The Amazing Zip Tie

While I don't have to deal with snow except every 100 years or so, I know some folks do and found this article simply fascinating!

How to make bicycle snow tires with zip ties.

Honestly, is there anything a zip tie can't do? I always have some in my trunk bag, just in case. Headlight no longer want to stay on straight? Zip tie. Panniers dragging in your wheels? Zip tie. Need to secure a piece of unruly cargo? ZIP TIE.

Black Friday on a Bike

Well, I didn't actually bike ON Black Friday...but I did this weekend! I did my Christmas shopping by bike, and what fun!

Picked up some garland and lights at the hardware store & took them home to decorate, then headed to the shopping center for some more goodies (somehow I seem to have only shopped for myself!), and ran back home.

I have to say, biking is way more pleasant than driving among the holiday crazies! I stuck to the back streets, used my signals, and enjoyed the cool weather (thankfully we got a cold front this week, so everyone's now in the Christmas mood). Even better, I didn't have to mess with traffic!

Gearing up for the season, I'm hoping for this adorable Nutcase helmet and will probably treat myself to the fantastic Dahon commuter that I keep rambling about.

Any fantastic new toys or tools on your Christmas lists?

Temptation

Oh goodness, what to do!

I was saving up for a new computer...my old one is 5+ years old now, and showing its age.

BUT.

My dream bicycle is on sale.

So the question becomes: do I treat myself to an early Christmas present with my cash, or go ahead and buy the bike? It's not like I actually need either of them, but boy do I want them both.

Sewing s'more!

I've recently started sewing, and since my initial project of a bike basket tote bag I've been hunting bike-themed fabrics for a purse and/or clutch to take along on my shopping excursions.

This multi-colored bicycle fabric is actually a body pillow cover I picked up on clearance from Target. Assuming I can finish all of the Christmas tote bags I'm making, this is going to be the fabric for a handbag. I may make it a smaller tote sort of bag to fit in the front basket, which would be a trick. All it really needs to be able to handle is: keys, glasses, phone, and credit card/I.D.

...does anyone else craft specifically for their bicycle, or am I insane?

Biking to Better Health

We had a health screening at work today, which I generally take part in because it saves me money off of my health insurance.

Since my health screening last year I've changed very little: I'm a big fan of eating junk, and that continues to be my largest problem. I'm not fond of fruits & veggies, I eat way too many big, greasy hamburgers, and I am known to drink Dr. Pepper like a fiend.

The only thing that's really changed is that I a) started riding my bike to work more and b) bought the "errand" bike for quick trips to the store, etc.

Granted, I've never really had a problem with my weight, but: my weight's gone down, my BMI is lower, and the only thing I can attribute this to is bicycling.

That certainly provides a little more incentive for me to train for the MS 150, too!

Hit & Run

A cyclist-ANOTHER-cyclist was killed this week.

STARRS and bekindtoCyClists have both posted rewards, since the driver who killed the man stopped to get the bike out from under the car but but left the cyclist in the street to die.

We don't know much. We know it happened about 12:25 a.m. We know it was a man named Stacy Palmer, who apparently biked darn near everywhere (not at all uncommon in Flour Bluff), we know he was riding with traffic, and we know he was hit by a green GM passenger vehicle.

But we don't know if it was intentional, we don't know if it was a drunk driver.

We do know that this wasn't the first cyclist hit-and-run, and it probably won't be the last. It's just a bike-unfriendly town, and it's a real shame. It's an even bigger shame that it takes tragedies like this one to bring attention to the plight of cyclists here.

No more Jesse De Leons. No more Barb Savells. No more Stacy Palmers.

Stay safe out there.

In the Bag

My original quest for a roomy, colorful rack trunk bag was so unsuccessful that I pounced on the first non-black one I could find.

It is great, but of course since purchasing it I've found a couple of intriguing options for my NEXT bag.

Terry Bikes' Juicy Rack Bag is adorable, unique, AND recycled. It doesn't have panniers, though, and I recently found them handy while trying to lug all my gear to soccer (I fit cleats, socks, shin guards, 3 bottles of water, wallet, bike lock, sunscreen and trail mix inside on Sunday).

And the Sherpani Vela, which is lovely, useful, and from a female cyclist-owned company...though sadly not being released until the spring.

My 2 Mile Challenge Update is...not as good as last week, despite a solid 30 miles of biking this weekend. I missed my commute all week (as well as Tuesday of this week) AND didn't even get to the store, so my numbers are way down. Only 34.12 miles.

It's not looking likely to hit that 400 miles, but maybe I can turn it around!

Cycling in Fashion

I've noticed something odd.

Last Saturday, I biked to the Farmer's Market. On the way I stopped at a convenience store to get some cash, and had a nice little chat with a lady there about my bicycle (my "errand running" Huffy cruiser), the dangers of cycling in Corpus, and what good exercise it was. I was wearing a skirt (with short underneath, of course), sandals, and a tank top.

The other day I biked to the grocery, and as I locked up my bike had a family admire it (the little girl even asked her mom why THEY never got to ride their bikes to the store!) & chatted about my baskets and how much they held. I was wearing a sundress and matching pink tennis shoes.

On commute days, I'm in full regalia--padded bike shorts, jersey, tennis shoes--and no one says a word to me. Stuck in traffic, pausing for a bottle of water at the corner store, waiting at a bus stop, I seem to suddenly be "Other". A Spandex-clad Creature forcing her way on to the road, not to be engaged.

Has anyone else noticed similar treatment? Is "the serious cyclist" intimidating?

Joining Politics

I was very excited this week to discover that the city has a Bicycles & Pedestrians Subcommittee that meets monthly.

I've added it to my calendar and, though it's in the middle of the work day, am going to go.

I'm not sure what to expect; I know that like so many cities right now, we're suffering a budget shortfall. But it will be nice to get in on the discussion, at the very least. Given that it's completely unpublicized unless you happen along that web page (as I managed to do), I doubt many people show up.

I'll have to remind myself to ride that day. Hopefully City Hall has a bike rack...

2 Mile Challenge Update

In the past week since starting the 2 Mile Challenge, I've biked ALMOST every day.

I did bail on my commute this morning as my cat did some things to make my life miserable this morning, delaying me to such an extent that driving was my only option. Am definitely hoping for better luck on Thursday!

ANYWAY! My Week 1 Total: 64.51 miles biked.

64.51 miles in one week.

Nearly 65 miles that I would've driven.

I don't think about it as I ride, but these miles--as few as 2 per day--really add up!

New goal: 400 miles biked by the end of October. And if I fall short...I'll pledge $100 to some sort of environmental charity (open to ideas in the comments). How about that?!

Bike Commuting Report!

I was very excited to read this report on the growth of bicycle commuting. The wonderful news is that bike commuting is gaining ground. Look at some of those triple digit increases! Even in Corpus, where our percentage of bicycle commuters is under 1%, there has been substantial growth!

Unfortunately, here in South Texas you're still prone to this attitude...

Riding a bike to work says you are either poor, or have a DUI...

Apparently Mr. Pitbull has never priced a good bicycle.

My workplace is fairly unique as we have lockers, showers, and a bicycle rack (plus indoor storage for bikes if necessary). I know that there are three or four part-time bike commuters at my job alone, and have seen a couple of others kitted out downtown.

But for the vast majority of the city, commuting by bicycle is a ridiculous idea.

Corpus Christi was named by Men's Health Magazine the "Fattest City in America", and the disregard shown both to and about cyclists (in terms of attitude and city planning) help feed that (no pun intended).

I was honestly amazed to learn that Corpus was a bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community according to the League of American Bicyclists. The City certainly doesn't promote it. But if Oso Hike-and-Bike Trail ever gets finished, and if Corpus remains true to its urban plan (adding bike paths to widened and/or repaved roads), there is nowhere to go but up!

Love and Bicycles

Five years ago, I fell in love with a bicycle. It was the Dahon Cadenza, a glorious folding hybrid. I tracked one down on eBay for $600 or so, and I still love it.

Earlier this year I picked up a fixed-gear cruiser for running errands and, while it's comfy & good for cargo, it's not a love affair like my Cadenza.

Today, however, I found something that rocked my world: the Dahon Ios XL.

The one thing I'm iffy on is wheel size; the Cadenza has 26" wheels, and going down to a 20" wheel seems a little scary. I do like my visibility, and the Cadenza is literally a perfect fit for me.

But. But but but. Look at how SLICK it is. How small it folds! And the bells and whistles! *fans self* The fenders, the built-in light, the AMAZING ReeCharge system... You can charge your phone or iPod while biking. This is THE commuter bike, am I right? Pop on my rack and I'm ready to rock!

The problem? It's $1500. The very cheapest I've found it for is $1349.

Plus that would mean I have 3 bikes...unless I sell one of them to pay for the Ios XL, but that sounds a little like selling a child.

If I had children. But I could hardly afford both children AND bicycles, now could I?

On the Inequality of Bike Lanes

South Texas doesn't much care for cyclists. Down here, you are expected to have a motor vehicle, even if it's one of those weenie little compact cars. The majority drive SUVs & trucks.

This may explain why we have so few designated bike lanes (I can think of only four streets off the top of my head: Holly, Kostoryz, Ennis Joslin and Ocean Dr.). What's maddening about these bike lanes is the varying sizes of the lanes (and the fact that they occasionally disappear altogether).

On my morning commute, I head a couple miles down a street with no bike lane to Ocean. At Ocean, the bike lane is EXTREMELY small--barely wider than my handlebars. It widens and narrows along the route, and by the time I hit Cole Park it's big enough to park an SUV in (because people park SUVs in it, of course). Cole Park is also where it disappears, so the rest of the ride is done in the street.

On my ride home, I'm largely on streets without bike lanes (though on-street parking lanes are sometimes present, and a nice buffer unless I have to go around a parked car) until I hit Holly. Holly is another road where it widens and narrows at random before disappearing at Staples and picking up again after the intersection--not the greatest situation.

The narrowness of the lanes in some spots is more than a little ridiculous--at Weber I was stuck awkwardly between the right turn lane and the traffic at the light. The first truck at said light had a side mirror that jutted out so far it actually blocked the bike lane; had I pulled up next to him it would've smacked me in the head when the light changed.

The problem, I think, is that the city never considered bike lanes until 2005, at which point they decided that any street being resurfaced or widened (Ennis Joslin, Kostoryz, and Holly so far) needed to include a bike lane. So they aren't really widening the street at all, just giving cyclists whatever's leftover after shaving a little bit off of the rest of the lanes. Not an ideal situation, but it's better than nothing!

Challenge!

I may be a bit late with this, but I just discovered Clif Bars' 2-Mile Challenge.

I've signed up and will keep a running tally on my miles here per week. It sounds like a great way to a) encourage more biking b) reduce trips by car and c) make money for a good cause!

Two miles isn't as far as you think; they have a handy tool that lets you input an address and get a 2-mile "bubble" from that address. There is a TON of stuff within 2 miles of my house!

Summer Absence

Well, as of early July I paused my bike commute. It was hot as all get out and the bus stopped the Southside Express for lack of riders. Most people have trouble with winter commuting, mine's going to be summer.

We did, however, get our first cold front in late September and it's now delightfully cool. I've also tweaked my route: my new route is slightly longer, but a much better ride. Less traffic, wider roads, and more shade.

But I haven't solved the problem I always have: cargo.

I currently wrap up my purse (with phone, ID, and entry card), plus whatever I'd forgotten to stock my work locker with, in to a small, soft-sided bag that came with my luggage. I then bungee it to the rack and off we go.

While I've been looking for a rack trunk, I've been disheartened to find that they're almost all completely, boring BLACK.

First I decided to make my own, using an adorable bicycle-themed fabric I scored on Etsy. My original plan was to waterproof it (either by having it laminated at $60/yard or via linseed oil for old school oilcloth). This looked to be expensive and time consuming.

And then I found this one. First off, it's YELLOW. Have you ever seen such a happy little trunk? It's also got fold-up panniers, which would come in handy in case I unexpectedly needed to carry more cargo. It also comes with a little waterproof sleeve (a raincoat!) to put over it in case of inclement weather; though the reviews say that it does a good job of staying dry even without it.

I did, however, leave Houston WITHOUT the adorable yellow rack (I decided that buying 2 jerseys, new cycling shorts, an "I <3 My Bike" T-shirt & a mini air pump was enough bike-related spending for the weekend)...but am now having my Houston-based friend buy it for me & send it back with her family. I can't wait to try it out!

A Great Link

10 Reasons to Commute by Bike

Can't really say it any better than this. I've been a wash for various reasons the last week and a half, and am definitely feeling a little more...BLAH than usual.

I honestly miss getting up early to hop on the bike. I miss watching the sun rise, and feeling the wind on my face, and the blissful silence.

My commute is a little long--around 10 miles, and it takes nearly an hour to get there--but I don't think there's a better form of therapy in the world.

Forget those 10 reasons: a good bike ride is a reward in itself.

Sewing Lessons

A lady at work is graciously teaching me to sew, and of course I first wanted to make something for my bicycle.

I have two bikes: my Dahon commuter "real" bike and my Huffy cruiser "errand-running" bike.

On the rear rack of the errand-running bike, I've attached a ridiculously roomy Wald basket. It can fit an amazing amount of groceries.

Sewing Teacher helped me design and make a liner/removable grocery bag to go inside of it (coordinated to match the bike's color scheme, of course, because I'm a big girl).

First we made the pattern by laying brown craft paper inside the basket & marking to get its shape.

Next we cut pieces from a coordinating fabric for the liner, and sewed it together (leaving the bottom open for later).

Now we cut pieces from the outer fabric & some buckram for stiffness. Sewed the outer cover & the buckram together along the bottom seams but left the top open.

We attached the handles to the bag before sewing the liner in to the top of the bag, making sure to get the liner, outer cover, and buckram all folded together with the liner hidden just under the top.

And finally we turned the liner inside-out, pulling the rest of the bag through the still-open bottom of the liner (so we didn't have a bunch of seams showing), before hand-stitching that bottom seam shut.

It fits perfectly in to the basket & is going to be such a delight to take to the grocery & farmer's market!

Ah, Hurricane Season

When a young lady's fancy turns to projected paths and canned goods...

The rare June hurricane has popped up, sending the city in to a tizzy for a few days, clearning out stock of bottled water, and making it impossible to commute by bike.

South Texas is lucky in that we don't get much of a winter, making year-round bike commuting a possibility.

Except, of course, for that whole "hurricane" thing. Because while riding in the rain is one thing, riding in 80mph winds is quite another.

Though part of me thinks it might be fun to try!

Why it's good to make friends with your bus driver

In the afternoons, at least until it cools down, I ride up the hill and catch the Southside Express bus. So far I've been the only rider all five times I've taken this bus, so the driver and I have time to talk.

The wonderful thing about our Regional Transit Authority is that they recently outfitted every single bus with a bike rack on the front--and they've gotten a lot of use! Suddenly commuting is no longer an 'all or nothing' deal--you don't HAVE to ride your bike all ten miles, or take the bus all twenty.

Which brings us to yesterday.

There's a big convention in town, so a lot of busses have been pulled to the routes surrounding the convention center. Two of them passed me while I was waiting for my bus, and the lady who takes the #6 chainsmoked nervously while we waited.

Finally a bus pulled up, and it was the smaller busses generally reserved for the handicapped/those needing special assistance. My driver, a generally smiling and friendly guy, looked sad.

The bus didn't have a bike rack.

Before the driver could say a word, I popped the lock on my bike, folded it in half, and carried it up in to the bus with me.

While technically against the rules, he explained, he'd fought for a bus with a bike rack since a cyclist was the ONLY PERSON who rode this route--but management had told him that I could just wait for the next bus. So he was more than willing to let me aboard anyway.

ALWAYS make friends with the bus driver!

Answering The Question

It happens a lot: I get out of work, change in to my cycling gear, and head outside only to have one of my coworkers stop me and ask in confusion: "Why do you ride your bike?"

There are plenty of reasons I shouldn't. It's hot. It's windy. It's dangerous.

But the simple answer is: I enjoy it. I get to watch the sun come up over the bay, listening to the birds singing and the steady thrum of my pedals and wheels. I get my blood pumping first thing in the morning, and start my day off with fresh air.

There are other reasons, of course. I do like saving money on gas. And I do feel like I'm doing something a little extra for the planet. And the hour or more of exercise isn't bad, either.

But for the most part, it's just FUN.

Isn't that really the BEST reason to do anything?

There are times...

…When it sounds crazy to hop on a bike first thing in the morning.

Like all summer in South Texas. Technically, summer started today. It’s been in the 90s for weeks already, however, with heat indexes (indeces?) of 110-115. When I start out at 6am, I pass one of those rotating message boards, and the temperature has never once been lower than 82 degrees. At 6am.

Not so tough in the morning, but come afternoon I’m happy to hop on a bus. The $1.25 I pay for the Express Commuter shuttle from downtown saves me an hour in the sun (I am so terribly pale) and possible heat stroke, so it’s well worth it to me.

That being said, I’ll be overjoyed when it cools off enough that I can make the full 18-mile roundtrip commute by bike!

For the record, the bicycle I commute on is a 2006 Dahon Cadenza (seen to the left). It folds, which I love, so is easily stowed in a closet. It's got a mountain bike frame and road bike tires, which makes it comfy on the admittedly horrendous roads here.