Thoughts on Two Wheels

Sunday, April 15, 2018

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? Ten days, to be exact. Ten days since I last rode a bicycle. No reason for the layoff other than the fact I’ve been distracted with other stuff. I tend to get a little cranky when I can’t ride, so getting out on the bike today was good for me physically and mentally.

Usually, a Sunday afternoon ride in the neighborhoods of north Austin is pretty relaxing. That wasn’t the case today. The weather was perfect and I was motivated to ride but what I didn’t know until I got into the Balcones neighborhood was that tomorrow starts bulky item collection day. The curb was littered with all sorts of things but that, in an of itself, was not the problem. It’s what the bait attracts that’s the problem: pickup trucks pulling trailers. Like moths to a flame, bulky item collection Sunday draws pickup trucks and trailers from miles around to the neighborhood where items are free for the picking. Generally speaking, I don’t really have a problem with the way this plays out, but from a biking perspective, bulky item collection Sunday can be pretty dangerous. I’d say 99.9 percent of the drivers of these pickup rigs don’t live in the Balcones neighborhood and therefore, don’t know their way around, which is problem number one. The neighborhood is built around two 18-hole golf courses, so there isn’t the usual order in the way the streets are laid out that you’d see in most other residential sections of the city.

Compounding problem number one is problem number two: with all the free stuff sitting on the curb, these drivers, who don’t know where they’re going in the first place, are really distracted. To these folks, and other drivers as well, the free stuff just waiting to be picked up is magical; it’s like shopping without having to leave the comfort of your car.

Anyway, suffice it to say I had to be extra vigilant on my ride. Good thing the weather was nice.

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Happy Easter!

The Austin Bike Sherpa is non-too-happy about the prospect of motorized two-wheelers invading Austin’s bike lanes. Read about it here.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

I always enjoyed watching Jens Voigt race in the Tour de France (on TV, of course). He was a breakaway artist – a guy who would judiciously pick his spots; he’d size up his competition, analyze the day’s route, and at just the right moment, break away from the rest of the peloton in a long, mad dash to the finish line. It was mad (i.e.: crazy) because the “dash” would usually be 25 miles or longer.

In 2014, I had the pleasure of meeting Jens in a hotel lobby in Salt Lake City as his team was waiting to board the team bus for the trip to Colorado for the USA Cycling Challenge. My daughter Brittany captured the moment.

 

Now retired from cycling, Jens is a commentator for NBC Sports coverage of the Tour de France and other major cycling events. His view of the health benefits of cycling and proper diet are right in line with mine, and are reflected in this article.

 

Saturday, March 24, 2018

While the women folk in my house gathered for a bridal shower, I had the chance to take my mountain bike out and enjoy some of the warm Spring weather on a network of wooded trails in west Austin. Vegetation is sprouting, giving the trail a new energy.

More than road riding, mountain bike riding takes me back to when I was a kid riding trails in the undeveloped woods behind our neighborhood in northwest San Antonio. A lot of people think trail riding is safer than road riding because the odds are extremely low that you’ll get hit by a car. But mountain biking comes with its own set of risks. Most of the scars I have are from falling off a mountain bike in some form or fashion. If you fall when riding on a trail, chances are you will land on something that will scratch you, poke you, or cause a bruise – sometimes all three. In severe cases you can break something. Fortunately, that extreme has never happened to me on the trail, so my association with mountain biking is still positive.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

I spent the interest on my Daylight Savings account and took in a few extra miles on my way home, including a short, steep pitch marked as Arrowhead Drive in the Highland Hills neighborhood just west of Mopac. A friend of mine who does not ride had claimed it was the steepest pitch in Austin, impossible to climb on a bike, but I had my doubts. Coming off Hancock Drive, I found Arrowhead Drive pretty easily, though it takes some climbing to get there. Indeed, it was a steep pitch, 24 percent grade, but mercifully short – only about a block long. Here’s a photo from the top looking down.

The photo never does it justice. It’s steep – but not as steep or challenging as the granddaddy of all the steep pitches in Austin, Smokey Valley, which tops out right at 30 percent grade as you reach its crest. More on that in a future post.

Meanwhile, I continued my ride home and took advantage of the extra daylight by taking in a little lagniappe, a few extra miles in the Great Hills area. Here’s more on the journey.

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Officially it started yesterday but I had a meeting away from the office so I couldn’t ride in to work. Oh yeah, and the troubled front tire on my 1983 steel-frame Fuji Del Rey was flat so I had to fix that last night, but I was good to go this morning. Two shirts, arm warmers, and a beanie under my helmet kept me warm starting out and by the time I got to work, I was perspiring some, but not too much.

A couple of observations from this morning’s ride: First, I was cruising along pretty good on the paved Walnut Creek hike and bike trail when I came across a small group of fawns nibbling grass alongside the road. I wish I could have gotten a picture but the situation caught me by surprise. I slowed down considerably as they saw me and began to scatter. Deer are very unpredictable and are just as likely to run into you as you are to run into them. It’s always best to slow down and be ready to maneuver out of the way when you come across deer. The other thing to remember – especially with fawns – is that other older deer are likely in the area but out of sight, so be cautious and on the lookout. Deer that are spooked move in pretty irrational ways and don’t look for cyclists, and they certainly won’t stop. You’ve got to look for them and respect them.

The second thing I noticed this morning was the number of people riding their bikes to work. I wasn’t counting but I probably saw six other cyclists on my route alone! This is encouraging to me because the more people who bike to work, the fewer cars there are on the road. There’s also a strength-in-numbers factor at work. As more bike riders claim their share of the road, drivers are more likely to pay attention and be on the lookout. We like drivers who pay attention.

The start of spring means warmer weather, longer days, and more opportunities to get out on the bike. Carpe diem!

More on this morning’s ride.

 

Sunday, March 18, 2018

I got the chance to ride mountain bike with my buddies Pat and Tim this afternoon at Reimers Ranch, a Travis County park in the southwest part of the county. Unfortunately it was hot and humid, perfect conditions for the buildup of thunderstorms, We got in eight miles before the thunder chased us off the trail. You can see part of the buildup in the background of this photo Pat took.

In this situation, cycling is no different than any other situation: if you hear thunder, lightening is probably already a threat to anyone out in the open. Get back to your car or a shelter in the park as soon as possible. Believe me, getting caught in a thunderstorm with lightening is extremely dangerous. Don’t tempt fate.

Here’s the Reimers route.

Saturday, March 17, 2018

I don’t set a very good example on overcast days. I know that even though I can’t see the sun, its rays are still penetrating the clouds and I’m exposed. Still, when it’s cloudy like it was this morning, I don’t apply sunscreen before I ride, even though I should. Do as I say, not as I do when it comes to sunscreen.

Do as I say and as I do when it comes to picking a jersey to wear when it’s overcast. The lack of sunlight makes bike riders more vulnerable to the prospect of being hit by a driver that doesn’t see the cyclist. For that reason, I always wear the brightest jersey I own when the sky is flat and sunlight is at a minimum. On sunny days, however, the brightest jersey tends to blend in because everything is bright, so I’ll wear a jersey with a fun graphic or bold colors that aren’t necessarily bright, but will still catch the eye of motorists. I know it’s a small thing but as a cyclist sharing the road with cars and trucks, you need every advantage you can get. High visibility!

Here’s a bonus photo from today’s ride: bluebonnets that are sprouting in the right of way along Highway 183.

Here’s a report on today’s ride.

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Okay, so maybe I overdid it – but just a little bit. Starting my ride to work at the coldest part of the day (40 degrees!) inspired me to bring out my rarely-used winter wear. Because of the switch to Daylight Savings Time, I had the few extra minutes necessary to layer up an snap a quick photo before rolling out.

Riding to work on mornings like this are a little surreal. Most obviously, there’s the temperature. It was 90 degrees over the weekend, 50 degrees warmer than when I left the house this morning. Because of the temperature, I was wearing more clothes than usual, including two head pieces that covered my ears, muffling any noise I’m used to hearing. Because it’s Spring Break, there was very little traffic. It was kind of like riding to work in a cocoon. No flats, though, which is good, and no mechanical issues with my bike. And the shower is still working. Looking forward to riding home this afternoon wearing fewer clothes!

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Took advantage of an unseasonably warm day today and rode a tried and true route with my frequent riding buddy, Pat Fries. Saturday riding is kind of sketchy in neighborhoods because people are out and about and not following their usual routine, so they can become easily distracted. In particular, watch for cars backing out of driveways and people driving through stop signs. You probably shouldn’t do what Pat did, take a selfie while wheels were turning.

Our tried and true route is dominated by Loop 360 and Bee Caves Road, which means there are a lot of hills and cars driving by at 60 mph or more. Loop 360, which beautiful and challenging, has other unique risks in the form of entrance and exit ramps. I’ll dedicate a separate post to that later. The key to safe riding on 360 is to stay to the right in the wide road shoulders and try to block out the fact that cars and trucks are whizzing by you. This is tough to do at first but after awhile, the traffic becomes white noise as you struggle with your own fitness on the road’s substantial climbs.

Bee Caves Road is similar to 360, except that there are a number of business entrances along the route, which means you have to be aware that a car or truck might not see you and turn into your path. I’ll do more on that later, too.

My friend Pat produces documentaries for a living, so when I got a flat on Bee Caves Road, he recognized a teachable moment.

Here’s more on https://www.strava.com/activities/1446111016/embed/d62c4c4932dac0c028f90b67fe1d217c8c9c787f“>today’s ride.