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Reboot
I’m easing back into biking regularly after taking most of July off to rest my hip. It’s still not 100%, but it’s manageable. I honestly don’t think the time off the bike made much of a difference. The soreness is in the front part of my left hip, and it happens on downward pedal strokes,…
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Beep. Beep. Beep.
So. We were without air conditioning in our building for awhile today. Fortunately it’s a nice day out with unseasonably low humidity and a breeze, so I was able to open the window to make it tolerable. It’s amazing how much beeping you hear in populated regions (like college campuses) nowadays. Seems like all day…
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Today’s Ride
I got an early start on the commute this morning, so I decided to try an alternate, longer route to get from Elkridge to UMBC on the bike: West on Montgomery Rd Right on Rockburn Dr Right on Montgomery Rd Right on Kerger Rd Right on Ilchester Rd Left on Beechwood Rd Left on Bonnie…
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Today’s ride
It was my coldest morning commute of the year today. 14° with a wind chill of 2°. I usually check the temperature before getting on the bike, so I can figure out what to wear. Didn’t bother today.. already knew it was going to be cold, so I just bundled up. In hindsight, I’m glad…
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Aargh, I hate winter
Forces of nature are conspiring to keep me off my bike lately. I managed to bike to work twice last week in spite of the big ice storm that hit the Baltimore/Washington area. Then I went out for a quick 20-miler this past Sunday, and promptly broke a spoke on my back wheel. This was…
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Back on the bike after ice storm
I rode my bike to work today for the first time since the ice storm that hit the Baltimore/Washington area this past Tuesday and Wednesday. My usual commute takes me through Elkridge, Relay, and Arbutus, MD, including a short trip through the Patapsco State Park Avalon Area. Today, the roads were fine for the most…
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The Joys of Winter Biking
Took my first fall of 2009 yesterday. We were coming off two straight days of rain, it was 7:45am and the temperature was right around freezing. All of that adds up to (you guessed it) ice on the road. Most of the roads were treated and in pretty good shape, but in my infinite wisdom…
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Fenders on a Road Bike, Part 2
This is part 2 of my story about how I put fenders on my road bike. Read about my motivation for doing this in the first installment. There are a couple types of fenders made for road bikes. “Full” fenders cover the back wheel all the way down to the bottom bracket, and the…
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Fenders on a Road Bike, Part 1
I’ve been an occasional bike commuter for a little over three years. My commuter bike is a 2001 Giant OCR-1, a road bike with an aluminum frame and a carbon fork. Back in the big 1980s, I spent my teen years delivering newspapers, and went through a seemingly-endless string of cheap 10-speed beater bikes. I…
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New road bike tires
Last Friday I broke a spoke on the back wheel of my road bike. Murphy’s Law #1 of broken spokes says that they will always happen on the back wheel, so you have the extra fun of removing the gear cassette to replace the spoke. But that’s not really my point.. Since I had to…