Chain-Geek

With around 4000 miles on it, it was about time to change the chain on my commuter bike.
As you can see from the photo, the pins were quite worn. This is the cause of what is called "chain stretch."
Bike chains do get longer with use and wear, but they don't actually "stretch"; it's the accumulated wear of the pins like the one shown here that add up to the extra length. And when a chain is a little longer, it doesn't fit into the sprockets very well anymore.
Now that I have a new chain (and new "cassette" of rear gears), the bike literally runs like new. I should have done this repair a long time ago! I can't believe how smooth and quiet the bike is now.

Light-Geek

As the days start to get shorter here in North America, I'll be commuting to and from work in the dark on my bike. Being visible to automobile traffic is of paramount importance for safety, so I have lights on my bike so that motorists can see me and then pass me safely.

On the front, and have a CatEye HL-EL410. This is a white light with three LEDs that takes three AAA batteries. It's not really bright enough to see by, but the point is to be seen by motorists. I really like this light because it's durable, weather-proof, and lasts for years on a single set of batteries!

On the back, I have a Planet Bike Superflash. I've tried a lot of different lights over the years, and found nothing that is as durable and noticeable as the Superflash.
Here's a video that shows the difference between a standard light and the superflash.
As you can see, this is once very noticeable light.
You can certainly find cheaper LED blinky lights for your bike, but when your life depends on it, go ahead and spend a couple bucks more for the best.

Also worth noting, it's important to have passive reflectors on the bike too. There's always a chance that something will go wrong with my bliky lights (like I forget to turn them on), but the reflectors will still catch drivers' attention.

Fender-Geek

As someone who rides to work everyday, rain or shine, it's pretty important to have fenders on my bike. Riding in the rain is actually quite refreshing usually, and the rain that falls from the sky is not a big deal on a warm day, but the water that comes up from the tires off the road is nasty and I don't like having a stripe of it up my back when I get home.
The solution of course is to have fenders on the bike. When I purchased my bike from the LBS a few years ago, I had them add a pair of fenders for this very reason. The pair that they added were some no-name brand that worked OK, but were hard to adjust, so they were sometimes rubbing on the wheel, and tended to rattle on bumpy roads.
So last time we were at the REI store, I picked up a pair of Planet Bike fenders. I finally got around to mounting these to the bike, and I couldn't be happier! The bike is so quiet now!
This week, we've had a lot of rain, and I was really able to enjoy riding through it in part because of these excellent fenders.

Commuter-Geek

Since I've been biking to work for the past several years, I thought it might be a good time to promote this healthy practice to my coworkers. I approached the HR department where I work, and they have been surprisingly supportive. I expected support, but not really the active support that they have provided. They are letting me teach a one-hour bicycle commuting overview class, and providing money for give-aways related to cycle commuting. One of the give-aways includes two brand new Trek 7100 "bike path" bikes! Our local bike shop has given us a good deal on the bikes, and is also being very supportive.
So now, I need to come up with what I want to present for this class! There are already 20 people signed up, and we don't even start promoting it in earnest until next week. That's about how many people I thought might be interested in total! I'm guessing that the high gas prices, along with health concerns are contributing to the perfect storm of interest.
Anyway, here are the places that I'm going to be drawing my material from. . .
First, the authoritative League of Michigan Bicyclists has a nice guide: What Every Michigan Bicyclist Must Know.
Second, I plan to glean a lot of practical commuting tips from the Commute By Bike blog.
Finally, I will try to share the fact that bicycling on the road is a safe activity by presenting some of the detailed information from Ken Kifer's web site.
I'm really excited about other people experience the freedom, health, cost savings, and environmental impact that comes from using their bicycles for transportation.

Following the class, we will have a "bike to work day", and then I'll be able to see for sure if people are really willing to give it a try. Once they do, I am convinced that they will see that most of the perceived obstacles are imaginary. We'll see.

Bicycle Tire-Geek
I finally needed new tires for my commuter bike. My Trek 1200c has been on the original tires for about 4000 miles over the last 3 1/2 years, and the tread was starting to come off in chunks. I've never had a flat with these tires, so I have absolutely nothing to complain about.
As I started looking for new tires, I asked around and went to roadbikereview.com to see what other people were having success with and what tires I should avoid.

• The Michelin Krylion Carbon tires were highly rated, and I could order them on-line for a good price.
• The Specialized All Condition Armadillo Tire only had one review, but was highly recommended. I also have a friend that has these on his bike and is very happy, and he said that one of our LBSs might have them in stock.
• The Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase is what came on my bike, and I have been happy, and my favorite LBS did have them in stock.

One thing that surprised me when reading the reviews was that people were talking about switching to tires like the Krylion and saying that they went from frequent flats to only a few flats. I'm really spoiled I guess that I've never had a flat. That got me thinking that maybe I should stick with what I've had such good experience with.

I was going to switch to the Specialized tires, but the local store didn't have them in stock after all, and I didn't want to risk riding on the old tires any longer, so I went with the Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase.

At the same time, I switched from the 700x28 size and went down to a 23. The narower tire should help me get to and from work a little quicker, but might be a little less comfortable. We'll have to see if that's the case.

Bicycle-Geek
I competed in my first bike race recently. The Iceman Cometh Challenge is the worlds largest single-day mountain bike race. It's held every November in Traverse City, Michigan.
There are around 2000 competitors, and I raced in the beginner category.
With my only training being my daily (8 mile, flat) commute to work, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to finish the 27.5 mile race on hilly trails. My goal was to finish in under 3 hours.
A good friend built up a nice hard-tail bike for me to race on, and I ordered a bunch of Gu to keep me energized.
The weather for the race was perfect, and all was going smoothly until about 2/3 of the way through the race. Inexplicably, the bolts that hold my chainrings started coming loose. I made the mistake of not bringing any tools, so when I stopped there was not much I could do. As I was trying to tighten them as best I could with my fingers, another cyclist stopped to offer help. He asked what I needed and how long it would take; when I told him I just needed a wrench for a few seconds, he produced one and I was all fixed! The joy was short-lived however because the loose rings must have done something to my chain, which broke within a few minutes. So I started walking in the hopes that I would find an aid station and someone with a chain tool. Fortunately, after walking for about 20 minutes another racer stopped to offer a chain tool! Understandably, he didn't want to wait for me to make the repair, so he left his tool with me on the chance that we would see each other at the finish. I worked very hard to remember his name (I'm terrible with names), and though I didn't see him at the finish, I was able to find his hometown from the results board and look him up later in the phonebook so I could settle-up with him.
So I did finish, and even with the mechanical difficulties, I made my goal of under 3 hours!
It was a very positive experience, and I hope to do it again next year. Next time I will bring plenty of tools, and I will also be very willing to help other racers like I was helped.

Here's photographic proof that I crossed the finish line:

Bicycle Geek
It seems a little counter-intuitive, but the fact is that I ride my bike to work everyday because I am cheap and lazy.

We all need to get some exercise, but I don't want to spend money to go to a gym, and I don't want to spend any extra time either. Since I have to spend time commuting to and from work anyway, I might as well get a workout at the same time. Plus it saves money that would be spent on a gym and on gasoline.

For the 5 mile commute, it takes about 12 minutes to drive, and about 18 minutes to bicycle. So it only costs me 6 minutes each way. Counting both ways, I get about 36 minutes of aerobic exercise for a 12 minute time investment. Is that geeky or what?

Then there's the price of gas. If my truck gets 20 miles/gallon (which it doesn't), and gas costs $3.00 per gallon, then the 10 mile round trip to and from work costs me $1.50 every day. Maybe a buck-fifty isn't that much to you, but that's about $30.00 a month, which makes a difference to me.
So be cheap; be lazy; start commuting on your bicycle.