For Those About To Commute - We Salute You

Happy Bike Month!  Get your Hallmark cards early, they sell out quick.  May is that magical time of the year when bike commuting percentage rises from .00001% to .001%  It then drops off promptly on June 1st.  Sort of like that dried out Christmas tree still laying in the backyard.

Enough wise-ass comments.  Here in the bike crazy Seattle area, it is cool to see the increase of folks pounding the pedals.  Part of the increase is due to the Group Health Commute Challenge, organized by the Cascade Bicycle Club.  Companies and individuals form teams, mark their progress on the website and go for bragging rights.  Trips and mileage tracked.  A few thousand folks signed up for the festivities. Awesome.

For the 9th year now, I've put together my own team at work, and helped organize some other teams - along with other bike minded folks earning a paycheck at the same place I do.  We have 10 teams total for this year, maybe 80 people signed on.  All good clean fun to get people out there.

It also kick starts my alleged fitness level, which after this winter is pretty lame.  I totally fell off the commuting wagon in, uh, November or so. I'm usually the hard core bike commuter, the last two winters not so.  Call me the soft core commuter now, which also describes the 10 pounds gained.  The occasional mountain bike ride and garage trainer session not enough to keep the pounds at bay.

Commuting to the rescue.  100 - 170 miles a week.  Painful at first, then the source of all goodness.  Let the riding begin.

Hakkalugi Tear Down and Misc Bike Rambling

Spring appears to have finally arrived, was 60+ degrees for the commute home on Friday, complete with actual sun. Can't complain about that. I can complain about getting out of work late and the nice headwind all the way home, but I won't. In the grand scheme of things, all is good.

I have officially broken my commuting slump with at least five 100+ mile commute weeks now. Plus mountain biking on weekends. I'm back in the groove. The Commute Challenge is over and my corporate team, Team Jerckx, did okay. Not as good as previous years, but I really don't care. As long as people had a good time bike commuting - that's what counts.



On the ride home Friday, was caught for a few minutes while the University Bridge opened for boat traffic below. This would make a nice ramp, no? Good luck sticking that jump.

I am just a shadow of my former self.

Even while stuck on a bridge, Seattle scenery rocks.

The warm weather continued today with temps in the 80s. Positively summer like. Yes please. Errand running gig most the day. Complete with nice family lunch at my favorite Mexican place.

My supply of bike shorts has dwindled down to my favorite pair being worn thin enough to display my ass to anyone close enough to draft; to other shorts in the collection that are also barely usable for various reasons. So, thought I'd hit a few local places for replacements.

First stop, REI in Remond - no bib shorts at all. Once you go bibs, there's no turning back. Stop two was Sammamish Valley Cycle - just a few pairs to choose from. Nada for me. Ran into a co-worker there picking up a brand new Cervelo. Sweet. Stop three was Perfomance - nada again for me. The search continues - and probably online.

Took time this afternoon to strip down the Hakkalugi, it being in dire need of replacement parts and totally disabled after ripping the derailleur off a few weeks ago. I plan to have Davidson in Seattle straighten out the mangled derailleur hanger and possibly spread the rear spacing to 130 or 132.5 mm. It's currently spaced at 135 mm, requiring a mountain bike rear hub. 130 would allow road wheels, 132.5 would allow road and/or mountain bike hubs to be used.

After the frame repair, the beloved 'Lugi will require new chainrings, BB, chain, cassette, and rear derailleur. The left STI shifter is also flaky as is the cassette hub. Add in new cables and bar tape. Plus, I moved the tires and pedals over to Ian's 'cross bike a few weeks ago. It almost makes more sense to buy a new 'cross bike and sell the Hakkalugi frame on eBay after the repair. I doubt I'll do that though. It's a super cool frame and I've been riding it since 1997.

I'll need to figure something out, since the old Ibis serves as the rain bike. Plenty of room for fat tires and fenders. Something my other bikes lack and really needed for Northwest commuting.

After the tear down, a bucket of Hakkalugi parts remain. Wheels and fenders not shown.

One reason I've always dug Ibis, is 'cause they're a little twisted. Not in this manner though. Man, that's one warped hanger. Should be repairable. Steel is real....bendable. I hope.

The old Ibis stripped down and clean enough for living room rug. Well, at least when the wife isn't looking...

The Hakkalugi will roll once again. Just takes some time and dough. Ouch.

All Around Fluffy Bike Goodness

Yesterday's commute was chock full of fluffy bicycle goodness. Our coldest April on record appears to be continuing into May. A balmy 44 degrees when I rolled out of the driveway, sunny however, not bad at all. Thank you very much.

On the way in, ran into fellow Ibis Guy, Mark, on the trail. He had the full family in tow; with wife and daughter on the tandem, himself on the old school Hakkalugi, and six year old son piloting a brand new Redline - his birthday present that very day. All of 'em headed to work or school via bike. If that doesn't put a smile on your bike lovin' face, nothing will.

After a hectic day at work, complete with internal interview for possible new job, I change into superhero riding costume for the spin home. Sorta like a skinnier, older version of Superman. I also can't leap tall buildings in a single bound or stop bullets with my teeth.



I stopped by the Cascade club shindig along the Burke-Gilman Trail, all part of the Commute Challenge festivities. Picked up my official Team Captain shirt, reflective bands for my team (to potentially win prizes), a few maps and water bottles, plus a free ice tea sample to chug on the ride home. Combined with almost 60 degree sunny weather, many happy faces, and bikes everywhere. How do we stand it?

I played around with camera while buzzing home...

For all my old school "steel is real" blabbering, I really dig my carbon Ibis. Stupid light and rides incredibly well. Carbon fiber really is the wonder material - as in I wonder if the carbon steerer tube is cracked and waiting to explode into shards. Let's not go there...

Living up to my motto: Look Pro. Go Slow.

Legs feel like February. It's May. I have some work to do. My shock treatment training plan in full swing. Go from near zero to 150+ miles a week ASAP. Legs feel like overcooked linguine most mornings. By afternoon, ready to roll. Sorta. A big lunch plate of spicy teriyaki chicken assists with the healing process. I think so anyway (burp).

Sunset over the Sammamish Slough. Not counting the nice steep climb to my neighhorhood, almost home.

With that, we now conclude this installment of bike fluff. Stay tuned for more fluffy installments as time and interest warrants. Same fluff time, same fluff channel.

Back in the Saddle - Part II

To quote an old Aerosmith song, I'm back in the saddle again. Well, commuting saddle anyway. I've been riding on weekends and suffering through the occasional trainer session in the garage; however, the wheels fell off the commuting wagon many months ago. My lamest winter in years. That's been rectified as of today to kick off the Commute Challenge, me being Team Captain of Team Jerckx - that's our official team name - little wordplay on Eddy Merckx. I'd feel kinda lame not rolling it out on kick off day, even if the weather was in the 40s and raining. Yes, a wet 17 miles to work it was.



Commuting Tip #42: Spare PC makes an excellent dryer for wet bike clothes. Disable screen saver and/or hit keyboard throughout the day to keep the heat cranking. Rotate clothes a bit after a few hours for even drying. Presto, warm and dry clothes for ride home. Horrified look on coworkers faces included at no extra charge.

Exhaust fan of PC makes a nifty shoe dryer. Being a Mac fan, I always knew PCs were good for something. Before you get your geek tizzy all lathered up, I've been involved with PC and Mac support for decades now. Pros and cons to both. The old PC does make an excellent shoe dryer however...

The 17 miles home only offered a spritz of rain. I didn't miss the pair of sloshy Sidi shoes at all. Here, my trusty Ibis Hakkalugi rests against a public notice informing peasants a 2 mile stretch of the Burke-Gilman Trail - one of the most used trails in the U.S. - will soon be closed for 6 months for renovations. No detour info provided. Sweet. Besides being my commute route, about a zillion people use this trail on sunny weekends. The summer sounds like a perfect time to close it. Excellent idea. Detours around this will not be easy, since a mixture of confusing and/or busy roads are the only option. For commuting, I'll probably just use the bus lane of the busy road mentioned (no shoulder on this road) and time trial for 2 miles to make it quick as possible. I'm betting other bike commuters will be pulling off the same commando operation.

Now that my commuting slump has been officially busted, let the riding begin. My body says it's February, the calendar says it's May - time to get moving. Ramping up from zero to 170 miles per week (my full commute schedule) takes time. With my lame winter, late start, and Commute Challenge now in full swing - I'll be rushing that pace a bit. It'll be fun and painful at the same time. Let the commuting wheels start rolling.

Missing Teeth, Paris-Roubaix, Commute Team - Combination Plate

I was dreading today - scheduled visit with dentist to get a tooth yanked out - it being cracked beyond repair. Removal also required deciding on how to replace it. Leave a gap, get a bridge, or go for the dental implant. All choices requiring pain and money involvement. No getting around it.

Implant was huge out of pocket cost for me, but I went for it. Doctor and crew did a great job, it's basically minor surgery. Tooth removed, hole drilled into jawbone, titanium screw implanted, bone graft packed, then stitched up and outta the chair in no time. Felt nothing during the process, no pain at all, even with Doc twisting out tooth with expensive pliers, cracking sounds included at no extra charge.

Now a few hours later, numbing drugs long worn off, I still feel great - nothing an Advil can't cover. Amazing. My defective head even feels clearer, gotta wonder how much energy is wasted fighting a busted tooth over the course of weeks - probably months. After some healing time, another trip to the dentist for the artificial tooth, that threads into the titanium post. As mentioned, even with 50% insurance coverage, crazy expensive. That little chunk of titanium now threaded into my jaw, could have been a titanium Moots hanging in the garage. Oh well, gotta have teeth. How else could I chew Clif Bars?

While crashed on the couch for a few hours to recover, finally had time to watch the Paris-Roubaix race I recorded weeks ago on Versus. Paris-Roubaix is one of my favorite races of the year. Road bikes, cobbles, mud and/or dust, much crashing and general two wheeled mayhem and destruction. For the roadie scene, war on wheels. Was fantastic to see non-favorite Johan Van Summeren snatch the win from race favorites, then propose to his girl at the finish line. Great story. Race favorite Fabian Cancellara pulled off a heroic second place finish after a tough race as the marked man. As usual, race commentary provided by the dynamic duo of Paul Sherwin and Phil Liggett. For me, they are the official voice of pro cycling coverage.

Speaking of Paris-Roubaix; caught this cool little film off the Velonews site. Being the former bike mechanic and motorcycle nut, combined with acute bicycle obsession - this pushes all my buttons. Next to racing it, doing moto support for something like Roubaix or the Tour, would be incredible. Where do I sign up?

Finally, the month of May is just around the corner. For the 8th year in a row, I put together a team at work to compete in the Group Health Commute Challenge, put on by the Cascade Bicycle Club. Teams and individuals compete against each other for commuting mileage, most round trips, and other methods of measuring bike commuting goodness. It's a great event and continues to grow every year. I'm coming off my lamest winter in years, so looking forward to getting the commuting miles under my expanding belt once again.

That's all for now bike comrades. Ride on, ride often. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Bike to Work Day

Like the sign says - Today is F5 Bike to Work Day. F5 is a secret code word for Rainy. Today is Rainy Bike to Work Day. Not quite. Not really rainy, just Seattle wet. No secret codes either, F5 is a local IT related company that's big behind bike commuting. Can't argue with that.

I saw only a slight increase in riders today, probably due to the weather. Still, any increase is a good increase - we'll take it. The more the merrier, even on wet pavement.

Two examples of various stations set up around the Seattle area. Free snacks, maps, water bottles, Cologno frames and bags full of small unmarked bills. I lied about two items, see if you can figure it out.

Water bottles as far as the eye can see.

Fellow Ibis Guy, Mark, hides his Hakkalugi in the bushes while he collects free water bottles.

My Hakkalugi rests comfortably in the wet grass, while I collect free Clif Bars.

On the ride into work, it was a like deja vu all over again, catching up with fellow Ibis Guy Mark and his family riding together. Mark pulling trailer with young son warmly inside, his wife and daughter on a Burley tandem. They were dropping the kids off at school, then riding on to work. How cool is that?

For the ride home, shared the way with Burke-Gilman pal Gordon. Semi-fast cruise and conversation made the commute fly. Not a bad way to get home, eh?

Bike to Work Day is part of Bike to Work Month and that means Commute Challenge. At the moment, my team is officially kicking ass. Out 1600+ teams signed up, we're currently in 13th place overall for mileage. And that my friends, ain't too shabby.

Another week or so left to roll for the month. Most drop out of the bike commute scene after May ends. Some will stick with it. Others, like me, are addicted for life.

Roll on.

Into the Swing (Spring?) of Things

Spring has now officially arrived, pretty nice weather for the past two weeks or so. 40s in the morning and 60s in the afternoon. The wacky, windy, wet, 42 degree weather of the past few weeks seems to have disappeared for good. We hope.

I've ramped up my mileage to 100 - 150 miles per week, my usual amount. As the season fully kicks in, I'll occasionally get a 200 mile week on the record books. Most of the mileage is via commuting. Nothing better then riding a bike to work for health and financial benefits, plus all around goodness. Besides the fact it's fun and keeps the mental outlook balanced. And it's a good excuse to own some decent bikes - true?

Man, I'm getting old though - can feel the difference every year. I've ridden somewhat through the winter, but it's never the same as riding during the "season". I'm still in the semi-painful stage of building up some base miles. Some days I'm dragging like a bag of cement. Other days, there's a glimmer of hope and the legs feel sort of okay. It takes me a solid of month (or longer) of riding 100+ miles a week to even feel even sort of fit. I'm getting there.

Bike commuting is good and bad for building up miles. Good in the sense, there's no way I could get that kind of mileage any other way - just too busy with work and family life. Bad in a sense, some days you're toast and ride anyway - probably not recovering enough. Lately, we've still been living with one car, which forces the issue a bit as well. No choice - gotta ride. That's kind of cool though - no?

It also helps out my commute team at work. Pretty strong team and we're doing well in the Commute Challenge. When I checked this morning, we were sitting in 29th place overall for mileage, out of 1000+ teams. Not too shabby, eh?

Riding into work this morning on the Burke-Gilman Trail, talked with some dude riding an older Yeti road bike - titanium. Looked sweet, all bare titanium and white decals. No chance to grab a picture. With the Commute Challenge in full swing, can notice the difference in bike commuters - more of us. Awesome.

On the ride home, stopped by a booth set up by the Cascade Bike Club, on the side of the Burke-Gilman Trail. Music, some freebies, shirts for sale - good to see people out. Cascade is the largest bike club in the U.S. with 12,000+ members. Gives you a hint how bike crazy the Seattle area is. This is really a great place to live, trust me on that.

Big club means official table covers.

Welcome to my tent. Free bike fittings, live music, mingle with fellow bike geeks.

The ultimate commuter. Oh carbon Ibis, how I dig thee.

As been the routine for a few weeks now, I'll ride to son Ian's Little League game or practice on the way home. They play at two different fields. One is directly on the way home, so when the family piles in the car to head back to the house - I continue my ride (and usually beat them home). The other field is out of the way a bit, so I'll load up the bike and share the car ride for the remainder of the trip home. Not a bad set up. Second car? Why bother?

The riding continues tomorrow.....

DO UN2 ME

To kick off the Commuter Challenge that started today, I....uh, drove to work. A nice start to the festivities, no? Woke up super late, drove in to save time - though that plan was foiled by traffic - took me the same amount of time as riding. Plus $8 to park. Nice. That'll teach me.

On the way home however, I was slightly glad to be driving - a rare event. Pouring rain, wind and thundershowers, complete with hail. All with barely 50 degree temps. Joy.

While at work, I attempted to get my commuter team fully registered on the Cascade site - again with no luck. Those dudes have some serious server and application issues. Let's hope it's from a mega amount of people attempting to sign up and killing the server - that would be a valid excuse.

While looking through the Message Boards on the Cascade site, to see how many others are experiencing sign up woes, came across this little story posted by a Cascade club member....

A group of 4 cyclists riding by Mercer Island City Hall were nearly run off the road this morning by an aggressive driver on his way to church. Oh the irony. His license plate was "DO UN2 ME". This occured where the road is three lanes wide; 4 cyclists were riding two abreast by two rows. This minivan pulled alongside our group - almost entirely still in our lane - squeezing the group and nearly causing a crash. He was on the horn the entire time. When I yelled "HEY!!!" he jammed on the brakes like Dr. Christopher Thompson. Moments later, he rolled down his window and pleasant conversation endued.

Be careful out there. This guy almost hurt some people really bad...and couldn't have cared less. Called us "F#cking bicycles", for getting in his way on the way to church. What a messed up world.

The post links to pictures taken by guy who posted the story......

Ironic, no?

Mini van parked out front of church. Now I can see why he was in a hurry - look at the awesome parking spot he scored! Well worth potentially maiming or killing a few cyclists.

I find this story incredulous and annoying on many levels. How can it not? Guy who posted it went on to say he contacted the police and the church. I would have done the same - contact the Pastor of the church and mention this member could use a little talking to. Come on dude, wake up.

In any case, I'm glad no one was hurt, and if you live in the Seattle area - watch out for a silver mini van sporting some personalized plates. Obviously the driver has no idea what the message really means.

Ride safe.

Team Jerkcx Prologue to Baseball - Wha?

The Group Health Commute Challenge is just around the corner - the month of May in fact. It's a once a year gig where companies and individual folk compete against each other for the most bike commuting miles, days biked, and other measurements of fun. It's a friendly competition and excuse to get people exposed to bike commuting. Nothing wrong with that.

I've rounded up a few teams over the years at "the office" and this year is no exception. In the Seattle area, about 20,000 people sign up for this two wheeled shindig, and you can see the increase in bike commuters for the month long event. Super cool to witness.

Last year, our team, Team Jerkcx - a little wordplay on Merkcx - kicked ass in our own company race for the commuting title. We scored the most mileage, thanks to some serious mileage junkies and regular commuters. I'm flattered everyone wanted to be on the team once again, with acting me as Team Captain. Should be a fun May.

With that, I was heading home today on the spiffy carbon Ibis minus fenders, instead of the spiffy steel Ibis with comfy fenders. So of course, it's raining. I stopped to put on a jacket and rain booties, when two fellow members of Team Jerkcx cruised by - Jay and Jamie - so we shared a spontaneous ride home together, since our commutes run the same direction for a few miles. I joked this was the official Team Jerkcx Prologue to kick off the festivities next month.

Jay, fellow IT Geek, has taken up cycling about 2 years ago. He's since gone gaga over riding and has lost 100 pounds. Yes, that's with two zeros. Amazing. His partner in crime, Jamie, has dove in as well and rides quite a bit. She's some sort of graphic designer type at "the office". Both super nice folks and have become pretty strong riders. I think they're hooked for life.

After they peeled off our shared commute route, I continued on in the rain towards my son Ian's Little League game, hoping to catch most of it. Ian is burned out on this baseball gig and came close to quitting last week, but elected to finish out the season. This is our first experience at this Little League deal and the schedule is loopy. They're scheduled to play or practice 4 times a week, with another "optional" practice session at times.

So, we're talking 10+ hours of baseball per week. Unless you're the baseball fanatic, that's a lot of hours for a 10 year old. I find it ironic that Little League actually killed his interest in baseball. Or maybe his interest just ran it's natural course. In any case, we're looking forward to the end of the season. I'm curious to see if he wants to play next year.

To give him additional encouragement, I'm trying to be at every game. I've made almost all of 'em, some impossible due to work reasons. The rest of family however, attends all events - practice and games.

I hit the park/ball field with plenty of time to catch some action. Once at the park, I cut through the woods to save time and passed a couple on mountain bikes. Goofy fun while riding a road bike with 23c tires, dressed like Euro Race Geek, and carrying a messenger bag - in the pouring rain.

I wondered if the game would be rained out, but no - it was in full swing when I arrived - despite the weather. I watched Ian make one good play, which was cool. I was also soaking wet and shivering in bike clothes. 49 degrees and pouring rain, Northwest baseball weather. Since I was now officially in attendance, wife Lori and daughter Amy got to hide in the car with the heat on. I don't blame 'em.

After the game I totally froze my ass off riding home. About a two mile ride, so I never fully warmed up. And yet I still enjoyed it. I am insane.

49 degrees and rain. Perfect baseball weather.

Carbon Ibis shivers against the bleachers.

Another game tomorrow afternoon, as per the crazy Little League schedule. We'll be there, cheering Ian on, probably shivering in the rain. Carbon Ibis however, will be tucked in warm and cozy in the garage. Lucky bastard.

After our baseball commitments, we're hoping to get some dirt miles in on Sunday. I'll take wheels over balls any day.

Hey, now there's a catch phrase to offend people at the field - no? I better keep it to myself.

Ride on.

Commuting 101 - I See The Light

Yesterday at work, some fellow bike commuters and I put on a little Dog 'N' Pony show about bike commuting. Partly a Bike Commuting 101 course and partly to start drumming up participants for the upcoming Commute Challenge in May. We've participated in this event for the last five years or so, with more folks signing up every year. It's a great event and we get loads of companies involved here in the Seattle area.

Even though our little shindig was advertised to 500 or so IT types, and we had close to 100 people signed up for the Commute Challenge last year, only about 15 people showed up for our little talk - complete with PowerPoint presentation. You know it's official when you fire up the projector and start clicking through PowerPoint slides.

We had fun away and it went well. We all brought our bikes into the building (usually frowned upon), talked about differences in design, how to carry clothes, be safe, pick a route, online resources - lots of info packed into an hour. Plus, in a sense we got paid to talk about bikes - can't beat that!

In April, we plan to hold a class on general maintenance and how to fix a flat. Being ex-bike mechanic dude, I volunteered for that as well. Should be fun.

Now that the clocks have changed once again with daylight savings - light after work. Yes! I left work at 6:00 PM and made it home before dark, no problem. Lights can be now be stashed away until the fall.

Even though I do what I can to ride through the winter (some winters better then others), my riding time is probably 50% or less compared to summer. So in reality, this is the official start of the season for me. Time to get consistent once again and I can't wait.

Redhook Ramble

Friday was the last day of the Group Health Commute Challenge.  To celebrate, some coworkers involved with the challenge met for lunch to yak about bikes and riding in general. It's cool to connect with people you work with - at something not work related.  Every company I've worked at, we had a some bike related fun involved.  I'll will take some credit for that.  I seem to get people involved with bikes once I'm around 'em enough.

My 10 member Nordstrom corporate team, Team Jerkcx, did pretty well this year.  At the moment, out of 1200+ teams, we're in 10th place for mileage and 50th place for days biked.  As the smoke clears and people enter their final mileage, that may change a bit - but overall, not shabby at all.  We had 10 teams signed up for Nordstrom, with 90+ people riding, our best year ever.  Now we just need, ahem, some actual corporate involvement.

Later on Friday afternoon, some of us cut out a little early and rode from our office in Seattle to the Redhook Brewery in Woodinville - a nice cruise on the Burke-Gilman and Sammamish River Trail.  The "Redhook Ramble", brain child of Gerry Grimm, coworker and fellow rider, is something we try to pull off at least twice a summer. Depending on who shows up, it can turn into the "Redhook Rumble" with some drafting and sprinting involved.  Fun stuff.

Redhook brews their own beer, good food, outside seating - all right off the Sammamish River Trail.  A great place to end a ride.

Reynold and his girl Holly.  Reynold did a killer job on my team.  Not one missed riding day and 700+ commuting miles for the month.  Holly rode with a team for AT&T, cranking out 800+ commuting miles for the month.  She had a bet with Reynold that she'd kick his ass - and she did.  Cool people.

Phil and Gerry, captains of two other Nordstrom teams - provided some friendly competition.  Gerry's team has grabbed the high mileage crown for a few years in a row.  Not this year, my team has taken that honor - heh, heh. Gerry's team did however score the most days biked.  Phil and I have almost identical commutes and share rides home often.  Nice guys and fun to ride with.

After the Redhook "Off-Site Team Building Meeting", I hopped back on my bike for the ride home.  Combined with my usual commute, a 50+ mile day.  Pretty good for a work day - no?