Cycle Commuter - Adventures in Bicycle Commuting

G laughed, “You don’t need an exorcist… you need a team car.”

On the ride home yesterday, my jockey wheels were squeaking like banshees so I decided to do a little bit of drivetrain maintenance when I got home. It was then that I discovered the extraordinarily bad state that my rear hub was in. Crunchy doesn’t begin to describe it. But there wasn’t anything I could do… I don’t have the tools or the competency to overhaul a hub. So I resigned myself to ride in on the wheel this morning and hope for the best.

I cringed as I rolled out this morning. It sounded wretched. It sounded as though I was destroying all things smooth and metal with stubborn, unlubed movement. I contemplated riding the One Way all the way in… but the wheels on it are in no better shape, if not worse. So I continued on.

It was a bit misty this morning, which made for a pleasant subtlety to everything (aside from my crunchy rear wheel). I ended up a bit early to the first checkpoint, so I decided to hit up the coffee shack that G and I had joked about stopping at. Rolling up to the window, the barista just laughed—:”How many miles to the gallon do you get on that thing?” I told her about 3,000. She was curious about how far I was riding and how long it took me and we ended up having a pleasant little exchange while she made my drink. “Where’s your cup holder?!” She laughed when I showed her my left hand. The drink tasted exceptionally good. I’ll have to stop there again.

I met up with L and a new rider at the checkpoint and rolled out. The crunchy had subsided a bit, which was a relief in that out of earshot, out of mind kind of way. The ride in to work was a bit slower than usual, no thanks to an uncommon headwind and our new partner. It was actually really nice to take it easy, though.

Once at work, I began considering my options. I knew the hub was shot, but denial wanted me to suspect it wasn’t that bad. When I shared the news with G, J and others, the response was the same: “Dude, what’s up with you and destroying wheels?” They’ve got a good reason to ask, unfortunately… this is my fourth rear wheel that I’ve had issues with in a little over a year. Two on the Element, one on the One Way and now this one. I did a little bit of research online and quickly discovered that others had similar experiences with the same hubs… not enough grease and cheap parts do not happy results make. In the end, R took a look at it and did what he could on the spot before telling me to not ride on it… I told him I didn’t have that option… so I was told to ride home slowly and stop by his place later to see what could be done. Once back at my desk, I ordered a new wheelset. I’m hoping it’ll arrive tomorrow.

I’ll admit, I didn’t mind riding slowly. It was the first really nice day of the year… upper 70’s and a tailwind to boot. Part of me did lament not being able to hammer away with the wind at my back… but the sun made up for it. We rolled out with a group of five and hung together for eight miles along the trail. Out of shame, I hung back behind everyone. On top of the unholy crunching, my jockey wheels had started squeaking again. If I coasted, I crunched… if I pedaled, I squeaked. But, it was a good lesson in patience and pacing. Once back in town, a car passed me and honked its horn… I looked up and saw that the driver had his hand out his sunroof and was giving me a big thumbs up. It made me forget all my worries.

While R was quickly repacking the bearings, I asked what would’ve contributed to the situation. “Well, how much do you ride?” Right now, 250 a week. Otherwise about a hundred. “Yeah, that’s a lot. That’d do it, combined with crappy parts and shoddy factory assembly. You’re not a small guy, either, so you’re putting a lot of power into the pedals and torquing the crap out of things, I imagine. You probably just need to do more maintenance more often, that’s all.”

Tomorrow is Bike to Work Day. I’m excited. With the guaranteed sun, I’m certain there will be many, many people out and about. I’m even excited for the adventure of leaving home at 4 am (event obligations dictate so). As G put it, it’ll just be me and the birds on my commute. If I’m lucky, I’ll get to see the sun rise behind the mountain. Actually, now that I think about it, the timing will be perfect for such an experience. Rad.

I thought of that while riding my bike.

—Albert Einstein, on the theory of relativity

Several times today, I was reminded of relativity. While rollin’ along with the caravan, G and I chatted about the Giro and how a “slow” pace in the peloton was 23, whereas that’s about the top end for us when we’re commuting “briskly”. The lunch rides average around 25, with attacks jumping upwards of 28.

The forecasts for the next couple days also touch on relativity… tomorrow, it’s supposed to be in the mid-70’s. Friday (Bike to Work Day!), in the mid- to upper-80’s. Given that it was 39 Monday morning (and snowing in the mountains), that’s a bit of a jump. It takes people around two weeks to fully adjust to a new climate, so there should be plenty ‘o sweatin’ going on Friday. Oh, and the forecasters are still oh-so-creative with their copy—Thursday: Warmer; Friday: Warmer with plenty of sunshine; Saturday: Sunshine. Nice, not as warm” Yes, that’s right, it’s “nice” when it’s not as warm. A true Northwest forecast.

This morning’s ride was odd. M popped out a couple blocks ahead of me, only to turn off a few blocks later. I wondered if he’d decided to catch the train instead of riding… yet a few miles later, he rolls up behind me completely out of breath and looking like he was pushing 210+ bpm. Apparently he’d decided to stop and talk to a friend at a coffee place, but then wanted to catch up to me. We split at the hill, which at that point was only a couple hundred yards away. Then, as I crested the climb up from the valley, I noticed a set of bike tire tracks over a dry patch of pavement. Suspecting it was G, I picked up the pace and kept looking for signs of him… which I’d find about every quarter mile or so. It was like chasing a ghost. After the long descent into the next valley, I gave up the hunt… only to come around a corner to see him waiting.

Dunno why, but this song came on at just the right moment and I found myself in a state of complete bliss as I settled into a rhythm and watched the world glide by…

Speaking of rocking, every once and a while, when I have to get out of the saddle to put down some speed, there are these moments of synchronicity where the weight of the bike effortlessly shifts from one side to the other as my legs push and pull and my hands just oh-so-gently grip the hoods… Those moments make everything wonderful and right in the world.

There was a bike thing at a restaurant tonight, where the city wanted input on how to make things more bike-friendly. I’d sent off an email with my thoughts earlier in the week, so it was more of an observational excursion. Out front there were a fair number of bikes, which I spent most of my time checking out. We cyclists sure are a diverse, quirky bunch. This gal, however, knows what’s up:

For reasons not yet known to me, there are times I like to push myself… to find those upper limits, feel ‘em out and maybe even tickle ‘em a little. This morning felt like it’d be a good opportunity to do just that—it’s still early in the week, so my legs are feeling decent and I knew there was a good chance I’d be able to solo all the way in.

I’m going to pay the consequences of that effort throughout the rest of the week… I definitely felt gassed throughout the day and on the ride home. It was worth it, though. If nothing else, school bus #38 didn’t pass me until I was at the top of the hill… as opposed to the usual buzzing I get on the minimum-shoulder climb.

Had this tune repeating in my head for a while between mile 18 and 23:

My Achilles tendon started bugging me yesterday. It wasn’t too bad today, but definitely noticeable.

G and I met up this morning and started on our way in to work… however he dropped his chain and had to spend a minute rearranging things. M happened along and the three of us eventually got rolling again. Bright, clear skies… a little cool, but otherwise great riding conditions.

At one point, G happened to be riding at about my 8 o’clock when my front tire popped a rock out to the left. I heard a quick ping followed by “OW, that was my right nut!” I felt bad, but we all couldn’t help but laugh. The odds were just too unbelievable to not find humor in ‘em. Then again, G did have a rabbit jump up and hit his top tube a couple years ago… so maybe he just has bad top tube luck.

Speaking of bad luck… I’m bummed that DZ is out, not to mention that the Giro stage today was crashtastic. Otherwise, not a whole lot goin on in the brainspace at the moment.

Gawbless free streaming from Norway. Totally stoked to see Slipstream nail the TTT and Vande Velde in pink. Whoever questioned the aerodynamic-ness of a ’stache can now chew on it. Great start to a Saturday, as far as I’m concerned.

Partly relating to the ebb and flow of debris and such that I see along my routes, the various obstacles I encounter are almost always amusing in some form or another. Clearly, psychological obstacles exist at times… such as “There’s no way I’m going to ride in this weather” or “I can’t climb that hill one more time”. But in this case, I’m referring to the physical obstacles that alter the “normal” line.

Trains would be a good example, however there have been few encounters with trains the past couple weeks since I’ve been riding more or less parallel to the tracks. As of late, it’s been stuff like horse shit, roasted corn, freight boxes, shopping carts and the omnipresent fields of broken glass that have proven obstacle-like.

This past week has also proven to be an “obstacle” of sorts, with physical exhaustion playing a major role in my daily existence. I’m pretty sure that, yesterday, the only defining characteristic between zombies and myself was that I didn’t have the urge to eat human flesh. Otherwise, I was about as sluggish and braindead as one would imagine a zombie would be.  Today I existed in delirium.

I got a flat this afternoon. However, G and I were in such good spirits that it barely registered as anything other than a “nice place to stop” (thanks to the view and unobstructed, warming sun). I’ll admit I was slightly irked that the first tube I tried wouldn’t inflate (faulty valve?), but I was very happy that I’d decided to carry a second tube with me earlier in the week.

I could swear there was something more that I wanted to say… profound, of course… but it seems as though it slipped away ninja-like. I’m sure I could go on about the dance moves I enacted in the saddle today, or the brutal headwinds over the past couple days, or the psychological aspects of the lunchtime group rides (which are competitive, to say the least)… but… not right now.

There are, to date, three distinct areas along my route(s) that have their own smell. The above is an obvious one; the other two involve hotdogs and potato chips. Ironically, the morning commute involves only the above… the afternoon, just hotdogs and chips.

Being a little early to the first checkpoint this morning, I eyed a drive-up espresso stand and contemplated the possibility of rolling up for a solo. I’m fairly certain that G and I will have to partake in some espresso stand antics in the somewhat-near future.

To the person who landed here after searching “is 2 hours too long of a bike commute?” I can honestly answer “no, it’s not too long”. At first, it seemed like it… and, yes, there are days where I wish I could get home faster… but, in the grand scheme of things, I’ll take the longer commute that has built-in stress reliever, exercise and social interaction.

It appears that someone finally tossed the box (as seen here) over the bridge. Only a few stray pieces were left on the bridge’s sidewalk… appropriately in the middle, nails facing upward.

I’ve had some time to chew on this afternoon’s ride home, and for now I’ll leave it at this: headwinds suck ass. Freeloaders who ride strangers’ wheels and talk on their cell phones for 8 miles without pulling at all… I’m without words for ‘em. If I had been riding solo, I would’ve just ridden ahead or off to the side… however, I’d offered to pull a teammate for those 8 miles since they’d run 5k earlier in the day and were completely spent for the ride home. I was more than happy to pull my teammate… but the stranger who sat on her wheel irked the crap out of me, especially since he was yapping away on his cell phone while I was pulling against a sustained 15mph headwind. Etiquette… it’s a insidious beast.

In closing, I soaked my legs in a bath last night… which seems to’ve done wonders. I felt awesome this morning, despite feeling more than spent last night (I’m pretty sure I was in a coma throughout the night).

The second half of this afternoon’s ride was utterly exhausting. I suspect my exhaustion came as a result of pushing hard this morning to make up for getting out the door late, plus a light lunch and a headwind for good measure. I caught myself daydreaming of a IF SSR 953 dressed up in SRAM Red, so keeping pace with G was definitely a factor as well, since I don’t often think about my bike’s weight… The way he appeared to glide uphill on his 17 lb. bike even made me ponder the unthinkable–what about a carbon bike? This, of course, is utter nonsense when taken in context of my riding habits. Besides, I take pride in my bike… it’s in a very happy middle-ground of utility and performance.

Once home, I stripped off my gear, stretched, scrounged up some food and drew a bath… something I hadn’t done in a year. 30 minutes later, I’m in la-la land. Tomorrow will be interesting.

I’m always amused by all the different stuff I see while riding. Even places where I’ve ridden through at least a couple hundred times, I’ll see something new. Like beaches, the streets are in a constant state of flux. Today, at 6:15am, I saw a flattened can of Rockstar at a stoplight. It wasn’t there yesterday, and it probably won’t be there tomorrow morning. I’ve ridden with a number of people who say that they have to change up their routes regularly in order to not get bored while riding. I understand what they’re getting at, but at the same time, with everything always changing… I wonder how anyone can get bored.

A few years ago, when I started riding again, I told a friend of mine that I wanted to carry my camera with me wherever I went on my bike, with the explanation that perspective on a bike seems so different from that on foot or in a car. This blog is kind of an extension of what I told that friend. But it’s true, in a lot of ways, that there’s something about riding a bike that just can’t be matched through other modes of transportation.

Today’s rides felt good. I was, after all, well rested. We’ll see how I feel tomorrow and throughout the rest of the week.

I took that shot a little over four years ago. I still remember how slowly that old man was pedalling up the slight incline, though he wore a concentrated grin as he did so. I’d essentially forgotten about that shot for the past couple years, and as I look at it again, I can’t help but smile.

I was unquestionably exhausted Friday night, despite letting off the throttle on both rides that day. I’m curious to see how this week goes, as it will be the first full five days of rounders. Guess I’ll find out either way. Speaking of ways, the wheels on the One Way are nearing completion. The front wheel is done–just needs to go through the final truing. I started lacing up the rear wheel Friday on my lunch break, but got out of sync and didn’t notice it until I was just 8 spokes from being finished. Got a good chuckle out of it at least.

Starting with the Chrome Shins, I added a few new items to the (sadly neverending) gear list. Of particular note are the Tifosi Pave sunglasses and the Deuter Futura 28 pack. The defining awesomeness of the Tifosi Pave sunglasses are the EC (Extreme Contrast) Fototec photochromatic lenses. In a few seconds, the lenses will go from almost clear to a dark tint, all depending on the light conditions… which means no more switching out lenses. Admittedly, my previous sunglasses (Smith Thresholds) offered greater coverage and fit my face better. However, with the Thresholds I would often have to carry a different set of lenses for my morning and afternoon commutes. The photochromatic lenses eliminate that need. Score one for technology. (As a semi-relevant aside, I dislike riding with polarized lenses and was glad to find at least a few photochromic options without polarization.)

The Deuter Futura 28 came as a result of me wanting to try something different. I love messenger bags and all, but it was time for some change. I looked at a number of different options, including the Crumpler Mahoubar, Ortlieb Flight, SealLine Urban, and Timbuk2 Lex packs among others. Deuter eventually one out because of the AirComfort backpanel construction, built-in raincover and easy access options. I ended up cutting off the compression straps and doing a couple other small mods, but so far the pack has worked very well in its commuting role. No downpours yet to test out the raincover’s effectiveness, so the jury is still out on that one. I will say this: I enjoy having a bit more “breathability” across my back.