mikespokes

A low rate of return

2011-10-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

Remember when Ikea gave each of its U.S. employees a bicycle late last year?

The company told employees the bicycles were "our way of saying ‘thanks IKEA co-workers for being strongly committed to working together.’ We hope this bike will be taken in the spirit of the season while supporting a healthy lifestyle and everyday sustainable transport.”

There was a fair amount of tongue-clucking at the time on bike blogs about how cheap the bikes seemed to be. And I can't argue with that; the bikes seem to be pretty cheap. But really, what did your employer give your for Christmas last year? I think the best gift I ever got from an employer was a turkey or Honey Baked Ham. So, you know, good for Ikea.

But it would appear -- in West Sacramento, at least -- that the bikes may not have kicked off the pedal-to-work craze Ikea may have hoped for. On a recent visit to the store I found this lonely bicycle locked to the rack. One.

Ikea stores tend not to be nestled in neighborhoods and the West Sac store is no exception. If you were going to cycle to work, you'd have some hairy moments on Reed Avenue and the like. So I guess it's not too surprising that there weren't a dozen of these waiting outside for shift change.

At least one employee is getting some use out of his or her free bike, and that's a good thing.

Sandwich stop

2011-10-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

I liked the look of this colorful wall and the contrast with the oldest of my bikes.

They make a pretty good reuben sandwich too.

A well-protected Free Spirit

2011-10-06T06:53:00.000-07:00

I still miss my burgundy Free Spirit three speed from time to time. It didn't have the solid feel of the Raleighs, but it was a lovely color and somewhat lighter. There was a simplicity to it that made me happy.

So, when I saw this blue version parked near my office, I got a little bit nostalgic. It seems to be from exactly the same era as mine. The blue is named "Sheffield," which I certainly prefer to the ambiguous "Brittany" name given to the burgundy model.

As I stood taking photos of the bike, its owner appeared in the person of this smiley, pretty store clerk. She strode up to me and said brightly, "thank you so much for being interested in my bike... I love it."

And she should. It's in great condition and it's being very well protected with a serious chain. It would take some work to liberate this Free Spirit and ride off.

Lighting in a pinch

2011-10-03T23:23:00.000-07:00

The shortened days of autumn caught me off guard recently when I rode to work before realizing it would be dark before I returned home. Naturally, the many battery-powered lights I've bought, including a few Knogs and Planet Bike models, were all safely at home on other bikes.

I'm caught somewhere between buying enough lights so each bike has a set on it at all times and remembering to switch the ones I have between bikes as a new one is selected each day. This is a distinct disadvantage to not having a dedicated commuter bike or even having just one bike, as most normal people do.

Anyway, I came up with an interesting solution to my lighting program. My office is in the same suite as the offices for some retail shops in the touristy part of town. On any given day, there are dozens of boxes of merchandise intended for sale at some street festival or another.

Luckily, this week's collection of China-made novelties included those little flashing lights that you "wear" by putting a magnetic disk beneath your collar or lapel to hold the flashing button in place. I borrowed a pair of these, attaching one to the rear fender and the other to the heron-emblazoned light fixture on my Raleigh Superbe.

Here's what the rear light looked like at the beginning of my ride:

Of course, they did nothing to illuminate the road or bike path for me, but nearly all the tricky sections of my commute were finished before it was more than twilight.

By the finish, though, they were making me feel a lot better about my chances of being seen by motorists. Here's what the front light looked like by the end of the ride:

Does anybody know just how difficult or expensive it is to rig full-time lighting on a vintage bike? I have no interest in investing in new or dynamo hubs, so I'm thinking it would be bottle generators or just a wider collection of Knogs and the like. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Finally, a three speed in Ireland

2011-10-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

As a collector/rider of Raleigh three-speeds, I was very excited about the promise of seeing tons of my beloved bikes on our trip to Ireland. Just as vintage Schwinns seemed to be locked to every bike rack in Chicago, so too would Raleighs, Rudges, Humbers and Triumphs be chained to every footpath tree in Belfast, I reckoned.

Not true, it turns out. Cycling in the north of Ireland in September was, well, difficult to detect. On the road to and from Ballycastle, we encountered a dozen or so road cyclists on modern road bikes and wearing full cycling kit. After that, nothing. Well, there was the occasional kid on a department store mountain bike and once there was a pair of muddy mountain bikes on the back of a Range Rover near Glenarife Forest, but pretty much nothing.

To be fair, we spent less time in the tonier spots of Belfast than our itinerary originally called for. So, it's possible there was a wealth of bicycle commuters around Queens University that went unseen by us. But based on my limited data, I concluded that bicycle commuting was almost nil.

One cousin offered an interesting explanation. Riding a bicycle in the bad old days of his youth meant being vulnerable in a city that offered too many ways to meet with trouble. Better to be on foot or in a car/bus, he said. I don't know how much stock to put in that, but I certainly don't have the credentials to dispute it either.

As for the country roads -- those bucolic, winding paths through pastures and rolling hills that I was certain would be teeming with tweed-clad versions of myself -- I think I know why those were bicycle free. About the 100th time I met a 2-meter wide vehicle coming toward me at 60 mph on a 3.5-meter wide country lane, I realized that cycling these roads would require nerves of steel.

Maybe those videos of English cyclists were just propaganda by British Rail. Or maybe it's different in England and they're donning plus-fours and cycling away. But in Ireland, I saw bugger all when it came to vintage bikes and country cycling.

Until, that is, I came across a 1950s Raleigh three speed with full chaincase and original components -- hanging from the wall of a pub in Hillsborough, up the street from my family's pub. I saw exactly one vintage bike in Ireland and it was wall art. Oh well. Thankfully, there's more to life and to vacations than cycling.

Deadly handsome

2011-10-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

There are few places more tranquil and bucolic in Sacramento than the City Cemetery. It may seem odd to choose this as a cycling destination, but the beautifully cultivated gardens and abundance of shade trees make it ideal for a gentle ride on a warm day.

For a time, our family volunteered to take care of one of the many plots in the historic cemetery. We "adopted" the Hatch family plot, and tried to keep the 19th century graves tidy and adorned by blossoming shrubs and flowers. After a year or so, relatives of the Hatches returned to town and asked to see to the graves themselves. Naturally, we happily stepped aside. One day, we'll find a new plot and resume the happy gardening project.

In the meantime, I still like to visit from time to time and ride slowly up the small hills and around the gently winding paths. The way I see it, some of the cemetery's residents have been lying there since the 1850s and quite likely appreciate company of any kind by this time. I ride for a while and then find a shady bench to check emails and maybe have a snack before riding back to the office.

On this visit, I brought Takumashi, my 1970s Nishiki Citisport. I think he's looking just about perfect now with cork grips, a VO leather saddle and twined accessories.

Intriguing, affordable "Dutch" bike

2011-07-11T21:47:00.000-07:00

When I came home from visiting Flanders two summers ago, I was taken with the idea to find a buy a Dutch bike in the U.S. I don't know whether I was more surprised to find that it was possible to do so, or that it would cost $2,000 to do it.

If there had been a bike that simulated what I had seen on the streets of Bruges that cost a few hundred dollar's I'd have snapped it up in an instant. There wasn't, and I didn't. And that failure to do so is what started my bike-buying spree and this blog.

Well, now there is. I stumbled across a link to this bike via Bike Snob today. I had no idea it existed and have never seen anything similar in this price range.

On the one hand, I know a bike that sells for under $300 can only be so good. I also understand that much of what makes a Dutch "Opa" what it is cannot possibly be found on a bike that sells for so little.

I get that, I really do. But, I will admit to being intrigued by the idea of owning a Dutch-looking bike for $250 or so. It even has a front rack suitable for lugging my little Dutch kids around on, if I ever happen to come into possession of little Dutch kids.

I've looked online for reviews with no luck. Half of me is hoping to find ones similar to those written on the Flying Pigeon and giving me the freedom to move on and never think of this again. The other half is hoping to read that it's surprisingly well-built and feels like the real thing. If this is the case, I'm going to need someone to loan me some garage space.

A fabulous Fourth

2011-07-09T23:20:00.000-07:00

I love the clarity of Independence Day. There's no debate over the origins, no confusion over what the holiday is supposed to celebrate. It's wonderfully clear-cut. This is at least half the reason July 4 remains a favorite spot on the calendar for me.

The rest, I suppose, has a lot to do with childhood memories of unmitigated awesomeness each and every July 4. It was more than just the fireworks at night at Shiloh Park -- although those were certainly a high point. It was also because July 4 was a kind of perfect point in the summer. School had already become a distant memory and the post-Labor Day return was far enough away to hold almost no power over a boy's thoughts.

Once the calendar turned to August, there was a growing sense of dread that began to creep into the phenomenon of summer vacation. It was impossible to stop the silent calculation of how many days of freedom remained each time you spotted the date on a bank sign or newspaper or carnival flyer.

The cookies were a hit at Sunday's bbq in Sonoma and Monday's potluck

But in July, everything was still perfect. The days were long. You could jump on your Sting-Ray immediately after breakfast and ride it until dark if you wanted to. Our signal to come home was provided by an huge old bell that stood in our backyard, a relic from some long-closed schoolyard, I guess. My mom would ring the bell and the brass-on-brass gong would sound throughout the neighborhood and well beyond.

When I mention that to my daughter today, I'm aware of how much freedom (and risk) she doesn't get to experience. She'll never know what it's like to be 10 and a couple of miles from home, fending for yourself with only a bike and a promise to come home when the bell tolls. I've puzzled over whether this is because the world is more dangerous or because parents are more cautious, but ultimately it just is.

Jan walked our patriotic pups in the parade

Which isn't to say she's suffering through childhood. I suspect and hope she'll have equally happy memories to share when she's a parent, although her mom and I will be in a whole lot more of the photos.

Case in point, this most recent July 4. Fiona spent the morning of the 3rd decorating her favorite bike, the Electra cruiser. She took some bike-decorating suggestions from a Martha Stewart magazine she bought primarily for the cookie decorating suggestions. Other inspirations came from her own mind. In the end, she had a beautiful entry in our neighborhoods quaint little parade.

I joined her, outfitting the Schwinn Racer in flags and crepe streamers starry, red-white-and-blue garland. Best of all were playing cards in the spokes. I had completely forgotten how cool that sound is. It really sounded like an old motorcycle... or, I guess, what I decided an old motorcycle sounded like when my friends and I would tear up and down the street with baseball cards and clothes pins mounted on the fender struts.

Here's hoping your Fourth was as fun and magical as ours. And here's wishing you a long, happy summer full of freedom and fun.

Downtown bike crowding

2011-05-28T17:29:00.000-07:00

It's frustrating but not surprising to encounter stores, offices and facilities with insufficient bike racks. I usually try to tell a storeowner, politely, that I'm a customer, I arrived on a bicycle, and I'd find their business easier to patronize if it had a place for me to lock my bike. So far, everyone has been, or at least sounded, appreciative for the input.

Last week, I had an appointment at a downtown building and arrived to find not a single space left for me to secure my Raleigh. Bikes were on both sides of the handful of racks and a half-dozen were locked only to themselves, leaned against a window. After some thought, I pulled my bike onto the unplanted and barren "demonstration garden" and locked it to the sign.

Situation normal. But wait, as they say on TV, there's more.

The building in question is the headquarters of the California Environmental Protection Agency. It opened in 2001 and for years -- YEARS -- CalEPA flacks were bragging about the countless green innovations incorporated into the design. Special window placement minimizes the number of lights needed. What lights are needed are "super-high efficiency" tubes that dim automatically when the sun shines in. The roof is a tangle of solar cells. The parking garage was built with electric vehicles in mind.

Impressed? Be quiet. We're not even warmed up yet.

Low-flow fixtures installed in the bathrooms including the now-infamous waterless urinals. Native grasses dominate the landscape and smugly refuse even a sip of water in our parched summers. (This may explain why I was able to park my bike in a "demonstration garden." The point demonstrated seemed to be that plants need water to live.)

Every drop of paint used was "zero volatile organic compound" whatever that means. The carpet is, I don't know, recycled milk jugs or something. It was put in place without glue, further reducing VOCs, which I still will not pretend to understand.

Amazing, no? Sit down. Still not done.

Under the desks are vermiculture bins. I'm not making this up. They might be, but I'm not. I think this means that if you work at CalEPA, under your desk, there is a big bin with compost and worms. UNDER YOUR DESK. The worms, who on any given day may be the only ones performing actual work in a state office, create organic waste which is then used in the courtyard flower beds.

And this is just the building. We haven't even touched on what CalEPA actually does besides making its employees grow worms under their desks.

This agency is the author and prime mover behind the most stringent green regulations in the world. This place is where the California Air Resources Board meets to defend itself against its critics, who claim that it has systematically destroyed entire industries and hundreds of thousands of jobs in the name of being the nation's leader in reducing carbon emissions and diesel exhaust.

To say that CalEPA would like us out of our cars is a vast understatement. It's a bit like saying Charlie Sheen enjoys a drink now and then.

And yet, the best this outfit can muster for its thousands of employees is racks for a couple dozen bikes? Surely fixing this problem can't be as hard as finding carpet that doesn't need glue or convincing union workers to keep a worm bin at their feet all day.

Random hipster kindness

2011-05-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

So, I'm stopped at a light in midtown Sacramento, when a young guy on a single speed bike -- narrow bars, bright paint job, everything but the fixed-gear hub -- comes to a stop alongside me.

His hair had a splash of neon green in it. His wore a snug-fitting t-shirt and skinny jeans. Oversized sunglasses. A loyal, uniformed solider in the Hipster Army.

Not the sunny-dispositioned hipster in question. But check out that satchel.

I'm getting more at peace with the world these days and less bristly when sharing space with folks whose cultural choices I don't share. Still, my inward reaction was at least a mild form of LATFH.

But then came a surprise.

"How are you?" he asked in the most pleasant of tones. I think my response reflected genuine pleasure at this departure from the expected.

"Isn't it a beautiful day?" he asked. It was, I agreed.

"Enjoy it!" he said as the light changed and he pedaled off.

It was just a young guy on a bike who made a choice to be pleasant, but it made a difference in my afternoon. If he does this three or four times a day -- and his easy tone suggests he does -- this one kid is making the world a significantly brighter place.

Beautiful Peugeot

2011-05-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

The girls and I found ourselves at Hot Italian, the center of Sacramento's cycling scene, on the evening of their Velo & Vintage fashion/bike show.

I can't tell you with any certainty about a single outfit or garment that was modeled. I can, though, remember a good few of the bikes the models rode down the catwalk.

For me, the Best in Show was this Peugeot sports/roadster. So taken was I by this bike that I made a visit the following week to the place I suspected was the source for it. I was right, and as I arrived at Edible Pedal, I saw it sitting regally inside the doorway.

I think this bike is just stunning. The fender-mounted light, the chrome fenders, the full chainguard, the braided cable housing... it's all just so elegant.

And seductive. I really felt a bit disloyal to my collection of English three-speeds as I found myself thinking it was more refined and, well, French, than the Raleighs.

Edible Pedal boss John explained that the bike likely isn't as old as it appears. At least not all of it. Closer inspection revealed some distinctly newer parts and components. It seems to be an expertly created and beautiful Frankenstein, with parts coming from any number and age of Peugeots to make one stunning whole.

wish granted!

2011-04-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your support and finger-crossing!

Last week, I became the owner of this marvelous 1951 Sports Superbe. The seller was Rick, ace mechanic at my LBS and accomplished racer. On a visit to the shop last month, another mechanic mentioned that Rick was looking for me, wanting to sell a bike. Rick was out of luck, I informed the messenger, as I have not one more inch of room to store another bike. A few minutes later, Rick walked in. I pre-empted the sale, telling him I couldn't possibly buy another bike. The only bike I could be interested in, one I was sure he'd never sell, was the green Raleigh Superbe.

That, Rick said, was just the one he was hoping to sell. And here, he inserted a bit of remarkable news. He would sell it for the extraordinarily affordable price he himself had paid for it a few months earlier. The deal was done.

I like to think of myself as fair and ethical, but I'm not completely sure that if I stumbled onto an amazing deal on a bike I would pass that good fortune along, intact, to the next owner. I mean, I think it'd be OK to profit a little bit from finding a lottery ticket in the street, no? Thankfully, Rick is made of better stuff in this department. I did, when it was all done, ensure that Rick saw at least some profit from his remarkable stewardship of the bike.

Now, a word about the bike -- with more to come at another time.

In 1951, Raleigh sold a number of different bikes under the Superbe name. It seems to have been a designator of "trim level" rather than a distinct model. You can see what those extras included in 1951 here.

This new bicycle rides as you'd expect a bike owned by a mechanic to ride. The four-speed Sturmey Archer hub shifts easily, with the middle two of the gears being sufficient to me. The lowest, marked "B" for reasons I don't yet understand, is extremely low. This could come in handy, I suppose, but "1" seems adequate for the few hills in our region. At the high end is "H" and I think I can guess what that stands for. The gear equating to "2" on a three-speed is marked "N," which, I learned, stands for "normal." That strikes me as a very English way to view things and I like it.

It's also complete. You'll notice a difference in the rendering of the bike as sold in 1951 and in my photo of it soon after coming home (below).

That cylinder on the seat tube is a battery pack. It holds D batteries and powers the lights when the bike isn't in motion. Rick wisely decided some of the wiring issues were outside his expertise, but included all the gear with the bike. Now, I need to find someone less phobic than I about these kinds of tasks and put the bike back into original condition. Next on the list is more authentic tires, but that's another story.

At last, cream Delta Cruisers

2011-04-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

I've wanted cream tires for ages. I've seen them on a number of favorite blogs and tried to order them several times. Each time I tried, the supplier turned out to have none in stock and my order was canceled. Apparently, they were much easier to come by in the 700c size. I was looking for 26 x 1 3/8 to fit one of my vintage Raleighs, and those were scarcer than hen's teeth.

In fact, I'd given up on the idea of owning any for the time being. I set my sights on Panasonic Col de la Vie tires instead -- and even started thinking they might be a better look. While browsing for a deal on the Panasonics, I came across the Schwalbe Delta Cruisers from a supplier who claimed to have them in stock!


This is what they look like after a ride around the block.

I ordered them in a flash, half-scared that this supplier would run out before mine were shipped.

They came today, and I put them on Geordie, the 1971 coffee Superbe. I like the look very much (although I suspect the gumwall Panasonics would have been a hit as well.)

I'm already a fan, if only for the fact that they were easy to install. Some 26" tires are nearly impossible for me to mount. My hands and thumbs ache for days after fighting them onto the rims. I realize there is some degree of operator incompetency here, but still... these new tires went on the way I'd always assumed tires should. A modicum of stretching/pushing to get the beads in place but no swearing, sweating and struggling.

After one ride around the block, they had picked up some gray road tint, but I've read that they reach a kind of static point in terms of discoloration. In other words, they get a bit dirty and them stop getting dirtier... allegedly. We'll see. In any event, I can't imagine the sidewalls -- the only part anyone really sees -- getting all that dirty or being all that hard to clean.

Now, I've got at least one more Raleigh in need of new tires. Do I snap up another pair of Schwalbes while I can, or do I go with the Panasonics?

Oh Amazon, how did you know?

2011-04-13T16:13:00.000-07:00

If only my life were as interesting as Amazon and Tivo seem to think it is when they make "suggestions" for me.

A few weeks ago, I bought a pair of handcuffs from Amazon to use as a kind of café lock for my bikes. The whole transaction was smooth, fast and successful. I've already moved on to new projects and ideas.

Amazon, though, isn't ready for the fun to end. They found my purchase intriguing, and have helpfully tried to find other products I might enjoy. Take a look at what showed up in my "other items you might like" box this morning.

Seriously. Right there next to Sunlite inner tubes and Crane bells and whatnot sat this, uh, item.

Naturally, I clicked on it to have a closer look. (If you're an Amazon user, you're ahead of me at this point and know where this is headed.) Yep, I had now changed the equation on another feature, the "items you've looked at recently" box. By the time I got back to Schwalbe tires, my suggestions included a number of intriguing, horrifying, mysterious and wince-inducing products I will not show here. I will say only that I had no idea there existed such a variety of dilators, riding crops and speculums (specula?) on our planet.

So, I've pretty much convinced Amazon that I'm that dude from the basement of the pawn shop in Pulp Fiction. Nice day's work.

Velo Orange saddles

2011-04-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

I've been on the fence for a while about the Velo Orange saddles. I've read conflicting reports about their quality and how they stack up against Brooks saddles. Eventually I saw one, the VO version of the B67, in person, and found it surprisingly stiff. The smallish difference in price, I decided, was not worth the risk of ending up with an inferior product.

Two things happened that led me to revisit this decision. First, I noticed that my Brooks B67 had splayed pretty significantly after only a few hundred miles of use. The saddle had flattened noticeably and my attempts to re-introduce tension via the adjustment bolt were, at best, only moderately successful. I started to think that maybe the stiffer leather of the VO saddle wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

Second, several models of the VO saddles went on sale. Now priced at $65, these saddles (at least the model 8 and model 5) now featured a price gap that made them worth another look. In fact, the sale brought them down to the same prices offered by the actual manufacturer, Taiwan-based Gyes.

Come to think of it, there was a third factor to my decision. In roaming the Internet, I stumbled across someone's photos of a restored Superbe nearly identical to my 1971 coffee-colored favorite. The restoration featured a Flyer saddle, one of the Brooks being mimicked closely by a Velo Orange model.

So, I went for it. I bought a black and brown Model 8 (or 5?) which is supposed to replicate the Flyer. I put the brown one on Blaise, my Mercier mixte, and the black one on Takumashi, my Nishiki Citisport.

Aesthetically, they're a hit. The brown saddle is a much better look for the blue Mercier than was the honey B67 that was on there before. It's a very pleasant brown and I have hopes it will age to look similar to the Ideale saddle that would have been on this bike originally. The black saddle is more accurately described as a very dark brown. I think it's a more interesting color than the uniformly black of the Brooks saddles I own.

But when it comes to saddles, looks aren't everything. The jury is still out on whether these saddles will become sufficiently comfortable. After about 30 miles on each, the Nishiki is proving more adaptable to the change. In both cases, there's no mistaking the fact that you are sitting on something very solid and pretty hard. There is no noticeable "give" in either case.

In the case of the Mercier, though, it's more pronounced. I can feel both sit bones after about 5 miles, resting somewhat uncomfortably on a hard surface.

This sensation, I believe, is due to the stiffer leather. So, I'm giving it 100 miles or so before I rejoice or despair. I figure the stiffer leather will take longer to break in, so I'm reserving judgment. My fear, of course, is that the saddle is too narrow for the mostly-upright position I have on the Mercier. If this proves to be true, I may adjust the stem and bars to achieve a more aggressive position and see how much this helps. After all, it's not like I have a shortage of upright bikes.

Interestingly, the VOs feature a fabric-like lining on the underside of the saddle. This would appear to guard against moisture and dirt, but I'm wondering if it will provide an unwanted barrier to the effects of Proofide. I slapped a fair bit under there anyway, and we'll see if it helps hurry the break-in period along.

I'd be interested in any perspective or counsel my experienced readers have to offer. If a saddle isn't a good match, do you know right away or is patience a virtue in these situations?

Badass latte lock

2011-04-08T22:59:00.000-07:00

I love café or latté locks on bikes. They always make me think of Belgium, where I was in constant amazement at the number of expensive Dutch bicycles left overnight on the front street secured only by one of these simple devices.

Of course, this said more about the incidence of theft in Flanders than it did about the power of the wheel lock. Nevertheless, the simplicity of the wheel lock -- and the desire to live in a world where it would be sufficient to prevent anyone from borrowing your bicycle -- make it a favorite accessory for me.

Not long ago, Lovely Bicycle wrote about the wheel lock and I was reminded of how much the lock resembles a single handcuff. I resolved to get a pair of handcuffs and add them to my security arsenal. Sadly, my access to police equipment is gone, lo these last 15 years, so it wasn't a question of begging a pair from Property. Likewise, the pawn shops that used to sell them downtown no longer carry them. This last item is less surprising than the fact that they ever carried them in the first place. The pawn shop employees I asked seemed to think I was nuts for thinking they'd have such a thing. I was, though, relieved and vindicated when one old-timer emerged from the back room to verify that my memory was correct... handcuffs had, inexplicably, been a prominent feature of his window displays in the early 1990s.

So, it was off to Amazon and then some fun waiting for the FedEx man.

First of all, the cuffs are much easier to carry than my u-lock. Lighter, too. They slip into even the smallest saddle bag. After a bit of practice, unlocking them became very easy. I did have to learn to lock them with the keyhole facing up, so I wouldn't have to stand on my head to get at it.

I'm not suggesting the cuffs offer the same level of security as a u-lock. I imagine they wouldn't hold up well against decent bolt cutters. I wouldn't use them, then, to lock the bike and leave it unseen in a theft-prone area for a long time. But, for the quick coffee stop or an extra layer of security in a valet lot, they seem more than adequate.

I use them only occasionally as a wheel lock. More often, I lock one cuff on the frame of the bike and the other around a stationary object.

I wonder if their association with law enforcement doesn't offer some slight intangible benefit as well. I wonder if they might create a bit of extra hesitation on the part of the thief who would prefer not to tangle with something that could be the property of a cop? On the other hand, maybe that'd make the theft all the more fun. Dunno.

In terms of drawbacks, there is one big one I've found. It turns out that parking meter posts and most bike rack tubes are far wider than I realized. Finding a secure, but sufficiently thin, structure to which the "other" cuff can be fastened isn't always easy.

But this still leaves their intended use, as a wheel lock, a viable option. I'm going to call this $13 investment a success.

three feet high and rising

2011-04-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

Spring has finally decided to arrive, although it sometimes seems her heart isn't in it this year. Chilly breezes and the threat of rain linger into our second week since the constant rain came to an end. And, Winter is holding tight to some of the territory he claimed in March.

See those trees in the background? Beneath them is where, during an ordinary year, you sit to do a bit of fishing in the American River just before it joins with the Sacramento. This year, they are forty yards from the new shore. The water levels outside the river's banks are ebbing, finally, but there are still a few remarkable sights to see.

Like this one. This is the bike trail I normally take if my destination is midtown or downtown. On this particular day, it was covered in water far too deep for biking through. For some perspective, follow the yellow line to the background... just to the left of one of the concrete pillars is a rectangle protruding from the water. That is the map of the bike trail. It's posted at eye level, which means the water is about three feet deep at that crossroads. I have fenders and all, but three feet strikes me as a bit much.

Here's another example. Ordinarily, the tourists seen here would walk down the gangplank to the Delta King and their lunch. These days, it's an uphill hike to get to the grilled salmon.

Fortunately, I have found an alternate route that is now dry enough to let me bike across the river and then follow a little-used stretch of trail along the south bank. As with much of river as it nears downtown, the wildlife on this bank runs more to the urban variety. Pit bulls seem to be the pet de rigueur these days among the outdoorsy types who frequent the south bank.

Each day brings the water a bit lower on the trail along the north bank, and I hope to return to my usual route before much longer.

Finally, in the interest of fairness, I should point out that a delayed Spring may be a more appreciated Spring. Scenes like these are everywhere, all at once, and will be on their way far too soon.

Keep your fingers crossed for me...

2011-04-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

Remember this? I first posted about it here.

I'm not going to say too much, because I am a very superstitious person. But, it couldn't hurt to keep your fingers crossed on my behalf.

More later, hopefully!!

My new thing

2011-04-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed, the number and frequency of posts has been dropping around here.

I think it's safe to say that I've grown tired of my fleet of city and commuter bikes and have been eagerly searching for a way to recapture the excitement and optimism that characterized this blog in the early days.

Well, I found it. There's a whole new world of bicycling open to me now that I have discovered a way to combine my love of bikes with my lifelong love of the art of clowning.

Here's me on my latest CL find. I'm not 100 percent sure how this will do on the levee road that leads to the bike trail, but I'll figure it out.

ugh.

2011-03-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

This is getting old.

What isn't pictured here is the 65-mph winds that roared through here in the early hours of this morning.

Don't believe that teaser sun icon on Tuesday, the other maps I've seen show relentless rain all the way to April. And don't put much stock in those temperatures. When it's wet and windy, that alleged 53 feels more like 33 to me.

I keep telling myself that this can't last forever and soon enough it will be roasting here. But it is getting harder to keep a positive attitude in this soggy winter that won't end.

Back on the horse

2011-03-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to report that our post-Christmas ride and wreck did not prove overly off-putting to my little cyclist, who so loved the bike Santa brought her.

Rad at Peak Adventures restored the bent crank to like-new condition, and Dad replaced the broken, scattered accessories. Decked out for a blustery Spring day, my little one saddled up and rode with me to Old Sacramento on the American River Bike Trail.

The only train tracks on our route were handled carefully and quickly and the rest of the ride was happily uneventful.

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

2011-03-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

St. Patrick brought us a one-day reprieve from the relentless rain and gloom that is marking this Spring. I, for one, am grateful and thrilled.

Sure, I know that I could still ride in the rain -- and I do often enough -- but between the weather and travel and work, it's been quite a few days since I've been on a bike. Not wanting to waste today's sunshine, I headed to Capitol Park for fresh air, people watching and sunshine.

Our family St. Patrick's celebration is going nicely, albeit in a low-key way. Thanks to the last-minute arrival of Irish bangers at Costco, we're having two excellent dinners in a row this week. Last night was bangers, beans and mash, and tonight is corned beef, cabbbage, spuds and carrots. Yum.

When I was younger and a bit (!) more militant about these things, I never tired of pointing out that corned beef and cabbage is an American re-invention of an Irish dish... kind of like Chop Suey. Now, I figure A) it's delicious; and 2) it seems to make people happy.

So, to the several thousand people who received one of my mini lectures between, say, 1974 and 1999, I'm genuinely sorry and grateful to you for not punching me in the mouth.

I hope your St. Patrick's Day was as happy and pleasant as mine.

An beannachtaí Dé agus Naomh Pádraig a bheith agat ar lá atá inniu ann agus i gcónaí!!

Small touches

2011-02-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

I must be running out of changes to make to my bicycles. I got pretty excited this week about the success of a truly tiny project.

Some time ago, I bought stainless steel frame pumps from Sunlite. The pumps very nicely approximate the original pumps that came on Raleigh Superbes and Sports and make a handsome addition to other bikes as well. Besides, with these in place, I don't have to stuff a pump into a saddle bag or try to remember which bike has the pump mounted on it before I set off to the office.

For the Raleigh's, attaching the pump is too simple. There are brazed-on pump pegs on the down tubes and that's that. For the Schwinns and the 10-speeds, however, there are no pegs. The pumps come with black plastic straps that have a peg fitting, and these do the job pretty well. They are not, however, terribly pretty.

So, I picked up a pair of cast-off clamp-style pegs from Mike at Vintage Bicycle Supply. In a moment of inspiration, I painted them metallic gold first. This took them from dingy steel to sparkly gold, which matches the details of the Corsaro perfectly. It also made the tiny "made in France" engraving vivid and readable.

After some consternation trying to mount them on the seat tube, it occurred to me that not all tubing is of the same diameter. They fit perfectly on the top tube and the Corsaro has a distinctly unique, new look.

Don't try to read it here... my photography will give you a migraine. But it's there and it's clear and it's cool.

Like I said, sometimes it's the small things that provide a bit of excitement in a quiet week.

Cool finds part two

2011-02-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

I rode across town to Fiona's basketball tournament on a route that took me through midtown. Outside Mulvaney's B&L, a fine restaurant, was this smiling chef with the main course.

The unlucky but delicious looking little fellow is the main course for a 50th birthday bash planned for Siobhan, who doesn't look a day over 40.

Interesting finds by bicycle

2011-02-11T15:32:00.000-08:00

It's been said many times before, but traveling by bicycle is likely the best way to discover interesting attractions or mini-spectacles. On foot, there the slow pace of the journey often makes even small detours impractical. That promising country road you encounter is usually too long to investigate properly if you're going to get where you're going. In a car, the opposite phenomenon takes hold: you're usually passing things too quickly to get a sense of why they might be interesting to take a closer look. By the time you see the country road or the estate sale sign or the bird-vs.-squirrel drama, you're already past it.

Last week, a kite (the living kind, not the kind on a string) kindly held his spot in the air, hovering, until I had cycled almost directly underneath him. Then, he tucked his wings and plunged into the brush not 15 feet from the bike path. He emerged with what I would have to guess was a very surprised field mouse in his talons and flapped off to his treetop home.

You don't get that kind of show in a car.

Slightly less dramatic but still fulfilling were two encounters in recent days. The first came on a chilly ride to Winters, past fields and farms and orchards. Not far off the main road, workers were pruning the walnut (?) trees and making huge bonfires from the cuttings. Cycling a quarter mile or so to get a closer view was easy and fun. The fire felt great on a cold day and the smell made me think of simpler times when we all burned our leaves in the autumn. If there's a better smell than wood burning in an open field on a chilly day, I don't know what it is.

Closer to home, a neighbor had placed the cuttings from his/her dogwood (or maybe cherry?) tree on the street for pickup. The smell was gorgeous and enjoyable even cycling past at a good clip. On the way home, I decided to stop and load up on a few branches to put in a vase at home.

A confession

2011-02-08T13:36:00.000-08:00

I'm a wind wimp.

There. I said it. It feels better to get it out in the open.

I didn't ride today because it was too windy. The sun in shining, the temperature is comfortably in the 60s, and there isn't a cloud in the sky, yet I'm not riding. To be fair, though, there isn't a cloud in the sky because the damn things have been blown to the other side of the globe by these ridiculous winds.

They're allegedly 25-35 mph. It feels like more from time to time, but I suppose that's a pretty accurate number. All I know is the trees in my yard look like they're doing toe-touches -- wild, sweeping bends from vertical to near-horizontal, over and over again.

As soon as I heard the winds last night, I pretty much wrote off riding today. See the first sentence above. Earlier this week, when the spring winds were merely mild distractions on glorious 74-degree days, I had already rediscovered my lack of tolerance for cycling in windy conditions.

I'm pretty much fine with cycling in the rain. In fact, once I get going, I kind of like it. We haven't had really cold temperatures this winter, but cold riding doesn't bother me too much either. Even our scorching summer heat is tolerable when riding, as the self-created breeze cools you off until you stop, when you can usually jump into a shower or swimming pool.

But wind, for some reason, unleashes my inner psycho. There's something about the invisibility of it, I think, that makes it seem unfair and kind of jerk-like. I know, crazy, huh? All I know is that when I pedal against the wind all the way to work along the river and then find it in my face again on the way home, I get beyond irked.

So, in the interests of my peace of mind and of harmony in the universe, I'm going to enjoy the wind from my balcony of the home office today.

The trifecta of bike nerdiness

2011-02-01T09:37:00.000-08:00

It's recumbent. It folds. It's a trike.

I think if you buy this, you also get a leather-bound edition of Shelby Foote's history of the Civil War, a lifetime subscription to NPR ("Now With Even More Self-Satisfied Chortles Per Hour of Broadcasting!"), and the right to use the side door at the co-op.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/bik/2191224367.html

Desert Raleigh

2011-01-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

When borrowing a bicycle from my hotel in Tucson earlier this month, I walked outside to see what was on offer. I had been told to expect a raggedy collection of weather-worn cruisers, but to choose whichever I liked.

Imagine my surprise when this was locked up alongside the cruisers:

It was a 1968 Raleigh Sports in black. The paint was in new condition and it was clearly the apple of someone's eye. It had been lovingly, if bizarrely, customized.

For example, there was a new Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub in place of the original and a shifting mechanism that looked unnecessarily huge. New alloy wheels had replaced the Nottingham steel versions. But these were nothing compared to the additions made to the saddle and handlebars. First, the bars:

These are big eye bolts, basically. They're screwed into sawed-off sections of a broom stick and then the whole thing was glued into place in the bar ends. I studied this bike for ages, trying to understand if the loops had some function for the rider. Did he put his thumbs through these? A prosthesis of some kind?

On to the saddle. Under the Safeway bag lay a loose swath of leather, which was stitched together over some fleecy padding. I couldn't tell what was under the fleece, although I was soon to learn.

Just a day after I encountered this bike, I was lucky enough to look out of my hotel window and spy its owner cycling back from an outing. I rushed downstairs in time to meet him as he locked up his masterpiece.

This is Tony, I think. I should have posted this sooner... I can't be 100 percent sure he isn't Ed. But really, what's the difference to you? Let's go with Tony.

Tony is the original owner of the bicycle. He bought it in the Phoenix area brand new 40+ years ago and rides it every day.

He even demonstrated his riding technique, which disappointingly does not involve any use of the loop ends to the bar extensions. He merely wanted a more upright position and found these bolts an easy way to get a bit more reach. As for the saddle? Under the homemade mattress of leather and fleece is the original Brooks.

Clearly, Tony made different choices than I would with a 40-year-old Raleigh. But I have nothing on him when it comes to authenticity and standing as a Raleigh owner. He rides it every day, straps it on the back of the RV when traveling, bickers with the front desk staff over the security of storage areas, and truly loves his ride.

Here's wishing Tony many more years of happy cycling on his one-of-a-kind Sports.

Cycling in Tucson

2011-01-11T19:30:00.000-08:00

This is one trip I did not expect would include a bike ride.

I got a call from a client 20 minutes after the shooting Saturday asking how quickly I could be at the crime scene. As it happened, I wasn't able to get there before mid-day Sunday, some 24 hours later.

Since then, I've been working in Tucson and experiencing a community that is in a genuine state of shock and grief. I've been around a few hundred homicides in my career, but I've never seen anything like I'm witnessing this week. It seems that everyone was touched by this tragic act of violence.

I've lost count of the conversations in which it has dawned on me that the person to whom I'm talking was intimately acquainted with one of the deceased victims or was actively involved in rendering aid to the wounded. While the rest of us talk about shooting in an almost academic sense, the people of Tucson are talking about it as though they were members of the same family. This tragedy happened to all of them and they're feeling the shock and grief and confusion in a visceral way.

To be honest, I still can't get my head around the scope of this crime. Tonight, I met with 30 or so people who were at the scene of the crime. Watching them hug each other and cry left me stunned with the realization that each of them would lead lives forever changed by 30 seconds of gunfire on a random Saturday morning. Moreover, each of their families will forever mark time based on what happened before and what happened after Saturday. Hundreds, no, thousands of lives were changed in that tiny burst of time Saturday and this town will be different forever as a result.

But back to bikes.

It was a very pleasant surprise to see that my hotel offers free loaner bicycles to guests. When I found a quiet hour or so around mid-day, I decided to take one for a spin to the nearest store to buy a few things I needed. In particular, the Arizona desert air made lip balm a vital necessity.

My ride was a rickety Huffy cruiser. Calling it a bike-shaped object would be flattery. But nevertheless, I truly enjoyed the half-hour of freedom and breeze that came with riding it along an arroyo and into the parking lot of Trader Joe's.

Here (if it works) is a moment of my ride. Prepare to be bored for 25 seconds... but the dead-dry arroyo is kinda cool in its own way.

They say that it's good to go back to familiar things when confronted with new and confusing circumstances. For me, today, that meant getting to ride a bike for a little while and remembering how much goodness there is in the world.

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T18:07:00.000-08:00

Here's wishing each and every one who reads this a happy, healthy and blessed New Year! Your visits and comments are greatly appreciated and valued!

More than a year after starting this blog -- with only the vaguest notions of why or what might be accomplished -- you and I are still here. That in itself is something.

In some ways, mikespokes settled in to a kind of niche: thoughts of reviewing products and being a voice in the cycling world were shed like the unrealistic nonsense they were. In others, the search for a viewpoint continues. There are definitely times when I question why anyone would want to read about my bikes and biking non-adventures. Heaven knows there are times when I tire of reading about other people's.

But every once in a while, there is a small story that seems worth telling, or a new trinket that seems worthy of sharing. On those occasions, I like to think somebody, somewhere is reading and maybe finds it interesting enough to come back now and then.

If not, no hard feelings! I'll continue to try to find items, photos and questions of interest to me and, hopefully, you. I will continue to have no opinion whatsoever on access issues, helmet use, cycling attire, frame geometry or trends. I will still avoid the irritating blog practice of asking you questions in transparent hope of boosting comment counts.

I will, however, continue to fume at bike trail rudeness, convinced that seething is somehow going to lead to people to reinvent themselves as polite. It may be a new year, but I'm not going to get smart all at once.

One day, maybe in the New Year, I'll stumble upon a viewpoint!

Here's a quick look back at key (or maybe random) moments from 2010. Some new additions, one departure, fun rides with family and another year of God-given health and happiness.

Debut ride on new bike is a tear-jerker

2010-12-28T19:55:00.000-08:00

Fiona finally got to take her new cruiser for a proper ride today. She and I rode downtown to meet Jan and her cousins for lunch. We were spirited adventurers, blithely ignoring the forecasted rain, the flooded bike trail and other incentives to take the car.

The closed bike trail forced us on to city streets, where Fiona navigated confidently and calmly. The cruiser has only a coaster brake, and it took a bit of practice to get the hang of braking effectively when it was called for.

Being the cautious and smart dad, I steered us away from the busier streets to K Street, a pedestrian mall of sorts that was opened to bicycles just this year. As we rolled onto K, I told Fiona the route would keep us free of sharing space with cars, but would also feature light-rail tracks and the dangers associated with them.

Not three minutes later, we found ourselves on a stretch of road where train tracks crossed each other in a pattern of confusion that resembled an angry kindergartner's scribbles. Navigating this maze would require steely nerves and focus, and I worried that Fiona would panic. As it turns out, I was worrying about the wrong cyclist.

In the time it took to utter a reassuring phrase to Fiona, my front wheel found one of the ruts. As anyone who has experienced this already knows, I was instantly on my way to the pavement. Seeing me fall, Fiona veered slightly to avoid being hit and put her own tire into a track. She and I fell together, with my weight hitting the back of Fiona's bike and helping drive it to the ground.

First, the good news. We're both sore and bruised, but otherwise OK. Nothing broken, but we each sport a pair of scrapes and sore spots.

Now the less good news. The right crank arm on Fiona's bike bent inward, eliminating the clearance between the crank and the line of the chain. I do not know whether this is something that can simply be bent back into position, or if the crank will have to be replaced.

We walked our bikes the rest of the way to lunch and managed to get on with our lives. Fiona's bike is waiting at my office; I'll retrieve it tomorrow and get going on the repair job. No kid should be without her new bike three days after Christmas.

While I'm not one to look for others to blame for these things, I have to say I'm somewhat amazed that this criss-cross of train tracks occupies the entirety of the section cyclists are required to use on this street. The ordinance requires that cyclists ride between the broad yellow lines that mark the section of street used by light rail cars. This makes sense as a way to keep bikes from endangering pedestrians, but some exception (or warning?) has to be made when a section of that area is as dangerous as this one is.

Shhhh!

2010-12-23T19:38:00.000-08:00

Nobody say a word, but I have it on good authority that Santa is bringing something special to our littlest cyclist.

A full report from Santa's designated helper in this project will follow soon. But for now, here's just enough to let you share in the anticipation and fun of hiding a new bike for one more day!!

Riverside trail now features lake view

2010-12-23T19:30:00.000-08:00

For the past 10 days or so, the weather and holiday errands have kept me to fairly short rides -- to downtown, around the neighborhood, that kind of thing. So, when the sun came out and stayed out today, I decided I would take an hour or so and ride along the river to Discovery Park.

Well, it turns out a couple of weeks of rain were not without impact on the bike trail. The meadow that becomes Bushy Lake in wet weather isn't big enough to hold the water that's been accumulating and it spilled over onto the trail.

Here's Lucky, his progress thwarted, along a usually dry stretch of trail. As tempting as it was to cross this and investigate further, I know from experience that if the water is this high at Bushy Lake, then Discovery Park is pretty much an inland sea.

Luckily, this isn't the only route to downtown or points south of the river. By switching to another spur of the trail, I was able to cross the American River a couple of miles upriver from its confluence with the Sacramento River and meander downtown.

A treasure found

2010-12-18T23:38:00.000-08:00

After seeing hundreds of them on blogs and not one in person, I finally had my first encounter with a full chaincase Raleigh Sports. This gorgeous bike belongs to Rick, who holds the special distinction of being an accomplished racer and a first-class vintage roadster fan at the same time.

Rick's beautiful 1951 Raleigh was in the rack at my LBS, where Rick is a mechanic. After showing me its four (!)-speed Sturmey Archer hub and still-working dynamo hubs, Rick then made the very generous offer of a test ride. I happily accepted.

The Raleigh rides as smoothly as you'd expect from a bike owned by an accomplished mechanic. It shifts smoothly through its four gears, the top two of which are remarkably steep. It's hard to imagine when you'd use fourth gear on this bike, unless you live at the top of a steep hill.

The green paint is well-preserved and a darker green than the color I normally associate with Raleighs. I imagined it as a transitional color from the blackout bikes of the war years, but I could be miles off on that musing.

Among the features I hadn't before seen was the headlamp, which was chromed only at the outer edge; the rest is steel painted the color as the bike. I actually like this design better than the all-chrome one that would dominate in the years that followed.

Carbo loading

2010-12-16T16:00:00.000-08:00

My path home from downtown happens to lead past the New Roma bakery. After 1 p.m., everything is half-price. Lucky, lucky me.

Raleigh Super Record

2010-12-16T15:58:00.000-08:00

A bike shop friend is selling his Raleigh Super Record and gave us a sneak peak before it goes up on Craigslist.

It's 58 cm, in excellent shape mechanically and cosmetically, and ready to ride. Given that the seller is a bike shop mechanic, it's fair to expect that it will be fine tuned and freshly overhauled before you take possession.

Price is negotiable, but the market for these around here is somewhere in the neighborhood of $200.

Email me if interested!

Davis to Winters: My new favorite ride

2010-12-12T19:21:00.000-08:00

I've got this idea of the ideal cycling tour. It involves cycling along evenly paved but deserted streets, past farms and orchards, over rivers and creeks and enjoying nature at close range. I'm aware this Utopian tour probably exists only in my head, but I found something today that was awfully close to it.

Taking advantage of 65-degree weather in December, I drove to Davis and cycled from there to Winters. It was a route I'd often heard about, but this was my first time to try it. In short, the ride to Winters was gorgeous. And the ride back -- via a more remote route -- was even better.

The 14 miles to Winters takes you through miles of orchards and farm fields, many managed by research units at UC Davis. Within a couple of miles from downtown Davis, you are suddenly in the middle of the country.

I've been lamenting how much less rural the Sacramento area is compared to when I moved here 20 years ago, so it was very reassuring to learn that I could cycle from city to country in something like five minutes.

Photographs of pastures, particularly my photographs, never fail to disappoint. They simply cannot capture the comforting nature of the landscape, the understated beauty. I decided early on to leave my phone/camera in my saddlebag and to just experience the ride, but before long I had to capture how smooth, safe and bucolic the bike trail leading out of Davis was. This runs along a county highway, but the beauty on both sides of it soon steal your eye and ear.

I was glad I did, for soon after I came across two gentlemen, old enough to think of me as a kid, standing on ladders picking kalamata olives from the trees that line the road. The trees are on public property -- probably -- and are not harvested except by enterprising fellows like my new friends.

Our chat ranged from olives and how to brine them to the funnier topic of discretion versus self-expression. Here, my Italian-American olive buddy is recounting how he handled being called a "spaghetti-bending Mussolini" by his NCO while in the Coast Guard in 1943. His response employed a word that is not typically directed at military superiors, and, he reported, felt great to say. He felt somewhat less great 24 hours later, when he was re-deployed to a mechanic's post in the far reaches of the Bering Sea. The punishment, though, may have saved his life, as it kept him from being sent to the South Pacific, as the Coast Guard was under the direction of the Navy and frequently saw action. His brother wasn't so lucky: he served in the South Pacific, took part in 17 landings and came home "a 22-year-old man with gray hair."

Riding on a December morning may have added to the appeal. I'm confident some of these roads are busier at almond or tomato or walnut harvest time. But today, even the "busy" roads were nearly abandoned.

After coffee and a visit to the bike shop in Winters, I set back via a longer and even more scenic route. This one meandered a few miles north and ran along Buckeye Road, through the spot where the village of Buckeye stood before the whole thing up and moved to follow the Vaca Valley Railroad in 1895 or so. Here, the roads were completely, entirely mine. I could have stretched out on the centerline of Highway 29 and had a nap. Honestly. I don't think I encountered three cars in an hour and a half.

Along the way, I was inspected by curious llamas, but the sheep and goats ignored my greetings. It seemed rude to ride right past them without saying something. I honestly did call out to the nearby livestock... after all, there was no one but them to hear me.

For a couple of miles, a kestrel followed me. He would zip 100 yards ahead to a telephone pole and watch me ride past. As I did, he'd alight again, make a few impressive swooshes in the air, and then position himself ahead once more. I missed him when he finally tired of the one-sided race.

In other news, Nature is still not messing around.

In one pasture, a dozen vultures sat atop a sheep carcass, lazily having Sunday brunch. I've seen a lot of sheep pastures in my time, but this sight was a first. I also got a good look at a kite plunging into a soy field and rising with a struggling mouse or rat in its talons.

Nature: Not Messing Around Since 1 Billion B.C.

More puzzling and more disturbing was a gorgeous owl, cut in two. My first thought was that he had been done in by a high-power line, but there were none in the area. He hadn't been run over, and there were no feathers strewn about or other signs of a struggle. I finally settled on the theory that he'd been blindsided by a hawk and then (neatly) pulled apart to get to the tasty bits. I have no idea if such things happen among birds of prey, but it was the best I could do without my CSI kit.

Homemade Guv'nor

2010-12-10T16:09:00.000-08:00

On a quick ride to the post office today, I found that my newly overhauled Nishiki, while amazingly smooth and quiet, just felt slow. The upright position was comfortable, but I had that feeling of pedaling forward, which often feels like I'm pushing the bike. On a flat surface with little wind, I was in the third-lowest gear and felt no inclination to change that.

This got me thinking of how many upright, comfortable-but-not-so-nimble bikes a person needs. The bike was nearly perfect for cruising to the post office or rolling through the neighborhood on a sunny day, but I have a half-dozen bikes that fit that description right now.

So, I decided to finally try an idea that had been floating around in my head for a while. Velouria at Lovey Bicycle wrote about it in April and I've seen references to it in other spots. In fact, I read about it again just the other day, but I can't for the life of me remember where.

The idea is to turn the North Road handlebars upside down, creating a setup similar to the old path racers. You can see a modern version of the path racer in the Pashley Guv'nor.

The difference in the bicycle was dramatic. My hands were, of course, much lower than before. But, they were still in a very comfortable position, with my palms facing inward instead of down. The locked-wrists, palm down position is not one I can use for long without discomfort in my hands. This new position, while very low and seeming to invite hand issues, was surprisingly easy to maintain.

But it wasn't an instant love affair. With my hands so far back, I felt like I was in constant danger of bashing my knees into my elbows. In fact, I did make significant contact a few times, delivering an unsettling wobble to the handlebars. I soon learned to keep my knees in while pedaling, which I suspect is a more efficient position anyway. On slowish turns, it seemed necessary to extend whichever knee was on the side of the turn.

The same bike that had seemed slow an hour before now felt like a racing bike. I was zipping along on the same streets where I had been cruising earlier. And, once I got the hang of the elbow-to-knee relationship, I felt a tremendous level of control over the bike. That turned out to be a critical development, since I made the questionable choice to have my debut ride on some very busy streets. When I changed saddles and seat posts, it was a nice-looking bike as well.

Now, whether I could ride this way comfortably for a longer period of time remains to be seen. I think the next step is to make the 6 mile ride to work a day or two and see how I hold up.

Lucky's new (new) look

2010-12-09T20:58:00.000-08:00

A little more than a year after I bought him, and after numerous twists and turns in his development, Lucky, my Corsaro 12-speed, finally is sporting the components and accessories he was meant to wear. I think the end result is gorgeous and well worth the wait to get it right.

I purchased this bike strictly for the frame. The idea was to take all the parts and components off my wrecked Specialized and transplant them onto the new bike. One after the other, key parts refused to comply with this plan. The old brakes were not a match for the new mounting system. The old 700c wheels were too small for the new brakes to reach. The list went on and on. I was very disappointed that the plan to resurrect the Specialized didn't work out.

As is often the case in life, I am now eternally grateful that I didn't get my way. As much as I liked the Specialized, it was absolutely nothing special to look at. Grafting parts from a 1993 hybrid onto a gorgeous '70s frame would have been a travesty. If you look at the earliest incarnations of the bike that would become known as Lucky Jitensha, you'll see what I mean. The handlebars and twist shifters look horrible to my eye now.

It's funny how tastes and perceptions change. A year ago, the news that my old bike wouldn't be reborn on this frame was greatly disappointing. Today, I'm embarrassed to say my wishes nearly kept this beautiful bike from being born.

Bike shop labor... fair or foul?

2010-12-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

I was in a bike shop yesterday looking for a spare part for a bike that Santa will bring to our house in a few weeks. It wasn't my usual shop, as they don't carry the line of bikes in question. While I was there, a student brought in a BSO with a seat post that had been bent back so far it had nearly broken off at the clamp. When greeted, he announced he was there to pick up the seat post he'd ordered a couple of weeks earlier.

I wanted to ask him if he'd ever heard of a bike co-op or of Craigslist, where a jillion tweakers are trying to unload excess bike parts every day. But I didn't. If this kid wanted to wait two weeks for a seat post, that was his business. At least he was supporting a local bike shop.

In a minute, the clerk returned from the shop with the most ordinary of seat posts. It seemed odd that they'd have to order a standard seat post in a pretty big shop. But the good part was still to come. The student asked a question about installing it... something along the lines of which end was up.

The clerk then helpfully suggested that the shop do the install for him... at the usual rate for a "saddle install." He asked his fellow clerk what the charge for a "saddle install" was, and the quick-thinking employee made up a number on the spot. The student agreed, and learned that he could pick up his bike "later today, hopefully."

OK. I understand that bike shops have to pay the rent. I further understand that people like me ordering saddles and brake levers and panniers off the Internet have made it more critical than ever to capture revenue from repairs and service. I honestly don't begrudge them the right to charge a fair price for their labor.

But it seems to me when someone has already bought a part like a seatpost, you could take the 30 seconds necessary to loosen the clamp, remove the old one, shove the new one in the tube and tighten the clamp again. Another 30 seconds, at most, to switch the saddle from the old post to the new. A 60-second investment in customer goodwill. It's a way of saying, "let's see the Internet do this... thanks for coming in here and buying our full-fare seat post instead of just swiping one off any of the hundreds of abandoned bikes on campus."

It's the kind of thing my shop does every day. And it's a huge part of the reason that whenever possible, I buy parts through them instead of ordering on line. This kind of goodwill is the reason I've spent enough at that shop in the past two years to buy a decent used car.

But the shop I was visiting yesterday chose another route. It's a route that almost certainly ends with the customer one day figuring out (or being told) that he needn't have waited another day for his bike or reached further into his pocket. And my contention is that the long-term damage done will far exceed the few dollars squeezed out of him for a "saddle install."

In fact, it already did cost them more than the cost of the installation. As I stood there with $90 worth of accessories in my hand, I started thinking about which parts I could get off the 'Net and which could be ordered by my own shop. All of them, it turned out. So, back on the shelves they went.

After all, I didn't want to occupy their time ringing up my sale. I knew they had that big "saddle install" to get to by the end of the day.

The Mixtie Family

2010-12-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

Part Four: The mixties.

And I've decided I'm going with "mixtie" as my term of choice for this beautiful style of bicycle. Every time I pronounce "mixte" as "meext," I get one of two looks from the listener: 1) "What the hell did you just say?; and 2) "Ah, another jerk who took high school French and wants me to know about it." So, these bikes are now mixties. Deal with it.

The Mixtie Family, front to back:

Blaise, a 1970s Mercier that was my first vintage bike purchase and is probably my most-commented on bicycle. The addition of a honey B67 and a slight adjustment to the north road bars make this a sporty, nimble ride.

Binshou, a 1970s Nishiki bought for $40 in Davis from a guy who was trying to sell it back to the store he bought it from 35 years earlier. Original drop bars, surprisingly comfortable vinyl saddle and matching brown cable housing.

Still unnamed, a late 70s or maybe 80s Nishiki bought for $15 at a neighborhood yard sale. Purchased strictly because it was $15. I used it as my guinea pig bicycle in the recently-completed-but-never-blogged-about bicycle repair class I took through Davis Adult Education. After a complete overhaul of the drive train and all bearings, it is the smoothest, quietest bike in the fleet. Panaracer Paselas that didn't fit under the fenders of my Corsaro also give it the nicest contact with the road of any of my bikes. The idea was to sell it to fund other purchases, but after all that work and such good results, I'm not ready to part with it yet.

Here's one of just the new guy:

The Raleigh Family

2010-12-05T23:30:00.000-08:00

Part three of the photos... This time of the Raleighs.

First, the three green Raleighs, just because they look cool together. Fiona's 1974 Sports (never mind the Colt chainguard, it's not original), and the his-and-her 1971 Superbes.

Next, the above-mentioned trio plus my 1972 brown Superbe.

Family portraits -- the Schwinns

2010-12-05T17:50:00.000-08:00

Part Two of the photos from Thanksgiving's assembly of the entire family.

Here is the Schwinn couple, Jan's 1969 Breeze and my 1970 Racer. Both made in Chicago and both as smooth riding as the day they were purchased.

Bike trail kindness... and cool bikes

2010-12-04T21:36:00.000-08:00

I was riding along on a sometimes-rainy, gray afternoon today thinking of how nice it would be to have a cup of coffee. Seconds later, I came upon a small group of folks gathered where the bike trail meets C Street. One of them called out to me, "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

Weird, huh? The effect was disarming. I stopped immediately and accepted the offer. When coincidences are that striking, it's best not to pass them up, I've found. Not long ago, I was walking down the street thoroughly annoyed at an unusually large collection of change in my front pocket. It felt like carrying a set of janitor's keys. "I've got to get rid of this before it drives me crazy," I thought. One half-second later, one of the K Street crew asked me, "Do you have any spare change?" His problem and mine were solved instantly.

But back to the bike trail. My coffee donors were from Sacramento Area Bike Advocates. They were completing a four-hour stint cleaning the brush and weeds along the bike trail and had leftover coffee that had been on hand for the volunteers. This is the same stretch of trail where I habitually harvest four o'clock seeds to diversify my garden, but that's another story.

Ryan and Morgan were among the volunteers, and each was riding a truly awesome bike. First Ryan's:

It's a 1983 Raleigh Competition. It's mostly original and in beautiful condition. Ryan let me take it for a spin and it rides and shifts beautifully.

Morgan's bike was a truly unique find. It's a 1960s Welser Markenrad. German (or maybe Austrian), I assume, but I can't find anything on line under that name. It's a gorgeous swan-style loop frame offset by a vintage Brooks B67. It features a rod-operated front brake that forces a pad directly onto the top of the tire. I've read about this on vintage Flying Pigeons before, but this was the first time I'd seen it in person. Morgan's evaluation of its effectiveness is in keeping with everything I've read before... it doesn't do a lot to stop the bike. But it's very cool to look at.

Two very cool bikes and two delightful people. Encounters like today's make me feel that I live in a pretty cool bike town and that our "bike culture," to use a term that usually makes me cringe, is a very pleasant one.

The commuters

2010-12-04T12:21:00.000-08:00

On Thanksgiving Day, I remembered that on the previous year's holiday I had pulled all of my bikes out for a "family photo." I was determined to do the same again this year to chronicle the additions, one departure, and the many changes that have occurred.

They grow up so fast, don't they?

Instead of just dumping the new family photo on here, I'm going to drop in the occasional photo from that day. Fiona and I took a number of "group" photos, assembling bikes by brand, design and purpose.

Our first installment is The Commuters. Each of my bikes takes at least an occasional turn taking me to the office, but these two are the workhorses on this job.

Here is Takumashi, the Nishiki Citisport, and Geordie, the Raleigh Superbe. Both have Brooks saddles -- B72 on Geordie, B67 on Takumashi -- North Road handlebars, Zimbale saddle bags and a touch of twine here or there.

I keep wondering whether either or both would be suitable for a long distance trip. Any thoughts?

Bike culture commentary via Craigslist

2010-12-01T21:35:00.000-08:00

Yes, the attached post is sexist, objectifying and a half-dozen other things I try to avoid encouraging on this blog or anywhere else.

But underlying this is a genuinely amusing insight into some aspects of bike culture and the demographics behind the appeal of Dutch bikes. The line about a soul patch and classic cameras made me laugh.

I may have found this all the funnier for having had my first Dutch bike retail experience only yesterday. As I stood ogling a $1,500 Gazelle, it occurred to me that most people would find my appreciation for the bike truly baffling.

OK. You've been warned. Here's the ad.

Chicagoland bike ride!

2010-11-23T18:59:00.000-08:00

When I read months ago that Northwestern would play Illinois at Wrigley Field, I was determined to make the trip back to see it. This would be a historic game, bringing football back to Wrigley for the first time in 40 years. So exciting was this chance that I didn't hesitate to skip my class reunion at NU in October, knowing a far better gathering was in store the following month.

When my dear college friend Glo and her husband Mike (also an NU boy) generously shared one of their tickets to the big game with me, the dream trip was suddenly a reality.

It was a total blast. There were happy surprises around every corner. An early flight that left time for dinner with best buddy of 29 years (!) Vince. Feasting on Chicago delicacies at places worth planning your trip around (Red Apple on Milwaukee... amazing.) A visit to campus to walk along the lake shore and relive happy memories. Bumping into a Bobb Hall friend a full 25 years after the last sighting and picking up where we left off, laughing about dorm adventures and characters.

And all this was before the game even started.

But what might have been the nicest surprise of all was Saturday's sunshine that opened the door to a bike ride through the suburbs with Glo. Mike loaned his mountain bike and Glo rode her year-old, beautiful WSD road bike by a manufacturer whose name I keep forgetting. (I'll find out and update).

Our route took us past the Chicago Botanical Gardens and through parts of Highland Park, Glencoe and Winnetka. Although we traveled on surface streets as well, we mainly followed the bike trail that runs alongside the Metra tracks. It's tree-lined, evenly paved and scenic. Our fellow bikers were polite, everybody made room for strollers and joggers and the friendliness of the North Shore shone through on a gorgeous day.

We turned around at Indian Hill and headed back to Glencoe for coffee. The entire ride was about 13 miles, but Glo's pace and the chilly air made that more than enough to get my blood pumping.

It was a great way to start a very big day and the best way to see some of the prettiest residential areas in America.

Look out below

2010-11-08T19:04:00.000-08:00

For some reason, I'm unable to cycle alongside major roads or highways without battling the unreasonable fear that I will be struck by a flying hubcap. In my imagined calamity, a hubcap comes loose from a fast-moving wheel and flies Frisbee-like at incalculable speed until in makes sudden, fatal contact with my face.

I'm at least half serious about this. When I lived in New Mexico, I heard of a friend of friends who was nearly decapitated by a cast-off hubcap while riding as a passenger in a car. The image stuck with me and still creeps me out today.

So, when riding to Davis alongside I-80, I can't shake the feeling that there is a hubcap out there with my name on it, waiting for the ride moment to slice through the Cyclone fence and knock me off my bike.

Crazy, right? Irrational, ridiculous fear. Could never happen.

Uh, no. Not so crazy. Look at this. Look what was waiting for me on the bike trail the other day. That's right, a damn hubcap. And how do you suppose it got there? That's Highway 160 in the background, some 40 feet elevated from the ground.

Clearly, somebody in a Taurus hit a pothole and the hubcap went spinning, flying, careening down the highway. It hit a bump of its own and became airborne, clearing the guardrail and concrete wall and flying onto the bike trail below.

Here is Satan's Frisbee up close.

A wild time on the bike trail

2010-11-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

It's been many years, but I have been to a party where I came home without my shoes. Actually, the party was in the house where I lived, but somehow my favorite Top-siders were gone as the fog cleared the next day, and were never seen again. That, evidently, was a pretty good party.

But I think the poster of this sign has one over on me.

The sign is posted where the bike trail meets the parking lot of a newish and very nice hotel, so it's not entirely clear where the individual was parted from his/her shoe and leg brace. My first thought was of a rustic soiree along the river, but perhaps it was an indoor occasion, where the evening's dancing required one to be unencumbered by footwear -- or, in this case, half of one's footwear.

To make things more interesting, there's no getting around the fact that the sign implies the two missing items are a united pair. To me, the sign quite clearly does not say, "I lost my shoe, dammit. And, come to think of it, I have also lost, quite by coincidence, a leg brace."

No, to me the sign says, "I lost my shoe/leg brace combination. No room here to explain, but I really, really need it back."

All of this leads me to the conclusion that the lost item is basically a prosthesis. And while losing one has got to be a huge downer, the circumstances under which this would happen could well make you the envy of partiers everywhere.

A country ride in the city

2010-11-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

I've got this image in my head of the kind place I'd like to tour by bicycle. Frustratingly, the place seems to exist only in my head. Consider:

It has to be easy to get to. No rack on the Honda means driving to a starting point is more hassle than convenience.

It should feature country roads, tree-lined streets and something scenic.

It needs to be free of traffic. The prettiest country road is spoiled instantly by a too-close motorist.

Well, I'm happy to report that I found at least a tiny portion of this bucolic cycling spot. It lies just beyond the terminus of my daily commute on the American River Bike Trail. Just a bit south of downtown, the bike trail briefly becomes one with a quiet, empty road used to access a boat launch on the Sacramento River. This may be a busy spot on weekends, but on a weekday ride, it's completely empty.

And, it's appropriately tree-lined and scenic.

Here it is:

Just a little farther along, the trail becomes just a trail again, but runs along the levee, giving clear views of the river as it bends and works its way toward the Delta.

There's a lesson in here somewhere about the thing you're searching for being under your nose.

A cursed fig tree

2010-11-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

I spotted this along the nature trail in Davis, while looking for burrowing owls.

Immediately, my thoughts turned to Matthew... and Mark.

18 Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.

21 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

A mikespokes exclusive (I think)... bikeshare in Sacramento?

2010-11-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

We're not known here at mikespokes for breaking news. The biggest stories we've broken so far are: The Bike Trail is Nice; The Bike Trail Can Be Dodgy; People Can Be Rude; Old Bikes Are Cool; and Look At My New Bike.

But today is the beginning of a new era. We have actual news.

It appears Sacramento is getting a bicycle sharing program, or at least a miniature version of something that looks a lot like one.

This afternoon, I saw a long pallet wrapped in plastic outside the CalEPA headquarters. When I left the hearing I was attending, a man and woman had unwrapped a portion of it to reveal six locking stations of the kind seen in urban bike share programs. I'd seen them in Brussels, Paris and Luxembourg City and read about them in Denver and other U.S. Cities but hardly expected them in our folksy capitol city.

And yet, there they were.

Lucky for me -- and you, devoted readers -- the two workers were friendly in the way that only Canadians can be friendly. Alex and Jenny, both visiting from Toronto, represent Electron Inc. (or maybe Electron Technologies, or Electron Systems... I'm new to this reporting thing so don't expect precision on Day One.)

The company is installing a six-bike share kiosk outside the CalEPA building. Would-be riders would register inside and obtain a bracelet that can be swiped at the kiosk to unlock a bike. The bikes are by Bionx and are electric-assisted models.

No word on cost or on whether the program is open to anyone other than CalEPA employees for now. My guess is it's a pilot project that will require a CalEPA ID, but I could be wrong.

Remember, you heard it here first.

The answer to your commuting dilemma!

2010-10-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

I continually come across blog discussions on topics such as which commuter bike is the best or how to best accessorize a bicycle to make it fit for commuting. People discuss things like whether there is a good commuter bike out there for under $1,000 or which fenders to buy, how to achieve an upright riding position through $200 or $300 worth of accessories, etc.

It's always a struggle for me to avoid posting, in all caps, BUY A RALEIGH SPORTS AND BE DONE WITH IT!!!

The esteemed Lovely Bicycle blog took on this topic this week, and to my delight, advocated something close to this position. Velouria has a greater willingness to modernize components and is more thorough in judging a bicycle ready to ride than am I, but it was good to see someone advocate for the scads of quality used three-speeds that are out there.

Here's exhibit A. It's a 1974 Raleigh Sports offered for $150. New tires, new tubes, Sturmey-Archer hub fine-tuned and shifting smoothly. Fenders for the coming rain. Room to mount a $5 Plescher rack (which the seller will mount for free) and plenty of places to clip a light or two. Bam. Done. You're a bike commuter.

By the way, if this particular bike is calling your name, it's available from Mike (not me) at Vintage Bicycle Supply in Sacramento. Contact me if you want his number.

One last look...

2010-10-16T00:23:00.001-07:00

Sold! Farewell to Roebuck

2010-10-15T21:35:00.000-07:00

After acquiring something like a dozen bikes over the past 15 months, I finally managed to part with one. I sold my first bike!

Roebuck was the beautiful, merlot-colored, Sears three-speed I bought from a vintage dealer about a year ago. My "newest" bike, it was made in 1984, when Sears used Taiwan manufacturers and marketed their bikes under the Free Spirit brand.

Once I cleaned it up a bit and got rid of the awful Free Spirit stickers, it was among the nicest-looking bikes in my collection. The color was fabulous and there was a kind of perfection to its ordinariness. With its diamond frame, matching fenders, chainguard and North Road handlebars, it always reminded me of the pictograph used on bike lane signs or in other situations where the design calls for a generic bicycle.

Once I fitted it with an Italian wine crate on the rear rack, it became a bike with tons of character and one that drew compliments whenever I rode it.

So, why sell a bike I liked so much? That's a question I've been asking myself in the four hours since it sold. First of all, I have to say the sale resulted from a half-hearted effort on my part. I don't think I expected a buyer to come along at the price I named; at least not very quickly.

But to explain why I listed it in the first place, I'd have to point to these reasons.

1) Things really are getting out of hand in the garage, shed, wine room and other bike storage spots. The three of us now own 15 bikes -- 14, now -- and creating a bit of room seemed sensible.

2) The Nishiki mixte I bought at a yard sale for $15 with the intention of cleaning and selling for $100 or so is now looking more and more like a keeper. I'm overhauling it in weekly installments (more on this process later) and I'm unlikely to want to sell it after I've put that much work into making it beautiful.

3) On some level, I wanted to prove to myself I was capable of selling one of my bikes. I don't think I'm at risk of achieving a spot on "Hoarders," but neither do the people profiled on the show. So, you know, it struck me as a good idea to get rid of one more or less on principle.

4) As lovely as Roebuck was, it was very seldom ridden. Its role as an upright, reliable utility bike was one filled by several of my other bikes. The Raleighs and my Nishiki Citisport are hard to beat for upright commuting and a bit of shopping or errand-running. For idle wheeling through the neighborhood, there's the Schwinn Racer. So, Roebuck kind of became a bike without a job after a while.

He did fill two unique roles, but in the end these weren't vital enough to save him. First, he was the bike I felt best-suited to errands where he'd need to be left locked but unattended for a long period of time. As much as I'd hate to have him stolen, he was probably the most easily replaced and the least expensively adorned in terms of saddle, tires, etc. Second, the wine box made him perfect for light shopping, but I just don't do enough of that to merit keeping a dedicated shopping bike in the stable.

I did get some satisfaction from the pleasure Roebuck brought his new owner. The buyer said he already had the same bike in a different color and wanted a matched pair. Here, I decided, was a guy pretty close to my own bike-buying aesthetic. He returned from his short test drive beaming and handed over the money without a shred of reluctance (or haggling, which was a nice bonus).

So, farewell, Roebuck. Here's wishing you and your new owner lots of happy miles.

What is this thing?

2010-10-12T22:42:00.000-07:00

Does anyone know what this little doo-dad is on one (only one) of the seat stays on my 70s Corsaro 12-speed? I've never seen one before and can't imagine what purpose it serves.

It's on the inside of the stay and it's maybe a quarter-inch long. It's got a flattened end, kind of disc-shaped.

Anyone?

Signs of life

2010-10-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

Last month, there was a fairly serious grassfire on the bike trail I use every day. It seemed to have started near one of the many homeless camps that lie behind the tree line and just out of sight.

I'm pleased to report that the native grasses are no pushovers... it takes more than a fire to keep them down. Here's one of the first shoots making its way through the charred surface only a couple of weeks after the fire:

And picking up some steam:

And here is a nearby stretch just a week or so after that.

There is at least one grove of trees that looks pretty badly damaged, so the recovery will be longer term than the photos may suggest. Still, it's neat so see nature launch its recovery so quickly!

bike trail trickster

2010-10-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

I had to snap a photo of this guy who was riding backwards on the trail. It didn't seem to be a short-term thing or a stunt for anyone's entertainment but his own... I honestly think he was making the entire journey in this position.

In keeping with the traditions of this blog, the photo is a poor one. But it was basically a BMX bike and he was negotiating curves and turns pretty effortlessly.

Bike-friendliest cities

2010-09-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

The League of American Bicyclists -- whoever that is -- just released their latest listing of cities that earn distinction as "bike friendly." The league's criteria are "the five Es": Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and Evaluation & planning.

Distinguished biking cities receive Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze awards.

Davis, California was one of only three cities, with Portland and Boulder, Colo., to receive a Platinum Award. The League cited Davis' generous creation and priority maintenance of bike lanes, bike traffic signals and scenic trails, and seemed particularly charmed by Davis' claim to be home to more bikes than cars.

Nearby Folsom received a silver award and my own Sacramento received a bronze. Not a bad showing for our region!

You can read the League's ranking and see a complete list here.

Hot time on the bike trail!

2010-09-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

This morning's ride along the American River Bike Trail was a little more interesting than the usual. Fire crews from a variety of agencies lined the trail, battling a 12-acre fire that began late last night. As of this evening, the fire is nearly -- but completely -- out. Firefighters had a tough time even getting to the flames through the thick brush that lies between the trail and a finger-like offshoot of the American.

The cause is unknown, but some of the guys I talked to at the scene acknowledged that preliminary suspicions run toward the numerous illegal camps found in the area.

The trail stayed open and the air was filled with the lingering smell of smoke. Six-inch hoses ran alongside the trail for a quarter mile or more, giving cyclists something new to look at for a change.

Ride Safe Month

2010-09-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

September is Ride Safe Month in Sacramento, and the police department issued this release today describing their intent to enforce bicycle safety laws more diligently over the next few weeks.

On the encouraging side, the first item on their list of safety tips is a reminder than bicycles have the same rights as other vehicles. On the slightly less encouraging side, their targeted enforcement sounds completely focused on finding at-fault cyclists. It might have been helpful to at least suggest that officers would also be keeping an eye out for drivers who fail to keep a safe distance between their cars and law-abiding cyclists.

Sacramento's chief is a cyclist (and says so in the release) and his department is part of a wider plan to make the city more bike-friendly. Still, they missed a good opportunity to demonstrate that bicycle-car safety is a two-way affair.

The return of summer

2010-08-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

This has been, without doubt, the coolest summer in at least 20 years. We've had weeks of days with temperatures reaching no higher than the mid-80s, which in a climate without humidity, feels like 70. It has been absolutely perfect weather -- the kind I'd pack up and go to find on vacation.

So, I'm not about to complain about this week's return to normal August temperatures. The mercury is on its way to 106 today, we're told. It's 101 or so as of 3 p.m. and the truly hot part of the day lies ahead.

The once concession I made to the heat was to ride to the office a bit earlier than usual and to head for the home office a bit earlier as well. My ride home was in triple-digit heat, but I have to say I truly enjoyed it.

I kept the Mercier moving at a respectable pace and the resulting breeze truly felt like a very pleasant sauna. Hot, dry air clearing the sinuses and creating a kind of waterless bath around you.

Now, I'll stipulate that if you're stuck in the sun, 101 or 106 is truly tortuous. Probably not survivable for long. But for a 5.5 mile ride home to a refreshing swimming pool, it's Heaven.

Big Day in Old Sac

2010-08-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

For some reason, humble Old Sacramento was selected as the gathering/lunch spot for the GoogleMaps crew today. There were four of their 360-degree camera vehicles parked outside the Subway on Second Street. (I only got three in this awful mid-day photo).

A block away, four cars belonging to a Palm promotions team were parked at Second and K streets. Weird.

Stolen goods

2010-08-08T14:22:00.000-07:00

One fork of Sacramento's bike trail winds behind the Blue Diamond Almond plant, where the smell of roasting almonds can be intoxicating and where flowers line both sides of the road. The flowers are four o'clocks, or mirabilis jalopa. Their brightly-colored blossoms tend to open in the late afternoon, hence their common name. (Although in Sacramento, four o'clock is several hours too early for the cooler temperatures they need to open).

When I was a boy, we had four o'clocks lining the path through our backyard. They were a big deal to my mom and dad and they always make me think of those days when I see them today.

Now, while our backyard is home to a growing crop of the flowers, we have only red and yellow blossoms. So, when I saw that the Blue Diamond plants were also sporting white and pink blossoms, I decided it was perfectly OK to liberate a few clusters of the dried flowers and tiny seeds. The flowers produce copious seeds, each the size, shape and color of a black peppercorn. On several rides, I grab a few of the spent blossom clusters, stuff them in a pocket or basket, ride home and toss them among our red-and-yellow beds.

Hopefully, next spring will find two new colors added to our garden.

Anti theft system

2010-08-02T23:07:00.000-07:00

I spotted these two Rivendell Quickbeams parked outside a local watering hole/breakfast place over the weekend and stopped for a closer look. Only then did I notice the vigilant guard charged with protecting them. Nobody's going to mess with these beautiful bikes -- including the red Worksman! -- as long as this guy's on the job.

The Rivendells belong to delightful people who might be Sacramento's "First Couple" of cycling. They are beautifully outfitted with Brooks saddles and classic grips -- cork-and-twine on one, wood on the other.

A clear-headed take on cycling risk

2010-08-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

Don, a good friend from the newspaper days and now a helpful guide to the world of cycling, is back on his bike after his second serious injury of the year.

Read about his thoughts on the fall and the risks of cycling on his day-job blog here.

We're glad you're back, Don! You're due for some drama-free cycling for a long time to come.

cycling to Vegas

2010-08-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well, not really. But I've always been intrigued by the stretch of motels along West Capitol Avenue in West Sacramento. There are a fraction of the number that used to be there, but there are still plenty compared to most other streets in the world.

Someone explained once that these motels predate the interstate highways; they're from a time when West Capitol Avenue was not just a street in Sacramento's poorer neighbor, but the route to San Francisco. And, if you're traveling by bicycle, it still is the road to all parts west. So, a bicycle journey to Davis takes you along the road and beside the motels that greeted motorists half a century ago. I suppose with the east side of the river dedicated to the boulevard leading up to the state capitol, it made sense for the motels to cluster just west of the river.

What remains a mystery, though, is why so many of them share names with famous Las Vegas hotels of the 50s and 60s. There's a Sahara, a Fremont and a Flamingo. I so wish I had taken pictures of the half-dozen or more others that used to line the road.

At the east end of the avenue sits a true link to Vegas. It's a Buddhist convent today, but for decades it was the El Rancho resort. Just like the El Rancho Vegas, the first hotel/resort on The Strip -- no matter what the Flamingo says. The ranch-style design, the stand-alone bungalows and even the awnings are all straight out of the 1950s incarnation of the El Rancho. I'm told they shared common ownership, so the similarities are no mystery. Why you'd develop a resort in West Sacramento, however, is very much a mystery.

Sacramento bicyclist killed in hit and run

2010-07-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

This in the mailbox today from the Sacramento Police Department:
______________________

On July 24, 2010, at 9:15 p.m., officers responded to the area of Florin Road and 29th Street regarding traffic accident with serious injuries.

Officers arrived and determined, based on witness statements, that a man in his 30's was riding a bicycle westbound on Florin Road when he was stuck by a vehicle. Immediately after the accident a vehicle was seen leaving the area. That vehicle was described by witnesses as being an older black SUV (possibly a Chevy Blazer or Ford Explorer). The victim was left lying in the roadway suffering from injuries. Moments later a second vehicle ran over the victim. The driver of the second vehicle stopped and indicated he did not see the victim lying in the roadway. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators hope that the driver of the black SUV will come forward with the information needed to determine the circumstances that led to this accident.

The Sacramento Police Department urges anyone with information pertaining to this incident to contact Detective Schrum at (916) 808-6032. You can also call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) or call the traffic detectives directly at (916) 808-6030. Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000

____________

Any tip here coud be helpful. I know from experience that Crime Alert is effective and they're serious about protecting anonymity of callers.

Out for justice!

2010-07-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

A pair of high-profile bicycle vs. car accidents are in the news this week in California.

In the first, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is back on the job following a collision that required surgery to repair a broken elbow. The mayor was upbeat in public appearances Monday and used the opportunity to issue a plea that cyclists wear helmets -- he himself was during last week's accident in which he says he hit the pavement head first.

Interestingly, the mayor rejected any talk of pursuing legal action against the cab driver who abruptly pulled in front of him as Villaraigosa rode in the bicycle lane. Whether you see this as a sign of a forgiving nature or as an indicator there's more to this crash story than the official version indicates depends on which side of California politics you call home.

The second rider in the news this week is in no mood for forgiveness... at least not until the driver who hit him comes forward to accept responsibility.

Bill Tinsley, 75, was riding along a moderately busy boulevard near Sacramento in late June when he was struck by a white sedan that kept going. This week, he's standing alongside that same road, holding signs asking for help in identifying the driver. The accident wrecked his bicycle and, Tinsley says, "took a few years off" his life.

I'm guessing this rider, having seen Tinsley appeal on television and learned that he and the CHP have little in the way of evidence, will come forward at precisely the same time O.J. produces that missing track suit and knife.

Here's a link to Tinsley's story, and here's one to Villaraigosa's.

Before and after

2010-07-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

I was flipping through some recent photos when it occurred to me I'd taken the same shot on two different occasions riding home from Davis. The first was an April photograph I took to chronicle my first "mini-tour," riding the 40 miles to Davis and back. The second was a June photograph I snapped to show off the recently overhauled Mercier mixte, Blaise, on the same ride.

Without thinking of it, I had photographed two different bikes at two different times of year in almost exactly the same spot.

So, for the thousands of you who have been clamoring to know more about our climate here in the Central Valley of California, I offer this kinda cool before and after display.

Here's April:

Note the lush grasses and yellow blossoms in the field. The orange sign on the left is apparently at the level of the vegetation. It looks like a perfect field to run through, arms outstretched, to meet your beloved -- provided you were both characters in a bad movie.

Now, here's June:

What the hell happened here? The orange sign is magically on four-foot stilts. The green and yellow pasture is no longer the setting for a lover's reunion, but the scorched badlands where Clint Eastwood finally guns down his nemesis.

The clouds even offer a clue. We don't get those puffy cumulus jobs much after the spring. Instead, you see the wispy summer version.

Now, to make the cowboy movie setting complete...

Growing up in the Great Lakes region, the only tumbleweeds I saw were on screen with John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. And they were awesome. As far as scene-setting devices go, it's hard to beat the tumbleweed blowing through the deserted town square. It told you most of you needed to know about what was happening. Tough town. Only dangerous guys make it here. Big fight coming.

I remember desperately wanting two things as a kid: saloon style half-doors in our kitchen (so I could push through them menacingly and pace over to the counter/bar, push back my hat and order a whiskey/Kool-Aid); and a real life tumbleweed to appear in our verdant yard. Neither happened.

When I moved west, I stopped and gawked at the first 100 or so tumbleweeds I saw, still feeling lucky each time one blew across my path.

But this recent Davis-to-Sacramento bike ride was a bonanza I never expected. Along the trail, gathered in a spot where the wind apparently deposited and ignored them, were hundreds of the things.

As usual, my photography fails to capture the enormity of it all. They went on for a hundred yards or more on both sides of the trail. Any one of them would have been enough, had it appeared in my yard in 1973, to make my year. Now, here were a thousand or so... and me without my cap gun, holster or hat.

More Davis bike fun

2010-07-07T23:50:00.000-07:00

The three of us made a trip to Davis recently to pick up my overhauled Mercier and to enjoy that city's remarkable bicycling amenities. My favorite was the greenbelt, which seems to meander through much of central Davis. It's like a miles-long park with a bike trail running through it.

There are playgrounds, tennis courts, open fields, shaded benches and beautiful gardens. And, as you can see, it has bicycle-related sculpture sprinkled throughout as well.

An unmentionable post

2010-07-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

Sooner or later, every lazy blogger resorts to titilation to incite interest among readers, and I'm no different.

Against the horrified pleas of my daughter, I present a view of a recent gift I received... bicycle-themed boxers:

What? You didn't think I'd post a pic of me wearing them, did you? I wouldn't do that to you, dear readers. In fact, my modesty is so great that I used a close shot to avoid showing them in their voluminous entirety. Such is my respect for your gentle natures.

I really like that the bike depicted is basically a little Opa -- full chain case and all.

Happy Independence Day!

2010-07-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

Wishing you all a happy Fourth of July! I always loved this holiday for the cookouts and fireworks, but love it even more now for what it represents.

Our neighborhood hosts a small, folksy parade for the kids, families and pets. It's basically a lap around the perimeter streets on bikes, scooters, wagons and skateboards followed by hot dogs and watermelon in the park. We rode our Schwinns for the occasion; Jan on her red Breeze and me on my blue Racer. It seemed only fitting to choose American-made bikes in patriotic colors for the occasion.

Tomorrow it's back to muted green and brown Raleighs. But today, it was loud, bright and independent! You rock, America!

Cycle chic in Cesar Chavez Plaza

2010-06-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

Just after I finished locking my bike (Takumashi) to a tree at the downtown farmer's market, this lovely cyclist arrived on an Electra Amsterdam and locked it to the next tree over.

If I were any kind of photographer, you would see that each of our bikes were sporting the canvas-and-leather Basil Kavan II panniers. Since I'm not, you shall have to imagine my pannier-equipped bike just out of frame to the right.

Both Stephanie and I were delighted to see our panniers on another bike and we had a great chat about the best way to mount them, their suitability for shopping, and the knuckle-bruising task of fastening them to the rear stays.

Happy riding, Stephanie, and thank you for a very interesting and fun conversation!

Summer riding

2010-06-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

Remember all that whining in May about how it was still chilly and overcast? Well, those days don't seem too bad right about now. It was 104 Monday... not enough to cancel the planned "Seersucker Ride," a summer counterpart to the Tweed Ride.

But things have cooled down since then. It's been a moderate 96 or so in the days since. Sacramento is one of the few places where in a discussion of the weather, you'll hear a temperature of 96F preceded by the word "only."

But the fact is, our low humidity makes a day of 96F very livable. If you're not stuck in the sun, you can get by. A leisurely ride along the river isn't out of the question, nor is a few bike-based errands. Going all afternoon and trying to do it at a brisk pace may be another story, however. I wouldn't know, myself. I try to get the outward section of my commute in while the morning is still cool. Another peculiarity of our weather is that the hottest part of a summer day doesn't come until late afternoon, almost evening, so if I can head for the home office by 2 or 3, things work out fine.

Little fixes, big changes

2010-06-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

Riding my Mercier mixte, Blaise, often left me feeling slightly unfulfilled and a little crazy. Here's why:

I've been struggling to achieve a more upright position on all of my bikes, convinced that this was the secret to riding comfort and fun -- and to recapturing the joy I felt at riding bikes in Flanders a year ago this month. Blaise, then, should have been my favorite bike to ride. It afforded an almost fully upright riding position, allowing me to move through streets in the same profile as a pedestrian. No need to elevate my chin even an inch to see the road before me. My hands were in a comfortable, palms-in position on the north road handlebars.

And yet, it wasn't perfect. There was a tiny voice whispering in one ear, saying the ride was "too upright." In the other ear, there was a voice telling the first one to shut up and stop finding problems where none existed.

But there was no denying the idiosyncrasies of a bike on which all of the rider's weight rested on the saddle. Even the smallest pavement bump would shake the fillings in your teeth. And steering the bike sometimes felt more like a suggestion than a command.

Finally, I took the plunge and adjusted the stem a bit. But it was clear this was not solution. On a whim, I made one more change and adjusted the bars to point just a touch downward.

What a difference! I moved the bars maybe a half-inch in all. But the new angle means my weight is distributed differently, with a just bit more on my hands. Still, my hands remain in a palms-in, natural position and there hasn't been a comfort price.

But ordinary road imperfections are no longer kidney-jarring events. Better still, I feel much more in synch with the bike's responsive handling... I just have to think left and it goes left, it seems. This subtle change seems to have brought my bike into line with how it was built to be ridden.

I'll keep you posted as I learn whether there are long-term tradeoffs to be identified. In the meantime, Blaise has gone from seldom-ridden sentimental favorite to the most fun bike in the stable.

Gnarly wrecked frame

2010-06-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

In a weird way, I was almost proud of the intense damage I did to my bike in the accident last October. The frame buckled and the forks were bent back to a ridiculous degree. Looking at the bike, I felt lucky for getting out of the day with only a broken collarbone.

Now, though, I’ve been outdone, both in terms of frame carnage and good fortune.

My friend Steve, who is just beginning his re-entry to cycling, smashed into a car that exited a driveway immediately into his path. His face collided with the passenger window and his bike inflicted significant damage to the car. Steve, though, walked away uninjured (but shaken up, as you might expect.)

Check out the angle of the downtube. It’s amazing what steel can absorb.

Is this a thing?

2010-06-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

This CL seller acknowledges the bike has one 700c wheel and one 24" wheel. No explanation, apology or perspective is offered. He goes on to suggest the bike would be good for a "kid or small adult."

Is this some half-baked way to achieve a track position? I think that may be giving way too much credit somehow.

See for yourself here.

French bike, California wine

2010-06-04T20:44:00.001-07:00

I tried a longer wine box on the back of Blaise, the Mercier mixte. It just seemed too big for the rack and a bit too heavy to be practical. Still, I think it looked way cool, and it led to the more practical design that I have on my Sears three-speed now.

Many thanks to Chad at Enotria for donating the box and getting the idea off the ground.

If you’re in the Sacramento area and looking for the some of the finest food the region has to offer – and what is almost certainly the best wine list – visit Enotria on Del Paso Boulevard.

Trail ride surprise

2010-06-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

Now that I’m cycling longer distances in my quest to become capable someday of a proper bicycle tour, I’m finding how much fun there is to be had on the American River Bike Trail a bit farther east.

My most recent outing took me to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery – which is a mind-blowing operation to raise and release salmon into the river – and the nearby recreation area above the dam.

Here’s Lucky, 20 miles into his 40+ mile day, posing alongside a giant fiberglass salmon.

At the recreation area, I stumbled onto a big deal. The NCAA Women’s Rowing Championships were in full swing! I’m a poor news consumer lately and had somehow missed that our city (near enough) was hosting such a prestigious event. My iPhone is not equipped to capture far-away action, but here’s a shot of a team from Florida crossing the finish line.

And here is Lucky, aglow from the good fortune at finding our resting place was also the scene of big goings-on. Serendipity.

Riding double

2010-06-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

Spring has been a long time coming in Northern California. We had the coldest May in 61 years and one of the wettest in a long time. (I should point out in the interest of full disclosure that “cold” doesn’t really mean the same thing here as it does in other parts of the world.) Still, this warm weather season feels earned in a way that others have not.

And, of course, there is no surer sign of spring than young lovers on the bike trail. I spotted these two nearly a quarter-mile away. I was determined to capture their cycling romance on film, but the young man’s neck tattoo suggested it would be a good idea to ask delicately.

As it turns out, both he and she were friendly, warm and genuinely pleased to be photographed. They were miles away from any reasonable stopping point on the trail, so I have to assume this unique tandem ride was a fairly prolonged thing.

Yes, it looks dangerous. But they were having so much fun that it seemed silly to point that out to them.

Ballpark Nishiki

2010-06-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

I found this Nishiki city bike waiting in the valet corral after the baseball game. I don’t recognize the model, but I sure recognize those fenders. Doesn’t it look a lot like a Raleigh Sprite? I wonder if it’s from the era when nearly all the bikes were made in Japan?

I like how it’s parked alongside a KHS Green. I’ve always thought the Green evokes the best of 70’s-era upright utility bikes.

Baseball and bicycles

2010-06-02T22:06:00.001-07:00

My brother Terry is visiting this week and he’s a willing participant in bike fun every time he’s here. So, when I learned there was an 11:35 a.m. game at Raley Field in nearby West Sacramento, I decided it would be the perfect bike outing for us.

Raley Field is home to the Sacramento River Cats, a AAA-dominating team affiliated with the Oakland A’s. And, it’s just down the road from my office, making the entire trip no more than 6 miles or so, 5.5 of which are on the bike trail.

The ride was easy and slow. The Kid came along on her mountain bike and we all enjoyed the mild, warm weather, the riverside wildlife and the lush green growth all around us.

I was a bit nervous about taking a hard-to-replace bike on this trip because I was unsure of the security of bike racks at the ballpark. We’ve been to a million games, but always arrived by car.

To my surprise and delight, Raley Field has “valet parking” for bikes. Actually, there’s nothing “valet” about it, but there is a dedicated corral for bike parking and it’s supervised for the duration of the game. Most folks lock their bikes anyway, to ensure that nobody falsely claims one as their own and rides off. Still, it’s miles better than a rack sitting out somewhere unguarded.

Now that I know one of our favorite destinations is supremely bike-friendly, I think we’re going to save $8 in parking fees for nearly every game from now on.

Three speeds and a good attitude

2010-06-02T16:58:00.000-07:00

I was in the midst of admiring this old-school three speed when its owner arrived to unlock it and ride it away. While many people would react poorly to finding someone ogling their bicycle, this student took it in gracious stride. When I asked to take a photo, she responded "Sure!" before I could explain that I have a cycling blog and am not just some weirdo. She stayed on her phone call at my insistence... I felt the photo was imposition enough.

I love that attitude. I'd really like to be someone who says "sure" more often and "why?" "who's asking?" or "what do want to know that for?" a little less.

I've never heard of a Bay Pointe bicycle. It looks pretty much indistinguishable from the jillions of other utility three-speeds of that era, including my Sears (Free Spirit) city bike.

Old Sac Triumph

2010-05-18T09:11:00.000-07:00

This Triumph three speed appeared recently in Old Sac and has taken up daily residence. It clearly belongs to someone who works here... I can't imagine anyone liking salt water taffy and t-shirts enough to visit Old Sac every day.

Sheldon Brown explains that Raleigh bought the rights to the Triumph name from the motorcycle company in 1954. There is no connection to the beloved automobiles of the same name.

My keen detective's mind notes that the Triumph appeared more or less the same time the Raleigh Sprite disappeared from the parking meters of Old Sac. I'm thinking somebody traded one English bike for another. Good trade, in my view.

Electric assisted smiles

2010-05-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

I’ve never known quite what to make of electric-assist bicycles. I was pretty sure they weren’t for me, but I didn’t feel the need to dismiss them either. For someone with knee issues or someone who wants to cycle his way to better health – but whose fitness level makes cycling a little too difficult to enjoy at first – these bikes seemed like a reasonable solution.

What never occurred to me is that these bikes might be insanely fun.

I stopped by Practical Cycle to test my theory that their Worksman Cycles are the perfect match for families looking for something fun to do in Old Sacramento. The shop is nestled between a half-dozen museums and attractions, and a stone’s throw from the American River Bike Trail. At the shop, Tim convinced me to try a Pedego electric bike instead.

I swiped this photo off the Practical Cycle web site. Mine was ridiculously blurry. Same bike, though. Same trail, too.

I decided to test the bike both with and without the electric assist motor. A lot of what I’ve read about these bikes suggest they can be ridden as regular bikes, saving the electric assist for hills, or fatigue or situations calling for a little extra oomph.

In the case of the Pedego at least, these bikes are more than adequate as regular, pedal-powered cruisers. I left the assist off for a couple of laps around Old Sacramento and I had a great time. The seat is super comfortable and in combination with the high-rise handlebars, feels like a living-room recliner at times. The fat tires handled the cobblestone streets with ease, something that even the 26x1.5 tires on my Nishiki certainly can’t do.

So far, so good. I was having a great time. Better yet, I was right about a cruiser being a superior way to see Old Sacramento. Next, I’d ride to the Capitol and check out a few other tourist spots along the way. Would the bike be spritely enough to take a non-rider the mile or so to Midtown without fatigue?

Hell yes. When I switched on the electric assist, I entered a whole new world of cycling fun. It’s hard to list all the ways this bike made me smile, but here goes:

The burst of speed you get when twisting the throttle is exhilarating, but distinctly manageable. It never felt like the bike was going to rocket out from under me, but it clearly felt like I had the power to muster up as much speed as I needed.

It felt far safer in traffic. When I start from a stop at an intersection on my regular bikes, there’s always a moment or two when the need for power translates into a slight wobble. Getting up to speed alongside cars is one of my least favorite parts about city riding. On the Pedego, though, it was effortless. The cars and I entered the intersection at the same rate of acceleration (at least at first) and it felt not only safe, but logical, to start taking the lane at intersections and waiting my turn in traffic.
It straddled both worlds beautifully. Despite this ability to hang with the cars, the Pedego is unmistakably a bicycle. The ride felt like a bike ride, not a motorcycle ride. You know that feeling you get when you cruise down a hill and you pick up as much speed as you want without pedaling? When you smile and enjoy the wind in your face? That’s available on the Pedego any time you want it. On the bike trail, the stretch that crosses the American River as it flows into the Sacramento River can take some standing, huffing and puffing. On the Pedego, I did it sitting in comfort, grinning like a fool and watching the geese soaring overhead.

Here’s how fun it was: I brought it back early.

After about 40 minutes of pedaling, zipping and smiling my way through Sacramento, I started to fear that riding my regular bikes would seem less fun by comparison. I don’t know if I was right about that, and I don’t want to find out.

But I know this: most of the people who dismiss these bikes as “cheating” are riding to work everyday in a car or SUV. I’ve heard quite a few people say they’d love to cycle to work, but it’s too hilly… or they’d need a shower at the office or their knee hurts, or 12 miles is too far to ride or this or that or the other thing. And these are perfectly valid obstacles to bicycle commuting. But an electric assist bike can eliminate those problems for you and still get you out there in the sunshine pedaling.

And, based on my experience, I’m pretty sure you’d arrive at work with a smile on your face.

Amgen Tour of California

2010-05-16T21:25:00.000-07:00

Since every bike blog in California is going to be posting about the Amgen Tour, I'm inclined to keep it short, lest I reveal more than the usual amount of my cycling ignorance.

I feel safe in saying this, though: It was pretty cool. Those dudes go by FAST. I stood at 15th and P, where the racers made the second of two close turns. They swept within a couple feet of my the curb to get the correct angle on the left turn onto P Street and the wind and dust they generated was amazing.

I've never been a racing fan, but I could easily understand why someone would want to watch this sport. I'm not likely to watch again until it comes back to a spot five minutes from my house, but still, I kind of get it a bit better now.

Among the surprises was the fact that there is no "backstage" for these guys to disappear to after the race. Within minutes of the finish, they were changing clothes, wiping down and talking with support staff, all within plain sight of the spectators.

Not even this guy could get a bit of privacy from the rude gaze of public scrutiny -- and my iPhone. He went down in the spill on the last lap around the Capitol before the finish.

Last thought... valet bike parking is awesome! Somebody should do this year-round. I handed over my bike, came back to put my swag in the saddle bag and finally reclaimed it after the race, all without a second's hassle.

Midtown classic

2010-05-16T21:10:00.000-07:00

Midtown Sacramento seems to be ground zero for the kinda sad fixie culture in Sacramento. I say kinda sad because Sacramento is one of those cities where things catch on just about the time they're dying out in places like LA or New York. I say that without any envy for LA or NY... I much prefer the Sacramentos of the world to either place. And, things that originate here are very, very cool to me. Ever had a Merlino's Orange Freeze?

But things that start elsewhere, well, they're usually not that cool by the time they get here.

What were we talking about? Midtown, right? OK. My point is that it's become common to see old steel frames turned into fixed-gear showpieces and my attitude is mostly one of gratitude that the cool old frames are being used at all. Plus, I kind of think that when this trend is officially over, there are going to be a million Univega and Bianchi frames out there for the taking.

But it's not every day you see the young hip Midtown crowd lounging in front of a truly classic and unmolested bike. That's why I had to stop and snap a photo of this front porch chillout with a 1967 chrome Mercury. Beautiful. Thanks for leaving it alone, Midtown young 'uns!

Bike weekend weirdness

2010-05-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

What happens when a tall "art" bike crashes a fixie-kid skid contest? I was hanging out in the park across from Hot Italian (a restaurant that has made itself in astonishingly short order the center of downtown bike events) when just this situation developed.

The fixie kids -- and mind you some were no kids -- had finished a track-stand contest and were beginning their skid contest when this weird thing pedaled into the middle of the park. It featured two riders from San Francisco -- surprise -- and some kind of pre-written monologue for the upper rider to recite.

The fixie kids were nice about asking the thing to move over and the SF hipsters obliged. They seemed sad they didn't get to finish the performance piece that they had in mind.

I'm not proud to say it, but I was disappointed. I was secretly hoping for a kind of Nerd vs. Geek showdown. This was shaping up to be Ali vs. Frazier or Godzilla vs. Mothra. But it all kind of fizzled into a blur of polite mumbles.

The woman next to me gushed about the art bike reminding her of Reinhold Niebuhr and the "need to create something." I remarked that the need to create seemed, in this case, secondary, to the "need to be looked at." Her face registered genuine surprise at having found such a miserable ignoramus in such a pleasant setting.

The skid contest continued, with riders vying for who could best demonstrate the inherent danger of riding a bicycle with no brakes. This kid came in second:

Three speed friends

2010-05-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

When I parked Roebuck outside the grocery store, he was the only bike in the rack. When I came out, he had been joined by this vintage Schwinn three-speed Speedster. I thought it was cool that the only two bikes at the store were decades-old three speeds. For running errands in flat Sacramento, they're the perfect vehicle. And, as the Speedster shows, they're built to last.

Zimbale bag and farmer's market

2010-05-04T13:09:00.000-07:00

Before the unexpected appearance of the gorgeous his-and-her Superbes, the big news of this week was going to be the arrival of my Zimbale saddle bag. I'd agonized over which color and size to order, pestering friends like Velouria and EcoVelo for more perspective and opinion.

Here's what I finally selected:

It's the 7-liter saddle bag in black. I love the olive green version, but this seemed well-suited to go from a brown bike to a blue one to a green one.

Although the bag was a tad smaller than I envisioned, it appears to be big enough to hold all you'd need for a long day's ride or a lightweight tour. Still, I think the next one will be the 11-liter version. Mounting was pretty easy and largely intuitive, but I have to say that I had tons of help from the helpful posts and photos at both EcoVelo and Lovely Bicycle.

The test ride came today at the farmer's market. It's still a bit early in the season, but there already are good tomatoes, cabbages, asparagus and potatoes to be hand.

Here's the bag, mounted on Geordy, the original Raleigh Superbe, waiting to be filled.

The default cargo is a cable lock, a light and a small pump. An extra tube and repair tools are in one of the side pockets.

Now here's the bag with two bunches of bok choy, a bunch of shallots, a couple pounds of tomatoes and some almonds added:

It's worth nothing that this load did not tax the bag in any way. In fact, the Zimbale features a fold-down flap that can be extended to accommodate a large or bulky load. I didn't need that for this small load of groceries and was able to close the bag using the regular setting.

And here, his cargo secured, sits Geordy in the Capitol Rose Garden. He looks satisfied, as he should.

His and Hers!

2010-05-03T19:50:00.000-07:00

I swore I was done acquiring bikes, but when these two Raleigh Superbes popped up on Craigslist -- both for a price you'd expect to pay for one -- I decided to give them a good home.

That's not entirely true. My first thought was to flip them. They were under-priced and I thought with a little cleaning, I could sell them for twice what I paid. Well, they weren't home five minutes before that plan fizzled. They were simply too clean, too intact, too lovely to sell.

If I'm reading the hubs correctly, they're from 1971. Otherwise, there are very few clues to indicate these bikes are nearly 40 years old. They have their fork lock keys. They are without rust or dents (except a garage ding in the male bike's fender). They have the original Dunlop tires. They shift and brake perfectly. They have identical Scwhinn bells on the handlebars and matching, pristine Sacramento registration stickers from 1974.

One small mystery (paging Dr Aaron) lies with the Schwinn seats on each of them. They're identical and of very high quality, so it's not as if they lost their Brooks saddles over time or use. These appear to be the saddles they've had since the 1970s. Did Superbes sometimes come with Schwinn saddles in the U.S. market?

For me, most of the fun of collecting anything -- casino chips, old pipes, pens -- comes from understanding that the objects you acquire have a story behind them. Someone saved her money to buy her husband that briar pipe. Or someone handled that chip from the Sahara while listening to Louis Prima in the Casbah Lounge. With bikes, there are so many possible stories that it's usually impossible to guess. Was it a graduation gift that never made the trip to college? Or was it trusted, reliable transportation for a generation of trips to school, work and piano lessons?

The great thing about his-and-hers vintage bikes is you already know one key part of the story. The bikes were bought at the same time from the same bike shop. They were registered together and the same person applied the stickers. They belonged to a couple -- perhaps newlyweds or older folks who planned to put them on the back of the Winnebago. But they almost certainly represented someone's hopes of happy times and rides together with a loved one.

Now, they belong to Jan and me. And we're going to have happy times and rides together.

Bike Auction at UC Davis

2010-05-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

Fiona and I decided to check out the bike auction at UC Davis this weekend, even though neither one of us needs a new bike. Our rules were clear -- we were only going to bid on bikes that were unique, non-duplicative of our current fleet, and great bargains.

We looked at 420 bikes and were tempted by a few crusiers. Fiona loves cruisers and talks about applying her savings towards one. In the end, we decided we were going to bid on one bike only, a 70s-era three speed made by Kia, the Korean manufacturer.

We watched 275 bikes go before our Kia, many for $10 or less. Three Nigerian men were there buying up the unwanted bikes for $5 each to send back to Africa.

I hoped our Kia -- a 24-inch blue model with a Shimano internal gear hub -- would meet with confusion and distinterest. It wasn't to be... there was a round of oohs and aahs when it came up on the platform and the bidding soared past our $45 limit before I could lift my bidding sign.

It ended up selling for $85, which was way beyond our "incredible bargain" threshold. So, we came home to our garage/shed/wine room full of bikes feeling like we'd been smart for a change.

Besides, we would need the space for the new additions that arrived Sunday! (More on that soon.)

It's twins!

2010-05-02T20:45:00.000-07:00

Two more bikes joined the family today...

Details and photos to come. But here's a hint... they're twins! Fraternal, that is.

Returning to the scene

2010-05-02T17:42:00.000-07:00

Not long after I started this blog, I was in a year-changing bicycle accident. I made it out with a broken collarbone, which only hurts occasionally at this point. The gripping tale of this accident begins here.

In the months since, I've wondered about the cause of the accident. Immediately after, I was sure of the reason -- I was looking out toward the horizon and failed to notice a three-foot pole, or bollard, in the middle of the path where it crossed an access road. The more I thought of it, though, the less satisfactory that explanation seemed to me.

I "re-enacted" the accident probably 100 times on the bike trail during my daily commutes. I'd look out into the distance and try to imagine missing a three-foot pole in my path. It seemed impossible. I finally concluded I must have been looking not at the horizon, but down at my chain or cogs in the critical seconds before the crash.

So, it was with some anticipation that I finally returned to the quiet intersection of path and road where the accident occurred, some 15 miles from my home. Here's the intersection, looking in the direction opposite of my travel on the fateful day:

It still looks like it'd be hard to miss, doesn't it? Well consider a couple of things that were more apparent to the eye than the camera. First, the color of that bollard is very close to that of the center line on the path. When you're at the right angle, the pole disappears into the line it bisects -- this is not the case with the angle of the photo, but trust me, it happens.

Second, I'd forgotten how much the path curves immediately before the intersection and bollards. The result of this is the pole only becomes visible a short time before you're upon it. Here's a view from the direction I was traveling on the day of the crash.

All in all, I feel less ridiculous about the wreck. In fact, one of my main reactions was gratitude for having somehow missed the big yellow beams that border the path and between which I must have fallen. It could have been a lot worse.

DIY rack box

2010-04-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

I stole the idea from Bowery Lane Bicycles. Every time they posted new photos of their bikes, I found I was only looking at the cool boxes they have on the back. Here's what I'm talking about: http://bowerylanebicycles.com/broncks_black.html

It took a bit of looking to find the right box. After a beautiful meal at Enotria, their wine manager kindly gave me a box from a case of Far Niente winery. It proved too beefy to go on a rear rack, but it's a gorgeous box that will find some other cool use.

Eventually, I found the right size box at a local wine merchant and the owner sold me four of them for a very fair price. Here's the box in question:

And here is the box being examined by my assistant, Scamp.

I selected two bikes to be the test subjects. Both have wire racks on the back instead of aluminum platform style racks. The first subject was Takumashi, the '70s Nishiki touring bike. For this mounting job, I drilled three pairs of smallish holes in the bottom of the box and ran zip ties through, fastening them under the wire rack. I was dubious of this method at first, but it proved to be effective enough and much less time-consuming than the method to follow.

Here's Takumashi wearing his new storage gear:

The next subject is a bike most of you haven't met yet... It's a 1980 Sears three-speed named Roebuck. (I've always wondered how Mr. Roebuck felt about his partner's name living on as the company moniker and his own fading away).

For this project, I drilled two holes in the bottom of the box and in a thin strip of wood that went under the box and rack. I ran bolts through the box, rack and strip, and fastened lock nuts under the strip. This is very sturdy... You can lift the bike by the box and not disturb its position on the rack.

Here's Roebuck, wondering why he's been posed next to a swimming pool.

Roebuck is going to keep his rack. He's been designated the grocery-getter for his geometry and ease of riding, but also because he's the bike that causes the least worry when I have to leave it locked for a while. Takumashi will likely relinquish his rack and return to his life as a unadorned tourer.

Total cost for each bike was about $3.25. The boxes do their job well. I put a golf towel in the bottom to keep the lock and other stuff from bouncing around too much. One slight drawback is that the box prevents use of the saddle loops and a saddle bag with repair kit. More on overcoming that another time.

Explain, please

2010-04-30T00:25:00.000-07:00

I rode about 30 miles today, 15 east, turned around and then 15 west.

Somehow, the wind was in my face on both legs of the journey. The tall grass along the trail and three branches all bent toward me. On the way out, I consoled myself thinking of how fun and easy it would be to coast back with the gusts pushing me along. If anything, it was worse on the way home.

How is this possible?

Weekday ride for two

2010-04-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Jan and I took the morning off and hit the bike trail today. We rode 12.5 miles along the river, stopping briefly to watch the ducks with their newly-hatched ducklings and to enjoy the perfect weather. After a late breakfast, we rode home, pleased with ourselves for pushing the mile count about twice as far as the usual "let's go for a ride" ride.

My friend Don confirms this counts as a 25-mile ride, which is greatly reassuring to me. I honestly wasn't sure if two halves of a ride bifurcated by a lunch or museum visit could be lumped together in polite cycling society.

Because the distance was longer than Jan's usual ride, I picked my Raleigh Superbe for the outing as it would be a bit more in line with a relaxed pace. It performed beautifully and the Brooks B-72 was very comfortable. I think it'd be good for even longer rides without discomfort.

Here's the Superbe with Jan's Schwinn hybrid, waiting for us to return from our walk to the river's edge.

Who needs a car?

2010-04-25T01:13:00.000-07:00

This charming cyclist thought about taking her car to the hardware store for a quick errand, but decided that with a little preparation, the bike would do just fine.

Those are a pair of hedge clippers in her backpack. here's a better shot.

Not everyone would feel comfortable transporting a pair of foot-long blades on her back, but this lady saw no problem once the clippers were firmly shut and carefully secured. I think she was right, but I certainly couldn't fault anyone who decided big-knife-buying was a job for four-wheeled transport.

Hats off to Michael (which I think is an awesome name for either gender) for her brave cycling and for her instant, smiling agreement to pose for a photo! I love people who are uninhibited and comfortable enough to answer "sure!" to the "May I take your photo?" question.

Bicycling Hall of Fame in Davis!

2010-04-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

Davis beat out a half-dozen bigger cities for the right to host the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame. The Hall opened this morning, drawing a large crowd of diverse cyclists.

Davis is a city that loves its bikes, and it's good to see the Hall go to such a deserving location.

Photos by Sacramentopress.com

Read about the Hall and its opening here and here.