a month of folding bike.

I got a flat last month.  It took me a while to getting around to taking my rear wheel off.  It took me still more time to get the flat repaired.  And getting the wheel back on... I think I will do that tomorrow.  It's not that I've been particularly busy-- though I have been out of town for about a week of the last month and out of school for a week on top of that.  I didn't realize how long I had been off the ODT until I did a mass update of my bike log yesterday: a month!  

I suppose that says a lot about the functionality of the Dahon.  It's an easy bike to grab and go (considering our stairs).  It has fenders and stays reasonably clean.  It handles fine in the rain and I am plenty visible on it.  Surprisingly, I've even settled into a grocery getting routine with it- the bike handles just fine with a bag on the handlebars, or the basket on, depending on how well I plan.  I've actually been doing fewer deliberate grocery trips and doing more combined trips, getting groceries on the way home and the like.  I even rode it to a job interview in high heels (red patent peep toes, if you must know) and a dress.  It was fine.  I have yet to fall off it in traffic, even if it is not always as sturdy or as maneuverable as I like.  A month of folding bike has been a mostly positive experience.  I've gotten a lot faster on it. The bike does exactly what I need it to do.  It is a pure transportation machine... if all I'm doing is five or six miles a day.


Any more than that and the Dahon starts to exact its revenge.  Smaller wheels mean more spin.  I have to work harder with a load in my backpack vs. on the rear rack (generally not a fan of stuff on the rear rack of the Dahon).  The last couple of days were particularly busy.  I inadvertently did 25 miles in 2 days on that little machine.  That kind of mileage is a little out of the norm for me considering my habits, and not something I would usually do without rotating bikes.  My leg muscles can take it but my seat bones... my knees... my pecs... oy.  So I've encountered the comfort limits of the Dahon and we're kind of like frenemies right now.  It only took 120 miles!  


Needless to say, I'm getting on that ODT wheel tomorrow.

rides of march, part four. guest post!

This is a special guest post by my most beloved Big Brother (who will be in this fair city oh-so-soon! eee!). He writes about what has undoubtedly been the pinnacle of "rides of march" good times. Cheers!


My Little Sister was in town for a Spring break, incidentally coinciding with a Friday full moon. Full moon Fridays are for Booze Croozin, slow, pseudo-organized night rides usually involving adult beverages and barbeque. Little Sister was game and The Wife was willing to stay home with the Chillins.

I have several guest bikes in the stable and Little Sister usually rolls on an Electra New Belgium Cruiser when she stays with us. She has short legs, but the bike fits well if we mash the seat all the way down. The usual crooze route winds about twenty miles through hilly Tacoma, so the reclined single speed was a questionable choice. Thirty minutes before departure, Little Sister decided she'd rather have gears, so I dusted off a ladies Costco Special mtb that I had commuterized several years ago. She posed insightful questions whilst test-riding such as, "Do I stop pedaling to shift, like on my bike?" No! And don't forget that there isn't a coaster brake, use your hands! It's a good thing Big Brother is here to set her straight. I loaded up my Xtracycle with 2.5 litres of dunkel, fixins for s'mores, and a few extra layers of clothes. We were off.

We rallied at the grocery store so everyone could stock up. I needed brats and Little Sister needed tissues and two pounds of gummi dinosaurs. There was a "bum" theme for the evening, which was widely interpreted or ignored. An hour after the scheduled rendezvous, all riders and trailered dogs hit the trail with blinky lights flashing and Dr. Octagon blasting from the boom box. The weather was perfect for croozin; temps in the 40's with completely clear skies. We picked up other riders along the way. The ride to the park was relaxed and uneventful, aside from the occasional failure to yield the right-of-way to an unsuspecting motorist. We rode around the park gate, killed all of our lights, and slowly rolled to the barbeque spot as the moon rose through the trees.

The Narrows at night

Is a beautiful sight

By the full moon at 5 Mile Drive.

Everyone shared what they brought. We drank a few beers and grilled sausages and veggie patties. The boom box played Eazy-E, Beastie Boys, and Metallica while folks tossed an LED frisbee and made s'mores. The dog kept the animals away for we didn't see any deer or raccoons on this trip. The stars were dazzling above the faint glow of homesteads across the Sound.

The fire was dying and we were cold, but the ride home would warm us. Little Sister and I chatted the whole way, while she lazily shifted gears like an old pro.

rides of march, part three

Tacoma Bicycle Chic. As seen traveling back from the playground.

rides of march, part five

egrediously inefficient bike rack near ambulance loading dock, with backboards in the background.

I woke up this morning with a deep yearning in my soul. Mocha. I wanted a Mocha.

While the need for magicalespressocoffeedrink is easily filled in this part of the world, today obtaining my fix seemed less simple. It was snowing-- big, giant, fluffy flakes turning the landscape into the surface of a powdered sugar donut. What to do? I recalled there is a Starbuck's in the nearby hospital. So I saddled up the Red Rider, put on my Posh Spice Sunglasses / Snow Goggles and (for once) my helmet and away I went.

Once the wanted elixir was secured, I sat down in the seating area. One of the hazards of going to Starbuck's alone is that inevitably I find myself eavesdropping. Today was no different. A man sat nearby, sedately plugging in his laptop, talking on his phone.

He told the person on the other end that he was in Utah. That his son had been in a car accident driving home from work in Park City. That his car had flipped six times. That his son was in critical care. That when he arrived in Utah, the doctors had prepared him for the death of his son. That every day his son has hung on and improved. That that's just how it goes. He said it all with a very straight face, with an assured acceptance of the situation that somehow conveyed sorrow and relief all at once.

My tears betrayed me; I had to leave.

To be so lucky that my greatest concern is where to get some coffee when it's snowing.

rides of march, part deux

Temperature: Fifty degrees.

Weather: Sunny, clear, light breeze.

Me: Riding my bike to the post office.

Knowing that I can bill The Man for my "work": Magnificent.

Really folks. I am convinced that it doesn't get any better than this.

rides of march, part one.

If you couldn't tell by the tone and quantity of my posts this week, I'll be forthright-- it's been a shit week here in gradschoolland. I got sick, I got busy, I was under a lot of pressure (still am) and I suffered a significant disappointment. Consequently, I haven't taken the Red Rider out since last month. Plagued by guilt and continuing to stall on my myriad of assignments due in the next four days, I decided that I would be a good bike owner and take my bike out. As it is rumored that some quality bike action is on tap for the trip home, I decided that a series chronicling some of my bike activities this month would be appropriate-- if anything, to make it up to my bike for all that neglect.

Tonight I did a typical ride around campus. This is the view across the street from where I work:


Pretty sweet, eh?

As I made my way down the hill through campus, I was surprised by the flurry of activity taking place outside the Marriott Library. Granted I wasn't that surprised, because I have found that the local youth are generally pretty creative with their use of campus property (i.e using the bike-avator as a hotbox). Nonetheless, I think the Spork Party would be pleased that somebody momentarily gave a rat's ass about the stupid ASUU campaign advertisements polluting our campus:


It's blurry, I know, but here you can see that they had also entered the library construction area to get some wood so they could do sweet jumps. I was pretty amused. Click on the bottom picture and you will see that they are on Razor scooters.