Book Review: "The Wonderful Ride"

I finished reading "The Wonderful Ride." Kent Peterson reviewed it here: http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/media/books/The-10-Best-Books-on-Bicycles-10-The-Wonderful-Ride.html for Outside magazine. His review is a good description so I won't rehash it. Instead, I'll add a couple notes.

Bicyclists had a tough time in 1895 when Mr. Loher rode across the U.S. There were very few roads and most of them were poorly maintained dirt. Reading this book reminded me over and over again, that today's cyclists have it easy. Well, except for the existence of automobiles. Next time you complain about a bumpy road, remember that it's much better than riding on railroad tracks.

In chapter 8, Mr. Loher describes riding through Minnesota and the people he encounters there.

"It is useless for anyone to go to Europe on a wheeling tour when he has the same opportunity to wheel through it in America. I had gone through a little Germany in North Dakota, and now I was traveling through Norway and Sweden. I would ask ten- and twelve-year old, white-headed, American-born children questions in regard to the roads and distances from town to town, only to be stared at in a frightened manner, as they could not speak a word of English. What an unacceptable state of affairs in our glorious republic. Our free schools have thrown open wide their doors for education of our childern, only to see them grow up unable to speak our understand the English language."

This is a near identical rant I heard the other day, after our presidential election, from a guy who works in the same building I do, but he was complaining about Somalis.

Bigotry and a lack of knowledge of how immigrants fit into their new homes is not new.

Book review: Joy Ride

I recently completed reading "Joy Ride" by Mia Birk. Mia served as the Portland Bicycle Coordinator in the past and this book tells lots of short stories about what she encountered as she worked to add bicycling infrastructure in Portland and later as a consultant.

The book is definitely worth reading if you have an interest in bicycling infrastructure like bike lanes, bike trails, bike boxes, etc.

The most striking thing I can say about the book is that it caused me to be mindful and thankful of the hard work that's been put for me and other cyclists by people like Mia Birk. They've worked their butts off to make cycling more accessible and safer. Thanks.

I can loan you the book if you are one of those two readers who lives nearby. If you are the third reader who lives out of town, too bad. I'm not mailing it to you.

Welcome Spammers!

I just turned off the captcha quiz. I also turned off moderation of comments when the post is less than 14 days old.

Welcome back spammers.

Dirty Riding

I was really looking forward to a Saturday off-road ride, but I got started late and the rain began to fall. I don't ride single-track trails when it's raining to prevent trail damage.

The disappointment turned into an idea. Could I ride the MN river bottoms? Those trails east of a certain point (Indian Mound school, if you care) are partially limestone packed and double track. Those types of surfaces are not damaged by wet riding.

I gave it a try and a couple hours later was happy that I didn't cancel the ride. Most of the muck on the bike is sand and leaves sticking to the water.

This bike is great on that type of trail. However, on Sunday I rode at Murphy Hanrehan and this bike kicked my butt. The Murphy trails are rooty and rocky. The little tires on this bike make that a rough ride. There is an ideal bike for every condition and rider. Someone with better skills than me could fly at Murphy while riding a cyclo-cross bike. But I'm slow, fat, and a poor bike handler. This means a dual-suspension 29er is best for me because it provides forgiveness for my mistakes, of which there are many.

Problem Solvers Products

I read the Problem Solvers blog and usually discover the cure for a problem that my bikes don't have. I wish I had more bike problems just so I could use some of their products. They show lots of smart solutions in their blog that are not their products, so their blog is not just a shill site.

One item I wish I had known about is the front brake cable hanger Problem Solvers sells. I bought the Paul Components version and it's really nice, as all most all Paul Components are, but I bet the Problem Solver version is much cheaper.

I have fun browsing both the Paul and Problem Solvers websites for little gadgets that make things work better.
For example, behold this headset spacer/locknut combo gizmo:

'73 Raleigh Super Course Completed

Note to GrimmTim: Yes, if the guy who moderates this blog would perform his moderation duties in a timely manner, this would be more fun.

Anyway, this is the Raleigh Super Course with all the modifications I felt it needed:
1. Narrow saddle (some kinda Brooks knock off)
2. Drop bars (Nitto deep drops)
3. French brake levers (Mafac)
4. New cables
5. Non-plastic shift levers (Suntour ratcheting)
6. Non-plastic rear derailleur (Huret)
7. Double-sided pedals (MKS)
8. Foofy saddle bag (Frost River)
9. New tires (Michelin World Tour)
10. Fenders (White Somas that look like Blumels)

It rides really nicely and I enjoy it. It seems like the right bike to ride around in the fall.

I forgot to mention that this is my third brown bike in three years. Does that count as a poop reference?

Blogging Used to be Fun

I just reread this post and the comments: http://3speedblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/nearly-instant-laxative.html

It has the second highest hit count of all my posts.

Blogging used to be fun. Maybe I need to throw in a few scatological references and that'll make blogging fun again.

Bike Lane on Park Avenue, Minneapolis

Minneapolis recently resurfaced Portland and Park Avenues. The city took the opportunity to re-stripe the bike lanes on these streets. I rode Park Avenue the other day and took a video to show the nice improvements.

Notice the "buffer zones" next to the bike lane.

Foggy with a chance of Snot

I had a cold or something like that all week and I didn't feel like riding or much else. This morning I felt much better and rode to work. From one vantage point over the Minnesota River Valley, I could see a fog bank that I would later encounter while crossing the bridge in the distance.

Here's what the fog bank looked like up close. It was a wall on my left and I couldn't see through it until I climbed the hill on the far side of the bridge. I cleared lots of mucus during the ride and that's what it's really all about, right?

Cold

I've got a cold and don't feel like riding my bike to work or anywhere. It's too bad because we're having some fabulous weather and it won't last long.

As any Minnesotan will tell you, winter will be here soon. That thinking provides us with the excuse to ditch work early and have fun outdoors. It's funny to hear people use this excuse to leave the office early each day, all week long -- that's fine with me.

For me, my favorite outdoor activity is riding my bike in the crunchy leaves on dirt trails. Although riding the road is great too.

My cold will undoubtedly pass soon and I'll be turning the pedals again.