Merger.

I'm shutting this little side-blog of mine down.

After thirty-some posts here and a whole bunch more than that back over at AbsentMindfully.com I've come to realize that cycling and my daily life aren't separate. Trying to bust up the random events of my day and riding my bike into two different things isn't working.

So henceforth, no new posts will be made here. Although I will leave it up, for the archives.

I write nearly daily about my bicycle experiences, hopes, dreams, failures, injuries, accomplishments, and lessons-learned on the main blog. Come by and check it out.

Thanks!

David

All I Want for Christmas

Is a purdy, festive, mint condition Eddy Merckx bicycle.

The creator/leader of the weekly bike ride wielded this beaut on Saturday. I'm jealous.

The ride was good, but windy. My massive thighs are a bit sore, it's good. The after-ride holiday party was good as well, free food and laughs abounded. Then I taught an buddy how to skip-stop. A nice day fo sho.

- David

Letter to My Transit Authority

Last night on the way home from work a public transit bus either didn't see me (hard to believe) or decided not to respect my space on the road and pushed me nearly into another lane. The first sign I had that it was there came from my peripheral vision as the nose of the bus passed scarily close to my elbow (I easily could have touched it) as we neared the intersection.

It was so blatant and rude I couldn't believe it, I just stared up in angry shock as I waited for the light to change. I've had drivers yell and honk at me, but never had my Personal Bubble invaded. A small passenger car would barely have had enough room to pass in front of me, let alone a huge bus.

Looking back I should have scratched "EAT PUSSY!!!" or something into the side of it, but instead I calmly noted it's bus number and sent the following complaint to Hampton Roads Transit. Feel free to contact them and send in a complaint of your own. Mine is below:

I would like to make a complaint against the driver of bus number 916. On Wednesday, December 12th around 6:00pm I was commuting West along Virginia Beach Blvd. on my bicycle.

As I approached a red light Bus 916 came up along my left side way too close, forcing me into the turning lane on the right. A more jumpy rider may have been startled (these buses are almost silent until the engine at the tail-end is near, especially at low speeds) and moved quickly into the turning lane and into traffic, possibly causing a bad accident.

By the time the bus stopped at the intersection I was barely behind the front-most door and was effectively pinned on the painted white line between the lanes of traffic.

This was very dangerous, illegal, and unnecessary. I was obeying all laws and easily visible under the streetlights and with the flashing red light on the rear of my bike.

Please speak with the driver (and possibly the other drivers) and inform them that by law bicycles are to be treated the same as any other vehicle on the road. I'd hate for someone to get into an accident over something so easily avoided.

Thank you for your time.

Who knows, maybe I'll get some free Ferry passes or something out of it. I doubt they'll speak to the driver involved, let alone the other drivers, which is a shame because I can easily see an accident happening in a situation like this.

So far police officers and public transit people are the worst drivers I've encountered on the road, which doesn't seem right to me.

Be careful out there, think fast and move smooth. The last thing you want is to jump out of the frying pan and into quick-moving traffic.

- David

Experimental Route *EDIT*

View Larger Map
Meeting the girl for some dinner. Exciting, especially at night. On a bike, everything becomes a mini-adventure.

Be careful out there.

- David

*EDIT*

Aaaaand this is how it actually went down. Or close to it. It felt like a lot more backtracking and meandering:


View Larger Map

Now, normally when people tell me "Oh, I would have made it on time/quicker/without having to be picked up by my wife, but Google Maps messed up..." I never believe them. In Google I Trust. But today, today it steered me wrong. First time out of many, many maps and routes. Nobody is perfect I guess.

Anywho, if you look at the maps above (and you have a keen eye) you may note that St. Julian and Cape Henry don't actually meet up. There's a bunch of dirt, and some trees, and a big weird factory with large trucks in the way.

St. Julian was my major route West. Instead of a nice, low-key road that allowed me to keep on the step-by-step directions I had rubber-banded to my light, I traveled through El Ghetto. My main strategy was just to keep moving, and keep moving fast. An unknown area, at night, with some pretty/creepy fog in the air, I wasn't stopping to ask for directions. If anyone lives in that area and is offended, I'm sorry. I'm tiny and unfamiliar with your neighborhood.

I just kept heading North and/or West when I could. I figured I'd eventually run into something I knew. Which I did, although it involved a scary ride down into some kind of underpass thing and a construction zone over a bridge. I didn't even know there was water near. I saw the tall buildings of Downtown Norfolk and knew that at least I could get to familiar ground.

I managed to get back on my route and felt my phone vibrate a few blocks from my destination. Food, soda pop, and good company ensued. Only about ten minutes later than I thought but a lot sweatier. Oh will, live & learn.

Long edit! Good night! Helmets!

- David Again

*EDIT EDIT*
The map preview is actually showing that the two roads don't connect, but the actual map still shows the error. Damn thing.

Target Audience

Bikes make for good advertising. They add a certain Euro-style class. Once I move to Copenhagen I'm sure I'll see stuff like this more.

- David

The Law & The Order

You may be sick of seeing these already, but this is proof that with a tiny bit of practice anyone can master track stands. Some weeks ago I couldn't even pull off a standing one, and now I'm doing spontaneous stands at traffic lights. Don't give up!

Watching Vincent D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe helps.

- David

It's Like Standing, But... On A Track

So I'm getting a bit better at the track stand thing. Played in triple-speed!


Now, while it is true that I regularly practice track stands in my living room and look forward to the day when I can do them no-handed, I want to make something clear:

I loathe all the kiddies with fixed-gears and girl pants that own expensive bicycles with the apparent sole purpose of dicking around in public places and putting on circus acts. A bicycle is for riding, not for matching your outfits too and balancing in useless ways to impress girls that desperately need to eat.

I'm glad they're at least riding around a little, but c'mon. It's just so against the nature of a track bike. They've reduced their beautiful machines of efficiency and power to moon shoes or balance boards.

Anywho, enough of my personal prejudices. You may be asking why I bother learning this particular skill. One word: Utility.

It is extremely useful to be able to stop at an intersection (or anywhere for that matter) and not have to take one's feet out of the clips and put one's foot down on the ground. It saves time and it's safer than trying to hurriedly get one's shoe back into the straps, especially if one is in traffic. You're already up, on the bike, with your feet in the optimum position for efficient pedaling. Hell, they're called "track" stands because it's how track racers started off the line.

Plus, it looks cool.

- David