Getting in better shape, it seems. Rides to work are averaging less than 25 minutes, door to door. I'm also pretty much warmed up, but not lathered up upon arrival. Colder weather also helps, too. Rides home have been shaved down to 30 minutes. I plastered DOT red & white reflective tape on the bike, and plan to add another blinky for safety. It's getting darker sooner, and I'm getting used to riding in the dark, something I've never done very much.
I'm more used to the Xtracycle, and am continually surprised at how well it handles. I push it harder and harder and it seems to pretty much do what I ask. Rode with my wife on the snapdeck this weekend, just cruising up and down our street, but that also went well too. I can see how it would work well downtown, but there's no way I could pull any heavy load back up the hill to my house w/o an electric assist setup (or an aneurysm).
Basically, the riding is starting to become my new normal, and all the "unknowns" seem to have been explored- routes, traffic, locking, handling, gear, loads, etc. It's incredibly liberating to know I can get anywhere around here by my own power. I initially thought I'd need an assist setup, but I'm glad I've done without thus far. When I start delivering my twins to preschool 5 days a week, a Stokemonkey will definitely be in order. For now, it's old fashioned muscle power, and it's fabulous.
Thus far: September through mid-October, averaging 2 round trips to work per week, 8 trips total, 88 miles, 2760 vertical feet climbed, and 120 pounds of CO2 saved by not driving. Plus, I've lost 5 pounds too, with no change in eating habits (mmm, beer).
Monday, October 12, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Drafting a bus downtown and drive thrus... on an Xtracycle
Rode Tuesday and Thursday this week, and interesting things abounded. Tuesday the wind was steady West at 15mph- riding to work seemed to be "uphill" the whole way. Riding home was like I had an extra pair of legs under me. Average time to work (5.5 miles) has been 25 minutes, today was 35. Average time home has been taking usually 35 minutes with that mongo hill at the end of my ride- today it was only 25! Backwards day, sort of. Awesome.
Today it was colder, breezy, but nothing out of the ordinary. However, I had the great fortune to catch a senior citizen bus at an intersection in the city going my way. Serendipity intervened and the bus and I hit all the green lights for about 7 or 8 blocks, so I cruised behind the bus the whole way at about 25-30mph almost effortlessly. One of my greatest adrenaline rushes of all time is drafting a bus, dump truck, van, or any similar vehicle in city traffic, you can fly and people wonder what the (*&(*& just zipped past them.
I got a lot of weird looks from pedestrians, possibly surprised to see a) an Xtracycle, and b) that such a huge bike was hurtling past them directly behind a bus. I was grinning like a madman. I pulled up beside the bus at an intersection, the bus turning right, I was going left. When the driver looked over at me, she jumped when she saw me, since she had seen me pull behind 8 blocks back nd probably assumed I was long gone. She realized what I had done and gave me a grin and a thumbs up.
On the way home I detoured to Rite Aid and pulled the Xtracycle into the drive thru lane. After a car pulled away, I eased up to the window, and the clerk was obviously surprised to see some weirdo on a bike with a helmet on instead of the usual SUV clad suburbanite. Funny thing was a colleague of mine from my college walked up to the counter inside the store and was equally puzzled when he saw me, it took him a minute to figure out what I was all about, then he gave me a big smile. The clerk was nice to me and helped me, and off I went.
Saw another colleague of mine and his significant other en route home, took them a minute to recognize me, and two blocks later, ran into another friend of mine and her friend, stopped to chat. Not easily possible in a car, for sure. Just about home, I looked up into the shrubs along the road (try doing that at 40 mph) and saw three birds nests I never knew were there.
The things you can do on a bike/xtracycle that you just never get in a car. Great week.
Later!
Today it was colder, breezy, but nothing out of the ordinary. However, I had the great fortune to catch a senior citizen bus at an intersection in the city going my way. Serendipity intervened and the bus and I hit all the green lights for about 7 or 8 blocks, so I cruised behind the bus the whole way at about 25-30mph almost effortlessly. One of my greatest adrenaline rushes of all time is drafting a bus, dump truck, van, or any similar vehicle in city traffic, you can fly and people wonder what the (*&(*& just zipped past them.
I got a lot of weird looks from pedestrians, possibly surprised to see a) an Xtracycle, and b) that such a huge bike was hurtling past them directly behind a bus. I was grinning like a madman. I pulled up beside the bus at an intersection, the bus turning right, I was going left. When the driver looked over at me, she jumped when she saw me, since she had seen me pull behind 8 blocks back nd probably assumed I was long gone. She realized what I had done and gave me a grin and a thumbs up.
On the way home I detoured to Rite Aid and pulled the Xtracycle into the drive thru lane. After a car pulled away, I eased up to the window, and the clerk was obviously surprised to see some weirdo on a bike with a helmet on instead of the usual SUV clad suburbanite. Funny thing was a colleague of mine from my college walked up to the counter inside the store and was equally puzzled when he saw me, it took him a minute to figure out what I was all about, then he gave me a big smile. The clerk was nice to me and helped me, and off I went.
Saw another colleague of mine and his significant other en route home, took them a minute to recognize me, and two blocks later, ran into another friend of mine and her friend, stopped to chat. Not easily possible in a car, for sure. Just about home, I looked up into the shrubs along the road (try doing that at 40 mph) and saw three birds nests I never knew were there.
The things you can do on a bike/xtracycle that you just never get in a car. Great week.
Later!
Monday, September 21, 2009
Long bike... even longer trailer
Last Friday my boys wanted to go to the playground. There is no way I could haul them, my bike, and their trailer up the hill to my house, so I cheated and loaded them and my stuff in my truck and drove 2 miles to the bike path by the river. We loaded up the Xtracycle with toys, lunch, clothes, and potty training supplies, and were off. We ended up at a playground a few miles away, and they ran around til they were nearly incapable of walking. Snacks and a picnic were had by all, and we loaded up and rode back to the car. "I like bike rides, yeah, me too" were clearly heard from the peanut gallery I was towing behind me. That was the highlight of the trip for me.
On a technical note, the Xtracycle initially proved challenging to attach my trailer as it had been intended- at the rear wheel axle. I intend to make a double seat setup for the snapdeck as many have done on the internet, but for now this works. Turns out attaching it to the rearmost part of the X, where the Freeloader frames join the Freeradical frame works fine. In fact, it was way smoother than the original bike had been with a trailer. The tail wags the dog no more. It's just LONG.
Worked great, kids loved it, I'm a happy rider. Life's good.
Second trip...
Today I completed the second trip to & from. Felt less like an idiot and more comfortable with the equipment and the route. Made it driveway to bike rack in 25 minutes flat, return trip in 35 minutes ride time. Felt much stronger and better able to tackle my hill. Didn't have to do much delaying or resting going up today- just went straight up, non stop.
In two rides I've had two drivers nearly turn into my path. Reminds me how careful one needs to be in an area where cyclists are rare... drivers just don't see you. I am riding in daylight still, just before dusk, but I still have my flashers on front and rear. I've actually seen drivers pull up to the road and react to the light first, then focus back and see me. Definitely important- like daytime running lights for cars, same principle.
In the same two rides, however, I think I said "hi" to at least a dozen different people, smelled different foods being cooked in neighborhood kitchens along the way, and seen back alleys and tucked away corners of neighborhoods I've never seen in the nearly 10 years I've lived here. It's wonderful. Never would you experience that in a car. It must be good for me and these people at a basic human level- positive fellowship with perfect strangers in one's community simply because our eyes met while we were within hearing distance of each other and felt compelled to at least acknowledge each other's presence.
Hope to ride at least once more this week... will check back and see.
In two rides I've had two drivers nearly turn into my path. Reminds me how careful one needs to be in an area where cyclists are rare... drivers just don't see you. I am riding in daylight still, just before dusk, but I still have my flashers on front and rear. I've actually seen drivers pull up to the road and react to the light first, then focus back and see me. Definitely important- like daytime running lights for cars, same principle.
In the same two rides, however, I think I said "hi" to at least a dozen different people, smelled different foods being cooked in neighborhood kitchens along the way, and seen back alleys and tucked away corners of neighborhoods I've never seen in the nearly 10 years I've lived here. It's wonderful. Never would you experience that in a car. It must be good for me and these people at a basic human level- positive fellowship with perfect strangers in one's community simply because our eyes met while we were within hearing distance of each other and felt compelled to at least acknowledge each other's presence.
Hope to ride at least once more this week... will check back and see.
Monday, September 14, 2009
First ride
Today was my first ride to work. Made it there from home in 30 minutes, door to door. Takes 20 by car. Was tricky planning what clothes to bring, etc, but all worked out. Coming home I forgot to keep track of ride time, but noted that it only took an hour to ride home, shower, and eat. So probably wasn't more than 35 minutes home despite the uphill climb.
Ride description- mostly flat to gently rolling, but first or last 1.5 miles is a hill that represents almost 300 feet of descent/climb, some of it at up to 27% grade.
Some brief musings on car vs. bike impacts:
11 miles round trip in 1994 Dodge Dakota @ 14mpg = 15 lbs carbon dioxide emitted to atmosphere.
(Based on EPA estimate of 1 gallon of gas combusted creates 19lbs CO2)
4 trips per week * 16 weeks in a semester * 15 lbs CO2= 960 lbs CO2
960lbs CO2 *2 semesters = 1920
Bike: Zero smog, zero noise, zero oil drips, zero PM (particulate matter) emissions.
Reasonable estimate is that I reduce my CO2 emissions by half if I ride 50% of the time. Hopefully I can ride more than that, but we'll start small.
Ride description- mostly flat to gently rolling, but first or last 1.5 miles is a hill that represents almost 300 feet of descent/climb, some of it at up to 27% grade.
Some brief musings on car vs. bike impacts:
11 miles round trip in 1994 Dodge Dakota @ 14mpg = 15 lbs carbon dioxide emitted to atmosphere.
(Based on EPA estimate of 1 gallon of gas combusted creates 19lbs CO2)
4 trips per week * 16 weeks in a semester * 15 lbs CO2= 960 lbs CO2
960lbs CO2 *2 semesters = 1920
Bike: Zero smog, zero noise, zero oil drips, zero PM (particulate matter) emissions.
Reasonable estimate is that I reduce my CO2 emissions by half if I ride 50% of the time. Hopefully I can ride more than that, but we'll start small.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
the project bike- late 1980s Gary Fisher Mt Tam plus 2009 Xtracycle Freeradical longloader kit
New monster bike parked next to some old iron. 1994 Dakota 4x4, averages 15mpg or so around town. 5000k annually, so hardly driven, but thirsty and polluting just the same.
Front view, with riser handlebars, new Vbrakes, etc. Rides like a limo, but one you have to propel yourself. Long wheelbase makes smooth, easy to ride a straight line. Cool stuff. No loads yet to report on.Below is the final product under a full moon in the beginning of the Pennsylvania fall. Plans are to document rides, functionality, carbon saved, and physical benefit gained. Stay tuned!
-r
.
Welcome to the world of low-footprint thinking.
Welcome, this is my first foray into the blogosphere, so forgive the blunders along the way.
I'm a professor of environmental science and anthropology at a college in Pennsylvania, and teach about issues related to sustainability almost daily.
I decided a few years back that I would slowly work elements of my teaching into as much of my real life as possible, and start calculating the impact that these changes have in comparison to the average American and their lifestyle.
Go to myfootprint.org and calculate your environmental footprint- mine, despite composting, energy savings in the home, home gardening, buying all meat from local growers, etc, still came out to be 4.9 planets if all humans lived the lifestyle equal to mine.
This is untenable.
My first target for major change is transportation: I only live 5.5 miles to work, and have decided to start cycling instead of driving my old Dodge Dakota (@14mpg). Granted I drive it so little (less than 5k/yr) it pales compared to what many Americans do, it still is a lot of gas and pollution.
Enter the Xtracycle. The good folks at this great company make an awesome product for commuting by bicycle- the FreeRadical. You can go with complete bikes, but I had a really cool vintage mountain bike I wanted to re-use (again, less consumption = smaller carbon footprint). Check out the photos in the next post for the build project and final product.
Cheers!
R
I'm a professor of environmental science and anthropology at a college in Pennsylvania, and teach about issues related to sustainability almost daily.
I decided a few years back that I would slowly work elements of my teaching into as much of my real life as possible, and start calculating the impact that these changes have in comparison to the average American and their lifestyle.
Go to myfootprint.org and calculate your environmental footprint- mine, despite composting, energy savings in the home, home gardening, buying all meat from local growers, etc, still came out to be 4.9 planets if all humans lived the lifestyle equal to mine.
This is untenable.
My first target for major change is transportation: I only live 5.5 miles to work, and have decided to start cycling instead of driving my old Dodge Dakota (@14mpg). Granted I drive it so little (less than 5k/yr) it pales compared to what many Americans do, it still is a lot of gas and pollution.
Enter the Xtracycle. The good folks at this great company make an awesome product for commuting by bicycle- the FreeRadical. You can go with complete bikes, but I had a really cool vintage mountain bike I wanted to re-use (again, less consumption = smaller carbon footprint). Check out the photos in the next post for the build project and final product.
Cheers!
R
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