Thinking about a SS/FG

Since my job requires me to crunch a lot of numbers related to inventory levels and cash flows, it naturally seeps into my private life. Speaking in very general terms, I don't ride as much as I would like, I'm good at making excuses about it, and would like to overcome some obstacles.

I don't think I would mind riding in the rain, I just don't want to ride my only, very good condition bike in the rain. On average it rains 122 days a year in my city - that means I use this as a lame excuse about 50% of the time. Compared to national average I get an extra three weeks of laziness-inducing precipitation. Typically, I make my limit at 40% chance of rain during the hours of my commute. If it rained over night I am prone to pass on riding until things are good and dry.

About a year ago I picked up a pair of rain pants on a pretty good deal (75% off clearance and out of season). I have also managed to pick up a couple water resistant riding jackets along the way. Neither the jackets nor pants have yet to be worn. I guess it comes back to not wanting to get my bike wet, dirty, and potentially damaged from riding in poor conditions.

I think an older road bike, likely less than $200, would be fine. The reasoning behind a single-speed fixed gear bike (with brakes of course, I'm not that hip) would be that there would be less gunk to clean, as well as a much easier process. A second or third-hand bike would have much less sentimental value than my first "real road bike."

Am I over-thinking this too much? Am I being too touchy about my current bike? Am I just continuing to make more excuses? Are my speculations about SSFG cleaning and maintenance on point or in valid? Do I need to just shut up and ride?

Spreading the Love

Before I purchased my first adulthood bicycle I knew literally no one who owned or rode a bicycle. My girlfriend rides a stationary bike about five days a week but I don't think that applies this situation.  She wants a bicycle, but does not want to ride anywhere in this town.  Over these two years I have met other cyclists and introduced even more to the two wheels of enjoyment.  Keep in mind I am more of a utility and commuter cyclist, so I don't really hang around the bike shops much and attend all of their group rides.  I do, however, always recommend people to at least go to Bicycle Gallery or The Bicycle Shop to get their questions answered, figure out what  kind of bike they might want, get an idea of what size they need and to browse what is available.


The first day that I rode my bicycle to work I discovered that a coworker does triathlons, marathons and other feats of great endurance.  We talked about bikes a bit, but even though I was a total noob I could speak competently due to trolling on Bike Forums for the previous year.  Yeah, it took that long for me to buy a bike after I decided I wanted one.  Valerie rode her Cervélo time trial bike to work the next day to show it to me.  I will admit I was a little envious because it was such a nice bike but also knew it would have have met my needs to buy something like that.


After about six months of commuting (and putting up with being called "Lance" every time I walked through the doors) I got a new boss at work.  He started asking more and more questions about about bicycling, bikes, seats, fit....  I answered the things I knew and sent him to The Bicycle Shop for the things I didn't.  Tim ended up buying a Cannondale Quick hybrid for more comfort while riding.  He started riding all over Emerald Isle and recently rode the MS100.


Dave, another manager at my work, starting taking interest in bicycling as well.  This was about 16 months into my commuting.  He was persistent with hounding me about helping him find a bicycle.  Dave had gone to The Bicycle Shop to figure out what size bike he needed and what kind of bike he might want.  Eventually I found a two or three year old Trek (1,000 maybe?) on lejeuneyardsales.com.  He managed to talk the seller down from $300 to $250 because the guy wanted it sold as soon as possible.  The seller recently purchased an amazing custom Kane bicycle.  Oddly enough, Dave's friend got an identical bike out of a storage auction.  They kept the frames but switched many of the components and did some minor upgrading and tuning.  Dave now rides a lot before work and participated in the MS100 ride with Tim and myself.  Another coworker, Seamus, borrowed the second Trek for the MS100 ride and is now wanting his own.  Tim borrowed the second Trek for a recent ride around Emerald Isle and now wants to replace his hybrid with a road bike.


I had another coworker, Emerald, asking about bikes and telling me she was interested in getting one for herself.  She was mostly looking for a very comfortable bike to ride for exercise in hopes of losing a little weight, getting in better shape, and perhaps some utility use.  Emerald had asked me to teach her how to ride a bike because she was scared of braking for whatever reason.  I never taught her and can only assume she now has it figured out.


A good friend and coworker for the last five years had started riding a mountain bike around the same time Tim bought his bike.  I think he might have picked it up at Dick's Sporting Goods but I can't remember.  He rode that bike nearly every day, typically somewhere around 14 miles per ride.  Aaron had talked with me a little bit but just did not see himself riding a road bike.  About three months ago he dropped by The Bicycle Shop and started checking out road bikes.  He ended up purchasing a Cannondale CAAD9 and is still riding nearly every day.  He immediately noticed the lighter weight, better performance, and more accurate handling than what he had been used to.  Aaron lives about a block away from me and we haven't met up for a ride yet, but I think he might plan a commute or two this winter.


There are many other people I have come to know, but this is just an extremely small sample size involving people whom I work with.  On a national, or global scale, there are exponentially more examples of people like me.  I'm not a bicycle propagandist.  I'm not out there preaching about saving the planet, reducing road congestion and all those things political agenda type things.  I just like riding a bicycle.

National MS Society

The National MS Society bicycle ride of Historic New Bern very well and the biggest thanks should go out to all the volunteers who made the event so successful.  The team that I captained raised $1,035 and I managed to raise $375 myself.  Many thanks to all who helped our team exceed our fundraising goal of $600

This weekend represented several firsts for me and I handled myself well.  Thank God the weather was perfect because it made the whole weekend easier.  

Until the ride, the most miles I had ever strung together was 21 - I was about to demolish that in one day and then do it all over again the next day.  In case you haven't done it before, 100 miles is a long way on a bicycle.  

I had also never rode with anyone before.  Neither a duo, nor a trio.  No shop rides, group rides, charity rides, fun rides, races, nothing.  One thousand people are a lot, especially in the beginning when everyone is bunched up, anxious, and hopped up on caffeine or whatnot.  

I had never pulled, drafted, rode handle bar to handle bar or passed another cyclist.   On occasion I have cursed one out for almost hitting me while riding in the wrong direction on the wrong side of the road.  It was tense and exciting, but I made no major mistakes, had no mechanicals and was not involved in any crashes.  

I had never eaten while riding, nor rode long enough to require snacks and a lunch.  I was worried day two would be horrendous but after about 10 minutes my legs felt loose and strong.  In the end I made it, averaging 18 miles an hour the whole weekend.  I'm not very fast but I am no slouch.

MS Bike Ride

Please donate some coin to help me get to my goal.

I will be participating in my first MS ride.  Looking to get help with donations.  I started a little late in the game :(

Some days aren't so good....

Admittedly, I can be considered a fair weather commuter.  The last few weeks have been a little tough but I have managed to tough it out at least three days a week.  There are a few things that are trying to thwart my efforts.  The heat has been horrendous topping 90 degrees nearly every day during my commute. I am a pretty hot-weather type of person, it just takes a few weeks to get over it.  The humidity is less of a friend than heat.  But what really tops it off is there are two wildfires in my area that are causing a considerable amount of smoke.  The smell is horrible, visibility is extra low at night and there are severe air quality alerts for the area.  One fire is over 30,000 acres.

So today I ventured forth with 92º F heat, 89% humidity, two wildfires spanning 40,000 acres and after 10 minutes I was on the wrong side of 30% chance of rain.  I had already committed to the commute so I got over it.  Vehicle commuters rarely talk to me while riding and only seem to acknowledge my presence when waiving me through an intersection when it seem precarious and I don't have the right of way.  Today I was lectured by two different drivers at two different intersections while sitting at a light waiting to turn left.  

The first person, an older man possibly 70 years of age, was explaining to me how dangerous it is to ride in the street.  His suggestion was that I ride on the side walk because it would be safer and that is what he did when he was young.  He would also be a bad parent if he let his kids ride their bike on a four-lane road.  I just thanked him for his advice.  

The second person, a lady 30 to 35 years old and possible soccer mom, was telling me that she hates when bicyclists are riding their bike on the sidewalk.  She has to run out of the way with her kids and dogs to avoid the bicyclist taking them out.

I guess you can't make everyone happy.  There are a lot of people out there with these same conflicting trains of thought.  It does not help that my city has one bike path that really takes you nowhere you need to go.  I know I frustrate people, or at least I believe that is what their honking means, but I need somewhere to ride my bike.  As much as anyone tries there is always going to be someone left unhappy.  That's how things work.  I kind of just laughed it off and joked about it when I get to work.  Many didn't get the humor but it is their loss.

I am starting to see more and more cyclists which basically means I have seen about 4 in the last month.  More will come and I have at least two friends who have recently purchased bicycles.  One day riding a bike to work will be considered normal and not suspect of DUI.