Tag Archives: commuting

Please don’t go halfway

09 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by in Cycling

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,


I rode the new 2nd ave protected bike lanes in Seattle yesterday.   These were put in over the past weekend to improve safety on a notoriously sketchy street.  I applaud attempts to make things better for bikers, and hope we continue this.  I really want to like these improvements, as well.

Some constructive criticism:  I would appreciate it even more if it wasn’t only funded for several blocks in the middle of the city.  To use this path, you still have to get to it.  C’mon Seattle – first it was the worlds shortest trolley route, and then the excruciatingly slow rollout of light rail.  Now we are slow-rolling bike infrastructure.  Can we sacrifice a few feelings to get stuff done occasionally, people?  Please???

Here’s an idea – close down the inner core of Seattle to car traffic.  Set it up for bus/train/trolley/bike/ped only.  Here’s another idea – if you want to fund a corridor, do it for all, not just a few folks who live in a 8-block radius in the inner core.  I am sure city planning,  getting funding, and dealing with all the politics is tough (and it should be), but doing things like this halfway can hurt more than help.

Case in point – there are more pissed-off drivers now who see these short bike paths as merely a restriction on the lanes.  It seems obvious that the funders weren’t serious about safety, as they didn’t make the lane the length of 2nd – at least get up to the top of the hill?  It’s like a new bottleneck in the central core which is not what anyone needs.

Now on the plus side, I saw a very happy biker riding north on 2nd today – happy smiling face as she crossed the intersection in front of me.  She was obviously very happy to be heading north and felt more protected.  I also appreciated the folks volunteering on the path yesterday during the first day.  They were attentive, and helped bikers and drivers with some of the changes.

Tonight near 2nd and Madison as I was leaving the office, I was flipped off and honked at by a white van for what, I don’t know, until after 2 more intersections I had been waiting at, he drove up next to me and told me to “follow the rules of the road”.  I asked him what I had done, and he said I blew a red light (which I hadn’t – I stopped at all of them on the way down the hill and waited patiently for the green light).  When I told him I stopped, he railed on about how “all you guys are the same…” at which point I rode away.   After a mile down the beautiful Myrtle Edwards trail along the waterfront, I remembered that he was probably just having a bad day, and had seen too many bikers doing this before.  Probably just karma from all the times in the past that I actually had blown through lights.

Here’s a reminder for him that we all need to follow the rules of the road, and “I’m the man and you’re the man and she’s the man as well…”  Tool wisdom for all…

 

Albatross Bar Conversion

23 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in Cycling

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,


Back when I was riding a mountain bike to work regularly, I bought Albatross bars to get a more upright position.  While I enjoyed the wide range of positions for my hands, the one issue I had was a lesser ability to get “aero” when it was windy.  In my rambling experiments, these fell out of fashion after a time and I moved on to drops.

Original Albas

I recently revived the bars when I wanted to get my camp bike set up for an upcoming Seattle/Portland Riv Ramble that will be happening near the halfway point of Packwood, WA.  I started the conversion away from the road-friendly Nitto Noodles to the more dirt oriented Midge bars.  They seemed to be too much of a compromise in that they didn’t offer the feel of drops with the big vertical differences, and didn’t have an “upright” position.

Midge Conversion

The Albatross bars are all about upright, but also flare forward of the stem for a stretched position.  There is also the near-stem narrow position that gets one in a nice aero setup, as well.  I had an older mountain bike stem from a ’92 Stumpjumper Pro that had enough reach to push the Albatross bars out far enough to get that aero position I need for the windy days, as well as enabling me to extend the bar ends back even more with bar end shifters.  Here’s what it looks like:

Albatross with long stem

I got a chance this week to test the wind theory, with a couple commutes.  May is a great month for me as the wind often shifts mid-day giving me headwinds both ways.  Using the inner hand position, I was able to get a nice aero tuck on the bike.  Holding the forward curves also kept me out of the wind, and if I bent my elbows, I could get nearly as aero as on drop bars.  The leverage from 56cm bars is another great benefit of these bars.

Bars from the back

Riding with Albas may even be safer on a commute.  For example, I take a route that runs downhill on a busy arterial on the way into work, and often cars are backed up across intersections. There is constant danger of cars/bikes/people crossing in front of me between stopped traffic.  I noticed right away that riding upright affords a much better view of traffic and potential collision fodder.  Side benefit or primary if you’re a safety hound…

Bagger

OK – I’m not fooling myself, part of why I like this setup is that it is the configuration of the Riv video that originally piqued my interest in the Hunqapillar, and it gives the bike a different, more specific setup than my other bikes.  It really is a country rambler, camp/tour bike now with the capacity to be a great commuting “truck” when I need/want to carry a lot of cargo.  As it is a stiffer bike than the Homer, it feels both heavier, and more solid when carrying loads.  That’s great if I’m not tired out, but I’ll have to evaluate it after a couple days of touring around in the hills.

 

 

Spring

18 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in Cycling

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,


I’ve been away from posting for the past few weeks.  It’s not that I haven’t been riding, although a trip to Maui resulted in a week’s break from the road, and a short bout of flu kept me off the bike for a few days before that.  Today was the first day back on the bike, and I felt like I lost some fitness.  I had expected to feel rested, and I’m definitely relaxed, but I realize now that regular riding keeps me in shape.

Going from a week of humid 80 degree temps to the 40s/50s of rainy Seattle was not too bad.  I feel like this is the ideal climate for biking.  It never gets too hot.  When I was on Maui, I felt like I would have to get out to ride at 5am to avoid the sun.  I overcook easily.  That said, I felt a lot more comfortable by the end of my visit.  Next time I go, I will be riding.

Back home found the end of the cherry bloom, and as I rode through the UW campus, I was inspired to take a few pictures.

Bloom

This fusion of green and pink is not far from what I just experienced in a more tropical climate.

Up Campus

Spring is becoming a favorite season for me.  The rain helps!

 

Green in the Front, Blue in the Back

27 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by in Cycling

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,


I love Rivendell Jack Brown tires.  They are a great combo of cush on a 700c wheel and low rolling resistance.

http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/t100-g.htm

Hilsen with Jacks

I have had Jack Brown’s on my A. Homer Hilsen for a few years, with a brief fling using the also sublime Gran Bois Cypres tires. For the past 6 months, I’ve been regularly riding a Hunqapillar with heavier Schwalbe Duremes on my work commute of 10-20 miles, and I have been gradually come to a conclusion.  Heavy tires with tough sidewalls are great for avoiding flats, but I don’t like riding on them.  They feel really sluggish – like I’m constantly pushing and fighting to keep the bike moving.  Not fun to me.  Biking should be fun.

Hunqa with Jacks

With that in mind, I swapped out the Duremes for my extra set of Jack Browns and rode in the other day with this configuration.  Yes – it made a difference.  I also noticed the difference in feel of the bike frame going from the more flexy AHH to the stiffer Hunqapillar.  My normal cruising speed on the flats is 15-20 mph depending on the inclines/wind/legs on the AHH.  With the heavy Schwalbe Duremes (50mm) on the Hunqa, I was typically struggling to keep it at 13 mph.

Now, I’m not trying to set speed records, but I’ve found that the beauty of “road” bikes is that they typically feel more effortless on the pavement.  In my many years commuting with a mountain bike with roadish tires, I know that a lot of it has to do with geometry as well, but tires DO make a big difference.  That said, it’s not the diameter, it’s the weight, and the sidewall.  Big cushy tires can be AWESOME if they are light and have a supple sidewall.

Blue in Back

Green in Front

Yes, you will get more flats.  Only you will be able to decide if the rest of the time riding is worth the few flats.  I’m not in goathead country, so the biggest problem is road trash (glass, radial wires, nails).  This will result in a flat every few months.  I can live with this.  To avoid it as much as possible, I use the Jack Brown Blue (kevlar belt) as my rear tire, and the lighter, suppler Green on the front.  This keeps me pretty flat proof, as everyone knows that you always get flats on the tire that is hardest and messiest to change (rear).

Now I just need to move those fenders in a bit…