Palm Springs figure-8 with Glen

Friday, 30 September 2016

Our 3-day visitor, Glen Lalich, agreed to a bike tour while Chuck slept in. The route was an expansion on Ch's limited out-n-back--out-n-back, with extensions down to ride along Highway 111. I saw Jim "Desert Roadkill" Rothblatt near the end of the ride, and talking to him a bit allowed me to solo back home and to meet up with Glen before turning into the driveway.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 79°F at 08:05
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm 
Clothing: Double-layer MTB shorts, undershirt, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Trek Fuel/EX mountain bike 
Time: 1:13:31 for 10.20 miles

Heart rate: 83 bpm HRave, 141 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 4 cyclists, 2 pedestrians
Playback of the ride

Trails around Wright State

Thursday, 30 August 2012

I took a short ride around the Wright State campus today, following the treeline from the furthest parking lot to the Nutter Center. Nearly past the Center, I found what I sought: an entrance into the forest and a pathway suitable for off-road exercise. The trail systems are not very lengthy through the forests around WSU, but enough is there for an hour's trail ride. Most of the trails are double-track, some graveled, some packed earth. And they offer one stream crossing and quite a few hops over fallen trees.

The forest also has some path openings close to the Creative Arts and Library, but they are marked as part of the Biological Sciences preserve or study areas. Good to see the markings and know that plenty of other paths are available, so these can be left free from bothering the natural habitat.

I plan to find an outdoor activities group similar to the one that has developed at University of Dayton. Perhaps interest can be built for truly developing part of the forest areas for off-road biking.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 78 to 82°F at 11:45
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Mongoose MGX-D40 trail
Time: about an hour, distance unknown *
Heart rate: unknown *
Path users: 1 pedestrian, close to a campus-forest opening
* no Playback of the ride available, Garmin is on the blink

Bike-commute day 92—to home

Monday, 10 October 2011

As I waited to turn onto Spaulding Road—within half a mile of my start, I found a cyclist coming out of the corner, heading north. Behind him, I pulled onto Spaulding. He stayed on the street, and I pulled as usual onto the bikeway. I edged to nearly beside him as he pulled into the center lane to turn onto the Haverfield canopy. I had to wait for several cars, but he had slowed to allow a catch.

As I approached, he sped to cruising speed while motioning with a wave behind his saddle that I should pull into the slipstream. We rode in close formation through to Woodman, and he extended his left hand down to caution me of his slowing. "Clear left," he called out. "To the center median." We stopped together for traffic from the north.

Once we were on the Rainier Canopy, we rode side by side and introduced ourselves. He is Charles Love. He was on his way home from a bike part shopping at Performance Bike. He mentioned heading toward Riverscape. Then we reached the Woodbine crossing. Even though it was clear, I advised him that no motorists stop, and few slow at the crossing.

He took the lead again as we sped up, and I called from behind as we approached specific parts of the canopy, "Keep an eye out for walnuts on the path." And each time, we avoided several fresh fruit, squashed skins, and broken shells. We made the Linden crossing and lightly accelerated toward the junction with the Creekside Trail.

Charles asked, "Are you heading straight or turning?" And I told him I was heading toward Riverscape also, and beyond. We exchanged more information to discover our homes were only a few blocks from each other, and then reached cruising speed as I pulled again into his slipstream. After crossing Burkhardt, we had learned each other's age, and I took the lead for the near-mile to Airway, alerting Charles for the three walnut trees along the way.

Airway was treacherous as usual: a driver in the right lane from the west had stopped for us, the left westbound lane also had traffic, and we hesitated until it was finally clear that both lanes were stopping for us. Since it was clear of traffic from the east, we accelerated across the rest of the street and gained full speed as we reached the drop at the edge of Wrightview. Love asked, "So I bet you know Phil?" and no sooner than I could answer yes, Mr. Hinrichs rounded the corner ahead of us. Charles remarked, "Speak of the Devil, and old Nick appears the next moment." We continued on through the industrial park and across Fair Park Avenue.

As we reached Smithville, Charles turned onto the street while I headed across to the bikeway that hugs the creek. We met again at the railway arch that bounds Eastwood Park and regrouped into the drafting machine after passing through the west gate. I was nearly spent by this time, some 01:04 faster than the fastest times this year. I considered sitting back, taking a breather, letting my heart rate recover from the nearly constant tempo over 145 bpm. But we kept together, indeed taking it a bit easier with me in the lead or riding side by side. The time at the third leg was again lower than any previous solo ride, and I was 01:21 ahead.

As we crossed under Riverscape, we discussed how I typically reach home. Love let me take the lead up the ramp to Monument Avenue, across the bridge, up Grafton Hill, and over toward Salem Avenue at the police station. Then along my route up Bryn Mawr and to Princeton. Charles offered a fist bump as we separated at Cory Drive. My final time was almost two minutes faster than my best time. What a ride, and a pleasant reminder of what really working hard feels like.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 78 to 82°F at 17:05
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 10 mph from the south and east
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:38:21 for 11.94 miles
Heart rate: 141 bpm HRave, 172 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: no counts taken
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 91—to home

Friday, 07 September 2011

A cyclist was coasting along the block parallel to Springfield Street..As I passed him, I said as gently as possible, "Hey there, you know that if you coast, you can only go downhill."

"Yeah, coasting is a quick way to catch my breath. Good thing there aren't many hills to climb on the bikeway."

He has a point. The bikeways of the Miami Valley might seem very flat, but typically a ten-mile ride will include a total of about 250 feet of climbing or descending. Usually, though, the climbs are gentle, 30 feet at a time or spread over a couple miles.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 77 to 83°F at 15:30
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 10 mph from the north and east
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:59:27 for 15.85 miles
Heart rate: 128 bpm HRave, 146 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 18 cyclists, 11 pedestrians, 0 dogs
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 90—to home

Thursday, 06 September 2011

As I passed through the plateau east of Findlay Avenue, I remembered the pair of deer I surprised there yesterday morning. I had been noisily scaring back the geese from the bikeway, since they seemed to have found a new place for their foraging and pooping, foraging and more pooping. But as I completed the slow, wide corner that heads to a closer path near the forested area above the Mad River, the two deer startled and took off along the path ahead of me. After only 30 feet, the doe darted left through an opening in the undergrowth. The 6-point buck high-tailed it on. I had nearly caught up to him, even though his sinewy muscles had reached about 20 mph, when he found his own break in the undergrowth, and dashed into the thicket and away from the bikeway.

Today I had a follow-up appointment with my family physician to discuss the cardiac stress test that showed a deviation that is usually associated with ischemia and the cardiac CAT scan that revealed no abnormalities.My family doctor advised that the first test could have had a glitch for any number of reasons, and the CAT scan was a more reliable reading that sufficiently countered the first reading. But he cautioned that today's accepted practice aims away from exploring tests and using them to establish a baseline. Rather, the preference now is to pay close attention to risk factors, including heredity and lifestyle.

Though my genetic pool might suggest a predilection toward heart attack (the cause of my father's death) or stroke (my mother's demise), one could argue that our differing lifestyles give me an advantage of a longer, healthier maturity. My father was mostly sedentary from age 50 on, and he smoked throughout his life. My mother was relatively inactive, always overweight, and plagued by hypertension and perhaps a mildly congestive heart condition. And using non-direct family is of less use. For example, the one aunt I know of who died of Alzheimer's may have little bearing on my future. And if it were applicable, her survival into the 90s after several years of late-onset Alzheimer's is a better genetic factor than the worst alternative, early-onset that may occur in a person's 40s or 50s.

Thus were my preoccupations during my ride home. I didn't feel any particular exertion, though I arrived home in one of my shorter overall times.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 77 to 81°F at 17:30
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 mph, variable
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:40:58 for 11.93 miles
Heart rate: 134 bpm HRave, 172 bpm HRmax*
Bikeway users: 9 cyclists, 8 pedestrians, 1 dogs
Playback of the ride

* Perhaps unlikely.

Bike-commute day 84—to home

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

I must be out of practice. Though I had put on the HR monitor as I was changing for the commute, it still wasn't well seated for the first mile or so of the ride. During that time, its reading was often as low as 45 bpm. So today's HR readings are skewed.

Further down the road, I stopped at the Gulf station to buy a lottery ticket. PJ, the daytime cashier, was training a new cashier, and he had to go through the steps of placing a recurring entry by scanning the previous ticket. (And I didn't win a release from the work world.)

I had stopped my Garmin to buy the tickets—or so I thought. I tapped the stop/start button as I resumed my ride, but didn't verify that it was registering speed. But what actually happened: I failed to press the stop/start button before buying the lottery ticket, and my press to restart actually stopped the device. I noticed the mistake only shortly before the first checkpoint, so the recording lost about 4 minutes of riding time.

Even with a day of intermittent sun, the bikeway was still damp under the dense canopy between Linden and Burkhardt, but otherwise the way was dry and only lightly travelled..

Ride conditions
Temperature: 74 to 79°F at 17:35
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 5 mph variable
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:47:23 for 11.95 miles
Heart rate: 118 bpm HRave, 148 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 14 cyclists, 16 pedestrians, 3 dogs
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 76—to home

Monday, 29 August 2011

My first ride of the day was the evening commute home, since I had driven my bike to work this morning. After lunch I took the car to a dental appointment with Dr. Mark Buchwalder in Xenia. He talked about taking part in the Hotter 'n Hell Hundred around Wichita Falls TX. He had just returned Sunday from the event that he and his wife had taken in. My hygenist Marilyn also spoke glowingly of the bike rides she's had recently and the trips she splans through the end of the year, including a trip to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Canyonlands Park.

Just west of Eastwood Park, one rider of a couple cyclists said, "Oh so you're here!" and before it registered, we had passed each other. I recognized the voice and face of Ellen, a frequent client at Cardinal Fitness. So I turned around and caught up to them before they reached the concrete embankment. Ellen introduced me to her boyfriend Glenn, and when she said she had just bought the bike for him as a birthday present, I began singing The Birthday Song but stopped before I had to pay royalties. Ellen excused her relatively lower frequency at the gym by way of their cycling together from home in the Oregon district, and I mentioned that this was my twice-daily route to work..

Ride conditions
Temperature: 76 to 80°F at 18:00
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 10 mph from the northand east
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Trek 750 hybrid
Time: 00:46:55 for 12.95 miles
Heart rate: 123 bpm HRave, 139 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 19 cyclists, 18 pedestrians, 3 baby wagons
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 75—to gym and home

Friday, 26 August 2011

My commute home was some four hours earlier than usual. Kodak has announced new austerity measures that preclude working and billing for overtime. Since I had already put in five hours in late evenings through the week, I was advised to take the afternoon off in lieu of billing for overtime.

I left the Garmin device on while doing my 8-exercise weight training. The result was a confusion of spikes and lows in HR counterposed with strangely fluctuating speeds from 0 to3 mph.

At my third checkpoint, I left the bikeway to grab an iced coffee at Press so I would have sufficient energy to do a bit of gardening before the evening shadows lengthened..

Ride conditions
Temperature: 77 to 82°F at 12:45
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 10 mph, variable
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 01:16:179:27 for 18.32 miles
Heart rate: 122 bpm HRave, 152 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 5 cyclists, 9 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 74—to work

Wednesday, 24 August 2011

Last evening I was preparing myself for a rain day and commuting by car. But it was clear this morning, and the weather radar showed that the storms had bypassed Dayton further to the north. Our only storm effects were higher winds from the southwest that apparently worked to move the wet clouds away from Dayton. So I set out for a bike-commute after eating breakfast, which I had started before I checked the weather.

Thanks to the fast southwest winds, the second leg of my commute was extremely fast today. With almost no exertion, my cadence reached 104 rpm and speed 25.3 mph on the Great Miami and Mad River bikeways. In the remaining parts of the ride, I had good speeds in the sheltered areas, but slower going on the open stretches of the Creekside and Iron Horse trails.

After I crossed Linden, I saw Millie and Gladys up ahead. I slowed to a stop as I reached them. Millie had a new perm, and her freshly colored hair was under a fine net. We joked about the likelihood of a hot date in her future, and I kidded Gladys that I could make an approintment for here to get a tight perm too. I asked them if they often stopped to talk to some of the regular walkers, and they named a few that they shared conversation with. Then Paul jogged by, this time without his dogs, and I said goodby to Millie and Gladys.

I pulled beside Paul to ask about his dogs, whom he said had walked earlier with him, on their usual course about 2.5 miles around the circle of the bikeway and Woodman Avenue. Paul walks his dogs daily, starting on the bikeway because of its convenience to his home to the west of the bikeway and north of Woodbine.

Once again on the way, near Woodman I saw a woman on her bike with a small dog running beside her. The bike had an extension off to the right that held the dog's lead, and the dog had some sort of harness. "Nice setup for both of you," I said as I passed them.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 75 to 79°F at 09:30
Precipitation: none
Winds: 10 to 15 mph from the southwest
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time:  00:41:34 for 11.92 miles
Heart rate: 129 bpm HRave, 149 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 5 cyclists, 9 pedestrians, 3 dogs
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 72—to gym and home

Monday, 22 August 2011

All day I've had this dull ache in the upper back, focused between my spine and right scapular. I couldn't pinpoint any twist or strain that might have caused it, so I attributed it to a lack of rest or sleeping "funny." As I left work today, I considered whether any weight training would make it worse or if very light training would help relieve it. I opted for the latter, but only within a minute of taking the turn on Woodbine.

The workout was brief and gentle: two bench press sets with an empty bar and then carrying 20 pounds; dumbbell flyes with a set of 10 pounds and a second of 12.5 pounds; dumbbell military press at 12.5 and 15 pounds; two cable row sets at light weights; two cable pulldowns at light weights, and two sets of reverse flyes. The back muscles felt a bit better, less tense after the gentle use. Let's see how a good rest helps too.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 79 to 84°F at 18:30
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 10 mph variable from the west
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 01:00:22 for 15.83 miles
Heart rate: 116 bpm HRave, 135 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 31 cyclists, 20 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 67—to home

Monday, 15 August 2011

I left work very late—leaving my desk at 18:45, as the ever-earlier sunset rules me now. And as I rushed from the locker room in my cycling kit, Dave Stephens asked me as he approached the exit also, "What are those things on the bottom of your shoes?"

I lifted my heel as I held momentarily at the door. "It's a kind of cleat that mates to the pedals on my bike. Here, I'll show you at the bike rack."

I led him outside to my waiting bike, and then twirled the Shimano pedal. "The pedal is the same on both sides, for easy clipping in."

"Oh, so you can pull up as well as push down on the stroke!"

"Well, actually so I can apply power throughout the stroke, not only up and down, but also pulling back at the bottom of the stroke, and using the full circle of movement to apply power."

"Well that makes sense, to tie your leg to the machine."

"But that's not the only way to make the man-machine more efficient. You see the gears? It's just one gear on this bike, and it's a fixed gear—there's no coasting. When I pedal, the bike moves. And if I would happen to pedal backwards, that's the direction I would go."

By this time, I had turned on the Garmin, clipped it onto its pedestal, unlocked and recurled my padlock cable. I pulled the bike our of the rack and set it beside me, ready for the hop on.

"Well," Dave said, "I have to take the top down on my convertible. And you have the top down all the time, perfect for a day like this." He headed on to his waiting auto.

I gave Dave a whoop of a goodby and a wave. We were both looking forward to the commute home.

So with this fresh reminder of the importance of a circular, fluid stroke, I had additional power against the north winds that had open stretches to build their strength for the short ride along Spaulding Road before I turned into the Haverfield Canopy. I wondered if Dave's engineering background would incite thoughts of how the man-machine efficiency I experience compares to the power and joy of driving his vehicle.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 76 to 82°F at 18:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 10 mph from the northwest
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:41:09 for 11.95 miles
Heart rate: 135 bpm HRave, 152 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 30 cyclists, 17 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 65—to home

Wednesday, 10 August 2011

It all seemed so labored this evening. I left my desk at 6:30, called Ch to alert him to a later arrival than usual, and wondered what is available to cook. Maybe a pizza with the Boboli shell? No, too much bread for Ch's taste. And he perhaps overate at lunch, since Russ was over for the afternoon. What else? Pasta with fresh pesto? Nah, there's probably not enough basil ready, and Ch might object to the pasta. So a fish grilled, and maybe a vegetable. See what's there when I get home. You would think that my running commentary on food would draw me away from cycling, but the dull ache of my laboring heart and leaden legs pulled me back to the work I was doing. The heavy traffic up and down Woodman, across Woodbine and Airway nagged at my attempts to reach above the labor of the ride.

Just some rides aren't pleasant at every moment. This was one. Lots of larger groups walking on the bikeway, some confused about which side of the way to clear toward, some barely even in control of the children in their horde. Finally, along the Mad River was a nicely open stretch, though the westerly winds made this, too, a slog. One pleasant highlight: I saw Rick-the-Walker again after a couple months' absence. And then below Riverscape was a group of 30 (or more!) young people using the steps, banks, and bikeway as part of their training program en masse.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 78 to 81°F at 17:45
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 10 mph from the west
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:43:24 for 11.96 miles
Heart rate: 128 bpm HRave, 138 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 21 cyclists, 31 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 61—to work

Friday, 29 July 2011.

My morning commute was the second half of my 61st day of bike-commuting, which results from driving to work yesterday with my bike in the van and biking home in the evening. This afternoon, I'll drive home with my bike in the van again.

I developed this practice for the parts of the year when the daylight time is too short than the time needed for two commutes and a full day of work. My typical week then alternates one day in which I drive to work with the bike in my van in the morning and then bike home with the next day in which I bike to work and then pack up the bike for the drive home.

My commute seemed to be energized today, in contrast to the last week of cycling with lower energy. The last time that I had the same average speed (17.4 h) was almost two weeks ago.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 75 to 79°F at 07:30
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the south
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:40:33 for 11.93 miles
Heart rate: 128 bpm HRave, 147 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 13 cyclists, 11 pedestrians, 2 dogs
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 60—to work

Wednesday, 27 July 2011.

Today is the 60th day of commuting this year, but I was in no shape for a celebratory ride. It was slow going this morning. I felt a bit of wooziness even as I started out. Is it from dehydration? I wondered, thinking then of the triple hands-cups of water just before bed and the frothy mix of orange juice and La Croix water this morning and deciding No, I don't think I've been lax in taking the fluids. Maybe from our low-carb salad dinner last night? Perhaps. But in any case, I had allowed myself a late start this morning, after hand-watering plants both in the back yard and the front. So the late start and a continued slow pace would mean no time for shaving during my shower.


At the Springfield Street crossing out of Eastwood Park, I caught up to a single cylist, a woman who I had never seen before. After navigating the crossings of Springfield Street and North Smithville, I decided to wait for her to catch up. Her pace was slower than my usual, but at 14 mph was well matched to the lower intensity I could muster today. Her name was Bonnie, and she typically rides a few days each week from her home in Beavercreek to Xenia and back. Today she wanted a change of scenery, and she was enjoying the canopied cover and occasional open areas of the ride into Dayton.

Bonnie is retired, as is her husband. They had often taken their bike rides together, until he had suffered a few bike crashes, one of which broke his hip and collarbone. Now his sense of balance is lower, and he's much more tentative, so Bonnie rides alone. We had reached the split of the Iron Horse Trail by the time I had offered my own crash stories, and she turned east toward Beavercreek and I headed south to work.

Mid-Season Summary
Looking back over the blog posts for the commuting season, I see I was anticipating the commute as early as February. But that month had no commutes and only a Saturday trial to check the viability of commuting. In March, I had 10 days of commuting; a few "rain days" are accounted for in the month. April had only 7 days of commuting by bike and 4 documented days of rain that prevented commuting. May had 16 commute days by bike, and some of these occurred with rain in the forecast or actually making my ride a wet one. I took 14 bike-commute days in June, and the same number so far in July.

So my average is commuting about 60% of the workdays from March through July. That's a bummer to me: I've often said that I commute by bike four days a week on the average, and the truth is more like three days a week.

Housekeeping
One of the FiveRivers staff was mowing the grass bank above the Mad River bikeway this morning. It seemed a strange choice to me that he had mowed over plastic bottles, shredding them into gnarled segments. If a cleanup detail is posted for the area, they'll have a bit more work because of the mowing activity.

Mowing always seems a strange choice to me. First, why not leave the river banks in their natural state, except for removing trees and shrubs as they begin to gain a hold? The uncut grasses would cut down the numbers of geese squatting on the bikeway, since the geese prefer to be within view of water and the safety it provides. Another benefit to leaving the grass uncut is financial: mowing costs are lowered and cleaning the debris on the bikeway is made unnecessary. Finally, leaving the grass uncut benefits the cyclist users too, since the mowing always kicks stones and rocks onto the bikeway, which offer a potential of flats or, in extreme cases, instability from gravel patches on the bikeway.

Glass still on the bikeway about 0.15 mile south of the Linden Avenue crossing. I'll call this in today to the Springfield Street shed.

Tree debris still littering the bikeways under the canopies.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 69 to 80°F at 07:55
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:45:31 for 11.92 miles
Heart rate: 121 bpm HRave, 140 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 9 cyclists, 7 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 59—to work

Tuesday, 26 July 2011.

After I passed under Webster this morning, a RiverParks workman was driving a tractor along the bikeway, heading toward Eastwood Park. Towed behind was a sweeper, its brushes stilled and lifted off the pavement. Good, I thought. I guess they scheduled some bikeway cleanup, perhaps to clear the fallen brush today.

Just at the curve before the dip under Findlay Avenue, a rider on a yellow and red Oceam bike pulled silently beside me. It was Matt Siebers, husband of Kate whom I had met a month ago or more on the same section of bikeway. Matt is a student at WSU in Cyber Technology, and this was his first day commuting to school by bike. The bike was a carbon frame of some beauty, and he bought it while living in Europe. A few searches on Google didn't result in a website for the manufacturer.

We didn't ride together long, since his route took him east out of Eastwood Park, and onto Springfield Street toward Wright State.

Housekeeping
Broken glass on Iron Horse bikeway 0.15 mile south of Linden crossing.

Tree litter on the Creekside Trail under the canopy between Airway and Burkhardt and the canopy between Burkhardt and the split-off of the Iron Horse Trail.

Tree litter on the Iron Horse Trail under the canopy between Linden and Woodman and the canopy between Woodman and Spaulding.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 79°F at 07:55
Precipitation: none, humidity 9%
Winds: 5 mph from the southwest
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:40:48 for 11.91 miles
Heart rate: 129 bpm HRave, 151 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 11 cyclists, 7 pedestrians
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 57—to work

Friday, 22 July 2011.

The heat was welling up early this morning, and during the ride I sipped more than half my bottle of water before arriving at work. Usually I don't drink at all on the morning ride, so now I have a new indicator of ride conditions. 


Ride conditions
Temperature: 78 to 84°F at 07:15, 86 to 88°F at 08:55
Precipitation: none, humidity 94%
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the south and west
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:41:27 for 11.88 miles
Heart rate: 127 bpm HRave, 144 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 2 cyclists, 5 pedestrians, 2 dogs
Playback of the ride.

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.

Bike-commute day 55—to work

Wednesday, 20 July 2011.

I took a couple days off, using Monday as a rest day and Tuesday's morning thunder shower as another reason not to ride to work. I used the auto commute to fill my gas tank for the month, replenish my stock of canned water and juices, and to bring fresh clothes to my locker. Ready for another stint of bike-commuting.

One of the first things I noticed once I got to the bikeway was the repaved culvert crossing under the Main Street Bridge. Where nearly the full width of path had had a 3-inch-deep hole ever since the Spring floods, the bikeway now has a smooth transition over the sluice from underneath Main Street into the river. The new asphalt is smoothly graded and the tar seams are full without a noticeable hump to them. I hope the workers get a nice review passed to them.

I took a relatively easy pace this morning, not only because of the two rest days but also in deference to the heat index (over 100°F). I plan on braving the heat today and through Friday, for which the heat index is forecast to remain over 100°F.  

Ride conditions
Temperature: 75 to 79°F at 07:00, 84 to 87°F at 10:00
Precipitation: none (Humidity 100%)
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the west-southwest
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:41:55 for 11.91 miles
Heart rate: 128 bpm HRave, 142 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 2 cyclists, 5 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 51—to work

Tuesday, 12 July 2011.

As I made the corner after the west gate of Eastwood Park, I saw a cyclist at the bridge. Triathlon top and no helmet were two clues that indicated it was Retired Phil. I whistled, waved, and turned around to ride to the bridge.

But as I neared him, he raised a helmet. It wasn't Phil after all, but a new rider on the course today: Joe from Beavercreek. We rode together the Creekside Trail to the trestle, me leading a bit, used to my usually faster speed.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 77 to 79°F at 07:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time:  00:43:39 for 12.05 miles
Heart rate: 127 bpm HRave, 149 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 9 cyclists, 4 pedestrians
Here is a playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 43—to home

This morning I made rain predictions that I based on two websites, including a weather radar site. As the day passed, the radar showed the precipitation areas passed through from about 11:00 through 12:30, though no rain fell. Instead, the line dissipated as it moved eastward. The line of rain that earlier was passing through St. Louis has been dissipating also, and any moderate rain has been moving east-southeast, toward Louisville and away from Dayton. So, at least at 12:45, it seems that the rains will avoid Dayton.

Much heavier cloud cover rolled in from about 15:30 through 16:30, though the radar showed only a small cell of light precipitation in the south area of Dayton. So I left work confident that my route would be dry.

I walked outside after changing into my kit, and the pavement was wet! What happened, when could it have rained? I realized that the rain, whenever it fell, had been light and perhaps 30 minutes ago, or more. No puddles remained, just a drying pavement that warranted careful cornering only until I crossed Spaulding onto the first area of canopy-covered bikeway. From that point on, with a few isolated exceptions, the way was dry.

And a good thing, too. Just north of Airway is a slight drop and curve surrounded by heavy vegetation. Just as I reached the start of the curve, I saw a young couple embracing while standing in the middle of the bikeway. No time for a whistle, I could only WHOOP! in a warning, followed by "On your..." I couldn't decide which side to take, and which side it would register as to them, since each person was facing opposite directions together, but both toward the side of the bikeway. So I motioned to my right, as they broke their embrace, turned toward me, and then moved to my left, further off my intended path. After I passed, I called out to them, "Don't do it in the road!"

Whew! a collision averted. I still don't understand, though, why the couple decided to stop and embrace in the middle of the bikeway. They didn't seem so young that they needed privacy behind the cover of an overgrown corner.

Further on, close to Park Lane, I saw my neighbor Phil Hinrichs. Though I wanted to talk with him about his recent experience of someone stealing his bike, and of recovering it soon with the help of the Dayton Police, I had a need to hurry on, to be home in time to shower and be ready to go to see Terrence Malick's new film The Tree of Life.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 77 to 80°F at 16:45
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the southwest-southeast
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time:  00:42:29 for 11.99 miles
Heart rate: 132 bpm HRave, 159 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 16 cyclists, 14 pedestrians, 4 dogs
Here is a playback of the ride.