I've started taking advantage of the warmer weather, and have returned to biking to work. It's nice to ride among the breeze and falling cherry blossom petals in the morning. Like an obsessive biker, I have started working on the Trek 970 in earnest to transform it into a back-up bike.
I lucked out and found another vintage gym basket to attach to the Trek's rear rack, and I installed a kid bike BMX handlebar. New cables are necessary, but I think I have enough parts to bring everything together..........
The coldest I have ever been was at Great Lakes Recruit Training Center, on Lake Michigan. The wind from across those waters and ice slices through you in December and January like none other. I look at this photo of bike commuters on the shore of Lake Michigan and I just have to be glad I'm enjoying the balmy gulf breezes of Louisiana.
My dedicated commuter bike started out as a Raleigh M-30 mountain bike that I purchased for thirty bucks at a pawn shop. The bike had several things going for it. It was a rigid steel frame bike with a rigid steel fork. The 26 inch aluminum wheels were made by Araya. It also sported center pull cantilever brakes and an Shimano indexed shifting system for 15 gears. While a decent enough old bike, it was hardly ready for dedicated commuting.
When I decided to toss my hat helmet into the ring of bike commuting, I began to read up on the activity. I quickly subscribed to the school of thought that I would rather have my bike still chained in place after work than have it ridden away by a thief. I took a two prong approach to the problem. First, I ordered a heavy Kryptonite chain to slow down the thief, or at least draw enough undesired attention to him that he would be reluctant to steal the bike. Then I decided to make my ride appear as undesirable as possible through uglification. The overall effect was a bike that just wasn't worth the effort to steal.
It is the details that make a dedicated commuter though, and over time, my black Raleigh mountain bike was transformed. One of the first things I installed was a set of handlebars off a little girl's BMX bike. The narrow width makes negotiating between parked cars easy, while the high rise allows me to assume an upright posture to see over them. Two Planet Bike headlights, a Blazer and a Beamer light my way. I can set them on a combination of steady light, or steady and flashing, or just use one. I like the flexibility of two headlights. Both disengage easily to take with me when I leave the bike.
I needed a bell on the handlebars, and I wanted it by my thumb, so I moved the forward derailleur lever to the handlebar stem. I rarely use it anyway in the city streets, but it is there if I need it.
I agonized over tires for a while. I knew I needed to ditch the knobbies for smooth rubber, but I wanted durable tires that could avoid flats. I found exactly what I wanted with the Specialized Nimbus Armadillo tires. I finally bit the bullet and paid the $45 each price for the Kevlar belted tires. I have not regretted it. The bike rolls noticeably easier, and flats are a thing of the past. Of course, a $45 tire is ripe game for a thief, so I remove the front rim with the quick release hub, and run the chain through it as well when locking the bike.
Any commuter bike should have full fenders. Even if a rider is not getting drenched in a downpour, wet streets can still make a dirty stripe up his back without fenders. One benefit of the more narrow Specialized Nimbus tires is they allowed me to bolt on the fenders I desired. I chose some old British fenders for the commuter bike that came off my Armstrong. The flaky white paint added just the "You're gonna get tetanus if you touch it" look I wanted. I riveted some splash guards on the rear fender and bolted a leather shoe tongue on the front as a mud flap.
A comfortable commuter bike needs a comfortable seat. I was lucky enough to get a free one when a friend decided to replace her Bontrager seat with a wider one. What was uncomfortable for her was ideal for me. To make certain it stayed on the locked up bike, I ran some bicycle chain through both seat rails and around the seat stays. Then I pinned it back together, and zip tied it taut. My Kryptonite New York Noose wraps around the whole shebang for transport.
I quickly learned that carrying a backpack on one's back while bicycling is not the way to go. The weight shifts and the rider swelters underneath the load, with the sweat unable to evaporate or wick away in the wind. I needed a way to carry gear, but I needed it off my back.
At Toys R Us I found an outrageous deal on Bell bike racks, and I bought them out. I bolted one down to the rear of the Raleigh M-30. On one of my commutes, I found a galvanized gym basket being tossed in the trash. I immediately snatched it up to attach to the rear rack. It is secured with heavy duty zip ties, nuts and bolts, a padlock, and finally a trigger lock running through everything. If some antique hound decides to make off with this basket, it will have a hole in the bottom when they are finished removing it.
The rear of the basket is adorned with a large automotive reflector and a pair of Planet Bike Extreme Blinkies. Two heavy duty zip tie loops provide a place for the blinkies to clip onto. Scotch tape secures the lenses on the blinkies after a hard lesson. A can of Fox Labs Mean Green pepper spray stands ready inside the black nylon pouch clipped to the side of the basket.
Not everything done to this bicycle was done in an orderly progression. The bicycle evolved over time, based on my needs and experimentation. Serendipity played a large role in the finished product. Regardless, the thirty dollar Raleigh underdog has become one of my favorite bicycles, and the one I chose each morning for effective pedal power transportation.
About a month ago, in a Bike Journal post, I mentioned the void among bicycle manufacturers regarding a dedicated commuter bike. Several readers disagreed and pointed to various offerings by several companies.Some bikes come close, but lose the cigar on price.
Today, I read a post on Bike Commuters that essentially decries the same issue. It seems as though bicycle manufacturers are selling "life style" as much as equipment. They do not really understand the needs of the bike commuter.
Every bike commuter has their preferences, sometimes strange, like my affection for handlebars purloined off a kid's BMX bike. Other items and factors should be standard. Durability and reliability should be paramount. Carbon forks are out. Spokes are in, plenty of them. Kevlar belted tires should be standard. Eyelets for mounting racks and fenders? Standard. Hell, make the racks and fenders themselves standard, although many riders will have their own preferences. How about a chainguard? Would there be anything wrong with making lighting that is integrated in the bike and therefore relatively theft proof available on a commuter bike? How about an integrated locking system? Finally, make it affordable, and replaceable if it is stolen.
There is a lot of room for improvement in the production of dedicated working bikes, and the market is wide open. All it takes is a manufacturer listening to it's customers.
These kind of stories hit home to a bike commuter:
May 16, 2008, The Seattle Times: The recent mugging of a man who was riding his bicycle through the Interstate 90 Mount Baker Tunnel has prompted police and the Cascade Bicycle Club to urge bicyclists to always be aware of their surroundings and travel with others.
Bob Cornwell was pedalling home from work through the Mount Baker Tunnel last week when he was attacked by three teenagers who knocked him off his bike, slammed him against a wall and stole his wallet, money and bike bag. The Seattle University professor said he was lucky to escape with only a few bumps and bruises. Initially, he didn't want to report the incident to police. "I didn't want to make a big thing of it," he said.
But a colleague and fellow member of the Cascade Bicycle Club encouraged him to call police, and warned others of the May 7 assault through a posting on the club's message board. The posting was forwarded through the local biking community. According to a police report, the strong-arm robbery occurred shortly before 5 p.m. near the entrance of the tunnel from Sam Smith Park, on the lid of I-90 at Martin Luther King Jr. Way South.
As a group of people, bicycle commuters are used to enduring the scorn of drivers, often having curses and even trash hurled at them as they pedal down the street. With the increase of people taking to pedal power, a more significant crime is certain to increase, however. Muggings of cyclists will no doubt increase both in frequency and severity.
To decrease the likelihood of being victimized, it is imperative that the cyclist understand the motives for these attacks. A cyclist may be attacked through road rage, as juvenile entertainment, or in a strong arm robbery attempt. Only rarely is there a personal vendetta.
Criminals do not attack randomly. They select victims after formulating a plan. Frequently it is a plan that has worked for them in the past. They set up an ambush site and wait for a likely target. The victim may have been chosen beforehand, or the victim may be an unwitting target of opportunity.
If you are targeted before hand, the attack will likely come as you have your back turned, kneeling down and your attention taken by the task of locking or unlocking your bike. Situational awareness is crucial at this time. Choose a well lit area with frequent passersby to mitigate the risks. Scan the areas for loiterers. Have an alternate site to lock up at if conditions do not seem safe at the primary spot. By locking up where you are secure, the bonus will be your bicycle secured in a more theft resistant location.
Attacks can occur while riding as well. It is difficult for a cyclist to divide his attention between the traffic around him and the potential threats that lurk between parked cars. Get the iPod out of your ears. Listen to what is going on around you. Watch the movements on the sidewalks, as well as the traffic ahead of you. A cyclist can be brought to an abrupt stop with a broomstick jammed into the spokes of his bike. After getting up from the pavement battered, he will be quickly beat down again in a robbery attempt. Cyclists can be tackled from the side, clotheslined from the front, or beaten across the back with bludgeons. The key to surviving such an attack is to recognize it in it's infancy and avoiding it all together. It will originate from the sidewalks as you approach. Avoidance of attacks and the potential confrontations that may precede an attack is crucial. If the cyclist is brought down while riding, he will be forced to defend himself while already injured.
The bicyclist has the advantage of speed. If speed and maneuverability are combined with situational awareness to keep distance between potential attackers and the cyclist, evasion is academic. Knowing how to bunny hop curbs, how to maneuver through traffic, how to use traffic as a screen and how to evade approach without getting smacked by an automobile are all tools in avoiding an attack from street thugs.
Of greater importance is having several routes that can be taken, both to eliminate patterns and also to escape an attack. Territorial disputes between gangs and road rage from drivers demand that the cyclist use his knowledge of the areas traveled to take the path of least resistance. It is far better to take an extra four or five blocks pedaling than accept twelve hours on the pokey and a court date, much less an endotracheal tube and a ventilator for support. Avoid conflicts and altercations. Ride where your attackers cannot go. If you must pass through an area or situation, keep to the center of the streets. Force any attacker who may be on foot to enter the street to get to you. Be willing to pedal through stop lights if a safe opportunity presents itself. The key, after avoidance, is to keep moving but know when you must stop and defend. Maneuver around those who try to stop you. If, regardless of your efforts, you can not avoid contact, get your feet on the ground and your hands off the handlebars. You do not want to have to physically defend yourself immediately after taking a fall from your bike at speed.
If a cyclist is unable to avoid conflict, and is brought down by force, he will be fighting while already injured. His helmet and gloves will take on new importance in allowing him to avoid significant injury so that he might fight for his life if need be. If one must fight, knowing how to fight with non-traditional weapons is beneficial. Do not use a bike as a weapon, it's too unwieldy. Carry a U-lock, it's a great defensive weapon, as is a bike mounted tire pump. I solidly recommend Marc MacYoung's Guide To Improvised Weapons For Self-Defense for learning how to use a U-lock or a tire pump to best effect. Get the backpack off your back and into a basket on the bike. One reason I do not wear a backpack is I do not want it strapped to me if I am forced to defend myself.
Pepper spray is an effective non-lethal weapon. I currently carry Fox Lab's Mean Green spray with a cone nozzle. The cone gives me the advantage of being able to spray predatory humans and aggressive dogs on the fly if need be. I carry it in a clip on holster secured on the bike's basket behind me. Carried there, it cannot spray me in an accident, yet it is readily available for dogs of all types. If the cyclist has a CCW license, a firearm can be carried in a fanny pack, in a belly band, or even in a converted knee brace. Lycra riding clothes are generally out if a person wants to conceal a firearm. I have found pocket carry (one of my preferred modes of carry) to be too risky on a bicycle, unless the pocket has a zipper to close it. Smith & Wesson J frame revolvers and the KelTec P32 make good portable biking firearms.
If you are going to carry a firearm on your bicycle, it is imperative that you train with it. Train with it on your bike. Learn how to take a fall, how to keep your bike between you and your target, and how to get hits from the ground, wearing your cycling gloves. Find a range that will allow you to practice, or if that is impossible, practice the maneuvers through dry fire in your garage. Being able to draw safely and shoot quickly and safely from your back with your lower body towards the target is crucial. If you have the opportunity to observe bicycle police training, learn all you can from watching them.
Finally, if you are assaulted on your bicycle, report the crime. Carry your cell phone. Do not fall victim to the embarrassment that Bob Cornwell felt. You were victimized, and it was not your fault. If you were forced to employ pepper spray or a firearm, or even if the presence of the device deterred the attack, report the attack. You do not want your attacker reporting you as a crazy person threatening them with a weapon.
The remnants of tropical storm Fay had drenched the streets before I left work for home this afternoon. Thankfully, the precipitation had dwindled to a minimum, but the streets still glistened with an iridescent coating of water and oil.
I had been cautioned that the Specialized Nimbus Armadillo tires I had mounted on the commuter bike might not perform too well on slick streets. I was eager to try them out, so I put on my gloves and began to search out puddles and manhole covers on the way home.
I pedaled at my usual pace, not a speed demon pace by any means, but still a notch above a relaxed spin. I hesitate to estimate my speed, but it was a speed that would give me confidence regardless of the surface conditions or tires. I was thankful for the full fenders, they kept me dry as the narrow red wall rubber sliced through the water.
At the speeds I was riding, the Nimbus Armadillos were capable and certain. Transversing manhole covers, metal grates, painted sections of the pavement made no difference. Perhaps I was not going fast enough to reach the outer envelope of these tires, but then, I would not have ridden that fast anyway considering the traffic I negotiate on my commute home. If I was pedaling for time, I might have found the limits of the traction afforded. I was, however, pedaling to get home in time for dinner, hopefully before the skies dumped another deluge, without exceeding the limits of my brakes. The Specialized Nimbus Armadillos were plenty safe for that.
I wore gloves for the pre-dawn commute today. I suppose, as one who works with his hands in infectious situations, I should wear gloves at all times while biking. I don't though. What made this morning different was that I was running new tires for the first time. Last night, I installed the 26 X 1.5 Specialized Nimbus Armadillos on the commuter bike.
The Specialized Armadillo line of tires is a kevlar belted tire that is billed as the most flat resistant tire available. They have a reputation for being hard to install on the rim, and for being a hard riding tire. I chose them for the virtual elimination of flats though. I commute through some rough urban areas littered with broken beer and wine bottles, and I do it in the dark pre-dawn hours. I see flattened puddles of glass shards held together by battered labels sparkling menacingly in the sun on my afternoon commute back home, and I wonder how I missed them on the morning commute. With the cheap Cheng Shin knobbies I was running, I would be flatter than Daddy's wallet one day after his daughter's wedding if I were to hit one of those. Intervention was needed.
Last night, putting the Armadillos on my commuter bike's 26 inch Araya aluminum rims, I used my hands only. I had no problems at all. I put them on with a tube, and pumped them up to 60 PSI. No big deal. This morning, I left home a half hour early to give them a preliminary wringing out.
The ride was more harsh. The cheapo knobbies had a mushy quality that cushioned the bumps, cracks, potholes, and all the other uneven surfaces that make up urban commuting. They hummed going across a smooth parking lot at speed. The Armadillos were silent, and rode more roughly. On a smooth surface, I am certain they would be faster. On the city streets, the comparison was similar to a Buick LeSabre and a Jeep. The ride was more solid, as well as more certain, but you felt the effects through the seat and handlebars. Suspension in either of those areas, or both, would minimize the effects. For a rigid frame bike like mine, tighten your nuts and bolts, and consider lock washers and Loctite®.
I may decrease the inflation to 40 PSI and re-evaluate, as that is the pressure I was running in the Cheng Shins. Maybe that extra 20 pounds of pressure in each tire made for an unfair comparison. When cornering, the Specialized Nimbus Armadillos were superb. No drift, and no mushiness. The commuter bike cornered like a quarter horse. I had worn the gloves in case I bit the pavement getting around turns. I didn't need them. One experienced reader had cautioned me about wet mornings, steel grates and manhole covers with the Specialized Armadillos. I will have to put the gloves on at another time to evaluate that. This morning, they were more than adequate in holding the road through turns.
One of the unexpected fringe benefits of these tires was the more narrow width. The skinny profile allowed me to swap out my fenders to some old rusty Raleigh classic middleweight fenders I had stashed in the garage. Saying that photography helps the appearance of these relics is an understatement. They are scratched, dented, rusty, and have a Rustoleum white paint job that is battered in it's own right. The black and white color scheme is as stark as a Weegee photograph.
I wanted these old fenders on the commuter bike, and the Specialized tires allowed me to install them. They give the black and white Raleigh a quality of "don't touch me" that is usually reserved for rusty barbed wire, contaminated sharps containers, and lepers in Calcutta. OSHA may require me to place a biohazard sticker on the bicycle as a result of these fenders. In the genre of bicycle uglification, my commuter package is complete. With the rattling of the fender stays over bumps and such, a bell is redundant in warning pedestrians of my approach. I installed a bell on the handlebar stem anyway.
Do I like the Specialized Nimbus Armadillos? Yes. If they live up to their billing as being virtually flat proof, they are worth the money to me. Like the $70 Kryptonite lock that makes sure my bike is still there when I get off work, this $90 set of kevlar reinforced tires is insurance that will make certain I get to work on time in an unforgiving urban environment.
A big orange moon hung in the black sky as I left my front porch. It was 0525. I took the commuter bike to work for the first time today. I had installed a Planet Bike Beamer 3 headlight on the handlebars and two Planet Bike Super Plus 2 Extreme Blinkies on the rear basket. I had purchased them from Amazon.com for $16.45 and $17.80, respectively. That was a hell of a deal. Check my Amazon widget in the sidebar of this blog for them.
The Beamer 3 headlight cast a white beam of light in front of me that was enough to make sure I saw the road ahead, and that oncoming traffic could see me. To the rear, I was lit up like an ambulance headed for a trauma center. The Super Blinky Extremes are retina burning bright. There is simply no way a motorist can claim to have not seen them. None. Alley cats flew into epileptic fits as I passed.
My commute is not that long, nothing to brag about, and not really notable except it was my first time commuting by bike since 1985. I locked up the bike, removed the lights, and easily made it through the ER doors in time to change into my scrubs. I was checking the case log well before 0600.
One of my younger scrubs was amazed that an old man would pedal to work. "Totally awesome!" was his response. My partner wondered which bike I rode, he knows I have several. I told him it was an old converted pawn shop bike that I didn't have to worry about being stolen. A thirty dollar bike with a seventy dollar lock. When we were done with cases, I changed back into my biking togs, and we walked out into the parking garage where the rusty black beater was still locked up to the staircase. "Cool!" he said. He understood.
As I reattached the front wheel to the fork, my partner mentioned that he had a couple of old Murray mountain bikes that I could have if I wanted them. "Parts is parts," I replied. "I'll take them."
The Louisiana sun was beating down and bouncing off the blacktop as I pedaled back home. I needed a shower when I got home, but then, I shower off anyway after work. A lot of cyclists rhapsodize about how invigorating it is to ride to work, and how the ride back home cleanses the soul. I won't go that far.
I'm not biking the commute to save save the planet, or even save gas. I'm biking for myself. Several nights ago, I weighed myself for the first time in over a year. I found that I had somehow lost twelve pounds. The only reason that I could find for that loss was my return to bicycling. By biking to work, I hope to get in enough pedal time to lose some more.
I purchased the Raleigh M-30 on a whim at Neil's pawn shop for thirty bucks. Since that time, I have decided to make it into a dirt cheap commuter bike. It was rideable, but the chain, cogs, nuts and bolts were rusty. I sprayed them down with Liquid Wrench.
The bike was a bit small for me, so one of the first things I did was clamp on some riser handlebars from a little girl's powder puff bike. I thought about painting them black, but I just could not bring myself to purchase unneeded spray paint. Instead, I stuck some wheelchair hand grips on the ends, and called it quits. They give me a more upright riding position, allowing me to see over automobiles easier. The polymer pedals were trashed, so a pair of cheap metal rat trap pedals were installed.
The seat was a piece of hard dried dung. One of my scrub techs was wanting a wider seat for her Trek mountain bike, so I told her about the local bike shop's bargain bin. She got an Electra cruiser style seat for $15, I got her barely used Bontrager seat for free, as thanks for the information. To protect my new seat from bike thieves, I installed a NYC seat retention system made from a bike chain.
I was fortunate to find Bell rear racks on sale at Toys R Us for the unbelievable price of $1.60 each. Yeah baby, that's clearance! It bolted right up, and a wire gym basket zip tied to the top of it will increase my carrying capacity. Fenders and lights are also in the works. I've seen the water bottle fenders, but I'm thinking of something a little more durable. The knobby tires will be replaced with street tires when they wear out.
The Raleigh M-30 rides great. The smallish BMX style handlebars make it very maneuverable, and the gearing works well for getting around town quickly. So far I have $31.60 invested in it.
UPDATE: I have zip tied the laundry basket to the rear rack. A trigger lock in the center makes certain nobody will clip the zip ties and make off with the basket.....At least not without a hole in the bottom.
UPDATE: I added some fenders that I had in the back of the garage.
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UPDATE: The final permutation, with a Kryptonite chain lock, lights, Armadillo street tires and an uglier set of fenders.
Xavier is a Registered Nurse who specialized in complex wound care. He has practiced for over fourteen years in his community. He often provided nursing service in areas where law enforcement refused to enter without back-up. Xavier now works in surgery.
Xavier has been an avid shooter for over 30 years. He strongly supports the 2nd Amendment, opposes gun control of any sort, and carries a weapon 24 hours a day.
Xavier is known on various internet gun forums as XavierBreath. He is married with three children, and is moderated by an apathetic one eyed cat, a goofy Golden Retriever, and a stalwart German Shepherd Dog. One day, he hopes to be deserving of them all.
Domari Nolo
Xavier can still be emailed at
treatmewithbenignneglect@gmail.com
He might read your email.
He might delete it on sight.
He might publish it and comment on it.
The Five Rules of Concealed Carry
1. Your concealed handgun is for protection of life only.
2. Know exactly when you can use your gun.
3. If you can run away -- RUN!
4. Display your gun, be prepared to go to jail.
5. Don't let your emotions get the best of you.
I've started taking advantage of the warmer weather, and have returned to biking to work. It's nice to ride among the breeze and falling cherry blossom petals in the morning. Like an obsessive biker, I have started working on the Trek 970 in earnest to transform it into a back-up bike. 
