Monday, June 30, 2008

The morning commute...

I HATE crossing traffic. I don't see how people ride in traffic on a bike. Hopefully my confidence will build up over time. I was 2 inches from catching my left handlebar on a pole as came on the sidewalk from the street with too much speed. I feel like I'm going to get run over if I don't get across the street in less than 3 seconds...

Anywho, I'm at the office. Took a little longer because I stopped to help with an older gentleman that wiped out. The consensus among the lay was that he had a concussion based on a nice crack in his helmet (which would have been his head if he hadn't been wearing it) and dilated pupils.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Mission: Office and Back Completed

I left the office at 1:20 and was standing in the front office at the apt complex at 2:05. I walked up one of the streets instead of riding but pushing the bike kept the distance goin', official distance is 12.4 miles and total ride time was 1:20 which means it's about 40 minutes one way in my current condition. I would like to see that under 50 minutes, or 25 minutes one way. Then I'll be in direct competition with driving as far as commute time goes. I also rode back in the rain. Most of the trail in Reston is under high voltage lines and the sizzling / crackling makes me think about brain tumors and lightning strikes...

Today's summary:
It can be done and I can do it even if it isn't efficient to stick to streets with sidewalks.
Riding in the rain isn't bad at all.
Riding on pavement after a breif rain in the summer is miserable.
I'll have to keep some powerade at the office and initially plan on my commute taking 1 hour one way.
The office has a shower and lockers big enough to use clothes hangers.
Stuart with WFI thinks I'm a hoodlum who broke into the building and doesn't believe my company actually exists in the building... "Edge Media you say?"
I saw more people at the office building today then I do on weekdays...

And then there was a bike...


The Specialized Crosstrail Sport is now mine. Never being able to escape the desire for a mountain bike, the people at Specialized made this just for me. It looks like a mountain bike, it feels like a mountain bike, yet has greater on road performance (so says the bike shop) with a commuter frame. It's a "hybrid" bike. Front shocks with lockouts, 24 speed, 29" tires, on a 58 cm frame. There's no comparison to Uncle Ben's Trek I borrowed last summer.

Of course, as I knew going into this, it's never just the bike. I needed a helmet, computer, water bottle, and shorts came highly recommended. Suffering from the "do it right the first time" (which usually means bells and whistles in my head) I agreed with myself that I would buy the basics. With the exception of an insulated water bottle (I think I still have Ben's and I need to get that back to him) I got the most basic computer and helmet. The computer only counts time while the wheels are rolling which ended up being something I really like. As for the shorts... I'm trying to imagine myself in spandex. I think of guys I've seen with their garbage all smashed in spandex offering me the rare glimpse of what sculpture might have been like if Picasso gave it a go. I wasn't excited about the idea. Or the thought of how I would look in spandex period. It was bad, nothing good would come from this, but I asked, "Guys keep telling me to get padded shorts and to Vaseline my junk". Expecting a mixed reaction of maybe and some laughter I was responded to with a matter of fact "don't use vaseline we have better stuff and check out these shorts". Further discussion revealed that since I won't be doing 40+ miles a day I don't need to worry about chaffing but the shorts help on anything over 5 miles. I'm still skeptical because these shorts are $90. Told that I could return them with tags and no smell I took a pair. This is starting to be like snowboarding... everything from one brand and why do I like black?

So I'm sitting at the office, feeling like crap, smelling bad because I was too excited to go ride to remember to put deodorant on when I jumped out of the shower, and burning UP. It was 81, felt like 91 at 11 am. I'm gonna drink around 64 ounces of fluids before I head back and the expected temp around 3 is 91, feeling like 100. I guess I picked a good day to try this all out.

It took 40 minutes of rolling time, 6.5 miles, and around an hour to make it in. This accounts for me waiting at crosswalks, going the wrong way on the wrong street, and a 7 minute break because I thought I was gonna have heat stroke. Did I mention I'm wearing all black? But alas, I'm here and now "it wasn't so bad" hahaha. We'll see how I feel tonight... The shorts are AMAZING and definitely worth the money if I do this every day. Will I? Maybe if I get up at 7 and ride in before it gets hot. I can't lie, while not a tree hugger, I like thinking that I am doing my part to make this a better place for all of us.

Oh, and the W&OD trail is really crowded! Here's a google map of my routes. Click on the lines to see the route description and distance.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Thinking about the gas...

It's sad to think about the cost of gas and therefore the cost of driving my Jeep to work and back...

17 MPG
$4.ll / gal
10.2 miles round trip
$1 toll fees round trip
((10.2 / 17) * $4.11)+$1 =

$3.47 per day
$24.29 per week
$105.84 per month

Just driving to and from work.

I keep trying to justify buying a bicycle by saying I would ride it to work and that it would pay for itself and I hadn't really done the math. By the numbers, I would have to ride the bike 7/12 months for it to pay for itself in fuel savings. If I committed to not spending more than $100 a month on fuel then It would pay for itself in 3½ months.

Saturday, June 07, 2008

On the set of Transformers 2

On my way to the movies tonight I stumbled upon the filming of Transformers 2 at the Air & Space Museum. My phone take craptastic pics, but here's a shot of the set with Bumblebee and another Autobot in car form in the parking lot... And after that are a couple pics of the camera jib / crane inside. They said they'll be shooting tomorrow but I highly doubt that since this part of the movie takes place "after hours"... and all their equipment and power distribution is already being set up...

I LOVE living here. I wouldn't happen upon the filming of a major motion picture on my way to a movie in Johnson City!