Nice front flip

RoadID ordered

Not that I want to be found on the side of the road in a compromising situation, but if I pass out and can't remember simple like my name I want someone to be able to read it to me.  I ordered the Ankle ID instead of the original Wrist ID.  I wanted yellow, but black will suit me just well.  :)  When I did the triathlon in May I had to wear the ankle ID to track my time through the transition zones and finish line.  I don't like wearing watches.  I think it would be awesome to have a really cool $300 lightweight, titanium and black, altimeter, thermometer, something or other.  But they just drive me nutz.  But in May I didn't even notice the ankle ID I wore, except when I was swimming.  I kept worrying that I would lose it while I was swimming.  That is why I didn't swim too fast. :P

If anyone wants to order one I can save you a buck, literally.

Coupon Number: ThanksJon826508

The coupon is good for $1 off any Road ID order placed by 09/20/2010. To order, simply go to RoadID.com or click the link below:

http://www.RoadID.com/?CID=ThanksJon826508

Cheers,

Coolest Dog Ever

Saidi (pronounced: Say-dee) is the coolest dog ever.  She is an 8 month old Brittany.  This image is one of the few ever taken of her actually being still.  She isn't hyper like a Jack Russel but she is always checking stuff out or sleeping.  I can not wait to take her on some trail runs this fall.

The Proverbial Question: Bucket in front or back? - part 2

If you want to go classy then CycleWorks has your old-school answer.  I can picture this toting good in the Sherlock Holmes days of yore.  Bodies and flowers alike where transported in these dark machines.

Getting back to trailers, I've seen this particular model advertised a great deal.  I like the idea a lot.  Your bike is still light and easily balanced.  Your gear is strapped away.  And one thing about trying to use your kids bike trailer is you run into the trouble with a flat bottom.  There is not float bottom if the kid trailer is put together with the walls up.  You have to deal with seats and stuff rolling out of the seats.  Or you can try and dump stuff in the rear under the seats.  I would really like to have one of the trailers shown above if I were to actually use one all the time.  I think that this would have to be my pick.  Although the one thing I would add is a railing around the edge just as a piece of mind.  The railing I'm talking about is what you see on all the recumbent cyclists trailers.

That kind of railing probably wouldn't do much if I had a system like on the trailer on top, but it gives that pieces of mind.

Of course, I could just fashion my own to fit my stylish needs.  This would work great for all those picnics my wine club takes.  Just kidding.  I don't go on picnics.  :)

I know that this one is on a Vespa or some other scooter, but it is classy.  If it is built out of some sort of aluminum frame and rigid but thin plastic I could see it being towed around behind a bike on a bar hopping run.  Gotta keep those in-between drinks cold!  Am I right?

So, overall I think I'm leaning towards a flat trailer right now.  If I get to California again I'll test drive a Mundo out.  But till then I'm not sure if I'll ever tow enough gear to need a utility bike.  Not while I live where I live at least for now.  But gosh.  The dream lives on!  Any houses for sale in San Jose?

Happy pedaling,

The Proverbial Question: Bucket in front or back? - part 1

And when I say proverbial, I am of course referring to Isiah 40:15.

Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.


Well.  Not exactly.  Now, IF I actually lived in the city and used my bike for more errands than I currently do I could see myself getting a utility bike (with a bucket no doubt).  But the question comes, do you push, pull or strap onto the back your gear? 

Currently I have the bicycle trailer that totes my two tots.  I can see that I could easily use it for grocery runs or any other crazy errand in which I could fit objects in its blue and yellow walls.  Although, in a pinch, I could fold the walls down flat and strap something extra large to it if need be.  The great thing about the bicycle trailer is that you can add the trailer component to the rear axle of any bicycle.  I've pulled the kids behind my Cannondale Silk 400 (seen above), my road bike or my mountain bike.  It all depends on what trip is going on.  When we go camping it is the mountain bike.  When it is my and the kids at the playground at Lake Hefner, I'll tow them around the lake behind the road bike once while they eat their lunch.  I think it is really easy to tow a trailer behind you.  And I've loaded mine up with close to 80 lbs of kids and misc.  Your movements do not need to compensate for the extra weight.  You just fight the weight with the extra resistance.  But what about riding with gear strapped directly onto you?

The gent over at Urban Simplicity has a nice Yuba Mundo that he straps all kinds of stuff to.  It has a great deck on the back and the frame compensates for the cargo.  He has kept track of all the different configurations of stuff he has carried.  At last count I saw he bridged 200 recently. 

Continuing the arguement for gear on back is Madsen Cycles.  They have the bucket option that I think is great.  I don't like the women styling of the top tube and the rear tire size looks a bit out of place.  The Mundo uses 26" wheels on front and back.  But if you check their website it looks like you can haul everything from a chair, two kids, or your amp and guitar so you can go rock.  And I think it is very stylish, I would go with either black or tan myself.

But what of Europe?  They are the leaders in all things intellectual, correct?  They are better than we Americans, or least that is what they keep telling us.  What is their view on the cargo bike?  Maarten Van Andel's Bakfiets put the box up front.  Which I think is a great idea.  I have a fear of stuff falling off the back of my bike and me not noticing.  If my kids take a nap in the front box, I get to look at their cute sleeping faces.  Plus you still get the rack on the back for your panniers and whatever bags you want to strap o nas well.  Again, I really want to ride either a Bakfiest or a Mundo.  I want to see the differences in mobility between gear in front or back.

I first saw the Bakfiest on Yehu Moon. 

And there is an extended version of the Bakfiest floating around on the internet.  But if you look at the kids I think it is totally photo shopped.  The contents in the bike all look added.  Also the shadow is all wrong.  It is perfectly nice and symetrical at the woman's back tire, but then it stretches like crazy at the front under the front of her canoe.  Bad photo shop!  BAD, BAD, BAD!

Want: T-shirt

Best Shirt I've seen all day

YAH CAMEL!

Coffee and Biking

I love coffee.  I love biking.  Actually here is a coffee collage I created a while back.  It makes a nice background. 

Steven Scharf's website pays a pretty good tribute as well.

Cheers,

Well put...

"The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."


Taken from Urban Simplicity

Sheldon Brown

I just uncovered this goldmine.  Sheldon Brown was one of those eccentric people I wish I could have met.  If you want to find an article about fixing something on a bicycle you can find it on his homepage.  I'm going to start saving articles like crazy before they disappear from the internet. 

This is how BikePacking gets started

I got my frame bag in yesterday.  I can finally stop using my backpack to carry all the tools and tubes I like to carry.  This will really help with the current heat.  But I have the darkest feelings that this is the way that bikepacking starts.  Soon I'll want to add panniers. So far it has only been the bag, mounting my pump and adding the odometer. 

Well.... going for a ride now....

Cheers,

Happy Friday

Perfect Day for a Ride

Today: Sunny and hot, with a high near 102. Heat index values as high as 107. South southwest wind around 14 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Happy Wednesday

Get yer Yehuda Moon hats

I was reading my daily digest of caps. I totally found Yehuda's. I'm half way tempted to get one to use when I ride this winter.

You Want Me To Do What?

Screw you sign maker.  Screw you.

Best Bike Sales Ad Ever

Why cycling is awesome?

What do I get from cycling?  The question I'm sure is covered in over a hundred other, if not thousand, blogs on the internet. But what do I personally get out of it?  Not just the big categorical things that everyone could expect?

The number one reason I bike is to blow off steam.  I just recently graduated college with my Bachelor degree in Software Engineering.  I've always worked 40+ hours a week since I've graduated high school.  I have two wonderful children and a beautiful wife.  That in itself requires a bit of time.  I have to blow of steam just like everyone else.  Most people have a drink.  Some people watch baseball (and have a drink).  Some people collect.... things.  I'm not a collector and I don't like to watch sporting events, I'd rather be playing.  Organized sports are a pain to plan and get together when you are an adult.  I do play indoor soccer but that is still rare.  Games are only once a week, that isn't enough to really blow off steam any ways.  So a daily or almost daily workout or bike ride removes the edge.

I bike to see parts of the city.  I find it adventurous to bike in Oklahoma City.  There is no adventure unless there is a little bit of a risk.  And let me tell you, it feels risky pedaling in this town.  The downside is the amount of stops required to pedal in the urban areas.  But, you get through it.  You also spot a ton of hole in the wall restaurants you had no idea about.  These trips around the city give me some of my best "quiet thinking times".  These quiet times are when I get my ¡Ay, caramba! ideas about life, work, etc.  They help me level out. 

It gets me to read really cool blogs and articles that I would have never read before.  My best example is Urban Simplicity and Change Your Life. Ride a Bike!.  Two wonder blogs about cycling and their lives around cycling.  One you get great ideas about cooking and simpler life.  This really peaks my interest in cooking.  I've actually done quite a bit more recently.  In the last week I made a meatloaf, chicken enchiladas, wheat bread and pancakes all from scratch.  This is coming from a house that orders food 90% of the time.  The other blog does a great deal about showing everyday people on bikes and how, I hate to say it, cool they look.  It makes me wish I was in San Fran or some other cooler climate where I could bike 90% of the year.

Hope this gets one more person on a bike.

cheers,

Frame Mounted CamelBak

CamelBak's website has tons of cool stuff I want to buy, I even dig the military stuff.  My backpack I use for road biking, mountain biking and hiking is great.  But it is getting pretty worn.  So I'm starting the shopping around for a new bag to buy next spring. 

But while driving back from the gym today I wondered to myself, "Why isn't there a frame mounted CamelBak for bicycles?"

So it dawns on me what I need to do.  I need to make my own fabric "satchel" to carry a CamelBak on my frame.  Or maybe TWO CAMELBAKS!!  The professional artist rendition below explains my idea.  The bicycle below is obviously a Specialized Allez, I'm just using it for scale so everyone is on the same page.  :P

The brown satchel is outlined above.  It is basically two compartments that straddle the top tube.  In each compartment you have a CamelBak.  Your drinking tube from the CamelBak has a tension line attached to it (grey line).  There is a clip on your handlebars to attached your mouthpiece from the drinking tube.  So, in essence you have on CamelBak and drinking tube tucked away.  The other has its tube out and is attached to the handlebar clip.  When you want a drink you pull the mouthpiece off of the handlebar, drink, replace and the little tension line retract the excess drinking tube so it does not interfere with your pedaling.  I'm a genius. You could probably get like 4 liters of liquid on your frame. 

Copyright Old Man Gear Association, 2010.  Proceeds benefit the Old Man Gear Riding Team. 

Cheers,

My buddy's new ride

My buddy down in Dallas went and got a sweet ride.  No, I'm not talking about the Beemer.  I'm talking about the Novara Safari Touring Bike.  My buddy Sherif works with me.  He was up for a month from Dallas and had to listen to me talk about bikes every conversation or every other conversation.  Well I drilled how wonderful cycling is in his head so much that he went and got himself addicted as well.  He took it out just the other day for a nice 39 mile jaunt.  I dig it.  I want a tourer badly.  I'm not going to be commuting any time soon, but I dream of taking a long trip in the hills of Colorado or California.

The panniers he added himself.  I dig the stock crazy shaped handlebars.  After long hours I know you want to put your hands in different positions or at least rest on different parts of your hand.  The tire tread also make it look like you could take the occasional dirt road if it just so happens to pop up in your way.

I really dig it.  I want one.  Props to you Sherif!

Pikes Peak - part two

It is hard to see my bike in the shadow but it is there.  There was a really cool part of the trail in which you had to go under some boulders.  In that dark shadow is where I pushed my bike.  On the way down I was able to stay on without putting a foot down though.  :)

After you get past the tourist there are not many breathe-taking views.   Mostly you are buried in trees on an endless climb.  The ascent is not as steep as the switchbacks at the beginning of the trail.  You climb and climb though.  Except in a bit where you make a short descent.  I was worried about getting on the wrong trail.  I had seen from some maps where other trails met the Barr.  But fortunately there were proper signs to guide you along.

A closer look.  You can see I'm at the half mileage point.  I'm only half a mile to the Barr camp and 6.5 miles out of Manitou. 

The Barr Camp looked like an absolutely awesome place to stay. I met the host and hostess of the camp.  If you want to stay there you just need to register online.  I think you just bring your canteen and a sleeping bag and you are set.  They cook your breakfast and send you on your way.  Myself and three hikers stopped and talked for a bit.  This is where I locked up my bike on the advise of the hostess.  She said it would not be enjoyable for myself.  Looking back  I think it was good advice.  I'm not sure if I would have made it to the top pushing my bike.  The extra two water bottles I thought were in my backpack were later to not be found in my backpack.  So I was running out of water when I reached the summit later. 

As you climb out of the treeline the landscape takes a drastic change.  The thick of trees starts to thin.  Boulders appear more and more regularly.  It is rather odd.  

Once at the very top of the tree line you can see the summit just out of reach. 

The picture below is to just give you an idea of what the trail was like at the top.  The gravel is thick.  The noise is all you can hear as you are treading up.  It is not as bad as walking in sand but it is comparable.  The pebbles are larger than sand grains so you get some traction but you do lose a lot because of how thick it is. 

Start of my pan-a-ramic shot. 

Not much else can be said about the climb from the treeline to the summit.  It was just long.  You can see the summit but you've got 4 miles of trekking that just seem way longer than any other 4 previous miles.  Up in this treeless area was were I saw the one only other cyclist the whole trip. At this point I found out I was missing those two bottles of water I so desperately needed and wanted.  There was no fresh water at the Barr Camp.  I could have filled my bottle with creek water and then shat like crazy for a couple days.  My only option was to use my water sparingly and make it to the top.

To be continued...

How do you bike to work when NO ONE bikes to work?

I saw a wonderful video on Urban Simplicity about a video talking about commuting to work from UCLA.  It talked about gaining confidence by biking in groups.  Biking one a month or once a week to work it into your schedule.  Biking is a great alternative to a car.  The maintenance costs are way less.  It is better for the environment.  Blah, blah, blah.  Don't get me wrong.  I love the video.  I wish I lived in San Jose or Santa Clara.  (Or while we are dreaming, Scott's Valley)  But, I have to propose the question....

How do you bike to work when NO ONE bikes to work?  I can guarantee that NO ONE from Mustang, OK commutes by bicycle to Oklahoma City.  How do I know this?  I live in Mustang and work in OKC.  I've travelled to work on the backroads (for fun and change of scenery) and gone into work during a wide range of hours you would anticipate to see cyclists (6:30 to 8:45).  Roads are awful.  Roads are narrow.  No shoulder.  Traffic is high.  Traffic is FAST.

Even if I wanted to take backroads such as Sara Road or Morgan Road there are still issues.  We have such a thing in Oklahoma as rolling hills.  The standard SUV or pickup truck bombs over these hills at the expected 45-50 MPH.  What if two vehicles are coming at each other from opposite directions and a cyclist is in the middle.  For a cyclist this is a problem.  There is no where to bomb off in such instance.  There is no shoulder.  There is no bike lane.  The two vehicles tend to neither slow down nor move over.  They "squeeze" together.  They pass each other very closely and to the cyclist it seems even closer to him or her.  This way neither of the two motorized vehicles have to slow down.  Slowing down is not an option in Oklahoma because everyone drives large SUVs and trucks.  Slowing down means burning more gas to get back up to speed.

Side note: I'm not condoning SUVs or trucks.  I've had several trucks and SUVs in my lifetime.  Currently my wife and I have a Suburban and a Yukon.  So we are a bunch of eco-terrorists as well. 

So, one of two things has to happen before I get to commute to work on bike. 

1)  Bike lanes
2)  I move closer to work

Bike lanes will happen, but they will happen in OKC before they reach all the way out to Mustang.  So, I better not hold my breathe. 

I will most likely not move closer to work.  We love being way out in Mustang.  We are not going to move closer to the bustling city.  (HAAHAHA!!!  Bustling.  I actually used that word.) 

Bicycle Deaths lower than I thought, but still not good

You can read the NHTSA's 2008 Traffic Safety Facts article and get some pretty outstanding information about cyclists and motorized vehicle accidents.  The numbers that everyone is looking for immediately is, "Who many cyclists died in Oklahoma last year?!?!?!"  Well, those number won't be out for another year, 2008 is the most current.  In 2008 only four cyclists were killed in a traffic related incident in the state of Oklahoma.

716 were killed nation-wide. The highest numbers were 105 in California and 125 in Florida.  You can attribute those higher numbers due to the high number of people cycling versus other states. 

But if you take into consideration population versus the number of fatalities, Delaware takes the cake for the most dangerous place to pedal.  Delaware has a Pedalcyclist Fatalities per Million Population percentage of 6.87, which is just barely high than Florida's 6.82. Oklahoma was at 1.1%.

One part of the report seems a bit misconstrued.   The part when it gets to speaking about alcohol involvement in traffic crashes.  It states that either the pedal cyclist or the motorist had high blood alcohol levels.  Although it never divulges which one had what percentage.  It would seem to me that there may have been extremely low rates in which the cyclist was actually intoxicated.  I would think it would be more drunk drivers hitting cyclist than drunk cyclists hitting cars.  Just a thought. 

"Alcohol involvement — either for the driver or the pedalcyclist — was reported in more than one-third (37%) of the traffic crashes that resulted in pedalcyclist fatalities in 2008. In 31 percent of the crashes, either the driver or the pedalcyclist was reported to have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) or higher. Lower alcohol levels (BAC .01 to .07 g/dL) were reported in an additional 8 percent of crashes. Over one-fourth (28%) of the pedalcyclists killed had a BAC of .01 g/dL or higher, and nearly one-fourth (23%) had a
BAC of .08 g/dL or higher."

One good bit from the report might support me riding my bike to work though.  The report stated that more accidents happened in urban areas (69%).  Well, my commute would be mostly in non-urban areas.  I live way out in Mustang.  My commute would mostly include a trip around Lake Overholser and a quiet pedal down Sara Road.  But I don't think I should bring up this type of report to win over any support from the wife in the topic of a work commute.

Sorry about the downer.  Just sharing numbers.

Cheers,