Dan on Bike

I like how the RunKeeper app produces an elevation graph, like this one for my little trip into town.

I also like how there is no vertical scale so no one can tell that the difference between highest and lowest is only 80 feet.

Forgot to post this photo from my New Orleans trip:

Great way to carry her bass around town.

I wish that I would have been able to take a ride while I was on vacation last week in New Orleans. It looks like a good place to bike around.

It’s not surprising that I saw many cyclists during my stay. Several places will rent bicycles to tourists like myself, and they will ride around the French Quarter without a care in the world. The combination of narrow streets and many pedestrians slows the autos way down, and it seems that the drivers expect people with no idea how to ride safely will be flying the wrong way on a one way or on the wrong side of the street. It’s a safe place to be stupid.

Outnumbering the tourists by far were the locals – riding to work or on errands. These folks know how to be safe, and the obvious lack of separate bike lanes means that they were joining other traffic on the streets quite well – and with an almost unanimous lack of helmets. I also liked how the streetcar median on Canal St. is also a de-facto bike freeway.

Next time I visit the city ( and that will happen – there was so much more we wanted to do ), I will definitely rent some wheels and head out. Probably I will leave the tourist area and see more of the city. Maybe take the ferry across to Algiers Point and see the west bank.

However, I did learn that in the French Quarter, it is difficult to find a place to park. Narrow sidewalks and high numbers of pedestrians leaves little room for a rack. Even some of the trees and poles are off limits.

Have you cycled in NOLA? Please share your experiences in the comments. (I’d also like to hear about any good places to eat. It is my goal to never repeat visit a restaurant.)

It’s only my second day of commuting this year, and I already feel like I’m back in the groove. The hill wasn’t so bad, I wore my street clothes and shoes, I was comfortable on the tight shoulder of SR26, I was silently thinking creative curses towards the drivers passing too close and the students walking in front of me, I successfully dodged that huge pothole just around the curve on Sheets street, and I calmly shook my head in disbelief after the young lady in the blue Toyota almost caught me in a right hook on the way home. (Another cyclist watching from across the intersection smiled and said, “It happens sometimes”)

I’m a commuter again.

Construction Update

These pipes were dumped at the site over the weekend. I’m wondering if they are to be used as conduit for buried utility lines.

My Internet friend Kelly Orange painted an orange wheeled bicycle as part of a mural in Costa Rica.

Have you seen the Silly Cyclists videos from Gaz545 in Croydon? Fun to watch, and a little educational as well. I hope I never see myself in something like this.

This area of SR26 along my work route is soon to be the location of a bypass around the west side of town.  First to go were the trees and fence lines, which make it look like a squad of tanks went through.  The dirt movers will be along soon, and at that point I may have to alter my route (although the other main route is at the other end of the bypass and will be under construction at the same time).  It will certainly be an interesting summer.

I think I’ll try to document the work as I ride by this commuting season.

Oh, and by the way, the March goal?  MET!!

Sitting at the coffee shop this AM, I thought about goals for the upcoming riding season. Long time readers will know that I used to be quite the rider and have really slacked off the past couple of years.

Instead of overreaching, I’ve decided to set one doable goal for the year: Become the bike commuter I used to be three years ago.

Here’s the breakdown:

• March: Ride to work at least once. With a vacation coming up at the end of the month, that means sometime in the next two weeks.
• April: Ride to work twice a week. This means eight times in the month. Should be easy.
• June, July, August: Three times a week. Gives me a chance to work in the suit days and avoid nasty weather, but still a good workout.
• September: Same as April – twice a week
• October: Commute once a week.
• November: Just like March, I’ll try to get one in

It’s likely that I’ll work in some utility rides, and maybe a few recreational ones, but those are gravy on top of the goal.

Notice that I have not promised to post more here, but I have a feeling that an increase in rides will foster an increase in words.

What are your goals for this year?

Just setup this blog on WordPress – moving from the Blogger platform.  There may still be a few kinks to work out, so please be patient with me.

One of the many abandoned bikes at Purdue.  This one is in front of an Indian Restaurant in the village area, and is looking pretty rusty.