It's been a long time comin' - Bike Month

May is Bike Month and in celebration I am working to bring Buzz Commuter back. Every day this month I will post at least once (if not more) as I get back in the saddle and on track.

First is a short film I really enjoyed and wish to share...the time has come!

Thank you, Abhishek, for such a great film.


The Convert from Abhishek Mukherjee on Vimeo.
This is a short film promoting Jacksonville's Bike Month in May. Please visit http://jacksonvillebikemonth.com for more information.

Starring (in order of appearance):
Jacquelyn Mills, Abhishek Mukherjee, Katie Smith, Chris Jackson and Corey Callahan

Original Music by Goliath Flores
Directed and Produced by Abhishek Mukherjee and Katie Smith
Cinematography and Editing by Abhishek Mukherjee
Audio Mastering by Eric Jenkins

Jacquelyn's Pashley bicycle provided by Koula Redmond
Chris's bicycle provided by ZenCog Bicycle Company

Shot on location in Jacksonville, FL.
Shot entirely with a Nikon D90, 18mm-105mm f/3.5-5.6, 50mm f/2.4

This video uses these sounds from freesound.org:
bicycle by Klankbleed ( http://www.freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/107776/ )
freewheel by Corsica_S ( http://www.freesound.org/people/Corsica_S/sounds/74792/ )
beeps by junggle ( http://www.freesound.org/people/junggle/sounds/26777/ )

Staying with it...

In the last few weeks I have not been commuting as much as driving, but I have been riding more as recreation or, more specifically, in preparation of a 105 mile Century as Park of the Mount Adams Country Bicycle Tour. Should be fun. I've been spending time working on hills to get ready. Hope to get some more miles in this weekend and then a few longer rides with a 100 mile next week or so. The tour is on July 11 so still some time.

I did commute on a couple of days this week. It's nice to get some ride time in compared to driving, but I can say it is not the same as riding in Colorado. Not sure if it is because I am so familiar with my routes here or what. I enjoy the time in the saddle I do get.

Safe riding to those who commute and read this blog.

With commuting comes great responsibility

Commuting in the Tri-Cities is not terribly different from commuting in Denver. Sure there are differences, but I get in the bike, wear a helmet and work my way through traffic. Four miles to work and back...very similar here as is was there.

The biggest difference I find so far is balancing bike commuting with responsibility. In Denver I had little on my plate...mostly the keeping the room I rented up and getting to work on time. I had more time to bike. I also had no car in Colorado which made bike commuting more of a necessity.

Now that I am home I find I have to make a greater dedication to a new passion: managing my time better so I can bike commute. Getting to work and back takes about 15 minutes and it is a very direct route. If I have to stop at the store on the way home, however, this adds a couple of miles and more time to my commute.

My home has many more responsibilities as well: A dog, 4 cats and much more...yard, dishes etc. I'm sure you are all too familiar with the work of owning a home.

In the end I find this all a great challenge. I find I could easily use this all as an excuse and sometimes it is all too easy...missing days I could be on a bike.

I am up for this challenge and look forward to managing my time well enough to continue cycling to work and commute.

Bike Your Drive and more...

Since May is bike to work month I thought I would offer some of the great resources available to begin bike commuting.

The first is one I believe I've mentioned before: the Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge. This is a great first step. Most household errands are within 2 miles of home and the majority of those are done with a car. If we could bike even one of these per week, just 2 miles, we can be a bit more healthy and reduce our impact on the environment.

The next is REI's Bike Your Drive. This is a challenge and a resource for anyone just beginning to commute, a current commuter, or even those of you simply interested in bike commuting an d looking for more information.

Last is a blog and site I started reading a year ago when I started bike commuting: Bike Commute Tips Blog. This blog has been listed, along with a couple others, on my favorite blogs. The blog offers info for those interested in bike commuting, but wonder about the tight bike pants. Commuting can be for anyone and everyone. The Bike Commute Tips Blog offers information for those curious and currently commuting.

There they are...a few great resources. A lot more information is available and continues to grow as bike commuting becomes more popular and viable.

Hope any one of these may be an inspiration to get out and add a little pedal power.

Bike to Work

So May is Bike Month and also when bike to work day occurs. Washington's bike to work day is on Friday, May 15th. I hope everyone will get out and do what the can to bike to work on that Friday. I know it is a Hanford Friday off for those located in and around the Tri-Cities. Please get out on that bicycle anyway and show your support for a great alternate, and healthy, form of transportation.

Here in Kennewick and the Tri-Cities the local REI and Ben Franklin Transit host the Commuter Challenge for the month of May. It's great to see a lot of people participate and support urban commuting in the Tri-Cities community.

I have noticed a lot of people commute riding in Richland and Kennewick as opposed to recreational or exercise. Hopefully the number of commuters and the diverse group of participants help bring awareness for such a simple alternative to sitting in a car and burning fuel everyday.

I hope you all decide to take the challenge of riding your bike, or even borrowing a friend/relative's extra bike and get out on May 15.

Of bikes, blogs and clothing...1st complete month.

August has been the first calendar month I have been bike commuting. So far I have over 300 miles since I started in July. I'll have to see how many miles I had at the end of July to get the breakdown for August. More to come on that.

It is interesting to have more than one bike to ride. I'm not bragging here, but there are definitely enough differences between certain bikes that, if a person rides a lot, could justify wanting more than one bike.

My mountain bike is very nice and I enjoy riding it, but it is hard to really do much distance on the road or on mixed bike trails. I also feel bad wearing my tires on pavement when they are really made for dirt. I just don't get out as often to mountain bike and usually ride off-trail portions of the local Bear Creek Trail system that is easy access from where I live. It's fun, but after riding it several time I would like to try other sections. I'm sure this will come with time as I become more familiar with the area.

My commuter, on the other hand, is the work-horse. I have logged around 600-700 miles since purchasing it in May of this year. I've even added another box I can lock to carry my camera gear and other things I deem valuable when I am out and need to lock the bike up. Even though my Buzz is heavier than my mountain bike I prefer to ride the Buzz because it works much better in the city and on the paved trails. I can keep my speed up better since it does not have knobby tires even though they are 26" like my mountain bike. I also have all the lights and even the bike computer on the Buzz because I use it most ofter...it is, after all, my commuter.

This brings me to my point...I see the possibility of picking up a road bike for the weekend rides with more miles and for recreation purposes. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) I also like the idea of a cruiser bike for just tooling around town or DT Denver.

I guess only time and money will tell. I'm waiting for the new Novara Buzz line to be introduced and see what makes my mouth water. Who knows, maybe there will be a road-style bike and a cruiser this year. That would be my luck!

I've been having a lot of fun lately keeping up on the several blogs on cycling and specifically a few in the Denver area. I'm really impressed with the information and opinions, not to mention the amount of time and dedication the blog authors (blogger I believe) give to their blog to make it up-to-date and relevant. Kudos to those who make these great blogs. If anyone reads this I hope to list several of these blogs. I currently have a few, but I have found other good ones not listed yet (there's that time and dedication part).

Lastly, I just want to express my opinion as I watch some changes in the cycling culture. When I started commuting over 10 years ago (I commuted for a couple of years in Boise, Idaho by bike and foot) I was always fighting with the concept of cycling clothing. I have never been excited about compression bike shorts (though I understand the advantages and benefits) and preferred to wear street clothes while riding so I could easily go to work, to class, and finally out for a beer without constant changing clothes for the rides. I can see wearing a cycling "outfit" on recreational rides; especially long rides that can cause chafing and other discomfort, but not for commuting.

When I started bike commuting again a few months ago I kept my dedication to wearing street clothes while riding. This has some unfortunate consequences in the Mile High area. Heat and afternoon thunderstorms can make wearing regular street clothes challenging. I find I need to change my shirt when I go to work in the afternoon and need to carry a rain jacket for those afternoon t-storms. It doesn't always cool down with the rain, however, and this creates other challenges.

I decided to do some research and found a few cycling dedicated companies designed and carried some great urban cycle-wear (specifically Swobo and Swrve). There may be more, but I was able to find these two...both have more traditional cycle clothing and great stuff (not only bike shorts, but knickers too)...some I can see myself wearing, other...not so much, but they are carrying clothing that I could easily commute in and then wear into the bar for a beer without reeking or having to change (or at least deal with showing off my white-guy thighs). I've even found jeans for cycling...great stuff.

Recently on Bike Hugger I saw a post for Hincapie (apparently a well-known bike clothing brand...please forgive my ignorance) and a new line of casual cycling clothing geared toward urban cycle-wear with street clothing appeal. At least for now, with growth in the urban commuting area of cycing, I can see a real niche market for bike clothing like jeans and functional, comfortable casual bike gear. I'm really looking forward to seeing what new technology, organic and renewable materials along with great design brings to the evolution of urban cycing/commuting.

That's all for now...here's to over a month without a car! I have some pictures from my ride today...I will post them in the near future.

By the way...BikeDenver rocks!

Clif Bar 2 Mile Challenge

I found out about Clif Bar's 2 Mile Challenge about 6 or 8 months ago. The idea is to use a bike for many of those trips from your home or office that are just 2 miles away. The site goes into more detail, but makes a good point about reducing pollution and getting out on a bike more often.

I use the site to map stores, restaurants and other places like the library. My work commute is around 4 miles so I use the map more as a reference depending on whether I am going from my residence or from work. It's been very helpful.

Clif Bar is also visiting different cities to keep the 2 Mile Challenge ball rolling. Pretty cool stuff. It is amazing the difference we can make by just riding a bike a couple of miles to get lunch or do a little mid-week grocery shopping.

To take the challenge use the link above to visit the site and go through the steps. Have some fun!

Day 4, by the way, and another 8.5 miles.

Novara Buzz V

This is my urban commuter bike. I've added some accessories this file photo does not show...I will put a photo of my bike up soon.

The Buzz series bikes by Novara have been around for a while. I really liked this bike and did a lot of looking around before I decided this would be the best bike for me. I didn't want to spend a lot of money, but I also wanted the most "bang" for my buck. The Buzz V (V because of the use of "V" brakes as opposed to the disk brakes used on the other Buzz models) offers a lot for it's under $500 price tag. I like the chromoly frame because it is tough and makes for a smooth ride on the road and bike paths. The bike is well built...I have no worries hopping curbs and the puncture resistant tires hold up to the occational off-road ventures. This has really been an around-the-town bike. I also really like the simplicity...I rarely worry about my bike when it is locked-up or when I just park it to run inside the store.

The Buzz V does come with the fenders. Despite the fact people told me it rarely rains in Denver the fenders have come in useful when the afternoon thunderstorms roll in.

All in all I really like this bike. I'm glad it's what will get me around for the coming months.

Day 1 without a car

Yesterday I sent my very fuel-efficient car back to Washington State (this leads to a much longer story I may tell in the coming days).
Today I begin life as a commuter without a car. Not bad. A few months ago I purchased a Novara Buzz V from REI ($449 retail). I have already put over 400 miles on it since I purchased it, but now it is my transportation along with public transportation.
In the coming weeks I hope to report on my progress as a bike commuter.
I did some grocery shopping tonight on the bike...I have some panniers (saddle bags) that I used. Took a little bit to fit everything, but it worked out fine (though my bananas were a little bruised).
I'll continue to update the blog as time goes on, but for now...my first day without a car!

4 official miles today