Bumps

It's always exciting when one of your bike commute roads gets paved. The smoothness and new paint make you feel like you're going 45mph. One of the roads on my long route was paved recently. It's been so nice having it done.

Yesterday, there was a new development. They've cut out divots a good 12" from the edge of the road. These things are impossible to ride on. It would jar your teeth loose. But there isn't enough space on the right side of the divots to safely cruise the bike.

Solution? Ride further into the road.

But it's a narrow road to begin with. These little divots aren't going to make people very happy when they ride up behind the guy on the bike. Let's hope they exercise good patience.

Get out there.

Dodger

Yesterday's ride home helped me to realize how spoiled I am on this bike path. It's incredibly rare that I see anyone on the path. In the warmer months, I may see two people a month. In the cooler temps, there is absolutely no one. Not the case, yesterday...

Within the first mile I rode up on another guy on a single speed Huffy cruiser. He had a bunch of folders under his arm and asked where the court house was. I slowed down, gave him directions and he asked how much longer it was going to take. Unfortunately, at his pace, I told him about an hour and a half. He wasn't pleased.

Soon after that I was buzzed by a lycra-clad roadie coming from the opposite direction. She was CLOSE when she passed. But it wasn't her fault. It was mine. I was just pedaling along, not looking where I was going, taking in the views of the farmland. At that point I realized I needed to pay more attention. And boy, did I ever have to.

For the remainder of my ride, there was some type of cross country or track team running on the path. There seemed to be about 30+ runners, running on this side and that, that I had to dodge for a good five miles. It was like playing a video game. I came up on them faster than they expected and they were more sprawled out on the path than I expected. It was quite the ordeal.

As I said, it made me realize how spoiled I am. I love the solitude of my commute and I didn't like sharing it. But that's okay. My last three miles were remote and alone. The serenity and rural vibe from the photo above is what I normally experience. I just didn't get my normal dose of normalcy yesterday.

Get out there.

Bike Parking

The rumor is that I'll be changing offices here soon. I don't really care where my office is. There's better things to be concerned about. But I'm currently in, what I believe to be, the best office in the building.

There's a little nook outside my actual office that was intended for an administrative assistant. Being that I don't have an admin, that little nook has been used for bike parking. From time to time, for one reason or another, I end up with a couple extra bikes parked at work. And this area is especially helpful when you've got a big ol' xtracycle that needs a place to rest during the day. Also, I meet with a lot of people that may not want to have a greasy, wet bike in their lap.

But, alas, I'll be forfeiting the best office in the building for something new. On the plus side, when my bikes are parked right in front of my desk, I'll be able to daydream about them as I work. Perhaps the new tenant in here will allow me to leave the bikes laying around :)

Get out there.

Dedication

Yesterday, as I pedaled home in the rain, I noticed a lot of golfers out in their slickery rain get-ups swinging away at the tee. I thought to myself, "Sheesh, those guys are nuts. Who would want to play golf when it's poring down like this?"

Then it hit me.

They're looking at me wondering the same thing. "Who would ride their bike in the rain? This guy must be a lunatic."

The truth is, I love to ride my bike in the rain. It's a unique experience. It changes the mundane into a new adventure. And for the fair-weather golfer, I suppose that playing in foul weather is a fun change for them, as well. They're dedicated to golf like I am riding. I'm a better person when I ride and I suppose they are better when they play. I solute you and your dedication, rainy golf guys. Way to stick to it.

Get out there.

Corn Field

Sometimes I totally miss parts of my commute. Yesterday, for the first time, I noticed this awesome little section of old broken fence up against a corn field. To be honest, I've never even seen this field. Seriously, I must get distracted by the golfers on the other side of the road. But I'm glad I stopped. It made for a great picture.

Get out there.

Burrrr

Today's commute clocked in with a 43 degree windchill. That's Kentucky weather for you. I took this exact same shot on Tuesday in shorts and a t-shirt. Today was full on gloves and warm jacket.

It does feel great, though. I prefer riding in the cooler weather like this. You can control your temperature with the right garments. This morning I wore the warmer jacket and unzipped the front and arm pit vents as I got warm. It felt perfect the whole time.

Now is a great time to start experimenting with bike commuting if you never have. The weather is so nice for it.

Get out there.

Paradox

I've recently been riding the drop bar Cross Check quite a bit more often. It's more aggressive positioning and gearing offer quite the paradox for bike commuting. I love the feeling of mashing the pedals and having the cold morning air race across my knuckles but, to my regret, an 18mph commute just doesn't last long enough. Perhaps some longer routes should be discovered?

Sounds like a plan to me.

Get out there.