Monthly Archives: November 2007

The Amputated Ungulate Appendage

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SandieAfter a cold foggy morning, the sun finally came out just in time for our lunch time ride. Ride temperatures started out in the low 40′s. I had my warm riding gear from my commute this morning, but a couple of the riders were caught off guard…shorts, short sleeve jerseys, short finger gloves. Brrr!

We got to the water tower climb in Ash Canyon, and the air temperature seemed to climb rapidly. Sometimes we get an inversion in the valley where all the cold air sinks to the valley floor, and I suspect this was happening today.

Deer LegAfter some chatter at the top of the hill, we began our descent. Partway down, this dismembered deer leg was once again laying across the trail. This thing has been hanging around for at least a couple weeks now, and keeps showing up at various locations. None of us had time to see what it was, and had to wheelie over it, or swerve around it. All of us were successful except for Sandie. She didn’t show up immediately at the next check point, but when she did, she told us of her gruesome encounter.

IMG_0726Apparently her rear tire kicked the amputated ungulate appendage up into the air where it proceed to kick her in the butt! And to add insult to injury, the leg became lodged between Sandie’s rear tire and frame, causing her to have to stop and remove it manually. Yuck! From what I hear, the leg is now in two pieces…

I laughed as I finished the hill, but the humor stopped as I discovered a rear flat tire…a thorn I had picked up on my morning commute. The gang waited for me as I did my blazingly fast 8 minute tube swap.  I got my tire up to a flaccid 25 psi or so with the mini pump, and headed back to work.
One more lunch ride this week, and then it’s time for the Holidays!

Car Free Day

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Foggy CommuteLast Thursday I had a car free day! I started the day with a foggy commute. I took a less direct route to work, and rode down Mountain Street, past the Governor’s Mansion and other historical places of interest. The naked trees, fall colors, and foggy air made for a mystic commute. I took this picture, and then rode down to Main Street for some more pictures. Things that you wouldn’t even think about doing in a car on your way to work.

At lunch I joined the lunch crew and went on a cool singletrack ride up in Ash Canyon. The weather was unseasonably warm for this late in November, and we were able to wear shorts and short sleeves!

I took Nevada Street on the way home from work, pedaling down the almost deserted street. At each intersection, I could see the restive traffic on main street to the east sitting motionless.

Foggy CommuteAfter dinner, Jeff P hooked me up with some Night Rider lights, and we headed off to the Muscle Powered meeting. Early into the ride we saw another bicycle headed our way, complete with night lights just like us. When the cyclist caught up to us, we discovered that it was Barbara on her way to the Muscle Powered meeting! We formed a Carson City style Critical Mass, the three of us sharing our blinking lights to form a safety barrier around us.

Once at the Muscle Powered meeting, I heard about all the exciting projects that are happening around Carson City, and learned more about all the areas of our community that the group is involved in. Jeff P displayed his very impressive maps of the proposed trails that he has envisioned for the Kings Canyon / Ash Canyon area. His passion and dedication for this new trail project is commendable. Many of us would love to have new trails to ride, but few of us would go to the lengths that he has gone to make the dream a reality. The only thing standing in the way is government cooperation!

At the end of the meeting I nominated myself as a 2008 Muscle Powered Board Member. I felt a little funny doing this among such wise people, but thought that I should offer what I could to help out the cause. After the meeting we reassembled our “Critical Mass” and safely returned to our homes. As I went to sleep that night I thought contently, “This day is why I moved to Carson!”

Useful Tools

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Here is a link to the Federal Highway Administration website which offers free publications for our trail building needs. Even if you have no desire to build trails these publicationKaylas will help you understand why trails are built the way they are. You will also be able to identify sections where the trail design has its flaws, and what to do do to correct potential problems. The Baldy Green Trail is a good trail to critique, as it has mix of correct and incorrect design features.

Trail Meeting Canceled

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rambo-squirrel.jpg

   Carson City Parks and Recreation called me this afternoon to let me know that the USFS canceled our trail meeting scheduled for tomorrow. Needless to say I’m very disappointed. I’ve been preparing and looking forward to this meeting for two months. Parks and Rec said they would start planning our next meeting. I’ll let you know what happens.

My First Commute

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Commute by the CapitalOne of the top reasons for moving back to Carson City was to be able to commute to work by bicycle. My previous commute was a 32 mile round trip, but usually became closer to 50 miles when I added other errands or lunch time rides. It was adventurous and fun, but certainly not practical to do everyday. I only did it three times during bike to work week, and gave up.

Today was the first bicycle commute from my temporary residence, a distance of 1.4 miles. Much more practical! At such a short distance, you really gain nothing from driving. By the time you wait at stop lights and find parking in your car, you’ve made up the difference on the bicycle. The only real complaint I had was that the ride wasn’t long enough. I was just starting to have fun! The commute from my permanent residence will be slightly longer at 2 miles (4 miles round trip). The additional riding time will be welcome.  Overall though, today’s experience was very liberating!

I knew today would be a learning ride. Since I also ride for fun at lunch, I would need to bring riding clothes for warmer weather in addition to the work clothes that were in my pack. The weather forecast was incorrect, and it ended up being pretty cold at lunch. The warm weather clothes were useless, but luckily I wore cold weather gear for the commute in and was able to use it for the fun ride at lunch. I suppose there is a learning curve on which clothes to bring with you, and which ones to stash at the office. Other things came to mind too; for example, a bicycle lock. I forgot to bring one in case I needed to run an errand.

It was just starting to get dark when I rode home. I had a white blinker light on the front, and it worked really good. No cars pulled out in front of me, and they appeared to see me coming. My rear blinker light is still in the storage shed, and I won’t have it until this weekend. I felt a little invisible from the rear and took evasive maneuvers. As we get further into winter, I may adjust my work hours to coincide with the sun for better visibility.

I plan to make bicycle commuting a regular topic here. There is much learning to do, and many adventures to be had. I also plan to interview bicycle commuters from around the country, and share their experiences and advice with the challenges they face, whether it be traffic, bicycle storage at work, or riding in extreme conditions.

Stay tuned!

Back in Carson!

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Creek TrailThis weekend marked my return to Carson City. I was born here in 1970, but moved to Reno in 1988. From 1995 until last week, I lived in Gardnerville. I’ve worked in Carson City since 1995, but never really felt like part of the community. This all changed this weekend.

Typically I ride the west side trails on my lunch break. I see the same people everyday, and very few cyclists. I had the feeling that there weren’t too many trail users besides ourselves.

I got in a couple late afternoon rides this weekend, a time that I don’t normally ride in Carson City, and was pleased to see many other cyclists out on the trails! Some were people I knew, others I met for the first time. I thought this was cool for a couple reasons.

Firstly, it’s November. Many people put their bikes away for the cold season, so it was great to see people out braving the elements. I hate to hear, “The end of the Season”, because you can ride your bicycle comfortably year round with the right gear.

Secondly, I saw many new faces. This is important, since the location of many of the trail heads are somewhat secret, or “not advertised” if you will. This shows that word of mouth is getting around. One friend showing another friend, and so on. This is one of the reasons I think a blog/site like this can be such a powerful tool. You don’t have to reach everyone, just the ones you know that will start telling everyone!

There are many cycling resources that have been implemented, and many are in the planning stage right now. New bike paths, cycling maps, cycling events, new trails…Carson City is poised to be a great cycling city, and it’s exciting to be a part of it!

See you on the trail!