Wednesday, 13 July 2011.
I pedaled up to a cyclist on the Creekside Trail south of Airway. As I passed him, I asked, "Are you going to work?"
He responded with a chuckle, and that made me reverse pedal some to slow to his speed.
"I guess that's a 'No,' huh?"
"Yeah. I'm a student. Out for a ride before I go to class."
"Oh. What school do you go to?"
As he answered "Sinclair" and mentioned his plans to transfer in the Fall to Wright State, I had almost formed a piece of advice on the need to wear a helmet. Thought twice about it when I appraised his hairstyle, a medium-length 'Fro, as being well-groomed and probably important to him.
Instead, I pursued another line, "Do you live around here?" I glanced at his handlebars that held some object. It was not the helmet I expected to see hanging from the stem, but a fairly large handlebar pack.
But his response was indirect, I guess. He turned at an off-path into a neighborhood, "See ya around."
Ride conditions
Temperature: 70 to 73°F at 07:45
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:41:46 for 11.92 miles
Heart rate: 130 bpm HRave, 147 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 9 cyclists, 1 pedestrian, 1 dog
Here is a playback of the ride.
Showing posts with label helmet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label helmet. Show all posts
13 July 2011
06 July 2011
Bike-commute day 48—to work
Flat and HitchHiking
Wednesday, 6 July 2011.
Just after the second checkpoint, I saw a cyclist ahead of me taking a leisurely pace. As I reached him, I saw his hair flying. I warned him for the overtaking, saw no reaction, and I glanced at him as I passed. Earbuds were wrapped around his lobes.
I slowed to a crawl in the winding area between the crossings for Springfield Street and North Smithville and waited for him to reach me. I said, "You should take one of those earbuds out so you can hear traffic while you're riding."
"But I can hear you. The music's not on now." He was in the early twenties, his neck-length brown curls were disheveled from the ride. His gentle features were countered by a jutting lower jaw, tightening expression, and narrowed eyes.
In response to more about the need to hear traffic, he said, "Why don't you mind your own business. I can do what I want."
Sure, I can ride on by, mind my own business, and let him think that it's fine to ride without a helmet and to close out the traffic sounds around him. Perhaps he doesn't need a reminder that 175 pounds of flesh and bike are no match for 1800 pounds of power and auto. That even a slow speed of 12 mph means he covers 17.6 feet before he has a second to reach for the brakes. That a helmet often means the difference between minor injuries and death.
Was I wasting my breath, my time to continue talking to a young rider who assumes his invulnerability?
Doesn't the biking community need to take on a more visible public education role, where cyclists are taught about preventing and surviving accidents, motorists are encouraged to share the road and obey marked crossings, and all are taught to follow traffic laws and provide basic courtesy to others?
I considered these questions and others as I continued through my commute.
In the middle of the last leg of the commute, everything was going fine. Nice speed, little traffic, friendly greetings from the cyclists and walkers. And in one moment, I heard "Phiss phiss phiss" and then "phew, phew; phew. Phew." as I slowed to a stop.
A flat, judging by the sound. I looked at and felt the front tire: hard and perfectly inflated. Then the back tire: very soft, though it wasn't completely deflated yet. The air escape had stopped, and I rotated the tire to find what had caused the flat. I noticed a few points where fabric was showing through the rubber, and those were indications of what to expect. And when I rubbed my thumb over several threads that showed through the rubber, the fissure appeared, tube rubber popped through, and more air escaped.
With no chance of changing the tire itself, I lifted the bike to my shoulder and started walking toward Woodman Avenue, only 300 yards ahead of me. —Just enough time to say hi to Paul, this time without his two dogs, as he jogged passed me.— Once at Woodman, I took off my helmet and sunglasses, put on my happiest smile, and held out my thumb to the passing southbound traffic. After a wave of traffic passed, I looked behind me to check for adequate room for someone to stop. I moved about 30 feet north, to the end of a long, empty side lane intended for parking access to businesses.
Several waves of traffic passed, and I held up my thumb selectively. I knew that female drivers were unlikely to pick up a male hitchhiker, unless they happened to know me and work at Kodak also. Since my fixed-gear bike has bolted-on wheels, it wouldn't fit in most cars. And since drivers of business vehicles are usually scrupulous about liability issues, I held out my thumb only to male drivers of non-commercial pickups and vans.
I noticed a bronze Ford F-150 in the northbound lane make a u-turn at the light. The pickup pulled into the parking lane in front of me, and the driver waved for me to advance. I walked up to his window, and he said, "My wife is a biker. Figured I'd want someone to stop for her, so I should do the same." So I lifted the bike from my shoulder to the truck bed and climbed into the cab. He asked where I was headed, and he saw no problem with the side trip to Research Park from his normal course down Woodman. He even offered the use of his cellphone if I needed to call in to the office, though the travel to Kodak took less time than a phone call. The time was enough for introductions, a bit of talk about his wife's triathlons and his mountain biking at MoMBA, and quick interjected directions to the engineering entrance to the building.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 69 to 72°F at 07:55
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:36:28 for 9.95 miles
Heart rate: 125 bpm HRave, 141 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 9 cyclists, 7 pedestrians, 1 dog
Here is a playback of the ride.
Just after the second checkpoint, I saw a cyclist ahead of me taking a leisurely pace. As I reached him, I saw his hair flying. I warned him for the overtaking, saw no reaction, and I glanced at him as I passed. Earbuds were wrapped around his lobes.
I slowed to a crawl in the winding area between the crossings for Springfield Street and North Smithville and waited for him to reach me. I said, "You should take one of those earbuds out so you can hear traffic while you're riding."
"But I can hear you. The music's not on now." He was in the early twenties, his neck-length brown curls were disheveled from the ride. His gentle features were countered by a jutting lower jaw, tightening expression, and narrowed eyes.
In response to more about the need to hear traffic, he said, "Why don't you mind your own business. I can do what I want."
Sure, I can ride on by, mind my own business, and let him think that it's fine to ride without a helmet and to close out the traffic sounds around him. Perhaps he doesn't need a reminder that 175 pounds of flesh and bike are no match for 1800 pounds of power and auto. That even a slow speed of 12 mph means he covers 17.6 feet before he has a second to reach for the brakes. That a helmet often means the difference between minor injuries and death.
Was I wasting my breath, my time to continue talking to a young rider who assumes his invulnerability?
Doesn't the biking community need to take on a more visible public education role, where cyclists are taught about preventing and surviving accidents, motorists are encouraged to share the road and obey marked crossings, and all are taught to follow traffic laws and provide basic courtesy to others?
I considered these questions and others as I continued through my commute.
In the middle of the last leg of the commute, everything was going fine. Nice speed, little traffic, friendly greetings from the cyclists and walkers. And in one moment, I heard "Phiss phiss phiss" and then "phew, phew; phew. Phew." as I slowed to a stop.
A flat, judging by the sound. I looked at and felt the front tire: hard and perfectly inflated. Then the back tire: very soft, though it wasn't completely deflated yet. The air escape had stopped, and I rotated the tire to find what had caused the flat. I noticed a few points where fabric was showing through the rubber, and those were indications of what to expect. And when I rubbed my thumb over several threads that showed through the rubber, the fissure appeared, tube rubber popped through, and more air escaped.
With no chance of changing the tire itself, I lifted the bike to my shoulder and started walking toward Woodman Avenue, only 300 yards ahead of me. —Just enough time to say hi to Paul, this time without his two dogs, as he jogged passed me.— Once at Woodman, I took off my helmet and sunglasses, put on my happiest smile, and held out my thumb to the passing southbound traffic. After a wave of traffic passed, I looked behind me to check for adequate room for someone to stop. I moved about 30 feet north, to the end of a long, empty side lane intended for parking access to businesses.
Several waves of traffic passed, and I held up my thumb selectively. I knew that female drivers were unlikely to pick up a male hitchhiker, unless they happened to know me and work at Kodak also. Since my fixed-gear bike has bolted-on wheels, it wouldn't fit in most cars. And since drivers of business vehicles are usually scrupulous about liability issues, I held out my thumb only to male drivers of non-commercial pickups and vans.
I noticed a bronze Ford F-150 in the northbound lane make a u-turn at the light. The pickup pulled into the parking lane in front of me, and the driver waved for me to advance. I walked up to his window, and he said, "My wife is a biker. Figured I'd want someone to stop for her, so I should do the same." So I lifted the bike from my shoulder to the truck bed and climbed into the cab. He asked where I was headed, and he saw no problem with the side trip to Research Park from his normal course down Woodman. He even offered the use of his cellphone if I needed to call in to the office, though the travel to Kodak took less time than a phone call. The time was enough for introductions, a bit of talk about his wife's triathlons and his mountain biking at MoMBA, and quick interjected directions to the engineering entrance to the building.
Ride conditions
Temperature: 69 to 72°F at 07:55
Precipitation: none
Winds: calm
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves.
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:36:28 for 9.95 miles
Heart rate: 125 bpm HRave, 141 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 9 cyclists, 7 pedestrians, 1 dog
Here is a playback of the ride.
17 March 2011
Logistics of Biking to Work
At a 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 sitting near.— Some replies were along the lines of "I don't have a way to freshen up after the ride."
That's often a truly fundamental issue about commuting by bicycle. If your expected commute covers more than a few miles, or if you are a cyclist who just will not take an easy ride, you'll find it important to have a shower when you clip out from your commute. Here's what you need to plan for—or at least what a guy would need to plan for. (I'm pretty much removed from knowing exactly the typical woman's needs for a refreshed feeling after a bike ride.)
Cycling clothes
You'll need three kits of cycling clothes.
Cold weather may mean at least these additional items.
Safety gear
Make sure you have
Repair pack
Make sure the under-saddle pack is filled with these essentials.
At the workplace, you'll need these items in your shaving kit.
Work clothes
If you don't have a locker or storage at work, you'll need to pack this minimum to go with each commute.
Look forward to a later note on how to prepare for actually biking the commute.
That's often a truly fundamental issue about commuting by bicycle. If your expected commute covers more than a few miles, or if you are a cyclist who just will not take an easy ride, you'll find it important to have a shower when you clip out from your commute. Here's what you need to plan for—or at least what a guy would need to plan for. (I'm pretty much removed from knowing exactly the typical woman's needs for a refreshed feeling after a bike ride.)
Cycling clothes
You'll need three kits of cycling clothes.
- One kit to wear to work, wash, and let dry.
- A second kit that is waiting at work, cleaned and dry, which you can wear on the ride home, to then wash and let dry.
- A third kit waiting at home, cleaned and dry, which then becomes "Kit One."
- A skinsuit (or jersey and bibshorts)
- Cycling gloves
- Socks
Cold weather may mean at least these additional items.
- Two pairs of Lycra tights
- Two pairs of quilted tights
- Two pairs of quilted gloves
Safety gear
Make sure you have
- Two or three helmets, enough to allow cleaning and drying between rides
- One or two pairs of impact-resistant glasses with dark, clear, and yellow lenses
- A bike chain or coiled cable with a lock
- Personal identification with Medical Power of Attorney information
- Cellphone
Repair pack
Make sure the under-saddle pack is filled with these essentials.
- 1 tube
- 3 tire irons
- Patch kit
- 2 CO2 cartridges (or a frame pump
- Multi-size hex wrench set
- Multi-
tool . - $1 in change
- $5 bill
At the workplace, you'll need these items in your shaving kit.
- Shorts & jersey cleanser
- Facial scrub
- Shampoo
- Body wash or bar of soap
- Razor
- Shaving cream
- Baby oil or moisturizer
- Towel
- A+D cream
- Baby powder
- Tube of antifungal cream
Work clothes
If you don't have a locker or storage at work, you'll need to pack this minimum to go with each commute.
- 1 pr jeans
- 1 shirt
- 1 pr socks
- 1 pr shoes
- 1 pr underwear
- Jacket at work for lunches out with coworkers
Look forward to a later note on how to prepare for actually biking the commute.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)