Visit to the Dutch Bicycle Co in Somerville

Sorte Jernhest Carrier Bike
Originally uploaded by ahconway

Yesterday, we finally visited the Dutch Bicycle Company in East Somerville. It's a bit out-of-the-way, so it took me a while to finally make it there.

It's housed in a big space that's shared with a used car dealer of some sort, which is ironic to be sure, but it does provide lots of great indoor space for test rides.

I was most looking forward to test riding the Sorte Jernhest Carrier Bike, a cargo/passenger trike that's roughly comparable to our Cristiania. The proprietor insisted that we all give it a try, all four of us got to check it out in detail...

Having three wheels and a box in the front is where the similarities between this trike and ours is where similarities end. Our box is made of plywood, this one seems to be aluminum. This one has smaller wheels. And most interestingly, this one steers with the rear wheel alone, while ours pivots the whole front box.

It appears to be much lighter than the Cristiania thanks to the materials used, but I don't know how the lighter materials would translate into durability. I'm absolutely confident that our trike will still be on the road when our girls have kids of their own, but it's impossible to know about this one.

It's very comfortable to ride, and the passenger compartment is also very accommodating - though there are some poky-outy bits on the inside of the box that could be scratchy. The roof is very nicely made, but lateral visibility is limited, and there seems to be less space inside overall than we have.

But any differences mean very little in practical terms, because it's the only human-powered vehicle of this sort that's really available in this area. Sorger imports them directly, and he's got full liability insurance for everything he sells. (Cristiania won't import to the US, and anyone who tries to do that independently is taking a big liability risk.)

So, based on my limited experience with this trike and the shop, I'd absolutely recommend it for anyone who wants carry kids and/or cargo around town in comfort and style.

The shop also carries lots of other exciting stuff, including super-stylish Sogreni bikes, a big selection of Gazelle products, and Conference Bikes. Not to mention a GIANT spaceship, which Sorger claims is a boat that he's storing for a friend.

We also test-rode the Gazelle Cabby, which is a more refined version of the Bakfiets cargo bike. The original Bakfiets has a plywood box in the middle and steers via a front wheel out front. The arrangement of this version is similar, but it's lighter, and the cargo/passenger compartment is heavy fabric around a sturdy frame, which folds when not in use. (A little web surfing reveals that the Gazelle doesn't have a rain cover, though, which is a big problem if you're going to rely on this for regular transport! There's a comprehensive review here.)

Great to see all this stuff being made available in the US! According to Sorger, his sales are going great - so I hope to see some of these beautiful bikes out on the Minuteman Bikeway soon.

Look who's on a Trail-a-bike!

Look who's on a Trail-a-bike!
Originally uploaded by ahconway

I finally set up the Trail-a-bike I bought second-hand for Gemma yesterday. What a triumph! She caught on straight away and was pedaling like a fiend. It was a bit fiddly to attach to my slightly-oversized seat post, but I got it on there in the end.

I also got Elsie's free-on-curb bike seat set up on Kim's new bike, and she was equally thrilled. We had a nice family ride around the neighborhood to celebrate.

Bike Week is here again!

Hooray! Bike week! We (Ciclismo) are doing a bunch of events... Lauren led a nice ride on Monday, and today (Wednesday), we're hosting a bike breakfast at the office. Lauren made it downtown for the kickoff on Monday and even met the mayor there. I had a nice surprise on my way to Cambridge for a meeting yesterday when I came across this bike breakfast at the Alewife end of the bike path. Forgive me if I was more interested in the utility bikes than the coffee and scones!

Great ride with Kim today!

You did it, Kim!
Originally uploaded by ahconway

With the girls happily settled in with a fave babysitter, Kim and I were free to ride for the morning - her first jaunt out of Arlington on her new Rivendell Betty Foy.

We did one of my usual loops up through Lexington, Bedford, Concord, and Carlisle, with an ice cream break at Great Brook Farm. Kim was a super trooper, managing the 34-mile distance with no trouble at all!

The Minuteman path was, of course, a highlight of the ride, as was the ice cream! The bike fared well also - Kim described it as "awesome!"

Only 466 more miles until her saddle is broken in!

Applying the finishing touches to Betty

Amber shellac & brush
Originally uploaded by ahconway

Yesterday, I applied three coats of amber shellac to Kim's cork grips. This sort of thing is a real hallmark of Rivendell geekery, but I have to admit that the finish and color really look nice!

It was pretty easy to do too. My stroke of genius was inspired by my dentist, who likes to drill a tooth that's poking through a sheet of latex... I put a black trash bag over the front of the bike and made holes for the grips.

New Betty Foy video

Here's a video that's as lovingly crafted as Kim's new bike itself! Highlights include: Kim's first test ride, Elsa & Kim trying on a Rivendell cap, Betty's arrival at our house, our first family ride, avoiding a baby in the street, and a slide show of the details.

Go to Youtube to watch in all of its HD splendor!

Betty est arrivée

Meet Betty Foy
Originally uploaded by ahconway

At long last, Kim took delivery of her shiny new Rivendell Betty Foy! It was worth the wait. She's only taken it for a couple short spins, but she adores the ride and the look.

As the photo shows, it has a nice upright position, but there's plenty of scope to lower the quill stem if she wants to do that later. It ended up pretty much like we'd originally specced it, with a few exceptions. She really wanted a front rack/basket, so we got a tidy little Nitto rack, and we'll have the choice of a Wald basket or a little bag, depending on whether we're riding town or country.

The other change from the original spec is that we went with Nitto Dove handlebars instead of Albatross - they're more compact (and much less expensive!), much better-proportioned to the bike and its rider.

The rear rack was a big question, and the black Blackburn rack that's on there now is clearly not consistent with the Betty/Riv aesthetic.... But she'll need to carry a passenger, and this happens to be the best compromise - the rack serves its luggage-carrying purpose with aplomb, and the Elsie's child seat can snap right on when needed without any further rigmarole.

I'm shockingly (but unsurprisingly) considering having the rack powder coated in a matching Riv blue or contrasting red....

We're planning our first big ride into the country for next weekend - we'll call the babysitters tomorrow!

There are lots more photos on Flickr, and a nice YouTube video is in the works!

BTW: Elton at Harris Cyclery in West Newton was great throughout this process! Very knowledgeable and enthusiastic!

Go Gemma go!

Go Gemma go!
Originally uploaded by ahconway

Gemma loves climbing up into the driver's seat. One day she'll reach the pedals! Elsa's a willing passenger too.

Kim test rides Betty

Yesterday, at last, Kim, the girls, and I went to Harris Cyclery where they've got a Betty Foy frame on hold for us. I'd been corresponding with sales guy Elton, who said they were building one up as a floor model, and she could test ride that.

Elton wasn't there, but we had a good time talking with Jim. He set her off on a test ride - not too long, though, since rain was threatening. Plus, this was her first experience with non-hub-gears for ages and she was still getting the feel for it.

For the sake of comparison, she also tried a couple hybridy bikes - a Jamis and Giant, I think. She said they were a bit nippier, but didn't shift as crisply. And of course, they're completely lacking in the personality of Betty.

So Betty Foy it is. We talked through some of the details with Jim, but we'll finalize everything with Elton via email this week. With any luck, we'll have it by Easter!

Here's the spec we're looking at for now:

• Nitto Technomic stem
• Pyramid Northroad bars
  
• Cork grips
  
• Deore front & rear derailleurs
• Sugino triple (26, 36, 46) chainset
• Ultegra 8 speed bar-end shifters attached with Paul Thumbies
• 8-speed Deore cassette
• Tektro 73mm brake calipers with Shimano levers
• 650b Synergy-Deore wheelset
• Panaracer Col de la Vie tires
• SKS fenders
• Pletscher kickstand
• Nice red cabling (to match the little apples) and a red Blackburn bottle cage
  

Still undecided: Saddle & pedals. Maybe bars too.

The thing about saddles is that Brooks certainly look the part, but they're also vulnerable to rain. And Kim prefers an upright riding position, so she'll be putting more weight on the saddle than I put on my B17. Does that mean she should have a saddle with springs? I'm a little nervous about that because Elsie will be a passenger at times, and I'd hate to have her little fingers get pinched. Also, it might take her a while to break it in... so I'd rather spare her the rigmarole if possible.

What alternatives are there, I wonder?

As for pedals, it's going to be platforms. There are various quill-sorts by MKS and others, but they aren't too sneaker friendly with the narrow contact points. I do like the Grip Kings, but they're a little odd, and a little dear. The pedals we've got on our German commuter bikes have good surfaces and built-in reflectors, and I think something like that would be just fine. Just gotta find them now. I think they're something like these bargain Wellgos. Or maybe something like these red Easterns?

As for bars, the Pyramid North Roads are similar to Nitto's Albatross bars, but not quite as wide. But they are definitely more swept back than the bars Kim's used to. I may send Elton a photo of her current pedals & bars and see if there's something similar he can find for Betty.

So, it's all very exciting! I did a lovely ride out to heretofore undiscovered corners of Carlisle today and all I could think about was how Kim will enjoy getting out there too! (She assures me that this will indeed happen.)

Will post pics & further developments as they come.

In the meantime, comments welcome!

(BTW: We're grateful to Dottie and her Let's Go Rid a Bike blog for her comprehensive entry about her own ambition to own a Betty Foy!)

Bicycling Magazine surpasses itself

With every new issue of Bicycling Magazine, I grow increasingly amazed at how unappealing it's become. (Lucky I have my archive of mags from the 70s and 80s!)

Most issues contain precisely 0 articles that are of any interest at all to me, which should be surprising because I'm so fascinated by so many aspects of the cycling world. But there you are. The magazine seems to try to appeal to the masses and the lycra louts without much consideration for the many, many different interest groups in the cycling world.

One bright spot in the May 2009 issue is the cursory review of the Alternative Needs Transportation Boston Roadster. As usual, the piece lacks any insight whatsoever. One of my least favorite features of the magazine is how it boils down every review into "Buy it if" and "Forget it if" - and this is where the review of this wonderful bike goes off the deep end. "Forget it if you're a real saddle snob - this one isn't real leather."

What? Author Emily Furia couldn't have thought of anything better than that? Of course, its ridiculous to think that a hand-crafted utility bike available in 20 colors wouldn't have any saddle options.

I think a better soundbite might have been "Forget it if you're reading this magazine - you probably don't care about this type of thing anyhoo."

New Bikescape podcast from Sacramento

When I arrived at the media meet-up in Sacramento, I was delighted to find two of my fave podcasters - David Bernstein of the Fredcast and Jonathan Winston of Bikescape. When I arrived, the latter was in the process of interviewing the former!

Now Jonathan has posted the podcast that resulted. He warns that it's a bit noisy, but I can't wait to listen!

Great springtime ride today

Didnt seem so much like spring when I left home at 7am, though -it was clear but really cold, about 25 degrees. Still, it was very quiet on the roads, and while there were lots of potholes and sandy patches, at least the snow and ice has largely gone. I made it home just in time to head out with the girls to Gem's last skating lesson of the season.

As I was heading home, I went past a good-sized group on the Quad Cycles Sunday ride, with the owner bringing up the rear with a child in a trailer. I must do that ride one of these days!

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

What's a bicycle tour, Daddy?

Last night Gemma and I were talking about what I do at work. She asked me "What's a bicycle tour, Daddy?"

So I asked her what she thought it was, and she said "Is it when you shrink down really small and give people a tour of your bike?"

Media meet-up at R15 in Sacramento

Media meet-up at R15 in Sacramento
Originally uploaded by ahconway

Over the course of a very long day at the Tour of California, my Sambas somehow rubbed most of the skin off heels. That didn't stop me from walking a mile and a bit to R15 to meet up with various bikey blogey folk. I'm glad I went! I talked to lots of great people and met a few who I know from their podcasts and blogs.

Among them, Fritz of Cyclelicious, David of the Fredcast, and Jon from Bikescape. What a treat!

I also met Jonathan of Bicycle.net (before he had to dash off and post coverage of the day's action), Markus of Cyclefilm (who has done a video of the route of L'Eroica I must watch immediately), local Sacto blogger Saccyclechic, and Paul, co-author of The Bike to Work Guide (thanks for the copy you gave me, Paul!) and blogger on bike commuting.

Tyler Hamilton

Tyler Hamilton
Originally uploaded by ahconway

In my first ever video posting to Flickr, here's a brief glimpse of Tyler Hamilton in the Prologue.

Cannondale arrives at the Capitol

Cannondale arrives at the Capitol
Originally uploaded by ahconway

I went for a nice walk around the site of the Tour of California Prologue stage in Sacramento this morning. It was still pretty early (I'm still on East Coast time!), but I was in time to see lots of the big vendors arrive.

In Sacramento for Tour of CA

So, here I am in Sacramento for the Amgen Tour of California. Exciting? You bet! Justin and I arrived this afternoon, and we'll be exhibiting at the so-called Lifestyle Festival tomorrow. The weather is looking pretty grim, though. It's cold now and wet and cloudy.

It's neat to see the other bikey companies around - there's a big Orbea van at the Clarion hotel next door, and Schwalbe is here at the Holiday Inn Express with us. I had a nice chat with the proprietress of a really good newsagent on 20th Street - she said everyone in town is psyched for the race.

Oh my goodness

So I rang up Harris Cyclery and asked about a Betty Foy. They are planning to get some in for April, but people are already putting down deposits. The frame/fork/headset/seatpost is $1000, and they'll build it up however you like. All very similar to what Rivendell will do.... And, like Riv, they require a deposit to secure one. But the Harris deposit is refundable, and Riv's is not. So I did it! Scandalous, but very exciting. For Kim, of course. (Tee hee hee!)

Betty Foy for Kim

Okay, here's what I'm thinking for Kim. She wants/needs (I want/need for her...) a bike that's sweet and stylish, easy to ride, and geared for pedaling up our big hill at the end of a long day.

She loves her 35lb German city bike, but it doesn't have the gearing she needs. There's no shortage of performance women's bikes out there, but she prefers an upright riding position.

So I think we're going to go with the new Rivendell Betty Foy. It's as pretty as could be (as befits the rider in this case), and should last her for decades. It should be available soon, and we're lucky that we're near a dealer that should be able to sort us out too!

Ah, what a great feeling!

My ride today was pure bliss. I didn't break new ground by any means - I just did my usual loop up to Carlisle, then Concord and home via Mill Road, about 30 miles.

But still, I managed to keep great energy up the whole time, and a pretty good pace, particularly considering how little exercise I've had over the past several weeks. Now I'm home and completely invigorated! Ready for a fun Sunday with the girls.

Since I left just before 7, I didn't see too many other riders. Lots of runners in the hinterlands of Carlisle and Lexington, though. Much of the road surfaces are still a bit treacherous. The main roads are bordered with streams of melting slush and berms of ice, and the edges are very gravelly. Lesser roads have SERIOUS potholes in spots, and many also (like Mill Road in Lexington) have patches of thick ice and dirty packed snow. Not a big deal if you're expecting it, but it could be nasty if you're not.

Before tackling the Park Ave hill towards home, I saw at least a dozen cyclists congregating outside Quad Cycles on Mass Ave in advance of the 10:00 regular Sunday ride. I'll make it out on one of their rides eventually, but I really do like my early-morning solitude. Very calming and restorative, plus, I have all my best ideas about work at these times - and today was no exception.

(As an aside, Quad Cycles is in the process of moving to new premises, even closer to our house in so-called Brattle Square. It will be interesting to see how they do up the new shop! I wonder if they'll renovate attitude at the same time.)

Finally a decent day for a ride!

It's 43 degrees and really mushy outside - perfect for a short ride! I'm dosing up on coffee & oatymeal now, which should hold me until my snack stop in Concord.

In the meantime, I was just browsing through this & that, and via the Best Buddies website, I've come across MapMyRide.com. Interesting! It's a nice Google-map-powered app that lets you document rides & routes, and even track your bikey workouts. It also has a downloadable iPhone app, which is REALLY fun..... if you have an iPhone, anyway. Better get one quick!

The site immediately identified me location and presented rides recorded by others in the area. Neat!

The Wheelmen's Machine

Last night Lauren and I went to the opening of the "The Wheelmen's Machine - The Bicycle and Its Innovators" at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation. Nice exhibit with lots of bikes and info from the real early days of penny farthings and velocipedes. So not my primary interest (I really only get excited around 1960...), but still pretty good. Lots of food and drinks, and we met lots of Wednesday Wheelers from the Charles River Wheelmen. The rest of the museum was actually more interesting - it's set in the old Waltham Watch factory and there are lots of exhibits about watchmaking, and a few giant clocks with the works exposed.

Great morning of snow shoeing

As planned, I drove up to Great Brook Farm State Park this morning around 8, and spent a lovely 2 hours or so shoeing around.

It was my longest jaunt on snow shoes yet, and I must say it was a great success! I parked at the main lot for the Great Brook Ski Touring Center and ventured straight out onto the Lantern Loop. I must admit that, while I've wanted to try this for months, it's never been clear to me whether or not it's allowed to go out on the ski trails with snow shoes. Signs explicitly say that there's "no hiking" - but I wasn't hiking, I was snow shoeing!

In any case, the weather was a bit nippy at 5-7 degrees during my time out there, but I managed to keep warm thanks to lots of layering.

The ski trails were very well groomed, with smooth ruts on the sides, where the skiiers apparently go... I was informed of this fact by the first skiiers of the day I ran across, once I'd moved on to the Maple Ridge trail. They were none too pleased that I was tromping all over them, and they also let me know that I wasn't supposed to be on those trails at all.

After I made it back to the parking lot sheepishly, I discovered that the ski center had opened, so I went in to find out the deal. They were very helpful, informing me that the trails on the other side of Lowell St are open to all. They also rent skis, shoes, and pulks (child sleds to pull behind - click to download a great book about these).

I was actually a bit knackered at that point, but I wanted to see what I was missing on the other side of the road, so I ventured across and did the Acorn Trail and Acorn North. These trails were not groomed at all, narrower, and a bit more challenging than the ones I'd done earlier. The bad news is that in that 30 mins or so, I probably covered a third of the multi-use trails offered by the park. If I'd stuck to the allowed trails all morning, I could have done the lot without too much trouble.

Still, it was a beautiful morning! Also made me start thinking about taking up XC skiing again.

More pics in this Facebook gallery.

Keeping feet warm in chilly weather

I often have trouble with cold toes when it's really freezing out. Instead of muddling through or asking for partisan advice at a bike shop, I've put the question out to the local experts of the Charles River Wheelmen, and here are some of the many wonderful responses I've had:

• Neoprene socks + a thin polypropylene sock underneath.
• Try toe warmers! Available at REI as well as many bike shops.
• My current solution is to wear cycling sandals with two medium thick layers of wool socks. Covering the sandals is a not-so-tight waterproof cover I got from a Canadian store. This cover keeps in much of the heat but prevents my feet from getting soaking wet with sweat. I still get cold feet from time to time but I do much better then I used to with normal SPD shoes and tight fitting covers. Here is a link to the covers I'm talking about. I've seen these in Europe and Canada but not in the US yet: http://tinyurl.com/78ymj7
• I was having similar issues. I have found the following works well for me in weather in the 30s: Thick wool socks (I use wool hiking socks), cycling shoes, Pearlizumi Amfib booties (a bit thicker and warmer). If the temps drop into the 20s, I may add my Pearlizumi toe booties underneath the full booties. However, after about an hour and 45 minutes my feet get cold no matter what I am wearing.
• I tend to ride cheapo or flat pedals and will wear sneakers down to around 35F, but when it's really cold, say below 15F, then I want Sorel type boots or mouse boots. I can go for an hour below 5F or so, but then it gets tough. In between, some other variation, maybe work boots. Perhaps I should say I could go, because it's been a while since I've been nutty enough.
• My friend recently solved his cold feet problem inadvertantly throught the wonders of pharmaceuticals... He has some old, minor foot frostbite from years of winter hiking. Those spots bother him, swell and get irritated in the winter. This year one toe became infected so a visit to the MD was necessitated. Beside an antibiotic, he got an "alpha blocker" (brand name of Cardura) that dilates the peripheral vessels and allows blood to circualate and work it's healing powers. Within a day his foot was almost normal and the side benefit was that he now has toasty warm feet when he rides! The drug can cause some lower blood pressure so we bought a BP cuff at CVS to keep on eye on it.
• After years of freezing feet with booties and multiple socks, I switched to a cycling boot. It works like a charm. I don't even wear wool socks. Mine are Lakes with road cleats. My only grief with them is that they let water trickle in during the rain--I just waterproofed them; so, hopefully that's fixed.

And this typically comprehensive response from John Allen (see bikexprt.com).

I wear two pairs of wool socks. That suffices in all but the coldest weather.

Chemical foot warmers are available, and work for three or four hours. You break a packet inside to start the chemical reaction, and put them inside your shoes. Bruce Ingle, I think, gave me a pair on one particularly cold day, his annual birthday ride. I think he bought them at Home Depot.

The late Sheldon Brown rode the 2004 New Year's Day ride in Shimano SPD sandals -- see this page -- and surprised me with his observation that a major cause of cold feet is constriction of the feet by the shoes, cutting off blood circulation. Sandals don't constrict the feet, and so, counter-intuitively, are much warmer than you would expect. I bought a pair and have had warm feet on days when ice was forming in puddles in the road. (with two pairs of wool socks).

You don't want to get the socks wet, but then wetness isn't usually a problem if the temperature is much below freezing.

I'd suspect that two pairs of wool socks inside Gore-Tex or other breathable but windproof booties inside sandals would be good to even lower temperatures. Aha, now I know what to do with those booties that have been sitting around in my closet, unused because I would have to cut holes in them for the cleats.

The Shimano sandals don't have any materials that soak up water, so they also are good in a warm rain -- wear them without socks and let your feet get wet. Carry socks with you and when you go inside, shake water off the sandals, put on the socks and put the sandals back on.

If not wearing sandals, have a pair of bike shoes a half-size larger than usual, to accommodate the two pairs of socks without constricting your feet.

For really messy conditions, some people go to work boots and flat pedals.

Keeping your legs warm also helps keep the feet warm. I also pull the socks up over my trouser cuffs, if wearing street clothes -- better than any ankle bands to keep the cuffs clear of the bike, and also keeps cold air from getting iside the trouser legs. Today I wore a thick pair of corduroy trousers, and long johns underneath, for the 9 miles each way to and from an appointment. I was comfortable.

Thanks to everyone who replied! I'll post my results here, and to the CRW List.

Happy New Year!

The new year is nigh, and I'm hoping for the bikiest year yet! My new job at Ciclismo Classico should help make that a reality, though my drastically shorter commute has meant that the last three months have been pretty shy on miles... 

I was hoping to do a good ride on New Year's Day tomorrow, but with upwards of 8 inches of snow and single-digit temps expected, that's not gonna happen. Instead, I'm going to go for a snow shoe jaunt - I just need to figure out where to go. If I'm ambitious, it'll be Great Brook Farm State Park (with lots of dedicated trails for XC skiing and - I assume - shoeing), if not, I'll hit Menotomy Rocks park. I know that the Fells has tons of trails, but I'm not that keen on it for some reason.

In the meantime, I've discovered that my ICEBIKE project has been stalled because the studded tires I bought from Peter White Cycles are 650b size, not 26-in! A bit of a shock, especially considering what I paid for them. They've got a good rep, though, and shouldn't have any problem with an exchange.

Kim and the girls are off to sunny Florida next week, and (unlike the last time they went away) I vow to refrain entirely from car use, come what may!

Ridiculous or super clever?

A San Francisco company called Cordarounds makes khakis for biking to work with reflective bands on pocket flaps and reflecty bits on the insides of the cuffs. Interesting! Maybe I'll order a pair. http://cordarounds.com/bike-to-work/

Andrew, Gemma, & Elsa in a new book!

British blogger and journalist Carlton Reid has published a 50-page online sampler for his Bike to Work Book. Looks like a wonderful work so far - it will ultimately be available free online as well as in a bound format from Amazon.

The work in progress is looking great - especially page 39, where a nice pic of me and the girls is featured!

See ebook here: http://tinyurl.com/Bike2Work .

Sherman's Bridge Ride

I think I managed to burn off at least a few of my Thanksgiving calories on my ride yesterday. I set off around 7 under overcast skies and mid-20s temp to do the Pocket Maps Sherman's Bridge Ride. Same areas as usual... Lexington, Bedford, Sudbury, etc. The title of the ride refers to a plank bridge over the Sudbury River in Wayland. Despite the often-familiar territory, the extra little loop around Sudbury & Wayland turned out to be a real gem, with beautiful conservation land and very quiet roads.

The route is 32 miles, which makes an even 50 when added to my 18-mile round trip to the starting point at the Bedford end of the Minuteman trail.

My toes managed to stay a little warmer today owing to my fleece socks, but they were still pretty chilly by the end of the ride, and my water froze again... I must figure out a solution to that one!

Coldest ride yet this fall

Another nice Sunday morning ride today. It was about 22 degrees when I left home at 7:00, and I did the same 30-mile loop as last week, including the little off-road bit. I probably saw fewer than half a dozen other cyclists during the whole ride - not even any in Concord center!

The cold didn't bother me so much since I bundled up well. I had a buff and my nice wool hat; four layers on top: a base layer, a nice wool jersey under a light fleece top, and my Gore Tex jacket. On the bottom, I wore my Endura winter tights under my wool Kucharik tights. I also wore light wool glove liners under my heavy gloves. All that worked just fine. My toes even stayed warm for a while, but got to be pretty uncomfortable after an hour or so. I decided to give my cleats a miss today and wore wool socks with my Sambas and my overshoes on top - but still not warm enough. I'll have to figure out something better for next time.

The off-road bit is really nice - I'm thinking about trying to organize a group ride that takes in this one and the other off-road trail from the end of the bike path up to Billerica. Just better do it before the first snow, and I suspect I won't have much time before that happens.

Also saw lots of wild turkeys today, brazenly running around less than a week before Thanksgiving.

A nice ride, and my faith in mankind restored

It was great to get out on Thorny again today after 2 weeks of riding the Christiania exclusively! I got a new set of Pocket Maps last week, and today I tried a new route. Nothing revolutionary (nice pun if you know the area), just my usual ride to Bedford via the bike path, up 225, and down River Rd to Monument St into Concord.

The revelation was the return to Bedford from Concord. I started on Rd 62 which was nice enough, but then I followed the off-road option on Reformatory Branch Rail-Trail that parallels that road almost all the way back to the start of the Minuteman. The surface was a lot like the Narrow Gauge Rail Trail that extends from Bedford to Billerica - hard packed dirt/gravel, covered with wet leaves now. I really like the Billerica route and I've done it a bunch of times but never managed to do the Concord one.

I also had a nice chat with an Englishman I met by chance in Concord center today while having my usual breakfast sandwich.

So not too long after I'd arrived at home, I noticed a message on my phone. It was from AAA, calling to say that the Concord Police had called them because someone had found my wallet on Bedford Road! Then, just as I was hanging up, Citibank called to tell me exactly the same thing. I called the Concord Police and they gave me the address of the station, and we drove over a little later to pick it up.

Remarkable! I don't know what's more amazing: that some good samaritan picked up my wallet on the street and took it straight to the police; or that the dispatcher at the station had nothing better to do than call all the numbers he could find in my wallet (plus the Arlington police, he told me)!

Commuting on the Christiania

I've been commuting to work for a couple weeks on the Christiania. I started riding it more regularly when I was taking the girls to school, then it just seemed more convenient with all the cargo space and ease of locking up. I don't even mind the ride home up the hill so much any more!

It was sort of scary riding home in the dark until I got my act together a bit... I found the strange Danish light that slides onto a mount in on the front of the box, started wearing my reflecty vest with my Cateye flasher on my collar, and I just got a nice Planet Bike headlight for my helmet.

The helmet light is the big revelation. It was only $30 or so, but it's wonderfully bright. It's also amazing to be able to see wherever I'm pointing my noggin!

Last night, I needed to decompress a bit and the weather was nice, so I rode all the way up the bike path to Arlington Heights before riding up Park Ave. (I usually go up Highland and Gray, which saves a couple miles.) Because it was only about 6 but still pitch black, the path had lots of bike traffic, and everyone was all bedecked in lights and visi-wear. It was really fun seeing the reflecty patches go by and seeing how all the light combos worked. Unsurprisingly, the lycra-clad riders on $5k racing bikes all have VERY bright rechargeable lights to match. Most seem to have more modest arrangements like me. The surface was completely leaf-covered in most parts, and I definitely felt safer on three wheels.

Better make the most of it while the weather cooperates!

Rice Road Ride

It's another cold one! The clocks changed last night, so it was easier than usual to get out of the house early. Of course, it was pitch black for the first 90 mins or so, but no big deal.

Very cold, though. My bottles are very icy and my toes aren't too far off. I'm dressed more or less appropriately today, but my neoprene booties aren't sufficient. What did I do last year?

In any case, i'm doing the Pocket Maps Rice Road ride. About 40 miles around the northwest suburbs. Very pretty riding, but a bit toooo suburban, maybe. Great time of year despite the cold - the leaves are gorgeous and the air smells wonderful.
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Man, it's cold today!

For the first time in far too long, I've ventured out on a good ride this Saturday morning. It, my usual loop up to Great Brook Farm and home via Concord. And MAN it, cold! It's really just my hands and toes, but pretty bad. I'm at the cafe in concord getting a snack and coffee, and there are over 20 ither cyclists all complaining of numbness and pain here and there. Beautiful fall day out, though!
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Inclement Weather Garb

I got a nice note from JPTwins last week asking me about how I dress for cycling when it's cold and wet, so here's a response. (Incidentally, I'm happy to correspond off-line about bikey stuff - my email address is in the image on the left!)

In any case, this topic was at top of mind yesterday, since it poured all day long, and I was out on the Christiania with the girls. I took them to school, then rode to Alewife, then the CC office, then pickup and home - all in the most torrential rain.

For the ride, I wore my nice bikey 3/4-length shorts, Smartwool mid-layer long-sleeve shirt, and Patagonia base layer. This was all moderately presentable in a bikey sort of way so I wouldn't attract too much attention on the T or at the office. Nice and comfortable too, with Andiamo bike underwear. None of that is waterproof, of course. So on top, I wore Gore-tex overtrousers and my Gore-tex cycling jacket. Both by Freestyle, a now-defunct British company. (Which is a shame - I love their stuff, and the customer service was great.) 

Those are good basics, and they keep me dry in most drizzly conditions. Yesterday I was wet round the neck and forearms because it was raining so hard. I brought my Tevas to change into but rode in LL Bean hunting boots, which are wonderful as long as I tuck my overtrousers over the tops to prevent them filling with water. 

My head was kept reasonably dry thanks to a Gore-tex helmet cover, and I wore a cycling cap underneath so that the bill would keep water out of my eyes. 

When it gets really cold, I stick to the same sort of arrangement with a couple crucial additions. I wear nice wool socks and my hiking boots, which keep my feet warm and dry. I wear balaclava and sometimes a scarf depending on how cold it is, and a nice wool cap. I also wear a long-sleeve wool jersey or mid-weight fleece under the Gore-tex jacket. On the bottom, I have Endura winter tights, and depending on the temperature, I often wear long wool tights over them. And if it's wet, I'll also do the overtrousers. Finally, I have some heavy Pearl Izumi gloves that I wear on their own or with lightweight wool liners.

If you open up a high-end bike catalog these days, there are all sorts of Logan's Run-inspired outfits that can easily cost more than $500. In the winter, I'm not trying to set any speed records, so I'm usually happy with my layering approach. It only gets a little tricky when I strip off and have to find a place for all my stuff to dry.

(The most important point here that may have been lost among my rambling is that the best stuff is either Gore-tex for waterproofness or good quality wool for breathability and warmth. My fave wool stuff is from Kucharik (hats, gloves, tights) and Earth Wind and Rider (jerseys - made right here in Boston!))

New "secure" bike parking at Alewife

On this rainy rainy day, I took the girls to school in the Christiania, then parked at Alewife and took the T into town. I parked in the brand new "secure" bike parking cage. It's very nicely designed and spacious inside. I wasn't sure that I'd be able to fit through the door with my doublewide trike, but the door was more than wide enough. There was also nice spot at the back that was just right for me.

But just how secure it is, I'm not really sure. Access can only be gained with a special Bike Charlie Card. Good, right? But it turns out that they'll give them out to anybody, and they don't keep track in any way. So after I got my card today, I could just as well have pillaged all the bikes in there instead of leaving my own.

It does actually seem more secure, though. Maybe its the sense of enclosure, the video cameras and signs, or maybe it's just the newness of it all. One way or the other, I felt pretty good about leaving the trike in there, and I've never left it at Alewife before. I also left my drippy waterproof trousers there to dry.

It was interesting to see that there were still far more bikes parked at the regular exposed racks than inside the enclosure, though maybe that will change as the word spreads.

Exciting new job for me

On October 1st, I join the team at Ciclismo Classico, a leader in adventure travel.

I’m as excited as I could be about this opportunity. It will allow me to combine two of my great passions – cycling and travel – into my career, and who could ask for more than that? And on top of that, I’ll be working with two of my oldest friends (Lauren and Mauro), who I’ve known for almost 20 years.

I met them way back in 1988 when I was looking for a place to live. When I spotted a flyer with drawings of bikes and Italian scenes about a room for rent in a Somerville house, I knew it was for me. That’s how I ended as house-mates with Lauren and Mauro, but my fascination with cycling and Italy really came to be a couple years before that.

I was not very organized at all when I was in college. So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when Thanksgiving arrived during my junior year and I still hadn’t applied for a program abroad for the spring semester. I was studying German, and I really wanted to go to Germany or Austria – but I missed the deadlines for every one of the programs. Fortunately, though, my college ran a program in Rome, and I made it in with days to spare. Of course, I didn’t know anything about Italy and spoke no Italian, but I wasn’t deterred – it was bound to be an improvement over Hartford!

Despite my lack of knowledge going in, I had a perfectly wonderful time in Rome. Sure, I enjoyed my classes and my buddies and I had a nice time drinking wine in the Forum. But the best times were on my bike. While most of my classmates spent their time surrounded by other Americans and speaking English, a couple of us had brought our bikes along and ventured further afield. We headed out of town most weekends and had all manner of adventures. We eventually met someone who invited us to join his racing team, and we had lots of fun riding with him (though we never actually managed to compete in a race, somehow). The really wonderful thing was that it forced us to start speaking Italian and become comfortable in a foreign culture – something many of our classmates never managed to do.

That was really the start of it all for me. And that’s why I begged Lauren to let me work with her and Mauro leading tours for Ciclismo Classico during the first year of the company. That summer was another great adventure. I drove the big red Fiat van (I did get to ride my bike a bit, though). Lauren, Mauro and I spent days before each tour planning and marking routes, then I would shuttle clients’ luggage from one destination to the next. Even from behind the wheel of the furgone rosso, I could recognize the power of the experience Ciclismo was providing, and I was sure that the company would ultimately succeed.

A few years later, I was able to experience Ciclismo Classico from another vantage point: as a client. I was living in London, and a week on a bike in Italy was a perfect getaway for me (and an easy one, with flights many Italian destinations lasting only a couple hours!). By 1994, the company had been transformed: everything was much smoother and more professional than I’d remembered, and the trips I did (Elba and Sardegna) were completely blissful. I met delightful, interesting people that I’m still in touch with almost 15 years later, and my memories of those trips are still as clear as the waters surrounding L’Isola d’Elba.

When the draw of family led us back to the US in 2006, Lauren was the first person I called for advice on where to live. We dropped in for a visit, and Lauren felt compelled to make her case for us moving to Arlington by putting me on a bike and riding a ways up the Minuteman Bikeway with me. That’s a trait that she and I most definitely have in common: when we’re passionate about something, we can’t keep it to ourselves – we have to share it. That’s part of what’s made Ciclismo Classico the success that it is, and that’s also why I’m so excited about this role: I can’t wait to share my passions with others and enable them to experience the personal transformation that cycle touring can create.

Hub on Wheels 2008

H.O.W 012
Originally uploaded by fonchik

A delightful ride yesterday! I rode with Team Ciclismo Classico. There were about a half dozen non-staff members of the team, all amiable as could be. One of the riders and I did the 50-mile loop, the others did the 30-miler.

The day was gorgeous - low 60s in the morning to low 80s in the afternoon. Perfect! Nice and sunny, too. The route was beautiful for the most part. The first bit seems to be a major selling point: riding car-free on Storrow Drive. For me, that wasn't that big a deal at all - I mean, I ride on the Esplanade right there most days anyway, and Storrow's views aren't even as nice as that.

More impressive were the parts of the route I don't normally experience, notably the bike path around the JFK Library, Arnold Arboretum, and Forest Hills Cemetary. The paths along the water really reminded me of the paths around London's Docklands - especially the haphazard way in which they pamper you one minute and dump you out into a brownfield warehouse disrict the next!

The ride was generally well organized and executed, particularly considering the number of people who turned up. It was very well marked, with arrows all along the route (not just at turns), and the route splits clearly indicated as well. The marshalls at each major turn were also very good.

The one notable problem was the food. The ride purports to be "fully supported" which, to me, means that you don't really need to bring anything along, including sustainance. Each stop had plenty of oranges and little food bars, but only the later stops had any bagels or bananas, which were just what I needed early on. The first rest stop had bags of dinner rolls, but nothing to put on them. If I hadn't brought my own snacks, I would have been in big trouble. A little energy drink would have been nice too, considering how hot it got to be.

My final niggly comment is about the promotion of the ride. It isn't ever really clear who's organizing it, and who the proceeds benefit. Sure, that info is there if you look hard, but it's confusing that the city promotes it so heavily and yet the least you can get away spending if you want to ride is $45. If it's really a charity ride pure & simple, it ought to be billed as one - not as an event designed to get people out biking in Boston.

D2R2 Ride video

I've been a little lax in posting for a while... I'm just now managing to catch up a bit. Here's the YouTube video of the D2R2 ride. I've had tons of views and lots of nice feedback on it! Again, what a wonderful ride! I mean, when can you do a ride with such variety - rocky climbs and descents, covered bridges, a bagpipe, and even a 50mph downhill!

Lots of bikes out today!

I'm walking to Alewife down Gray Street today and there are many, many bikes out - at least 5 so far and I'm not even at Pleasant Street yet. It's a good sign. listen

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Heading home at last

The ride is over and I did very well. Jott didn't do so well but I'll work on that too. Heading home now. listen

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Worst ascent of the day

Worst ascent of the day, most difficult stage, but doing okay. listen

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Good food

Got to the first check in, nice snacks, including watermelon, Fig Newtons, Gorp, very good.
listen

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Bagpipe seranade

Almost to the first rest stop. Just passed a lovely bagpipe serenade. Very pretty rough ride though. listen

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Deerfield Dirt Road Randonee today!

I'm in Deerfield Mass now, getting ready to start a 100km timed ride through the countryside of Western Mass. It's mostly on unpaved roads, with some ungodly climbs.....

Looking round, most people have their racing bikes with slightly wider tires. Thorny should fare well.

I'll be missing the big Pine Ridge Rd yard sale unfortunately.....

I hope to blog via Jott - we'll see how it goes!

Boston Bike Friday Again

Today was the 2nd Bike Friday thing. Again, I started in Lexington and rode into Boston with the group. Last time was lots of fun, but definitely room for improvement. And I have to admit, that just about everything I suggested to the organizers was improved upon this time!

Here are my suggestions from last time, and the improvements:

• Get escorts who know the route and the area: Same police escorts as last time, so, while they still aren't local area experts, they clearly learned a lot last time
• Plan a better route thru Harvard Square: Or avoid it entirely! Which is what we did this time. We followed my usual commuting route over the bridge from Somerville Ave to Beacon Street
• Have a plan for keeping the group together: The escorts were much better at stopping traffic at lights and making sure everyone was going in the right direction
• Train escorts in leading rides: I think there was some coaching there, without a doubt. They also got many more ride leaders, many of whom are very experienced in this sort of thing (though they clearly came from a bit of a activist/advocacy perspective, telling riders to "take the lane" - the police escorts were more concerned with keeping us all to the side and keeping traffic moving). The policemen were also very explicit about each rider's responsibility to shout out obstacles and that sort of thing.
• Publicize the ride better: Perhaps the least improvement here. There was a nice piece in the Globe last night, but that's a bit late to really get the word out for most newbies. It seemed like most riders were regular commuters, like last time. The Globe article was pretty good, though, and I'm in the picture that came with it!
• Communicate the ride better in advance: Again little improvement here. The emails were still a little convoluted, though the Google map with start times made more sense this time.

The festa at the end also seemed livelier than last time, with more interesting bikey stuff to see. Had a nice bagel, and got a free T-shirt.

Here is my first post...

Here is my first post from jott, this will be very exciting, because I will soon be able to send posts to my blog without having to tap into my cell phone which is really not that safe while driving, I should be able to make good use of. listen

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Family Ride to Bedford Swimmin' Hole

I don't know how I neglected to blog this when it happened, but there you are. A few weeks ago, the family did a bike excursion that I'd been wanting to do for ages. Last year, we discovered a wonderful swimming spot in Bedford in Springs Brook Park. Complete surrounded by woods and fed by a natural stream (apparently), it's an odd combination of pond and pool, with a mostly sandy bottom and a cement zero-entry bit on one side. There's also a great spray park right there, which is easily as good as our usual spray parks in Belmont or Brighton.

It later occurred to me that it's not too far from the Bedford end of the Minuteman Path, so I started thinking that we could bike there as a family. By that time, it autumn last year and we had to postpone that ambition to this year. And in the meantime, I also started riding the Narrow-Gauge Rail-Trail that starts just across the street from Bedford Depot and goes all the way to Billerica. It's mostly unpaved, but the surface is fine a commuting bike or our Christiania.

So, if you follow that after the Minuteman path and turn off at Springs Rd, just follow Springs Rd for less than a mile and you're at the swimmin' hole! It's about 9 miles from Arlington Heights to Springs Brook, almost entirely traffic-free! Fantastic.

The girls did great on the ride, and Elsie slept for most of the ride home.

It's getting a bit late in the season now, but I really hope we can do the ride again this year and get some more swimmin' in!

Buon Giorno, Madonna!

I was up early today so I did an extra ride to the end of the Minuteman Trail before my usual scenic route to work. Amounted to about 25 miles in full - not bad before 9:00! It was a bit chilly today, around 55 in Arlington when I left. The bike path was blissful, though. Lots of riders and runners out early.

It also occurred to me to take a photo of the Virgin Mary, who appeared on the path not too long ago, near the Bedford end. Lauren says she's moved a couple times, but she's still where she was when I first noticed her.

And incidentally, I had my bike serviced yesterday at Broadway Bicycle School and it was riding noticeably better today! (Unfortunately, though, it looks like I need a new cog in the back, which they've ordered for me.)

Kennebec River Valley Video

Still experimenting with our Flip video thing... It seems to be much happier producing simple videos from the PC version of the software than manipulating on a Mac. This YouTube video is cobbled together from the video I captured on the ride, and is only mediocre quality because of the various conversions it's had to go through. I edited it in iMovie HD.

Kennebec River Valley Ride

Way back in May, I found a book of Maine bike tours at a shop in Kittery (and wrote about it here). It was exciting because we have relatives up in Skowhegan and a couple of the rides are in that precise area.

So when we went up for our August vacation this year, I was sure to bring my bike to try one of the rides.

Of course, I forgot to bring the book along with me, but fortunately, the route is described in detail on the State of Maine website here. I opted to do the 41-mile loop, which starts from the Rite Aid in Skowhegan, only a couple miles from Auntie Lynne's house.

It was a gorgeous ride, though some of the middle bits were on major roads and heavily trafficked. There are few errors in the instructions which I only managed to work out with the help of Google maps on my phone, but otherwise very smooth.

Instead of taking the camera along or trying to capture the mountain splendor with my miserable phone cam, I brought our little Flip video camera and did a video, which I hope to cobble into something to post later today.

2008 Mount Washington Century

I rode the Mount Washington Century on August 2nd. Fantastic! My good friend Lauren asked me to lead a group on behalf of her company Ciclismo Classico. But because the Pan Mass Challenge was the same weekend, and because of the late notice about the group ride, I only got one taker.

Nevertheless, he and I had a fine time for the first ten miles or so, until he rocketed to the front of the pack. Still, it was a record time for me, and I think I have him in part to thank for getting me on a good pace from the start.

The ride was EXCEPTIONALLY well organized, with numbers for each rider, ham radio support throughout (in the absence of a cell signal), and great food stops every 20 miles or so. I found that I never had to tap my second water bottle, let alone my stash of snacks.

I blogged at each rest stop from my phone - real-time updates follow in reverse order.

107 miles done!

Phew! Super ride. Didn't get toooo wet. Then dried out and resoaked with sweat. 7 hours 54 mins, over 2 hours faster than my last century!

Almost there!

Just 11 miles to go, but the rain has caught up with us.

Home stretch!

Almost 80 miles now, now feeling pretty beat. Hoping for lots of downhills. Menacing clouds looming. Bring it on! The end is in sight!

Only a third to go!

Since Bretton Woods, the roads have been more trafficked, and the scenery not quite so dramatic. Nevertheless, still feeling good, but glad to have only about 35 miles left. Which is what I ride on some commuting days.

Bretton Woods at 40 miles

And feeling good! After a long steep ascent and fast downhill, the Bretton Woods Hotel was quite a welcome sight! Rest stop now and really great food. Very happy I didn't cop out and only do the 50 miler!

15 miles in!

And nary a downhill to be found. I expect to reach the summit eventually. Feeling good so far. Rode with the CC person until a mile or so back, nice time. Only 85 miles to go!

Mount Washington Century today!

My friend Lauren brought this ride to my attention and suggested that I might like to do it with other Ciclismo Classico folks.... But since no one else from CC is doing it, she asked me to lead it on behalf of CC. I'm just having breakfast now on my way to the ride. I don't expect more than a couple people to turn out in my group, though.

The trouble is that this is also the weekend of the Pan Mass Challenge ride, and Ciclismo always has a sizeable contingent there.

It's a little chilly this morning, and cloudy. Weather reports call for rain here and there.

I left Gem, Elsie, and Kim sleeping at the North Conway Grand, where they'll spend the day. Shouldn't be hard for them to keep busy, since the hotel has 3 very nice pools, and it's right in the middle of a great outlet mall!

I'm going to try to do blog updates during the ride today. Now to pay for my oatmeal and hit the road!

Bike Friday ride to Boston

Click through to see more photos!
Originally uploaded by ahconway

Today was the first of Bike Friday rides into the center of Boston from various points north, south, and west. I rode up to Lexington to the start of one of the rides (sure, it passed right through Arlington anyway, but why not do a longer ride?)

After days of crazy thunderstorms and a persistent downpour that soaked me to the bone yesterday, today was perfect. Whew!

There were probably almost 20 riders in Lexington, but we picked up more in Arlington, Davis Square, Porter Square, and Harvard Square, and by the time we crossed the Longfellow Bridge, our group was probably almost 100 strong.

The ride was delightful, and I had some nice chats with people along the way.

When we converged upon Government Center, there was little fanfare, but lots of bikers, free breakfast, and some tents set up by sponsoring vendors - nothing exciting, by any means.

All in all, a really nice morning!

For next year, though, here are a few things they could improve:

• Get police escorts who know the route, and the neighborhood. As friendly as they were, our two escorts were clearly based in Boston, and didn't know anything about Cambridge, let alone the route we were riding.
• Plan a better route through Harvard Square. The route our guide took us on was circuitous, going round the bottom of Cambridge Common, and eventually heading back across Mass Ave before finally eeking over to Broadway.
• Have a plan for what happens at red lights. Our escort stopped traffic for the first dozen or so riders, and the rest were left to their own devices. The group was split several times, and following groups went the wrong way. Made me wonder if these guys had ever escorted a big city ride before. Which leads me to my next point:
• Train escorts and guides in how to lead a big city ride. It's not enough to go out and ride the route, shouting encouragement and directions here and there. Particularly with a group like this, when everyone thinks they're better qualified and persistently shouts tips to the leaders (I somehow resisted that urge!)
• Publicize the ride better. From the lot that showed up, it seemed to me that at least 80 percent of the participating riders are regular riders, if not regular commuters. That tells me that they all heard about it the same way I did - through bike advocacy channels. Next time, let's get more novices! A police escort should be a nice way to get a nervous rider out and riding.
• Be more clear in communications. I was thoroughly confused by the information provided about this ride. It took me several emails just to confirm where my branch started, and where. Turns out that all the essential info was embedded into the Google Map.

Despite these little areas for improvement, it seemed that the ride was a great success, and I'm looking forward to doing the next one in August!

Here's a little Youtube video I shot this morning.

Redline d460 29er

The bike I rented in Portland recently was really fun. It was a Redline d460 29er. I'd expected a standard hybrid like the one I'd rented in St. Louis, but it was a real treat to try a new sort of bike.

What's different about a 29er? A 29er is a bike with 29-inch wheels. A bit of an odd size, I'm not exactly sure when this trend started, but it's definitely growing in popularity. The guy at the bike shop said it was a little new to him, but people like 29ers because they roll easier through holes and other small obstacles, and they have a different feel from 26-inch wheels. It also seems that most 29ers have other quirky traits - the one I rented had wide knobby tires like a full-fledged mountain bike, but no suspension (standard on MTBs these days) and a single chainring in front with a seven-speed cluster in back.

Despite having only a third of the gears you'd expect on a modern MTB, I found it very easy to ride, both on road and off. The tires were pumped up for easy pedaling on the road, but they still had plenty of grip on the gravelly trail surface. There were lots of switchbacks and I was riding cautiously, but I never had any problems at all. I also found the hills to be easy to ride in the bottom two gears. Lacking any suspension made the ride a bit of a bone-shaker, but the steel frame softened that a bit.

It's great to see a quirky bike like this from a mainstream maker like Redline! This isn't even the most avant garde of their offerings, which include various single-speeds for use on-road and off.

I still consider myself a roadie, but this bike definitely made me want to invest in something a little trail-worthy!

Portland Oregon Ride

My business trip to Portland is almost at an end. Work went well, and we managed to have a couple very nice dinners to boot.

Of course, I was very excited about experiencing some of the cycling scene while I was here, and I had a chance to do that on Sunday morning. My hotel (the Doubletree near the Convention Center) is nothing to rave about, and the surrounding area is also unremarkable, but it's a very easy walk over the Steel Bridge (that is, the dedicated foot & bike bridge underneath), or a quick ride on the tram to Old Town.

So on Sunday, I was up early and walked over for a nice breakfast at Cafe Bijou, then went to Waterfront Bicycles to hire a bike for the morning. I was lucky to be as early as I was, since there was already a queue at 15 mins past opening, and I got one of the last rentals they had on hand. I was allocated a hybrid of some sort, but then I spied a Redline 29er and got that instead! The staff there handled the fracas admirably and fairly, and I was all kitted out in less than 15 mins or so. The person who set me up recommended that I ride up to Forest Park and do the Lief Erikson trail, a wide hardpack gravel road up along a beautiful forested mountain ridge north of town. He marked a good route on a free Portland Bike Map and I was off!

The route through town took me through some delightful neighborhoods and up a reasonably steep hill to the entrance to the park. The grid system was very easy to navigate, and it certainly helps that the streets in that area are numbered going one way and alphabetical the other! At some point, I also picked up a series of signs pointing to the park.

When I reached the entrance to the park, I was glad to find a water fountain, since I hadn't brought any water with me. Trail continued uphill, and the surface was a hardpacked gravel, with some really rocky, bumpy bits. Beautiful trail, though, with glimpses of the river down below through the thick forest. It continues about 11 miles from one end to the other. I opted to turn around at the halfway point and head back downtown, where I tooled around for another hour or so before returning the bike.

I took the wonderful Max tram back to the hotel to prepare for an afternoon meeting after a mediocre burrito from a stand in the Saturday Market.

It was a really wonderful ride, and a great surprise to be able to spend time on an offroad trail, not just around town. I'd wanted to be immersed in the famous Portland bike culture, and I guess I did that - to the degree that such a thing is possible in a few hours. I had a great chat with the guy at the bike shop, and experienced lots of marked bike paths and dedicated infrastructure, and also headed out of town to share one of the city's greatest assets. The tram was also a high point, and apparently a boon for cyclists, since every ride I took had at least one cyclist onboard with his or her bike.

Note: I had hoped to do a guided tour by bike, and I was referred to Evan Ross of Portland Bicycle Tours. I didn't contact him until the night before, so by the time I heard back from him, I was already on my way back to the shop to return my rental bike. Once we had established contact, though, he seemed very responsive and friendly. Definitely worth a try next time!

Family bike ride to Lexington

Family bike ride to Lexington
Originally uploaded by ahconway

We managed to dodge the thunderstorms today and have a really nice extended family bike ride to Lexington. Amy brought her bike up from NY and rode on her own, with Gem & Ginny with me and Elsie on the Bobike Mini with Kim. I wasn't sure Elsie was still going to fit on the Mini at 2 years old and about 28 lbs, but it was a perfect fit with the footrests on their bottom hole.

Because of the thunderstorms that were forecast, we thought it best to take the car to the Park Ave access to the Minuteman path so there would be an easy retreat if we needed it (for those on 2 wheels, anyway). The plan worked great! We had a delightful ride out to Lexington, and by the time we arrived, there were big black clouds overhead. We played on the grass next to the Depot for a bit, then we had dinner at Bertucci's while rain came down.

By the time we were done with dinner, the rain had stopped, and we had a very nice ride back to the bikes, and Amy rode back up the hill with me and the older girls!

Great day for all.

Bike tour of St. Louis

Bike St. Louis street marking
View more pictures here

I was in St Louis last weekend for the long-anticipated reunion of the University City High School Jazz Band from 1983 - that's 25 years since we went on our grand tour of Europe, playing in Paris and Montreux.

The reunion was a pure delight, and it was wonderful to see everyone who turned up. It was like the realization of a dream I've had many, many times in which I'm playing with the band again, even improvising when my turn comes around! I may not have the chops I once did, but I think all (especially me!) were suprised to find that my improvisational skills are no better and no worse than they were back then.

I also took the opportunity to spend a full day exploring all my old haunts by bike. I arranged in advance to hire a bike from City Cycling Tours, recommended to me by someone on the St. Louis Bike Federation's Yahoo Group. Even though the company primarily runs guided tours of Forest Park, the proprietor, Chris, was all too willing to drop off a nice, well-maintained Giant city bike at my hotel and pick it up at the end of the day. He's a great St. Louis cycling advocate, and he recommended lots of routes for me. (I'll have to return for most of it, though... I'd love to do the Katy Trail, and even the Riverfront trail I was going to try was underwater that day!)

Even though I last biked through St Louis over a decade ago, everything came back to me quite easily. Apart from visiting my old High School stomping ground, I also really wanted to experience the routes put in place by the Bike St. Louis program and the new infrastructure around Forest Park.

I started in Forest Park, and found the trails to be extremely well maintained and marked. While I believe most (if not all) of the paths existed when I last rode them over a decade ago, the signs and markings are all quite new. They're shared-use paths, of course, but there's a network of running paths that also seem quite good. City Cycling Tours is based out of the park's Visitor Center, and while I didn't stop in, there seemed to be a lot of bikes available there, and lots bikers were stopping by to fill up water bottles and whatever else.

Riding around the park was pure bliss. There were lots of people out (it was Fathers' Day, and a beautiful one at that), but at no point did it seem crowded. I did at least two circuits around the periphery of the park, and criss-crossed the interior several times to visit the Art Museum, see the Muny, etc.

It did seem to me that there could have been more bike parking facilities, and better access to drinking fountains. When I stopped at the Zoo, the one standard bike rack was completely full, the one at the Art Museum was the same size and also quite full when I arrived.

The free Forest Park map was quite good, with clear indications of all the "wheel" and "heel" paths in addition to roads and landmarks. The one shortcoming, which Forest Park shares with the Bike St. Louis program, is that there's no obvious link between the two. The routes and markings in the park seem to be maintained by the park, and there was no clear link-up with the routes outside the park that I could see. In particular, it was a little tough to figure out how to navigate from the Forest Park path to the Bike St. Louis route at the northeast corner of the park. Maybe I missed it, but it would be nice to have signs inside the park that point to the external routes.

Generally, though, I was really impressed with the Bike St. Louis routes as well. I followed them through the Loop and down to the Arch and back through the Central West End, and they were very easy to find, understand, and follow. It was particularly nice to have the combination of street markings and signs pointing to various landmarks. One thing I found to be a bit odd was that many of the routes seem to be along main roads where the traffic would undoubtedly be really heavy on weekdays, and it seems like there could be better alternatives in more residential areas here and there.

When I was last in the area about ten years back, I distinctly remember thinking things had taken a turn for the worse since I last lived there in the 80s. This time, though, it's exactly the opposite! Especially around U. City and the Central West End, everything seemd to be thriving, clean, and beautiful!

I really look forward to returning with the family, and hopefully, it won't take another ten years to make that happen.

Here's a comprehensive photo set of my day out.

And here's a subset of shots of bike infrastructure.

And here's a more-or-less accurate account of my journey:

• Started at my hotel, the bizarre Cheshire Lodge
• Around Forest Park on new marked bike paths
• To the Arch via Bike St. Louis route
• Back via Central West End, where I had brunch at Companion (verygood, nice outside table, unfortunate Tropicana OJ - why not fresh?)
• Through the Loop
• To Delmar Harvard & Library
• All around University City Heights
• Took break in Lewis Park
• To U City High School
• To Jackson Park and Wash U
• Back to Forest Park
• To Art Museum, browsed impressionists
• To the Zoo, browsed animals
• After that, I finally returned the bike and took the rental car to alate lunch at White Castle and dessert at Ted Drewes!

Arlington hand-built cargo bike

Arlington hand-built cargo trike
Originally uploaded by ahconway

Kim spied this cargo bike outside the Fox Library in Arlington and snapped this photo. Interesting! I hope I can run across it myself and find out more!

Beating the traffic sensor

On my usual route to work, there's an intersection (the corner of Pleasant Street & Gray Street in Arlington), where I often get stuck at the light because it's triggered by a traffic sensor. I have two options: run the light when cross traffic allows, or press the pedestrian signal button, which stops traffic in all directions.

But this weekend, Kim and I rode down to Harvard Square along the same route and discovered that the Christiania trike and her Fahrrad Manufaktur bike combined will trigger the light! My Chrisitiania alone might do it, but I'll have to try that another time.

You have to celebrate the small triumphs.

Ricola Race

Ricola Race Peloton
Originally uploaded by ahconway

An otherwise dull business trip turned interesting for a couple hours last week, when it turned out that there was a pro cycle race in Basking Ridge, the very town where I was working! I had a few extra minutes to grab dinner, and it just so happened that the peloton was lining up for the Ricola Race at that very minute. Perhaps not the most exciting race, but it was a lovely evening, and it was a very well-run little criterium. Lots of small-town interest, with people watching from porches and dining on TV tables on their lawns. I had to leave halfway through to get back to work, but it was still lots of fun!

My sister on a bike!

Hooray! After I don't know how many years of encouraging my sister to get on a bike for fun and exercise, she's finally at it. She's had a nice bike for over a year now (a great first step!), and now she's actually hit the road. Go Amy go!

Cycling postman in Miami Beach

Cycling postman on Lincoln Road
Originally uploaded by ahconway

We spotted a few cycling postmen in Miami Beach last week. Interesting steel utility bikes with smaller front wheels. No helmets on the postmen, but I also didn't see any of them actually riding!

Book of Bicycle Tours in Maine

Because we have family in Maine and travel to the region several times a year, I've been on the lookout for a compendium of good Maine bike routes.

I've scoured the internet, looked a few books, but came up pretty much dry. I was sure there would be marked trails, like ones I've seen in Vermont, but I wasn't able to find anything at all.

I started thinking about this because of relatives in Skowhegan, with the ambitious goal of cycling the 300-odd miles from Boston later this summer. But a recommended route? I was left high and dry.

So I was delighted to come across a spiral bound book "Explore Maine by Bike - 25 Bicycle Tours" at a mediocre bike shop in Kittery. It's a full-color, 8.5 x 11 inch book, including 25 detailed maps and nice detailed fold-outs of the routes. It's publisehd by the Maine Department of Transportation. I was ready to buy it on the spot, but I could find neither a price nor a sales stooge, so it was mine. (I'm reasonably certain that it wasn't meant to be charged for, but it probably cost the state at least $15 to produce.)

The routes are primarily along the coast, with a high concentration in the southern end of the state. Perfect for me!

It didn't make any sense that they would have produced this and kept it a complete secret, so I set about searching the web again, and finally came to Explore Maine - By Bike on the state's official website. It seems to have all the same content in downloadable PDF format, though it's really hard to find and substantially less than straightforward to navigate.

The two tours I have high hopes of completing before the end of the year are both a stone's throw from Skowhegan:

Kennebec River: This hilly and scenic gem winds through the historically important Kennebec River Valley and features a mix of agricultural and rugged mountainous terrain.

and

Waterville-China Lakes: Challenging hills and excellent views make this tour a 3-season pleaser as it traverses the China Lakes region with its ridge views and charming villages.

How exciting! I just can't believe how poorly Maine has publicized all this!