Noise (The Tide)

I was a bit remiss yesterday. I forgot to share that I'm now writing a weekly article for Alaska Commons. Check it out. Check them out. Good stuff over there.



Today there's a couple of interesting articles out on ADN.

First: http://www.adn.com/2014/02/25/3345937/mark-mew-rules-of-the-road-for.html

The second: http://www.adn.com/2014/01/29/3296082/compass-theres-good-reason-to.html

First, I love the fact that our chief of police is out there speaking about this stuff. Where better to get the real dope about how the laws apply in various situations? Also, if the chief is speaking out, maybe it will help to raise overall awareness of cycling as a viable form of transport.

Heck, maybe it will even make the general discussion a bit more civilized between drivers and cyclists. Lord knows the conversations have been heated from time to time.

The second article does a good job, also, of capturing some of what makes biking so magical at all times of the year here.

Maybe Anchorage is making headway. We'll just have to wait and see.

Stairway to Heaven

Nothing compelling to report here. It is a beautiful day and I'm stuck inside. It's my wife's birthday and I'm stuck at work. It's not quite noon and I'm already ready for lunch.

It's always a challenge tempering the desire to just bug out and go for a ride on days like today. If I were younger and didn't have so much riding on my shoulders I probably would just boogie out and enjoy the sun.

But I've gone from simple living to complex living. I've got bills. Okay, that's a lie. I don't think I ever really lived simply. And I've always had bills. I'm terrible at resisting temptation. And plastic made it too easy to fulfill temptation. Now... well now I'm working on payback. Not fun. But, it is what it is. Therefore I can't just close up shop and head out for a ride.

Well. I probably could. I've got vacation hours banked and I have most of my tasks caught up. Good enough, anyway.

But, I wouldn't feel right just taking off for the day. So here I am, dreaming of rides I won't take and trying to keep focused on work...

Construct/Morse

No transit today… Just talk of the joys of riding a bike. Or maybe some transit talk. I don't know.

The first time riding new terrain is always fun. Which is what makes winter riding so amazing. While the scenery might be the same, or nearly so, from ride to ride, the terrain itself can vary significantly from one ride to another. Ice or powder. Crust or hard packed paths. Each time out requires a slight alteration to riding style and approach. And when it's good, it's great.

Friday was one of those great ride days when the terrain seemed fresh and new. I started out the day in Anchorage taking one of the dogs for a quick three mile bike-jour while waiting for the state high school ski meet to start for the day. It was cold and the groomer was out giving us blessed souls some great cord to ride. We rode and ran, but my itch for a ride was not sated.

Later that afternoon, I buttoned up my work for the day and decided to head out to the college and greenbelt to see how the riding was. It was amazing. Where there had been traffic since our most recent snow things had bonded nicely to the ice underneath, making for a solid, grippy surface. I got to ride some trails I've not ridden before, explore some areas I hadn't in the past, and didn't do much pushing at all. The only problem was in the areas where there had not been traffic. The snow was still powdery and loose over top of glare ice. No riding that, but it was such a small percentage of the riding that it didn't even bother me.

The day was prime for riding, too. Sunny. Calm. In the 20s and no one else was around. I spent about an hour and a half out there just putzing around. Brilliant.

Then comes Sunday.  And whoa! It ended up being one of those days that just can't be beat.  We volunteered to watch the GPRA chalet for the day as a way to give back and to be forced to disconnect a bit and relax in a beautiful location.

The morning started with some work - getting papers graded and all. Then the fun began. I decided to ride some of the snowshoe trails instead of heading down to Moose Range. And I am so glad I did. The riding was good but hard. Hard because it was all up hill. Good because the trails were awesome. It was in the mid thirties, probably and I was out there in the sun with a tee shirt on and just gutting it up hill, walking when I had to, then bombing back down the trail.

I got to where the trail stopped being flat at all and went into 'up we go' mode, where I figured I wouldn't  be able to ride much at all, so I stopped to catch my breath and unzip my vest and noticed I had my work phone with me. So, I guess I decided a couple of pictures of the scene would be good.

Clearly, it was one of those perfect days to be out for a ride. Perfect. 

Wrong Number (Smith Remix)

I love new snow days. Six or so inches fell overnight in the city, giving everything a fresh, new coat of white. Yes, the ride is a bit slower, but it is glorious punching in new tracks in fresh powder.

The world is so much nicer when there is new snow. In fact, as I was riding through downtown this morning, I got a "That's awesome, man!" yelled at me from across the street. Yup, a great way to start the day.

Heck, even the cars were friendly this morning.

Yup, fresh snow is a great thing.

Track 4

There's this discussion going on in many circles about what is the best bike for bike commuting. Some folks are adamant that it is the mountain bike. Some, the road bike.

Each side weighs out the pros and cons of each bike and depending on the author's proclivities, the lists line out exactly as the author thought they would.

In some ways this discussion speaks to my number one issue with the cycling community. Really, my issue with any specialized activity's community, really.

I don't know who said it, but someone said that we loathe most in others what we perceive most in ourselves. Or something like that, anyway.

What I loathe in so many of the bike community is the seeming need for something better, faster, lighter, newer, shinier. And I lust the same way. I hate it.

Why do we even feel the need to go to the interwebs to ask what is the best bike for bike commuting when the answer is obvious - the bike that you have.

Why do we feel that everything has to be specialized? What happened to the days of the generalist? When you had one tool to do myriad jobs rather than myriad tools that each do one job?

Could this be the fault of our technological age? Our insistence on capitalism as the saving grace of the world? Or is it just evidence of our susceptibility to marketing of both the clever and not so clever kinds?

I am the first to admit that I lust over bikes and bike parts. And if I didn't have a rational wife or a limited budget, I would likely have a new bike for every day of the week. As it is, I feel like I already spend way too much on my bike and upgrading my bike.

That said, I am generally a person who only changes something out when the previous one has died. I've moaned about this before. Forgive me.

I just have a really hard time with the idea of consumption for consumption's sake.

If you get some time, check out this thread over at MTBR. Some interesting arguments. Conspicuous consumption afoot. I'll just keep riding the best bike for commuting - the one that I've got.

The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

Crazy things are afoot. Teen killers in Pennsylvania claim multiple dozen murders and satanic associations. I have killed more time than any man alive.

New snow leaves a clean etch a sketch for me to write my name in using heavily lugged bicycle tires and absolute silence of thought that only comes when the blood is pumping faster than thoughts are able to form.

Trying to decide how early I should leave to ensure I get home. The bus is a scary place when service is reduced to the bare minimum.

Running errands is the fool's errand in this weather, with these road conditions. You take your life into your own hands, but the back roads are open and bare. We can slip through, untethered to traffic flow, stoplights, gravity.

Click, click, click, buzz. Studded snow tires tap a rat a tat in the grooves cut like sound waves captured in vinyl, disconcerting as the noise dopplers past.

What kind of business is this? Sitting. Standing. Aching back leaning into the wheel of progress that spins, but goes nowhere. What am I saying?

These are not my thoughts.

My head doesn't always spin in circles. Except when it does. Round. And round. And round. I seek the low road, the frozen raven in a tree. These words are animal crackers crumbling at my feet from lack of time spent awake.

Where.

The northern lights wake me in my dreams, pulling with magnetic insistence, insisting that every fear is real.

Nobody knows the trouble I've seen.

Nobody knows the taste of un-toasted oak sawdust on their tongue - eating wood is a sure, but rather slow form of suicide. But so is eating nothing. Or everything. Or some things but not the others.

What if this is nothing more than a simulation of a simulation of someone else's idea of what life is. We are the imagination of ourselves.

Revolve

What is my favorite part of the commute? That depends.

Many days it is the time I get to spend on the bus engrossed in a good novel.

Other days it is crossing the Knik River bridge on the way home and watching the fog rise from the water and seeing glints of the glacier in the sun.

Some days it is power from my office to the bus stop on well groomed trails, feeling fast and free.

Other days it is getting to work and having my first warming cup of coffee.

What I don't love is getting up at 4:00 in the morning. What I don't love is that first moment when I step out of my garage and into the 4:38 AM cold. What I don't love is the wind. And when it rains. And when the bus is full or too hot or too cold.

But I love the fact that I can live somewhere that my kids have a good school and teachers that really push them. I love the fact that I can live in a house that has room for everyone and that I have a yard and a garage and if I want to plant a garden I can. I love that I can have this and still be able to commute without driving myself.

Because of this, I really enjoy almost every aspect of my commute. Even those I don't enjoy. I remember when I used to drive to work every day and how frazzled I would feel by the time I got there. And this was in a small city of less than a quarter million. And again, on the way home I would feel the same stress.

I don't feel any of that anymore. There is a bit more stress than when my commute was all by bike. I didn't have to worry then about hitting someone else's schedule, but even that stress isn't much. Or anything I really worry about.

Oh. I love it when I snows.