Library Voice

Today’s ride was from Baker to Bike Path to E. State street terminus and back.

Distance:  8.56 miles

Average speed 18.49 mph

Max Speed:  22.33

Time:  27:48

Clif Bar encourages you to cut back on global warming, and your love handles, by taking the Clif Bar 2 mile challenge.  Since 40% or U.S. urban travel is 2 miles or less, riding a bike for short errands is easier than it seems.  Are you up for the challenge?

Bike Radar has a humorous article about justifying your new bike.  It offers several suggestions for convincing your spouse/significant other/self that it’s okay to buy a new bike.  One suggestion is as follows:

It’s less expensive than a humongous HDTV.

This
will take a little bit of preparation, but is well worth it. For about
three weeks, don’t mention the new bike you want. At all.
Instead, with increasing intensity and frequency, begin talking about
how you’re thinking about getting a giant high-def television. And a
Blu-Ray DVD player. And a subscription to high-def cable/satellite (or
both!). And a serious sound system to go with it. Be very, very open
about how much this will cost — about three times as much as the bike
you want.Argue convincingly (not too convincingly, though) and loudly about why you ought to get this massive entertainment system.

About
the time your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/parent is at wit’s end,
capitulate. Right in the middle of an argument, act like a light’s just
come on in your head. “You know, you’re right!” you say,
catching them off-guard. “It’s outrageously expensive and it would just
rot my brain, especially when a new bike would cost me less than half as much!”They’ll
be so relieved — not to mention pleased at having clearly won an
argument with you — they’ll just let that remark go. Next day, you come
home with the new bike, as the two of you agreed.

Bonus:
It’s possible this technique will backfire on you and your significant
other will really get into the idea of buying a home theatre system.
That’s the beauty of this technique: even if you lose, you win!

When I was out for lunch today, I took a few pictures with my Treo.  The one below shows the bike racks in front of our student center.  Note how empty the bike racks are. 

The library is literally about 100 paces from the student center’s door.  Take a look at the picture of the bike racks in front of the library below:

Note that there is barely room for another one or two bikes.  Also, the bike rack on the other side of the fountain (out of focus in the picture) is nearly full as well.

So what does this say about the library?  Here are some wild theories:

1. Bicyclists like to visit the library
2. Lots of librarians ride bikes (my rig is the one on the very left)
3. The bike racks at the library are way cooler than the ones at the student center
4. All the cool bikes hang out at the library
5. Bikes become smarter by hanging out outside the library

My theory for the moment, which is largely unscientific, is that the library is more of destination than the student center.  Students simply visit the student center to eat or pass through on their way to class.  In contrast, the library may be a destination (in many cases a first destination) where students may spend a great deal of time.  Students may go to class, or go eat lunch, or even go to the student center, but their bikes stay at the home base—-the library.  They know that regardless of where they go during the day, they’ll likely end up back a the library at some point, so it makes sense to keep a prime parking spot for their bicycles.   A more scientific study, perhaps by taking pictures of the bike racks at several times during the day might offer more to validate this wild theory.  Could this be material for the library literature?

Not me, but this guy.  Noah chronicles his year of bike commuting on his KC Bike Commuting blog. He offers some good points about bike commuting, including the health benefits, environmental friendliness, and the cost savings. 

I’ve been trying to bike to work once a week.  My commute by car is about 3 miles one way, but my commute by bike is about 10 miles round trip.  The difference in distance is due to the fact that I take more bike-friendly roads to and from work.  It’s not the most direct route, but it’s a great ride.  My bike commute takes me through back roads that travel through scenic farmland. On my ride I encounter deer that stare me down in the middle of the road, and cows that look at me like I’m nuts.

I’d love to be able to bike to work more often, but right now it’s just not feasible.  My wife and I both work for the university, and we take our kids to daycare each morning.  Part of my route is along the berm of a major highway, so towing the kids in the trailer is not an option.  There is a guy at the daycare who drops his son off with a bike trailer, and at times I’m envious. 

I can see the importance of saving gas and money by commuting by bike.  However, since our whole family generally rides in one car to and from work/daycare, there really is not much cost savings if I ride my bike.  I’d love to say that I’m doing something nice for the planet by riding to work, but the fact of the matter is I simply ride for the pleasure of riding.  It takes me about half and hour to ride the six miles to work, and another half hour to ride the 4.5 miles home. The ride to work leaves me totally invigorated when I arrive, and I often have a little more spring in my step and a bigger smile on my face for much of the day.  The ride home leaves me feeling a lot more relaxed, as the stress of the day melts away on the bicycle.  Riding a bike does wonderful things for my mental being.  Whether I’m riding the road or a single-track mountain bike trail, my thoughts can range from thinking about everything all at once or thinking about nothing at all.  As a matter of fact, the hills in Southeast Ohio can make a cyclist forget everything at once.  When your legs are on fire and your lungs are burning, the only thing to think about is conquering what is in front of you.  Your head is cleared of all worry, because it takes every ounce of your being to will yourself over some hills.  It’s an awesome experience.

When I plan to bike to work, I take my clothes in the day before.  When I get to work, I lock my bike outside, and go inside the library to get my clothes.  I take my clothes down to my gym, which is a five-minute walk away.  I’m able to shower and dress at the gym and be back to the office in time for work.  At the end of the day, I change back into my cycling clothes in the men’s room at the library.  I leave my work clothes at work and generally take them home on the next day that I drive to work. 

Overall it’s a pretty simple process.  Riding to work does take a little planning, but it’s honestly not that inconvenient.  It’s nice to start the day with an elevated heart-rate, and ending the day with a stress reliever.  If you haven’t tried riding to work, I encourage you to give it a try.  All it takes is a bike and a little bit of planning.  For tips and suggestions on bike commuting, visit Paul Dorn’s Bike Commuting Tips, which is one of the most comprehensive sites on the subject. 

“Sanoodi is the fun new way to record and share details of all your favourite outdoor activities. Sanoodi is for you, whether you are a triathlete or somebody that enjoys walking on a Sunday afternoon. Use Sanoodi to explore new places and draw or upload unlimited routes.”

I used Sanoodi to map out some of my cycling routes around town. It works very similarly to Gmaps Pedometer in that it allows you to track distances by drawing points on a map. Sanoodi goes beyond Gmaps, as it allows you to create a profile and save your routes within your profile. You can then send your cycling/running buddies a link to your profile or to your favorite route. You can even link to your flickr account, allowing you to show pictures of your route. Sanoodi also supports tagging, so users can tag their route with landmarks, the weather, or whatever. One of my favorite features of Sanoodi is that is tracks mileage and elevation. Runners and cyclists appreciate knowing how big the hills are. If you’re into cycling, running, or any other outdoor activity that requires the use of improved roads, take a look at Sanoodi.

This time of year, I’m glued to the television each night to watch coverage of the world’s greatest race, the Tour de France.  Despite the scandal of last year’s doping allegations, I’m still very interested in the sport, and I hope that it will recover.  Several are blogging the tour, and I’ve subscribed to a few of the blogs.

The Tour de France for the rest of us is “for those of us who stand on the outside of the Tour de France looking in. It tries to get past techno-babble and opens up the heart of this great cycling event to the rest of us. Enjoy the ride!”

Martin Dugard also covers the tour.  He is the New York Times bestselling author of Chasing Lance (Little, Brown), a behind-the-scenes look at life at the Tour de France.

The TDF Blog also provides coverage, pictures, and videos of the race.

The Chattanooga Chapter of SORBA (Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association) has a great trail finder and guide. Information for each trail includes trail location, description, and conditions, as well as driving directions via Mapquest.

TrailLink.com “is a Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) initiative dedicated to providing detailed, up-to-date information on trail access, services and activities. TrailLink helps you take advantage of trails for pleasure, exercise and transportation anywhere around the country or in your own community. Through its extensive network of local trails, databases of current trail reviews and contacts and interactive, consumer-friendly trail information resources, TrailLink is your primary resource for trail activities and travel.” You can use TrailLink to search for trails by state, activity, or keyword, or use the compound search to search by surface type and length of trail. Trail users may also post reviews of the trails.

Spokejunkies : “The Spokejunkies are a group of fun-loving yet serious recreational [mountain bike] riders. Members range in age from 16 (the group-imposed minimum unless accompanied by a riding parent) to, well, let’s just say they’re old enough that they’d rather we not say. From blue collar shift workers to PhD-toting psychologists, the Spokejunkies appeal to all with one common factor, the quest for a great ride and a good time. They offer the beginner a forum to ride in a large group while learning valuable information from more experienced riders. The site includes reviews of Ohio mountain bike trails as well as a few trails from some other states.”

Ohio Mountain Bike Association: “The Ohio Mountain Bike Association is a coalition of mountain bike clubs and organizations throughout Ohio. We are dedicated to preserving the future of mountain biking in Ohio through the promotion of responsible riding, establishment and maintenance of mountain biking trails, and through developing partnerships with land managers and other trail user groups.”

BikeForums.net  is a forum for all things about cycling.  There are threads about family riding, road riding, mountain biking, and even commuting.