Dan on Bike

I ran across this article from 2007. My answers would be about the same today.

Commuter Profile: Dan Gentry

West Lafayette at Night

It was a busy day, so never really found time to get out. At 7pm, on a Sunday, my wife decided we needed a new refrigerator. Menards was still open, so we headed out to pick one up. As always, she found a nice one on sale.

After a quick supper, we took out the old fridge, and with the help of my neighbor and sometime riding partner, we got the new one in.

It was nearly 10:00 when I remembered that I hadn’t ridden yet. With no moon showing and no headlight for my ride around the neighborhood circle, I realized just how dark it is out here in the country. I only had the light from my front blinky to show the way.

(it is tough to take a photo of a black fridge)

The weather today was perfect for a ride. When I needed to head to the hardware store for parts, I knew the bike was the way to go.

The store is pretty much four miles straight north as the crow flies, but since the roads weren’t built for birds, my route was a bit more roundabout.

Not much to report, other than one guy who yelled something as he passed me. No idea what he said.

Since there is no bike rack at the West Lafayette Menards, I used a post to lock up.

Once inside, I remembered that I also needed to pick up a bag of weed n feed for the lawn. No problem, I can just strap it onto the rack.

On the way back, someone behind me in a truck was giving me the short honk, as if I should pull off the road to let him pass. I gave him the “drive around me” hand signal, but he honked again. He finally passed me, only to turn into a parking lot 10 seconds after. What was scary was his lady decided to yell profane things at me as they passed by, and I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I returned the favor. Once she started using a hand signal of her own, I slowed down and kept my mouth shut. No need to cause any further altercation.

Other than that half a minute incident, it was a great ride, and I really did “save big money”.

Between work and supper, I had time to ride the quiet country roads. I passed and was passed by by many roadies enjoying the cool ride conditions. Felt pretty comfortable on my hybrid bike with the cuff of my jeans tucked in my right sock.

Well, it wasn’t pretty, but I got out today. Dark, cold, windy, and past my bedtime – I didn’t want to be riding. So, I did twice around the circle in my subdivision – around 1 mile total.

Since I broke a spoke yesterday on my main ride, I pulled out my road bike after work for its first ride of the year.  It was covered in spider webs and dust from the recent remodeling work going on in the house and garage.  After pumping up the empty tires, my trip began.

I didn’t have much time between work and a 7:00 appointment, so I took a quick half hour route around the block another way – Newman Road to Sharon Chapel, on to SR26, south on 325W/350W, then Division Road back home.

I had forgotten that the hard, narrow seat on my black Trek is not very comfortable when wearing street clothes.  I felt every bump, along with the seams in my khaki shorts, throughout the ride.

While my legs complained over the one large and several small hills in the first half, I started getting a rhythm by the time I left the highway.  As usual, I felt pretty good when I got back.

The latest forecast calls for cold temps over the next few days, so the rides may be shorter, but they will still happen.  The bike shop said they may have my wheel fixed tomorrow.

As I rode into work today, I thought a lot about our car-centric society and how cycling can help us break the hold that autos have on us. Mostly, I pondered how even though I read about cycling as transportation, and talk it up with my friends and co-workers, I don’t really walk the walk.

I live kind of close to work, but I don’t ride in that often – only when it is easy. Plus, I rarely if ever ride to the grocery store. My kid’s school is eight miles away, and my wife’s workplace a similar distance.

The goal is to live, work, learn, and shop all within a short, rideable distance. I’m not sure if my town really offers that opportunity, and those areas that might be close to the ideal are not where we wish to live. I guess all I can do strive to get a little closer each year.

On the way home from work, after a long first day back from vacation, I thought: “food – food – food – pretty girl sunbathing – food – food – food – food – food – big hill – food – food – POP!”

That POP was the sound of a spoke breaking as I climbed the small hill to my house. Guess I’ll be riding the other bike tomorrow.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve joined the 30 Days of Biking Challenge.   Today, April 1, is the first day.  After a rainy morning and yard work for part of the afternoon (and a movie after that), I was able to take a short ride before supper.

It was a very familiar route – west on Division Road, east on River Road, north on 300W to home.  Not very far, but quite relaxing.

Right as I arrived home, the rain started up again for a short time.

My route took me past the Big Tree.

Took this picture last weekend on the Indiana University campus. Now the IU Arboretum, this was once the site of the football stadium and the track for the Little 500 race – where the movie Breaking Away was filmed.

I was happy to learn that Jackie Earl Haley is still working.