A Tent for Eva?

Shower Tent Set Up in Ocean Shores. Water is Temperature Controlled from Outside of RV. Tent was $35 Locally Sourced

Trevor Woodford, over on his excellent "Original Purple Traveller" blog rides his bike when his RV, named "Eva," permits. On a recent post, I inquired about how useful his "Eva the Eriba's" in-trailer shower was. It turned out it was marginal. I noted that I'd seen shower tents that might be just the trick when stopped at a campsite without showers.

This morning, I stopped and got a shot of one that's currently stopped on the owner's empty lot in Ocean Shores. It is shown at the top of this post. The owner noted that it cost $35 at the Aberdeen, Washington Bimart. He also noted that his rig had hot/cold outlet on the outside of his RV that made things really convenient. I suspect that option isn't in the cards for Trevor, what with the cost of British Airways First Class travel nowadays. However, Amazon has a lot of these things in prices ranging from $30 to as much as you want to spend.

It seems to me that smaller ones are best in the "foldable popup" variety. For a little more work, you could get one that is much bigger. Both varieties are shown below. For sunnier days, one could even use one of those solar showers, in which water in a bag is heated by the sun. THOSE are just the ticket for a quick after swim shower when on a boat. Heck, one of those solar showers might even be nice for rinsing off sweat after a spirited bike ride upon return. One thing all these things have in common is they store in little space, are quick to set up or put away, and don't weigh a lot. I'm not sure how Trevor's RV shower experiences have been, but there seems an awful lot of drying down and moisture afterwards to make taking a shower in the RV entirely satisfactory. In-house toilets, on the other hand, are WONDERFUL for those late night times when you have to go and the camp facilities are a long ways off and it is raining...

Popup Tent for about $35

Bigger Tent for about $100

They Even Sell Solar Showers. Just the Thing for a Tent Where You Don't Want to Heat Water IN the RV. About $12

Don't Ride in Lightning Storms

Jeep after Getting Struck by Lightning While Parked in a Parking Lot in Dallas, Texas

The photo shows why it isn't good to be out and about during a lightning storm. It's not really a good idea, even if you are in a car, especially if the car doesn't have a metal roof. The Jeep not only got damaged a lot, but the vehicles on both sides got burned as well. Luckily, I don't have any photos of cyclists who were struck by lightning while riding during a storm.

If you aren't sure where the lightning might be, there's an app for that. Personally, I favor "Boltmeter," as discussed here.

Texas November Snow

Our Street, in February 2010. "Snowpocalypse"

It snowed last night. In mid November. In North Texas. No, the photo above wasn't last night's snow, though it shows how it can snow on our street way down here. Rather, our latest frozen precipitation is shown below. The photo below shows our current snow dusting, along with a Fergus that seems to have gotten MUCH larger than HERE virtually overnight. I expect that the snow will all be melted by this afternoon, but November snow in Texas should not fall without comment, even if there wasn't enough to make a pretense of cross-country skiing. Perhaps on November 22nd, we'll break the old snowfall record of five inches, set back in 1937. Unlikely, but we shall see...

Fergus Discovers Snow at 7 Months. It's COLD!

The Snow is OFFICIALLY a Record According to the NWS Record Report

Belts and Suspenders, So to Speak

The Ocean Shores Ace Hardware has LOTS of Belts AND Suspenders!

This post was INSPIRED by the notion of belts and suspenders, shown above by the “belt and suspender” department of the Ocean Shores Ace Hardware store. The implementation was mine alone.

Over time, I’ve concluded that the most effective and serious cycling raingear today is made by the “Showers Pass” company. That title was formerly held by Burley, and companies such as REI would like to assume that title, but Showers Pass (of Oregon) is IT at the moment. I’ve accumulated a fair amount of their items. For me the weak points of cycling rain protection are head and hand dryness. THIS post addresses head dryness.

Rain Hat, Designed to Work With Showers Pass Rain Jacket - No Helmet Needed or Intended

Showers Pass has two approaches to head dryness. The first is a hat that velcros on to some of their raincoats, as shown in the photo above. It works well, except that you wind up with the choice of one of two fatal flaws. In the first way to use this first hat, you cinch down the elastic to hold the hat securely on your head. In THAT case, the edge gradually creeps below your eyebrows and you lose the ability to see the whole picture up ahead. BAD - while I'm not in fear of cars killing me, who knows what a frightened deer up ahead might do? In the second way you use this first hat, you abandon the elastic. In that case, the hat drips all over and blows off before too long. ALSO BAD. If Showers Pass added a second elastic strap that would pull the hat UP when the main elastic is cinched down, this problem would be dramatically lessened, but neither they, nor anybody, else has come up with that idea yet.

Showers Pass Helmet Cover Rain Protection

Fortunately, Showers Pass also has a rain hat that is designed to cover the typical CPSC helmet available today. I used it in preference to the first hat when I was commuting to work in DFW. It works OK, except that stuff leaks through on to your head. It also only works WITH a helmet. FWIW, that strap at the back is apparently intended to hold a light. Odd to have a light holder in combination with a BLACK helmet cover. Said by someone who just bought the stuff to stay dry and has few dogs in the "style versus visibility" contest.

For "Best" Protection, Use BOTH Hats at the Same Time!

Inspired by the Ace hardware “belt and suspenders” Department, I tried using BOTH Showers Pass hats at the same time. With a helmet/hat on, the elastic was not needed on the first hat, and my head arrived back at home perfectly dry. Rain, however, never sleeps. As shown below, it got my “IGA Pink Espresso Card” wet while I waited, and THAT wet card stained my “high vis” rain jacket pocket. My saddle also got wet while I waited behind the motorists, but a rain cape recently mentioned by Chandra, could probably help that problem. Improvements continue…

Head May be Dry, but Wetness Seeps Through! Perhaps adding a Rain Cape?

 

Snow

Typical "Cold" Morning in Ocean Shores. Frost Appears Even Though Air Temperature is well over Freezing

Usually, the weather is pretty boring around Ocean Shores, Washington. The temperature gets down to the low 40’s in the summer and into the 30’s in the winter. I’ve seen posts from around the country showing arctic conditions pretty much everywhere east of the Rocky Mountains. A touch of frost some mornings is about as frigid as things get. The winter weather is actually much milder than its North Texas counterpart. In truth, in January, the DFW low temperature was usually lower than Ocean Shores.

Still, even Ocean Shores experiences an occasional frigid spell. It started with temperatures dipping down to freezing, as shown here. Late last week it got colder yet. It got so cold that the local espresso stand I ride to each morning CLOSED due to frozen pipes. Rumor has it that this has not happened before in living memory and that we may be declared as a disaster zone.



FROZE PIPES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, the HORROR!

BUT WAIT. It got even more dramatic. Last night it actually snowed. Things are, however, looking up since the espresso stand got its pipes thawed and reopened yesterday. While the roads were coated in white, mostly riding was not a lot different than usual except for one street, Albatross, and the gravel driveway shortcut that takes me past Ace Hardware and up to the espresso stand. You see, snow covers up the potholes. The drill was much as one would expect - don't make sudden starts or stops, or depend on doing any quick turns. Take it slow, and pretty soon the coffee will taste extra good. I noticed less than the typical motorist count at the driveup. Apparently those without 4WD stayed in bed, while "one-wheel drive" worked just fine.

Do You Have to Stop at a Stop Sign if It is Covered With Snow?

To keep the story short, our bit of snow simply got us into the mood to watch the Winter Olympics.       

The Raccoon Tracks Make it Look Like it was PARTY TIME! Bike Traction was Unimpaired (Mostly)

Doesn't Look Like Boating Weather...

 

Springing into New Life

One thing about blogging is that the writer knows where something is going to go while the loyal reader can only guess. In that vein, I have taken the first two steps toward a new life. If everything goes according to plan, my bicycle commute will be over.

It remains to be seen whether that is good or bad, or simply "new."

Simple Motorist Wisdom

THESE Tattered Pants Now Reside on my LH Bookshelf for the NEXT Time the Weather Goes BAD While I'm at Work
Thanks, Jerry C!

Mostly stuff I hear from motorists at work regarding cycling is pretty silly, irrelevant, or even almost threatening if I were inclined toward paranoia. I really do NOT need to hear fantasies about cyclists as "hood ornaments." On rare occasions, however, a pearl will come my way from a motoring co-worker. Yesterday was such a day.

Yesterday, I bet on the come that I would not need rain gear. I lost that bet. In the process, however, some simple motorist wisdom came my way. Without any intention of insulting my loyal reader, my own experience is that engineers have an unusual level of insights about things compared to "regular people." As it turned out, this observation came from an engineer. Actually, from one of my engineers. More details would confuse y'all so I'll avoid them.

The wisdom? Leave a set of the "less best" rainwear at work for those days when the weather goes bad when it shouldn't. Duh. Why didn't I think of that? Basic rainwear is almost as cheap as the electricity costs of running the drier to dry out soaked clothes nowadays. Why keep all THREE pairs of my rain pants at home?

Now, all I need is an obvious way to not have to worry about lightning, hail, tornados, or deep snow and I'll be completely set.

Thanks, Jerry C. A set of rain pants now reside in my LH upper bookshelf, and I'm shopping for a second waterproof jacket. The old one was getting a bit tattered anyway, so duplication makes sense. Now, stop patting yourself on the back and finish getting that roofbeam sized!



From Wikipedia - "Up and at em!" One MORE Step Past "Fair Weather Cyclist." BUT I Still Need Lightning Strike Protection...

Guessing Wrong

I Don't Really Enjoy Riding in Lightning Storms!

Weather in North Texas can be "interesting." This morning, it was 79F when I left for work. The weather lady on television (I DO miss Jennifer Lopez doing weather) was somewhat noncommittal. "40% chance" combined with "heavy rain and thunderstorms" is definitely a "don't blame me" forecast.

Still, my only concession was to bring along a few plastic bags to cover bag contents and saddle "just in case."

Well, read the title and you know the outcome. About an hour before quitting time, any frog outside would have drowned. I did manage to avoid most of the lightning danger when I left - two hours later. The temperature - for the "hot" part of the ride - 70F.

On occasion, commuting in a closed car would be OK. Today would have been such an occasion. It is rare that I run with lights on in June on the ride home. Even my kids called to see if I wanted a ride home. Did I want a ride TO work?

These Would Have Been Nice on the Way Home - Modeled by My Youngest

Still, all in all, it WAS a pretty nice day to ride to work. Though I did get reminded inadvertently of the great danger cyclists face. Especially those in lower latitudes...

These Guys Had Rivers Where Rivers Usually Do Not Go

Lightning Strike

Yesterday I got to test out Boltmeter - the iPad app I wrote about last week. For a situation such as that above, I counsel caution. Golf ball sized hail was coming down and most DFW flights were cancelled until hail inspections could be conducted. Unfortunately, Boltmeter doesn't track tornadoes. We were all told to move deeper into the terminal.

Beyond Fair Weather Cycling

I'm not entirely sure why, but over the last year, a resolve has taken hold to "expand the envelope" and ride safely and more or less comfortably in all weather. In other words, to move well beyond fair weather cycling and to be confident and safe in all conditions. In my v3 commute, I have even been able to develop workable and safe routes that work when it gets very foggy.

One condition has never been comfortable, that being thunderstorms; and lightning in particular. That would not be a problem if I were home in Western Washington. Lightning is rare there. It would not be a problem if I were mainly riding recreationally as I could always wait for the storm to blow over. But commuting is unique in that most people are expected to be at work by a specified time. Me included.

I realize that a cyclist is not usually the most convenient current path compared to nearby trees, houses, phone poles and such, but "usually" is kind of like "usually, you won't get bit by a rattlesnake" or "usually that gun is unloaded."

Perhaps, however, prompted by a tip, I may have "gotten an app for that." It is called "Boltmeter." As you can see in the photo, there is no lightning within 30 miles of me here in Quebec (I'm on a visit).

I'm hoping that, combined with good weather apps such as "Weatherbug," tha added information will make the morning trip to work less hit or miss (both literally and figuratively). Afternoon lightning is less chancy. My dear wife is very understanding if I call to let her know I'm going to wait things out. She probably will offer to give me a ride, but to accept would not be consistent with moving beyond fair weather cycling. It never really occurred to me before, but I find the notion of a cell phone as a useful cycling safety aid to be both tantalizing and somewhat ironic.

All Washed Up

Lightning - From Wikipedia

In North Texas, we have to take our opportunities for inclement weather when they arrive. While we get lots of practice with "hot and dry" in the summer, wet don't get a lot of opportunity to explore the finer points of cold weather. It DOES rain around here, but it isn't the kind of rain I grew up with. In Seattle, the rain takes a week or more to accumulate to an inch or two. A little drizzle and a lot of gray clouds is the rule around this time of year.

Around DFW, on the other hand, the rain REALLY lets you know it is serious stuff. Lightning, thunder, flash floods and more. And then, as quickly as the rain arrived, it is past and drenching Louisiana or Oklahoma. I think the term around these parts is the rain comes down as a "frog strangler," but I'm not from around here. Regardless, it'll come down as several inches in an hour.

Last week, however, we got lucky. It actually rained THREE DAYS IN A ROW! Multiple rain days tests a cyclist's ability to not only stay dry on the commute, but also to keep stuff dry over multiple days. Any fair weather cyclist can ride ONE day in the rain. After all, the shoes and gloves and stuff can dry out and things will be back to normal. I was doubly lucky, because, after the first rain day, on Monday, my new "waterproof winter boots" showed up.

Fortunately, Chandra has a DIFFERENT Salomon Shoe

On Monday, rain had been forecast, but I was prepared with my yellow rain outfit, and the blue booties I carry along to cover my cycling shoes. Things went pretty smoothly. On the way home, to keep my "not too cold" full fingered gloves dry, I rode barehanded. Wet gloves are not a lot of fun, but puckered up fingers dry out quickly.

Early the next morning, before I realized theyd snuck onto my doorstep the previous evening, I received a text from Chandra. THAT is shown at left. Chandra put up a post about HIS Salomons, but took it back down. Perhaps it'll be back up by the time my loyal reader reads this.

Well, as it transpired, I had gotten Salomon boots. I picked them over the North Face Snow Sneakers because I wanted something a little higher cut than the North Face product and I'd read quite a few good reviews.

Half way through this text exchange, I went out and the shoes were there, in a giant box. It wasn't as bad as Jon's box, but it WAS pretty big. And it was raining. HARD. It turned out we got three or four inches that day. It was a good test of new boots that claim to be waterproof.

Well, they WERE waterproof, as long as you do not try to emulate a powerboat while riding your bike. I do not recommend riding through deep standing water in Salomon Deemax 2 Winter Boots. The water will splash up and under your rain gear and come in through the top of the boot. Or at least it happened to me with my right foot. The left stayed nice and toasty and dry. Even the right didn't get very wet. It was dried out during the day and suffered no further dampness. In my own defense, there were a couple of lightning strikes on the way to work and that was a bit distracting. The closest one was about a mile away. That seemed a little cozier, but reading up on lightning again from Wikipedia reminded me that lightning can strike ten miles away, and it was also a bit disconcerting to hear about DFW flight delays because the ground crews were not allowed out when potential lightning conditions existed. Of course, by THAT time, I was more than half way to work and there was nothing to do but complete the journey and plan on some further lightning research.

Salomon Deemax 2 Winter Boots with Canari Rain Pants

To futher test out the rain stuff, I wore my Canari rain pants that I'd bought last summer at 70% off. The Showers Pass pants seemed entirely too overkill. The Canaris worked well enough, though cold hard rain created the illusion of wetness, while the reality was that they stopped the rain and I was feeling the coldness of the drops.

I also tried using plastic grocery bags to keep my gloves dry. It didn't work real well the first day, but some fiddling gave better success the second. I really can't bring myself to put those tight latex gloves over winter gloves.

Unfortunately, by Wednesday afternoon, things were drying out, so I only got three wet days, but it was a lot of fun, except I felt a little sorry for my coworkers who had to walk in from their parking lot without proper weather protection. I also discovered on Wednesday afternoon that 60F is about as warm as you'd want to cycle in the boots. Rumor has it they'll be good down to zero with wool socks. Maybe even a little colder with shoe covers. Our all-time record cold in North Texas was -8, so I think these puppies will work VERY well for the half dozen times I need them - and being cleatless, they'll also work well for walking in cold or wet weather.

Boots Have Sealed Soles and Tongue, with Thinsulate Insulation

Bicycle Commuting Tips: The Truth and Myth of Blood, Sweat, and Tears

On my blog, I try to avoid simply regurgitating material I see on other blogs. However, other blogs do provide inspiration. One such provided the title for today's post. Well, almost, because I couldn't resist adding two words to John Romeo's excellent essay entitled "Bicycle Commuting Tips: The Myth of Blood, Sweat, and Tears." If you haven't already, go read it. THIS post is, however an entirely different theme. JRA's premise is that bike commuting really isn't something to get worked up over. He thinks cycling is, and I fully agree, fun and safe.

However, besides the myth of blood, sweat, and tears, there is truth in each of the items. What's more, a lot of the truth is different than a prospective bicycle commuter might imagine.

Even a Minor Impact Can Make a Lot of Blood if You Happen to be Taking Blood Thinners!
This Incident Didn't Even Do Much to the Helmet Other than Get Blood All Over the Strap

LET THERE BE BLOOD

You're More Likely to be Hurt HERE Than By a Car

I have experienced two episodes of this during my bike commutes. Contrary to commonly expressed fears, neither involved any sort of motor vehicle by any stretch of the imagination. In the first case, a deep vein thrombosis caused a pulmonary embolism. In the second, while I was away for a week on vacation, a construction crew dug a trench that I rode into on my first day back. During the same period, two of my friends DIED of chronic breathing conditions that would likely never have become serious had they done things like cycle regularly - and I know many more that are dealing with other, mostly avoidable chronic conditions. In my own case, cycling has helped me sustain a 100 lb weight loss and quit smoking. The blunt truth is that, while I have fallen a number of times during my commutes, these falls mostly occur on the small minority of miles associated with bike paths. ALL the objective evidence is that cycling is pretty safe and gets an order of magnitude safer with a minimal amount of instruction about how to operate the bike safely. Of course, Bike Ed will not protect you against DVT. Sorry. Of course, I am not the best authority on blood since I seem to draw it even on the rare occasions I need to use a stapler to complete an expense report. Is that really an industrial accident?

Sweat DRIPS From My Headrag as I Stop for Coffee

SWEAT
Sweating is a major way your body helps regulate its temperature. If you live around Dallas, and ride anywhere much over a mile, you WILL sweat. What's more, as I have discovered, after a ride of 5 or 10 miles, you will sweat again even after taking a shower. However, I was fortunate enough to read Effective Cycling by John Forester. What? Isn't he that "crabby old vehicular cycling guy?" Yup. But in that book, he also taught me stuff I didn't realize about sweat. Stuff I have since confirmed elsewhere. And, as it turns out, the presence of a shower at work, while nice, is much less relevant than people imagine. If you doubt it, take a good shower, then work up a good sweat. Relax and towel off after about 15 minutes. Now enlist reliable sniffers. You see, as it turns out, what makes sweat stinky is the bacterial culture associated with stale sweat. Your reliable sniffers will not be alarmed while you are fresh, but they'll be cranky by your stink the next morning. What this means is it really does not matter a whole lot whether you take your shower immediately before or after your morning commute. Either way, use lots of soap. Give yourself time to cool down, towel off with a fresh towel and apply deodorant. What's more, this is a good procedure even if you have showers at work since you'll otherwise simply sweat some more after your shower. From a personal standpoint, the ideal situation is an individual shower room, lockable from inside, with adjacent assigned lockers, in a location where you can work or relax for about 15 minutes before the shower. Like a cafeteria where you eat breakfast before your shower. But basic sweat is easier to deal with than most imagine. I sweat on my commute even in the winter. I have learned other sweat secrets, but there may be co-workers reading this. Still, if it is hot and you STOP sweating, worry about the first topic.

Men Like it Simple. Soap and Shampoo and No Messy Goo!

Safety Goggles Can STOP Those Tears
Sweat? Not So Good

TEARS
I think that JRA was "turning a phrase" with the tears item. However, those that commute in freezing conditions know this is a real problem. You see, going down a hill, the 20 or 30 mph wind in the eyes will quickly generate enough tears it can be hard to see properly. However, this problem has a solution that is simplicity itself. Simply pick up a pair of safety goggles. Most manufacturing areas make these freely available to employees. Much more stylish ones can be picked up at any hardware store. And safety goggles don't seem to work very well at keeping sweat out of your eyes.

Bad Hair or Bad Bike Day

Passing a Loading Schoolbus While on WHEELS is Illegal. Passing One as a PEDESTRIAN is Perfectly Fine. Not All Drivers Understand This.
Actually, Probably not all Police Understand This. Fortunately, I Didn't See Any of the Latter Today.

Like a lot of things in life, not every day commuting on a bike is memorably positive. Today was such a day. I got frozen, honked at, yelled at, shorted, and cut. Well, some of these are not nearly so dramatic as they sound. First off, on the way to work, despite the encouraging words of our local weather forecasters, I ran into some "wintry mix." Such might not be notable to my loyal reader north of the Mason Dixon line, but it is cause for motorist madness around North Texas. The wintry mix left motorists that are normally benign a bit snippy. One such honked at me as I was in a left turn lane and the motorist was in the middle lane and not slowed down by me by as much as a single millisecond. I don't have any idea why a honk would have been considered appropriate other than some cyclists behave unpredictably. Hmm, on second thought, I can't imagine why a motorist would think that honking at a cyclist, operating predictably and legally OR OTHERWISE would be helped by such noise. Anyway, on to the yell.

Most of the way to work, I came upon a school bus that I often encounter on my v3 commute. I usually encounter this bus when it stops to pick up a handicapped student. Usually, I'll dismount from my bike, shoulder it, and legally walk past the bus before remounting and continuing on my way. It's an advantage of operating a vehicle that can be carried along. Today, however, I decided to simply stop behind the bus as my motoring companions must do (have YOU ever tried to carry a car on your shoulder?). You see, my goggles had fogged up a bit and I took the opportunity to rearrange everything. Unexpectedly, the bus driver yelled at me. At first, I wondered why until I realized she was trying to tell me to get on past. Erroneously, she thought it was fine for me to go and that I might be endangering myself in some way. After a couple of exchanges, I shrugged, shouldered the bike and walked past. Better to simply avoid conflict than to attempt to make a point that wouldn't be appreciated by anyone present. I think the driver was trying to be nice. Or encouraging. Who knows.

THEN, after this GRUELING morning commute, in contrast to the last week or so of half days and half vacation days, it transpired that I had to work an ENTIRE 8 hour day. I thought my fingers were going to turn into "bony fingers." Life is tough (though tomorrow, I'm taking the commenter advice from my last post and taking a full day off to make up for today). Full days are a situation not to be encouraged, at least when there's still 42 hours of "use it or lose it" vacation left.

Coffee Isn't Quite the Same When Syrup is Shorted

On the way home, as I often do, I stopped for coffee. Unfortunately, they were out of "sugar free mocha," so I was "shorted." THIS was the worst part of today's commute, though it was due to no ill intent by any person or corporation, whether part of the 1% or the 99%. SAD FACE!

To finish things off, I decided I needed a haircut and Buddy and I stopped by the haircut place next door. This is the same place I went with my wife's bike, and they allowed Buddy the same parking place of honor. While there, it occurred to me that "bike people" are less sensitive to prices of things like haircuts than are "car people." Somehow, a couple of extra bucks for a haircut seems a lot less important if you've got an extra half hour ride in the rain to save those couple of bucks than if you're simply burning a tenth of a gallon of gas. Maybe there's still hope for the human race...

Buddy Occupied this Spot Today. With no Kickstand, it Leaned Against the Wall. There was Some Sort of Aggie Propaganda There Today, Too.
For the Moment, Honk at Me if You Want to See the UW Huskies BEAT THE BAYLOR BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seen on the Internet

Sometimes, things you see on the Internet lead you to really cool items. Sometimes, they just lead you to things you thank your lucky stars do not wind up cluttering up your storage. I just got led to doing a "product some other person should review."

Case in point - WINTER TRACTION
Living in North Texas, winter traction is an occasional concern. It is occasional enough that bike stores around here don't carry much of anything to help cyclists deal with it. Studded tires are not really practical since you'd only get to use them a half dozen days at most and they'd be dry rotted LONG before they got any serious wear. Still, I keep my eyes open in the ever-present search to open the commute envelope just that last little bit to allow rides on those few days that eluded me last year. Slick ice. Conveniently, "bike commuters" just posted an article about bicycle tire chains. With a little bit of investigation, I quickly concluded they were not only awfully spendy for the product in question ($85-$95), but wouldn't fit my bike even if money were no object.

Kool Stop Makes Tire Chains in Addition to Brake Pads!

BUT, that got the Internet searching underway. Before long, I discovered that this "slipnot" item was not the first bicycle tire chain, and, in fact, Kool Stop makes or made such a product. I have no idea how much these puppies cost, and whether you need to call Kool Stop and tell them "Vito sent me," but they MIGHT work. Somehow, if I thought they were a mainstream solution, Kool Stop would at least mention their availability. Still, they are a real product, made by a real company, and "Icebike" talks about them here.

A Working Tire (or Tyre) Spray Would be Nice on Days Such as This

BUT, that led to MORE Internet searching and THAT led to a product that sounded almost too good to be true. It is called "Tyre Grip," with a close relative called "Shoe Grip." EUREKA!

Well, you know what they say about things that sound too good to be true, even if you DO read about them on the Internet. I saw one review of "Tyre Grip" on Amazon and it was positive, or at least the reviewer said it "seemed" to work. So I dug a little further, to see if anyone had tried it on a bike. Sure enough, I found a review here. Instantly, my enthusiasm began to abate. The reviewer had a theory that bikes are too light for the product to be very effective. Hmm, perhaps "Shoe Grip" might be better for bikes. After all, pedestrians are a LOT lighter than cars! So I looked a little further. There were no reviews of "Shoe Grip" on Amazon, but I did find that the American mass media still has faint sparks of investigative spunk and there was a review of "Shoe Grip" here. They even gave the manufacturer a chance to rebut their findings. Which tells you how well these reporters thought it worked.

NOW, some of you might go read these reviews. I think, however, that I don't have a strong need for something that will probably gum up my bike mechanicals and that I can find more economical wasp torches. STILL, loyal reader, if someone with whom I have had past contact (employees of "Tyre Grip" and their families are not eligible) wishes to try this stuff, I'd LOVE to hear your experiences. Perhaps one of our Canadian cousins? Just the name "Tyre" should make you feel all squishy and Commonwealthy even if you lot DO spell "tire" correctly, unlike all those "ou" words. HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO BE A REAL CYCLING PIONEER!!!!!!!!!

Sadly, down here, the search for the perfect ice solution continues. My knobby tires are ready and perhaps I'll have better footwear this winter as well...

First View of Fall Texas Color

Vibrant Fall Color!

Rantwick, here, threw down a gauntlet. Luckily, we Texians were ready. Instead of the color, shown here (looking the same yesterday as when shot for the original post), we've got REAL Fall color; shown below. Y'all, COME AND TAKE IT!

North Texas Fall Color, Shot Yesterday

MORE North Texas SARAT Color, Shot Yesterday

Typical Current North Texas Fall Color

Learning Day

Rain Outfit Got Well Used this Morning - No Snow, Despite Record Cold

 North Texas has been in a drought. A SERIOUS drought. Since February, there've been only two days when the roads were even wet, and it wasn't raining either of those mornings. Our last REAL precipitation was the snow back in February. Shown at left.

Today, I got a little opportunity to do some wet weather learning on an unseasonably cold day. Usually, when it's wet around here, it is fairly warm as well. It might not have been cold by northern standards, but a low of 44F in May will have to do around here. Depending on one's location,  it rained between a half inch and three times that amount.  What's more, the lightning was pretty well gone locally before it came time to depart for work. It was a good test. Lots of rain and no electricity.

Yellow Duct Tape Kept the Water Out. Other Colors Would Probably Work, Too

What it meant is that I got to try some stuff out. Well, some things worked well and some worked less well. First off, I decided to try out my "Costco Court Classic" shoes rather than cycling shoes. This is an option because of my hybrid pedals. My cycling shoes get sopping wet if you simply LOOK at them the wrong way. The Costco shoes were considerably more waterproof. They were not waterproof enough to make it all the way to work without getting real wet, but certainly enough to make it three or four miles. Still, I was kind of wishing I'd simply put on the polypropelene booties before I'd left, though sometimes science calls for sacrifices. Luckily enough, I brought along an extra set of socks so I didn't have to clump around at work all day with wet feet. I considered using the booties in between the socks and the shoes to keep my "at work" socks dry for the ride home, but the shoes dried just enough that I elected to ride home sans booties.

Costco Court Classic Shoes DO Get Soggy After a While

Likewise, To ward off wet hands, I wore my heavy winter gloves. They got thoroughly wet and were still wet when it came time to return home, though they did keep things warm even when wet. My regular full finger gloves were warm enough for the trip home, but I'll have to consider ways to keep my hands dry. If it's cold enough to care. Hands dry out quickly.

Heavy Gloves are Warm Even After They Get Wet

I elected not to wear goggles today. I figured that the rain and cold would result in lots of fogging, while going bare-eyed would be simple and wet-friendly. I don't know if I made a good choice or not. It's a problem we often faced skiing. Next time, I'll at least bring the goggles along. One thing that worked well was using a heavy plastic bag to cover the saddle at work and using a grocery bag to tie that in place. Double bagging worked well, and the heavy bag also keeps the stuff in the trunk bag dry.

Blue Booties Should Help Keep Feet Dry

SPEAKING of next time it rains hard, I'll make some adapations. First, I'll skip the "Costco soak test" and simply use the cute, blue booties. Second, I'll bring the goggles along so I can try "with" versus "without." Third, I may try out my "new and improved" rain pants which have never before gotten used. The H2O rain pants are just a bit too delicate for real cycling. Their jacket is fine and its hood is really convenient. Finally, I think I'll bring more plastic bags to store stuff like the cycle computer and lights.

One OTHER thing - it WAS really cool watching all the drops of water flying all over on the way in to work. Perhaps I'll become more than "just a fair weather cyclist" yet...