After a Bit of a Break

It's been a while since the last post and a lot has happened over the past week.  I've ridden to work every day; no driving for me!  I figure the less I drive, the longer my car will last.  So far so good. Mostly...

Since I have been spending so much time on my bike lately I suppose it's just statistics catching up with me, but I have to tell you (for the sake of unbiased journalism) that I had 2 back to back bad encounters on my bike in the last week.  I usually like to focus on the positive experiences that I have on my bike, but I can't ignore what I dealt with earlier this week.

Saturday night: I had planned on having a few folks over to go for a little neighborhood cruise followed by a few barley pops in the garage.  So, after work Copper, Vince, and I were pedaling towards my place to meet up with the rest of the crew when we noticed a white car flip a U and start speeding our direction at about 35th and Woolworth heading west. At this point of the road it's a divided boulevard with a rather large grassy median in the middle of the street.  We were definitely aware of the car from the squealing of the tires and even more aware of it after a bottle was thrown from the passenger side directly at us.  Luckily it whizzed just past my head, landed in the grass, and didn't hit anyone on its way. At this point the car peeled out, probably going about 40 miles an hour, and neglected to heed the warning of a speed bump coming up. Vince and I rejoiced at the sound of their car launching into the air and then crashing loudly on the other side of the bump.  Small victory. Unfortunately, they didn't think that this was quite enough harassment for 2 unassuming cyclists just trying to make it home.  The crazy part is that I was pulling Copper behind me.  When it's dark you really can't tell if it's a kid or a dog or what in the trailer and the fact that these crazed moronic drivers where intentionally causing stress to our party was unbelievable.  Anyway, they flipped around again and sped towards us for the second time. At this point my heart was racing and it had gone from "weird, these stupid kids are bored" to "holy shit, they're after us again and they're getting out of control."  Vince suggested (wisely) that we make a quick turn down a side street and pull into a driveway.  We made that quick move and Vince then jumped off of his bike and reached for his cell phone.  At this point, the sickening sound of car tires squealing once again alarmed us as the two teenage boys made the same turn that we just had but this time just stared at us (shaking) in the driveway as they sped past.

Yuck.  That was probably one of the worst experiences in traffic I've ever had.  The remainder of our ride home was less than pleasant: constantly checking over our shoulder for a white sedan full of punk kids on a mission to hurt someone.  Luckily, we made it home safely and were just pretty shook up from the ordeal.

Then, on Monday night (the next time I rode) as I headed down Leavenworth towards Greenstreet for our Monday Night Shop Ride, I had another disturbing incident.  I was headed eastbound on Leavenworth at about 25th St., right after I had crossed the interstate, and was in the far right lane (and the right 1/3 of that lane in fact) cruising down the hill at a pretty decent clip like I do on a daily basis.  There was no other traffic on the 3 lane one way street so I figured I was safe, considering I was riding predictably and out of the way of any potential traffic.  At that point, basically out of no where, I was aware of a vehicle quickly approaching and before I could even look, a giant brown F 250 was right on my tail honking and screaming at me.  It was close enough that I could feel the heat of the vehicle, probably at most 6 inches from my left shoulder.  Shocking, and particularly upsetting considering I was tentative about riding in the first place based on my Saturday run-in.

I decided to post this before re-reading it.  Good luck to us both.

SJ

Midnight Deadlines!

Two fun events are coming up and if you act fast, you can save a few bucks!


First of all, Ride the Divide is playing tomorrow (Tuesday the 15th) at 7:00pm at Aksarben Cinema Click HERE to buy tickets!  If you buy them tonight you'll save yourself a few bucks. This is a fundraiser for Omaha Bikes and should be an amazing film.  It's an award winning documentary about the crazy long bike race that travels 2,700 miles along the Great Divide.  I think we're anticipating a pretty good turnout! We're even arranging a great bicycle parking option, so don't be afraid to pedal on over.  Omaha Bikes will have a doation jar available if you're feeling particularly generous.  See you there!!



Ride The Divide Movie Trailer from Ride The Divide on Vimeo

Secondly, the Race 2 ReCycle is coming up fast!  Tonight is the last night of early registration.  Landmark Group's Race 2 re:Cycle is a unique and fun filled cycling event taking place May 14, 2011, at Omaha's Midtown Crossing. Created to build awareness and help make the city of Omaha synonymous with both cycling and recycling, this family friendly event will include the longest tri- state bicycle relay race in the Midwest, a family fun ride, Omaha’s only children’s tricycle race, and many more activities for the entire family! Prizes will be awarded throughout the day for numerous games and contest. Proceeds will benefit Habitat for Humanity of Omaha.



Get out and participate in these fun bicycle related activities.



-SJ

Theme of the Week: Car Trouble!

So, as you may have previously read, I got a flat tire this past weekend.  No worries really, because I had my bike on top and then the following day after work, Vince and I rode there and used his AAA card to get the tire aired up.  I would have changed the tire myself, but since my car jack broke the last time I had a flat (and of course I never replaced it) it wasn't in the cards this time.  I had to snap a pic of the situation because it was rather humorous.  The AAA guy was kind of amazed at the bicycle craziness.  I had the sprints bikes in the back of my wagon and with Vince's bike and mine also in the mix, it was a bit overwhelming, even for a bike geek.

bike, bike, bike, bike, donut

Turns out it just needed some air.  I guess I don't drive it all that often and should probably check the pressure of my tires more than never. My rear driver side tire was pancake flat after losing enough air to brake the seal after being driven on for a bit.  Dang.

Then, last night I went to meet a friend for a drink and realized that I have no heat in my car.  So, this morning while looking outside at the blustery snow trying to come down, I hardly had to think twice about whether to commute by bike or by car.  In my car I would have no heat and by pedaling down to the shop, I'd be generating some heat thereby staying warmer than I would have in my car.  So, off I pedaled.

It really wasn't too bad.  I woke up this morning thinking 2-4" of snow on the ground would meet me but was surprised to only see cloudy skies and nothing really sticking yet.  My neighbor across the street has a flag on her front porch that I can see from my bedroom window; this morning it was pointing straight south. This means a tough(ish) ride considering I have to head pretty much north the entire trip.  I loaded up my panniers with hardware store goodies for the shop and pedaled away.  It's been a while since I've had much non-Copper weight behind me on a ride in. It feels a lot different when you're pulling it behind you in a trailer compared to actually on your bike.  This was abundantly clear when I went to get out of my saddle to climb for a minute.  I almost instantly sat back down.  

Arrived this morning with hardly a minute to spare; hauling a heavy load of stuff definitely slows down my trip.  Now as I watch the snow starting to really fly, I'm thinking about my ride home.  Still will be warmer than in my heat-less car!!

Sunshine in the City!

What a glorious morning for a ride to the shop.  Usually on Saturdays I drive down because it's a pretty long day and I like to bring Copper and I have the ladies ride, etc... But, today I was forced to ride.  Last night on my way home from The Side Door, I got a flat tire.  My car is still sitting on the side of Leavenworth.  Wave to it (or flip it off) as you pedal by. Luckily my bike was on the top and I just grabbed it, yelled at my car, and pedaled home.  Yay bikes.

So this morning I woke up knowing I'd be pedaling in.  I left Copper at home because I was running a bit behind schedule and it's faster without 80ish pounds of pooch in tow.  It's March!  Even though it was only 20 degrees out, the sun was shining and the birds were chirping!  This fact made me smile all the way downtown.  I cruised Center as usual and noticed that Saturdays have (obviously) a much different traffic flow than week days.  This was a nice change.

It was a chilly ride in, but still with the sunshine and a bunch of layers, I was quite comfortable.  Got to the shop just in the nick of time. Brewed some coffee, put some vinyl (thanks Woodman) on the player and started my day. 

Also, Greenstreet's one year birthday party was on Thursday, and boy did we have a good time.  Here are a few pictures...

Good times were had by all...or at least most.  There was a bit of puking after I encouraged cake sprints.  Shoulda been there!

Chasing the Sunset Home

Today begged for a bike ride. And Copper begged to go for a run. But then again, the bike shop needed me too.  Everyone was happy by the end of the day. 

To kill multiple birds with one stone, I unearthed the Burley Tail Wagon and decided to pull Copper D. Dog to the bike shop behind my Vaya for the first time this year.  The fact that the roads are mostly snow free is a glorious realization for both Copper and myself.  I had a bunch of dog guilt this winter as I pedaled into the shop on my winter single speed with studded tires, sans Copp.  She hated me for it and looks forward to the spring.  This morning as I was readying myself for the ride down Copper watched me as usual.  The sad part is that she's gotten used to watching me leave with out her.  So, as you may imagine, when I asked her if she wanted to ride bikes with me she raced outside as fast as her 4 little legs could carry her.  I was getting her trailer out and she jumped into it before it was even attached to my bike!



She was ready!!

 I was overjoyed at the sight; for a moment I had feared that she would be anti-wagon like she was when I first introduced the idea to her about a year ago.  It originally took a lot of coercing with treats to warm her up to the idea of jumping into the trailer by herself; there were plenty of days of me having to grab her and shove her in and close the cover before she started realizing it was a good idea.

She was so excited to be part of the trip that she didn't want to get out of the Burley for me to hook it up; so, being the sucker for her that I am, I just let her sit in it while I attached it to the Vaya.

Attached at last.

Off we rode!  I wasn't in a huge time crunch to get to the shop so we meandered along taking a little different route than usual.  There is a lot of construction going on on Center Street these days so we ducked off of it at 49th and climed up towards Pine.  I forgot how damn heavy my dog is!!  It's a good thing that I rode all winter through and thought about how much worse it would have been pulling her around if I hadn't.  I didn't feel very strong climbing up the hills today but was absolutely glad that I had my little furry friend along for the ride.  We talked to a few laughing pedestrians along the way and I made my usual comment about how it would be much more enjoyable if I could get Copper to pull me.  Chuckles all around.  We pulled up to the shop and got to work.

Our ride home was wonderful. The weather was wonderful and we caught the tail end of a beautiful sunset. I pulled over on Woolworth and tried to capture what remained of the pink stained sky. My photography skills, as usual, leave a little something to be desired but you get the idea.

Looking West on Woolworth toward 42nd

 Good layering for the ride.  T-shirt + light weight wool jersey + windbreaker + Grovecraft hat + swrve pants = happy rider.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a beaut.  I think Jolene and I may be riding around 4pm if anyone is interested.  Mayhaps out to Ponca?  Too nice not to get out for a bit.

Good day again!!

Who else is riding?  Also, who else is planning to sprint the night away on Thursday for Greenstreet's One Year B-day Party at Nomad (1013 Jones St.)?  It promises to be a fine time.  There will be b-day cake, prizes including a freaking bicycle!!, beer specials, and more.  I'll be there with a microphone harassing people to particpate.  See you there!!!

SJ

Holy Headwind Batman!

Flag's a blowin'

Apparently I was still stuck in yesterday's temperature zone when I planned my layers for the ride in this morning.  I wore my wwr swrve pants (or course), long sleeve base layer and then wool jersey, fleece vest, and light weight soft shell.  Sounded like plenty to me!  But the wind blew through me anyway.  I didn't have heavy enough gloves (I think my heavier mitts are still in the Frostbike vehicle...) and I fumbled with numb fingers pulling my camera out of my bag to document this flag that was blowing straight out and into my face.  The entire ride was into the wind.  Which was actually kind of fun.  You know the days when you get on your bike and it really doesn't matter what you run into, you're just thrilled to be pedaling?  Today was that day for me.  Even though I couldn't find my charger for my light (which turns out was at the shop! hooray!), kept thinking about all of what's on my plate for the day at work, and got blown around like a feather in a tornado, I smiled all the way down to the shop. 

We're carrying a Greenstreet Blend coffee at the shop as of Tuesday.  It's locally roasted by The Grey Plume, organic, fair trade, and darn tasty.  I thought about drinking a hearty cup of this fresh brew as I got ready to ride this morning and realized that I was out of cream at the shop!  So, first stop: Hy-Vee by my house to pick up a few goodies. 1/2 and 1/2, carrots, hummus, and an avocado made the cut and I hopped back on my Vaya and headed East.  Before I was actually back on my bike though, I was bent over my bag putting my u-lock away and a large man in a cowboy hat with a booming voice said, "Looks like the red light district."  Now, I've absolutely never heard that before directed at myself and had to think for a minute as I looked up to verify his words were aimed my way.  He was smiling through his over-sized 'stache and that's when it clicked: I had my two red blinking tail lights on since it's a rather dark morning and he thought he was clever.  I responded with a smile and a chuckle.  Thanks cowboy for a good laugh to start my pedal Downtown.

I wound my way through the Morton Meadows/Field Club area and hooked up with Woolworth and continued on my normal route towards Leavenworth via Park Ave.  I did notice a few crazy deep circular pot holes (but to perfectly round to be natural) on Leavenworth just after the interestate bridge.  Beware!



Vern back in action!  Boy I missed this bike.



Bag-o-plenty.

I've recently absconded with Vince's Mission Workshop Vandal bag and am blown away by its carrying capacity!! 

Yesterday I rode down to The Grey Plume to pick up our first order of 5 1# bags of delicious whole bean.  I tossed those in on top of apparently 33 pounds of other stuff including a bunch of beers we picked up in MPLS that you can't get here, my laptop, notebooks, U-lock, and more.  I put the bag on the shop scale when I got here just to see where it was at (and to make myself feel tough) and it didn't surprise me to find that it said 38.00 pounds.  I'm impressed with the fact that the bag still rode well when it was that heavy.  Also, there was still room to spare!  I don't think I could have (happily) carried much more weight, but it sure could've.

Here's the loot that I hauled down.  Mmmmm, beer and coffee on a bike.  Life's good, don't you think?!

Snow's apparently in the forecast for this weekend but I'm not scrrrred. Who else has chilly riding plans the next few days? 

If you're a commuter and you're out and about Downtown, plllllease swing by the shop and check out a huge city map that was dropped off by our City Bike/Ped Coordinator, Carlos, for us to draw all over!  We want to know where you ride, where you think more lanes &/or sharrows should be, good routes, scary areas, places where lights don't have good sensors for bikes, etc.  Please come on down and let your voice be heard!  I'm on the Transportation Master Plan Stakeholder Committee and am bringing this map with feedback back to our meetings.  Let us know what will make pedaling in and around Omaha easier for you!!!

Over and out.
SJ

Slacking on Posts...But at Least I'm Pedaling

Geez, I've been having major blog-neglect guilt.   Maybe it is because I'm still playing catch up from my time in California. Sigh.  Beautiful, sunny, warm, glorious, multi-modal transportable California.

But alas, we're in the depths of winter and negative 26 degree wind chill advisories.  Home sweet home.  After I unpacked, washed, and buried in my closet my summer riding kits, I pulled back out my fleece balaclava, goggles, thermal tights, wool jerseys, and lobster claws (as well as liner gloves).  Winter riding is fun.  Especially when you can go to balmy climates and beat boys up hill climbs because you've never put away your bike for the 'season'.  I met some cool folks out at SBCU (Specialized Bicycle & Components University) and definitely had my ego stroked as I was (per the usual) the only girl from a bike shop out there riding with a bunch of testosterone driven gear heads.  Fun times, absolutely.

So yeah, back to Omaha.  I have been riding a bunch since I got back.  Yes I rode yesterday, which according to my mother is the coldest day we've encountered this winter.  I believe the low was negative 8 before you factored in the wind chill, which let me assure you, was indeed a factor.  I rode to my monthly Omaha Bikes meeting and then back to my place before pedaling down to the shop for a meeting with our Salsa Cycles reps who were cruising through town.  It was absolutely cold, yes, but the only thing that was actually uncomfortable (until numbness set in, that is) was my finger tips.  I had a pair of fleece liners under my lobsters but still had no feeling by the time I reached the shop.

On my ride down to the shop yesterday I was contemplating the safety (or lack thereof) of my front fender.  I drove my bike inside my car to the shop several days ago install a rear studded tire after nearly wiping out in front of a car the Saturday before I left for CA as I slipped my way up Farnam St. during that night's heavy snow storm. Sooo, my roof rack's skewer was frozen so I removed the front wheel to shove the bike in the back of my wagon and shoot the luck, broke my fender.  I kinda rigged it with zip ties and a bit of electrical tape (Munson, if the fender offer still stands, I'm all in this time!!) and it seemed to be holding.  Then yesterday, with temps sinking far enough to make the e-tape brittle, I was destined for equipment failure.  I was bombing down Leavenworth when I noticed a metal on metal tinking noise and looked down to see the metal strut of the fender hitting my spokes.  Yikes.  Envisioning an endo in the works, I quickly pulled over to see if I could make any modification that would allow me to pedal safely the remainder of my commute.  It was at this point that I noticed the cold had really killed any elasticity of the tape and the zip ties were also cracked.  BRRRRR! I did realize that if I could just kind of push the two parts together it would last til I could re-wrap with tape and ties. Thankfully it worked. Sorta.  I did have to stop 2 more times on the way there to readjust my set up.  It felt good, for mulitple reasons, to finally roll up to the shop. 

I also rode today to the Transportation Master Plan Stakeholder Committee Meeting and am glad I did.  Only 2 others (Scott Redd being one of them) braved the temps this evening and rode down.  Good for you guys.

Who else is riding?  And how is it going?  I think this weekend is supposed to be awesome weather-wise.  There will be a 10am Ladies' Ride leaving Greenstreet Cycles this Saturday.  And then on Sunday, I got talked into racing in Panama, NE in an adventure race put together by Angry Cow Adventures.  Wish me luck!!  I'm sure I'll have a fun story or two from this weekend. 

Pics from random rides and ski adventures will follow shortly!  Sorry it's been so long!!

-SJ

Leavin' On A Jet Plane...

I'm off to sunny Northern California for SBCU (Specialized Bicycle and Component University) for the week, so there won't be much happening here!  But I will take photos and memories and report back upon my return on Sunday.  Hope the weather cooperates for you this week; get out and pedal!

SJ

Uncomfortably Numb

So, today was freaking cold.  Like goggles and wool balaclava cold.  I denied the fact as I got ready this morning and was sadly unprepared for my frigid ride into Downtown. I had a meeting about the Bike to the Ballpark initiative with Omaha Bikes at Wohlner's and then had to be at the shop after that.

Yesterday I ended up driving to the Transportation Master Planning meeting which was pointed out by one Scott Redd, my die-hard commuter buddy that earns respect far and wide in the community for his dedication and success stories within his cycling experiences.  Anyway, he told me last night at the meeting that he was going to borrow a friend's car and drive down, but then read my blog and since I'd mentioned that I was riding down after being sick for weeks, figured if I could do it, so could he!  Way to go Scott; he was the only one that I know of that rode there last night.  You rock; I wussed out and after a massage that ended at 5:45 I had no motivation or time to ride down and make it there by 6:30. Thanks for telling me that I helped get you on 2 wheels instead of 4; that made it hurt a little less!  I also ran into another guy that I'd met at a commuting clinic I gave this fall that told me because of my lecture, he's riding to work on a regular basis.  A 3rd gentleman informed me that he was only at the meeting because I'd suggested he show up.  What a feel-good kind of night!!  Thanks for all of the positive feedback guys; makes a gal feel all smiley.

Out of respect to Mr. Redd, I rode down to Casablanca Moroccan Cafe just east of Midtown Crossing since it had come highly recommended by Scott himself.  We were greeted by the owner who complimented us for riding in this weather and treated to a few tasty appetizers after we told him that Scott had sent us in. Good lunch overall. 


probably gonna work on bike parking here





try to ignore my double chin and focus on the freaking froooozzzen scarf and hair

  I then pedaled up to my meeting in Midtown Crossing and parked at the covered bike racks that Wohlner's has in their garage.  They're a Bike Friendly Destination, by the way; purdy good.  I chatted with Julie and Carlos about a few details of our B2BP plan and then I pedaled in the freeeeezing cold down 33rd to Burt and then east to the shop.  At this point I could hardly keep my head up because the desire to pull my neck and face into my scarf like out-did the desire to see where I was going (I felt like a turtle).  Somehow I managed to make it to the shop but by the time I arrived I honestly could not feel my chin or ears and my fingers were on their way out as well.  I will absolutely use the balaclava that I'm borrowing from my shop boys for the ride home.  That should do the trick.  Now, if only my legs will cooperate after yoga tonight.  Hmmmm...

Great to be back on the bike, despite the painful temps.  Good ride all in all; grateful for the studded tires today.  Who else rode today?  Scotttttt?!?!