And even more running in the bike lane

More running in the bike lane

Lance Armstrong's Birthday

Lance "the most tested athlete in the world" Armstrong, who is 37 today, is getting back into cycling. Good for him. Tour de France in 2009, then a run for governor of Texas in 2010.

Meanwhile, the Suicide Bicycle Ride "Misanthrope" campaign is gaining a lot of ground, fueled by folks like this guy jogging in the bike lane. This has become quite popular in Boston, especially on Sundays.

It was a good week

Yeah, this was one of the best weeks of the year so far. Even with all the students back in town there was a minimum of mayhem. Not a lot of SiRis. People were riding in the street, helmets on their heads, and everyone seemed to know what they were doing. Tuesday was the best - cyclists of all kinds on the morning commute - recumbents, single speeds, fixed gear, 10-speeds, etc etc, everyone just riding and having a good time

Speaking of fixed-gear, it has been over three months since I flipped from free to fixed. I really like it a great deal although there are definitley cons, the main one being the inability to stop really quickly. I haven't learned how to skid or skip stop (whatever the hell that is) and I can't see relying on skidding, or a combo of front brake and skidding, as a viable primary way of stopping in emergency situations. The late Sheldon Brown says that the rear brake becomes unnecessary when riding fixed (and I removed my rear brake), and I bow in veneration to Sheldon Brown. But it seems that riding in an urban setting argues for keeping that rear brake on, and, if possible, adding a third, fourth and fifth brake, and then switching back to a free wheel, or multi-geared, and then ultimately to a four-wheeled motorized vehicle. Anyway, there are definitely some good sides to it. The first is the excercise factor - my legs have become a lot more muscular, and my wife gave that the thumbs up.

Pictures are of favorite street/worst street. Favorite (1st pic) is Boylston Street: wide, plenty of room, great surface, feels real safe. Worst is Clarendon Street: horrendous surface, chaos, cars making sudden,no-blinker right turns onto St. James and then into the parking garage just past Hancock building. You have to get out into the middle of the lane to stake your claim so you don't get picked off.

Suicide Shopping Cart Ride

Circus City

I'm seeing all kinds of mayhem out there lately.

Yesterday I saw a helmet-less guy on a mountain bike almost get slaughtered by a Range Rover. I was waiting at the light at the Comm Ave/Mass Ave intersection and Mass Ave had the green and this guy on the mountain bike comes down Mass Ave in the right lane heading toward Cambridge. Just before the light he abruptly swerved right to turn on to Comm Ave, into the path of the Range Rover traveling in the same direction. The Rover jammed on the breaks with inches to spare. The guy on the bike didn't even acknowledge the near miss, he just continued around the front of the Rover and into the opposite lane of oncoming traffic. Yes, he continued careening across Mass Ave into the the two opposite lanes where the all the approaching cars jammed on their brakes. It was an astounding display of boneheaded-ness, and this guy didn't even seem to realize that he could have been killed several times over.

Moments later I was crossing Charlesgate East where there's a light. A truck in front of me was making the right onto Charlesgate and as I started to clear the rear end of the truck, a kid on bike comes at me diagonally from my right, trying to cross Comm Ave from one sidewalk to another, and clearly unable to see around the truck that was turning in front of him. I just yelled and my right pedal smacked his bike as I whipped past him. It was a near catastrophe. If he had been even inches more in my path, both of us would have come to serious grief.

As they're saying in all the papers, "With the gas prices these days, more people are riding bikes." Lord, I've seen some of these people. I'll describe my favorite. I call them SiRi - long 'i', like Sye Rye - short for Sidewalk Rider. Nine out of ten times when you see a SiRi, he/she will be riding on a crowed sidewalk on a mountain bike that is too small for them, and they will not be wearing a helmet. I can't stand SiRis. I'll bet the guy who almost got hit by the Rover was a SiRi who strayed off of the sidewalk and became confused, like when a raccoon gets rabies and stumbles around in the road in the middle of the day. Another thing about SiRis, they all seem to look like the kids who were in the special ed classes at my high school. They're riding along with their slack jaws, their knees bobbing up almost to their chins cause their bikes are way too small for them, their heads lolling around, all goggle-eyed, wondering why all the pedestrians are giving them dirt looks.

There has been quite a bit of attention paid to cycling and commuting and cars etc lately. The Boston Globe's Bella English wrote a pro-biking column that drew the ire of a lot of non-cyclists. There were a lot of comments about cyclists blowing red lights, spitting, flouting the law, and wearing too much bike racing clothing. And some of that's true. I always see people blow lights, and I do it too, although "blow" is too strong a term. I'd say I "leak" through lights. I've also seen people spit. In fact I spat on my way to work this morning. But that was because I had a big wad of Ol' Brown Crud Chewing Tobacco in my mouth (I like to keep ammunition handy for any errant pedestrians on the way). Not sure about the law flouting, though. At least nothing on a bicycle. Anyway, people were definitely getting bent out of shape in the comments.

Wendsdee Jooon Twenteee Sixth

Exactly one year ago I posted a picture of the Kenmore Square bus station construction. I got almost the exact same shot today, but I don't think the guy on the bike is the same. If it is the same guy, then he lost some weight. Unless maybe that white t-shirt made him look big. Anyway, kudos to him, although I don't agree with that particular combo of blue shorts and blue t-shirt.

But the real story here isn't this gentleman's weight loss, it's the bus station. An amazing amount of progress in a year, isn't it?

Warming up to the fixed-gear

It's been 2 and half weeks riding in fixed-gear mode. I'm pretty much OK with not coasting. I didn't touch my brake once this morning. I say 'brake' because I removed the rear brake. Sheldon Brown says that "a rear brake is quite unnecessary on a fixed-gear machine."

I'm not sure I agree. In fact, I might say that riding a fixed-gear machine is quite unnecessary. I'm all for going overboard with safety. I usually ride with two rear lights, and for a while rode with two front lights as well. But I went ahead and removed the brake anyway. It definitely gives the bike a more simple appearance, and anyone in-the-know recognizes it as a fixed-gear. And if they have any doubt, they can just ask me as they're helping me up off the pavement.

Fixed-Gear Dismount Lesson

OK, so it has been two weeks riding fixed-gear, so I consider myself somewhat of an authority on the subject. I've read some stuff about proper dismount from bikes and from fixed-gear specifically, but I want to show you a more effective method.

First, if you're like me, you roll your pant leg up on the right. When I roll up my pant leg, I end up creating what is basically a pocket at the end of the leg.

Step 1: I dismount by standing on my left leg and swinging my right leg over the saddle. Midway through this motion I catch my pant leg "pocket" on the horn of the saddle.

Step 2: I stagger and wobble as I attempt to free my pant leg from the saddle.

Step 3: The frantic pulling and jerking motion causes me to collapse on the ground.

Voila! I am now in a position to safely separate myself from the bike.

Stay tuned - more fixed-gear tips and tricks coming up!

Fixed Fear

So I've made the switch to riding fixed-gear.

For those who don't know what that is, here's the definition from Sheldon Brown: "A rear hub in which the sprocket is rigidly connected to the hub, without a freewheel. The pedals of a fixed-gear bicycle revolve whenever the rear wheel turns; coasting is impossible."

I made the switch last Monday, and it has added a whole new level of fear to my daily ride. Like Sheldon said, coasting is impossible. If you forget for even a split second to keep pedaling, the pedals slam your feet off of them. Getting on and off the bike, starting and stopping (especially stopping)are all brand new challenges.

Why do this? A lot of people have great things to say about fixed-gear riding. Sheldon Brown wrote "There is an almost mystical connection between a fixed-gear cyclist and bicycle, it feels like an extension of your body to a greater extent than does a freewheel-equipped machine."

I can't say I agree with that yet, but I definitely agree that coasting is impossible.

As Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, "In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of getting back on the bicycle." Yes, indeed. And when the repair man at International offered me either the plain chain or the gold chain, naturally I had to go for the gold.

I'll Be Back

OK, so this is just a brief (and unprecedented) break in my riding. I'm going to India tomorrow for a week (true land of the Suicide Bicycle Ride) and when I get back I'm going to get a new wheel/tube/tire/bottom bracket/freewheel right away. "Bloodied but Unbowed", that's my New England winter bike riding motto. Unfortunately that may not apply to these bikes along Beacon Street.

Out of Commission

This is the second day all winter that I didn't ride to work, and that's not because of today's snow storm (a little over 6 inches). Last Monday someone backed their car into my bike (I'm guessing) which was locked to the bike rack in the parking lot where I work. The rear wheel got bent. I rode it the rest of the week because I had NO time to get it replaced. I must have been cutting quite a figure wobbling down Beacon Street. By Friday morning I was getting pretty good on it. I was thinking "Jeez, this isn't so bad. Maybe I can make it through March and then get a new wheel and fix all the other stuff that's falling apart." Then the rear tire blew out about 3 blocks from work. I didn't know a bike tire could make a noise that loud. Anyway, it looks like I wasn't the only one walking.