First Rides

Miles so far: 52

I've ridden four times this year. The first ride was only 2 miles, in what I later learned was 10 degree wind-chill. My ankles were numb when I got back.

The second was 4.5 miles. It was a gorgeous day, I had 90 minutes between meetings, and I decided to put on Sue's new computer. (Sue is my wife). As I got the computer on, Ben (my step son) told me he wanted to ride as well, so he got my old Randonee ready while I got my clothes on. Then Sue got home and she wanted to go. Once we hooked up the Burley (to Sue), got the grand-kids loaded and hit the road, I had about 25 minutes until my next meeting, so I rode with Sue, Annie, Mark and Ben to the park and then I returned right away. "Look honey, no hands!"

The third was in a pouring rainstorm. I figured rain was warmer than snow, so I spent an hour riding south to the State Park, then east to a property we own, then north home. That was 12 very wet miles, and I was very cold when I got back.

Finally, Don and I went on a real ride yesterday to Coloma. I took a "Myspace picture" right before I started, with ice floes in the background.

My bike is far more photogenic than I:

Don is my normal riding partner. We did about 1500 miles together last year. He did a few without me and vice versa, but he – along with his little brother – is the person I ride with the most.

Don is Sue's dad and 82 years old; he rides a Cannondale t2000. He lives about a mile from us. I usually don't get to see Don from the front; I usually see him like this:

There and back was about 33 miles, and we took three hours on the bike. We also spent a wonderful hour at Friendly's Tavern.

The ride is a little too short, but it's flat and starts at our door. Both of us showed up for spin the next day (Spin starts at 6am).

Equipment: Ortlieb Ultimte5 Classic Handlebar Bag-Medium

I really like having a handlebar bag. I keep my wallet, keys, phone, snacks -- anything I want handy while I'm riding. However, I'm not so coordinated I can answer the phone without stopping, but maybe someday. It works like a purse in that you have an easy-to-remove, easy to carry bag with your most liquid possessions, so you can take it in with you to a restaurant. The best part about it, though, is having a map holder. I realize that using maps today is "retro", and in fact I have a GPS unit which would also mount on this bar, but there are a variety of issues using GPS that I'll discuss in another post.

Ortlieb makes a durable, waterproof bag with plenty of room. I paid $80 for it, so it's not cheap. You can check the Ortlieb website for official volume, but you can hold a grown cat in there securely (or so I've.. um.. heard). The side notches are for a removable carry strap, but like every Ortlieb carry strap I've seen reviewed, it's pointless, and I don't use it. The bag you see here has about a half a season on it (1000 miles), including some very wet riding, and shows absolutely no signs of wear. The mount is extremely secure, using cables to connect the mount to the handlebars and stem. Moving the mount from one bike to another took me hours, and if I was going to do it again, I'd just buy a new mount for $20.

Removing the bag from the bike can be done with one hand, with practice, but I usually use two hands.

Ortlieb charges extra for a map holder ($18). It's a nice map holder, with lots of waterproof visible space. It holds your map securely, and it's easy to unfold. What's hard is getting the map in there in the first place -- it's got waterproof Velcro seals at the top and the plastic is thin and sticky. Once there it's safe, secure and easy to use -- until the next time you need to turn the page. Note that it snaps securely to the top of the bag.

The GPS holder did not meet the same standards that I've come to expect from Ortlieb. The first day I used my GPS in the holder one of the straps broke (see second picture below). As I don't mount the GPS to the top of my bag, it's not much of an issue. The batteries on my GPS don't last long to begin with, and it's not bright enough to see in direct sunlight, so I use my GPS to track where I've gone and if I get lost, determine where I am. The GPS holder does keep my gps dry.

I like the Ortlieb handlebar bag. I could use a smaller bag, but I love the map case, and having all my valuables in one, easy to take package.

Equipment: Spanninga Retroled Headlamp

Bikes are a fun way to get from point A to point B. They aren't useful -- at least to me -- if they can't be used when it's necessary to get from A to B. When I was a commuter, I'd leave before dawn most days, and often return after sunset during the winter. This means I had to have lights. Not only is this the law (you must have lights on vehicles when vision is impaired), it's also the only safe way to share the road with other vehicles. If you want to know why the government requires bikes be sold with useless reflectors, but be ridden with lights at night, well, you'll probably find the answer here.



I bought the Spanninga Retroled solely based on it's looks. It looks great on my bike. It's got one LED and uses two AA Alkaline batteries, but it's purported to last 600 hours. As a result, you wouldn't expect it to light a dark road at night, and it doesn't. It will let you be seen, and I can use enough ambient light, or go slowly enough, so that the amount of light isn't important . Sure, I'd love a generator system someday, but this is OK for now. I tried using rechargeable batteries, but the amount of light produced was drastically smaller, and with the low discharge rate, I stuck with the batteries that came with it.







I used a B&M Headlight mount to mount it to the fork crown; this way it would be below my handlebar bags and still be unobstructed. I used an old bolt to take up the space in the mount, and that worked well.







The Retroled is fragile. The first one arrived broken, and Velo-Orange, to their credit, immediately sent me a new one. That one arrived unscathed, but broke identically when I dropped it putting it on my bike. I used electrical tape, then shiny duct tape, to fix it.







The Retroled looks great and works adequately. I spent about $27 for the hardware, light and shipping. If I had a different criteria -- one other than looks -- I'd probably opt for a CATEYE or PLANETBIKE 1 watt LED system.

Equipment: Keen Commuter Sandals

Last year I returned to cycling, and I bought myself some new equipment. One of the best buys I made were the Keen Commuter Sandals -- I made it based on this review. The ones you see here are about a year old; they have 1700 biking miles and over a hundred hours in spin class. As you can see, they have SPD cleats and plenty of tread left:


Off the bike: I do not hike in them, but I do use them to and from spin class, and off the bike as necessary, and it's not a problem. The cleat will contact the ground in cement, but they are still comfortable for walking. It's probably best to be careful on hardwood floors. Cleaning is easy -- wear them in the shower or hose them off.

On the bike: This is where they shine -- as you might expect. They are stiff, and fit my feet well. I do not have to tighten them with the straps you see here, but that's available if they stretch. They are comfortable, and I just don't think about using another pair.

There is one drawback to these sandals, and that's at about 40 - 45 degrees F. My feet get numb until the day warms up. I don't wear socks -- I haven't worn socks in spin class or on the bike since I bought them. However, I may reconsider this policy when the temperature is 10 degrees with wind chill, as it was a few days ago.

These are -- for me -- perfect cycling shoes, and I wouldn't want anything else.