Well, of course I thought that the cheapest bike commuting gear at Nashbar would work ...somewhat. And I guess it does. I got a straight rack (the kind that attaches to the seatpost) and some panniers (they were even cheaper since they were returns). Anyway, so it seemed simple. Hang pannier on rack.
Uh, no.
On the rack, they forgot to drill out one of the two holes for the bolts. So last night I had fun with the drill and filled my lungs with tiny metal shavings. Good times. Then this morning when I headed out with the panniers, they kept on bumping the wheels. I stopped four times (last time I finally got a decent solution) to sort them out. They have racks that attach to the seat post and the rear wheel hub, but that's not what I got. The advantage of those is that they have metal wires perpendicular to the wheel, so the panniers can rest on them and not bump around. I didn't get one of those because I wasn't sure how it would fit (or not) to the bike.
Anyway.
The panniers are brilliant, though. I love riding without a backpack, and the extra weight on the bike isn't really noticeable (I mean, I was carrying it anyway). The bike's still good in turns and my legs clear them really well.
I also worked out a slightly shorter (by one mile) path to the Monon Trail. The advantage of this is that I spend less time on traffic-laden roads, particularly one with a construction zone and no shoulder. It's not so much that I don't like playing in traffic, but really, if you don't have to, why bother.
My speed this morning was still pretty good, around 16 mph. I also focused today more on riding than on checking my speed, which made things a lot more enjoyable. I mean, hell, I'm already getting there silly early, so what's the big hurry?
Thursday, June 21
Tuesday, June 19
This really is better
So I didn't ride at all this past weekend. Didn't feel great about that, but there was much tv to watch and one rather cute baby to play with.
Anyway, since I spend most of my day out on site thinking about the next bike ride, I thought I'd try to do a comparison between driving and riding to work. Keep in mind that riding takes an hour each way, so that's two hours that I need to make up, exercise-wise. Here goes:
Bike
5:30 a.m. Wake up, sort out bike, wash up, get a little something to eat. No shower. (Clothes and gear have been laid out the night before. This is a huge help.)
6 a.m. Leave
7 a.m. Arrive at office
7:15 a.m. Cleaned up from ride, some snack, working.
+9 hours
4:15 p.m. leave
5:15 p.m. Arrive at home, shower, eat
5:45 p.m. Ready for evening
Car (assuming same wake time)
5:30 a.m. Wake up, shower, eat
6:15 a.m. Leave
6:45 a.m. Arrive at office
+9 hours
3:45 p.m. leave
4:15 p.m. Arrive at home, change, leave for two-hour workout at gym. (This is definitely the worst part ... go home, say hi to the kid, then be like, ok, well, I'll be back in two more hours.)
4:25 p.m. Start workout at gym
6:25 p.m. End of two-hour workout
6:35 p.m. Leave gym, go home to shower (again) and change, eat.
7 p.m. Ready for evening
Notice there are two showers with the car. Even if you took out the first one to make things completely equal, I'd still be ready for the evening (car-wise) at about 6:45 p.m. So although the actual traveling time via bicycle is an extra half hour each way, the workout portion is benefiting me.
The other nice thing is that it simply forces me to workout. When you get home via car, you can always find an excuse not to go to the gym. Bam, that's a two-hour workout down the drain. It's also insanely easier for me to leave a lot earlier in the morning since Maria and Asim are asleep anyway. It's the time in the evening that I need to maximize.
In other news, Maria went driving again last night. There is a lot less screaming now and more coaching and instructing. I want her to have some sound fundamentals in car control before we move onto identifying signs and navigating around the suburbs. We have yet to go over the in-car comfort controls (AC, radio) but first things first -- keep the car going down the center of the lane. At some point she'll get more comfy with the speed and direction so that she can see what else is around, check out obstacles, identify other cars coming and going and where pedestrians might lurk.
Anyway, since I spend most of my day out on site thinking about the next bike ride, I thought I'd try to do a comparison between driving and riding to work. Keep in mind that riding takes an hour each way, so that's two hours that I need to make up, exercise-wise. Here goes:
Bike
5:30 a.m. Wake up, sort out bike, wash up, get a little something to eat. No shower. (Clothes and gear have been laid out the night before. This is a huge help.)
6 a.m. Leave
7 a.m. Arrive at office
7:15 a.m. Cleaned up from ride, some snack, working.
+9 hours
4:15 p.m. leave
5:15 p.m. Arrive at home, shower, eat
5:45 p.m. Ready for evening
Car (assuming same wake time)
5:30 a.m. Wake up, shower, eat
6:15 a.m. Leave
6:45 a.m. Arrive at office
+9 hours
3:45 p.m. leave
4:15 p.m. Arrive at home, change, leave for two-hour workout at gym. (This is definitely the worst part ... go home, say hi to the kid, then be like, ok, well, I'll be back in two more hours.)
4:25 p.m. Start workout at gym
6:25 p.m. End of two-hour workout
6:35 p.m. Leave gym, go home to shower (again) and change, eat.
7 p.m. Ready for evening
Notice there are two showers with the car. Even if you took out the first one to make things completely equal, I'd still be ready for the evening (car-wise) at about 6:45 p.m. So although the actual traveling time via bicycle is an extra half hour each way, the workout portion is benefiting me.
The other nice thing is that it simply forces me to workout. When you get home via car, you can always find an excuse not to go to the gym. Bam, that's a two-hour workout down the drain. It's also insanely easier for me to leave a lot earlier in the morning since Maria and Asim are asleep anyway. It's the time in the evening that I need to maximize.
In other news, Maria went driving again last night. There is a lot less screaming now and more coaching and instructing. I want her to have some sound fundamentals in car control before we move onto identifying signs and navigating around the suburbs. We have yet to go over the in-car comfort controls (AC, radio) but first things first -- keep the car going down the center of the lane. At some point she'll get more comfy with the speed and direction so that she can see what else is around, check out obstacles, identify other cars coming and going and where pedestrians might lurk.
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