Happy New Years

A Surge in Bicyclists Appears to Be Waiting Check out this NY Times article
Happy New Year!
No ride this morning. 21 degrees and I'm in New Jersey anyway, awaiting the blessed event.

Farewell 2008

Today is the last day of 2008. It will certainly go down as one of the more interesting years in recent memory, what with the soaring gas prices followed by plummeting gas prices, a soaring economy followed by a plummeting economy and one of the most exciting political campaigns in anyone's memory. And The Phillies won the World Series!! And the bicycle achieved a place in the public discourse because it touches and is touched by these aforementioned subjects. They even got to lead out the Phillies victory parade.

Personally it has also been a very exciting year marked by Yoshi's wedding and the impending birth of our grandson in the next few days. (Technically that makes that part of next year's story, but grandchildren are relevant to any discussion.) Meanwhile, through it all we rode. Annie and I rode in the Freedom Valley Ride, The Harlem River Valley Ride, The Lancaster Covered Bridges Ride; I rode in Bike Philly without her because she had to be out of town, and we probably did another ride or two that I am forgetting. And of course, we rode almost every morning on our usual route around the river. Which brings me to my mileage for the year. It was a beautiful morning for a ride today, about the same temperature as yesterday, a bit colder perhaps, but almost no wind (which has since picked up to howling this afternoon) and I was sorry that I'd made a relatively early appointment to have my second Apple One-To-One. And since I stayed up late to watch a really exciting Flyers game from Vancouver last night, I didn't get out at my regular time. It was nice to ride in the light and I managed to push harder and ride over 17 miles to end the year. That brings my yearly total to 4701.4. Two hundred miles above goal, three hundred miles less than last year. A well chosen goal. I'll stick with it for the coming year: 4500 miles.

Meanwhile, January should get off to a rocky start riding-wise. The baby will be born in the next few days and for a good couple of weeks we will be either staying up in New Jersey or going back and forth a lot. Even if we take the folders with us, given the winter weather, miles may be hard to come by. But when things settle down I will be on Sabbatical and expect to at least maintain if not increase my normal riding patterns. As you may remember I hope to begin working in my local bike shop as soon as things do settle down. I will try to document my experiences there on a separate blog that will link from this one starting in a few days. It will be called Mussar and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance and the link will be up soon. Till then. Ride safely. Happy New Year.

What A Wiind

Although Hanukkah ended yesterday I just came across this photo from Alan Snell's Bike Stories blog: Happy Belated Holidays to all!


The thermometer read 44 degrees and frankly, even with 20 to 40 mile an hour winds I wasn't cold as Annie and I rode this morning. But there were times when I was actually scared! I thought I might get blown over. I rode most of the way up Kelly Drive out of my clips just in case I had to catch myself going over. I think it was all mostly in my head. Of course, riding back the other way was much more pleasant.

Cooler And Darker

The official temperature was 40 degrees when Annie and I rode out this morning. It felt colder, but was a pleasant ride to start the week. I also noticed how much darker it has become. It has been night-dark when we leave for a long time, but the sky began to lighten by the time we reached the Falls Bridge. Today it didn't even begin to lighten until we came around the museum near the end of our ride. Funny how it sneaks up on you. I fixed my tire yesterday and so was riding the Fuji this morning which felt good. I have the Brompton with me for errands etc the rest of the day so I'll record the mileage later.

Sixty Degrees and Blog Anniversary

Despite being really grumpy from an ongoing physical ailment (I can't categorize it any more specifically than that: it sounds like a cold but the only symptom is a stuffed nose, which I've had now for weeks, and growing loss of energy that has also been going on for weeks) and despite a number of so far unsuccessful treatments (do I need this Sabbatical or what?)who could resist getting up in the dark and riding when the temperature is 60 degrees on December 28th, which just happens to be the 2nd anniversary of this blog. (How's that for a sentence?) Annie rode the Fuji while I rode the Brompton. Not only can I keep up with her on it, I still can ride faster. It was a lovely ride. The streets were wet from overnight rain but the trail was almost empty and though there was a good headwind, it's funny how that doesn't really bother you when the temperature is 60 degrees. The forecast is for continued warmer than usual temperatures this week (though not as warm as today) and I hope to take advantage of it to tweak the mileage a bit more before the yearly total is official.

As I mentioned today is the second anniversary of this blog. While I've been a little less attentive of late, I still think it has been pretty consistent for what its worth. Thanks to all for reading and commenting.

Below is a picture from Gene's Blog, Bike Biz, from my old home of Seattle. Sixty degrees in Philadelphia, riding in the snow around Lake Washington? Something is wrong with this picture. Good luck on making your mileage goal, Gene.

Anniversary Ride

Today is Annie and my 39th wedding anniversary. It was finally a lovely day and we went out for a late morning ride. Late, in part, because we awoke to a power outage. We've had no electricity until just a few minutes ago. Basically all day. But we decided to ride anyway and then take very quick showers before heading to the movies. Then, of course, I decided to fill all the tires with air and somehow broke the pin on the valve of one of my tires. So we decided to switch to the folders: me on the Brompton and Annie on the bike Friday. Finally, we rode. Hopefully the bike shop will be open tomorrow and I will get my tire repaired. Only a few more days to ride in 2008!

Explaining The Hiatus

There's really nothing mysterious about it. Between the constant rainfall last week and this week's frigid temperatures and my late night schedule, I just haven't been able to get out much. When I do, I have rarely had a minute to blog about it. So, in fact i did ride twice last week and managed to update the mileage count, but that was about it. Today temperatures and wind were extreme and anyway we drove home late from Hanukkah in New Jersey and I didn't even try to ride. Tomorrow's weather is no more promising, but by Wednesday there is hope. If I can get a ride in 2 or 3 times a week through the winter my fitness shouldn't suffer too badly and I'll be satisfied.

Meanwhile, for your holiday entertainment I offer this video:


UPS Delivery By Bike! Salem, Oregon from nwduffer on Vimeo.

A few Pedal Strokes

Is about all I managed today. Wednesday I left to early for NY (and it was pouring), Thursday I was exhausted from the trip (and it was pouring)and today it was just pouring. I hear Kelly Drive was covered over with water. Good thing I didn't try it. But there has been a respite in the rain today (though more is coming) so I was at least able to get on the Brompton and ride to an appointment. Not much on the mileage chart, but it felt good to pedal. Hopefully Sunday will bring relief.

Ten Degrees Makes A Difference

Actually 8. From yesterday's 21 degrees to today's 29 degrees and reduced wind; it felt like a summer ride. Well, not exactly, but still much more pleasant. Beautiful sunrises both days. And decent enough whether to take the Brompton with me today for meetings and errands, so I'll enter the mileage later tonight. Tomorrow I have to be in New York very early and will not be on the bike. The rest of the week they're calling for rain, so we'll see.

About As Cold As It Gets

Not really. It gets colder than 21 degrees with a 10-15 mile wind but I've decided that this is as cold as I'm going to get. Not like last year going out in 5 degree weather. Anyway, I rode solo on account of the cold and it was an enjoyable enough ride, but a lot of work against the wind.

Frigid But Fine

Friday I couldn't ride. Thursday night's poetry reading wiped me out, emptied me, actually. But today we were up and out at 7 AM with the temperature at 34 and the wind chill probably around 25 degrees. Invigorating! Really! It was a great ride and I was a little sorry that we didn't get up at our regular time and get two loops in. But we were out a bit late at the Orchestra, so there are always trade-offs. A good ride and a good day.

Yesterday and Today

I slept in a bit this morning and then went for a single loop, augmented mileage wise slightly by various detours like the garbage train on the tracks and Fire Department activity on Pine Street coming home. The activity on Pine Street looked like this:

Yesterday Annie and I both road. Temperature on both days was around 32 but today's bright sunshine felt good.

A Touch Of Spring

Well, relatively speaking anyway. After an unusually cold November December came in like a lamb today. We rode out at 5:45 AM in 50 degree temperature with occasional wind gust, but otherwise calm and slightly overcast conditions. It was a lovely ride. Amazing the difference those say 15 degrees make. As the day wore on the sun was more prevalent but so was the wind. I took the Brompton to get around town thus adding a bit to the first day of December's mileage. We plant to ride in the morning tomorrow but it will be more chilly and very much more windy.

A Ride To Be Thankful For

Thirty-eight degrees, light wind, overcast and West River Drive CLOSED! Mindful that I have many things to be thankful for I started out this morning at 6:30 planning to do a single loop and get some work done at home before heading up to NJ for the festivities. But as I came off the Falls Bridge and saw that the Drive was closed to cars and therefore open to cyclists my heart soared (of, a bit of an exaggeration.)It was such a pleasure to ride on the road rather than the trail and at that there was almost no one out either way. I was a bit cold after the first loop but had the time and the inclination to push myself. So I did a second loop and still have time to get ready before I have to leave. Amazing how much work 20 miles felt like. I"m not sure if it's just the more difficult riding in the cold or I really am in bad shape.

Anyway, for those of you who never thought the day would come, this sign on Lombard Street says it all...the day is coming and it's going to last at least two years. There will be some inconveniences for those of us who use the bridge regularly, but when the new bridge is up, with its dedicated bike lane and pedestrian amenities, connection to the trail, and cool design elements in general, life should be much improved in the hood.

Finally, for anyone who cares, today"s ride pushed me over the 4500 mile mark, my goal for the year. December mileage is gravy. Also of some note, this blog has gone over 15000 hits. Thank you all.

Finally Riding Again

This is a photo taken last Friday. It represents just one of the reasons i haven't been riding much. More to the point has been the pace of my schedule, getting to bed late and having a really hard time getting up early enough to ride, especially when I need so much extra time to dress and undress and when the weather and the wind takes a bite out of my average speed. but excuses aside, I rode this morning. 38 degrees, light wind, very sunny, although the sun disappeared soon after I got home. it was a wonderful ride and if I wasn't so busy even today (remember when I had liesurely days off?) I would have gone around twice.

It was an interesting ride in that going out I felt like I was flying and therefore felt pretty smug that I hadn't lost any fitness with a week's lay-off. However, uncharacteristically the wind was in my face on the ride back in toward town and my speed dropped markedly. I had to work much harder and definitely did feel the lay off.

Meanwhile, getting around the Art Museum was a bit of a trick since they were very much in the process of setting up for tomorrow's Thanksgiving Day parade. I plan to ride in the morning before heading to my daughter's house for the holiday, but will have to modify my route to miss the parade.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!

A Struggle

Although the temperature was 28 degrees when I went out solo this morning for a ride, I was dressed sufficiently not to feel cold. Even my hands were ok now that I'm using two pairs of gloves. Granted my foot was pretty cold by the end despite two pairs of socks and an artificial warmer. I had thoughts about doing a double loop since today is my day off and although I have to be at work all day, I didn't have to be in quite as early and could have done it. The cold wouldn't have stopped me, but the struggle did. The wind was constant and, I guess, despite not feeling particularly cold, I'd forgotten how much harder it is to get the muscles working through all the layers. I was exhausted riding a single loop and never really got going very fast. But the exercise was good and I'm glad I went. Tomorrow's weather is less promising so I didn't want to miss today.

Flurries!

It was down to 34 degrees for our ride this morning. Invigorating! Then I took the Brompton to ride to some meetings today adding a few much needed miles to my total. On the way home this afternoon I found myself riding through the first snow flurry of the season. Always pretty, always exciting. Hopefully it doesn't snow much harder for awhile or even for the entire winter!

Still Riding...Blogging Not So Much

My schedule remains crazy. We are still managing to ride most mornings, yesterday was beautiful today was hard-core at 38 degrees with a good wind. But we enjoyed it. But time to say more? Not today.

Ordinary Ride In The Mist

Annie was finally able to join me and we had a very nice ordinary ride in the warm (55 degrees) mist.

Bike Racks in the news today. The first new bike rack has been installed on South Broad Street by the Bicycle Coalition office as seen below



And the very cool design pictured below won the New York city bike rack competition.

After Another Hiatus

Last week was a tough week for cycling and blogging. After Wednesday's regular ride and full work day, Thursday through today were taken up with family. All of my kids were here for a good friend's wedding Saturday night and a small reception for our own newlyweds on Sunday for friends and family on the east coast. Hectic and wonderful, but no time for riding. By the time I reached this Wednesday I couldn't bear the thought of getting dressed and going out for a ride. I spent the day mostly reading quietly alone. But the terrible rain held off this morning until after I had a chance to get back on the bike and I had a lovely morning ride. According to the forecast this storm will move out tonight and I should be able to ride again tomorrow. That will feel nice. As far as anything else going on in the cycling world, I'm totally out of the loop. So check out the real cycling news sites and don't depend on me. It's going to take me awhile to catch up.