#ReplaceBIKEwithCAR

#replacebikewithcar has been trending on Twitter lately, and it's nothing short of amazing.

Round-ups:
Treehugger
Twitter
Ragetweet on Tumblr
(language, y'all. don't say I didn't warn you. but you'll laugh. and cry.)

My favorite Tweet?

#ReplaceBikeWithCar pic.twitter.com/D88kWC4yFK
— JustBikeTbay (@JustBikeTbay) April 5, 2014

Still Coughing, But Improving

I'm feeling quite a bit better, and yet between the wonky weather, this crazy-busy time of year, and my ever-congested chest, I'm just going to post when I have something to say.

Around these parts, it's stubbornly chilly most days, and the April showers have found us. Today has been gray and dreary, but maybe we'll actually get some leaves on our trees already. I feel like everywhere has bloomed but St. Louis this spring. (Vancouver!) (DC!) (Paris!) (ALL NORTH OF ST. LOUIS.) 

Really, we're getting there, but we're dragging our feet.

I'm eager to get on the bike, but almost anxious after four months of letting them get dusty (my last ride was December 1st. Is that possible? Sadly, yes). Perhaps Wednesday offers the weather I've been waiting for?

WedApr 9

65°

49°

Sunny

CHANCE OF RAIN:

0%

 

WIND:

WSW at 8 mph

(Weather.com)

Not yet.

The nearest dream recedes, unrealized.
The heaven we chase
Like the June bee
Before the school-boy
Invites the race;
Stoops to an easy clover
Dips--evades--teases--deploys;
Then to the royal clouds
Lifts his light pinnace

-Emily Dickinson

First, I had to look up pinnace, so let me go ahead and define that for you: "a small vessel used as a tender to larger vessels amongst other things". (Source: Wikipedia)

'Tis spring.  Finally. 
'Tis also, finally, Daylight Savings Time.
Not that it matters...

I have been sick with a terribly unrelenting upper-respiratory virus for the past 3.5 weeks. Combined with a pattern of Wednesday and Sunday ice and snow, I haven't been riding yet at all. I haven't had a day in nearly a month where I haven't encountered a terrible coughing fit that resulted in me feeling light-headed afterward. I've gone to the doctor twice; I have suffered a round of antibiotics, and progress is minimal. I'm just going to have to ride this out... pardon the pun.

In other news, we released the contract on the house we hoped to buy. It was a foreclosure, and we found the seller to be difficult to work with (putting in mildly) and the house needed far more work than we had allowed for in our budget, and honestly, after haggling with the seller for nearly two months, we lost interest. The home was placed back on the market, and immediately taken down, so I suspect someone else has it under contract. That's okay. We'll keep an eye on the market and if something else compels us, then great. Until then, I am 2 miles from a great bike trail, 2 miles from church, and six miles from work. Now if only I can kick this cold...

That said, it's gorgeous outside, and tomorrow, while significantly cooler, looks like it will be clear, so perhaps, if I'm feeling up to it, I'll attempt a ride.

Bicycles and the "Winter Breaking Point"

As a fair-weather cyclist, I've found this winter exceptionally difficult. I think starting this blog has exacerbated things, because as each Friday has rolled around, I've been a little more hard-pressed for blog material when I'm not riding much, if at all (my last ride was in early December; my schedule, daylight, and nice weather have not cooperated to make room for a ride since then - ouf).

And today, they are calling for another 6-8" of snow in our area, with another 1" of ice. Which makes me feel a lot like this:




Yeah.

So, I'm going to listen to the weather and hunker down for a little while longer. No matter how bleak the weather, and how short the days, they are getting longer, and spring is just a few weeks away. A week from tomorrow marks the return of Daylight Savings Time, which, with sunsets currently stretching to 5:30 p.m. and beyond, means riding to work will be an option when mild mid-week weather presents itself. So the riding posts will begin again, and I can start blogging about bicycling again, and soon.

Someday, this winter will. end.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Best wishes to you on this Valentine's Day - hope you are spending it with someone (or doing something) you love.  

Also: this is adorable.

Also-also: this little bit of warmth makes me smile on this very slushy day!

Free hot cocoa for car-free commuters at Tower Grove and Shaw until 9 am! #bikethelou @STLMetro pic.twitter.com/daIzPSK3E1
— Trailnet (@Trailnet) February 14, 2014

A Funny Story

I spoke with a local paper this week about commuting to work by bicycle in St. Louis County for a story they are planning to run about Complete Streets.

Paper: "Do you commute regularly?"

Me: "Uh, no. I'm what you might call a 'fair-weather' commuter."

P: "Did you ride this week?"

Me: "Have you been outside? No."

P: "Are you planning to ride to work this week?"

Me: "See answer to previous question."

P: "Do you know anyone who is planning to commute to work this week in St. Louis County?"

Me: "See answer to previous question."

This is what my street looked like on Tuesday morning...

The roads were much better by Wednesday (with snow still encroaching on most lanes, and totally obscuring bike paths and shoulders, even on arterial roads), and Thursday we woke to more fat, slippery, slushy, icy snow in the region. This morning brought reports of mist and black ice. No thanks - I'm just not that adventurous, though a major hat-tip to those of you who are -- be careful out there. 

I am exaggerating the conversation for the effect of this post, but this was the gist of it. The conversation was perfectly lovely, and I'm so looking forward to seeing County streets become more multi-user-friendly, and reports and discussions will only help this happen. Despite the fact that I couldn't help them find a cycling commuter who is riding to work this week, I was able to share what I love and loathe about my commute to work. I'll be looking for the story, and will post it here when it's available!

Quiet Winter Days

Hi there,

I know it has been quiet on the blog lately. My days have been long on activities, but short on light, and I don't have a lot to report on the bike front. I want to post things which are interesting or beautiful or useful for anyone reading, rather than filler. So things may be quiet as we embrace the winter solstice and hunker down for Christmas in my corner. I'll be back and posting as I have more to report. 

A few anecdotes...

I am reading, and enjoying, Elly Blue's Bikenomics. I will post a full report when I finish the book. 

Melissa has published her report on the Great Rivers Greenway bike infrastructure program of last month. 

My mom recently found a bright yellow Columbia jacket from when I was in college. I think this will be a  great commuting jacket in the winter and spring. 

I have inspired a fellow cycling enthusiast to ride to our choir rehearsals! He has been really fabulous about using two wheels instead of four to travel the short distance between his home and the rehearsal venue, and we have fun chatting about bikes and lights and what to wear while riding. I hope to return to the shorter commutes soon, too. I miss riding, and he is excited to see the updated Motobecane (one of his bicycles is a 60s Raleigh).

Finally, and who knows what will come of it, but the husband and I have been chewing on a possible move at some point. I currently live 2 miles from church and 6 miles from work. I'd love to shorten the work route without drastically lengthening the ride to and from church, though those neighborhoods are few and far between. It's been exciting to contemplate a shorter work commute, though--I can afford a longer ride to and from church, and would be able to ride to work much more regularly if I could make riding and driving more interchangeable, time-wise. When it takes 15-18 minutes to drive vs 50+ (!) to ride, and especially with night falling at 4:30pm, it's been way too easy to be lazy and take the car. 

However you're spending these winter days, wishing you warm and cozy ones, happy holidays, and the best as we head into the New Year.

The World Looks Different When You Ride

This past week has been a mixed bag, as far as bicycling goes. 

The Good:

I mentioned my "stable" post in and by Bikes for the Rest of Us, and got some great feedback from the post's authors about how to adjust my hub gearing on Fleur (Linus Dutchi) in order to fit my riding needs better.

I've been in touch with my LBS about making this change, and about the work needed to Julek (90's Trek 8000) and The Radish (70's Motobecane 10-speed).

Here's the starting plan for the bikes:

• Adjust the ring from 22 to 18-tooth to adjust second gear on Fleur.
• Give The Radish the attention it needs - new brake hoods, a once-over.
• Julek needs to have a crack in the shock looked at; not sure yet if I'll keep the shock or return to the original fork (I still have it).
• Julek needs some smooth tires.
• The Radish and Julek need fenders and small rear racks.
• The Radish needs serious wheel love. The spokes are loose and wheels are out of true.
• The Radish needs some reflectors, too, to be compliant with current law.
• Kickstand upgrades for everyone.

I will start with The Radish, then Julek, then Fleur, since that's the order in which they are rideable. Which brings us to...

The Bad:

Can we talk about daylight savings time? I have never been profoundly affected by daylight per se. I love rainy days, and as long as things are green and lush and moist, I'm happy. I get far more bummed out by days when it's miserable to be outside - freezing and grey, or hot and brown. Truly, I blame Portland for ruining things with evergreens and mild temps year round.

This year, the end of Daylight Savings Time hit me like a ton of bricks, because it effectively meant that, even with mild weather, to commute to and from the office, I'd have to commit to riding 6(+) miles in rush hour traffic in the dark. And, at least at my current comfort level, I can't.  I struggle with the ride home during rush hour in the best of circumstances, and I need more than a blinking red light and an awesome headlight to get me over this. Like a body-suit made of reflective-coated titanium or something, I don't know. That said, sometimes on Fridays I can scoot a little early, and that may buy enough daylight to make the occasional winter ride possible. So don't totally give up on me. Plus, riding to and from church and local businesses is still very much a possibility, because those are often daylight-hour activities, even as the Winter Solstice approaches. 

The Ugly:

If I am often busy, November presents a special challenge, due to NaNoWriMo, in which I have participated most years (and I am determined to win this year; I won in 2009). Nano collided with an already-busy schedule last weekend and I basically spent Saturday and Sunday running around like a crazy person. The chief (or at least, most relevant to this blog) implication of this is that I have officially "failed" coffeeneuring, in that I could not find time for a challenge-worthy bike ride at any time during Saturday or Sunday. However, I've been assured that continuing without winning is still grounds for submission and cheers, so I will try to coffeeneur this weekend and on future weekends. I do so like the this is not about speed or distance or getting somewhere; it's about biking leisurely to a leisure activity vibe of the thing. I want to celebrate that, especially since it is so much more accessible to me right now than  distance rides, night rides, and commuting to work.

The Game-Plan:

I will use these long, dark nights to provide the incentive to get the remaining bicycles up to speed, to seize the opportunity to ride on weekend days, and to find space an time in my schedule to breathe... and ride.

The Silver Lining:

Out of frustration comes (if you're looking for it) insight. 

On a practical level, I've determined that I need a paper calendar. I love my phone's calendar for its ability to remind me of things with alarms, but I have the terrible habit of checking only to see if I am free for the specific window requested of me, and not considering the larger picture (what the rest of the day, weekend, or week holds for me). I'm a visual person, so this isn't really a surprise, but I hadn't thought about it until my overbooked calendar caused me to miss out on something I really enjoyed and wanted to do (ride my bike to a coffee shop without feeling awful and rushed).

On a philosophical level, my feelings about my car are changing. I don't know if it was the recent hybrid eclipse, but people have been driving so recklessly that I've come to resent my car commute something fierce.  I'm paying much closer attention to how I feel when I'm driving, versus how I feel on the bicycle. And it's marked. My stress levels, so long as I permit myself to have adequate time to reach my destination without rushing, are low-to-nonexistent on the bike. But in the car, I can't control that nearly as easily, because I am a driver, and can't just choose side streets to interact with pedestrians or the sounds of nature instead of stop-and-go arterial or inner-belt nonsense. I'm paying attention to these things.

If I can't ride consistently, at least I can share.

Here are some great bike links I stumbled across this week:

If I ever think something "bikey", Commute by Bike posts about it shortly thereafter.
Tips from the cycling sloth... 

And, thanks to Melissa @ Her Green Life, I've been thinking a little extra about what I want in bike infrastructure lately, which has resulted in some very interesting ready about old freeways and bike lanes.

Are you in St. Louis? Are you interested in bike infrastructure in the community? If so, please make note of an upcoming event by Great Rivers Greenway in which the Bike Plans from three bike-friendly communities will be presented. It's an all-morning event next Wednesday, 11-20-2013 from 830pm-130pm. Admission is $15. I hope to go, but it will truly depend on my work schedule that day. 

Finally, who doesn't love a little Bikeyface? Let's look at her new posters. I am such a fan of the top poster with the three different bicycles.

That's all from me this week. 
Here's to riding - whenever and however it suits us, so long as we ride!

Random Thoughts and Busy Days

Holy busy days, Batman.

I have a million things I could have written for this post, but no time in which to write. Weekend travel, Thursday rehearsals, and busy-ness at work are conspiring against me, but such is the slide into the holidays -- somehow it affects everything, n'est-ce pas?

Light riding week for me, but big week for bike news. This past weekend I went to Kansas City to visit family and had the chance to get back on the mountain bike, on which I did a nice little 5mi street-and-trail ride that made me think more favorably about the suburbs than I usually do. My brother lives about as close to a lovely little trail as I do to Grant's trail, but his trail was empty. Seriously, in five miles, I think we saw four people. For better or worse, I can hardly get over 5mph on some stretches of Grant's (especially by the farm) because people love to use the trails and parks in St. Louis. To be clear, I'm not complaining. Use means we're more likely to get MORE TRAILS, rather than face resistance to our requests for this sort of infrastructure.

I also picked up my mom's old 1970s Motobecane 10-speed, which is in surprisingly good shape for a bicycle that has been hanging out in a garage attic for decades. No rust, some scratches and missing paint (my brother and I are almost certainly responsible for this during our adolescence), gorgeous brazed joints and badging, and new tubes, tires, and brake pads thanks to my handy brother. I love the look of the gumwalls he picked. Good brother. :)

So, here's my complete stable:

I have names for each of them.
UPPER: The Radish
MIDDLE: Julek
BOTTOM: Fleur

Julek is a dude. Mostly because he told me so.

Ten-speed derailleur (2+5) w/downtube shifting
21-speed derailleur (3+7) w/thumb shifter
Three-speed internal (1+3) w/grip shifter

The 10-speed needs: wheel to be trued, spokes to be tightened, brackets to be checked. 

The MTB needs - surprisingly little, but I found a tiny crack in in one the mounting spots on the Rock Shox. Does anyone know if this is a big deal? My brother didn't think so. I know I have the original fork if they are shot, but would probably need to repurchase the appropriate headset to swap them. 

The Linus might benefit from different or additional gears. I'm totally on the fence about whether to mess with her at this point.

I plan to add, at a minimum, kickstands to The Radish and Julek, and to swap a single-footed kickstand to a double-footed one for Fleur, since she's my basketed friend. I'd like to get fenders and small rear racks for the 10-speed and MTB; the 10speed has an eyelet on her rear-wheel that makes me think this was contemplated from the start. KISMET, I TELL YOU.

In stable news, Bikes For the Rest of Us, a great bicycle resource blog with numerous reviews and multiple contributors, featured my stable on its website. They are looking for stories about your bike(s) and why you chose it/them. Please find them if you wish to contribute. 

Out of town this weekend, but I'll end this on a caffeinated note: I recently started following @coffeeneur (Chasing Mailboxes, otherwise known as Mary G) on Twitter, and she (of the DC area) talked me into participating in a "coffeeneuring" challenge, which at this point, boils down to riding my bike at least 2mi round trip to get a cup of coffee and nibble at a local coffee shop SEVEN distinct times on SEVEN distinct weekend (non-work) days before 11/17. Which means, coffee Sunday, Nov 2, Nov 3, Nov 9, Nov 10, Nov 16, and Nov 17 to "win". More info here if you'd like to join up, but with one of the few remaining weekends upon us, time is of the essence. 

Finally, I just received this AMAZING bumper sticker for my car (designed by Elly Blue, of Everyday Bicycling, Bikenomics, and Taking the Lane). If I can find 32 seconds, it's so going on that 4-wheeled thingamajig I also use to get around.

Cheers and happy riding! xx

Ninety-Degree Weather and a Mantis

This has been a disappointing week, in terms of biking. Heat and humidity have returned to St. Louis (hopefully, temporarily), I spent the first part of this week not feeling well enough to bike to work, and the rest of it not being able to control my schedule enough to allow me to bike to nearby meetings, or attend this month's bike events, and I am generally frustrated as a result. I am really looking forward to autumn weather...and settling into the routine. We'll see if it shows up in September, or if St. Louis offers us an Indian Summer that stretches into late October (hardly uncommon).

In the meantime, I offer you an amazing photo of a praying mantis on ferns (source, other great photos).