Bike-commute day 56—to work

Thursday, 21 July 2011.

I had already begun my commute before I remembered to start the Garmin device. So the time and distance under Ride conditions show a double entry, in which the first value is estimated, for the ride portion that occurred before I turned on the device and started recording on Bryn Mawr Drive.

Shortly after I started up the Mad River Bikeway, I saw a slowly moving person ahead. From a distance, I could see the person had some machine with wheels. But the rider was bobbing up and down for a few strokes, then holding upright, and then bobbing up and down again. I slowed as I approached, and noted the front wheel was smaller than a 26-inch wheel typical on mountain bikes and the back wheel was even smaller. Between the wheels was a low shelf that was long enough for a foot. I asked the rider about his scooter and how he used it in his routine.

He bought the scooter—the exact name is a kickbike—online from a Norwegian company, since he knows of no retailers in this area that sell them. He uses the kickbike for crosstraining, to build the hamstrings.

As I rode along with him, he kicked three times with his right foot, then swivelled his left foot on the shelf and landed his right foot alongside it, lifted his left foot and kicked with it as he pivoted the right foot fully onto the shelf. After three kicks from the left foot, he repeated the actions to shift again to kicking with the right foot. His speed ranged from about 9 to 12 mph. He was sweating as much as I was, so the work factor was evident.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 74 to 79°F at 07:15
Precipitation: none, humidity 100%
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the southwest
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:01:30 + 00:42:14 for 0.20 + 11.72 miles
Heart rate: 127 bpm HRave, 149 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 12 cyclists, 9 pedestrians
Playback of the ride.