Well I did it again. I just couldn't resist. I may have a problem saying no to bikes. But an offer came up that I couldn't refuse. Just look at the new Salsa Casserole and tell me that I did the wrong thing. Ok then. Here's my reasoning: The Redline 925 has been a great bike and will continue t be one. However, I will need to get another set of wheels after this season. They've taken a beating in the wet, salt and sand of the winter. So I would probably drop a good chunck of change on that. It also needs some new tires, drivetrain and potentially bottom bracket. All of these upgrades would put me in the $400-500 range. Now wouldn't it make sense to use the discount that I get from one of our best team sponsors (Salsa) to get a complete bike instead? Well that's the reasoning I used to sort of convince my wife. I'm still not sure it worked, but I was able to order the bike anyway.

Now I have a fleet of Salsas. I can't say enough good things about these frames. They're responsive, light, durable and downright pretty. Every year they whip up some awesome new paint/graphic combination that bikers lust for every year. I currently have two full scanduim frames and one scanduim/carbon.  This new Casserole will round out the frame materials because it is steel! I think steel is the way to go on a commuter. It sucks up the little bumps, cracks and chatter that crappy city roads dish out. An aluminum bike would just be a little too stiff. I like to have a little bit of flex to the frame for a commuter. Plus, most other frame material, like carbon, ti, or even scandium, would be too cost prohibitive. And I would worry that it would get stolen or crapped on by seagulls.One thing though with the steel is that it it tends to be a bit more corrosive than the other materials. So it was suggested I put on a frame protector spray to prolong the life of it. Might be a good idea. 

 So the Casserole is set up with some stock parts--so I just can't go wrong. I'm thinking of selling the Redline to offset some of the cost of the new bike, but I'm also thinking it would make a great foul-weather ride. That way I could just keep the studs on it for winter and use it exclusively in winter. Hey, people have a set of snow tires for their cars--probably paid more for them then I paid for that bike, so what the hell.

Speaking of cars,  I did some calculations last month of how many times I drove to work last year. 11 times. That was a record for me--on the low end. This year I don't see that happening, I've already had to drive 6 times because of weather, sickness or picking up kids. And as the kids get older, I wcan only imagine my drive days will increase--it's a sad reality, but one I hope to curtail for as long as I can through the use of a trailer! Yes! Now both my kids are big enough to ride in the trailer, so that will help out on those days I have to drop them off or pick them up (in the warmer weather of course). I haven;t strung this idea on my wife yet, but I'm sure it will go over really well--the kids will like it. 

An update on my lighting system. I got it back in the mail a few weeks ago after sending it back to Nite Rider. They said it was water damage to the battery that caused it to die. Didn't they test these things in rain? I certainly did not submerge the thing by any means. Yeah it was probably some hard rain, but these lights should be made to withstand that at the very least. But they got it back to me fairly quickly, so I can't complain too much. And the new battery still holds a great charge for almost a week (using it for just the ride home--30-35 min), even in the cold weather. Speaking of which, I'm officially done with winter. I just finished shoveling our latest dump of 8-10 inches which puts the snowbank at the end of my driveway at about 7 ft. Enough is enough. Get out there when you can, ride safely.

 

Zm

Hard to believe that I was so smitten with my light just a few short weeks ago. I went to turn it on last night after a very long 12 hour day at work. I was beat. I clicked the power on...nothing. I tried to unplug it from the battery, replug it in, pushed the button several times all with no success. COME ON! It's nearly 9 p.m. and I have to ride home in the flippin rain, again, now with no light? How is it that my $25 Cat Eye rear flashing light has made it through 3 cold winters, dozens of rain storms, dirt, grit, dog sh*t and every other road debris thrown at it and it still works (very well I might add) but this $150 light with three less settings mind you, kicks the bucket in under a month? I hate all lights. They have been the the ultimate weak link in my commuting experience for as long as I can remember. I don't know who these manufacturors think they are. Do they do any kind of testing on these things? And no a spraybottle in the lab doesn't count as "weatherproof" testing. This thing is going back. I need a light that I can use every day without failure.

I was actually enjoying the battery life on this thing before this happened. This night rider will be using his mountaneering headlamp for a bit. Not cool.

Last Tuesday was shaping up to be one of those days I didn't want to ride in. This was entirely weather related. The wind was gusting out of the East at 30-35 mph with sustained winds at at least 20-25 and heavy rain. Slapping on the rain gear I would hear the wind howling outside. I live in a fairly sheltered area, so I knew I was in for a beating. It didn't start off too badly, at least I knew all my rain gear could take the abuse. The fixie was gonna be the issue today. One gear in the wind just plain sucks. It's great on all those other days, but gears would've been my first choice today.
I made it down to the Back Cove in one piece--the driving rain made visibility pretty poor so I put on my front and rear flashers. I am still impressed with the NiteRider Newt headlight. The daytime flasher mode can project onto signs 300-400 ft away in rain, during the day. I had to lean into the cross winds in order to stay on the bike. It wold blow me to the curb and then ease up so I could go straight again. Then the road curved to the East--ug. I tried to keep the pedals moving but I literally had to stand up and really crank just to keep moving. I might've been going 3 mph-- if that. One thing that's really cool is a new application for the iPhone called MapMyRide . I had used this a few times on the computer, manually entering in my route, but now the data is entered by GPS. When I got into work with my legs actually tired from the 5.67 mile commute (my new shortest crappy weather route) all my stats were right there. Distance, time, average speed and a cool elevation chart. it also maps it out using Google maps with mile markers along the way. So in all, this ride in was the second worst one ever. The one that takes the cake was last year about this time. There was about an inch of snow on the ground with high winds and stinging sleet. That stings.

As I suited up to go home I tried to figure out what the best way home would be given that the wind was still cranking from the East. Oh I picked it right, it was awesome. Nothing like a massive tailwind to blow you home. At times I was hitting 25-30 mph on the flats--maxing out my gear ratio. On one section I cross over a bridge and the cars in the opposite ditection were splashing huge waves ov water on me. I just laughed and screamed like a mad man. "Bring it," I yelled, "hell yeah." It might've been the most entertaining ride home ever (plus I was off for the next 5 days). I had a wide grin all the way home. Certainly that ride made up for a week of crappy, cold and wet rides. So even if the day looks to be the worst ever, it may just turn around.

I'm trying to make it a full year of commuting with less than 10 driving days. I'm up to 8 so far and have another 2 months to go. It might be hard if we get some big snow storms, but we'll see. Stay warm and ride safely.

So where the hell did everyone go? All of those folks who started riding to wok this summer have gone back to their cars? Just buy a light, the fun continues even after darkness falls. I have a theory (ok it may be unfounded, but a theory nonetheless) that it may be safer to commute home in the dark with the appropriate lights. My rear flasher can be seen up to 600 yards away--no joke. And it has 4 different flashing modes to mesmerize even the most inattentive drivers. My front headlight prompts drivers to flash their high beams at me from time to time. Do I get that kind of attention in the summer? I don't think so.

It's lonely out there. Sure the old standbys are still riding--Old dude on the 10 speed with the tie--he's still rollin. But what happened to Happy girl? I would see her on the Back Cove trail almost every morning. She even got a cool new cyclocross late in the season. That's it? Season over? She would smile every day and I would smile back thinking she's gonna make it to at least the Holidays. Nope.

Well here's to those of you still pluggin along. Keep the lights charged and ready, and get some studs for when the snow flies. I hope to be stepping up my posts this winter with some more photos and footage. Bikeman has a new content management system that allows me to post my blogs--it was a little more complicated before. Next week I'll be on NBC.com with a funny little "Green Week"  video about bike commuting. I'll post the url when I get it.

I have a bunch of little rants this month--a few things that have been bothering me. But, I throw in some nuggets of joy as well:

I hate cigarettes. Some jackhole threw one out the window after blowing a big puff of smoke as I rode by him. How gross is that? I let out a big cough and a "thanks chubs" and apparently the dude heard me because he said he was sorry. But come on, stop throwing that crap out the window. I guess littering goes along with the stupidity of smoking. What a great couple of habits.

I'm on vacation this week which means no commuting. I'm feeling like a blob and really feeling the pinch of that whole gas thing. Neither my wife or I have to buy gas to get to work (she works from home) so it was a real shocker to fill up a tank for $60 only to see it drain away on a long car trip to Southern MA. I remember the days early on in my career that I was commuting an hour and twenty to get to work. It was 52 miles one way with $1.10 in tolls. What a huge waste of time and resources. I still feel like I'm trying to offset that one. Of course that was when gas was $.90/gal, so at the very least I could just about afford it. I've found a little calculator out there that helps you get an idea of just how much you're saving in gas and how much CO2 you offset.

The perfect ride. It's a little routine I go through when I have to take the short route home to at least make it interesting. Some days, I just don't feel like riding home. It's a strange thing but by the end of the day at work sometimes, I just want to crash and chill out with a beer. But one thing that I've found that's nearly unattainable on my way home is this "perfect ride."

Pretty simple really, I try to make it home without stopping at all for traffic lights, stop signs, stupid drivers, pedestrians or squirrels. Yeah that's it. No feet down--and track stands don't count either. In Portland where there are a lot of all of these things it's pretty hard, next to impossible, but last night I achieved the perfect ride.

So it's Spring here in Portland, Maine. Where the hell are all the bikers? I've seen a few more in the morning, but not a total flux of morning commuters. I had such high hopes this year to see more people out there. I mean $3.58 for gas? Holy chainsuck. Come on folks, what will it take?

As I've mentioned several times, it's been a rough year for commuting. And not just for me, for my poor bike. I was able to do some much needed cleaning of the Redline this week as I actually had some "down time." My wife and I are celebrating the birth of another baby girl! So I am at home this week. In between diaper changes and naps, I managed to sneak into the garage to clean of the trusty steed. My seemingly new bike is looking pretty beat.

Another stellar week for bike commuting. Monday was clear and fairly warm with temps in the 20's so I actually got out the road bike and took a longer route in. It was nice to see some of the old summertime haunts along the way. It wasn't so nice not to have the studded tires because I did come upon some icy corners that scared the crap out of me at 20mph--ooops. No down time though, so that was good.