Bike 2014 - The Road Goes On Forever and the Party Never Ends
I got my bike tuned up and picked it up today. Last year I biked to work twice a week for 27 weeks, logging 991 commuting miles. I have considered shooting for three times a week this year, but it just doesn't seem feasible given that any night I bike I can't do anything else until at least 8pm. Two nights clear a week isn't a problem, but three is pushing it. Therefore, I plan to keep the target at twice a week.
However, I can improve. Last year I started in the first week of May and went until the week before Thanksgiving. I had originally hoped to start biking this week, but the weather is still colder than I'm comfortable with and the CIFF will eat up next week. Therefore, weather permitting, I will start the first week in April, which is still a full month earlier than I started in 2013. That should easily let me push my commuting miles over 1000.
This also dovetails nicely with my "for fun" milestones. zoethe wrote recently about the walk through Middle-Earth, which given the Tolkien loving ways of my family is a great fit. As it happens, the mileage given for Bag End to the Lonely Mountain is 967 miles, so I should be able to that this year even if I don't bike outside commuting.
I'm also putting some more effort into safety. Inspired by my sister's running accident in 2013, I have followed her advice and ordered a Road ID Elite. The Road ID is basically a set of dog tags for bicyclists so that if a car or pothole or something has your number, the EMTs will be able to easily identify you and call the appropriate people. Thanks to gieves for being my local contact since most of family is so far away.
In addition, last year I didn't feel that my taillight was really quite as bright as I'd like, and certainly not as bright as my headlight, so I ordered a Supernova to clip to my backpack. That should help address that issue.
On a tangential note, the customer service from Road ID has been excellent. Most of the products on their site have YouTube videos where the owner of the company demonstrates how everything works. These are both funny and useful; here's the one for the light I got. On top of that, when you order there's the order process has "Items", "Billing Info, "Shipping Info" and "Unicorns". Wait, Unicorns? Basically they donate a small percentage of every order to charity, and they let you pick the charity.
Then I got the "your package has shipped" email, which not only is worded as if it came directly from the CEO but included this gem:
So, you live in Ohio... We are not only super excited to have you as a customer, we are amped that you're in the great state of Ohio. We had no idea that we had neighbors as cool as you! In case you are unaware, Road ID HQ is located just across the river in KY, so if you ever need a hug or you just want to say hello, feel free to stop by! We would love to have you. And feel free to bring some cookies when you come.
Thanks again for spreading the word about Road ID. If there's anything we can do for you, simply reply to this email, give us a call or send a carrier pigeon.
In a world where Amazon can be used to buy anything, the little guys have to compete by standing out, and based on what I've seen so far I have high hopes for the product when it arrives. If you want to get a Road ID (which I recommend for any runner and cyclist), you can get me some swag using this referral link
As far as other gear goes, the majority of my tune up was covered by the one year service agreement, I still have some money left on the gift card for Spin Bike Shop that tigerlily_blue got me for my birthday so I may get a high visibility jacket for cold weather or something else similarly useful.
I'm really looking forward to getting on the bike.
However, I can improve. Last year I started in the first week of May and went until the week before Thanksgiving. I had originally hoped to start biking this week, but the weather is still colder than I'm comfortable with and the CIFF will eat up next week. Therefore, weather permitting, I will start the first week in April, which is still a full month earlier than I started in 2013. That should easily let me push my commuting miles over 1000.
This also dovetails nicely with my "for fun" milestones. zoethe wrote recently about the walk through Middle-Earth, which given the Tolkien loving ways of my family is a great fit. As it happens, the mileage given for Bag End to the Lonely Mountain is 967 miles, so I should be able to that this year even if I don't bike outside commuting.
I'm also putting some more effort into safety. Inspired by my sister's running accident in 2013, I have followed her advice and ordered a Road ID Elite. The Road ID is basically a set of dog tags for bicyclists so that if a car or pothole or something has your number, the EMTs will be able to easily identify you and call the appropriate people. Thanks to gieves for being my local contact since most of family is so far away.
In addition, last year I didn't feel that my taillight was really quite as bright as I'd like, and certainly not as bright as my headlight, so I ordered a Supernova to clip to my backpack. That should help address that issue.
On a tangential note, the customer service from Road ID has been excellent. Most of the products on their site have YouTube videos where the owner of the company demonstrates how everything works. These are both funny and useful; here's the one for the light I got. On top of that, when you order there's the order process has "Items", "Billing Info, "Shipping Info" and "Unicorns". Wait, Unicorns? Basically they donate a small percentage of every order to charity, and they let you pick the charity.
Then I got the "your package has shipped" email, which not only is worded as if it came directly from the CEO but included this gem:
So, you live in Ohio... We are not only super excited to have you as a customer, we are amped that you're in the great state of Ohio. We had no idea that we had neighbors as cool as you! In case you are unaware, Road ID HQ is located just across the river in KY, so if you ever need a hug or you just want to say hello, feel free to stop by! We would love to have you. And feel free to bring some cookies when you come.
Thanks again for spreading the word about Road ID. If there's anything we can do for you, simply reply to this email, give us a call or send a carrier pigeon.
In a world where Amazon can be used to buy anything, the little guys have to compete by standing out, and based on what I've seen so far I have high hopes for the product when it arrives. If you want to get a Road ID (which I recommend for any runner and cyclist), you can get me some swag using this referral link
As far as other gear goes, the majority of my tune up was covered by the one year service agreement, I still have some money left on the gift card for Spin Bike Shop that tigerlily_blue got me for my birthday so I may get a high visibility jacket for cold weather or something else similarly useful.
I'm really looking forward to getting on the bike.