Test Ride

Trade your car for a bicycle? probably not, but it’s fun to commute some. Unless of course your commute involves chasing Sean back and forth across the Palouse. The intensity is a bit more than I customarily use but it’s better than time-trialing. At least I get some mileage as well as a high intensity workout.

Test Drive: Trading In The Car For A Bike

Published July 16, 2008 by CBS News
by Kelly Wallace

When I was assigned a story for tonight’s CBS Evening News with Katie Couric on bike commuting – how more Americans are getting to work on two wheels instead of four due to gas prices – I had a couple of questions. A few were serious, one somewhat vain. Who is really doing this? Could it be the start of a new trend? Is it safe? (Biking on New York City streets is not for the faint of heart!) Should I consider commuting by bike? And now to the superficial inquiry – what do you do about helmet head?

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Commuter Pack

Sometimes you need a little extra carrying capacity.–Corrie

or the past couple months the SealLine Urban Backpack has been my goto bag for commuting and trekking in general. The bag has gone through rain, pouring rain, very hot 100 degree days and a couple off road crashes. Still, it looks close to new, no damages to the water protect material and I think the “air bag” that it makes when closed saved me a couple times.

Read the review and see more pictures.

10,000 mile challenge or let’s just say 9600.

Okay, now I’ve got it correct. A couple of last minute corrections came in yesterday reducing our total mileage. Darn. What’s most interesting to me is not how close we came or didn’t come. That doesn’t really matter.

We never expected to have every cyclist we knew participating. What interests me is that so many really don’t keep any track of their mileage.

I find that hard to understand. I’ve got logs going back to the late 70s noting my running miles and routes. It just goes to show we all have different reasons for cycling. For some, it is the competition. For others, its the spinning along on grass lined trail spotting the birds; for others its exploring back roads under full pack with only the sketchiest idea of where you’re going; for some its pounding down a single track dodging brush and hopping logs.

For me it does often come down to the miles. I love being on my bike. I love being out all day long with nothing to do but make the pedals go around. I feel younger, stronger, leaner. I’m not interested in how fast I can go but I do like to go fast for me pushing my upper limits.

But I confess that if I weren’t shooting for a mileage goal, I’d slack off on the distance and probably the frequency. For me, getting out must be a goal or I’m likely to remain in my LazyBoy. “I just can’t find the time,” I’ve heard people say. That’s what would happen to me without mileage goals. I’d find reasons to do something else: Oh, the wind’s too bad, looks like rain, too cold, too hot, too hilly, don’t feel energetic, too busy.

But planning my rides around a weekly mileage goal often gets me out when I’d otherwise stay in. Sometimes I overdo and have a bad ride. More often I return feeling better than when I left and full of plans and routes to get my mileage goal for the week.

This week is a down week. The weather is poor, the White Bird hill climb is a long drive away for a short ride (remember competition and speed aren’t my motivators), we’ve got a midlength ride coming on Sunday and I have no expectation of meeting my mileage goal for the week. It’s a down week for me with little to anticipate for the weekend.

So if you didn’t participate in our challenge, we don’t care so long as you are finding your own reason to stay on the bike. If you have trouble finding the time, try keeping a log and setting mileage goals. It might just help.

Guess I might as well go mow the lawn.–Corrie

	Total	Commuter	Combined
Week 1 May 1-3	602.87	82.3	685.17
Week 2 May 4-10	1649.46	109	1756.46
Week 3 May 11-17	1942.36	666	2616.36
Week 4 May 18-24	1366.32	441	1807.32
Week 5 May 25-31	4134.6	888.1	5408.7
Running total	9695.61	2120.4	11816.01

!0,000 Mile Challenge Results

So it’s done. Technically we came up with only 9,854 miles. But you’ll notice a number of us didn’t record mileage. We know Scott Whitely’s been out there riding but he doesn’t keep a log. Apparently Debbie doesn’t either. So, I’m sure we have the 115 miles necessary to make it 10,000. And that’s a bunch of miles.

Notes: I posted each Monday, closing the entries on Saturday. A number of folks posted after Monday so the week totals do not necessarily reflect what was actually done in that week.

You can take a look at the data which is sorted by cyclist at Googledocs.

Hint, this table looks better if you open In the Spin by clicking on the title or the arrow to the right of the title in the Grazr viewer.

	Total	Commuter	Combined
Week 1 May 1-3	602.87	82.3	685.17
Week 2 May 4-10	1648.46	108	1756.46
Week 3 May 11-17	1942.36	674	2616.36
Week 4 May 18-24	1366.32	441	1807.32
Week 5 May 25-31	4454.6	888.1	5408.7
Running total	9854.61	2193.4	12,048

10,000 Miles In May: Last Chance

We’ve been logging our miles all month in hopes we could document 10,000 miles of bicycle riding. Now I know lots of area cyclists don’t even know we exist but some of you do and you haven’t been logging. That’s okay, just total up your May mileage and post it by Tuesday 6/2/08, tomorrow and it will count.

You don’t keep a record of your rides? Doing so has some advantages

• you too can become a mileage junky–No, but a log does help motivate the cyclist to get out and exercise. No log usually means no ride ’cause it is always easy to put it off to another day. This is usually what people mean when they say they don’t have time to ride. Riding becomes a priority if you have a log.
• Training Plan–Even if you ride for the fun of it, training is iimportant. You can’t enjoy a club ride if you aren’t fit enough to do it. A training plan keeps you from adding too much mileage too quickly.
• Route History–when planning rides, some routes are more interesting than others but it is important to know how long they take when talking to riding companions.
• How did I feel–a log with just a note on how you felt can over the long-haul suggest you are pushing too hard or not hard enough.
• Impress Your Friends–It doesn’t take much to impress the non-cyclilst. Blow ‘em away with your mileage.

Linda is in the no-log camp but even she’s been keeping track this month. For those who want to keep track for the long term a simple notebook works fine but online tools can offer more. Steve offers a well designed simple spreadsheet or you might visiting the many mapping sites that contain log features which I have reviewed. My favorite and the one I use is MapMyRide but you can start looking on the Journals page.

House Bill Includes Commuter Benefit

The bill passed the House is on its way to the Senate. Bicycle commuting is not only getting the obvious gas price related news stories but respect at the highest levels. Thi bill inclludes a  provision for $20 benefit for bike commuting.

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Bicycle Commuter Benefit on House Tax Extender Bill

On May 21, 2008, prior to the Memorial Day recess, the House passed H.R. 6049, the “Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008.” Included in the legislation is a $20 per month transportation fringe benefit for bicycle commuters to cover costs of commuting by bike.

Read the Rest of the story and find a link to write your Senator provided by the League of American Cyclists.

A Bike for Your Kid

Sometimes I think those families out on the Greenbelt aren’t there ’cause Mom and Dad want to ride. They’re riding ’cause they’ve got to get all those kids out of the house. If taking your kid for a bike ride gets you on a bike, great. Let’s make sure those kids have bikes that workk for them, though. –Corrie

Don’t spin your wheels: Pick a bicycle that your child will like

Published May 27, 2008 by theMorningCall.com

The biggest mistake parents make when choosing a bike is getting one that is too big. ”If it’s too big, it’ll be harder for a child to control it,” says Stephen Madden, vice president of Bicycling magazine, which is published by Rodale of Emmaus. ”They could hurt themselves.”

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Buy the Right Bike

If you’re looking for a first bike, here are some tips–Corrie

Bike Buying Tips

Looking to buy a new bike? It can seem overwhelming with all the choices and options out there. But the process can be easy when you work through these guides to help you make a smart decision:

Bike Commuting Links to get you started

Don’t subscribe to Forbes? Neither do I but Forbes published an article about commuting and sited Commute By Bike, a blog dedicated to commuter cycling. As we close out Bike Month, it is fitting to share Commet By Bike’s welcome links covering posts to get you started and keep you commuting.–Corrie

Welcome to New Readers From Forbes

This is a site dedicated to helping the bike commuter get where they’re going safely and efficiently. Here you’ll find tips, product reviews and news on all things related to commuting by bike.

Below are a few links that will help you get started.

Idaho Gas Prices

The Bike Nazi of Boise is back with his ever-irascible opinions. I can’t help thinking about all the homes–not just ranches–but homes that do not look to be working frams–that we saw on the way to Heller Bar a couple of Sundays ago. Sure there are ranches but these are self-contained. I’m talking about those big ol’ shacks we see popping up on both sides of the river. Isn’t it a God-given right to get away from the madding crowd? Gas prices are just un-American, aren’t they? Read the Nazi and be sure to follow the link to the Statesmen article on Idaho gas prices that set him off.–Corrie

Are the good times really over?

Merle Haggard - a favorite of mine - penned a song a few years back by that title. The chorus goes like this:

Are we rollin’ downhill like a snowball headed for Hell?
With no kind of chance for the flag or the Liberty Bell?
I wish a Ford or a Chevy would still last ten years like they should.
Is the best of the free life behind us now, and are the good times really over for good?