Read A Book(s) About Cycling

As our fifth event in the Let's Go Ride A Bike Summer Games  we decided to read a book or shall I say books.  We each picked up two books and then plan to share them after we finish our sets of two.  I bought  "Joyride" by Mia Birk and "Down the Road in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam" by Tim and Cindie Travis.

I actually read "Down the Road" in just a couple of evenings.  It read much like a blog which is what they started with and was enjoyable to hear of their adventures in Asia by bike.  I myself have only traveled through Asia by plane, train, bus, metro, and cars.  It was interesting to see how they managed to get themselves around and get through some of the obstacles they faced. It was an easy read and they seem like genuinely nice people.

The second book I read (haven't finished yet) is "Joyride".  It's a book that has been on my list for quite a few months.  I am about halfway through and really like it so far.  It is interesting to read about Mia's challenges as she helped shape Portland as a bike friendly city. It is a personal story and very inspirational as well.  On that note I am off to take a bike ride myself.  -P

Well, I decided to pick up the books "Bike Snob" by BikeSnobNYC and "The Cyclist's Manifesto" by Robert Hurst.  I read "Bike Snob" first and haven't even start the other.  It seems my "for fun" reading time in the past few weeks has been in those few minutes before I fall asleep.  Nonetheless, I did finish "Bike Snob"and enjoyed it very much.  There is so much practicality and truth and history I didn't know in it, held together well by humor.  I can't wait to read the other three books!  -A

Perform a Maintenance Task On Your Bike(s)

As the fourth event in the Let's Go Ride a Bike Summer Games I decided to perform some bike maintenance.  It works out perfectly as I am expecting family in from out of town tonight and plan to let my sister ride the hybrid bike.   I haven't been on my road bike at all this year since I have been riding my hybrid.  The tires on my road bike were, of course, flat and the bike was slightly dusty.  I washed both bikes, cleaned and put lube on the chain, put air in the tires, checked the brakes and gears.  I have a bicycle repair manual which I have used for reference in the past.  Aside from what I did today I have been lucky as my husband usually helps me with more difficult repairs.  I do want to learn more so I can do them on my own in the future. - P

Hi Ho Hi Ho, It's Off To Work I Go!

I have so much to say, I don't know where to start.  Today was my first ever commute to work on my bike!  My workplace is not right around the corner, but it is also not across town.  For my first commute, I decided to take the safest, most predictable route.  I drove my bike about 4 miles from my home to the park and rode from there.  It saved about 30 minutes to an almost 1 hour for the ride each way.  Riding through the park, it felt earlier than it really was.  It was very quiet and the shadows were longer than what I am used to, since I typically get out to ride in the evening.  It was also a cooler day than it has been recently, and that was a blessing.  

I rode about 9.5 miles to work.  I am very thankful that there are showers in the basement of the building I work in.  I tried to remember everything to get ready for work. The only things I forgot were shampoo, earrings, and sunscreen for the ride home (good thing it was a cloudy day).  I thought that was pretty good on my part, for this being my first commute. 

The worst part of the journey was that my bike had to spend all day in the office with me.  Poor bike, both of us would have rather been outside.

The ride home was actually a little quicker since I could go down some of the more intense hills I went up in the morning.  It was decent ride as well, only about half of what I am used to in the evenings so I still have most of the night to relax and do other things.

Overall Stats:

Mileage: 19.1 miles round trip.

Time Out: approx. 50 minutes

Time Back: 45 minutes

I learned quite a bit today.  I am sure that I can find a quicker route if I enter and exit at different parts of the park.  Or maybe not even take that route at all.  And there are other logistical things that would probably make my trip easier, considering my back pack was quite heavy.  Perhaps a rear bike rack is in my near future? I am sure there are other efficiencies I could adopt as well.  Because of my work, after work schedules, and the time and distance between everything, I don't know if bike commuting is something that I could practically do every day, but I will definitely do it again. I want to thanks the LGRAB Summer Games for giving me the little extra motivation to get out there and commute to work! -A

Go On A Group Ride

As the third event of the Let's Go Ride A Bike Summer Games we chose to "go on a group ride".  Since me and A actually happened to ride two days in a row together we thought we would post pictures of both rides.  Sunday, me, A, and my husband M went out for a 6 mile run.  Although the temperature was starting to climb by the end of the run we thought we would also go on a bike ride.  We have some running races scheduled this fall so adding an extra workout sounded like a nice idea. Our bike ride was a little over 7 miles but was relaxing as we stopped for some iced coffees midway through the ride, as well as some pictures to document our adventure.   We also realized that this was the first time my husband and A went on a bike ride together.  As much as all of us like to ride our bikes it was amazing that it was the first time.  

  

Monday we went on our group ride to one of the multipurpose trails that we alternate riding on each week.  Me, A, and our friend M met up after work. Between 2 and 4 of us usually meet up once a week to ride.  The amount of miles varies as well as the location.  We usually ride 12+ miles. We planned to ride 30 miles and then go enjoy a quick dinner afterward. We accidentally rode 38 but fortunately finished early enough to still have dinner junk food. It was a lot of fun and reminiscent of past training rides. We actually documented one of our  other group rides just 2 weeks ago. We rode 14.5 miles that day and were able to spend some time admiring the view of the lake. Enjoying the time spent riding our bikes with family and friends definitely outweighs the location or distance of the ride. - P

 

Something That Says "Summer"

On my way to and from the neighborhood park to read this evening, I took some pictures of what says "summer" to me for the LGRAB Summer Games.  I have more than just hinted at it before, but dusk/sunset is definitely one my favorite things about summer.  There is just something in the energy of the air at this time.  The crickets are loud, the street lights are coming on, and the lightning bugs are all in sync with the glow of the sky.

This is also the time of day that if I have spent anytime outside whatsoever,  I start to feel the affects of summer on my skin.  The sweat starts to dry or the freckles start to show up.  Of course I am a loyal wearer of sunblock, but the light of the sunset is when I begin to see the lack of color on my skin disappear.  Which reminds me of the song Summer Skin by Death Cab for Cutie. -A

P agrees and the first picture is from her evening.

Test Riding A Different Bike

As our first event in the Let's Go Ride A Bike Summer Games we jumped at the idea to “test ride a different bike” which for us would be commuter bikes.  Both A and I have had a love of bikes since our youth. My order of bike ownership started of course with the tricycle, moving on to a banana bike, 3 speed, 10 speed, mountain bike, and then to my current two bikes.  I have a 1999 Cannondale hybrid bike and a 2006 Cannondale road bike.  Bike riding has been a love of mine from the start.  It ranges from being either for fun or form of exercise.  I am just as happy riding my bike 1 mile or 100 miles and I know A would agree with that.  We've had off and on discussions regarding bike commuting over the years.  We like the idea and have made some trips by bike for the sole purpose of not using our car, and of course getting to spend some extra time with our bikes.  Her most recent trip was made on a day off she took a couple of weeks ago.  I have made a few trips to the grocery store, as well as the post office, the coffee shop, and a friend’s house in the past couple of years.  Although they are minimal I felt happier on each trip. 

That being said we decided to meet after work last night to test ride a commuter bike at a local bike shop.  They had a few true commuter bikes but we got the idea and now want to try more.  The manufacturer of the bike we tried was Giant.  A noticed the difference in the ride as opposed to her mountain bike and commented on how comfortable it felt.  I thought the ride was similar to my hybrid.  We absolutely loved the rack on the back as well as the fenders and kickstand.  I could picture myself carrying groceries on the back, as well my morning coffee.  The sales person did point out that any bike can be a commuter bike if you outfit it just right.  We aren't quite ready to give our current bikes a rest but we can certainly picture adding another bike to each of our households in the near future.  We were already talking about a weekend in NYC for me to test ride a Retrovelo Paula at AdelineAdeline which would be absolutely fitting for me.   To finish the evening off, we took our current bikes out for ride in the park and enjoyed every moment. - P