Community is where you make it

Category: Bicycling

  • Biking Recap for March 2014

    Biking Recap for March 2014

    Three months in, and I’m still averaging more than 100 miles per month.1How’s that for positive spin? ;-)

    My March Bicycling Accomplishments

    • March was a lighter month on the bike for me. Between getting sick, a couple of business trips, some vacation, and some days just not feeling like getting on the bike, biking didn’t have much of a chance. And I’m fine with that. I still probably biked more than you did. :-p </snark>
    • I put the shorts back on. I was starting to think I was slowing down over the winter, which seemed strange because I was still biking quite a bit. Then, a week ago, I put on some new “dress” shorts with a nice shirt2Could this be the clothing equivalent of a mullet? Business on the top; party on the bottom… and rode to work. It was still brisk in the morning, so I wore my rain pants over top. But at lunch and on the way home, just the shorts — and I was fast!!3Well, at least faster. Fast enough.

    Mileage Summary

    DistanceTime / Bike
    60Biked in March42,294 – 2,101
    372Bike in 201452,294 – 1,922

    How is your 2014 so far on the bike?

    Keep pedaling!

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    ,

  • He’ll Never Ride His Bike Again

    He’ll Never Ride His Bike Again, by Kent Peterson. Be careful out there.

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    , ,
  • Biking Recap for February 2014

    Biking Recap for February 2014

    Two months in and I’ve already biked farther than I did in the first half of last year. Woo hoo!

    My February Bicycling Accomplishments

    • I biked to work almost every day I worked in Hillsboro. I skipped one day because I drove Jamison and some others to an engineering field trip later in the day. And, well, I drove a couple more days because there was a lot of snow in the neighborhood, snow on the bike lanes, and too much traffic to want to take the lane. And I didn’t bike the day Heather and I went to the beach earlier this week. And I worked in Folsom a couple of days. And February is a short month to start with. Huh. I’m starting to wonder whether I biked at all this month… ;-)
    • The first day it snowed, I biked. Most people stayed home. I probably should have. It was an exercise in balance getting out of the neighborhood. The bike lanes were covered with snow. But there was virtually no traffic, so I just rode in the lane. Maybe three cars passed me in two miles — wondering who that idiot was riding his bike to work. Ha! :-D

    Mileage Summary

    DistanceTime / Bike
    133 milesBiked in February 201412,234 – 2,101
    312 milesBiked in 201422,234 – 1,922

    How is your 2014 so far on the bike? Or are you waiting for warmer, dryer, less frozen weather?

    Keep pedaling!

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    ,

  • BikeSD on the “Scofflaw Cyclist”

    The truth is that any fair assessment of the relative risks and dangers on our streets would conclude that drivers are far more dangerous to the general public than the less than 1% of San Diegans who travel regularly by bike. And yet cyclists are the one who are tarred with the “scofflaw” meme.

    BikeSD

    A worthy read, especially its last two paragraphs.

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    ,

  • Bragging Rights, Baby

    I rode my bike through the snow to work today — bragging rights, baby!1Yup, I’m stupider than you… ;-)

    • 1
      Yup, I’m stupider than you… ;-)

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    , ,
  • Biking Recap for January 2014

    Biking Recap for January 2014

    Another year, another opportunity to ride the bike.

    My January Bicycling Accomplishments

    • I biked to work every day I worked in Hillsboro. That’s not as many days as you might think. I travelled nine days, had one day of holiday, and took two days vacation.
    • I replaced my tires, after nearly 2,000 miles. I don’t know if that’s a good distance, but after inspecting the old ones and finding a bunch of embedded glass flakes and even a bit of wire cable, I figured it was time.
    • I started a spreadsheet to track every day’s mileage. As a result, I get a cool chart.

    Mileage Summary

    DistanceTime / Bike
    179 milesBiked in January 201412,101 – 1,922
    179 milesBiked in 201422,101 – 1,922

    How is your 2014 so far on the bike? Or are you waiting for warmer, dryer weather?

    Keep pedaling!

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    ,
  • Biking Recap for December 2013

    Biking Recap for December 2013

    December had some unseasonably cold temperatures. But there is no bad weather, only bad clothing.

    My December Bicycling Accomplishments

    • Misty Grove
    • Stand Tall

    My 2013 Bicycling Accomplishments

    • I biked 2,162 miles this year!
    • My family gave me a new bike for Father’s day — thank you, family! (I’m not sure how that’s an accomplishment for me, but it’s certainly a major bicycling event.)
    • We planned a vacation around bicyling (I think my family knew…), resulting in my biking 50 miles in a day, 200 miles in a week and 405 miles that month.
    • I lost 20 pounds. Pretty much without trying.2Well, other than biking more than 2,162 miles… ;-) Woo hoo!

    Mileage Summary

    DistanceTime / Bike
    184 milesBiked in December 201331,922 – 1,738
    2,162 milesBiked in 201341,922 + 240
    1,997 milesBiked on Sage51,922 + 75

    How was your 2013 on the bike? I’m looking forward to seeing what 2014 brings.

    Keep pedaling!

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    , , ,
  • Cold Lunch Ride

    Cold Lunch Ride

    I’m back from my lunch ride: 27 degrees1Btw, I love this cold weather. I wear my flannel-lined jeans to work; no one knows they feel just like jammies. ;-)1Btw, I love this cold weather. I wear my flannel-lined jeans to work; no one knows they feel just like jammies. ;-) with 20 mph winds (gusts to 30). No wonder I felt like a slug going upwind. Well, that, and the fact that it’s pretty hard to get enough oxygen through those little holes in the face mask.

    • 1
      Btw, I love this cold weather. I wear my flannel-lined jeans to work; no one knows they feel just like jammies. ;-)1Btw, I love this cold weather. I wear my flannel-lined jeans to work; no one knows they feel just like jammies. ;-)

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    ,

  • Thanks, Bike N’ Hike!

    Yesterday I discovered a broken a spoke in my rear wheel. Today I took it to Bike N’ Hike, knowing they’d get me rolling again. After I told them I hoped to get it fixed sometime today, they removed the cogs and spoke guard, installed a new spoke and nipple, and trued the wheel. Putting it back together, they handed me the wheel and said, “Get out of here. We have enough of your money.”1I don’t know if they have enough of it, but we’ve bought five bikes from them in the past few years. I returned later today to buy some new brake pads. I think it’s about time to get Suzi a fun, new city bike

    Woo hoo! Thanks, guys.2This isn’t the first time Bike N’ Hike’s taken good care of me. :-)

    • 1
      I don’t know if they have enough of it, but we’ve bought five bikes from them in the past few years. I returned later today to buy some new brake pads. I think it’s about time to get Suzi a fun, new city bike
    • 2
      This isn’t the first time Bike N’ Hike’s taken good care of me.

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

    , ,

  • Excuses, Excuses

    Monday morning, I loaded up my bike and noticed the rear tire was soft. I pumped up the tire and decided to work from home. There was my not-drive-to-work streak to maintain, after all.

    Tuesday, the tire felt okay, I topped it off, and rode to work. A long ride during lunch and it was a little squishy on the way home, but I blamed the cold.

    Wednesday morning, the tire was soft again. I drove to work and checked the tire in the evening. Still not entirely flat. Hmm…

    My technique of fixing things is cleaning them until I discover something amiss. So I cleaned the inside and outside of the tire. I cleaned the rim, its braking surfaces, and even the cogs.1Yeah, the outside of the rim and the cogs were unlikely to cause the flat but I’ve been known to clean parts only peripherally related to possible problems. Still nothing obviously wrong or pointy.

    I pulled the rim strip to see if anything prickly was hiding beneath. And a spoke went feral. Somehow,2Actually, breaking spokes is one of the potential joys of being a cycling “Clydesdale.” a spoke head snapped off, allowing the nipple to poke the tube … maybe.

    Regardless, the wheel needs to be fixed. Looks like my bike’s going to get some service.3And the car’s going to get a little more use. :-( 

    • 1
      Yeah, the outside of the rim and the cogs were unlikely to cause the flat but I’ve been known to clean parts only peripherally related to possible problems.
    • 2
      Actually, breaking spokes is one of the potential joys of being a cycling “Clydesdale.”
    • 3
      And the car’s going to get a little more use. :-( 

    By

    Brent Logan

    on

    Tags:

Search

Subscribe

Get Brent Logan in your inbox.

Stuff

Made with

in

to

Copyright 2004-2023 Brent Logan

Thanks for visiting!

Brent Logan