Bike-commute day 94—to work

Friday, 14 October 2011

Somewhere before the Findlay Avenue bridge, I saw Gary and Amy on their tandem, going my way. I slowed and said hello as I neared them and continued at their pace. They live near DeWeese Park, and every day they ride the bikeway, alternating to a turnaround at Woodman Avenue on the Iron Horse Trail or at Grange Hall Road on the Creekside Trail.

Though their pace is about 15 mph, it isn't quite leisurely. I heard Gary say, "Come on, give me some more pedal" to Amy. A couple times I noticed that Gary was exerting more effort, bringing Amy's cadence up a bit higher than it had been. Still, throughout the five miles we rode together, we had plenty of breath for conversation.

After we parted ways at the old railroad trestle, I saw Millie and Gladys walking south from the Linden Avenue crossing. I slowed only long enough to tell Millie that I had seen her walking yesterday, from my car as I crossed the overpass on highway 35.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 50 to 52°F at 07:45
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 10 mph from the southwest
Clothing: Skinsuit, longsleeve undershirt, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:47:55 for 11.95 miles
Heart rate: 115 bpm HRave, 146 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 4 cyclists, 3 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 87—to work

Wednesday, 28 September 2011

This morning I was antsy to get going, waiting for the rosy-fingered Dawn or the yellow-wreathed Maple to announce it was light enough to get on the way. But the day's light snuck in unannounced, somewhere above the cloud cover.

I was getting lonely on the commute, when finally I saw another cyclist—no, three cyclists in a tight, single-file group—just north of Airway. They were coming toward me, dressed in two and three layers of cool-weather bike wear, a mix of purples, pinks, blues, and black. I guessed that they were part of the organized weekly ride that leaves the Gazebo at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesdays. Then, halfway through the canopy behind the DPL headquarters, I saw an infrequent regular on the bikeway, pedalling fast on a hybrid, wearing casual work clothes, the front of his unzipped hoodie flapping below his arms.

Then finally, after crossing Linden, I saw the first pedestrians of the day: Millie and Gladys heading south. I slowed to their speed as I reached them, and we talked for a while, almost for three and a half minutes. Their health is holding up, but Gladys told me of her husband's mild stroke that was discovered only when he had an eye exam in July. They also shared that one of Millie's two husbands had died in the 70s and the second had died after they had divorced and Millie had dropped frequent contact with him. Gladys spoke of her first marriage to a man who abused her but who presented little drama when they divorced after seven years. And now Gladys has been married 46 years.

In the remainder of my ride, I was visited by happy memories of the 31 years together with Chuck:

• making a weekend visit to Ohio Caverns that was one of several day trips we took during my convalescence from a life-threatening auto-bike collision in 1984
• playing volleyball on a Friday night with a supportive group of gay men at the Pan-Pacific Pavilion in West Hollywood
• playing one of our weekly raquetball games at the downtown YMCA
• renewing our marriage promises in the garden chapel of Corpus Christi church on Forest Avenue
• snuggling together with a projector behind the bed for a screening of Wild Strawberries 
• working together on the final-final-final edit of his book Dark Dreams 2.0
• riding together in our Toyota Celica to Wright State for the classes I attended and the classes he taught
• arriving late at night at the Headlands Center for the Arts after an evening dinner in San Francisco
• walking through the Jardin du Luxembourg on our week-long visit to Paris.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 50 to 55°F at 07:25
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 5 to 10 to 15 mph from the nor south ea west
Clothing: Skinsuit, longsleeve undershirt, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:46:53 for 11.95 miles
Heart rate: 126 bpm HRave, 153 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 6 cyclists, 3 pedestrians, 1 dogs
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 86—to work

Tuesday, 27 September 2011

After a weekend of rain, some heavy, the lower bikeway was flooded to a depth of a few inches. I guessed it might be clear as I headed down the ramp from the Monument Avenue bridge, but the flooding started just below the YMCA. I took the ramp up to the gravel path under the Y, and continued across to Riverscape and the Bike Hub.

The bikeway from the confluence of the Mad and Miami rivers was passable. Only one small stretch of 20 feet had been flooded earlier in the night.

The rest of the commute was usual, with few others on the path to allow a fairly fast passage.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 51 to 55°F at 07:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 10 mph from the southeast
Clothing: Skinsuit, longsleeve undershirt, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:44:54 for 12.11 miles
Heart rate: 135 bpm HRave, 151 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 1 cyclists, 6 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 84—to work

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

Though the sidewalk and street at home seemed dry after the light rains overnight, much of the bikeway remained damp due to the high humidity. Wherever the path was asphalt, it tended to retain a sheen of moisture; where concrete, it was completely dry. So my first bike-commute since last Thursday was gentle, tentative.

Few others were on the bikeway, but the regulars included Gary and Amy on their tandem and Millie and Gladys on their morning stroll. But making up for the low numbers of cyclists and pedestrians were the gnats.

It is gnat time! Their presence means slight changes to how I bike: keep my mouth shut and breathe through the nose, keep my sunglasses tight up against the helmet front, ziip up myskinsuit to the neck, and get used to the gentle strikes on the bare face, arms, and legs. These critters swarm together in whatever rays of sunlight they can find, often just at the edge of a shady bend. The swarms can have hundreds of gnats, and often that means that a dozen or more strike me when I pass through the swarm.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 62 to 64°F at 07:15
Precipitation: less than 0.1 in since midnight
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the northwest
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:43:14 for 11.93 miles
Heart rate: not available
Bikeway users: 4 cyclists, 6 pedestrians, 1 dogs
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 78—to work

Thursday, 1 September 2011

Pushed for speed from the first checkpoint on, aiming toward keeping my HR between 130 and 140. I also timed several of the areas that are most suitable for sprints. Then after checkpoint three, I saw Millie and Gladys on their walk and I slowed to talk with them as they walked toward their homes.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 70 to 74°F at 07:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the south
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:43:28 for 11.92 miles
Heart rate: 126 bpm HRave, 142 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 2 cyclists, 16 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 70—to work

Thursday, 18 August 2011

It was a slow, easy pace today, perhaps I need to recover from last night's ride of higher intensity. Overnight, I woke perhaps four times with cramps in my right calf, which is another sign of a higher level of performance yesterday. So I enjoyed the time on the bike without pressure to make a good time.

I stopped to introduce myself to one of the regulars, Paul (yet another Paul) and his dog Stinky. We talked a bit, and I found he's been using the bikeway to walk his dog ever since it was built. Back on my way, I saw Gladys and Millie on their way to Linden Avenue and Gene and his dog Patches under the Haverfield Canopy.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 73 to 77°F at 07:55
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 10 mph from the north
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:42:35 for 11.92 miles
Heart rate: 123 bpm HRave, 144 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 32 cyclists, 8 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride

Bike-commute day 49—to work

Thursday, 7 July 2011.

Gaggles of geese gathered at the water's edge below Riverscape this morning. They must have been spooked still by the fireworks, because they scattered easily with flapping wing swaps as I approached. Perhaps it also helped that I hissed in my exertion to pass quickly to my first checkpoint.

Along the Mad River, I began to recognize my lower energy level, probably due to my late bedtime last night. Even noticing a "rabbit" rider ahead at the Findlay Avenue bridge didn't elicit a chase. When I did catch him, west of Eastwood Park, I asked if he was going to work, and he puffed out an answer, "No; riding to Xenia."

I rode on until I saw Gladys and Millie in shades of pink emerging from the DPL canopy, on their way to Burkhardt Road. Somebody's going to kiss me! I thought when I saw the pink hues. When I stopped to report my thought to them, Gladys smooched an air kiss my way. The Xenia-bound cyclist passed us, and that was my reason to return to the commute. I reached him again still north of where the Iron Horse trail splits from the Creekside, and we spoke a little about our typical riding activities.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 67 to 72°F at 07:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time:  00:42:58 for 11.94 miles
Heart rate: 129 bpm HRave, 146 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 7 cyclists, 9 pedestrians, 2 dogs
Here is a playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 46—to work

Thursday, 30 June 2011.

The day started with a bad omen: I forgot my backpack, had to turn around to retrieve it, remove my helmet to reach the house keys around my neck, and return to the ride by doubling back through two blocks. But the omen was false. The only other problem was the crowds of Canadian geese who were commuting en masse along the banks of the Miami River at the confluence from the Mad River. These commuters are a messy bunch. You can always tell when they've been around.

As I approached Riverscape from the Monument Avenue bridge, a gaggle of geese waddled with some haste down the grassy bank, on a tear to beat me to the bikeway on the river's edge. Before the leaders reached the concrete path, I called out "Hup! Hup!" The first geese halted. I continued, calling "Hup!" frequently. All but a few of the 3 dozen geese stopped short of the bikeway, and I passed by without problem.

Not 100 yards distant was another gaggle. This time, all were resting well in full occupation of the bikeway. Have I found the Dayton Tahrir Square? Why do these interlopers feel such a birthright to the bikeway? were my thoughts as I slowed and resumed my warning barks to clear a path through them. Then just before the fountain jets, another gaggle, this time with two- and three-month-old goslings learning their rights as squatters.

I've found the Canadian geese, Branta canadensis, typically rest within sight of water, and they avoid locations that fail to provide for a quick flight either over or away from the water. (For example, seldom do I find geese at the concrete-walled bikeway below the YMCA, at the curve around the meadow near the Findlay Avenue bridge, or on the plateau between the Findlay Avenue bridge and the end of East Monument Avenue. And never on the bikeway from Eastwood Park south to the Iron Horse Trail.) Some exceptions may be larger expanses of asphalt parking areas, which may be mistaken for still waters from the air. It seems that a grass barrier about three feet tall at the water's edge is enough to make the geese feel uncomfortably distant from the water body.

The geese around Dayton are no longer migratory. I've seen one male with an injured wing for at least three years, year-round. The same pair of geese has taken the Kodak parking lot for three years as a favorite location for their annual brood of three to seven goslings.

It is indeed correct that Canadian geese are a protected species, and killing or capturing them is a felony. [Note on 2011.09.13: My information here dates from a publication of 1996. Since writing this, I found that Canadian geese are allowed early, fall, and winter hunting seasons in Ohio. The hunting must be licensed and along strict guidelines. The season dates vary by year and location.] Occasional exemptions have been granted to states and other jurisdictions to cull an exceptionally overgrown population. If only, I think each Thanksgiving, I could have roast goose for dinner!

Much further into the commute, I found Gladys and Millie on their daily excursion, joined by a third woman. I slowed to talk, pedalling slowly as they introduced me to their visitor from North Carolina, Ethel.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 59 to 64°F at 07:10
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time:  00:44:16 for 12.23 miles
Heart rate: 131 bpm HRave, 160 bpm* HRmax
Bikeway users: 7 cyclists, 12 pedestrians
Here is a playback of the ride.

* False report of "176" to "193" for 14 seconds.

Bike-commute day 44—to work

Tuesday, 28 June 2011.

I saw Gary and Amy on their tandem, on the low plateau above the Mad River. This was one of the earliest passings by this year, and an indicator of how late was my start today. I opened up my intensity then, hoping to make up some time.

As I navigated the curve around the DP&L executive golf course, I saw a flash of two convict-orange-clothed walkers ahead in bright sunlight. As I neared, the walkers moved into shade and the bright orange shifted to a tea rose hue. I recognized them as I neared; it was Gladys and Millie. They had crossed Linden and were headed toward Burkhardt, extending their normal range quite a bit. I stopped to say, "From a distance, your orange was brightly lit, and I thought I would be accosted by some escaped convicts. But I think I'm safe with you two." They laughed and bragged about their excursion beyond their usual walk to Linden. As I clipped in to continue the commute, Millie warned me of another cyclist's approach from behind me, and I said, "Oh yeah. I passed him around Burkhardt. He's slow, at least compared to me. See ya."

After the short conversation, I opened up the intensity once again. In the last 2 legs, I closed with short sprints into Research Park, maintaining an HR of more than 150 bpm almost 3 minutes up to Airway, less than a minute between Woodman and Spaulding, and almost 2 minutes up to Research Boulevard.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 68 to 70°F at 07:35
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the southwest
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time:  00:40:46 for 11.99 miles
Heart rate: 133 bpm HRave, 161 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 9 cyclists, 16 pedestrians, 2 dogs
Here is a playback of the ride.

Bike-commute day 43—to work

Monday, 27 June 2011.

So is that person ahead walking toward me or away? I wondered as I crossed the Monument Avenue bridge this morning. As I approached, I could tell her direction and called out loudly "On your right" from about 100 feet away. No sign of hearing me. Then again, less of a loud call, from 50 feet. Still no sign. Then louder than conversationally, my outdoor voice, from 15 feet, "On your right." She looked to her left, pivoted almost 270 degrees before she saw me. And jumped at the surprise of a passing cyclist.

Was she wearing earbuds? I don't think so. Was she in her own world? I think clearly yes. Should I have given my shrill whistle instead of calling out from 100 feet away? Perhaps, but on a sidewalk along a roadway, I think a whistle is threatening instead of warning. And it provides no detail, just an approaching presence. Especially on streets and sidwalk crossings, a voice warning is better. I think.

On the bikeway, though, I tend to announce my approach first with a whistle from about 500 feet, a tenth of a mile. If the pedestrian (or cyclist) gives no acknowledgement, I whistle again at about 250 feet. Then it's verbal information if necessary. These biekway users who need two, three, four announcements of my approach are frequently the ones who turn to the left when I call out, "On your right!" What gives with the confusion of left and right, I wonder?

When I pass a walker with earbuds, I wonder how safe they think they are, shutting out contact with others on the way. Drowning out all traffic noise, too. And ignoring nature.

I have no patience at all with cyclists who do the same. Too much can happen in the quick traverse of 18 feet per second (12 mph). When I pass a cyclist who's obliterating his aural connection with the road, I have a strong desire to yank the buds out of their place. But I exercise restraint. And enjoy watching them jerk to attentiveness as I pass, after they had several audible signals of my approach. Audible to everyone but them.


I've been seeing more of the tandem cyclists, the father and daughter Gary and Amy, in the last couple weeks. Today I saw them in Eastwood Park, riding toward downtown. I hope I soon see them riding the same direction, so we can catch up on what's happened since we talked last year. Last year, Gary proudly announced as they passed me the number of consecutive riding days they had reached. He hasn't done that yet this year. Maybe he's saving up for some record number to announce.

At Airway Road, I let two cars from the east pass the crossing before I moved to the island. A car from the west, though she had 300 feet of approach, whizzed on through the crossing without a hesitation. Her license plate reads EQN 8226, for those of you who can check the Ohio vehicle registrations online.

As I crossed Linden Avenue, I saw Gledys & Millie coming toward me on their morning constitutional, and I greeted them with "Happy Monday" as I rode by.
The weather forecast for today gives a 50% chance of rain today. Based on the radar animations, the day will have a period of light to heavy rain from 10:45 through 13:00, followed by about 2:15 of no rain, and an evening of moderate to heavy rain. I'll either call Chuck to pick me up in time for getting to the film or actually leave work early enough to arrive home before the second line of heavy rain arrives—it's too early now to predict from the radar, but possibly as early as 15:30 or as late as 17:30.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 60 to 63°F at 07:15
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm to 5 mph from the southwest
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time:  00:42:31 for 11.98 miles
Heart rate: 133 bpm HRave, 153 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 4 cyclists, 18 pedestrians
Here is a playback of the ride.