Sam Hill & Thomas Vanderham

There's More Than One Way to Ride a Bike

Tim Knoll - freestyle bmx

Been Needing That

Life's been hectic, winter is coming.
I put in some overtime in the library this afternoon, then rolled home for some dinner and family time. Got a text mid ride that Mrs. BikewRider was out shopping.

Decided it was a good time to take the long way home. Threw a new tire on the back of the crosscheck the other day and hadn't had it on dirt yet. Cousin RyeN got a flat on an old WTB tire early in a night ride this week. We were close to home and hadn't hit the trails yet so we made a quick bike swap and cruised around the woods in the dark on SS 29ers. but I digress.

image from jupiterimages.com

Today peeled off course a few minutes from home and did a quick lap around one of my favorite little loops in town. The leaves are all down, shaping trails that are often wider than I prefer into neat little ribbons of singletrack. Wound along the creek for a bit, then cruised towards home in the fading daylight. The setting sun glowed through the tops of the naked trees, and rode faster than I ought through the dusky woods.

Got home happy. Nose running, limbs chilly, torso toasty. Dinner is on the stove waiting for Mrs. and Baby BikewRider to get home.

-Bike wRider

Night Riding

Dark , getting colder, bears are almost all gone for the year.

Charge the lights, let's go ride trails.

Vic did better than I

So I have been brewing this post in my head all day. As I was opening the blog tonight I clicked over to The Lazy Randonneur and read Vic's post about biking vs. driving. Turns out he made a good choice while I was left second guessing mine.

Good decision Vic

I started grad school recently and up until today I rode my bike to school whenever I needed to be there. Well I was feeling the effects this week. All those 20 min dashes to make it to class on time were adding up and I have been doing nothing to stretch them out. My hamstrings were TIGHT and pulling on my lower back to the point of moderate discomfort. I had lab at 8am, too early for my blood. I decided it would be nice to drive rather than dedicate the extra time to making a bike ride happen.

(not really my truck)

Last night I can honestly say I was looking forward to driving. I pictured myself relaxing, drinking my coffee and cruising into to school carefree and on time. In reality (no surprise here) I found the drive ridiculously stressful and was wishing I were on my bike.

Of course I left later than I meant too. Being on time is not an easy thing for me, even more so now with Baby Bikewrider around. The first main road I hit had a school bus with its lights flashing making me even slower than I already was. Then, of course, I hit all the lights wrong and had to sit and wait in a string of traffic at the busiest intersections. I got anxious and a bit frustrated with the other drivers and the transportation system in general.

I found myself gazing at the bike lanes and contemplating how much more enjoyable my commute would be if I hadn't chosen to be trapped in a cage.

Although I do have to admit my back feels much better this evening.