Another Perk

There's lots of things about my job that make bike commuting better. We have showers, I get to park my bike in my office, and I even have a locker I use to lock up all my stuff. I keep shower supplies, shaving stuff and a spare t-shirt in case I ever forget a fresh one (it's been known to happen on several occasions).

I hope I never forget how great a place this is for a bike commuter. I think I'm pretty spoiled. Not having this stuff wouldn't be a deal breaker, but they would totally throw of my rhythm I've got going nowadays.

What kind of facilities do you other bike commuters have? Am I as spoiled as I feel?

Get out there.

SnapDeck Mods

My kids love riding on the Xtracycle. That's no question. Recently, though, I've been thinking about doing some modifications to a custom Snapdeck to make their ride a little more comfortable. (The Snapdeck is the piece of wood the kids sit on on the back. It's what everyone points to and says, "Hey, you have a skateboard on your bike!")

I love the idea of kid seats on the bike, but didn't want to lug them around all the time. The seats I've seen are awesome, but pretty bulky. My hope is to make a set that will collapse into the deck and almost disappear.

Here's my initial thought on the design.

I think I could cut two custom decks out of 1" thick pine. One could be my base, then the other could be cut up into two sections to make back rests. I could then bevel the back rests and hinge them onto the base deck. I hope to use straps (Xtra's Utility Belt) to adjust the level of recline. That way, my kids could kick back and relax, or sit more upright depending on which kid (I have three different sizes, you know).

If this worked, I could easily fold the seats, buckle them snuggly to the base deck (by looping underneath) and ride away, virtually free of seat bulkiness. With the seats folded down, I could still grab cargo at a moments notice, haul an adult, or use the Xtracycle as a work table while working on the other bikes. Basically, it would have all the functionality of the regular Snapdeck.

Most of the supplies have been purchased. I've got a few more things to grab and I'll be on my way to figuring this thing out. Anyone tried anything like this before? I'm sure I'll have to learn as I go.

Get out there.

Water

Today I counted six ponds that I see on my way to work. I got to thinking about all the bodies of water I can get to within riding distance. I'm pretty sure Kentucky has more streams, creeks and rivers than any other state.

That's a nice little perk on a bicycle. I like riding by and see all the beauty, vegetation and wildlife that congregate around. It mixes up the scenery quite a bit.

I love biking here in Kentucky.

Get out there.

Radiation

The heat is bad enough. But when you get stuck in traffic surrounded by cars on all sides, it's downright miserable. Heat radiates from every direction.

Get out there. Just be prepared to sweat.

Xtracycle Video Game

My lovely wife has been on a kick recently about video games. No, she doesn't want to play them. She thinks I should grab my developer buddy and my designer buddy and make our own video game. She apparently thinks we have what it takes. If you know me, then you probably know that I haven't played a video game since circa 1992 when I was rocking the Nintendo Entertainment System graphics.

Well, for the sake of discussion, I will share what my game would be. You'd be on an Xtracycle and it would be all about how much cargo you can load (a game of virtual balance and inertia) and how far you could pedal it. Sounds great, eh?

You could incorporate time limits and delivery options. There could be obstacles like narrow passages between trees, dogs chasing you, glass in the road... basically, all the things you encounter while riding a bike. Sounds pretty awesome to me.

Get out there... unless you're playing my Xtracycle game on your NES.

Sharing the Road

My friend Abby's sister and dad are on a tour across the country raising money to support a school in Casablanca, Morocco. Here's a great sign from Missouri. They share in a different way than we do.

Get out there.

Rush

It's a funny thing to be late on a bike commute. My regular commute takes about 40 minutes. There is a shorter route that takes about 30 but it's my preference (because of safety) to avoid that route as much as possible.

I say that being late is "funny" because I have every opportunity to jump in my car and be at work early. But when you've made the decision that I've made, to completely eliminate any unnecessary car ride, it really isn't an option. I always think people might question me if I'm ever late. I can hear it now, "Couldn't you have just driven here and made it on time?"

I found myself in that predicament today. I usually arrive to work early when I ride my bike. But today I was feeling lazy, and life's little curveballs kept me from leaving at a decent time. I had a meeting at nine that I was trucking to make. I was on the single-speed which probably helped. I spent lots of time out of the saddle, smashing the pedals down to speed things up.

So far I've never been late to work because of a bike. And that didn't change today. And even though the temptation was there to hop in the Subaru, I'm glad I didn't. The experience is much greater on two wheels.

Get out there.