Brrrrrrr!

It was supposed to rain today according to Yahoo weather, but not a raindrop appeared.  In fact, the sky was largely clear today with high, gusty winds.

I wasn't sure if I was going to ride to work or drive due to the winds, but the winds had calmed some  by midday, so I put on my arm warmers, packed a warm hoodie in the pannier, and off I went.  When I got to the intersection of Wilshire/Gale, the wind that was channeling down Wilshire Blvd nearly knocked me off my bike. 

I knew the temp was supposed to drop tonight as we're in a cold snap (cold for Los Angeles), and the windchill factor plus riding the bike made it absolutely icy, it seemed.  I started out with just the arm warmers but within a couple of blocks pulled over and pulled out the hoodie.  It was much much MUCH too cold for only arm warmers.... well, they might have been okay if my short sleeves had been longer, but they are short short sleeves.  I didn't put on my head band that covers my ears and that was a mistake because by the time I got home, my hears were practically frozen, as were my cheeks.  Plus the headwind was withering, and when I got back to the Wilshire/Gale intersection, I was nearly blown over from the east and then the west.  I had to slow to 8 mph just to keep the bike steady because I was really fighting for balance.

Tomorrow night for sure I am putting on the headband and suiting up properly before I step out the door.

I am wondering what Lance Armstrong revealed to Oprah tonight.

Crazy riding today

Today on the bike I went back and forth to work twice, which was about 12 miles total, but then when I got home in the evening I decided I needed a little bit of food, specifically bananas.  I'm eating two bananas per day now in efforts to overall boost my potassium intake.

I'm getting pretty good at locking the bike.  I wish it went a little faster.  Even though I'm locking it to a bike rack in a well lit area of the parking lot by Pavillions, I am constantly looking over my shoulder.  I solidly locked the wheels to the frame with cables and the seat was locked down with a cable that was threaded through the U-lock.  All the cable ends were threaded through the U-Lock, and then the U-Lock and the frame were locked to the bike rack.  It all went very smoothly.  If I'd wanted to lock down the handlebars, I would have needed my third cable, but honestly, if someone were to steal the handlebars, they'd have to cut the brakes and the damage would be substantial.  The good thing is that I have enough bananas now to last me for five days, so I don't have to shop for more until Saturday. I also indulged and got my favorite cheese bagels and some cream cheese. They are definitely NOT on the high potassium diet, but I have to ease myself into a more vegetarian lifestyle and ultimately a vegan lifestyle (although both possibilities were hammered over the weekend when I made fried chicken nuggets.  Oh well!).

Bicycle locking and pannier rack troubles

I've been meaning to blog for days, but between heavy cookie orders for Christmas and  having to put my boss in the hospital on Dec. 4 and running back and forth to UCLA hospital, I just have been fairly tired and spent.

Since my last post I have purchased 2 more bike cables.  I now have 3 cables and 1 U-lock.  So last weekend I did some errands on the bike and worked on my locking skills.  The first place I went to was Aaron Bros. to pick up a new glue gun, and there was nothing to lock it to except for a skinny tree.  I locked down both wheels and the seat, using only two cables and the U-lock.  Three cables might be one too many.

My next stop was the pet store, and although I normally take the bike in and park it just inside, the store was a little busier so I decided to lock it up outside... but no place except a stairwell landing, and that was sort of like stringing the bike up, but it worked although it wasn't as well locked down.

I also received in the mail from China four more bike lights, the frog kind. They require 3 AAA batteries, and that rubbery/silicone outside was a pain to remove, but I sort of got the hang of it after four times (I bought four of them).  I mounted one on each side of the front fork but angled the lights to shine to the side, not forward, and I mounted the other two on the ends of the handle bar.  The handlebar mounting is not a good idea.  They are too big and put my hands in an uncomfortable position, making my hand muscles feel fatigue within a half mile.  I like the idea of them being there, but there's not enough room for me to grip well.

The bike now has 11 lights for night riding.  I've ordered 3 more rear lights just for back ups as I already broke one...

Then... late last week I was on my way out of the house with the bike, and when I walked it down the front steps, the rack came partially undone and flopped backwards.  I couldn't fix it on the spot and ended up having to take my car to work, but I decided against taking it back to I. Martin for a fix - not because they couldn't fix it, but because they would only be able to fix it back to the problem it had anyhow - in that it couldn't be mounted properly with the top of the rack level with the ground using the the Bontrager pieces it came with.  However, now that it was pivoting freely on the braces on the rear fork, I was able to position it so that the top of the rack was level with the ground.  Securing it into that position, however, was my challenge.  Also, because the rack is mounted higher than normal, it meant less room for my top pannier.  I went to Koontz Hardware to get some zip ties.  The longest ones they had were 15", so I got a packet of those.  First I secured it twice to the seatpost.  Then, looping two ties together on each side, I secured it to the back fork.  So, it's very secure and not going anywhere at all, and I even put about 40 lbs of weight in the side panniers over the weekend.

I have noticed with the rack now being level, however, that I get heel strike on the side panniers if they are not mounted as far to the rear as possible.  So, I definitely have to keep an eye on that.  The top pannier still gets squished on the end by the seat post, and that's a pain, so I guess I'll be on the hunt for another one.