Category: cycling

Phoenix one of the Worst Towns in the USA

On By Rick McIn cycling, hiking, travelLeave a comment

My hiking week in Arizona did not work out nearly as well as hoped. You cannot get around without a personal vehicle in the SW — when will I learn?

I should have consulted Crow’s book in advance: The Worst Towns in the USA.

Phoenix he describes as the nation’s “sweatiest” city. AmTrak won’t stop here. There are barely enough backpackers to keep one small hostel open.

Phoenix really is a sprawling, one-story megalopolis that takes HOURS to commute.

Yet, despite global warming, people are still moving south and west in the USA:

map of USA

source

The highlight of my week in Arizona was biking and trail running in Phoenix.

get your Java fix on a bike

On By Rick McIn cycling, humour1 Comment

Just because I broke my hand last year riding a bike, carrying a Slurpee, doesn’t mean drinking hot coffee while riding is a bad idea

mornrushongrv.jpgMorning Rush Coffee Mug & Holder. Take away the spills and thrills of riding with coffee.

  • Stainless steel mug holder ring mounts to mountain bike or road bars.
  • Stainless steel commuter mug holds up to 16 oz. of coffee or tea. Slide button lid means you can open the cap and take a swig with one hand.
  • Mount is from Cat Eye, so in the evening you can replace it with a Cat Eye HL-500II headlight if you so desire.

    • Bike Coffee Holder

    (via Uncooped)

    Smart Cycle from Fisher-Price

    On By Rick McIn cycling, humourLeave a comment

    Engadget humorously sends up a “fitness” Christmas present:

    if you’re going to make children go through all the trouble of freakin’ exercise to obtain your sinister educational wares, we say you’ve gone too far. The new $100 Fisher-Price Smart Cycle … plugs directly into a television and allows its unwitting pupils to hop aboard the bike, fire away at the pedals, and attempt to steer into items on screen such as letters or numbers in an arcade-style racing game. Mattel even trotted out Richard Simmons to show off the wares

    richard-simmons-smart-cycle.jpg

    Smart Cycle from Fisher-Price corrupts our youth, must be stopped – Engadget

    Trek Soho – hybrid mountain road bike

    On By Rick McIn cycling, product endorsementsLeave a comment

    A friend of mine — who knows a lot about bikes — just ordered this one for commuting around town as I do.

    It’s not quite a hybrid, rather closer to a mountain bike.

    For serious transportation there are mountain bikes for trailes and road bikes for streets, however in the mixed pathways of a commute in the real world a more versatile bike is needed. Trek bicycles has expanded their line of bikes with their Urban lineup featuring this Trek Soho. Built specifically for city biking …

    trek_soho_3_quarter_view-400-400.jpg

    Trek Soho – ProductWiki, unbiased product reviews and information

    My own Kona Blast mountain bike is going great after 18 months. I’ve been pretty good about maintenance.

    dangerous NOT to ride your bike

    On By Rick McIn cycling, health & fitnessLeave a comment

    My bike is in the shop for a regular service warranty tune-up.

    And I’m at RISK while not sitting on that saddle. That’s what the statistics say:

    … bicyling is just about the safest activity you can do.

    2007-10-31_113555.jpg

    bikeautonm.jpg
    photo from Biking Toronto

    Carectomy notes that the chart is based per hour. If we look at the data per mile, cars in the U.S. start looking better. Ten drivers and passengers die per billion miles in a car; this number goes up to 100 for cyclists.

    However Grist points out also that riding a bike is actually safer than doing nothing at all.

    “Pedalling Health, an Australian study published in 1996, concluded that an hour of biking a day — normal for a regular bike commuter — prevents four times as much heart attack risk as it adds in collision risk. The iconoclastic British transport researcher Mayer Hillman did a study for the British Medical Association in 1992 reportedly showing that for every year of life lost to a bike crash, twenty years of life are gained from stress reduction, greater cardiovascular fitness, and improved mental health. As I’ve noted, the time you spend in moderate exercise is added to your life, with interest.”

    It’s More Dangerous NOT To Ride a Bike (TreeHugger)

    when will I bike a long distance trail?

    On By Rick McIn cyclingLeave a comment

    Next summer?

    The rails-to-trails adventures sound good. For example, the Kettle Valley Railway:

    … an abandoned railway bed that winds through south central British Columbia between Midway and Hope. It is after all a typical railway bed with grades that never exceed 2.2 %. But even the most radical mountain biker will grip the handle bars a little tighter crossing trestles hanging precariously on the sides of Myra Canyon. With countless trestles and tunnels, and environs ranging from cool mountain forests to Canada’s only pocket desert the 600 km route offers an endless diversity of experiences.

    KVR information

    460933325_6ef0307c3b.jpg
    source – flickr

    If my butt survives Kettle Valley, I might try part of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route:

    …The Great Divide Route is 2,500 miles of rough fire roads that cross summits of the Continental Divide 27 times, earning you over 200,000 feet in changed elevation. The entire trail stretches from Canada to Mexico. It will take an ordinary human 3 months to complete. But unlike any other transnational trail in North America you won’t be squeezed by cars as you ride from border to border. It’s a remote trail, in wilderness, with few amenities. Think of it as the Appalachian Trail for bicycles.

    great_divide_set.gif

    kk.org

    (via Get Outdoors – Six Car-Free Long Distance Bike )

    Adventure Racing 101 – what have I got myself into?

    On By Rick McIn cycling, gymnastics, health & fitness, hiking, kayaking, miscellaneousLeave a comment

    Bill, Warren and Elaine have done some team Adventure Races over the past few years.

    I’ve managed to avoid joining them.

    470090051_f3d91fc2ee.jpg
    Dundurn Navigation Marathon 2007 set – flickr – Warren Long

    But it seems I’ve made a commitment to start-up with a bunch of newbies (mostly gymnastics coaches) from Idaho. We’re already pencilling-in a “sprint” for 2008.

    A sprint is often 4 disciplines: mountain biking, trekking, kayaking and climbing over a total of 12-30 miles over inhospitable terrain. Races may include mystery challenges, such as archery, orienteering, Cauldron Crawl, Tyrolean Traverse, swimming, knot tying, rock wall climbing and puzzles.

    It’s a bit intimidating looking at the recommended training regime:

    Many of your races will start out with a run that turns into a hike or scramble, so you’d better be ready on all counts. Hiking and running muscles are very different, so you need to train both — and practicing scrambling (on as many different types of terrain as you can find, including wet, slippery stuff) is the key to gaining that competitive advantage on the roadies.

    Training:

    • For a race of 12 hours or less, you should follow a half marathon training plan, but do most of your runs on trails, if possible.
    • For a race of more than 12 hours, you should follow a full marathon training plan and use the same guidelines.
    • Start doing hill repeats (i.e. four to six sets of 80 percent effort on a hill that takes three to four minutes to run) and interval training (two-three-four-five minutes “on” with an equal amount of rest in the “off” phase) twice per week in the final month of training leading up to the race.

    Tips:

    • Race and train in trail running shoes versus regular road running shoes. (Better grip, more stability, fewer stone bruises and fewer blisters.)
    • Practice running/hiking with a 10-15 pound pack several times before your race, both for the strength benefits and the knowledge of your equipment (i.e. how are you going to get to your water? Food? Where is the most efficient place to store required gear for easy access? Does the pack grate you like cheese on your neck, back, arms?) …

    GOD! It goes on and on: Paddling, Navigation, Mountain Biking, Climbing: Active.com – Adventure racing 101: A quick-start guide

    Bottom line:

    8 Essential Elements of Human Synergy

    T Total commitment
    E Empathy and awareness of teammates
    A Adversity management
    M Mutual respect
    W “We” versus “I” thinking
    O Ownership of the project
    R Relinquishment of ego
    K Kinetic leadership

    Looks like FUN, at least.

    1061912414_f8551e9458.jpg
    source – flickr

    first thing to do – build trains

    On By Rick McIn cycling, economics, health & fitness, product complaints, product endorsementsLeave a comment

    I wish greenies would get more objective. The Treehugger blog rails at every indignity to the environment in a loud voice. But which green projects are highest priority?

    A bus is better than a personal vehicle, but BEST OF ALL are subways and commuter trains.

    I’ve never used the Moscow subway system, but have always heard it was great. Mexico City is a dream. You can get anywhere quickly and easily.

    Here are diagrams of the two excellent transportation systems:

    subways.gif

    from subway systems of the world – Fake is the new real

    Big cities singled out for terrible train service: Beijing, Toronto.
     (But Beijing is making big plans.)

    In my town we have the LRT (Light Rail Transit) and it is fantastic — IF you can get to and from the train by foot, bike or bus.

    The first thing I would do for the EARTH here is build more LRT capacity.

    Then improve the bike trails to get to the LRT stations.

    Everyone agrees, in theory. But when it comes to approving the capital cost of new train capacity, we get balkers. (Decision makers drive to work in big personal vehicles.)

    But trains really are the most cost effective transport:

    LRT cost efficiency improves dramatically as ridership increases. the Calgary, Alberta C-Train used many common light rail techniques to keep costs low, including minimizing underground and elevated trackage, sharing transit malls with buses, leasing rights-of-way from freight railroads, and combining LRT construction with freeway expansion. As a result, Calgary ranks toward the less expensive end of the scale with capital costs of around $24 million per mile

    However, Calgary’s LRT ridership is much higher than any comparable U.S. city at over 250,000 rides per weekday and as a result its efficiency of capital is also much higher. Its capital costs were ⅓ that of the San Diego system, a comparably sized one in the U.S., while its ridership is well over twice as high. Thus, Calgary’s capital cost per weekday rider is less than 1/6 that of San Diego. Its operating costs are also lower. A typical C-Train vehicle costs only $163 per hour to operate, and since it averages 600 passengers per operating hour, [18] Calgary Transit estimates that its LRT operating costs are only 27 cents per ride, versus $1.50 per ride on its buses.

    Cost – Wikipedia

    Needless to say, Calgary Transit charges riders C$2.25 for a ticket on either LRT or bus. We have plenty of buses driving around town empty.

    (via Treehugger)

    ride_d_wind_train.jpg

    Calgary Transit

    Lest I come off too enthusiastic about Calgary Transit, let me add I’ve found them arrogant, wasteful idiots for the most part. But they have done a good job with the LRT.

    cycling Utah’s White Rim Trail?

    On By Rick McIn cycling, travelLeave a comment

    I am SLIGHTLY tempted by this adventure:

    The White Rim Trail is Utah’s ultimate multi-day party trail. The trail is a 103-mile loop on jeep road through Canyonlands National Park. Most riders spend 4 days (3 nights at campgrounds) to ride this trail. (Three days = Buff. Two days = Monster. One day = Lunatic.)

    From above on the Island in the Sky I could look down on the White Rim road.

    white-rim.jpg

    Technically, this trail is easy. But the length (and a few stiff climbs) means you need to be in good condition to do the whole thing. You’ll need a support vehicle for food, water, camping gear, and bike parts. Campgrounds (with bathrooms) are spaced every few miles.

    You can ride the trail either direction. Most bikers ride clockwise, from the Schafer Trail around to the Green River, which tends to be easier. There are four big hills with over 1000 feet elevation gain, but one is downhill as you drop into the canyon the first day. A three-day trip gives you one major climb each day.

    White Rim Trail

    Here’s the start, dropping in from Canyonlands National Park on the Schafer Trail:

    schaeffer.jpg

    Perhaps … on another trip.

    This time I am off next to the Needles section of Canyonlands.