Tempus Fugit

Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies

Category: commuting

  • Winter cycle commuting update

    Well, we’ve hit our first cold snap of the winter with windchill in the -30°C range.  Of course prior to that, a dump of snow that has made cycling such fun! I’ve switched out the clip less pedals for some platforms, and put on the winter boots to keep the feet warm. Now that the streets and paths are either plower or packed, the riding is pretty good again.

    On one ride home I actually had a lady slow down as we passed each other and roll down her window to thank me for wearing such a bright jacket and being easy to see on the road. Nicer that the other guy on the sidewalk who asked me if I had a death wish!

  • Glad I was wearing a helmet

    I’ve been cycle commuting for quite a few years now including last year’s first ime ever all through the winter and never had a crash, until yesterday.

    Oh, I’ve crashed off the mountain bike many times on trails, most notably one causing a shoulder separation on the Maah Daah Hey trail in 2005, even a couple of crashes on the road bike, but never while commuting to and from work until now, well except for this, but that really doesn’t count.. It was a cool -3°C and the roads were dry and clear, there was some frost on the car windshields on our street but the riding seemed fine. I’ve just crossed the Norwood bridge and I’m making the turn into The Forks to go under the bridge and ride up the river walk to work. Normally, I go down the road a bit into The Forks and then hop the curb to get onto the path down to the river. On this occasion I made a bit of a last minute decision to turn up onto the sidewalk where there was a nice ramp (no curb hopping required).

    This last minute decision necessitated a sharper and quicker that norman turn and that’s when it happened. In a blink I’m down on the ground, I hear the “clunk” sound as my helmet bounces off the concrete. One second I’m upright and the next I’m down. Zero time to react. It seems that the frost on the road has formed an invisible scating rink! Even after the fall I really can’t see anything on the road but it’s pure ice. The right hip takes the biggest hit and later as I’m changing at work I note the road rash on the hip, elbow, shoulder and lower leg, a full right side impact. Thankfully, no damage to the bike or the nice new jacket.

    Things stiffened up over the course of the day while sitting at the desk, and the ride home was a little tentative, no crazy risk taking manoeuvres for sure. It will likely take a few more days for everything to return to normal but I’m very glad I had the helmet, without it I’m sure it would have been much worse.

  • The Last Mile

    Well, actually it’s the last couple of yards of my bike commute into work.

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    I ride up a sidewalk, get off the bike, drag it up the stairs and then ride a few more yards to the bike rack.

    Since the snow has been gone I’ve been thinking about this phase of the ride a lot. There is a nice concrete ramp on the side of the stairs. I’m a good rider. I think I can hop up on the ramp and ride up saving myself the time and effort of dismounting, schlepping the bike up the stairs, getting back on and riding that last little bit. It would be easy. I’d save time. It would be a challenge.

    A couple of days ago, I gave it a try. 3/4 of the way up I drop of the ramp onto the grass. Not a bad first effort. The next day I approach with more confidence. Eyes straight ahead, look where you want to go, keep peddling smoothly. Success! I nail it right up the ramp and off the end and over to the bike rack.

    Today, I’m really confident. I ride by a fellow cyclist at the nearby door and chat briefly on the fly and launch up the ramp. The approach is not very smooth, I’m not focused and suddenly I’m off the ramp and onto the steps. The front wheel ploughs into a step, the bike stops instantly, and I do a slo-mo over the handlebars onto the concrete. Embarrassed, but not too hurt except for a banged up knee and a scrape on the hip, I pick myself up and park the bike.

    I’m sure next time will be better.

  • Close Call

    His bumper was a foot away from me on the bike and he wasn’t slowing down or changing direction, that kind of “close call”.

    In over a year of cycle commuting this was only the 2nd close call and potentially the most dangerous. The 1st one was on Des Meurons where a lady pulled out of a back lane turning left and swung way over into my lane cutting me off bad enough that I had to hammer to a full stop. I thought she was going to hit the curb or go right over it! I saw it coming, but still no fun.

    Tuesday morning I was heading into work early and was on the road at about 6:30 am expecting a quiet ride in. I’m just coming off Lomond Blvd. and about to turn right onto Paterson and I see this small off white 1/2 ton truck heading east on Patterson towards me. He’s already crossed the centre line and is cutting the corner like he’s Mario Andretti on a Formula One race course. I’m not exactly small, it’s pre-sunrise but already quite light our and I’ve got a high intensity blinker on the handle bars. I think he’ll see me and move over but no. Next thing I know my wheel is on the curb and his bumper goes by less than a foot away.

    I look back and then he slows down and looks back. I can’t really see the person, the windows are tinted and we both carry on. It’s certainty an early morning wake up call. My mistake was assuming he’d see me and change course, a very bad assumption as it turns out. Sadly, it makes you start thinking about every motor vehicle as a threat.

    I hope next time I’m quick enough to take more decisive and defensive actions to avoid a close encounter of the painful kind.

  • Winter Riding

    Yesterday was the first challenging ride of the winter due to some freezing rain in the early morning. Probably the most challenging part was getting off the driveway! However, the studded snow tires on the bike are awesome compared to the knobby mountain bike tires or the slicker commuter tires I’ve been using up until the first snow fall. 

    I was cautious for the first few kilometers and then began to feel more confident in the studded tires capabilities. At one stop sign I got a reminder on just how slipery it was when I put my foot down for a full stop and just about wiped out. The Schwalbe Ice Spiker tires are worth every penny, highly recommended.

  • Homeward Hustle

    Such a nice sunny warm fall day I was motivated to put a little power to the pedals. Not bad for a 30 year old steel mountain bike with loaded panniers, not to mention the (ahem) age of the rider.

  • Commuting

    This is the first week without the truck and a full 5 days of bicycle commuting. So far I’m not missing the truck too much and with the unusually warm weather it’s not been much of a hardship. In fact, last night I biked home in shorts! Not all the days were easy. On Tuesday, the melt from Monday coated the streets with ice and it was quite tense trying to stay upright while listening to car spin their tires and sliding all around me.

    The Sasquatch got another commuter upgrade last night as well with a set of new Specialized tires. They are much quieter and probably a fair bit faster with less rolling resistance.

    The new cycle commuting routine is getting down to a science and snow, ice and cold are no problem. We’ll see how it goes in the rain, that will be the next challenge.

  • Steel Beast Rides Again

    Well, pretty soon the truck is going back, and I’ll be making the daily work commute using different forms of transportation. It will either be the bus, or by bike. I’ve made a few test runs on the bus and it seems like it will be quite acceptable. The only thing is I’m not all that crazy about keeping to a strict schedule that is required by the bus, I like to be a little more free flowing. Fortunately, the bus schedule at both ends of my route has buses arriving quite frequently so last minute departure changes should not be too bad to deal with.

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    My other option is to up by cycle commuting game to more of a year round endeavour. Several folks at work are hard core, right through the winter, every day cycle commuters, that put my casual “if it’s not raining” three season cycling to shame. So, here is the new strategy, as yet unproven, but I’m now ready to go.

    I’ve brought back the “Steel Beast” now tricked out with a new seat, fenders and panniers. Who know that the 30+ year old Norco Sasquach would get this kind of use? Cromoly steel at it’s finest, nearly indestructible, a little on the heavy side, but that just makes for a better workout.

    The Sasquach was my 1st mountain bike from way back in the day and it’s hard to believe that I traded in a Honda 550F for a bicycle. Ah, the sacrifices you make for children, but that’s another story.

    My new work location is not quite as convenient as my prior location as I don’t yet have access to a full time locker. With the panniers I think I’ll be able to transport and store the extra gear during the day until a locker becomes available.

    So that’s it. The old bike has been given a new life was as hard core year round commuter ride. Now lets see if I can become the hard core year round rider!