Winding Down

Today is the last “Bike to Work” day of Bike Week. As I mentioned yesterday, the buses are free today when you have your bike with you. I’m headed downtown tonight to go out and fully intend on taking advantage of this service! Bike Week doesn’t officially end until Sunday, and there are still a lot of events going on this weekend, including the swap meet and scavenger hunt at Acme Bicycle Company on Saturday. There are also a number of group rides both Saturday and Sunday. Check out the Bike Week Calendar for more information.

After my commute today, I’ll be up to about 56 miles since Monday. I plan on keeping the bike/bus/walking thing going after Bike Week ends – it’s been fantastic not driving my car (which is still in the same parking space it’s been in since last Saturday). I did a little test as well, and managed to lose 4 pounds since Monday even though my eating habits this week have been anything but healthy. My legs are exhausted, but I would imagine this gets easier with time and learning how to use my gears a little better.

Speaking of using gears, I rode a fixed gear bicycle for the first time last night at Volker Bicycles. They were hosting a fixed gear clinic for people new to the idea, and a track stand/skid competition for those already familiar with the bikes. If you want to learn more about fixed gear bicycles, the Wikipedia page does a pretty good job explaining it. Here’s a gallery of images of fixed gear bicycles that is fun to poke through as well. If you don’t know what track standing is, it’s basically turning the front wheel of your bike and balancing at a stop. You have to have amazing strength and stability to be able to do it. Here’s the Wikipedia page in case you want to learn a bit more on that. Here are a few photos from the night:

The competition

And then there were two

These are a little late, but here are a few shots from the Mayor’s press conference on Wednesday:

The Mayor addressing the media

The view from the riders’ perspective

Adding Up

At last check, the computer on my bike tells me I’ve ridden about 38 miles since Monday. Granted, to an avid cyclist that won’t seem like much, but for someone who has (literally) overnight made a bike her main method of transportation, it seems like a lot to me. It’s been a lot of short trips – I don’t think any given one has been over 5 or 6 miles. Being outside in the wonderful spring weather we’ve been having to head to the grocery store or go to work is so much more gratifying than being cooped up in my car for those trips. Yesterday I stopped at the grocery store on my way in to work to pick up a few small things and threw them in my bag. It worked out quite well!

Weather-wise, Bike Week couldn’t have looked much better. Tomorrow will be picture-perfect as well, and the weekend will warm up to some of the highest temperatures we’ve seen so far this year. Saturday there is a bike swap meet at Acme Bicycle Company in the Crossroads, followed by a scavenger hunt around downtown. It should be a blast!

Tomorrow is a big day – anyone who rides a Metro bus with a bike gets to ride for free. This includes both KCATA buses and the JO. If you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to try riding a bus with your bike, why not try it out for free? There are also a number of group rides tomorrow. Click here for more information on those.

Planning for the Future

I have to admit that my legs are getting tired. They’re not used to being used so often, but it’s a good kind of soreness – the kind that makes me feel like there’s some kind of progress being made. It also might have something to do with an increase in riding today. I headed downtown before work to go to Mayor Funkhouser’s press conference and hear about the plans for a more bike-friendly KC. It was certainly interesting – more information about what it takes to become a Bike Friendly Community can be found here. Shawnee is already a Bronze level Bike Friendly Community, and the Roeland Park and Shawnee mayors are joining with Kansas City to encourage community involvement in the initiative.

In case you missed it, I sat down with anchors Carolyn Long and Craig Nigrelli during the KCTV5 News at 4 today to discuss Bike Week, the blog, and the Mayor’s press conference. Click here to check it out.

There’s a chance of showers tomorrow, so make sure to pack a rain jacket for your ride! It’ll likely only be light and scattered showers, but best to have that jacket just in case.

Losing and Saving

I just bought my bike in January, and as you can imagine, I didn’t do a whole lot of riding during the snow-and-ice covered winter months. I’m looking forward to riding more now that it’s starting to get warmer outside, but one benefit that I’ve certainly noticed is my fitness level. The only thing I’ve really changed since January is riding my bike (and maybe cutting back just a little on fast food). Since January, I have lost 2 pants sizes and approximately 30 lbs. These are just on the occasional recreational rides in the winter – riding to work and short errands more often are bound to have an even bigger impact. I can’t wait to see the results as summer gets closer!

Another benefit to this is the saving on gas. When you register for Bike Week (it’s not too late!), you have the option of tracking your trips by bike, bus and walking as part of the Car Free Challenge. Since Sunday, I’m up to 26 miles since you only get half credit for trips on the bus or by carpool. By the end of this week I’ll likely be up near 100 miles, which is roughly a half tank of gas in my car, so I’ll have saved about $20 in gas just this week. That’s pretty significant, even in my little car – imagine the gas savings in a larger car, truck or SUV. With gas approaching $4/gallon, it’s certainly an option to consider.

Blowing in the Wind

Yesterday was a beautiful day for the start to the work week, and a great day to ride as well. I could have done without the wind, but today isn’t much more forgiving. I guess I’ll chalk this one up to gaining endurance through more resistance. There is a chance I’ll be dealing with some storms on the way home tonight, so I’ve got my rain gear set and hopefully I won’t run in to problems. The humidity is definitely a factor today, even though the air temperature is a little cooler. I brought an extra set of clothes with me to work to change into when I got there, which worked out well.

Tonight there’s a showing of “Triplets of Belleville” as a Bike Week activity downtown at 6:30pm, and there’s a Bike Week happy hour at McCoy’s in Westport starting at 4:30pm. Other events for tonight and the rest of the week can be found here. The weather for the rest of Bike Week looks like it will cooperate, with the exception of some possible showers on Thursday. So far so good!

Here we go!

I noticed on my ride to work last Thursday that there was a little bit of a rattle on certain gears. I decided to take this opportunity to use one of the Bike Week discounts and took my bike over to Volker Bicycles for a tune-up. I’d never taken a bike in for a tune-up before, so I stuck around to watch and snapped a few photos while I was there.

Checking things out

Truing one of the wheels

There were a few things that needed a little maintenance, so it’s probably a good thing I got those checked out. Volker is offering a 15% discount on tune-ups during Bike Week, which was a nice little bonus.

The weather looks like it is going to cooperate for most of the week, but I might get to test out the rain gear tomorrow on the way home. I filled up the gas tank in my car this morning as another test. I usually have to fill my tank up once a week or so between driving to work and running errands – it’ll be interesting to see how much longer this tank of gas lasts using my bike and other methods of transit to get places. Last Thursday after my test run, I decided I was going to meet some friends downtown after work. I only had my bike with me, so I rode over to 39th and Broadway from Fairway to pick up a bus downtown. Using the racks on the front of the bus is easy enough, and in no time I was downtown and didn’t need to find a parking space, just a place to lock up my bike! At the end of the night, I put my bike back on a bus rack and rode the bus home. It worked out quite well, and not having to worry about a car was a huge relief.

There are a lot of group rides tonight, as well as a class on finding the right bike for you – more details can be found on the Bike Week Calendar. Here’s to a fun and successful Bike Week 2008!

Test Run

Since the weather is so beautiful today, I decided it was a good day to do a test run for Bike Week. I needed to familiarize myself with the route a little better, and what better day to do it than mid-60s and mostly sunny?

I’m not going to lie – the hills are going to be difficult. There is a silver lining to it, though. The more times I ride the route, the easier the hills are going to become. The feeling of progress is worth the effort. I’m one of those people that hates exercising unless I can feel it doing something, and riding up those hills I can -certainly- feel it doing something. The nice part about riding is that there’s a constant breeze, so you never really get overheated on short rides like this (my ride to work is just about 3.25 miles).

Since I was headed to work, I had to bring with me normal shoes since I ride with bike shoes and eggbeater pedals. For riding to work, the shoes and pedals probably aren’t a necessity, but since it’s what I already had on my bike, it’s what I ride with. It is possible to ride eggbeaters with normal shoes, it just takes a little more work to keep your feet on the pedals. For short trips, flat pedals will work just fine! To carry my things with me (phone, keys, wallet, etc.), I use my messenger bag, and it works great. It’s also water-proof for those days that might not be so accommodating weather-wise, and I tend to carry it when I’m not riding since it’s a darn comfortable bag. There are a lot of different messenger bags, and most are water-proof. Check out any of the Bike Week sponsor stores for a wide selection of options.(Links here, scroll down to the bottom)

So what if it does rain on your way to work? Well, fenders are a good start. They’ll not only protect you and your clothes from splash-up, they’ll also help keep your bike clean of mud from the road. There are different types of fenders, and this article does a pretty good job of explaining the differences. A good rain jacket is also key, and a water-proof bag like I mentioned above. If you don’t have a water-proof bag, you could get a rain jacket that’s a few sizes too big and wear it over you and your bag. Sliding on some water-proof pants over your own pants will keep your bottom half dry, although the fenders should keep most of it from splashing up on you. It’s a trial and error process – decide what works for you and a ride to work in the rain won’t be so bad! As a disclaimer, though, if the rain is pouring down and visibility is bad, it may not be safe to ride. It is important to use your judgment to decide whether riding is a good idea or not.

Here’s a quick checklist of things to have with you on every ride, whether it’s raining or not:
-spare tube/patch kit in case of a flat
-small air pump (mine fastens right to the frame of my bike)
-a bike lock
-headlight and taillight (Cateye is a personal favorite)
-proper fitting helmet (any local bike store will help with fitting)

All of this I keep in my bag so it’s ready to go whenever I’m ready to ride.

Free Safety Class

Just in case you didn’t get enough information from the videos linked in the last entry, this Saturday morning (May 10) the Sierra Club is hosting an urban bike safety clinic for people who want to learn more about bicycling in traffic safely. This will also be a great opportunity to meet others interested in biking!

Click here to register for the class.

Getting Started

Whether you’re just getting started or have a wealth of knowledge about riding, it can never hurt to brush up on basics. These videos put together by One Less Car in Maryland are a great resource to walk you through getting the right size bike, safety measures you’ll want to consider, as well as a great introduction to urban riding and what to do when you’re inside and your bike has to stay outside. Click through them – you may want to skip the good places to ride in Maryland, but the rest of the information is certainly useful!

Another activity going on for Bike Week are commuter convoys. Click here for information about where you can meet up with experienced riders who will not only help you become more comfortable with road riding, but will also help you route the best way to get to and from work. A few good websites to help you out mapping your route if you’d like to get started on your own are Bikely and Map My Ride. Both are free resources to create and save routes, and through those sites you can also search for routes people have already created.

Gearing Up

Bike Week 2008 begins next week, so now is the time to start pulling the bikes out of storage and getting them ready for use!

First things first – head over to the KC Bike Week Website to register for Bike Week 2008. There you can form teams and rack up miles not just through biking, but also through walking and taking public transit. Bike Week isn’t just about riding your bike, it’s about learning to use more environmentally-friendly methods of transportation. Most errands are within 2-3 miles of home – next time see how easy it is get there by bike!

Bike Week has a number of activities by local shops and sponsors, as well as discounts available if you pop in with a bike helmet. Check the calendar on the Bike Week website for a list of activities (I’ll also highlight those as we get closer to Bike Week). If your bike has been sitting around for a while, you may want to take it to one of the local bike shops for a tune-up. Volker Bicycles (1717 W. 39th, Kansas City, MO 64111) is offering a 15% discount on tune-ups for Bike Week, and they’re also a sponsor. If you like ice cream or coffee, a number of local shops are offering discounts – check out the discount page for information.

Throughout the course of the next few weeks, I’ll be here relaying my trials and tribulations as a relatively new rider as well as letting you know about Bike Week activities and useful tips to get started. I’ll ride my bike to work each day and take transit (both with my bike and without). If you’re new to transit or biking, now is a perfect time to check it out. Hopefully the weather will cooperate!