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I was interviewed yesterday for a CBC Radio News report that was on the air this morning. We talked for about 15 minutes, and most of it hit the cutting room floor. But at least the bits that got broadcast weren’t too embarrassing…

CBC Radio News - Bikes in Calgary

Update: apparently they used different clips of the interview in different newscasts. Hopefully the others were less tattoo-centric and more pro-bike-safety

D’Arcy’s bike commuter tip #32: Always, no matter how early it is on a Monday, and no matter how tired you are, always check your tire pressure before starting a ride.

D’Arcy’s bike commuter tip #33: It is actually possible to ride for 10km on a nearly flat front tire, after discovering that it was nearly flat after riding on it for 4km, by putting all of your weight on the rear tire and unlocking the front suspension fork. Surprisingly, once you get the hang of it, you can actually go nearly full speed on an almost flat front tire if you’re careful about braking and bumps.

I’ve been meaning to write a mini review of my 2008 Kona Dew FS, and figured after riding it for a year I’d have some thoughts on how the bike works as a daily commuter. I picked the bike up exactly 1 year ago today, and have ridden it to and from work in pretty much all kinds of weather (+30˚C heat waves, monsoon thunder/hailstorms, blizzards, and -30˚C cold snaps). In that year, I’ve put 4,800km on the bike.

Here’s the bike on the day after I bought it:

One thing I learned is that the bike shop makes a HUGE difference. I went into Bow Cycle thinking I wanted a particular bike - I’d done some research on teh intarwebs and all - and wound up talking to a tech/sales guy there. Doug asked me what I wanted to do with the bike, what my ride was like, etc… and wound up showing me a bike that was several hundred dollars cheaper than what I came in looking for. He walked me over to the 2008 Kona Dew FS, which had apparently just come in, and we checked it out together. I took it for a quick spin, and bought it right there. I had the shop put on a rack so I could use my paniers, and fenders so I could ride in wet weather. I also had them switch out the seat for the one on my old bike - it’s a cheap seat, but I’ve gotten used to it. All in, I think the whole thing cost me $850 - and they gave me almost $50 for my crappy old bike as a trade-in.

What impressed me in the shop was the big-ass 700c tires. My previous bike (a 1994? Scott Head) was heavy, creaky, and the wheels were set up for mountain biking - big knobby tires on normal-sized wheels. The Kona has the giant 700c wheels, and comes with tires more suited to commuting (some grip, but much closer to street slicks than knobby mountain shredders). What does that mean for a commuter? Much less roll resistance. You can pedal, and the giant wheels will coast. And coast. And coast. Whereas the knobby mountain bike tires would bump-bump-bump and stop.

The tires are also rather thin - meaning there isn’t as much contacting the road surface, so there’s less friction to slow you down on an even surface. This turns out to be exactly what you want on a commuter bike for most of the year, but can be a pain when riding on snow and ice because you don’t have as much traction as you’d have with the fat knobby tires.

Another thing that impressed me right away was the range of gears. 3 gears in front, and 9 in back. For my ride, that’s exactly what I needed. I have to climb (and descend) a whole bunch of hills, so being able to drop down to a very low gear meant I was able to do the ride. And also being able to shift into a very high gear meant the downhill stretches were more fun

And the index shifters are great, and make it easy to pop up or down a gear very quickly and efficiently. The only trouble I had with the shifters was a result of needing to tweak the adjustment - when I first got the bike, they were fine, but slowly I needed to really jam the left shifter to upshift. I wound up damaging my left thumb from pushing it too hard, too often. Stupid me, though, because it took a tech maybe a few seconds to adjust the shifter in the shop, and that problem went away. Lesson learned: regular maintenance is a good idea. Once adjusted, though, they’re rock solid. I can now shift and know the bike will respond. This makes crossing busy roads a bit less stressful, and also makes the long climb up the long hill on the way home just that much easier.

The other thing that attracted me to the bike at first was the disk brakes. Again, my previous experience was with a crappy Sport Check Special bike, and its brakes weren’t very good. When wet, I’d blast through intersections because they didn’t have any stopping power. Not with the Kona. The disk brakes are fracking awesome. They can stop me when riding about 40km/h, in maybe 20 feet. I could probably stop faster if I tried. And they work great when wet. I don’t have to worry about losing stopping power. My bike will stop, assuming it’s got traction. One thing I found is that the disk brakes become slightly less effective in very cold temperatures. They still work - and much better than my previous pinch-brakes - but less effectively than when warm.

The “FS” in the bike’s model name stands for “Full Suspension” - it’s got a suspension front fork, and a suspension seat post. I love the front fork, because it’s also lockable. If you want a soft ride, or are going through some rough terrain (like construction zones, dirt paths, etc…) you open the fork so you have suspension on the front of the bike. But when you are on flat ground, and really want to give’r, you can lock it so it doesn’t suck energy out of you by bouncing up and down as you pedal. It really does make a huge difference, so when I’m riding up a hill I just reach down and flip the switch to Lock. Before I get to the construction zone near my house, I just flip it to Open, and I get all of the suspension goodness. Best of both worlds (except the weight of the suspension fork doesn’t go away when it’s in Lock…)

The suspension seat post is a love/hate thing with me. I do like that it softens the ride. But, I’m really not a fan of the wobble it adds to the seat - it actually causes the seat to rotate slightly around the vertical axis as you move. It’s not the end of the world, but it can get annoying.

What else… Oh! The bike comes with toe baskets on the pedals, so your feet are nice and stable while pedaling. I used these for the first few months, and was getting used to them. Starting and stopping at traffic lights was a bit interesting, as you have to slide your foot into the basket to get it into place, and you can’t always do that easily. When riding on slippery surfaces, I’d leave my feet out of the baskets, so the pedals were “upside down” when riding. That way, if I lost traction and started to go down, I could put my foot down more quickly, or swing it out for balance. That saved me from wiping out many times. But one afternoon, while riding through some deep snow, one of the baskets was ripped right off the pedal. I decided to remove the other one rather than replacing the broken basket, and found I liked riding the bike much better without the baskets at all. The pedals can be a little slippery, but the grips on my shoes (and in winter, boots) grips them well enough to keep my foot in place.

The only real “upgrade” I’ve done to the bike was to replace the rear tire. It wore out after about 2000km (because the rear of the bike carries most of the weight) and I replaced it with an Armadillo. Much better traction, and the tire seems to be relatively impervious to punctures - I’ve only had one flat with it since replacing the tire, and that was a torn valve stem not a puncture.

What I do know is that after 1 year, 4800km, 1 “dooring”, several wipe-outs, a few flats, a couple of blizzards, and daily rides of 14km each way, I still love the bike. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good commuter bike. It’s not an offroad bike. But it’s one hell of a great commuter bike.

Here’s the bike after a year of wear and tear (and it needs some love - I’ll give it a good scrub this weekend. promise!)

I passed the 3100km mark on the ride home this afternoon. 3100km ridden on my bike so far in 2008. Seems like a strange milestone - but I’ve now ridden more as of August 12 2008 than I did in all of 2007.

I thought I pretty much maxed out riding last year. But I started riding earlier this year, and have taken a slightly longer route along the Bowmont Natural Pathway to avoid some street riding. And I have ridden almost every single day since mid-January (except for maybe a couple of sick days and miscellaneous days missed due to travel etc…). If I can keep up the pace, I should be able to hit 4-5000km by the end of the year. That’s a LOT of carbon saved…

I picked up a Flip Ultra video camera this weekend, and one of the things I wanted to try was strapping it to my bike helmet to record my morning commute, just to see what it looked like. So, I dorked myself up a bit by attaching the Flip to my helmet via a handy dandy bungee cord, and recorded the morning ride. It’s a bit stomach-churning in spots, because of head motion swinging the camera all over the place, but it’s pretty close to being there…

I’m still trying to whip up a flash version of the video for proper embedding, but in the meantime, here’s a QuickTime version.

 

Update: there’s now a Flash Video version of the movie posted to Vimeo.com. I still haven’t been able to get Google Video to play nicely though…

That’s like riding from Calgary to Vancouver and back. Or Calgary to Thunder Bay. Heck, I could have ridden from Calgary to San Francisco, with over 400km to spare. hmmm….

I’ve been riding my bike as primary transportation on my commute for a couple of years now (started really doing it again in 2006, after a few years of not riding very much). I ride just over 28km per day, every weekday, so have managed to rack up the kilometers pretty quickly. I had set a target for myself to ride 3,500km in 2008, trying to beat my 3,100km ridden in 2007. Looks like I’m on track to blow that away, and might hit 4,000km if I’m able to keep going. That’d be like riding from Calgary to Quebec City. Or to New York…

I’ve ridden through blizzards, monsoons, hail, lightning, and the regular traffic filled with aggressive and psychotic drivers.

But I wouldn’t give it up. I’m so much happier riding. The smells of spring. The sounds of the birds. That would all be missed if I was trapped in a bus or car. It’s just so much better to be riding. And, I’m in the best physical shape of my adult life - I’ve lost almost 30 pounds from my all-time fatass peak. Feeling great! Here’s hoping I can do another 2,000km in 2008

There’s a big “Bike to Work Day” in Calgary on Friday, April 11. The University of Calgary is running a special event on campus as well. It’s pretty safe to say I’ll be biking to work that day (and every other day as well ) and am looking forward to seeing how many people get into it.

On campus, they’re going to set up greeting/refreshment stations (with prizes!) on all major entrances, and there’s a workshop being put on by the bike club at the Mac Hall loading dock to show basic bike maintenance.

I think I might even pack the camera as well. Should be fun! I’ve already ridden over 900km this year, on track to hit between 3500 and 4000km by the end of 2008.

Now, if there were more bike-friendly routes (i.e., fewer cycle-homicidal bus & SUV drivers) there might be more people willing to risk riding their bikes to work or school…

I am by no means an expert, but have been commuting by bike for awhile now. I’ve learned some tricks that might come in handy for others who are starting (or thinking of starting) to commute by bike.

1. Start slow. Don’t rush it when you first start out. Take your time. Pick a day or week where it won’t matter too much if you’re a bit late, or if you get delayed a bit. Initially, you’ll need some time to figure out the route and get used to the routine. Starting slow lets you get into the groove without trying to push yourself too hard.
2. Plan your route. I poured over the Calgary bike route map to find my route. I fired up Google Earth to plot it out, and check elevations - you’ll want to avoid hills as much as possible, especially as you get started. Don’t plan your route as a car driver - think about parks, pathways, and other places that are accessible to bikes but not cars. Also, think about places you’ll want to ride through on the way. I’ve added about 3km to my regular ride because it takes me through quieter residential streets, and along a beautiful valley pathway instead of along a busy and stinky street. Worth it.
3. Prepare your bike. If it’s a new bike, make sure you’ve got the essentials - lights (headlight, tail light), reflectors, fenders, rear rack, paniers. If it’s an old bike, make sure everything’s in working order. I added a barebones speedometer, and find the odometer is a great motivating tool - knowing how many km I’ve gone in a trip, and how many in a year - really helps keep me moving forward.
4. Maintain your bike. Pick up some oil, and keep the bike lubricated. Keep the bike clean - road grime is evil, evil stuff. This is even more important in colder climates where the salty slush gets on everything and rusts the bike out. Keeping it clean and dry prevents that a bit. Keeping things lubed prevents some of the rust and wear on moving parts. Make sure bolts are tight, and that the quick-release on the wheels hasn’t slipped (I’ve had both front and rear wheels pop off on my old bike because I forgot to check them periodically).
5. Dress for the ride. I’m currently carrying 3 jackets - usually one or two on me, the rest in my panier. I wear a cotton hoodie if it’s cold, and if it’s REALLY cold I wear a MEC windproof shell on top of that. If things warm up a bit, I’ve got a lighter hoodie I can switch to. Layers are helpful - especially once you start to warm up after a couple of km into the ride.
6. Ditch the toe baskets. My Kona bike came with these silly little baskets on the pedals. At first, I thought I liked them because it was kinda like the toe clips, without the expensive shoes. But they’re really, really annoying. Imagine riding on snow or ice, with your toe out of the basket, and the basket itself dragging in the snow beneath you. One of mine actually got ripped off the pedal as I rode through some deeper snow (I pull my feet out of the baskets in case I go down in snow and ice, which meant for most of the winter the baskets were just annoying). Toe clips are a different story - they’re unobtrusive, and can actually help you pedal by letting you pull up in addition to pushing down. I don’t use toe clips though…
7. I don’t ride with a backpack or a messenger bag. Everything goes into one of my paniers (2 15 year old MEC paniers). In the right one, I put my “big boy clothes” to change into when I get to work. My iPod gets folded into my pants there, and my camera gets stowed on top of my clothes. My left panier is for my jackets, shoes, and my lunch. Using the paniers means I don’t have to worry about the backpack-sweat-puddles, but it also means I don’t lug my laptop to and from work. I leave the laptop at home, and use a desktop at work. I have my iPod Touch for everywhere in between. My paniers are old enough that the water resistant coating is long gone. So I use kitchen garbage bags to line the inside, keeping everything nice and dry even in very wet weather.
8. Ride safe. This should be #1, but you get the idea. Don’t be in such a rush that you are tempted to do stupid things like cut across traffic. Obey stop signs and traffic signals. Take the lane wherever possible. If you don’t ride safe, you’ll eventually regret it. Even if you are unscathed, you’re making things worse for bikers overall by riding like a jackass. Car drivers already hate us, and they don’t need more reasons to try to mow us down.
9. Plan for the weather. If it’s REALLY cold (-15˚C or colder), I wear my insulated hiking boots and 2 pairs of socks. If it’s just a bit chilly (0˚C - -15˚C) I just wear 2 pairs of socks and a pair of light Solomon shoes (which are really nicely ventilated). If it’s below 0˚C, I wear my thick hoodie and my MEC windproof shell to keep warm (and they do keep me VERY warm). Above zero, and it’s fine with just a single pair of socks and the hoodie. Above +5˚C and I switch to the light hoodie. I also have waterproof rainpants, but don’t pack them unless the forecast suggests it will rain while I ride. If it’s colder than -5˚C, I just wear my MEC pants. Warmer, and I try to switch to shorts.
10. Have fun! If it’s not fun, why are you doing it? Biking can be a total blast, if you do it safely. Being able to whip down a hill at over 50km/h is a rush that is hard to beat. Being able to out-accelerate a car at a green light is just plain fun. Riding along a river, hearing the birds and sounds of nature…

    Update: thought of a few more tips:

11. Plan a cool-off period after you get to the destination. If you have a 9am meeting, plan to get there at least half an hour early so you have a chance to cool down and get cleaned up and changed first.
12. Gloves. I always wear gloves. If it’s cool out, I wear a pair of thin(ish) leather work gloves. They cut the wind right out, and my hands stay warm. If it’s downright COLD, I wear a pair of insulated gloves (the ones I wear skiing etc…). If it’s warmer, I wear a pair of meshback fingerless riding gloves. I wear gloves partially in case I wipe out - grinding my palms into gravel isn’t something I’d look forward to, so a bit of protection is a good thing.
13. This one’s a bit morbid - but I always have ID on me, not just in my panier. My wallet is always in my pocket. If I wipe out, and for some reason can’t communicate, it’s important that my identification is readily available. Haven’t needed it yet, but the last thing I want is to wind up in a hospital (or worse) unidentified. It’s not a fear of getting hurt while riding - I have ID on me all the time. Hmmm… This is a pretty dark revelation…
14. Keep a spare pair of shoes at work if possible. Eventually, you’re going to get soaked while riding. If you don’t have clean/dry shoes to change into, you’re going to make that squish-squish sound when you walk into the Big Staff Meeting…
15. Carry a cloth to wipe sweat off with. It sounds nasty, but riding can be sweaty business. Having a cloth to sop it up with means you’re more comfortable.
16. Get a decent helmet. I had been using a crappy old Bell V1 black bucket, like the one that saved my life about 15 years ago. I decided to replace it, and got an inexpensive Nakamura (maybe $35 at Sport Chek) - it fits so much better, is maybe half the weight, is adjustable, and has much better ventilation. The better fit means that if I go down, it will stay in place - which is the whole point of a helmet.

This evening, while riding home from work, I was involved in my first ever bike vs. car door incident. As I was approaching a red light, a driver decided it would be a great idea to open his door without looking. I had maybe 1 second to react, swerved left, and was thrown from my bike as it bounced off another car. If I hadn’t been able to react quickly enough, I would have crashed square into his open door at about 20km/h. I pictured myself being thrown onto the trunk of the taxi cab in the next lane, and was trying to pick my spot on the trunk to minimize damage to me. Thankfully, I was somehow able to stop before hitting the cab (have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE disk brakes?) and wound up just being thrown to the ground as I hit the cab. Thankfully all traffic was stopped, because it was at a red light. Who opens their door at a red light?

Getting up, I shared some pleasantries with the driver (a profound “WHAT THE *ahem* ARE YOU DOING? *jebus* *cripes*!”) I pulled the bike off to the sidewalk to inspect the damage, and everything looked OK. I thanked the driver for his care and attention, and continued riding home.

This incident brought home three things for me.

1. assume every car on the road is full of braindead cretins hellbent on your destruction.
2. assume every car on the road is about to open its doors.
3. claim the lane. don’t ride so far to the right that an open door will kill you.

For the rest of the ride home, I tried to remember to claim the lane. It’s harder than it sounds. Riding in the lane, rather than along the edge. It’s intimidating, picturing traffic piling up behind. I was able to keep pretty close to traffic speeds, so that wasn’t a problem (except on a couple of uphill stretches). But, I’m going to keep claiming the lane.

I stopped a few km later to inspect the bike. There was no real damage, except for a chunk smashed off the rear fender from when it bounced off a car. Nothing fatal, but I’ll want to fill the gap so when riding in rain I don’t get a rooster tail.

Things could have ended so much differently. If I had failed to react, or if I’d been only a few mm to the right, I’d have had at the least a smashed right hand. At the worst, I’d have taken the full impact on his door with my head, or bounced off the taxi.

Update: It didn’t dawn on me until later that evening, but of the dozen or so cars stopped at the red light when I got doored, not a single person got out to see if I was OK. The driver that doored me asked “are you ok?” as he closed his door, but not a single person got out. Are people so insulated in their cars that they just don’t care? Did it all happen so quickly that they didn’t have a chance to snap out of their commuter comas in order to react?

Not a single person. This city can kiss me where I don’t have a tan.

Bike more, drive less. And parties ensue...

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