Dan on Bike

With the Indiana monsoon season in full effect – rain every day – there isn’t much else to do other than drive out to the hardware super store and hang out. At my local Menard’s, I found this electric assist bike for sale – next to a great deal on tubular hack saws.

I wonder how many bike blog posts for today are titled “Bike to Work Day”. Never let it be said that I can’t jump onto a bandwagon.

Yes, today was Bike to Work Day, and after missing it last year, I was bound and determined to ride. However, just like the last two years, my department’s monthly staff meeting was scheduled for the same day. This is a business-like affair in which I am asked to present the latest fundraising numbers, so I feel obligated to dress appropriately. Usually means that I wear a suit.

I thought I would look pretty odd pedaling down the highway in my best JC Penney greys, but I got over it quickly. (Thanks to both my wife and commenter Natalie for the encouragement) As I did a few years ago, my jacket was inside out and rolled up inside my grocery bag pannier.

Once again, the picketers at the US231 construction site got a morning greeting from me.

On the way home, I stopped to look at the new sign that had popped up at the entrance to the work area.

I’m assuming that this was in response to the union guys hanging out at the edge of the road. There’s not much room on the shoulder for everybody.

Construction sites pop up in the spring like toadstools in my front yard. In addition to the US 231 bypass work and the South River Road widening, Lindberg Road is the site of a bridge replacement. A new project has closed Harrison Street for the next several months, and State Street is once again limited to one lane in each direction.

Plenty of activity at the US 231 site, with new utility poles are going up along Newman Road. I’m not sure why they aren’t burying the lines, but I guess that’s why I’m not a civil engineer. Farther from the road, I could see earthmovers and bulldozers readying the roadbed on the curve south of State Street. At the site entrance, there was a group of union workers picketing the site. Apparently, the Michigan contractor that won the low bid is using non-union, out-of-state labor to run the heavy equipment. The protesters’ signs read “Honk For Local Labor”. Since I have no horn, I gave them a hearty “Good Morning” instead.

At lunch, I cycled down the hill and across the river to Sgt. Preston’s for the usual Thursday Preston Burger and was able to use the (fairly) new bike rack installed outside. Much better than using their parking lot sign. Afterwards, I had a doctor appointment scheduled on the south side of town, so I caught the bus from downtown to avoid riding the hills – and the resulting perspiration that ride would cause. A quick ride the last half mile got me there early. The bus ride back was just as easy, and both didn’t take much longer than a drive in my truck would have. Pretty good deal.

A late departure from work didn’t mean lighter traffic on the way home, so I had many drivers waiting patiently behind me in the restricted lanes of State Street.

Another beautiful day to be in the saddle.

BONUS QUESTION: I need to wear a suit to work tomorrow. Should I still ride? Leave your answer and comments below.

Not sure if there could have been a better day for a commute than today.

• Weather = warm, slight breeze, sunny
• Traffic = light
• Drivers = polite – no one unsafely passed me, no right hooks, even the the roadie on Newman Rd gave me a helpful “on your left”
• Bus = on time – easy trip to lunch

After successfully dodging the world’s most dangerous pothole on Sheetz St during my commute in, I went back later to photograph it – only to find that it had been crudely filled. This has been tried many times before, and I don’t expect the patch to last long.

Softball Season has Begun

The next traffic signal turned red, and the line of cars was slowing to stop. Even though I was to the right of the line of cars (and by cars, I mean trucks and SUVs with the occasional Accord) I slowed with them.

Behind me, I heard something skid quickly in the gravel before a roadie – on what may have been a fixie – shot past me in the grass to my right. Apparently, he didn’t expect me to slow down. Not a half a second behind him was his riding buddy also riding the grassy shoulder. Rider #3 passed VERY close on my left.

It all happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to react – which is good because I probably would have picked off #3 as he brushed around me. All I could do was laugh and yell “Nice move!”

Today was a fantastic May day, which called for a Sunday morning ride.

South River Road has been closed for the past two weeks, as construction has begun on the widening project.  The work will a fresh surface with a bike lane on each side.  Also, the Wabash Heritage Trail will be extended from the US231 bypass to Fort Ouiatenon as a wood chip walking trail.  The road is already a popular cycling route, and the wider lanes with a bike lane will make it safer for everyone.

Since it was the weekend, I decided to ride on the closed road, and soon found out that many others, both bikes and cars, were making the same decision.  So, other than the really poor pavement conditions, it was like a normal ride.

When I started climbing the hill on State Street, I was reminded that I haven’t ridden much this year.  My legs were complaining.

The cool air and grey skies actually made for a pretty good ride.

Well, April has been a horrible month for bike riding. Rain has come almost every day, and a few others were cold and windy. Not the best conditions for someone like me that doesn’t need much to skip a ride.

However, there were only two days where I could have ridden, but didn’t. The bad part is that there were only two days that I rode to work. There was also one weekend ride to the coffee shop. I’m hoping for better conditions in May, and I should also make myself a little less picky about conditions.

In my Goals post, I didn’t include any targets for May, so I’m going to continue my April plan of two rides per week. The weather will be better, and I hope to be more open to getting out.

Meanwhile, I’m still having trouble with my wobbly wheel.  After having Lynn and the gang fix a broken spoke, I noticed another as I was putting the wheel back on the bike.  Today, a mechanic found two others close to popping, and suggested a new wheel would be in order.  Holding off for now.

Is it true that an old wheel will cause spoke breakage?  I’m curious about the reason for that.  Please leave me a comment below if you have any thoughts on the subject.

Pretty good ride today. Coming home I had a tailwind most of the way. Fun!

However, I noticed a wobble in my back tire. I gave it a quick look, but didn’t see any broken spokes. I’ll probably take it to the shop on Saturday.

No construction update today, as the utility work going on doesn’t look like much. Hopefully, they’ll get into some serious earth moving soon.