Quest is going going....

My brother in law has been looking for a cheap bike and my garage is getting too full. I was going to convert the Quest into a rain bike. I'm running out of time and the Trek has not been getting flats since I switched tires, so it's expendable. BIL meet quest. Get it out of my garage! It will hold up alright for him and he gets a bell and a few other goodies too. I need to spend some time to get it better working order, so it's not gone yet.

Bike Friendliness State Rankings

I think I need to join the League of American Bicyclists. The league ranked all 50 states for how bicycle friendly they are. I'm discouraged by the results.

State Ranks
23. Virginia
31. Delaware
34. New York
35. Maryland
38. Pennsylvania
50. West Virginia

The District of Columbia is not ranked for obvious reasons.

There are only three communities in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed that have been recognized as bicycle friendly by the league.

1. District of Columbia (Bronze level for Engineering)
2. Arlington, VA (Silver level for Engineering,Education,Encouragement,Enforcement)
3. Charlottesville, VA (Bronze level for Engineering)

I'm not suggesting that we only use bicycles to commute, but it would help address so many problems if we developed policies and infrastructure to make it easier for cars, trucks, buses, pedestrians and bicycles to share the road.

The reason why I'm not riding as much

My goal for 3000 miles this year might not be met. No big deal. I'd rather have two kids and a happy wife right now. The second kid is a little late, and I'm going to be really cutting back on commuting for at least the next month. I might get one or two trips into work. I'll try riding to the stores while people sleep.

Breaking the Strap...

By far the majority of the miles I ride are replacing miles that I would be driving. Either I'm commuting to work or getting to the store to pick up a those items that I can pack into my backpack. Today I decided to take a trip to Fort Smallwood park and back while my daughter and very pregnant wife were both taking naps. Total recreation. Not what I'm used to.

So I manage to break the left pedal strap. Before I even get two miles into it. Had to limp home. On the way home I hit a red light, no shoulder, so I take the lane. But apparently not enough of it since a MG decides to pass me at the red light. Threads the needle between me a left turning pickup truck.

So much for recreational riding. Time to replace the straps...

Totals through July

So how have I been doing this year....

Yearly totals through July...
Car Miles Saved: 1,670.60
Gallons of Gas Saved: 49.76
Gas Money Saved: $176.71
Bike Commute Round Trips: 50

Breakin' the Law...

I've been using a bicycle for at least part of my commute for over a year now. During that time I've seen all sorts of things from my fellow commuters. Here are some of my favorites.

"I don't stop at red lights." A quote from fellow bike commuter after I showed him a short cut through Annapolis traffic and stopped at a red light at the end of the short cut. Of course he kept going. There are bicyclists that stop at red lights and those that don't.

The pedestrian who was attempting to cross mainstreet behind the stopped cars I was coming up to, who decided to stop and retreat back to sidewalk when he saw me coming. I was actually stopping at my place in line. Confused him so much he didn't know what to do. "I thought you were going to blow by on the right."

The car that decided to take a right at a stop light this morning. By going around the car that was already stopped in the lane he was in. So the car crossed the double yellow lines after I started to turn left into the lane, following a green left turn arrow. Being in a car with headlights on did not make me more visible.

The bicylist that I passed on the trail that I saw later going the wrong way on the road and also going through a red light.

The cars that refuse to stop for me on the crosswalks when the trail intersects a road.

Googling and heartrate monitor

I figured out how to maintain my current stats on the blog using a widget on my google spreadsheets. So less work to maintain my summary.

I also have been compiling my heart rate data. I think maybe I need to back off a bit some days. My average heart rate on the trips in and home is between 85% and 90% of max on the last two segments of each trip.

Win a free Trek...

Just in case you happen to be looking for a new commuter bike, check out the Go By Bike Challenge. I've embedded their widget in the side bar.

Squeaky Chains...

I finally took the time to clean and lube the squeaky chain. It needed it.

There are more cyclists on the B & A Trail now. Some are friendly, some not so much. I really appreciate the pairs that decide to ride on both sides of the trail so you can't pass them easily and when you annouce passing left, they get all confused. Oh well. At least they are out there pedaling.

When I was stopped at a light tonight, there was a motorcyclist on a Yamaha model that I didn't recognize. Had a good chat, we both have to watch out for cagers. At some point I want to buy a motorcycle, already have the license and the MSF safety class.

I just missed every light on the way home after the trail. Added 4 minutes to that part of the trip.

Cost saving tips car commuting.

I've been a little focused on the bike commutes so far. Hey it's still new to me. Cut me a little slack. I understand that not everyone can commute by bicycle, so some other lessons I've learned for saving gas. The 1994 Geo Prizm that I am replacing is rated to get a combined city/highway MPG of 26. I get 36 MPG driving and I'm rarely driving highway miles.

Having a car get 36 miles instead of 26 means I use 1.6 less gallons of gas when I drive 5 days a week (about 155 miles).

Over the course of the year, I'll use about 80 less gallons of gas commuting. This means more jewelry and flowers for my wife. Which might help me get more time to commute by bike, leading to more jewelry and flowers. Not too bad of a cycle, don't you think?

I calculate the MPG for my car every time I fill up the tank. That way I can tell if my driving habits are slipping or if things are working, or the car needs some attention. There are a number of websites where you can learn to calculate MPG.

I keep the tires inflated to at least the recommended psi value, but not above the maximum tire pressure. I try to check it weekly.

I accelerate slowly up to my steady traveling speed. This isn't always the speed limit, but remember the more you speed, the worse your gas mileage is going to be.

I take my foot of the gas and coast when I am approaching a light that is or will be red before I'd get there. Extreme hyper milers will shut the car off.

I coast going down hills. On the way into work, if lights are in my favor, I can coast almost 3 miles out of 15 without slowing up traffic.

I commute during off peak times whenever possible. This varies throughout the year. If I leave my house by 7:20 I spend less time wasting gas sitting at red lights. If I can leave work before 4:30 then the traffic out of Annapolis isn't too bad. The commute time winds up being shorter, so I can spend more time during things I like to do.

I only use air conditioning when it is really hot. On most days the vents and windows are sufficient. When I lived in Florida, my car didn't have AC and I survived, it's not any hotter here.
During the warmer months, I park my car so it has been in the shade for at least an hour when I leave work. I also use sunshades. This means I don't need to use the AC to cool of the car when I start out home.

There are other tips to increase your car's MPG out there.

To save on commuting costs either increase the MPG of your commuting vehicle or reduce the number of miles you drive. Some ideas for this are to use mass transit, carpool, ride a bike, walk, run, kayak, telecommute, or work a compressed work week. This is by no means a comprehensive list, feel free to use your imagination or google.

Poplar Trail

I found this one commuting into Annapolis from Anne Arundel Medical Center. Take a left on Poplar avenue just before you come to West Street on Admiral Drive. It takes you to the Police Station. If you are a bit braver, you can take the parking area across the road from the police station all the way to the Loews hotel.

This was a pleasant surprise, I thought I'd be dealing with mid day traffic on West Street. Not my favorite thing to do.

June wrap up.

New to me car has been inherited. 2002 Ford Escort. So far I'm seeing about 35 MPG on the highway running without AC. My old car will be up for sale soon, the Geo has been my primary car for 11 years.

In June, I managed to commute by bicycle 13 times. This paid off the new tube and the Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase tire that has fought off rear flats all month. Thank you Bike Doctor! I've decided to keep the rack on the Trek with the new tire, but I have not yet found the time to install the fenders on the Quest.

While I was looking for a map which shows the various bike trails in the area, I found out that Annapolis has a Bicycle Transportation Committee I was not able to find the map, but I did find out that they want to publish one.

Totals for the year:
$134.50 not spent on gas.
39.09 gallons of gas not bought.
39 commuting round trips

Triple Digits

Perhaps very hot and humid weather clears up the congestion on the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail. There were very few people on the trail, but more than when the temperatures were below freezing.

I might need to bring another water bottle along for the afternoon rides.

I need to bring the family car into the shop for maintenance tomorrow. I might ride in from the shop or take the shuttle.

4 out of 5 ain't bad

For the first time this year I was able to ride into work 4 out of 5 days. Of course, the one day I drove, there was an accident and it took more than an hour to get into work. I was impressed with how quickly the B & A Trail was cleaned up after the intense storms that rolled through the area on Wednesday night.

I've now passed the thousand mile mark for both bike miles traveled and car miles saved. It's not a one for one thing, since most days I need to bike farther than I would have driven.

Unfortunately I might have gotten the wrong fenders for the Quest. I might still be able to rig something up. I also need to figure out the rack and how to fit it on the Quest.

2008 totals through June 6:
31.09 gallons of gas saved
$103.30 not spent on gas
1039 miles not driven

New Rear Tire

Yesterday, my patch job on the punctured rear tire held up almost to Bike Doctor. Not too big of a deal since I was getting a new tire tire anyway. A quick tube patch later (it seems that I've gotten much better at this) and I was limping there.

They recommended a Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase since I commute. Sounds good to me, I was already thinking Kevlar anyway. It felt fine on the way home and in this morning. Let's see how it holds up.

My door to door commute time yesterday only took 53 minutes. Today it was almost 56 minutes.

It was good to talk with other commuters, but no luck on seeing the Arkel handlebar bags.

End of May Report

Totals for the year so far:
27.70 gallons of gas saved
$90.04 dollars saved.
915 miles on the bike.

The Plant Bike Freddy Fenders, O2 cycling series rain jacket, small Nashbar Fly bag, Nashbar Handlebar bag, new rear light, and bottle cage showed up Tuesday.

The rain coat seems to be a little on the cheap side, but it was a return from nashbar so it was only about $20 bucks . I already wore it this week on Wednesday, there was a little rain when I rode in to work. It seemed to work fine, but I'll need to be careful to not rip it.

The Nashbar handlebar bag was 72% off, but I'm going to have to either rig up something to keep it up or return it. I'm wondering if the Arkel small bar bag is too expensive of a Father's day gift to ask for...While I thinking about it, the utility basket looks pretty good too, once I get the rack moved to the Quest, no way is that going on the Trek.

The small fly bar works good for holding my park multitool and a spare tube. There's not a lot of room leftover. I should be able to put on some tire levelers in it. It is pretty easy to attach to the seat and there is a loop to hang my Nashbar Brillant Taillight.

I haven't been able to put the fenders on the Quest yet. And the rack and panniers are still on the Trek until I figure out the handlebar bag situation.

The riding has been good. But the roads can get quite a bit of debris on them, I'm wondering about the kevlar tires to help reduce the chances of puncture flats.

Another Flat and a plan

The rear tire on my Trek 1.2 was flat this morning. I think that it's the fourth rear flat that I needed to fix since January. Instead of taking the time to replace the tube, I turned to the old Quest Crestwood. The transition from road racer to the cheap mountain bike was jarring. The barrels passing as tires were a sight. But they made short work of the debris that was still on the bike lanes after all of the storms. It only took my 65 minutes to get in, or ten minutes longer than on the Trek. Now I am thinking of setting the Quest up as my bad weather commuter and short errand bike (when I normally drive) by adding fenders, moving the rack and paniers, getting another cage for a water bottle and also moving the pedals and toe clips to the Quest.

The Trek will get clipless pedals, a handlebar bag for lunches and small clothes, a seat bag for tools and tube. Hopefully this will get more weight off my rear tire. This will be the my fair weather commuter.

The Quest will have the rack, panniers, the old Trek pedals and fenders and I use it to transport clothes for the week to the office and ride in wet weather and after storms until debris. Since it's a cheap bike, I'm not too worried about the rain. Hopefully I can get this setup fairly soon.

2008 totals:
$73.22 saved in gasoline
23.05 gallons saved
750 miles not driven

May Weather

So far so good this month. I've been able to ride the bike 3 out of 5 days. As an added bonus, My wife and I got recertified in adult/child/infant CPR and we got to eat a dinner overlooking the harbor in Annapolis.

The trial keeps getting busier, there are quite a few people out with their kids during the evening commute home.

I broke down and bought a watch/heart rate monitor from amazon. I wanted a watch to time contractions and to time legs of my trip in. Hopefully the HRM will help my target training that will led to shorter commute times.

So far for the month I've been able to save 3.14 gallons of gas. And my best time in is now 57 minutes.

April wrap up

We adopted our daughter this month. Definately top billing.

Only 6 round trips this month by the bike. I was able to save 5.84 gallons. I used 13.48 gallons.

More bicyclists have appeared on the B & A Trial after work and around town as the weather has improved. I kinda miss the cooler weather. The trip in today was a brief reminder of the winter weather.

We had a stretch of rainy weather and during the best weather of the month I was busy working in the family room in the basement. I put in a dricore subfloor and a laminate floating floor on top of that. Now trying to figure out insulation.

I fianlly got a new water bottle that doesn't leak. Much better that the old sieve, um bottle I was using before.

So totals for the year:
19 gallons and $59.30 saved
18 roundtrips (24.25%) of my commuting miles

Everything is Fine

After I rode into work this morning, gotten cleaned up and started to work my wife called. She hasn't felt the baby kicking except for some very weak kicks since the previous afternoon. So she was coming into town to check this out. So I rode the 4 miles to the doctor's office. Everything's fine. Very good news. So I rode close to 42 miles today, instead of 32. On the way home, the traffic out of town was terrible, so I led another commuter on a shortcut.

I confess, I passed stopped cars on the right. Bad cyclist.

The total so far for the year:
17 round trips by bike (23.9% of my commuting miles)
18.07 gallons of gas saved
$56.16 saved in gas costs

Parasite be gone

I got a parasite on the ride home. Someone on the trail was practicing their drafting on me for a few miles. If you want to ride that close to my rear wheel and gcet a easier trip, share the love!!!
I'm still a little new at this but that seemed uncool.

Riding home with the boss's boss

There might be a convert to the bicycle commuting cause. The boss's boss is starting to ride in occasionally. It turns out that we were leaving at the same time, so we rode together to the B&A Trail ranger station were he packed up his bike and drove and I kept riding home.

I was a little bit faster, but that was probably the bike. He's on a hybrid and I'm on the Trek 1.2.

Since there is a lot going on the at the house, I've only been able to do the commute by bike 3 times in April, including today.

Trip number 8

My goal in March was to get 8 round trips to work via the bicycle. Number 8 was today. It was a good ride in. The windshields on the cars were frosted over when I started. So it was a three shirt & jacket day, plus tights, balaclava, helmet cover, two pairs of gloves and two pairs of socks morning commute.

I ride to the Baltimore & Annapolis Trial and enter it at the Ranger's Station heading south. I take the trail to the southern terminus at Boulter's Way. From Boulter's way you get on MD 450, cross the Severn River and pass the Naval Academy. There's a bike line that disappears after you cross the MD 450 Bridge. At that point today I was able to keep up with traffic (30 & 25 mph zones) pretty well and took the lane most of the rest of the way into work.

Since it looks like rain for the rest of the commuting month, I'll probably be driving the Geo Prizm, unless the forecast improves. Please improve!

At the end of today for the commute this month, assuming that I bike home, I will have bicycled 256 miles and driven 309.

For the year I've saved 13.26 gallons of gas or $40.17. Most of that was from this month.

I've also used 44.68 gallons of gas that cost $133.38.

I've been using a spreadsheet on Google Docs to track these things.

February Wrap up

The month of February found me wondering if I'd be able to do what I commited myself to do. I was having to see the chiropractor way too often. My back was killing me, I was constantly in pain. I was wondering if I should have gone with the recumbents after all.

My wife came to the rescue again. A trip to the library yielded one really helpful book called The Complete Book of Long Distance Cycling. Surely someone had to have some exercises or advice besides stop riding and long distance cyclists ought to need to help more than us regular folk, right?

I thought that I had been doing enough to strengthen my back and core but there were more exercises that came in handy that allowed my back to better deal with the new strains that were being placed on it.

Between the back, ice, rain and maintenance on the bike I only was able to 2 times to work. So far I've only been able to save 5.6 gallons of gas this year. Despite the lack of money savings I have been figuring out winter weather gear. A light wind resistant bike jacket over three layers of polyprolene, head band, balaclava, two pairs of socks, two pairs of gloves, tights and a helmet cover kept me warm enough to ride in at 25 F.

January Wrap Up

Since I live in Maryland I do have to deal with winter, specifically ice and snow. Yes, I know that there are many people that deal with ice and snow on two wheels. Hopefully their tires are wider and they have more experience riding in this stuff. I'm not quite ready to tackle this stuff yet. Maybe next year.

So I only commute on days that meet the following criteria

1. Snow shouldn't accumulate, a few flurries never hurt anyone though
2. Ice has not formed on the roads

So three days meet the criteria. I also ran errands on the bike close to work or close to home.

So the tally for January 2008:

$10.30 saved on gas

The first post

Why add the to clutter out there on the internet? Who knows maybe I can write something that will convince someone else to try commuting by bike, waste time better served doing something else, or provide specific examples of why the internet needs better editing.

For several years my wife listened (patiently) to my wondering if I could actually commute by bike into work. I had several problems that were holding me back. Perhaps you've seen these before?

1. No bike.
2. The commute from Pasadena to Annapolis (32 mile round trip) would be too long.

Here's one that you might not have heard. My wife and I commuting together and she was not interested in going by bike there wouldn't be any cost savings or environmental benefits to my riding in.

Last year my wife decided to leave her job and we decided to foster and hopefully adopt children. She encouraged me to get a bike and give it a try.

First I went the cheap route and got a bike on sale from Dicks Sporting Goods.

The Quest Crestwood was a good start. It has nice wide tires, upright riding position, seat post and front fork suspension. Fitting a rack to it took some effort though.

I started driving about 24 miles of the way and biking 8. I gradually moved to riding all but 9 miles of the commute. During the course of the summer I had issues; the rear wheel hub needed replacement and we were fostering two kids at once. This led to me only rinding about 250 miles in 2007 on my bike. I realized that I could never really eliminate the car from the days I was going to ride in with the Crestwood, especially if I wanted to minimize the time I spent commuting. It took to long to rack the bike on the car, drive, park, take the bike off and pack up my clothes, etc for work.

Did I mention that my (saint of a) wife was home alone all day with two foster kids? I couldn't ask her to be alone more that 10 hours a day (8 hours work + 2 hours commuting) and I didn't want to be worn out from commuting when I got home so I could actually help with the kids.

So long story short, I picked out a Trek 1.2 at Bike Doctor in early January 2008 after checking out recumbents and hybrids. I went the road bike route because my commute is on pretty good roads and paved trails, (the appearance of) speed is good and it felt right. They did a good job with the fit. The recumbents that I liked were a little out of my budget, harder to transport and the shop I'd get one at was an hour away so maintenance might be a issue for the trickier things.