Monday, 11 February 2013
I spent much of the morning packing up a Valentine's present, and then headed off to the post office to mail it, along with another book we sold from our Amazon storefront. This was the first chance I had for exercise for quite a while, and I planned to make use of the bike ride to run some errands beyond the post office.
So on to FiveRivers MetroPark to visit Lucy Siefker, who wasn't expecting me and was away.
So up the Mad River, then south to Linden Avenue. I stopped at my favorite laundry to check on some lost slacks, which they did find. The proprietor knew that I wouldn't take them with me when he saw my bike and my tiny backpack.
So back on the Iron Horse Trail, with a short excursion to Carla Mann's home to drop off a brochure. She wasn't home, so I left the brochure and card in her mailbox.
So then—on a whim since I was already so close—to the Kodak plant to see the empty parking lots at the flailing Fafner. The north lot was nearly full, which is typical because it serves the wing of service and training staff, as well as those attending training. The engineering lot had isolated empty slots, perhaps some taking a long time at errands over lunch. The south lot was 80% full in the parts close in, but the extended lots were completely empty. Clear evidence that no rehiring has occurred, and that more layoffs had occurred since my last news in August.
So then to EveryBody Fitness for an abdominal workout, just a few sets at each machine.
So then to Patterson-Chase to check out the cost of repairing a framed painting, and their willingness to take on the project. The answers were at a reasonable cost and yes!
So next to Press for a cortado and pound cake, just to fend off the energy wall until I got home.
And, finally, after just over 22 miles, home before 3 o'clock.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 42°F at 12 noon
Precipitation: none
Winds: 25 to 33 mph (gusts to 43) from the southwest
Clothing: Skinsuit, longsleeve undershirt, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed 48x16
Time: 02:30 for 22.24 miles
Heart rate: no data
Bikeway users: none others
Showing posts with label Five Rivers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Five Rivers. Show all posts
11 February 2013
17 November 2012
Why I'm not commuting
Saturday, 17 November 2012
Today was cool, but great for a two-layer ride. And this was my first ride in a couple weeks, during a long fallow period of riding because of classes taken at Wright State. And for other reasons.
What's been keeping me from commuting
It has been 9 months since I commuted to work regularly by bike. My last work commute was a day before Eastman Kodak "offered" me "early retirement." On the same day they served lay-off notices to the first 30% wave of their employees. Over that period, I've been rethinking what it must mean now to use my bicycle in a meaningful way that relates to commuting by bike, now that my workplace is my home.
I've been busy in the past 9 months, busier even than when I was a direct employee. The time saw a change in mindset from job hunting to building a viable business. Eastman Kodak provided 8 weeks of coaching for the job hunt, hosted by Judith Schimpf, a sensitive facilitator at Lee Hecht Harrison. I ended the sessions early to start taking Summer classes in marketing at Wright State. I started with the basic Introduction to Marketing, taught by Dr. Wakiuru Wamwara-Mbugua, whose pre-professorial experience included several demographic and interest group studies. Then I completed the Summer with Entrepreneurial Small Business, taught by Dr. Kendall Goodrich. His background includes management positions in large companies' marketing departments, and his advice superbly guided the building of a Business Plan for what was to become my company. And now I'm studying College Algebra, a pre-requisite for taking Managerial Finance.
At least since the Entrepreneurship class, my business Documentorium has been gestating. I've become more receptive to contracts instead of a direct position (though Chuck is much less comfortable with the idea than I). I've designed a simple business card and brochure, with stationery to match. I've gone to two trade shows now, and I have planned and started an approach to contacting target clients. I've been practicing my Elevator Pitch in phone calls and meetings. It's getting honed and focused as I use it. Best news: I've been active with a couple contracted jobs, though I'm not working full-time yet in a writing capacity. So where I have available time, I spend it in administrative and sales activities.
What's been my biking activity—and hope
In this time of transition, I've biked to the local post office when I had books to deliver after they sold from our Amazon storefront, Words and Beyond. I biked also a few times to the Second Street Market. But for the most part, my bike leaned on the wall while I drove to classes at Wright State University and to errands.
I know that the direct route to Wright State is not one I want to use for biking. Way back in 1980, I had taken the route along Colonel Glenn Highway and Airway. Even then the traffic was extraordinarily heavy, and it's worse—much worse—now. There is good news, though; construction is underway on a dedicated route that can end at the university. Perhaps as soon as late Spring 2013, Five Rivers MetroParks will complete a connector between Eastwood Park and Huffman Dam. Then the route will be indirect, but safe—a ride of 12 miles that should be easily done in 50 minutes.
Reconsidering the bike commute
So working from home means rethinking what a commute is. One alternative: take a morning ride to prepare for work at home or a late afternoon ride to mark the end of the workday at home. Another alternative: use more errands as opportunities for bike commuting. Another alternative: rethink my comfort level, so I can dress in casual business instead of cycling lycra and arrive at a destination without needing a shower.
Today's ride conditions
I started out around 3 p.m., took the bikeways to the gym that was known as Cardinal Fitness (now it's Every Body Fitness), and turned around for the return trip. I checked my time about a mile after the turnaround: 4:19. Then after coming up from the bikeway and riding the neighborhood streets back home, I saw Marty Moseman and talked with her for a bit before I got home at 5:10.
Temperature: 53 to 59°F at 16:45
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 15 mph from the south and east
Clothing: Skinsuit, longsleeve undershirt, ankle socks, light tights, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed 48x16
Time: about 2:00:00 for about 26 miles
Heart rate: no data
Bikeway users: no data
Today was cool, but great for a two-layer ride. And this was my first ride in a couple weeks, during a long fallow period of riding because of classes taken at Wright State. And for other reasons.
What's been keeping me from commuting
It has been 9 months since I commuted to work regularly by bike. My last work commute was a day before Eastman Kodak "offered" me "early retirement." On the same day they served lay-off notices to the first 30% wave of their employees. Over that period, I've been rethinking what it must mean now to use my bicycle in a meaningful way that relates to commuting by bike, now that my workplace is my home.
I've been busy in the past 9 months, busier even than when I was a direct employee. The time saw a change in mindset from job hunting to building a viable business. Eastman Kodak provided 8 weeks of coaching for the job hunt, hosted by Judith Schimpf, a sensitive facilitator at Lee Hecht Harrison. I ended the sessions early to start taking Summer classes in marketing at Wright State. I started with the basic Introduction to Marketing, taught by Dr. Wakiuru Wamwara-Mbugua, whose pre-professorial experience included several demographic and interest group studies. Then I completed the Summer with Entrepreneurial Small Business, taught by Dr. Kendall Goodrich. His background includes management positions in large companies' marketing departments, and his advice superbly guided the building of a Business Plan for what was to become my company. And now I'm studying College Algebra, a pre-requisite for taking Managerial Finance.
At least since the Entrepreneurship class, my business Documentorium has been gestating. I've become more receptive to contracts instead of a direct position (though Chuck is much less comfortable with the idea than I). I've designed a simple business card and brochure, with stationery to match. I've gone to two trade shows now, and I have planned and started an approach to contacting target clients. I've been practicing my Elevator Pitch in phone calls and meetings. It's getting honed and focused as I use it. Best news: I've been active with a couple contracted jobs, though I'm not working full-time yet in a writing capacity. So where I have available time, I spend it in administrative and sales activities.
What's been my biking activity—and hope
In this time of transition, I've biked to the local post office when I had books to deliver after they sold from our Amazon storefront, Words and Beyond. I biked also a few times to the Second Street Market. But for the most part, my bike leaned on the wall while I drove to classes at Wright State University and to errands.
I know that the direct route to Wright State is not one I want to use for biking. Way back in 1980, I had taken the route along Colonel Glenn Highway and Airway. Even then the traffic was extraordinarily heavy, and it's worse—much worse—now. There is good news, though; construction is underway on a dedicated route that can end at the university. Perhaps as soon as late Spring 2013, Five Rivers MetroParks will complete a connector between Eastwood Park and Huffman Dam. Then the route will be indirect, but safe—a ride of 12 miles that should be easily done in 50 minutes.
Reconsidering the bike commute
So working from home means rethinking what a commute is. One alternative: take a morning ride to prepare for work at home or a late afternoon ride to mark the end of the workday at home. Another alternative: use more errands as opportunities for bike commuting. Another alternative: rethink my comfort level, so I can dress in casual business instead of cycling lycra and arrive at a destination without needing a shower.
Today's ride conditions
I started out around 3 p.m., took the bikeways to the gym that was known as Cardinal Fitness (now it's Every Body Fitness), and turned around for the return trip. I checked my time about a mile after the turnaround: 4:19. Then after coming up from the bikeway and riding the neighborhood streets back home, I saw Marty Moseman and talked with her for a bit before I got home at 5:10.
Temperature: 53 to 59°F at 16:45
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 15 mph from the south and east
Clothing: Skinsuit, longsleeve undershirt, ankle socks, light tights, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed 48x16
Time: about 2:00:00 for about 26 miles
Heart rate: no data
Bikeway users: no data
23 March 2011
Accessibility by bike from the Miami Valley bikeways
At the dinner meeting of Dayton Bicycle Adventures, I asked several people if they planned on commuting to work by bicycle. —Now I didn't ask everyone there, just those few sitting near me.— Most replies were along the lines of "I don't have a way to freshen up after the ride." "The distance is too far." "The bikeways don't connect directly enough." "The streets from home (or to the workplace) are too busy."
The last two reasons are a heart breaker for me, since we often celebrate the 300 miles or more of bikeways in the Miami Valley. But the reasons reveal an essential truth.
How the Bikeway System Fails the Suburbs
Here is the Dayton-Xenia bikeway system plotted over a Google Earth map. The brighter green paths are the Great Miami River Trail (GMR) and the Little Miami River Trail (LMR). The pale green paths are the Creekside Trail that connects the GMR and the LMR trails and the Ohio to Erie Trail that connects toward Columbus and northeastern Ohio. The blue paths are various trails that are presently incomplete, with plans from the MVRBC and Metroparks to complete them.
With those incomplete trails, the Dayton area has these conditions.
But I too look forward to the day when all the trails are contiguous. Some day the system will look like this, with the violet paths connecting the green and blue bikeways that exist now.
How the Bikeway System Fails the Commuter
or the Errand Runner
I'm also lucky in how well my bike commute correlates to my auto commute. My 12.5-mile commute, which has 85% of it on the bikeway, is an ideal distance for combining transportation and exercise. With very little exertion, it is a commute of an hour and 10 minutes. With a training intent, it is a commute of 45 minutes. On the other hand, my most direct commute by auto is 9.5 miles and takes about 20 minutes. The same route by bicycle takes about 30 minutes at the highest intensity. (Though that timing is from my experience of more than 15 years ago, when I was much stronger—and less cowed by auto traffic.)
I know of only one cyclist who regularly commutes between Miamisburg and the Research Park area. I see him (Jeff) only during the "rush hours" of long Summer days, since his bike commute requires more than an hour door-to-door.*Corrections at the break.* I estimate that his auto commute is 15 miles, and that his bike commute is 20 miles. He follows the auto route in outline, going north to downtown Dayton, east, and then south to Research Park. But his bike route goes to the Dayton hub on the north side of downtown, while the auto route goes to the freeway junction at the south side of downtown. That lack of correlation would dissuade most cyclists from commuting. Other cyclists consider this 20-mile distance much too far for commuting, and I believe Jeff commutes by bike frequently only during the Summer.
The regional bikeways follow a modified hub-and-spokes design. The design has two hubs: Dayton and Xenia. Each of these hubs have five spokes. The Dayton hub spokes are...
I'll offer an idea in another post.
The last two reasons are a heart breaker for me, since we often celebrate the 300 miles or more of bikeways in the Miami Valley. But the reasons reveal an essential truth.
How the Bikeway System Fails the Suburbs
Here is the Dayton-Xenia bikeway system plotted over a Google Earth map. The brighter green paths are the Great Miami River Trail (GMR) and the Little Miami River Trail (LMR). The pale green paths are the Creekside Trail that connects the GMR and the LMR trails and the Ohio to Erie Trail that connects toward Columbus and northeastern Ohio. The blue paths are various trails that are presently incomplete, with plans from the MVRBC and Metroparks to complete them.
 |
| Click the image to see a larger version. Then click Back on your browser. |
- Much of Kettering, Oakwood, and Centerville are cut off from the bikeways.
- Northwest Dayton and Trotwood are effectively cut off from the fully-connected system, with the poor state of the bikeway adjacent to McGee Boulevard.
- Englewood and Union are similarly cut off, with the lack of a connector from Englewood Reserve to, for example, Sinclair Park.
- Huber Heights has access to the bikeway, but only at the extreme west edge of the city.
- Fairborn is also cut off, due to the inability to develop the right-of-way through Riverside and the Dayton well fields that otherwise would connect to the Huffman Reserve and the Huffman Prairie bikeway.
- Two of the four largest potential sources of enthusiastic, year-round bike commuters—Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Wright State University—are poorly served by gaps in the bikeway system.
- And finishing our clockwise survey, the Iron Horse Trail edges toward The Greene, then feints westerly before it disappears in the recreational facility around Delco Park. Thus Bellbrook, once the area renowned for superb cycling roads, is left isolated, even from the Little Miami Trail.
But I too look forward to the day when all the trails are contiguous. Some day the system will look like this, with the violet paths connecting the green and blue bikeways that exist now.
 |
| Click the image to see a larger version. Then click Back on your browser. |
How the Bikeway System Fails the Commuter
or the Errand Runner
I'm also lucky in how well my bike commute correlates to my auto commute. My 12.5-mile commute, which has 85% of it on the bikeway, is an ideal distance for combining transportation and exercise. With very little exertion, it is a commute of an hour and 10 minutes. With a training intent, it is a commute of 45 minutes. On the other hand, my most direct commute by auto is 9.5 miles and takes about 20 minutes. The same route by bicycle takes about 30 minutes at the highest intensity. (Though that timing is from my experience of more than 15 years ago, when I was much stronger—and less cowed by auto traffic.)
I know of only one cyclist who regularly commutes between Miamisburg and the Research Park area. I see him (Jeff) only during the "rush hours" of long Summer days, since his bike commute requires more than an hour door-to-door.*Corrections at the break.* I estimate that his auto commute is 15 miles, and that his bike commute is 20 miles. He follows the auto route in outline, going north to downtown Dayton, east, and then south to Research Park. But his bike route goes to the Dayton hub on the north side of downtown, while the auto route goes to the freeway junction at the south side of downtown. That lack of correlation would dissuade most cyclists from commuting. Other cyclists consider this 20-mile distance much too far for commuting, and I believe Jeff commutes by bike frequently only during the Summer.
The regional bikeways follow a modified hub-and-spokes design. The design has two hubs: Dayton and Xenia. Each of these hubs have five spokes. The Dayton hub spokes are...
- GMR trail north to Taylorsville Reserve and on to Troy
- Mad River and Creekside Trails to Beavercreek and Xenia
- GMR trail south to Miamisburg and Franklin
- Wolf Creek trail eventually to Trotwood and Verona
- Stillwater River trail through DeWeese and Wegerzyn Parks to Sinclair Park and eventually to Englewood
- LMR trail north to Yellow Springs and Springfield
- Ohio and Erie trail to Charleston and London
- Ohio Mound trail to Jamestown and eventually to Washington Court House
- LMR trail south to Waynesville and Loveland
- Creekside and Mad River trails to Dayton
I'll offer an idea in another post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)