Saturday, June 30, 2012

114. Trendy

The bike stand at one of my work places was overflowing yesterday.  It's a crummy rack, picked up I guess, from a local bike-banning school.

When you consider that several hundred people work at this site, it's not so impressive.

But you gotta start somewhere.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

113. Rain tomorrow? Nah.

Starting a 24 hr shift means having to figure out what I'll need for the ride home the next day. With full optimism derived from the recently arrived summer status and looking at a forecast of moderate temperatures and a partly cloudy sky, I rode in yesterday with just bike shorts and a long-sleeve T.

And got soaked coming home this morning. I did have a pair of gloves stuffed in a pocket, and an extra long T at work so I was layered, so to speak.  But as for the "summer" rain, I'm not sure that 55ยบ qualifies.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

112. Hi Tech Commuting


I don't always cycle; running takes longer (turning a 3 hr daily commute to almost 4) but a good change.  Problem with running is the back pack, with its keys and clothes and wallet and reading material for the bus.  It's not the weight of the pack, its the up and down jostling or to avoid the latter, the tight straps.

Enter the nano and the weekly free city newspapers.  When the latter arrive in the newsstands on Thursdays, they keep me occupied on the ride in;  phone apps on the ride home and the nano while cyclin. The weight of the phone is not negligible but so much less than the cassette and DVD players from the last century.

Running without a back pack.

Freedom.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

111. Pick Your Battles

Circulating the green and cycling blogospheres is this question:

Who is better for the environment: the Pruis-driving vegan or the meat-eating bicyclist?

Not quite up to Is God Dead? but still worth some thought.

By one analysis the vegan wins, but some critics have objected that if one were in to include the environmental costs of car and fuel production/disposal, then the pendulum swings back to the cyclist, even more so if the latter avoids beef.

Meanwhile, back in Seattle, on July 1st, another environmental question will fade into history: Paper or plastic? to be replaced by, "Did you bring your own bag or do you want a paper bag for 5 cents?"

Conclusion: stash your purchases in your pannier, and ride your bike to church.  Works for me.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

110. Bike to Work Month

Hurray, Bike to Work Month is over.

This idea of encouraging commuters to ride bikes is great...  if it weren't for the competition over the 2 or 3 spaces for bikes on busses.

I got bumped twice in May, first time this year.  Morning is no problem; I start at the run's first stop, and even if I rode up and found two bikers ahead of me, I can always take the train, which on its reverse commute run always has room.

But on the way home, there are distant stops before me and no train late enough.  So I either wait 30 min for the next bus or lock my bike for the night and get on the bus without it.