About Bicycling

I am not a "cyclist". I'm not (at all) skinny. I don't shave my legs. None of my stuff matches. I'm not a Lance Phanatic. I'm a Cat-6 rider. I am, however, a bike geek. I may even be a bit of a "Fred".
My 2005 distance was 2,484 miles. My 2006 distance was 2,796 miles. My 2007 distance was 300 miles. 2008 and 2009 I don't even want to talk about.

I just love to ride a bike. And I think that bicycles are perhaps our most perfect invention.

I'm inclined toward the Effective Cyclist / "vehicular cyclist" (VC) end of the spectrum in that I ride in traffic on roads, I will take the lane when I need to, and I think John Forester is brilliant. But I'm not a militant activist about "my rights as a vehicle" and I take a pragmatic view of personal responsibility. I'm not trying raise society's consciousness or take back the streets; I want to ride my bike and not get killed.

I do not go along with some VC's into the "trails are evil" perspective in that I enjoy bike trails; I love riding Pgh-DC, when we can ride two abreast and talk and not be worried about cars for a 300-mile trip. A great trail with infrequent road intersections is a wonderful (and rare) thing.

I strongly believe in supporting your local bike shop (LBS) rather than WalMart or YadaYada.com. If you want to have a place to go ask questions, then you've got to help support the business. My LBS relationship is more important than my car shop.

I use Palm software to track my riding mileage, it's Cycling by LinkESoft. It's pretty cool, you enter mileage and weight and it offers weekly/monthly tracking displays.

I am a cadence rider, and focusing on cadence lets me ride up hills and over distances that I could not otherwise handle. I target 85 rpm (90 on my road bike) and just change gears so I can keep pedaling at my cadence.

So here's my advice:

• Go ride your bike
• Support your local bike shop.

This is all I know: Bike shorts, padded bike gloves, 800 mg. Motrins, Assos chamois creme. Put your asthma inhaler on one side of your handlebar bag, put your anti-dog/pepper spray on the other side, and don't ever mix them up. Trust me on this. To avoid integrating your shoe laces with the chainring: Tuck your right sneaker's loose laces underneath the weaved laces along the tongue. Never attack a hill until you can see the top of it. This has been reversioned to: Never attack a hill until you're sure you're more than halfway to the top. (MC) There are very few on-the-road mechanical problems that can't be resolved with cash and a cellphone. (CU) Cost-effectiveness Formula : ValueC-E= Price / NumberOfTimesUsed As Miss Manners keeps trying to tell the road-rage crowd: drive-by conflicts must be ignored, as they cannot be safely redressed. Two weeks before the big ride, set up your bike and don't mess with it. Fatalities (source ) Bicycle deaths are most likely to occur in summer. Deaths are most likely to occur on Fridays. The peak time is 3-9 pm. Ninety percent of bicyclists killed in 2000 reportedly weren't wearing helmets.

This page is dedicated to the memory of Jewey Jacobs, a cyclist who died while riding a 5-man tandem,
racing a locomotive, as told in Alfred Jarry's 1905 Le Surmâle.

These hit close to home for me.

You Know You've Got a Bike Problem When....
• You know your cadence, but you have no idea what your speed is.
• You have more water bottles than drinking glasses.
• You begin to regard your job as a troublesome nuisance, interfering with your quality biking time.
• Your default nose-blow doesn't involve a hankie.
• Weather forecasts fall into two categories - good/lousy biking weather.
• You're on a first name basis with the local bike shop owner.
• You have an uncontrollable urge to bring your bikes into the house - preferably in the living room or the bedroom.
• The first thing you ask when you regain consciousness is "How's my bike?"
• A fit, tan, Lycra-clad hottie rides by, and the first thing you check out is their bicycle.
• your muffler falls off you car, your laptop dies, and your biggest concern is why your bottom bracket is making a clicking noise.
• the newscaster refers to a "psychopath", and you think you heard "cycle path".

Bicycling Haiku

Cyclist's Bible: Genesis thru Commandments

A Zen teacher saw five of his students returning from the market, riding their bicycles. When they arrived at the monastery, the teacher asked the students, "Why are you riding your bicycles?"

The first student replied, "The bicycle is carrying this sack of potatoes. I am glad I do not have to carry them on my back." The teacher said, "You are a smart boy. When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over as I do."

The second student replied, "I love to see other places and watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path." The teacher commended him, "Your eyes are open and you see the world."

The third student replied, "The fluid rhythm of pedaling frees my mind as well as my body." The teacher praised him. "Your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel."

The fourth student replied, "Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with nature, the environment, and all sentient beings." The teacher said, "You are riding on the gold path of non-harming."

The fifth student replied, "I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle." The teacher sat at the feet of the fifth student and said, "I am your student."