Breakfast on the Bridges

Riding in this morning with Evan I was not real sure about what weather we would have for our afternoon ride. Definitely cloudy and whether it was my anticipation or what, but I thought I felt rain drops a few times.

You know how I have often written about how when I wave or nod there is no response from the other person? Well, I found myself nearly falling guilty to being one of those non-responsives. After parting from Evan, I was on my way to work. I stopped at a red light and was just sitting there. I heard a voice, then again. I awoke from my red light stuper in time to realize there was another cyclist behind and she was saying good morning. I turned and apologized and returned the greeting. Ya know, that really lifted my spirits, especially because I was not even the one that initiated the contact. Nice.

I had heard about the Breakfast on the Bridges, but it had sort of gotten pushed to the way back of my mind. As I neared the down ramps to the Steel Bridge I stopped to take a downtown picture (yep, that is it at the top of this page). From the upper part of the ramps I also noticed a lot of people just before the bridge way. I wonder what is going on? A class? A group of friends? As I rode down and near I saw the sign, oh sweet, Breakfast on the Bridges - free coffee and pastries!

I don't do coffee, but I do do pastries. So, I stopped and greeted my hosts and enjoyed a doughnut while listening to the conversations going on. It was really nice to slow down and to visit with people. I will definitely remember this treat on the last Friday of each month. And the really cool thing is I don't have to alter my commute route at all!

The return trip home was warmer and sunnier than the morning ride. I am so glad I have the bike ride to look forward to. I really needed it this afternoon as I am having some personnel struggles at work with a new team member. I guess it is more like frustrations, so the pleasantness of riding was a therapeutic treat. Joining up with Evan we cruised on our way. We did stop at Bike Gallery to get new brake pads and a new helmet for Evan. The salesperson helping us commented on our bikes - he liked the old steel. I told him mine was a new purchase from Bike Gallery in 1993. He actually remembered when they did carry Bridgestones. I am not so sure that he noticed that the drop bars were not original on a MB-5, but that's okay, he was pretty young.

Okay, something I have not done is to take a picture of how I use to get between home and work and school. Here is I-84 at NE 74th at 3:50pm. I just missed a slow down moment where the cars were not really moving much. Still, I am much happier riding the bike on our commutes.

Well today was the last commute of April and, it turns out, is the highest mileage month with 290 miles.

Returning to Enjoying the Journey of the Commute

Getting fun riding in to work. Different people in different states of starting their days. In the neighborhoods, people out for a morning jog, walking their dog, a few more starting their bike commuting days. On the river, the river patrol is out, fishermen making their way to their, hopefully, lucky fishing holes and the rowers are out to get as much flat water as they can.

Yep, while it sometimes feels more like late Winter, life in the city is sprouting from the warm comfort of inside to join the trees and plants and migratory creatures out in the fresh air. Experiencing the transition of winter to spring by bike has been a cool, fun experience. If I were still driving everyday there would be so much I would not notice, so much would pass me by and I would pass by it. I am sure any newness of the drive to the new office would have long ago melted away to monotony and "am I there, yets?"

Every picture I have taken the light is different, the mood is different, a bit more color one day, or the clouds are so immense or so wispy. Only on the bike, moving at the speed of life, as they say, am I able to be drawn to these subtle changes; and only because I choose to be where I am rather than focusing, as I would be car, on just getting there. Yep, commuting by bike has brought me back to journey.

As I happily began entering today's commute into my commuting log I discovered that I had already reached the 1000 mile mark as I was missing last Thursday's entry. Wah, and oh, well, knowing I was hitting a 1000 miles was still uplifting and feeling mighty cool. Plus, I feel good that I have stuck to my commitment to bike commute. I feel more awake, I have lost some weight and I should be able to keep up with Evan for a while, yet - hehe.

5 More Miles to 1000 - Euphoric Riding Has Returned

Willamette River, Hawthorne Bridge from Eastbank Esplanade

Even though my morning commute was in the rain, I totally loved being on the bike. Over the weekend, I did a couple of tiny fine-tunes and was anxious to give them a test ride. The rain was somewhat light, so it really did not bother me. I am so thrilled riding the SUB these days. With the recent changes of tires, brake adjustment and all of that, the bike rides so much faster than back when I started my daily commute. I am really amazed and love riding the SUB even more.

I saw one other cyclist out this morning and I rolled up to him at the 50th and Lincoln signal light. He glanced both ways and heading on through the red. In contrast, I sat and waited. I thought about the reasons, I thought about the justifications I have seen from others. I felt perturbed because they do make justifications and have created their "logical" rationales. My perturbedness comes because why don't they just say, "Because I felt like it." I mean, just be honest really, because that is all running a red is, a personal choice.

Oh, and I got the green when the guy was about 3-1/2 blocks up and by the light at 39th I actually caught him and rolled past. I suppose that means he saved 4 blocks worth of time? Not sure. Anyway, like I said, why don't they just say, "because"?


Downtown from the Eastbank Esplanade

The sun came out this afternoon, though the wind was blowing a bit and temps were not super warm. After my picture-taking pace of warming up along the esplanade I picked up the pace up my Clay-Harrsion-Lincoln route. I am starting to feel close to what my old riding memory is - if that even makes any sense. My riding has brought back memories of my long ago riding, the happy comfort, the euphoria of constantly improving my riding skills, the pride of accomplishing a particular riding goal/riding event goal, the happy place of being in control of my riding. I am feeling those feelings again, that's pretty cool.

Still amazed at how many miles we consume just going back and forth to work. Tomorrow, I'll top 1000 miles across 73 commutes and I live only 6 miles from work. If I had not been tracking I would have guessed a lot lower number.

Gotta Love This Sunny Riding - Project SUB Impressions

What a gorgeous day for being on the bike! So much so, I added about 11 miles to my going to work commute by biking to my optometrist's to pick up my new glasses. I believe I am part solar powered as I felt like I was re-energized, like I had a bit more energy. My climb from downtown Portland up Barbur Blvd was so much easier today than it was back in the fall of 2010. Not saying putting nearly 1000 miles in since then did not have an effect, just saying the sun energy absorbed made it even easier.

Riding back down to Portland was icing on the cake. The miles flew by, time melted away, I felt comfortable on the bike. Memories came back of my past live to ride days. Every aspect seemed perfectly in tune, perfectly matched and I just cruised at speed without feeling like I was at my limit.

Apparently many other co-workers felt it was time to get on the bike today. For the first time since we moved in back in December the bike room was overflowed. Rack space holds up to 15 bikes and we had a record 17. Since I was last in, you can see my blue handlebarred bike back against the lockers. We should have an overflow space ready to go by the end of this week.

Project SUB Impressions

Yep, I have decided to call my on-going pursuit of perfection, Project SUB*. I am very pleased with the shift lever location, they are within easy reach and, yet, out of the way of hand positions on my bars. Shifting is smooth and the up and down shifting are nearly intuitive. A few more rides and I should have the shift direction firmly recorded into muscle memory.

The bike feels fast with the new tires (Continental Sport Contact, 26 x 1.6). They are just a little wider than I would like, but their low rolling resistance is making up for that. I seem to notice a bit more road noise from them, but again, a small trade off for the speed.

I am enjoying having this project bike, gives me something to tinker with, to fine-tune that is absent of review panels, proposal reviews and personal judgments like I experience with work and trying to improve things there. Each change has added to my bag of tricks, to my library of information on how to accomplish a challenging fitment issue. Absolute control over design, approach and method.

This project is as much art as it is science and creative engineering. The engineering makes it effective and useful, the art makes it not only aesthetically pleasing, but creatively innovative in some instances. Not to mention I also throw in some environmentally friendly re-use actions.

The project is one of my meditation methods, I think. See, not only physical exercise, but exercise for my mind. Can't go wrong with that, can you? We will see how long I go before making some other change or fine-tune.

(*SUB = Sport Utility Bike)

More Happy People - More Perfecting

Going into the weekend, Friday, the commute was wet and grey. With Evan, our commute is another extension and mode of our time, our connection. We chat. We also whine sometimes. The way I see it,  since we have made a commitment to bike commuting and we have been riding since January, we have the right to whine some.

So, the whine is, "I am so tired of riding in the rain!" Evan agreed. I mean, really, would some dry really hurt?

Of course, then come Monday, we get our sunny day ride! While at a stop I asked Evan, "Do you feel faster when it is nice out?" He just smiled.

I think I noticed more people smiling today. Certainly more people out, cannot really blame them either. This grey, wet stuff has kept people hibernating a bit longer this year.

This was a morning I definitely could have just kept riding, taking in just how wonderful this sunny weather is. Must be the Leo in me.

Today, I had to make a slight detour from my Harrison/Lincoln hill climb to stop at a couple of stores on Division St. Through Ladd's Addition I rode over to SE Clinton. Now, I have not ridden on Clinton for a long time, definitely way before I started riding daily for commuting. My memory was even Clinton had its climbs. Was I ever surprised at how much less climbing there was compared to Harrison/Lincoln, especially now that I have more miles on my legs and lungs. Nice, I now know if I am feeling overly tired I can take Clinton for relief. I still like my Harrison/Lincoln route, it is more direct and I just like that neighborhood riding better.

Over the weekend while doing some bike maintenance, both Evan's and mine, I made some aesthetic and performance improvements on the SUB. Since moving my shift levers, the cable routing has annoyed me a bit. The cables just looked dorky, to me. I am all about aesthetics as long as safety and function are not compromised.

First, I fixed the adjuster rings that had formed notches which prevented some adjustment. A bit of filing and then smoothing on a sharpening stone fixed that up. Now I could actually adjust the brake pad alignment - more happy, happy.

I also learned more about getting the most out of my center-pull brakes - thanks Sheldon Brown! So far they feel much better stopping wise in relation to how hard I pull on the levers.

Since I am happy, happy about the new shift lever position, I decided it was time to clean up the too long cable housings. So I shortened them up and I think it is a much cleaner look.

Now the cables do not run way out past the light. The other change, you will notice, is I have updated how I mount the headlight. The Ram mount I was using just always seemed bulky looking. Since the stem is pretty crowded with the shifters, I did a little redesign to help clean up the look a bit. I was looking for a solution that was clean, simple and sturdy. I also wanted to be able to use the factory handlebar mount for the light, in case I would like to put it on the road bike occassionally. To do this new mounting was why I made my detour stops this afternoon.

The mount is made up of my original clamp on the stem, 2 pieces of flat aluminum, a short piece of 3/4" aluminum tubing and two rubber bar end plugs. This has less vibration than the Ram mount, is more easily adjusted and also looks good aesthetically.

The SUB has given me a wonderful project to design, create, be innovative and make a fun riding, nice looking everyday commuter bike. Art in the everyday.

More Wet Riding - Gear in Review - Closing in on 1000 Miles

Wednesday's ride, rain and a few breaks, but mostly wet, definitely grey. Good thing I love biking, otherwise I probably would have joined the majority and found an alternative mode of commuting - lol.

Short Gear in Review - Continental Sport Contact Tires
I am convinced the Continental Sport Contact tires (26 x 1.6) have the lowest rolling resistence of the tires I have run on the SUB. These are like the 4th set since last fall that have been on the bike. My quest was to find something durable (aka flat resistent) and have a low rolling resistence.

The first set, way back when, was a pair of Forte' Gotham MTB tires, 26 x 1.75. While definitely better the original 2" knobby tires, they are still on the heavy side, which makes pedalling feel heavy. Now, I rode these when I still had the original 175mm crank arms, so some of my comparisons may be off.

The next set of tires I tried was a set of Kenda Kwest (26 x 1.50"). Overall, I liked these tires, fairly easy pedalling and they were holding up pretty well. Pretty well until the rear decided to become flat prone, even when the bike was just sitting in the garage or bike room at work. Maybe they do not do well when loaded with rear panniers? Anyway, these were only on a couple months or probably somewhere around 300 miles.

Being tired of flat fixing and not really finding any punctures, I decided to try another tire brand. At my local REI I wanted to purchase a set of Continental tires, but they were out of stock on the model I wanted and decided to try a pair of Serfas Drifters (26 x 1.50").

I thought these were doing pretty well, until I had put a lot of miles on the road bike and gotten much more fit. Returning to the SUB the bike just seemed to be slow and actually a bit harder to pedal no matter what gear I was in. For a few commutes I shrugged it off as psychological because I really would rather ride the road bike (gotta love denial).

Well, after doing some freewheel coasting behind Evan, I thought the bike could do better. I did a bit of research on Continentals including available sizes and reviews. Checking inventory with REI, I headed down and picked up a pair of Sport Contacts. Well, I would not have believed a tire could be significantly slower than another, but I am now convinced and reaffirmed why I love Continental bike tires.

Freewheeling wise (coasting) it has sold me. The SUB is easier, smoother pedaling and it can maintain speed while coasting. The Sport Contacts are about $10.00 more per tire than the Serfas and $15.00-$20.00 more than the Kendas, which means in this case you do get what you pay for. For daily commuting, the Continentals are the way to go. If I wasn't daily commuting the tires would likely be a much less issue for me.

I will note that all of the tires advertise some level of puncture resistence as a commuter tire group. So far, only the Kendas have not lived up to my expected level of puncture resistence. However, that may be due to low life duration and that may be due to being overly loaded when running with my panniers.

Today, Thursday, was basically rain; grey, wet rain with some wind thrown in for the afternoon ride home. While not horrible, I am certainly tired of so much rain. Evan agreed as we rode in the morning. I must say that having a riding companion is nice, having a conversation makes the distance go by even faster.

The worse part of all of this rain commuting is the amount of work to keep up maintenance on the bikes. Chains and brakes get so grungy so fast. Plus the grit and dirt seems to cake up on the drivetrain, the lube acting more like a magnet than a repellant.

To lighten our spirits we had a mini rain water fight at a stop light. This is basically shaking our arms so the rain flies off the rain jacket sleeves toward the other. Hey, might as well make the most of it, you know. The bike riding is the part of day I most look forward to. Riding as commuting is just a great part of my day.

I have been logging my riding in a little list where I record some notes, weather and distance. To date, I have logged 905 miles just commuting. Looks like I should hit 1000 by the end of April. Funny, as a vehicle commuter I paid absolutely no attention to how many miles I accumulated. What a nice feeling, because it even sounds like a lot for riding just 4 months. Evan and I were talking, because he probably has more miles than anyone else at this school as far as bike commuting. I have only driven him one day because he was ill, he is pretty pleased with that accomplishment. I'm pretty proud, too, for his commitment and that he enjoys biking.

A cool, foggy morning greeted me on my ride in. What I love about a morning like this is the quiet, the calmness. You cannot help but slow down, look around, take in the moments along the way.

Yesterday's SUB ride showed I needed a few adjustments. Cleat alignment tweaks for my shoes and, since my strength is up, a modification to my rear cogs to fit my current level. Today another test of the adjustments.

Foot position and pedal motion much, much better. I did not have any knee issues at all, whether seated or doing some standing pedalling. The utilitarian SUB sure seemed to roll slow, though, compared to the road bike. Are these tires rolling with that much resistance? Is the SUB really that much harder to roll along? Have to think about it.

Seems so light out these days, having been trained to commuting through the darker winter days. I stopped a few times to take some pictures and to just look. There were two close calls today. The first, along SE Lincoln, a bus turned from 52nd onto Lincoln cutting off a cyclist riding in the opposite direction of me. He yelled, but that's about all he could do, the even already happened. Then not two blocks later, a car cut across Lincoln cutting me off. All I could do was yell, "Hey!" and I moved left to pass behind the car. Is it the fog?

The SUB did great, again, today and the new shifter location is working out great. The one bad thing about bike commuting is it ends - lol.

Well, decided to go ahead and test a different set of tires. So, I replaced my Serfas Drifters with a pair of Continental Sport Contacts. I've always had great experiences with Continentals on my road bike so let's see how they do in SUB mode and size. That's the other great thing about bike commuting is that changes can be more easily evaluated because I'm riding the same route and have experienced many different weather conditions. So it seems easier to determine if an issue is me, the bike, the weather; or if something I changed is an improvement or just a change.

Over the almost 900 miles that I have ridden now, I have been doing my own human behavior test. I either wave or if they are close I say, "hi." I am finding that the cyclist today seems to have not learned how to respond as most do no absolutely nothing. I probably still have fingers I can use to count the number of people who have reciprocated. Sad, really, just sad.

The other phenomenom I have noticed is that there are cyclists who have adopted an almost driver like approach to their commute. They are head-down, hammering along, zipping around everyone else, not slowing down much around pedestrians, short-cutting, red light running. Maybe they have commuted so long that they figure they have seen it all, maybe they are late, would be an interesting study. I know some use the commute as a heavy work out. I work harder going home, because it is uphill. I don't like being overly sweating going, so I am glad I have a mostly downhill ride to work.

Anyway, I am enjoying the journey of each day, seeing the changes across winter to spring - from nature to people, there are definite seasonal changes going on.

Spring? More Like Sprinter -- Pausing to Be Where I Am

I guess the commuting was mostly pleasant, at least I stayed dry and the heavier rain fell in between me being on the bike. The weather is certainly having its own with everyone - snow in the mid-west and east, warm temps south. Here it is really more like Sprinter - wanna be Spring with some bits of lingering Winter. The morning was cooler, but at least it was dry. The scullers are now out in the early mornings getting their training in. These folks were just getting off the water as I was riding past along the esplanade. Just like the waking grasses and the trees trying to re-awake after a long winter, even the people life is blooming, venturing out after a long winter of more hibernatory existence.

Through all the grey concrete, the grey clouds, the cold, dark of the Willamettte, in contrast to the mostly black lycra runners, the cherry blossoms pop out across the way along the Waterfront Park adding life to the otherwise monochromatic scene. Lately, I think on wishing the commute was just a little bit longer, to have more riding time to endlessly wander and enjoy.

This afternoon I could not really figure out what the weather was going to do, bright and dry, dark and rainy. I decided on taking a half chance and wore just the rain pants and my fleece jacket. Of course as I left I heard the alarm of the Steel Bridge and rode up in time to wait as the center section was being raised. I looked around but did not immediately see what was coming, in either direction. The light was a bit interesting, especially as it varied the reflectiveness of downtown buildings.

Shortly, I saw what was moving along the river, a classic looking fire boat. That was pretty cool and, again, really stood out against the otherwise grey landscape. While not a super tall boat, it gives you the idea of how much water there is on the Willamette. Only by moving more slowly than a car, by being a part of the scene have I noticed the "little" details happening, the details that have probably been happening all along. Gosh, how much have I missed all these years?

I guess it is much like when Evan was born. I made a conscious decision to make our time the priority, to put the adult world second when it was our time. He taught me well to see what we as adults see as ho hum as special, as worth pausing just to watch, to really watch and be amazed. I wonder if the cyclists riding past, as they appear to be mono-focused on getting to their destination are in their own way like the drivers who become blindered to the little things going on around them. I wonder if they think I am some kind of tourist or strange newbie, stopping to take all these pictures. Will I become one of the members of the zombie commuting world, regardless of transportation mode, shutting out or becoming apathetic to whatever is around and near to me?

Since I cannot see the future, I might as well embrace the moments, the pauses that always show me something new, something unique to that moment and time.

Wind and Rain, Finally Can Sit for Brief Moments

What I saw when I was leaving work this late afternoon, just before 5:00pm. Blowing rain, woo hoo!

Today's visit with my chiropractor/acupuncturist was great - more adjustments, will need at least a couple more. Getting there, when I got home, I could actually sit at my computer. At work, I could sit at an angle for a bit longer - several minutes rather than several seconds.

Tallied up 16 miles today, as I biked to my doctor's, which is about 3 miles in the opposite direction of work. From there, decided it would be nicer to bike to work than just ride over to the MAX station and ride MAX into work. Lightly drizzling on the way in, so not too bad.

The adjusted brakes were much better and I am so much more comfortable using the drop bars than the flat bars. Glad I made the change back to the drop bars. With all the rain and water, had to keep tapping the brakes to keep the water film down and have responsive brakes.

The ride home was WET! I need to write to Showers Pass, again, and see if maybe the soaked knees is because there isn't enough space at the knees. Maybe I need to size up?

Hip Pain is a PITA! -- Build Up New Tool Pouch

Argh! The sharp pain in my left hip when sitting is a royal PITA! A bit better today (Sunday), but still there. As long as the angle of hip and leg is basically straight, I feel no real pain or discomfort. Sad I could not get in to see my chiropractor/accupuncturist Friday, but I am scheduled for Monday morning. Is it even related to my bike commuting? Maybe, will ask my doctor.

Well to alleviate as much load as possible, I re-setup the SUB by transferring my lights and prepping my panniers. I guess I am glad I have the option of two different bikes.

Not one to leave well-enough-alone I decided to work up a new bike kit pouch. My goal is to have something that keeps everything together, can be placed easily between the various carry methods I use (panniers, messenger bag, backpack), and is aesthetically pleasing to me. I have hordes of various bags that I have acquired and, at their time, served their purpose quite well. Rather than have them just sitting around, I found one that looked like I could convert easily to a tool pouch.

Most of this pouch was actually the front section of an Overland Equipment shoulder bag. I first pre-tested how well my various bike stuff would fit, then figured out where to cut the stitches and what pieces I would need to re-sew.

Here's the tool pouch, note that lower and upper flaps, and the main pouch are wholly intact. I attached two pieces on the sides to fold in from left and right to ensure everything stays inside.

Here the top flap is opened up and you can see the side flaps that I added. Just sticking up is the tip of my Portland Design Works combo CO2 pump.

Here all flaps have been opened up. The nice thing is the lower flap has a mesh zippered pocket, which is great for the patch kit and my multi-tool (with the 2 halves separated). Plus, if I use a patch, the garbage pieces can be place in the pocket rather than leaving crap out on the road.

There is a large, open pocket behind the smaller pockets which is great for carrying the spare tube. Note the pump, the pocket next to the pump holds 2 CO2 cartridges.

Here you can see all my stuff laid out.

I would like to say I cut and sewed all of this up, but I cannot. I trimmed some excess material. I sewed on the side flaps, then sewed on the black seam ribbon. That's really it. All the pockets and stuff were already there.

Well, that's my re-use project, putting a no-longer used shoulder bag into daily use as my bike kit pouch.

Sunny Blue Skies - A Windery Bike Riding Day

Weather was windy and cool and dark as I prepped to head to work this morning. Living on the edge, here I am with a very light, summer tank top and light cotton sweater and a jersey skirt. I am wearing my knee warmers which go up to my upper thighs and my wool ski socks. The Showers Pass jacket is laying across my bike.

As it turned out, the wind was cool but not too bad as I was heading in the same direction. I do pack a few extra clothes, so I felt I would be okay for the ride home directly into the wind - brrrrrrr.

Another pleasant ride, the night is definitely getting shorter, as it seems to be getting lighter earlier each day. This works out great as the heavy congested area near MLK can be pretty intense moving about with the 4 wheeled traffic, so being easier to see brings a bit of peace of mind.

I stopped just past the Hawthorne Bridge along the Eastbank Esplanade and took this picture of the city across the Willamette River. Very peaceful, could just sit and enjoy buuuuuut, yep, gotta get in to work.

Winter light is sure picturesque. I think the blue sky is richer than during the warmer months of Spring and Summer.

River traffic was quiet this morning, too. Just a few Canada geese cruising along up river. I'll have to say, being on the bike allows me to notice so much more, to be able to stop and enjoy those distractions on my ride.

I know it's really only been a bit over a month of bike commuting, but, I really see something different each day, even though I am basically riding the same route. Will see after a few more months if the feeling changes any. Buuuuut, until then, we'll enjoy and take advantage of each day's newness and surprises.

The backpack was great, again. Very comfortable and with the "air zone" my back does not get overheated and sweaty, okay, at least not anymore than if I was not using a pack.

Well the end of my work day came and it was still nice and clear, but woah Betty! was it ever still blowin' out there. Of course, nice and steady coming down the Columbia River Gorge.

I bundled up a bit more - putting on my neck buff - and headed out. Yep, nice east wind coming right at me. Well, I just set my gearing to near low and spun along, focused on enjoying the ride. I did hope that as I got to the start of the Harrison St climb I would have some shelter - one can hope anyway.

Well turns out, the hill just made the wind confused, not any weaker. Sometimes it felt like it was coming from the left, then the right, then straight ahead. All the while, I trying to go uphill. Even with all that 24mph wind, I think I did pretty good, made it up the hill okay and was not totally spent out. Well, the weather is for much less wind tomorrow, but looks to be pretty cold, especially in the morning. Will probably dress a bit more for warmth tomorrow. The nice thing is I meet up with Evan in the afternoon, so we can keep each company on the way to home.

Morning Lights, New Mini-purse, Another Great Day to Ride

Pleasant ride in to work this morning, left early enough to still catch the city lights before they faded out with sunrise.

This picture was taken at the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge, looking west to downtown Portland. The challenge was finding a steady rest for the camera. First few shots I used a sign pole, but soon found the wind was making it sway causing blurry pictures. This was actually hand held.

Only a few other cyclists out at this early of time, around 7:15am. This morning I thought I would take a risk and go with lighter clothing. I wore ankle SmartWool socks and my summer biking capris. I did use my light fleece knee warmers, though. I might be risky, but I ain't stupid. Top wise, I wore a Cami, medium weight Lycra sweatshirt and my fleece jacket. I was actually quite comfortable.

In my backpack (day 2 of commute test for it) I did carry my rain pants, a lightweight summer rain jacket, my extra rain gloves and SmartWool arm warmers. I am liking the Lowe Alpine ND 25 pack. Feels comfortable, carrys the load well, and is quite stable while riding. I am thinking this may be my primary commuter pack and I'll save the messenger bag for when I am doing biking errands, as the messenger bag is easier to get into. I've also started using a small, REI Tara City Bag to hold wallet and stuff. I put this into the front section of my backpack.

What is really nice is I have a bag for my personal stuff if I run out at lunch. Plus, it is the perfect size so I can put my Kryptonite Evolution Mini in the back section. Before the bag, carrying the lock was rather awkward, at best. The cable I just loop across one shoulder so that has never been an issue. I was trying to do the one bag for everything, which is why I started with a messenger bag - just don't like having to transfer stuff all the time, and knowing me, I would likely forget something important. The city bag is small enough so I don't carry too much, but easily fits into whatever primary carry system I am using, and it is always ready with my non-biking essentials.

The ride home was a bit cooler, and the wind from the east had definitely picked up. I was not sure I had enough warm layers, but I did okay. I added 2.5 miles to my solo commute as I made a swing by the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. I was kind of glad, because that was the same route I take when I go to meet Evan at his school, then ride home. It's climb from downtown to home is much more gradual, so I only had to really deal with the wind, rather than both wind and a steeper climb on SE Harrison St.

Of Flats and Internet - Commuting Goes On

Gee, don't realize how much we depend on the internet, until it's gone. While switching providers to gain more speed, there were 4 days of absolutely no internet. Wow! Sure glad to have it all back.

Thursday, January 20, 2011
The commute last week (20th) was, weatherwise, fairly uneventful. Lot's of clouds, as you can see here, and a little cool. Notice how brown the Willamette is? So much rain, lot's of mud, tree debris flowing along. This was taken on the upper portion of the MUP, just east of the Steel Bridge.

I was on my way to meet Evan at school for our ride home. As we were leaving the school, Evan said his bike was pulling to the left. So we stopped just a block away. His front tire was flat! At least it was not raining like my recent flat tire adventure! I got out the tools and took the tire off and we discovered a first -- the stem had completely separated from the tube, plus the tube had, somehow, rotated 180 degrees! How bizarre! Shortly we were back on the road.

The next day's ride home was about the same, slight chance of rain, but mostly just plain grey. Here's another in my on-going series of the Steel Bridge. I guess because it is the biggest landmark next to the work building, plus, I just like all the lines and angles.

Friday, January 21, 2011
Friday (21st) was the first test of using my new Keen shoes only. I did put cleats on and under certain conditions the cleats do crunch on the ground, but it was nice not carrying an extra pair of shoes. I guess I'll have to do a gear review sometime soon. The Keens are definitely not as stiff soled as my normal biking shoes, but that's okay, I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of stiffness for carrying less. Bike commuting is feeling just, well, just normal. Evan is still lovin our joint bike commuting, too.

The weekend was spent replenishing the spare tube supply, getting Evan some new gloves and a neck/face shield. I tweaked my tool kit so it fits into a nice bundle in one of my water bottle cages, but can easily be removed and plopped into my messenger bag. Speaking of messenger bags, I replace the small one with a medium and it is so much easier to carry my stuff. I guess it is spreading the load out more. I like the messenger bag better than a backpack, my back gets less sweaty and it just feels more comfortable. Plus, I think I carry the load lower so it seems to have less impact on my back.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Following a very nice weekend, Monday was pretty nice, too. This was shot through the Steel Bridge (surprise, surprise) toward the Broadway Bridge (foreground) with the Fremont Bridge in the background. I'm still trying to get that just right image using the Steel Bridge as frame. Someday.

Legs are getting stronger and going up the few hills are draining me a bit less. I guess using a bike without super low gearing is paying off, beyond the pure joy of riding my favorite bike.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Okay, catching up to current events. Love seeing the check marks as I log my commutes on the Bike Commute trip log. (I'm sure my doc would love it, too, cuz I'm getting some kind of exercise in daily, ya know, 2 30 minute spins a day.)

I was initially home half day as I needed to be there for the internet installer. Funny, he ran a little late on finishing, so I had to rush to get to work to a meeting. I left at 12:20pm and got in at 1:10pm. Seems no matter how fast I try to go, my ride is about 30 minutes. Not much I can do about stop signs and red lights. Nice in that I rode in my work clothes, fortunately we have a casual dress code, but, hey, still just work clothes.

The evening was really nice, this is a picture of, can you guess?, the Steel Bridge. I love evening/night images. The river looks so calm and you cannot tell it is a rustic brown due to all the run-off.

This is a shot from the same location, just the other direction. 20 rides and each one has had something different about it.

Radac Rides Again

Today was the initial trip riding my favorite bike, Bridgestone Radac, to our new work location! In preparation, I knew it would be high chance of rain, I did add a set of SKS Race Blade fenders and I also transferred the bike lights from my SUB.

I think it was meant to be, because when I got home and was cleaning up the Radac, I noticed the SUB had another rear flat tire. Sheesh, how many is that on that tire now?

What a wonderful ride, rain and all, it has been such a long time since I rode this bike. The most recent was probably one or two commutes back in Septemeber 2010 for the Bike Commute Challenge. I had to spend a little time adjusting, it is such a different feel, basically going from a mini-van to a sports car. The partial fenders actually did a pretty good job of controlling spray, even on the seat stay area, where there was no fender coverage.

It was quite rainy, on and off all day and pretty much on during both directions. Too rainy for a decent photo op, so I'll post an earlier one. This was from the Eastbank Esplanade looking south along the Willamette River.

The Radac has higher gearing than the SUB and I could certainly tell on the way home, I did not have any "bail out" gearing. I think that is also a good thing as it will force me to get stronger.

So far, weather service says tomorrow will be dry, even partly sunny! That will be nice, get to actually enjoy the biking. Tomorrow is also the go in early, then leave early to meet up with Evan after school, then we bike home together.

About to Bring out the Radac Road Bike

For a possibly rainy day, it actually turned out pretty nice. Temperature was mild and the ride in, while dark, was mostly pleasant. The SW, W wind was blowing pretty good.

Rode in with basically my messenger bag just to readjust for when I ride the road bike instead of my SUB. Wasn't bad, back a little sweaty, but I also chalk that up to wearing my rain jacket, which breathes okay. Just dressed a bit warm, probably could have been fine with a fleece jacket.

The Steel Bridge picture was taken midday as I was heading out for my half day off, since Evan is out of school because it is MLK, Jr. day. (Bigger Flikr size here, Big Picture of Steel Bridge) Note the height of the Willamette flowing under the bridge. We have certainly had a lot of rain and several tributaries were at flood stage. I may have to invest in a slightly larger messenger bag, my small, which was purchased more as a large daily purse, may not be quite big enough if I am carrying my rain gear.

Hah! Finally got a picture of Evan riding. This was on the last stretch toward home. I was in front and had the camera in a pouch on my messenger bag strap. I got the camera out and shot "intuitively" (aka blindly). Not too bad. He's a strong rider, lovin' riding with him.

After an afternoon of picking up Evan's friend and doing some airsofting  in Boring, OR, we got home and I started to prep the roadie for it's maiden commute voyage, well, at least maiden to the new building. Still amazes me how light it is when I pick it up (it's about 10 pounds lighter than the unloaded SUB).

Here is the Radac, circa 1989/1990, ready to go. Notice I transferred the headlight, had to make a slight modification to the mounting arms for a just right fit and light beam adjustment. I have also put on some SKS Race Blade fenders, kinda half fenders, so will see how those go. I don't really like fenders on the road bike, but, will see.

I'm about to do some research into a different way to keep the spray down without having to do some much fender adapting. Be nice if it works out.

Well, suppose to have some more rain tomorrow, then we are actually suppose to get some sunshine, that would be really nice. Will make bike commuting even more pleasant, plus I bet there will be a lot more cyclists commuting if we do get some sunny days.

Well, stay tuned and will write about how the road bike and I did on tomorrow's commute.

Appreciate My Employer's Transportation Benefits

Earl Blumenauer's Bike Commute Act Page. Being a new, regular bike commuter, I find myself searching for a variety of information. I found and read about the Bike Commute Act and it reminds me of the pretty cool benefits I have from my employer.

• Indoor, secure bike storage -- I have to say it is pretty nice to be able to roll into somewhere dry and not worry about my bike sitting vulnerable for 8 or more hours each day.


• Lockers and showers -- though my goal is to ride in ready to work, I know others have further to go and do appreciate being able to spruce up for the day.
• Public transportation -- I also have a paid-for TriMet pass which I appreciate as my back up for when I absolutely cannot bike in or if I have a non-repairable emergency. Buses and our light rail, MAX, all transport bikes.

I hope more and more employers take advantage of the benefits to providing their bike commuters with any combination to provide more incentives ($20/commute month, offsetting maintainance of bike storage facilities).

Another Full Week of Bike Commuting

Well, I have to say riding when it is upper 40's and a bit rainy is better than really cold and dry, I've changed my mind from earlier claims.

This is a shot of downtown Portland from the pedestrian/bike bridge over the rail tracks to get to the Eastbank Esplanade and the Steel Bridge.

I am not quite sure why I like the image, I just do, I guess. I think maybe some of it has to do with looking like a mosaic or mosaic type reflection, though you are just looking through the safety fencing.

Evan and I do seem to have our prep patterns down and can get out the door pretty efficiently. We also have our landmarks down so when we get to that certain point, it's like, "gosh, we are almost there, already."

For me, it's like getting to live one of my big wishes, to be able to commute daily. I am glad Evan has wanted to and enjoyed biking to school. He says it helps wake him up.

While not on the bike or a bike route, this is a picture of the Portland sky from my 5th floor at work. I liked the clouds pattern, the light, and the interplay of buildings and nature. I've been using my new little Canon PowerShot camera, keeping it handy even on the bike.

I took this closer shot of those same clouds as in the wider picture above. Just something about the lightness, wispiness compared the framing, darker, thicker clouds I suppose.

Will see what the ride home brings ... to be continued.

Ride home started a little earlier so I could ride down to Showers Pass headquarters. I had emailed them a question about my wet knees the other day and talked to them on the phone today. They said I could stop by to so they could check to make sure the knee vents had the seam tape (apparently there were some issues with some of their rain pants).

Seam tape there, so we agreed I would just keep an eye on things. The most likely cause the other day was lots of rain, I was squatting for quite some time to fix the multitude of flats, which pulls on the material. Since it was only one time, likely a "user" error, hahaha.

Love the service from Showers Pass, and really love that they are a local Portland company. Their stuff is worth the money, as well as you are buying some amazing customer service.