First day of school

As incomprehensible and summer-stealingly ridiculous as it sounds, today, mathematically not quite halfway through August, is the first day of school. We made the most of it, and had a nice family ride to get there. Little sis was a bit confused, especially when we towed her big sister's bike home, due to after school activities that will preclude the possibility of riding home.

Monocog to Light Rail to work

Testing out my new smartphone doesn't make me feel very smart, but I'm slowly learning. I wonder if this post will turn out looking OK?

I had to hurry to catch the train and quickly maxed out the Monocog's low gearing. Even still, I made it with time to spare. It continues to be a fast, fun bike.

Bike to School Day

Flowers as cargo for the overlapping Teacher Appreciation Day.

Today is bike to school day. It was a perfect morning with cool but pleasant weather, and we had a good ride. We saw much more biking activity than usual, and were happily surprised to find the racks full at school. It seems as though Bike to School Day has gotten bigger around here in the past couple of years.

New green pedals.

Chilly B-cycle ride this morning

The intrepid three-speeds of the Denver B-cycle system are going strong through the winter.

It's been unseasonably warm here for several days. That changed last night with dropping temperatures and several inches of fresh powder this morning. Change is good, and we need the snow.

Bike picnic at the park over the past weekend. 

Our cowgirls at the National Western Stock Show.

101st post: Happy anniversary to Big Dummy Daddy

A very wet bean green Cross Check. Although it may not be apparent in the photo, I'm drenched to the skin.

This little blog has been in existence for one year as of today. If you, like me, are inclined to receive some sort of odd satisfaction from seeing numbers on the odometer roll by, this is also coincidentally my 101st post. So there's that. On to the start of year two...

Since the beginning of the year, I've been loosely keeping track of notable factors of my bike riding. One of those factors is weather related. In February, I rode during what was likely the coldest day of the year. After today, it's now probably safe to say that I've ridden on the wettest day of the year. I don't know what the rain total was, as I don't often watch the news, but I do know that I encountered several places downtown where the water was up to the hubs of my faithful old Surly Cross Check. I also know that the rain was pouring down in such copious amounts that I wouldn't have been much wetter if I'd been swimming instead of riding. In the end, it's difficult to complain about any rain in our semi-arid region, and riding through puddles with a fender-equipped bike is always fun.

Sister-in-law Jennie (on the right) accurately referred to our group as a peloton. Brother-in-law Jeff (center) showed off some bunny-hopping for his boys. Nieces and nephews experimented with dirt biking. Way to go with all the cool bike stuff!

It also rained yesterday, but not nearly as much. In fact, even though raindrops created moiré patterns on the street, it wasn't enough to deter us from our usual evening ride to the park, this time with many visiting relatives in tow. It's always nice to have a couple of co-pilots accompany me on the Dummy, and to have enough bikes on hand for virtually any combination of visitors. That could also be taken as an indicator that I have too many bikes, but I'd rather think that it signifies that I'm an accommodating host.

Bike to Work Day

Pink. Old. Speedy. No, I still haven't wrapped the bars yet.

Today was the annually recurring day when biking to work gets the attention it deserves. It's always encouraging to see the trails and streets teeming with people of all shapes and sizes on bikes. A lot of people worked hard to bring to the public bicycle infrastructure improvements over the past year. A similarly large effort was behind the day's wide range of quality treats, goodies and entertainment. Having been involved with some of the underlying processes, it is rewarding to see Denver continue to blossom into a top-tier bike town.

I'm all for coaxing people to try riding to work or school or to coffee or really for any trip. However, it's too bad that biking for transportation doesn't receive more attention and acknowledgement throughout the rest of the year. Bike to work day, perhaps without so much fanfare, could easily occur monthly, or even weekly year around. I'm not suggesting as a city we should forgo the fun of the annual event, but to truly encourage people to bike more, the periodic frequency of Bike to Work Day may need to be greatly increased. Off my soapbox now.

Since the day involves uncharacteristic choices for many who don't ride regularly, I decided to follow suit by doing something uncharacteristic for me, and ride my road bike as a commuter. Those who know me, readily see me as a cargo and/or utilitarian bike rider, accustomed to platform BMX pedals, any type of shoes and whatever clothes are comfortable. Today I chose my least utilitarian bike and rode with cleats and, although I wasn't in full kit, I did incorporate some thought into my choice of apparel.

1991 Diamond Back Master TG

I've always liked this part of the Master TG, where the narrow angle of the seatstays meet the seat tube.

I was rewarded in my choice to ride a different steed with a much faster journey, at least in my terms. My Garmin 210 reported a summary of each mile to me while enroute, and there were several miles during which I averaged about 20 mph. That may not sound impressive to any racer types out there, but that is lightning fast compared to riding many of my other bikes.

The giant metallic dog sparkles in the sun.

I was going along my way quickly, and didn't pause often to take photos. I made an exception to take a shot of a new piece of public art along the Platte River Trail, and found out by way of the Culinary Hack that the dog sculpture is for the new Denver Animal Shelter. As someone who has a critical eye for art, I thought it to be quite good and am pleased that the work entitled Sun Spot is associated with the new facility.

The Master TG parked downtown outside the building where I had a meeting.

Later in the day we met friends visiting from Alabama in Wash Park for a relaxing evening. At least one of us is of the opinion that it's always good to have other kids around to play with.

That's the way she rolls.

Kids and mud; a perennial favorite.

I have something new, black and Surly that will be finding its way more substantially onto this blog at some point in the near future. A couple of teaser shots appear below. However, it is not quite as impressive as something else that is new, black and Surly rumored to have arrived recently. We'll have to wait for the owner to spill the beans.

Antlers?

Or something else?

Riding in the "off" season

Lighted hulks speeding past

Last Thursday was a very warm and pleasant early January day. In the evening I paused at Speer and Lawrence to capture the Titan during the last moments of twilight. Regardless of Denver's reputation, it's actually not consistently snowy here throughout the winter. We had an unprecedented streak of snow-less fall-like weather, all the way through to the beginning of January. However, that all changed by Sunday with our first real snow of winter.

Once the snow started the temperature stayed fairly cold, so the snow remained powdery. This morning was about as cold as it has been in quite a while here: -3F (-20C). I'm no snow expert but as far as bike riding and snow goes, I've spent a lot of time riding in snowy or icy conditions and have encountered several variants in snow conditions that affect the road surface. Most people from snowy climates are probably familiar with how differing road conditions affect car driving, but the affect on bikes is somewhat different. On my ride this morning, I encountered the following snow types.

Fresh powder makes for fun riding in depths of about 6 inches or less. The tires just seem to push the snow out of the way, as if riding through fluffy drifts of styrofoam particles. As long as there is no ice hidden under the powder it's no problem.

Ravenous snowflake eater running through the powder on the night of the snowfall

Packed powder is surprisingly good for traction, provided overconfidence doesn't get the best of you. Occasional soft spots can cause spin outs. As with this and any other surface that is potentially slick, it's important to attempt to keep close to vertical when making turns and plan ahead for braking.

Packed powder probably at least a couple of inches in thickness

Ice/compacted snow is what occurs on arterial streets with a sufficient combination of traffic and chemicals such as magnesium chloride. This condition of partially broken clumps and slick surfaces is generally less desirable for riding than side streets.

A bit slicker than it looks but not bad going

The Dummy has typical 2.0" knobbies, nothing special. They seem to work fine for most conditions.

Get it while you can

The shadows are completely across the trail well before four o'clock

Today was a magnificent Colorado Fall day; it just doesn't get much better. On the down side, thanks to the end of daylight savings time the shadows are getting longer much earlier in the afternoon. For me, it's essential to make the most of the light. We had a terrific ride home, enjoying the colors of the leaves, a snack and shirtsleeve temperatures.

Not too bad of a view for a commute

Supposedly the weather will sour tomorrow, but today was a good day. The forecasters have been wrong before, but even if we are in line for something colder soon, we've had an especially good run this year.

Dummy and Daddy humming along

Bike/walk to school day

The two-wheeled green bus

Today was her school's first ever bike/walk to school day. I don't know why they chose a date in late October, or why it didn't coincide with International Bike/Walk to school day on October 6, but it is what it is. We awoke to a chilly 36°F and were running later than usual, so we opted for the Dummy alone to assure a good experience. We had a pleasant but intermittently cold and windy ride, arriving at school on time. There were quite a few walkers and fewer bikers, with the chilliness of the morning probably taking its toll on higher participation.

Overall, bike/walk to school day is a good way to introduce parents and kids to the idea of leaving the car at home for routine trips. I'd like to see a national bike/walk to school/work day once a month, because in most parts of the U.S. there are plenty of nice days throughout the year. I also like the walking school bus idea, and I'm sure that a biking school bus could just as readily be organized.

T minus 7 days

Pre-flight check complete: Big Dummy with Electra in tow position

Next Wednesday is the first day of kindergarten. We've been preparing in a variety of ways, but the most fun might be figuring out the logistics of riding to school. The school is about a mile away along a very familiar route and largely on a terrific trail, but requires us to cross a major street in the first part of the trip. As capable of a young rider as she may be, crossing four lanes of busy traffic is not something that we are up to as of yet.

This is where the Big Dummy comes in. We'll tow her Electra during the first segment of the trip, from home to just past the big street. Once on the trail, she'll launch off on her own bike with me accompanying her on the Dummy for the remainder of the journey. We've ridden a couple of very smooth dry runs on the route. From door to door, the trip takes 13 to 14 minutes, including time to disconnect her bike from the Dummy and of course obeying all traffic signs and rules of the road. I doubt that the time requirements would be much different in a car, including parking and walking time, and it wouldn't be anywhere near as fun.

She is excited for school and I'm proud that on her first day of public school she'll arrive by bike under her own power.