Monday, December 17, 2007

Temps

Sweet temps all week long. Mostly 40s through Friday. That means I had better get some rides in. Over lunch is my goal. Unless of course the baby decides to come this week. We are due January 3rd, but we were told it could be any time now. I'm ready. I need a riding buddy. Someone to push me and someone to go on rides with.

I'm excited.

Friday, November 30, 2007

14F

It was 14F degrees outside when I got up this morning at 5:45. It was cold. I played basketball at Tech with a group of guys and I really wanted to ride my bike there. But given the time it was, the darkness, and the sheer cold, I opted to drive. I actually feel guilty because I even got out all of my things to ride. I was prepared. Once I stepped outside, brrrr, I grabbed the keys.

Other than that, I ran across another blog about life in Copenhagen. Like across the big body of water on the other side of the world. I loved this little post and hopefully you will to. Does anyone read this thing? Just curious. Email me at dclements@danspoke.com if you do.

Check out my website while your there. www.danspoke.com

Here is the article. It's long, but worth it. cycleliciousness.blogspot.com

A SIMPLE ALTERNATIVE
We do know that we see a simple alternative. An easier route. What if all those massers merely rode their bikes every day? In normal clothes, like normal people? Like the millions of citizens of Northern Europe.

What might happen?

Meet our protagonist - Mr. Motorist. He drives to and from work each day as he always has. Listening to the same radio station. Same route, with minor variations. It's what he does.

He is an average citizen in a car-based society. Like the vast majority, he is not an environmental activist and he never, ever will be.

Mr Motorist looks out of the windows of his car as he putters through traffic. What does he think when he sees a hard-core, lycra-clad, cyclist on a specialist bike speeding his/her way along the curb?

Mr Motorist in the morning traffic might think, "Hmm. I could ride my bike to work, too..."

He won't, however, see himself reflected in the image. He'll see a member of an often militant sub-culture. He'll see somebody he would normally label as an 'environmentalist' - not a positive label in many cultures. He'll see a person wearing an unofficial uniform - Mr Motorist has nothing in his closet that even closely resembles the gear on the cyclist - and he'll see a bike so far removed from any bike he has ever owned.

He'll realise that in order to ride his bike he would have to infiltrate a sub-culture populated by individuals very unlike himself. He would have to invest in gear and clothes. Worst of all, Mr Motorist would find himself 'making a statement' by riding.

Mr Motorist, like most people, doesn't want to make a statement. He just wants to live his life, not climb onto a platform and become a visible statement-maker. He knows the environment is an important issue. He knows the facts. But he is just Joe Average and always will be. He just thinks riding his bike to work would be nice, healthy and quicker than driving. But the idea is quickly dropped.


When Mr Motorist is stuck in traffic on the way home because of a bike protest/demonstration/celebration, he isn't going to be any closer to hopping on a bike. He will be pushed farther away from the thought than he ever was. Joe Average doesn't have much respect for this kind of activism. I wish he did, but he doesn't. He's just going to get pissed off.

THE GOOD METAPHOR

Now let's imagine Mr Motorist sitting in traffic and glancing out of the window. He watches a chap ride past. Briefcase strapped to the back pannier. Wearing a suit. Not flying along like he is out to break records, just riding steady. the only gear on him is clips on his trouser legs and, if you like, a helmet. Taking it easy, not challenging the motorized traffic, just working with it. The bike on which the man is sitting resembles the one in Mr Motorist's garage.

And then Mr Motorist sees a woman pass by him. On a cool 'sit up and beg' bike. Her briefcase in her basket, adorned with plastic flowers. The basket, not the briefcase. She is wearing a skirt and stylish shoes. Listening to her iPod. A good, steady pace.

Then, we dare to assume, Mr Motorist would think, "I wouldn't mind riding my bike to work. It's only 15 km. That guy looks like me. Same suit. Same bike. And that woman makes it look easy..."

Mr Motorist would instantly see his own reflection in these riders. He would realise that in order to ride to work he would only have to drag his bike out of the garage, invest in trouser leg clips and, if he likes, a helmet. In far less time than it takes him to drive to work, he would be ready to ride.

He wouldn't have to make a statement. He would just be another cyclist on his way to work. He would blend in. He would feel like he is doing something good for himself and for the planet. Without having to climb a soapbox to do so.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

2-Mile Challenge

You'll probably think this is weird, but I honestly have not made a less than 2 mile trip in the last week. Mostly because I have ether not been here or there has been no need. I haven't spent any money, gone anywhere, done anything. It's been freakin great. I did travel back to my home town but that is definately more than 2 miles. So, I guess I'm making this thing pretty easy. The bike is getting very lonely out in the shed and it's time to get it out. The only thing that's holding me back, other than the darkness, is the 100 mile an hour winds that have been blowing through here for the last 4 days. It sucks.

So, that's my update so far on the two mile challenge.

My brother-in-law went pheasant hunting this weekend and had a great time. Here is a pic that is not related to bicycles at all.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

It's about time!

Alright, so I have been on a slight hiatus (sp) for a while. Almost a month. In my defense, I have not had anything to write about. Now I do. I've seen the 2-mile challenge from Cliff Bar in quite a few different places. Bicycling magazine, on the web in various locations, among others. Today, I accepted it. I figured out that I can go almost anywhere I need to go in two miles or less.

My main issue at the moment with accepting the 2-mile challenge is that I have no way of carrying anything on my bike. Neither of my bikes have racks, trailers or any useful items. I have a frame of an older hardtail that I always wanted to turn into a singlespeed and I was going to load it up and make it a commuter/do-it-all type bike. However, I have not had the cash or the time to put it together. I can always use a backpack if I need to carry a small amount of stuff, which should be fine.

Now that I'm done complaining, I'm up for the challenge. I can do it. It's not that hard and I love riding bikes. I will try and post updates here often, weekly often. So here are the updates:

2 mile trips by

Bike: 0
Car: 0

Monday, October 15, 2007

New stuff

I included my flickr photos over there on the right. Weeeee check it out!

Monday, October 8, 2007

Monumental Challenge

My wife and I volunteered at the Monumental Challenge this weekend. It was formerly the Rushmore Marathon. We passed out water and some other sources of energy for the runners. Everyone did a wonderful job.

I found a site online today that scores your walk score. The walk score is a score based on walkable distances to stores, food places, etc... what's yours? Mine is 65.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

I'm sure of it...

Something is wrong with my knee. I tried to go for a run with my dog this morning and I made it about 6 blocks and I was pretty sure my knee was going to fall off. Not cool. I guess that's why I took up cycling, it's much easier on my knees. It does make me sad though because I was a runner long before I was a cyclist. Gotta go.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

World of Bikes!

Saw this on Snakebite's blog this morning. He got it from BikeHugger.com. I thought, how can I not post it too. The more people who see it; the better!

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Nothing

I received a sticker from Minuscar the other day. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do with it yet but I love it. Speaking of Minuscar, I'm headed to nascar with my parents this weekend in Kansas City. It doesn't exactly fit my style, but my parents like it and it's one of the few things we do together now days. It's going to be a long weeekend with alot of driving.

The MS150 was last weekend in the hills. I wish I would have been involved with it again but I just had so much stuff going on the last couple weeks that I had to take a weekend off. Next year I'll ride.

Everyone is saying that it is century season. I really want to get a century under my belt this year. It might not be a formal one, but I need any sort of 100 mile ride. I did the MS150 last year so that was covered. Any ideas?

I found a link today that might be of interest for those biker types. http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifJim Langley.

I went for a ride the other night with my brother-in-law. We were more or less messing around doing things we probably shouldn't. He put his foot down and ended up spraining his ankle pretty bad. It was all black and blue and he's on crutches now.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Weekend

Went down to Colorado this last weekend. Hung out in Ft. Collins for a while and got jealous when I saw all the bike lanes. Drove on to Denver and again, bike lanes everywhere.

My wife and I went to the football game on Sunday, Broncos vs. Raiders. It was a great game.

I decided to ride my bike to work today for the first time in a while. It was a great ride. I should do it more often but we work at the same place so we get to car pool. I would get her to ride as well, but she's pregnat so there's no way.

Riding this morning did make me a bit sad though. It makes me realize how far Rapid City has to go to become a bike friendly city. There are few/if any bike lanes. I guess we have plenty of room for improvement.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Yuck

I feel like crap today. I think it's probably because I haven't been on my bicycle in days. So I rode around the park last night for 20 minutes... That's not enough. I think I am going to go for a nice hard ride tonight. I'm gonna push it.

Also, the Tour of Missouri is live today. I wish I would have been able to go and watch it. To see the Disco guys ride their last year would be pretty sweet. Oh well, I'll try for next year I guess.

I'll post tomorrow on my distance and time and how I did. I thought about commuting today on my bike but lost track of time. It wouldn't take very long but I have a ginormous hill that I have to climb to get to work and it takes some time.

until then...

Monday, September 10, 2007

Dakota 50

Shoot, I suppose it's been over a week since I rode the Dakota 50 and I am finally getting around to posting. It was a good ride and I thought I did much better than previous years. Found out it was only a few minutes better which definitely bummed me out a bit. Tons of people showed up, I recall hearing at least 100 more than '06.

I started out really strong the first 20 miles. I recall only walking one or two times up hills that are tough. The rest of the ride I'm going to blame on heat. It was hot and I was not conditioned for riding 50 miles on the mt bike. I ended at about 7 hours and 19 minutes. Next year I am going to do better.

I think I'm going to try and commute by bike the rest of the week. I usually ride with my wife to work, but I am needing more bike time. I miss my bike.

I want one of these to commute and run around with..
http://www.konaworld.com/bikes/2k7/SMOKE/index.html

Friday, August 31, 2007

Dakota 5-0

Well this weekend I will embark on my 3rd Dakota 5-0 mountain bike race/ride/tour. I race a little, ride a lot and tour even more. It's a fun time and I'm hoping I am able to beat my previous time of 7 hours 25 min. I should be able to. The riding has increased so much this year compared to years past. I just rode in the Gut Check 212 a couple weekends ago with 4 other guys and I have been on my mountain bike quite a few times since.



I'm hoping to ride in at about 6 hours 30 min meaning I'll cut almost 1 hour off my time from last year.

Here is a picture from me in the 2006 Dakota 5-0.



I'm crossing my fingers.

Small things I need to get done are move my cycle computer from my road bike over to the fat tire bike, true the wheels, adjust drivetrain and clean the Dawg up.

Well, I really do not have much to say for this being my first post and all. I will try and sum up the Dakota 5-0 on Monday after the race.