State of the Blog Address

Clearly, the State of the Blog is quite debilitated, and has been since before the turn of the year.

Last October, when I quit my job, I ceased to be bike-commuter, and became merely a rider. Obviously, the blog suffered.

In Jaunary, I got a new job, complete with a laughably trivial bike commute (barely more than four miles on Falls Road, round trip), and there’s just not much to write about. (Truth be told, not much really happened on the way between Towson and Bolton Hill, either!) The primary blog topics, for a town this size, are well-saturated. I would get crushed if I tried to compete with Baltimore Spokes for scoops on local cycling news. NBBB covers the “city bike plan” beat as well as anyone can, and there’s already at least a couple of local blogs working the “bikez-n” schtick. Also, I’m not one to shut down a good ride, just to take a picture, so photoblogging is out.

What to do, then?

Fortunately, I’ve come up with a new after-work riding plan, so miles are no longer a problem. I can actually get myself into a 100-mile-week pace, if I so choose. (Not that I ever kept such up for long, in the first place.) Since I’m no longer commuting, I’m not locked into one route. I can ride into the county, uptown, downtown, just about anywhere, really. Now that I can cover more territory, I have faith that our wacky little burg-by-the-bay will yield a vignette or two, every so often.

So, I’m just going to keep riding, and if something interesting happens during my next thousand miles, you’ll see it here!

Up Next (Eventually): The Missing Post; Beer Reports; RB-2 Reality Check.

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The final ten weeks: Two states, two bikes, 1000 miles.

Finally!

I racked up my 1000th mile of roadwork in December 2009, riding north from Encinitas, California on Pacific Coast Highway. I was on an old Murray mountain bike (no suspension) that my brother-in-law pulled out of his closet for the express purpose of helping me get to my goal. (Steverino, you get the final 1000-Mile Big Ups award for 2009! Thanks again, man.) It was definitely a great way to finish up, pedaling along on a nice, wide bike lane, stopping a couple of times to watch the waves caress the sandy beach.

Before that, the last time I was on the RB-2 was in mid-November riding from Lake Avenue to Fort McHenry, with just five miles to go before reaching 1000 miles. All I had to do was make it to the fort, turn around, and ride home, and I would have been all done. I have taken to calling this run “Lake-to-Fort ride.” It’s a good run that’s great for racking up a nice 20-mile chunk of city biking. Anyway, as luck would have it, my chain skipped off (again), right at the bridge on Fort Avenue, just before I was about to turn around at the fort. I stopped to fix it, only to find that my cassette a bit off-kilter. Slightly nonplussed, I jiggled the cassette a bit, and it came loose from my hub, spilling bearings all over the street. I didn’t know how to , so I stood there talking to the locals and fellow cyclists who had come over to see if I was OK. All this, with five miles to go! Frustrating.

In any event, I was fortunate to get a chance to salvage the thousand-mile mission in California, and now it’s time to figure out what comes next. A few weeks ago, I stated a new job in Hampden, just a couple of miles from my place. I’ll be biking to work all winter, because two miles is too far to walk, yet too close to drive or take he bus. I’ve switched over to the 2001 Gary Fisher hardtail MTB and it’s been going pretty well. But where are next thousand miles going to come from? What is there to shoot for? Not sure yet,  but I’ve got some vague ideas about after-work miles, and getting ready for some of the organized group rides later in the year.

For now, I guess I’ll just worry about keeping warm on the ride to work.

UP NEXT: State of the Blog Address! More Photos! Hack-a-Rack! Beer Reports!

Image Cred: Pamela Flowers

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Still here, still riding!

Lots to talk about, but not much time to talk about it!

Some quick bullets now, details and photos later:

• Broke some spokes.
• Got some lights!
• Finally stopped by BBW for spoke replacement and had a good experience. The BBW tech was excellent compared to REI tech.
• Quit my job, no more 20-mile commutes every weekday.
• Checked out drivetrain replacements: Shimano 105 group is $650! Tiagra is about $400. Craigslist to the rescue?
• Managed 60 miles riding, last week. Only 30 miles to go! I have an interview tomorrow, then it’s back on the road.
• While riding home from Fed Hill, I ran (rode?) across the Hopkins Cycling blogger, turns out he’s this guy!

Good talk, people. Gotta go!

Image cred: SlipperyBrick

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Very Bad News Dept.: Another cyclist felled by hit-and-run

From the article:

“A 47-year-old Glen Burnie man was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries after he was struck by a car while bicycling Sunday night on Crain Highway, an Anne Arundel County police spokesman said.”

Naturally, the article insinuates that the cyclist may have been at fault for the collision. Of course, we cannot surmise anything about the culpability of the driver, since he illegally left the scene of the accident.

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