Lunch Hour Bike Paths and Singletrack

I have a job that I go to a couple days a week.
The best part of having a job is riding a bike to and from it.  In addition to commuting I've been taking advantage of the "lunch hour" encouraged by the company to get out and ride a few miles. 
Just a couple of minutes from the office and I'm on one of the greenbelts that wind through and across Anchorage.

 

Less than 15 minutes from my desk and I can snag a slice of pizza, a thermos of coffee from the Beartooth and boogie down to sea level to enjoy my lunch with a view of the Alaska Range. 

 

I've been exploring every little spur of urban singletrack spur I can find off the Chester Creek Trail.  Most of it leads to homeless camps.  Some of it makes for some pretty sweet, creekside cruising.

 

Not bad for being in the smack dab in the middle of the biggest city in the state.

 

 If I don't grab coffee from the Beartooth there's a little coffee stand a hundred yards or so from work that can fill my cup before I lockup and go back to staring at a computer for the remainder of the afternoon.  Most of the time I make it back to work without spilling too much hot coffee on my hand.

Screenshot and Surly Bits

Took the longer (~40min) route through the woods today to stockpile some sanity before an afternoon of staring at a screen that looks like this:

Also gave me the opportunity to mash a little bit on a new to me Tuggnut I scored off of ebay.

I'm not a little guy, so it's nice to have a little extra peace of mind when mashing the dinglespeed up hills.
I had already tested its ability to open beverages, and I'm pleased to report it did a fine job holding my wheel in place.

Feels Like Winter

While the days have gotten short and the temperatures have been cool, there has been lots of beautiful sunshine to enjoy on at least one way of my commute.

I've been riding this beast almost exclusively for the last few weeks enjoying it's midfatness on the little snow we do have.  The $30 pogies have continue to serve me well, even after 7 years.  I was riding at -5 F this afternoon with my bare hands in them for the last 5 miles of my ride.

More exciting than snow has been the overflow from frozen streams around town.  I came upon this immediately after leaving the house yesterday.  An ice damn in a culvert had water flowing out down the road in single digit temperatures.  A couple of trails around town have had a some significant overflow issues on and off over the past few weeks.  In a very dorky way, I really enjoy the dynamics of water and ice.

 Spotted this guy just off the trail riding to school today,

then heard something behind me and noticed I'd parked my bike right between the two bulls.  Fortunately the were mellow and disinterested in my existence.

The left palm of his antlers appears to have broken off at some point.

 

Bankfull and Then Some

Pop quiz for Gypsy Nick (or anyone else who would care to play):

Name that flooded creek.

This is some of the good stuff that you miss zipping around in a car.

Things have been wet and wild up here for the last week or so, especially for communities north and south of here.

I was fortunate enough to see the sun for a few minutes earlier this morning, so I won't complain.

Super Commuter #25

Was at a park downtown today when I noticed this guy chatting with the tourists. 
 I didn't get to talk with him, but  I did manage to capture a picture of him trackstanding while waiting for the stoplight to change.

Race plate, full suspension and camelbak.d
Arm warmers, ear band, tights, full finger gloves and LiveStrong helmet have him covered from the nose up and the neck down.

Most impressive to me was the niterider light mounted atop the contour helmet cam.
I'd be curious for a better look at how that was rigged up.

Speak Up

Dear silent cyclist,
please speak up. Or better yet ring a bell.

A simple "bike behind you" would do. 

Fortunately it was morning and the sun cast your shadow just far enough ahead of you to make me pause before I completely took you out and ruined both our mornings.

Image from: CruiserCandy.com

Little wRider and I had paused briefly to look for salmon in the creek and I never heard you coming as I prepared to remount and roll on.



I do my best to remain aware of my surroundings, and I know it gets old having to announce you presence over and over on a busy day (especially when almost everyone is iDeaf from their silly ear buds), but it sure beats a whole bunch of road rash, or slamming into the guardrail on the bridge where you passed me.

Hope you enjoyed your morning ride,

Bike wRider

Bicycle Delivery Service

 
Mrs. called yesterday and said she needed a ride.
She had the truck, but said she would prefer to ride a bicycle.

I loaded up the Donkey and met her at the end of her workday.

I tried to STUp, but I didn't know how

Cargo hauling LEVEL 3 achieved, please proceed

Passenger in-tow action shot

A.C. thought everyone should know that Mrs loves meat, even though she never eats it

Road Bikes and Lunch Buffets

I got the Bridgestone out for a test run yesterday after finishing some off-season upgrades.
New (second hand (actually third hand I think)) wheelset/9spd cassette and some bar end shifters has brought the RB-1 well into the mid-1990's.  Still tweaking saddle and handlebars, but really enjoyed the illusion of speed the bike gave me.

I don't see why not.

I ran into a couple different patches of snow on the trail over to GSC's, but the bike handled itself rather impressively and plowed right on through.

Local street toughs.  Don't let their smiles and kind words fool you.

This morning Little wRider and I rolled out to do a Chariot hand off with Mrs.
We encountered this pair of brightly dressed street toughs blocking our path.  Fortunately some quick thinking and smooth talking on my part enabled us to get by with out being roughed up too badly. 

Thai food?      Don't mind if I do.

We found Mrs. had happened to pause her commute directly in front of a delicious smelling Thai restaurant to chat with Kousin Kristen.  Obviously this led to an impromptu lunch buffet.

Rotors and Records

I finished up the semester on friday.
Provided I pass quantitative methods it will officially be the end of coursework for my master's degree, and quite possibly for good. (Not feeling the need for a PhD at the moment).

I've still have research and thesis work to complete, so LOTS of work ahead, but it still felt like a significant milestone.

So how do I indulge myself and celebrate?

With a large dose of bikes, that's how.

Spent friday evening in the garage swapping rotors around, and throwing this new Ashima rotor in the mix.  I figure with 160mm rotors all the way around I end up with the ability to readily swap front wheels between five different bikes if need be.

To add to the celebration I watched Graeme Obree's story of tackling the hour record in the Flying Scotsman.
I remember him breaking the record, then losing it, then . . . . .  well you'll just have to watch it yourself.

I've been meaning to see the movie for a few years, just haven't slowed down enough to indulge in movie watching in a long time.
Favorite part: When Francesco Moser pulls the stick out so to speak and starts cheering for Obree.

Rotors and Records

Saturday night went from moose burgers on the grill to some wrenching and riding with old friends.

Allman, GSC and I met Mrs. for her commute home.

Been too long since we've had a late night rally around town with friends.
Honestly doesn't get much more fun than that for me.

Humbled

It's spring around here.

How do I know for sure?

For one the neighbors are doing their best to hasten the end of this record setting winter by taking snowblowers to their lawns to that they can hurry up and get on with the lawn mowing.

The sunny mornings are reasonably pleasant, even in the sleep deprived, strung out, finals week state that I am operating in,

and the returning waterfowl have been able to find flowing water upon which to float.

And most telling is the return of the commuter (Cat6) race season.

During the long dark winter Cat6 races are even fewer and further between than the commuters are,
but now that the the sun is shining things are changing.

This guy totally smoked me off the line, then settled in just far enough ahead of me that I knew the he was the man.

What you don't see (because my camera battery died right after this picture)  is the DUI commuter and former coworker  of mine that I blew out of the water later in my commute.

Spring Gravel Grinder

This winter the DOT and municipality of Anchorage spread approximately 40,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel around town.

Now that the snow and ice is mostly gone from the roads much of that gravel has migrated to shoulders and bike lanes, turning my typical rides around town into a lot of gravel cruising.


It won't be there for too long though. Thanks to enforcement of the Clean Water Act there is a June 1st deadline to have all the streets in town swept (and in general they get swept twice by then).
Last year the city had a $1.8million street sweeping budget, and will likely spend closer to $2mil this year.
A significant change from the ~$70,000 budget they had for street sweeping back in 2005.

Makes riding bikes nicer.



I spotted this thing abandoned on the bike path on my way home yesterday. Still had gas in the tank, so I wonder what the story was.

Of all the days to not be riding the Big Dummy.

It was gone by the time I cruised by this morning.

A Couple From Today

This is what I'm Dealing With These Days

We are within a few inches of record snowfall for a single season around here.
I love snow, and I love lots of it even more.
And now that the roof has been shoveled I'm not stressed out by the large quantity of it above my head.

All that snow has made for an interesting winter of riding. I very quickly got my money's worth out of my 1x1 set up. It's no fatbike (I like to think of it as Big Boned) but it has been great for this year's commuting.
While I am generally a proponent of vehicular cycling practices, I readily change my tune when it gets good and snowy. Unless there is a moose blocking the bike path, then I'll take my chances in the street.

This years snowbanks have made bike path travel even more hazardous than usual

Do you see that berm? Do you think a driver coming from the left could see me even if they were looking?

And you thought bikes were invisible in the summer.

During the dark rides of midwinter cars' headlights were often a good indicator of the need to slow down and not get creamed when approaching an intersection like this, but now that the days are getting longer I've got to really have my ears on and be ready for suprises.

A few weeks ago I saw a city employ with a shovel digging this stop sign out of the snowbank. That's how big the piles have gotten, the traffic signs are getting buried.
You see that big F150 zooming by? Yep, but not for long. He's about to disappear behind a giant pile of snow. No way a driver could see a 6'3" guy on a 22" frame about to enter the intersection.

Having my light mounted on my helmet, rather than my bars, has helped me get a driver or two's attention before our paths crossed, but I'm just going to keep operating as if I'm even more invisible than usual.


Oh, and all that snow has left these guys more stressed out and ornery than usual.
This one seemed mostly curious as she kept approaching me, but I was more than ready to roll under that truck if her mood suddenly changed.


Snowy trails have made for some fun riding/towing in the woods. Little man cracks up when we're bombing the downhills.

This Evening

There was more snow for tonight's ride home than I had been anticipating.
Last weather report I saw called for accumulation of < 1inch
Oh well, I'm not complaining about first tracks.

Big, Fat, Wet Flakes

School bus was stuck and abandoned.
Flat ground, with chains on, still got stuck

Saddle Adjustment

On my ride to school today I realized my seatpost had slipped a little bit.

A while later, while I was stopped I decided to fix my saddle right real quick.

I grabbed my multi-tool out of my seat pack and this is what I found:


Not cool, eh?

It was -15F at the time (-26.1 for those of you who prefer that superior system).

Fortunately it was just a minor saddle adjustment and I could live without fixing it.

Had I needed the tool for something more significant I might have been a little annoyed.

Defender of the CrossCheck

I put studs on the CrossCheck this weekend. The last of my three bikes that will get studded this year. I also tossed the Bridgestone in the shed seeing as it won't see pavement until next spring. Now I just need to get studs on one or two of Mrs' bikes and we'll have completed our seasonal change over.

While I had the wheels off I decided to pull the fenders off the CrossCheck for the time being. Riding this past week in temps that were in the neighborhood of 15 deg below zero splashing water and spray seem like they will be of little concern for at least the next four or five months, and its nice to see cleaner lines on the bike for a while. Besides I still have the rear rack on to prevent a mudstripe up my backside if I do get caught out in some sloppy conditions

Made My Day

Got cut off riding to class today. One of those scenarios where driver was looking left to turn right and would have run me right over if I hadn't been paying attention. I yelled "Hey" just to let him know I was there. He saw me after it would have already been too late.

I glanced over my shoulder after crossing the intersection and saw brake lights and the truck came to a stop on a main road. I prepared myself for the possibility of confrontation. . . . Instead I heard "Sorry man" shouted out an open window. I gave him a friendly wave and a shout before riding off with a smile on my face.

I drive, I understand close calls happen more easily than any of us would like, and I really appreciated him taking just a couple seconds to let me know he was sorry. Totally made my day.

Commuting

Did some commuting on my bridgestone speed cycle this week. Trying to squeeze in some skinny tire miles before winter sets in.

Snowline keeps creeping lower.

I bought new socks, don't they look nice?

So far I'm pretty pleased with the new VeloOrange bars on put on the RB-1

Alien Abduction?

I'd noticed this before, but never had the camera with me.


About the last label I want on a seatpost pointed straight at my backside is the word "PROBE".

Memorial Ride

Memorial ride today for a local commuter killed on April 5.
Maybe 100+ people, I'm not great at estimating moving crowds.

2nd ghost bike at the site. DOT removed the first in a matter of days.