An almost fully-loaded commute

I have avoided commuting to work on Mondays because I usually have my laptop and a big heap of papers that I've brought home to work on over the weekend. This week was no different, except that the heap was closer to two heaps because of the (work-related) trip to Carson City last week. But I also did some riding there that both 1) reminded me how much I luv my bike and 2) demonstrated conclusively (and emasculating-ly) how much more I need to be on it. So I loaded up last night to make sure I would ride this morning. The result:


The back end is my Two Wheel Gear garment pannier (that I luv almost as much as my bike) and the front end, strapped to the top of my Nice Rack is my backpack with many heaps of papers and my laptop. I'm not a fan of a high load like that, the front was a bit wobbly, which reinforces the need to get some normal panniers that will mount on the sides (and low, an advantage of the Nice Racks) in the near future.

I will post about the rides in Carson. One was on dirt and really fueled my desire to get my hands on a twenty-niner, the other was a solo trek around town. Both were great and both hurt (see note above on emasculation) in that good "this ride kicked my sorry @$$" way. But more on that soon.

Being too close to transit

In one of my last posts I mentioned that one of the things making it tougher for me to ride is how easy it is for me to take public transit. I want to expand that a little so I don't sound like a whiner without anything to really complain about.

Previously, when I lived in the Bay Area, I lived a few miles from BART, and my work was more than a few miles from BART at the other end. That meant that getting to work required me to drive the whole way, including fighting the San Francisco commute both directions, or biking. Easy choice most of the time, even when biking meant leaving home ~ 04:00.

Now, I live a 10 minute walk from BART and my work is directly outside of a BART station. This means that biking is almost more hassle than not. I have to get up in the morning, pack my work clothes into a bag, kit up (for the ride home), haul my bike up to the platform and then down at the far end. The payoff? A fantastic 12 mile ride home. It really is a conflict.

I plan to join a gym near my work when I get back from my latest trip. This will give me access to showers, which might, let me repeat and be honest MIGHT, be what I need to get me to bike both directions at least a few days a week.

My commute

I've been meaning for some time to take my camera with me on my commute home from work (the to-work commute is mostly me in the BART train, not very exciting) and get some pics up. I finally got around to it. I've posted more, along with the little map thingee, at flikr. Keep in mind that I don't have a camera with a GPS, so some of the map placements are rough.

Approaching the Oakland AMTRAK station at Jack London Square

Two-way bike lane on one side of the street to provide access to the ped/bike bridge from Alameda to Bay Farm Island

On the ped/bike bridge

Crew team (one of three I saw) working out in the channel near the Oakland Coliseum

The entrance to the Oakland International Airport

I have a heap more (72 pics total) at the flikr link above. They run from the bike room at work to my workshop at home. Hope you enjoy them, I know I enjoyed the ride where I took them.

My bike-to-work day

I have been off and on with biking to work lately. A combination of being a short walk away from BART and working some long/tiring days have had me in kind of a funk. For bike-to-work day I made an extra effort though, and it paid off with pancakes.

Someone in the City of Oakland hierarchy organized a pancake breakfast/booth show/speeches event in front of city hall, and I work all of two blocks away, so I pretty much had to stop by. Because I was still in my bike funk, I rode the Schwinn and planned on only riding the short hops from my house to BART, and from BART to the office. I had forgotten how much of a workout (on the quads specifically) pedaling that monster was, and in my nice clothes no less.

I was met at the first BART station by some early volunteers. They weren't supposed to be up and running until 07:00, and I went by about 06:45. One of the guys came over to give me a bag and asked if I wanted any of the beverage/food they had, but since I was hopping a train I passed. When I got to Oakland I got a nifty "I biked today" sticker, like the "I gave blood" ones you get at blood drives. I also got a couple of pancakes, some coffee and OJ, and saw some interesting booths. I was pretty early (07:30) and most of the booths were just getting set up. I hung out for a little while and then wandered back to work.

There was one other guy from my office that rode, and where ever it was he went, he got a t-shirt. We did run into another guy in the building when we were heading out that night who had ridden for the first time that day (although I got the impression he had ridden before, just not to that particular location). All in all, a lot of fun.

FINALLY, redux

Again, I find myself saying "finally I'm back on my bike". This time I've been limited in my riding by weather (wind and rain) and travel for work. In the last week-and-a-day (that would be six workdays) I've ridden three times. Last Monday I chopped the ride short because I was feeling horrible and rain was threatening - I have a Brooks with no cover. Friday I rode and felt really good. Today I proved to myself that I was feeling better by jumping a number of gears and increasing my average speed significantly.

More than that, I'm just glad to be back in the saddle.

I want this

When I bike commute these days it's one way, BART in the morning and biking in the afternoon. One problem with BART is that there aren't many bike spaces on the trains. What has been done for cyclists is that a few of the spaces for wheelchairs have also been tagged for bikes. Some mornings there are a few bikes in each car, more than enough to make it worth having some kind of reserved space. Maybe even something like this.

Sure, that type of rack works best if there isn't much rain, but at least from May through October the Bay Area is pretty dry. The picture links through to the CommuterPageBlog which is where I saw the picture. Follow the links there to get back to the original.

Ow

Alright - I slacked last week and didn't train. That's why there was no training update. I sort of made up for it yesterday by finally bike commuting again. 

The trip to work was not very thrilling - I rode the mile or so to the BART station, took the train most of the way to work, and then rode the last 10 min or so to the office. On the way home though...

The total trip ended up to be a little over 12 miles, and I did it in just over an hour (better than I thought I could do). The trip took me past Jack London Square and the Oakland Airport. In the next few weeks I'll start taking my camera with me so I can shoot the ride and put some pictures up.

I was pretty glad that the only thing (clothing-wise) I forgot was my belt. I'd gotten so used to be able to commute in my work clothes (Baltimore commute was 1.6 miles, one way) that remembering all of the stuff I needed to bring was a little rough. 

Going on how I feel (a little sore, a lot twitchy, and REALLY eager to do it again) I'm hoping to do three days a week until I get the base miles in, and then up it to 4 or 5.

WHY?!

I'm sure I'm not the first bike commuter to discover this, and I won't be the last, but maybe my experience can help others avoid the problem. What problem? Going more than a month off the bike and letting little things become reasons to not ride.

The ride this morning? Fan-freaking-tastic.

I remember now what I loved about bike commuting in the Bay Area before, 4 AM wake-up and all. My plan, to "trick" myself into riding by having my truck in the shop worked beautifully and I fully expect to continue.

Why did I stop in the first place? I can't even remember.

Forcing myself to ride

I've been a bit lazy since I moved, using any number of arguments to justify not biking to BART in the mornings, despite the fact that it's only a 15-20 min ride. Now I've put myself in a place where I have to ride, hopefully it'll stick and I'll keep doing it at least a few days a week.

What I did was wait until late in the afternoon on Sat to take my truck in for the smog test (to get re-licensed in CA) and service that it needs. I also declined the free loaner that the dealer wanted to give me. That ensured that I wouldn't have my truck on Monday morning and the only way to get work is by bike.

Let's see if it works.

While I was away

While I was away there was some big news for cyclists. It was covered by just about every cycling-related blog I read, including:

• Bicycle Commuters
• Bikes Belong
• Bike Commute Tips Blog - two times
• Bike Hacks
• CycleDog
• Cycelicious
• Freewheeling Spirit
• Urban Velo
• The Velo ORANGE Blog
• The Wash Cycle

So what was it that got all of these fellow-travelers off their bikes and onto their keyboards? The inclusion of the Bicycle Commuter Act as part of the gigantic outpouring of taxpayer money for the financial industry.

From the San Jose Mercury News (by way of Paul Dorn's blog):

Effective Jan. 1, people who use bicycles as their primary means of getting to work will be eligible to get up to $20 a month in tax-free payments from their employers for the costs of owning and operating a bike. Employers can deduct the payments as an expense from their federal taxes.

As a cyclist, I think this is a good thing. Not because $20.00 per month is really going to make a big difference, but because it puts bike commuters on equal footing as other commuters, if only in the eyes of the IRS (but really, is there a stronger indicator of reality than the IRS?). However, I have a couple of problems with the way it went down.

First - This is just one more piece of pork tossed into a bad piece of legislation to bribe (yeah, I'll say it) reticent members to vote for it. The leadership knew that they weren't going to get the votes they needed, so they added superfluous amendments like this one to get more people on board. That rubs me the wrong way. If the bail out was so important, why weren't more members willing to support it on its own merits? If bike commuters deserve equal treatment at the hands of the tax code, why couldn't the Act pass on its own merits. The obvious answer to both questions is that there wasn't enough support for either on its own, and only by pooling the supporters of two flawed pieces of legislation those supporters able to get them passed.

Second - I know I'm committing bike blogger sacrilege by questioning the need for laws relating to cyclists, specifically benefits for cyclists. The line of argument that a lot of advocates have made is that other commuters can get pre-tax money to buy mass-transit tickets, and cycling serves the same "greater good" by removing people from cars, so cyclists should be able to get the same pre-tax benefit to offset some of the affiliated costs. My concern is that this is demonstrating one of the worst characteristics of federal laws - unnecessary complication. There is a reason that the index for the 2008 Code of Federal Regulations is over 1,000 pages long. Rather than adding a new law for bike commuters, wouldn't it be better to remove things from the old law, specifically the parts that indicate the means of commuting? The whole idea is to allow commuters to use pre-tax money to pay their expenses, is there some reason that this should only apply to certain types of commuters, and if so, why?

All things being equal, it is a victory for cyclists that this has passed. Personally, I have reservations about the way it happened, but that's just me.

Bike to work week, Day Five

Made it back on my bike today, since today is the official "Bike 2 Work Day" in Baltimore. (Side note, WTF is there a number in there? are Balti-morons really so thick that they don't know what "to" means. Sorry, pet peeve.)

It's nasty today, pretty heavy rain, but there was still a decent crowd at the rally point at City Hall. Because of the rain I didn't bring my camera, but I would say when I rolled through around 7:45 there were 20-30 people chewing on bagels and chatting. Some were under the tents, some were out in the rain. A rough estimate (going on stereotyping from outfits) would be that a little more than half were messengers of some kind. There were also a few older guys in old-school heavy yellow slickers, and a whole mess of bikes. Some were locked to benches, lightposts, anything around, and a lot were just propped up on stuff or sitting free on kickstands.

I didn't drag my @$$ out of bed for it, but there was supposed to be a little shindig and ride with Mayor Dixon. I like my morning rides but I'm not getting up two hours early in the rain just to go on a little ride with the Mayor and some dud from the Oriels.

There wasn't a lot of swag being given out. I know some BtW events give a lot of stuff. I got a canvas tote (which I then managed to get filthy by setting it down on the little shelf where I lock up while it was wet) and a t-shirt. It looks like they had sponsors for the event in general (REI, Adventure Cycling) and then each jurisdiction (surrounding counties and Baltimore City) have other sponsors listed under the name of the jurisdiction. I'm guessing that if I hit one of the rallies in one of the surrounding counties (Harford has the most sponsors) there might have been other stuff. I'll put pics of the shirt and (now messy) tote when I get home.

Bike to work week, Day Three

Today was absolutely beautiful. Sunny, warm but not humid, and the traffic seemed lighter. It may be because I laid in bed for an hour because I just didn't feel like getting up. The ride home will probably be overly warm, but I may end up stuck in my office late this afternoon.

I did see a confusing wrong way cyclist this morning. As I was coming down the mild hill I saw a safety-jacketed (neon lime) guy riding uphill. He was on my side of the road (strike one) and on the sidewalk (strike two). My first thought was that he was a newbie, someone who had gotten excited by Bike to Work Week and hopped on an old 10 speed, grabbed the jacket from a bike shop because he was concerned about safety, and went for it. As I got closer though it was clear that he was a semi-experienced rider and his bike was equipped for touring. He had large, nice look panniers on the back, apparently filled with work clothes (he was in shorts) and he had the physique (at least the legs) of a regular rider. He was too focused on his climb to see me, or I would have said something.

Unfortunately, I have trainings and meetings tomorrow at far to great a distance (would be 60 + miles round trip) to ride to, as much as I would love to take the LHT out on the road. I will be riding Friday though, if only to see what the shindig in front of City Hall will be.

Bike to work week, Day Two

I may just stick with that picture at the top of any post where I did bike commute, as a way to hold myself accountable. At the least, I'm going to do it for this week.

I did ride in again today. The weather has taken a turn for the best and it was a beautiful ride. Clear and sunny, but still cool and with no hint of the humidity I'm sure is right around the corner. It reminded me of mornings back in California. I was a little behind my desired departure, which meant that when I got close to the major intersection for 83/President St the car back-up was waiting for me. I've commented on this before, but it still never fails to amaze me. On the particular E/W route I take in the morning, where it hits the N-bound 83 (out of Baltimore, towards the beltway north of the city) the back-up to turn onto 83 runs back 5 or 6 blocks. Depending on where I am in traffic I either wait until I get near the front and move between "parked" cars waiting at the light, or I just take the lane and keep moving over to the left. In the end, I position myself on the right side of the non-turn lane, so I can go straight.

Last night riding home I had a bad case of lead-legs. I don't know what caused it, but I felt like I had just finished a century. I was wishing that my bike had more than 3 speeds, and that all of the extra ones were lower than the current first gear. Guess it just shows how much I need to be riding.

Bike to work week, Day One

So today kicks off bike to work week. I initially thought I wouldn't be riding, significant day notwithstanding, because of a remote off-site meeting this morning. However, since I forgot the clothes that I was going to take to the cleaner near work I figured I should go home and get my bike instead of driving. I am glad I did.

My house is between my meeting and work, so I would have driven right past my bike to get into work. As I said, I was planning on taking some clothes into the cleaner (since I was thinking I'd be driving I wanted to fit in other errands) and I forgot them. Because of that I got to ride in the light mist, on relatively empty roads. Commuting at noon, instead of 8 AM, was a breeze. Easy to catch lights, not as many cars, not as many buses, it was great.

I have determined that I need spats of some kind if I'm riding in the rain. I have full rain pants that I wore, and they do the job. I also have full fenders which work great, but like all fenders they seem to leave my shoes vulnerable. I know many people who add a leather or rubber mud-flap to the bottom, but I just love the clean look of an un-flapped fender.

Decisions, decisions