Bike Month 05/05/2012
During March and April I biked all the way in at least once each week, except one. May is Bike Month across the country, with May 18 being Bike to Work Day. I'll be riding the 30 miles from Auburn to Seattle both to and from work that day. Here in Seattle, as part of bike month, we have the Group Health Commute Challenge. I recruited a few people at work to join a team in the Challenge. I've been trying to decide what an appropriate commute would be for me during Bike Month. I feel like, since I bike everyday anyway, I should up my game. I'm thinking ... bike all the way in everyday? Seems ambitious, but it is bike month. I'll give it a shot. I'm off to a slow start, but we had a baby last week so I have a good excuse. Rack and Panniers Most people who bike commute need to carry something with them on their bike. Clothes, computer, repair equipment, etc. I bring the following items everyday on my commute: dress shirt slacks socks belt tie towel shampoo and deodorant lunch spare tube and repair kit first aid kit (I keep my shoes and suit jackets at work.) There are different options for getting this kind of stuff to your workplace. The easiest is just throw it all in a backpack. There are a couple of reasons I don't like this. One, it can make your back a lot sweatier. Two, it raises your center of balance and depending on the weight of the pack it can make quick maneuvering more tricky. If you don't bike everyday, you can just bring what you need the day before you bike and leave it at your desk. What I prefer is to install a rack and use panniers or bike bags to carry everything you need. Your back can breath better and you'll be more comfortable if you have a good amount of stuff to carry. My panniers are waterproof. No matter how hard it is raining or how long I ride, everything inside will stay dry. Not that expensive either, only $50 for a pair. I've used them for trips to the grocery store, running to the mall, or anywhere else I may need to carry some cargo. For example, yesterday was my anniversary. I've been married six years and got some flowers from Pike Place Market for Heather. I just set the flowers in one of my bike bags, put everything else in my other bag and off I went (my bags are big enough that everything I carry could fit in one bag, but I like to separate my wet towel and lunch from my work clothes.) 
 See they made it just fine. Heather was quite impressed, not just with the beauty of the flowers, but that I somehow managed to bring them home on my bike. I didn't tell her how easy it really was. I'd rather let her stay impressed. As a side note, for a couple of hours before I left work it rained the hardest I'd seen it rain all year. I was quite worried that they might not make it since I could not seal up my bag. Anyway OI would like to encourage anyone reading this to participate in Bike to Work Day. Even if you do a hybrid commute (bike/bus or train) that day, get out and experience the joy of cutting the car (or the city bus with a bunch of weirdos on it) out of your commute. Add Comment Goals for March 02/28/2012
I was sick last week and with the holiday only went into work twice, one of which was a short day because I went to Redmond with Heather for an ultrasound. They had a lot of bike lanes up there and it made me miss Eugene/Springfield. I wish there were more bike lanes in Auburn, more routes I could take locally. Seattle has been fun though. I didn't bike at all last week and this morning when I did I couldn't breath through my nose. All this when I was planning on starting to bike to Seattle some mornings. So I decided I would list my goals for the month. I figure if it is written down I'll be more likely to do it. 1.) Bike at least 75 miles each week 2.) Bike all the way in to Seattle (25 miles) at least once a week 3.) Get out for at least one longer ride (at least 40 miles) on a weekend (I hope that's OK with you Heather) Now that it is starting to get light outside I'll try to start taking some pictures when I bike in to Seattle. Though I'll have to make sure I leave with enough time. I need to get to work by 7:30, so if I leave by 5:30 I should have plenty of time to bike the 25 miles and stop for a few pictures. Ultimately, this summer I plan on doing a century (100 miles). It's something I wanted to do when I started cycling a few years ago. They have a lot of organized centuries around here but he all cost more than I want to pay so I'll map out my own route and go by myself. Essential in Bike Commuting-Bike 02/25/2012
As I mention on the Home page, part of this blog is about giving tips for bike commuting. Another part describing the adventures I encounter during my commute. Lastly, it is a medium to share pictures from trails and roads around Seattle. You can see a slide show of past pictures (from Eugene and Portland) on the Home page. I'm starting a series of posts that talk about some of the essentials of bike commuting. My goal is to help you avoid this  The most essential thing you need to commute by bike is ...... a bike. If you own a bike you have all that is really necessary. Everything else the I suggest will just make you safer, more comfortable, quicker, and avoid delays. So I recommend that if you want to give bike commuting a shot, you be a little more prepared than just having a bike. That being said, if you do own a bike, I invite you to pick a day next week and try traveling by bike somewhere you would normally drive, whether it be to work, the store, the park, your friends house, church or where ever else you may go during the week. This is my bike. It is a 59cm Norco CCX3. I've been very pleased with it so far. It's a lot quicker than my old bike.  It is a road bike. Technically it's a Cyclocross bike. In my opinion, road bikes are much better than mountain bikes for commuting. This is mainly due to their thinner, lighter tires that are filled to a much higher air pressure, which means dramatically decreased rolling resistance. Throw in the fact that road bikes themselves are generally lighter you'll find that you can go a further distance at a significantly higher speed. Suddenly that commute that you thought was to difficult or would take too long seems reasonable. A lot of people don't like the drop down handlebars of a road bike, and will purchase a hybrid bike, which is kind of like a road bike with flat bar handlebars. Most importantly, the best bike to commute on is a bike that you will use for more than commuting. If you go mountain biking on the weekends, the best bike would be the one you already have. I bought my bike with commuting in mind, but also the fact that I would like to do some 50-100 mile rides on weekends during the summer. If you are thinking of buying a bike I'd recommend a road bike or hybrid. Most likely you will not be riding on dirt or gravel trails, which is where mountain bikes would have the advantage. Wettest ride of the season, but no rain 02/02/2012
I've been meaning to start a series of posts about some of the essentials of bike commuting. I had planned to start with the most basic, but I'll start with what proved to be very useful on my commute this morning. For Christmas I got a pair of Pearl Izumi Am-Fib bike tights. I love them, they are thermal, highly water resistant, and if the do get wet, they are still very warm because they are made of a wet suit like material. Yes, I know what your thinking, I bike to the Sounder and ride the train in tights. When I was in Oregon I just wore my jeans under some rain pants during the winter. There are many benefits to tights as opposed to jeans or other pants that I talk about later. They are not essential for commuting, but I'll just say there is no way I would bike the 12 miles to Tukwila in pants. So this morning I biked up the Interurban Trail to the Tukwila Sounder station. About a mile from the station a couple people warned my that there was water on the road up ahead. I said thank you and keep going. I had a train to catch. With in a half mile of the station there was about an inch of water on the trail and I went through a section that covered my feet as I pedaled. That wasn't too bad. When I reached the road that the station is off of, I can see I crew of workers and that the roan is closed. I pulled up to a worker and asked how bad the sidewalk was ahead (I was about a hundred yards from the station). He said " You can try to go through if you want." That was good enough for me! So I took off down the sidewalk, the water was about a foot deep, some parts were flowing pretty good. Then it started to get deeper and deeper. Soon, when pedaling, my feet never left the water. At this point I figured it was best to get off and walk, since I couldn't see what might have been washed on the sidewalk. So I hopped off, threw my bike on my shoulder and started wading through. The water came halfway up my thigh. There was a van stuck in the middle of the road. I made it through and bike the remaining 20 yards to the station. My tights had gotten soaked. But were actually quite warm. My feet were an other story. So Am-Fib tights, a great addition to bike commuting because you just never know when in your commute you'll have to wade through a small lake.  Welcome to Seattle 10/31/2011
Well I've been in Washington for a month now. I'm living in Auburn, about 25 miles south of Seattle. New house, new job, new bike, new commute, new blog. I'll give more details about each in the coming months. I'll get some pictures on here too. First a little about my commute. Most days I bike to the train station from home and then from the train station to work, about 2-3 miles total. two weeks ago I biked from Auburn to Tukwila (about 13 miles) and caught the train from there. Last week I decided to bike the whole way up to Seattle to work which is just under 30 miles. I tried to wake up at 4:45 to get out in time to make it to work on but did not roll out of bed till about 5:10. Then I took a lot longer to leave than I thought, so I didn't leave till 5:40. It was cold, about 40 degrees or so. Luckily I was prepared with all my thermal bike clothes. I was excited to take my new bike on its first long ride. The first half went really quick. It's a straight shot to Tukwila and got there in about 50 minutes. The last half took a lot longer. Why? I got lost. The Green River Trail winds along the Green River. Sometimes it cuts out on to a street for a little and then back to a path. Sometimes it will cut from the main path to a street. The only way to tell the difference is if the main path is pretty obvious or if there are signs. But when the main path takes a weird sharp turn over a bridge that can't be seen in the dark and another part of the path cuts on to a road, you don't realize that you are off the main path. Especially when just a couple block away on the road is another part of the path. I thought that that was to continuation of the path I was on, but it was really another part of the path that was going in the opposite direction that I was. But that part of the path was closed so I followed along roads until I could find where the path open again. Finally I decided that I could not go that way so I asked someone what the heck was going on. So I turned around and headed back the way I came. Found a map, talked to some old guys about the way the path went and headed back down the path again. This time it was a little light out and could see where the path took a weird turn an over a bridge. Apparently there was a sign there, but it was small and brown and can't be seen in the dark. Finally I was on the right path but still had a ways to go. It was nice rid into Seattle and when I went on the bridge from West Seattle to Seattle there were a lot more cyclists. There where five or more of us following each other through the streets of Seattle until we went our separate ways. And I was only an hour late to work. Not to bad for biking through an area I had never been in at all in the pitch black of the early morning. Next time will go a lot better. |
PicturesClick on the Home link to see a slideshow of some pictures I've taken around some of the bike paths in Eugene and a few from Portland. I'll add some of Seattle when the weather is a little nicer. 
Essentials in Bike CommutingGetting Around
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RyanI began cycling in Eugene, OR where I got a Master's in Economics. I now live in Washington with my wife and one and a half kids. My commute, which I split between cycling and train, is about 30 miles one way. ArchivesIf you are looking for older posts check out Biking Eugene/Springfield.
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