Miles Ridden: 9.0
Kind of a weird year, as my urge to ride greatly subsided later in the year. Still, I had many good rides, even though I missed my goal.
Total Miles Ridden: 1,427.9
Secret Goal: 1,800
Total Rides: 121
Commutes: 64
Utility: 9
Morning: 13
Other: 35
I’m surprised at how few utility rides I have. While I really enjoy riding to stores, I’m not sure why I don’t do it more.
It’s interesting that for a 2nd year in a row my miles on each bike is almost identical. 701 on the 820, and 706 on the Pilot (and a few more on a rental).
Here’s to a 2009 filled with fun rides!
I’ve ridden at least once every month for the past few years, and I was getting a little worried about getting out in December. Luckily, everything fell in place today: good weather, vacation day, free time, equipment working. Just a ride to the bridge and back – the usual – but it felt good to get out.
Even before I went to the garage, I felt out of practice as I had a tough time choosing my clothing. I ended up just a little overdressed; not bad. After I grabbed some water, pumped up the tires and checked the chain, I headed out.
The bike felt a little weird. Was the seat lower than usual? The handlebars in a different position? No, it’s just me not being used to riding. I remembered how to shift, but it took a couple of minutes to remember when to do it. (I’m even a little rusty with the blog posting routine!)
Also, I was very aware of all of the sand on the roads – especially in the bike lane.
I could have gone longer on flat ground, but the slight hills and the increasing wind let me know that I am seriously out of shape. I need to do this more often.
No matter. December is covered.
Miles Ridden: 9.0
Madison County, Indana (Anderson area) has developed an impressive collection of cycling routes called the Heartland Bikeways of Madison County. Since my wife has family in the area, we will have to arrange a few day trips where I can explore the routes while she visits.
Already planning for spring!
I haven’t been riding lately, as the weather has been two out of three from the set cold, windy, and rainy for quite a while. However, I did have some thoughts to share.
First, I almost hit a cyclist last week. When I was pulling into the cleaners to drop off some laundry, I noticed a guy (probably a college student) weaving his way from sidewalk to sidewalk as he headed towards campus. As I came up State Street in the left lane of the one way street, I saw that he had decided to ride in the lane. I slowed as I caught up with him. On the sidewalk another kid on his bike was watching the guy in the lane in front of me and decided to follow. It only took him half a revolution of his crank to jump out in front of me. I screeched to a halt about a foot from his left shoe, and I truly think that if it had not been for the lane rider that caused me to slow, I would have hit him. The young rider looked up at me, and I couldn’t help starting to laugh. He pulled his bike back onto the sidewalk and I moved on.
Today, I was one car away from a near accident. A young man on a small bike came flying out into traffic from a one way cross street – and he wasn’t going the one way that was allowed. The car in front of me had to swerve quickly to miss him. The kid then jumped onto the sidewalk and continued on.
But the worst story was in the Toronto Globe and Mail. Apparently, an altercation between a cyclist and a cabbie ended with the cabbie running over the cyclist and then fleeing the scene. The cyclist has lost a leg and is in critical condition. No word yet on what caused the argument.
Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081115.CYCLIST15/EmailTPStory/National
On a lighter note, I had a meeting last week in the office of an Executive Director, and was surprized to see a Gary Fisher bicycle in the corner. He said that during the warmer weather he rides the multi-use trails found near his location. If a 60+ year old who wears a suit every day to work can find time to ride, I should be able to do more when conditions are a little more favorable.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to get a few more rides in this month.
While pulling my lock off the bike, it caught the wire running from the cyclo-computer to the sensor, rendering it useless. Another toy to replace!
Miles Ridden:
Monday: 9.6
Tuesday: 7.2
Wednesday: 7.2
Miles Ridden: 9.0
Since I had a shift at the pre-game festivities today, I thought I would see if I still knew how this bike thing worked, as it has been too long since the last ride. Turns out, I’m pretty good at it.
Dressed for tooling around in a golf cart on a fall day, I got warm pretty quickly and was wishing that I had hooked up a pannier to hold my jacket.
I got home before the end of the 1st quarter and watched the rest of the game at home.
Miles Ridden: 7.0
It’s kind of tough to get psyched about writing a blog post about a ride when every ride seems the same.
This past week I commuted on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Each day, the morning temps were in the high 30s. This means I have to start wearing a jacket over my work clothes, full finger gloves, and even my headband/ear warmer on one day. Still, my thumbs were tingling when I arrived at the bike rack. Any colder, and I’ll have to wear my cold weather biking gear and change at the office. (I’m really lucky to have an office with a door and a place to keep my clothes on hangers. If I had to bring everything in pannier and change in the handicap stall every day, I probably wouldn’t do it.)
A plus on the way home was tailwinds each day – some strong. This makes the ride quick and fun. With temps in the high 50s, I’m wearing long sleeves and long pants for the ride home.
The biggest change is that I seem to be riding by myself. Apart from the occasional student on the sidewalk, I don’t see any other riders. Colder temps and lower gas prices have them back in the SUV for the winter.
These are my only rides this week, as I have been unable to get out on the road bike for a fun ride. My schedule has been less than cooperative, but my biggest problem is my mood. I have not been able to convince myself to get out, and I don’t know why. When I do, I enjoy it, but I have to get started first. We’ll see what happens this weekend.
Miles Ridden:
Monday: 7.2
Tuesday: 7.6
Wednesday: 7.2
