Sorry for the hiatus

Okay, okay, I know; it's been a couple months since my last entry. The reasons are many and lame. With the new year came a new schedule (which seemed to change almost daily), not to mention at staying in a warm, cozy bed seemed to be a better option than peddling 10 miles in the cold, dark morning air. Then there was March, which seemed to become more of a lion as the month went along. We had several major thunderstorms roll through and, quite frankly, I'd just as soon not die by drowning in a torrential downpour. Oh, and windy?!?! If someone went out kite surfing, I would half expect them to end up in Oz before the day was over. The prospect of riding 10 miles into a 20+ MPH headwind when your average speed in only 15 MPH makes my legs hurt just thinking about it.

The fact is, I needed a break, if only to keep from turning stale. There is such thing as too much of a good thing. A common complaint among bicyclists is reaching a plateau. That is, you ride and ride, but you don't see any real changes. In fact, it can often be that you regress. That is when you should take a break and try something different for a while. This is one of the reason many bicyclist often take up running and/or swimming. The technical term is cross-training, but I simply call it breaking out of a rut.

The problem comes in knowing how long is too long of a break. The old adage "if you don't use it, you'll lose it" applies. Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly okay to stop commuting for a month or two (or more, if needed), but soon what was a regular routine before the break becomes a chore when you pick it back up. One way to ease back into the old routine is to slowly build it back up. Take a ride around the neighborhood once or twice a week. Nothing requiring great effort, or even your normal riding clothes. Just explore some of the side streets that you passed along the way before. Get some fresh air. Ride down to the beach or the local park. Better yet, head on over to the local bike shop and test ride a few bikes, even if you're not in the market to buy one yet. If you're currently riding a commuting bike, try a road bike or a mountain bike. Heck, take the top-of-the-line road bike out for a quick spin and see how it feels.

As for me, I am planning on commuting again starting this month. During Spring Break last month, I rode to work on Thursday to conduct a workshop for a couple new employees. I swapped weekends with another librarian this weekend and rode to work today. Both rides felt great, and reminded me of why I love to ride. Tomorrow should bring some scattered thunderstorms, but I may still ride.

Active Transportation Leads to Leaner Nations

File this under "Well, duh". Apparently, countries that have higher rates of bicycling, walking and mass transit usage are populated by leaner people.

Study: Leaner nations bike, walk, use mass transit
By DUNCAN MANSFIELD

Jim Richards is no kid, but he loves to ride his bike. At 51, he has become a cycling commuter, pedaling 11 miles from his home in the suburbs to his job in downtown Knoxville.

"It really doesn't take that much longer" than driving, he insists.

And he gets 40 minutes of exercise twice a day without going to the gym, which he attributes to a 20-pound weight loss.

New research illustrates the health benefits of regular biking, walking or taking public transportation to work, school or shopping. Researchers found a link between "active transportation" and less obesity in 17 industrialized countries across Europe, North America and Australia.

"Countries with the highest levels of active transportation generally had the lowest obesity rates," authors David Bassett of the University of Tennessee and John Pucher of Rutgers University conclude.

Americans, with the highest rate of obesity, were the least likely to walk, cycle or take mass transit, according to the study in a recent issue of the Journal of Physical Activity and Health. The study relied on each country's own travel and health data.

Only 12 percent use active transportation in the United States - 9 percent walk, 1 percent ride a bike and 2 percent take a bus or train - while a quarter to a third are obese, the study said.

By comparison, 67 percent of commuters in Latvia, 62 percent in Sweden and 52 percent in the Netherlands either walk, bike or use mass transit. Latvia's obesity rate is 14 percent, the Netherlands' is 11 percent and Sweden's is 9 percent.

A similar pattern was found in Canada (19 percent active transportation, 23 percent obese) and Australia (14 percent active transportation, 21 percent obese).

Overall, Bassett said, "Europeans walk three times as far and cycle five times as far as Americans."

The authors say it's more than lifestyle choices that lead Americans to use their cars more. Europe's compact, dense layout and infrastructure are more conducive to getting around without a car.

Europeans on average walk 237 miles and cycle 116 miles per year; U.S. residents walk 87 miles and bike 24 miles. Bassett and Pucher calculated that translates into burning off 5 to 9 pounds of fat annually for Europeans compared to only 2 pounds for Americans.

While the analysis doesn't prove that transportation keeps obesity levels down "they make an excellent case," said Susan Handy, who heads the Sustainable Transportation Center at the University of California at Davis.

"The question, then, is what do we do?" said Handy, who was not involved in the study. "How do we get more people walking and bicycling in the U.S.?"

Anne Lusk, a research fellow at Harvard School of Public Health, said the study's results make sense.

"What I found most exciting about this excellent research is the applicability," she said. "The issue then becomes should we improve our transit, walking or bicycling opportunities simultaneously or should we focus on one of the three?"

Lusk said her first choice is bicycles - and not just because of global warming, fluctuating gas prices or the economic downturn. When Dutch researchers asked people to match emotions with various forms of travel, she said, "The greatest emotion was joy for bicycling."

Richards rekindled his love affair with a two-wheeler a few years ago while visiting bike-friendly Sweden.

Back home, he has a couple of things going for him. Richards lives in a medium-size Southern city where police officers can be found patroling on bikes and the mayor sometimes cycles to city hall.

The car is still king here, like most places in the United States, but Knoxville has developed a 41-mile greenway system that keeps Richards mostly on paved trails and off city streets.

He also works for an environmentally conscious employer. The country store-themed Mast General Stores of Valle Crucis, N.C., pays Richards and his co-workers $4 a day to ride, walk or catch a bus rather drive than their car.

After a year, his annual checkup shows the results: his heart rate, blood pressure and cholesterol all are down.

"I just love riding," he said. "It's like a double-shot of caffeine in the morning."

Well, isn't that surprising. Okay, not really, but this has an implications for Mississippi. As you are probably aware, Mississippi leads the nation in obesity, and ranks high in the number of heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes. Also not surprising is that Mississippi ranks near the bottom (47^th) in bicycling. For those who live in Mississippi who bicycle and/or walk, please consider donating Bike Walk Mississippi, supporting Let's Go Walking Mississippi and, whenever possible, use your local mass transit system.

More Letters to the Editor

As a follow-up to an earlier letter to the editor in the SunHerald that I mentioned in a previous post, the bicyclist in question responded.

Law requires drivers and cyclists to share the road

Responding to [name withheld]’s letter of Nov. 17, “Few Coast streets are built for bikes and cars to share,” I am the menacing cyclist [name withheld]refers to. I cycled to work during the 1970s, ’80s and early ’90s before retiring. Setting the record straight I maintained a 1- to 2-foot distance from the road edge to avoid being side-swiped by passing cars.

Many motorists do not share the road. To protect myself I checked my rear-view mirror and, when seeing an approaching car, I moved toward the road edge to allow the motorist safe passage. Such defensive strategy protected both driver and me. I steer away from the road edge to avoid debris, stones, broken glass and holes which invite a flat. [Name withheld] should understand there are very few places to pull over on River Road.

Newspaper readers may remember “Mississippi Jack.” He complained about “the arrogant biker who, instead of driving on the extreme right, demanded the center of the one-lane Frederic Street Highway 90 underpass” and motioned for Jack to stay behind him. Yep, I was the arrogant biker trying to avoid being side-swiped in the curved, narrow underpass, which was lined with broken glass and debris, until I could ride through and move out of his way. Another example of a motorist refusing to share the road.

Mississippi state law says cyclists must ride as close as is safe to the right-hand edge of the roadway. A driver when overtaking and passing a bicycle proceeding in the same direction is required to leave a distance of not less than three feet between the motor vehicle and the bicycle.

More cyclists ride today than ever before. Riders, wear helmets, obey all traffic laws, signal when slowing, stopping, or turning. Ride in the same direction as auto traffic, stay as close to the right edge of the road as possible, walk across busy intersections. And to all the drivers, do not view cyclists as a traffic obstruction. Resist succumbing to road rage. We may be “losing money to a ticking time clock or missing appointments” or trying to meet a deadline. Thank you for your courtesy and consideration.

Name and location withheld.

SunHerald, Saturday, December 13, 2008

Then, the next day, I read this lovely piece.

Some people grow old, but they don’t grow up

Someone told me that I should exercise at a gym rather than walk or cycle outside. Sorry, lady, but although it might be too embarrassing for you to be seen bicycling in public, I like to inhale fresh air. Also, it is not scary for me as it might be for you. This is probably why I see a lot of women walking in pairs across the Ocean Springs bridge.

A lot of males think it is “macho” to honk, yell or say stupid things to me when I walk or cycle. I can understand such lack of maturity in a youngster, but many of these people are over 70 years old. Isn’t it time to grow up?

Name and location withheld.
SunHerald, Sunday, December 14, 2008.

Amen to that. To both authors: I will ride with you, any time, any place.

The Ideal Commuter? - Part 3 My Commuting Setup

In my last entry in this series, I discussed the basic differences between a short-distance versus a long-distance commuter bike. This time, I will talk about my commuter, what accessories I bought and why I chose them.

The Bike

Any commuting bike starts with the bike itself. In my case, it is a 1992 Specialized Crossroads Trail hybrid that I bought when I was in college. It replaced my trusty Specialized Hard Rock that was stolen. (This is what happens when you don't lock your bike, but that's for a different post.) The frame is made from chromoly steel and weighs in at about thirty pounds. The drive train is a 30-40-50 chain ring with 12-28 seven speed freewheel. The wheels are 700c, which makes them slightly larger than the 26" wheels that were on my old mountain bike. The bike remained stock until this past year when I started commuting.

The Commuting Essentials

The first change I made was to install a rear rack. I bought a Bor Yeuh rack (the rack in the link is similar to the rack I own) from Bike Nashbar for $10 on sale. While not the greatest rack around, the price could not be beat. The downside I found with the rack was what I believe to be a pitiful lack of clearance over the rear tire. Therefore, I recommend that in looking at racks, especially for 700c tires, that you look for one that is either specifically designed for 700c wheels (most should fit) or, better yet, look for one that has adjustable mounting brackets, especially where the rack mounts at the rear drop outs.

I also needed panniers. I bought a set of Nashbar Daytrekker panniers, but was unsatisfied with the capacity, so I built a pair of panniers from a couple of plastic buckets that held cat litter (another future entry) that have proven to be very capable and voluminous.

Next, I swapped out the tires that I had (which were dry rotted anyways) with Specialized Infinity Reflect 700x38c. I chose these tires for the puncture resistant Flak Jacket casing and the reflective sidewalls. The tread is a little aggressive for pavement, but then again, parts of my commute involve construction zones that may have sand, dirt, crush limestone, and/or gravel.

The stock saddle was starting to crack and fall apart (note: avoid vinyl covered saddles), so I did some research and decided on the Brooks B17 saddle. A little pricey compared to other saddles, but it has proven to be very comfortable once broken in. If you decide a Brooks is the saddle for you, I would advise buying a tin of Proofide at the same time, and a saddle cover to protect it from the rain.

Speaking of rain, I wanted my bike to be an all-weather commuter, so I added a set of SKS P50 Chromoplast fenders and added a couple Brooks leather mud flaps as a finishing touch. I chose the SKS fenders because, unlike other plastic bicycle fenders, the SKS fenders are made with thin strips of aluminum encased in plastic. This gives them a bit more rigidity and, in my opinion, durability. In fact, you can mount a tail light on Chromoplast fenders; something that plastic fenders cannot do.

Being Visible

Since I know that I will eventually end up riding at dawn/dusk times and even at night, staying visible is a high priority. My philosophy when it comes to being visible on a bicycle is, "Too much is never enough". I believe in having a balance between active lights and passive reflectors; never rely on just one type. When in doubt, repeat this mantra: "Redundancy is good. Redundancy is good."

The biggest fear among bicyclists is getting hit from behind. But as I pointed out in an earlier post, those accidents are far outweighed by frontal and side collisions. I have two Plant Bike Superflashes mounted on my rear fender and red reflective tape on the backside of my seat stays, on the back of my rear rim and a red reflective sheet on the back of both my bucket panniers.

Up front, I run a pair of Romisen RC-N3 CREE Q5 LED Flashlights mounted with a pair of Twofish Cyclopblocks hanging off of a pair of Minora Swing Grips. The Romisen flashlights have only one function (steady), put out a lot of light (over 200 lumens), can run on either one CR123A or two AA batteries, and have a decent run time (I have heard over three hours, but have not confirmed this first hand). I use rechargeable NiMH batteries for the lights (both front and rear) to cut down on battery costs and lessen my impact on the environment. I also have white reflective tape on the handlebars, down the front of the forks, and on the back of my front rim.

The final touch is an amber dual tube Down Low Glow mounted on the down tube and left chain stay. If you never heard or seen this product before and do any amount of night time riding, do yourself a favor and check out the site. During the day, the DLG is pretty much useless, but at night, cars will not only see you, but often times give you an entire lane's worth of space when they pass you. (Yes, this is from first hand experience). Not only is there an enhanced safety factor, this is also the coolness factor. I have had more than one person say, "Cool" or "I like your bike" when I'm on my night rides.

Visibility is not just limited to the bike, but also extends to the rider. Depending on the weather, I wear either a short sleeve jersey or a long sleeve jersey in Hi-Vis Yellow. I also have a Sugoi Venture jacket in Hi-Vis yellow. At night, I will add a reflective vest over my jersey. The one I currently wear is a green safety vest with silver reflective trim, but ideally I want to get a Hi-Vis yellow vest with safety orange trim and silver reflective tape. With all the road construction along Highway 90 recently, I found that this combination is highly visible even in fog.

Room for Improvement

Now after all that, you'd think I'd be satisfied. However, there are some areas that can be improved upon. First, I am still working on a nagging issue of the best hooks to use on my bucket panneirs; I currently use latching fender hooks to keep the panniers from bouncing loose. Second, I would like a second set of wheels (front and rear) as a backup in case one the current wheels gets damaged. I also want to try a different set of tires, namely Schwable Marathon Plus tires, which have superior puncture resistance, but also a high weight factor.

Even though the lights I have are suitable for the job, it would be nice to have lights that do not rely on battery power. Therefore, a generator hub (either Shimano or Schmidt) and coupled with a Busch & Müller Lumotec IQ Fly Plus headlight and a Busch & Müller 4D Lite Plus tail light would make an ideal companion to the battery powered lights and allow for longer night rides. Speaking of longer night rides, a better battery pack for the DLG would be a nice extra. I would also enhance the reflectivity of the bike by using SOLAS tape one the front of the bucket panniers, as well as the rims.

And as a final Fred touch, I would add a Mirrycle Mountain Mirror (two, actually) to keep an eye on things behind me (like overtaking cars) and an Incredibell Big Brass bell (the ring tone reminds me of the bike bell my parents had on their Schwinn Tandem).

Now is all of this really necessary? No. Is it overkill? Probably. Do I feel safer at night? Most definitely.

The next installment will cover a selection of different commuter bicycles, with comments on their strengths and weaknesses. Stay tuned.

OMG! Not another blog!

Yes, my dear reader, I am afraid that there is (yet) another blog clogging up the Internet. So why bother creating another in a seemingly endless parade of vanity-filled ramblings to an audience who is quite possibly overwhelmed with too much poor, useless, and otherwise banal information? That is a very good question. Like most things I undertake, there is not simply one simple reason. Part of the goal of this blog is to act as a vehicle for expressing my thoughts, feelings, musings, ruminations, philosophy, religion, and politics about bicycle commuting on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I also hope that this will be a resource for others in the area, both bicyclists and non-bicyclists alike, to learn and understand more about bicycle commuting, both the challenges and the rewards.

I started bicycle commuting about five months ago, and while I may ride every day, I do try to ride at least once a week. The biggest obstacle, so far, from my becoming a daily commuter has been, of all things, my work schedule. My job often requires me to travel between the main campus in Long Beach to the Student Service Center in Gulfport. Also, once a month, I go to Gautier to keep tabs on things going on at the Jackson County campus. And there are the occasional trips to Hattiesburg that I need to take. So far, whenever I know that those situations are going to occur, I drive instead of bike. However, I am working on a possible solutions to this and will report back when the time is appropriate.

My commute is a fairly lengthy one at roughly ten miles. Most people are amazed that I "ride so far", but I am not that impressed because I have ridden further than that in my life. What dismays me isn't the distance, but rather the time and, by extension, the speed at which I travel. It takes me approximately forty-five to fifty minutes to travel ten miles. That works out to an average speed of between 12 to 13 mph. Granted, the average speed is taking into account stopping at red lights, stop signs and the occasional freight train. I should also mention that the bike I ride weighs in at about 30 pounds and I carry an additional 10 to 15 pounds of gear (clothing, lights, locks, etc.) with me and that the bike is a hybrid, not a road racer. Contrast this to traveling the same distance by car, it takes me about 20 minutes.


So why bike to work rather than driving? The most obvious answer would be to save money, but that is not my prime motivation. The primary reason for riding is for the exercise and the simple enjoyment of bicycling. Face it, we all lead busy lives and finding time to exercise, most often than not, gets set aside or ignored. There is simply too much to do to be bothered with packing up gym clothes, going to the gym, paying a membership fee, change out of work clothes and into gym clothes, exercise, and then reversing the process to go home. And exercising at home? Well, I am sure there are others who are much better at that than I. No, for me, bicycling to and from work gives me a good, healthy exercise, twice a day. As a result, I have more energy, a better, more positive attitude, better focus, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and generally feel good about myself.

The exercise is important to me because I have a cirrhosis of the liver, the symptoms of which include lethargy, short-term memory loss, inability to remain focused, weakness, and confusion, among others. And do not get me started on the complications that can result; it is almost too depressing to think about. My doctors have me on a beta-blocker to lower my blood pressure, but I also know that regular, aerobic exercise will also help lower blood pressure over the long term, as well as lower my heart rate. Not surprisingly, my doctors are all supportive, as is my wife, who expresses her pride and admiration to me every day.

A little bit about me. I am not a native Mississippian. I grew up in Michigan and am proud to call it my home state. Now before anyone starts using the "Y" word, allow me a moment, if you will, to express my preferred geographic descriptor: Wolverine. No, not the X-Men character, nor the mascot from the University of Michigan. This label has its origins in both history and literature. Historically, the term Wolverine was given (as some have claimed) by Ohioans during what has been called "The Toledo War". The end results of which gave Ohio Toledo and Michigan the Upper Peninsula and is symbolically replayed every year during one of the greatest football rivalries. The literary source comes from Walt Whitman's poem, "Song of Myself" which reads, "The Wolverine sets traps on the creek that helps fill the Huron". Note that Wolverine is capitalized, indicating a proper name and Huron refers to Lake Huron. Now, I do not take offense at the term Yankee; I just recall a joke about how the meaning of the term changes depending on who hears it, and I have a private chuckle.