Wool Socks!

January 14, 2015

This morning I was riding my bicycle down the hill when my feelings became cold.  Mostly the feelings in my facial sensory receptors.  I had forgotten my safety glasses!  I went back and got them.  My feelings were still cold!  That’s because it was cold!  

Now it is nice and warm, and I am drinking a seasonal beer as is my wont. 

I’ve been enamored with my new bicycle taillight that I received as a gift from my friend Nick.  You are a saint, Nick!  My backside is now as well illuminated as Rudolph’s feral eyes.  They gleam in the dark like angry dolphins stranded in an Antarctic calving glacier.  The taillight 

provides some lines on the pavement as a kind of mobile bike lane in addition to a normally flashing taillight. 

Speaking of the poles, it is the time of year when my thoughts turn to my favorite book – Endurance by Alfred Lansing.  As you may know, it is the inspiring story of a gang of bearded explorers who become stranded in an ice floe down Antarctica way.  During the first 20 pages or so they are aboard a vessel named the Endurance.  The Endurance was designed to cut through ice with a strong, sharp, narrow hull.  Other vessels, such as the Fram, 

were designed with wide flat hulls to pop up and stay above ice floes as a means to maintain it’s freewheeling ways.  These vessels are similar to the two views on winter bicycling tyres:

1.     Heavy bike with well-inflated tyres with studs or at least an aggressive tread will maintain contact with the pavement below the snow or the texture of the ice to keep you stable and moving in the right direction.

2.     Bike with wide tyres rises above the snow/ice yet maintains a large surface area of contact with snow/ice/pavement and allows you to stay afloat above the treacherous conditions that lie beneath like a lurking leopard seal.

This analogy is also similar to the 2 questions I imagine people asking me when they learn of my cold bicycling feelings:

1.     Wha?!  Why?

2.     What kind of booties were you wearing?

The answers to these questions are “Whhoooowwwiiiee!” and “None!”  I still recall the mild-mannered Englishman who sold me my last pair of Shimano shoes.  In response to my concern about my feet during winter riding he stated, “You just need a good pair of wool socks.  A good, thick pair of wools socks.” 

I think Shackleton and the boys would agree! 

January 17, 2015

This is quite a heat wave that we are currently experiencing! 

Here (at ModeShift Omaha) is a summary of a new bill (LB39) that is intended to promote bicyclists’ safety and options.  The following sentence stood out to me as a scary possibility under current Nebraska law:  

Under current laws, a person on a bike that is riding lawfully in a marked crosswalk could be ticketed for failure to yield if hit by a person in a car.  This is especially problematic for multi-use trails that have at grade street crossings.

The MSO site has a lot of things you can do to support the bill - contacting senators and attending the hearing among them.  Say, that reminds me.   I should probably be using my time more productively! I'll be back!  Ride safely!

Old lights, new sights!

January 5, 2015

Hello homebots.  How is your data processing in this new year? 

If you enjoy bicycling in the robust mid-section of North America we call US, you may have noticed that technology is not merely for those piloting 4-wheeled crafts.  That is right, you can incorporate the joys of electronic device ownership into your bicycling habits!  

http://www.bikehype.net/tagged/bikeporn/page/4

I have enjoyed many technology-based products manufactured primarily for bicyclers and/or pedestrians.  One item that I enjoyed for a couple years was Planet Bike’s Superflash taillight.  It is bright and noticeable.  Unfortunately it is now dead.  For a while I suspected it was just dead batteries due to cold weather.  This suspicion of mine led me to investigate a bit, which resulted in my discovery of the Icebike website and this ancillary review of the NiteRider 6V.  Apparently there are some pretty sweet taillights that you can power with your Li-ion Niterider battery!  This seemed like an alluring option for a while.  But after actually considering the situation for several days, I realized that I already have several taillights in my collection and that I often used them in cold weather with generally acceptable results – sure they burn batteries a little quicker, but if I was able to remember to carry a few batteries in my inside jacket pocket I was fine.  It's like my buddy Sting always used to say, "When the world is running down, you make the best of what's still around."  

My dead Superflash also reminded me of why I generally prefer to have 2 lights up front and 2 down behind. 

And speaking of rock gods from the vicinity of Wales, I was informed quite a while back that the lead songster of U2, one Bono McBonnie, was out bicycling the other day when he was struck by another bicycler!  It is not funny.  He may not be able to play guitar anymore.  Luckily Edge will be able to carry the band onwards with his funky Irish riffs of gloriousness.    

Did you know that bicycling has the ability to improve your health?  Also that kids like to ride bicycles?  Yes!  Here is an article about both of these!  The article touts the benefits of providing inexpensive bicycles to a community through a local initiative.  There is one of these here in Omaha!  Here is the website.  They've got bicycles for sale!  When I was a kid there were places like this too.  They were called things like "Dan's" or "Tom's" and they were advertised in the local newspaper.  That is where my dad bought me a sweet blue Huffy that I painted black.  

Yes, things wear out just like 2014.  Now we must bravely look onwards towards this new land of 2015.  Yes, this new year has safely overtaken me despite my lack of a Superflash taillight.  So carry on my wayward son.  There'll be peace when you are done.  Blessed be the souls of the youths and say hello to those two new tooths!?  

http://www.powderbluephoto.com/2011/07/22/hoguefife-family/