Perpetual motion machine…… that’s like folks on tracks bikes that have to move their feet with the pedals as the wheel moves.  Continually moving.  That crisp December breeze hitting your face, making your eyes water a bit, all those nerves feeling that cool buffet.  And ol Jack Frost, he’s a kinkster, that one.  Like, how his fingers slide up under the back of your shirt, lashing any exposed skin.  Or how your jacket opens and the chill wraps around your stomach like a tornado.  The absolute worst, my perpetually-in-motion friends, is when it goes right through your sweater.  It creeps in!  Finds every little hole and crevice between the weaves, and Land! when it gets through and there’s sweat on your chest.

We all want to be babied when we’re sick, don’t we?  Someone to make you tea, rub your back, put a hand on your forehead,  bring you movies.  Sounds nice, doesn’t it?  Don’t forget the fever.  And the achy muscles.  The sweats, the rasp in the lungs.  Not fun.

So, an ounce of prevention vs pound of cure….

Keep the moisture off the chest.  Athletic shirts of various fiber types accomplishes this.  It does.  Yeah, yeah…. not in your wardrobe, well, what in there might remove moisture from your skin?  The answer is NOT COTTON!

And if the special moisture control shirt is unavailable, then at least keep the wind off your chest.  Nothing says pneumonia like a good bike ride in cold weather in the wrong jacket.

Remember, moisture control and thermoregulation.  You know what they mean.  How do you practice it?

Hi!  How are you today? Mmhmm.  Really?  K.  Well, let’ talk about something else.  What do you want  to talk about?  Whatever?  Ok, you asked for it…

When you ride down the street and there’s 2 lanes, but one is filled with parked cars, how do you ride?  Do you ride in the middle of the traffic lane?  Do you ride towards the outside of the traffic lane?  Do you ride in the parking lane, all close to the cardoors?  The sidewalk?  Not sure?  Think for a minute.  Maybe you’ve been going down Hamilton Ave through Northside down by Hoffner Park.  On the north side of Blue Rock heading down towards Spring Grove.  There you have two lanes at your disposable, if the bus isn’t taking up the outer.  Once we cross over Blue Rock, cars begin to park in that lane and there is only one left for moving traffic.  Where do you go?  Straight to Take the Cake?  Ok.  Now back out in the street…   Car behind you and bus ahead of you.  Yeah, it a big car!  They’re all big!  Wait!  Real quick, just consider what could happen if you try to make yourself small against that wall of parked cars.  You know, to give those people in the vehicle that can do 0 to 70 in how many SECONDS the opportunity to squeeze past you?  THEY CAN WAIT!!  They can.  Really really really realize that if a cardoor opens up and hits you, you’re screwed.  If it opens up and you hit it, you’re screwed.  And not in the fun way!  How will we be friends for thirty years if you didn’t make it?!  Own your lane.  See your line in front of you.  Pedal.  How often have you caught yourself only looking at the moving traffic?  How often do you listen to your space radio while cruising?  Think about how crucial it can be to see the head inside the parked car moving like they plan on opening the door, and hear the ‘ca-click’ of the latch and lock.

No, you haven’t done anything wrong.  Just something to run round in your head tonight.  Each one teach one, right?  Why would you NOT want to think about this?

See ya later.

Reflectors!!  Lights!!  Visibility!!  In this city, it is not only the law, but a necessity to avoid being run down while out riding in the evening and night.  So here is a little food for thought…

Would you believe how important at dusk to have a blinking taillight?  The Lakota peoples speak of this as a magic time, and no in the oh-so-fun rabbit popping out of the hat.  Think more like, everything is a shade of gray.  So its all the more important to have that flashing bit of red or orange blowing up drivers’ retinas.

The next little bit to consider is WHERE to place your reflectors and/or lights.  Studies have been done showing how simply by viewing  lights placed on moving joints, the human mind can discern a multitude of information, and in our case, that we are on a bicycle in front of their half ton+ of steel.  Don’t believe me?  Check out this little demo… http://www.biomotionlab.ca/Demos/BMLwalker.html

What it boils down to, is to seriously consider wearing reflectors on your ankles and knees, and have a blinking light on either your back or on the back of the bike.  Whichever is more visible.  Bike stores sell a variety of lights, which they will readily mount for you (sometimes for a price), and most will  also have reflective bands for your joints for a very low cost.  And if you’re crafty, you can always think up new ways to sew reflective material onto your clothes and gear!

Stay tuned, we may even have an upcoming reflective workshop in the not too distant future!

It sure has been raining a lot lately.  It is a good thing.  The water is being planted into the earth for later use.  All those shiny cold droplets glistening on the branches, blades, and leaves push the plants energy deeper in, planting that, too, for later use.  Just something to consider next time you’re out in it.  And being out in it is what this post is about.  And a bit more specifically, how to be out in it safely.

Ride safe, don't ride between the the tire lines

Last time I wrote about wet metal.  Remember that?  Only good wet metal is really good heavy metal, otherwise its bad luck, so try your best to avoid it or hold steady as you go over it.  The other tricky tricky during the rain is where in the road you ride.  Really.  You wouldn’t think it would make a difference but it does.  When its raining, ride in the car tracks.  The reason for this is that inbetween those tracks lies slickness – oil and other lubricants that leak or  get washed off the bottom of cars and sit in the street until the rains pull it to the surface.  And its most dangerous early in the rainfall before its had time to be pushed to the sides and middle by constant tire pressure from all the traffic.   Next time you’re caught in the rain on your bicycle, notice where all the pretty swirly rainbow colors are on the concrete.  Just don’t notice them too long or you might end up going splat!

So remember, in the rain, what lies between the lines can mess you up.

From January through March, a Winter Workshop Series will be held every Thursday night (except Women’s Nights) at 7pm at MoBo.

Topics to be covered include:
Winter Bicycling with Ben Nava
Derailleurs with Scott Pardi
Roadside Repair with Nate Kemphues
Bicycle Fit with Jess Linz
Bottom Brackets with Jay McKillop
Brakes of all Kinds with Gabe Freeman
Wheel Truing with John Wood
Wheel Building (two part series) with John Wood
Road Safety with Katie Vogel

Spaces are limited. Reserve your spot at open shop or via email to PRforMoBo[AT]gmail.com. The suggested donation is $5.

*WE ARE HOLDING A POSTER CONTEST FOR THE WINTER SEMINAR SERIES*

Send your design using the preceding information to PRforMoBo[AT]gmail.com or bring a copy by open shop. Entries should be for paper size 11″x17″ and are due by December 1st.