One Speed: Go!

Hang Up and Drive

2012-01-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

Hang up and drive on your way to a great used book sale

The VNSA book sale is coming up soon. "Hang up and drive" is a step in the right direction. I prefer "SELL IT AND RIDE A BIKE" but, we're talking baby steps here.

MY OTHER CAR IS A BICYCLE

Yellow Roses in the Canal: Phoenixterdam I Won't Forget You

2012-01-27T04:43:00.028-07:00

She stood at the rail of the bridge and threw them

The cool night air hit my skin, heightening my already awakened senses in the afterglow of the rijsttafel dinner. We rode our bicycles over together to have a drink at the bar across from her apartment, where the bartender and the guy playing jazz guitar both knew her name.

I don't remember much other detail about that night in Phoenixterdam. I know they went around and lit candles on the tables in the bar at some point. I know the jazz guitar player stayed way late, as late as the few of us who were still left kept applauding his songs. To tell the truth, I thought she was out of my league, but she kept laughing at my jokes, and it wasn't about buying drinks because she paid for several rounds herself, so I stayed and alternated between saying things that made her laugh in her beautiful way, and listening to her spin out her tales of the various beaches she had visited, or would visit, or was thinking of visiting, since October in Phoenixterdam brings such thoughts of warmer, sunnier places to mind when the weather is rainy and cool.

Eventually the bartender shooed us out the door by turning the lights back on. The jazz player played his last song, took a bow, drank the beer I got for him, and headed out. The bartender walked over to our table with a vase full of yellow roses that were past their prime but still fragrant and lovely, took them out, wrapped them in a ribbon and a bit of newspaper, and handed them to her. Kiss on his cheek, more of her beautiful laugh.

We walked out the door arm in arm, and neither of us wanted to do anything else besides walk along the canal together in the cool, foggy night. Maybe out of my league, but she felt right walking next to me, as we fell naturally into a walking rhythm where our steps matched and felt like together we could walk anywhere, and talk about anything.

The warm babbling river of words of our conversation did not stay with me all these years. But we strolled for a long time, lost track of what hours might have been passing, until the sky started to warm up with signs of dawn approaching. I'm sure we spoke of what we believed, what we hoped for, something about injustice and the plight of the poor of the world. I'm sure I talked about the statue of the four people entwined with barbed wire and morphed into nuclear missiles that I had seen on the street with all the museums. I do remember that at that point she walked over to the railing with the roses she had been carrying on some sentimental mission. She stood at the rail of the bridge and threw them into the canal, saying, "For all who come later!"

She said she knew a coffee shop that never closed, and asked if I wanted some breakfast. The question was so right at that moment, because we were both feeling chilled, and all walked out. I'll never forget our breakfast in Phoenixterdam, in part because she made the best omelet I've ever tasted, up to that moment, and ever since. The bright sunshine of dawn streaming through the window is a moment I return to on the rare occasion of seeing yellow roses floating in the canal, riding by on my bicycle.

Found on Road: Bolt!

2012-01-26T04:56:00.001-07:00

FORB!

Grade: 5
Diameter: 1/2 inch
Length: 4 1/2 inches
Approximate retail price: 75 cents
Approximate retail price of 3 inch lift kit to man up your pickup truck: $600 to $1000
Value of using correct torque and Loctite on nuts: priceless

Grade: 5. Wait, why didn't they...oh nevermind

The Olfactory Cyclist

2012-01-25T04:49:00.005-07:00

Rosemary

Vanilla.
Lilac.
Pine.
Rosemary.
Citrus.
Faint oleander.
Floral.
Dinner smells, three types along the way: meat (hamburger, perhaps meatloaf), some heavenly garlicky caserole cheezy herbaceous thing, and curry)
Cars.
Evening, after light rain.

The preceding represents the memorable parts of my bicycle commute tonight, from the perspective of my nose. Scent is probably the most mysterious of our senses, linked directly to memory, more subtle yet more influencing than we usually recognize, or know. I've mentioned countless times here how cycling exposes me to the outside world in wonderful and multiple ways that everyone who commutes by car generally misses out on, but I don't think I've ever spent the majority of the commute just concentrating on the sense of smell. So I did that tonight, and was humbled.

First, except for the profound and relatively distinct scents listed above, much of what I detected was fleeting, hard to categorize, or even not recognizable. Second, we don't have, or at least I don't have, vocabulary well suited to telling a story by scent alone. I remember watching a documentary which included people who make their living designing scents, perfumes, cosmetics, even food additives, and a large part of their profession was in maintaining a library of scents that they were familiar with, which they used in layers and combinations to build up the desired result. Until Blogger adds a Smell-o-vision widget, which on second thought might be generally unwelcome on a bicycle-related blog anyway, the short list at the top of this post is about as far as I can get.

Except to say, most of all, the vanilla stumped me. It was intense, as if someone dumped a pint of Häagen-Dazs in the bike lane, or broke a bottle of vanilla flavoring on their driveway. It's actually what got me started on this program, as I contemplated that first scent, I decided to follow my nose all the way home.

So, a kind of new beginning for me, or a new perspective, call it focused olfactory investigations on two wheels. I found it challenging. It was like turning the last sense I use into the first. And it changed my perception of the ride. I promise, this won't devolve into One Scent: Smell! But on the other hand, nozzling up the faint molecules riding on the wind, attempting to process, perceive, and categorize them, seems like fair game. What might I learn? What might I discover out there riding around? It's my blog, I'll sniff I I want to.

Not any more, I presume

Waiting for Trucks, Shooting Gaps, Glimpsing Dandelions

2012-01-24T04:44:00.081-07:00

Stats in the 2012 Bike / Ped Benchmarking Report hint this is what Americans think cycling streets is like

This is what walking, and cycling, the 44th Street bike route looks like. Traffic speed is 40+ mph.

On first glance, these scenes look like terrifically challenging settings for a cyclist, or a pedestrian, for that matter. And I admit, they are not pedestrian perfection or cycling heaven. Most of the Ten Lessons from Great Cycling Cities have not been learned in Phoenix yet, at least by most people, it's true. The motor vehicles roaring past the elbows of the pedestrians on this sidewalk are not going to land this stretch of bicycle route on any tourist brochure.

Yet after that truck backed into the empty lot where it was dropping off or carrying away fill, that street at the top was quite excellent to ride on, quiet and easy.

I can't say as much nice stuff about 44th Street at commute time, except that you wait for gaps created by the distant stoplights, hope you are a good judge of the 100 to 200 feet of stopping distance the oncoming traffic will require, and make your move. There's always the sidewalk, and I'm grateful it's legal here, a slow and deliberate bail-out for me when no gaps in traffic appear, but don't pedestrians have it tough enough through here? And the numerous driveways are blind and busy. The corner where this second shot is taken is a common spot to see cyclists who are riding from Lafayette down to Campbell, as well as runners who are connecting with the canal, which is just behind those pedestrians.

There is actually a tiny little park off to the left of this photo, to the pedestrians' right, one of those little slivers of extra leftover land that the city has seen fit to plant with grass and some great old shady trees. I pause in that park sometimes and watch the world go by. Most of it driving a car powered by gas that looks on its way to $4 a gallon again (and what lessons to be learned there, now, and in the future). Five minutes here and you get to see the best and worst of motorists, the sweet and the sour, the super-polite and the aggressive hungover maniacs, from waving to honking, it's all there.

Somehow, I've worked it out that I don't mind waiting for the trucks. Somehow, I look at shooting the gaps in the 44th Street rush hour mania as a worthwhile challenge. Froggering across these three lanes into the center left turn lane on a bicycle at dusk, then floating a bit to wait for a gap going the other way between traffic flowing at 45 mph in opposite directions, is diving head-first into dirty space that on other roads is kept incursion-free with Jersey barriers, steel retention cables, or crash barriers. There may be validity to the suggestion that at least some of my confidence and inner calm is just the endorphins working.

Then I look over and catch sight of the January dandelions. I want to lay among them, and ponder the lessons of real cycling in the city. That's me, in the city I live now, with the bike of the moment, and this life. And possibly some traffic endorphins. Oh well.

Oh my ephemeral Jandelions, whisper some lessons into my ear before the trucks blow us both away.

I Craved Carradice, Don't Need a Parking Lot

2012-01-23T05:08:00.051-07:00

Saddle bag made of cotton duck, with leather straps, made in England

I had heard of Carradice bags before, mainly from other bike bloggers, and was intrigued. But when I listed to a program on The Bike Show, "Another Day for you and me in Carradice," I was convinced. The pride of careful production, the craftsmanship, the attractiveness of something of good design made to last, along with a certain degree of respect for a small shop in England making something very good, made me want to try out a Carradice bag that fit my needs. I purchased a Low Saddle Longflap, and a Bagman quick release rack to mount it. (If you click on The Bike Show link, make sure you also check out the photos of the Carradice shop, those old machines are incredible.)

Mounted, only about half full

I could have gotten a larger one, as you can see, but I wanted to start out with something in the middle, to see what it would be like to have a larger, but not ginormous, saddle bag.

With this one, about half full, I didn't even know it was there. The Bagman rack hold it very firmly, no rattles, no wobbles, and no clearance issues with my legs.

May be close to my ideal bicycle stuff carrying system. And I may be wrong, but that flasher loop looks good.

I am always looking for better ways to carry stuff on my bike(s). A bag, a rack, a pannier, I'm looking for something durable, easy to put on the bike and take back off again, with enough capacity to carry stuff like books, some groceries sometimes, other times food and drinks for a picnic in the park, a jacket, plus assorted bike tools, a pump, a spare tube, lights, camera, lock, spare clothes, and so on. The carrying method also has to be mechanically sound, so that it doesn't cause more trouble than it solves, so it has to stay in place, can't bounce around, basically has to do its job well without complaining or falling apart. Monsoon-proof is also good for my application.

Close-up of quick release quick-released

This bag is called "long flap" because the top flap has an extra long fold-out piece that can expand the capacity of the bag significantly. I didn't need that for this ride, but if you use it, there's a water-resistant inner bag that cinches shut under the expanded flap. The quick release seems sturdy and effective, and I will report back on durability and wear as I use it more.

Bagman bending

The Bagman rack is somewhat bendable, and being a bit of a perfectionist in such matters, I had to try to bend it in order to get optimal bag volume and placement. I said "somewhat", though, because it is a stout rack, not really intended to bend in use, which is what you want. Unless you want to bend it. It's kind of an awkward shape, too, so I couldn't just stick it into my vice and bend it. The rack tubing appeared possibly stouter than seat rails, so it seemed like a bad idea to clamp it onto them and try to bend it that way. I tried several different ways to set up a good, stable way to bend it, and ended up using lag bolts and a 2x4 to hold it down. The clamps that woodworkers have on the sides or front of their workbenches might have worked, but I don't have those, so I made do.

My first thoughts for how I intended to use this bag were for commuting. I still might do that, but I really like the all-around abilities of this bag to carry a varying amount of random stuff, which might make it more suitable for my weekend adventures and urban explorations. So I mounted it on my go-anywhere weekend adventure and urban exploration bicycle to see how that works. And, once I saw The Bike Bureau commuter pannier, well, I knew what my next Carradice purchase is going to be. That actually looks very close to what I have been looking for over the last two years of bicycle commuting. It's probably also monsoon-proof.

If you look around, these bags seem affordabe to me, particularly for how well they are made. Of course, that may be the perspective of someone who just sold his car, and now has a little extra cash to spend on bike stuff. The money I just saved on car insurance for one year alone would allow me to buy a rather full collection of these fine bags. You know, that last sentence made me smile so much I think I will end there.

I purchased this bag myself. Please see my FTC notice and blog disclaimer if you have further review-related questions.

The Relentless Reckoning of Space and Time

2012-01-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

How far? How fast? Predictable? Visible? Angry? Erratic? Texting? Bald tires? Worn brakes?

"...all mountains are in a state of continuous collapse." -Laurence Gonzales

Once when I was camping with my wife and some friends, we set up our tent at the base of a desert hill of medium height. Once the camp was settled, we began our various exuberant outdoor activities. My wife and her friend J were having a conversation in the tent, where they went to get out of the sun and enjoy a cool beverage. Four of us decided to scramble up the hill which overlooked the tent. I was the last of the four going up. It was moderately steep going, and loose with gravel, so in places we were scrambling up on all fours, and moving in a zig-zag to get around the cactus and rocks that littered the hillside.

I paused to watch the three people in front of me crawl up and over an egg-shaped rock that was roughly four feet in diameter. After the three of them got over it, I crawled onto and over it myself. As I reached the top of the rock, I stood upright on it. It popped out of the hillside like a cork, dropping me onto the gravel and cactus. I slid a short distance down, not very far really, and was fortunate to be able to arrest my sliding fall by grabbing stuff. I rolled over onto my back, looked down the hill, and saw the egg-shaped boulder bounding down the hill, directly toward the tent with my wife and J in it.

It is a movie-like memory of devastating possibility that I will never forget. And there was obviously nothing that I could do, the boulder was accelerating on a direct path, and only would take another second or two to roll over the tent. I believe I yelled out, or tried to, but it all happened so fast in real-time that I am not sure about that. I am sure about the feeling of dread and powerlessness, however.

As bounding boulders do, and purely randomly, it bounced off a small bump and careened off to the left, missing the tent, but making a tremendous racket as it rolled by the fragile cloth shelter. My wife and J piled out, and looked up the hill to see what was happening, and saw me sprawled on the ground below an egg-shaped boulder-sized hole. After I apologized for almost killing them, I inscribed a new rule into my brain for permanent and irrevocable enforcement: never set up a tent in the rockfall zone at the bottom of a hill. That space is dirty with danger, and is not a proper place to put up a tent.

A corollary of this rule, learned on another trip: the space at the bottom of a dry wash or canyon is dirty with flash flood danger, and is not a proper place to put up a tent. Even if you're tired from carrying a pack all day, and the sandy wash is soft and inviting, and the surrounding area is rocky and uneven, the wash is flash flood space, not camping space.

For cycling, one similar and relevant observation that raises more questions than it answers: a certain amount of space all around a speeding car is dirty with danger, and is not a proper place for a cyclist or pedestrian to venture into. This space is not static, but moves with the car, a bubble to avoid. For a car on a three lane with traffic in all lanes, moving 45 mph, the space in front of the car which is dirty in this sense is no less than 100 feet, and can be more than 200, depending on road conditions, driver awareness, driver reaction time, driver proficiency, the maintenance state of mechanical components of the car, air temperature, and probably other variables. Some unknown (to me) space on all sides of a car moving at 45 mph is also dirty, owned or occupied if you will by the car, since it could move within that space in the next time slice t+1 with a momentum similar to its momentum in the current time slice t.

In the particular space of these photos, 44th Street in Phoenix at the Arizona Canal, which is marked as a bike route, and is a popular crossing for pedestrians, runners, and the occasional desert tortoise, the reckoning of space and time necessary to float through these dirty high-speed bubbles is relentless. Right near the position of the ped+dog in the top photo, the sidewalk narrows, and is bounded by a wall on the canal side as it crosses the bridge. Cars and trucks often pass very near the curb as they cross, and it feels very much like a ped, cyclist, dog, or desert tortoise crossing this bridge on the sidewalk is well within the dirty bubble zone. The feeling I get there is similar to that of setting up my tent at the bottom of a mountain in a state of continuous collapse.

Dog+ped negotiating safe space+time across a river of cars, and a mountain in a state of continuous collapse

Bubbicular Cycling 101

2012-01-21T05:30:00.013-07:00

Effective bubbicular cycling techniques are called for in this situation

All road users fare best when the combination of technique and facilities enable the control of speed and direction of motion such that each road user maintains an empty space or safety bubble around themselves and other road users. The optimal dimensions of the safety bubble is determined by closing speed, the longest reaction time, certain subjective factors like skill, experience, and confidence, and any established legal minimums. An additional margin is dictated by comparing and considering the relative risks, costs, and dangers posed to each of the various road users under given bubble incursion scenarios. A larger safety bubble would be indicated to mitigate greater risks. In addition, this approach gives insight into a decision process for adding facilities or infrastructure, based on the determination that considering all factors, the requisite proper safety bubbles would be impractically large either by exceeding human capabilities to visualize or maintain, or because they would exceed the available space of the right of way. Physical separating barriers are indicated in order to prevent safety space incursions when the requisite safety bubbles would be impractically large.

I coulda had a V8. But I sold it, don't need it. I am a practitioner of bubbicular coexistence.

A few items (a-hem) still on the to-do list:

Institute bubble-aware laws and techniques
Erect bubble-aware signage
Develop standard bubble establishment and preservation training curricula
Invent, patent, and sell electronic bubbicular sensing, monitoring, alerting, and provisioning devices
WARNING. HALT. ALTER YOUR DIRECTION AND OR SPEED. BUBBLE INCURSION IS IMMINENT [accompanied by VR projection of red danger field indication in area of impending bubble incursion]
Ultimately we're talking bubbicular force field here, but that may be a few years, and a few billion R&D dollars, in the future
Predictive bubble dynamics, heuristic and statistical algorithms for real-time bubble incursion prediction and avoidance

Be the bubble, my fellow cyclists. Avoid incursions. See the bubble you need and make it happen.

Chase, Pace, Race and Hook, and Other Pointless Bubble Intrusions

2012-01-20T05:11:00.070-07:00

There is no prize for getting to the other cars faster

On the ride into work this morning, a car approached me from behind in the lane to the left of me, kept pace with me for a brief moment of hesitation, raced ahead, then right hooked in front of me. It all went just dandy: I heard him, saw him next to me, saw him race ahead, prepared to quick turn with him if needed, and then he turned about a second in front of me. I was whistling a tune and didn't miss a note. It's possible that my obvious nonchalance was an indication to the driver that the race-and-hook would be okey-dokey. But as I reviewed the act, I decided there was no sense in it, no benefit for anyone, only costs. All he had to do was slow down and turn behind me a few seconds later. Most drivers wouldn't do it to another car, but I have seen it happen, and it's equally a bad idea in that situation: what's the point?

Another pointless scenario that I see all the time is the Race to the Red Light. People, typically pedestrians or cyclists, are waiting to cross a busy road, or, in a variation, another car just wants to move into another lane before he gets to the intersection, and signals. Before moving, both check traffic and seeing no one within distance oncoming that would be of concern, start to make their move. But then, for no apparent reason again, some driver decides to hit the gas and accelerate, in spite of the red light clearly showing just ahead. Or, in some cases I'm certain, the reason is actually to CUT OFF the intended lane change or crossing, just for the sheer cussed assertiveness of it. Also, similar to the chase, pace, race and hook, no benefit for anyone just risk, or cost. Also similar to the CPR&H, not something I would do to another car while driving a car. Too risky. No reason to do it. Several reasons to just slow down and chillax.

Both of these violate a fundamental safety rule I always try to implement on the road: the safety space bubble. This is merely a safe and respectable distance from you to the next living being on the pavement in all directions, x, y, and z, as well as the maintenance and preservation of same, visualized as a bubble surrounding each living being, and includes anticipating bubble motion. The required space bubble size expands or contracts depends on speed, as well as what the other living being is doing. If the other living being, for example, is waving their arms and screaming obscenities at you, or perhaps at a tree, a larger bubble may be indicated. If the proper space bubbles are prevented from intersecting or intruding on other proper space bubbles through successful bubble anticipation, the living beings are definitely prevented from smashing into one another.

Chase, pace, race and hook, as well as race to the red light, raise all kinds of unnecessary, valueless space bubble intrusions. I'm in my space bubble, floating lightly. Please avoid pointless, valueless bubble intrusions. You're in your bubble, I'm in mine, let's respect the bubble, and keep safe. Guard your space and stay out of trouble, bubble.

SOPA Blackout

2012-01-18T05:54:00.000-07:00

Even though you can still use Wikipedia on SOPA blackout day if you are using one of my favorite browser extensions, Noscript, or even just the Firefox search bar, One Speed: Go! is dark on January 18 in protest of the SOPA act.

Helmet Taillight Mounting Nirvana: Learning to Love the Clip

2012-01-18T05:06:00.011-07:00

Gathering the materials and tools

I had a simple project in mind to sew a tight loop of heavier webbing onto a square of 3m dual-lock in order to fabricate a generic, strong mounting point for any clip light. In this case, to mount any clip light to any spot you can stick another square of dual-lock, which is more or less any semi-flat surface. Like my helmet. I was ready to get started in the photo above.

I still think that would be a good idea. But as I looked at the project, the parts, and the time, which was getting late, the idea simplified way down: grab that Velcro one-wrap, cut some just the right length, and see if that won't go through the rear vents of the helmet to serve as a tight holder for any clip light. Eh voila.

So, so simple. And secure.

This approach had the added advantages (beyond letting me to get a bit more sleep) of requiring no modifications at all to the helmet or clip light. It seems very firmly attached. Yet easily removable. In systems terms, it is an interface which is loosely coupled: as Wikipedia defines it, "a loosely coupled system is one where each of its components has, or makes use of, little or no knowledge of the definitions of other separate components." This is in comparison to my previous taillight project, which was tightly coupled: the holes I drilled into that light and stuck bolts through make it only applicable now to that particular mounting situation, and not the more generalized clip anywhere interface. The drawbacks I have seen with the clip interface, though, are the obvious ones: pointing it the direction you want it to go in, and retention. This simple helmet strap resolves both of those. Oh, along with instant flashy gratification, since I don't have to wait 72 hours for the adhesive to cure.

Subsequent clicking around since my previous taillight post has yielded the information that the PDW Radbot 1000 includes a rack mount. Which is great, although it still appears temporary, click into place, not screwed on. Searching various UK and European sites yielded the further information that there is a different rack mounting standard at work on some racks there (see 50mm to 80mm for examples), and also that there are several permanently rack mounted battery-powered taillights available there. Although I may end up feeling the Radbot 1000 impossible to resist, as I mentioned previously, I am pretty well stocked up on taillights at the moment, and am thus focused more on how to use what I already have, rather than buying more. Inspired by this small one-wrap victory, I continue to seek the ultimate in secure, flexible, flashy brightness.

When It All Comes Together

2012-01-17T06:00:00.002-07:00

Bespoke, personalized transport

Working work in progress

Utility bike for a tall person with a kid. Or...no, I just don't know.

Do Good, Have Faith, Be Strong: Sell Your Car

2012-01-14T22:42:00.001-07:00

Decision time regarding the car

I had doubts about selling my car. Sure, I almost never use it, and my family would still have one, but so many what-ifs went through my mind. What if I need a car for work for some reason? What if I need to drive somewhere out of the city? What if something changes which prevents me from commuting to work by bicycle? Several dire or semi-dire scenarios come to mind related to the last. Worries. Concerns. Uncertainties. What-ifs, weighing me down.

We had three vehicles until recently, since we did not trade in the two we had when we acquired the latest one. The plan at the time was to sell at least one of the older ones, which we did, leaving us with two. But then, to take the next step? Sell mine? What if, what if something?

In purely rational terms, I should definitely sell my car. I practically never use it, sometimes weeks go by with it just sitting there getting dusty and slowly rotting away as the months pass. So, sure, selling it would result in no more insurance or license fees, no more taking up space, no more regular upkeep, which I have kept up with, knowing that I would end up selling it some day.

But, I will tell you that there's something about willingly giving up your car that feels like something could come up that would cause regret about the sale. What would that be? What something outweighs the obvious logic of converting a car I almost never drive into cold, hard cash?

The imagination offers several possibilities, but on reflection, they are just that, possibilities. So the question becomes, do any of those possibilities that something could happen outweigh the obvious conclusion that I should sell it? How to deal with something, the unknowns that tomorrow may bring? And how much of the hesitation is actually just the weight of the cultural baggage that has taught me, berated me, for decades that I need a car?

I went for a long bicycle ride to think it over, and was able to make the decision and deal with that unknowable something by giving myself a direct and relatively simple imperative: do good, have faith, be strong, sell your car. That may not seem to make sense at first, so allow me to unpack it a bit to show how I arrived at a antidote for something.

"Do good," that refers to both morality and achievement. Morality: follow the principle of acting toward others as you would have them act toward you, and also do the best that you can to adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, be patient, kind, tolerant, forgiving, loyal, true, and so on. Achievement: seek success while attempting challenging endeavors. Sometimes we think of this as "doing our best."

For me, holding on to car I do not need, for reasons I cannot articulate, does not feel like doing good. It doesn't feel like I am doing my best. And on the other hand, sometimes, riding a bicycle to work every day, as I did in 2011, can seem like a challenge, but it also feels like I'm doing good.

"Have faith," this refers not to religious faith in this usage, but rather to the belief that tomorrow will be positive, fulfilling, fun, good, educational, non-lonely, overall worth looking forward to, life-affirming. If you think about it, we have no good reason for thinking so. Religious faith may support this belief for some, so be it, that works for this purpose, as long as it doesn't also involve supernatural voices in the head telling the believer to kill or something like that. All we actually know for sure about tomorrow, specifically, or rather tomorrows in general, is that there will come a point in life for each of us when there won't be any more. That's a certain, sound conclusion. Anything more upbeat than that is a belief, a shaky inference, and not a sound conclusion, so why hold this belief? For one thing, when it comes to specific tomorrows, for most of us in typical situations I mean, there's no way to know either way about the next one coming up. It might be excellent, it might be mediocre, it might be horrific, or it might not actually come up at all and turn out to be instead a dark abyss of infinite nothingness, we don't know. We don't know. Which means, again for most of us in typical life situations, it might be any of the above, or something else. Since we don't know, I say: have faith that it will be excellent. Things generally seem to turn out better when you look at it that anyway, and if there's no reason to think otherwise, go for it.

Also, there is a certain level of faith in thinking that when the sun comes up tomorrow, I will again get on my bicycle and ride it to work, no matter what. Thinking so has a lot to do with making it happen, for me (assuming tomorrow is a work day).

But what about when something does happen, what then? For it always does, for all of us, and to think otherwise is to ignore the stark reality that life happens every moment, everywhere, and some of those events are bad, some are crushing, some are merely dreadfully difficult. What then? Be strong, I say. While doing good and having faith, bend with the wind and snap right back up. Flex. Seek alternatives. Try things, fail, try again. Talk it over. Think it over. Some things you try will be terrible failures, some things you think up will be ridiculous, but keep trying, keep thinking. Be strong. Yes, like a steel bicycle frame, but also like the aged farmer who still gets up early every morning to do chores and fix the roof before the rest of us roll over to hit the snooze button, strong like the third grade kid in the electric wheel chair riding the lift up to board the school bus all through the year.

Something will happen. Bring it. You can handle it. Until that last tomorrow until you can't, but that is probably a long way off, and even if it isn't, I won't go gentle. Something got nothin. I can live without owning a car. I may even enjoy it. It is an idea worth trying. It is an option worth exploring.

There was a kind of fear stopping me from taking the step, but once my wife pointed this out to me, which was the crucial understanding I needed, I realized that without the kind of faith I talked about above, and without the strength to overcome this fear, freedom is not possible, because a choice freighted with fear is no kind of choice at all. Only a decision made with strength and the belief that tomorrow will be great, which overcomes that fear, is a free choice. Anything less means that the baggage, and the decades of being berated that owning a car is key, win, and is not a free choice. I make this choice freely.

Me, my expression, upon making the decision

I decided that whatever happens, happens, and I'll figure it out, together with my family, of course. The reasons in favor are greater than the doubts and fears against, and besides, who can't use a little cold, hard cash? Some of which could be set aside just in case of something, I suppose. Also some of which could be used to purchase bike related items like consumables, or a bike rack for the house. For example.

I decided to do good, to have faith, and to be strong. I have found a buyer for my car, and we've agreed on a price, so all that's left is to complete the transaction. I'm selling my car. I'm free, and now I better understand what that means.

Go for a bike ride and stack up some rocks

2012-01-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

Go. Ride your bike. Stack up some rocks.

It's Saturday. Go build some cairns. Just go. Ride. And stack up some rocks.

Metal Thieves on the Arizona Canal: Signs of the Time

2012-01-13T05:56:00.000-07:00

Before picture of Arizona Canal Diversion Channel plaques, on 8/8/2011

Same spot, 1/7/12

Close-up of missing plaque, left

Right plaque

I took some photos of these plaques along the canal back in August because I thought they were well done and informative. Someone else must have thought they were ripe for the taking, and worth more as scrap. I guess they could just be out for cleaning or something, but I got a strong "ripped off" feeling looking at those empty spaces. Signs of the times.

Rear Rack Taillight Standardized Mounting Dreams Made Real

2012-01-12T05:25:00.067-07:00

Flashy light at bottom must be adapted to mount to rear rack like reflector does, period.

I have a longstanding obsessive dissatisfaction with the poor mounting choices available for putting good, commonly available flashing taillights on rear racks. I know that hub generator lights permanently attach and have good alignment and security, but I am probably too paranoid to leave hundreds of dollars of lighting equipment exposed out at the bike rack, day after day, particularly to my semi-ugly commuter converted 22 year old mountain bike. I've tried various gimmicks, and I'm sure that somewhere out there is a Sho-Yabusa MegLED CRUXRak with custom pinpoint light mounting systemTM (that will be impossible to maintain or replace in three years, however, because nothing else will be compatible with its 2.7mm mounting studs), but look: the plain old reflector above attaches to the rack perfectly, although it's not easily removed. So I decided I would be OK with leaving a cheaper, yet good, flashy light attached out at the bike rack, if it could be attached firmly like the reflector, and, would result in good alignment such that it shines the light backwards in the right direction.

A PBSF with LT7309 rack adapter is not a combination I have tried yet. It would have been next, if this didn't work. The light I'm trying here has the advantage of being about $10 cheaper (on sale, without the adapter, although prices vary wildly), and is also intended by me in this particular instantiation to be left on the bike when it's parked, which the PBSF LT7309 combo is not since the light only clicks into place. Perhaps I could epoxy it into the adapter. Oh, and I also like the looks/performance of the PDW lights, which also have a rear rack adapter available. Regarding the adapters, though: I own taillights from about four different manufacturers already, neither of which currently is PDW or PB, all of which appear to have slightly different clip dimensions, ergo, slightly different rear rack clip adapters. Arg: I own two rear racks. Should I buy the same manufacturer adapter for both racks and be doubly wed to that manufacturer's rear flashies? Or, buy different ones, and have my lights be non-compatible between my two bikes? Or, buy one with a light, then decide I want to try a different manufacturer's light, and not be sure if I need to spend the $6 to purchase the adapter for the rack, too, or if it would be a waste of money since it will fit the one I already have?

I don't know if you have checked, but there are not many modestly priced bright flashy lights available which come with a standard rear rack mount. Which is odd, to me at least, because I have several plain old red reflectors that came ready to mount on the rear rack like the one in the photo. One screw and it's on good. I think you can buy add-on brackets for some rear flashers, too, but they have some poor reviews. I have experience with one surprising example: the rack mount for my Nitrider Universal Taillight is almost impossible to adjust to point in the right direction. It would be much easier to just bend the rack than to point that in the right direction. All I want is a rear flasher with a good, solid, standard rear rack mount in the package. (By the way, I have several good seat post mounts that work well for rear flashers, but they are not useful when a bag is on the rear rack).

This is the problem I have with ALL clip-based bag mounting flashy light attachments (in addition to the varying clip size and shape): they do not result in the light pointing backwards within a few degrees of horizontal and vertical, for optimal visibility, when bag mounted. I have tried, and also seen, many schemes for flashy light bag or helmet mounting that end up with the light flopping around and/or pointing every which way but backwards. I grew weary of my earlier hacked bag mount, which was much fussier than I liked. My flashers need to mount in a sturdy manner to my rack where they belong. It's not airplanes, police choppers, or worms who need to see your red flasher, it's cars behind you.

Adapted! Sturdy!

I used the small screwdriver to remove the clip, then used a rotary tool to cut holes the right size for the mounting bolts. Insert bolts, remount clip, done!

For no good reason whatsoever, I chose to add rubber washers as bumpers. Hmmm.

Mounted to rack. As it should be. A taillight rack wrong has been righted.

Very happy with the result. Road test in progress. You can recognize me from among the handful of other bicycle commuters in Phoenix as the one with the rack-mounted flasher which points directly backwards, as it should. No plans to buy any add-on manufacturer-specific rack adapters, ever. Instead, it's drill baby drill, I'll standardize 'em myself.

Tucson City Standard Explains Why These Racks Dinosaured Out

2012-01-11T05:06:00.042-07:00

Hey, more of the same type of racks I saw at the Phoenix Zoo

On a previous post about bad cable locks and nice bike racks that I saw down at the zoo, I included some photos of a style of rack that I don't remember seeing in other places. On one of my recent explorations about town, I ran across some more just like them. These are located in the Rose Mofford Sports Complex, which appears to be some sort of temple built by devotees of softball and tennis, with a few other sports thrown in.

Trying out the racks

As soon as I tried to use these racks, though, I recognized the problem: first, they appear to have been designed for skinny road bikes with skinny tires, or perhaps kids' bikes. The back of my mountain bike frame was a tight fit, and it seemed like the prong unit would barely fit it, and might bang against its lovely bluish-purple paint if I forced it. If people are deterred from using it for that reason, I understand.

A rack design that faded into oblivion

I had to look no further than the Pima County and City of Tucson Development Standard no. 2-09.0 Bicycle Parking Facility Design Requirements, p. 10, to get a clear idea of why this rack design faded into oblivion, to be seldom seen any more. It said, in Figure 5, Unacceptable Bike Rack Designs That Poorly Accommodate Bicycles, "These designs are made to accommodate traditional 'double diamond' frames with small diameter steel tubes. They don't often fit modern bicycle designs, large diameter aluminum frame tubes or full suspension bicycles. These types of racks can cause paint and frame damage to bicycles and can be a hazard to persons with visual disabilities."

It makes complete sense, when you put it that way. I also like that document because it gives clear pictures of which racks are acceptable, and why. Which could help me pick out a bike rack for my own use at home. It's good to note, for example, that "Artistic designs that provide two-point support and do not have sharp edges are acceptable."

On the other hand, man, that's a relatively generous bicycle parking provision, compared to many other places. I believe there's a total of 20 positions. It would be even better to see all 20 full with shiny bike parked by happy cyclists, certainly, in the course of a typical warm January day in Phoenix, with nothing more going on than families gathered to play softball. I guess it's a clear reflection of the current low state of bicycling in Phoenix that it would be an exceptional situation to see even ten bicycles parked there, and that it's much more normal to find this empty rack. It appeared that none of the hundreds who went to the park rode a bicycle to get here, which has excellent connections to the nearby Arizona Canal Diversion Channel path.

A fun exercise, left to you, the reader, is to use the Internet to figure out, for certain, what "Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3" really mean when they refer to bike racks. Just when you think you have it, it slithers away. I'm still not sure, after checking about a dozen sites, since they seem to mix them up. Just when I think I figured it out, that Class 1 is the best, I found the site that includes "capture/lock protection" which would seem to be like these racks, as class 2, I decided to leave it as an exercise. Check out the Class 1 designs in this document, they look beautiful, and don't seem like they would scratch or dent your frame, or be a hazard to others.

On Bicycles: 50 Ways This Book Can Improve Cycling

2012-01-09T05:13:00.149-07:00

Capsule review: 5/5 manatees, go get a copy immediately (unless you want to win the TDF, it's not for that)

But the real draw [of Portland's first Sunday Parkways event] was nothing fancier than residential streets temporarily free of vehicle traffic. They turned into an instant park that attracted thousands of people with the sheer novelty of being able to walk or pedal down an ordinary street without having to worry about cars. -p.238

I finished reading On Bicycling, 50 Ways the New Bike Culture Can Change Your Life, (OB50) edited by Amy Walker, the same day that I received a spam email from Buycycling magazine which urged me to purchase the new Big Book of Bicycling because "Professional Cyclists' SECRETS [will be] Revealed!" Being familiar with the magazine, as well as the profession in question, the spam was meant to compel me to click BUY NOW! under the assumption that I, the spam recipient, harbor deep-seated aspirations to be a professional bicycle racer, or if not an actual racer, to ride like one, or if not to ride like one, at least to train like one, or if not to train like one, at least to identify with them via buying the expensive carbon fiber bicycles, sponsor-branded lycra clothing, powertaps, GPS training devices, helmets, performance nutritional products, unguents*, and other gear that the professionals use as they practice their SECRET craft (and advertise in said magazine).

Dear Big Book of Bicycling spammers: I don't aspire to any of those. I am grateful for all that racing does for the technology and engineering of cycling, absolutely (except for the recumbents ban, of course). I enjoy watching bicycle races and my admiration for the elite few who practice it is immense. Sometimes I even enjoy riding "fast", although not a "fast" that any racer would acknowledge. I don't totally exclude myself from the target market(s) of this spam, since I do own three bikes with drop bars, including one with some carbon fiber tubes. Also, I have a framed poster of Miguel Indurain (which I just spelled correctly without looking up) hanging in my bicycle maintenance area. But, at best, I am only on the fringe of the target markets of the spam.

The market segment I do identify with is one that seems very under-everything to me: under marketed, under served, under estimated, under analyzed, under appreciated: everyone else who just wants to ride their bicycle, or would if they weren't intimidated or mystified by the SECRETS. Those of us who commute to work by bicycle, or who use bicycles for 1001 other uses besides racing, and who also often happen to enjoy the ride.

I receive precious few spams targeted to that market. I've seen countless books and magazines targeted at racers and racer-wannabes, some of them very good, but very few for everyone else. And of those other books, very few, possibly none, that I felt like I could hand to my mom**, for example, or a friend who doesn't cycle at all, and who doesn't understand why I ride, and say: here, read this. It's a great book, and it explains Everything Else that is not bicycle racing for the rest of us. This is not an idle distinction, either, since my mom does appear to think that I still aspire to win the Tour, based on the evidence that I commute to work on a converted mountain bike with fenders and a rear rack.

OB50 is the bicycling book for the rest of us. Even those of us who don't cycle. I also found it to be a well-made book, with those rounded corners, and some sort of magical silky coating on the cover. I don't know what it is, but I believe it to be the same coating used on the obelisk in "2001: A Space Odyssey". I did have a few minor areas for improvement in the book that I also want to mention.

Although you probably wouldn't think so if English is your first language, the title of this blog post is ambiguous. On first reading, you might conclude that this review would be a list of improvements, parallel to the way that the book 50 Ways to Save the Planet is a list of ways: recycle, save the rain forest, don't pollute,etc.

However, due to the flexibility of the language, it could also be about the "can": since the book is upbeat, it can improve cycling, since the book is longish, it can improve cycling, since the book is thorough, it can improve cycling, since the book presents a variety of perspectives, it can improve cycling, and so on, for 46 more ways. Preferably numbered: 1) upbeat, 2) longish, 3) thorough, 4) variety ... 50) fun, if for no other reason than to throw the reader a bone to keep track of where they are as they make progress through the list, since 50 is a lot of ways to track without a running tally. But then, I suppose that a post title which clarified the ambiguity and also provided a strict enumeration, like "36 Ways This Book Can Improve Cycling, with 14 Reasons Why It Will Succeed in that Quest" is a bit unwieldy, but more importantly, lacks shelf luster.

This is foreshadowing for the minor discombobulation I experienced when I opened OB50, and noticed that there were 50 chapters, but saw that the first one is entitled Bicycling is Contagious, and the second, Because It's Fun!. This confused me. These seem more like reasons cycling can change your life, rather than actual changes it could bring to your life. But then the next chapter possibly makes up for that by compressing three possible life changes into one: Cycling for Health, Wealth, and Freedom. Other chapters, like The Case for Internally Geared Bicycle Hubs (which I found very interesting by the way), seem like neither ways or means. I gather, simply, that the actual tagline was chosen for its shiny market attractiveness rather than for clarity's sake. I would have gone with something that described the book's rich and abundant content for the rest of us normal, non-racing cyclists, as well as a clear enumeration scheme which supported that theme, but I'm not a book marketer. As a reader, though, I suppose I could finish the book and feel like I may have missed something: what were those 50 ways exactly?

And one last nit to pick before closing. A few of the chapters need additional editing. Chapter 3 almost seems like she meant to go back and finish editing it later, but forgot to. There's a paragraph on p.20 about dropping a big rock into a river, and I'm still not sure what happens to cyclists if you do that, how that makes bikes faster than cars, or what part of New York City traffic doesn't include as many large vehicles as rural areas.

But those negatives were quite minor to me when reading this book. I plan to give On Bicycling to close friends and family members, and I need to pick up a few more copies, too, since I have a few ideas about other people I think might enjoy reading it. I'm not sure there are actually 50 ways this book will improve cycling. I am sure that it's the cycling book for the rest of us, however. Even if we might miss out on the expert gear-rocking SECRETS on tap in that other book.

*Although there may be an untapped market for commuter-specific unguents

**I did try handing her Bicycle Diaries, to which she replied, "Isn't that the fellow from Talking Heads? She's pretty hip, even if she doesn't understand cycling.

This is an unsolicited review of a book I purchased myself, see my FTC verbiage if you have any other questions about my reviewing policies.

Caution Smaution

2012-01-08T05:19:00.015-07:00

Caution Smaution

This sign not the end of the ride, not when it is a perfect 71F sunny January day, I'm on a mountain bike with skinny tires, and the day could last forever as far as I was concerned. This was a Saturday bicycle ride for the books. I'm exhausted. I rode like a crazy man possessed by great weather and boundless curiosity to see what was around the next bend. And the next. Two hours out, started to feel the exertion, ate some Sport Beans, got my second wind, hour and a half back. Sidewalk ends, ride begins. Or continues. Helped a fellow cyclist in need, too. Bonus.

Need some rest to be ready for more riding on Sunday. Ride ride ride. Hey, is that the edge over there? Let's go take a look...

Not an advertisement. It's a souvenir from the edge of perfection.

Naked Steel One Speed Love

2012-01-07T09:51:00.001-07:00

It's a Felt Brougham in a "AAA chrome" naked steel colorway

If I get what the Internet thinks about this model, I should be skeptical and feel only disdain for this blatant commercialization of onespeedism. Maybe right. However, on first sight, I felt only desire. My uninformed and unsophisticated response is easy to understand, once I list the buttons of mine it pushed:

shiny
steel
sleek
simple
bicycle

Clearly, I am unbicycleenculturated. Mmm, naked steel single speed. Shiny. XOXOX

Anticipation Builds for the Central Ave Road Diet Group Ride

2012-01-06T05:27:00.013-07:00

Landmark, by Ilan Averbuch, at Central and Camelback in Phoenix.

I'm really looking forward to the group ride this weekend. Lots of good info, images, and details on Blooming Rock. I just want to ride, and to listen to what other cyclists think about these changes. It's a Sidewalk Phoenix gathering, too!. Have a great weekend. May all your rides be joy rides.

The Commute Mode is the Mood, and My Bicycle Mood is Joy

2012-01-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

The mode is the mood

My bicycle commute is a joy ride, every day.

Thinking about how my bicycle commute never feels like a mere transition from home to work, work to home, to be gotten through as quickly/shortly as possible, as dead time, as empty hours of my life I will never get back again, like my car commute typically felt.

Memories of my former car commute: aggravating, trivial, forgettable, confined, stressful, isolated, dehumanizing to drive through cement auto troughs channeled in with thousands of other autos, often crawling with no way out. Angry about how the effing oil companies were ripping me off as they were forced to use snow shovels to dig their way out from under the mountains of cash from their latest profits. Those are some of the feelings I recall. I'm sure that it would be accurate to state that most anyone would want to minimize the time and distance spent feeling like that. Beyond a certain length, well, you do what you need to do, but if you drive an hour each way, in heavy traffic, it's going to take it's toll, and you may even have to pay a toll. Car road mode is tense and stressful.

Thinking about my weekend recreational bike rides, on the other hand. My joy rides. I usually choose a destination, sometimes more approximate or general than others, and an approximate route, and just ride. I find myself getting distracted by off-route attractions, and ride wherever the ride takes me. However long it lasts. Shorter is OK. Longer is great. Meander and be happy. Pursue interesting stuff and beautiful things. Stop and have conversations with strangers. Check out independent coffee shops, book stores, local markets, art, architecture, other cyclists, mountains, cactus, lizards and snakes. Observe coyotes scampering across the path. The bicycle mode mood is joy.

Thinking about my twice-daily bicycle commute, my current mode. "Joy of bicycle commuting" is a fun search, check it out. More said there than I can fit in this space I'm sure. But, reflecting on my personal experience with that mode, it's also a joy ride for me. I don't care very much how long it takes or how far it is. Sometimes, I lengthen it and deviate from the shortest route just for the heck of it. Based on the lack of correlation with the negatives from my former car commute, as well as with the positive correlation with the characteristics of my fun weekend joy rides, I feel secure in this conclusion: my bicycle commute is also a joy ride. There are so many other reasons to recommend commuting by bicycle, but as far as simple and compelling goes, it's hard to beat this:

My bicycle commute is a joy ride, every day.

Come joy ride with me, car commuters, I've been there, and this is better

Soleri Sogwoozles!

2012-01-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

Sogwoozles invade Soleri Bridge and Plaza

And so it begins: the sogwoozle invasion. First they appeared in ones and twos, harmless enough, then, suddenly: a sogwoozle formation! Striking at the heart of the city! Posing in front of Soleri siltcast panels! Powering down the non-powered paths! Not even bothering to deploy parasols to try to disguise themselves!

I spotted the scouts in this area before. Too late now, I guess. They do bring up the "powered transport on the non-powered paths" question, but I would rather just refer to them as "sogwoozles," and glory in their sheer geeky awesomeness. Pedestrian path users, you're on your own, deal with the sogwoozles motoring down your non-motored paths as you see fit. On my bike I just blast on by making my RED ALERT SOGWOOZLE claxon sound.

I do have a concern that the sogwoozles might startle one of my equestrian horsey path user four-legged friends, causing animal upset with their alien locomotion. I love the horses beyond all reason. I'm hoping those sogwoozles do the right thing and come to a complete stop to allow the horses to pass. We could stand together, discussing our various modes of gyroscopic balance stabilization to pass the time. I would ask, gesturing toward the canal: them things run under water?

SEC. 17-100. Prohibitions.
(a) No person shall operate, use or place any vehicle or device with an attached motor or power unit, whether or not it is in operation, upon a multiuse path or within three (3) feet of a multiuse path.

Para Cord Zipper Pull Test Rides

2012-01-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

The weather is so nice it seems like everyone is out riding

Most people were just out enjoying the weather, but not me, no. I have to make a test ride out of it...

Field test #1: para cord zipper pull with scaffold knot, warm and dry weather scenario

When the original metal zipper pull broke off the small camera case I keep at the ready so I can whip out my point-and-shoot camera to capture key shots for you, the reader, I didn't have a solution at the top of my mind.

I actually tried a paper clip for a while. It was miserable. Worst idea ever. When younger daughter and I rode to the park together for a picnic (we smashed chicken Ceaser salad into fresh rolls I cut open with my pocket knife in order to make SMASHERS, yummy yummy see picture below), I asked her for ideas, and she suggested a safety pin. Which, compared to a paper clip, was brilliant, and workable as a temporary zipper pull, but I needed something better. Something soft on the fingers, yet durable. I have seen different zipper pulls made from para cord on various bags and stuff in the past, so I hit the webz and chose this easy knot. There are more complex knots but they also end up chunkier, (look up "lanyard knot zipper pull" for more on that front), but I just wanted something that would get the job done, and be aerodynamic and weigh less than five grams. [Do they make zipper pulls in carbon fiber with oversized knots for rigidity?]

I think it's a good video because it shows exactly how to make something simple that works for usage mentioned. In the comments on the video, Stormdrane mentions that the ends of the knot can pull loose. I couldn't seem to actually do that by pulling, but in response to that comment and since I am extra-cautious and don't want to obsess about the ends pulling out so much that I would keep pulling on them until they did come out, I threw in an overhand knot and pulled it tight, which feels secure enough for zipper pull duty. I checked out Stormdrane's blog, and it looks like there are plenty of more complex knots over there to check out for more interesting things to do with para cord, including some zipper pull alternatives.

If this scaffold knot zipper pull doesn't hold up under these mid-70s Phoenix winter riding conditions, with the gentle breezes and bright sunshine, I'll move on to some of the more involved knots.

SMASHERS bicycle picnic lunch

2012: Let's Start Off With Clean Streets!

2012-01-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

A phalanx of sweepers after the parade: debris and glass don't stand a chance.

The GLADIATOR

The Schwarze M6000!

In the aftermath of the Fiesta Bowl parade, the sweepers and cleaners put on an impressive show of scrubbing down the streets. I'm sure a parade leaves behind all sorts of garbage, dirt, debris, etc, but this was a major coordinated cleanup involving multiple street sweeper-cleaners, and a line of guys with brooms, dust blowers, and other cleanup utensils. I've seen ritual street cleaning before, and this was so thorough and massive that it almost felt like that--let's start off the year with this street being sparkling clean. Yeah, I rode on it right after the trucks went past, just to let my tires feel a totally clean street for once. Oooo, they got all tingly.

Maybe if there's a street you ride on regularly that needs to be cleaned, for example, if the street you commute on every day still has glass on it from Halloween that you have to ride around, a parade is in order. Let the city know that cleaning up afterwards would be a good idea.

Bicycle Words for 2012: Overcome obtundation, light up the banausic night

2011-12-31T11:35:00.000-07:00

Thinking ahead, reading back, lighting up the night

I visited Peoria, IL in the mid-1980s, right about the same time as the central scenes in David Foster Wallace's unfinished novel, The Pale King, find his characters churning through form 1040s at the IRS processing center he planted in that midwestern city. Through a friend of a friend of a friend series of happenstance connections, one afternoon I found myself on an insider's tour of one of the Caterpillar facilities in East Peoria during a shutdown period (or retooling? getting ready for D11?), so not a lot was happening, production-wise.

Due to some sort of market downturn, or perhaps over-production, or model switchover, there were hundreds of massive D10 Cat dozers parked out behind the building along the river. As I recall, as we descended some steps to stroll among these behemoths, I noticed they were parked in regular rows and columns, which I could easily count and multiply, with a small odd collection (also readily insta-counted) parked off to the side. When we got to the bottom of the stairs, I asked, "So, how much are 523 D10s actually worth?" They told me the market price for each one, and I replied with a staggering total figure, which I don't recall, but it was half a billion or a billion dollars, something of that magnitude. [I want to say that a D10 complete with a DH3 ripper tip was something like $1.2 million, but I'm probably way off on that, I don't remember with any confidence]

I think DFW may have appreciated my act of minor compulsive quick calculating ((48 x 10) + 43) x $one point two million (or whatever). I simply could not help myself. In case you're not familiar with his work, David Foster Wallace was a very smart writer who loved unusual or rare words, whose best-known work, Infinite Jest, is long and difficult and packed with discursive footnotes and asides and digressions. His review of Garner's Modern American Usage led me to purchase that book, by helping me to understand exactly what I would get from it. My vocabulary is pretty good, but I am not an academic in any sense of the word. My one and only actual qualification for writing something like this is that I read a lot, always have. Similar or parallel to my one and only qualification for writing a bicycle blog, I ride a lot, always have.

Reading much of DFW is a pleasure for me, but some of it is a stretch, some parts are a big stretch, and a few things I simply don't understand. I appreciate his craft, however, and see the parts that are beyond me as opportunities for learning. (Except for the classic Latin quotes, screw it, spare me, the book is over 500 pages long already, I don't know classic Latin, and I'm just skipping over them, mostly, even though I'm sure that digging into them would both deepen and broaden my understanding. I'll go back through them if/when I ever have such leisure available.) The enjoyment I get from reading him is also tinged with sadness, though, because he lost his long battle with depression when he took his own life in 2008. It's impossible for me to read The Pale King and not think about his end. So I had to mention it here, since you would come across it, too, if you haven't already, and it wouldn't feel honest for me to skip over it. But I don't think I have much to add to the massive and heartfelt conversation about his last choice and what it meant to those who read him and knew him, so I'll just return to the book discussion.

As I read through The Pale King, a few of the unusual or rare words that he employed jumped out at me: obtundation, banausic, semions, swivet. While consulting my dictionaries as well as online sources for the meanings and backgrounds of these words, I came across another blogger who picked out exactly these same words while reading this book, and put up definitions of them on her blog, You Still Have Time to Get to the Airport. After reading those posts, my first shot for a title for this post was, "2012 Bicycular Prediction: the Year of Obtundation: The Stroboscopic Bicycle Ride as an Eremic Swivet Through the Banausic Night." For more formal definitions of these words, please do take a look at that blog and/or your favorite go-to big dictionary. For purposes of this post, though, I'll pony up my working thoughts about two of them, to try to show why I think they will be relevant to me cycling in the year ahead.

For my usage, obtundation is the state of being dulled by repeated, boring, technical (not trivial), mechanical tasks to the point of loss of vigor. From Wikipedia for further background: "Obtundation refers to less than full mental capacity in a medical patient, typically as a result of a medical condition or trauma." In our present day, high tech, post-industrial service economy, obtundation is a mode of being for many or most. It's losing your edge after slinging code for endless 70 hour weeks. It's feeling your appreciation for life, your savor of what's good and true about being alive, being blunted by endless random technical minutiae. It's seeing true face-to-face personal relationships replaced with online check-ins and LIKES. The current popular modern remedies for it are shopping, substance abuse, and shallow entertainments, which bring only further obtundation. The remedy I would recommend here is vigorous exercise in the form of riding a bicycle often, at length, in a variety of settings.

For my usage, banausic comes from a Greek idea of the semi-skilled, specialist work required to provide the goods and services that most people want and need. As I understand it, though, by their very nature, wants and needs have no limit or end, plus producing goods and services to satisfy them is subject to both competition and economic pressure to make more for less at higher margins and increasing revenues at the same time. In our era, many of these wants and needs equate to abstract, virtual, online software or services that are utterly intangible, too, at least in comparison with CNC machined bicycle parts, for example, which you can hold in your hand and feel. Or, compared to 523 D10 bulldozers parked in ranks next to the river in East Peoria. For the examiners and forms processors and auditors in The Pale King, it amounted to endless reviewing of tax returns filled out by TPs (tax payers) who often forget to sign their own names to the returns or make simple math errors, and whose incentive is to pay as little as possible. All day. Every day. Without sufficient measures taken to counter the effects, such work can surely cause severe obtundation in short order. And I'm not talking about mere tedium here. I worked some factory summer jobs that were just endless, mindless, soul-sucking drudgery. For this usage, banausic may be endless and soul-sucking, but not mindless, and not simple drudgery. We don't need to adopt a rare Greek-derived word for that type of labor, as we already have existing common words to express those concepts.

The Pale King was unfinished at the time that David Wallace wrote his own ending. I harbor a pointless wish that if he had completed it, he would have clarified his ideas related to thriving and surviving this banausic age, on strategies for heading off obtundation. As he left his notes behind, though, and as they were edited and assembled into the form of this book, the reader is left to his own devices for answering these questions, since the uptake is unclear: there are characters who appear to have mastered it, and others who are psychotic sociopaths due to it, and crossovers who could go either way. Something Big was going to happen in The Pale King, you can feel it, but that Big Thing was never written, and never will be. Perhaps it's so personal that it never would have been, or, that it was his design all along to omit It. Perhaps.

From my perspective, though, and for 2012, my strategy is that getting off your butt and doing something physical, real, and sometimes challenging, like riding a bicycle, is a good approach. Possibly together with someone you like, or love. Many bicycle advocates seem to yearn for the final oil crisis that will force people to give up their cars and ride bikes and take transit, but not me. For one thing, such a crisis will have much deeper, broader, and painful impacts that I don't think we're prepared for. Rising gas prices, and increasingly wild swings in oil prices with increasingly dire economic impacts, probably will convince more people to ride bicycles, I would guess. However, this appears to be a slow process, and so far, we seem willing to do whatever it takes, and spend whatever it costs, to keep driving.

On the other hand, widespread obtundation induced by banausic occupations, and intensified by the greater productivity demands and increased workplace stress of These Tough Economic Times, seem like very good reasons to go for a long bicycle ride. 2012: the anti-banausic year, a bicycular end to obtundation.

I've also suggested to my close family members that I won't buy any new bikes this year, since I have all I need already. Which means n+1=n, which implies that anything is possible. We'll see how that goes.

I see you coming, 2012. Ready. Bring it.

Nitto Was Their Name-o

2011-12-28T16:36:00.001-07:00

Swap bar swap

There were some bars
I got at the swap
And Nitto was their name-o
N-I-T-T-O
N-I-T-T-O
N-I-T-T-O
And Nitto was their name-o.

Neither 420, or 460, shall be the size of the bars, but with 440 shall ye find perfection

Currently running a tiring vacation schedule over here:

wake up about 8
read for a couple hours (currently making my way thru The Pale King, wow)
spend time with the family
have lunch
think about working on the bikes
go for a ride in the brilliant sunshine and mid-sixties weather
spend more time with the family
read more
think more about working on the bikes
etc

I finally broke down and actually did a little bit of work on one bike, putting on the Nitto handlebars I picked up at the last GABA swap. 440 is just the right size for me. The B115 model has just the right shape and curve for me. Apparently my hands prefer an old fashioned, classic simple curve, These feel just right to me. The old ones did not. For comparison:

Previous bars on the left, classic bend on the right: Nitto for the win!

OK, I have to cut this short as the unforgiving vacation schedule beckons. I think it's time go read more of The Pale King, then take my family out for dinner. I hope I can keep this up. The weather forecast is more warm sunshine, so if it's a few more days until my next blog post, you can blame this hectic schedule.

New bars, new bar tape: black and nasty.

So wrong, so right, so glam

2011-12-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, I know

Check out the stable foot platform, and the stiff yet compliant bottom bracket area

Authentic leg movement!

Mixed emotions about this

Bicycle Light Pusher: The First One is Free

2011-12-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

Two flashy lights have new owners

Once dusk falls and all the cars have their lights on, it seems to me that bicycles should have their lights on, too, for visibility and safety. At a minimum, to be seen, even if you can still see. So when I came across two people* riding together at that time with no lights, it was on: "Hey, do you want some lights? I have some, for free," I told them. As we all stopped, I also confirmed that they had none mounted. I handed over the packages, they tore them open, mounted them on handlebars, and were being seen in no time. As I rode off, I looked back and saw their twin points of bright flashing in the darkness.

I'm not sure what happened with them from there, or what will happen, but I succeeded in my one and only purpose: to make two riders aware that lights help you to be seen at night. That's it. You plant ideas and hope they grow. Some day, maybe one of them becomes an expert in hub generators and invents the ultimate light system. Or visits Candlepower bicycle light forum obsessively. Or at a minimum, eventually develops the habit of riding in darkness with SABS lights fully installed and operational.

I saw them right after I saw a guy going the other way who looked like he could use illumination, too. As I was contemplating a u-turn across traffic to hand over the goods, I spotted these other two, and went after them instead. It proved to be much easier to catch up to them traveling in the same direction than to flip around and catch the other guy. Also, he was kind of emitting "don't mess with me" waves. Have you come across riders like that? The kind that might not react well to being chased down and offered free lights? But perhaps I misjudged him. Perhaps a free light or two would have brightened up his night just a bit. Perhaps he was just frustrated that no one could see him. There's only one way to find out.

Have a safe and happy holiday. Going to go have some family time. See you on the other side, my magnificent two wheeled ones, I offer some Vonnegut to see you through:

"Live by the foma that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy."
--The First Book of Bokonon, verse 5

*I've opted for a non-discriminatory light giveaway selection policy, such that age, gender, race, immigration status**, or type of cyclist will not affect my search. I won't mention those factors in these posts, either, to emphasize the thought that all cyclists are created equal when it comes to needing to be seen at night. I seek out humans riding in darkness. These are the altruistic ethics of the family of the velocipede. I reserve the right to ride on past bad-crazies though. Happy crazy or quiet crazy is OK by me, but the ones waving their arms and screaming angry gibberish at me or the world in general, I'll ride on by them.

**Is that a problem, in terms of current local laws? Not for me. They can have a bottle of water if they're thirsty, too.

One Acre Is Not Enough for Me and My Bicycle, Mr. Wright

2011-12-21T05:15:00.044-07:00

How I got there

Employing a combination of bicycle and light rail to go to the Phoenix Art Museum to view the newly opened exhibition, Frank Lloyd Wright: Organic Architecture for the 21st Century, is analogous to skiing in to a snowboarding seminar: it's doable, but the irony or cognitive dissonance is liable to derail any coherent train of thought you may have, and, depending on who you run into there, could be trouble. Rocking my fixie flatland commuter, and carrying my messenger bag with a validated all-day light rail ticket hanging out of my pocket, I was sensitive to the possibility of encountering a True Believer, who would view my chosen transport combination as an affront on the level of driving up to a civil rights convention in a lovingly restored General Lee styled Dodge Charger.

Closer up and better lit view of the bike rack guardian. Hoping he's not a True Believer from the Wright Auto Shop.

Frank Lloyd loved the automobile. He installed gas pumps in his own garage in Oak Park to fuel up his lovelies. I picked that up in the NYTimes article just linked. Also, and I should have known this, the Guggenheim Museum in New York was inspired by car ramps, and is intended to be visited by taking the elevator up to the top, then walking down, using gravity to easily stroll your way down. I've been about half a dozen times, and I've always done it the other way around: walk up, and take the elevator down. Guess that makes me a Bad Machine, one who likes to walk for miles, and against gravity.

I'm thinking FLW would have loved the Spokane Parkade, which I still have nightmares about:

Room for 3878 cars. Concrete from the Acme Concrete Company, Warren C. Heylman, architect. (my photo)

Watch the short intro video for the exhibit to get a feel for it. I did. I feel that they are overreaching with their talk about linking his work with "today's sustainable, green architecture movement." I think a lot of his work is visually stunning. I've done a walking tour and gone inside one of his houses in Oak Park, and he was a genius. Fallingwater is an architectural masterpiece. But I don't think many of his designs would be LEED certified. And foremost, the automobile was at the center of his view of how people would move around in urban environments.

Phoenix Art Museum bicycle helmet adornment. One green thing I took from my visit.

Because, look: a metropolitan environment a la Wright with a density of 500 to 800 people per square mile, where each family has a house on an acre of its own but can't walk or bicycle outside of that acre because the rest of the place is given over to high speed automobile transport, with no transit whatsoever, is no solution for the 21st Century, and is not green or sustainable in any sense of those terms. It's a Super Suburb ideal that is not in line with the environmental, population, energy, and natural resource realities we now face. Wright was wrong. That was the main thought I took from the exhibition.

Green, sustainable: hang your bicycle in the light rail

To their credit, the Phoenix Art Museum did not try to mislead us, or hide Wright's suburban sprawl plans. In fact, models of them are included in the exhibit to consider critically, and to decide for ourselves what we might learn from them, complete with those goofy helicopter UFO thingies. We are probably meant to view the drawings and models and seek out ideas, make them our own, and grow them into green and sustainable concepts for this age. I dig textile blocks. Shade and integrating materials with place, I'm all over that. But as a whole, not in parts and pieces and derivative concepts, but rather as the title of the exhibition would imply, his is not an architecture for the 21st Century. In fact, looking back at some of my pictures from Palenque and Chichen Itza from my trip to la Ruta Maya, I'm thinking that they got the thousands place wrong: it may be a better fit for the 11th Century. This is not as snarky or mean-spirited a statement as it might sound, if you haven't seen those structures: the Mayan buildings blew me away, textile block fabrication is a technology they would have really appreciated, I think, and a different plan for their cities may have even helped them a bit with whatever it is that caused them to wither away.

How about, Reinterpreting FLW for the 21st Century: Deriving Elements of Sustainability for a Car-Crazy World.

Bicycle Commuting in Winter: Fuel Up!

2011-12-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Breakfast to get you there and back

For the winter commute, and by "winter" I mean when the temperature drops below 50F in Phoenix, I like a hot breakfast. My current favorite is my version of "super oats": Coach's Oats with mixed unsalted nuts and dried fruit, sometimes a spoon of peanut butter or Nutella, and a splash of milk or vanilla soy milk. Coach's Oats are a great find, as they are very similar to steel cut or Irish oats, except they cook in microwave in 2.5 minutes. This is fuel for my commute. What's yours?

Bicycle Thieves Will Be Viciously Eaten

2011-12-19T05:26:00.010-07:00

Jurassic Age by Sui Jianguo, guarding the bicycle rack at the Phoenix Art Museum

I wonder if a large, red, bronze and steel dinosaur glaring at the bicycle rack deters bicycle thieves. Surely, the prospect of being devoured savagely for attempting to steal our machines would give them pause. I don't like violence, and prefer peaceful solutions to all conflicts. But a sign that said "TOUCH THIS BIKE AND YOU WILL BE EATEN" has some appeal to me. Jurassic justice, we could call it.

I ordered up a tasty combo light rail and bike ride to the Phoenix Art Museum to see the new Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition. Of which more coming up soon. The journey there was rainy again, with the sun showing its face just for a few moments that permitted me to get this happy shot. Then the clouds returned and I chased the dark skies and pattering drops all the way home. My kids tried to tell me that I smelled sweaty when I rolled in the door, but I told them it was just a myth.

A Brief Primer on Bicycle Cleaning

2011-12-18T10:02:00.000-07:00

Parking near stainless art emphasizes dirt on your bicycle

Recent rainstorms, most welcome in the desert, have reinvigorated my urge to keep my bicycles clean(er). The idea of never leaving your bicycle dirty at the end of the day is an ideal I aspire to, both for aesthetics and long-term machine maintenance, but do not always succeed at following. In addition, I do see the advantages of an ugly bicycle for commuting, and dirt and splattered mud is an easy way to uglify your machine for bike rack security purposes. Sometimes, I gaze with satisfaction at mud splattered on my plastic fenders, because I don't think it will hurt them, it makes them look like they are doing their job, and it makes them much uglier than they are when I wipe them off and they become black, shiny, and attractive. Big Clyde asked about my cleaning technique, so here goes.

First, to set the table before I serve the snack, I have landed on an cleaning approach based on living in an extremely dry, often dusty, but seldom wet or muddy, place. These are very similar or identical conditions to Tucson, where Big Clyde resides, but will not be very applicable to most people who live in wetter places. For their benefit, I include below some more authoritative bicycle washing references, which hold some good tips for anyone wanting to be thorough in bike washing.

My personal preference leans heavily toward the NO SOLVENTS OR DEGREASERS school of thought. I like a shiny and gunk-free machine as much as the next bicycle-obsessed person; however, I do not think it's generally a good idea to work solvents and degreasers deep into your chain where you only want lubricants. I've been following the "wipe, lube, and wipe until clean" method of chain maintenance for a couple years, with generally good results. When I've bought or obtained a used bicycle, I will do a top-to-bottom, full-on solvent and degreaser based cleaning with gusto and down to the last spec of varnish-like gunk, but for general cleaning I avoid the harsh stuff and stick with liquid dish soap.

Some Authoritative Bicycle Cleaning Resources:
Jim Langley
Park Tool
Quickrelease.tv Video
Belgium Knee Warmers (mechanic who shares my dish soap preference)

My post-monsoon recent cleaning approach, used after a muddy and fully soaking commute ride:

Before arriving home, find some deeper standing water to ride through. This removed most of the splattered mud, making the rest much easier.
Under cover but still outside, pick up the bike and drop it gently a few times to knock the loose drops off. Also, check for any remaining caked-on mud around the brakes, inside the fenders, under the racks, on top of the seat post, etc. It's much easier to remove when it's still wet.
Using rags which do not leave lint or threads behind, wipe off the parts where you don't want grease first: rims (yuck, covered in black grime!), frame, saddle, bars, cranks, etc. We're using the water picked up in the soaking ride to remove most of the egregious grime here.
Switch to a clean rag when they are dirty. Move on to the parts you want to end up greasy or lubed: chain, headset, cogs, chainwheels.
At this point, review the state of cleaning. It may be Good Enough at this point. Or you may need to go and get a bucket of hot soapy water (dish soap) to make things right. Up to you. I was tired, wet, and starting to get cold, so I called it good at this point.
After the bike dries off, lubricate. This is important to me because I use a dry lube, which is excellent in Phoenix, but doesn't hold up in the rain at all.
Total post-ride clean-up time: about five minutes.

When it's not raining and making everything a muddy mess with standing or running water here, which is almost all the time, I admit that I do not clean up after every commute because it is simply unnecessary. However, if my ride or commute involves any significant mileage on the canal or other path, I take the time to wipe off the fine, accumulated dust which inevitably will get picked up, and which hardens to a rock-like coating if not dealt with in a timely manner (experience talking, there). A slightly damp rag takes it right off, augmented with the occasional more thorough washing with hot water and dish soap. For which, by the way, an actual bike stand is indispensable. Cleaning your bike thoroughly without one is frustrating enough, in terms of awkwardness and unnecessary effort, to deter future washing. Clamping your bike into one, and following some variation of the thorough cleanings above, is actually kind of fun.

Be honest: how often do you clean your bike(s). Solvents and degreasers, or no? Go ugly?

My Mom's Cactus, and DIY Bicycle Frame Building

2011-12-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

Further evidence of my mom's green thumb

My mom has a green thumb which I did not inherit. By all appearances, it would appear to be such an essential part of her nature that it comes effortlessly to her. For example, it seems that the care she lavished on this cactus amounted to: sticking it in a nice pot, putting the pot in a spot which would appear to me to be strange but which the cactus appears to love beyond all understanding, and then to splash water in the general direction of the cactus at an ideal random, sparse interval known only to her and the cactus, as if they are members of some sort of watering conspiracy, a secret hydration cabal.

In contrast, if I were to undertake to nurture this cactus which I would not do out of an excess of previous disastrous attempts, the cactus would turn brown and wither away within two days. That may sound unlikely, since cactus are incredibly resilient and able to withstand monsoon storms, droughts which last for years, flash floods, and birds boring holes into their cores to nest, but I am nothing if not knowledgeable about my own limitations.

But I'm not giving up. Under the theory that it's actually skills and knowledge which my mom possesses which enable her to grow and nurture plants, and not just some innate ineffable glow of life force, I plan to have a sitdown with her to pick her brains in an effort to find out more about how she does it. She has more thriving plants of far greater diversity scattered around her house and yard than I have bicycles, which says a lot.

Possibly, gaining some understanding from her about how she does it would help me along the path of building my own bicycle frame. I am not sure exactly what the logic is behind that odd-sounding belief, but when I stare at that photo of that odd, happy cactus with its sensuous, flowing curves which represent some sort of loving, exuberant relationship with gravity, it somehow makes sense to me.

Bicycle Commuting Tips: The Myth of Blood, Sweat, and Tears

2011-12-15T05:09:00.062-07:00

Let's talk about riding to work

In order to understand a challenge or problem, I like to break it down into its parts, and look at the sub-problems within each part, so that rather than one big mess of scary impossibility, the challenge can be seen as a set of smaller problems, some of which are already solved, and all the rest of which can be solved, one at a time if need be.

So, as far as bicycle commuting goes, there are really two main sub-parts in the bicycle commuting instruction manual:

Bicycle Commuting Instructions
1) Get on your bicycle
2) Ride your bicycle to work

That's really all there is to bicycle commuting. If you are interested in commuting by bicycle, but feel uncertain or overwhelmed by the idea of it, take a look at the two simple sub-parts of the idea, above, and take them one at at time. Don't focus on irrelevant or extraneous questions, keep focusing on these core issues.

For example, it may be hard to get on your bicycle if you don't own one. That's not really a bicycle commuting problem, that's a bicycle ownership or access problem. You can tackle that.

Or let's say you have (1) nailed, but get hung up on (2). Again, that's not really a bicycle commuting problem so much as a route-finding problem, or an endurance problem, or a traffic problem, or whatever. Again, you can tackle that. Look at your options. Most important of all, don't get hung up on one dead-end answer that leads you to conclude that (1) or (2) is impossible. They are not. It is much more likely that you have just not thought of, or tried, all the options you could. Keep trying. See what works. In large part, the hundreds of posts on this blog are either directly about that, "keep trying, and see what works," or else are the happy results of this part scientific, part fun-engineering (I like to call it "fungineering"), ongoing process.

You can spend a lot of time and effort working on the sub-sub-problems between (1) and (2), but really, I can tell you from personal experience, the actual problems are not larger than those, and most are smaller and easier to solve.

However, I have noticed when talking to pretty much everyone I know that I never get that far. I never get a chance to talk about how easy and straightforward the Bicycle Commuting Instructions are to follow and implement because people are so hung up on mythical objections to bicycle commuting: that riding your bicycle to work requires a Stoic effort of will (think about the movie 300) which results only in blood, sweat, and tears.

Another way to restate the myth: it's dangerous, you'll stink, and it's impossibly difficult.

Blood No activity that we do is perfectly safe, it's true. I have found that by learning, practicing, and using safe riding skills, though, my confidence about riding in and around traffic has risen, and I have put the risks into perspective. Let's talk about perceived risk compared to actual risks. The actual risks that I'm talking about are heart disease, heart attack, obesity, high blood pressure, stroke, and type II diabetes, just to get started. A sedentary and typical affluent 21st Century lifestyle contributes to these. In addition, I have a family history of people dying from those and related conditions. Those are the statistics to go and study and ponder, these are the real dangers to health and happiness to figure out how to conquer. Focusing on the dangers of riding a bicycle distract attention from these real threats to life that you can see all around you every day. The benefits of riding your bicycle to work are directly targeted at lowering the risks of these real dangers. And regarding the perceived (and distracting) dangers of commuting by bicycle, they pale in comparison. The real threat here is a slow death from stress, overeating, and inactivity, not from riding your bike to work. The real threat is compounded by the impacts automobiles have had and continue to have on our cities, our environment, our psyches, and our world. These costs are substantial, and dwarf (again) the risks faced while riding your bike to work. There's practically no comparison.

Sweat First, a brief editorial comment: sweat is not a toxic fluid that kills all who come near it. It is often the result of hard work, and I suppose for a long time was recognized as such, but in recent times we've taken to covering up its presence and even taking steps to prevent working up a sweat. Our present squeamishness about it seems bizarre to me, but I harbor no illusions that I would be able to alter that a bit. So let's talk about managing it. The ride into work does not need to be a workout, or a race. Take it easy, ride at a moderate pace, learn to achieve thermal balance and control through monitoring your effort and adjusting your layers of clothing, and you can manage your sweat to a large extent on the way in to work. On arrival, clean up as much as you need to in as convenient and efficient a way as you can manage. I always shower before I ride in, and that seems to help, perhaps by decreasing odor-causing bacteria, but I don't know about the science behind that thought. Save the workout or racing for the ride home at night, and go crazy then if you want to.

Tears Once you fulfill the basic Bicycle Commuting Instruction steps (1) and (2) above, this one starts to seem absurd, that you could have ever thought that it would be hard to commute to work by bicycle. I think it is true that anything worth doing may entail the possibility of difficulty and disappointment. It may take you longer to commute by bicycle, and it probably is more physically demanding than driving a car or riding a train, that's true. Once you get into the swing of it, though, and once you get your legs and lungs into decent shape for riding, it's a pleasure. It truly is. I find that after two years of commuting full time by bicycle, my overwhelming emotional response to it is happiness and laughter. It has become a mental and physical fitness ritual for me that I would be very reluctant to give up. Rather than tears, I find that more than anything else, laughter is the emotion that goes with bicycle commuting for me, and I can't say that any of the other methods I've tried (car, bus, subway) even come close.

There are other benefits to commuting by bicycle that I haven't gone into here: economic, social, traffic (my bike means one less car on the road at rush hour), and more. The main purpose of this post was to list the core bicycle commuting instructions, and to start to try to dispel the myths that people always, always raise, to tear down the mythical barriers they habitually and reflexively throw up, when I tell them I commute by bicycle. Blood, sweat, and tears are not valid reasons to avoid commuting by bicycle. If that's all that's stopping you, please see the instructions above to get a view of the actual steps to commute by bicycle.

The path of no blood, sweat, or tears at all

Bicycle Tunnels of Surpassing Dryness

2011-12-14T05:16:00.015-07:00

The change in color of the pavement is entirely due to water. Also check out the nice lighting.

It's been raining for two days in Scottsdale, yet check out this bicycle tunnel: bone dry. The canal bank up behind me is such a soupy gloppy mess that I rode around it on Tuesday, taking the street detour. I imagine that without proper engineering, without taking into consideration drainage, slope, and landscaping, this tunnel could easily turn into a culvert rushing with rain water on a day like this. Instead, though, the tunnel boffins have built something that stays dry, and I want to even say warm, during and after a downpour.

East end

The grate across this pavement apparently has something to do with it, as well as the gravel on both sides. In addition, a little further along, there is a larger grate that looks like it could handle a larger flow.

Rain diverting, tunnel drying aparatus

Yee-ha, ride 'em tunnel boffin!

I appreciate not only the dry tunnel on my wet commute, but also the display of consumate skill and confidence. The engineers who designed this, and the constructors who built this, probably took a step back when they were done, and knew that based on their planning and thought, this tunnel would stay dry during storms. They knew. They had confidence in their application of principle and construction.

I even like to imagine that they took pride in the product of their labors, and that part of their pride derived from knowing that they were taking care of the people who would walk and bicycle through this tunnel. Shelter from the storm. Excellent.

Are Sure You Are Up For This? Rain Day!

2011-12-13T04:52:00.035-07:00

Wind, rain, chill: yeah baby!

As I headed out the door for what the weather forecaster insisted would be a miserable, chilly, rainy, windy commute, I was asked if I wanted a ride in the car, followed by, as I continued to push my bike out the door, "Are you sure you are up for it?"

That's like a challenge to me! Why yes, I believe I am up for a bicycle ride in the rain! With a yearly average of only 8.3" of precipitation, almost all of that in the form of rain with the rare hail and even rarer graupel, rain is somewhat unusual in Phoenix, and I consider it a pleasant change of pace. Regarding the weather forecaster, perhaps she was miserable because she was trapped inside her car! Miserable weather forecasters, shoot me an email and I will take you for a bicycle ride out in the weather, where you, too, can experience new and interesting sensations unavailable to those stuck inside their cars.

The Top 3 Unusual and Interesting Sensations I Got To Experience in Monday's December Rain Storm:

1) The world seen through rainy, fogged-up glasses. Even better at night, with lights on!

2) Water ripping off my front wheel in a front-facing rooster tail as I rode through the standing water. Gave my fenders something to do, too. Have you heard that sound, faster = louder? Really concentrated on it, listened to the water flying off the tire? Imagine a photo here of that, absent because it was really coming down at that point, plus the mud flying off (see next point), plus the water underneath, didn't want to get my camera that wet.

3) Getting really, really muddy squelching through the canal bank mud. Though I am no canal boffin myself, I imagine that making bike wheel tracks in the mud does the canal bank no good whatsoever, but it almost never happens. There was more mud, and it was deeper, than I expected, so I just kept moving and just squirreled my way through. The water in the streets washed it all off my bike afterwards. Miserable weather forecasters, shoot me an email, and I will take you for a bike ride in the mud, during which you will be covered head to toe in the stuff, and will find yourself laughing at me covered in mud laughing at you covered in mud.

The rain gear worked well. Kept up a high cadence to stay warm, and had fun while doing it. And it was still raining when I headed home, and felt chilly, so I layered up and rode into the blustery storm.

I'm sure several drivers were looking at me as if I were crazy, so I did my best to project back my true feelings about riding in the December rain: happy to be alive, happy to be in this moment, looking forward to the possibility of doing it again tomorrow. Stopped and took a picture of the Soleri bridge shimmering in the rain, which dark clouds overhead, to celebrate this experience. I mark this moment in wind and rain: pour rain, pour. I am sure that I am up for it. I welcome and embrace the falling water.

Soleri Bridge, Scottsdale, one moment in rain

This Doesn't Work With That: Inconvenient Incompatible Parts

2011-12-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

Park Tool TS-25 truing stand inside a small box. Would that work?

When I saw the concept of some parts that could be bolted on to my PCS-10 repair stand to enable it to also be used for truing wheels, I thought, cool! I got to try that. This small box showed up a few days later (AA rechargeable battery included for scale), and I tore it open to go and bolt it on.

Inside, simplicity itself: beefy steel axle holder, quick release mounted sliding indicator

Soon as I went over to the work stand, though, I saw a problem: the nifty #106 Work Tray that I had already bought and also attached to the stand would be in the way of any wheel truing operation. I hadn't seen any note, like "Please note: to use the TS-25 Truing Attachment on your PCS-10 work stand, you will have to temporarily remove the #106 work tray (if present), since This Doesn't Work With That." With bicycles in particular, though, this seems to be more often than not a matter of Insider Knowledge rather than explicit documentation. I always appreciate a footnote like "The Shimagnolo RIFE derailleur is not compatible with the Moon Tour Spexy brifter due to insufficient clearance with the cable cleaner-lubricator unit," but those are few and far between.

I appreciate the convenience of the #106 work tray. It holds small parts and tools very near to the work, to the extent that I use it just about every time I work on my bike. I had pictured using the tray while attempting to use the truing attachment to hold the axle during a bearing adjustment, since in my mind it looked like this axle holder might also work for that, too (perhaps with a spacer, I was willing to experiment). It all seemed to be coming together.

I tried some alternatives. The tray doesn't really seem to work on the other side of the pole. There is also a position at the top of the stand that will also accept the support prongs of the work tray; unfortunately, the tray still interferes with a wheel mounted for truing even up there.

True interference! Ten yard penalty!

In the end, I left the truing attachment on the stand, and just plan to remove the tray next time I want to use it. It seemed like just the thing for an easy truing when in the middle of other work. I have an actual truing stand, too, but due to storage and space limitations, that operation is often done in a separate area. I guess we'll see how it all shakes out once I get some more usage out of this, since any wheel that shows signs of being out of round will have to go on to the real truing stand anyway.

This will work, but the tray will have to come off to use the truing attachment.

It may be possible to leave both attached if I adjusted the moveable tube all the way up, but it seems like that would put that clamp about eight feet off the ground. Which would still make it a TDWWT situation to me. Some things like TDWWT incompatibilities just don't seem to pop out to me until I go to physically attach This (whatever it is) to That (whatever it is) and only then see that TDWWT! That is perhaps one of the key differences between a hack like me and a good, experienced, skilled mechanic or fabricator, who possess the ability to visualize What Works With What (WWWW) and how it all will go together before they actually put it all together. Fortunately, I seem to enjoy putting things together and taking them apart again. I get many opportunities to experience that enjoyment.

Puscifer Show, Mesa AZ, 12/09/2011: Dionysus's Arizona Gig

2011-12-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

Note: This isn't directly bicycle-related, but I attended a show last night that was overwhelming enough that I want to write about it to get my brain-arms and body-mind around it better. While the concert had nothing to do with the human-powered machine with two wheels that you the reader may conclude I am obsessed with, and nor did I ride one to get there, I want to untangle some connections to some of the threads in this blog: Arizona, the desert, being creative, thinking differently, encouraging the desert sun to roast your brain to clean out the cobwebs and horsecrap, allowing contending ideas to wrestle with each other in a mental cage match MMA-style until one taps out or until one chokes out the other, and productive obsessions, to name a few.

One blogger's rendition of the Puscifer show stage setup

Puscifer is a muscial exploration project of Maynard James Keenan (MJK), the lead singer of the band Tool. He lives in the Arizona, where he attempts to coax grapes to grow to supply his wine-making enterprise. Some of this enterprise is located in the Verde Valley, which is for MJK as well as for me a sort of concentrated distillate of all that is positive and negative about Arizona and the desert. For me: hiking with my woman through gulches down to the Verde River at sunrise, or riding my bicycle to and around Dead Horse State Park, on the good side, but on the other side, it will always be the place where my dad died suddenly and unexpectedly a few years back. Every time I descend that hill into the Verde Valley and see the snow-covered San Fransisco peaks in the distance, I feel both sides of this place. This is part of the explanation for my eyes filling with tears during "Green Valley" at the concert.

Concert t-shirt portrayal of Billy Dee and Hildy

"Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology...In its fully developed form, his central cult imagery shows his triumphant, disorderly arrival or return, as if from some place beyond the borders of the known and civilized." (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysus) In this era of pervasive media and total online access to information and imagery, when people believe we know everything worth knowing, and considering what now passes for "civilization" (cars, malls, reality TV, online check-ins), where exactly would that be, now, this "beyond the borders of the known and civilized?"

All that remains, in tangible items, of seats in the third row

Billy Dee is a character pictured on the cover of the album Conditions of My Parole who is an execrable redneck tailer park punk rock singer drunkard, to put it generously. His boundaries are the trailer park, the whiskey bottle, the money he can't seem to keep hold of, the concert stage he mounts to try to make a few bucks, and the people in his life he abuses in his alcohol haze, chief among them Hildy his wife and singing partner.

Billy lives in the Verde Valley, Arizona, and dresses totally uncool: nasty white wig, silver Elvis glasses, rumpled stage costumes. In contrast with MJK: black cowboy hat, boots, a minimalist Arizona anonymous rock star, almost. Billy Dee had some nice black boots, but one of his bandmates stole them for whiskey money. There's nothing likable about Billy Dee, other than his singing voice I mean, and every time MJK portrays him, Billy seems to get nastier, more tawdry, more execrable. In addition, apparently, he has recently spent some time as a guest of the Yavapai County Sheriff in their deluxe and secure facility.

Yet, there's just this one thing: Maynard's portrayal of Billy is personal, tinged with knowing, and possibly with even a little love or tenderness, as if Billy Dee is somewhere between MJK's next door neighbor, brother, and future or past self. There, but for the grace of miles and years and struggle and creative reflection, go I.

Backside of t-shirt

If I am so certain that I am nothing like Billy Dee, then why does he make me laugh uncomfortably, and why did I spend $16 for a CD and $40 for a t-shirt with Billy's face on it next to Hildy? If MJK is so far from becoming Billy Dee, where does the nearness, the inner vision of Billy's world, come from which drives him to dwell on the character and portray him so compellingly?

Anyway, musically, the show was incredible. The warm-up was Carina Round, who brought her own flavor of indie goodness to the show, with a voice and songs sung like I've never heard before, but would like to again. It's very possible she's been listening to Tool, and Maynard's voice, since she was four years old, because she sounds and looks a bit like his sexy and talented offspring. She does her own thing, but also has some Maynard moves that didn't always seem to be in harmony with her own talents and techniques. MJK and his bent-over singing/roping style fits him, in his dark cowboy get-up, but I'm not sure it always worked for Carina in her slinky black dress.

Together, though, the range and variety they gave us in this one show was overwhelming. From quiet and contemplative songs to the combination aural and visual assault of "Undertaker," this concert fired words images and music at me so fast and loud that most of it is still whirling around in my head trying to find order and sense in long-term storage with helpful context. Seriously, "Undertaker" was close to inducing seizure or stroke, with the pounding industrial bass rhythms actually blowing my hair back.

At the end of the concert, seeking context for the contending images and messages and music that I had just been bombarded with became my strategy. You can see Billy Dee as comedy and take him no deeper or further than that, and probably get a good understanding of him. But, it's also possible to try to understand him in context, which I have started to do with this post, and I get the uneasy feeling that further contemplation doesn't always lead to comfort or ease.

Since I call Arizona home, and visit the Verde Valley regularly, I have context to build on. I have the dirt under my fingernails, and the scars of miles and years and reflection, to show for my time in the desert. While Billy Dee makes my skin crawl, and I laugh derisively at him, sometimes I am secretly cheering for him to pull out of it. A lot of the time he seems like he may be having fun. It's not my idea of fun, no. But I would like to see him stay together with Hildy. I can't help tapping my foot to some of his songs.

I don't imagine the god of the grape harvest would spell everything out for me down to the smallest detail. He does require that I think for myself, that I seek to be creative and not drink from the spigot of mass-produced noise just because it seems sugary sweet and tastes good for an instant. I imagine he would be OK with me finding a quiet spot in a desert gulch somewhere to listen to the wind, breathe deep the creosote perfume, and listen to the cactus wrens buzzing in the heat, trying to build a meaningful, musical context of my own. And if I ride a bicycle to get there, under my own power, in the open air and in the bright sunshine, that would be headed in the right direction, too.

Steal This Light!

2011-12-09T05:09:00.005-07:00

Perhaps a change in strategy is called for

Still no joy giving away lights to Cyclists of Darkness. Now, I'm not necessarily saying that the universe is taunting me or anything, but Thursday night's street census of potential takers was: one guy on a recumbent who could not have been illuminated more perfectly, with front, tail, and even beautiful side running lights, and, a car with no lights on. A car. Blasting down a busy street, no lights. I don't think my magenta flashy LEDs would help a car much.

With that kind of result, maybe a hippie-style free store, a LED commune of sorts, is called for, as limom suggested. Some place that people in need of flashy fixtures for their velocipedes could stop and stock up. Probably put some U-locks on the shelves, too. A few more nights of little to no COD action and I may become LEDdy Hoffman. It reminds me a lot of the fishing trips I went on as a kid, sitting in the boat for hours, catching nothing.

While the street wasn't offering up any COD Thursday night, there was a deal on spare tires. Free for the taking, they were.

A Point Seven Percenter Finds No Light Takers (So Far)

2011-12-08T05:18:00.013-07:00

Bus stop wisdom, Indian School and Hayden, Scottsdale

The bicycle commute rate in Phoenix is given as .7%, point seven percent. I don't know how accurate that figure really is, but I can attest to not seeing too many other cyclists out on the roads during a typical commute time ride. On average, I'm guestimating I see from three to seven cyclists, of all different types and persuasions, during my commute, which can take up to half an hour each way when I take it easy.

But my last post about being on the lookout for COD (Cyclists Of Darkness, people at night on bicycles lacking lights), in order to give them one or more of the lights I'm carrying with me now, must have had some sort of cosmic repercussions. I say that because my Wednesday evening commute brought me into contact with a grand total of ZERO other cyclists, of any type: no commuters, no sports, no children, no mysterious converted tandems carrying boxes of unknown purpose, no cruisers, no electrics, no gas strap-ons, nothing. Nada.

As this anomaly unfolded, I started getting less choosy about who I would give my lights away to. I mean, just about anyone who looked like they might have had a use for a flashy light would have worked! But no one was out except for me and the cars. I did see two women pushing a baby stroller which had no lights on it, however, and they did cross the street. I thought, would it make the stroller more visible to have one or more flashing lights affixed to it? (probably), and, would the two women be amenable to a stranger stopping and offering to affix flashy lights to the stroller at no charge? (call 911 and then I have to explain to the sheriff my thoughts on stroller visibility?) So no, I didn't attempt it, not this time.

Thus, I am still on the lookout for COD in need of flashy lights. But I truly thought I would have more to report, either that all the cyclists I encountered were brightly equipped, or, that I had found a COD, chased them down, and made my first attempt to give away a light. Not seeing even one other cyclist took me by surprise. But I guess we point seven percenters have to be prepared for that. Or, just ride farther out of our ways to find the rare COD that we seek.

Giving Away Lights to Cyclists Blundering Around in the Darkness

2011-12-07T05:35:00.047-07:00

My portable, flexible, flashy collection of give-away lights

We've all seen them: cyclists blundering down a pitch black street with no lights or reflectors on their bikes (note to self: throw a couple of reflectors into the giveaway bag, you've got too many of those laying around, too). So in this season of giving, I've put together a bag of lights to giveaway to them, in an effort to make their passage, and mine, and yours, safer. These are all new, never used, and should work as decent Be-Seen flashers. I'm enthusiastic about passing them along. There's just one question: how would I go about this exactly?

A lot of times, the Cyclists of Darkness (COD) will whoosh by in a crunchy grinding of poorly lubricated chain and maladjusted derailleurs heading the other direction (should I throw in chain lube? A link to 8th edition of Barnett's Manual, although I notice they no longer let you download the derailleur chapter 32 for free?) Relevant to this post (I do digress sometimes, don't I?), should I spin around, and chase them down? "Excuse me! Excuse me! Would you like some lights? Free? It will only take a second..."

What if the COD is at the bike rack? A much easier approach, I think. "Oh, riding off with no lights I see! Would you like a couple? I have extras. Here, have some! This Niterider is particularly awesome, let's put it one your seatpost here..." That one will work, I think.

What if the COD is reluctant, though? "No thanks, I enjoy being a COD, I like cruising down a dark street on ninja bike invisible to cars and everyone else." Perhaps I could sneak a Knog onto their seatpost when they're not looking. Watch where they park, slink out there, and BAM! They have a flashy light out back.

The COD are everywhere, I've noticed. I'll report back on my COD flashing expeditions in this space, as I continue my quest to light up the night.

Portland? Portland. Portland!!!

2011-12-06T05:29:00.134-07:00

PHX, dusk, pointed approximately in the direction of PDX

Is Portland THE ANSWER? It depends on what the question is, but anyway, I'm planning a trip to find out. And I started following blogs like Portlandize, Portland Afoot, and BikePortland.org to see what they have to say about the place. What happened was, I am reading The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler, as I mentioned in the now-complete "OSG Books and Bikes Week mega-series", and JHK had some flattering and intriguing things to say about PDX. I can bullet point out a few of the key points that would distinguish it from PHX (I'm using IATA airport codes in this post, I know not why):

intelligent urban planning featuring limits on land development
mild climate (annual precipitation less than NYC)
diverse and abundant local produce
Powell's books
High-density integrated cityscape (JHK says "the texture of life is mixed, complex, and dense")
Zoning code requires buildings to have display windows at street level
Buildings also must be built out to the sidewalk
Last but certainly not least, cyclists are a visible and vital presence in PDX

I love many things about Arizona, and PHX. I take photos and write about everything I am grateful for here. However, the list above is depressingly representative of all that is missing from PHX. To get a quick idea of the type of long-range planning, the vision driving Arizona down the road to the future, have a look at the recently published ADOT pamphlet, "What Moves You Arizona, Long Range Transportation Plan 2010-2035." Although it speaks of vision and alternatives, the pullout quote on page seven speaks the truth: "ADOT’s priority for transportation is to preserve the integrity of the existing system."

The forecast cost of preserving the integrity of the existing system for 25 years is $89 billion. The bulk is for roads, with some rail, aviation, and transit thrown in. If I had to sum up what this money will be spent on in a single sentence, here's the bullet: "Let all hope that we can come up with the $89 billion so that we can continue to expand the sprawl outwards, and with skill, luck, and a lot of large construction contracts, Arizona in 2035 will look a lot like a fast freeway ride to any prosperous shopping mall or big box store, ideally." This vision does not inspire me. I seek a greater depth and richness in life for me and my family.

If everything else was equal, the climate would not be an issue for me: I have grown to love riding my bicycle in the heat of the summer, and find a certain meditative and purifying quality to it. But everything else is not equal. It's one thing to be cycling through a green shady park, or bombing down some sweet desert singletrack, when it's 112F, and quite something entirely different to be cycling through an asphalt parking lot, its integrity planned to be preserved and expanded for 25 years at a cost of billions, dodging cars when it's 112F.

Riding in PHX dreaming of PDX

My response, then, is to want to take a trip to Portland to check it out. Take the family up there and walk those streets, probably bicycle those streets, for a few days. Get a taste. I kind of get the impression that PDXers may not be super-keen on outsiders coming in to stay. I can only hope for some consideration of my personal traits: openminded bike-crazy blogger, mindful of, and admiring of, the bullet points listed above. And a lover of the outdoors. Full-time bicycle commuter in Phoenix, of all places. I love my cats, love 'em. And I give away lights to other cyclists in need of illumination.

That's cool, PDXers, anyway, we're just going to stop by to check the place out. See how it stacks up against the other places I've lived and visited in this world. Try the coffee, which is supposed to be pretty good. I would just add, I have a track record of attaining goals that I set my sights on. Even, especially, difficult and life-changing ones.

And do what there if you stay, JRA, what are you thinking? Perhaps I could join on at Portland Design Works, to perfect my bicycle commuter personal drone (BCPD). The BCPD flies about ten feet above and just behind the bicycle commuter, acting as a beacon, illumination source, threat sensor, and 360 degree video feed to support the bicycle commuter. At stops, the BCPD orbits and hovers overhead, surveying oncoming traffic of all types in the intersection, and calculates a opening for the bicycle commuter to make a safe crossing. And in navigation mode, the BCPD takes the lead, flying to the specified destination along bicycle-friendly routes, be it the nearest good coffee shop, public art installation, book store, bike shop, or urban happening. The BCPD also has a fun techno party mode and a headbanger mode. Finally, they implement what I call the BCPD Space Bubble Protocol (SBP), which causes each BCPD to scrupulously avoid bumping into another BCPD. Option 1 is head to PDW to hack on the BCPD.

Option 2? My current chosen career is portable. There's nothing about it which anchors me to PHX, or even USA for that matter. So if PDX tickles my fancy, and that of my family, Option 2 should be workable, too, possibly more than 1. I'm not banking on Option 1, but it's fun to think about.

Hold on, what about option 3, there are always three options given. Well, well, opt.3, that's the good one, isn't it? The interesting one? Where karma, fate, wheels set into motion if you will, chance, unseen factors, tiny choices, previous minute actions multiplied like the relentless flap flap flap (FLAP FLAP FLAP...) of the butterfly's wings, it all plays out and yields...what's next. In a split second, the opening that you have made opens, and you take it. The wheels have been set into motion. The butterfly's wings have flapped. No one can tell for certain what the sunrise will bring. But I plan to be riding my bicycle, whether the middle letter of the local airport code happens to be "H" or "D".

Lugged Steel Fixed Gear Commuter Bicycle: Riding, Reading, and Reflecting on the Path to Enlightenment

2011-12-04T17:08:00.000-07:00

Is this the beginning, middle, or end of a journey?

It's Books and Bikes Week here on OSG. This is the final post in the series.

In the post where I talked about the book Lugged Bicycle Frame Construction, a Manual for the First Time Builder, by Marc-Andre R. Chimonas, (Expanded Second Edition), I think I sounded enthusiastic and optimistic about the idea of brazing up a lugged steel bicycle frame of my own. Acknowledging that it would be a challenging project, before I actually read the the whole book mind you, I felt cautiously confident. Now though, after finishing the book, I have to say my confidence has been shattered. And I mean that in a good way.

Before I read the book, I was pretty ignorant at a detailed level of the processes and tools used to make a lugged steel bicycle frame using a MAPP torch and silver brazing rods. After reading LBFC,AMFTFTB, though, my ignorance has been replaced with knowledge, and my enthusiasm for jumping in and making one myself replaced by respect for people who are skilled at this technique of bicycle frame fabrication. This doesn't mean that I won't try it myself. Still digesting that concept now that it has been flavored with the sauce of knowledge.

My first lugged steel fixed gear commuter bicycle

This book helped correct the error I had made of over-simplifying the process of building a lugged bicycle frame. Which is, to me, one of the best kinds of learning experiences, that of gaining new knowledge which corrects existing errors in my thinking. When my ideas are patently incorrect in some way, I want to correct them. And I am extremely appreciative of a book which makes that happen. LBFC,AMFTFTB also resolved the tunnel vision view I had about it, that it was mainly steel tube cutting and brazing, broadening it into a more complete understanding of what's actually involved: planning, jig making, measuring, cutting and mitering, cleaning, fluxing, brazing, cleaning again, drilling, cutting, reaming, tapping, facing, chasing, painting, testing and possibly breaking, rebrazing, and final painting, all these operations are required to be done to create the triangle plus quadrilateral of a bicycle frame. Each of the operations requires skill and care, and several of them if done incorrectly can screw up the whole project.

Holiday decorations, Arizona-style

In addition to broadening my understanding of basic lugged frame construction, LBFC,AMFTFTB also gave me greater appreciation for some components of frames that I had little or no understanding of before. Seat stay caps, for instance. Brake bridges and chain stay braces, for another. Calculating and mitering steel tubes which meet other steel tubes at interesting angles inside of lugs, for yet another. Ovalized tubes. Bending chain stays to handle fatter tires. And several others. Above all, it caused me to take another look at the lugged steel frame fixed gear commuter bike I already have, and ask: isn't that enough?

Why worry about the horses' spouting water, when they are delightful to look at?

It may be. For my uses, commuting and riding around looking at art and people, buying books, riding for coffee, running the occasional errand, this machine seems to work very well. I am curiously happy with the 52x18 gearing: run what you brung, I suppose. As picky as I am about handlebars and stems, the ones that I got with this bike seem perfect for me. Once I got the right sized seat post, and sorted out the bottom bracket and chain line, it rides quiet, smooth, and comfortable. So why even contemplate brazing up a lugged steel frame on my own? Am I nuts?

Today is the middle of the journey to tomorrow

Allow me to quote Marc-Andre from Chapter 20, at the end of LBFC,AMFTFTB, by way of explanation, because I found this profound and inspiring: "Currently we live in a consumer society with mass-produced goods that are made as cheaply as possible and built to be replaced and not repaired. Many people have become intimidated by the idea of actually building something 'from scratch' like a bicycle frame. They often wonder why they should put forth the time and effort to actually make something themselves when they can buy it from a store. Once they actually put forth the time and effort to create something with their hands, however, they often find the whole process extremely rewarding (I know I did). By fabricating his own bicycle frame, a person creates a type of folk art and becomes more than just a consumer." -LBFC,AMFTFTB

That makes sense to me. It feels right. Like commuting on a re-purposed lugged steel road bike from 1973, in a way. Except possibly more. Who cares if you spend 100 hours on all the operations listed above to fabricate a lugged steel bicycle frame yourself, only to discover through iterative load testing, also known as "crashing is a hard way to find out you suck at brazing lugs," that you have to remove all the components off the Thing You Made, scour off some of the paint you put on yourself, and go all the way back to re-read the early chapter in the book about fluxing and brazing? It's a journey, a learning experience of gaining knowledge, correcting errors and mistakes, and refining your abilities. Nobody said the path to enlightenment would be an easy ride. But with a MAPP torch in one hand and a silver brazing rod in the other, it seems like it would be my path to ride down, my destination to find and define. I love that idea.

Murphy's Bridle Path Bicycle Reading Expedition

2011-12-03T05:29:00.013-07:00

It's Books and Bikes Week here on OSG.

I set out on expedition to see if there are any good spots to sit and read a book for a while along Murphy's Bridle Path. As the sign states, this path dates back to 1895. Artur Ciesielski has a good write-up and short video of the path here, so I will only focus on the results of my ride, since he did a great job of explaining the history and showing off the neighborhood.

However, in case you don't want to click over there, I will say that the neighborhood is mostly large, older homes on large lots, some of the very large and very expensive varieties, others of the large and historic type, still others of the angular and modern "hey look at me" type. Murphy Bridle Path runs along the east side of Central Avenue for 2.8 miles, and is lined with mature and gorgeous Ash and Olive trees.

Late afternoon shadows again

Bus stop bench and refuse receptacle

I saw many cyclists and pedestrians along the path, which is gravel and slightly bumpy in places, probably better suited to the mountain bike I was riding than a road bike. I did not find many places to sit a bit and read, except for a couple of bus stop benches. Here's the book I took along:

It consists of short, engrossing meditations on various Nature-related subjects, and I find it compatible with relatively brief yet relaxed reading sessions at random, comfortable outdoor reading spots. After riding the five and a half miles down and back along Murphy's Bridle Path, though, I found it better for riding than reading. It's easy on the eyes, but busy, and at the street right next to it was full of traffic at odds with meditations on Nature. Ah, the challenges, and rewards, of loving both bikes and books.

The path itself: a very pleasant ride

Possibly a superior random outdoor reading location to enjoy the rewards of reading

After riding the Bridle Path, I paused to sit for a moment at this familiar bench-pot which is near the freeway, yet still quiet, with the sound of running water and quacking duck families from the canal. This spot had shade, peace, and a bit of solitude, right next to the canal path. A good spot for a brief meditation. So I scored this expedition as a double success.

In The Book Lane: Dream of the Forgotten Lines

2011-12-02T05:24:00.007-07:00

An Advent Credo, words and music by Joseph M. Martin, published by Harold Flammer Music

It's Books and Bikes Week here on OSG.

At 6:04 PM MST on December 1, 2011, at 33.494609,-111.96299, I came across a book of music in my bike lane. Since it's Books and Bikes Week here on OSG, I had to stop and ponder An Advent Credo, words and music by Joseph M. Martin, published by Harold Flammer Music.

Tire shadow music

But a storm was coming, the temperature was dropping to shivery levels, so I rode on. Pretty sure that was the first Advent Credo I've found in my bike lane. I hope whoever lost it practiced their part enough before dropping this, else they might end up in a live version of that nightmare where you are standing in front of the audience and suddenly realize you don't know the words or music you were supposed to have memorized and practiced.

Wake me up! Wake me up! Wait, where are my pants?

I dream I'm riding along in the bike lane, and suddenly find that I have forgotten the bike lane lines. Everyone is watching me, yet everything seems OK. It's a happy dream, because I'm watching everyone right back, and since we're all watching each other, everything is cool.

The Book of Bicycling and Forgetting

2011-12-01T05:12:00.008-07:00

Words on brushed aluminum lit by bright white bicycle headlight

It's Books and Bikes Week here on OSG.

She tore out of the parking garage at 30 mph while talking on her cellphone without even looking. It's a blind corner so I couldn't see her coming, and I guess she couldn't see me either. But I heard her coming, saw her headlight, saw her blond hair and cell phone stuck to her ear, and figured she wasn't stopping anyway. I slowed down, and only hoped that she noticed the bright white bicycle light that suddenly appeared right in her rear window.

Light caressing aluminum words that loom out of the darkness of forgetting

Tones fade from light to night, grandpa handing down words to remember: how to farm, how to ride, how to be human.

This was the last of November, and I was able to ride home wearing a t-shirt. My laughter filled the night. I was laughing because a typical reaction to someone cutting you off like she did would be to stew on it all the way home in your car, perhaps flip your finger at her, yell ineffectually at the inside of your windshield, perhaps honk madly, or even try to chase her down and cut her off. Yeah, that would sure show her!

I laughed because I was riding my bicycle home through the perfect night air, and contemplating a quote from the book I am currently reading (and marking with my home-laminated Changing Hands 414 Mill Ave bookmarks!), The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler: "Americans have been living car-centered lives for so long that the collective memory of what used to make a landscape or a townscape or even a suburb humanly rewarding has nearly been erased."

On my bike, I am able to turn it over and over in my mind, and laugh. "It" being whatever needs turning over and over: anger, book reflections, ride stimuli. On my bike, I'm able to pause at signage describing a bridge designed by Paolo Soleri, someone who has not forgotten how to make a townscape humanly rewarding. And I laugh, and forget the anger. Eventually, all I recall is her hair, shining in the illumination of my headlight. Turn it over.

Work and Play and Books: along the canal on the last night in November, 2011. Humanly rewarding.

The Book of the Road by Bicycle: A Reading

2011-11-29T05:30:00.065-07:00

Let's begin in the middle of the story: this is the turnaround point

It's Books and Bikes Week here on OSG.

Open the pages and dive in. First a word, then a sentence, paragraphs, pages, chapters, sections, book, all are devoured as the words pull you farther and faster through the story. You hear the characters' voices, their actions and predicaments take on a life of their own.

Uncertain sections arise, populated with strangers who move in unpredictable ways

Sometimes the story drags a bit. Slows down. Experiences headwinds, friction, sudden changes in temperature. Or else mechanical issues: run-on sentences, inept phrasing, clumsy diction, cliche. Transitions with air leaking out until they go flat. Chains of thought that run off the gears and tangle in the derailleur, or worse, get jammed between the chain ring and frame.

Power through. Head down. Press on. Seek a sweeter line. Keep your weight back, stay loose, and look where you want to go.

But, slow a bit. Do not travel oblivious, not here. Avoid auto mode.

But slow a bit. It could be that a major plot line, obvious, well traveled, springs up, and most readers herd that way. Most people hop into the high-speed lane, turn up the stereo, and travel oblivious, as fast and superficially as possible, skipping chapter to chapter six lanes wide, just moving in auto mode, on cruise control, to get to the exit they seek.

However, there may be a side plot. A small twisting path, less traveled, somewhat slower, and requiring more effort to transit. At sunset, with the desert off to one side, the long shadows of afternoon. Slow a bit. Turn the page. Stop. Flip back a few pages and re-read. Ah, that's better.

There are details you were meant to see, up close, and not rushing past

There are details the author wanted you to notice up close, but which you must linger to appreciate. Details, angles, colors and juxtapositions meant for savoring in their own right, not as means to an end, but as ends in themselves, moments of mutual respect between maker and seer: acknowledging the human mind as worthy of the effort to cross the gap, and capable of feeling things it cannot exactly express, but knows that are valuable, as insights into the machinations of another mind. The mystifying familiarity is inexplicable. The fragility is palpable, too, but its mutual recognition and acknowledgement is strengthening.

The man uncomfortable contemplating his own fragility may be more at ease with it when it is held at the ironic distance between his eye and the ink on the page. This irony is a ghost that sneaks away as the story rolls on down the road.

The bridge enables crossing over the common route, to get to the less-traveled way, under your own power.

Cross the bridge at your own pace, linger but do not loiter: the sun is setting soon, and you've forgotten a light to read by. But, no worries. The end of the story is almost here. You haven't even noticed, but there's only a thin sliver of pages left to go, and you are sprinting along to find out how it ends. The words melt off the page lit by golden sunsetlight. You've forgotten you're even reading. Pure semantic transparency kicks in, you forget yourself as reading becomes living, ink transforms into clear meaning, for a few magic human moments. Two pages. What are the last words that will be left echoing in your mind to close out this book that has pulled you in so deep?

You reach the end feeling that anything is possible, that the world is open before your will.

Final page. The main character has finished his ride, leaving you to continue yours. You have the sense that he is not you, but that you've been privileged to have shared a view from the inside for a few turns in his life, and those feel all-too-brief now. As the story finishes, and you close the last page, the final two words on the page stay with you, and you've pinned to them a flood of emotion and experiences that have floated off the paper to blend with your own, and are now yours. You close the cover on words, and drift back into the world in a happy fade as you look down the road.

Just ride.

Making Bookmarks from 414 Mill Avenue

2011-11-28T05:13:00.040-07:00

It's Books and Bikes Week here on OSG.

It took some looking, but once I found the clear contact paper, I was in business. I had these old paper bookmarks from my favorite bookstore, and wanted to extend their useful life as bookmarks. I've done it before, sort of a poor, or lazy, man's lamination. It's also fast and easy, with good results, so it's an approach I like.

Detail from the finished bookmark. Is happy, no?

Other than needing bookmarks, though, why go to the trouble? Why not just use a handy slip of paper, or, perhaps, fold down the corner of the page? I'll explain, but first, here are two of the three I contact papered:

Formidable place marking devices

Allow me to explain the desire, the nostalgia, behind the 414 Mill Avenue bookmarks by showing the last one that I made:

One of these things is not like the other...

Here's the difference up close

I have many happy memories related to visits to 414 Mill Avenue, so the top two bookmarks are also like placeholders in my memory. Changing Hands closed the Mill Avenue location about the same time that the McClintock location opened. It's a fine bookstore, independent, and I enjoying stopping by there occasionally. But it's not a regular destination for me any more, and neither is downtown Tempe for that matter. For very different reasons: I just don't get down to S. McClintock Drive very often. I won't get into the downtown Tempe changes that lead me to avoid it most of the time any more, but I can say that back when I picked up the bookmarks above, it was a very pleasant, quirky, local place to stroll around in the evening, and it's not those things any more.

If Changing Hands was still at 414 Mill Avenue, I'd probably stop by every Saturday. My TCT would take me right past it, if I had reason to include the downtown area. Not that I need that many more books. Books are like an n+10 thing with me, sometimes anyway. But the current occupant of the old bookstore location appears to be a chiropractor. Ride halfway across the Valley to get to a bookstore known as an openminded exploratorium for ideas, knowledge, reference, imagination, and stories, sure. A chiropractor? No. (City of Tempe, you traded a chiropractor for Changing Hands? Yikes. No, I know, market forces, Invisible Hand, rents, private property, downtown development, I get it. Yikes. To be fair, though, look what Phoenix got in place of Dushoff Books. Double yikes.) Old Town Books is still on the street, perhaps the TCT should swing by the neighborhood after all.

This week I thought I would write more about books and bikes, and see where that might lead. I need to re-up my library cards. I want to look for places to rest a while and crack open a good book, now that the weather has hit the WHY THE HECK ARE YOU NOT OUT RIDING phase of our yearly climate cycle. This weekend was seriously perfect cycling weather. I rode, I flew, I smiled till my cheeks hurt. I sought out new places to stop and read, but finding no new ones, will return to some oldies-but-goodies.

Now I have some lami-papered bookmarks to take with me, to mark my place, and to remind me of a great bookstore location with a place held in memory of the many evenings I spent down in that basement browsing. Now gone. Well, time flies. Let's ride. Let's read.

Tandem Bicycle Commuting Mystery Machine: What's In That Box?

2011-11-27T07:57:00.003-07:00

Please ignore poor photo quality, grabbed across traffic while simultaneously going WhAAAaaaaat??

I've seen my share of repurposed bicycles in the world, from hog carrier to portable blade sharpening system to barber shop on wheels to beer keg transportation. In one southern city in China, I saw a bicycle modified nicely to tow a balance scale on which the proprietor would weigh you for a small fee. But the modified tandem in the photo I took, above, has me stumped. With a wheel mounted sideways, and some sort of protuberance(s) sticking off the front, I'm not sure or even slightly certain about What's In That Box (WITB).

Only two things I am pretty sure about regarding this machine, in fact: if I see him again (and I marked well the time and place of his passing, not that this is a stalking deal, but I gots to know) I'm chasing him down and doing an aggressive OSG investigative interview, and also, that it is probably some sort of work-related, money-making business on wheels setup. Probably. Technically this is bicycle commuting, if that's the case. WITB bicycle commuting.

So....What's In That Box? Theories? Your sketches of how a PTO (power take-off) arrangement works with this particular box would be very welcome. Where he parks, does some mechanical reconfiguring, and is able to pedal the tandem and power, say, an ice cream maker inside the box. For example. Which would be awesome.

Whatever is in that box, I'm pretty sure that front suspension fork is unnecessary. I could chat with him about that, too. Unless he is riding out to deliver bikemade ice cream to mountain bikers. Whoa.

Verde River: Sunrise, Day After Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T05:46:00.021-07:00

This road was dark and rocky, and smelled like the javelina pack that lives in the gulch. I put on my headlamp briefly, but didn't need it, as the predawn twilight was more than enough to find our way. The home gulch of a javelina pack is not one of my favorite smells. But at least it lets you know that they are around, so we were careful to watch for them as we invaded their territory, bushwhacking our way down to the river.

Gravel to gulch before sunrise

The dark gulches dumped us out onto a steep road, with more bushwhacking ahead. But our goal was within sight, with only a barbed wire fence to slither through to get near the water.

Sun still not up yet. High-ISO shot with my camera brightens up the scene, although noisy.

Scoring the alternative choices, we rated "walk down to the Verde River to watch the sunrise together" at +50 compared to "go shopping with crowds of crazed bargain-seekers for crap you don't need that will end up in the landfill in a year or two" at -75. Sunrise over the river was the clear choice. This was our Bright Friday. Condolences if yours was black.

I felt the water at this point

I may have mentioned something in the previous, Puscifer-crazed post about going swimming here. My woman talked sense into me regarding this point, stressing the greater sense of doing so some summer morning, rather on a November morning when the air temperature was 43F. But, I did bend down here, plunged my hands in, splashed the Verde's waters onto my face and neck, to feel the water's chill.

The air was fluffy with cotton from the cottonwoods, the ground littered with their golden leaves

Ah, there's the sun

The sun peers over the mountain and lights the tops of the yellow trees on fire above a shadow line shaped like the mountaintop. That shadow line drops lower and lower, as the chorus of mist hanging over the river chants goodbye.

Bringer of life to a dry valley, coloring it green

We startled a small group of mule deer, gray with their big ears. They slipped through the brush, quite silent, then stopped on a hill on the other side to regard us warily. I took one step toward them, and they vanished. A bit like in a dream. I try to hold on to moments like that one. Like a mountain-shaped sunrise shadow line, these moments all fall into the river and wash away, though.

Mountain-shaped sunrise shadow-line dropping into the water

Mule deer about to bolt

the Verde River inviting me to stay

Wikipedia article about the Verde River.

Also check out the map of Arizona's rivers, each miraculous, and troubled, and dammed, in its own way.

Weigh your worth before her majesty the Verde River

2011-11-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

Down by the Verde. Blog post title is a lyric from the new Puscifer album. Photo is from a 105F September ride.

I'm grateful for water in the desert, for family and love, and for this bounty called Life.

I'm headed down to this river at sunrise on Friday for a dip: because the Verde is a cold miracle flowing through a dry valley and I can hike through the darkness through places I'm probably not supposed to be in order to feel her chill run through me.

One view of my worth is that I'm an infinite blip in a vast cosmic emptiness that thinks and loves and rides. But nothing weighs your worth like a dip in the Verde at dawn in November.

If I unload freight in those frigid life waters does my worth increase while I lighten my load?

I will hike back in the rising light, seek out my people, my tribe, and tread lightly among our peculiarities and special unique qualities and traditions, and find solace and quiet therein. And tell them the tale of my Friday, how it was not Black, but rather seemed icy, full, light, and miraculous.

I hope to return from her majesty's waters to discover that the miracle that someone else weighs enough worth in me to trust/love/esteem me persists. I plan to act like someone who deserves even a fraction of it.

Shivering in the after-cold, I will seek solid warmth in the crushing blanket of memories, and will be grateful if I find a bit of something steady to calm the shivers, and not its unsolid cold opposite.

To travel lightly, unburdened, to be balanced, to ride with the happy freaks as if I was young and the day was mine.

Like someone who awoke in the best dream they ever had, and knew just what to do.

Also grateful that another member of my tribe and I have great seats together at the Puscifer concert in Mesa in a couple weeks.

And of course last but not at all least, I'm grateful for a few readers who stop by once in a while and ride down this road with me a short while.

Thankful. Grateful. Peace.

Lugged Bicycle Frame Construction in the Comfort of Your Own Shed

2011-11-23T05:00:00.033-07:00

When modest fabrication skills meet lofty aspirations, the results are unknown

Oh no, what have I done?

Possibly, it has something to do with limom and all his ruminations on buying a frame. I have felt some of the same pulls, similar urges, as he as expressed, but I also have thought a lot about building my own frame. Not because I think I could do a fantastic job by just reading a book, or a better job than someone who actually knows what they are doing, no. I'm pretty certain I would be lucky if the first one was even usable. Or didn't fly apart while I was riding it and spear me with a not-very-well-mitred tube joint. Even the second one may just be OK. And by the time I would invest in the tools and parts to build two not very good brazed lugged JRA frames, paid the emergency room bills, and considering some discounted but still somewhat market rate for the hours I would spend, I would probably be able to just pick up a nicer frame built by someone who knows what they're doing. So there's certainly nothing very reasonable about the idea, at least not if you look at it like that.

However. On the other hand. I would be riding something unique, something that I knew very thoroughly, something that I made. I could probably build it with Dura-Ace 10 speed downtube shifters if I felt so inclined. If I completed the project at all. Or if it held together. I have only skimmed the book so far, intending to give it a good read-thru over the long weekend ahead, but, for example, if you don't get the silver brazing just right, the thing can just fall apart, wrecking not only you if you happen to be riding it when it breaks, but also any sort of paint job you may have put on it, too, since at a minimum the separated joint will have to be cleaned back down to bare metal and re-brazed. One option he mentions is to rattle can it, and then ride test it hard for a few months to see if it holds together, then getting the spray paint abrasive blasted off, and having a proper paint job done, once you're reasonably sure the brazes are holding. Or else, after you finish, have someone who knows what they're doing inspect the joints. Come to think of it, I do know someone I could check with while doing it, someone who does know what they're doing. Time to give him a call if I go forward, I think. Or look into a training course of some sort.

Another aspect of the project, though, is that I lack a good space for working on building a frame for dozens of hours, including mounting jigs for mitering tubes, as well as the brazing process itself. Hmm, it seems like I bought another DIY book a couple years back that would come in handy. Let's see, where did I put that book....

Yeah baby, bike-building shed, here I come!!!

Zen Bike Path Combat Alert Technique

2011-11-22T05:25:00.049-07:00

In an effort to alert pedestrians on the canal path to my approach on my bicycle, I have adopted the following flexible approach, which I adjust to suit specific circumstances. The foundation of this approach is an increasing scale of alert technique, similar to what the U.S. Marines refer to as the Continuum of Force, except in a harmonious, non-combative sort of way, perhaps more in the vein of aikido. In a Zen sense, it is combat which is not combat. I fight by not fighting. I alert pedestrians by not startling them.

The Continuum of Zen Bike Path Combat is as follows:

Level 1) Slow down and choose a line which will support safe passing no matter what happens. This sometimes involves slowing down very far indeed. The line chosen must allow at least three to five feet of passing clearance. Take note of whether or not the approach and slowing is enough of an alert in itself, particularly, for example, if a White Industries Eno freewheel is in use. If the pedestrian is not alerted, proceed to level 2.

Level 2) At this point, I take note of whether or not the pedestrian is equipped with earbuds in both ears. I still proceed step by step through the levels, but earbuds may cause me to escalate to level 4 sooner. Level 2 involves a distinct yet pleasant* DING-DING on the bell on the handlebar. A semi-alert pedestrian will typically be able to hear the DING-DING, and be suitably alerted to my approach. If the pedestrian is not alerted, proceed to level 3.

Level 3) At this point, I am approaching fairly close to the pedestrian, near enough such that raising my voice just sightly and saying "On Your Left," will usually do it. If that works, I time it with a "Thank you!" just as I pass, and all is well. If, however, no notice has been taken, and I have any concern or question as to the safety of passing, I will proceed to level 4.

Level 4) The Zen Bike Path Combat kiai. This is a powerful verbal tool to be employed only in the circumstances described: when levels 1-3 have not succeeded, and an alert is still required. An alert is not always required at this point. If the pedestrian may be safely passed without going all the way to Level 4, I will do so, with a sense of exasperation combined with hopefulness and harmony. You rock on with your bad self you ear bud-wearin oblivious pedestrian, and I wave at you in hopes that an ear bud-wearin oblivious cyclist doesn't cross paths with you thinking that you will hear him and move just in time.

If I have any doubt of passing safely and courteously, I will generate a powerful burst of sound from deep inside which gathers deep, balanced ki forces, focuses them, reverberates off my diaphragm, and sometime knocks earbuds out of ears with its mighty decibels as it resounds off the urban canyon walls. I've frozen bunny rabbits in their tracks with this technique. It is not a yell. It is not that loud. It is simply very, very powerful. Seldom does a Level 4 Zen Bike Path Comabt kiai fail to alert the intended recipient of my passing. Here, check it out (props to Jay Gluck and Morihei Ueshiba).

*or should it be, "pleasant yet distinct?" Requesting a word order ruling on this one from native English speakers in the blogosphere who have an infallible sense of such things. I believe I prefer the latter, although it is not a strong or unmovable preference, unlike "big, fat tire" instead of "fat, big tire" (which is just wrong), or, for example, "lycra menacing horde" which is totally off, compared to "menacing lycra horde," which you definitely don't want anywhere near your neighborhood, as we have established previously.

7th Ave Tunnel in Phoenix Update: Forests of Naked Rebar

2011-11-21T05:56:00.002-07:00

View through the fence, 11/20/11

In a comment back on August 17, I speculated on a January, 2012 completion for this tunnel, based on its progress to that point, and taking into account how long similar projects like the Goldwater Pedestrian Underpass and the tunnel by Chaparral Plaza in Scottsdale took to complete. Based on the progress as of November 20, I may not have been far off. There's still a lot of rebar exposed, waiting to be encased in artfully textured concrete. Looking down into the site, I got a sense of how complex a project the constructors face in putting a tunnel under an existing roadway, with an existing canal on one side and a drainage diversion channel on the other.

I was surprised to see the ramp out the north side reaches the curve.

I'm still holding out hope that this guy is going to show up on-site soon, or, that he will be embedded as an optical illusion in the wall of the tunnel. He looks so happy to be going through a tunnel under 7th Ave, doesn't he?

Artist's rendering of 7th Ave tunnel from the public meeting poster

Menacing Lycra Ironman Horde Invades Scottsdale!

2011-11-19T14:09:00.002-07:00

The vanguard of the menacing lycra Ironman horde! Do not be fooled by his fit appearance or happy demeanor!

Undeterred by the City of Scottsdale Transportation Commission's decision this week to close the easement for cyclists in the Hidden Hills subdivision, an invading horde of menacing, fit, strong, fast, beautiful athletes competing in the 2011 Tempe Ironman invaded Scottsdale's southern flank Saturday morning, putting on a blatant display of just the kind of smooth, human-powered grace and physical coordination that Scottsdale is anxious to purge from its neighborhoods.

A bold proclamation of the devastation to follow

The model for the Transportation Commission's bicycle encouragement schemes: shut it down! Keep 'em out!

Turning away from its recent "Bike Friendly City" GOLD rating, Scottsdale has decided to prioritize being overweight, bitter, and confined to a car stuck in rush hour traffic moving from job to strip mall to suburban cookie-cutter sleeping boxes over cycling. "Damn," they muttered while watching the Ironman cyclists, "Those bastards look fit and strong. Imagine if we had more citizens doing that crap. What would this city look like? What would our neighborhoods look like with more people on bicycles and on foot? This invasion on our southern flank is a disaster, a shambles! No, this shall not stand. We're implementing our V8 Plan to encourage SUVs and pickups so that they can traverse our neighborhoods at higher and higher speeds. With that, we're raising the speed limits on residential streets to 55mph, and banning bicycles on all but the bikeways."

The following surveillance video illustrates the horror that the City is anxious to defend against. Warning: this video contains graphic lycra horde menace. Viewer discretion advised.

Assuming strike position

Happy, muscled, powerful: what kind of message does this send?

Member of the lycra horde harassing an innocent motorist just trying to right hook him while he's in a 112 mile race.

Surveillance outpost Tango Union

Neighbors and property owners, this is your enemy: just look at her! KEEP OUT is the only response for this!

A squad of the menacing lycra horde plotting civil disorder and property value destruction. Oh, the horror.

They ride with determination, stamina, and focus. How can they go so long without TV???

The worst of the worst: beauty, speed, endurance, rolled into a neighborhood terrorizing bundle.

They said "HELLO!" when they rode by me. I know that's really their secret code for "WE WILL DESTROY YOU."

Fit, healthy, graceful, fast: not welcome here.

Bicycles: wasteful of natural resources, responsible for thousands of road deaths each year, neighborhood menaces.

Oh god, they are procreating, multiplying, riding in parks together!

This is the future the City of Scottsdale Transportation Commission will see that we don't get.

I just want to ride

2011-11-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Saturdays

Forecast in the 70s, calm, sunny. Saturday. Don't want to work, don't want to think, don't want to blog, don't want to do much of anything else, I just want to ride. No jacket required, just spinning in sunshine. No dwelling on the unmitigated stubbornness of residents installing speed humps to "calm cyclists", and no getting upset about the recently named "gold" bicycle friendly city of Scottsdale burning cyclists and bowing to developers and residents over the Hidden Hills easement. Query to public policy-makers: when would a decision process based on the noise of a vast majority of car-owning property owners and developers ever decide in favor of a tiny minority like cyclists in car-centric place like Phoenix/Scottsdale, if the choice is based only on votes and opinion instead of other considerations long-term sustainability, livable streets, in fact, anything other than property ownership and automobile dominance? It feels like the BFC Gold city has lost its way already. Scottsdale Transportation Commission, you voted because residents don't want to look at cyclists, period. You caved to the fear of the MENACING LYCRA HORDE. No, not going to dwell on those events, because I don't want to grow fat, sedentary, and bitter, driving in my sealed metal box from work to big box store to the comfort of TV and back again in a suburban nowhere cityscape. I'm going to go ride and show my BIKEY FACE proudly to the world, smile and wave at everyone. The more bitter you are about what the car lifestyle has made you, the more I want to let my bikey face shine.

I'm going to go out and take the measure of the MENACING LYCRA HORDE who are competing in the Ironman in Tempe today. I imagine they, too, will be making their best bikey face, rather than their bitter automobile faces. Yes, I just want to ride. Count me as a proud and happy member in good standing of the horde.

Another neighborhood menaced by the horde.

Scouts for the MENACING LYCRA HORDE, looking for new property owners to piss off.

My Derailed Project

2011-11-18T04:46:00.009-07:00

Old XTR derailleur in need of new pulleys. This old design appeals to me, and this one still feels solid.

I know nothing about it, but it seems like I need to take about 1/64" to 1/32" off those brass bushings

Done. Now to accessorize with a chain. And a frame. Wheels. A few other parts.

NoRTH ResTAUraNT on 4oTh StrEEt in PhOeNIX has a CrAZy hOT rED BicYCLE RaCK

2011-11-16T05:56:00.000-07:00

Front and center, facing the street, prominent and proud, right by the bike lane: bicycles welcome here!

NoRTH, a restaurant serving Modern Italian cuisine, has opened a new location on 40th Street and Camelback in a spot where a popular car wash stood for many years. I sampled a salmon salad and also a frittata, and they were extremely good, but this is not a food-oriented review. I'll ride back, snarf more dishes, and talk about the cooking later. The chef at this one is supposed to be hot stuff, placing more of a focus on traditional Italian cuisine in a building meant to evoke an Italian farmhouse, all says the Phoenix New Times in this article about the opening.

That's cool, sounds yummy, and I would probably check it out regardless of its other transport amenities, because it's within (somewhat long) walking distance of my neighborhood, particularly if I am hungry for Modern Italian cuisine prepared under the direction of a hot stuff chef who focuses on traditional Italian cuisine in his farmhouse-evoking restaurant, but check this out: the bike rack is not hidden in the back of the parking lot next to the dumpster between the discarded grease receptacles and the smashed empty boxes from the supplier of fresh local organic Modern Traditional Italian cuisine preparation components, no. Rather, it is featured front and center, a focal point for the landscaping, which looks human-scaled, green, and welcoming. Right behind the bike rack is an outdoor seating area with trees, which forms a smooth transition from street to the setting inside. That's my kind of farmhouse.

But let's talk about the bike rack itself: oh my. Bright red. Formidable. Ergonomic and strong, compatible with a variety of human powered vehicular configurations, from cruiser to recumbent, road bike to Sinner Mango velomobile. OK, I'm not certain how you would lock up a Sinner Mango to it, but it looks possible, anyway. This is not one of those rusty half-assed racks stuck in the corner against the wall and not secured to anything, and serving only to bend your wheels. This thing is bold, beautiful, essential: they put some thought into it. And it has what could be a delivery bike locked up to it, too.

The rack is right off the bike lane, and also near the Arizona Canal, which is how I got here to take this photo. I swerved off the canal and cut through the U-Haul parking lot to get to the rack, but they would possibly frown on that if those were the directions I gave. The alternative is some wrong-way sidewalk riding. Stay alert and watch for all crazy whichway crossing traffic.

No, I don't really know what's up with the non-standard capitalization in the name "NoRTH." That drives me a little bit nuts, as you can see from the title of this post, but I got it out of my SySTEM. And if it has something to do with integrating awesome bike racks like this one into the overall design, CoUNT me IN. I'm riding over. I'm locking up. I am chowing down.

This license permits its bearer to deliver Modern Traditional Italian cuisine by bicycle in the PHX metro area

More GABA Swap: A Pokey the Bear Bicycle Dream

2011-11-15T05:25:00.023-07:00

He patrols the woods with his mighty headlight, seeking cyclists riding over sharp rocks and goathead thorns...

He moves under Bear Power, covering the miles silently, hauling an old Silca floor pump and patch kit

But he will find them. He always does.

And when he discovers them standing beside their bicycle with the sheared-off valve stem 20 miles from camp on a Forest Service road, and no spare tube, just before they hear those familiar words, he puts a big furry paw on their shoulders, and says: only YOU can prevent porous tires.

Xtra Xtra, One More 2011 GABA Swap Moment

2011-11-14T05:04:00.035-07:00

Xtra swap cargo capacity!

Here's one more happy photo from the 2011 Fall Gaba bike swap in Tucson. But those bars on the Surly: what are they? More research is necessary! Or, more trips to future swaps to try to find some at a bargain price. Anyone know what those are? Just curious.

Bars for a future swap?

Searched around to find out what this bike may be. Bionx Surly Big Dummy Xtracycle Cargo Bike. A long name for a long bike. Maybe. Looks like one. Reminds me of a long horse. And is that an air horn?

Assisted by battery, and rad socks/ankle warmers.

Tucson GABA Bike Swap Fall 2011 Photos: Have No Fear

2011-11-12T15:14:00.003-07:00

Have no fear: bike swap is here, for all your parts needs

If there is one event during the year that gets me up earlier in the morning, or causes me to be giddier, I can't think of it. Christmas morning? My birthday? Nope, nothing compares with the GABA bike swap in Tucson. The weather was perfect, the drive down from PHX was unproblematic, the coffee from the Peddler on the Path van kicked it, and the Sonoran hot dogs somehow were better than last year. Fresher ingredients? Different recipe? Don't know, don't care, it was all very good indeed. And many, many parts and tools were bargained for and purchased at reduced to bargain prices. Here's what caught my eye this year.

The coolest bicycle rack on this planet.

Coffee and bike swap go together perfectly

U should come dwn hr NOW!

The bike is $299. I'll sell you the leftovers for six bucks.

Drive thru.

NIITAKA

So very orange

It hauls kids and has a special compartment for the sous-vide machine.

Carbon bargain

The beginning of an obsession?

Swap booty, including my best bargain: Nitto B115 bars for $5. Also very happy with the XTR brake/shifters tho.

So very green

So very bent

Updated with cleaned-up wrenches more suited to the start of an obsession