Sunny hot saturday in phoenix

I had to work this morning for a while but then rode down to the train and got downtown to the library, great spot picked up some movies about a couple chinese bike cops i'm gonna watch in a minute. Otherwise had a nice lunch at Carly's downtown and rode 41 miles around town looking at houses and neighborhoods north of the biltmore area. Found a few we can afford. Lots of sun, didn't have sunscreen so my arms and legs got pretty good farmer tan. Riding pretty strong though. One of the houses is by phoenix mountain preserve which looks like some mountain bike trails right by the house. we'll see what happens with that but it's been good, lot of bike lanes and wide streets, cars are pretty good about sharing but like everywhere you have some dummies in big pickups that don't wanna, luckily there are sidewalks everywhere and when someone gets too close for comfort i either take the lane or jump on the sidewalk. Tomorrow I'll ride / train to the Heard museum of Native american culture. I've been reading lots of that history and time period 1850-1900 so look forward to the visit and they have a really good looking cafe with lots of veg treats. Got the Kona here for riding along the canals and off-road trails, but it's too heavy to carry up and down from the 3rd fl apartment so I'm using the Bilenky most every day, gonna need some tires soon but otherwise it's a joy and so much fun to ride. Guy on the train today was admiring the bike and so were the IT guys I talked to at work with the move. It's a sweetie if ever I need another one I think it'll be another Bilenky!

Phoenix #2

So it's 6 weeks now and Phoenix is growing on me. Great cycling in Phoenix/Tempe, bike lanes everywhere, buses every 15 minutes on the main lines and the rail is speedy quick when you are tired or have a load of groceries. The mountain views are awesome and I finally got the Kona shipped out so I have a second bike for a backup. It is heavy to carry up to the 3rd fl so it's parked and the Bilenky is the main all rounder, but when I decide to go off road a little on one of the gravel paths along a canal or on a mountain trail it will be great. Luckily I rode it to work the other day when it RAINED! first rain since I been here and it was COLD! So the fenders came in handy and I took advantage and loaded up on groceries. I'll be posting a few pics and changing the bike links to local Phoenix. The library is great, a 5 story modern glass building with awesome views from the 5th fl and i have still yet to go to a museum, thinking the Pueblo Grande will be my first, it's only  about a mile down the road by the airport and where they Hohokam indians had a settlement at least 800 yrs ago. Try to be more regular now that my work routine is down and I got steady internet access yesterday. Been talking to a lot of people about biking and busing and need to get a "biketalk" together and see if the wellness center at work will let me do it there. Be careful out there!

OK Hello from Phoenix

I know I've been bad and lost for a while... what can I say, events overtook me. I was laid off, and got a job in Phoenix, and I've been here 3 weeks now tomorrow morning. 6 nights in a hotel, now 2 weeks in an apartment overlooking the Hohokam expressway and motel 6 parking lot, with the Papago rocks out the other window. bike culture is great here, many bike lanes and great transit with light rail and buses every 15 mins in Tempe. So heres a  pic of the Papago rocks on my ride home from the grocery store... did 55 miles today all around, must have been 90 some but nothing like the florida humidity and the sun didn't feel as heavy. anyway, i'm commuting to work every day by bike and will update about once a week... loving it so far but they tell me in a month it will be too hot to ride when it's 100 at 5am and 120 in the afternoon!!!

Safety biketalk this Friday & great riding this weekend

This Friday I'll have a short session on bike safety. Tips and lessons learned, and a quick review of my favorite safety gear. Noon at the racks and I'll have lunch there anyway.

Had a great weekend of riding and I realize it's the first time I've felt good since my 3 falls last summer. Made an effort to get out for at least an hour Saturday, and had a great time, got in 15 miles, and all of it was bumming around doing errands to "not the closest bank", the dollar store, barber shop, ran by the office, picked up some valentine things.

Felt real strong and did it again Sunday ending up with 26 miles, the weather was cool to start, but with light layers, I first peeled vest, then long sleeve jersey, then long pants and ended up with wicking undershirt and baggy shorts, perfect for the sunny 60 whatever degrees. Put on a short sleeve jersey for the afternoon 2nd ride because the 3 back pockets are very handy for  phone, keys, money, cap, power bar, etc. Sunday the traffic on colonial and at the mall was crazy everyone getting last minute valentines shopping in. Not for me... when the traffic stops it's easy to cut across, and parking right near the front door is helpful (I bring a u-lock and cable lock and look for disabled parking near the doors, always lock to those poles now, it's visible and no other bikes around). Bags full from both trips I snuck it in for the big day.

Had a little problem with my rear derailer, not sure what's the deal (it's a campy chorus and I've been to all the bike shops before mostly they don't really deal with them much or say yeah you should probably replace it after 20,000 miles). One of the pulley wheels was not locked up but real hard to turn... I took them off and a little rivet piece fell down, and I couldn't discover what from! Cleaned off the pulley wheels and put it all back together it's working great though the shifting is a little slurred... probably should replace the cables. I looked up a  replacement derailer on the web they start about $165-$250.. so  nah I'll live with a sloppy shift  for a while... more fun ridin than fixin anyway.

From the people I'm corresponding with in the Netherlands they say don't bring a bike they have plenty over there... but they all ride beaters that no one will steal for the most part. I'm takin the Bilenky and I'll ride Victor's around Lisse  but for my daily 2-3 hour  (vacation tradition, I get up early and ride til 10ish when the girls get up and about) touring about I'll have the nice bike to cover some distances. Hoping to take the train to France and see 1 or 2 Tour stages.

I'm not sweating doing a lot of updates lately so see you in a week or two!

Friday Jan 21 Biketalk

Note this is the last email I’m going to send… future posting will be on the Orlando office sharepoint site and the liketoobike.blogspot.com site. You can check one of those or subscribe, this will allow people that “don’t want to get all those bike emails” to not get all them bike emails.


TODAY ! Noon at the racks, I am going to set up to talk about cheap gear for bike riding in wet and cold weather. I brought in a bunch of sample clothing so hopefully a couple people will show up and we can talk general bike stuff too. Since it was a rainy morning today I ended up wearing my cheap suit in, and on my recent holiday ride I got some great cold weather gear experience.

Geoff

Back in the saddle in the "cold"

Over the holidays I did a couple days riding around Ft Meyers/Sanibel, Sarasota  and St Pete. Couldn't get logistics together to take the train/bus so ended up taking a car and that is a mistake, spent more time in the car than anything... little interaction with others, I was even tempted to get DRIVE THROUGH FOOD! lesson learned, if you are going bike touring, don't take a car! Even though  it was only mid 40's to 50ish and somewhat windy, you can see from the pics there were still some memorable sights and times. I only rode about 60 miles over the 3 days, but saw some beautiful places and recharged with great air, exercise, and rest.

Goin back on the road again!

I cannot hardly wait but the time will fly. I'm about fully restored to health following the crashes of the summer, and work has slowed down enough I am taking off next Fri-Mon for a bike camping trip. Not sure of the itinerary yet but I have a good idea for the 3 nights (if I can't get out of town Thursday to make it 4) and the rough mileage (200-250) for the 4 days. Getting the gear down this weekend and the Kona is about all ready to go, only one fender on the back but it's not been too rainy lately. More good news to follow as things come together! I am so excited.