out here in the middle
christianity, cycling, music, culture
christianity, cycling, music, culture
BLOG.JASONKEARNEY.NET
Interim Commuter
When I first got back into bike commuting, I was riding a really heavy mountain bike. It wasn't much, but it worked. The front suspension really ate up the energy I was putting into the bike, and when fully loaded, it weight over 70 pounds. That was a lot for a 40 mile round trip.
After about a year of that, I decided that I had gotten my $400 out of that 4 series Trek bike, so I upgraded to the Orbea Diem. The Diem is a full carbon, flat bar road bike. It was equipped with a full Ultegra drivetrain, and hydraulic disc brakes. It was perfect—weighing in at only 22 pounds.
There are a couple of problems, though. By the time I put the racks and panniers on, it still weighed a lot. Fully loaded, it weighed more than double the weight of the bike itself. Once I put it on the scale while carrying clothes, shoes, and my laptop (which was normal for me at the time), and it weighed 55 pounds. Kind of defeats the purpose of carbon fiber, don't you think?
For a time, I took the rack off, and just used a normal sized saddle bag for carrying my repair kit. The bike was feather-light once again, which was nice, but there were two unintended negative consequences as a result. One was that I really missed the panniers. Sometimes I bring groceries to work, and with no way to haul them, I found myself more reliant upon the car. The other unintended consequence was that I had lost the advantage of the added weight. Yeah, the heavier bike was an advantage to me, from a training standpoint. Riding a fifty pound commuter three to five days a week was really helpful when I climbed on my 16 pound road bike. Eventually, I put the rack and panniers back on.
I've been kicking around the idea of selling the Orbea for a few months now. Mostly because it is too much bike for what I need. And more recently, I realized that I was putting a lot of money into keeping it properly maintained. I put a lot of miles on it, and that means replacing the chain and cassette pretty often. That's about a $200 job. I was also looking at replacing the front chainring soon. When I bought my Madone, I also bought the extended warranty—Trek calls it "Red Shield." It only cost $250, and for that bike, so it has already paid for itself. Of course, I don't have Red Shield for the Orbea, so all the cost of maintaining it falls on me. So earlier this month, I posted an ad on Craigslist, and within a few days, I had sold the Orbea.
Soon I will be ordering a new Trek commuter bike, and putting the Red Shield warranty on it. But in the meantime, I have to ride to work on something. The District is the obvious choice. When I first bought it last year, I didn't want to take away from the simplicity of the bike by putting a bunch of stuff on it. But for a short period of time, and in the interest of safety, I put my lights and repair kit on it, and have been commuting on it for a few days. It works very well as a commuter—not terribly efficient, because it is a single speed bike. That means that I don't have the ability to maneuver as well in traffic, or tackle any big hills. But for now, it does the trick, and I am pretty pleased with it.
The simple version of the District—no lights, bags, computers, racks, or clipless pedals
My new commuter should be in late next week. Look for a review of it when it gets up and running. But for now, here are a few shots of the District as commuter.
The commuter version District—lights, saddle bag, computer, clipless pedals
After about a year of that, I decided that I had gotten my $400 out of that 4 series Trek bike, so I upgraded to the Orbea Diem. The Diem is a full carbon, flat bar road bike. It was equipped with a full Ultegra drivetrain, and hydraulic disc brakes. It was perfect—weighing in at only 22 pounds.
There are a couple of problems, though. By the time I put the racks and panniers on, it still weighed a lot. Fully loaded, it weighed more than double the weight of the bike itself. Once I put it on the scale while carrying clothes, shoes, and my laptop (which was normal for me at the time), and it weighed 55 pounds. Kind of defeats the purpose of carbon fiber, don't you think?
For a time, I took the rack off, and just used a normal sized saddle bag for carrying my repair kit. The bike was feather-light once again, which was nice, but there were two unintended negative consequences as a result. One was that I really missed the panniers. Sometimes I bring groceries to work, and with no way to haul them, I found myself more reliant upon the car. The other unintended consequence was that I had lost the advantage of the added weight. Yeah, the heavier bike was an advantage to me, from a training standpoint. Riding a fifty pound commuter three to five days a week was really helpful when I climbed on my 16 pound road bike. Eventually, I put the rack and panniers back on.
I've been kicking around the idea of selling the Orbea for a few months now. Mostly because it is too much bike for what I need. And more recently, I realized that I was putting a lot of money into keeping it properly maintained. I put a lot of miles on it, and that means replacing the chain and cassette pretty often. That's about a $200 job. I was also looking at replacing the front chainring soon. When I bought my Madone, I also bought the extended warranty—Trek calls it "Red Shield." It only cost $250, and for that bike, so it has already paid for itself. Of course, I don't have Red Shield for the Orbea, so all the cost of maintaining it falls on me. So earlier this month, I posted an ad on Craigslist, and within a few days, I had sold the Orbea.
Soon I will be ordering a new Trek commuter bike, and putting the Red Shield warranty on it. But in the meantime, I have to ride to work on something. The District is the obvious choice. When I first bought it last year, I didn't want to take away from the simplicity of the bike by putting a bunch of stuff on it. But for a short period of time, and in the interest of safety, I put my lights and repair kit on it, and have been commuting on it for a few days. It works very well as a commuter—not terribly efficient, because it is a single speed bike. That means that I don't have the ability to maneuver as well in traffic, or tackle any big hills. But for now, it does the trick, and I am pretty pleased with it.
The simple version of the District—no lights, bags, computers, racks, or clipless pedals
My new commuter should be in late next week. Look for a review of it when it gets up and running. But for now, here are a few shots of the District as commuter.
The commuter version District—lights, saddle bag, computer, clipless pedals
Bike to Work? Why?
This is National Bicycle Month. It's good that cycling has a month—it certainly deserves it.Last week was Bike to Work Week. Tulsa had several events to highlight it, including a pancake breakfast, and free beer at the Soundpony bar.
Our shop gave Mayor Bartlett a bike in honor of Bike to Work Week. It is an electric assist bike. You still have to pedal, but the motor makes every pedal stroke up to four times more powerful than the rider's normal stroke. It is you, only better. It is super you.
The mayor stopped by the final bike to work event of the week, the one with the free beer. His electric bike was in the back of his car. Oh my.
Lazy Mayor
Someone asked me why they should ride their bike to work. Good question.
- If you ride your bike three hours a week, you will reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke by 50%. Heart disease kills more people than anything.
- If you bike four miles round trip each day instead of driving, you will save about 66 gallons of fuel per year. Gas prices change all the time, but that equals hundreds of dollars saved each year.
- A four mile round trip commute each day will burn 36,000 calories a year—that's over ten pounds of fat.
- Riding to work saves space. You can park fourteen bikes in the same space as one car.
- Since 40% of all trips are within two miles of the home, riding a bike should be an easy thing to do.
- The United States could save 462 million gallons of gasoline every year, by doing nothing more than increasing cycling from 1% to 1.5% of all trips.
Riding your bike can pay huge dividends, both personally and corporately. Consider becoming part of the solution. Ride your bike to work. Or to church. Or to the store. You will benefit, and so will the rest of us.
Perspective
Say hello to my new friend, Charlie.
Charlie is nine years old. Last year, he was diagnosed with cancer. In August, he went to St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis. He just returned this week, after three surgeries, chemo, with a shunt in his head.
Charlie can't walk without the help of a walker. But he can ride a bike. A local business owner came in today and bought Charlie a new bicycle. It was a slow, rainy day at the bike shop today. But the rain was nothing compared to the tears that fell.
While Charlie and his family were trying out bikes, there was a customer in the shop who had grown impatient (rightfully so) with an issue he'd had with a purchase. When he saw Charlie, his eyes well up, and he walked to the back of the store. I gave him a few minutes, then walked up to him and just said, "perspective."
Charlie is getting on a plane this week. He will be flying out to San Francisco to film a commercial for St. Jude's. Also starring in the commercial is Robin Williams. Charlie is really excited. But not as excited about his new bike.
It was good for me to meet Charlie today. His smile and his upbeat outlook really inspired me. And the business owner who wanted nothing more than to be a blessing to a little guy who is fighting for his life—well, it restored my faith in people.
When you look at your family, be thankful for their health. And while you're at it, say a little prayer for Charlie.
Charlie is nine years old. Last year, he was diagnosed with cancer. In August, he went to St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis. He just returned this week, after three surgeries, chemo, with a shunt in his head.
Charlie can't walk without the help of a walker. But he can ride a bike. A local business owner came in today and bought Charlie a new bicycle. It was a slow, rainy day at the bike shop today. But the rain was nothing compared to the tears that fell.
While Charlie and his family were trying out bikes, there was a customer in the shop who had grown impatient (rightfully so) with an issue he'd had with a purchase. When he saw Charlie, his eyes well up, and he walked to the back of the store. I gave him a few minutes, then walked up to him and just said, "perspective."
Charlie is getting on a plane this week. He will be flying out to San Francisco to film a commercial for St. Jude's. Also starring in the commercial is Robin Williams. Charlie is really excited. But not as excited about his new bike.
It was good for me to meet Charlie today. His smile and his upbeat outlook really inspired me. And the business owner who wanted nothing more than to be a blessing to a little guy who is fighting for his life—well, it restored my faith in people.
When you look at your family, be thankful for their health. And while you're at it, say a little prayer for Charlie.
Pardon the Interruption
I'm working on making some changes to the blog, so please be patient.
I appreciate it!
I appreciate it!
