Filed under: bicycling, bike safety, bike transportation, commute biking | Tags: road rage
Anyone who rides regularly for transportation knows what I’m talking about. After weeks of minor incidences with irresponsible, oblivious and aggressive drivers, a kind of cyclist’s “road rage” builds up. At some point during a ride the pot will inevitably boil over when a soccer mom cuts you off, pulls a u-turn without seeing you coming, or simply fails to look in your direction as she pulls out of the strip mall parking lot. That’s when you go balistic, stop your bike directly in front of her and start yelling and pointing like a maniac army sargeant.
Okay, gendering this scenario was unnecessary. The road rage I’m talking about is very general among bicycle commuters I know, men and women. Of course, I could have chosen a stereotyped male driver for this scenario, too.
I’ve noticed recently that this road rage is not a good thing. Moreover, it can be downright dangerous to let this anger build up in the first place. I began thinking about the dangers of bicyclist’s road rage when I exploded one day at a driver who honked impatiently simply because I took control of the lane (I had to take control of the lane in order to make the inappropriate left turn using a pedestrian cross walk ahead). I stopped my bike and placed it horizontally in the middle of the road, leaving her no option to pass and proceeded to give her a lecture on California bike law. She just stared in disbelief, gesturing “what’s up? Let’s go!”. But what if she had been more aggressive than that? What if she had decided to use her metal hulk to intimidate me?
The same day this occurred my wife told me about an incident of road rage on her part. I don’t recall the specifics, except that it was clear that she was venting an anger and tension that had been building over weeks of small incidents of inconsideration and worse on the same route. I’m sure that whatever it she did (I don’t recall) to vent her frustration likely put her at unnecessary further risk, as it did in my case to stop the bike in the middle of the road to give a fiery speech.
My concern with cyclist’s road rage extends beyond the moment of imprudent venting, however. After some consideration (in the saddle, of course), I’ve come to the conclusion that the anger and frustration alone poses a safety risk. When I allow a driver’s actions to disturb me, I become less focused on the next obstacle, the next driver, and the road ahead. Furthermore, I find them by becoming agitated, I’m less nimble and ready to react to whatever dangers may lie ahead. In other words, I’m still thinking about what that asshole just did to me back there instead of thinking about what lies ahead. And this is just the effect on my riding abilities without taking into consideration the highly imprudent acts of venting such as I described above. For this reason I’ve been experimenting with controlling my anger at drivers, staying calm and focused. A distinct advantage of staying calm is that I can continue to carefully observe egregious driver actions and learn from this how to ride more defensively, exposing myself less and less to driver foolishness.
Filed under: bicycling, bike transportation, commute biking | Tags: bicycle commute, bicycling in the rain
A new addition to my commuter is a big, fat and ugly black leather mud guard. Leather mud guards are not easy to come by. Bicycle stores generally do not stock them. Brooks sells one, but it is quite expensive (it is stamped with the Brooks logo. I suppose that explains the hefty price). I found mine for a third the price at Velo-Orange. Assembly took less than five minutes (a drill is needed). I’m using one guard attached to the bottom of the front fender. Some people put mud guards on the back tire as well, but that is only to decrease the splash on anyone riding close behind.
With the first good rain I noticed a dramatic reduction in splash to the frame and feet. This is not a minor convenience, but a major addition to my foul weather preparedness and something I would recommend to anyone commuting in the rain. It’s remarkable how much water the guard prevents from splashing back and up. Get one if you ride for transportation.
Filed under: bicycling, bike security, bike transportation, commute biking | Tags: nasty drivers
The other day I was in the outside of two turn lane. My lane allowed for both left turn and straight ahead and the lane next to me allowed only for left turn. I was turning left and noticed a crappy old compact in the lane to my left headed straight toward me. This beater had a large, homemade wood sign on the roof that stated something like this: “Is Your Body a Coffin? Go Veg!” Well, this guy just kept motoring forward, straight ahead without turning. I used my voice to notify him that I was there and that he was making a dangerous and illegal move: “he, he, he!” I shouted none too loud (his windows were down and we were close, too close). His response: a string of nasty obscenities as he powered his way forward, forcing me to brake and cut back (exposing me to danger from the turning cars behind me) and then the finger to boot! Man, I thought, this guy should try eating red meat! Perhaps it will curb his aggression!
Filed under: bicycling, bike transportation, commute biking | Tags: bike sandals
These are new. It still hasn’t rained in the Bay Area (we’ve had one rain, for just a few hours, since May), so I’ll be posting again on how these sandals are once the weather changes. So far, I’ve ridden home in some pretty cold temps–low-50s– with wool socks and felt just fine. The sandals adjust nicely to different thickness of socks– and I have both extremes; ultra-thin and super-thick.
One surprise: I should have thought twice about the waterproof material because without socks on these sandals feel terriblly clammy and uncomfortable after a 45 minute ride: the moisture just doesn’t go away! This has been the one big disappointment, to realize that I can’t wear these sandals without socks in warmer weather– unless I’m ready to take them off as soon as I get off the bike, or put on socks. That’s the drawback to anything “waterproof” and the main reason I avoid clothing labeled as such and much prefer “water resistant”. Okay, I mainly got the sandals for riding in wet conditions so I wouldn’t have to worry about drying out wet shoes at work. But I was looking forward to the “free feet” summer riding without socks. Pity. I could have purchased a different, non-waterproof SPD-compatible sandal (Shimano, Nashbar, and Lake all make them), but none of them have a closed-toe which is something I definitely wanted for fear of injury.
Filed under: bicycling, bike security, bike transportation, commute biking
I just read this in a New York Times article about campus bike programs (10/21/2008):
“Students can wave their ID card over a docking port. The port is attached to a rubber tube, which can be used as a lock and opened by entering an access code. Students must enter the bike’s condition before it can be unlocked. The system is used in Europe, but with credit cards.
The first 15 minutes are free, and users pay 60 cents for each additional 15 minutes, or $2.40 per hour. All 925 resident students automatically become members through their ID cards. The system was intended to be environmentally friendly, with solar panels powering the ports.
A tracking system similar to G.P.S. will keep tabs on the bikes.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/education/20bikes.html?pagewanted=1)
So, bicycle tracking systems similar to GPS do indeed exist.
Filed under: bicycling, bike security, bike transportation, commute biking | Tags: anti-theft device for bicycles
I recently signed up for a free service that uses the wireless card on my laptop to monitor the laptop’s location. The service is free and totally password-protected: only I can find out the location of the laptop. Not even the service provider has access to this information. If the laptop is stolen, I simply put in a request to track it, input my password and get the information.
Is there any way to develop something like this for bicycles? I know that in Brazil, where car theft is epidemic, many car owners choose to have satellite tracking systems as an added feature in their cars. In fact, at one point the legislature was seriously considering mandating this on all new cars (probably as part of some elaborate kickback scheme that politicians rigged). What would something like the laptop wireless tracking system have to look like for a bicycle? Perhaps it could be an innocent little bike computer attached to the handlebar… only with a tiny gps unit or wireless card that sends out a signal occasionally that is then logged in a database that can be accessed if the bike is stolen. Could that work?
For years my bicycle commute was 30 minutes door-to-door each way. By car it was also just under 30 minutes door-to-door on average. This is because where I worked the parking lot for non-VIPs like myself was a good 10 minutes by foot from my office. With the bike I could park just outside the office. Imagine that! Now that my commute is longer (45 minutes each way), I’m not so sure that the car commute time would be so close to the bike commute time. Still, for both of my work sites the parking lot is far enough to add an extra 5 minutes at least to the door-to-door time. Worth considering.
In general I find that bike commute times compare very favorably with car commute times. For a brief, 3 to 5 minute car trip to the grocery store I hardly notice any difference with bike time to the same destination. Even longer trips can end up pretty even with bike time if you take traffic congestion and parking into consideration. For instance, if I were to compare two trips from my home in Sunnyvale to, say, Crissy Field in the Marina district of San Francisco, here’s what I’d probably get. Driving + parking time: between 50 and 70 minutes. Bike + Caltrain: 85 minutes. Not bad at all.
What about my feet? How shall I keep them dry on wet days?
Even on days without rain, if there has been a recent rain and the roads are wet, chances are that dirty water will be splashing up from the road and landing on your feet and ankles, sometimes entering into the shoe or from the top of the sock or spotting your pant cuffs muddy brown.
I’m not sure whether I’ve found the solution to this problem yet, but here’s what I will try this year. Firstly, I’ve decided to switch to clipless. I’ve been riding with toe clips for years now and am comfortable enough with them. The advantage of toe clips on a commute of less than an hour each way is that I don’t have to pack additional work shoes. Yesterday, for instance, there simply was no more room in my bike bags for a pair of shoes. I had books, dvds, lots of papers, change of clothes, inclement weather accessories, and some snack foods. The bags were full! A major benefit of toe clips is wearing street shoes on the commute.
So why would I switch to clipless? Curiosity. I want to find out what it is like. Does it feel better pedalling clipless? Do I get more power and punch out of each revolution? Because this is an experiment, I purchased “multipurpose” platform pedals: on one side they are SPD compatible clipless and on the other side it is a regular platform pedal that takes any street shoe. This will be great for when I want to make a quick trip in the bike to the grocery store or post office but don’t want to change shoes for that purpose. The disadvantage is that if I decided to commute in my street shoes, I won’t have the use of the toe clips for the journey.
Where this choice relates to gearing up for cold and wet riding conditions is in the choice of shoe. After consulting some online discussion forums on the topic, I decided that a cycling sandal could be the best option for cold and wet conditions. It does seem counterintuitive, I know. Here’s what I heard from experienced, year-round sandal commuters: the Keen Commuter sandal is waterproof, first of all. The part of the feet that is exposed, however, benefits from a wool sock that absorbs the wet but stays warm. The sandal, meanwhile, will be quicker to dry out once you get to work because there is really nothing there that soaks up moisture. Now, one can imagine getting the same benefit from a waterproof, fully-enclosed shoe. But there you sacrifice breathability and as I’ve said before, I have never found anything waterproof to be breathable for me. Moreover, my feet are much happier with greater circulation and I have found that of all fabrics, wool keeps them most content of all. What they really prefer (my feet, that is) is ‘to be free’, i.e., no socks at all. Thus with the sandal I can ride without socks MUCH of the year here in northern California, and use various thicknesses of wool socks when the weather is less pristine. I like this idea and am ready to give it a shot. I did talk to some commuters about using a waterproof sock with the sandal or neoprene booty in truly awful conditions and the unanimous response has been: ’sweaty, clammy, uncomfortable, not worth it.’ I think I’m just going to give the sandal + wool combination a shot and see that keeps me steady on rainy/cold days. If I have an extra pair of wool socks in my waterproofed bike bag, I should be fine. (By the way, if it is cheaper to get a bike bag that is NOT classified as a waterproof, do it. Applying a waterproofing spray on a bag is easy and cheap. You can do this yourself at home for less than $10.)
So that’s my plan for keeping my feet and ankles happy this autumn-winter-spring. I don’t know yet, however, what I’ll do to solve my space problem with packing the work shoes I need. Unfortunately, I work in two locations and cannot leave shoes at either location, so that possibility is out. It looks like I may just have to make room somehow in my bag. I did purchase a cheap ($6.00) handlebar bag that I plan on waterproofing myself with a spray. I could use that for my phone, snacks, pen drive, etc. This might create enough space in my bag for the shoes. We’ll see.
Filed under: bicycling, bike transportation, commute biking | Tags: bicycling in the rain
I’ve begun preparing for colder and wetter weather. Here in the southern end of the Bay Area, weather is fairly mild year-round. We’ll have some cold mornings and evenings, sure, but not frosty. We’ll have rain, yes, but not the constant wet pavement of, say, the Pacific Northwest and Seattle, where I grew up. Because the weather is fairly mild even in the heart of winter and the most inclement weather I can expect is heavy rains (usually with fair warning from the weather professionals), I tend to focus on finding clothing that is wind and water RESISTANT not wind and waterPROOF. Why not go with waterproof if it is available at the same cost? Because despite the garment-makers’ claims that the article is “breathable”, I find that this is rarely true for me. With water resistant clothing I usually have the coverage I need to get me through the 10 mile ride to work or back (40 to 45 minutes).
Here’s what I’ve found works pretty well in the past for water resistance. I have some Adidas track pants with knee-to-ankle side zippers and reflectors that have decent water resistance but are very breathable. The disadvantage here is that they are not narrow and can catch in the chainwheel. Another disadvantage is that unless I strap off the ends, water enters up my leg when riding in wet conditions. I also have a pair of Schoeller dry-skin pants with articulated knees that are water resistant in light rain. They have a better design for riding (stretchier, narrower leg, velcro strap at bottom of pant leg, ankle zipper) and they look fine as pants for work, meaning I often do not need to change clothes when I get to work. For me that’s a real bonus because I don’t like changing in the tiny toilet stall in the men’s bathroom. Lastly, I have a pair of Ex Officio convertible, lightweight travel pants that I have sprayed with some kind of waterproofing spray. This worked pretty well, in fact, and does not seem to harm the fabric. On the other hand, the pants did become rather thin and rip in one part. I can’t recall if this was before or after spraying them. This is a consideration: waterproofing spray may damage or at least increase the fragility of synthetic fabrics. Unfortunately for me, these pants, which I use most often for hiking, are not appropriate for work so if I use them I need to change into other pants once I arrive at work. But there are a lot of decent-looking synthetic pants on the market these days, some of them even come with water resistant or waterproof spray on them. I’ve seen many pants of this sort for sale on Sierra Trading for less than $45 a pair and am considering purchasing one pair for this rainy season. Another option, and one that I’ve seen many 4 season commute riders choose, is to get a pair of fitness/running pants and either apply some kind of weatherproofing spray, or have a weatherproof shell handy for one it really pours. I’m considering doing something like that. I’ve been looking for running pants/tights that have some kind of water/wind resistance on them. I did purchase a pair of Illuminate thermal tights from Bike Nashbar. They seem cheaply constructed and feel like plastic. I’m also afraid they are simply too warm. What looks good about them is the illuminating properties, the slim leg design, and the ankle zippers (the leg is so slim that there is really no way to get them on or off with unzipping). I’ve also been looking at a pair of rain pants made for cycling. Novara has one that interests me called the “Express” pant. It is categorized as “very water resistant” and has reflectors, ankle zippers, velcro at the leg bottom, and reinforced fabric on the inside cuff. These are all important features for a cyclist, I believe. What worries me about these pants and the reason why I haven’t decided yet whether or not to get them is the description “very” water resistant: I’m worried they will be too sweaty and clammy inside. But I do need SOMETHING for when it really pours hard. Another option I’m considering is a cycle cape/poncho. I don’t know much about these and have never seen one personally. I also don’t know anyone who uses one. I wonder if they are awkward to bike in or if the wind blows them this way and that, letting water in. In any case, a poncho won’t protect me from all the water and mud coming up from off the street, pedals, and chainwheel, so it won’t solve the pants issue. I’m thinking that if I get wool long underwear I can get away with just water resistant pants (regular pants, track pants, or fitness/running pants) even in a downpour. If I get a lightweight wool (I can also get microweight wool underwear), the wool will absorb whatever water gets through the clothes and keep me warm. Once I get to work I just whip out the dry pants from my bag and strip off the pants and long underwear and let it dry. The question is, will a very lightweight wool long underwear dry in time for my commute home? How will it be to pull on semi-wet long underwear for the return commute? What about the water-resistant pants that got soaked? (Typically, these types of fabrics dry very quickly. My Ex Officio’s do, as do the Schoeller Dryskins and the Adidas track pants).
To Be Continued: what will I do about ankles and feet in the rain? How about torso, arms, head and face?
When you buy a car, no matter how old or cheap, you can be sure it will come with front and rear lights, rear view and side mirrors, a horn, a trunk, windshield wipers, bumpers, and some kind of internal temperature control and ventilation system, if not air conditioning. You can expect that the car will also have a key that locks the doors, providing some protection from theft.
When you buy a bike, new or used, it is rare that it comes with lights, lock, rack, horn or bell, mirror, fenders, mud flap, and certainly not wipers. You’re guaranteed a nice ventilation system, however!
Of course, there are some good reasons why bikes are generally not offered with any of these added conveniences and accessories. But there are some bad reasons, too. Eventually, I’ll get around to discussing both kinds of reasons.
Bicycle manufacturers, distributors and dealers do market bikes that they call “commuter” or “commute bikes”. These bikes are generally not suitable, however, for someone interested in bicycling for transportation. First of all, most of these “commute bikes” are made with inferior components and are simply not very reliable for everyday use. Secondly, although these bikes may have some nice bells and whistles appropriate for bicycle transportation, such as a chain guard, rack, bell, in some cases even lights, the bikes are often not equipped in an ideal manner for more than occasional, 20 minute rides. Here are a few of the things I’ve noticed about the so-called “commuter bikes” on the market.
- they are often heavy and slow, when the frames are steel, or light in ways that don’t handle well the bumps of the road when the frame is aluminum
- the saddles are often big and padded, designed to appeal to the rider seeking “comfort”. However, most riders who intend to stay in the saddle for more than 20 minutes per ride, twice a day, will find that these bigger, fatter, padded saddles are in fact LESS comfortable than a slimmer, harder seat. Furthermore, I’ve noticed that some of the cushioned saddles soak up water like a sponge when it rains. Can you imagine hopping on to your bike to ride home from work in the afternoon and being unpleasantly reminded of the fact that it rained for 2 hours between 1 and 3 pm that day.
- The upright position of many of the bikes that get the label “commute” is generally a good thing, I think. Being more upright allows you to be more alert to what’s going on around you on the road: other cars, obstacles on the road in front of you , etc. It’s a less aerodynamic position, but it also seems to be more relaxing for many riders than the drop bars of a traditional road bike. Moreover, rarely have I seen urban commuters actually use the lower portion of their drop bars while riding for transportation. In part this is because the more upright position of flat bars and other types of bars (moustache, for example) often allows easier and quicker access to the brakes, absolutely essential when riding in an urban or suburban context. For this reason, I think, most commute bikers that I see with traditional drop bars have their brakes hiked up high on the bars and ride the brake pads on top of the bars, ready at any moment to hit the brakes. This is how I rode for many years.
- Although I like the idea of a chain guard and some of the other built-in amenities of the fancier “commute bikes”, it seems that the disadvantage often is that one does not have easy access for repairs. Sort of like the new cars with their built-in computer systems, home (or on-the-road) repairs can be more difficult with a chain guard, a built-in light system or some of fancy gear and brake system that come with some of these bikes. On the other hand, it may be true that less is likely to go wrong and therefore less maintenance and repairs are needed.
- I must go back, however, to my first point: many of these bikes are just not very quick. I and just about everyone I’ve talked to who uses a bike for transportation more than, say 8 miles a day, appreciates being able to get some speed, accelerate quickly, and move along at a good clip. Most transportation bikers, I gather, want the exercise and the speed. They are generally not stopping to smell the roses while riding home from work, hungry and tired on a dark, wet autumn evening or hustling to get to a class or appointment 35 minutes away with a little extra time to towel off or change clothes where they arrive. This is, I believe, one of the main reasons why most bikes labeled as “commuters” are not appropriate to actual commuters. Yes, having the rack is nice, if not essential, but it is always possible to put a rack on any other kind of bike, even a racing bike without eyelets on the frame to attach a rack (my Bianchi Alfana road bike does not have anywhere to attach a rack except the seat post. For four years I transported every day a great many books, laptop, extra clothes and lunch on panniers attached to Topeak rack attached only to my seat post. Although not ideal, it certainly can work.)
The problem becomes clearer when we consider the alternatives to these so-called “commute bikes”. Currently, the market offers mostly aluminum frame bikes (of all sorts) mixed in with some steel frames and a great many high-performance carbon frames. We have mountain bikes of all levels and kinds, hybrid bikes (often similar to the “commute” bikes), entry-level road bikes and super high performance road bikes. I’ve even seen Raleigh make an attempt now to meet the growing fashion of “fixie” bikes by offering something between the kind of typical fixed-gear bike one sees on the streets of San Francisco and a bike set up for moderate-to-light transportation use. There are bikes for serious sport riders, for trail riders, for Sunday-in-the-park-with-the-family riders, for occasional errands (the “commute” bikes) and short, weekend rides on bike paths (the hybrids). There are what Craigslist sellers call “campus bikes”, cheap wheels that will get you from your dorm to the gym while carrying a backpack. The cyclocross bikes are apparently designed to be used on trails like mountain bikes as well as asphalt like a road bike. Then there are the single speeds and fixed gears that are often used by serious transportation bikers as well as bike-crazy recreationists and even as a simple, clean minimalist townie bike. I don’t want to forget the touring bikes: frames that are ready to take lots of weight and carry it over long hauls, keeping the rider fairly comfortable in the saddle over long distances and loaded-down.
Lots of bikes for lots of uses. What I don’t see, however, is a group of bikes ideally set up for serious day-to-day, year-round transportation: the bike that can replace the car in American urban and suburban life. Where is the bike that is fast, compact and dynamic, yet ready to take the kinds of loads and abuse of a touring bike? Quick yet stable, softening the bumps of the road? Designed for comfort over a period of 15 to 1.5 hours in the saddle several times a day? Designed to take full-size of groceries home at night, but quickly? Not so expensive that you would shed a tear when the frame gets scraped while riding the train or bus? Not so expensive that its glitter catches the eye of thieves like the smell of carrion for hyenas? Not so cheap that everyday use will push your luck and soon you will find yourself on the side of the road in the rain because some ridiculously cheap Made-in-China component has failed? Where is the frame that has clearance for fenders AND toe clips; designed to hold a sturdy rack and heavy bags AND reach high velocity; takes fat commute tires without sacrificing speed and agility?
In other words, the question that keeps coming up is: Why haven’t bicycle manufacturers and dealers responded to the need for good transportation bikes? Why do they make it so difficult for someone to get the essentials together for safe, comfortable but fast and firm transportation?
