"You've got something stuck in your spokes"

Yesterday, I picked up Fizz.

Twas a glorious day. I rode her back to base and began the enjoyable task of strapping and bolting accessories and gadgets to her.
I'm getting used to drop bars and the not-yet-tailored-to-me geometry. I hope to iron that out with a fitting with Adam next week.

The next day I went for a ride to see the new racks the Pirates have installed at PNC Park. I was stopped by a man who tried tell me that I had something stuck in my spokes. I explained it was intentional as well as explain what Yehuda Moon was. He introduced himself as an avid cyclist who hasn't been riding much recently due to a car-on-bike incident that left him with lingering concussion issues. He fawned over the bike (I mean, squatting next to it and giving a good look-over and everything) and we talked bike for a good 10 minutes while I tweeted my thanks to the Pirates for the new racks.

I also made sure to get some good shots of her leaning on stuff with a nice scenic background.

Friday evening brought me to the monthly Flock ride. I was reluctant to ride in a group being still wobbly on the new bike. I stopped at Thick to see if they could insert some spacers in my stem to raise it to a more comfortable level as a stop-gap measure before my fitting. Yes, at 30 minutes before closing time on a Friday, they gleefully accommodated me. My hands (which were in a fair amount of pain) felt a bit better, but Adam didn't like the angle of my saddle and adjusted it. I suspected I wouldn't make it a mile or so before my bits and pieces got angry. I was right. I stopped in Panther Hollow (new bike lanes!) to re-adjust it.

Sue was there and she snapped this shot:

The ride ended short for some reason. Odd. So, Marko and Yale and I tried to escort Sue back to her car, but we got separated in the Dead End that Saint Mary's cemetery is. My hands are killing me but I wasn't sorry to have gone, I did fine in a group even though I felt not entirely comfortable with the steering and braking.

Getting used to 26" tires and my brakes being in a different place: it'll take some time.

Brake adjustments and a rack of my own

I can't stop cycling, literally.

After the Critical Mass ride where we had tons of hill action, my brakes were significantly looser.


As the week progressed, the rear brakes became useless, I could squeeze the rear brakes and they were hitting the grip and leaving me unable to stop with the rear brakes alone.



The front brakes weren't much better; this was becoming a safety issue. I'd almost hit a car stopped in front of me at a light at the bottom of a hill because the brakes were shot. Not good.

Rear brakes before tightening

Front brakes before tightening

I was contemplating bringing it in to Thick to have them look at the brakes. That was money I'd rather save for a new bike and time I didn't have, frankly. I checked them myself, the pads weren't so worn down that they needed to be replaced. Maybe I'd just stretched the cables? I watched  a YouTube video on adjusting brakes.



Well, jeez, that looks simple enough!
So, I just tightened the cables myself!

Could this be any easier?

It just took 5 minutes.

After adjusting the cables: much better!

Later, I made a short trip back and forth to the baseball park. The brakes work great now. I also got my first chance to park at MY bike racks.

The heartbreak of saying goodbye and Admiral Fred

I decided that I would sell the Monster. I posted her to Craigslist and within a few hours a woman replied that she loved the bike and wanted to see it ASAP. I priced it fairly for a bike that had so many bells and whistles. It really is a gorgeous bike. Someone should be riding her.
The morning of the day the prospective buyer was to see it, I removed the distinctive purple chain that locked the seat and basket onto the bike. It was sinking in. I may never see the Monster again after tonight... and I became rather verklempt.

Later in the afternoon when she arrived, I learned that she'd just bought a car rack from another Craigslist posting so she could bring the Monster back home and she installed the rack onto her car right there in the parking lot. She told me that she'd recently been to Florida on vacation where she'd borrowed a bike and re-ignited her passion for cycling. She was very excited to be getting a nice, comfortable bike with all the stuff she wanted on a bike already added. She was also in love with the color coordination of everything, especially the yarn-bombed basket. She perked up when I told her the bike had a name.

She even purchased a purple helmet earlier in the day. 

Wow.
If this wasn't the perfect owner for My Monster, I don't know who is.

She was also delighted to let me take her photo with the bike that would now belong to her.

I'm so happy for them. *sniffle*

Afterwards, I went for a ride with Ruby and contemplated my (albeit temporary) existence as a one-bike-woman.

I headed over to Thick to see if they had a replacement seat for the computer I'd cracked when the bike fell a few weeks ago. Sure enough, they did and refused to charge me for it. I didn't feel so guilty taking it because I managed to find a half-off pair of bike shorts. Sweet. To make my feet happy too, I found a nice new toe ring at a shop a block away, I'd broken one recently and needed a replacement. I need to stop breaking stuff!

How NOT to lock your bike: 

When I returned to the bike, I discovered I'd made a fatal flaw in my locking technique.

Oooops.

Left for the South Side trail in a downpour. I encountered a cyclist coming in the opposite direction who was clearly enamored with the rain cape. It just makes some people smile. He sat up from his hunkered riding position to get a better look as he approached and with a gigantic smile, he saluted me.
Sheesh.
Yes, salute Admiral Fred in her dorky rain cape!

A faint rainbow appears above Homestead after the storm.

Passing by a ballpark full of fans cheering is so very, very odd to me. I'm supposed to be IN THERE with them!

I enjoyed a car-free Clemente Bridge.

Cop Corks Friday Flock, dualities and The Pedicab Races.

Friday started off with an early dismissal at work which meant I was free to ride all afternoon before Friday Flock. I met hubby for lunch and we ate outside at the Casino and I watched the cyclists on the RiverWalk and folks paddling about on the river go by.  I hate eating at the Casino, but he loves it. I loathe having to run the gauntlet of smoke to get to the buffet he set his sights on. He'll endure anything if it says 'all you can eat'.

Hubby and I went our separate ways and I went back to base with the intention of grabbing Ruby and being on my way, but leg cramps prevented that. I spent 45 minutes stretching, massaging and walking off horrible calf and foot cramps that had me in tears at one point. It's my own fault, I spent the past two days not drinking enough water and eating poorly. The cramps subsided finally and I was able to get over the the South Side and then back into town and taking the Strip/Polish Hill route to Oakland for the Flock of Cycles ride. I probably could have taken Panther Hollow, but I wasn't sure if I was able to ride up that hill. That hill looks like a doozy.

Friday Flock

I hit Oakland just at 5:45, grabbed some Afghan lamb and rice at Conflict Kitchen before heading over to Dippy where we assembled for a ride that ended up at a wonderful ice cream shoppe. In tow were Yale, Stu, Terry, Marko and many regulars. A few of them thought it novel that I wore a dress. I don't really see what's so remarkable about wearing a skirt or a dress on a bike.

A group of motorcyclists thought our group was picture-worthy and they hooted and waved to a fellow 'biker gang' as we rolled by them.
Our group even got a special corking near Homewood Cemetery/Frick Park by a police officer who turned on the light bar. That was awesome ².

The officer was thanked by every one of us, I think.

Parking all of our bikes in one block of Shadyside proved challenging. We got creative.

The cone I had didn't give me a roller-coaster blood sugar ride. That's the mark of good ice cream: not so much sugar, but lots of fat. Ah, milkfat goodness.

Upon exiting the shoppe, I realized I had never been in this part of the city on a bike. I would have to figure out how to get back. In. The. Dark. I didn't even know whether left or right would get me closer to Downtown. I was completely disoriented. I enlisted my phone's navigating app to guide me and it took me down Baum to Liberty and on to the Strip. Whew. Thank you, technology!
On the way there, I stopped in Bloomfield to remove my jacket and put on my reflective vest when a man came over to me after two girls (also wearing skirts, FWIW) on bikes had passed and told me he had wished they were wearing reflectives and lights like I was. I looked up and sure enough, the girls had become nearly invisible just half a block ahead of us. Ninja Chicks.

I felt twinges of thigh cramps coming back while riding through the Strip and I was thankful they didn't fully cramp up while I was trying to ride. I clearly need to take a day (or two) off to let my legs rest and re-hydrate myself.

Being the outsider

On my way past the ballpark, I felt out of place being outside the park while it was full of fans and much noise emanating from them. It was odd, but even more interesting was the dichotomies of the dim silence that was enveloping me where I was.... on a dark bridge, above a quiet river and no traffic around me and the noise from the far off cheering fans in a bright stadium that would wash over me in waves as some exciting play would rouse them in unison. It made me smile as I filled my senses with sound, light and breathed in deeply the smells of the river and our lush city.

Pedicab Races

I passed many pedicabs waiting for the game to end and for their fares to come pouring out of the park. I suddenly found myself in a rare moment where I was able to manage a burst of speed; this would be 16-17 MPH, if you're keeping score. My normal pace is the 10-11 MPH range. I zipped past a lumbering pedicab and the driver shouted up to me, "You're making me look bad!".  I smiled and gave a sorry-shrug back at him. Another pedicab had a fare of 3 in the back of his cycle-rickshaw and they decided it would make good sport to race their cab against me as we waited at a light. I gave them a good show of getting into a low-built-for-speed position and donning my best steely-eyed competitive glare before setting off at a speed just fast enough to over take the sluggish rickshaw.

Bruise mystery solved.

I've noticed a mysterious pattern of bruises on my right knee and I had trouble determining the cause.

Where are these coming from?

Oh, the shifter. *BONK*

They started after I moved the saddle forward. It doesn't hurt when I knee the shifter paddle when I dismount, but I guess I bruise easily in this spot and I'll have to put up with brown and purple spots all over one knee.


A wonderful day, 33 miles.
Coming up: several days of rest for my legs that were torn apart by muscle cramps.

Unlocked: Advocacy and Bus Driver Goodwill

Back in August of last year, I wrote to the President of the Pittsburgh Pirates to ask if more bike racks could be installed at PNC park.

So, I waited a few months (is 8 months enough time?) and sent a follow up email to the Ballpark President, who Mr Coonelly had CC'ed.

His first response didn't look promising...

Then this arrived in my inbox!!

W00t! Happy Dance! I cannot WAIT to see those things installed!

In an effort to create goodwill with Port Authority bus drivers (where there is a terrible discord between them and cyclists), I made a decision on a few occasions to communicate directly and politley with the driver while at a light. In this instance, I let the driver go ahead of me.

Bus is picking up/dropping off passengers

I pull up next to the bus.

I note that there's a line of parked cars ahead of her, she will need to get into my lane after this light.

If we both go when the light turns green, she may cut in front of me and kill me, or if I manage to get in front, I'm the pain in the ass cyclist who is slowing her route. No wins there.

I smile and ask her though her open window if she'd like to get ahead of me. She's delighted.

I wait and everyone wins! (except the driver of the car behind me: too bad, pal.)

The weather is looking good for Friday Flock and the office closes early: time to get out and ride!

Opening Day makes for new, old routines

Monday was Opening Day.
Baseball... one of my other passions.

The view from our seats

Opening Day is a Holiday in the US, and in colder climes it represents the return of Spring and the end of Winter. Thankfully we were blessed with a Home Opener. Sometimes the Home Opener is plagued by bad weather, but this year we were doubly blessed with a sun-drenched day. I got a burn on one side of my face and one ear.

I like to ride my bike to the Park, it's only 3 miles round trip, but being forced to walk those 3 miles that might cripple me for days vs an easy ride on the bike.
Walking 3 miles vs those same 3 miles on a bike are vastly different things. One will kill me, the other is a breeze.
Least year, I was using a different bike with no pannier.
Now, I have decisions to make: do I leave the pannier and basket on the bike? They'll be stolen or damaged if I leave them, or someone will make off with anything I leave in the pannier. Decision made: leave them off.

So, I have to strip the bike down whenever I go to a game. This will be a routine I don't like. Should I convert the pannier to a waterproof camera bag? Maybe I should get a new camera bag that fits on the bike? Maybe a backpack?   Arrrgh! Decisions!

I was perfectly happy with my basket/pannier/bag setup and now I need new routine(s) and setups for Game Days and non-Game Days... one for dry days and one for rainy days.


This will take planning and at least one new bag. I'll probably have all the kinks worked out by mid-September.

Antici..... pation!

There's so much anticipation in my life right now. I can hardly contain myself.
I'm still waiting for the Strip trail to open; the Ballpark is such a flurry of activity, I couldn't even roll through to see how the yard looked on Friday. I've been checking on the grass almost daily this week. It's been covered with tarp every time I've checked. I want so badly to see the colors on Opening Day: neon green of the field, the bright white of new baseball uniforms, the red white and blue of the bunting and the sea of black and gold baseball fans. I yearn for those crisp, bright colors after such a harsh, cold, grey winter.

My home away from home. Soon. Soon, I'll be inside.

Friday was a fantastic weather day. Everywhere I looked on my morning ride, there was a bike commuter. I was stopped at a light when another cyclist rolled up next to me. He greeted me enthusiastically and spoke of how wonderful the weather was. We smiled as we agreed that it was Spring that was upon us... finally ...and it was good. This interaction was special and unique to those on two wheels. You just don't get that sort of thing in a car. The complete stranger in the car next to you isn't going to roll down his window at 8AM and celebrate the arrival of Spring with you.

Vortex vs Pogies

The Allegheny river is frozen save a narrow route for barges.

I'm messing around with Photoshop's Photomerge Panorama feature again. I took these shots with the Nikon on Monday the 27th when it was about 16 degrees and very windy. The trails were once again impassable and even the streets were iffy in spots. I can only tolerate 30 minutes at those temps before I scamper back inside with my tail tucked between my legs.

Even Bill looks cold

I'm working on organizing my handlebar stuff. I got a Topeak bar extender with the hopes I could add the phone holder, blinky, rearview mirror and potentially a bottleholder, because I'm not coordinated enough to reach down on the frame to get a drink while the bike's in motion. I see other people performing this acrobatic feat and I'm in awe. I'd eat pavement if I tried that.



Tuesday, Pittsburgh woke up to another Polar Vortex. It's damned cold. Again. Yesterday's 16 degrees seems balmy.

It's warmer in a dark Northern Alaska than it is here when the sun is shining

I spent the latter part of the afternoon in our cold garage installing the cadence computer and the bar extender. For my sanity's sake, I should have left them to professionals. Eventually, I got the computer working and the handlebar gadgets arranged to my liking (for now).

My cheap ATV pogies arrived! Just in time for another cold day tomorrow!

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Classic-Accessories-QuadGear-ATV-Mitts/716428.uts

Pogies Update: Ugh. I'm glad I only spent $20 on them. I feel like my arms are lashed to the handlebars. This might be OK for long trips where one doesn't need to brake and shift constantly. These may be good for trails, not stop and go on the streets. They come up very far on my arms and it's difficult to pull my arms out of them. I don't like feeling tied to the bike. I could not use them today.