I got some sun today. Saying I got some sun is like saying Lake Ontario has some water in it. I was talking with Mark about the bike a couple of weeks ago. He suggested that we go for a ride some time. Today was the first of our rides. It was enjoyable enough that […]
Thirty days ago I brought my bike home. I’ve ridden about 26 of them. A lot has changed in these few days. First, I love my bike. It’s the perfect choice for me and the riding I do. I gets me where I’m going without any fuss. Despite my complaints about hills and headwinds, I […]
How about a non-bike entry for a change? On the last Wednesday of the month, the staff at Presbytery go out to lunch together. We usually go Dutch, and anyone whose birthday falls in that month gets to pick the venue. There are no April birthdays on the staff and no-one got around to picking […]
This bike commuting thing is certainly more expensive than it looked at first. I’d planned on the bike and bike accessories. I even factored-in Gore-Tex rainpants. What I didn’t plan on was how it changes my needs, and how my trusty, 11-year-old Beach Cities backpack no longer meets them. It’s unable to adapt to two […]
I snuck in a half-hour ride between the rains this evening. It stopped raining in the mid-afternoon and dried enough that I could ride the bike over to Starry Nites Café to listen to a friend play. She hauls her Yamaha keyboard in on Sundays to play concertos for the late-afternoon/early-evening crowd. I had a […]
The high point of my week was on Friday when I was riding the second leg of my twice-a-week triangular three-leg commute. It was our second over-70° day of the year, the sun was shining and that section of road is level and has a bike lane. And I had a tailwind. I was diggin’ […]
Two hours and 20 minutes riding yesterday along three trails and the city streets to get there and back, and I’m feeling pretty good about it. Being Easter Sunday, the streets were deserted as I rode downtown to pick up the Genesee River Downtown Trail at the Court Street Bridge. It was a little cool, […]
“Well, it’s obvious this isn’t working for you,” the sleep therapist told me. Halleluiah, I thought. She sees the light. “Next week we’ll get you scheduled for your next two nights in the lab and see which day of the week works best for [my next sleep therapist].” Yes. The madness will end soon. I […]
I realized a week ago that I’ve been thinking like a driver when contemplating my routes. This past week I began taking alternate routes that are less hilly and less heavily trafficked. I also checked-out a book, Take Your Bike: Family Rides in the Rochester Area by Rich and Sue Freeman, published by Footprint Press. […]
Today was the first day on the bike since Saturday. It rained heavily on Monday. Tuesday was cold and windy, and it snowed starting about an hour before the library closed. The snow continued into yesterday afternoon. I was kinda pissed that I had to take the bus again. It felt foreign, in fact. Then […]
where I’ve done business
You are currently browsing the Scenic Route archives for April, 2006.
Someday we’ll all look back on this, and plow right into a parked car.
Just as man evolved from four feet to two, some have evolved from four wheels to two.
Tourers and commuters are a lot alike. Both breeds usually choose a sturdy, yet no-nonsense bike, and both usually have to carry more than your usual OCP roadie. We take tips, tricks, and underground secret information from almost every other type of cyclist, chew it up, and spit out a form of cycling science that manifests itself as a fusion of both basic transportation and recreational riding all at once.—ax0n
You shouldn’t anthropomorphize bikes. They don’t like it when you do that—JustBrowsing
Somewhere on gayforums.net there’s a thread that goes “I just shaved my legs and got some tight lycra shorts. Do you think it would make look like a cyclist or not?”—From yet another “Does wearing lycra make me look gay?” thread on bikeforums.net
I don’t hate cars per se, but the lifestyle they encourage is as lethal and self-destructive as any drug.—Cosmoline
I guess for me it boiled down to a realization that a bike was the right tool for the job. Using a 3,000 pound vehicle move me and my briefcase 2.5 miles to work everyday was like using a steamroller to press my shirts—they'd be wrinkle free, but an iron would be a better choice.—chocula
Starve a terrorist—ride a bike to work. It’s not just good for the environment, it’s good for civilization.—NotAsFat
When all the gasoline runs out, the Priuses are going to be dead on the side of the road right beside the Hummers.
Who is more patriotic, the person who commutes to work on a bike, or the guy who slaps a US flag decal on his SUV that gets 12 miles per gallon?—Jim Caple (ESPN)
I’m on the odd side of now but the right side of history.—Woodog
What’s the point of a bike if you can only ride it on weekends and you can’t even carry anything with you?—madfiNch
I don’t ride to save the environment, auto fuel, money or even to get exercise. I ride because I enjoy it and as a consequence, I get the benefit of the other things.—Charles Vail
What I need is a tandem, a squash racquet and a daring & ruthless accomplice. Is anyone in?—Chris L
My two favorite things in life are libraries and bicycles. They both move people forward without wasting anything. The perfect day: riding a bike to the library.—Peter Golkin
If one is going to be hedonistic and NOT actually in Jamaica, well bicycles ain’t such a bad way to go.—PansyPalmetto
Skilled city cyclists move through traffic like gazelles through a field of fat cows.—JoeyBike
Biking isn’t a sport because anybody can do it. I can bike, you can bike. For goodness sakes, my mother can bike! You don’t see her on the cover of Sports Illustrated, do you?—jack002
Bicycles move with the flow of the Earth—Nikki Giovanni
Let’s have a moment of silence for all those Americans who are stuck in traffic on their way to the gym to ride the stationary bicycle—US Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)
Putting slicks on a mountain bike is like putting a dress on your best friend Bob. He still won’t look like a woman, and he won’t ride like one either.—Platypius
They’re just bikes. Ride ’em in the rain, salt, snow and crap to fully appreciate them.—Mike Zanconato
One of the best things about bicycle commuting is that it can mitigate the displeasure of having to go to work.—BikeSnobNYC
When you approach an intersection think of the cars as affectionate cats that are going to try to rub themselves against you.—BikeSnobNYC
It’s like bikes. Give yourself a budget. Then double it.—grscha
Rule 9: If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.—The Rules
I ride to work just because I enjoy it, but I keep getting told it’s for other reasons.—ThermionicScott
If I only rode my bicycle on nice days I wouldn't be a cyclist. I'd be just another old fat man with a bicycle hanging in his garage.—Dave Cutter
I took Brucew's advice ... Perfect!— ScooterDobs