What I wanna be when I grow up...

Please allow me to present a tremendous inspiration, Mr. Octavio Orduno. Mr. Orduno turned 103 last week and is still going strong, pedaling the streets of Long Beach almost daily.



More on Mr. Orduno from the LA Times. H/T Cyclelicious.

Meditation on the bicycle helmet

This week I enjoyed a lively, albeit mostly invaluable, online conversation about the efficacy and importance of bicycle helmets. Its one of those topics that comes along from time-to-time and gets people stirred up and pissed off. Its a debate fraught with abundant anecdotal evidence ranging from "a bike helmet saved my life" to "I've ridden for 50 years without a bicycle helmet," but is one that probably doesn't really *need* to be resolved, per se. As a hot button bike advocate topic, it ranks up there with bike lanes vs vehicular cycling.

Also this week, I had the opportunity to catch the wonderful Rural Alberta Advantage. The set was, as expected, blistering and amazing.

With that backdrop, here's a couple videos for your enjoyment. If you can spare 20 minutes or so, its worth the effort.

Scene from my bike: Another bike commuter

The bike commuting community in the Triangle is small enough that I feel like I know a decent percentage of the group. So it always makes me happy when I see someone I don't know headed to work by bike.

I've seen this gentleman before, but never spoken to him. So, I chased him through three lights the other morning to say "good morning." Having seen him before, I asked how long he'd been bike commuting. Despite his old school pants-tucked-into-socks look, I was still surprised by his answer - 25 years!

As we rolled our separate ways, Mr. Old School kindly offered me a few words of encouragement. Right back at ya, my two wheeled compadre, keep on keepin' on.

Car-Lite FTW!

Three months ago, we made the move to a car-lite existence. We'd talked about it for years, but when you have a (relatively) reliable car that's been paid off for ten years, its tough to pull the trigger.  Thus far, we haven't run into any conflicts that we haven't been able to solve. We've prepared ourselves for unexpected taxi fares and the occasional missed opportunity, understanding that the benefit is tens of thousands of dollars in savings from not owning a second car.

We also prepared ourselves for the occasional rental car, and today was the first test of that.  I had business meetings all day today in Raleigh, and needed to extend my availability in order to meet with colleagues from other offices before and possibly after the client meeting.

So, last night I strapped a packing blanket on the back of my folding  bike and rode to the rental car office. I signed the paperwork, threw the blanket down in the trunk, folded the bike up and laid it in the blanket,and drove home. This morning, I threw on my monkey suit, packed up my work gear, tossed my bike gear in my backpack and drove to Raleigh.

The meetings went well and we broke a little early.  I was able to gas the car up and get to the rental car office by 4:35, where I turned in the keys, changed into my biking gear and pedaled to the bus stop. I'm on the bus now and will be home in time for dinner.

All told, its a success. I didn't want to spend $60 to drive to Raleigh today, but it is all we've spent on a car for me in the last three months, so I think we're still ahead of the game.

Scene from my bike: Snow - the good kind

Alright, so seeing snow isn't that big of a deal this year. Heck, we had two decent snowfalls before New Years. And already, before Valentines Day, we've had to send the kids to school on a Saturday to make up for all the snow days.

That said, I knew last night that this morning's ride to work could be pretty cool. The forecast was for "snow showers" starting in the morning, early enough for there to be some on the ground, but not early enough to mess up the roads.

I wasn't disappointed. This morning was beautiful, exactly the way I thought it would be. Enough snow to look really great (especially on the American Tobacco Trail), but not enough to mess anything up.  Another great day to bike to work...

Verizon wants you to use Facebook while you're driving

Big Red's legal team must've been asleep (or Facebooking) at the wheel for missing the not-so-hidden message of their new marketing campaign. In a promotional video published a few days ago, Verizon touts the multitasking capabilities of their new VZ Navigation GPS app by encouraging their customers to surf the web and Facebook while driving.

"Navigate, surf and use your favorite apps all at the same time," says Verizon.

In the screenshot below, Verizon illustrates the phone providing turn-by-turn directions while the driver is using Friendstream, an app that gives you access to your Facebook and Twitter friends.

With thirty states and the District of Columbia having Distracted Driving laws on the books that make texting illegal while driving, Verizon's recent video is the height of irresponsibility - actually encouraging drivers to focus their attention on not just one, but multiple other things on their phones while driving. Ridiculous.

• Verizon VZ Navigation promotional video

Happy New Year to you, too @$$h013

Its pretty rare for me to get a "get off the road" honk or yell on my ride to work. I figure most motorists on my route are used to seeing bike commuters and it just doesn't phase them. And I try really hard to operate in traffic in a way that doesn't inspire honking, regardless of the vehicle I am driving. Honestly, the dearth of road rage or frustration I experience is part of what makes Durham feel bike-friendy to me.

Today we had two honks, one of which distinctly more frustrated than the other.

Not sure what folks are trying to accomplish with the honking. Its not like you're suddenly going opem my eyes to the wonderous joys of motorized traffic. In reality, all you've accomplished is to show the world, or at least a bike commuter or two, that you're an impatient jerk. Happy New Year, asshole.

Posted via email from Bings Haus (posterous)

Scene from my bike: 2011

A bakers dozen of folks headed out on a modest, but not uneventful, 35-ish mile jaunt from Downtown Durham to Butner and back. A later than expected start, an early mechanical issue and some directional miscues in the first 8 miles conspired to toss the ride later into the afternoon than expected. Seven of thirteen completed the whole route, eight if you count Maria - which you should because she only dropped off at the next-to-last turn to ride an additional 20 miles home.

Despite the mild imperfections, the fact remains that we all got to enjoy New Years from the saddle, and that's always the right way to kick of the year in style!

• Flickr set

New Years 2011 Ride

For New Years 2010, a small handful of friends and I headed out to kick off the new year with a modest 30-ish mile ride. And to be honest, it was a really wonderful way to start the year. So, we're out to do it again for 1/1/11.

Last year we started at 10a, we'll start a little later this year. A 1p start should get us a little more warmth, and put the end close to the 4p start time of Slow Food Triangle's "Traditional Southern New Years" at Fullsteam (not a paid endorsement, I just think it looks fun).

The weather, as of this posting, looks pretty great - uncharacteristically warm with the high in the 60's.

This is not an organized ride event. I've put together a cue sheet, but there is no mechanical or food support aside from your fellow cycling pals who are likely to help out in a pinch. There is a convenience store about 18 miles in, so you don't necessarily have to bring a snack.

There are no rules or requirements. Heck, last year, one guy (above) didn't even wear a helmet. And, of course, since its not an event, there's no cost. Although if you like the ride, I encourage you to consider a donation to your favorite local charity (added bonus points if its a bikey or slow foody one). Actually, I encourage that even if you don't like the ride, but, whatevs.

Here's the details:

• What: New Years bike ride
• Date: duh
• Time: 1:00p
• Where: Downtown Durham near Durham Central Park Pavilion.
• Distance: ~36 miles
• Rules: None
• Pace: Well, there's no rules, so ride your own ride. But, probably, "relaxed."
• Cost: None

And here's the route:

• Bikely (map, cue sheet, GPX file, KML file)
• Simplified cue sheet (Excel format)
• Google Map view

I look forward to ringing in the New Year with all my cycling pals, see you there!

Scene from my bike: the Atlantic Ocean!

Yesterday, I mentioned my fondness for sunrises. I caught a nice one this morning out riding on the A1A.

My typical trip around West Palm is a 21 mile loop. Finding myself with such a beautiful morning, I opted for an out & back along the beach. Turned out to be a darned good choice.

Posted via email from Bings Haus (posterous)

Scene from my bike: the morning sky

A great thing about bike commuting this time of year is how amazing the morning sky can be. While the winter ride is all dark, and the summer ride is all light, the autumn and spring provide some great sunrises.

Admittedly, this pic isn't the best morning sky, but I thought the clouds were pretty amazing. I'm consistently struck by the fact that a great sunrise isn't even ruined by an urban or industrial skyline. Sure, it'd be better without the cars, buildings, power lines and cell towers, but the natural beauty easily overcomes the man-made clutter.

And, of course, it's all made better when you can enjoy it while travelling at a human speed. A sunrise is always great, but even better seen from my bike.

Chilly camping with a vapor barrier

Earlier this year I picked up the Wiggy's sleeping bag and the made-in-the-USA vapor barrier the Rivendell sells. Being a relative newbie to camping, I was not familiar with the vapor barrier strategy, but the science (as explained by Grant) seemed to make sense. And, my camping is mainly 3-season, which in North Carolina is more like 2-season in much of the country. In other words, the Wiggy, rated at 45 degrees will probably be good for 90% or more of my camping.

I was right. After seven months of owning my set, last night was the first time I have had a chance to use the vapor barrier. It was a pleasant day yesterday, but the forecast low for our weekend excursion was upper 30's, the sweet spot for the bag/vb/tent combo, according to Rivendell.

The Riv recommends wearing just a thin layer of wool inside the vb. Its important, sayeth Grant, to fight the urge to overdress, as too much clothing will turn you into a sweaty mess. I don't have the wool, but I do have modern synthetic base layers, so that's what I went with - REI long underwear pants, a capilene shirt and fleece socks. In lieu of actual hair, I was sporting my Walz capa RUSA hat.

The results were pretty good. I'm generally a cold sleeper, but the prescribed combo kept me warm enough to sleep until about 5a when the temps started falling through the 30's. I was able to sleep another hour, but then I was uncomfortable enough to be tossing and turning looking for some warmth.

Some relatively modest changes would've made it work for me. I have a fleece sleeping bag liner that would've given me the few extra degrees I needed, but I'd given it to my son. Some heavier fleece socks would've been better, but I chose not to pack them. And my cycling tights would also probably be effective at adding a few extra degrees as well.

All in all, though, the bag and vapor barrier delivered as advertised and I imagine they'll work to the mid-30's for most folks. The forecast for tonight is ten degrees warmer, so I'll give it a go with the same garb. Should be perfect.