Week 36 (July 27-31)

Summary:

Monday - Bicycle
Tuesday - Bicycle
Wednesday - Bicycle
Thursday - Bicycle
Friday - Bicycle

This week was my Mark Buehrle moment: five days of work, five days of round-trip bicycle commuting.

I completed the wheel building class I signed up for on Saturday, spent some time working on the Greenspeed over the weekend, and completed all 10 legs of the week's commute on it. I'll save my assessment of the bike's positive and less desirable attributes for another post though.

Here's what I had to do to get the Greenspeed ready to roll by Monday morning:

1. Build a wheel - I guess this wasn't completely necessary since I already had a wheel on it, but I really wanted to switch to an actual single-speed. A few hours at Hiawatha Cyclery and I checked this off the list.

2. Mount tire and tube on rim - This is normally a quick process, but I didn't know what size tires the frame would handle with the new rim so I had to put it together and see how much space I had. I'd prefer a 700Cx32 for the rear wheel, but I happened to have a larger tire (700Cx35) in the garage so I opted for economy and resourcefulness, sparing a trip to the bike shop. Eventually I'll switch to 32s, but it might not be until I replace the front wheel.

3. Widen rear drop-outs - The link to the pics below will illustrate this a little better than I can explain, but the new axle was wider than the previous one. This kept the wheel from sliding into proper position, so I borrowed a neighbor's hand file to create some space.

4. Size the chain - When I originally cut the chain, it was an appropriate size for the 15 teeth cog and cassette. But the new cog had 17 teeth, so there wasn't enough room on the chain for the new wheel. Again, I wanted to save a trip and $10 so I spliced in three new links from the original chain to lengthen it.

5. Other maintenance - I had gone without the rear fender for awhile so I put it back on to give the bike a more complete look. I also popped off the stem to grease it and the stem wedge (sorry, I forgot to take pics on this one). A new stem sometime soon probably wouldn't be a bad idea.

Check out these pics to see the Greenspeed itself, as well as some visuals of what I've just tried to explain (Click on the white dialog box thing in the bottom left hand corner to display captions, or just click on the pics themselves to go larger copies)

Item Most Frequently Left at Home by the Cycling Public Accountant

Survey says....

A belt.

I'm going to feel naked all day.

Week 35 (July 20-24)

Summary:

Monday - Bicycle
Tuesday - Car (AM & PM Carpool)
Wednesday - Bicycle
Thursday - Bicycle & Bus (PM)
Friday - Bicycle

Thursday was interesting. As soon as I grabbed my bike off the rack for the return trip, I noticed a completely flat front tire. Not a good sign, but I thought there was a possibility that it was merely a slow leak that I could still ride home on. I peered through the mass of people waiting for their buses and saw a guy with a tall bike coming in my direction, and figured it was worth a shot

(Note to reader: do an image search on Google for "tall bike" to see what I'm talking about).

I think Matt was a bit surprised that I approached him asking for a favor. Here I was, a regular working stiff wearing a button-up shirt, ironed pants, and a bicycle helmet while he was clad in tattered leather boots up to his calves, tattoos all over his arms, and his long dreaded hair flowing freely.

Nevertheless, he pulled a pump out of his messenger bag, and when the slow leak theory was disproved, he produced a patch kit and wrench as well. He even did the work of patching the leak while I watched and made small talk.

With the wheel back on, I began the job of re-inflating the tire and got a little overzealous for a firmness and ended up popping the tube. Regardless, I thanked Matt profusely for his help and threw the bike on the bus to get home.

It might seem like it was all for naught, but I was actually glad to have run into Matt. I hope I see him again downtown and am somehow able to return the favor.

Overhead at the watercooler

A random, somewhat accounting related comment I overheard a co-worker say awhile back:

"I have so much caffeine by 10 a.m. I could take a hostage."

Thinking about that still makes me laugh.

Week 34 (July 13-17), a Trucker Twin, and dubbing the Greenspeed

Summary:

Monday - no commute (vacation)
Tuesday - Car & LRT (AM Carpool)
Wednesday - Bicycle
Thursday - Bicycle
Friday - Bicycle

Cool weather prevailed last week, though a chance of showers on Tuesday scared me enough not to ride. It didn't rain, I felt like a fool, and now consider that it is perhaps time to buy a rain cape. This will enable me to make commuting decisions irrespective of the precipitation forecast, though I'll be surely be inviting the obligatory mockery and copious Russ Campbell comparisons from my wife.

Trucker Twin
On Wednesday I parked a block from my normal spot which brought me into contact with a nearly identical Long Haul Trucker. It wasn't there when I locked up in the morning, but in the afternoon I paused for a double take, delighted by the mirror image on an adjacent rack. It had the same Axiom rack that I used to have, and the owner even used a multiple lock method to thwart would-be bike thieves. It had better upgrades on the saddle (Brooks) and pedals, but otherwise it was the same. I only saw it once more that week on Thursday morning, so maybe he was blessed with an abbreviated work week.

Greenspeed
My parents visited this weekend, and with my dad's help I securely bolted my rear wheel onto the Sears 5 speed frame. I removed the derailleur months ago and make use of only one gear on the five speed cassette. I'm taking a wheel building class at Hiawatha Cyclery this Saturday, so Lord willing, I'll have a legitimate single speed cog installed soon. With those plans in place, the bike shall henceforth be known as "the Greenspeed." I think a formal christening ceremony is required, and perhaps our house guest this weekend would enjoy taking part smashing my CPA champagne over the stem of the bike.

The Greenspeed did survive an estimated 10 mile ride with my parents and Pati to the Guthrie, over the Stone Arch Bridge, through the edge of the U campus and back home via the Seward neighborhood. The Greenspeed performed well enough to earn commuting duties this week, so hopefully all goes well.

Week 33 (July 6 - 10)

Summary:

Monday - Bicycle
Tuesday - Car & Bicycle (AM Carpool)
Wednesday - Bicycle
Thursday - Bicycle
Friday - no commute (vacation)

Wednesday also included a round trip ride to Hopkins (~22 miles) for kickball and a ride to Lake Harriet (~14 miles) on Saturday.

Week 32 (June 29 - July 3) and an Assertion

Summary:

Monday - Bicycle
Tuesday - Bicycle
Wednesday - Car & Bicycle (AM carpool)
Thursday - Bicycle
Friday - Bicycle

I bought the Drifter (Surly Long Haul Trucker) a year ago this July, and have been tracking my commutes in a Google Doc since then. I'm in the assurance business and not usually the one making the assertions, but here goes:

For the one year period beginning July 1, 2008 and ending June 30, 2009, I saved a total of $364.75 riding a bicycle to work.

Here is the basic methodology that I used:

For every one-way trip taken via bicycle, I assumed savings of the equivalent of an applicable bus/light rail fare (rush hour, non-rush hour, downtown zone fare, etc). This is the alternative for me since I rarely drive by myself if I'm going to the office. Someone with a regular commute involving parking expenses would save significantly more.

Resources:

A visual representation of my commutes:


Underlying data:
Google Doc Tracking Spreadsheet

I'd be interested to know if this seems like more or less savings than you'd expect from a year's worth of bicycle commuting?

Week 30 & 31 (June 15-19, 22-26)

Summary:

Week 30
Monday - Car & Bicycle (AM Carpool)
Tuesday - Car & Bicycle (AM Carpool)
Wednesday - Bicyle
Thursday - Bicycle
Friday - LRT & Car (PM Carpool)

Week 31
Monday - Car & Bicycle (AM Carpool)
Tuesday - Bicycle
Wednesday - Car & Bicycle (AM Carpool)
Thursday - Car
Friday - Bicycle

Thursday was a bittersweet mix. I had to make a dental appointment and meet a client deadline, and couldn't work out the logistics to ride and still maximize my use of time. I made up for it that night as some fellow accountants and I cycled to St. Paul to take the Gateway Trail to Stillwater. The round-trip was just shy of 55 miles, and I was back at my front door by 10 p.m., took a shower, and slept like a baby.

I awoke bright and early Saturday morning for another lengthy ride to the Coon Rapids dam and back. We didn't have a cyclocomputer, and I'm not even sure I could trace the run on Googlemaps. The direct route comes in at 36 miles, but my estimate is a 40-45 miles, accounting for a detour through Victory Memorial Parkway and Theodore Wirth.

I need to keep up these longer rides to get ready for a bike trip to Duluth sometime later this summer.