Bad Pic, Great Rack

This is a pic I took of my bike rack in my office. It works great to keep the bike right in plain sight, yet up out of the way. I have seating in my office for about 6 people, and my job regularly requires me to open the doors for meetings. So I needed an option that would get my daily commuter out of the way when I had visitors.

This thing has been awesome. It holds two bikes, but I leave the bottom mount off so that it gives more room to move around my space. When people are sitting in my chairs, the bike is completely above their heads and out of the way.

It's a great solution for a bike commuter who keeps his ride with him all day.

(Sorry for the bad pic. The tower is up against a window and it's impossible to get the shot without shooting into the light.)

Get out there.

Love this Bike

A few years ago I sold my kayak and lots of camping gear to make a major purchase. I had been commuting fairly regularly on my old mountain bike and I wanted to take this cycling thing a little more seriously. My friend Vic had recently purchased a Surly Cross Check and was really enjoying it. Vic's been on the cycling scene for probably two decades. With that experience came a desire to ride a steel bike. To be honest, I didn't know it mattered what kind of metal a bike was made from. I had been riding bikes off and on my whole life and had no idea anyone even cared.

Enter: The Google Search. Wow. Some of those people out there were fanatics! I saw forum brawls that went on for pages and pages. But what I did notice was the continual theme of "versatility" that came along with this Surly bike.

"The Jeep" of bikes, I read. Hmmm. Sounded interesting. It took me months of Googling and reading to realize the very bike I wanted was the bike Vic had been pedaling for nearly half the year. I knew I wanted a bike for commuting, bike camping and maybe even a conversion to single speed if I ever got a nicer bike to replace it (the Cross Check would then be knocked down to a foul weather bike).

I had narrowed it down to Surly's Cross Check or their Long Haul Trucker. But I couldn't seem to come up with a definitive answer.

So I had nearly made my decision. All that was left was going to the bike shop. They seemed to answer me pretty quickly. Cross Check. Cross Check. Cross Check. I think that everyone in there had one in their bike stable. And they agreed with me. One day, this bike could step down into single-speeding, low-maintenance, bad weather duties and an LHT could come in as the replacement.

The other factors were a small desire to ride a cyclocross race, 700c wheels and maybe having a straight "road" bike beyond the current commuter functions. So the Cross Check it was. It fit all my needs... literally, it could do anything. And while this is a story, not a Surly Cross Check review, I do put 100% endorsement behind the bike.

I love it. I've never had any major mechanical problems with it (now with thousands of miles on it) and it's still my favorite bike to ride. I do still wish for the LHT and one day I think one will be mine, but for now, I love the Cross Check. And, yes, by the way... it does matter what kind of metal your bike is made out of... and yes... steel is better :)

Get out there.

Lex. to Lou.

Today I left out my front door and headed to my in-laws house that is 60 miles away. I'm considering a century ride next month and wondered if this ride would give me a picture into the world of longer journeys.

I've done some bike camping and joy rides that always round out around 40 miles. And, of course there's my daily bike commute that's 22 miles round trip. But 60 miles is my longest ride thus far.

It was great. My legs are tired from fighting the 15-20mph headwinds the entire ride. But I'm glad I did it. I'm looking forward to next month's hundred miler!

(By the way, the ride is from Lexington to Louisville. The pic is the Kentucky State Capitol building which was exactly halfway.)

Get out there.

Lexington

We made Bicycling Magazines list for top 50 U.S. cities for bicycling. It does seem like we're on the list because of what will be in Lexington versus what is in Lexington. But who could complain? I suppose things could be much worse. It's cool to see us on there!

Averages

On my bike commute to work today I averaged 16.9 mph and arrived in a record time. On the way home it was 12.1 mph. The difference? 19 mph headwind on the way home. The gusts were up to 25-30 mph. Yuck.

I'm not a fast rider... at all... seriously. But 12.1 was a little rough. For the first 6 miles it was about 10 mph. So I picked it up after turning out of the wind.

But I would never trade that bike commute for a car!

Get out there.

Really Great Family Bike Concept

This child-carrying bike that converts into a stroller is awesome for a family living in the city with one child.  I really appreciate the design and versatility that went into it. As a dad that does most of his riding for the sake of transportation, this would be really helpful... if I didn't have three kids. But, hats off to you Taga for a great product.

My Commute - Via 8x Speed

My Commute from Derrick Purvis on Vimeo.