We All Need To Relax Out There!

I went for a drive on Friday.  It’s not like I never drive… most weeks find me behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle for at least a short trip with my wife.  I don’t often get on the Beltway or interstate though.  

I drive within the law.  I drove the speed limit, left safe distance between vehicles, chose the correct lane for the speed which I was traveling,  signaled my turns and lane changes and came to complete, legal stops. 

Here’s what I noticed:  Other drivers treated me EXACTLY the way aggressive drivers treat bicycles.  They honked, yelled, threatened me and tried to run me off the road.   

I did the same thing in the car as I do with the bike.  I smiled and wished people a good day.  When I had the chance to talk to someone at a stop light, I wished them well.  It was a nice day, so that happened a few times during the drive.  

When I arrived at my destinations, I was relaxed and mellow in spite of the craziness that was going on around me.  I know being a PAL (Predictable, Alert, Lawful) isn’t easy.  It is the only way that I’ve found that gets me to where I’m going relatively safely and in a positive mood.

For more information on the PAL Ambassador Program, stop by this web site:  http://arlingtonpals.waba.org/  Sign up.  Participate.  Your world will be safer and happier as a result.

Pete

Negatives into Positives: A PAL Story

Preface:  I lead a wonderful group called the PAL Ambassadors.  PAL stands for Predictable, Alert, Lawful.  It is a cooperative program between Washington Area Bicyclist Association and BikeArlington to promote street safety and responsible behavior, while building a fun, volunteer-based community of ambassadors.  It is fun and EXTREMELY effective at making the region more safe.  You should join us!

At our monthly PAL Outreach Block Party we were talking pedestrian and cyclist safety issues at one of the more dangerous intersections in Arlington County… Lee Highway and Lynn Street in Rosslyn.  It is an event in conjunction with Arlington County’s Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety Initiative.  

Now to my story:

A woman who works nearby and walks to and from work daily was quite angry and a little bit confrontational about how cyclists behave around pedestrians.  Often times people expect me to reply to aggressive comments “with attitude”, so they open up with confrontational words and hands on their hips.  She is more afraid of cyclists than she is of cars in that intersection.  This fear and anger had built up over years!  Now she’s got someone to point it at…. ME! 

Over the years I’ve developed a very good technique for making this kind of interaction positive.  Listen —> Find common ground —> Share the solution —> Enlist their help = WIN!  

Here’s how it went:  

Listen: Pretty easy.  Be attentive.  Make eye contact.  Listen… I mean really listen.  Don’t interrupt.  Just listen!  She talked for almost a minute non-stop.  It seemed like a lot longer.  It always does.  I just listened and waited for her to relax a little and breathe.  She felt MUCH better when she got to the end of her talk.  I could see her visibly relax.

Find common ground:  I totally agreed with her, so common ground was easy to find.  Many cyclists behave badly in and around that intersection.  I slipped in a little comment that many of us in that intersection could behave a lot better. I was helped by a pedestrian that ran out into busy traffic and a motorist that ran the red light.  SHE brought up that pedestrians are horrible there too.  We have common ground and she helped find it!

Share the solution:  I gave a 15 second pitch for the PAL Ambassador program.  I had 6 amazing volunteers talking the talk and walking the walk all around me.  She could see people talking to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.  She liked it!

Enlist her help:  I handed her a Kind Bar that had a PAL Ambassador sticker on it with all the info she needed to get involved.  She got a snack and the ball is in her court to become a force for good!

WIN!  I got a smile, a sincere handshake and a new force for good in the PAL Ambassador program.  I hope she follows through.  

Everyone wins!

You should come out and join us!  

Pete

PAL — Predictable, Alert, Lawful: A Practical Application

 

 

I’m Pete and I was hit by a car last week.  It wasn’t a bad accident.  I walked away from it.  Like most accidents, it could have been avoided.  

Quick background on me: I work for Washington Area Bicyclist Association running a program with BikeArlington called the PAL Ambassadors. I work with volunteers to improve street safety by giving life to the message of being Predictable, Alert and Lawful.

What happened?  Basically the driver drove his car out of the driveway, drove around the corner, cutting it close to the left curb and was looking down.   He didn’t see that I was coming to a stop at the intersection.  He was 50’ from his house when he ran into me head-on.  

Why did it happen and what did we learn?  

First:  Morning routines can be bad!  We all do things in the morning that maximize our time to sleep and help us remember what we need for the day.  We sometimes shortcut things, multi-task, and even start moving before we’re really ready.  

Solution — Be Predictable:  This man’s morning routine made his behavior erratic and unpredictable.  What made sense to him inside his car made it impossible for him to drive safely and for me to predict where he was going or what he was doing.

Second —  Some activities require your full attention:  We all take shortcuts and multi-task to save time and make life easier.  That’s okay if you’re making toast.  It isn’t okay if you’re walking, riding or driving down the street.  Each of those tasks requires your full attention.

Solution — Be Alert:  An attentive driver would have seen the cyclist in reflective clothing with a bright headlight even though conditions were not great.  If it is dark and/or weather makes visibility challenging, it requires MORE focus, not less.

Third:  Don’t break the law for the sake of convenience.  We all pick and choose which laws we obey and which ones we ignore for the sake of convenience or expedience.  This driver broke 6 or 7 traffic laws in the first 50 feet of his commute and they combined to cause an accident.  None of the laws he broke were really a big deal.  It was how they combined together that put a cyclist on the hood of his car.

Solution — Be Lawful:  Rules of the road are there for a reason.  They save lives.  That message isn’t just for drivers, but for pedestrians and cyclists too.  

What did I learn from this?

Good people sometimes do foolish, careless things.  The guy that hit me wasn’t a jerk.  He wasn’t aggressive or rude.  He just made a few mistakes and was a little careless.  We all do things like that, though I’d hope not while driving.  

Patience, understanding and respect make bad situations much easier to deal with.  I wasn’t always mellow, polite and respectful after accidents like this.  I’ve tried every other way to behave in bad situations and being calm and kind is the only one that protects my safety and livelihood in the long run. 

This driver was amazed at how mellow I was and had no problem at all with doing what was right in the aftermath of the accident.  If I was angry and yelling, things would have gone much differently.  

Being a PAL helps, but it can’t prevent every accident.  We all need to work together to make streets safer.  I did everything right on my morning commute.  I still got hit by a careless driver.  

RESOURCES:  WABA has a great “What To Do After A Crash” Page.  Study it, learn it and make it yours BEFORE you have a crash. 

Tell me more about studded bicycle tires.

Studded tires come in many different sizes and shapes.  I’m not so much going to talk about tire sizes, because you need to get the tires that fit your bike, but I will talk about the different shapes because they define the purpose of the tire.  

1) Ice tires:  These are relatively narrow and have relatively little tread, but quite a few studs.  They are designed to roll pretty quickly on pavement and work well on ice, but do not have enough tread to really deal with snow… either soft packed or fluffy.  

Kenda Klondike: http://www.kendatire.com/en/bicycle/studded-tires/klondike-skinny-%28cross%29/    These have some tread, but not enough for deeper snow.  

Suomi purchased Nokian’s bike tire division a while back.  The W106 is their ice tire.  They also make the Ice Speed, which is their commuter tire.  These are arguably the best tires of this kind available.

http://www.suomityres.com/eng/tyres/?code=T201281&type=winter#specs_winter

2) Snow Tires:  These are often a little wider (35-45mm wide), have lots of studs and also a lot of tread lugs for dealing with loose snow.  These work GREAT in bad conditions, but are heavier and don’t roll as fast on pavement.  

Suomi purchased Nokian’s bike tire division a year or two back.  The W240 is their snow tire.  These are arguably the best available and are priced accordingly.  http://www.suomityres.com/eng/tyres/?code=T201281&type=winter#specs_winter

45Nrth Gravdal is their snow/ice tire.  Looks awesome.  I haven’t used it, but their reputation is good.  These are often difficult to get ahold of.  http://45nrth.com/products/tires/gravdal

Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires are somewhere between Snow and Ice tires.  They’re arguably the best made and most durable studded tires ever.  http://www.schwalbetires.com/node/1788

3) Mountain bike tires: These are fat.  They’re 2-4” wide at least and they have plenty of tread as well plenty of studs.  Like the snow tires, they’re great in loose snow, hard pack and ice, but they’re also GREAT on rutted ice.  They’re also good for going mountain biking, if there are icy trails.  

Suomi purchased Nokian’s bike tire division a few years ago.  The Gazza Extreme 294 is as good as it gets in this type of tire.  http://www.suomityres.com/eng/tyres/?code=T201281&type=winter#specs_winter

45Nrth Dillinger 5 fat tire:  http://45nrth.com/products/tires/dillinger-5  This is it if you’ve got a fat bike.  I used one last year and it was flawless.  It weighs a ton. 

45Nrth Nicotine is the 29er studded tire.  It is 2.35” wide and awesome.  http://45nrth.com/products/tires/nicotine

FAQ:

Can I install my own studs?  Yes and no.  Yes you can.  There is a tool and you can buy studs.  Some folks have made studded tires out of wood screws.  They don’t last.  

Which is best for me?  I always choose the Snow or MTB tires.  They work well in slush, loose snow, ice and hardback.  I don’t care that they’re slower on pavement than the pure ice tires.  If you never ride in loose snow or bumpy ice, then the ice tires will work well for you.  In the DC suburbs, the ice never stays smooth for long.  Go with something that can handle snow, ice and bumps.

Ice Riding with Studded Tires 101

Riding a bicycle in ice and snow can be a daunting task.  Hopefully this blog post and a good set of studded tires will help.  Bicycle tires equipped with carbide studs have been around for many decades.  For people new to snow and ice riding, they make it possible.  The techniques that you learn when riding with studded tires will help you be a better bicycle rider in all conditions.

Here's a short list of things that will help.  It is not, by any means, exhaustive.  Please add to it if you'd like!!!

1) Relax.  Chill.  Everything is gonna be alright.  Ice and gravity want to make things happen quickly.  You need to resist the temptation to act quickly.  Sudden, quick movements will break even studded tires free on the ice and then gravity takes over.  If you relax and move slowly, you’re much more likely to stay upright and let the bike do its work.  The bike wants to roll straight and upright.  Let it do its work.

2) Studded tires do not instantly make you a superhero.  I know that this sounds like a complete contradiction to item #1, but it really isn’t.  Studded tires give you SOME traction where there isn’t much to conventional tires.  They are not, however, infallible.  You need to use them as a tool to guide the bike.  Proper technique is what makes the bike go where you want it to more than studded tires do.  Studded tires just keep you upright long enough to learn good technique.

3) Avoid the ruts:  Melt and freeze cycles mean that ice will get grooves and ruts in it.  If you drop a tire into a rut, the groove in the ice will guide where your bike goes regardless of where you try to steer.  This can cause a problem when the rut takes your bike one direction and your weight goes a different direction.  If your wheel goes into a rut, that’s not the end of the world.  You’ll learn to deal with it.  Remember #1 (Relax!  Chill!)  and #6 (Weight Control will get you out of the rut.)  

4) Momentum is your friend:  There will be a time when you start to feel comfortable on your bike with studded tires.  You’ll get #1 and #6 down to a science.  This is the point where you figure out that riding a little faster makes it easier for the bike to do its job.  

5) Brakes only slow you down:  When traction is high (on pavement and dirt) the brakes become a security blanket.  When in doubt, hit the brakes because they’ll fix a lot of problems.  When traction is hard to find (on ice and snow) the brakes cause many more problems than they solve.  Grabbing a fist full of brake is something that causes the kind of quick action that gets rid of #1 and #6.  You don’t relax and you are no longer in control of where your weight is taking you.  

6) Weight Control:  Steering on ice and snow is more about how you weight your handlebars than how you turn your handlebars.  When traction is hard to find, the best way to steer to the left is to put more weight on your left hand on your handlebars.  This puts the studs on the left side of the tire on edge and starts your turn to the left.  It doesn’t happen quickly, but remember item #1:  Relax.  Chill.  Everything is gonna be alright.  

7) Learn somewhere safe:  Multi-use trails are great for learning how to ride on ice and snow.  They’re not always plowed. When they’re icy, you’re more likely to be the only one out on the trail.  You’ve often got plenty of escape routes.  When in doubt, ride into the soft snow off the side of the trail.  You’ll get a little more traction and also have a soft place to land if the worst happens and you crash.  The important thing is to plan ahead and know where your escape routes are.  Keep an eye on the trail ahead and to the side.  

8) Have fun! 

Don't Forget To Think... And Help Others Think Too!

Yup!  That's kind of an odd name for this blog post.  I recently had an experience riding near home that prompted this Facebook post and tweet:

Riding up Annandale Road today. ...
Dude in a Benz: Get the F%#* off the road!
Me (in a cheery, happy voice): Oh! No thank you. I'll just keep riding legally. Have a great day!
Dude in a Benz: Uhhh... Have a good day.

I'm guessing the guy either wasn't thinking when he first yelled at me... or at least wasn't thinking very well.  He sure as hell stopped to think before he drove off though. 

Things sometimes happen quickly when we're riding.  When someone passes aggressively our instinctive reaction is to yell at them or use hand gestures to express what we're feeling.  It happens to all of us and it is very hard to resist.  It also is usually an instinctive reaction, rather than a thought process. 

Doing so sometimes feels good for a moment, but we lose an opportunity when we do that. 

1)  We lose an opportunity to challenge the way people think about cyclists;
2)  We make it easy for people to drive without thinking and behave in a similar fashion again;
3)  Most of all, we make it easy for our actions on the bike to be guided without the use of thinking.

I'm not saying don't ever yell at motorists.  Sometimes yelling alerts a driver to our presence.  Use that voice for safety, not as a weapon.  The difference is subtle, but significant.

Thanks for reading!  Have a great bike ride.

Pete

I Love My Commute. Do You Love Yours?

Instructions for how to love your commute.

Follow Me to Certain Death!

Those who know me well, know that I enjoy a long, challenging bike ride.  I’m very, very fortunate to have good friends who hear what I have in mind, tell me that it is probably impossible and definitely a stupid idea, then agree to join me.  Better yet, they come up with wonderful/stupid ideas on their own and I get to tag along. 

My friend Bilsko and I have been wanting to do a particular ride for about 18 months.  Our planned date last year was interrupted by him breaking his hip and me breaking my wrist two days later.  Here we are 13 months later and we’re ready to ride.  

The ride is simple.  We’re going to ride to Friday Coffee Club like we always do.  The difference is that we’re going to start a day early and start from Pittsburgh.  Stuart thought this sounded like fun, so he’s going to join us.  Lydia and Tina are joining us in Cumberland Maryland for the night time portion of the ride.  

That works out to about 335 miles in a day.  

Join us on Friday morning.  We’ll be at White’s Ferry at 4am, Great Falls at around 6:15 and in Georgetown by 7:30.  We’ll be at ME Swing Coffee House at 17th and G, NW a little after that.

When I do a ride like this, I usually raise money for a local charity.  The charity is a good one.  TC Williams International Academy has a scholarship program to send a deserving student to college.  This is a program near and dear to my heart, since it is a charity that my wife helped create.  

Here’s the info: 


Achieving the Dream Scholarship:  http://www.internationalsachieve.org/  To donate, designate "specific scholarship" and type "achieving" in the special instructions block.

#StopCampaign

WABA is starting a new project in Old Town Alexandria called #StopCampaign.  Basically we’re helping promote lawful cycling at major intersections in the area.  

Alexandria City is a an area that is working very hard to make the streets better for cyclists.  They really need to!  The area is growing in popularity, attracting more people every year.  The amount of parking places and driving lanes can’t keep pace.  Alexandria is working to support other ways to get around town.  

The city faces significant resistance to their efforts to improve cycling, as was evident during the battle to get bike lanes put in on King Street.  One of the biggest things that cycling opponents can use to strike down efforts to improve bike infrastructure is the behavior of cyclists at stop signs.  

Please consider being a part of this project.  There are many great things you can do. 

1) On the simplest level, please pay attention to traffic signs in Alexandria and yield to pedestrians.  

2) Consider taking some time out of your afternoon and picking up a sign to help convince others to ride lawfully.

3) Spread the word of the published Facebook events to attract others to join us.  

4) When you see us doing one of these events, snap a photo on your phone and post it on Twitter and tag it with @WABADC and #StopCampaign 

 

Some things about this... This campaign depends on positive interactions.  We are NOT yelling at cyclists who don't stop.  We ARE talking positively to all cyclists and thanking the ones that stop.  Nothing good happens when someone yells at a cyclist for failing to heed a stop sign.

Thanks for taking a little time to read and contribute.  

Here’s the first public event:  https://www.facebook.com/events/529319217213117/

Best wishes,

Pete

From the Don't Try This At Home File

Dude Who Has Been Harassing Me By Driving Aggressively:  *HONK* *VROOOOM*  (Passed with about a foot of space between his mirror and my hip when he could have left me 6 feet of space.)

I noticed that, as usual, he had a female in the car next to him (hereafter known as "Wife") and some kids in the back seat.  Windows are down and he’s stopped at a rather long light in front of me.  

Me:  *Talking to the driver through the passenger window* "So this is how you’re going to end things with me? "

DWHBHMBDA: “Huh?"

Me:  “Fine with me.  Go back to your suburban life, wife and kids.  I”ll cherish the time we had together enough for both of us."

Wife: *Laughing*

DWHBHMBDA:  “What the hell?"

Me:  “I’ll bet your name isn’t even ‘Jerry’."

Wife:  “It isn’t.”   *Laughting*

Me: “Fine!”  *I turn right on red… legally*

Wife:  *Bursts out laughing*

I wish I could say that DWHBHMBDA did something dramatic… or that his kids said, “Uhhhmm Dad???”   I was gone before he got his green light. 

New Arlington Blvd Bike Path

It’s a new bike path…. big deal!  Actually this one is kind of a big deal.  Building new bike infrastructure is all about connecting transportation corridors.  There are almost always good, safe routes to get from point A to point B.  Sometimes these established routes take people far enough out of their way that they take the quicker, more dangerous route, or choose another mode of transportation.  

So when a new bike lane or bike path is created that completes a transportation route, it is kind of a big deal.  

In Arlington, Virginia, Pershing Drive has been an established East/West route for quite a few years.  Unfortunately it kind of dumped off at Arlington Blvd with a rather sketchy frontage road/sidewalk lane to complete the route into Rosslyn or Washington, DC.  People used it, but it was never easy, or as safe as it could be.  

UNTIL NOW!!!!

The wonderful folks in Arlington County added a separated bike path that connects Pershing Drive and the Arlington Blvd. Frontage road.  It is less than a mile of path, but it completes a cycling corridor that connects a neighborhood where many people depend on bicycles to Downtown Washington, DC with a route that is easy, safe and fun to ride.  That’s the holy grail of bicycle infrastructure…. easy, safe and fun.  

The people stuck in bumper to bumper traffic might catch a glimpse of happy people on bicycles on that path and get the idea that riding a bike to work might not be so impossible.  They’ll have plenty of time to watch the bicycles pass them by.

Thanks Arlington County, BikeArlington and all the volunteers that have pushed for better bicycling in this region.  Y’all make me happy.

Pete

Wash Cycle: http://www.thewashcycle.com/arlington-boulevard-trail/
Arlington County Bike Map:   http://www.bikearlington.com/tasks/sites/bike/assets/File/Bikemap_front.pdf
BikeArlington:   http://www.bikearlington.com/

Choose your thoughts wisely. Your actions will follow them.

I’ve heard that Courtland Milloy wrote a column in the Washington Post that encouraged violence toward cyclists.  
What was in Mr. Milloy’s column?  I honestly don’t know for sure, because I haven’t read it. Nor do I intend to.  I’ve read many responses to it… enough that I get the gist.  

If you take it at face value, Mr. Milloy uses ignorance and an over-inflated sense of self importance to promote hatred and violence against people that he doesn’t understand.  "Bicyclists are in front of me.  Many of them don’t obey traffic laws.  I’m important and need to be at the front of the line.  We should all be violent toward cyclists.  We’re justified in feeling this way."

Using ignorance and self-importance to promote an “us versus them” atmosphere and justify hatred and violence is nothing new.  But it is a thought that we should challenge before we make it our own.  It is the same thought patterns that have resulted in the most horrific actions taken by mankind over the centuries.  I’m not saying that Mr. Milloy is on the same level as those who took part in the Holocaust, Rwandan Genocide or the abuses at Abu Graib prison, but the roots of his thought patterns have a lot in common with those used to justify those dark times in human history.

If DON’T take Mr. Milloy’s column at face value, then things get worse.  We see things like this in the media quite often.  Writers and editors look for someone outwardly hate and vilify for personal and corporate gain. Since hatred based upon gender, sexual preference and race is less sympathetic in the media than it once was, they can pick on someone else:  Cyclists, for example.  Some readers will agree.  There will be a large, but acceptably offensive public discussion and people will read the awful column.  The column’s web site will get lots of hits and the advertisers will be thrilled.  When a suitable amount of outrage has been expressed, the newspaper can publish a well thought out article countering this column, and lots of people will read that and people will think the newspaper is balanced and fair again.  Best of all, the newspaper gets LOTS of hits and the advertisers will be happy.  

I have friends and acquaintances that work at The Washington Post.  I apologize for taking such a realistic view of their publication.  Stories like this happen once every year or two… sometimes in print, sometimes on radio talk shows.  They blow up, stir up, blow over and fade away.  Advertisers love it!  Not too many really think that it can do much harm.  

I chose to live my life differently.  My world is bigger than me… much bigger.  It includes humanity, which I love, even though people do stuff that I don’t like.  I’m able to love the people, while not loving some of their actions.  It makes forgiveness possible.  I’m fortunate that there are people who forgive me when I’m wrong.  I live in a world where I work pretty hard to have positive interactions with EVERYONE that I meet.  I don’t always succeed, but I always try and I get it right the vast majority of the time.  I arrive at home at night and keep score of my day based upon how many people I treated fairly and kindly.  I rejoice and am grateful for every one who did the same for me.  I learn from the times that I don’t do so well and improve next time.

Sounds  a lot better to me than being ignorant, self-important, hateful and violent.  

Please take a moment to choose how you’re going to live your life tomorrow.  Make that choice wisely, and in accordance with your highest sense of right.  It makes a huge difference to me how you choose.

Thanks!  I love you.

Pete 

My Beast of Burden

I’ve had a bunch of questions about my main commuter bike lately thanks to photos that I’ve had on Flickr and Twitter.  It is a rather odd bike, so I’ll lay it out here.  This is the bike I use most often for doing advocacy work for Washington Area Bicyclist Association.  I pull their advocacy trailer and carry all the stuff I need for doing outreach events.  It is not unusual for me to have 4 panniers on this bike or the trailer out back.  I don’t often do both at the same time.  It is, after all, a fixie.

Frame/Fork: Steelwool is the builder.  Tweed is the model.  They’re Canadian.  I don’t think it is made anymore.  It is lugged Tange Prestige with an Eccentric Bottom Bracket so that it can be run fixie or single speed.  There are brake mounts for discs and cantilever brakes.  It is generally a road geometry.  There is room for 35mm tires with full fenders and enough rack mounts to make it a good beast of burden.  Even with fenders I don’t have toe overlap.

Cockpit: All selected for durability — Headset = King NoThreadSet, Stem = Thomson X-4 mountain bike stem, Bars = Zipp Service Course.  The bars are my favorites for comfort.  I actually use Shimano Ultegra shift/brake levers.  The shifters are not hooked up to anything.  I broke my wrist last year and shifting the front derailleur works like physical therapy for me.  I can just ride around shifting all day.  My wrist is MUCH stronger as a result.  I use an Avid BB7 Road front disc brake.  It is super noisy when wet or humid.  The braking power is great though.  

Wheels: They’re simple and durable.  Paul Component Engineering hubs with Velocity Deep V rims.  32 spokes laced 3 cross in back, 2 cross and radial up front.   The wheels  are many, many years old and have been on at least 4 different bikes.  Continental Gatorskin tires… 700x32.  They’ve got almost 10,000 miles on them, so it is time for them to be replaced.

Drivetrain: Ultegra crank, Sugiono chainrings, Surly double fixie cog.  SRAM 8-speed chain.  There are actually 2 different gear ratios that I can use.  The chainrings are 46/44 the cogs are 17/19.  Since there is 2 teeth difference between the respective rings and cogs, they use the same chain length.  I just drop the rear wheel, move the chain over, then reinstall the wheel.  I’ve never actually used the 44/19 combination before.  Pedals are Time ATAC mountain bike pedals.

Seating: Thomson Seatpost (the most durable and light that I know of.  Specialized Toupe saddle.  I know it is a race saddle, but it is arguably the most comfortable I’ve used.  I spent 3-5 hours a day on this bike and it needs to be comfy.

Other stuff:  Racktime Racks: They’re light, durable and have decent carrying capacity.  Racktime makes many different bags and baskets that click into the top of each rack.  I use the large basket in back and a small laptop bag up front.  I can use the basket in back and still hook up panniers.  I usually ride with front panniers only because on a fixie, it makes it easier to get out of the saddle to climb if I don’t have weight on the back of the bike.  

VeloOrange fenders: They are reasonably priced and give great coverage.  They don’t rattle.  They just keep me dry.

Exposure lights: They’re durable and bright.  They’ve been with me for years, get used daily and have never failed me. 

What’s next: I’m thinking of setting up a dynamo lighting system on this bike.  It would be nice to never have to charge the batteries on the light and also have a source of USB power to charge my phone or GPS while on the bike.  I probably need to rebuild the wheels.  They’re old and would benefit from new spokes and nipples.  Very few of my bikes are ever finished.  This one is one of the most complete.  There’s not much left for me to do with it. 

Questions?

I raced the rain

I raced the rain home tonight.

As the clouds got darker, I decided to take the long way home. Still no rain.

I stopped early for stop lights and waited a little extra at stop signs. Still no rain.

I went out of my way to get more cat food, which I don't immediately need. It got darker, but still no rain.

My hopes peaked as the wind picked up and temps dropped. Still no rain.

Got home.... still not a drop even though the clouds were black and it was as dark as night. I was grumpy.

Luckily my wife wasn't home and I could go to the store for wine. I FINALLY got dumped on royally on my ride home from the store. Soaking wet and with a HUGE smile on my face, I pulled the bike into the barn.

I WON!!!

It's okay to not ride in the rain.

Tomorrow is Bike To Work Day and there’s a 100% chance of rain.  

I love riding in the rain.  TONS of people do it.  It is normal and fun.  You should be careful and visible, but a little planning can make it safe and fun.  I have been mountain bike snorkeling in Cherry Creek Reservoir and ridden with through every imaginable form of downpour, including Hurricane Sandy.  When my new panniers claimed to be waterproof, I submersion tested them.  While I don’t recommend riding through a hurricane, I do recommend going for a ride in the rain!  I’m relatively sure that the human body is 100% waterproof.  I’ve never heard of anyone melting when they get wet.  

That said, I know it is unfamiliar for some people.  If riding in the rain is a small jump on the adventure scale for you, please consider riding to work tomorrow!  I think you’ll be surprised how much fun it is.  

That said, I know that it may be a step too far on the adventure ride scale for some new riders.  It’s okay to take your normal mode of transportation to work tomorrow.  Pick a day in the next week or two to ride.  Drop me a line if you’d like some company riding to work.  I’ll ride with you!

Have a great day!

Pete

Let's Talk About Mentors

The author Terry Pratchett had one of his characters describe herself this way, “I’m made up of everyone that has ever changed the way I think.”.  For better or for worse, it rings true with me and I love that description. It fits in well with this topic.  

I had a good day yesterday.  I was reminded of one of my bike mentors when I was a little kid.  Paolo ran an old school bike shop in Denver from the mid 60s through the mid 80s.  When I’m talking old school, I mean old country, old school.  He carried a few lines of complete bikes, but his real business was custom steel race bikes.  His business was based on personal relationships with families like Compagnolo, Colnago, DeRosa and Pinarello.  He did his own importing by going to Italy twice per year to talk with these people and make the deals.  

What triggered this memory for me?  I was a trouble-making little kid on a BMX bike when I ran into Paolo.  What amazed me was that, like many Italian Masters, he wore a perfectly white, starched dress shirt to work every day.  Even the cleanest of bikes get greasy and oily.  Paolo never had a spot on his shirt…. NEVER!  He could listen to a customer for a few minutes, size you up with an experienced eye, and tell you exactly what bike you SHOULD have.  He’d then work with you to find the  bike that got you as much of the qualities of the ideal bike as you could afford.  

The first time I met him, he told me, “Only bike for you…. Colnago Master.”  I was riding a home-made BMX race bike that I’d cobbled together with parts that I could find, trade, and dumpster dive for.  I was 11 years old.  He was, of course, 100% right.  To this day, the only bike for me is a Colnago Master.  I still can’t afford one.  I will someday.  

He saw something in me that day that he liked.  By the end of the week I was sweeping the floors and taking out the trash for his shop.  By week two, he was showing me simple jobs around the shop that I could do that would make his life easier.  They were often things that he didn’t want to do… or things that, if he slipped up, might have gotten his shirt dirty.  But for every 5 or 6 dirty jobs that I’d do, he’d show me how to do something cool and inspiring.  I was hooked.  

I didn’t know it at the time, but this was the beginning of a formal apprenticeship…. old world-style.  I an hour or 5 in Paolo’s shop every day I could for many, many years.  I learned that it isn’t just what you do, but how you do it that matters.  I’ll never have his eye or his ability to stay clean in a sometimes dirty business, but I have that vision to strive for.  I learned to listen and learn every day.  I learned to give openly of myself with no expectation of return… something that I learned from many people over my years.  I learned that is the way to become the kind of person I want to be.

Last night I posted the clean shirt story on Facebook because I’d had a “clean shirt in the face of some very grimy bikes” kind of day.  My shirt was a vintage bowling shirt made of 100% rayon, but it was one of the rare days that I emerged from the shop clean when I should have been covered in grease.  By morning that blurb had 70+ likes and a bunch of comments.  That told me that I should write about it more and get your stories.  

I’ll post a link to this on Facebook, Twitter and the Washington Area Bike Forum.  I want to hear your stories about great mentors that have influenced you.  I want to know who changed the way you think.  :D  Please post a reply here, on Facebook, Twitter or the Forum.  

Lots of love to you!

Pete

Good and Bad Excuses for Not Signing Up For Bike To Work Day.

There are good excuses and bad excuses for not taking part in Bike To Work Day.  I’ll start with the bad.  

I met a fellow at the intersection of Gallows Road and the W&OD Trail today.  It is a light that often takes 4-5 minutes to give a signal to let cyclists and pedestrians to walk.  

Me: Have you signed up for Bike To Work Day yet? 
Dude:  I’m okay.
Me: Cool!  BTWD isn’t about just you though. It is about making cycling better for everyone.
Dude:  Really.  I’m okay.
Me:  Do you like how long you have to wait at this stop light?
Dude: It doesn’t bother me. 
Dude behind dude:  It pisses me off!  What can I do to help???
Me: Signing up for BTWD helps all of the local bike organizations by getting a count of the people who commute by bike.  It is a way to stand up and say “I ride my bike for transportation… not just for sport or for fun.”  
Dude behind dude:  I’ll sign up.  
Chick behind Dude behind dude: Me too!
Me to Dude:  You still okay?
Dude: I’m okay.
Dude behind Chick: I’ll sign up! 

Jump forward 2 minutes.  I’ve given fliers to the other 10 people waiting for the light.  I walk back up to Dude.  

Me: Have a great ride!  
Dude:  I’m okay.

Now I don’t really expect to get enthusiastic support from every cyclist for Bike To Work Day… or any other event or initiative that I’m talking about.  This guy definitely had a view that we see a lot in the area… Complete and total focus on himself.  It is cool if you don’t want to talk about cycling stuff.  I get that.  People want their space.  I do tend to push a few buttons to make a point from time to time.  I didn’t expect this guy to change his song after the initial contact.  Him not changing his song actually helped me talk to the other people in line.  

Let’s get onto a good excuse to not sign up for BTWD.

I met a doctor tonight.  He’s a trauma specialist that works specifically with patients that have nerve damage.  HIs skills are unique and he moves between many hospitals every day… sometimes by helicopter because every moment he can save getting to a patient means that he has a higher probability of saving a life or a limb.  

There were others that had great reasons why they couldn’t sign up.  For me, “I’m okay” doesn’t really qualify in that list.  

If we meet face to face and I ask you to sign up and it is something you really don’t want to do, then just lie to me.  Tell me you’ve already signed up.  I’ll thank you and leave you alone.  Better yet, just sign up.   You won’t have to lie and you’ll feel good that you’ve helped the community.  You might even have a bit of fun.  

Nothing wrong with that at all.  

I love and respect you all…. even Dude.  :D

Pete

Fairfax County Police GET STUFF DONE!!! Thanks!

Every time it snows this person, who I love and respect, parks his Mercedes in the crosswalk that blocks the W&OD trail and makes it dangerous for people to cross the street.  They are forced to walk in traffic. 

Here's the guy.

I called Fairfax Police.  I got the number from 411 and asked for the non-emergency Fairfax Police phone number.  The dispatcher asked for my name, phone number, location and a description of the car.  She thanked me and was SUPER nice.  It took less than 2 minutes to report the guy.  (I later found out that 411 connected me to the emergency dispatch line... but that didn't seem to matter.)

We rode back past an hour later and VOILA!  The car had been moved!

It is now MUCH safer to ride, walk and ski on the trail.  Thank you Fairfax County Police!  You have proved yourself AWESOME again!

When you see something like this, please take a few moments to take action.  You'll make the world a better place... even if it is just a small corner of the world.

Love,

Pete

Dairy Queen Errandonneuring Metric Century

The Nonsense:

Dairy Queen:  This comes from the DQ abbreviation for “disqualification”.  

I tend to do ride challenges in a very different way in which they were intended… thus I’m often “Dairy Queened” on them.  Who can forget Coffeeneuring from a few years back?  The challenge was to include a lovely coffee stop on your weekend endurance rides and document them with photos and blog entries.  I took a bit of editorial license and changed it to “CatFood-enneuring”.  I did a series of endurance rides in which I stopped in some lovely, small town in the hinterlands to buy cat food.   I never published the results because I figured it might be interpreted as mocking what I actually thought was a lovely challenge worthy of serious effort.  



The Not-Nonsense
The Challenge at Hand:  Errandonneuring.  Here’s how Gypsibug designed for the randonneuring community: http://chasingmailboxes.com/2014/03/04/winter-challenge-the-errandonnee-2014-edition/

Basically it motivates people to do errands by bike.  Awesome and beautiful quest!  This year I decided to take the challenge a bit seriously.  I had a busy day and decided to document all of my errands.  I went out of my way to do a few extras in my day on the bike to see what I could actually complete.   

1)  Coffee: (Coffee or Dessert Control) at SoHo near Dupont Circle: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12982200084/


2) National Bike Summit Congressional Ride (Community Meeting Control) near the capitol. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12981840315

3) Hair Cut (Personal Hygiene Control) in Falls Church, VA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12981774845

4) Lunch (Breakfast or Lunch Control) Celebrity Delly in Falls Church, VA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12982222194

5) Mountain Bike Advocacy Meeting (Community Meeting) Falls Church, VA:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12982218994

6) Grocery Store (Grocery Shopping) Falls Church, VA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12982215884

7) Library to return books (Library or reading Control) Fairfax, VA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12981794345

8) Cat food shopping (Misc Shopping (Not Groceries)) Falls Church, VA : http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12981792215

9) Bike Shop for tubes and CO2 (Bike Shop Control) Falls Church, VA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12981930843

10) Are shorts in stock? (Misc Shopping (Not Groceries)) Arlington, VA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12982203964

10b) Cat Toy Shopping (No control — I already have 2 Misc Shopping Controls)  Arlington, VA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12982192694

11) Commute to work (Work Control) Adams Morgan, DC:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12981914463

12) Dinner (Dinner Control) Adams Morgan, DC:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12981913723

12b) Banking (No Control.  I’ve already done 3 Misc Shopping Controls) Falls Church, VA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12981912893

13) Frozen Yogurt (Coffee or Dessert Control) Falls Church, VA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12982190074

14) I need WINE after a day like this (Grocery Shopping Control) Falls Church, VA: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/12981769705


Sooooo... After all of that, why am I Dairy Queen on this challenge?????  It doesn't start until tomorrow.  D'OH!


I really just wanted to show what is possible. :D   Here's the route: http://www.strava.com/activities/118344857


Enjoy this challenge.  It is wonderful!  Go ride your bike!


Pete

Crosswalks and the Snow on the W&OD Trail

The Washington and Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) is mainstay of recreation, fitness and commuting infrastructure for people who live in the Virginia Suburbs of Washington DC.  There has been a lot of talk about plans to plow the snow and ice off of the trail since it really gets used year-round.  Arlington has done a WONDERFUL job of plowing the trail this year and in many years past.  They are truly leading the pack in that respect. 

The problem exists, however, that large walls of snow and ice block access to the trail at crosswalks and make it EXTREMELY dangerous for people to use the trail, even when it is snowy.  As I said above, the trail gets used year-round... even when it is snow and ice covered. In good weather and conditions, thousands of people per day use the path.  When it is snowy and icy like this, the numbers reduce to the hundreds.  Their use of the trail is evident. 

Yesterday and today I rode past some of these crosswalks to document what they look like.  Hopefully this can help raise awareness that even if we don't plow the trail, putting some manpower at clearing the walls of ice at the crosswalks would be a GREAT safety improvement for everyone using the trail. 

THIS is the interactive trail map published by the Friends of the W&OD, the volunteer group that helps oversee the trail.  The map will help give you references to the photos that I've posted. 

Arlington has plowed and cleared the crossings from Mile 0 near Shirlington out to Sycamore Street, near East Falls Church Metro.  My quest starts there and heads west through Vienna, VA

Here are the photos from my findings:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrogringo/sets/72157641137687124/