18 degrees at 6:00 a.m.

I rode my bike to the train for my commute to work this morning. If you leave out the constant fogging up of my glasses, the snot encrusted scarf, and my constant fear of hitting an ice patch, it was a great ride!

Mechanically, the bike handled pretty good. The only thing I noticed that had me paying a little more attention is the slow and sticky shifting in the cables... no doubt due to the cold.

I enjoyed being one of the few crazies out there riding in this weather. I could imagine people at the intersection wondering to themselves, "What a crazy guy that is out there at 6:00 a.m. in this freezing weather!"

I also saw one of my bike compadre huffing and puffing into the station. He was happy to see that I was out there. I have to say that I was pretty stoked to see him too!

Another great day for the bike blog!

Fall Biking

The biking bug has got me! Out of the blue the urge to go for a ride hits me. This morning I saw a guy on a mountain bike all decked out in his cold weather gear and I thought, "Dude, I can be doing that too.." Then the light turned green and I looked into the rearview mirror to watch the guy pedal around the corner. This biking bug has been slowly getting stronger and stronger.

In the mean time I've been told that layering works wonders in beating the cold. Wind proof gloves, and some long johns. Good grief! I just felt like I was 8 years old getting dressed for the walk to grade school. Something about that word, "long johns," makes me think about waaay back when growing up. Ha!

Okay dudes. I'm gonna get ready for the epic booger freezing bike ride. I'll post pictures soon.

My last ride

My last ride was a few weeks ago and man, it was awesome. The air was cool and the morning was a little dark. The wind passing my ear and silence. I wish that I could've stayed in that animated state forever.

While my biking has been cut back significantly due to the weather and safety concerns with the darker evenings, I have been spinning and running at the gym, reading my favorite biking magazines and waiting for the weather to get warmer.

I haven't forgotten about you guys.

Haven't been riding

I feel terrible. I haven't been riding my bike. Work schedule, travel, etc. Now the weather is getting cold. I need to toughen up and get going again.

Interesting bike setups

Aggressive seat angle, bungie cords. Must make the bike go faster!

That would explain the burned up seat lug: heat generated speed friction.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

In these darkening times

In these darkening times I find myself in need of another bike light. My morning "Mark Cavendish" sprint to the train station has become more challenging with the dark mornings (whether the fall time adjustment will help remains to be seen, literally). The only problem is that my flight deck is an already crowded place - what with bike bell, bike computer, light #1, and 2 brake/gear shifter gadegtry. Adding a light #2 will be a challenge.

So, I've been thinking of making a special mini-rack out of PVC piping and two clamps. This small contraption will be attached to the stem and, in theory, would give me additional room to mount two lights.

I'll take a picture of it once I'm done.

Message from BikeABQ

Hi everyone,

On behalf of BikeABQ I am very excited to be able to invite you to the Can You See Us NOW? bicycle ride and rally. This will be a short (4.3 mile) ride down Route 66 on Sunday September 20. The point of this ride is to gather together as many cyclists as possible to collectively ask motorists "Can You See Us NOW?" Mountain bikers, children with training wheels, triathletes, roadies, commuters, tourists... everyone who rides a bicycle can come and add their voice.

Bells, horns, whistles, signs, flags, and streamers are also all welcome at this event

We will start at 4 pm from High Desert Yoga, 4600 Copper NE at Jefferson. With an APD bicycle patrol officer escort we will cruze down Central Ave to Tiguex park. At the park there will be a short rally.

Come to the start early to sign up, beginning at 3 pm. The event is free, but there will be numbers for the first 100 people. Each of these numbers will have the name of a New Mexico cyclists who has died as a result of a crash with a motor vehicle in the past 20 years. That's right, 100 cyclists have died between 1989 and 2009 (to date). We will also be riding to remember and honor these people.

At Tiguex park we will read the names of these victim cyclists. There will also be two short speaches about how we can work together to make cycling safer for all. New Belgium Brewery's Team Wonderbike will be there and we will have some other cool give-aways too.

Questions?? e-mail me

Want to help?? Print the attachment and post it anywhere you think a cyclists eyes might see it. Recruit your friends. Post the event on your facebook page. Post the BikeABQ link or NMCycling link where people can go for more information. E-mail me and I'll find another job for you if that isn't enough!

Thanks, and see you on September 20!

Jennifer Buntz