Brian Rides a Bike

Kate and I went out to breakfast at the bagel place she from which she used to get breakfast some weekend mornings. It's too far for me to want to walk first thing in the morning, but by bike, it's just around the corner. I like this bike thing.

We also got a mirror for Kate, which she loves. I wear contacts when I need to see, but she wears glasses. And when you're wearing glasses, and you want to see peripherally, you're kinda out of luck. But with a mirror, you can make sure you look stylin' in your helmet while making sure there are no cars trying to kill you. It's the best of both worlds!


We took a short trip yesterday. We wanted it to be longer, but the fine mist in the air started to turn into a drizzle, so we cut it short. Here's where we went:


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Five Borough Bicycle Club

NYC Bicycle Laws

And a longish term goal:

Five Borough Bike Tour

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I wish I could figure out how to make these Google maps center where I want them to.

I found another bike route mapping site, but it doesn't seem to quite work right. I'll look more into it later.

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There are a lot of people in this city. Some are too trusting. Some are just plain scuzzbuckets.

I'm the former. Yesterday, I suffered due to the the actions of the latter.

Having put together Kate's bike the night before, we decided to take our bikes out to run some errands. CVS, Sports Authority, Stop & Shop. The route we chose was not too far, had plenty of rest stops, and had minimal traffic. It was a bit colder than we expected, but it wasn't too bad.

At the moment, we have just one lock between us, but that's plenty to get around both frames and a parking meter. No worries there. And it's a good lock--a U-lock made of solid steel, instead of more easily cut cable or chain. What we were too inexperienced and trusting to think of was that the seat is attached with a quick-release, so it can be taken off without tools. So we came out with our groceries to find 2 bikes and 1 seat.

We stopped by the Toys R Us across the street, and they display bicycle seats, but not bicycle seat posts. I'd have asked for help, but it was a toy store 5 days before Christmas. I'm dumb, but I'm not crazy.

So I'm going out now to the Modell's down the street to look for a replacement. On foot.

I may think about something like this:


Anyway, here's the route we took:


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What surprised me today was how much space cars were giving me. I mean, you hear so much about how drivers don't respect bicyclists, but I really feel like they were paying more attention to me on a bike than they do when I'm walking. But I am sticking to as low traffic roads as possible, so maybe they figure that if they have the space, they might as well give it.

I'm going to have to start bringing a camera. I found the world's most dilapidated dog run today (not to mention at least 2 or 3 lost gloves) and some pictures could be interesting.

The best thing ever: 180 ear warmers. When it's cold and/or really windy outside I get terrible earaches. I don't mind when the outsides of my ears are cold, but when the cold reaches in, the pain is excruciating. It's a big, dull pain that spreads from my eardrum down to my jaw with a goal to make my life as unpleasant as possible, and 180s completely prevent that from happening. I also tend to hate wearing hats, and I'm already wearing a helmet anyway, so that's especially annoying. The 180s fit right below the helmet line, and the chin straps hold them firmly in place. When I was out, I completely forgot that they were there.

They also make some with headphones built in, but I'm not that dumb.

Also fun: Kate's Christmas present came today, shortly after I got back. What did I get her? The matching women's version of the same bike. And as our helmets came from the same place, we're bound to be sickeningly cute riding together.

Here's today's route:


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So I went out for the first time today. I haven't owned a bike in at least 15 years, and I've never ridden anywhere with any sort of traffic. So I picked a route and a time I knew would have as few cars as possible. It wasn't too bad. But I do plan on staying as far from traffic as possible for some time.

Here I am getting ready. The helmet was free from a community medical center in Jackson Heights. Apparently they don't like dealing with head injuries. Lazy bums. But who can turn down free? And it came with a free tape measure (because they didn't want to spread head cooties from freeloader to freeloader) which has come in handy for rearranging furniture. I double-checked that the liquor cabinet nee computer armoire behind me would fit between the entertainment center and the wall with that very tape measure. Thanks, community health center in Jackson Heights! My precious brains and liquors are safer thanks to you. And thanks to Kate for finding it and dragging me down there. She's awesome.

Here's where I rode. According to Google, it's 1.5 miles, and it took me about 15 minutes. I really just wanted to get a feel for it and figure out what I have to remember and adjust. The main thing I need to learn is to downshift when slowing down. I forget all the time and so I'm forced to start again in high gear. Not fun. There are more stop signs and street lights around here than in New River.

All in all, I deem it a success. Now I just need to learn how to make Google Maps work better for me here...


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