Wishing you a new year of safe, joyous rides

My goal when I began this blog a short time ago, was to commute by bicycle everyday to my job as an English teacher at a small town high school in a northeast Kansas town. I concede that for me to commute to work "everyday" is deceiving. As a teacher I enjoy a privileged schedule which includes generous breaks away from the classroom in the winter, spring, and of course the summer; and if you ask my dad, around virtually every corner. So, it could be argued for me to ride my bicycle to work each work day will be a significantly easier task than it might prove to be for someone else who, all other things being equal, is employed in a non-educational capacity.

All "that" being said, I have successfully managed to ride my bicycle to work each day since school began last fall. I am on track, at the halfway point, to accomplishing my goal. Even though my schedule didn't require me to ride several less days than the working world, I still feel proud to have completed the first semester.

I've answered multiple scores of questions from students, teachers, parents, and other adults alike, about riding my bike each day. I'd like to think I'm forcing a little bit of bicycle commuting exposure upon them, without them being aware. I consider a student or adult asking questions about it (even if the questions are clearly intended to ridicule me) to be an opportunity to demonstrate that I'm making a sound decision based upon logic, and that it is a feat which can be accomplished by the majority of the students and adults with which I interact. I feel like when people see me commuting by bicycle, I'm promoting a healthy, smart decision. I'm also trying to show that "normal" people commute by bike, and that commuting by bike can be a "normal" decision.

Here's to a new year of promoting the bicycle.

Now, on to my latest exploits. As you may have noticed, I've not updated this blog in close to three weeks. I found occasion to get out and ride some over my holiday break from school, but it wasn't daily. The trips I took on the bicycle over break though, were generally longer than my commute to school.

While on break, I took advantage of the relaxed wake-up schedule by staying up late. Staying up late, I should clarify, now means past eleven o'clock. I stayed up late one night to watch The Fellowship of the Ring while I applied reflective tape to my commuter bike.

I've become somewhat infatuated with reflective tape. I'm always trying to increase my visibility and I've looked on the internet at a lot of different examples of reflective tape and reflectors on bicycles. I've been somewhat dissatisfied with how the reflective tape is applied to the bicycles. None that I've seen really works to identify that it's a bicycle the observer is looking upon. The tape reflects very well; that's not the issue. The issue is that the random placing of big strips of reflective tape reflect light in such a way that they simply look like rectangle reflectors easily confused with driveway markers, sign posts, etc. They don't immediately say "I'm a bicycle!"

So, in order to attempt a reflective tape design on my commuter bike which does identify itself as a bicycle when reflecting light back to the observer, I chose to take a different approach to applying the reflective tape. Instead of applying big strips of the reflective tape, I cut the tape into eighth inch (or so) strips and placed them along the stays, diamond frame, and fenders. Some of the design was done with the strips placed parallel to the tubing they were applied to; alternating above and below the horizontal centerline of the tubing as the bike sits upright. This effect resembled the black and yellow designs seen on crash tests. In the places where I didn't follow this pattern, I placed the strips perpendicular to the tubing at roughly one inch increments, again alternating above and below the horizontal centerline of the tubing as the bike sits upright. This latter design, I postulate, will increase the surface area of the reflective areas giving more chances for light to bounce off it and back to observers. That's what I postulate anyway.

I chose to use very small bits of the reflective tape on the crank, crank arms, pedals, and some diagonal strips on one half of each wheel. I read somewhere this works to show the observer a flashing "on-off" effect as the bicycle is moving.

My thought process was that very small strips of reflective tape applied all over the bike would make the reflective tape less conspicuous in the daytime, yet more conspicuous in the dark, under lights. I hope with the tape applied all over the bike, when a light source hits it, it will show the easily recognizable shape of a bicycle.

I need to take a picture of it to see how it looks under a flash. I might add also the strips and check pattern I applied to the bike made it look just that much more sporty. I should also add that my commuter bike is an old one and I felt no reservations about placing that much tape on the paint job. Since it's my commuter, it might add to the "anti-theft" system I've got going, which is to make the bicycle look so "uncool" that even a desperate person wouldn't want to be seen on it. If nothing else, the reflective tape gives it character and I've yet to see another one like it.

Thanks for reading. Keep on commuting by bike!
-MWBC

The thermometer says "It's cold"!

Some of you may be saying "Thank you Captain Obvious!" Well, I know you know it's cold out, but I think some people out there who are in their vehicles don't appreciate how cold it really is. Then again, some drivers might say it's me who doesn't appreciate how really cold it is. After all it's me who's out there riding his bike amid traffic who's not expecting bicycles, while the water in the drainage outlets is frozen and the bank sign temperature is in the teens.

You may be inclined to ask,"Midwest Bicycle Commuter Dude, what will you do if you crash on the ice and you're all by yourself?"  A valid question I suppose. I leave relatively early for school, but not so early that no one is already out and about and beginning their own commutes to work. Presuming I'm conscious and able, I'll probably try to signal someone's aid using either my front or rear flasher. Or worst case scenario, I'll try to get attention with my reflective vest.

The place where I'll be most vulnerable, as far as lying undiscovered for any length of time goes, is on the length of rail trail I use. Not many people are out using the rail trail this time of year, at that time of the morning. It's also the part of my commute likely to remain uncleared of snow and ice. If it is too "hairy" for me, I plan to commute using the main arterial roads which will have been cleared.

I stand a better chance of being protected in a bicycle spill in cold weather, because I'm wearing so much more clothing. The layers which are covering every possible inch of my body except my face will help to protect me. Of course, I will be wearing my helmet.

I'm not naive enough to claim all this clothing will protect me from anything happening. A person can still break a bone through layers of clothing, or sustain a concussion even though they wear a helmet. Icy, and snowy road conditions are much different than cold conditions. Obviously when road conditions are bad, vehicles can't handle as predictably or as well as in ideal conditions. That's bad news for a cyclist.

As far as the cold weather goes, I wear lots of clothes to keep warm. I only have a fifteen minute commute, so it's not that long of a time to spend in cold weather. The exertion of pedaling warms me quickly during my commute.

It takes some planning to commute during the winter months. Invariably, I'm hot and uncomfortable during those first few minutes when I arrive at school or back home from my clothing and body temperature increase during pedaling. Then, I must spend a few moments folding some of my articles of clothing and storing them in my backpack for the day, or night.

These are some things to think about. Really, once it's below freezing, there's not a lot of difference in the feel of temperature. It's all cold. It's not impossible.

Keep on commuting by bike!
MWBC

Winter, so far, has been a little rough on my bicycle commute. To date, I've broken my rear flashing LED light and my bicycle lock. The former had come loose on a couple of occasions and fell in the road, which forced me to execute a safe U-turn, locate the component (pretty easy) and two AAA batteries (not as easy) before traffic overran them. On both occasions, the rear facing light cover, which contains the LED bulbs, the batteries, and the inner switch, was jarred loose by my bike passing over particularly big seams in concrete pavement at a fairly fast clip, and skidded across the alongside the road. Fortunately, I heard something amiss each time and took the red flag as something I should investigate. On one of these occasions a battery had been ran over and I had to force the flattened battery into its slot. It worked. But, then later on I could not access the flashing function with the switch; it only operated on solid light setting until the next morning when it appeared to be fully operational again. Then, not long after, I couldn't get it to work at all.

I broke my bike lock at the school's bike rack Monday morning, or Tuesday. The bank sign read 17 degrees Fahrenheit when I passed it at 7:00. I guess the lock was frozen and I was having trouble separating the locking mechanism to where I could open it, stretch the coiled cable, and feed it through my frame and the rack. I double checked I had the combination correct and gave the lock a swat on the metal bike rack. That swat was enough to shear off the male end of the combination lock. The rest of the week I've been bringing my bicycle inside the buildings I'm visiting. At school I'm not worried about it being genuinely stolen, but rather I'm concerned a student will decide it would funny to hide it from me. I'm a busy guy and I can't fool around with that prospect.

I nabbed the identical rear flashing light from off the bicycle trailer, since it's not being used much to tote around our boys in this cold weather (I'm all for it, but I think my wife would not like it, and maybe not the kids) in order to continue on commuting in the dark mornings and evenings.

Both of these were Bell products purchased at Wal-Mart. I believe they're each a couple years old and have survived at least one other winter. I don't remember exactly what I paid for them. I think maybe $10. for the lock and $15. for the flashing light. I suppose they lasted about as long as I expected them to, and as long as I should expect them to last for the price.

If money were no issue, I'd choose to outfit my commuter with a dynamo front hub and front and back lighting system. I'm not sure what kind of lock I'd choose. Part of why I ride this old, "vintage" three speed is because everyone looks at it and thinks "dork!" and functions partly as a theft deterrent. The only people who'd steal it would be people who are sick of walking, or want to cause mischief. It's not one for re-selling to get some money.

Anyway, it's cold and getting colder and my students are getting a good look at a bike as a tool, rather than a bike as a toy. They're asking questions and I think that's good. They're making judgemental comments, and, I guess, I'm a good sport.

Keep on commuting by bike!

MWBC

We can only march to the beat of our own drum if we listen for it

Well, I'm back. It's been a number of days since I've updated this blog. I'll blame it upon the Thanksgiving break and its interruption to our schedule. I pray all of you out there enjoyed a safe and pleasant Thanksgiving and spent it with those whom you love.

I'm concerned about the image of cycling in the United States. This concern is prompted by a movie I recently watched. In The 40 Year Old Virgin,

the protagonist,  for whom the title is derived, is ridiculed by his co-workers for riding his bike. If the protagonist wishes to forever altar his status as a virgin, i.e. engage in sexual intercourse, his friends inform him, he must do a few things differently; like improve his wardrobe, eliminate his chest hair, and stop riding his bike. He defends his choice by pointing out that lots of people ride their bikes. His detractors respond sarcastically with, "Yeah, when they're six!"

The point we as viewers are to infer, and the awkward protagonist infers, is that cycling, riding a bike, is a recreational activity and a mode of transportation reserved for children. If you wish to be "cool" and enter into adulthood, you must abandon the childish affinity for bikes and get a vehicle.

I wonder how many "popular" viewers who identify more with the protagonists' "hip" co-workers, than with the individualized protagonist, are reinforced in their view of the bicycle as a toy. In this film, Hollywood celebrates conformity; not only in the aspect of cycling. However, since this is The Midwest Bicycle Commuter, I'm focusing on this issue alone.

I thought the movie was pretty entertaining. I get their humor. And, as with all comedians and works of comedy, eventually they will choose something dear to you as a target, and your feelings will get hurt. Well, I'm a big boy (physiologically), and I can take it (sob). However, I'd like for cycling to enjoy a better reputation than that. I would like for the perception of cycling to change in the public's eye.

It's probably easier and popular to engage in promiscuous sex, than to remain a virgin. It's probably easier and popular to simply buy a car and drive it where you need to go. It's an act of will power and individualism to stay true to yourself and continue on collecting childhood toys, just because you want to. It's an act of will power and individualism to choose to ride your bike to work, and to places you need to go.

Unfortunately, simple little comedic moments like that one, full of sarcasm, will be the sum total of research and opinion a great number of viewers will conduct upon commuting by bicycle. It's a shame how such a small scene can continue the negative perception bicycles and riders alike suffer. I know it's not reality, it's Hollywood. However, the great masses of sheep who identify themselves with Hollywood, and subscribe to their conformity message, yet bleat about their desire to be an individual, will use this one minor scene to reinforce and  rationalize their decision to marginalize and discount bicycles and bicycle riders.

Sometimes it's just about riding

This weekend I participated in a "group ride". It was a first for me, with the exception of completing the cycling portion of a half triathlon two summers ago; which, by the way was the second longest distance I'd pedaled a bike, the longest being the completion of the Prairie Spirit Trail (click on the highlighted words to go to their website)followed by an additional 11 miles on to my parents' house. It was a ride sponsored, organized, and led by members of  Kanbikewalk, which you can access by clicking on these highlighted words:Kanbikewalk. I estimated the turnout to be about 15-18 cyclists, I never did count exactly how many were there, what with me being a "word guy", and more prone to describing the experience through sensory detail, rather than quantifying the experience through data.

"The word guy" at a young age.

We made a nice group, but we didn't show much diversity.  Most were men between the ages of 35 and retirement age, and all "white", that is to say Caucasian, meaning varying degrees of pinkness through tan-ness, depending upon how much sunlight and wind 
each of us is exposed to regularly. Luckily, one pleasant female cyclist rode with us who spoke with a genuine Indian accent, and no I don't mean Lakota, or Iroquois, but Hindi, and her healthy, vibrant complexion was darker than most and was not caused by exposure to the elements.
November granted us a nice Saturday morning to ride. The temps climbed from the mid forties to the high of fifty seven. I liked the cool temps, it allowed me to wear several layers and peel one or two of them off  when needed. As I feared, I was the best dressed cyclist at this event. I decided beforehand I was there to represent the commuter aspect of cycling, rather than the recreational aspect. With this in mind I opted to wear pretty well what constitute my normal work clothes for teaching English to high school students: button up collared shirt, belt with buckle, pants (I wore denim jeans, though for four of five school days I wear khaki pants), brown leather casual shoes, and a faux tweed sport jacket, or suit jacket, whichever you prefer. Let me just say that the other cyclist looked better, because though I wore "dress" clothes, they are threadbare and nearly worn out and would not pass for "dress clothes" much of anywhere except a school full of high school students where half of them wear pajamas to school

 and the other half wear wife-beaters. 
Nonetheless, due to my clothes and my three speed bike, I was right where I always try to position myself: at the center of attention! Several of them let me know I should participate in their annual "tweed ride". Sounds cool to me. Here's a video of what a tweed ride might look like; some elements of it anyway.

The purpose of the ride was to show off a portion of some of the nice bike/ped trails the city of Olathe, Kansas has to offer. They were nice, curvy, blacktopped things which meandered along Indian Creek and through suburban America. The highlight of the trip was the "multi modal transportation interchange". To put it simply, this was a busy intersection of interstate highway, busy city street, and busy county road. What KanBikeWalk did was push for access for all forms of transportation (pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles) at this busy intersection (I noticed they didn't include horseback). It worked very well, and is a model for how all cyclists would like to see it done as far as bike lanes are concerned.
The nicest design feature was how the bike lane was between the vehicle right hand turn lane and the left hand vehicle lane so vehicles who intended to turn right were already on the cyclist's right and the danger of a vehicular cut off was greatly reduced.


I was in no hurry on the ride. The first half, roughly, was on the "meandering trail" I mentioned already. I suppose people are creatures of habit, and it didn't take long for all of us to bunch up and form a big clot of cyclists on the path. This kind of riding requires the cyclist to pay more attention to the cyclist directly in front of him in order to judge if he/she is slowing; the purpose being to avoid a rear end collision. I didn't see the point of driving 40 miles to go on a bike ride through a beautiful cross section of America on a gorgeous day just to watch the rear end of the cyclist in front of me. So, I hung back several bike lengths, just as I do when I drive, only when I drive it's several car lengths.


I noticed a few of the other cyclists just couldn't stand my approach and felt the need or desire to pass me, which was fine by me. Probably their desire to pass and get on up there was because they were riding bikes made for speed and racing, rather than looking around and enjoying the ride. Long story short, I ended up riding at my own pace, which was considerably slower than the others, and hanging back to provide encouragement to the aforementioned lady who needed a little emotional boost.


I stayed quiet during the meeting of KanBikeWalk. I find it's better to stay quiet and look ignorant, rather than talking and proving it to everyone. They were some smart people in there, and I like what they're trying to get going. They're pushing for safe walking and bicycling. That's it! Pedestrians and cyclists simply wish walk or bicycle without being harmed. They're pushing for the end of the vehicle centered transportation system. Yes, vehicles do account for the largest part of transport, but does that mean they are less accountable for their actions? A cyclist or pedestrian walking on or along a roadway and adhering to traffic laws, should not be "taking their lives into their own hands", or doing so "at their own risk", no more than vehicle traffic should feel they are.


I'm not sure what my role in this is, but as the Midwest Bicycle Commuter, traffic laws and traffic planning affects me. I don't want to be harmed commuting by bike only to have the law enforcement officers and the community at large feel that I "had it coming."


This has been a long entry and my mentioning so only makes it longer. Keep on riding your bikes and walking. Keep being a good example. Help people you know ride their bikes and walk places. I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful I live in the United States. I'm thankful for my family.


Keep on commuting by bike.
-MWBC

What I can do

Coming up this Saturday I'll be taking my bike to Overland Park, Kansas to attend the annual KanBikeWalk meeting which you can read about when you click on these words. This will be my first foray into bicycle advocacy.I'm not really sure what to expect, but I hope to be helpful and provide a dedicated commuter's perspective and possibly network with some like minded people.

A pre-meeting 25 mile or so ride will take place to which I'm looking forward to riding in. I have some concerns about being able to keep up with the others, but I have absolutely nothing to base these concerns upon, as I've not met any of these people, nor do I know their riding strength or equipment. The concern stems from my own equipment. I "roll" with a heavy bike to begin with. But I also add on the weight with my rear baskets,

lock and Wee-ride mount, like the one pictured above. I won't have the Wee-ride seat, but will leave the gray cross bar connecting the seat post to head set in place. That's not my bike pictured, but it's a three speed not unlike the one pictured; and that's not my actual basket but it's an image of the exact make and model of the two baskets I have on my bike.

I won't try to compete. I'll pedal a consistent pace that is as comfortable and fast as I wish to go. If this group is like most groups, they'll have members who will choose to ride racing bikes and wear racing clothing. I'll be wearing regular jeans and leather shoes, probably a leather jacket and whatever layers I'll need to wear for mid-November weather. I'm not out for speed, I'm out for the enjoyment of the ride and to look around.


I shouldn't be so judgmental. Maybe I'm not being judgmental and I have nothing for which to apologize. I just want to do this ride on my own terms the way I like to bike. I just don't like the posture and inconvenience of the racing bike when I'm not competing for speed or place. I'll be prepared for any weather and I hope they don't cancel on account of the weather, but on the sight I noticed they would allow for that event.


Speaking of weather, I rode home from school yesterday in cold November rain. I wore my rain suit and as I was leaving another teacher said "You're brave; riding in this (the weather)". I told her just wait to see what she thinks of me in February!


I may have to get a new rear flashing light as the one I have has been jarred loose on two occasions. Both times I was able to safely recover it and the batteries from out of the street before it was ruined by being ran over by a vehicle. Riding my bike at full speed over the transitions in the street were what caused it to come loose. 


I'll give you the post ride run down next week. In the meantime,


keep on commuting by bike!

MWBC

It's raining, it's pouring . . .

Like the title of this blog entry indicates, it is raining and pouring today. I listened to the rain during the night on our roof and outside as it puddled. I anticipated the ride to school in the rain, but when it came time to leave on the bike, though the road was still wet, it wasn't raining. So, I took off.

I made it to the highway before the rain began to pour down. It started off gradually and I tried to think where I could pull over out of the rain in order to don my rain suit. By the way, that's not a picture of rain I took; and that's not me in the hi-viz rain suit, although I often display a cheesy smile a lot like his. But, what I did was take my 10 year old rain suit of gray, about like the one on the left, and add my own reflective patches to it in hopes it would look professional like the one on the left. Instead, mine just looks ghetto; or white trash.

Anyway, I stopped at an antique mall that had a nice big porch and I pulled on the rain gear as the cars and trucks swished by. I had recently (and it turns out, wisely) switched the gloves I carry in my backpack. I used to carry part cloth, part leather gloves with matching professional clothing in mind. That's what I used to carry, now I've switched to a pair of heavy duty, leather, insulated gloves more like these:

I always get more than a few looks when I enter the school wearing my home made high visibility rain suit, and above that my high visibility work vest:

I also wear a high visibility strap around my ankle on the traffic side of the bike, like this

I was the only person on bicycle this morning, and I predict I'll be the only one on bicycle this afternoon on the way home. I've received many comments from students and adults alike that were meant to be a little bit derisive or sarcastic along the lines of "We saw you this morning, you were hard to miss." I look at these sarcastic comments as evidence of success. That's my goal: to be seen. Not because I'm an attention hog (which I am), but because I want vehicle drivers to see me so they won't hit me with their vehicles!

I get quite a few rubber neckers who are amazed someone would ride their bike to begin with, let alone in the rain, and never mind wearing all these reflective clothes.  Here's a picture of some gear I plan to add to my reflective wardrobe for bicycle commuting.

Anyway, I hope it's still raining when I leave the building. I'm looking forward to a rainy ride!
Keep on commuting by bike!

MWBC