My First Bike to Work Day!

So I've been riding my bikes around on weekends and to run errands, but I haven't actually biked to work all year. I know, I know, it's just so hard to get myself out the door that early in the morning until I make it a habit. I even got packed and dressed a couple of days this week, then promptly sat down and fell asleep again. But for Bike to Work Day, one makes the effort. I was still pretty out of it when I got up though, and tried to put my bag on my Brompton's front reflector rather than on the carrier block, oops. Luckily I only have to go about a mile to get to the Metro for the first leg of my multi-modal commute, and could use the train time to wake up for the rest of my ride.

Train segment of my multi-modal commute

Coffeeneuring Challenge 2014 Wrap-Up

I completed the 4th Annual Chasing Mailboxes Coffeeneuring Challenge! I made a summary table of my rides below.

A few numbers for my first time ever coffeeneuring: I visited 5 new (to me) coffee shop locations, in 4 different cities (if you count Bethesda separately), and even donated 1 book to a coffee shop exchange/library. In the process I acquired 2 new coffee mugs, knitted a pair of riding mitts and a matching headband/snood, rented a bike in a new city, rode a road bike for the first time (beyond going around the block, anyway), and got a great sense of the riding routes in DC's Northwest quadrant. ETA: I forgot to add--I fell off a bike for the first time too, but not when I was on the road bike, when I was on my Brompton!

The one thing I didn't really do this year, even though I had set it out as a pre-coffeeneuring goal for myself, was use my new camera to practice taking pictures. But I did get one photo I really liked during my rides, even if it was only from my phone:

From my first coffeeneuring ride: the Duke Ellington Memorial Bridge

There's always next year!! Speaking of which, some preliminary goals for 2015's Coffeeneuring Challenge: expand to coffee shops beyond NW DC (though that was mostly accidental on my part); incorporate other routes from Upper NW like Beach Dr., the Capital Crescent Trail all the way around down to Georgetown, or the Georgetown Branch Trail up into Silver Spring. By then my Betty will be built up, so maybe the coffeeneuring rides will also become longer-distance recreational rides as well (though I'll always be a transportation rider at heart!).

Coffeeneuring Challenge 2014 Ride Table

No.	Date	Coffee Shop	City	Total Miles	Photo Verification
1	Sat. 10/4	Tryst Coffee	Washington, DC	6.98
2	Sun. 10/5	Baked & Wired	Washington, DC	8.78
3	Sat. 10/19	Brickyard Coffee & Tea	San Diego, CA	~5.5
4	Sat. 11/1	Peregrine Espresso	Washington, DC	7.1
5	Sun. 11/2	Dolcezza	Bethesda, MD	6.2
6	Tue. 11/11 Veterans Day	61C Cafe	Pittsburgh, PA	3.3
7	Sat. 11/15	Filter Coffeehouse & Espresso Bar	Washington, DC	~4.5

Coffeeneuring Ride No. 7: Filter Coffeehouse & Espresso Bar (14th St. NW location, Washington, DC)

Where: Filter Coffeehouse & Espresso Bar

• Address: 726 20th St. NW, Washington, DC
• Website: http://www.filtercoffeehouse.com
• Bike friendliness: They have a coffee pot- and coffee cup-shaped bike racks! In orange!! 
• Other notable information: Filter is about a block away from Looped Yarn Works; always excited to have a coffee shop and a yarn shop in such close vicinity

Date: Saturday, November 15, 2014

Drink: Cappuccino

Total Mileage: ~4.5 miles total (2.1 miles Home to Filter)

Photo Verification:

I normally wouldn't drink a cappuccino so late in the day,
but it was just too hard to resist

Coffeeneuring Ride No. 5: Dolcezza (Bethesda, MD location)

Where: Dolcezza

• Address: 7111 Bethesda Ln., Bethesda, MD
• Website: http://dolcezzagelato.com
• Bike friendliness: Bike racks along Bethesda Row; store is small and crowded, but maybe a table towards the rear would accommodate a folding bike
• Other notable information: Dolcezza has Stumptown Stubby on the menu; I didn't know what it was, but apparently it's bottled cold brew coffee. 

Date: Sunday, November 2, 2014

Drink: Latte

Total Mileage: 6.2 miles overall (3.1 miles Home to Dolcezza)

Photo Verification:

I have a theory that committed Italian gelato and pizza places
by extension should have good coffee

Coffeeneuring Ride No. 4: Peregrine Espresso (14th St. NW location, Washington, DC)

Where: Peregrine Espresso

• Address: 1718 14th St. NW, Washington DC
• Website: http://peregrineespresso.com
• Bike friendliness: Lots of bike racks in nearby and in vicinity; not much seating and very busy, but if you can score one of the tables in the windows there's enough room for a folding bike without people tripping on it.
• Other notable information: The food options are mostly pastry, and what I had was delicious--Earl Grey and cherry scone! Also, they only sell travel mugs, not regular ceramic ones.

Date: Saturday, November 1, 2014

Drink: Mocha 

Total Mileage: 7.1 miles overall (5.3 miles Home to Peregrine Espresso)

Photo Verification:

The mocha formerly had a lovely heart in the foam,
but I couldn't resist a sip before I took the photo

Coffeeneuring Ride No. 2: Baked & Wired (Washington, DC)

Where: Baked & Wired

• Address: 1052 Thomas Jefferson St. NW, Washington DC
• Website: http://bakedandwired.com
• Bike friendliness: Don't appear to be any racks nearby, but there are some parking meters as well as a fence that people use to lock up their bikes.
• Other notable information: There appears to be a book exchange on one of the shelves toward the rear of the shop. At least I hope it's a book exchange, because I left a paperback there for any takers.

Date: Sunday, October 5, 2014

Drink: Mocha

Total Mileage: 8.78 miles overall (6.54 miles Home to Baked & Wired)

Photo Verification:

I came for the cupcakes, but I stayed for the quiche

Coffeeneuring Ride No. 1: Tryst Coffee (Washington, DC)

Where: Tryst Coffee

• Address: 2459 18th St. NW, Washington DC
• Website: http://www.trystdc.com/
• Bike friendliness: Lots of bike racks in front and near vicinity, indoors crowded but plenty of room on patio for me and my folder
• Other notable information: Across the street from Donburi and its amazing Japanese rice bowls.

Date: Saturday, October 4, 2014

Drink: Mexican Hot Chocolate 

Total Mileage: 6.98 miles overall (4.58 miles Home to Tryst)

Photo Verification:

It came with animal crackers!

Ride Notes: 

• At Yuma St. NW and 36th St. NW, there appears to be some sunken park or garden that isn't marked as a green space in Google Maps. But I noted the intersection today as I rode past so I could look it later, and Google Maps street view has some user-uploaded photos of the area. I plan on going back in the near future to take a closer look.
• I noticed a Neighborhood Slow Zone sign for the first time today! I wonder if they've been up for a while, or if they are recent like the Neighborhood Bikeway signs they just put up near me.
• Today was the first time I've ridden with tights on; I guess it really is October. It was cold enough to also merit some merino clothing (I've recently drunk the merino kool-aid), so I got to wear this great dress for the first time (currently on sale at Nau). It layers really well so it's perfect for fall/spring, but I can see it working even on the cooler days of summer. It's versatile, cute, comfortable, ride-able, and has pockets--basically everything I want in a dress!
• Speaking of cold-weather apparel, after this evening's ride I'm thinking of knitting myself some hand warmers. The trick will be to finish them in time to actually use them.
• All this time I've been riding across the bridge on Calvert St., I never realized it was called the Duke Ellington Memorial Bridge: 

Nice way to close my first coffeeneuring ride

Brompton US Championship 2014: Notes from a Spectator

#BUSC2014

So by now it's actually been a few weeks since the Brompton US Championship. I started writing it up right after the big race, but it's been a hectic couple of weeks so I hadn't had the chance to finish up. Plus there was so much to write about!

• My First Social Ride: A Day at the Races - I finally go on a social ride
• Race Festivities - I try (and mostly fail) to stay cool 
• The Race Itself: A Spectator's Perspective - I have fun with my camera settings

After the cut, a series of mini-posts about the above.

My first flat tire: a photo essay

Observation: I enjoyed fixing my first flat tire in the same way that I enjoyed shoveling snow for the first time. That is to say, it was a cute adventure because it was novel experience during adulthood, and it happened in a context where someone else would have done it if I really didn't want to. However, I suspect that under different conditions (for either case), I would have ended up sitting at the side of the road in tears.

Introduction: It had to happen one day...

I think it's inevitable for all bike owners to one day get a flat tire, and I'm lucky that my first flat went down in the way that it did: 

• I went two years before experiencing a flat.
• When I did get a flat, it happened on my front tire, which was much easier to deal with than a rear one would have been. (For reference, see this NYCeWheels blog post on fixing a Brompton rear flat, coincidentally posted earlier this month.)
• I wasn't dealing with a flat in the middle of the ride; obviously it must have happened sometime during my last ride, but I didn't get the full effect of it until after I was already home. 
• I didn't have to get a lot of new equipment, and what I did get, I needed anyway now that I'm commuting on a more regular basis.

Required tools are surprisingly few

Auspicious circumstances aside, I wouldn't have been able to get through actually fixing the flat without a lot of help from the following, to whom I am thankful:

• The BicycleSPACE staff, who basically told me exactly what to do and what materials I needed get to fix my tire (a patch kit and levers, that's it). They even gave me a little hand-written note about their Thursday "Fix A Flat" class, in case things went horrible wrong! 
• D, of course, who talked me through the whole process via FaceTime from a couple states away, and calmed me down in various moments of panic.

I got through the whole thing, and successfully I think, but there were many steps along the way.

Riding in the Rain For the First Time (On Purpose)!

Last year when I would do my multi-modal commute, I usually avoided inclement weather and took the shuttle from campus to the Metro. Today, I decided I would go for it, and went for my first real ride in the rain! Not that I haven't ridden in rain before, but that was usually for two reasons: 

1. I'd get unwittingly caught in a storm, or 
2. I had no way of avoiding the rain, but needed to be somewhere, so I'd suffer through it. 

I'm actually almost always prepared for the rain. My bag is built to be waterproof, my bike has fenders and mudguards, and my leather seat is usually covered; I keep bright lights with me at all times; I even pack my rain coat on days when there's any chance of rain, which is often in the summers here. I think what made the difference this afternoon was that I finally have a route that I like, so riding in the rain didn't seem like adding insult to injury (which is how I would have described a rain ride on last summer's route).

So, I set off into these conditions (right around the green line at the top, between the two thunderbolts):

I'm pretty sure I experienced the green, the yellow,
the orange, and a little bit of the red

The ride was actually enjoyable, in part because it felt like an adventure. I don't actually ride this route often in the afternoon, but it was pleasant, with minimal time riding with traffic. The worst part of the ride was getting my glasses wet, but that didn't impede my visibility as much as I feared. There was one potentially worrisome point when I was climbing, so I clutched my grips instead of my barends and watched out in case my foot slipped off my pedals; nothing bad came to pass.

My gear held up as warranted. I had never ridden with my coat in such heavy rain, but it performed well given that I had the vents and the top unzipped so I wouldn't overheat--the parts of my shirt that were completely covered stayed dry enough for me to wipe down my glasses. Everything in my bag stayed dry as well, including the items in the rear detachable pockets. In fact, I think the only equipment "fail" I had was the battery on my front light dying, but I had a spare so I was able to replace it (though the battery may be having re-charge issues). 

Anyway, I made it to the Metro and eventually back home, feeling unreasonable proud of myself the entire way.

Rain riding bona fides

Of course, one thing I hadn't considered was how to manage a wet bike in a studio apartment. I usually leave my Globe locked in the bike room, so this hadn't been an issue for me before. I had wiped down my bag and my helmet, and was starting on my frame when I remembered I had my winter boot tray hidden away--it's the perfect size for a folded Brompton! I did a little more drying (though probably not adequate post-rain maintenance, which I should probably figure out at some point), then stored my bike back in its usual corner.

Re-purposed, now a bike tray

Observation: The most reliable forecasters around here are the guys who put down the rain carpets in our elevators at work. I saw the carpets this morning and scoffed--little did I know!

Dry Run: Long Commute Home (Route 1)

I'm not a serious rider and usually do my transportation riding close to home, but I got it into my head that I would attempt the 15+ miles from work to home. Last summer I would do the multi-modal commute on the Brompton to cover the ~3.25 miles between the Metro and work, but I had never done the full commute. I actually envisioned doing this next year after the Betty is built up, but D pointed out that Bromptons are capable of handling the distance even when loaded down with gear--people have even toured with them. So, with D's support, some advice from a committed long-distance bike commuter colleague, and the promise of a nice weekend, I decided I would attempt a "dry run" (terminology per my colleague).

The ride was also a good opportunity to try out the Cellet phone mount for my bike that D got me last Christmas, and the Map My Ride app. Before, if I didn't want to take the route that Google gave me, I would have to print out a map that I could refer to it on my ride. Now that I have the phone mount and the app, I could pre-set my route and then follow it on the app as I rode. It's not quite turn-by-turn directions, but it's a much better setup than what I had before (through I do love printed maps).

At my starting point, fully equipped for my dry run

I had planned on riding only one way of the commute, and my colleague wisely advised me to take the Metro up to work, then ride my bike from the Maryland side and down to DC. Good thing too, because although I survived the day's roughly 20 miles of riding (a lot for me), my legs were dead tired by the end of it. A day later, neither my legs nor my backside were noticeably sore, though I suspect I caught a cold. Overall, I'm glad I did the dry run, even though I don't know that I'll be doing the full commute on a regular basis anytime soon. 

Below the cut, my "ride" notes and my "route" notes for the two parts of my ride.

Brompton cargo options: O Bag with DIY extenders, and Folding BikeBasket

D calls me a pack mule, and a quick glance at what's on this blog is consistent with that--I like to find ways to carry things on my bikes. Herewith my two current Brompton cargo options:

Brompton O Bag by Ortlieb
I got the O Bag as part of my bike's package deal, which was great because the impetus for getting the bike was my multi-modal commute. The bag is well made, and though I haven't ridden in any torrential downpours, I'm confident that it's as waterproof as claimed. It's also sizeable, and could easily contain a change of clothes, my toiletries, my lunch and sometimes my breakfast too, and work papers.

O bag on Brompton

The features I found most useful about the bag:

• Rear roll-top detachable bags: These are handy for carrying items I want immediate access to. The attachment system is secure enough that I put my wallet, keys, and cell phone in these pockets, yet the bags are not difficult to detach. The reflective logo on each is also appreciated.
• Shoulder strap: Having the strap to the bag (in addition to the top handle) is great for those times when I need to lift my folded Brompton while carrying my bag. The strap as well as the buckles attaching it to the bag are sturdy, so I don't worry about failure given how much the bag can carry. When I'm riding around, I tuck the strap insider the front flap so it doesn't rub the wheels or accidentally catch on anything. As a bonus, you can also use the strap on one of the small detachable bags.
• Plastic feet on bag bottom: The bag can stand upright on its own, a helpful feature when I'm on a train platform and want to set the bag down. The feet also spare the bottom of the bag itself from some wear.

There are other features that I don't use to full effect, but still appreciate. There's a large padded laptop sleeve inside, with a wide velcro closure. Multiple compartments inside--even individualized pockets for pens--help keep things organized, and the light grey interior make it easy to find things. The orange key strap is also visible and removable. These details would be perfect if I was using this as an office briefcase, and maybe in the future I will.

The only real shortcoming of the bag--at least for amount of stuff I was putting in it--was the length of the front straps for the bag closure. At their original length, even when fully extended, I didn't feel like I was getting all the available volume at the top of the bag. I'm not the first person to notice this problem, or to try to devise a solution. I only needed a couple more inches, and I didn't want to physically alter the bag, so I decided to make little strap extenders (with D's help, naturally):

Strap/buckle extenders for O bag

I bought a couple of replacement stealth buckles from Ortlieb and some black nylon webbing from REI, and attached the male and female part of each buckle using a small length of strap. The extender buckles fit right into the male/female parts of the existing buckles, and it's actually a little easier to open the bag using the extenders since they're not sewn directly onto the bag. The extenders add about 2.75" of length to the strap, which is just enough so that my things don't feel crammed in, but the front flap fold still keeps the elements out.

O bag with strap extenders attached

Overall, the O bag is great for commuting. Aesthetically it's definitely more tech than tweed, but I think it looks great on my white Brompton, and has a professional feel to it.

Brompton Folding Basket
Last weekend I bought the folding basket for the times when I wanted to use the Brompton for small shopping trips. Others have written about how they use the O bag for this purpose, but honestly it feels too heavy duty for such a casual use. And while I have my Globe and all its various ways of carrying things for dedicated grocery trips, sometimes I just like riding around on the Brompton and I wanted the option of spontaneously stopping by somewhere to pick up something. Also, D recently got me a nice digital camera, and I didn't want to carry it around on a shoulder bag, so it can go pretty easily into the folding basket.

Folding basket on Brompton

Although I've only used the basket for two shopping trips, I'm already amazed by how well the Brompton plus basket system works. I can use my bike in shopping cart mode at the two grocery stores I go to, so I just stick my groceries directly in the basket, and get a good sense of how much I can carry--it's more than I had anticipated. Small tip: I use a standard Baggu bag to hold my things, as it fits perfectly inside, and I can tie the handles to keep things from flying out during my bumpy ride home (see below).

Rear view of basket on carrier block

Baggu bag peeking from inside

There's also something adorable about Bromptons as cargo bikes. The small wheels with (proportionally) large carrying capacity remind me of "shopper" bikes or a classic butcher's bike, but with a more modern design.

Anyway, as I have more experience with this basket, I'm sure I'll have more to say, including any negatives. For now it's added functionality to my already versatile Brompton, which is as high a praise as I can give for a simple bike basket. =)

Po Campo Wristlet

I had been looking for a small bag for my Brompton for a while, to carry a phone, wallet, maybe a small set of tools when I didn't plan on carrying a larger bag. I checked out the mini O bag, but the price was too steep for the anticipated use. I also considered a canvas roll to use as a saddle bag, but I couldn't find one to see in person, and they have a tweedy aesthetic that isn't really my style. 

Enter the Po Campo wristlet, which I remember seeing online, but hadn't really considered. I was actually at the bike shop to check out some other bags, but they had just received these so they were featured up front:

I wasn't actually in the market for a handlebar bag given the Brompton's non-standard handlebar shape and fold, and I'd grown used to an underseat bag on my Globe, but the wristlet looked promising. I clipped it onto my bike and, lo and behold, it fit and it didn't interfere with the fold!

So I bought it on the spot and rode home with it. I hung the bag facing me, so that I could fold my bike without having to remove the bag. It was actually quite handy because I was mostly winging it on the streets, and had to pull out my phone every now and then to check where I was.

Of course, I hadn't completely given up on the idea of an underseat bag. The clip system on the wristlet could easily attach to the rails of my seat, but I thought the bag would cover my rear light. Then I realized that I could clip my light to the strap and position it in a way to make it visible, so now I can alternate bag placement.

I've had this bag for more than a month now, and it's mostly lived up to my expectations. I do have a few notes on my experience:

• The zipper can be difficult to work around the corner of the bag, though on the plus side this means the contents are secure, even when the bag is upside-down on my folded handlebars.
• When the bag is on my handlebars and loaded down, the metal clips rub against the brushed metal on the handlebars, marking them up. This is mostly a cosmetic issue, perhaps easily remedied by adjusting the bag position or not filling it up so much.
• Placing the bag under my seat works well, but I haven't ridden around enough at night to assess if my rear light is functionally visible. I'll have to ask D to follow me and check it out. For now, I can rely on my helmet's rear light if need be. 

Overall, I'm happy with this wristlet, especially since I had not initially considered it when looking for a small Brompton bag. It's also cute and looks great on my bike, and that's almost as important as its functionality, no?

Brompton brake cable wear issue

Although my Brompton is lighter than most, it's still too heavy to carry through the length of my office building or the Metro station. As such, I usually roll it around in the folded "shopping cart" position, with my bag clipped in place. This way, the bike rolls around on its two EZ wheels and the wheel on the fender.

As I did this I noticed that, with the weight of my bag, my bike would sometimes lean in such a way that the bag was rolling on the front wheel in fold position, an EZ wheel, and the fender wheel. The bike actually rolls pretty well this way, allowing for the weight to shift back and forth, so I thought this may have been intentional on Brompton's part.

I had been doing this for about two months when D noticed that one section of brake cable housing was worn away. At first we couldn't figure out what happened because the damage was at the front by the fender, on the side facing out. So we folded the bike and soon realized that the cable was rubbing against the front wheel, and the housing must have worn down as I was rolling my bike in shopping cart position. Lucky for me I was due to take my Brompton in for tune-up, so I was able to get the housing replaced right away. 

I guess a folded Brompton isn't meant to roll on the front wheel after all...

One Year Later

I haven't written in a while, but given that's its been about a year since I first got my bike and there have been a lot of changes in my life, I feel like this blog is due for an update.

The biggest change has been that I have since moved to the DC metro area, which explains in part the blog's new name. The second biggest change (somewhat related to the first) is that I walked into a deal I couldn't refuse on a folding bike, so now I have a second bike, which I use for multi-modal commuting. This also explains in part the new name.

However, the biggest impetus for the new name is that I've had a year under my belt of riding around, and I've loved every mile of it. In that year, I've done so much more than I ever envisioned when I first got my bike, and I've learned a lot too. It's funny to look back now at my profile picture, which D took the first weekend I got my bike: my arms are completely locked, and I'm clearly tense, even though I was enjoying myself. When I got my second bike, D took a picture of me riding around that as well, and my position is so much more normal and relaxed! I like to think I picked up on the riding pretty quickly, though much of that was with D's help.

Another summer, another bike

Really, I owe my love of riding now to D, who had the patience to teach me the basics (seriously, I bought a decent used bike when I was in college and couldn't figure out the gearing well enough to ride up a moderate slope) and instilled in me the confidence to ride. But I like to think I had some influence on him too: before I got my bike, D only had a road bike and a mountain bike, and although he had raised the stem of his road bike to un-roadie heights, he was still going around in clipless pedals. Now he has a folding bike (he's the reason why I got mine--those are our bikes in the header), he rides in normal shoes, and has exchanged the padded shorts for cargo shorts. Our first ride together was through dirt trails in the woods, but we've since discovered a love for leisurely night rides through winding streets, or exploratory rides in tree-lined neighborhoods where D races down hills and I power up them.

Which brings me to the blog description. In all the days I've ridden it's never been about racing or getting exercise. Neither an upright bike nor a folding bike is really conducive to those modes of riding. I also ride for more than recreation, even though rambling about with D is one of my favorite things to do. But the non-recreational ways in which I ride a bike--to pick up groceries, to get to the office, etc.--aren't really about being environmentally conscious (although that's a nice side benefit) or saving gas money (minimal can be directly attributed to the bike) or cutting time (it's the opposite, in fact). Riding a bike is just fun. It makes going to work a pleasure. It takes the edge off an oppressively hot summer day. I will park my car further from my apartment, not because it's less likely to be dinged or because the parallel parking spots are more generous (though that's another fringe benefit), but because I like having the excuse of riding my bike the couple of blocks home. Riding a bike is so much fun that I can overcome my internet reticence and wax effusively about it to an audience of one (hi D!), because I just can't help myself. That's how much I've grown to love it in this past year, and as I continue to ride,  I hope to write as well.