

I heard a beep behind me, and turned around to see a Phoenix police officer, in a marked police car, motioning me to get over to the side of the road. I dismounted my bike, carried it to the sidewalk on the southwest corner of the intersection, put down the kickstand and turned to face the police car. The officer rolled down the window on the passenger side of the police car, and surprised me by saying “You’re not supposed to be out there.”

I told him I was waiting to cross the street, and he said I was supposed to be “in the bike lane.” There was no east-west bike lane, but there was a bike lane going north and south on the busy street. I told the officer I wasn’t going south, but was going to cross the street and head east. He reiterated his statement that I wasn’t “supposed to be there in that lane” and then asked me “how am I supposed to make my turn?”

I looked, saw that he did not have his emergency lights on, and replied “you’re supposed to wait for me to cross, just like any other vehicle,” at which point he repeated “no, you’re not supposed to be there.” This went on for the next twenty seconds or so, the police officer shaking his head, telling me I wasn’t supposed to be there, and my replying that I had every right to be there. I even asked him if he wanted me to show him the law. (I carry a copy of the Arizona bicycle laws, because this is not the first time a motorist has attempted to tell me something inaccurate about them. It is, however, the first time a police officer has attempted to tell me something incorrect.)

Finally, the officer shook his head again and drove around me, headed south on the busy street. Directly behind him was another marked, Phoenix patrol car, one of those sport utility vehicles. I spread my arms in a questioning manner. The officer behind the wheel just gave me a wave, turned the corner and followed the other police car south. That SUV patrol vehicle did not have its emergency lights on either.

When I got home, I telephoned the non-emergency police number and explained to a dispatcher what had happened. To my amazement, she, too, said I was not supposed to be out there in the traffic lane. I said that was not my understanding of the law. She then said she “wasn’t a police officer” and offered to give me the regular number for the police.

I telephoned that number, and explained what had happened to a gentleman whose name I failed to catch. He said, yes, I was correct and then simply said goodbye.

I am deeply troubled by the fact that in space of just over an hour, I spoke with three representatives of the Phoenix Police Department who are evidently unaware of the provisions of Arizona Revised Statute §28-812. This statute states that “A person riding a bicycle on a roadway or on a shoulder adjoining a roadway is granted all of the rights and is subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle.”

I've sent an email to the Phoenix Police Department, it will be interesting to see what they have to say.

Update on New Headlight

2010-02-16T09:42:00.002-07:00

The NiteRider is terrific. Lights up the path far and wide!

New Headlight

2010-02-14T13:27:00.002-07:00

My commute to work includes a multi-use path which follows the Arizona Canal:

While riding up this path one dark morning a few weeks ago, I found that there were no lights at all, and the moon was not out. The Blackburn Voyager 3.3 headlight on Bluetiful is more like a spotlight than a broad beam headlight. It was so dark, and the circle of light the Blackburn provided was so small, that I had to keep moving to the left of the path so I could keep track of the edge of the concrete. If I did not do that, I was afraid the road would curve left and I would run off the right edge of the path and into the drink.

Visiting the Bike Barn, they had this NiteRider MiNewt Mini-USB rechargable headlight in stock. It is rated at 110 lumens; I almost believe it is more than that.

It will charge both from an AC adapter and a USB connection to a computer; USB charging is, of course, much slower.

My only reservation about the light is that it attaches to the handlebars using one of three different sizes of rubber rings. The small crossbar at the top of the handlebars of Bluetiful seems a tad small, even for the smallest ring, so the light does not seem to be very solidly mounted. I looped the power cord underneath the rubber ring, and it seems to be a bit better. There were no problems with the light falling out of adjustment on the two test rides, we'll just have to see how it works out on the commute.

Bluetiful Rides Pretty Quickly

2010-02-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

Even with all of the weight of the panniers, the rack bag, the handlebar bag, and the contents of all those things, Bluetiful rides pretty quickly.

I was coming home from work last Thursday and a fellow on a road bike whizzed by me as I was just cruising, grabbing a drink. I put the water bottle back in the cage and spun up to catch him before he got too far ahead of me. I stayed behind him for about an eighth of a mile, letting him pull me uphill in a little headwind.

I backed off a little bit when we came up to a traffic light controlled intersection because there were a few cars passing us and, if one of them pulled a "right hook" at the light, I didn't want to take out his back wheel if he had to hit the brakes hard.

I caught up to him, and was right off of his rear wheel once again, when the light turned green for us. He turned and looked back at me. I thought he looked a little surprised that I was right there behind him.

He smiled, I waved and turned right while he went straight.

Tough Saturday

2010-01-30T18:56:00.004-07:00

Rode 18 miles today, 12 miles on Bluetiful, 6 on The Roadley. Day started out at Starbucks with this:

And me caught out in it without my sunglasses! At least it was over 50°F when I stood out in the elements to snap this shot! High temp when I finished riding was somewhere around 65°F! Brutal, eh?

Felt sorry for some other parts of the country. Mother-in-law called from central Virginia; 12 inches of snow there.

Huff! Puff! Outta Shape!

2010-01-27T10:46:00.001-07:00

Rode Bluetiful into work yesterday. Even though I haven't been able to commute, because of the need to tend to Hawkeye during my lunch hour, I thought that taking a "constitution ride," or a quick run to Starbucks, in the mornings and evenings every day would be enough biking time to keep my fitness level up.

It wasn't. On the last little upgrade before the parking lot of my office I was huffing and puffing and could hardly manage 12 mph! Going home was better, but my quads were sensitive for about a half hour after I finished.

Getting on The Roadley and taking a Tour de Starbucks yesterday evening was very easy, however, because the legs had recovered and felt very strong. The Brooks saddle is getting more and more comfortable, too.

The New Steed

2010-01-24T14:43:00.000-07:00

With the emotional roller coaster I was on with having to put our lovable old Labrador to sleep, it was good to have something to work on as sort of a therapy toy. My son brought his 2003 Specialized Hardrock mountain bike up from southern Arizona and gave it to me as sort of a belated Christmas present.

The bike is in fairly good shape. The rear brake was rubbing, a little lube on the pivot points, a bit more cable and a turn of the setscrew on the right-hand side fixed that.

The derailleurs were spectacularly out of adjustment. The front derailleur was mounted a bit too high and rotated in towards the bike too much. The B-screw on the rear derailleur was way out. Both limit screws on both derailleurs were set in too far, so much so that the rear cassette would not even shift to the largest sprocket and the large and small chainrings always rattled in the front derailleur cage. I spent a leisurely ten hours over two days just playing with the adjustments, going from front to back to front to back, fine tuning the shifting. A little lube on the pivot points and the chain and the drive train is nice and quiet now. Shifts pretty well, too.

There is a slight "tick" in the bottom bracket as the crank rotates, and some side-to-side play on the crank arms, but I'm a little leery of taking a wrench to tighten it. I think I'll ride by my favorite LBS one day and have them check it out.

This bike is going to be an errand runner, something I can leave locked up out in front of the supermarket, so I'm not going to be accessorizing it very much. The original saddle is not very comfortable, but fortunately I have the Specialized Expedition Plus saddle which was on The Roadley before I got the Brooks Flyer. And, of course, I have the Trekking handlebars which I bought as a present for my son for this bike. I added a Trek Flare 7/Ion 3 taillight/headlight combination just in case I get caught riding it after dark.

I'll be using my sling bag for carrying stuff. The seat stem clamp is quick release, so I can simply take that $50 Expedition Plus saddle with me when I leave it.

The Trek Flare 7 taillight is attached to the seat stem, so when I take the saddle it will go with it. I'm going to have to remember to unclip that Trek Ion 3 headlight and pop it into the sling bag, though, unlike I did on the errand in the picture above! (Probably want to remember to take my water bottle with me, also.)

Farewell, Hawkeye

2010-01-23T17:14:00.003-07:00

I knew, a long time ago, that this particular goodbye was going to be a hard one. My pets have always been special friends and when the time comes to send them on their way, whether because of illness or because the toll of age has removed most of their quality of life, it has always involved some tears for me and second guesses about whether I provided the very best life for them that I could.

Hawkeye was extra special, in so many ways. My wife and I came across him eight years ago, in 2002. We had just visited the new Humane Society No-Kill animal shelter in South Phoenix, just for something to do on a weekend but with no real intent on getting another pet. Our thirteen-year-old son was with us, and as we drove home he suggested we stop by the Arizona Animal Welfare League just to look around.

The Arizona Animal Welfare League was established years ago by a group of partners which include the actress Amanda Blake, who was Miss Kitty of television's Gunsmoke. It is a no-kill shelter and we had adopted a cat from there a year before. We drove over there, and as we walked down the sidewalk along a row of kennels, I had turned back to my wife to say something and saw her eyes light up. She pointed past me and exclaimed "Is that a yellow Lab?" I turned back. He was sitting just inside the door of the kennel, wearing the happy, tongue-filled grin I would become very familiar with over the course of his life. On a note taped to the door was "Hawkeye, yellow lab mix."

We requested a "meet and greet" session with him at the shelter's little open playground. As as my wife and I played with him, it took only a few minutes to realize we wanted to adopt him. I began to follow the shelter employee into the office to fill out the paperwork, and then turned back to see my son still playing with the big Lab out in the yard. The dog weighed over a hundred pounds, more than my son weighed at the time.

Sensing what I was thinking, the shelter employee smiled and said "If it was any other dog but than one, I would worry." That was the first of many instances which would confirm what a unique dog Hawkeye was. We took him home and he was immediately relaxed with our two cats. Later, when we adopted three more kittens from our front yard, whose mother had been killed by a pair of loose pit bulls, Hawkeye was almost like a big brother to them. They always played with him and were never afraid of him.

In all of the years he was with us my wife never heard him bark, and I heard him bark once: when he was startled by a lighting bolt which hit close to our house and let out with a single, surprised "Woof!" Whenever I came home from work, I would see his happy, panting face in the living room window, and he would be waiting just inside the front door, eager for me to play with him out in the backyard, or just be satisfied with my petting his big velvet ears if I was too tired to play.

About two years ago, he developed arthritis in his hips. The vet prescribed some medication, and he seemed to be okay, just slowed down a bit by the disease. Towards the end of 2009, he slowed down a lot and seemed to develop some additional problems. He developed hearing problems, and appeared to stagger every once in a while. Around Christmas, 2009, there were two instances when he slipped on the smooth floor and could not get back to his feet. He would have accidents in the house before my wife got home from work.

On January 12, 2010, we took him to the vet. The more he examined Hawkeye, the more tight lipped our longtime veterinarian became. Finally, he handed me Hawk's leash, sat down, and sighed.

He told us that Hawkeye had developed neuropathy, which, as I understand it means the nerves in his body are breaking down. "So," he said, "It's time. We can do it today, but if we don't do it today we should do it soon because he really is starting to suffer."

I almost did not hear anything else he said after "It's time." I told him that I needed to tell my son, so that he could make it up to Phoenix from his home in southern Arizona and we could have the whole family there.

On January 21, 2010, at 8 AM, my son, my wife and I brought Hawkeye into the same room where he had had his last examination. Our vet and his assistant put a nice blanket on the examination table and lifted Hawk up onto it. As our vet's assistant shaved his left rear leg and inserted a catheter, I wrapped my arms around him and put my lips close to his ear and told him how much I loved him and let him know he was more than just a good dog: he was the absolute best.

Our doctor came in with a large syringe filled with something pink. I turned back and put my cheek on top of Hawkeye's head. I could not think of anything else to say. I sensed, rather than actually saw, the vet fix the needle to the catheter and then put his stethoscope to Hawkeye's chest.

Hawkeye seemed to simply relax with a sigh, and a few moments later I heard the doctor say "He's gone, you all can stay as long as you like."

I've been trying to keep busy the last few days. I took two days off of work and have been puttering around the house. My son is going to be staying with us for a while to do some job hunting in Phoenix. He brought up his 2003 Specialized Hardrock mountain bike and gave it to me as a belated Christmas gift.

Even with my son here, the house sure does seem to be a lot emptier.

Brooks Flyer

2010-01-14T07:44:00.000-07:00

I received the Brooks Flyer saddle on Tuesday, 1/12/10. I treated it with Proofide and got it installed on The Roadley:

I had to raise the seat post up a bit because the profile of the Brooks is slightly lower than that of the Specialized Expedition Plus. The Specialized will be moved to a another bike I'm getting shortly (more on that in a future post).

I rode it twice yesterday, 1/13/10, for a total of a little over six miles. It certainly is different than the Specialized. The Specialized saddle is all synthetic, so it was cushy comfort right out of the box. Of course, as it wears, it breaks down and becomes less and less comfortable. I figure on the other bike I'll get about 2,000 to 3,000 more miles out of it before it's finished.

The design of the Brooks is to get more comfortable, supposedly, the more it is ridden. Because of the natural leather seat of the Brooks Flyer, it's pretty stiff right out of the box and needs to be broken in. Reports are that it takes about 400 miles before it's fully formed to your anatomy. I can say that until it is fully molded to my butt I will not be doing any extended rides on it.

I have to add, however, that whether it was by scientific study, or inventive inspiration, or trial and error, the people at Brooks seem to have mastered the design of the saddle shape: as I ride, my sit bones are resting in the exact spot they need to be in order for the leather to properly shape itself to me. That has never been the case with any of the mountain bike or road bike saddles I have ever ridden.

More Toys

2010-01-09T15:25:00.004-07:00

I ordered a Nashbar 2-bike steel rack and got it in this week:

I also ordered a Brooks Flyer for The Roadley:

Although my Specialized Expedition Plus saddle is very comfortable, I've heard so much about Brooks saddles that I just had to give it a try. The Flyer should be in around Tuesday the 12th.

Holiday Week Ends - Final Scores

2010-01-04T21:21:00.001-07:00

Sunday, 1/3/2010, I didn't use the car at all, but took advantage of every excuse I could find to put on the shorts and ride around in the 70° F weather! Took a couple of Tour de Starbucks rides during the day; took Bluetiful over to the bike shop to price some things; rode The Roadley over to PetCo and bungee corded a 16-pound bag of cat food to the rear rack.

Final score: Bikes - 18, Autos - 7.

Avatar in the New Year

2010-01-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

Took my wife in my car to see the new James Cameron movie Avatar. My wife even liked it, and she usually is left cold by flicks with a lot of special effects. I loved it.

Did two Tour de Starbucks, one in the morning on Bluetiful and one after the movie on The Roadley.

Score: Bikes - 14, Autos - 7.

Just Pedaling on New Year's Eve

2010-01-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

Did a Tour de Starbucks on The Roadley.

Did not drive a car, too many nuts out on the roads.

Score: Bikes - 12, Autos -6

Beery Wednesday

2010-01-02T12:39:00.001-07:00

Took a ride on Bluetiful in the morning. The weather looked pretty threatening so for the beer run in the afternoon I used The Roadley (Serfas Drifter tires inspire much more confidence on a trash strewn or wet road).

Had to gas up both my wife's car and mine.

Score: Bikes - 11, Autos - 6.

Tuesday for the Lab

2010-01-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

Ran over twenty miles worth of errands in the car for my dear old Labrador: included food, prescription refills and a consult with the vet.

Also took a ride on The Roadley and a ride on Bluetiful.

Score: Bikes - 9, Autos - 4.

Bluetiful Monday

2009-12-28T16:38:00.001-07:00

Rode Bluetiful twice today, once on a Tour de Starbucks and this afternoon on a trip to Batteries Plus. Also drove the car once, to pick up some food for the kids before they left to go down south.

Score: Bikes - 7, Autos - 3.

Weekend Update

2009-12-28T12:22:00.002-07:00

Rode The Roadley twice yesterday, didn't have to drive the car at all. Score: Bikes - 5, Autos - 2.

The kids came up from southern Arizona yesterday, bringing little Keira with them. One of their friends just had her own baby yesterday and they had a lot of newborn diapers and an extra car seat for her.

Saturday Report

2009-12-27T11:15:00.002-07:00

Rode the bike for a second time yesterday, and drove the car twice. Score: Bikes - 3, Autos - 2.

I would have only had to drive the car once, but I didn't have a couple of things on the list. Also, I needed to check out an After Christmas sale on an item which wouldn't have fit on the bike.

Auto Limited Week?

2009-12-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

So, Thanksgiving Auto Free Week was a bust and this long, Christmas through New Years holiday/vacation week is definitely going to require an automobile.

I'll call it an "Auto Limited Week." I'll try to make sure to collect all the errands requiring a car into as few trips as possible, and use a bike for as many of the others as I can.

Christmas Day I did not use a car at all, rode Bluetiful on a grand tour to find an open Starbucks, and this morning (12/26/09) I rode The Roadley on a Tour de Starbucks. The current score is Bikes - 2, Autos - 0.

36°F at 6:30 AM! Felt it in on my ears and fingertips, the BMX gloves just barely work at that temperature.

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-25T14:39:00.001-07:00

I've been busy, but I just wanted to drop a note here and wish everybody, especially all you bicyclists, a safe and happy holiday season!

December 7th, Memorable for Another Reason

2009-12-09T18:55:00.002-07:00

Monday, December 7th, 2009, 11:00 PM, my lovable old Labrador woke me up, wanting to go outside. Usually, he only does this if he is sick, or I don't get a chance to walk with him before I go to bed, and is in desperate need of a potty break. This time, he just stood there in the back yard and watched and listened to the brisk wind.

We went back to bed, but he stirred again a few minutes later and started panting; a sure sign he is upset about something. Once more we went out into the back yard, once more he did nothing other than stand and listen, and once more I convinced him to go back to bed. The wind seemed much stronger.

Fifteen minutes later, at about 11:20, I awoke to the wind howling around the house. My Lab was in his bed, but his eyes were open and he raised his head and looked at me when I got up and looked out the bedroom window. The trees seemed to be squirming around in the air and there was a good, driving rain.

I got up and had the dog follow me out to the entertainment room. It was so noisy, it sounded like the room was traveling on a freight train. I made a cup of tea and sat with my Lab until things quieted down about an hour later.

The streets have been a mess and I have been unable to commute for the last two days, even though it only rained Monday night. It was the most violent storm I can remember in a long time.

The Grill Next Door

2009-12-06T15:40:00.005-07:00

There is a little burger joint about two miles from my place which has all the elements of a perfect exercise ride.

This is a poster in the window:

Here's a picture of Sami, who I believe is the girl in the poster, with Bluetiful:

See what I mean? All the elements of a perfect exercise ride: gets your heart rate up, is obviously bike friendly and has great scenery.

The OFFICIAL Beer Truck

2009-11-25T11:14:00.001-07:00

Even though the No Auto Week is sort of a bust, I'm still riding a bike as much as possible for daily errands.

Today, I needed to get lottery tickets and beer. Bluetiful is the Official BluesCat Beer Truck:

My main concern was not if the six-pack would fit, I knew it would, but if the jostling of the ride would make that first beer unacceptably foamy. I can report with joy that the beer completed the 2.25 mile trip without a trace of "ride stress."

What kind of beer does BluesCat, the rider of Bluetiful, prefer? Look closely.

Chain Mark Solution?

2009-11-25T11:00:00.001-07:00

I wear regular clothes when I ride my bikes. I've just never gotten into the whole Lycra-sealed riding mode.

When I wear my Wrangler relaxed-fit jeans on The Roadley a velcro ankle strap is all I need to protect my jeans from chain marks since the bike has a big plastic chainwheel guard.

The chainwheels on the recumbent Bluetiful do not have a chainwheel guard. And because the rotation of the way-crank-forward pedals puts the calf of my leg crossing the plane of the top of the chain, the loose fitting jeans rub the chain and I get a big patch of black chain lube on the calf of my jeans.

I've solved it by rolling up the pants leg above my knee:

Um, this ain't very stylish folks. (Can you tell where the top of the sock ends and my platinum calf begins?) What do all you other riders use in weather too cold for shorts? Leg warmers? Cycling pants? Knickers?

Day 4 Was a Bust

2009-11-25T08:34:00.001-07:00

Started out okay, made an early Starbucks run on Bluetiful. I looked at my phone and saw I had forgotten about a haircut appointment at 10:00 AM. My barber shop is too far away for a simple errand run, I would have to plan for a big commute. I figured I would just roll the haircut in with a stop for gas for the car for next week and a swing by Trader Joes to get a fresh turkey. My Auto Free Week effort might still work.

Then my son called me from southern Arizona. He was headed to the hospital with possible appendicitis. He would know more when they performed a CT scan. I finished my haircut/gas/turkey errand and just hung around the house, waiting.

In the early afternoon my son called again and said they had him in for observation but were not positive they were going operate. In the evening the doctors decided to go with the appendectomy and they began prepping him for an 8:00 PM surgery. They didn't get started until much later and finished around 10:30 PM; we got a report from Shannon that everything had gone well.

This morning I got a call from the boy and he sounded pretty good. They're talking about releasing him from the hospital later on today. We'll have to play it by ear for the rest of the week.

I rode The Roadley over to Starbucks for a celebratory vanilla latte.

Man, it has been one heck of a year!

A Tale of Two Trucks

2009-11-23T14:21:00.007-07:00

(Say that three times, really fast!)

Continuing on to day three of No Auto Week, I had a whole set of Honey Doos I needed to do.

First chore: I needed to get some cat food for the seven feral cats we have adopted that live in our front and back yards. The Roadley seemed the best candidate for The Cat Food Truck:

A couple of bungee cords on the dry cat food bag draped over the rear rack and we had it done.

The fellow at Petco was helping an elderly lady out with her own big bags of pet food as I pulled up. He said "You can park your bike inside next to the shopping carts." There's the reason I shop at Petco, which is a half mile further away than another big franchise pet store.

Interesting factoid: the Purina bag weighs 16 pounds, that's the amount of weight I have lost since I bought my Sun EZ Sport in February, 2009; almost ten months ago.

Second chore: I had some items I needed to drop off at the Goodwill donation center. Since the panniers were on the EZ Sport, Bluetiful, this task fell to her:

It wasn't much: an old desk lamp, some housewares and an old CD/DVD reader. It all fit very neatly in the panniers on Bluetiful. When I pulled up to the drop-off, I set off the bell when I rolled over the pneumatic cable, and heard them call out "Bike!" on the inside. The attendant smiled when he saw me, I said "The bike stays with ME" and he laughed.

After that, it was a run over to The Bike Barn to pick up a Christmas gift for my son and then ride back home.

Three days without using a car!

2nd Auto Free Day

2009-11-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

Didn't drive again today. Spent most of the day doing chores: cleaning the pool, sweeping the porches, etc.

Did make two runs to Starbucks, one on The Roadley and one on Bluetiful.

Also, I updated the blog with the story of Bluetiful.

Yawn.

Addendum to 1st Auto Free Day

2009-11-22T10:05:00.001-07:00

I guess I should have mentioned that I didn't simply sit around the house on Saturday, 11/21/09, my first Auto Free day.

I got out on the road on The Roadley a little before 9:00 AM and did six miles worth of errands. First was a required visit to Starbucks. Then I swung by the Post Office to drop off some bills in the outside drive-thru box.

I needed AAA batteries for my taillights, so a swing by Batteries Plus was the next stop. I really like this store, they never charge me labor for replacing batteries and testing the electronics in my UPS units, even the big, eight battery cartridges for the APC 3000 rack mounts. The Werker house brand alkaline dry cells seem to last as long as any from Duracell or Eveready, and they are cheaper. A bonus feature of the particular store I go to is they have glass windows on a good portion of their exterior: I can park the bike right next to the door and keep an eye on it while I'm at the counter; no need to spend time locking it up.

The last errand was to the liquor store to buy lottery tickets. I can go through the drive-thru window to do it, so here again I do not have to lock up and leave the bike. Sometime on this week off I'm going to need beer, and if I bring Bluetiful with the rack bag I can probably get the six pack of Blue Moon in the bag if I unzip the expandable top.

Later today, I have to take a small load of stuff to Goodwill. I think I can get everything in the panniers and rack bag on Bluetiful.

Auto Free Week?

2009-11-21T19:40:00.002-07:00

I have all of Thanksgiving week off. I'm going to try to make it an automobile free week, and only drive the car when it is something I need to do with car (such as getting gasoline, getting the tires rotated, getting the wife's car washed, etc.).

I didn't drive the car at all today. One day down!

The Complete Bluetiful

2009-11-15T14:48:00.021-07:00

Well, the best bike on the planet is now complete. The week of November 1, 2009, I got the last of the accessories in the mail and got them on the bike.

Bluetiful

Bicycle - 2008 Sun EZ Sport CX

Pedals – Shimano PD-A530 Multipurpose SPD

Rear Accessories

Rear Rack – Zéfal

Panniers – Jandd Economy

Rack Bag – Jandd Rack Pack II

Bottle Cages – Standard on right, Bontrager Insulated Cage on left

Tumbler – Starbucks Miller Gentlemen Tumbler

Pump – Serfas Big Stick mini pump

Seat Bag – Sunlite Tubular

Taillights – Serfas, Blackburn Mars 1.0, Blackburn Mars 3.0

Front Accessories

Headlight – Blackburn Voyager 3.3

Handlebar Bag - Mountain Handle Pack I

Computer – Specialized SpeedZone Analog

GPS – Garmin eTrex Legend w/Garmin handlebar mount

Bottle Cage: Standard on right

The handlebar mount for the Garmin was the last accessory piece I was waiting for, here's a closeup of the completed dashboard:

You can see how nicely the straps for the Jandd handlebar bag fit between the bolts for the bottle cage mounts and hold the bag up at just the right height.

Bicyclists Disrespecting Bicyclists

2009-11-07T12:22:00.005-07:00

I regularly visit the site CommuteByBike.com, because it very often has interesting articles and advice on one of my main bicycling activities, commuting. Recently, one of the writers there, Bike Shop Girl, started a series of articles about Building Your Perfect Commuter Bike. In one article, Bike Type, I naturally put in my vote for recumbents as the ideal bike type. My opinion was met with this response by a fellow named jamesmallon:

"God, recumbent riders are like herpes: unwanted and impossible to get rid of."

I responded with this:

jamesmallon: So, your objection to recumbents doesn’t have anything to do with the suitability of the bike for the task which Bike Shop Girl has set here (because you haven’t refuted anything I’ve said about them), and everything to do with the fact you simply don’t like the people who ride them.

Why is that, I wonder? The median age of recumbent riders seems to be my age: late fifties. Do you have a problem with folks who are older, wiser and more mature than you are?

A lot of the male bent riders seem to be war veterans, too; mostly of Vietnam, but some of Korea and even a smattering of WWII vets. Because of their age, and/or some of the injuries they sustained during their service, riding a conventional upright bicycle is simply not an option. You have a problem with people who have served their country honorably and bear the scars to prove it?

I really am intrigued by your answer.

If you'd like to follow along on any further developments, here's the link:

The Perfect Commuter Bike Type

Me As A Tourist

2009-11-05T22:26:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist changing my route to work this morning. I had purchased a Starbucks Miller Gentlemen Tumbler a week or so ago, and discovered it fit perfectly in the bottle cage on the right seat strut of Bluetiful, my 'bent. There isn't a Starbucks on my direct route so I decided to change things up a bit and go to one slightly out of my way.

It really didn't add any distance, but I did wind up going down a rather busy street. Looking at Google Maps and my Garmin eTrex afterwards, I discovered a route which will take me on local streets through a housing subdivision which will parallel that busy road.

I also discovered a road which is marked as a bike route but does not have any marked bike lanes on it, as my regular route does. This can be an advantage: the road has very wide lanes, which means you have already "taken the single lane" and there is less of a problem with motorists trying to squeeze by you on the left and drive you towards the curb. Multiple school zones mean less and slower traffic. It will probably become my regular route.

Riding around, changing direction to check things out and sightsee, my 30 minute trip turned into an hour. It was fun being a relaxed tourist on my commute.

Nashbar Trekking Handlebars are back

2009-10-25T13:13:00.002-07:00

Once again, I need to say how great the Nashbar Trekking handlebars are. They make such a difference on long rides on The Roadley.

After a three month hiatus, I see that Nashbar has brought them back, so I have ordered a set for my son for his mountain bike.

Keira has H1N1

2009-10-18T10:17:00.003-07:00

The kids were going to come up from southern Arizona this morning, Sunday, and stay through Monday, 10/19/09. But Justin, my son, was antsy; wanting to get to Phoenix so he could get a jump on a number of things he wanted to get accomplished. So he and Shannon piled 7-week-old Keira into the car, along with their laundry and everything else they needed, and came up last evening. In retrospect, it was an excellent idea.

Our little granddaughter had a rash, but during her regular visit to the pediatrician last week they had looked at it and felt it was minor and Shannon was treating it topically. Then, last night, Keira's rash got worse and she started running a fever.

One of the advantages of living where we do is that Phoenix Children's Hospital, one of the premier children's hospitals in Arizona --- if not the nation --- is literally just down the street. Justin and Shannon bundled Keira into the car and went over to their emergency room.

After a whole battery of tests, including blood tests, urine samples via a catheter, and a spinal tap, the results came back this morning. Keira has the swine flu, the rash she has on her bottom is a yeast infection which could be what compromised her immune system and left her more susceptible to serious disease. The good news is that the doctors at Phoenix Children's are confident they have caught the illness soon enough to avoid any complications like pneumonia and Keira should recover fully and very quickly.

That is not the case with some other patients at Phoenix Children's who presented symptoms for just a day or so longer than Keira did. Some of them have contracted pneumonia. Some of those have responded favorably to antibiotics. The other, more serious cases have all been successfully treated via a procedure called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, where a special machine is used to oxygenate the blood. Phoenix Children's has the capability of treating four patients at a time with this procedure, so even though it appears it will not be needed in Keira's case, it is comforting to know she is in a facility where such care is available.

Hey, folks, for the sake of all your babies and grandbabies, and everybody else, know the symptoms of H1N1:

Children:
. Fast breathing or difficulty breathing.
. Inability to drink/keep down fluids.
. Fever with a rash.
. Flulike symptoms that subside, only to return with a fever and cough.

Adults:
. Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.
. Pain or pressure in the chest.
. Sudden dizziness.
. Confusion.
. Severe or persistent vomiting.

At-risk Groups:
. Patients who are pregnant, obese, have diabetes, asthma, high-blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, lung disease or a neurological condition should call their physician at the onset of flu symptoms.

Luxury Bike Parking

2009-10-17T10:19:00.009-07:00

Recently, I've read some horror stories about bike commuters who are losing their bicycles to theft or damage as a result of being forced to park them outside in an unsecured area. I realized that I have it extremely lucky with the arrangement I have with my employer.

Here's my EZ Sport, Bluetiful, parked at my office, in my ...

Luxury Bike Suite

This room used to be an office, but it was too close to the exit door to the hallway for anybody to get any work done (it is a main route to the restroom, and people are coming and going constantly past this opening). The door is just to the right of a wall which is seen as that white triangle on the right side of the picture.

So this room has been converted to a sort of meeting room by removing the desk and putting in a small, round conference table and chairs (on the left side of this picture) and that mobile white board you see right behind Bluetiful.

Since the door to the hallway is always locked to anyone but company employees, and since the room is used very infrequently, and since our company is big on promoting alternative modes of transportation, I have struck a deal with our office manager to use this room to park my steed. There is enough space here for another employee to park their bike next to mine. The room is so comfy, it even has better carpeting in it than I have in my own office!

An added bonus to this setup is that I empty my panniers into the black stuff sack you see on the seat of Bluetiful, exit out that door to the hallway, walk another hundred feet and I'm at the showers of my gym.

What is bike parking like for all you other commuters?

Stem Extension

2009-10-14T20:27:00.004-07:00

I promised a picture of the handlebar stem extension on The Roadley:

You can see that the extension adds literally twice as much height to the butterfly bars, another 3 inches. An added benefit is that the bottom velcro connection of the handlebar bag now reaches and connects to the stem. It had just been able to reach the cables and was loosely held to them before.

Good Weekend for Riding

2009-10-11T15:52:00.001-07:00

Rode almost 30 miles this weekend.

Had a chance to thoroughly use The Roadley with the new stem extension. The bike is even more comfortable now with the more upright riding position. Dropping down on the forearms on the butterfly bars does not feel like that aggressive a position now, but more relaxed and enjoyable. (Still haven't seen the bars back on the Nashbar site, hope they actually do bring them back.)

Looks like the weather this upcoming week will be perfect for riding.

Too Busy to Ride ... Again!

2009-10-04T13:17:00.004-07:00

Has it ever been a tough couple of weeks.

The kids were up from southern Arizona with the new baby. She just gets cuter by the day.

Monday, September 28^th, we had a corrupted index on one of the main data drives at the main office, so I spent Monday, Tuesday, and some of Wednesday recovering all of the files on that SAN drive.

Friday came along, and my head started to get stuffed up with the same cold my wife has. Yesterday, Saturday, October 3^rd, I was so miserable I didn't get a thing done around the house, let alone get a chance to ride.

One thing I did get a chance to do Saturday was get the 3-inch stem riser on The Roadley. The wrenches at the Bike Barn put it on and all I had to do was adjust the angle of the handlebars. It took me twice as long to do as a result of the sneezing and nose wiping.

The installation of the Expedition saddle and the Butterfly handlebars resulted in the seat being higher than the handlebars, so I ordered a black, 3-inch stem riser to bring the handlebars higher. The regular position in the saddle is now much more upright and "touring comfortable." When I drop down to my forearms on the Butterfly bars, I no longer feel like my butt is way up in the air. When I get back to riding, I'll get a picture of the stem riser.

I'm hoping to get back in the saddle tomorrow morning. I'm taking the week off so maybe I'll get a lot more riding in if I feel better.