Cycling

Stop harrassing me…

It probably has happened to you… “Get out of the way, you #@$@”, “Get on the sidewalk” and my favorite, “Get a car!” Well, the L.A Council OKs a law to protect us from those who love to harass us verbally and physically:

The ordinance, which backers described as the toughest of its kind in the nation, makes it a crime for drivers to threaten cyclists verbally or physically, and allows victims of harassment to sue in civil court without waiting for the city to press criminal charges.

To read the entire article, click here: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bicycle-law-20110721,0,3219222.story

It seems like the City of Angels is on the right path to keep us cyclists on the safe side. Can’t wait for the “3-feet law” to pass.

Leaving the car at home

Being that I’m still hunting for a job, leaving the car at home has become more of a necessity than an option. SoCal gas prices are still high and riding my bike to most places saves me cash.

Since my daughters are now in Summer break, riding to a location such as a park or the local ice cream shop makes the ride more fun. One of the most useful bikes on my stable is my Diamond Back transporter with the Xtracycle FreeRadidcal kit. This bike allows me to transport my youngest daughter along with food, games, blankets and any other stuff needed for a picnic at the park.

I also happen to live close to the Fullerton Loop, so when we decided to take our little trip offroad, it was no problem. Both my girls and I enjoyed our little side adventure, although the offroad trip included some uphill riding, both girls soldiered on.

When we got back home, we were all pretty tired. We rewarded ourselves with some ice cream and some relaxing time at home. I’m pretty blessed to have girls that love the outdoors and are not afraid for a little adventure.

Riding the Coyote Creek Bikeway

Today I rode the Coyote Creek Bikeway towards Seal Beach. My ride started from my house and I entered the trail at Rosecrans Blvd.

The first few miles of the trail were nicely paved, all I heard was the humming of my bike tires. Then, all of the sudden I heard a flapping noise around the bottom bracket, it was my left shoe! One of the straps had become unglued:

Although it didn’t affect the performance of my pedaling, the noise was really annoying. I started to search the side of the bikeway for some type of string. Thankfully, I found an old balloon that still had the string attached. I quickly tied the unglued strap and went on my merry way.

The last 6 miles to the beach were quite a challenge, a nasty head wind accompanied me to the end of the trail. Not only that, the trail also became quite bumpy with a lot of small potholes.
The Coyote Creek Bikeway joins the San Gabriel River Trail about 4 miles away from the beach, these last 4 miles were the windiest, but I made it to the end of the trail.

I finally reached the beach, the weather was perfect, not too hot not too cold. I chilled out for about half hour before I headed back home.

That nasty head wind that I encountered on my way to the beach turned in to a pleasant tail wind. I was cranking along at an average of 20 mph. Love tail winds!

I enjoyed riding the Coyote Creek Bikeway, being 3.3 miles from my house is an awesome way to get to the beach without having to drive the car!

Simple guide to Bike Commuting: What to wear

What to wear while riding your bike to work is mostly an individual choice based on weather, style and practicality. I envy those who are able to ride to work with their work clothes on, having to change at work can be a pain sometimes.

Myself, I like practicality over style. I also tend to be a little “thrifty” on my choice of what to wear during my ride. Living in Southern California, I can get away with riding with shorts and short sleeve jerseys. I prefer mountain biking shorts or knickers over Lycra or jeans. I also like hi-viz cycling jerseys, I prefer the “house brands” (Pricepoint, Nashbar…) because they are cheaper. Here are links of clothing that we have reviewed in the past in BikeCommuters.com (including a cooling vest!)

Tops:
Faction Cycling Metro Flatlander Jersey
Shmaltz Brewing Co Micro Beer Jersey
Hoss Pony Polo shirt
Loeka Waterproof Shell Jacket

SWOBO Men’s Short Sleeve Merino Jersey
Arctic Heat Cooling vest
Zoic Namaste Hoodie

Bottoms:

Outlier Summer Shorts
Hoss Sienna plaid knickers
Zoic Damsel Skirt
Hoss Stallion Shorts
Bicycle Fixation Wool knickers

Shoes:

Simple Shoes Eco S

Keen Commuter Sandals
Sette Elite Carbon Road shoes

Again, what to wear is a very personal choice, I’ve seen riders wearing “skinny jeans”, regular jeans, denim shorts, sweats and full blown lycra kits. If it is comfortable for you, ride with it!

On my next installment I will address hygiene, the #1 reason (in my opinion) why people are reluctant to ride a bike to work.

Bike Geek musings of the Torker KB2′s 2 speed hub

I’ve been riding the Torker KB2 on certain errands and recreational rides and it has been a fantastic bike to use on those short trips. The heart of the Torker KB2 is its hub; a Sturmey Archer DUOMATIC Kick Shift 2-Speed hub. To switch gears, one simply back pedals until a clicking noise is heard, that is it.

Being a Bike Geek, I started to wonder about the hub’s gear ratios, gear gain and what not, in other words, does a 2 speed hub make a real difference? Let’s start with some quick measurements of the Torker KB2:

Wheel size with stock tires: 700X38
Crank Length: 170mm
Crank Chainring: 42T
Rear Sprocket: 22T

Although the Sturmey Archer SC2 hub’s specs are not on the Torker website, you can easily find a pdf with all the info on http://www.sturmey-archer.com/userfiles/manuals/S2C-Tech.pdf. So according to the PDF, the gear ratios of the Sturmey Archer SC2 are 1.0 (first gear) and 1.38 (second gear).

Now, using Sheldon Brown’s Gear calculator, we have the following measurements:

Gear Gain Ratios: First gear: 3.9, Second Gear:5.4
Gear Inches: First Gear: 52.2, Second Gear:72.0

OK, so these numbers may not mean much to you, how about something that we can really understand:

Gear Combination: First Gear: 42T X 22T, Second Gear:42T X 16T
MPH at 100 RPM: First Gear: 15.5mph, Second Gear:21.4mph

As you can seem, there is a big jump from first to second gear, in fact, the second gear combination is the same as a the Torker U-district.

I’ve learned to really like the 2-speed hub, my knees are quite thankful that I am able to start on an easier gear and it I can easily shift to second once I’m up to speed and really gain speed. I also like the first gear for those 4% to 6% climbs, it makes it so much easier. If you have the need for more speed, the Sturmey Archer website states that you can use 13T to 22T rear sprockets, but I would leave the 22T, Torker got it right with this size sprocket.

So for me, The Torker KB2′s Sturmey Archer SC2 hub is not just hype, but real functionality.