Takin' care of business

It's been a pretty quiet week on the trail. I haven't had any close calls with kids, cars or wildlife. The kids in Moscow started school today, so the roads were a bit more crowded. However, there were lots of folks walking and biking to school too. It was a cool morning, and it felt a little like autumn.

On Monday, I met a colleague on the trail. We had agreed to meet beforehand so that we could talk about some joint projects. She's an avid bike commuter as well. The trail seemed like the ideal place in which to get some work done.

The commuter bus community was also like this. I met many colleagues and friends on the bus, and we talked business, family, community and everything in between. Students, faculty and staff all interacted with each other on the bus. There was a lot of social and professional networking. It was a great community that really enriched our lives and the life of our greater Moscow-Pullman area.

Maya's accident one year later

One year ago this coming Friday, Maya was hit while riding her bike. I was home stacking firewood when I received a call on my cell phone. "Maya's been hit by a car!" her friend said. I mistook the panic in her voice as suppressed laughter, and I told her not to joke with me. "Wait," she said, "let me pass you over to this man." It was then that I heard the sirens just one block from home, and a coldness crept up my legs. The EMT that I spoke to first assured me that Maya was ok, but that indeed she had been hit. I wasted no time after hanging up in getting over to the scene of the accident. Maya suffered a concussion but was saved by the fact that she was wearing her helmet, which had cracked right down the middle. The massive dent in the hood of the driver's car was testament to the force of the blow absorbed by the helmet. In addition to the concussion, Maya had quite a few scrapes, none of which were serious.

In today's video, I show the intersection where Maya was hit. It is a staggered intersection and tricky to navigate for anybody. The girls approached the intersection as I do in the video. They looked both ways, but none of the girls reported seeing the car, which came from the East (on the right), just like the cars in this video clip. Instead of turning right and continuing to the crosswalk, as I do in the video clip, the girls cut diagonally across the intersection. Maya was in the front, looking back to see if her friends were following. She collided head on with the oncoming car. The driver had slowed and swerved to her right, but she was unable to avoid the collision with Maya. Everybody learned something from this experience, and things could have turned out so much worse. Maya has become the poster child for bicycle helmet safety. The next day, she cradled her helmet in her lap while recovering on the sofa. "I love my helmet," she cooed. "Good, good, helmet."

Back pain and a close call on the trail

My lower back has been a little painful. This happens to me when I bike a lot and don't also exercise my abs. I first experienced muscle imbalances back in the day when I did more weight lifting. Dead lifts really strengthened my back and shoulders, but they also caused terrible lower back pain. Lysa introduced me to an abdominal workout video. Ok, I confess: I worked out to Abs of Steel with Tamilee Webb. I even memorized the routines! Now, when I feel tightness in my lower back, I just do my abs routine, and all is well - voilà.

Another source of back pain comes from a poorly adjusted bike. When I first got my road bike, I spent a week adjusting the seat tilt and height to where it was comfortable - Too high and my lower back would hurt, too low and my knees would tire (and I couldn't get much power out of each stroke).

I had a close call on the trail today. Two children were on the trail with their mom. The kids were riding scooters. There was a strong head wind which blew my voice back at me. Even had the kids heard me call out "on your left," I don't think it would have made much difference. As I approached from behind, I slowed down to pass on the left. I had passed the mom and one of the children, but just as I was passing the little boy, he swerved toward me on his scooter. I slammed on the brakes. He was suddenly aware of me on his left, and he too stopped. All of this was just in time, and we avoided a collision. Whew! My heart was pounding for the next 10 minutes!

First day of class

Today was the first day of class at WSU. I had done all the usual preparation work for a new semester of classes. In addition, I did some preparation work for my blog. I bought a small digital camera to mount on the bike. I attached it to a mini tripod that I had bought Lysa a few years back, and then I lashed the tripod and camera to one of the aerobars on my bike. Too cool! I had to tighten things up securely to handle the bumps along the road. It worked like a charm. With a 4 gb card, I get 2.5 hours of video at the lowest setting. However, the battery charge on the camera itself is just under 1.5 hours. That's not enough time to record the whole round trip. I'll keep the battery charger with me so that I can recharge the camera battery in my office.

After teaching my class, I started my ride back to Moscow. I had a beautiful tail wind heading East, so it was smooth biking the whole way. I've edited the video down to just a segment, and I've included Eric Clapton's "Broken Hearted" from his Pilgrim album. I mentioned in an earlier post that this is one of my favorite biking songs. Sit back and enjoy the music and the ride!

A day of rest

Rest days are important when I bike regularly to work. I need a day to wash both my bike clothes and my work clothes. More important, I need a day to recover physically. In the first five years of biking to work, I rode a mountain bike. I modified some things to make it more commuter friendly: I put on thin (1.5 inch), high pressure slick tires to replace the 2 inch knobby tires. I also installed aerobars and had a larger chainring put on. All these things made my commute much faster and easier. However, a mountain bike, no matter what the modifications, is harder and slower to ride than a road bike. The wheels are smaller for one (26" as opposed to 27" or 700c). In addition, a lot of power is lost in the bounce of the front shock. Finally, my mountain bike was very heavy.

My 20 mile commute was hard work on a mountain bike, and I found myself really getting tired after my rides. So last summer I bought a road bike. What a huge difference it makes! I ride a Kona Jake the Snake. Technically, it's a cyclocross bike, meaning that it is designed to be ridden on regular paved roads and trails, or for the braver-than-I on unpaved mountain bike trails. For my purposes, it is a perfect commuter bike because it is light, sturdy, and fast. I also use it to bike recreationally with friends. I get two uses out of it

Now that I have a road bike, the commute between Moscow and Pullman is so much easier than before. I don't tire as quickly as I did on the mountain bike, and as a result, I look forward to my ride much more. Because it's a cyclocross bike, I can put knobby tires on if I want. However, I don't really see the need for that except maybe when the roads are gravely after winter.

Despite my fast, fancy bike, I still look forward to a day of rest from commuting. When the commuter bus was operating, I could simply take the bus to work and carry my change of clothes with me. It'll be more complicated now. My plan this weekend is to drive over on Saturday with my change of clothes so that I am ready for Monday when classes begin. I'll combine the trip with some other errands in Pullman and on the west side of Moscow. In this way, Lysa can use the car on Monday.

Sticking to it

We celebrated a friend's birthday last night. It was an adult-only, garden-style party. We watched the sun set, sipped our drinks while mingling with friends, then we ate at long tables on the patio. What a treat! Our children are not home with us at the moment. They will have spent nearly one month with their grandparents in England and Portugal. They called us (through Skype) this morning at 6:30. By the time we said good bye, it was after 7am. I had already packed my lunch, brewed the coffee, fed the cat and dog, and gotten the garbage and recycling together for trash day. However, feeling a bit hung over from the previous night's party combined with an early morning chat with the kids was eating away at my resolve to bike into work. I would have meetings all morning starting at 9am, and it would be so easy just to drive in or have Lysa take me to Pullman.

I looked outside at the cloudless sky and morning calm lying over Moscow Mountain. The thermometer read 55⁰ F, which is perfect riding weather. I'd wear a headband and light gloves to take the wind chill off. Decided. I'd stick to my ride.

There were lots of people on the trail this morning. In one group of cyclists, I'm certain I recognized some of my fellow (former) commuter-bus riders. They were riding 2 abreast. One was riding a three-wheeled "tric", and the others had road bikes. As I approached from behind, I didn't say anything. I was wearing my headphones (today my ipod played the Rolling Stones), so I wouldn't know how loudly I was speaking. It might come out in a whisper "on your left" or a roar "ON YOUR LEFT." I couldn't be sure, so I just slowed down and crept up behind until one of the cyclists noticed me. He said something that was inaudible to me but clear to the others because they jostled into a single file to let me by. I waved and said "good morning" and "thank you," which likely came out much louder than I had intended.

There is a definite etiquette to biking on the trail. On my first commuter bike, I had a little brass bell that I would ring. I haven't yet gotten a similar bell for my new bike. The ring would warn people that I was approaching. Most often the person I was about to pass would simply wave or move over. If not, then I would have to say "on your left" as I approached. I always fear that someone will then move to the left, so I slow down just to be sure. Occassionally I pass someone wearing headphones like me. These are usually joggers. A couple of times I have really startled someone out of their reverie.

I bought both of our kids bells for their bikes, and they use them with gusto. When Luke first got his bell, he would wait until he was right on top of a pedestrian to give it a good, loud ring. More than once he was greeted with annoyed, startled looks as he passed. He has since learned to ring the bell with some anticipation. As for crossing roads, they learned early on to make eye contact with drivers before moving onto the crosswalk. The concept of who has the right of way still baffles them. For a while, Maya would stop at every intersection even when she had no stop sign.

On the ride home, I had a slight head wind. I was in somewhat of a hurry because it was late and the dog needed to be let out and fed. Also, I had an appointment with friends that evening. I was pushing myself to go faster against the wind. When I got home, I was starving and also tired. This happens a lot when I bike to work on consecutive days. Over the summer, I taught a daily 8am class. I was on the trail by 6:30 in order to have time to change, check email, and get any last minute details for the class sorted out. Because I biked everyday, and because it was early, I was really tired and hungry in the afternoon when I got home. I typically took an hour nap after a big, late lunch. This helped rejuvinate me so that I could spend quality time with the kids home on summer break.

Tomorrow is a day of rest...

Of blissful mornings, bright clothing, tail winds and Eric Clapton

I set out at 7:15 to a beautiful summer morning on the Palouse. The sky was still and clear; the air was cool and clean. It will be a late harvest this year, so the combines are not yet churning up dust. I biked first through the Junior High parking lot which is beginning to fill as teachers and staff prepare for the new school year. The girls soccer team was running laps in the field. Behind them I could see the spray of sprinklers glistening in the morning sun. I continued along the road to the elementary school, passing a young woman walking her springer spaniel. The dog's head was high as it walked proudly next to its master.

My journey to the Chipman Trail takes me through downtown Moscow where I turn onto the bike lane through the University of Idaho. At this time of year, the campus is still pretty quiet, and in any event, it's always easy going if I bike early enough.

I take about 15 minutes to bike from home through Moscow to the Chipman Trail. I go at a fairly easy pace through town. However, once I hit the trail, I drop down on my handlebars (I use aerobars), and turn up the speed. After six years of commuting by bike, I still don't have a trip computer to tell me how far or fast I am traveling. I reckon today I was doing about 20-25 mph. The trail is seven miles long.

I also turn up the volume on my ipod to counter the wind whistling in my ears. Today's music was Eric Clapton's Pilgrim album. This is one my favorite biking albums. I look forward to the song "Broken Hearted." My pace picks up and my mind wanders. I quickly lose myself to the music, the exercise and the trail itself. I'm surrounded by the golds, greens and browns of the fields. The hawks float overhead, and an occasional rabbit or quail dashes out of the tall grass.

Thirty minutes later I arrive in my office. Today, I had just one brief, harmless encounter with a motorist. She was moving toward the crosswalk while another pedestrian and I were on it. I stared her down, and she stopped abruptly. This is in contrast to an experience yesterday morning while walking the dog. I came to the pedestrian crosswalk and stopped. A mini-van was coming down the hill on my right, heading east into the morning sun. I stepped onto the crosswalk with the dog on my left and walked to the middle of the lane. The driver on my right was approaching the crosswalk but showed no signs of slowing or stopping. She raced passed in front of the dog and me with just a foot or two margin. I waved the dog's bright orange chuck-it and yelled "Hey, crosswalk!" The car slowed and turned around to come back to me. I was ready for battle, chuck-it in hand and a feisty yellow Labrador at my side. The driver was mortified and simply wanted to stop in order to apologize. She hadn't seen me through the glare of the low morning sun and shade of the overhanging trees. The only movement she saw on the crosswalk was the florescent orange of the chuck-it waving through her side window.

Bright colors are vital to safe riding. I wear a day-glow yellow jersey for warm weather commutes, and a jacket with a reflective strip sewn in the back for cold weather and night rides (in addition to bike lights and reflectors, of course). After six years of biking to work, my colleagues have become accustomed to my attire, and I in turn feel slightly less embarrassed by it. Nevertheless, I tend to make a bee-line to my office where I stash the bike and my change of clothes. I close the door, draw the curtains, then emerge 5 minutes later looking more professional and less self-conscious. Though I move quickly, students or colleagues sometimes stop by my office right in the middle of the clothes-changing routine. "Just a minute. I'm changing," I yell to the door. International students in particular don't know what to make of this response; my colleagues just grin when I emerge. "Caught ya!" and we laugh. Only once has a colleague walked in on me changing. This was not a laughing matter, and since then I keep the door locked!

On the ride home today I had a tail wind. When the wind is at my back, I feel like I am flying. The National Weather Service says that the wind is about 10 mph. I bike faster than that; nevertheless, a tail wind creates a sense of equilibrium. The stronger the wind, the faster I can go until I simple can't peddle any faster - bikers call this "spinning out." In a very strong tail wind, I move at the same speed as the air, creating a peaceful quiet in my ears and around my body. My eyes see the wheat bent over along my trajectory, and I sense my rapid progress on the pavement. But there is no whistling in my ears or wind against my body to accompany this movement. I hear the birds sing and my wheels hum; the sensation is of perfect balance.

The fun starts today -- my first post

Blissful weather is what has greeted me each day this summer on my bicycle commute between Moscow, ID where I live and Pullman, WA where I work. Mornings are cool with almost no breeze at all, which means that I'm not too sweaty when I get to work. I splash my face and neck in the bathroom sink in our office building, slip into a change of clothes that I keep in a small collapsible closet, brush my hair, and then I'm ready to go.

 

 

I have commuted between Moscow and Pullman since moving here six years ago, and almost all of the commute has consisted of alternative means of transportation besides me driving alone in my car: bus, bike and ride share. Up until this year, the commuter bus that the University of Idaho and Washington State University co-sponsored was my main form of transportation, particularly in the winter months when biking is not possible. However, university budget cuts and low ridership, to put it most simply, doomed the beloved bus.

 

 

Over the past 6 years, I have had many friends, students, colleagues and family ask about my commute between Moscow and Pullman. They wonder, marvel really, at how a family of four, with two working parents in towns 7 miles apart, and two active children can manage with just one car. I hear this often. My response has always been that I love my commute, and that as a family we made a conscious choice to live with one car. In this way, we can put the money saved into other priorities.

 

 

The demise of the commuter bus puts me and my family in a difficult position. We considered buying a second car but then decided against it for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, how would we manage without the bus?

 

 

Then, in a moment of inspiration on one of my bike trips to Pullman, I decided that I might be able to turn my loss into something interesting, positive, and maybe even a little fun. I would blog about my experience commuting. Perhaps my experiences will motivate others to become interested in commuting as well.

 

 

Thus, this is the beginning of my blog. The title of the blog comes from the name of the creek that runs along the Chipman Trail - the bike trail - between the two university towns. The trail itself is a paved rails-to-trails and used frequently by other commuters like myself, joggers, walkers and families (usually but not always) spending quality time together. I plan to post a new entry each day I bike on the trail. I will also post each day I find an alternative to driving alone, whether that be providing a ride to a fellow commuter or grabbing a ride myself. I hope to document these experiences and have some fun doing it too.

 

 

Of course, none of this resolves the dilemna of what to do when the weather turns foul and deadly cold. However, that won't be for another few months. In the meantime, I'll enjoy my bike ride, share my experiences getting from home to work on my bike, write about how I manage it when the rains come, and consider ways in which to make alternative means of commuting possible when winter arrives -- which is always too early on the Palouse.

 

 

It's already 11pm and time for bed. Tomorrow is an early morning because I have a meeting at 9am. Onward!