It's time to commute

[betagirl]

Ok so I got my Trek 1200 back from my friend I loaned it to. She's a convert by the way, went and got herself a new Lemond Tourmalet to replace her ancient Schwinn. I need to get some pedals, a saddle, a good lock and a rear fender which necessitates a ride down to Performance later today My Timbuk2 bag should be here any day now to boot. School doesn't start for a few weeks, but I can at least commute down to where I do research for the time being. Perhaps I'll start tomorrow.

[Lise]

You go, girl! I know it won't break your heart to drop in at Performance, either! L.

[betagirl]

It is a burden....

[CorsairMac]

Wooohooo!!! WElcome to the world of bike commuting!!!


which BTW: I'm working a food stop tomorrow on Nationa Bike to Work Day and I'm planning on wearing my Amici Veloci Kit! Rock ON!!!!!

[betagirl]

My messenger bag is here Going to Performance in a bit.

Yay.

[Trek420]

Except that I have to go back in Saturday I'm off for a bout a week and a half. I rode to downtown anyway for the Bike To Work day SWAG.

Thanks AG for explaining that means Stuff We All Get, i never knew!

The stuff we learn here

Had a decent ride to BART, on the way in I stood next to a construction worker probably does not think of himself as a cyclist. I usualy don't bring the road bike to work and he was eyeing it with obvious curiosity. He had an ancient steel Schwinn which I complimented, he obviously keeps it cleaned, lubed and adjusted. He shrugged (English may not be his first language) he was thinking about another bike Box Store type mountain bike. We had only two stops to go I skipped the "get a helmet" lecture and just said that he had what a lot of people feel is a classic bike, like classic cars. Told him people collect those and fix them up. He was surprised. And it's a near perfect bike for city rides. Complimented him on the work he'd done on it. I left, he was smiling.

Rude folks at the station, hey, if you let me and others GET OUT of the train first before pouring in...

I missed the pancake breakfast by 15 minutes but that's ok. I ran into some old friends including one of my first Aikido teachers, hung out a bit, since I missed pancakes I stopped for coffee and a Danish at the coffee shop near the lake. then headed home.

I was thinking of my alternate route home but glad I took the normal short one. As I got to the bike/ped overpassof the Nimitz the Caltrans workers were there cleaning up! I had been about to send off a "bike hazzard" report to EBBC that it was overdue for a cleaning and there they were, trimming the bushes, cleaning the trash, fixing the fence.

They probably think this was silly but I stopped and thanked them for doing that.

Now I'm back home and waiting for the plumber-ah the joys of home ownership.

[Tuckervill]

They probably think this was silly but I stopped and thanked them for doing that.

Gratitude is never wasted.

Karen

[Trek420]

I thought that was "no good deed goes unpunished"

Further thought about the ROS yesterday I'm just glad that as far as we know we were not riding in memory of any of our TE gals.

Although for some we just wouldn't know would we? Like when Katrina hit and we wondered: who's out there, are they all ok? When you look at the ROS website and see the pictures there they could be members here....

Anyway...we've had some crashes this year, some serious, a little road rash, some near misses, some of them bad enough to make us give a long hard thought about riding again...let's be careful out there TE gals.

Here's to a safe year.

[betagirl]

Alright, I made it to Performance and got some stuff. All I want to know right now is WHO invented those gel seat cover things? And WHY did I ever buy one? My Trek has an old saddle on it that's banged up, so before I loaned it out my boyfriend would use it and he likes padding. I had an old gel cover thing from my mountain bike, so I put it on for him. I rode 30 miles today on that thing and OH MY GOD it's like sitting on a mushy boulder. My crotch is killing me. I got a Terry Racer gel to put on, and I can't wait for my skinny cut out "hard" saddle to be on there. Ugh. And the best was when I went to clip out of my cages. I got some look pedals to put on. And a fender so I don't get the mud stripe when it rains. And a big ol' lock.

I think I need a sitz bath or something.

[Duck on Wheels]

Ah yes, bike to work week. Only I'm off work. So I walked halfway to town again today, took the bus the last 3 miles, then walked around town with UK Elephant not finding any suitable clothes for her to wear to a wedding Saturday. I did pick up the bike, but couldn't take the extra time to ride it home because we had to get to the mall and keep shopping.

We did, however, stop long enough at the bike shop for UK to try seats. She liked the Serfas Carma best (if only the detailing had been in red instead of pink ), so I hopped on the trainer and tried it and could hardly get myself to get off. What a difference it makes riding on a narrow seat ('s long as it fits your sit bones well, that is), so much freer leg motion! UK will probably buy it, even though the color doesn't match her bottle cage. I'd need a better bike to put one on first. I think Trek420 plans on taking me out bike testing for my birthday. (No, she's not giving me a new bike, just renting one for me to test.)

UK also tried bike shorts and found one that fit well (Shebeest knickers) but didn't buy it. I found a comfy pair on sale and did buy 'em. Now I have two pair, so there goes that excuse for not riding. Can't say "My shorts are in the laundry." Also bought a lock and a pedal wrench. And UK saw a pair of reversable pedals so she can start riding clipless. Guess we'll have to go back to the bike shop tomorrow for UK's seat and pedals. UK was very jealous that we have so many bike shops here that actually offer SERVICE!

Then it was off to the mall for a skirt and top, and another mall for shoes. We were both worn out by then, so no evening bike ride. But the weather forecast is for bike weather through the weekend. Gotta get some riding in, even if I am doing a 17-mile walk Saturday and having company over for lefse on Sunday.

[tulip]

Commuting to work on a bike is a great way to spend that otherwise-idle time. I've started keeping track of mileage this year, although I've been commuting for 4 years by bike.

So far this year, I've ridden 827 miles from commuting. That's over 75 hours on my bike that would otherwise have been spent in a car on on a metro.

So Happy Bike To Work Day!
tulip.

[Trek420]

Bikeless, if the saddle fits, get it! It's less expensive for UK to get bottle cages that match the saddle like...

and what dates will you be here?

[Duck on Wheels]

Yeah, I suggested she could switch to a pink cage. The bike itself is black. But, like the rest of us from H*ll,* she likes red.

I fly to CA June 26 and leave for Norway July 10. So I'll see you in about a month.

*) I wondered if that'd get asterisked out. It didn't. The whole post got rejected instead. But H*ll actually is just a village in Norway.

[CorsairMac]

I worked a food stop this morning for Bike to Work day. We have over 100 riders stop in and I don't how many more that rode by without stopping. We gave out some cools reflective leg bands and blinkies, had bike path maps there, Einsteins showed up with bagels and Starbucks with coffee! We had a great time and I had fun getting to me some fellow commuters. I also got a cool t-shirt out of the deal - it's designed to help promote our new commuter train! Too bad I don't need it.....course I'll ride it Just to say I did!!


oh............and CA Ladies?....I asked just coz of what I've read here and the RR man told me they were going to allow 4 bikes per car onboard and there would be 4 cars each commuter train. They were also looking into a locker system for ppl bike commuting to the train.

We also had a rep from the city of Albuquerque there to get a head count of bikers using the bike path....there is a very busy, rush-hour ugly crossing right by our food stop and the city wants to put up crossing lights and warning signs to make it safer for cyclists! Go Abq!!!

[Quillfred]

HAPPY RIDE TO WORK DAY!!!!!

As it was, today is a day-off. I still managed to pedal down to a couple of commuter bike stops on the BG trail for a bit of swag. I was feeling rather sheepish until I noticed no one else had the designated commuter slap band on.

They were out of coffee (just as well) but I scored a Clif Shot Lemonade powder, a flashing tail light, Clif bar, commute map, and a water bottle. I didn't buy a shirt as I got one for being captain of our work commute group. I'll volunteer next year if BTWD should fall on friday again.

Note to self: quit turning the derailleur barrel whilst thinking it to be the brake barrel. Oh, a little knowledge IS dangerous sometimes.