Traffic Scenario

ORANGE HUMMER: "Do do doo.. Hmm, I'm going to turn left after the red hummer passes because I don't see anything behind it."

ORANGE HUMMER: "La la laa.. Hmm, looks like there is something behind that red hummer, because there is a bright white light coming from behind it.. probably a Light & Motion Stella 300 Dual or something.. I think I will wait to turn until I see what it is."

Second most likely cause of car/bike interaction (second to the cyclist riding the wrong way on the street).. driver turning LEFT into the cyclist.

The other day in the bike shop, we met a guy who has been riding around Mercer Island at night with his front light OFF to "preserve his night vision." Okay, guy, I'm sure that DOES improve YOUR night vision.. but not of those cars pulling out of driveways. The guy said he "turns his light back on when there are cars around." What, do you turn it on when you're on their HOOD? b'AAAAHH!!!

Juxtaposition

It was suggested that I juxtapose my two winters on bikes.. :)

Really, who said that winter was a bad time for bicycling? You just gotta adapt to your environment! Do you see a zip-zip road bike with 23mm tires in these pictures? NO, because those bikes are fun in the SUMMER. 

There's a bike for everything, there is.

A bike ride with my mom!

Today-- I went on a bike ride with my mom!

We rode along the Centennial Trail, a Rails to Trail in Snohomish County, WA. I was SO proud of my mom! We didn't go far or fast, but my mom did challenge herself-- that's what matters.

It's been a long, long time since my mom has been on a bike. Riding along the trail required her to practice balance, changing gears, braking/stopping and watching out for other users on the trail. When these things are unfamiliar, they can be overwhelming! She did all that and had a good time doing it. 

Oh, and that's a new GLOBE WOMEN'S VIENNA 2 that she's riding! I really like this bike, because too many comfort bikes are SO upright, the steering is wacky. This bike is upright enough, while maintaining stable steering. It also has a step-through frame, so it's easier for my mom to stop and start. We'll have to get a softer saddle, though. The one it comes with is too hard for even me to ride! I love the whole Globe line.. except that silly Roll and a Carmel wouldn't suit me.. but the Vienna, the Haul and the Live? AWESOME and AFFORDABLE!

I rode my foldy.

TransAmerica Q & A: How to Budget

click to enlarge

After completing a cross-country bicycle tour this summer, one common question I hear is: how to budget for a tour? It's a tough question to answer, because it depends on the kind of tour you want to ride. 

The above (abbreviated) chart is a colorful way to explain just SOME of the matrix of choices that lay before you. 

Our trip included a CX (cyclocross) and touring bike, fully loaded panniers, mostly camping and some homestays/parks/churches, and a mix of cooking, diner food and junk food, with the very occasional fancy food that we were treated to.

Another column that I could add would be 'People.' Do you choose to travel alone, with a friend, in a group or a paid tour? For our tour, it was just my friend and I. We split the cost of lodging, shared the weight of group gear and cooked meals together.

Another column that I could add would be 'Route.' Will you ride an established route and purchase the maps for it? Or will you purchase state maps and look for the skinniest lines on it? We traveled on a historic Adventure Cycling route, the TransAmerica Trail, established in 1976. Our Adventure Cycling maps included information specifically useful to touring-- such as an elevation profile, a list of camping/lodging contacts, bike shops, grocery stores and more.

Faced with so many ways that you could tour, just how DO you budget for a trip? This is my insight:

GEAR

You will need some sort of bicycle (or tricycle..or unicycle! yes, it's been done..), panniers if you plan to go that route, and all the rest of that 'STUFF.' Before you go buying a new wardrobe, though, take a look at what you already have, be creative, and see if it's useful to your trip. And before you go worrying about having the "perfect set up", save enough money so that you can buy a new saddle, a new shirt or a new.. cowboy hat.. during the trip. You'll likely change your mind about what is a "perfect" set up.

Budget: depends what ya' got and what ya' want! Make a list of what you need and include cost estimates.

BILLS

After acquiring the gear you need, you'll need to be able to leave your job (should you have one) and still pay the bills. This (health insurance, student loan, cell phone, credit card) was easily half of my trip expense. If you are dreaming wistfully of your summer tour, but don't know how to start: get out of whatever debt you can. That's step one. 

Budget: whatever monthly bills you have. 

FOOD 

How good is your self-discipline? Our trip started out with the best of intentions-- we would shop out of the grocery, cook our meals and zest them with a ridiculous mound of spices we carried around. The spices were surprisingly heavy. Then we learned to eat out of the gas station. I have eaten TWO ice cream Snickers bars, back to back, and then climbed a Montana-sized hill. Without throwing up. Yes, I am amazing. Anyhow, my point is that we probably ended up spending twice as much on food than we had anticipated. I have a sudden craving for donuts..

My guess: we strove for $10/day, but I probably landed closer to $20/day.

LODGING

So, you shouldn't really PLAN on getting free lodging during your trip, but we were fortunate to be graced with a lot of free lodging during our trip. Free lodging is a result of both skill and geography. While in Oregon, we snaked through so many state parks, that we often paid for camping. However, while in KANSAS.. there really isn't "camping," so the little towns we passed through often let us stay in the city park and shower at the city pool for free. Yeah, don't diss Kansas. On the whole, we ended up paying less for lodging than expected.

We only once paid for a hotel and most often camped, whether in a state park, a barn, a golf course, a back yard, a living room, a guest room, a city park, a fire station or a church.

My guess: Paid lodging probably averaged $12/night (doesn't include free lodging). I split that cost with Mia, my touring partner.

TRAVEL

Unless your route starts and ends at your front door, you will need to travel to your start and/or back home. This might be a car, plane, train or ferry-- but in whatever case, budget for it! In some cases, it is no small chunk of change.

Budget: however you need to get there.

MISC

A misc fund can be a trip-saver. It may be that lodging is TWICE as expensive, not half as expensive as you thought. Maybe your tire turns to shreds and you have to buy a new one. Maybe you saw a really cool cowboy hat and decided it would be a great idea to bring it with you for the rest of the trip. In whatever case, budget a little extra "just in case."

* * * *

So that's it! It's hard to come up with some hard numbers when advising someone to budget, because it totally depends on your riding style. But go ahead and get a pen and paper out and scratch out some numbers.

My main advice would be to give yourself a buffer once you've outlined a bare bones budget. You just don't know if you're going to need that extra ice cream Snickers bar every day, or a new tire, new saddle or even medical attention.

I once read a post written by an experienced touring cyclist who was encouraging the idea that a tour can be done on any budget if you're creative. I like this idea and support it. Except for the part where he didn't eat for a whole day because he was out of money. It was well-intentioned, but sorry, that is one BAD IDEA. Please eat. And buffer your budget.

I Want to S240

An S240 ("Es-Two-Four-Oh") is a sub-24-hour bike trip, or bike camping. The term was coined by the folks at Rivendell-- so I will let them explain it:

Bike camping and bike touring are alike enough to require the same kind of gear, but bike touring emphasizes the journey, and you stop only so you can refresh yourself and do it again the next day. Bike camping emphasizes the destination and what you do once you get there, and you just happen to get there on a bike.                                  From www.rivbike.com

and

The shortness is key, and the concept is simple: You leave in the afternoon or evening in time to get to your camp while there's still enough light to set up the tent. Then you cook, eat, talk, go to bed, and ride home the next morning.                                                                     Article in Adventure Cycling, January 2007

S240's are brilliant! They require little planning and no vacation time. You can do it in any style. Go ultralight or bring the dutch oven-- it doesn't matter because it's only for a night!

I would like to set a goal to spend X amount of nights outside within the next year. I don't know how many to shoot for yet, but S240's are going to help me get there. Now it's time to research all the cool places I could go!

Have you been dreaming of a tour, but haven't gotten it off the ground yet? Have you thought about going on an S240?

Mountain Biking in the City

It's amazing to me that something THIS refreshing is available IN the city. This is St.Edward's State Park, in Kenmore, WA. 

To see what other trails are close to the Seattle/Western Washington area, go to EVERGREENMTB.ORG and check out the "Trail Info" section. There you can find user-created reviews and descriptions of local trails.

What kept me from venturing into mountain biking for so long is that I found it very strange to have to get in a CAR in order to go ride my BIKE. Why would I do that when I could hop on my road bike and leave from my front door?

Well, I no longer live in Walla Walla where it only took 5 minutes to get out of town and into solitude. Work, the grocery store and my friends were also a 5, 10, or maybe a 30 minute bike ride away. Now I live outside of the big city and work in it. I ride my bike for nearly an hour in order to ride a bus for another hour. Cars, buses, freeway traffic-- they have infiltrated my life. But instead of being sour about the whole situation, I can take advantage of it. On Wednesdays, I borrow the car. Handy things those cars. And on Wednesday mornings before work..  I get to swing by St.Ed's with my mountain bike. Yes, just swing by. It's on the way to work.

While I do look forward to someday living closer to work and riding my bike to work, the grocery and my friends' house..

I won't complain.

This is Byron!

Bike on the Bus

Morning Glow

Loading my bike onto the bus from Rebecca Jensen on Vimeo.

I have to admit, there was a time when loading my bike on the bus was intimidating. What if I take too long? How do I get it on there? Will it really stay on?

A: You won't, it's easy and YES.

All ya' do is: 

1).  pull the rack down (probably gotta squeeze the lever)

2). plop your bike in the wheel wells

3). tug on the spring-loaded thinger

4). and snug that down on top of your wheel, close to your brakes/frame (see picture in video)

I don't even have to take my panniers off! (So long as they're not loaded down too heavy). I do take my Light & Motion lights off, though. While they are very weather-proof, they're not cheap.

Soccer

What sports can do:

"..she is a very good soccer player. She works hard, listens to instruction, never quits and always gives her best. She's always trying to get better. She's aggressive, but plays within herself... I would like to have her tryout for soccer again... hopefully she has learned something about soccer and life." 

--Note from my soccer coach to my parents, 1997

Sign your kids up.

Nipping and Riding at the Armstrong Tract

A little before action..

..and after:

Really, the place needs a lot more lovin'. The Armstrong Tract of the Pilchuck Tree Farm (Arlington, WA) has a lot of great singletrack, but it's grown over to the point that it feels like a herd of cats are playing mouse with your shins. So my friend Jess and I went out there and snipped a little stretch. And then we discussed a weed whacker intervention.

And then we rode. 

You know, I like to think that these posts do more than over glorify my little adventures. In my last 5 mountain bike rides, I've taken 3 friends out on the trail for their first mtb ride or first in a long while. I like to think that my gushing about the wonders of mountain biking has a little to do with that.

Share the love!

Best Mountain Bike Ride Ever (SO FAR)

Today..

..today I started to feel like a "mountain biker." I started to find that rhythm. Ka-tump, ka-tumping over logs, relaxing the hands, scooting my butt way back on the saddle (and once on my tire.. hmm..). At one point I cleared an uphill root section to such surprise that the smile that shot to my face nearly bounced me off my bike as I burst with glee. And I got to work hard. As a beginner, it can, yes, be hard to work hard, because you're constantly stopping, remounting, and discovering the magic of hydraulic disc brakes (WHOAAAA!!--- oof!). But today I worked a section, then worked it back, worked a section, then worked it back. I may have been lost, but nevertheless, that's what brilliant about mountain biking: the same half-mile tread continues to entertain because you can always hit it better, smoother, faster.

I love mountain biking.

Commute by Bike & Thoughts on Comment Section Debates

I have a guest post over at Commute by Bike!

I wrote a basic maintenance article that also included information when parts should be replaced. When you buy a new bike at a bike shop, the sales person should inform you that your cables (that make your brakes and shifters work) will stretch out and need adjusting (and then offer a free tune-up). However, the bike purchasing process is so long, there usually isn't time to also bring up the other maintenance issues that will pop up in the future. My intent in writing this article was to address those parts of the bike that need regular replacement. If you know about these parts in advance, you can keep an eye on them and replace them timely. Unfortunately, for many-- they don't find out until the part is already worn out and has worn out other parts in the bike in the process. For instance, if brake pads aren't cleaned and/or replaced regularly, the rims on your wheel will wear down faster. To read the article, click HERE. 

The article was surprisingly hard to write and I still think that it could be done better. I tried to make the article brief, informative and not intimidating-- which was hard to do!

Something else that surprised me (well, not really) was the comments section. Here's how it went down (in my own words), though from another perspective, I acknowledge that it could be described differently:

Someone accused me of writing an article that DISCOURAGED new cyclists, because it suggested that people don't have the skills they need to ride a bike. He said my article focused on the negative, not the positive, and suggested lower-maintenance commuter bikes (internal gears, chain guards, etc) as the solution.

Then someone disagreed with him and said that the article was more about the "do it yourself" mentality, which is empowering. He also likes bikes that he can fix at home.

AND THEN, the other guy whipped out some statistics with links and everything! Because clearly, HIS bike is the way to go.

And then my eyes glazed over a little..

And then a mechanic chimed in as to what a commuter bike should be..

etc.

I don't take any of these comments personally, as clearly the conversation has become a tangent far away from my article. It is possible that this is simply a level-headed, polite debate for fun; but something bothers me about these conversations: the hot debates about what gear, bikes, practices are right/wrong/best/dumb. While on one hand, these conversations can be good-natured and lively... unfortunately, they often turn righteous, snobbish and angry. 

I have unsubscribed from bicycling blogs that go beyond celebrating something wonderful about a bicycle and go so far as to tell me that this bicycle is the only bicycle and all other bicycles and their riders are inferior and stupid.

Instead, the philosophy I subscribe to (pun intended), is touched on by John of the Cycling Spokane blog in THIS article. It's an appreciation of ALL THINGS BICYCLE. Sure, you've got your preferences. You've got things that work for YOU. But something else works for somebody else and THAT IS OKAY.

The secret mission of this blog is to prove just that. Follow this blog over time and you see posts on:

RACING (yes! In the much-ridiculed spandex! On carbon fiber no less!)

TOURING (wearing both spandex and loose clothing at the same time! On steel!)

COMMUTING (on an Xtracycle, a folding bike, a touring bike, an old mountain bike and more!)

MOUNTAIN BIKING (in wool and full suspension!)

So that's my message: ride and wear what works for YOU, because THAT is what is so special about bicycles-- they are as diverse as we are.

Peace.

Just Pokin' Around

Bushcraft Northwest

At the end of January, I will be taking a weekend-long workshop from Bushcraft Northwest. I have wanted to learn skills like these ever since I was a kid, so I'm very excited to finally follow through!

The Winter Workshop will include:

... fire building, navigation, knife techniques, traps, snares, food gathering, how to pack light and stay warm, etc. Safe use and importance of the ax during wintertime will be covered in depth. The emphasis of this workshop will be on how the core skills change and adapt with this beautiful yet unforgiving season. Full meal provided on Saturday night. Fresh stream water runs through site. We will have a large outfitter tent with woodstove for getting warm, drying clothes, and sleeping in for those interested. Please bring whatever food and camping items you'd like for your comfort during your stay. 

Hub Deep and a Good Ride

Today the puddles went hub deep. [GRIN.]

Which made it a good day to have a friend to laugh with.

I am pretty sure that it helps to scream "BONZAI!" before launching into such lagoons.

What to do with a wet January

Yeah, so it rains in Seattle. So what? In the winter, it looks like THIS:

I could get used to this.

Smell it

The water

and the trees

smell wonderful.

Foldy!

Today I had plans to meet up with my friend to go have a blast volunteering for the Washington Trails Association. I live quite north, she lives south and the work party was even souther. In order to make a carpool work, I needed to meet her farther south-- so I decided to catch a bus.

The bus stop is only a few miles away from my house.. and my friend didn't have a bike rack.. nor is leaving a bike at a trailhead very wise.. perfect solution? Folding bike. Plus, it's just fun.

Folding my Dahon Speed D7 at the bus stop from Rebecca Jensen on Vimeo.

BONUS! Here's a short video of our work party! (And yes, they are called "work PARTIES!")

WTA at Grand Ridge from Rebecca Jensen on Vimeo.

My bike and I

St.Edwards State Park

When I lived in Walla Walla, the lay of the land called for road cycling. Ride five minutes in any direction and you will find an abundance of quiet, rolling, wheat-lined country roads. If you like fishing your wheel on gravel, options multiply two-fold.

Now that I live in the greater Puget Sound area, the road cycling... well, it can be had. There are some quieter areas, bearing beautiful rides-- but you need to know where you're going. This is not a place where I'd "go get lost" because you're more likely to accidentally find a strip mall than find an abandoned barn.

So instead of trying to make Seattle road cycling as good as it is in Walla Walla, I am taking advantage of what Seattle does better than Walla Walla-- mountain biking. 

And wow, it does it good.

Wallace Falls

Bike Wash 2.0

Bike Wash 2.0 from Rebecca Jensen on Vimeo.

I recently made a video on how to thoroughly wash a bicycle. This is version 2.0 as applied to my, yes, NEW (Happy Birthday to ME!) mountain bike.

That's it! A bell!

A Jelly Bell! 

During the holiday season, people seem to shop not only for friends and family, but for themselves and their pets as well. I decided that my BICYCLE needed a Christmas present just as much as your cat.

And I found the perfect Christmas gift to my bicycle: a bicycle bell, for cheerful greetings on the bike path.

Unfortunately, most bells only fit a very thin bar, like a children's handle bar. I had to do some 'hacking' to get it to fit. Yes, there are some other bells on the market that would fit.. and 'classier' ones at that.. but I wanted THIS bell. The Jelly Bell. It's just the right kind of bell for this bike. 

This is the end product, mounted at the end of my drop bars near my shifter. I have my mirror mounted here on the other side, so I know that I don't mind having an accessory take up space here.

This is what used to be there! I ended up totally dismembering the plastic band.

And how did I do it?

I melted it off (and melted a hole for the zip tie) by heating up a screwdriver on the stove.

My dad's idea.

Love my dad.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

To you and your bicycles.