Argon

no riding to work on monday, I have to drop off an argon cylinder at airgas downtown and they don't open until 8:30. The argon may be addressed in another blog someday, until then see the notes in various posts about picking up nuts, bolts and odd pieces of metal. Tomorrow I may ride to the gym early, but then again I might sleep in. ear-regardless Lucy and I were talking today about the price of gas and whether it may actually have a positive end result. We suppose that if the price continues to rise, more people will make changes in their lifestyle. The tendency for people to want to live in urban areas, closer to work, is one. This would mean less cars on the road, less fuel consumed blah blah. Another could be using alternatives to driving, one of which is biking. One side affect of biking is burning calories, so people might be skinnier. This could reverse the trend of the USA being one of the fattest countries in the world, and currently striving for first place. That's it. $7 gas will lead to a skinny population, crystal clear enviornment, and more tax money for school 'cause there will be less wear and tear on the roads. Better standard of living for everyone because we won't need to pay for insurance on cars ever again. Drive throughs will provide no benefit, as people choose to walk in over drive through. Starbucks will go belly up. slam dunk, closed book, easy peasy. that's the way it will be. unless we have to exchange our tanks of argon mix.

The Route

I've finally settled into what I think is going to be my regular route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2024871 It is about 4.6 miles which is about half a mile longer than the shortest possible route. It avoids most of the nasty railraod tracks and also the suicide intersection on 3th avenue and 47th street.

Ah, tuesday treasure

one mans trash is another mans doorstop. I actually need a doorstop at my office, maybe that's why it caught my eye.

False starts and misfires

I was a mile from the house before I remembered my thermos. I decided to go back, as mondays without coffee spell trouble. I was having to take Lucy's car in to get the driver side window fixed, so I stopped at tire engineers and checked to make sure they can do the work. they can. I get my coffee at Lucy's, kiss the wife goodbye, and head up the street to get her car to take to the shop. Once I get there I realize I don't have the key, misfire #2, I head back to get the key. Back at the car I diswheel my bike, pile it in the trunk and head to tire engineers. I drop the car, rewheel my bike, and head to work. When I arrive at Lucy's at lunch I get a call from the shop saying they can't start the car because they don't have the little clicker lock-the-car thing on lucy's key chain. Misfire #3. I drop it on the "way back to work" and continue my day. It looked like it was going to piss on the way home, but I made it home still dry.

choo choos and soy milk

I left the house a little early this morning. I had to stop at the pig to get Lucy tomato chutney and horseradish for the shop. I also needed to get me some soy milk for cereal. I decided to go the 1st ave. north route and got stuck behind a choo choo, first at 43rd street, and then at 41st street trying to get around it. Cars were backed up at both crossings, so it looked like it had been there a while. It was one of those giant container hauling double decker jobs, so there was no way I was cutting through, even though it looked like it was planning on going anywhere anytime soon. I had to go around via the 35th street overpass. The overpass is a drag 'cause it's busy, it's a big hill, and it ain't got no shoulder. On the other hand I had never ridden my bike over it, so it's something new. I made it to the pig and scored chutney and horseradish, but they were renovating, and no soy milk to be found. On to Lucy's. Lucy is also out of soy milk. What, a soy milk shortage? I arrive at work to find our scary, seriously scary, refridgerator stocked with 5 different kinds of milk products and or soy milk varieties. Each and all are expired, severely, except one. The unexpired had only a couple of sips, so I left it for it's owner and ate my cereal dry with a cup of coffee. The photo here is actually from yesterday. I rode to the gym early in the am and snapped this on my way back. It's a wall of a building that I've been wanting to stop and take a picture of for a while.

Bike Through

I had my first bike-through experience at the bank today. I rode over to make a deposit before heading home, and the bank lobby wa already closed. The drive through was open until 5:00 so I hopped in line. I snapped a picture of the car in front of me, which I think made them a bit uneasy. The teller smiled and treated me like any other vehicle. I guess I'm not the first biker they've had at the drive through.

Hoppin' trains

I got stuck at a railroad crossing today, kind of in the middle of the hood. I had biked myself into a spot where it was gonna be a real pain in the ass to ride all the way around, so I just waited. The train didn't budge an inch in 5 minutes. I'm a bit nervous about going under trains or in between cars. With a bike it was a definite no. There was no way I was going to sit in between and try some one handed Tarzan move to get my bike through. After stranding around admiring the graffiti on the cars and watching the tad poles in the water of the little muck pond, a shady lookin' guy approached, and was walking like he wasn't gonna let the train get in his way. I called out "you going over or under?" "Over" he said, "you want some help with the bike? I'll go over and you hand it to me." Despite his lack of teeth and that sinking feeling that this guy might make a break for it with my bike, I was now overwhelmed with camaraderie. We followed through with his plan, me being careful not to fully let go of the bike until I was well on my way through. I made some small talk about keeping fingers out of the cracks. I think it helps to discuss things like losing fingers in train couplings. What are the odds that you talk about it, and then it actually happens? Mighty slim I say. Anyhow, once on the other side I thanked him and asked him if I could take a picture of him with my bike in front of the train. I explained it was for a "story" I was doing. I said "story" suspecting that this guy wasn't altogether down with blogs. "What's this gonna be in?" he said. "Just on the internet" I replied. He looked thoroughly disgusted, said "no way, man." and walked on. I imagine he assumed there was something totally reprehensible that could be done with his photo, just because it was on the web. I gave him another thanks for the help, and headed on my way and scored a few big bolts outside the old Piggly wiggly.

Trudy Down

When I got home tonight Trudy, my 15 year old dog, was dead in the back yard. She was super duper. She had a full life. Despite her laziness and thorough lack of enthusiasum, she managed to kill the neighborhood rooster, the neighbor's cat, countless squirels, birds and snakes. She chased flamingos at the zoo, dug up our neighbor's tutle eggs, ruined many a rug and was once run over by a truck. She's been picked up by the cops more than once, and one time I had to claim her from a mountain brook home after she killed their pet rabbit. Despite her busy schedule she always found time to lay around and do nothing. Now she's chasing rabbits and disemboweling cats in the big poppy field in the sky. Bye Trudy

Back in the Saddle

Didn't ride Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. I had to pick people up from the airport and the train station on Thrsday, city stages over the weekend, and I was exhausted on Monday. On Tuesday I had to have a crown done and I didn't feel like riding to the dentist. So today, Wednesday, back to it. If I ride the rest of the week I'll get in three days which is the most I've ever done in a week. Next week I can shoot for more. I'm still searching for the perfect route. It seems like it will be a combination of routes and will end up being longer than any of the commonly driven routes, but not too much longer. Maybe an extra mile all together. This gets me around the treacherous railroad tracks and also avoids the big nasty intersections. No treasure today, or photos.

Treasure

took the 5th avenue route again today and arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr mate - I uncovered some treasure. Shining on the pavement in front of me was a budweiser select bottle opener. some poor soul had lost this and now it was mine. MINE! I scanned the pavement all the way to lucy's after that for more loot - but nothing. More threat of thunderstorms on my way home. Lightning sounded like it must have been directly over head and booming so loud it shook me. I thought I would dart into the bottletree and have a beer to wait out the storm (and possibly show off my new sweet budweiser select bottle opener) but when I passed by it was only sprinkling so I pushed on. I rode up third avenue and discovered that the intersection of 4th avenue and 5th avenue, where crestwood boulevard starts, is not one to approach on bike from 4th avenue. 4th becomes 3 lanes just before the intersection with the right most lane becoming a turn only lane. This means you straddle the middle and right hand lane as you approach the intersection. At the intersection you merge with cars coming from the right end up stuck between the middle and right lanes on a really busy stretch: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=35212&layer=c&ie=UTF8&ll=33.526241,-86.764832&spn=0.001816,0.003304&t=h&z=18&lci=lmc:panoramio 5th ave good, 4th ave bad.

Thunderstorms

chance of thunderstorms today. took a different route into work. I had to stop at work before going to lucy's for coffee cause my thermos was still at work from Monday. Deliveries ran later than I planned and I never made it back to the office. I took the busier 5th avenue route. It is straighter and requires a little more aggressive riding so i think it's a little faster: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1978755 I had to finish up making some packet deliveries for city stages at lunch. dark clouds were overhead the whole time but I finished without a drop. Except my bike lock. dropped it somewhere downtown. got rained on a bit coming back from lucy's at lunch. it was mostly just refreshing after riding all over downtown. I saw it had already poured where i was riding so i suppose i was lucky. got rained on some more coming back home. the railroad tracks on first avenue are definitely more trecherous when wet.

Cruisers

This weekend I decided to get two old cruiser bikes up and running. It seemed a great idea to get them on their feet and outfitted with baskets to make it easier to haul shit back and forth to work. Some new tubes, a rebuilt bottom bracket, a rebuilt hub, a couple of pedals cannibalized from a tall bike project, and a few angle grinder cuts to make a seat post fit, and they were good to roll. After a little tour around the neighborhood I realized there was no way I was going to ride these things to work, but they are ready for other fun. Much like my ride-to-work bike, these bike were also donated by a friend (Lance) for a tall bike project. I suppose it was again under false pretenses, but after seeing them I couldn't put the chop chop to them. Instead they have a new life. They may get sent to New Orleans with Randy to live out their remaining years as bar bikes.

Tomorrow looks to be my drive to work day. I decided I was still going to drive to work one day every week or two for now. That way I have my car occasionally to run errands and such. Specifically, tomorrow I have to help a friend deliver some things for City Stages next weekend so it will be a good day to have a trunk and not be all sweaty when I show up. I'll most likely ride my bike to Lucy's for a run and coffee in the am and then car it to work.

Friday

Day three of biking. I need some different clothes. It's a battle between sweat and stink and trying to look presentable at work. Threw in the towel today and just wore a t-shirt all day. I need to work out the clothes thing or my office is going to quickly begin to look like a locker room. That is the only real battle. The heat isn't so bad and it isn't terribly strenuous but the sweat sooaked clothing is a drag at work. I also need to explore more routes. Overall I'm calling this a partial success so far. I've taken a few photos, found a squeezy baseball for Blue, found a book about some high school wrestler who discovers Jesus and a cool piece of steel pipe. On the down side I almost ran into my first car door in the 7th avenue bike lane, knew that was coming. Next week poses a couple of challenges city stages and friends coming into town.

1st post - sweaty and a bit disjunctive

First post in what may be a lot, or very few. Back at the beginning of the year I decided I would begin riding my bike to work for a number of reasons. I've always run for exercise and it started to feel weird that I drive to some destination to then run. Something about that has always felt silly - driving for 40 minutes round trip to run for 45. I also enjoy shooting photos of things I see around me day to day in Birmingham and I though riding my bike would give me a new angle for that. Of course gas prices, getting fat blah blah blah all played a part. Living only a few miles from work has always made me feel like I could or should be riding rather than driving. The last was a gift from a friend of mine. He had a nice old Trek mountain bike hanging about and said I could have it. Somewhat under false pretenses I took it to be part of a welding/sculpture/bicycle project. I then decided it was too nice a bike to chop up. So there it was gleaming in front of me, the final piece of my little puzzle. Back in February I made my first attempt at this. I rode three days in a row, the last in the rain. I came down with the flu and laid out of work for a week. Then in April I attempted to start it up again. I rode once, came up with a bunch of excuses and blew it off again. Now, in June, and 93 degrees, I'm determined to get this going. Here's my route today (and Yesterday): http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1962425 I headed out today just after calling Shawnie to come pick up an item for work that was too large to carry on my bike. I stopped again about a mile down the road to ask her to pick up my helmet that I had left behind. I was thinking more about what new route I could try instead of what has become my standard route. I use the term standard rather loosely as this is only my 5th day to ride my bike to work in 5 months. However, it's the second day in a row, so it's a streak. I'm considering changing my route after blasting through a basketball game on Division Avenue on my way home last night. I heard the ball BANG against the backboard as I exited the game. I thought "better the backboard then me" and decided not to turn around to look. In addition, the railroad tracks tend to be pretty treacherous on 1st avenue, especially the ones that run diagonal across the road. Really the best, most efficient, route would be just to take the straighter & busier roads. I think I need a few more days to acclimate before I take that on.