Bike Blog

Had to go to Winter Park’s Miller Hardware today (Sunday) to pick up some glue – they have a heavy adhesive that is good for real lock-down applications, and it doesn’t harm plastics or styrene. I’d just used up the last of mine Saturday at the club, gluing buildings down. Kicked out of the driveway at 10:30 and it was hot and getting hotter. Still, Winter Park Road is nicely shaded. Unfortunately, it’s also nicely bricked. I don’t understand the city on this – they just rebricked it recently. However, they have it marked as a bike route. Why? There […]

I was considering an article about confused hurricane winds and the problems of upwind vs.downwind travel on the ride home… BAMPF! First thought was that rear fender that’s been coming loose had finally let go and was rattling the spokes. Then I looked closer. The back tire was going flat. And I was in Eatonville, a not so nice place (the residents have confirmed this over time by glaring at me, stepping pointedly in front of me, and shouting things). And it was Friday, 5:30pm. Didn’t know how bad it was and tried to press on to get outside city […]

I actually used to fear rear blowouts. When I’d have them years back, I’d either take the bike to the shop or spend two hours fussing the back tire off on the ACed porch. My famous Halloween debacle involved a rear blowout, popping the spare while trying to get the tube back on, and a horrible bus ride home. Back tire blowouts involve the saddlebags, that greasy chain, tight quarters and a lot of effort. I don’t like them. Friday’s blowout  was different. Then, I was more concerned about the surroundings. I still goofed a few steps but by-in-large, I got […]

I knew this was trouble when I pedaled out of the Lock Haven Basin. A slow cyclist on the bike lane ahead of me and a train horning across the 17-92 crossing. Sure enough, we bunched up, the cyclist, me, and a bunch of impatient cars, waiting for the auto-rack string to clear. As we rode to the next light at the mondo intersection at Orange, I studied this guy in front of me. Work boots. No helmet. No lights. Probably a DUI case, someone forced to use a bike. He wasn’t fast, not at all, but I didn’t want […]

It seems Daisy Lynum, Orlando City Councilwoman, had to be hit by a ruddy car to realize that Orlando, Florida has the worst ranking for cyclist and pedestrian deaths of ALL metropolitan areas anywhere across the United States. Yes, we’re worse than Austin (all those cowboys), worse than Boston (all those distracted yuppies) and worse than Atlanta (all those cars). Yes, we injure and kill cyclists and pedestrians at a higher rate than anywhere else. And given America’s shabby car-alternative efforts, that probably puts us behind most of the world. Better police enforcement would help. I mentioned the incident HERE, […]

Lighting was ripping the sky apart and I wasn’t going out in it. No, I sat against the back wall of the loading dock next to the bike, waiting until the leading edge passed before I pushed out. I knew I was going to get wet – radar showed a hundred miles of rain. Decided it was time to ride – lightning was far away but the rain was pouring down. Turned on the lights, checked that the saddlebags were sealed. Then I noticed a car stopped on in the street. A woman had exited it without an umbrella, into […]

Statistics from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Fatality Facts: Bicycles – 2009 Less than two percent of motor vehicle crash deaths are bicyclists. The most serious injuries among a majority of those killed are to the head, highlighting the importance of wearing a bicycle helmet. Helmet use has been estimated to reduce head injury risk by 85 percent. Ninety-one percent of bicyclists killed in 2009 reportedly weren’t wearing helmets, the same percentage as 2008.

Hit the ground the other day, going home. My fault, really. Got myself into a tight spot that I can usually avoid – for this one stretch I usually keep to the sidewalk – the road is narrow and there is a barrier down the right. Anyway, decided to stick to the street and when traffic backed at the light, I cut to the right between the cars and barrier. Then I remembered the the lip between the asphalt’s undersurface and final coat, a half-inch step that I slid down. Humming down this tight space, I realized that the lip […]

The world is full of ugly things. Ugly buildings. Ugly people. Ugly streets. Ugly cars. But if you look close, sometimes you can see beauty. I think the most beautiful thing on a bike is the chain system that works the rear-hub gearing. As intricate and unlikely as a wasp’s wing or the human knee, it clicks and clatters through the ride. In the morning, it’s the first sound I make on the street, the crisp chick-chick of the gearing as my speed climbs and I go into that first curve. Like a formula one race driver, I have most […]