I cannot say it enough; think before you talk or text while you drive. I would have thought that once the average person had completed a driver’s education program they would know that seatbelts save lives, drunk driving is bad, and texting or talking on the phone can kill. But I still see a lot of people who just hop in the car, pick up the phone and either text or talk while driving down the road. I often think that these are the ignorant and stupid people that would have perished in some spectacular Darwin way if we did not protect them as we do.
If you have not see this video please watch it. The video is graphic but it you will make you think. Also, pass it along to someone who text or talks while they drive. Hopefully with a little intervention you can help change their ways and keep the rest of us safe.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Meeting
Here is a posting that I would like to pass on to fellow cyclist in and around Linn County.
On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, there will be an informational public
meeting about improvements planned to the intersection of Hwy 151 and
Linn County Road X 20, just south of Springville. Iowa DOT
representatives will be answering questions about the changes planned to
the intersection from 5:30 to 7 pm at the American Legion Post 331. 252
Broadway Street.
Initial "improvements" were designed for motorized vehicles only. It was
only after several telephone calls and emails to local and state DOT
officials that bicycle and pedestrian accommodations were even
considered.
Please consider attending the meeting to view planned improvements
yourself and offer comments. Iowa DOT officials seem to need reminding
on a regular basis that cyclists are lawful road users with needs that
differ from motorized users
Please copy this message and post it to your blog, facebook, or twitter. We need to get the message out and have people there to ask the tough questions and stand up for cyclist.
On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, there will be an informational public
meeting about improvements planned to the intersection of Hwy 151 and
Linn County Road X 20, just south of Springville. Iowa DOT
representatives will be answering questions about the changes planned to
the intersection from 5:30 to 7 pm at the American Legion Post 331. 252
Broadway Street.
Initial "improvements" were designed for motorized vehicles only. It was
only after several telephone calls and emails to local and state DOT
officials that bicycle and pedestrian accommodations were even
considered.
Please consider attending the meeting to view planned improvements
yourself and offer comments. Iowa DOT officials seem to need reminding
on a regular basis that cyclists are lawful road users with needs that
differ from motorized users
Please copy this message and post it to your blog, facebook, or twitter. We need to get the message out and have people there to ask the tough questions and stand up for cyclist.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Yup it has been a while.
I have to apologize to the few followers and the people who randomly stumble upon my blog for the lack of new entries this past month. I do, however, have a good reason for the lack of articles this past month. I have finely landed a full time with benefits job! Yes my I am on my way to turn my Bachelors of Fine Arts to a possible Nursing Degree. I now am a phlebotomist at a local hospital. Well I should say I am being trained at this point, but I have had 25 out of 30 successful sticks this week. (A successful stick is when you draw the proper amount of blood in the correct tube.) So out of 30 sticks I only miss 1 out of 5, 83% hit rate. Even though I have been engrossed in my new job I have been thinking about cycling and where I left off on my Winter Cycling articles.
About mid-December I got a video through Netflix called Wrenched. It is a video about the basics in bicycle maintenance that I think is well worth the time to check out. Not only did it cover the proper way of changing your tires but cleaning and lubing your bike as well as replacing a chain. They even covered how to properly take the cluster off and taping your handle bars. There is a lot of information that a novice would love to know as well as more advanced procedures for the more experienced cyclist. The instructor is a little dry and probably more comfortable in front of a small class rather than a camera, but he is clear and easy to understand on what is his doing. If you are looking for some information that covers more than the basics but is not a big book that covers everything on the bike, then Wrenched is the video for you.
After a conversation with my sister I was forwarded two websites that I found very helpful for future projects that I would like to start. The first site was Freiker. In a nutshell it is a site that helps establish a cycling program for your school. For $5000 the school gets Freikometers which are RFID tags that are scanned each day by a reader at the school. The results are recorded, calculated and posted on a website for all to see. Prizes that are purchased by the school are awarded to students based on days ridden, miles accumulated and more. This sounded like a great idea but in this economic climate and with the talk of teachers being cut, I don’t think the $5000 price tag would kill the project. So I am working on how we could take this idea and make it run as cheaply as possible and get it up and running in a school this fall.
The other site I received was for the Bike to Work Day in Denver Colorado. The bike to work day doesn’t happen until late June. The thing I found interesting was how many business participle in this day of cycling. You have food venders as well as cycling venders all around the city. So if you want to get a quick meal there are stopping point set up around the city to do so. Got a flat or mechanical problem then stop by other check points and get it fixed. Not only is the overall principal of this day is to get people out riding and maybe change their commuting habits but to help promote and network business participating in this event. Each person that wishes to participate in the ride will go to the home site which contains the links of each business that is participating in the event. I am not sure how much traffic it generates for each linked site but if you are like me, they will jump from link to link checking out each site. I think if we just tweak this a little to our advantage and sell it to some of our area business; we could have a great bike to work week in C.R.
Anyway I hope that you keep checking back periodically and I should have another installment on winter cycling soon. I am going to cover the cleaning and lubing that is required for riding in the winter. Stay tuned.
About mid-December I got a video through Netflix called Wrenched. It is a video about the basics in bicycle maintenance that I think is well worth the time to check out. Not only did it cover the proper way of changing your tires but cleaning and lubing your bike as well as replacing a chain. They even covered how to properly take the cluster off and taping your handle bars. There is a lot of information that a novice would love to know as well as more advanced procedures for the more experienced cyclist. The instructor is a little dry and probably more comfortable in front of a small class rather than a camera, but he is clear and easy to understand on what is his doing. If you are looking for some information that covers more than the basics but is not a big book that covers everything on the bike, then Wrenched is the video for you.
After a conversation with my sister I was forwarded two websites that I found very helpful for future projects that I would like to start. The first site was Freiker. In a nutshell it is a site that helps establish a cycling program for your school. For $5000 the school gets Freikometers which are RFID tags that are scanned each day by a reader at the school. The results are recorded, calculated and posted on a website for all to see. Prizes that are purchased by the school are awarded to students based on days ridden, miles accumulated and more. This sounded like a great idea but in this economic climate and with the talk of teachers being cut, I don’t think the $5000 price tag would kill the project. So I am working on how we could take this idea and make it run as cheaply as possible and get it up and running in a school this fall.
The other site I received was for the Bike to Work Day in Denver Colorado. The bike to work day doesn’t happen until late June. The thing I found interesting was how many business participle in this day of cycling. You have food venders as well as cycling venders all around the city. So if you want to get a quick meal there are stopping point set up around the city to do so. Got a flat or mechanical problem then stop by other check points and get it fixed. Not only is the overall principal of this day is to get people out riding and maybe change their commuting habits but to help promote and network business participating in this event. Each person that wishes to participate in the ride will go to the home site which contains the links of each business that is participating in the event. I am not sure how much traffic it generates for each linked site but if you are like me, they will jump from link to link checking out each site. I think if we just tweak this a little to our advantage and sell it to some of our area business; we could have a great bike to work week in C.R.
Anyway I hope that you keep checking back periodically and I should have another installment on winter cycling soon. I am going to cover the cleaning and lubing that is required for riding in the winter. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Winter Riding Part 3
In the past blog entries I have talked about garments that “Wick” the moisture from your skin to the surface where it can evaporate and aide in keeping the clothing dry and you comfortable. There is another term you may have heard or not called “Breathable” which is not the same as “Wicking.” Although the term is be used interchangeably by those who are not as well versed on the subject, the two terms are not. In most cases when you hear the term “Breathable” you are very likely using it in the context of a jacket or coat. The term “Wicking” is use when you are talking about a shirt, jersey, or heavier clothing that you wear during your workouts. The mechanics “Breathable” and “Wicking” are very different in which one uses osmosis and the other uses a venting system.
Wicking use the principle of osmosis which is; diffusion of molecules through a semi permeable membrane from a place of higher concentration to a place of lower concentration until the concentration on both sides is equal) (WorldNet search-3.0) In most cases because the moister eventually moves to the surface and into the air the movement of the sweat is continues. This is also contingent on the type of material you are wearing, it may dry quickly like in manmade fabrics or slowly as in plant based fabrics. How fast or how slow it dries will also dictate how comfortable you will be during your ride. If you ever have ridden on a hot and very humid day wearing a cotton shirt you would notice that once your shirt is saturated with sweat your ability to cool down becomes more difficult. Now if you are wearing a cycling jersey on that same day you would notice that cooling down is not a problem. The slower the movement of moisture and the more the garment holds water the harder it is to cool off.
Breathable use more of a mechanical way of releasing the moister from one side of the garment to the other. Most breathable material is incorporated into coats, jackets and windbreaker and is mostly waterproof. When you think of breathing one would automatically think of the physical exhaling of CO2 and inhaling of O2 and in a way that is kind of what happens. Instead of the exchange of the gasses you pass the moisture through the garments via tiny holes, lots of small holes. This exchange can happen because of the warmth of your body and the temperature of the sweat. The moisture vapor is physically pushed through the tiny holes and into the air. Without the combination of the tiny holes and the push of the moisture through the holes the garment is not breathable. The drawback of this design is that in order for this to work the garment is often thin and has very little to no insulation from the outside temperature. So that means that if you are going to wear a breathable jacket in cold weather you must have the layers to go under it.
For most cool fall weather riding you can get away with 2 and the most 3 layers while riding. The idea is when you are starting out to feel a little chill so as you start to ride you start to warm up. By dressing this way you delay or prevent over heating as well as soaking your first and second layer. If these layers get overly saturated you could end up cooling down to the point of shivering making it difficult to warm back up. For winter riding where temperatures are consistently 38 degrees and below and wind chill factors are part of the everyday conversation, then you need a winter coat.
Wicking use the principle of osmosis which is; diffusion of molecules through a semi permeable membrane from a place of higher concentration to a place of lower concentration until the concentration on both sides is equal) (WorldNet search-3.0) In most cases because the moister eventually moves to the surface and into the air the movement of the sweat is continues. This is also contingent on the type of material you are wearing, it may dry quickly like in manmade fabrics or slowly as in plant based fabrics. How fast or how slow it dries will also dictate how comfortable you will be during your ride. If you ever have ridden on a hot and very humid day wearing a cotton shirt you would notice that once your shirt is saturated with sweat your ability to cool down becomes more difficult. Now if you are wearing a cycling jersey on that same day you would notice that cooling down is not a problem. The slower the movement of moisture and the more the garment holds water the harder it is to cool off.
Breathable use more of a mechanical way of releasing the moister from one side of the garment to the other. Most breathable material is incorporated into coats, jackets and windbreaker and is mostly waterproof. When you think of breathing one would automatically think of the physical exhaling of CO2 and inhaling of O2 and in a way that is kind of what happens. Instead of the exchange of the gasses you pass the moisture through the garments via tiny holes, lots of small holes. This exchange can happen because of the warmth of your body and the temperature of the sweat. The moisture vapor is physically pushed through the tiny holes and into the air. Without the combination of the tiny holes and the push of the moisture through the holes the garment is not breathable. The drawback of this design is that in order for this to work the garment is often thin and has very little to no insulation from the outside temperature. So that means that if you are going to wear a breathable jacket in cold weather you must have the layers to go under it.
For most cool fall weather riding you can get away with 2 and the most 3 layers while riding. The idea is when you are starting out to feel a little chill so as you start to ride you start to warm up. By dressing this way you delay or prevent over heating as well as soaking your first and second layer. If these layers get overly saturated you could end up cooling down to the point of shivering making it difficult to warm back up. For winter riding where temperatures are consistently 38 degrees and below and wind chill factors are part of the everyday conversation, then you need a winter coat.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Sorry for the gap
Hey I have to apologize for large gap between blog postings but this month I have landed a temp job that has kept me busy. I am also still looking for a full-time permanent job when I am not working so it has been a busy month. In between the looking for a job and working I have been gathering info on winter coats, specifically on the types that would best benefit winter cyclist. I hope to have some info soon to finish up the third part of the Winter Riding segment.
I have to say this long period without a job has been the hardest thing that my wife and I have had to go through. We have been blessed that we have not had too many bills, an affordable mortgage, and no credit cards that would have killed us. With all that it is still very hard being unemployed both mentally and emotionally for us. For me I feel so useless because I have put a lot of money and time into a vocation both in art and portrait photography that has slowly become obsolete. With the advent of cheap programs that you can create flyers, posters, and other graphic pieces; suddenly everyone is a graphic artist. Digital cameras have made it possible for more people to become overnight portrait photographers. With PhotoShop you can bring in a poorly shot photo and with a touch of an action that was bought, you can clean up and stylize your photo without even knowing what the hell it did. I think some photographers do a great disservice to the industry when they sell actions over the internet. It just seems to me that we are dummying down the profession of portrait photography when anyone who has a slick marketing angle but knows nothing about photography suddenly becomes the overnight success.
So in reflection of the past year I have soul searched and decided to enter the health care field. I am starting out in the field of Phlebotomy and through small steps I want to work up to the nursing field. I am also seeking an apprenticeship as a bike mechanic. I want to learn to fix bikes so not only can I keep mine in proper working order but fix old ones and either sell them for cheep or give them to people who need them. Maybe start a bike collective like the one in Des Moines. But all that will be contingent on school and jobs but either way I could use the knowledge to get a little extra cash at first.
Anyway I hope to have the blog up to date here in the next few weeks but until then keep checking back and check out the blog log if you haven’t already.
I have to say this long period without a job has been the hardest thing that my wife and I have had to go through. We have been blessed that we have not had too many bills, an affordable mortgage, and no credit cards that would have killed us. With all that it is still very hard being unemployed both mentally and emotionally for us. For me I feel so useless because I have put a lot of money and time into a vocation both in art and portrait photography that has slowly become obsolete. With the advent of cheap programs that you can create flyers, posters, and other graphic pieces; suddenly everyone is a graphic artist. Digital cameras have made it possible for more people to become overnight portrait photographers. With PhotoShop you can bring in a poorly shot photo and with a touch of an action that was bought, you can clean up and stylize your photo without even knowing what the hell it did. I think some photographers do a great disservice to the industry when they sell actions over the internet. It just seems to me that we are dummying down the profession of portrait photography when anyone who has a slick marketing angle but knows nothing about photography suddenly becomes the overnight success.
So in reflection of the past year I have soul searched and decided to enter the health care field. I am starting out in the field of Phlebotomy and through small steps I want to work up to the nursing field. I am also seeking an apprenticeship as a bike mechanic. I want to learn to fix bikes so not only can I keep mine in proper working order but fix old ones and either sell them for cheep or give them to people who need them. Maybe start a bike collective like the one in Des Moines. But all that will be contingent on school and jobs but either way I could use the knowledge to get a little extra cash at first.
Anyway I hope to have the blog up to date here in the next few weeks but until then keep checking back and check out the blog log if you haven’t already.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Found Another Movie
I know I am a little of track with my blog entries but this and maybe one more will be about movies and then I will go back to winter riding. This movie that I have only seen the trailer for, is about the Flying Scotsman, Graeme Obree, who built his own bike to break a world record.
Graeme Obree (Jonny Lee Miller), an out-of-work amateur cyclist, designs and builds his own bike from washing machine parts and other scrap. His dedication pays off as he breaks a world speed record to become a cycling hero. And although personal tragedy and professional setbacks threaten his success, he never loses sight of his dream. Laura Fraser and Billy Boyd co-star in this inspiring true story of one man's unwavering determination to win. (Netflix)
I haven’t watched it yet but have put it on my wish list.
Now here is the challenge, Name as many cycling movies that you can, then e-mail me at dave_glandon@yahoo.com with that list. I will compile the e-mails and the one with the most will win a Travel Mug with my Share the Road design. Make sure that when you e-mail me you include your all your mailing information so I can get it to you. The contest will start today and end November 20th with the wining list posted on the following Monday the 23rd of November. Good luck!
Graeme Obree (Jonny Lee Miller), an out-of-work amateur cyclist, designs and builds his own bike from washing machine parts and other scrap. His dedication pays off as he breaks a world speed record to become a cycling hero. And although personal tragedy and professional setbacks threaten his success, he never loses sight of his dream. Laura Fraser and Billy Boyd co-star in this inspiring true story of one man's unwavering determination to win. (Netflix)
I haven’t watched it yet but have put it on my wish list.
Now here is the challenge, Name as many cycling movies that you can, then e-mail me at dave_glandon@yahoo.com with that list. I will compile the e-mails and the one with the most will win a Travel Mug with my Share the Road design. Make sure that when you e-mail me you include your all your mailing information so I can get it to you. The contest will start today and end November 20th with the wining list posted on the following Monday the 23rd of November. Good luck!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Encore! Encore! Encore!
For those who, like me, missed the movie “Race across the Sky” you are in luck. This Friday tickets go on sale for an encore presentation of the documentary of the Leadville 100 bike race. I had a friend, Mark, who caught the San Francisco showing and said it “if it's something you're considering it's a must see.” Check out this trailer and then check out the link for shows in your area.
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