Summer Arrives

Riding home today, the thermometer on my bike computer claimed it was 113F. In the sun and on a dark road, it bumps things up compared to the shade. According to Weatherbug, it reached 106F. It didn't really SEEM that hot. Still, I suppose it is time to change the blog header. Those flowers have now given way to green foliage. Last summer, our hottest day was 110F. If things get that hot this year, I'll be ready to take my "foggy weather" route home. The "foggy weather" route has no fast, downhill stretches.

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.

Doubling Down

I Suspect Most of the Water in this Creek is from Irrigation Runoff in our Severe Drought

This has been a pretty toasty North Texas summer. We came in second all time in monthly 100+ days, we came in second all time in consecutive 100+ days, and we are currently second in annual 100+ days. Perhaps even worse, we've been setting records for "highest low" temperature.

Don't Forget Sunblock!

You can see the weariness in some of my fellow bloggers. They simply haven't been riding a whole lot. If I wasn't commuting, I'd be in much the same boat. Luckily, I've elected to double down on my commute and ride throughout and regardless of the weather. That decision has made this summer much more pleasant than it would have been otherwise, because hot weather riding really isn't all that bad if you get acclimated.

And, in truth, in North Texas we have some advantages over our northern brethren. If, for example, you are considering a mid winter commute in, say, Minneapolis, you have to make your "bike or car" decision right at the moment when the cold is at its worst. In Texas, on the other hand, on those days where it is really hot, you leave for the daily commute right when the day's weather is most pleasant. And then you are committed.

Still, that doesn't explain why I have ridden every day this summer, even when I got sick. I'm not sure I know myself other than, after a while, it partly becomes a matter of not letting the weather get you down and partly of moving further beyond the boundaries of "fair weather cycling." Maybe, my brain just got cooked and I've gotten befuddled. Anyway, it seems best to double down and finish the hot streak to its end.

As of today, we've had 62 days where it got to 100F or higher. The record, set in 1980, is 69. I think we're gonna fall short and hit another #2 spot.

Stopping for a Rest in the Shade is WONDERFUL When it is 105+ Out!

Recreating Sure is Prettier than Commuting, But the Commuters Have Their Rewards

Pondero and Rat Trap Press have recently made posts that extolled their dawn rides. Their posts are entirely accurate. Dawn IS the best time to ride lately in the DFW Metroplex. Their posts do, however, somewhat romaticize the glories of dawn. We commuters have to put up with somewhat more mundane photos, such as that shown below. Still, things are sometimes sweeter than their photographs. This marks the end of another low-stress commute. Well, other than my saddle is getting a bit worn.

Sunrise Over Highway 10 in Hurst, Texas, Looking Towards the East. Not nearly as Sweet as Pondero or Rat Trap.

OTOH, we commuters get to experience the GLORY of an unexpected shower such as occurred on Thursday. The photo below misses the sight of splashes covering the bonnet of the SUV to my left, but you can use your imagination and see the wetness. Such is a REAL pleasure when the low temperature is about 80. Sometimes, one has to ride every day to get the very best one's area has to offer...

Rain Was GLORIOUS On Thursday. We're #2 in the Heat Recordbooks So Far. Commuters DO Get Payback!

PS: The cough is getting better rapidly, which makes the remnants of our summer seem all the better. I look forward to getting my money's worth out of all that cold/rain gear I got at such a deep discount...

Close to Breaking

Honestly, I have not had a lot of problems with the commute during our hot streak that promises to tie the all-time record on Friday, with more forecast after that.

Friday made me nervous. It wasn't as hot as other days earlier in the week, but I felt bad. Might it be cumulative heat stress? As I progressed, I stopped at the coffee place halfway home to spread the ice water and AC break more evenly.

It wasn't until I got home that I noticed the sore throat and cough. Hmm, I don't recall heat stress causing such problems. To make the story shorter, I went to bed and pretty much stayed there all weekend. While I got no worse and certainly didn't die, the cough and chills are unpleasant for someone that rarely gets sick. My dear family did their part by bumping the thermostat up to 78. It felt like 48 to me, huddling under two blankets. Over the weekend, Chandra called to discuss some Bike Ed, and he was clearly concerned. I know my voice sounded bad.

This morning, the family begged me to drive to work. I considered it, but it has been quite a while since I've needed my parking pass and besides, if I was too sick to ride, should I go to work at all? So I went, resolving to be inspired by recent JRA "go slow" posts. Normally, I tend to ride more like Rantwick - Cat 6 racer. It worked OK on the way to work, though it really didn't slow me down all that much. I even got a text wondering if I made it in OK and I resisted the urge to reply "no habla ingles."

Then, after a fairly uneventful health day, it came time to go home. It was about 105F. While less pleasant than usual, things were tolerable until I arrived at the coffee store. Nausea! I think I really don't mind heat. At least half the trip isn't too hot. But heat and sick in combination is nasty! My stomach settled down pretty quickly and I was back to feeling chilled by the time I was done. Today was pretty close to a breaking point. As I rode, I wondered things like whether I was sweating enough. I took scant comfort from the observation from one of my coworkers that throwing up on a bike would be much easier than if it happened in a closed motor vehicle.

Still, my instinct was valid - if I'm too sick to ride, that is a message I should not ignore. I'll take it day by day, but on the way home, I'll take inspiration from JRA rather than Rantwick. Or I'll stay in bed. OTOH, my nickname is "the idiot that mom married."

Rediscovering Summer in the South

Last summer, I almost died. June 2010. I talked about it here. If I believe the medical types and the literature, the incident was exacerbated by cycle commuting in the hot Texas sun. You see, doctors think I experienced a pulmonary embolism due to deep vein thrombosis (DVT). For all I know, they were right. DVT, as it turns out, seems particularly likely in people that exercise hard in the heat, get themselves dehydrated and then sit. Like a commute cyclist in Texas with an office job.

Well, that could have prompted me to stop commuting in hot weather, but strangely it may have had just the opposite effect. I'm not really exactly sure why, but it started with a more organized approach to hydration. Soon, I concluded that the heat wasn't the enemy, at least not all by itself, and by August 2010 I rode to work 18 work days; at that time a new monthly high.

Just Beyond the Coffee is Free, Triple Filtered Ice Water!

This year saw an unseasonably hot June. July was worse. I would not be surprised if we broke records - including the all-time record for consecutive days over 100F. Still, this heat hasn't seemed bad at all, other than a couple of days, such as when I rediscovered the heating wind. What's happened to this Seattle boy?

ABANDON THE "FAIR WEATHER" MENTALITY
Well, actually, it is pretty simple. The first thing you have to do is get past the "fair weather cycling" thing. The first step to riding in the summer Texas heat is to simply get acclimated. Doing this, August 2010 was my most active cycling month of 2010, with 720 bike commute miles and the HH100, despite it being in the number 6 position for number of 100F days in August. You get riding in the heat regularly and it gets easier, assuming you take care of yourself. Compared to that, my new commute has been a snap, despite it being even hotter this year than it was in 2010.

HYDRATE
The second thing you have to do is hydrate. As Gail of LAB says, "hydrate, hydrate, hydrate." It is actually not hard to figure out how much you have to drink. First, simply weigh yourself on a good scale. Then go out and ride in the kind of hot conditions that prevail. Do NOT drink any fluids or take a potty break. Ride far enough to sweat a lot, but not so far that you are in any danger of heat exhaustion. Weigh yourself again in dry clothes that weigh the same as the ones you were in before the ride. The difference is how much fluid you are losing due to perspiration. I lose roughly a water bottle's worth per ten miles when it is really hot out. I think that when you are properly acclimated, you sweat easier and more, but I don't recall where I read that so don't quote me on it.

Gail Says "Hydrate Or I'll Punch Ya in the Nose!" Well, Actually, She's Much Nicer  Than That

REPLACE ELECTROLYTES
Hydration means more than simply drinking water. In addition to the water you lose, you are also losing electrolytes; mostly salt. If you merely drink water, you can actually dehydrate yourself more, at least in the short run, because your body wants to keep your salts and water in balance in your blood. Sports drinks brag about their electrolytes and such has made the Gatorade Empire. Unfortunately, most of these drinks are loaded with sugar and are NOT approved by Dr Atkins. What's more, you either mix on the go or you are limited to what you can easily carry - like one or two water bottles full. Fortunately, I have found a solution, thanks to Apertome, that seems to work well. They're sold in running stores, but I'm sure the manufacturer would not mind an occasional sale to a Texas commute cyclist and they didn't quiz me too much about my running when I snuck in to buy a bottle. I'm sure there are other solutions. I have seen medical recommendations that you do NOT simply take salt pills (though I usually don't see any valid reason why - perhaps it is because a lot of people get too much salt in their diet. On the other hand, a lot of people are not riding every day in 100F heat), but these electrolyte seem to work. I take one when I leave work or begin my ride, and then take another with each subsequent bottle of water. I found that the best approach is to take the pill and then drink to help it get into the blood as I lose fluid. During the 2010 Hotter 'N Hell 100, I think I took about five over the course of the day. It was a mild year. I'd have taken more if I'd needed more water. Compared to the 2009 event, I finished feeling better and with a lot less need to take potty stops. Perhaps they're placebos. If so, they're darn effective placebos.

TAKE A BREAK AND COOL DOWN
The final element is not to overdo the stretch of hot weather riding. Just as it is wise to take periodic breaks when working in the heat, it is wise to do the same when riding in the heat. Personally, though it is a personal foible, I prefer to stop at major coffee places that also serve triple filtered ice water. A drink of the hot coffee in AC comfort and I'm ready for another hour.

YOU WANT HOT? TAKE A SAUNA
Remember, you CAN do this if you don't have some underlying medical condition. Many people enjoy a dry sauna which can often run to 190F. The trick is to limit the continued exposure, keep your core temperature down, and keep your fluids up. North Texas has not gotten anywhere NEAR 190F, though there's still a lot of August left.

ONE PROBLEM
Well, a little over a week ago, when I stopped for coffee on the way home, I had a voicemail from my dad asking me to drive to work because it was too hot and he'd had a "premonition." It was 106F that day. Crimeny. Prompted by me, one of my co-workers yesterday timed how long it took his car to cool down to a decent temperature. It took 13 minutes, not counting all the burny burn metal pieces that were still really hot. Heck, I'd be over half way to the coffee shop by then! The REAL problem we've had around here lately is not the afternoon heat. After all, once at work, one has to come home somehow. The REAL problem is the mornings. It has been sapping my enthusiasm when I turn on the morning weather, only to hear all the places that are 90F. 90F at 6AM is somehow not natural...

Scirocco, Jaguar, Bike

Today, it hit 110F. While that may be an all-time record for the day in North Texas, it has a personal meaning to me. It is the hottest it has ever been since I first arrived in North Texas from Everett, Washington. I found it to be a teachable moment. It taught me about the scirocco. This is an effect that people from places like Arizona have experienced, but isn't discussed in polite meteorological company.

Scirocco
According to Wikipedia, the scirocco is a hot, fierce wind that blows out of Africa. It blows hot. Like a convection oven blows hot. It isn't something most people experience very often, but it drives people crazy - or worse. What's more, the power of a heating wind is something that is usually ignored in heat index values and the National Weather Service, where it talks about heat dangers, here, largely ignores the wind, saying only "strong winds, particularly with hot, dry air, can be extremely hazardous." Exactly the condition people experience in a scirocco.

Our Jaguar in 1979, Ready to Go Home

Jaguar
We first experienced the power of a heating wind in a Jaguar. Specifically, it was a 1971 Jaguar XKE Convertible. It was, I think, 1979 and my sweetheart and I decided to drive to Las Vegas. After an unspecified incident involving our Alfa Romeo, we thought the drive would be pleasant in the Jag, and proceeded east with the top down. Soon, we would learn. Somewhere east of Barstow, we discovered that the wind was not going to be our friend. A couple of miles later, we'd put the top UP to keep the wind away in the fierce darkness. We didn't put the top back down until we were in Las Vegas. That was my first experience.

Bike
Today, in a milder form, I experienced the power of a heating wind on my bike. Unlike a Jaguar convertible, there is no top to put up on a bike. Also unlike the long-ago drive to Las Vegas, the sun was contributing its power to the heating. I suggest reading here to find out more about wind heating. I must confess that it was distinctly unpleasant to feel a combined wind and sun temperature rise of 15 degrees or so on top of the basic 110F. While it wasn't nearly so dramatic as in a Jaguar at 70mph, a bike at 25mph in the sun is still a shock.

Wind Heating When it Gets Hot - From Zunis

Wrapup
Personally, I think I might have to change my routine home from work if it gets any hotter. Instead of stopping for hot coffee at the coffee store a mile from my home, I'll detour and stop at the one that is half way in between work and home. LOVE that free, triple filtered ice water! If, on the other hand, it gets over 115F, perhaps I'll detour to the gym and take a cooling shower on the ride home. Yeah, that sounds good, eh? OTOH, our all-time heat record at DFW is 113F. Right now, we've still got three degrees to go and we're running out of time before things start to cool down. In the meantime, I'd just as soon not combine high heat, low humidity, and a long descent down a hill in the sun very often...

Hot and Not So Hot

It's been a bit seasonably warm around here lately. Today, we hit 31 consecutive days where the high was 100F or higher. It also hit a record high for the day of 107. Since our streak continues and the forecast over the next week is for more of the same, the all-time 100F streak of 1980 looks vulnerable. Kowabunga!

HOT Brake Levers

Pondering things, I considered something that is hot on the bike, and something that is not so hot. First, the hot. Aluminum or steel brake levers can burn one's fingers if gloves are not present. Buddy has aluminum cross top levers, shown above.

ON THE OTHER HAND, on a day such as today, the finer points of carbon brake levers are truly appreciated. In this case, Buddy's main brake levers. It made me want to stop all the more, just to experience the cool-to-the-touch carbon levers. Just sayin'.

Carbon Levers are Cool to the Touch on a Day Such as Today

For anybody with any curiosity, I'll say right up front that I haven't driven my bike to work every day this month. I missed the 4th of July. The last time I drove to work was the the week after the picture at the bottom of this post.

This Picture Looks Pretty Sweet Just About Now!

Goin' for #2

In North Texas, the weather ruled out us equaling the all-time most days that hit 100F in a month - back on Canada Day. On July 1st, you see, it only got up to a paltry 98F. I'm sure it was that frozen wind coming down from the Arctic Circle.

Canada Day, the Last Time DFW Did NOT Hit 100F. Supports My Theories About the Frozen North

Today, we just managed to touch 100F, bumping our streak of consecutive 100F days up to 18.

Per the National Weather Service; released just 2 hours ago:

000
CDUS44 KFWD 192127
CLIDFW

CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
422 PM CDT TUE JUL 19 2011


...................................

...THE DALLAS FORT WORTH CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JULY 19 2011...
VALID AS OF 0400 PM LOCAL TIME.

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1971 TO 2000
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1898 TO 2011


WEATHER ITEM   OBSERVED TIME   RECORD YEAR NORMAL DEPARTURE LAST
                VALUE   (LST)  VALUE       VALUE  FROM      YEAR
                                                  NORMAL
..................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
 TODAY
  MAXIMUM        100    326 PM 107    1925  96      4       97
  MINIMUM         80    607 AM  68    1990  75      5       76
                                      1917
                                      1901
  AVERAGE         90

WE STILL GOT A SHOT AT BEING #2! While the 1980 perfect score of 31 100F days is out of reach, due to those Durn Canadians, we could catch up to 1998 when there were 28 days that hit 100F. WELL WITHIN REACH is the 1954 tally when we hit 100F 25 times.

AS IT STANDS, today, we are one day shy of moving into a tie for the #6 July of 100F or higher days.

I'm pacing myself. Today, I stayed inside the major coffee store while I drank my hot coffee on the way home. To atone, I told them "light on the ice" for the triple filtered ice water.

What's more, I'm PROUD of my fellow North Texas bloggers. While a few of them are wilting a bit under the seasonably warm heat, in contrast to last year, I've not heard ONE of them actually whine about the heat. They are NOT made of sugar candy!

LESS POSITIVE, I've not seen any other cyclists lately on my ride home. I suspect they're simply taking other routes or getting their bikes tuned up. Maybe some bike lanes will lure people out?

THURSDAY UPDATE - TIED FOR #5 With TEN DAYS TO GO!

Record Breaker?

It was pretty warm this morning. I've gotten pretty well acclimated this summer, so it didn't bother me too much. After all, low 80's isn't anything to get stressed out about in North Texas. This afternoon, it seemed a little hotter than normal. In fact, it was warm enough that I took a shot of the Cateye indicated temperature of 120F. I take those Cateye numbers with a grain of salt, knowing that some sun on the computer and a dark road can get it up above 110F with no trouble. Still, 120F seemed worthy of lugging out the camera and recording things. In reality, it fluctuated between 119F and 120F. I picked the higher number for the photo.

Halfway home, I decided I'd forgo the usual detour and stop for coffee and simply get home via the shortest available route. No biggie. Hot coffee on a hot afternoon might be nice, but it is hardly mandatory. When I got home, I noticed that "Weather Underground" claimed a high of 109F along my route. THAT got my attention because the hottest temperature I've experienced in Texas so far since 2003 was 109F. The "official" DFW high temperature was 105F compared to a record of 107F set back in 1956. The "official" DFW low was 83F compared to a previous record of 82F in 1998.

We'll see if today was a record breaker. It certainly felt warm enough for me, though hardly intolerable. I'm thinking I might want to look into a clamp-on water bottle holder for my wife's bike to maximize bike choices in this sort of weather.

Still, the days are getting shorter, so we better enjoy this while we can. I think this is gonna be a hot summer. Maybe not 1980, but right up there. So far, in July, our high was 100F or higher every day except for Canada Day. That means we'll not tie the all-time record for monthly days at 100 or higher. That record stands at 31 - set in 1980. Luckily for me, I didn't even imagine going to Texas THAT year...

That Cateye Really Wants Me to Feel Like I'm Tough!

UPDATE - From the NWS

000
SXUS74 KFWD 090645
RERDFW


RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORT WORTH TX
0145 AM CDT SAT JUL 9 2011
...RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE SET AT DALLAS FORT WORTH...
A RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 83 DEGREES WAS SET AT DALLAS FORT WORTH FOR JULY 8 2011. THE OLD RECORD WAS 82 DEGREES SET IN BOTH 1998 AND 1996.

Short on Summer

The picture at the top of this blog looks springlike; those trees are covered with flowers. However, those trees have long since shed their flowers and are decked in the mature leaves of summer.

I looked through my past photos and didn't really find an awful lot that shouted out SUMMER! A few I did find include:

Trinity River Rowing in July

Pond in North Fort Worth

Civil War Memorial, Bedford

Airmen Cheering a Cyclist on Outside Wichita Falls

Old Flag, Isn't Raggedy in Hurst

Water Truck for Gas Drilling in North Fort Worth

North Texas Sun Peeks Out

What says summer around North Texas to you? Have a Happy Independence Day.

Summer Around the Corner

In the lower right-hand corner of my Cateye computer, it displays what the unit thinks the temperature is. At the time this shot was taken, the actual temperature was 95F. Either way, it is a warning that summer will be here before we know it! Since it is still May, it may be a long, HOT one...

Cateye Thought it Was Over 100F. I Think it Was Overeager

Hot Flat

I imagine most cyclists, if a flat occurs on a hot day, a house or two before reaching home, thank their lucky stars and walk the bike into the house. On the other hand, when outbound on a long ride, they'll fix the tire. I'm no different than most in this regard.

However, where do various people draw the line between fixing a flat on the road and limping the bike home? Today, I got a flat on the rear tire (the one with about 6700 miles on the tire) about two miles from home on the way home. It was over 90F and the leak seemed slow enough that it was simply easier to pump up the tire, go a couple of blocks, and then pump it up some more. SOMEHOW, despite the periodic effort of using the mini pump, it seemed better than fixing the flat in the hot sun.

Maybe I've just gone soft...

A Bit of Effort Seemed to Beat Changing the Tire in the Hot Sun Today



Even Though Roadside Conditions Were Much Better Than in THIS Tire Change Photo



Spring Cleaning

Last weekend, it seemed that spring was in the air. Winter may be mild in North Texas, but that doesn't mean that things don't slip a little during the winter. With a big, fresh bottle of Eezox Cycle Tune-Up, a sunny day, the afternoon to myself, and a gallon of Simple Green, it seemed time to do a little bike spring cleaning.

Buddy Might Like to be Dirty, but it Also Likes Getting Cleaned Up

First, I cleaned up Buddy. While I haven't ridden Buddy to work much this winter, Buddy got taken exclusively on the worst days of the winter. Rain. Ice. Snow. I paid special attention to the minor damage, such as the scratches on the chain stay, and removing the failed chain catcher. While not shown in the photos, I also removed the water bottle. As located, it makes locking to the bike rack at work more difficult. I don't have an inside office door to park this bike any more ,so it'll have to get a little tougher. While still a very sweet ride, this bike will probably approach 10,000 miles this year, so it's no longer a precious item to be babied so much as it was two years ago.


The Paint Chips on the Chainstay are the Biggest Manifestation of My September Crash



Chain Catcher Broke. You Just Can't Rely on Unreinforced Plastic for Jobs Like This



After getting Buddy all cleaned and lubed, I did the same with my wife's bike. I rode it nearly a thousand miles last year with no more maintenance than chain lube. I went with Eezox for this chain as well. When I asked her when she'd last overhauled the bottom bracket, she replied "you're supposed to do that?"

Apparently, some more work is due on this 40 year-old Nishiki before too awfully long. Among other things, those "suicide levers" will be going and the ancient, plastic bar tape will get replaced by some excellent Fizik tape. I'm afraid to ask how old that chain is. All I can say is that the friction shifting works as well as one might ask for on the bike, so maybe there's been maintenance done on the bike she never knew about. The lock holder got removed after this photo and I'd love to replace the stem shifters with downtube shifters. Campy shifters would look wrong on this bike, but they shift so sweetly!

My Wife's Bike Also Got Some Attention

Drowning in Choice

Google Gives MILLIONS of Results

In my commute to Fort Worth Alliance Airport, I concluded the best approach to personal hygene was to take a shower at their excellent facilities upon my arrival and not bother with any shower before leaving home. For the sake of work storage convenience, I used a liquid "body wash" and elected to select "Dial" as a choice. I think I was influenced by the ad campaign I remembered from my childhood "Aren't you glad you use Dial, don't you wish everyone did?"

Anyway, it was the same price at the grocery store as pretty much every other brand. It worked well. I didn't need to bother with separate soap and shampoo, and I didn't need to worry about a bar of solid soap getting things all messed up in the locker or turning to goo in a soap holder.

The last day of my commute to Alliance, it ran out, which was quite convenient from a timing standpoint. Since then, it's been pretty cold and my new, short commute has made an alternate strategy attractive; namely taking a shower before leaving home and then doing light cleanup upon arrival at work. However, this IS North Texas and the frosty days of winter are coming to an end. On Friday, our high temperature was 82F. When it gets toasty here, it'll be 80F on the morning ride in, which will make it a lot more pleasant to simply return to the "take the morning shower at work" strategy. So, deciding to get more scientific about a choice, I checked the Internet. Google returned four million image results. Some of the photos looked spicier than others, but I concluded an attractive photo and an attractive product might well not coincide. So I checked reviews. "Epinions" has proved helpful sometimes in the past, but this time it gave me LOTS of choices. What's more, the choices varied dramatically in price. Why, I wondered, would Alberto Culver body wash be WORTH $99.99 at Amazon?


Either Men are Stinkier - or Maybe They're Not. Either Way, Not a Lot of Difference in Product Count

So, after experiencing total confusion, I found that my eldest daughter was off to the grocery store. I told her to get me the "best stuff I can use at work. I had the Dial last time, Epinions has 275 variants on Dial alone, there MUST be something better than what I got last time, but let's not spend a fortune to make a marketing guy rich." She nodded knowingly, and departed. The photo below shows what she brought back. Actually, it's exactly the same stuff I got the first time. While it worked great, with 275 choices, it seems unlikely that we picked the absolute best stuff the first time out. Still, there's something to be said for picking something that worked before. At least the cap didn't fatigue and fall off before the contents were used up and I never noticed any ill effects. Wise daughter...

Wait, Out of Millions of Choices, You Pick the Exact Same Stuff?

Enjoy the Chill While You Can

It May Not Seem Like it, but Summer is ON Its Way

Last week marked a seasonal milestone in the DFW area. Last week, you see, marked what is historically the coldest week of the year here. While we may still see some challenging weather in the weeks to come, ON AVERAGE, we’re on our way to those LONG HOT SUMMER DAYS. You know; the kinds of days that they grouse about (in a good-natured way) on blogs like this and this.

It also marked a milestone of a different sort. Last week marked the latest dawns of the year for the DFW area. Specifically, our latest dawn occurred at about 7:32AM. This is much later than early December when sunrise was at about 7:15. Even in late December, our sunrise was earlier than it was last week. Pleasantly, sunset is MUCH later than it was, occurring a full 28 minutes later than early December. That change is very noticeable. I no longer need to turn my lights on for the last part of my ride home.

January DFW Climatology from NOAA

I have quite a number of cold weather items I’ve not had the opportunity to test out this winter, when it’s been fairly mild. Items gathering dust so far, along with their “cycling specificity” are listed below.

If it Doesn't Get COLD SOON, All this Stuff Will Have to Wait a WHOLE 'NOTHER YEAR!

Winter is Almost Upon Us



Arwine Drive Foliage on December 20, 2010

Even here, in North Texas, we're finally getting past the peak of what passes for an extended fall color season. While some trees, such as the one above, retain full fall foliage, others such as the one below, look barren and wintry. Most of the oaks look dead, as oaks are prone to do each winter. Still, it's time to get past all this mild fall weather and get on to WINTER. OLD MAN WINTER. So far, we've only gotten below freezing less than a half dozen times and all that warm clothing and rain gear I stocked up on has been going to waste. It hit 80F today in some parts of the DFW Metroplex, though it never got above a chilly 78 where I was riding. Our visitors from Montreal are, I fear, getting spoiled. I have ridden to work more this December already than the two previous Decembers combined.

Good news, though. There's a chance of some good, cold drizzle on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Kowabunga, I can't believe I'm cheering at a chance of cold drizzle.


Arwine Drive Foliage on December 20, 2010. Three Doors South of the Top Photo



Odd Time



First Time this Fall to Work With Covered Knees and Wool Socks

Texas has two main seasons. There's summer, and EVERYONE knows about Texas summers. Less well known is that the wind blows hard from the south in summer. It blows that way most of the time. That's a headwind on the way home. Then, there's winter. In winter, the wind blows hard from the north. It comes straight from frigid Canadian arctic regions with nothing to slow it down other than a few strands of barbed wire somewhere in northern Oklahoma. That's a headwind on the way to work. As in the time of day it's cold even WITHOUT an arctic headwind.

Then, there's the time we're in at the moment. Those brief in-between moments when it can be cold in the morning, but very pleasant in the afternoon. The moments when I wear sweat pants, but still get ice water on the way home. The moments when I'm not wearing a jacket, but am wearing full finger gloves. The moments when its dark all the way to work, but light all the way home.

Winter's on its way. Dark winter. Dark, cold winter. Without even any place to snow ski much closer than Taos...

PS: The wind was out of the north today. Tomorrow morning, the forecast is that it'll dip into the 30's. They actually mentioned "Frost" in the weather forecast. That's 5C in French units.

Long Slow Slide

Sunset in North Texas. Soon, the Heat Will be Just a Fond Memory

Everyone around here seems to be complaining about the heat. I see it otherwise. During August, so far, I have only missed two opportunities to bike to work. The first was on the first work day, when it was forecast to hit 108F. As it turned out, it only reached 105 or 106. The second was on the day of Chipseal's trial. It simply wasn't practical to try and ride from Fort Worth Alliance Airport to Waxahachie and then sit in a courtroom. Somehow, the temperature never climbed over 106F and it rarely seemed as humid as the weather forecasters predicted.

HH100 is Next Saturday

Now, school is starting. My two oldest are back off to college and they'll be missed, though they'll both make us proud (we hope). There will be lots of confused people around any school. Six days later, I'll retire the road bike from its yearly commuting season after I ride in the Hotter 'N Hell 100. Right now, the forecast for it is for a high of a measly 95F. If the forecast holds, it'll be a full twelve to fourteen degrees cooler than most of the recent commutes. Rather than do another "Milder than Hell," I'll take the shortcut and see the aircraft on display at Sheppard AFB. Soon afterwards, things like full fingered gloves and goggles will become necessary. We're entering the long, slow slide into the depths of winter. I'd rather sweat a little, than deal with a single digit wind chill. And there's not even any place to go snow skiing around here. I'll miss August.
xx

I'm NOT Looking Forward to Digging These Out!

Long Way Home

Not All that Wear These Hats are Good Guys

Perhaps it wasn't a good idea, but Friday I decided to take a different route home that's a few miles longer than usual, and which I'd never taken before. Friday the 13th. 106F temperature - perhaps the hottest day of the year. Yup, things are getting boring. It didn't start out too auspiciously when I got hit about a mile from work. It reminded me that not ALL motorists are MY motorists. A rare few are rednecks in white pickups who'd be better off somewhere away from people. I was waiting on Heritage at Westport for the traffic to clear so I could make a right turn west on Westport when a coke can hit my arm, thanks to said rednecks. I wasn't "in their way" since I was waiting for them to pass. They just saw a victim that couldn't do anything back. The passenger was wearing a staw cowboy hat; hence the photo at left. They probably live somewhere in Haslet or points west. "Hardy har har, we hit that guy on the bike." I did manage to restrain myself from any seriously dramatic gestures or language, which made me feel better later. I was also impressed that getting hit didn't hurt nearly so much as I'd imagined. Perhaps it would have been different had the can been full or if it'd hit my head instead of my left arm. I think it also helped that I was stopped at the time, waiting for the arterial traffic to pass. Ironically, had I been a little more aggressive about turning on to Westport with a smaller traffic gap, they'd have had a much harder time hitting me even had they been so inclined rather than focusing on passing me. I shall have to reflect on that policy, though I think, on balance, that waiting for larger traffic gaps increases the cyclist's overall safety margin.

Being now in a slightly warmer frame of mind, I turned right onto west bound Westport and rode along. Before long, I was wondering if maybe I shouldn't have turned left and I pulled into a gravel drive to look at my map. A truck pulled up and waited, so I moseyed off to the left side of the drive and the driver waved and pulled into the drive. Such trucks are common around Alliance, seeming to be connected with the ubiquitous gas drilling in the area. Every tanker driver I've seen has been scrupulously careful and polite, so I started to feel a bit sweeter, even though I had indeed missed my turn.

Friendly Truck Driver at Alliance

Rather than continuing on for who knows how long before I could make a U turn, I shouldered the bike and crossed the median. Soon I was back on track.

Oops! I Think I Should Have Made a Left Turn

This back route home from Alliance really had some long, straight stretches with not a whole lot going on other than a couple of houses and very light traffic. It gave me time to gain some perspective.

The LONG Way Home Seemed Even Longer with a Straight Chipseal Road Traffic was not Light, it was Virtually Nonexistent

Reaching the turn back towards civilization, I wondered just how civilized we all want to be. Fort Worth includes helpful signs to all the housing developments. I imagine they do this to cut down on all the myriad developer signs that would probably otherwise be stuck all over the place.

Development Directions at the Fort Worth City Boundary

Soon, I was back on my regular route and I noticed that the Keller Lions Club was getting close to opening their carnival. Not quite open, but maybe the kids will want to visit over the weekend.

Keller Lion's Club Carnival Setup at FM1709 and Cindy

By this time, all the ice had melted in my water bottle and the water was beginning to warm up more quickly, so I took the opportunity to stop and refresh my bottle with triple filtered ice water. While sipping some hot coffee, so as to not freeze while in the air conditioned shop, I noticed sweat dripping off my do rag. Temperature was down to 104F by that time. It WAS a nice long way home. I don't think I'll ride that way often, but a little variety DOES spice up the trip. By the time I'd gotten home, I'd almost completedly forgotten about the rednecks in the white pickup.

Sweat Drips From the Do Rag. The Price of Wearing a Helmet on a North Texas August Afternoon