A few changes - Day 21

I have one more week to go before the recovery week. Today was a rest day and my wife and I took the time to get ready for the upcoming week and to get a tree for the holidays.

I'm still working on some ideas for getting enough calories and keeping my body fueled for this Insanity workout program. Tomorrow will be a hard workout with Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs on the schedule.

I purchased a Biggest Loser workout DVD from Costco yesterday...it's called the Last Chance Workout. I watched it today and my wife tried it out. It looks good for people starting a program, and maybe for some others if you get the timing down and increase the speed of the workout. Anyway, a nice addition to our collection of home workout videos and definitely worth the $8-$11 it sells for depending on where you purchase it.

This brings me to my next subject...Buzz Commuter will see a few changes over the next few weeks. I find that I have less to say at the moment about bikes and bike commuting in general. Originally I wanted this blog to follow my days as a bike commuter while I lived in Colorado. More recently it has evolved into my desire to get and stay fit (a nice result of bike commuting) and now my journey on the Insanity workout program. I want this blog to get back to the world of bikes and bike commuting. After all it was a Novara Buzz V and my chance to use a bike exclusively for transportation. Even thought some of my circumstances have changed my desire to bike commute and support cycling not only for exercise, but also a superior means of community transportation.

I also have a desire to climb a few mountains, enjoy the outdoors as much as possible and hopefully do some good in this world. As much as I want Buzz Commuter to be a part of this I want a place to share these adventures, hits and misses, opinions and maybe just some general griping.

To this end I will soon be adding Fortunes Fare. My journey with Insanity will transfer over the Fortunes Fare as will some other information. I will continue to write on Buzz Commuter as I ride to work and keep pedaling.

I hope to have Fortunes Fare up this week. I will not remove any of the current posts from Buzz Commuter and will start fresh on Fortunes Fare.

Here's to self-expression and digital media.

First Flat

After 2000 miles in Colorado without a flat I only had to commute for about a month in the Tri-Cities to get my first flat tire.

I have been really impressed with the puncture-resistant Kenda K-841 tires on my Buzz V. I would often add a little off-road while commuting on my bike in Denver, but here in Eastern Washington the offending tack-weed (aka goat heads, puncture weed and others) was on the bike lane.

I'm afraid I disposed of the thorn without getting a picture, but I'm sure I will have more opportunities commuting in the Tri-Cities.

I will be adding puncture resistant tubes or "slime" to my tubes adding to the over-all puncture resistance.

Thanks Novara for putting those Kenda tires on the Buzz V. 2000+ miles without a flat is pretty good.

Good Sunday Ride

So I haven't posted in a few days. Not to worry...it's not because I haven't been riding. Just a lot going on and little time to write.

I never did make it to down town Denver during the Democratic National Convention (DNC), but I read a lot about the great bike awareness and the success of the Freeride program. It's so great to hear and see more people getting into cycling. Sorry I didn't get to see it first-hand.

Had a really good ride today. I probably only did about 65-66 miles of the total 72 or so mile ride pictured on the map below. I was riding my other bike, a Giant Rainier mt. bike. It's much lighter and a pretty good climber compared to the Novara Buzz V, but the tires have a lot of road resistance. My friend, Mike, was on his road bike. Gotta get me one of those someday. Anyway, we started at about 7 am with Mike's wife, Kasey, and met some friends at Starbucks int the DT REI for a little breakfast. From there Mike and I continued on...stopping for lunch in Golden. Good stuff.

Great day, good ride and now I'm taking a nap. More later.

Add some buzz to the Buzz

A friend of mine from work decided to put a 2-stroke engine onto his Buzz V. The Chromoly steel frame works perfectly for this revved-up Novara. He says it gets over 100 mpg and more depending on the amount of pedaling. Pretty sweet little cruiser.

I can remember mopeds from my youth. I was wondering why I haven't seem more of the like with a growing fuel economy concern and travel cost. This motorized Buzz is a great example of what a little work can do. If a muscle-powered ride is too much just add a little engine to the bike and you have a Buzz buzz.


Another co-worker has purchased a Buzz V and is adding an electric motor. The rugged and inexpensive bike is really perfect for this application in my opinion. The picture of the electric Buzz is coming, but in the mean time I do have a photo of an electric Electra...this also belongs my friend with the motorized Buzz.
(Both photos were made by my friend Bob P.)

Rain, Rain, Rain

My late work hours continue, but I do have Sunday (I think that is today) off.

It has been raining for several days now and pretty much all day on Saturday. I think we have about an inch of new rain in Denver just from today...could be more with some risk of flooding because of all the water. This area can use it...hopefully without any damage.

I still ride in the rain...my rain gear is not the best, but it's better than nothing. I need to get some better gear for this winter though.

On my way to where I am staying I got soaked even in my rain gear. My rain jacket is more light-weight and meant for emergencies rather than for downpours like we are getting...it finally soaked through after a while. My rain pants aren't meant for riding and I'm afraid they will wear out. I still need a cover for my helmet since that gets the most wet. I do have rain covers for my bike bags and that works really well. Some of my lights are covered by the rain cover, but I have other lights. The fenders on my Buzz V work really well. My feet were the most soaked after going through a very deep puddle. I don't know if rain covers would have helped in that situation. Better rain resistant/proof gloves would be good too. My gloves were soaked through, but not as bad as my shoes. All in all it was a pretty wet ride, but not like it would have been if I wasn't a little prepared. I'll look into some new gear for the winter...especially since the weather here seems to be very different this year compared to the "norm" (whatever that is).

All the rain makes me think of Portland. Even the low clouds over the nearby mountains look like that area. Love it!

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.