Rare Opportunity for a Drive

We had a corporate picnic in Edina yesterday afternoon.  I rode my bicycle the 10 miles between our corporate office and the park for the picnic.  Completely unfamiliar with a good bicycle route, I set out in the general direction and "winged it."

I wouldn't call it "lost" nor would I call the route I took direct, I wandered my way and arrived after having ridden about 45 minutes.  Unfortunately the only way to really "get there" was to ride down the right side of France avenue which is 6 lanes (10 counting left and right turn lanes) of stop and go traffic.  I was the only cyclist that I saw in the whole 10 mile ride and unless you call someone walking from a parking lot to the store a pedestrian, no one really walking anywhere.

My wife joined me, having left from our home in Roseville for what was about a 20 mile drive.  She arrived after having sat in traffic for an hour and 15 minutes at 3:00 in the afternoon.

The picnic lasted until about 6pm when we left together.  I stuffed my bike in the back of the hatchback for the ride home together.  We missed really getting any food at the picnic so instead tried to decide where to get some food for dinner. After driving for an hour to cover approximately 20 miles we stopped for burrito at Chipotle in Roseville close to home.

The whole experience reminded me of just how someone could coin the term: "Rat Race"  While I try to carve out a little niche for our life, I guess I look around a little bit with open and objective eyes wondering about life in such an inhospitable place?  Maybe it was just the experience of "driving?"

Bicycle Maintenance

Jim (http://planetary-gears.blogspot.com or http://hiawathacyclery.com) was right, tires do stretch over time. I bought from him a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tires in 700x42mm and mounted them on my Quickbeam early April.    At the time that I mounted them, I was somewhat disappointed that the tires didn't measure up to their specifications.  I had plenty of room for clearance under my fenders.

Fast-forward a few months and thousands of miles and the tires have stretched considerably.  Enough to more than fill the available clearance under the Berthoud 50mm fenders.  The result has been rubbing to the point where rubber has accumulated on the frame and parts of the tires have that "shaved off by the lathe like effects of the rubbing fenders."  

You see, I've known about this problem for a few weeks now.  The ride it every day, neglect it until the last conceivable moment of "preventative maintenance" program that I use to keep my commuter rideable caught up with me this morning.  While pouring some oil on the chain, I realized just how much interference there was on the rear wheel, it was hardly turning.

In a last-minute ham-fisted attempt at fender "adjustment" I knocked the bike over.  In the fall, the rear fender collided with the recycling bin, spilled the contents and broke the fender stay for the rear fender.  A little bicycle surgery this morning to remove the fenders (thus solving the interference issue) I was off to work even later than I had been.

Lesson learned: clearance is a good thing, new fender stay will be required, but more importantly, tires stretch and Jim was right.

I can now say officially that I have made it over a year without driving to work!

Today was grocery day.  Panniers were fully stocked; peanut butter, bread, lots of dried fruit, a large tub of yogurt.  The bike was heavy and I celebrated the moment by putting air in the tires before I left.  I stopped by the grocery store for another loaf of bread, a jar of jam, and a couple of donuts.  I felt like a regular cop on a bike.  Eating my donut, drinking coffee, riding down the road.

While stopped at the traffic light on Snelling Ave and Roselawn, another cyclist approached.  She we both left from the light and rode about the same pace to the next stop sign.  A second car crossed through the intersection without much of a stop and she exclaimed: "Idiot" in disgust, then continued with: "there sure are a lot of idiots out there."

I reflected for a moment and responded with the thought: "oh well, I guess we cannot do anything about that and can only concentrate on our little circle of influence, can we?" I was somewhat offended by her disgust for the driver who really put no one at any risk by his action. 

She dropped into her aero-bars and rode off while I was content to finish my donut and drink my cup of coffee.  I watched her in front of me roll up to a red light, slow down, then proceed through the light.  I finished my donut, took a sip of coffee and decided that I was going to catch up to her and ask her about her double standard.

She turned before I could catch up, but a couple of blocks away, our paths once again crossed.  I said hi again.  With a light tone of voice I posed the question: "not trying to be annoying or anything, but you called the guy in the car who did the rolling stop at the Stop sign an idiot, then proceeded to go through the red light at Cleveland, how come?" She took one side of her headphones out and we then proceeded to talk on the way toward work.  Before going her separate way, she asked me where my helmet was?

Well, there we go again.  That fine Minnesota passive aggressive "Minnesota Nice."  Running late for work I didn't have the heart to catch back up to her and ask her about the sensibility of riding down on her aero bars with headphones in through the city.  I guess as long as she has a helmet on, she's safer than I am.  Maybe I am one of those reckless idiots out there???

No RAGBRAI for Me

Riding more than ever this year yet somehow, I am stacking up a number of “cycling disappointments” this year.  First, there were a number of curtailed long training rides early in the “season.”   Late March and early April were downright crummy weather days for accumulating epic distance training rides in preparation for a TransIowa.  

Then there was the TransIowa failure itself. Less than 1/3 of the route completed due to inclement weather before missing the time cutoff… ‘nough said. 

High hopes for a super long ride ‘round Lake Pepin brought with it a feeling of listlessness in the saddle, no excitement, and a incomprehensible feeling of impending doom. 

Bad things come in 3’s?  No RAGBRAI. (Pronounced: rag, bry) For the last 23 years, I’ve turned toward Iowa for the Register’s Annual Great Beer Run Across Iowa.  Started when I was 14 and haven’t missed an attendance in some form or another in all these years!

• My first year involved a charter bus with the North Iowa Touring Club- NITC.  I attended solo, with my older brother’s girlfriend at the time acting as “guardian.”  It was a truly life-altering experience in SO many ways.  I had no idea what I was in for.  I rode in regular shorts, tennis shoes, even rode an 80 mile day in a pair of jeans.  I subsisted entirely on Hardees and beer.  Yes, at the time, truly if you could reach the counter on the corner of the town square, you would be over-served by the gentlemen (usually VFW or Kiwanis) manning the tap.
• Year two… I was flatly told that when I called NITC and inquired about going again that I was not allowed.  :) Instead, I attended solo with the Rockford Club out of Charles City, IA.  I had a release waiver signed by the neighbor across the street who was evidently somewhere in attendance on the ride too, though I never actually saw him.
• By year three, I had convinced a friend to drive and brother to go with.  We borrowed my parents Plymouth Reliant station wagon, complete with faux wood paneling.  I am afraid that the combination of the weight of coolers, beer, and equipment took its toll on the car.  My mother claimed that it never quite drove the same again??
• From years 4 through #10, the weight of beer packed increased and so did the number of people choosing to go.  My oldest brother procured a dedicated RAGBRAI machine, a 1969 Ford Econoline “poptop camper.  We had escalated to a trailer to load with bikes and gear. There was lawn furniture, outdoor music, coolers, shower, and enough other stuff to require weeks of preparation and recovery.  We had years with a dedicated driver, years where we would take turns driving and had an informal contest to see who could score the best camping accommodations.
• By the conclusion of #10, I had enough of the sleepless nights, partying, and long drives home.  As the days ticked by, and the effects of sleep deprivation and constantly being surrounded by 3 other brothers and other friends joining for the “fun” it was just too much to take.\
• By the time year #11 approached, I had decided I was going solo, self supported.  I bought a Trek 520 touring bike, racks, and panniers.  I left on a Thursday after work from the Twin Cities and rode south.  I had no idea what I was in for, but managed to cover the nearly 400 miles to IA in 3 days.  Rode all of RAGBRAI, caught a ride to Madison, WI and rode home. All tolled, 1156 miles in 12 days, I returned home burned to a crisp and probably 10 pounds lighter than when I left.
• Over the years, I’ve gone back to Iowa each summer.  Some years have involved a combination of driving, leaving a car, and rescues by my wife.  I’ve managed to cover as much as 220 miles in one day and logged several 150+ mile days fully loaded.   I’ve done nearly every century loop, and even the special 150 mile loop in celebration of the Iowa sesquitenial.

Since discovering the joy of traveling self-contained, I’ve never had the desire to go supported again.  The ride down to IA has grown into being more satisfying than the actual event itself.  With a family, an incredibly hectic life, family, and now a job offering precious little vacation time… sadly, I am afraid that a week plus on my own with bike has not made the cut.  Bummer.

Return from Hiatus

Our family was off on a mini-vacation last week.  We visited Vermont for a few days on a bit of a whirlwind tour.  Stunned by the beauty, impressed with the apparent quality of life, I am left certainly entertaining fantasies of a shot at a simpler life.

Yesterday 07/09/08 was the 1 year anniversary of my employment date at the Buffalo Wild Wings corporate offices.  That first day of employment was the beginning of the commitment to ride my bike to work as frequently as I could.  Now that it has been a whole year, I thought I would take a moment to reflect.

There were two days in July last year when I drove to work; once to bring in a box full of personal supplies and once because of a wedding obligation after work.  If I make it to 07/20/08 then it will be a whole year of riding without once having driven to work.

Why make the commitment?

• Savings:  I don't have good statistics on the exact price of gas at the time, but I do recall somewhat attempting to justify my stubbornness with the idea that I was saving money. (More on that idea later.)   
  
• Interest: I have a passion for bicycles. I simply really like to ride my bike.  Commuting is an opportunity to do that almost every day and puts me in condition to knock of rides on the weekends that are limited only by time, not so much physical conditioning.
  
• Health: I believe that regular exercise is a VERY important component of a healthy physical and mental lifestyle.
  
• Sanity: With nary an exception my bicycle ride is predictable and consistent. I never sit in traffic unmoving waiting for traffic.  The time I spend on a saddle allows me to think, unwind, solve problems, decompress from work, and to reflect on life in general.
  

With the exception of cost savings, I think that I can say that objectives match up pretty well with results.  Why not savings?  I made the mistake of taking a peak at Quicken running a report for spending by category for the previous 12 months.  Almost all bicycle expenditures are categorized as "Fun Money: Ken"

Holy Cow!  The list of payees reads like a who's who of the esoteric bicycle parts industry. Hiawatha Cyclery, Velo Orange, Rivendell, County Cycles, ebaY, ebaY, ebaY.  I think that there might be merit to my lovely spouses claims of almost weekly deliveries or arrivals.  Over the last 12 months, I have spent A LOT on bike parts. 

Okay, so I must have saved some by riding a bike, right?  I figure 50 weeks of commuting 150 miles a week is equal to 7,500 miles.  The car I was driving required premium fuel and got 25mpg at best if not driven aggressively.  I seem to recall gas being in the neighborhood of $2.50 last year, now $4.  At an average of $3.50, I've saved about $1,000 in gas. (300 gallons of fuel.)

Let me just say that I've spent four and a half times my savings on bike shit.  That doesn't include my addiction to Ibex sportswear that has been categorized as clothing. (Thanks for saving my bacon on the budget on that one Anika.)  

Of course there is no way that all of my purchases have been required for bicycle commuting.  I would argue that most of it falls squarely in my "bicycle lifestyle and interest" category.  Parts disappear into the basement bike shop, get tucked away on shelves like a squirrel puts away nuts for the winter.  A lot of the commuting-related expenditures have been for items that will hopefully last me for years to come.  Still, I cannot ignore the fact that there has been a substantial amount of spending on consumable bike parts; tires, chains, cogs, chainring, rims, etc. 

The only thing that has really saved me in the overall savings has been the fact that we were able to sell off one of our cars.  No car payment, no insurance, no maintenance.