(Possible) Upcoming solo mini-tour

I've got a class for work near the end of the month that will take me up into the Red Bluff (CA) area. After posting on Bike Forums for some good 2-3 day routes in the area I've come down on doing a loop around Lake Almanor. Sure, it's only a little over 30 miles, but this would be my first tour and it looks like I'll need to carry food with me (not fully loaded, but reserve).

Image from MapMyRide

The class is M-Th, so my plan would be to drive over from Red Bluff after the class ends, crash somewhere for the night and leave my truck at the hotel while I do the ride. I plan to finish in 2 days (one night on the road) and would probably stay at the same place after so I can rest before the drive home (3+ hours) which I wouldn't want to do right after the ride.

This would give me plenty of time for the riding and to check out the area. I'm not sure about the terrain, but it looks pretty level. If that's the case and I do the whole 30+ in one day then it will turn into a couple of day trips from the hotel. I would still ride fully loaded and can use it as a chance to check out the bags and get used to the balance of a loaded bike.

Did Bell make "British" versions of their city helmets?

Riding in this morning I found myself wondering that, are there "British" versions of the Bell city helmets (the Citi and Metro)? These helmets were great because they have little accessory kits that include a mirror, rain cover, and air vent plugs for cold weather. My morning commute it primarily through downtown Oakland on one way streets, most of the time on the left side of the road. That makes my (ordinarily very handy) mirror almost worthless, unless I want to check out the parked cars.

When I got to work I noticed that the visor has a slot on the right side for a mirror, but that the one I have is left-sided only (which makes me wonder if there really are left-handed smoke shifters, no matter what the people at the Wolfeboro Trading Post said). Are there right-sided ones for people who use the other side of the street?

On a less-whimsical note I could see this being handy for international touring, especially if there is just a second wee little mirror to pick up.

Travel and training

The next couple of months involve a lot of travel for me, most of it short trips of the "fly one day, sleep, meeting, then fly home" variety. This is killing my ability to train. In most cases I work a partial day and then head straight to the airport, getting to my destination in the late evening (8pm or later). Since I am an evening-trainer, this means no workout those days. The following day is meeting, followed by a late flight home, arriving in the same time window (8pm or later), which means a second day without training. Again, in most cases I'm pretty thrashed and playing catch-up the third day, which means a late night at work and again no training. Additionally, it means two or three days where I don't eat the way I should. All in all, it's bad news.

Any ideas on ways to still get some training in with all this travel?

A rideless weekend

I spent last weekend in Mammoth Lakes, CA and intended to do some riding. I loaded my bike and all of my gear into the truck, and that's where it stayed for the length of the trip. Two things caught me short - the altitude and the hills. I fully expected both, but wasn't ready for just how much they would whoop me. I had a hard enough time hiking around and don't want to think about what would have happened if I'd tried to ride anywhere.

Below is a shot of McLeod Lake, a short hike from where I stayed. I also tromped around Convict Lake and a bit in Yosemite. This is will certainly go on my list of trips to repeat, especially in the spring/summer/fall while 120 through Tioga Pass is open.

On not riding and physical well-being

It has been a while since I've been on my bike, or physically active in any real way. This is due to two things - work-related travel (15 days away from home with no bike or running shoes) and the ease of getting to work on public transit. Something I've noticed is that the more time passes between my last workout and today the worse I feel. It's funny, in some ways I feel like it's the day after a good ride/run because my legs are tired and sore. The problem is that they are tired and sore from underuse, not exertion.

Obviously, my weight isn't going in the right direction since I'm not exercising. I do have some rides planned for later in the week when I head out of town again, this time for my nephew's first birthday. Hopefully I'll be able to get back into a rhythm.

Bike freedom

When I decided to stop annoying my friends with bike-related nonsense and start a blog I chose "Liberation Cycling" because it captures a number of things about me. I realized that I never really fulfilled a semi-promise from my first post, which was to explain the name, and since I've been thinking about it recently, why not?

This week I've had to drive to work. Yesterday specifically drove home the freedom that you lose driving (when you should/could be riding). I got stuck on a road where a delivery truck for a construction site had blocked off one of the two lanes of a major commute-direction street. This led to a significant back-up stretching through two lights. As I sat there all I could think about was that I could be dodging the whole thing on my bike. The freedom of cycling.

Another aspect of it for me is the clarity of mind that develops, primarily on longer rides, when you can settle into a cadence and ride. No shifting, little effort, just riding. I miss that here, since there aren't easy places to take longer rides that aren't crowded MUPs, and can't wait to get back to CA and have the backroads I know available practically at my door.

The last aspect of liberation that I get from a bike, or at least the last significant one, is the freedom of movement. Not just freedom in commuting, discussed above, but true freedom of movement. Bikes allow you to go anywhere, and with a little preparation (or a high-limit credit card) you can go everywhere. Getting around town is easier on a bike, taking a vacation (touring) isn't necessarily easier, but it is certainly more open to changes of whim. There are very few barriers that can stop a person with a bike.

Those are a few of the ways I see bikes as liberating. There may be others for you, and there are some other, smaller ones for me.

Random thoughts

The weather seems to be getting a little nicer and I'm back in Baltimore. A mixed bag. Last week I was in Portland for work. My first time there and it was great. I have to take back most of the snarky thoughts I've had every time I see another "Portland = cyclist heaven" article or post. I don't think I've seen that many people on bikes outside of an organized ride before. An interesting mix of kitted out "racers" (a group of three went past me one afternoon) and more normal looking commuters/utility riders. I also had a chance to watch the road crew painting a crosswalk and section of bike lane green, part of a new campaign there. It wasn't the section from the article, but looked the same when they were done.


That's about it. I'm back to semi-regularly commuting. I'll only get in two days this week by bike because of distant meetings on Mon and Thurs and a need to boogie right after work on Fri to get out to Mt. Airy and check out the build on the Trucker. It should be just about done by now and I can't wait.

Pictures from Portland later today.