Fuji Crazy

Stolen Fuji Bedford

2011-12-16T15:45:00.004-05:00

Let me begin with the end. I still have my Fuji Bedford, even though it was stolen.

In May 2008 it was taken off of the spare tire rack of my car. My family and I were on our way home from Charlottesville Community Bikes where I was volunteering that day. We wanted to stop and hang out on the downtown mall. We lived close by, but it was still daylight, and I found a parking spot next to the police station. I did have the thought to put my lock around the bike and the rack, but I didn't do it. I thought it would be safe enough that it was parked in public next to the police station.

A couple of hours later as we were hanging with friends by the community chalk board, I noticed a kid I knew and his friend again. I had seen them that afternoon at the bike shop, and saw them again just as we arrived on the downtown mall. The friend did not have a bike when I first saw them, but now he did. He was in an upright riding position which I thought was a bit strange for a kid his age. Usually they ride a hybrid or mountain bike, not one with the kind of bars that my Fuji Bedford 3 speed has. I looked a little closer... IT WAS MY BIKE!! I could make out 'Fuji' on the back of the saddle.

I got nervous and started having a bunch of mixed feelings. While trying to think about what exactly to do, I started walking toward them. They were just casually making their way down the pedestrian mall. But then they turned onto a street, and I knew that they would start riding soon. So I started running, and yelled the kids' name who I knew. His friend realized the bike he was on must be mine so he bolted. I ran chasing them, but of course they got away. In desperation I immediately called 911. I felt like a little girl, or a big weeny whining about my bike being stolen to the operator, all out of breath, but I wanted my damn bike back!

I made a report to a police officer who patrols the pedestrian mall on a bicycle. He really could have cared less though about my bike. He dutifully took the report, but I could tell he didn't have much hope I would get it back. After he told me I would get a call in about a week or so to follow up on the incident he asked if I had any questions. I thought for a moment, realizing I definitely would not find my bike after a week had passed, and asked, "Can't you just go to the kids house?" He said, "Yeah, I guess so."

Thankfully I did know the kids name, not the one who was on my bike, but his friend. It turns out that I had taught him a few piano lessons at his school (a special school for kids with behavior issues that makes it hard for them to be in mainstream school). I did that almost a year before this incident. I couldn't remember his last name, but the school director helped me with that. Then I called the police to give it to them. They did indeed go to his house, and then he told them where his friend lived. About 3 1/2 hours later, around 11:45pm, I received a call from the police that my bike was found and I could go pick it up. I did search for it on my own after they took it. A friend of mine took me in his car, and we drove around for about an hour through town looking in ditches etc... for it. Its funny that the weather was very nice until my bike was stolen. Then it began pouring rain relentlessly the whole time we were driving around.

It was clear weather again when I went to the kid's house to get my bike. His Dad was there and said he knows these kids bring back stolen bikes all the time. But he just would throw them behind a nearby dumpster so they wouldn't get caught. I wish he would tell them how it is wrong to steal! The officer did not want me to press charges or go further. He thought I should just be happy that I got my bike back without it being damaged. Almost a year later I would find out that he lied to the kids' parents by saying that I had agreed not to do anything as long as I got my bike back. I had never said anything like that to him.

In fact, I definitely was going to do something, and I did. At this point, not only had these kids stolen my bike and gotten away with it, but they had even been caught by the police and would still have gotten away with it! In my own conscience I did not want that to happen. I went forward with pressing charges.

Since they were under 18 (17 and 15), they had the choice to go to juvenile, or go through a restorative justice program. They chose the restorative justice program. They had to meet weekly with someone to talk through what they did, why they did it, how it was wrong, etc... I did not get updated very well during this time though regarding what was happening. I thought that maybe nothing had happened. Until, almost a year later, I received a call to set up a meeting with the two boys and their parents.

During the meeting the restorative justice people did a great job mediating, and keeping the focus on the actions of the boys. I was able to tell the kids how what they did effected me, my feelings about it. They told me how it happened. They had to apologize in person, and also handed me handwritten apologies. I learned that they had indeed been meeting very often for the past months with restorative justice, and they had to do some kind of community service after our meeting as well.

I don't know if this consequence made a difference for them or not. I hope it did. At least they were not allowed to get away with stealing somebody else's bicycle. I don't think the community at large puts as much importance on bike theft as they should. It is about more than a bike. What would be next for these kids? If they are allowed to get away with this, what kind of limits would they start pushing ultimately? I am happy that I went forward and did not give up on seeing some kind of consequence through with them. The meeting that I was able to have with them, even though it was a year later, did provide closure all the way around, for them and for me.

Stained Glass Bicycle Wheel

2011-11-29T17:21:00.002-05:00

The drawing I sent to my Nono.

The finished product

A while ago I rebuilt the wheels of my Fuji Royale II. It had the gold anodized ukai rims. The rear one was warped a bit, and luckily I found a NOS gold ukai to replace it on ebay. But what to do with the old warped one? Should I really just throw it away?

No! On my ride to New Jersey last September I was inspired by some bicycle art I saw in Lambertville to have my Nono (grandfather) do a stained glass piece inside of it. I put twelve spokes in it, and shipped it to him when I got home. He has been doing stained glass for a few years now. I drew up the design and included it with the rim. It looks exactly like my drawing. He did an awesome job don't you think? He had to build his own template of wood to support the glass as he built it up. There was a hole in the center to accomodate the hub, and the template laid on top of a hollow box about 4" tall so it would lay flat. The spokes served as a support system for the soldering, allowing for the open space between the glass and rim.

I brought it home after our visit with them in Illinois last week. It is now displayed proudly in my window, ready to be shown off to everyone who visits. I have a few steel Ukai rims waiting for a similar fate.

Racing the Sun

2011-11-24T13:35:00.001-05:00

5:15am- Wake up, shower, stretch. Dress, base layers. Prepare water, food. 85 miles from Champaign, IL to Springfield, IL... I can do this. It is dark.

6:30am- Breakfast in the hotel lobby, coffee, toast, juice,banana. The sun meets me and my Fuji Royale II at the start.

7:00am- On the road, heading directly west. Next stop Monticello, IL. 9mph winds from the N/NW. It is cold. Hazy, don reflective gear, turn on tail lights, put on headlight. So far so good.

9:00am- Arrive at the Brown Bag Deli in Monticello. On schedule. The place is immediately familiar and I remember that I was here in 2003 after the wedding rehearsal of a good friend. I eat a fabulous toasted turkey salad bagel and coffee. Missing my friend, wish we had time to see them on this trip, but it is too far to drive. The sun keeps traveling.

10:00am- Back on the road. My route takes me through Allerton Park outside of Monticello, where my friend was married. Memories. I ride by the statue of the Sun Singer, which Robert Allerton had made and placed in the park. He originally saw it in Stockholm and wanted a smaller version for his yard, but the maker made it for him in original size so he had to find a bigger space for it. I pass a buffalo farm. It seems they are all looking at me. They look strong and healthy. Still on schedule. Still in front of the sun.

11:15am- On 1400N heading directly west again. At a non-descript intersection, checking my compass because the road signs are turned around. Check in with my wife, take off a layer. I'm surprised I have a cell phone connection. I feel like Tom Hanks in Cast Away. These fields are vast. I can see for miles and miles around. I am alone. Sing when you ride far and the wind is pushing you back, and you are alone and it is cold. It helps. I think of the state of our country, farming, respect of our land, how we return to this very ground, dirt. I think of the Native Americans, war, disparity of thought. I hit gravel, wet from yesterday's rain, slogging through for a couple of miles in this takes a toll on speed and comfort. The sun and I are neck and neck.

1:30pm- Latham, IL The Korn Krib Resaurant built in and around grain storage bins. I use the bathroom, and refill water. No time to sit and eat here. Have to keep moving. Beginning to tire more. Dogs! The young one is fearless, comes toward me non-stop. I dismount so he thinks twice. He tries to get behind me for the attack but I turn to keep him at bay. He is ruthless. I walk by the house till I get far enough to satisfy him that I'm not a threat. I get on bigger roads to avoid more dogs, and think they'll be even smoother, but I was wrong. Hard packed gravel, but bumpy. Takes a toll on my energy, slowing to less than 10mph. I plod along, hurting, falling morale. Finally, Hwy 54! I'm less than 5 miles from my childhood home. But the sun has taken the lead.

3:45pm- A second wind. Ride through the old neighborhood, see the old house. Haven't been here since 1995. Family no longer owns this house since parents divorced back then. I lived there from 1978-1995, half of my life. It pains me that I can't come back. It is for sale, $159,000. The trees my father planted are large now, forest-like. I had to ride my bike here this time instead of just drive by. Going slower gives the memories time to be remembered.

4:50pm- Arrive at my destination. Time to go in to visit my grandparents with my wife and two daughters. Time to stop looking to the past and keep moving forward. Special times, creating new memories. It is dark. The sun wins, barely.

First Century Ride

2011-11-09T22:14:00.001-05:00

Well I finally did it. I rode 100 miles (at one time). I've had this goal since about 2007. That is the same year we had our first child, and it has been difficult to ride consistently enough to achieve it. However, I realized that with the riding I started doing twice a week at the velodrome in August, then my 60 mile ride to Jersey in September, and 3 times weekly riding my daughter to pre-school, and my Tuesday and Thursday 20 mile rides, I might actually be able to do a 100 mile ride. And I did.

We happened to be visiting my wife's parent's house in Maryland in October, and it turned out that we would be there at the same time that Salisbury University holds their famous Seagull Century ride. I immediately signed up. There was only about a week and a half before the day of the ride. I didn't know much about it yet, but I soon learned that this is a humongous event, with over 8,000 riders participating. They have been doing this ride for over 20 years. We had a tough time finding a hotel, but we ended up getting a room at a Comfort Inn that was anything but. I'm not going to spend time complaining about that though.

We woke up to a beautiful morning, a perfect day for a ride. It really was, despite the 20+ mph winds that developed. The forecast had been calling for that so it was no surprise. One hazard I had not thought about until now though is to watch out for large falling tree limbs. One fell about 25 feet in front of me. There was nobody underneath it at that point, but there could have been with so many of us out there. I was next in line, but I had plenty of time to stop, get off the bike, and drag it off the road. It was quite large, and would have hurt. Anyway... the route is relatively flat, and that made it a good choice for my first century. I chose the Assateague route which took us to the Eastern Shore, which was beautiful. Unfortunately I was riding alone. It would have been nice to have had a friend along for the ride, but I don't have any cycling friends in Maryland (yet). I wasn't shy though, and introduced myself to some people. A group of 5 guys passed me at one point, and I sped up to stay with them. I joined their paceline, and they welcomed me in. Most of them were Navy guys, and I talked most to Andy. I continued on my way when they stopped to use the bathroom. Later I met a fellow named Peter. I rode up to him because he was wearing a UVA jersey. I thought I might know him, or at least know someone he knows since we lived in Charlottesville for so long, but it turned out he went to school there years ago, and hadn't been there in while. It was still good conversation.

The rest stops were excellent. There was no shortage of food or drink, everyone was very encouraging, the bathroom lines went very quick and people were courteous. The organization of this event was stellar. I rode the fuji opus iii, which was a good choice because it is so light and fast. It cut through the wind very well. I considered taking the Royale II, but it has the fenders (which I wouldn't have needed) and my pack, and is a bit heavier. It was nice to get a chance to ride the Opus which I haven't ridden in about a year I think.

It feels good to have finally reached that goal. It was nice too that I wasn't completely dead after doing it. I felt good all the way through, and had energy to spare afterward. That means I really was prepared well for it. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I didn't take any photos because I didn't want to carry the camera. I just wanted to ride. I also had forgotten my garmin device, but I was glad I did. It helped me enjoy the ride more without worrying about how fast I was going, or what my mileage was, etc...

Philippine Fuji = Phuji?

2011-10-12T14:44:00.006-04:00

I recently received the pictures above along with this email below.... Enjoy!

"Hi Matteo,

Sorry for the late email. We had such a busy month at the office.

I am Lester Dizon and I am the Publisher and the Editor-in-Chief of two Philippine publications - MotorCycle Magazine and Power Wheels Magazine. We were putting both magazines to the printers after I found your blog "Fuji Crazy" and I got so busy with work that I nearly forgot about it.

Anyway, I recently acquired a well-preserved and well-documented 1961 Fuji Youth rod brake roadster from BZKLETA, a local antique bicycle shop here in the Philippines. It is a single-speed men's bicycle with 26-inch wheels, stainless steel Araya woodward rims, stainless steel spokes and hubs, stainless steel chain case and stainless steel fenders that are stamped with a neat pattern near its sides. The frame is steel and it's quite heavy but it feels really solid. There's some scratches on the paint and some rusty spots but the bike still looks good. The handlebar, rod brake levers and linkages, front stirrup brake and rear drum brake are all made of stainless steel and works very well. The saddle and the hand grips are all original Fuji items and are still in good condition. Overall, I can say that my 1961 Fuji Youth is quite a robust and youthful ride for a 50-year-old bicycle.

What endeared it to me more are the intact Japanese stickers that authenticate its age. There's the requisite yellow Japanese bicycle license sticker at the rear fender (096080) and a yellow middle school tag with number 026 that has the year "61" indicated. But the best sticker is the silver-and-blue one at the seat tube where the date 61-3-31 was written in the date box and the number 53109102 was written above it. I'm trying to get all the Japanese words on the stickers translated so I can know more about my Fuji bicycle.

After I got it from the antique bicycle shop, I found an NOS Saiko wheel lock with two keys while our Managing Editor Steven Edward Yu helped me find a vintage Fuji bell in good condition and a Diamond twin bulb headlamp in nearly new condition. I recently had the wheels trued and I mounted a pair of Duro 26x1-3/8 white wall tires as well as a pair of vintage Cateye reflectors that mount on the wheel spokes. I hope these pictures of the Fuji bike before I mounted the white wall tires and the reflectors will suffice for now. I will send new photos and update you on any new work done on the bicycle.

Thanks and keep up the good work!"

Healthy Hubs

2011-10-04T14:36:00.003-04:00

I recently went to rebuild the wheels on my Fuji Royale II, and I discovered a bent rear axle. The rim was also a bit warped. I ended up rebuilding them with a set of Superbe hubs I have had for over 2 years now, maybe 3, and a beautiful new Ukai gold rim I luckily found on ebay for a good price. These hubs were top of the line of their day, and are super smooth. With the bike in the repair stand, I would spin the wheels after lacing them up with these Superbe hubs, and it seems they would roll forever. They just keep going and going. They are fast too. That difference translates to the road, and in turn to energy output. Do not underestimate how important it is to have your hubs running in top order. It makes your job of pedaling the bike easier, and in turn gives you a more enjoyable riding experience.

My Journey to Becoming a Music Together Teacher

2011-09-26T11:08:00.002-04:00

Click on 'view full route' below to see details of my ride from Collegeville, Pa to Hopewell, Nj. I used ridewithgps for route planning, and it is an excellent resource. I participated in a Music Together Teacher Training Workshop last weekend. I had the opportunity to ride the 55 miles it took to get there, so I did. Rain was a high possibility so I prepared well for it. I finally bought the waterproof Ortlieb Panniers I've been wanting. But not a drop fell from the sky on the day of the ride. The next night I did have to ride 5 miles in the dark and rain though. Those are not ideal conditions, but like I said, I was prepared for it with waterproof gear and very good lights and reflectivity. It wasn't a problem.

A member of the Princeton Freewheelers, Ken, let me stay with him for two of my three nights that I was there. I am very grateful for that. It saved me alot of money, and I got to meet a fellow cyclist. He was an excellent host, and I can't thank him enough for helping me out.

I was concerned about being chased by dogs, but that didn't happen. I really hate it when dogs chase me.

My jersey from the Flwrider group in Hong Kong came just in time for me to wear it on this ride. I was very excited about that. Brian, the founder of Flwrider, remembered that I had asked him for some stickers of their logo while we were riding one day, and he put a few sheets in the package for me too. I appreciate that. The stickers look perfect on my fenders, and the one in front kept me motivated to keep going strong as the miles built up (especially the uphill miles). It provided many good cycling memories for me of my time in Hong Kong.

I could have rented a car, or simply had my wife or a friend drive me to Hopewell. It is only an hour drive. But then I would not have gained the personal satisfaction of having made such a beautiful ride. There really is a sense of freedom from being on the bike that just isn't there when sitting in a car. I didn't want to deprive myself of that when I didn't have to.

I have not planned for a ride yet the way that I planned for this one. I'm very unfamiliar with the roads around this area since I've only lived here for a year, and have not been able to get out and ride them yet. One thing I did that helped was to simply google a bicycle route and then drive it. Ultimately though I ended up only using part of that initial route. I discovered that part of Adventure Cycling's Atlantic Coast section 2 route fit perfectly into where I was going more directly than what I initially had from google maps. So I mapped out a good way to connect to it at Tennis Road in Ambler, Pa from where I live and used it the rest of the way. That turned out to be a great strategy. The whole way from my place until I connected with the Adventure Cycling route, I kept seeing 'BCP' painted white on the road with a small arrow under it. That may mean the Bicycling Club of Philadelphia, but I don't know for sure. It gave me a reassuring feeling though making me feel that I made good road choices when I put the route together. I wasn't able to drive those roads before I left, so I wasn't exactly sure if they were the best choices or not.

I passed the weekend training activities, and can now teach the music together curriculum. I look forward to beginning that process with Melanie, the center director for Littlest Music Makers here in the Collegeville, Pa area. Music Together is an amazing early childhood music program. If you haven't heard of it and have little ones, please check it out. If you're lucky enough to have one in your area, you should do it!

I rode my fuji touring series iv. It fared me well, and I look forward to my next ride on it. Ultimately I plan on taking this one across the country someday.

A Bicycle Wheel Clock

2011-09-13T12:37:00.004-04:00

This gives new meaning to bicycle education. It is time (no pun intended) to start teaching my 4 year old how to tell time. Something I do fairly often with all of this fujicraziness is rebuild the wheels on these old fujis I find. If the rim is aluminum and still straight, I will reuse it and just use new spokes. However, if the rim is steel I won't reuse it. Steel rims are not good in the rain, and they are quite heavy. However, they make excellent clocks! Thirty six spoke holes makes for a perfectly round (no pun intended) number and sufficient space to fit all 12 numbers. My daughter's bathtub numbers worked perfectly as I was able to push the spokes through them for stability. I had to use cardboard for multiple '1's and I couldn't find the spongy number 2. An old recordable CD and some heavy colored cardboard pieces for the arms finished it off nicely. Every hour we go to the clock to see what time it is. She is beginning to get the concept.

By the way, this is a Ukai rim. It is this model that is most likely to be found on these old fujis, and they really are great rims. They are usually just fine to rebuild with, and remain straight and strong.

Bikes for Refugees

2011-09-06T21:54:00.010-04:00

Bike recipients and volunteers before the ride home.

A bike mentor with a bike recipient during the ride home.

This video was made by Todd Gerarden and Amara Lewis.

In late summer of 2008, I read the book The Only Road North by Erik Mirandette. I was inspired from that book to try and help the local refugees in my community, which at the time was Charlottesville, Virginia. Through those thoughts I developed a vision of how to do that, and after a couple of months it came to fruition. My vision encompassed volunteer mechanics from the Community Bike Shop working with middle school boys from Fork Union Military Academy to make bicycles rideable for local refugees who came to Charlottesville through the International Rescue Committee. My friend Brian had loaned me the book. He was teaching at Fork Union at the time, and it was his students who came and helped.

After quite a few weeks of communicating with everyone, we were ready to put the plans into action. It began in two phases. Phase 1 involved getting the bikes in working order. We had 14 bicycle requests from the International Rescue Committee. On a Saturday in October 2008, the volunteer mechanics and the middle school boys met at the community shop to do the work. We were done by the end of the day.

Happy Rickshaw, a local pedi-cab business, let me secure the bikes for the week in the Ix warehouse space that they were renting. This space was integral to Phase 2, which occurred the next weekend. Phase 2 involved giving the bikes to the refugees. This proved more challenging than it first seemed. Most of the recipients were from Burma, and their English was minimal. The other countries represented were Bhutan, Nepal, Burundi, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Many of them were still unfamiliar with basic driving principles on the road here, so bicycle safety skills were also a concern. Thankfully, the Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation was able to help. They provided helmets for everyone, and the support of the Bike Mentor group which gathered to ride each person back home. However, the language barrier was more problematic. I realized that I needed to find translators if I really wanted to get the safety points across. I spent alot of time searching for them, and at one point was on a 3 way call with a company in Arizona to be sure that one of the recipients understood exactly where to pick up the bike. After alot of hard work, I was able to find two translators who could be there with us on the bike pick up day. Communication went very smoothly during that time.

After everyone had a bike, helmet, lights, and locks, we were ready to roll. The Bike Mentors got everyone home safely. It was a thrill, and it gave me great personal satisfaction to bring together so many different people to accomplish one goal.

Throughout the next year after these initial phases, I received about 10 more requests for bikes from the International Rescue Committee. I worked on those bikes and delivered them myself to each recipient. I would talk about safety issues, and go on rides with them as well when I took them the bike. One person was walking to his job, which took about 30 minutes. When I delivered his bike, we rode to his work together. It took us about 7 minutes one way. He was elated. My future goal for this before I moved was to do more bicycle safety teaching with them through the International Rescue Committee before they received a bike. Of course, one of the bikes received was a vintage fuji. :)

Here is the break down of the people and groups involved for the first two phases:

Charlottesville Community Bikes:

Matteo

Fork Union Military Academy:

Activities director- Brian

Middle Schoolers- Nathaniel, Colin, John, Nathan, Daniel, Jesse

Volunteer Mechanics:

Sam, Eric, Sam, Nick, Charles, Todd

International Rescue Committee:

Terri, Sarah, Courtney

Alliance for Community Choice in Transportation:

Caroline

Bike Mentors:

Shawn, Steve, James, Nick, Vince, Andy, Dave, Greg, Mandy, David

Translators:

Donald, Gawng, Thet Thet, Fatin

Bike Recipients:

Som, Deo, Keshar, Lian Lam, Malud, Pa Ma, Gasper, Najiba, Jardin, Ngwe, Wah Wah, Atiq, Farah

Flwrider Skyline Jersey (from Hong Kong)

2011-08-31T19:22:00.003-04:00

So I went to Hong Kong last March. I was there for a month. I had all of these great cycling experiences, and met many great people there advancing the cause of cycling. A couple of those people are Brian and Eric, who are part of the Hong Kong fixed gear scene. Brian started it a few years ago after having spent some time in San Francisco. He brought the fixie scene to Hong Kong, and has created a world-wide venue for anything and everything cycling (and more) through his website www.flwrider.com. Their logo is beautiful, and ever since I saw him wearing a jersey with the logo printed on it, I've wanted one of my own. There weren't any available before I left, but I've contacted Brian recently, and they have a new one available as of last June. Check it out... flwrider skyline jersey

What do you think?! I've already ordered one, and I can't wait to get it.

Extensive Hong Kong Bicycling Report

2011-08-30T07:44:00.004-04:00

This week, my cycling friend, Martin, who I met when I was in Hong Kong, was featured in a 23 minute report on bicycling there. There is some excellent footage of him riding his daily commute on one of the busiest roads on Hong Kong Island from North Point to Wan Chai. He is an excellent example of how to do it right and be safe, and his comments about the issues of taking a bike on the trains and ferries are to the point and very convincing. In Hong Kong, to really get where you need to go on a bike, you're going to have to be able to utilize the trains and ferries with it. Please check out the report at the link below...

http://programme.tvb.com/news/pearlreport/video/739/122004

1976 Fuji Sports 10 Single-Speed

2011-08-26T16:22:00.003-04:00

Do you remember the 'extra' frame I received when I picked up my 80's Fuji Track Frame up in New York? After seeing my blog, Zachary (the craigslist seller of the track frame) gave me this orange Sports 10 frame as well. Thankfully my friend Jeff was there to help carry it home on the train.

I took it not knowing what I was going to do with it. I attended a swap meet in Trexlertown last spring (there is another one this October 1st), and bought an 1/8" 18 tooth suntour single-speed freewheel. I was going to put it on the other side of the sunshine professional track wheel that is on the track bike, but realized there are not brake holes in the frame. I don't want to mess that up by drilling any, and am keeping that bike for the sole purpose of riding the track (its intended purpose anyway). After putting together the track bike, I ended up with a couple of extra 1/8" chainrings. I had been avoiding the learning curve of realigning a rear axle on a multi-speed hub and re-dishing the rim that is necessary when converting from multiple gears to one gear on bikes like this. So, I decided that it was time to do that with the orange Sports 10. It actually wasn't that difficult, just a bit time consuming really. I went ahead and rebuilt the wheels with new spokes to help it look nicer, and thanks again to Alan at Alan's Bicycles in Phoenixville, Pa. He had the warm and comfy looking brown saddle that completes the bike and fits its style. Maybe someday I'll rebuild the wheels again to swap out the gold rims from the Fuji Royale II.

I've set up the gearing with a 47 tooth chainring in the front, and an 18 tooth cog in the rear. This gives about a 70 inch gear, which is a good mid-range gearing for moderate hills like the ones around here. I don't think I'll be taking this on really long road rides, but I will be taking it on the Perkiomen Trail for sure.

I'm happy to add another type of ride to my Fuji stable. There is the track racer, the road racer (opus III), the tourer (touring series iv), the everyday use workhorse (royale II), and the jovial 3-speed (bedford). I'm going to have alot of fun on this single-speed. Maybe I'll get out in the snow with it this winter.

Around and Around in T-Town

2011-08-24T22:18:00.005-04:00

Standing on the apron.

Up at the boards.

Sprinting to the finish on the left.

I finally made it to the track here in Trexlertown. It is called the Valley Preferred Cycling Center, and it is a wonderful place. I can't wait to start bringing my daughters here. Tonight was the last class of 8 sessions for the adult basic course that they offer to the community. There were about 18 or so of us, and we learned about gears, some of the events, and some of the tactics of the sport. We honed our pace-lining skills, but most importantly we enjoyed being out here going round and round as fast as we can. The class was not what I expected. It was basically a training session, which is good, but I thought it was going to be slower paced. The competitiveness really came out of me during these classes when we were doing the mock races.

I need better technology so my videos come out clearer, but the one above at least gives you some sense of the track itself. Toward the end it pans around full circle.

The Fuji track bike did splendidly. We got laminated gear charts tonight, and on it says that Fuji is the official bike of the center. I wonder how that came to be.

One thing I haven't gotten to do yet is attend some of the major racing that happens here on Friday nights through the summer. The last one is this Friday, but I won't be able to make it either. I'll have to wait for next summer. In the meantime, I will try to get up here as much as I can to ride. I'm enjoying it as much as I thought I would.

A Hidden Fuji

2011-08-24T07:05:00.004-04:00

Eugene A. Sloane passed away a few years ago. His book, The Complete Book of Bicycling published in 1970, is one of if not the most comprehensive on the subject. He also wrote the Bicycle Maintenance Manual, published in 1981. I have read through both of these books numerous times, but I don't always look closely at sections I feel I grasp fully. However, I was looking closer at his mechanic book this morning, and noticed that a classic fuji is featured in a few of the pictures. I recognized it because my eye happened to catch the headbadge, only half of which is in view. It appears in pages 113-116, and it looks like it might be the Finest model. It is used to demonstrate how to install bar end shifters.

I suppose he didn't mention Fujis in his first book because they weren't imported into the US until 1971. I wonder what he thought of the Fuji bicycles.

Interview with Bill Schroder, A Bikecentennial 76 Ride Leader

2011-07-02T14:58:00.010-04:00

On the B76 Ride somewhere in the midwest

Bill Schroder in 2006.

If you are familiar with Adventure Cycling, then you might also be familiar with the Bikecentennial 76 (B76). If not, then briefly, it is a large cross country bicycle ride that happened in the United States of America in the summer of 1976. Everyone was put into groups, and each group had a leader. Well, a few weeks ago I was on a ride taking the Perkiomen Trail back to the house. A man was sitting on a bench holding what I initially thought was a map. I wasn't going to turn around, but I did, just to check in and see if there was anything I could help with. It was just a newspaper, and I quickly realized from the look of his bike, that this was an experienced cyclist who knows what he is doing. Like any experienced cyclist, he also knows how to take his time, and enjoy life. I took a "brake", and we chatted a bit. It turns out that he was a ride leader on the infamous Bikecentennial 76! He gave me a card with contact info, and on the way home I got the idea to blog a brief interview about his experience with that. He was happy to do it, so here it is!

AN INTERVIEW WITH BILL SCHRODER:

A Ride Leader of Bikecentennial

Question 1. How did you become a ride leader for Bikecentennial?

I lived in Virginia Beach, VA in the 1970s and in 1975 I was president of the Tidewater Bicycle Association and gave input for the eastern VA portion of the B-76 route. As a result I was invited to be part of the first leadership training group which took place at an American Youth Hostel in Bowmansville, PA. From the training groups leaders were chosen based on their camping and biking expertise, as well as their ability to motivate and work with others. In addition to this training enabling me to be a group leader, I met the woman who has become my lifelong partner and friend.

Question 2. What were your responsibilities as a ride leader?

Each group consisted of between ten and twenty people of varying ages. Some groups stayed in youth hostels, churches etc. and other groups were organized to be full camping including cooking. Also the distances varied; some cycled a portion of the country and some did the whole country. Each trip was described in a B-76 catalog. The full country trips took 82 days but there were four “fast trips” cycling the country in 58 days; one each way of hostel and camping. I was lucky enough to lead the west to east fast camping trip. Both the hostel and camping groups were self-contained. This meant carrying on your bike everything you needed; clothes, repair tools, camping equipment as well as food for that day. We had “group” stoves and gas canisters. Every day two riders were appointed to cook the evening meal and the next day breakfast. It made for some very interesting meals.

Each group had a leader and assistant leader. Their duties varied by their abilities. All leaders were responsible for the group funds, allocating funds each day for groceries, camp ground fees etc. In addition the leader was responsible for the member’s wellbeing. This ranged from motivating riders to bicycle repair, to minor first aid and discipline as necessary. Luckily in my group the latter was not necessary. B-76 was the first time this type of trip had ever been done on such a large scale. B-76 headquarters was unable to provide much support once you left the starting point and it was up to the leader to improvise. While each member was supplied guidebooks and maps, none of us had ever been in most of the places we were going. While the group looked to me to know the way, in truth most of the time I did not have any more knowledge then they did. The leader was expected to use common sense and his abilities to get through. In eastern KY our maps said to “take a right at the large tree”. As most people know KY is not a desert and there are lots of trees. Luckily at what I thought was the turn there was a farmhouse and a nice grandmotherly lady was rocking on the porch. Her comment to my question about directions was “bicyclists keep going up that road and never come back”. In summary, the leader did what had to be done on any given day. Of the 17 people in my group who started from Reedsport, Oregon, 17 made it to see the ocean in VA Beach, VA.

Question 3. What was the biggest challenge that your group faced together?

When you go on this kind of adventure every day holds challenges, whether it is mountains, heat or rain. Probably the biggest challenge was to keep the desire to cycle every day. When we first met in Reedsport in my first talk I told them that it is not possible to cycle across the United States, it is not possible to cycle across Oregon BUT is possible to cycle to the next soda break and the one after that and one day you will find yourself on the other side of the country. Our biggest single challenge was when we were camped in Ste. Genivieve, MO . About 2 AM a tornado came through and although luckily it did not directly hit us, the winds still took all the tents down and everything we had was completely soaked. The police evacuated us to a local church. The next day became an unplanned rest day as we dried clothes, repaired tents etc. One vivid memory I have was the $4,000 in traveler’s checks lying in a puddle in my tent. The local bank said they would replace them but could not until I could separate and dry them. I still remember giving a hundred dollar check to each lady at a beauty parlor who put them on their heads and got under a dryer.

Question 4. Were any members in your group changed in deep, personal ways from having participated in Bikecentennial?

I believe every person who did B-76 was changed and every person who I have ever talked to, be it from my group of other groups say they will never forget that trip. One cannot do something like this without having a lifetime of memories. Some of us have continued to do trips and keep cycling while others have moved on. But I doubt a single one of us will ever forget it. To this day what four of us still keep in touch and my best friend from that that trip, a “young” Dutch man; not so young now goes on regular cycling trips with me. He, my partner and I have cycled throughout Europe and the United states together over the last 30 plus years.

Question 5. What two memories from Bikecentennial replay themselves most often in your mind?

There are too many to ever tell about. There was Gene Chu buying a ten pound bag of ice each day and putting it in his front handlebar bag in the desert of eastern Oregon. There were two of our younger riders riding into wet tar and then braking with the expected consequences in Kansas. But the best memories I have is meeting the people along the route. B-76 was the largest event ever done for this length. Seeing other cyclists in the most remote places, and having locals waving to us, buoyed our spirits beyond belief. In western Oregon, just a few days into the trip, a young girl and her mother came to our camping area with a cake and said how much they admired us. In Kansas there was “the ice cream lady” who gave homemade ice cream to us. She literally would chase us down in her car and take us to her home. Nobody who cycled B-76 will ever forget the “cookie lady” of VA. She had a home just off the Blue Ridge Parkway in VA and started giving out cookies to the cyclists. To this day she still does and over the years she added a bunkhouse to give shelter to the cyclists. She literally has become a legend on the trail.

Bikecenntenial is now known as Adventure Cycling but for us “old times” it will always be B-76.

"I Was Just Looking at Your Bike"

2011-06-27T18:44:00.004-04:00

So I was out on a ride near Colombia, Md the other day. I was waiting at a red light at the intersection of Little Patuxent Parkway and Cedar Lane. I had positioned myself to the left of the right lane, and checked back to see if the car behind might want to be turning right. In fact, it was, so I moved over a little bit more, and she thanked me as she turned. I looked back again to see what the next car was doing. No blinker, but the bmw moved closer to my rear wheel, and was behind me but kind of next to me. I wanted to be sure this person knew I was going straight, so I motioned straight ahead with my arm. The driver, a man (a woman was in the passenger seat) rolled down his window so he could tell me, "I'm sorry, I was just looking at your bike." The light turned green at that moment, and I went ahead. As they passed waving and smiling, he gave me plenty of room and a friendly honk. I'm pretty sure he was sincere with his comment, not joking or trying to be funny. This isn't the first time a stranger has complimented one of my vintage fujis (this one is the fuji royale ii, blue with gold ukai rims). Like I say, there is something special about them, and obviously I'm not the only one to think so.

How to Teach your Child to Ride

2011-06-16T08:41:00.007-04:00

My daughter is 3 1/2 years old. She is riding her bike now, and never used training wheels. Here is what I did:

1. By 2 years old, I bought her the skuut bike. At first she walked along side it. I resisted the urge to sit her on it immediately, realizing that she needed to get comfortable with it. When she dropped it and worked to pick it back up, I realized she was learning some very basic principles of how it balances even then.

2. I made myself a scoot bike. I needed to be able to show her what she could do with it, since she wasn't able to talk yet. Also, I was kinda jealous of her new ride, and it looked like a lot of fun. We would ride together, and play chase, and have the wheels kiss, and whatever else we could think of to have fun. I would also find lines for us to ride on to practice straight riding.

3. Pedaling on a tricycle. Pretty soon we were scooting to our local bike shop. While we were there, she wanted to ride a cool little tricycle they have. That is how she learned to pedal.

4. Power Pedal Technique (No Wimpy Pedals!). It wasn't long after that, that it was time to start on her 'real' bike, the 'blue bike.' I had a handle attachment that comes off the back. I could help keep her upright with it, but I did not use it to do her work for her. I used it as a safety net. She still had to keep her bike balanced properly (make sure the feet can still touch the ground while seated). At this point, she was able to talk and understand basic instructions. So I talked to her at the same time as showing her. She learned to get a pedal up for a good take off push with her foot. Once she was rolling, she was riding, because she already had her balance from the skuut bike. Again, I did not use the handle to do her balancing for her. I would keep my hand hovering around it, just to be there to help alleviate a fall.

5. Braking. The next step was teaching her how to back pedal for the brakes. To help with 'on the spot' braking, I set up a small kid size stop sign, at which she had to stop directly next to, and look for cars. Actually, I had been implementing that since she started with the skuut bike, so she was used to stopping, but not as much with the new way of braking. It didn't take long before she was able to brake on her own, and keep upright while coming to a stop.

Now she is riding on her own, and doing very well. There are plenty of new bike experiences to come, and she still has alot to learn about riding, but it is exciting to see her naturally lean into a turn, ring her bell as she rides all the while smiling and laughing and having fun.

Here is a link to our first scoot bike ride together. Even though she is not wearing her helmet in this brief video, she always has it on when we are outside. She has been wearing a helmet since she was 1 year old and riding with me in the bike trailer. She loves wearing it, and is quick to remind me if I forget mine!

A Note To Considerate Drivers

2011-06-10T08:33:00.003-04:00

We all know there are inconsiderate, and down right mean, car drivers out there. However, some are quite considerate as well. Sometimes though, their consideration doesn't always put or keep us cyclists in the safest situation. For instance, the other day as I was about to make the left turn into my subdivision, a car coming the opposite direction stopped and waved me across. I didn't blindly accept their invitation though, and good thing too. The driver behind them was beginning to veer to the right so that they could pass! If I had not been aware of that possibility and watching out for that person, a disaster could have potentially occurred that would have left my kids fatherless and my wife husbandless.

I'm commenting on this because I wonder if the considerate driver may have ultimately been confused and even offended at my hesitance to just go when they were waving me on. I want/wish that they realize why I behaved the way that I did. As a cyclist, we are one of the most vulnerable users of the road, and we can not be vigilant enough with our thoughts and actions when it comes to our own safety. Even those who think they may be helping us to be safer can inadvertently put us in a compromising position.

Be aware out there, be safe, and good luck!

Trappe, Pa Ride of Silence

2011-05-20T09:27:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Bikesport Bike Shop, Trappe, Pennsylvania has joined others across the world in the Ride of Silence. I'm happy that I got to be part of their second year of doing this. I used my fancy diy camera mount and took some video of our ride, and added some of my own piano music. I've seen some other videos of the Ride of Silence that people have done in other places, and it is interesting to see how different each location is; But the meaning behind the rides, and the silence of each rider really unites each one.

Hong Kong Ride of Silence

2011-05-18T21:07:00.004-04:00

(photo by Lim Soo)

First, check out this excellent video on youtube of this year's ride of silence in Hong Kong.

I was just in Hong Kong last March for the month, 32 days. If you've seen my posts about it, then you already know that I had many wonderful cycling experiences there with my folding bike. Before I arrived there, I had contacted many people in the cycling scene, and then had the opportunities to meet them in person while I was there. One of those people is Lim Soo, of the blog i-brompton. Before I left, I gave him as a gift a Hong Kong bicycle license plate. You can see it in the picture above. He rode in the ride of silence with it. Another person I met is Martin, of unicycling hockey fame. He also has been one of the most important advocates of cycling in Hong Kong for many years now, and instrumental in garnering support. We hung out for an hour or so my last night in Hong Kong. I didn't want to take my helmet back with me on the plane, so asked if he would like it. That is him in the other picture above in the ride of silence wearing the helmet I gave him before leaving. Eric, of Flwrider, made the video you can see in the link above, and in one of the frames is Brian, creator of Flwrider, and the father of the fixie scene that is ever growing in Hong Kong. I got to meet them while I was there, have dinner, and go on a ride.

Watching the video of the ride, seeing pictures from their ride of silence, leaves me with a feeling of gratefulness that I got to meet those people, and be part of the Hong Kong cycling scene for a brief time.

Bicycle Unusualness

2011-05-18T20:55:00.003-04:00

I was happy to see a tall bike show up at my local Ride of Silence earlier this evening. A couple of my friends at the Community Bike Shop in Charlottesville, Va had made tall bikes, and I miss being around that kind of scene. In case you're wondering, Ginny (owner of Bikesport) is pinning the ride of silence logo onto the back of Pat's jacket.

Can you spot what is unusual about Antimo's fixed gear (besides the pink tire!)?

Moving by Bike

2011-05-18T15:43:00.006-04:00

Steve posing with the Fuji Royale II before I left on the second run.

There are alot of moving parts on a bicycle. We move our legs to make it go. The pedals spin, the crank spins, the wheels spin. It moves our bodies from one point to another. But that's not exactly the kind of moving I'm talking about for this post. A bicycle can also move our belongings.

The other day I helped my friend Steve do that. Using a trailer from BikesAtWork, we took some trips from one house to the other, loading it with nice and light square boxes that fit perfectly to oddly shaped items that we had to tweak a few times to secure. On one of the trips (about 1 mile or so one way), we moved the grill. It fit perfectly on the trailer with no tweaking or extra work. Each loaded trip took about 12 minutes. It took less time than that to get back of course.

Steve is very plugged in to his community. We saw many people who he knows along the route between houses, and received smiling faces and thumbs up for our efforts.

We weren't stressed about trying to get too much done. It was kind of like just going on a neighborhood bike ride like you would as a kid, except you're taking a few things along with you, and dropping them off somewhere else. The joy of riding a bike is still there even though you are working, and that keeps it fun.

There was a natural break in between trips, and during one of them Steve had received a package in the mail. It was a proof of the greenways map of Chapel Hill, NC that he has been working on recently. If you live in the Philadelphia area, you may have seen or used the Greater Philadelphia Bicycle Map that he designed.

My family and I are moving too in a couple of months. Steve has said he'll let me borrow the trailer, which I'm planning to do. I had already been thinking about moving by bike before I knew he was doing this. Our new place is also only about a mile away from where we are now. I've been daydreaming about moving my Yamaha P-22 upright piano by bike, but that's probably not going to happen. If you've heard of anyone who has moved a piano by bike, let me know!

If you're in a rush, then moving by bike is probably not for you. If you can take some time, and want to make your move fun and memorable, then I suggest doing some of it by bike.

Please Welcome My Fuji Track Bike

2011-05-09T21:44:00.002-04:00

This afternoon, with Alan's help (owner of Alan's Bicycles), I was able to finish setting up my early 80's fuji track bike. I'm very excited about this. Also this afternoon, I registered to take an adult basic class at the Trexlertown Velodrome this August for 4 weeks. I'll be going there two nights each week to learn and practice riding the track. I'm hoping of course I can find other times to go ride there as well. This will be my first time riding a fixed gear, my next step in this fuji cycling life.

Alan's help was integral to making sure this bike was set up properly. This morning I draped the new (and beautiful) HKK chain around the crank and cog to eye the chainline before installing the chain. It is a good thing I didn't just put the chain together because it was obvious something wasn't quite right. I took it to Alan to have him take a look. He ended up measuring the alignment of the frame, and it was apparent that it was not straight. I left it with him, and in about an hour he had straightened it out, and got it squared away. The chainline looked perfect afterward. He also helped me get a start on working out the proper fit. He is an expert in all facets of bicycling, and I knew he would see what I wasn't able to see. Alan doesn't have a website, but you can see a list of some of the spectacular bikes he offers in a previous post I made. By the way, the fuji titanium on that list has been sold. His shop's address is:

285 Schuylkill Road (Rt. 23) Phoenixville, Pa 19460 ph. #: 610-933-4818

email: alansbicycles@aol.com I highly recommend him. His shop is the kind of place you'll always learn something new no matter how many times you visit.

Stats of the bike:

ishiwata double butted tubing/made in Japan

nitto njs bars

nitto njs stem 110mm

suntour cyclone track pedals/fujita leather straps/njs toe clips

suntour superbe pro track crank njs167.5mm

tange bottom bracket ISO 109mm

sunshine professional hubs njs/100mm front/110mm rear flip flop

bontrager inform saddle

sr laprade fluted seat post 26.6mm

origin8 48 tooth chainring 1/8

HKK vertex chain silver 1/8

suntour 16 tooth cog 1/8

tange falcon headset

suntour lockring njs

ukai 700c presta rims tubular njs

Trexlertown Velodrome Swap Event

2011-05-07T21:04:00.004-04:00

No, I did not buy this (unfortunately).

Today was my first visit to the infamous Trexlertown Velodrome. I hope to be going there alot more now that I have a track bike (more to come on the progress of that later). They held their twice annually swap meet there today, and I went looking specifically for track shoes and a chainring/cog bag. I did not find either, but I did find a great set of wheels for my fuji touring bike. I also found the jersey you see in the photo above, however, Phil was asking $90 for it. I just couldn't justify the cost without being sure it is something I would actually wear. I didn't want to take my shirt off in front of everyone to try it on. So I asked if I could take a picture instead.

They served a great lunch at the Breakaway Cafe, and a wonderful special sangria in honor of Cinco de Mayo. After I got my food, I was looking for a shady spot because I got sunburned last weekend at Bike New York (even though my friend Chris offered me sunscreen which I stupidly declined to use). I spotted a picnic table with an umbrella, but most of the shade went into the grass instead of directly over the table. I sat there nonetheless. There were already two people there, Tim and Morgan, from Baltimore. Morgan graciously gave me the shady spot next to Tim, and she moved to the sunny side claiming she was kind of chilly anyway. They provided good conversation. There was a kind of familiarity as if I had met them before already, but I don't think so. They had come up the night before and camped out in the grassy parking area outside of the track.

Bilenky Cycle Works was there, and I noticed a flyer at their booth advertising the next Philly Bike Expo this October 29th-30th, 2011. That was a pretty good event last fall, and can only be better this time. I'll look forward to that.

This swap happens again in the fall as well. I think it is in October too. Hopefully I'll find a chainring bag before then though. I was bidding on one on ebay the other week. It was vintage suntour one, blue, and would have been perfect because I'm setting this bike up with some suntour parts (crank, hubs, cogs). I was the only bidder for days, and it seemed I would win it. I was there at the last moments just in case, with my finger ready for the 1-click bid, and I did have to use it! Unfortunately, that punk had put in a higher 'highest' bid, so when I clicked I lost again. I was flabbergasted and very angry, but I guess that's how ebay works.

Bike New York: Yes! Bike Hong Kong: Maybe? Escalate!

2011-05-03T14:34:00.006-04:00

(David, Chris, Meg, Me, and Haley)

So, here we are at Bike New York! (Thanks Chris for the photos!) ... all of us at the 3rd rest stop with a great view of Manhattan in the top photo, and me and Chris stuffed into the 'special train' for all of the cyclists heading to the ride in the bottom photo. On the way over to Manhattan from Jersey City, I detached the trailer from the bike to maneuver the escalators, but coming back later I just left it on and escalated with it attached. That was pretty easy to do actually. I love escalating with large pieces of equipment that I have to hold on to. I really just love escalating; to escalate; let's escalate! (Alright, enough of that.) For the stairs I had to do two trips, and thankfully Meg was there to help Haley get up and down the stairs and escalators. She was a great helper.

We were able to stay together the whole ride. As Chris commented at one point, the large group of over 30,000 riders was kind of like an individual organism, ebbing and flowing, and moving in its own organic way. It was nice to have a completely car free ride, though I couldn't help thinking while on the expressway that I probably wouldn't choose to use it as a cyclist if I did have the option. I like being tucked in between buildings and down on the street where I can see and feel people moving around me. At the same time, a wide open road practically all to yourself is a great feeling too.

A week or so before the ride I found some New York bicycle license plates on ebay. I bought them to hand out at the ride. After giving one to Meg, I had 9 left to hand out. By the end of the ride I still had three left. So 6 people were willing to take one. Others weren't so keen on it. I think some who declined just thought it was stupid and were too cool for a little bike license plate, and others I think wondered what the catch was. Maybe they thought I had installed little tiny cameras on them, and would be watching the rest of their lives through it from a little dark closet in a basement or something. I still have 3 left. If you want one, let me know.

I think it is astounding how this ride comes off. The organization it takes to make it happen is extreme. The main thing that stands out to me is how they close such major roadways to allow it to be car free. If New York can do this, I think any very large city can do this. I was thinking of Hong Kong alot as we were riding over the Verazzano Bridge. That is a large issue in Hong Kong because cyclists cannot access Lantau Island from Kowloon or Hong Kong Island without taking a train or ferry. It is illegal to ride the bikes over the bridges. In fact, before I left there, Martin (a director of the Hong Kong Bicycling Alliance) and I were talking about this very issue of bikes on the bridges there. I was also thinking of Hong Kong alot because we were on the train and ferry as part of this ride. Cyclists have just begun in the past few years being allowed on the trains and ferries in Hong Kong, and indeed you cannot get everywhere on a bike that you want to there without having to utilize one or the other. I think a ride like Bike New York could very well happen in Hong Kong, where they coordinate a car free route by closing some expressway lanes and bridge lanes in an orderly fashion to accomodate a large group of cyclists for a day. 'Bike Hong Kong' has a good ring to it too.

Vintage Fujis in Bike New York

2011-05-03T10:28:00.003-04:00

Last Sunday, my daughter and I rode in Bike New York. It was 42 miles through Manhattan, Harlem, Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. She was in her bike trailer, and for a 3 1/2 year old did fabulous for such a long ride and day on the bike. It was helpful that we went along with our very experienced friend Chris, who has done this ride for quite a few years now with his daughter Meg (7 yrs old). I think you need to count on both hands how many times they have participated at this point. Meg has done this ride on the back of her father's x-tra cycle since she was 3 yrs. old. Chris' expertise made the logistics of getting to and from the ride a breeze for my first time. His father, Dave, also was with us on his beautiful Bleriot. The weather was perfect.

Of course I was keeping my out for some vintage fujis, and did see a few. Besides the ones I've pictured here, I saw at least two others that I was not able to photograph due to the fact that I needed both hands on the bars at that point. So, out of over 30,000 riders, I saw at least 5 or 6 vintage fujis. I feel certain that there were more. I only had a brief moment to talk with one of the people riding these fujis, and I think it was her first time on it. She noted mine though, and commented how well her fuji allegro rode. I think she was surprised by that. It's performance surpassed her expectations of what that old bike was going to do. Don't underestimate these older fujis. There really is something truly special about them.

Interview with Lim Soo

2011-04-25T09:47:00.004-04:00

http://flwrider.com/2011/04/25/frame-chapter-twenty-five/

Click on the link above to watch an interview with Lim Soo, a new friend I met while I was in Hong Kong. See more about my ride with him while I was there here. He started a blog last fall about his bicycle commuting experience for 190 days on his brompton folder; www.i-brompton.blogspot.com

The interview was done by the great folks of flwrider.

Cycling in Hong Kong is going to improve over the next few years.

Fuji Friends

2011-04-21T10:34:00.004-04:00

Matteo/Lazaro

Meet my new friend Lazaro. We met when I bought the Royale II from him about 2 weeks ago. He has been riding a Supreme. He painted it black. It looks okay, but the original paint was fine, and the fuji logos were all good too. I think he regrets doing that after seeing this blog. But it is not what is on the outside that counts, it is what is on the inside, and underneath the black paint remains a quality vintage fuji. Both of these bikes used to be his father-in-laws, but as I've said before they are getting new life in our hands. I've been helping with some mechanical issues on his bike. We've put a different crank on, a different chain, trued the wheels a bit. It would be nice to rebuild the wheels with new spokes, and I want to redo his brake set up if he'll let me, get them higher up on the bars. We took them around the block for a fast test spin, and hopefully we'll get out on a nice long road ride soon.

Vertex: A Chain, A Frame, and 2 Wheels

2011-04-18T15:59:00.010-04:00

The 80's Fuji Track frame I've recently acquired was sold to me with a chain, however, sometimes I like to put new things on my old bikes. I want to set up this track bike as well as possible. I didn't want to leave a used chain on it. In searching the web for a track specific chain I found this one. However, I wasn't finding that it was sold in my immediate area, and to have it shipped from somewhere in the U.S. would have cost just as much (or more) than having it shipped from Japan. I went ahead and purchased it from a track-specific shop in Japan, Track Supermarket . I ordered it less than a week ago, and wasn't expecting to receive it for at least another week and a half. That was fine with me, I'm in no rush and it's half way around the world. I was excited when it arrived though. I'm one step closer to getting this bike ready to ride.

Another cool thing about putting it together is that I found the perfect wheel set for it within days of getting it. Instead of spending over $600 (for a hub set, rims, spokes, and tires) and then take the time to build them, I only had to spend $270 (including shipping!) for a complete set of wheels with Sunshine Professional track hubs (110mm rear) and Ukai rims. These are actually the ones that came original on the Fuji Track bike in 1982. This is all thanks to Abbas, who had posted them in a classified ad over 7 months ago that nobody ever responded to (until now). It is like they were waiting for me this whole time.

'Vertex' is the name given to the chain I just bought. Some definitions of vertex are: 'The highest point,' 'The point at which the sides of an angle intersect,' 'The point of a triangle, cone, or pyramid that is opposite to and farthest away from its base.' There are others, but the main idea is that it is referring to a point of convergence of two (or more) separate entities a fair distance from their starting points. These parts (frame, chain, wheels) for this track bike are converging from different places (New York, Texas, Japan) to form the whole of the bike itself. Pretty cool.

I still have to put the headset back together, purchase the cogs and lock rings, maybe buy a new crank and bottom bracket, then it should be ready to go. Stay tuned for more updates on its progress.

A 'New' Work Horse

2011-04-18T15:36:00.004-04:00

I used to own an '82 Fuji Del Rey. I gave it to the Charlottesville Community Bike Shop almost a year ago because I had swapped it out with a smaller Gran Tourer I found. I thought the Del Rey was too big for me, and that the Gran Tourer would fit me better. I was wrong. I began to regret giving the Del Rey away, and began missing it. I didn't realize how much it had grown on me. I even missed the yellowish color of it. After moving here to Pa, I saw a picture of the Del Rey in a craigslist ad, at least I thought I did. That was last November, but I didn't really need it, even though the asking price was very low. My youngest daughter was only about 7 months old then, so she couldn't be in the child trailer yet. Well, she'll be a year in only a couple of weeks. The Gran Tourer is still down in Charlottesville. Also, we're doing Bike New York in a couple of weeks. I don't want to use my Fuji Touring Series IV at Bike New York, just in case something were to happen to my bike, and I don't want to use it to pull the child trailer on a daily basis. I have bigger plans for that bike in the future, like taking it cross country at the very least. So I want it to be in tip top shape. I still had Lazaro's contact info, so got in touch just a couple of weeks ago to see if he still had the Fuji. He did! Except it wasn't the Del Rey like I thought. It was the Royale II. I used to want the Royale II actually (in the beginning of all this fuji craziness), so it was kind of a pleasant surprise. I like the gold rims, and it also has quad-butted Ishiwata tubing like the Del Rey I had. They are similar in many ways. It is going to be a better fit than the Gran Tourer, and should serve me well as my new work horse bike, hauling the girls in the trailer and taking us anywhere we want to go.

Epilogue: I've recently seen Lazaro since he sold me the bike. I helped him with some mechanics on his Fuji Supreme. These two Fujis (the Supreme and Royale II) used to be his father-in-laws' bikes. They are getting new life in our hands. Lazaro and I have plans to see each other again, and eventually our wives and children will meet. We definitely plan on getting out on a ride together. It is just another special element of these older Fujis, how they can bring people together.

No More Headset Fret or Regret

2011-04-15T15:22:00.005-04:00

I've recently acquired two older Fuji models, the Royale II ('83) and the Sports 10 ('76). Well, when I went to remove the headsets to clean them, my 32mm wrenches did not fit! I was perplexed by this because I thought all headsets were that size. The 32mm was just a bit too small actually. Google came to my rescue (like usual, is that bad?). I discovered that Park Tool has made in the past, a headset wrench to fit the nonstandard headset lockring and cup race sizes of 33mm and 34mm, which is what these two are that I've acquired. After some searching on the web, I was not able to find this park tool model (HCW-8) though. However, a quick call down to one of my area bike shops, Auntra in Phoenixville, solved my problem. Joe down there had one, thankfully, and at a good price! I was very relieved, and it felt nice to be able to remove it properly without having to go through some kind of rigmarole. So, if you run into this same problem, don't despair. First, measure the lockring to be sure it is in fact 33mm, and start looking for this wrench. I did find one at MountainBikes.net by a brand named zogs, so maybe you could try that one, and let me know how it is.

FUJI FUJI: A Trip to New York City

2011-04-11T07:39:00.005-04:00

early 80's Track Frame

FUJI FUJI:on the train ride home

Jeffrey/Matteo

walking through SoHo to Lombardi's Pizza

I found it! I've been waiting to come across an 80's Fuji Track frame for a while now, and within one week of being home from Hong Kong, I found one on craigslist in my size (55cm). The seller, Zachary, was in New York, SoHo neighborhood, so I had to make the trip up to get it. Thankfully, my friend Jeffrey was able to go with me, and if he hadn't I wouldn't have been able to bring back the surprise extra fuji frame (1976 sports 10 model) that Zachary wanted to give me after seeing this blog. Also, he was a great navigator on the way up, helped with the metro issues we ran into, and led us to Lombardi's Pizzeria for dinner after we picked up the bikes. The restaurant graciously stored the frames in the closet while we ate. A person behind us was telling his wife that this is what they do in New York, take their bikes inside while they leave the wheels locked up somewhere on the street. Funny. We drove up to the Trenton Transit Center, and then took the Jersey Train into New York Penn Station. From there we took the metro down to SoHo. It was a fun trip to make, and definitely worth it to get this frame. I will be acquiring the parts for it now, and plan to use it for what it is intended, that is at the velodrome. This is my next step in cycling, to learn to ride the track and a fixed gear. Now I have the perfect bike (for me) with which to do that. On the train home, there was one other passenger in our car. As he was getting off for his stop, he commented on the bikes, and said he had an older fuji too. He hadn't ridden in a while though, and I think he was wanting to try and sell it to me. Just another special fuji experience to add to the list. Where is Fuji going to take me next? (Japan itself I hope!)

Russian Global Cycling Project: Katusha

2011-04-04T16:44:00.004-04:00

I bought this jersey at Wing's Co. while I was in Hong Kong. It is the shop to go to for imported European racing bikes and gear. I really liked the vintage look of it (though it is not vintage), the collar, the front pockets, buttons. I just now got around to googling this project to see what it is all about. It is a fairly new Russian team with higher aspirations than just winning races. Learn more about the team here.

Farewell Hong Kong

2011-03-30T21:07:00.003-04:00

I'm writing from the Airport in Hong Kong, waiting at my gate. My Dahon has been checked uneventfully. I have done everything I wanted to do regarding bicycling in Hong Kong. Everyone that I had contacted before arriving here on February 27th has not only been willing to meet with me, but they hosted me during my stay. They watched after me, ate with me, drank with me, and in general treated me like a lifelong friend. I appreciate all of you: Lim Soo, Chu Kin Sam, Martin, Jonny, Brian, and Eric.

Another new friend who I met on the bike, but not necessarily because of the bike, is John. He was another gweilo on the cycle track when I took my first ride, and still being very unfamiliar I needed reassurance I was going the right direction. He reassured me, then caught up with me later and struck up a conversation. We ended up having lunch, and then he joined me and Sam and all the other Hong Kong Vintage Cycling people for our epic journey through the New Territories. Not only that, he has helped make my stay in Hong Kong feel more like a home away from home, meeting me for dinner and good conversation. He reminded me of my own friends and family and there is a brother quality there.

To all of you, thanks for your willingness to talk to a complete stranger, and to open up so much that I am now leaving having had an extremely satisfying stay. This is what life is about. We are all connected. I could easily have left my bike at home due to uncertainty of what it is really like to ride in Hong Kong. I could easily have decided not to try and contact any of you thinking that you wouldn't respond anyway to a weirdo from halfway across the world. I had those thoughts, but that is not what I wanted. I wanted to bring my bike because it is now just a way of life for me, and I wanted to hold onto my way of life as much as possible for the month away from home and family. But I needed help to do that. I couldn't have done it on my own, and I didn't have to. So again, I can't thank you all enough. You have all given me memories and experiences that I will never forget, and who knows, maybe we'll still get opportunities to create more together someday.

A Police Escorted Protest Ride?

2011-03-29T18:52:00.002-04:00

Sunday was kind of a Grand Finale of bicycle riding in Hong Kong for me. After my long morning road ride, I went with Brian and Eric, in the afternoon, to attend a protest ride. It was not a mash it up problematic event. I say that because to me, the word 'protest' conjures up those kinds of visions. It was organized by a local rider by way of facebook, and as you can see, many people joined in on it. The main objective was to meet a few km away from their destination, which was a government building in Mong Kok, Kowloon, where they would deliver a letter requesting more concern for cyclists on the roads in Hong Kong. A few speeches were made, and then we all dispersed in a very well-mannered way. There were many different types of riders there, but one group consisted of young people who are into the growing fixie scene here. Brian, who invited me along to this earlier last week, in fact is the one who brought that scene here to Hong Kong a few years ago. He is yet another person I contacted before coming here, and I found him through his website, flwrdr. Flwrdr (or Flowrider), is basically his philosophy on life and bicycling summed up into one word. On a bike you have to 'flow' with traffic and what is around you, "not going too fast or too slow." In life you have to do the same thing he says.

And we had to find our own way to flow to the event! We had some difficulty finding the actual meeting spot where the ride was to begin. When we did find it, everyone was already gone. So, we made our own way, part of which included riding on one of the major highways here. It was accidental that we had to do that, but it was the only way. There are many ways in which Hong Kong is not bicycle friendly, and there are some major infrastructure issues. I suppose all of the police were too busy escorting the group, that it helped to keep us from being spotted out there!

But, we did make it to the end gathering to see the hand-off of the letter, and to hear some of the speeches. After that was finished it was time to go. There was no time to dilly dally. We had to clear the area immediately. Which is not a problem, but I was left with a feeling that Hong Kong officials were willing to go to the effort of providing the escort and accept the letter to keep the peace, but maybe aren't really taking the whole thing seriously. I'm not sure that the letter was tacked to the cork board and marked high priority when they went back into the building. Hong Kong does give consideration to many aspects of cycling, for sport, leisure, and they are building more cycle tracks. However, using a bicycle for real transport, not just short distance deliveries from one shop to the next, is not considered. The prevailing mindset is that bikes do not belong on the road. Nor do they belong on the sidewalks. If you need to get somewhere, use the train or buses or taxi or your own car. If you want to ride a bike, go to the cycle track or the park or the track.

Due to the efforts of events like this though, and Brian, and Martin of the Hong Kong Cycling Alliance, and all of those who participate, bicycling as a way to get from point A to point B in Hong Kong is becoming more recognized as a viable option. And just as it is anywhere else, it is the people who will make the change. Some of us are out there getting to where we need to go on our bikes in Hong Kong, braving the taxis and buses, enjoying the little bit of fresh air that wafts our way every now and then, getting some good exercise and benefitting from the rejuvenation that comes from that.

Real Road Ride in Hong Kong

2011-03-29T10:21:00.004-04:00

I did not think I was going to get to take a real road ride in Hong Kong, but thanks to Jonny (pictured above, with the awesome custom titanium beauty) I did! He went above and beyond as my cycling host by inviting me for lunch and a tour of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club so we could meet in person. Then he made special arrangements with Jobar, owner of Victory Cycles in North Point, to rent me a quality road bike for the 53km ride we took early last Sunday morning to Shek O from Wan Chai and back.

Before coming to Hong Kong I had joined the SIR (South Island Road) Cycling club yahoo groups list to begin getting an idea about the scene here. At some point after I arrived, I emailed the group to ask if anyone would meet with me to talk about road cycling here, and Jonny didn't hesitate to respond to me, even though I was a complete stranger. I almost didn't bother to try and contact anyone there because I could see from the emails of the group that I received that they are pretty serious riders. I hadn't been able to get on a good long ride in months, and was worried I wouldn't be up to the task. This is another way in which Jonny went above and beyond, in that he understood that and was willing to take me at my pace whatever it was. He made sure I got what I needed for a successful ride first by finding a safe bike for me to use, then by lending me some warmer clothing for the early morning air.

We left my hotel at 6:30am, headed down to Shek O on the Southeast side of the island, had a bite to eat among many other local roadies, then headed back the way we came. The ride consisted of constant rolling hills, and beautiful views of the seascape and infinite horizon would appear every now and then. We were back in Wan Chai by 10:30am. I am grateful I had the chance to get out on a wonderful long road ride, and will leave Hong Kong much more satisfied with my cycling experience because of it. Thanks again Jonny!

North on Nathan Rd: Kowloon, Hong Kong

2011-03-22T19:47:00.003-04:00

Do you like my new license plate? In Hong Kong, you can buy your vehicle license plates from stores on the street, and personalize it however you like. This is the size for motorcycles, but you can get thinner sized ones as well. They are highly reflective and perfect for night riding on a bike. I noticed many people noticing it while I was out the other night. I think more cyclists in Hong Kong who commute (or want to commute) should buy their own bicycle license plate to demonstrate the true viability of using a bike as transport. Maybe seeing the same plate on a bike that they see on cars, the general view towards bicycles in Hong Kong will change and begin putting them on more equal footing with motor vehicles.

Last Friday night, despite the dark and light rain, I decided to take my bike with me when I went to watch the unicycling team practice. My other options were to take a taxi or the MTR (subway). I don't even live here, and I'm already tired of taking the MTR. Hong Kong prides itself on the efficiency of the transportation infrastructure here. It is true that you can access many areas by the trains, but if you have to make one or more transfers to different trains to get to where you need to go, that can get quite tiresome. There is much walking and many stairs involved to get to the trains and between them. Sometimes the distance to be walked is far as well. This adds time and energy. Not only that, you are often walking against and among a very large crowd of people, that makes it feel at times like 'swimming upstream.' I prefer not to take the taxi just because it is usually not cost effective, and doesn't always save that much time anyway.

So I took my bike, and I'm glad I did. I decided I would rather feel the freedom of being on my bike riding down the middle of a busy street in the open air where I could have more space on all sides of me and not have to contend with the crowded masses on the trains and sidewalks. It felt good to be comfortably pedaling instead of driving my heels into the pavement. The drizzling rain was actually refreshing, and helped to clear the highly polluted air a little bit.

You can see in the video above that traffic really did not pose that much of a problem. Going up Nathan was a fairly smooth ride, and again I rode like a vehicle, meaning when I needed to make a right turn, I prepared for it by moving to the right lane to do so. It was a bit of a tight spot in the median area while waiting to make the turn though. Again, I communicated as much as possible with drivers by trying to make eye contact and use hand signals.

Instead of being an extra problem, and adding more stress, using my bicycle to get to where I was going actually rejuvenated me. The buses, trains, and taxis here are fairly efficient and definitely get you where you need to go, but the trade off is bad air, large crowds and an uncomfortable static traveling environment. I'd rather be on the bike.

Unicycling Hockey in Hong Kong

2011-03-22T10:11:00.002-04:00

Last Friday night I finally met Martin Turner after weeks of email communication. He invited me to watch his Unicycling Hockey Team during one of their regular Friday night practices at the King's Park YMCA in Kowloon. They compete bi-annually with three other countries for the Eastern Hemisphere's Unicycling Hockey Championship. If I remember correctly, those other countries are Korea, Singapore, and Australia. Hopefully he'll read this and correct me if I'm wrong. 2011 happens to be the year for the next competition, which happens this late July in Singapore I think. I did try to ride the unicycle a little bit while I was hanging out, but I didn't get any further on it than holding onto the wall while simply balancing on the pedals. I couldn't bring myself to try even at least one full revolution of the cranks. It's going to take a while for me to learn. I did enjoy watching and learning about the sport though, and as you can see there is quite a lot of skill necessary to compete. When they were done the team invited me along for their regular after practice meal at an outdoor restaurant on Temple Street. We shared some good food and Tsing Tao beer (Chinese Budweiser) along with good conversation before heading home for bed.

Martin also helps head up the Hong Kong Cycling Alliance, which has been advocating for better bicycling facilities and more recognition of cycling as a viable means of transport. Due in part to his work and leading example as a commuter over the years, cycling in Hong Kong is gaining respect and consideration. It is because of this organization that I was able to take my bike on the ferry without any problems.

Good luck to the team in this year's competition, and here's a toast of Tsing Tao to the future of cycling in Hong Kong!

More Hong Kong Biking

2011-03-14T08:55:00.002-04:00

I had my second commute here last Saturday morning. I rode from the hotel to City Hall. It only took about 10 minutes or so to get there. I walked the bike up Luard Road to Johnston, and then followed the tram route all the way to Central. Then I walked the bike through the plaza and under the road to City Hall, which was my adjudicating venue for that morning session. It was pretty low traffic going west toward City Hall. Later though, riding back to the hotel following the tram line again, there was a bit heavier traffic, more buses and taxis zooming by. I was a bit more anxious because I found myself in the far right lane of 3 or 4 lanes going the same direction. I wasn't completely confident it was where I was supposed to be, however, it wasn't long and it became a right turn only lane. It was in fact the perfect position for me to have stayed in because I needed to make that turn to continue following the tram line. After the turn I was back in Wan Chai and the hotel. In the picture above you can see 3 different modes of transportation; bus, tram, and bicycle. Which one gives you more freedom?

But that was around 6 or 7pm. Before that, I had spent the day on Cheng Chau Island with my new friend Lim Soo. We met through our blogging activities, and if you haven't checked his out yet you should... i-brompton. Cheng Chau does not have any cars, and in fact you will see alot of bikes in the video above. It was a beautiful day, and we had a good time. The island is best known for its annual bun festival. There are more places to go on the island, and there are some great views from the top, but we'll have to get much lower gears to get up there!

Commuting by Bicycle in Hong Kong

2011-03-09T08:16:00.005-05:00

On the way to work.

On the way back to the hotel.

Yesterday I had to adjudicate in Kowloon, which is the area of Hong Kong on the north side of Victoria Harbor. Instead of taking the subway system, I decided to take my bike. They allow bicycles on the ferry, and send cyclists to the lower level. This is not because cyclists are thought of as 'lowly' (at least I don't think) but because the top is usually pretty crowded, and there is more space for the bikes down below. I was the only person on deck going and coming back. Getting to the ferry on the Wan Chai side is not a simple matter of just taking a leisurely ride. In fact, it really involves very little riding, and more just walking the bike across the cement footpaths that go over the streets. My hotel, the Luk Kwok, is on a major roadway, Gloucester. There are no crossing streets nearby, but the walkway above is just outside the front doors. The best way to get to the ferry terminal is to simply take the bike up the steps, and walk it across. I could ride a little bit on the other side.

Once I got to Kowloon, there was not an easy way to cross Salisbury, another very busy roadway. I walked the bike again in the underground walkway to get across. I should have just ridden Salisbury though up to Nathan Road. Nathan is what I took most of the way up to my venue. I was unfamiliar with the roads though, and the street signs were not always immediately visible. Awareness has to be over 100% to ride in areas like this in Hong Kong. You have to watch out for taxis, buses, cars, and pedstrians. Also, for an American, it takes more energy to keep thinking opposite in your mind so that you look in the correct places for traffic movement. I rode up to Waterloo, which was my destination street. On the way home I was a little more comfortable, and could take my time more since I didn't have a set time to be back. Instead of riding all the way down Nathan, I rode down Shanghai, which is a one way going back. That cuts down a little bit on the traffic activity. Shanghai ends at Austin, where I turned left to get to Nathan. However, I was going to have to quickly turn right onto Nathan. So, I stayed in the right most lane (remember they drive on the left here) to position myself better for the right turn I was going to have to make. This meant I was right in the middle of traffic. But I rode at the pace of the cars, and there were stop lights within fairly short distances, so this helped keep speed of other vehicles lower. I successfully made the turn, and completed my trip back to the ferry by making another right turn onto Salisbury. That was a very large intersection with alot going on, but it was very controlled with the stop lights, so no problem there.

Drivers in Hong Kong definitely are not looking out for people on bikes. However, I tried to ride like I do back home, more in the middle of lanes, trying to be visible, and I communicated with drivers by hand signals and eye contact. Those communications did help, and I did get some positive response from that. With all of the busy cars and buses driving anxiously and kind of erratically, it does seem a bit crazy to get out there on a bike. But I did it successfully, and probably will do it again. Kowloon really is an excellent place for bikes. There are lots of stoplights which actually helps to control traffic, and it is flat. In fact, there already are alot of people riding bikes there, but they don't go very far, or ride very well. If more people will ride them as vehicles, get out there in the lanes to be visible, and assert their place in the road, I think bicycling for transport will be more respected here.

Second Hong Kong Ride

2011-03-05T23:59:00.003-05:00

Sam, Science, Chris, Me, Felix, Clemence, and John

Yesterday was an amazing cycling day here in Hong Kong. I only had one session of adjudicating, which ended around noon. I took my bike with me in the car from the hotel. The venue that I was judging in was in Fo Tan, and the cycling track was walking distance away. In the video above is only the very first part of the ride. Total mileage by the end of the day was about 25 miles. It ended in the northern part of the New Territories, not far from China. My first destination was Tai Po to meet Sam and the Hong Kong Vintage Cycling crew. On my way along the Tolo Harbour, I met an Australian, John, who was out for a leisurely ride. We ended up talking, stopping for a drink, then having lunch in Tai Po's train station while waiting for Sam and his friends to arrive. After we all met in the train station, all 7 of us (me, John, Sam, Clemence, Science, Chris, and Felix) continued on our bicycles. But Sam and crew led us off of the beaten path, on roads, sidewalks, through the lost village, ultimately back on cycle track in Fanling ending in Sheung Shui. For much of the ride, Sam and I switched bikes. His is a gorgeous vintage Hercules that rides like a cadillac. It was truly a special day of cycling and making new friends, kindred spirits.

First Ride in Hong Kong

2011-03-02T23:47:00.003-05:00

I have been in Hong Kong now since last Saturday night. I've been hard at work adjudicating for the schools music festival, but I did get out on the bike last Sunday before sessions began on Monday. I had to buy a helmet and gloves, so I rode from my hotel, the Luk Kwok in Wan Chai, to Bicycle World, a shop nearby. The ride was about 4.5 minutes each way. I actually walked the route first to get a sense of the traffic, and to practice thinking 'opposite' than what I'm used to. They drive on the left side of the road here like in England. A cyclist is more likely to get doored from the left instead of the right. You need to stay in the left most lane leading to your destination, and you need to look over your right shoulder more often than your left. I had to manuever a major intersection that brought together 5 different roads leading at different angles, and had two trolley tracks going in both directions through the center of it. As you see in the video, I made it through successfully. I did see other cyclists out, but I didn't see anyone wearing a helmet. My next planned ride is on the cycle tracks of Sha Tin, and next week I plan on commuting to my sessions in North Point from Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island. The cycle tracks will be fairly leisurely, but the commuting on Hong Kong Island will be similar to what you see in the video. (The video in fact was taken on Hong Kong Island.) It can get a bit hairy out there.

Gary Fisher at Bikesport

2011-02-16T22:03:00.003-05:00

Gary Fisher was in town this week, and he was gracious enough to come to Bikesport in Trappe, Pa, (my new hometown) for an extended visit tonight. In the picture above, Ginny, the owner is introducing him to a large crowd. He spoke for a few minutes about subjects from Hollywood to Trek's new line of transportation bicycles. He also deliberated a bit about the future of transport bicycling, instilling hope in those of us who want to see more of it. After watching Klunkerz, it was really neat to get to meet him in person. He is just the same as he was in his interviews for the movie. He is a great guy, very personable and sincere, and someone who has had the pleasure of changing the world. I am about to leave for Hong Kong, which has a mountain bike association, that works hard to promote the sport and acquire permission to create trails in the public parks so that anyone who wants to can get into it and reap the benefits that mountain biking offers. This is due in no small part to Gary Fisher. He began living a dream life back in the 80's and is still going strong with no sign of stopping. It was a pleasure meeting him.

Another neat thing about tonight is that I got to share the platform with him. Ginny asked me to speak at tonight's event too, about my experiences with bicycle advocacy so far. I talked for about 8 minutes, and it seemed well received. That was my first time doing that, and I hope I get more opportunities for it in the future. I really enjoyed it.

Bicycle Tube Jump Rope

2011-02-05T15:11:00.003-05:00

It has been a long, cold, and snowy winter. That usually would not keep me from getting out, but I stay at home with our children, and the youngest is only 9 months old. I don't want to expose her to the cold and elements. So, I have had cabin fever quite a bit. My bones and muscles are feeling pretty tired and weak lately. To help alleviate this I've been doing a bit of indoor cycling. I learned to ride rollers last week. A cyclist needs to do more than just ride the bike though to really stay in shape. The body needs to do different movements, and be stretched more. I'm taking it back to the basics: sit ups, push ups, jumping jacks, pull ups, and jumping rope. I was trying to think of other ideas of how to use old tubes when I grabbed one I had lying around, and just started jumping rope with it. It worked fine without handles, but I really wanted to get handles on it, so of course old grips were the answer. My local bikeshop, Bikesport, supplied these excellent quality Bontrager grips free of charge. I wanted to show the rope in action to show that it works just fine.

What else are old bicycle tubes capable of making? I've made an air block for the door, and now this jump rope. What have you made with them? Please tell us.

Delivery Bicycle: Hong Kong

2011-02-03T15:44:00.005-05:00

It is not much longer now, and I will be in Hong Kong. I have been preparing a bit here and there every day. I was looking through the photos I took the last time I was there in 2005, and came across this one. I did not purposely make the bicycle the focus of the picture. I was not a cyclist then. I think this is in Wan Chai, though it could be any of the areas along the Victoria Harbour on Hong Kong Island. This man must be on one of the delivery bicycles that the Hong Kong Vintage Cycling Club talks about in a video about their group. I know that Fuji (this picture link is from Vintage Japanese Bicycles)made some beautiful bicycles in the same vein as these types. I'm hoping I come across one while I'm there. I at least want to find a vintage fuji bell to use on my Dahon while I'm there.

Klunkerz

2011-02-02T21:36:00.004-05:00

I've recently learned about a new(ish) movie (Klunkerz) documenting the origination of mountain bikes, thanks to Topher at my local bike shop, Bikesport, who let me borrow it. In a couple of weeks, Bikesport is hosting one of the people who started the whole mountain bike enigma, Gary Fisher. My wife, as a winner of a recent drawing the shop held, gets to be a VIP at the event. Pretty cool. We'll get to meet Gary Fisher, and just have a good time hanging out. We're looking forward to that. One of the many facts I learned from watching the movie is that the first downhill mountain bike race, one they named Repack, happened in the same month and year that I was born (October 1976). They called it Repack because the only brakes they had at the time were coaster brake hubs in the back, no front brake. The suckers would burn up so much that they were constantly repacking them with new grease. I have yet to get into mountain biking, but after watching this movie I feel like I've been missing out. And if I do get into it, there would be no better bike for me to use than the 1980's Mt. Fuji. If you ever see one, let me know!

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait.

2011-01-31T19:01:00.009-05:00

I bought my 1980's Dahon folding bicycle well over a year ago. It did not have a rack with it, which I was disappointed about. I've been looking for this darn thing ever since. A couple of times I saw one of these same bikes for sale on craigslist that had the rack. I emailed the seller and asked if they would sell just the rack, but they would not. In this past week I've learned about two bike shops in my new locale that I did not know about yet. I had an opportunity to get out of the house, and go visit them this afternoon. I just wanted to check them out, but I got a couple of happy surprises. The first one was the rack I've been waiting for for so long now. As you can see I've already installed it, and now the bike is complete. This will probably come in handy while I'm in Hong Kong. Where did I finally find this elusive piece of equipment? The shop that served as the pot at the end of the rainbow for this particular item is Tri County Bicycles in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. John, the owner, has a couple of these vintage Dahon folders for sale in shop, and one had the rack. Unlike the craigslist sellers, he was happy to sell me just the rack, for quite an excellent price too! He even made sure to give me the hardware to ensure proper attachment. He specializes in the vintage scene a bit, with a back room full of happy surprises for those of us who have a special place in our hearts for these special old bikes. Not only was there a pristine looking, green fuji sports 10 sitting illuminated in the front window, but there was a 52cm fuji frame in the back that looked to be the finest model, one of the best fuji ever put out back in the day. It has the beautiful chrome lug work that we all love so much. If you're in the market you should check it out. His prices are more than fair. It is too small for me, otherwise I would be grabbing it. And this isn't all for this shop. He is involved with one of the most successful bike share programs in the country, Bike Pottstown. It was started about 2 years ago, and is going strong. Hopefully other communities in the area will model themselves after it realizing it's worth. Please check it out.

The next shop I visited is Alan's Bicycles in Phoenixville, Pa. Again, just going there to check it out, but I got another happy surprise. A pair of Nitto noodle bars for my fuji touring bike. I noticed a couple of months ago that the bars on it now are actually malformed. The left drop is bent inwards. Plus, they are a bit too narrow for my comfort. Alan had a whole box of brand new noodle bars, the exact model I've been looking at and wanting to get plus he had plenty of sizes. These are some of the most comfortable bars you can get. Now I have them and can't wait to get them switched out. The pics above are a list of some excellent bikes he has on sale right now, many of them beautiful classics. He is working on getting his website up and running, so I'm posting this here to try and help get the word out a little bit. One bike in particular on that list is more than pertinent to this blog in that it is a classic titanium fuji. He has it sitting in the front window waiting for that right person to come along. It is quite shiny and beautiful I have to say.

I know there are more happy discoveries waiting for me at both of these shops. I look forward to my future visits to them. If you happen to ever be in the area, then be sure to check them out. There may be something there just waiting for you too.

DIY Camera Mount

2011-01-30T17:36:00.004-05:00

I came across this great idea for a do-it-yourself camera mount while reading another cyclist's blog. That blog is www.i-brompton.blogspot.com and he has a link to the website which describes how to make this camera mount for yourself. I'll post it here too. This project cost me less than $3. I have not been out on the road with it yet, but it feels pretty secure. You see it here mounted on my Dahon folding bike which I will be taking with me to Hong Kong soon. I'm very excited about the potential action footage I'm going to get. Wish me luck.

The Start of Fuji Crazy

2011-01-11T12:21:00.023-05:00

1984 Fuji Touring Series IV

1977 Fuji Sports 10

1985 Fuji Bedford 3-speed

The ebay photo of the 2005 Fuji Royale

2005 Fuji Cross Comp

The ebay photo of the 1985 Fuji Opus III

While I'm having these memories of my bicycle past, I realized I've never talked about how this fuji craziness began for me. I haven't really even thought about it until now. I'm not sure if it began with the 1977 fuji sports 10 frame that I found September of 2006 in the Charlottesville Community Bike Shop and subsequently stripped bare to rebuild, or if it began with the 1985 fuji opus iii I found on ebay in December of 2007, which I consider a beautiful gift, and for which I had to rebuild the wheels. I think when you put alot of work into anything it has a tendency to become a part of who you are.

The Sports 10 was hanging from a hook like a piece of meat in the 'old space' of the community shop when I found it on my first visit there. I took it down, stripped off all the parts, and took the frame home to paint it. I really shouldn't have done that, but I didn't like the way the rust spots looked. My paint job didn't make it look any better though! Anyway, I built it back up so that I could learn the mechanics of a bicycle. Then I proceeded to ride it, though I didn't realize it was way too small for me. I actually went on a 30 mile ride with it that was torture on my neck and shoulders. It was during the time that I was rebuilding the parts onto the bike that something about the name 'fuji' began to appeal to me. I really liked the way it looked on the seat tube, and the way they painted the shadows of the letters behind them. I guess I got curious enough about fuji bikes that I began looking for more information about them.

That must be what led me to discover the Opus. I didn't go out searching for another bike, but when I saw the picture of it on ebay something was speaking to me. I decided to bid on it. I forget the details of how much the bidding started and if anyone else bid on it or not, but I was the winner at $63. Shipping however was a different story. The person selling it did not want to mess with taking it apart or anything like that, so we discussed the best options for getting it to me. She fed-ex'd it, and had them box it tri bars and all. The shipping cost was $179. Given the total cost it was still a steal (no pun intended, 'steel'... get it?). It wasn't long after I received the bike that I attended a swap meet in Westminster, MD where I met a fellow who used to race the Opus back in the day. I told him the story, and he agreed that I got a great deal. The day in December 2007 that the bike arrived at my house was very exciting. I saw the truck pull up, and knew it was here. I met the driver in the street, and helped him unload this huge (but very light!) box from the back. We put it on my front porch where I proceeded to break into it with the anticipation of Ralphie in A Christmas Story when he finally got his Red Ryder bb gun. As piece by piece was revealed (there was ALOT of tape) I knew it was something even more special than I had realized. The componentry was high quality (superbe pro stuff). The condition was very good for its age. I began wondering immediately who the person was who used to ride it. Did they race? Did they just ride for their own fitness? Was a time trial their last ride? When I finally got it completely out of the boxes, I took it for a little ride up the street. Twang, twang! The spokes of the rear wheel started breaking! After a feeling of initial disappointment I realized that it was time for me to learn some new mechanical skills, and I decided to rebuild the wheels myself. I had learned enough at that point to know that the hubs were quality and I could still use them. With the help of my friend Ken, who at the time owned a great classic/vintage bike shop in town called Syklo, I learned how to lace my own wheels. Then I started learning about other things regarding bicycles, like proper fitting. I didn't realize it when I bid on the Opus, but it is actually the perfect size for me, 55cm. It feels like an extension of my body when I'm on it. It took a long time before it was ready to ride. In fact, over a year. I'm a full time Dad, and my first child had just been born when I got the Opus. I stared at it for months as I found the time to build the wheels to make it rideable. Then I had to wait through another winter during which time I had to search for and acquire larger suntour winner pro cogs to accomodate the hills of central Virginia. It had initially come with a 13-18 straight block. That would have killed me if I tried to ride with that high of a gearing. The day finally came that it was ready to take out on the road. It was in the spring of 2009. Later that summer I volunteered again riding with the Boys and Girls Club cycling challenge team, and then got to finish out the challenge by actually being one of the main coaches for the team. I had never had the feeling of a perfectly fitted bike before riding the Opus. It bullets down hills. It feels very sturdy and solid. It feels light as a cloud when I'm climbing up hills. It really is a gift.

Maybe that's why I'm so fuji crazy. These fujis I have all feel like they have been gifts to me.

It hasn't always been the vintage ones. I guess that has become a choice of mine, to stay focused on them. (I just like the aesthetics of them better.) But when I bought my first expensive bike after getting into all of this cycling stuff, it happened to be a fuji as well. It was a 2005 Fuji Cross Comp. I bought it from my local Performance Bike Shop. I went in one week and it stood out on the rack. It wasn't in the shop previously because an out of town customer had it on layaway, but then changed his mind. They put it back on the floor at a discounted price. I rode it around the parking lot, and felt pretty good on it. I had decided already that a cross bike would be for me due to its versatility. I didn't really know what kind of riding I was going to be doing. I was so excited about getting a new bike and really wanted to get riding so I bought it. I sold it so that I could get my 1984 Fuji Touring Series IV. It was a clean swap.

The touring fuji was at my friend Ken's shop Syklo. I noticed it one day when he showed me the upstairs. He had been trying to make it fit and work for him, but was running into issues here and there. I expressed interest in buying it, and when the time came that he was ready to let go of it, he let me know. Again, the way it all worked out, it felt like another fuji gift had been given to me. It is the same size as the Opus. Those bikes are like brothers.

I got another Fuji bike from Syklo, the 1985 Fuji Bedford 3-speed. However at that time Ken had sold the shop to our friend Charles, who also did a lot of work through the community shop. He traded it to me for a couple of Motobecanes. He's really into French bikes so it was a good deal for both of us. One day I had the Bedford stolen off the back of my car in plain sight. I didn't see it happen, but I did see the kid on my bike just after he took it. I happened to know one of them involved though he didn't realize it was my bike that they stole. After coercing the police to actually help me, I did get it back late that night, and in a year I had the opportunity to meet those boys and their parents to discuss how their actions had affected me. I hope from following through with a course of action with them to make them accountable helps them to think again before stealing anymore.

Another modern fuji I have is a 2005 Royale from their Sforza line of that year. It was another ebay purchase. The seller had put her phone number on the ad. I knew I couldn't get it if it went higher than the starting bid ($200), so I called her and asked if I could pick it up at the starting bid price if no-one else bid on it. (It was located 2 hours from me.) She said yes. I watched the ad for the next 4 days, and NOBODY bid! I couldn't believe it. As far as I could tell it looked like a sweet deal. How could anyone miss it. It was a sweet deal. The bike was only two years old, and new it sold for $1000 (due to the carbon fork and seat stays). I did go get it. Right now it is on loan to a good friend.

Maybe it is the experiences I've had with these fuji bikes, and the connections I've made to other people through them that makes me fuji crazy?

Well, I could go on and on with fuji stories. I don't think there is a definitive answer to why I'm now so fuji crazy. The word itself even appeals to me. My favorite apple is the fuji apple. It really isn't just because it is fuji. It is because I like their flavor and crispness compared to other apples. It is something that just happens to be. It is part of who I am. I think Mount Fuji is beautiful (along with millions of other people). I love that something so majestic and beautiful was chosen as the logo for a bike. These fuji bike experiences have just happened. I didn't make them happen. That is what makes them special. They just are. I guess I am fuji crazy because fuji bikes themselves have become just part of who I am. It just is.

Bicycling Roots

2011-01-06T15:20:00.008-05:00

I'll have to get one of my senior high pictures from my mother. In it I am posing with my Diamond Back Approach hybrid that I bought my junior year after saving for a couple of months. I rode that bike from Holiday Estates to a summer job at Hilltop Nursery in Spaulding, IL where I grew up. I also commuted with it for a few months when I worked at a child development center in Sherman, IL. On a rainy day, my yellow rain jacket and silver helmet came in quite handy when the 4 year olds under my watch were being... shall we say difficult. I used them as a show and tell and occupied them for half an hour. I also rode it in one of the Capital City Century rides in Springfield, IL one year. I think it was 1997. At that point, I had never ridden more than 15 or so miles, and I chose to do the 60 mile route. I didn't realize how difficult that would be. Ten miles from the end I actually had to stop and lie in a ditch to rest. While I was on the ground, another rider stopped to check on me. He threw me a small power bar. I was skeptical that it was going to help me, but I ate it, and in only a few minutes did feel better enough to finish the ride. I have believed in energy bars ever since. A couple of years ago I donated that frame to the Community Bike Shop in Charlottesville, Va, and now it is part of a tall bike my friend Charles built. Also back in high school, my friend Rob and I would ride the country roads of Sangamon County (Riverton, Mechanicsburg, Sherman, Elkhart). We would go out for 15-20 mile rides, talk the whole time, and enjoy the openness that miles of corn and bean fields provide.

Before the hybrid, it was my first freewheel, which was a white frame with bright green grips, seat, and pedal. I don't remember doing anything but riding around the neighborhood with it. Before that one it was a black and yellow BMX. I loved that bike. My brother and I both got one. I rode that everywhere around the neighborhood. I crashed on it a few times. One memorable crash (not my fault!) is when a neighbor, a man in his 40's I think, challenged me to ride as fast as I could down the 'big' hill. Of course I took him up on it. I rode all the way up the hill and then some. Then I charged as hard as I could, pedaling out the tiny gear on the bike, but I kept pedaling all they way down anyway. I was flying! But that man was at the bottom, and when I got there he suddenly jumped in front of me and yelled. I veered left into the curve where there was a pile of rocks gathered from the street, and skidded out flat on my face. I had a fat lip for a week. I hate that guy to this day. I suppose I need to forgive him.

The BMX was my second bike. My first (discounting any tricycles) I think must have been a Schwinn Stingray. I'll have to ask my parents to see if they remember. It was a blue frame, banana seat, and the high handlebars. I did like that bike, but on rides around the block with my friends I would always have to yell for them to wait for me because my shorts would always get stuck on the front of the banana seat as I would get back on.

I guess bicycles have always been a part of my life. Back then though I couldn't change my own flat, or tell you what gear ratio meant. Over Christmas I took a trip back to Illinois to visit family. Cycling is alive and well in the area due mainly to the Springfield Bicycle Club. This group has actually been around for over 30 years. I was also happy to discover a new bike shop in Springfield, Velo-Mine. They have a couple of beautiful classic fuji's around, an 80's track and Professional (both too tall for me though). They are an all around bike shop catering to all types of riders. There is also a Sangamon Valley Trail being built at the present time. Six miles have already been completed. While driving around central Illinois (and after riding on many narrow, hilly, winding, rural roads of Virginia) I was realizing how great of a place it really is for cycling. Traffic is fairly low. Roads are nicely paved and fairly wide. There definitely are not really any hills to contend with. (I realize that is a negative for some people.)

My next trip back I'll have to be sure to do some riding, and roll out some more old (and new) memories.

Comparison Pics for Visibility at Night

2011-01-04T22:27:00.002-05:00

Here are some pics with no reflection for comparison. I had some reflection on the back of the heels of my shoes that I smudged out in the rear facing photos. The lights are visible. Some lights out there though aren't as good as even these. Thankfully these are not the best on the market. Those might be made by Light and Motion. I hope to get some of those in a few months (when I can afford it!). However, imagine coming upon me from a distance much further away. A driver might wonder what that little red light that isn't moving really is. You can see how head to toe reflective gear leaves no question of what it is to drivers coming up from behind. The front light helps opposing drivers see and maybe even recognize that it is someone on a bicycle, but its main purpose really should be to help you see hazards in the road. Riding a bicycle in the dark should be taken very seriously. It is in fact a real life and death matter.

Night Riding Visibility

2011-01-03T21:59:00.002-05:00

In preparation for going to Hong Kong to adjudicate, I began going over the piano music I will be listening to while I'm there. I'll be doing this in the evenings over the next few weeks. My commute isn't very far, only a mile one way, but at least it gets me on the bike, and lets me stretch out a bit after being couped up inside so much lately. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I don't really like to ride at night. That does multiply the chances of having an encounter with a motor vehicle. However, there are things you can do to try and minimize those chances. When I got home earlier tonight, I thought I would take some pics again of what I might look like to a car driver out there on the road. The stuff on my head, arms, waist, and ankles is all reflective material. It is not lights. You can see how important it is to include reflective material along with any lights you use as part of your night riding gear. You can't have enough of it. It really helps you 'pop out' and be seen better. If you can get it on any moving parts of your body or bike the better. It shows other drivers that you are in fact a human being. Also, the higher up the better too. For instance, getting something visible on your helmet or head will show drivers that you are a human being as well. A road that is usually very fast and busy during the day, in the evening is less so. I rode a bit to the right, just off center in the lane keeping a comfortable distance from the curb. At the stoplights, I took the middle of the lane, and held it through the intersection. Tonight drivers gave me plenty of room as they passed. I was confident that I was being seen. If I didn't have that gear I wouldn't be as confident of that, and if fact wouldn't even be out there. Please don't ride at night without lights and reflective gear.

Bicycling in Hong Kong

2011-01-03T14:40:00.002-05:00

This March I will be traveling to Hong Kong to adjudicate piano at an annual music festival they have been holding since the 1940's. I did this 6 years ago, and have been invited back for 2011. I did not have a cycling life back then. Now I do, and hope to incorporate it however I can into my month long stay. I have discovered that cycling is alive and well there. A local advocacy group, the Hong Kong Cycling Alliance, has been working to educate the public. There is also the sport side supported by the Hong Kong Cycling Association. I am considering taking my folding bike along, and am trying to figure out if it will make sense to do so. Otherwise it seems I can rent a bike there for a reasonable rate. I am looking forward to the different ways Hong Kong is going to enhance my cycling life. Stay tuned for more regarding this trip later in the spring.

Winterize your Home with Used Bicycle Tubes

2010-12-07T09:27:00.002-05:00

I got a bit creative yesterday. Cold air rushes through the bottom of the back sliding door with the force of a squalling gale. I happened to have the metal piece hanging around which already had holes in it. So after cleaning the tube, I cut it open, sliced it down to size and attached it to the metal piece with screws and bolts to add weight to it. Then I used some left over double sided tape from Frost King to attach it to the door. It does the job pretty well.

Riding More Rail Trails

2010-11-25T09:39:00.005-05:00

You wouldn't want to sit on these steeds. They are not as trusty as you might think. There are large metal spikes poking up through each of the seats to prohibit people from getting up there.

Yesterday I was fortunate to ride two more rail trails: The York Heritage Rail Trail and the North Central Railroad Trail. They seamlessly meet at the Mason Dixon Line that marks the border between Pennsylvania and Maryland, and both run about 20 miles long for a total of about 40 miles. This was a one way only trip for me, and thankfully it worked out that I had to do it going north to south. There is a slight downward grade in that direction.

Even though they seamlessly connect, they are not the same trail. The York Trail is much wider and has a smoother surface. It is a few years younger though. It runs directly next to the rails, which are still active. This is called a 'rail with trail.' One thing I did not think to do before the ride was check the train schedule for that rail line. However, a train did not come by while I was on the trail. There were always houses in view from this trail, so I never felt completely alone. Not many people were out using it, but every now and then I would pass another cyclist or someone walking their dog. I came across one stray dog sniffing along the tracks. I saw him up ahead, and decided to get off my bike. He slowly came toward me, and scurried past in an uncertain way. He must have felt the same way as I did. Based on a few encounters with other dogs while on my bike in the past few months I was ready to get out the pepper spray.

The North Central Trail is starkly different. It is much narrower, a bit of a rough ride (at least at the northern end), and goes through Gunpowder Falls State Park so it is more 'out there.' Remember, this trail is older, built in 1984. I realized that the Fuji Touring Series IV I was on is actually the same age, built in '84 as well. There were times I felt pretty alone (and vulnerable). That feeling never lasted for long though. I encountered more people using this trail. This one is a 'rail to trail,' meaning it was made directly over the old rail bed that used to be there. No dog encounters on this one, but a friendly stranger, Jerry, approached me as I was taking a picture of the I-83 overpass. He noticed my league cycling instructor jacket, and had a question about pedaling technique. I noticed he bought his bike from Mt. Airy Bikes, one of my favorite shops in Maryland. We ended up riding a few miles together and talking before he veered off to where his car was parked.

Despite being pretty chilly, the weather was perfect for a ride. I've realized that if I only do my rides in good weather I'm going to miss some special times. I was ready to ride in the rain yesterday, but am thankful I didn't have to. I was prepared for the cold with proper gear, so it didn't affect me at all. I was very comfortable on the bike. I had plenty to eat and drink and did so every 10 to 15 minutes. I don't get to ride consistently these days, but I was able to find some time in the two weeks leading up to this ride to get in some miles. That helped me tweak my bike mechanically and deal with a bit of a fit issue. The things I did to prepare for yesterday's ride helped it to be successful.

Pedals 4 Progress bicycle collection in Trappe, PA

2010-11-25T09:24:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday, my local bikeshop, Bikesport, in Trappe, PA, held a Pedals 4 Progress bicycle collection event. I went to help prepare the bikes for transport in the truck and containers. They will all eventually go overseas to other countries where the recipients will use them for transportaion. These bikes will greatly enhance their mobility and daily life. I was wondering if I would see an old fuji come through, and at the last moment I did! It was a Sports 10 model from the late 70's. It is not high end, but it is nonetheless a decent, well-made frame that should be able to perform any task asked of it in its new home.

I had a great time meeting more staff at Bikesport, and also meeting Gary of P4P. They are all great people really helping to make a difference.

Chainring bolts and My Inner Voice

2010-11-16T15:02:00.004-05:00

I got to go on a 20 mile ride last Sunday on the Perkiomen Trail. I took my 3 year old with me in her trailer. I had the feeling before leaving that I should check over the touring series iv, specifically the nuts and bolts to make sure everything was tight. However, I did not do it. Don't worry, nothing bad happened and nothing broke. After about 10 miles though I noticed a knocking sound and feel in the crank, especially as the drive side pedal came over the top. The immediate thing to check was the bottom bracket. No, that wasn't it. The crank arms were secure. What about the pedals? No, my cleats were secure, and the pedal spindles were not loose. Hmmm, I wondered, what could it be then. I continued riding and thinking. A few miles later it dawned on me. Maybe it is the crank bolts. I should have stopped right then, and checked them, but I continued on home. At home before putting everything away, and going inside, I finally relented to the nagging feeling I had to check the bolts. Low and behold, a couple were loose; loose enough to be the cause of a knocking feeling and sound while pedaling. I was happy to have the problem solved since I like a nice, quiet bike. The crank bolts usually aren't the first thing to think about when dealing with a problem like that, but they are important. A crank bolt could be easy to miss if it loosens enough to fall out. I've seen what can happen eventually if a missing crank bolt is overlooked or ignored. The chainring can bend and break due to the force that the chain puts on it. This happened to a patron I worked with in the Community Bike Shop in Charlottesville, VA a few months ago. He didn't know how his chainring had bent until I was looking it over and finally noticed one of the bolts missing. Not only did it ruin his chainring, but it also ruined the front derailleur and the chain. It all broke at once as he powered up a hill one day. So it could also be dangerous by possibly causing you to fall, maybe even into traffic. Don't forget the little parts of your bike. They are just as important as all of the big parts, and some maybe even more so.

A Special Gift from Special Friends

2010-11-09T21:46:00.002-05:00

I received a surprise in the mail today. It is good timing too in that it fits right in with my last two posts. The book is from my cycling friends in Charlottesville, VA who are involved with the Community Bike Shop there. I'm grateful to them for thinking of me, and sending this to me. I miss you all! They are still there working hard at the shop, and in the community to promote cycling and all of its benefits. I wish I could still be there with them. Cycling continues to grow and gain respect in Charlottesville, and it is because of them. Thank you Thomas, Shell, James, Richard, Chris, Alan, Will, Bryan, Cyrus, and Ashby. I think of you all often.

It is a book with brief commentary and full of great photos that depict cycling in all of its pain and glory. Here is a definition of Rouleur.

Road Racing History

2010-11-06T16:27:00.003-04:00

Another of my favorite cycling books is Cycling's Golden Age. This book has fun facts about racers from before World War II through the 1960's. It is also replete with excellent photos of the time. One of the most exciting Tour de Frances from this time period was the one in 1958, in which a cyclist of my namesake, Vito Favero, placed 2nd overall. He is mentioned in this book in the discussion of Charly Gaul, the first place finisher of that race. I don't know if we are related, but it does help me feel more of a connection to the sport that seems to have found me 4 years ago. It makes me feel like cycling is in my blood (however cheesy that sounds).

Fuji Touring Series IV feature in The Dancing Chain

2010-11-06T16:08:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite cycling reference books is The Dancing Chain: History and Development of the Derailleur Bicycle by Frank Berto. If you are going to purchase this I highly recommend getting the updated and expanded version published last year (2009). Not only is it full of every detail you would ever need to know regarding the bicycle and its components past and present, but it is full of very excellent and detailed accompanying photos as well. You can imagine how happy and delighted I was to find my very own Fuji Touring Series IV featured prominently in such an exhaustive and respected source.

Smart yet Humble and My Gluteus Maximus

2010-10-31T22:53:00.005-04:00

This is not actually MY gluteus maximus.

Cycling is very special in that it can keep a person smart yet humble. As I mentioned in my previous post, I rode to the Philly Bike Expo yesterday. It was a 30 mile ride. Pretty early in the ride my knees started to hurt. I've dealt with this issue before, and thankfully it hasn't been consistent. However, whenever you feel pain or discomfort on your bike it needs to be addressed. I began thinking of what might be causing my pain. Is it the cold? Is it that my rides are just too few and far between these days, so I'm just weak? Is it my positioning on the bike? Am I too low, too high, too close to the bars, too far? Is my core just not strong enough? I had to admit that I wasn't going to average above 10 miles per hour, and that I probably wasn't going to be able to ride the same 30 miles back home later in the day. This is what I mean that cycling can keep you humble.

While I was at the expo I attended two seminars. The first one was on bike fit presented by David Greenfield, president of Elite Bicycles. First of all, he was hilarious. He was very good at warming up a room, and has a special way of connecting with people. He knows his stuff too, which was apparent from all of the appropriate big words he used for internal body parts. The main insights I was able to garner from this session for myself personally (apart from having to pay alot of money to go through an awesome fitting session with him) is that I probably had a cleat adjustment to make, and I need to build my butt-strength. You know, gluteus maximus. Yeah, its kind of weak back there. He talked about our muscles having force partners that counteract the movement of the other (like hams vs. quads). He also talked about how important our vestibular connection is to having good balance. I have yet to google vestibular. I have yet to understand fully everything he was talking about.

The other seminar I attended was a presentation on the U.S. Bicycle Boom of the 70's by Greg Honn. He is the president of Milano Sport, which is a bicycle import company that I mentioned in my previous post. He's been in the bicycle business for a very long time, and is very insightful and knowledgeable about it's history, inner workings, etc. I forget what the context was, but he commented on bicycle fit, stating that the 109 percent of inseam is sufficient to achieve the optimum saddle height for any rider. This was cited from Eugene Sloane's 'The Complete Book of Bicycling,' which was written in 1970. I have actually owned this book for some time now. [Here is an interesting Time article from 1970 that mentions Mr. Sloane.] This scientific saddle height value came from experiments conducted at Loughborough University in England on 100 racing cyclists. Here is how it works. You stand straight against a wall (no shoes), and place something sturdy in your crotch, and have it touch the wall. Mark where it touches the wall, then measure from the floor to that point. Take that measurement and multiply it by 1.09. The number you get is the number of inches or centimeters (depending on which you used initially) that the top of your saddle should be from the pedal spindle when the crank is low and in line with the seat tube.

I mentioned already how cycling is keeping me humble. It is keeping me smart because I have to look at this pain issue and figure it out. I realize it is a fit issue in two senses. One being that I could be better physically fit, that is more in shape than I am. The other is the actual fit of my body on the bike. I know the frame sizes of my Fuji Touring Series IV and the Opus III are virtually perfect for me. In fact, they are probably about as close as I could get to a custom made frame without actually going that route. Sensing that the information I received at the two seminars were little insights into my present issue of discomfort, I utilized it hopefully to my benefit. The first thing I did was adjust my cleats to match more the natural turn of my foot. The second thing I did was actually do the 109 percent measurement. Well, what I came up with after that is that the saddle on my Fuji Touring Series IV, the one I rode to the Expo, was actually about an inch lower than it should be for that measurement. Initially I had set the saddle height of it at the same measurement (in inches) as my Fuji Opus III, which I had done a fitting on with Scott Paisley at BlueWheel bike shop in Charlottesville, VA. However, what I forgot to take into account, and just realized tonight, is that when I did that I had on different pedals and shoes. On those particular shoes were my cleats that added probably about half an inch to an inch of height. The shoes I was wearing yesterday have recessed cleats in them. The other shoes added height whereas these took it away. I am really hoping that it is this factor that is the main cause of my knee pain, and not my weak gluteus maximus.

On a side note, Scott Paisley is one of the co-owners of BlueWheel in Charlottesville. He and some of his custom frames are featured on the ClassicRendezvous website.

First Philly Bike Expo 2010

2010-10-31T15:07:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, I rode my Fuji Touring Series IV from Collegeville to downtown Philly via the Perkiomen and Schulykill Trails to attend the first Philadelphia Bike Exposition. The second and final day is today (Sunday October 31st, 2010). It was organized by Bilenky Cycleworks and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. That is Steven Bilenky in the picture above. Many other small bicycle fabricators were represented at the expo. Among them were Gallus Cycles, Cedarboro Cycles, Baltimore Bicycle Works, Folk Engineered Bicycles, and Banjo Cycles. I'm sure I've left out at least a couple. There is a list of everyone represented on the Expo website. The big corporate companys were there too like Jamis and Fuji. By the way, Fuji has a long history that goes back to Japan 1899. The fujis I ride were made in Japan, but today they are made in Taiwan. The company that sells fuji now (Advanced Sports) is actually based in Philadelphia.

Let me mention a few other booths that stand out in my mind. One is Christ Cycles. They will have a custom, single speed bicycle made for you at low cost, helping those strapped for cash to get on a bike quickly and affordably. A Canadian company called Velocolour will custom paint your frame. His display bikes (one an unknown frame and the other an Olmo) were gorgeous. Beautiful decal work as well. I saw an outstanding looking Masi frame that was being sold by Milano Sport, an import company based in Connecticut. The owner of that company also gave a seminar on the Bicycle Boom of 1968-1974 that I attended. It was very insightful and informative.

Advocacy groups in attendance were the League of American Bicyclists, PA Walks and Bikes, and the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia. A few shops were there, like Trophy Bikes, and a few independent apparel shops were represented like the Sock Guy, Fabric Horse, and alloneword. Again, a full list can be seen on the Expo website for others.

I was able to park my bike at the free bike valet of which Neighborhood Bike Works was in charge. They did an excellent job keeping everyone's bikes safe and secure. Much thanks to them. All in all, it was a well attended event. It helped put bicycling and all of its many diverse facets more in the public eye. The seminars were informative and professional.

Child Bicycle Trailer Comparison: Trek vs. In-Step

2010-10-01T23:00:00.002-04:00

(I recommend looking at more detailed photos on my flickr page here.)

I recently bought a different trailer in which to pull my daughters. I thought I would do a comparison of them, hoping it might be beneficial to someone who is considering buying one.

The In-Step Quick N' EZ came first. You can read reviews about this trailer here. Here is another review and probably a great resource. Here is insteps website. I bought it I think in 2008 from a local connection I had in Charlottesville. It was new, but it may have been made a year or two earlier. I paid $60 for it, but if I had bought it in the store I would have paid at least $80-$120 or so. It is okay for light trail riding and slow rides around town for short distances, which is what I used it for in Charlottesville. The longest trail was only a couple of miles long, and we lived downtown where traffic was light. I would do a regular loop of about 5 miles when we would do our errands. The wheels are not secure enough on this one to ride safely over 10 mph. They are basically pins that you push in and secure by a latching mechanism. The seat canopy is not really that supportive, and is connected to the frame by a strap that is screwed into it on each side, so it is not really that strong. The strap is mediocre, and in fact, I had to sew a new strap onto the front part of the seat canopy after the original one ripped. I had to remember after each ride to loosen the front seat strap to keep it from being stressed when folded. That is actually how it ripped. I forgot to loosen the tension before folding it. Also, there is no extra room for the child's helmet so they have to sit with their head a bit forward where the helmet pushes against the back of the canopy. The straps that go around the child come over the shoulders from the back and hooks onto a D-ring at the bottom of the seat. This pulls the lower strap up into the child's crotch. The windows are not tinted, allowing full sunlight in, and there are no side vents to allow for more air flow when the front protective flap has to be down due to wind, cold, or rain. Apart from one rear reflector, there is no additional reflectivity integrated into the sides or rear of the trailer. I had to add my own reflective triangle on the back. On the plus side, it is light, it folds up well enough without too much hassle, and the point where it connects to the bike was secure and flexible. Like I said, it is best suited to slow riding of short distances, and light paved trail riding.

The Trek Transit Deluxe

You can read a review about this trailer here. This one I bought used from a local bike shop for $175. New it cost between $400 and $500. It is about 7-8 years old. The previous owners took excellent care of it. This model has been discontinued. In fact, I don't think Trek makes trailers anymore. I've learned that even though it was sold by trek at the time, it was made by Chariot who still makes them. It is basically the same trailer as the current Chariot Corsaire XL. If you are a serious cyclist who wants to get some distance in, but you have to take your child, then this is the type of trailer you need! First of all, the wheels are attached by quick release, just like the wheels on the bike. This increases security and speed capability. The seat is very sturdy and padded, increasing the comfort level for the child. Also, there is an offset area for the helmet so the child's head is not pushed forward. There are velcro corner vent flaps on the inside that can increase air flow when the front protective flap has to be down. The windows are tinted for sun protection. There are bright integrated reflective strips on both sides and the rear for improved visibility. The strap set up to secure the child in this one is different. Since the seating is sturdier, it is not pulled up into the child's crotch. A shoulder strap from one side comes through a loop on the seat and hooks in to a connector above the other shoulder. There is also padding on the straps for comfort. This is definitely a more secure, comfortable set up. The folding mechanism is quicker and easier. It is a bit lighter than the In-Step trailer. I haven't found anything negative to say about this one. Here in Pennsylvania, I have access to 50 plus miles of great trails, and hope to get out there and ride them. I will have to take the kids, so I needed something more suitable for their comfort and protection. I found it in the Trek transit deluxe. This is good for long rides at regular speeds.

Price is always an issue for us. That is why I wasn't able to buy a great trailer to begin with. But I was patient, and am grateful to have found such a great trailer for less than half of what it cost new. Since I want to go on longer rides now that I live somewhere with great off-road paved trails I really needed to get something more suitable to the comfort and protection of the kids. I was ready to spend what I needed to spend to achieve that. For anyone wanting to ride far, I recommend spending more to get the features of the trek transit deluxe for the sake of the kids. It will be worth it. I haven't researched all the new trailer options from Burley, Chariot, and others too much, and they may have some more great features of which I am not aware.

Good luck, and I hope this helped. Let me know if it did! Don't forget to click my flickr link for more detailed pictures.

The Youngest and Safest Cycling Instructor

2010-09-30T05:50:00.003-04:00

So yesterday, my almost 3 year old daughter and I went on a little jaunt to a park nearby. I prepared the bike, trailer, got my gloves, her helmet, and off we went. Not long after we made our first turn, I heard her saying something from the back. "Dad, you need your helmet! You need to go back home to get it!"

Now, we weren't going far, only a couple of minutes to the park. I almost tried to talk her out of it, not making it a very big deal, saying we're not going to be riding that long etc.... Then I realized the example that would set. She was right, and I needed to confirm that for her. So I turned around, went back to the garage and got my helmet. She was very happy about that. We didn't lose anything by going back. But I think we gained alot.

Going the Distance on the Dahon

2010-09-07T10:31:00.010-04:00

My trip to Wisconsin with the 1980's Folding Dahon 3-speed is completed. Why did I choose to fly with my 16" wheel folding 3 speed bicycle, and then ride it 40 plus miles down the eastern shore of Wisconsin? Well, maybe because the story could have gone like this: "I flew to Milwaukee. I drove the rental car to my friend's wedding in Belgium. I drove the rental car back to Milwaukee. I flew home." Instead, the story now goes like this.....

I was going to ride a round trip from the airport, but I ended up just riding back to the airport, a one way trip. That was a good thing though because I wouldn't have wanted to ride over 40 miles twice in two days on this bike. It really was challenging due to it's size. Instead, my good friend and first ever college roommate from 1994, Nick, picked me up from the airport. Our first stop as we headed up to Green Bay for the night was Ben's Cycle on Lincoln Ave. I had made previous arrangements to store my hardshell suitcase there because I wasn't able to do the trailer conversion with it before the trip. However, they were closed for labor day. But Vince, the owner, let me keep it in the "Big Truck" (also named Vince). Even though we just met for the first time, he gave me the key to the padlock so I could get it out on my own when I returned. After a great time with Nick and his family on Saturday and Sunday morning, he dropped me off at Paul's wedding at the Cedar Beach Inn in Belgium, WI on Sunday afternoon. It is after the reception dinner that my bike ride began.

I prepared my bike, and left the Cedar Beach Inn in Belgium (Ozaukee County) around 7 pm on Sunday night, just in time for the rain to begin. I meant to leave about an hour earlier, but of course I got caught up with dinner, and talking to people at the wedding. I rode Cedar Beach Road (which happened to be mostly an incline) to Hwy LL, which took me to the Driftwood Inn where I stayed for the night. I was rained on for all of the 10 miles it took to get there. I had prepared for rain though, so I had what I needed to alleviate the annoyance of getting wet. It took me about an hour. It was slow going on this bike, and I had a 25-35 pound bag hanging off of it. Although that night I had it on my back. Thankfully I brought a bungee cord with me, and was able to connect it to the rails of the seat for the rest of the trip the next day (Labor Day). I enjoyed meeting the sweet owners, Nicholas and Irene. The Driftwood Inn is a cute little place off the beaten path if you're ever in Port Washington, WI.

After a restful, $45 night, I woke at 5am to shower and get ready. I was on the road by 6am, and my first stop was a George Webb diner at the corner of Sunset and 32 there in Port Washington. It was changing names, and I don't remember what the new one is, but the owners, employees, etc. are still the same. I was there by quarter after 6, and had an excellent breakfast of eggs, coffee, toast, OJ, oatmeal, and milk. Meat is not good to eat when you're going to be on the bike, and anything battered would be even worse. After fueling up I was excited to get on the road, but when I stepped outside the sky looked treacherous. Severe thunderstorms were suddenly moving through the area. It took even the weathermen by surprise. There were reports of hail in certain areas, and lightning was striking every few seconds. The rolling thunder added to the ominous clouds. It was moving east over Lake Michigan at about 40 mph, but it still delayed me by almost two hours. I finally left while it was still raining because I wanted to get moving south knowing that eventually I would come out of it. However, not far down the road, I started to see consistent lightning again. I decided to put my bike down in the ditch, and sit in the first row of a cornfield on husks to protect me from the mud. The lightning dissipated in that area, but I stopped again further down the road for the same reason. This time I sat under the Interstate 43 overpass for a while. I find it interesting that in the bathroom of the diner I had just left, there was a motivational poster just above the toilet that said "CHALLENGE .....The harder the course, the more rewarding the triumph."

It was at that point that I got off track a bit, and had taken a wrong turn. I was at the intersection of Lakefield and Hwy W when I saw a man walking his dog. His house was across the street, and just as he had gotten inside I made it over there to ask for directions and confirm what I was seeing on my map. There was a road that looked like it must be W, but it wasn't marked as such. He was very helpful, and it wasn't long before I was back on Lake Shore Dr. heading south. After this I didn't have to stop due to lightning again. I was finally getting south enough to get away from it. I still did get rained on though, but like I said, I had prepared for that.

I passed Concordia University, which is right on the lake. Not much further from there I came to Virmond Park. I rode past at first feeling anxious about the time I had lost, but decided to turn back and ride through. I'm glad I did. I saw two graceful blue herrons floating just above the ground. They are such beautiful birds. The park sits atop a high bluff looking down to the beach and out across Lake Michigan. The wind was strong, and I watched the birds wondering how these storms effected their day. I stayed long enough to refuel a bit and use the bathroom. I'm glad I took that bit of time to stop and take in the scene. It was one of those peaceful moments that feed the soul, and keep life in perspective.

It wasn't long after this that I came to Milwaukee County. A couple of days before I had decided to change the route I was going to take. Initially I was going to ride the Ozaukee County Trail, but that would have kept me further inland away from the lake. While driving to Green Bay, I realized Wisconsin is very bicycle friendly. Traffic isn't too dense, and the roads have plenty of space on them. So, I decided to take Lake Shore Rd. down from Port Washington. At this point, I had chosen to meander my way to Santa Monica Blvd., which took me right to the Wheel and Sprocket bike shop. I stopped in for a break, but also to get input on the rest of my route plans. Paul was extremely helpful, and tipped me off to current construction on the Oak Leaf Trail, which I was planning to get on next. He helped me avoid future frustration, and put me on the trail further down the road. Wheel and Sprocket sells thousands of bikes in a Bike Expo every April. They have multiple locations, and this one was humongous. Be sure to check them out if you're riding in the area.

The Oak Leaf Trail was paved, and well marked even with the street names for any overpasses or bridges. That really helped keep me on track, and confident I was going in the right direction. I made my way past the Milwaukee Art Museum, which has been built to resemble a ship. When I got to Chicago St. I was stopped by the Labor Day parade that was slowly moving by. I wasn't sure of the best way to cross the river to get to Lincoln Ave., but more kind strangers helped me out. Another sweet married couple, Tina and Jose, looked at my map with me, and helped me choose the best way to go. I crossed the draw bridge on Pittsburgh, which happened to be up when I got there, and made my way to 6th street. I took that to Ben's Cycle, my final destination on the bike, where I got my suitcase out of the truck to repack the bike. It was about 12:30pm. So after 6.5 hours and 30 or so miles I was done with my journey on this little Dahon.

Was it worth it? Yes, of course! Being out in the elements when you are prepared lessens their effect. It reminded me that we are not in complete control of our lives and what happens in this world. Also, bad weather certainly has its own beauty. I met and interacted in a positive way with people I would not otherwise have seen or communicated with. I have the satisfaction of accomplishing a goal I set for myself, seeing it through, and now I have the memory of the experience with me forever.

The map I used is the Milwaukee Bike Map and Southeast Wisconsin published by Bikeverywhere. It fared me very well. In Wisconsin, what you see is what you get, and I liked that very much. Thanks to Tom Fritz (Milwaukee Bike Collective) and Bruce Thompson (route researcher of the map I used) for input before I made this trip. Thanks to the other strangers who helped me, and who I already mentioned, Vince, Nicholas, Irene, Paul, Tina, and Jose. Thanks to my friend Nick for taking care of me while I was in town, and to Paul for getting married in Belgium, Wisconsin.

Thanks to Mr. Hon, who years ago came up with a folding bicycle design that set the premise for the future of folding bikes. This 1980's stainless steel folder stood up to a great test with this ride, and it did the job I needed it to do with no complaining.

My route from the Cedar Beach Inn:

Cedar Beach Road west/Hwy LL south/Sunset Rd. east/Division Rd. south/Lake Shore Rd. south/Lakefield Rd. west/Hwy W south/Pioneer Rd. east/Lake Shore Rd. south/Zedler Lane west/Port Washington Rd. south/Fairy Chasm Rd. east/Santa Monica Blvd. south/Regent Road west/Brown Deer Rd. south/Lake Dr. south/Green Tree Rd. west/Santa Monica Blvd. south/Wilson Dr. south/Oak Leaf Trail south/Michigan St. west/Jackson St. south/Corcoran St. west/Erie St. northeast/Pittsburgh Ave. southwest/First St. south/Virginia St. west/Sixth St. south/Lincoln St. west

Lil' Fuji Retrieved

2010-08-23T07:48:00.003-04:00

The story again, is that last March I saw this little vintage fuji bike on ebay for $25. But it was in Riverside, CT. At the time we lived in Charlottesville, VA, and it was too much of a drive just for this bike. Since then, we've moved to Pennsylvania. We have friends in New Rochelle, NY who have a had a baby recently. We went to visit last Saturday. Well, New Rochelle happens to be only about 15 miles or so from Riverside, CT. I called Mark who was selling this bike back in March, and he happened to still have it. We simply drove up a few extra miles before heading home, and picked it up. This Lil' Fuji is for our two daughters, who will get many hours of enjoyment from it. Just like my Opus III, I consider this a special gift given on this Fuji journey.

Update on Lil' Fuji

2010-08-18T21:01:00.003-04:00

Do you remember the Lil' Fuji I saw on ebay a few months ago? The seller lives in Connecticut. Well, it never sold, and I've contacted the seller to pick it up this Saturday. We now live in southeast Pennsylvania instead of Virginia. It so happens my wife wants to visit a friend who recently had a baby, and she lives in New Rochelle, NY, which is only about half an hour from the sellers house! So while she is visiting, my daughter and I will go get that neat little Lil' Fuji kids bike for $25. I'll update again and post pics after Saturday.

Update on Upcoming Dahon Folding Bike Trip

2010-08-11T14:40:00.004-04:00

I'm very excited about this! I just spoke with Marcus at Ben's Cycle shop at 6th and Lincoln in Milwaukee. He said I can store my travel case there while I'm in Belgium at my friend's wedding over Labor Day weekend. I'm just not going to be able to get the kit to transform the travel case into a trailer before I make this trip, and General Mitchell Airport has done away with the lockers they used to have. A good friend of mine, in fact, my first ever college roommate, is going to pick me up from the airport. Then on the way back I will ride the trail. I'm looking forward to this trip, and now that I have a solution for the travel case I can focus on planning and visualizing the ride. Much thanks to Ben's Cycle. I think I've purchased a thing or two from them before on ebay, and if you haven't checked them out yet, please do. All I've read are good things about them, and for me they are living up to their name.

Philadelphia Gran Fondo

2010-08-10T06:11:00.004-04:00

The inaugural Philadelphia Gran Fondo has already come and gone. I very wisely chose to do the 32 mile route instead of the 62 mile one, which I was planning to ride. I need to figure out what is going on with my left knee again. I still think it is the illiotibial band. At about mile 25 it started feeling bad, and to have had to ride another 40 miles would have been difficult. I wanted to enjoy the day, not hate it.

This was a great introduction to cycling in Pennsylvania for me. It is fitting that I rode in the first gran fondo here since we just moved to the area last week. I was one of about 1700 people who participated in the event. The weather was very nice, not too hot, and there was a comfortable breeze blowing. The course had some challenging hills, which I was prepared for from learning to cycle in central Virginia. There were some technical descents too. There were a couple of accidents due to them early on in the first hour of the ride. I haven't heard any details about them yet though. At the break for the piccolo fondo, I befriended a small group of riders who I learned were from the Cadence Foundation. Two of the kids and their coach broke off on the shorter route with me, and helped me to not feel too alone out there. It would have been more fun to do this ride with a friend or two. I didn't have anyone to hang out with afterward, but I'm still happy I did it.

I did almost decide not to even go. There were some discouraging things trying to keep me from going. Like I said, we had just moved, and the new space was still in disarray. I was very tired, and hadn't been on a bike in a week. I was worried about the illiotibial band situation with my leg. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it on time the day before getting into the city to pick up my packet. I was worried about parking. The day of the ride I had my wife drive me to the Norristown transportation center to take the trains into the city. We had to be up around 3:30am (after going to sleep after 11pm) to catch the only train that would have gotten me there on time by 5:20am. Being unfamiliar with this train system I struggled to get the tokens and transfer I needed. I was anxious about using the trains. I wasn't exactly sure how to get to the start point from the station once I got downtown.

I'm glad I did not let all of the worry and discouraging feelings keep me from it. I made it on the train okay. My transfer was smooth, and there was even another cyclist on my train car. I asked if I could follow him to the start point, and he was very friendly about it. I had energy for the ride, and my leg didn't really bother me until close to the end of the ride. It was a pleasure meeting the people from the Cadence Foundation, and I got a great new and helpful map of the Schulykill River Trail and surrounding areas from the Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia. It was a wonderful experience, and I would have missed it had I allowed those discouragements to keep me from it.

Boys and Girls Club Cycling Challenge Training Ride

2010-07-30T20:54:00.003-04:00

If you've seen previous posts you know I got to help coach the local Boys and Girls Club Cycling Challenge riders last year. Unfortunately this year I was not able to do it again since we are moving (in 3 days to be exact), and I wouldn't have been able to follow through with it to the main ride this September. Also, we had another baby 3 months ago. However, I was at least able to make it on one last ride with the group this morning before we go. I met a couple of new challengers, and rode with one of the returning challengers as well. I will miss them alot. I will miss the riding too, which is in some of the most beautiful areas of Albemarle County. If you're interested in learning more about the challenge ride, please click the link. You can help monetarily, but don't forget that you can also go out and ride with them. If you can, I suggest you do that, and try to get to know the kids. They are alot of fun.

Carter's Mountain Road Ride

2010-07-24T13:49:00.002-04:00

This morning my friend Travis and I left early for about a 25 mile ride near the famed Monticello here in Charlottesville. That is where Thomas Jefferson lived. It also took us by Ashlawn where James Monroe lived. We left before 8am, and it was already 83 degrees. Thankfully there was a bit of a breeze, and parts of the ride were shaded by trees. We've been on rides together before, and once again we got to share the experience of riding in beautiful Albemarle County, Virginia. This particular one is a well known loop I haven't done yet since I've lived here, and I'm glad I got it in before we move next week. Apart from riding on Hwy 53, it is low traffic with moderate hills. Parts of this ride (including the section of Hwy 53 we were on) belong to the US Bike Route 76. Thanks in large part to my friend Vince at ACCT, there are new signs all over Charlottesville denoting this route much more clearly. Apart from being chased by two separate dogs, the ride was uneventful, relaxing, and beautiful. Like people I suppose, some dogs are more sophisticated than others. I guess one other eventful thing did happen. Travis heroically relocated a turtle from the roadway to a more protected grassy patch. Hopefully that little turtle meandered in the right direction so as not to end up back on the road. We didn't get to know him well enough to give him a name. I'm sure he already has one anyway, but we wished him the best, and were on our way again. We made it back to the house just in time for the heat of the day to become unbearable, and Travis cooled off with a nice glass of half milk and half cranberry juice. I didn't trust that combo, so I didn't try it and can't recommend it.

Riding in Maryland

2010-07-19T10:47:00.004-04:00

I finally found an opportunity to do a ride I've been wanting to do for a while now. Last Saturday I rode from Clarksville, Md to Mt. Airy to visit one of my favorite bike shops, Mt. Airy Bikes. It was about 29 miles through central Maryland (Howard County to Carroll County), and it was very enjoyable. The roads are wide. The drivers were considerate. The day was sunny and warm with a cool breeze. I forgot sunscreen though, but did not get burned thankfully. My pannier was shaken off of the rack and fell in between my rear wheel and the rack pushing and bending the plastic planet bike fender forward. But it was easy to get out and put the fender back. I bungied the pannier against the rack, and that did the job. Don't underestimate the power of a bungie cord. It's a good idea to have one with you on a long ride. When I got to the shop I test rode a fuji obey track bike, and also saw a bike I didn't realize existed. It was a kidztandem. The child sits in front of the adult. I'm looking forward to test riding that one with my almost 3 year old daughter when she's a bit older. It seems it might be a great transportation solution for me now that I have two children. I can pull my youngest behind in a trailer when she's old enough, and all of us can get places on one bike! I'm very excited about that. Since the last long ride I did was over 2 months ago, I asked my wife to pick me up. I'm out of shape, and my left leg was sore around my knee. I think it was the same problem I had before with a tight illliotibial band. A bit of ice and massaging helped it. Hopefully I will get on a few more rides of this length before August 8th when I ride the Gran Fondo in Philadelphia.

My Route:

Guilford Rd/rt. on 108/left on Ten Oaks Rd/left on Burntwoods Rd/rt. on Hobbs Rd/left on McKendree Rd/becomes Carrs Mill Rd/left on 144/Mt. Airy Bikes on the right.

Philadelphia Gran Fondo

2010-07-07T22:17:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I registered to ride in the inaugural Gran Fondo event in Philadelphia happening next month. I'm very excited about this because I haven't gotten to ride much lately. Last month I had a severe case of poison ivy for 3 weeks, and with preparations to move and being a father of two little ones, it has been difficult to find time to get on the bike. We're moving to Pennsylvania near Philadelphia. Pennsylvania does seem to be a strong cycling state, and in fact it does have a wonderful and internationally known velodrome in Trexlertown. I'm looking forward to the new fuji adventures I'll have there.

Right of Way: Cars vs. Bikes

2010-06-08T21:42:00.003-04:00

My right of way was taken from me tonight. I was at the intersection of Monticello Avenue and Rialto. I was heading north on Rialto, stopped at Monticello waiting to cross and continue in the same direction. A motorist was on Rialto on the other side supposedly waiting to cross as well. He did not have any blinkers flashing. When the break came in traffic for us to go, we both started across, but he threw his left blinker on, and then completed a left turn in front of me. It felt as if my presence was not even acknowledged, and the fact that I was on a bicycle made me lesser, not worthy of being given the right of way.

As a motorist, do you think less of someone on the road when they are on a bicycle? Do you feel that you inherently have more right to the road than a cyclist, and that you trump the cyclist as far as right of way in all situations no matter what? This is an attitude that does exist, and hopefully will change.

Riding Fast

2010-06-08T15:15:00.002-04:00

Are you a slow rider? Do you feel that you are less safe on a bicycle the faster you ride? How are your skills when it comes to riding with traffic?

My riding style has been changing lately. I have been going through intersections in the middle of the lane more often, so I am directly in motorists line of sight. I also have been picking my speed up, shifting into higher gears, and taking the lane in certain places around town. One of those places is on Monticello avenue coming down from Avon toward Ridge/5th. After crossing Avon, it is down hill all the way to the next light. Now, there is a bike lane, but again, it is up against the parked cars. I don't want to risk getting doored, so I take the lane fully, shift up into high gear, and pedal it down. Because of the downhill I can raise my speed to match that of motorists, so I am not holding anybody up. My handling skills have increased, so I feel more comfortable at the higher speed. If I went at a slower speed, and stayed farther to the right, I risk getting doored. Also, I feel squeezed in by passing cars. I believe taking the lane and riding faster is a safer option. Also, it demonstrates to motorists a higher competency level of riding, which hopefully translates into more respect.

Another place where faster riding could be utilized is on East Market, coming from downtown. Again, it is all downhill, and the lane is narrower. There is not room for lane sharing, especially with the parked cars on the side.

I suppose the main idea here is that if you can increase your ability to ride faster, it would allow you to put yourself in a more visible position, ride as a part of the traffic without holding cars up, and demonstrate a higher level of proficiency to motorists, in turn garnering more respect from them (hopefully).

Last Southwood Bike Class

2010-06-07T23:50:00.002-04:00

Today was our last bike class at the Southwood Boys and Girls Club Unit. We held a 7 week class, which occurred every Monday for an hour. The kids learned and practiced power pedal, straight line riding, scanning, and more. Today, we went on about a 2 mile ride out and back from the club. The kids stayed single file and did well controlling their speed on the downhills, and pushed hard on the uphills. Afterward we went inside for pizza and to hand out their graduation certificates. Everyone hopes to do more bike classes there. This was one of the inaugural bike classes utilizing the new fleet bikes purchased with a grant from the Virginia Department of Health. Hopefully there will be many more bike classes to come!

Thoughts from Today

2010-06-07T23:30:00.002-04:00

The photo above is 5th street Extended here in Charlottesville. This is heading back into town toward the Elliott/Cherry intersection. You can see there is a decent bike lane. However, at times there is debris and other hazards in it. I've experimented a bit with my riding position on this road. I'm not sure of the posted speed limit. I'll try to take note of that at some point, but motorists drive fairly fast on this road. When I am riding to the right of the bike lane white line, it seems that motorists are more inclined to remain fully in the right lane without getting over much to give me space. I have felt the push of air as they pass me at times. However, when I ride to the left of the bike lane white line, almost all motorists move into the left lane either fully or at least partially to pass me, giving me much more space. The bike lane is definitely more sizeable, probably more than any other bike lane in Charlottesville. However, you can see the curb, which could be hazardous, and sometimes there is debris forcing a cyclist into the lane.

On my way out of town, a motorist passed me and honked while telling me to get off the road. I was to the right, causing no hinderance whatsoever. This person was experiencing some frustration simply from seeing me on a bike on the road. I wonder if she just felt uneasy, not wanting to be responsible for any possible accident that could occur between my bike and her car. Nonetheless, her ignorance of my rights to be there was apparent.

On my way back into town, I saw a person on a bike in the bike lane. That would be great, except she was riding toward me in the same bike lane! She was going against traffic (very dangerous for a cyclist) not to mention that this particular spot has the bike lane up against parked cars. You can be doored just the same going in either direction, and she was really hugging the side of the lane closest to the cars. The other side of the street did not have a bike lane, so I assume she was afraid to be over there without it, thinking since she was in a bike lane (even though facing opposing traffic) that she was safer. This is far from the truth. A motorist most likely would not expect to see a cyclist coming toward them on their right side. Remember, a bike should be driven like a car as much as is possible. This increases your safety, and puts you in the best visible position for motorists.

Charlottesville Javanese Gamelan

2010-06-06T17:20:00.004-04:00

Today I rode my "new" 1980 Fuji Gran Tourer SE to record the Charlottesville Gamelan performance at the Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative here in Belmont. On Memorial Day of 2008, I came across the Charlottesville Gamelan as they were preparing to perform at the same venue. My wife and I were walking home with our 6 month old daughter, and I was curious to know what was going on inside. I was staring at the building when one of the performers (Bruce) came out to inform us what was going on. I didn't believe him right away, wondering if the instruments were even real! Having lived in Charlottesville since 2003, I had never heard of it! Cindy Benton-Groner is the founder/director (see above photo). Well, the instruments are real, and she brought them back from Indonesia about 30 years ago. She has been teaching and performing with her gamelan since. We ended up going back that day for the performance, and I took my Sony digital mini-disc recorder to record it.

Last year, I was able to join them, and perform in it myself. I played the demung, and we performed in the first World Music Festival at UVA in Cabell Hall. You can hear some of it on my figura music website.

Fuji Frame Swap Out

2010-06-01T13:57:00.004-04:00

When it comes to cycling, proper fit is important. My 'workhorse' bicycle for the past year has been my 1982 Del Rey. I didn't really like the yellow color of it at first, but it did grow on me, and I ended up really loving to ride this bike. However, it is a couple of centimeters too big for me, so I was a bit uncomfortable on it. The other day, I came across a local craigslist add for a 1980 Fuji Gran Tourer SE. Asking price was only $40, so I checked it out. The seller accepted $30 for it (it is pretty rusty looking), and I am now the proud new owner. This one is more my size, a 21" (or 54cm) frame. I should be more comfortable on it. The Del Rey was actually lighter than this one since it was quad-butted. I will miss that, but the Gran Tourer will certainly suffice, and is still quality. I have to give alot of credit to Jay, owner of the Fuji Otaku blog, for providing so much info on this particular frame. He actually owned the exact same one. That helped me feel confident to go ahead and get it. Since the bikes are from about the same year, and were meant to serve about the same purpose, it's almost like it will be the same bike but hopefully more comfortable. All of the parts transferred perfectly with no issues such as brake caliper reach, wrong type of threads, wrong length of spindle, etc... I also now have alot of extra parts since the Gran Tourer did come complete before I swapped everything out. One special perk was that it came with the 'Fuji' engraved crank arms that I love. My Fuji Fleet feels more complete now that I've acquired a better fitting one for my daily errands and riding with the kids. Now I have to figure out what to do with the larger frame.

There is Fuji Crazy, and Then There is Fuji Psychotic

2010-05-29T08:07:00.002-04:00

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130392668230&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_1071

Fuji Otaku (see link to his blog over on the right) has been posting some vintage fuji gear on ebay lately before he moves to Japan. I wonder if he imagined this 80's water bottle going for almost $40 when he put it up for sale. First, let me say I did not bid on this auction. Now, being Fuji Crazy myself, I have been desiring one of these old water bottles to add to my collection, and 'complete' my Opus III. However, after my jersey fiasco, I've realized that the Fuji Infatuation can get out of control at times. This is a good example of that.

A couple of months or so ago, there was a beautiful vintage fuji on ebay, and I noticed that it had one of these water bottles in the cage. I emailed the seller to ask if he would sell it to me separately, and all he could say was "how much are you willing to offer?" I didn't respond. I could tell my $8 would not have sufficed.

Fuji is just a word after all. Let's not forget that it is the internal things that matter more than the external. I'll continue using my generic and well-used Performance brand water bottle before I toss more than $8 to one that is over 20 years old just because it says Fuji on it.

My new favorite ride

2010-05-21T12:46:00.004-04:00

I just returned from a ride, with my two and a half year old in tow, to the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum here in Charlottesville, VA. This is one of my favorite places to go here in Cville, and I didn't think it was possible to do on the bike, but it is! I made my way to the Rivanna Trail, which is paved from Riverside Park. I rode that until it spit me out at a very busy intersection of High St. and the 250 bypass toward Pantops. I rode a short distance on the wide sidewalk over the river up to the Shell station, then carefully rode around that parking lot, and through the shopping center to South Pantops Drive. I took this straight to the backyard of the museum. There is a dark wooden fence that goes along the border of the property by the road, but it ends near the entrance to the UVA Credit Union, where we walked through the grass right up to the museum. We had a very nice time looking at the exhibit and watching a 'Dreaming' cartoon that was looping on their television set. They always have some neat show about Australia to view. I bought a journal and a new cycling wallet for myself, and a children's book for Haley Mae. We had snacks at one of the backyard tables before heading home for lunch and nap. It was a very special time in that it possibly could be our last visit to that museum. We move to Pennsylvania at the end of July.

Charlottesville's Ride of Silence

2010-05-19T21:40:00.002-04:00

Tonight was Charlottesville's Ride of Silence. About 60 locals gathered at Charlottesville High School before embarking on a ride to downtown and back. Unlike the professional Tour of Italy riders, we had no crashes! Almost all of the cycling clubs and advocacy organizations were represented. Three police officers escorted us through the intersections on their motorcycles. We rode for about 45 minutes with no talking. Some of the sounds I noticed made me realize how imperfect our bikes, as well as ourselves are: grinding gears, floppy fenders, clunky chains. Many in our group have been hit by motorists, and survived. Five to Ten known Virginia cyclists were mentioned who had died in the past year by being struck by motorists. Two Hundred Ninety-Five Rides of Silence happened across the world tonight.

Charlottesville Drivers on Hyper-Alert (most anyway)

2010-04-28T21:23:00.006-04:00

Let's start with some night-time visibility discussion. On the way home, it was getting dark, but it was a very peaceful night ride. I have to say I don't prefer to ride at night, but I try to be as prepared as possible for it. Above are a couple of pics of what motorists might have seen as they came upon me tonight as I was headed home.

Almost all of the brightness you see is reflectivity. In the front photo though, the middle light is my battery operated headlight. Lights are legally required, but they are not enough if you want motorists to really see you. Reflectivity is extremely effective, and necessary. Key reflective areas are your ankles and feet. A video would be better to show that, because you would see the reflective ankle bands and stickers on my shoes moving up and down with the pedaling motion. Also, anything you can put on your helmet is effective because it puts it up higher in the air, and helps motorists see your head! I do have two rear tail-lights flashing, as well as a flashing white light on the left side of my helmet. Judging from these pictures it seems I would be hard to miss, but I have never come upon myself on the road as I was driving at night. :)

Another perception regarding my ride today... I noticed at least two motorists coming to a stop at intersecting roads on my right. The first direction they looked was to their right. That means I was not the first thing they saw as they were beginning to determine if it was clear for them to continue forward. A driver of any vehicle should be looking left first because that is the lane closest to them where vehicles will be passing.

Well, it has been over a week since a UVA student was struck and killed while on his bicycle here in Charlottesville, and I noticed a big difference in the way drivers treated me today on my trip out to Cville Bike and Tri and back. First, as I was going over the Avon Street bridge, a city bus was behind me, but refrained from passing me. This was highly unusual behavior! At least it was not what I was expecting. (The cyclist who was struck and killed, collided with a large city truck.) By not passing me, I was actually able to move into the left lane for the left turn I wanted to make at the next stop light. I am used to being crowded out by a city bus, and being unable to maneuver comfortably into the left turn lane. This was not the only motor-vehicle that gave me time and space. It happened at least two other times. Yeah for these drivers! However it makes me sad that it has to take a death to change people's behavior.

However, there is always someone who cannot help but to show some attitude, and let their ignorance show. I had a disappointing encounter with a motorist on Hydraulic Road between Four Seasons and Berkmar. This particular stretch has a bike lane, and it is a 4 lane road with a middle turn lane between them. So there is alot of space, with two lanes moving in my direction. The bike lane (like many here in Cville) was cluttered with debris and rocks. In fact, just before the right turn I had to eventually make, there was a dead raccoon directly in my path (had I remained in the bike lane). I moved into the traffic lane and hugged the white line. I believe the posted speed limit here is 35mph. There was not much traffic on the road at this time, however I was passed within inches by a motorist. There was no one in the other lane, and she could have (should have) moved over the dashed white line to give me at least the 2 feet required by law here in Virginia. After she passed I motioned with my hand giving some kind of 'move over next time' sign. She was looking in her mirror, and saw me. Then she made a similar motion as if to say, 'stay in your bike lane.' She didn't realize that I was actually trying to protect myself by moving out of the bike lane away from the debris. I also wonder if she knows it is legal for me to be in the traffic lane as well, and if she knows she legally needs to give me at least 2ft. of space. My point is that her driving was very deliberate, and she chose on purpose to buzz by me to try and make her opinion known.

Again, it is going to take changes of knowledge and attitude before cyclists are truly safer on the roads.

80's Dahon folding bike

2010-04-24T21:02:00.009-04:00

You can read about my trips since getting this Dahon here and here.

I bought this older Dahon a while ago from someone here in Charlottesville who fixes bikes up from time to time and sells them. Check out www.oldtoolsforsale.com. I recently bought flight tickets to Milwaukee for this September. I am going to attend a friend's wedding in Belgium, Wisconsin. Belgium is about 45 miles away from Milwaukee, and most of the flat ride will be on paved trail. The two trails are the Oak Leaf and Ozaukee Interurban Trails. I found the case just the other day at the Salvation Army down the street from my house for $15. It was my first try looking for a used, hard shell, travel suit-case. It is like it was waiting for me. As you can see the bike fits perfectly. It is an older Delsey model, which I learned is a reputable French company that has been making quality luggage for almost 100 years. I'm going to try to convert it to a trailer so that I can pull it behind the bike once I get to the airport. I don't know what I would do with it otherwise. The suitcase is regulation size so as not to be oversized, and the weight with the bike inside is 43 lbs. That is under the 50 lb limit of the airlines too! Hopefully I'll be posting about a successful trip with this bike in a few months, and I won't have had to spend $1,000+ on a newer folding bike. I realize Dahon is not Fuji, but I haven't come across any quality fuji folding bikes for sale.

A More Serious Note

2010-04-23T20:21:00.005-04:00

Last Monday, a UVA grad student, was involved in an accident on his bicycle that took his life. Read more about it here. In a comment thread I read that this is the first cyclist death in Charlottesville since 1998.

Earlier this evening, a vigil was held at the intersection of 4th and Main, where the accident happened. The ghost bike you see in the pictures above was placed there by late Monday night. The community of cyclists in town have been rallying together. It is due to this death, but it actually had begun earlier this year with the formation of a new cycling group, Bike Charlottesville.

Of course there have been many responses to this occurrence regarding the safety of the road ways for bicyclists. Sometimes motorists are fearful when they see cyclists on the road, and cyclists can unknowingly place themselves in compromising positions on the road. Today I found myself, as a driver, behind a cyclist as I drove down Water Street by the downtown transit center. There is not enough room there for lane sharing, and there were many parked cars on the side of the road. It was a busy time of day, and there were many oncoming cars. I could have tried to zoom past her during one of the brief breaks between cars, but it really would have been unnecessary, and would have made her nervous, as well as the driver of any oncoming car that might have appeared in that moment. I decided to drive about 12-15 miles per hour as we came to the next intersection, where she turned right and I continued straight. The tiny bit of extra time it took me to get to the end of that street was a small price to pay to help her (as well as other drivers and possible pedestrians) remain safe and comfortable and out of any compromising positions.

The first changes that need to occur before bicyclists and motorists can truly share the road, need to be in knowledge and attitude. It needs to work from the inside out, not from the outside in. Our physical environment is not solely responsible for these accidents. If that is the only place we focus any efforts of change, and attitudes and knowledge remain the same, nothing will truly go beyond where we are at this time regarding the safety of all road users.

Fuji Jersey Mishap

2010-04-23T05:31:00.002-04:00

So, sometimes being fuji crazy does lead me astray. I saw this jersey on ebay among 6 others, and 'had to have it.' I did submit the winning bid (under $50). It was worth it... for the other jerseys. They all fit well, and don't itch underneath. Also, the other jerseys do not have what seems to be a cut for women. Check out this picture in which the fuji jersey is almost identical to this one. I think it looks alot better on her though! Actually, in the photos above, it doesn't look as 'sexy' as it does in person. Despite that fact, I don't think I'll be wearing this in public anytime soon.

New Thoughts on the 250 Bypass

2010-04-17T12:21:00.002-04:00

First, let me state that I do not regret, nor do I want to refute anything I've said in my previous posts regarding 250.

So far, the feedback I have received on riding 250 is:

One vote for yes, let's ride it.

Three votes against it.

I've also recently learned that plans have been put in the works to build a paved trail along 250 in the exact section that I've ridden (between McIntire Rd. and Hydraulic). My initial thought on that is that it is not a better option for cyclists than simply riding on the road itself. One of the main reasons for that thinking is that there are at least two on/off ramps. I've heard the trail plans include a stop signal of some sort that will allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross those ramps. This will impede the smooth flow of traffic that everyone is already used to, not only out of practice, but that is what on/off ramps are for, to keep the traffic moving smoothly. A cyclist riding in the lane will not impede the traffic as long as they are moving forward in a controlled, predictable manner.

Today I rode to the same destination as when I rode 250 previously. However, I did not use 250. I took a different route in which I crossed 250, and it took me 32 minutes, the same or less amount of time it would have taken had I used the bypass. That is a viable argument against using 250. However, I contend that I'm not necessarily safer going this other route. Plenty of accidents occur between cyclists and cars where speed is not the main factor.

Again, I am not trying to brag or be controversial by discussing riding a bicycle on the 250 bypass. In fact, seeing a cyclist on it shouldn't even bring up those feelings. It is not an interstate. The posted speed limits (35 and 45mph) should not deter an experienced cyclist. There is room for lane sharing. In fact, if the middle dotted line was moved about a 1/2 foot over, there would be even more room for lane sharing. The main thing that makes it 'scary' is that many drivers speed on it. Does 'Bypass' mean 'go really fast,' or is it simply an alternate, more direct route to a destination?

First Real Road Ride of the Year

2010-04-11T13:30:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I finally got to ride my Opus III again. Have I mentioned yet that I love this bike? It fits me perfectly, is such a joy to ride, and I truly consider it a gift. Total, I logged about 40 miles. I want to say the weather was pristine, but it was a bit cold when I left, which was 7am. I had my shoe covers on, arm covers, leg covers, something around my ears too. Thankfully I was able to take all that off later in the day, when the weather really was pristine. I rode from my house out to Walnut Creek Park for a Specialized demo-day hosted by Cville Bike and Tri, a local shop here in town. I was invited there by the owner to help promote an 8-week bicycle course for novice cyclists that he asked me to teach through that shop starting next Saturday.

On my way out to the park, coming up Old Lynchburg Road, I had my first real experience with dogs while riding in a rural setting. Just as I began a long uphill, 2 mangy muts bolted after me. I thought they might come to the edge of their yard, and not do too much more, but when they ended up right at my heels with no sign of stopping, I realized the chance I might get bit was increasing. I decided it would be best to just keep pedaling until I got out of their range. I picked up the pace, and they did back off after I got further up the road. I was thankful for that, but then my adrenaline started increasing after the fact. It was not an enjoyable experience to say the least. I dread ever having to actually get off the bike and face-off with any dogs. It really was a 'dog day' when later on a 16 mile loop from the park I encountered 2 more dogs. I was with 3 other people, and the dogs saw us coming ahead of time. The first dogs of the day came up behind me and weren't able to get in front of the bike. This second set of dogs came out in front of the bikes, and kept getting in the way of the front wheel. We had to swerve alot to avoid hitting them, but were able to pedal away from them by the end of it. They say that if you have to face a dog, and get off the bike, to put the bike between you and it. I was wondering what that might have been like had I had to do that. Each time, it was not just one dog, but two coming. Would I have been able to keep them both between me and the bike?

By the end of the day though, it was a satisfying ride, and felt good to be back on the opus.

More 250 Bypass experience...

2010-04-06T19:46:00.004-04:00

So, I rode on the 250 bypass here in Charlottesville, VA again. This time I went both ways. On the way out to my destination it was rush hour. (Bear with me. I'm NOT bragging!)

The part I rode was between McIntire Road and Hydraulic. The posted speed limits on this section of 250 is 35 mph and 45mph, and I'll argue that I was closer to the 35 speed limit on my bicycle than anyone in a car. I'll restate that the right lanes going in both directions really do have room for lane sharing. Many cars were able to pass me on my left giving me a decent distance. Of course there were 2 drivers who were probably trying to prove a point by buzzing by within the limits of my 'bubble,' but still even they did pass me in the same lane. There were many more drivers who showed me the courtesy to give me space.

By the way, McIntire dead ends into the bypass. There happens to be a bike lane all the way down McIntire from the Intersection at Preston Avenue. I have to say it is not the safest bike lane with the iron grates, warped cracks, and debris cluttering it. Again, it was rush hour, and I chose not to zoom down the right side of the long line of stopped traffic to make my way to the light. I decided instead to act like a vehicle of the road as a cyclist is supposed to do, and waited my turn behind a car as we made our way through the crowded red lights. Part of that decision was due to the poor bike lane. But part of it was to be an example to the car drivers around me that I've got nothing to prove by being on a bike, that I'm simply trying to get somewhere too.

Even though I wasn't making any left turns off of the bypass, and it was pretty much a straight shot, I still had to strive to communicate my intentions as I passed the off ramps. I didn't really know how to do that, but chose to simply point ahead of me and a bit out to the side, trying to show that I wanted to continue on without taking the off ramp, and that I did NOT want drivers to jet in front of me only to take the exit themselves and cut me off. I also had to scan right as I was coming up to the on ramps to be aware of any on coming traffic. I know there are other cyclists who ride this part of the bypass (not many), but I certainly felt alone out there.

To ride to my destination any other way would have added at least 10 minutes if not more onto the trip. I feel more convinced now that utilizing this part of the 250 bypass on bicycle is a viable option, and I hope more cyclists try it. I also hope that someday, even within this year, 'sharrows' are placed out there on the pavement. It would be an excellent spot to experiment with those here in Charlottesville. Again, the speed limit is only 35 mph on that part of 250. It is not an interstate! With some help from the local police dept. enforcing that limit, some sharrow markings, and more cyclists utilizing it as their lawful right, there is no reason for any cyclist to be intimidated by that section of 250.

PS- I was riding my 1982 Fuji Del Rey. :)

LCI Seminar a Success!

2010-03-23T10:59:00.003-04:00

Wow! What a weekend. Last Sunday afternoon saw the end of a successful League Certified Instructor Seminar here at our Charlottesville Community Bike Shop. I have the highest accolades for Preston Tyree, our seminar coach for the weekend. He is the Bike Education Director with the League of American Bicyclists, and has put together much of the curriculum himself. His expertise and professionalism is out of this world. We all could tell how fortunate we were to have him as our coach. Thank you Preston!

This seminar seemed meant to be. First of all, the weather was perfect and provided much comfort for all of our activities indoor and out. We had people from Northern VA, Richmond, Roanoke, Warrenton, Fredricksburg, and a large group even came all the way from Morgantown, WV! In a whirlwind of intense presentations, study, and on-bike drills, everyone moved quickly from complete strangers to dear acquaintances in just a few hours.

What is a League Certified Instructor Seminar? It is a weekend long session that certifies experienced cyclists to become educators of the League of American Bicyclists education curriculum. This material can be taught to virtually anybody. Educating our children and general public about cycling is one of the best forms of advocacy we can do in our country. You can learn more about it at www.bikeleague.org.

To check out photos from our weekend, please visit my flickr page.

My new Mechanic shop shirt

2010-03-12T17:21:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Thomas, I have a new, very professional looking shirt to wear when I am at our Community Bike Shop. He had it done through Crazy Horse Studio, a local embroidery shop (and more). Hopefully this will help patrons and volunteers identify a person "in charge" as well as encourage others to support the shop by purchasing a 'Community Bikes' shirt of their own.

Just Scootin'!

2010-03-11T17:53:00.005-05:00

My 2 1/2 year old daughter has been riding her 'skuut' bike pretty well lately. We've taken it out to the park down the street twice this week now that the weather is warmer. I found myself getting a bit jealous. The neat thing about MY scoot bike is that it is of course a fuji frame. More specifically, it is a fuji sports 10 from 1977. When I first got into cycling in 2006, I found our community bike shop, and this is the first bike I built up to learn the mechanics. It is too small for me, but in scoot bike form it is perfect! I'm happy to have it back in the stable. The cooler thing is that my daughter can now learn by watching me on a scoot bike. She already was copying how I was lifting my feet more. Her next step is to start gliding with it. Check out the video of us scootin' on my flickr page.

Lil' Fuji

2010-03-11T10:57:00.003-05:00

http://cgi.ebay.com/fuji-vintage-girls-bicycle-banana-seat-tires-need-air_W0QQitemZ350252254803QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item518ca94653#ht_500wt_956

I'd love to get this little bike for the girls as they learn to ride. But it is pick up only, and Connecticut is just too far to drive.

My Current Fuji Fleet...

2010-03-10T09:06:00.003-05:00

I've created a new set of photos on my flickr page containing my current fuji bicycles. The one above is the Fuji Opus III. This bike fits me perfectly, and rides like a dream. I didn't exactly know what I was getting when I purchased it off of ebay a few years ago. I consider it a gift.

Headlight Fix...

2010-03-09T10:20:00.012-05:00

Last Friday night I rode the Del Rey to hear Fugimundi play at UVA. As I was turning left from Monticello Ave onto Main St. I thought I had run over a can, but when I got to my destination to lock up, I noticed that my headlight was gone. I realized what I thought was a can must have been my headlight. So I booked it back to that intersection, and found it. Unfortunately I couldn't find the cap that kept the batteries in place. But I did find a solution! The cap of a spice container in our kitchen cabinet is the perfect replacement. It actually fits snug, and should suffice.

LCI Seminar here in C'ville...

2010-03-08T08:54:00.004-05:00

In a little less than two weeks, we will have a League Certified Instructor Seminar here in Charlottesville. I am serving as site-coordinator for it. Remember that I received my certification last June at a seminar in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. It is interesting that my family and I will be moving to that area at some point this summer. Five local people will become certified to teach the League's bicycling education curriculum, and even a large group from Morgantown, West Virginia will be coming down for it! Others are coming from Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Maryland. Preston Tyree (scroll down) himself (Education Director for the League) will be coaching this one! It promises to be fun-filled, action-packed, time of networking bliss toward the goal of bicycle education and safety.

Charlottesville Community Bikes Open House

2010-03-01T07:07:00.004-05:00

Our new lighted shop sign courtesy of Thomas. It's awesome.

James chillin' at the shop open house with Major Taylor memoribilia.
Jennifer with the first shop mural, which she created with local kids.
Me with a fledgling cyclist at the shop open house yesterday.

Charlottesville Community Bikes held its first open house yesterday. We think it was a fair success, seeing about 30-40 people come through in 3 hours. If you don't know about the shop, please check it out at one of the links, and even better come on by when its open. Chris made some excellent chili and cornbread. There were plenty of cookies, fruit, drink. Will made a very informative tri-fold full of our history, present, and future. The biggest challenge for Community Bikes at present is going to be to remain open and continue being able to pay rent beyond this August.

The 'Cookie Lady'

2010-02-05T15:43:00.005-05:00

Last May I was fortunate to be included on a ride to visit the 'Cookie Lady' over in Afton. Jim Sayer, the Executive Director for Adventure Cycling was visiting Charlottesville, and he wanted to meet the renowned woman who has been providing lodging and amenities to cross-country cyclists since 1976, on the nation's first identified bicycle route 76. This was called Bikecentennial. My friend and experienced cyclist Nick Evans arranged for the ride with him and invited others along, including me. In the above picture on the right you can see from left to right, James Richardson, Jim Sayer, and Nick Evans. We rode 58 miles round trip to visit June Curry. She was home and shared many of her stories with us. The apartment she provides to cyclists is full of memorabilia from the past 34 years! It truly is museum-like, and and was something to remember. If you get a chance to see it I suggest you do. Jim was nice enough to mention me, James, and Nick in one of his next opening letters in Adventure Cycling Magazine. He specifically mentions me and that the ride was my longest to date at the time! Thanks Jim! I want to mention that during that ride, I rode up Afton Mountain with a 22 inch gear on my touring bike. I had to stop midway for a few minutes to let leg cramps subside before I continued up at about 3 miles per hour! (WEENIE!) But, later that summer when I was helping to coach the Boys and Girls Club Cycling Challenge Team, we rode the same route a few times, and I was able to ride up non-stop going at least 7 miles per hour in a 46 inch gear!